Text 1

You will read a passage about competitive eating. Answer the questions based on what you have read.

Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport that is all about food. Success in the sport requires efficiency,
which is a combination of capacity — eating a lot of food — and speed-eating it fast. Contests are typically
eight to 10 minutes long, with the person consuming the most food declared the winner. Current professional
eating contests can offer $10,000 or more in prize money.

Traditionally, eating contests (usually involving children eating pies) were county fair events. The recent rise
in popularity of competitive eating is largely due to the growth over almost 100 years of the Nathan's Hot Dog
Eating Contest, an annual Independence Day tradition at Coney Island, New York. The event generates
enormous media attention and has been aired on major sports channels. Many commentators believe the
Nathan’s contest has had a direct impact on the development of competitive eating as a sport. Surprisingly,
restaurant hosts don’t always make a lot of money on contest days, as contestants tend to eat more food than
their entry fee would purchase. Money is only part of the reason that contests primarily use fast food, though.
“Restaurants would go out of business with a steak eating contest,” says Peter “Wingman” McDermott, prize-
winning speed eater. “Hot dogs and wings are familiar and don’t break the bank.”

But what is it that motivates contestants like Peter to eat those hot dogs and wings? “A lot of speed eaters I
know were never big athletes in high school and are just looking for a really fast way to get on TV. I started
out that way,” he said. “But now I definitely make sure to stay healthy. This isn’t something an unhealthy
person wants to start doing.” McDermott appreciates that he can have a life outside his “sport,” as “the
competition is over almost as soon as it started. Eaters can compete and still have most of their day left.”

Speed eating is increasingly regulated by the kinds of organizations familiar in much bigger sports, like
football and hockey. The International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) hosts more than 100 "Major
League Eating" (MLE) events worldwide each year and first established eating as a sport in the 1990s. IFOCE
licenses MLE t-shirts and other products and features the most current videos of contests and competitors.
IFOCE is also the only organization with extensive safety regulations for events. A smaller organized league,
the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters (AICE), established by competitive eater Arnie
"Chowhound" Chapman, also holds contests. Chapman was a former IFOCE member who left to form an
independent league after disputes over IFOCE contracts.

1 of 8
Which ONE of the following is the main purpose of this passage?
To encourage people to consider becoming competitive eaters
To describe how competitive eating affects contestants’ health
To explain some aspects of competitive eating contests
To share techniques that different competitive eaters use to train
To persuade more restaurants to get involved with the sport of competitive eating
2 of 8
Which TWO reasons does the passage give for the growing popularity of competitive eating
competitions?
The increase in the size of the prizes
The increased money spent on competitions
The holiday tradition of the first famous competition
The exposure from big-name TV sports channels
The cooperation of more and more famous restaurants
3 of 8
According to the passage, what are the TWO main reasons that people become competitive
eating contestants?
They like the way competitions fit into their regular schedule.
They want a fast way to become well-known.
They get to enjoy free food every time they compete.
They like the history of county fair eating competitions.
They want to make a living from sports participation.
 4 of 8
Which TWO of the following statements are true about speed eating, according to the passage?
It officially started in New York.
Speed eating has been a sport since the 1970s.
Speed eating has become as mainstream as other sports.
Its competitors can win large amounts of prize money.
Its competitions are held globally.
5 of 8
The quotations from Peter McDermott suggest that he values which TWO of the following in his
career as a competitive eater?
His record of wins
His prize money total
His healthy habits
His opportunities to travel
His free time
6 of 8
The passage suggests that which two of the following statements are true about restaurants
involved in competitive eating contests?
They make a lot of money during the contest.
They invest a substantial amount of money in sponsoring the contests.
They want to showcase their particular menu choices.
They want to increase public awareness of their brand name.
They must be approved by an international sports organization.
7 of 8
According to the passage, which TWO of the following statements are true of IFOCE?
It was started by Arnie Chapman.
It supports the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
It collaborates with the AICE.
It regulates the welfare of all participants in events.
It sponsors the majority of competitive eating events each year.
8 of 8
According to the passage, fast foods are most likely to be used in eating competitions for which
of the following TWO reasons?
They are cheaper for restaurants to buy in bulk.
They are the traditional foods from the earliest days of competitive eating.
They are much faster to eat than other foods.
They are popular with lots of people.
They are the only foods approved by the IFOCE.

Text 2

You will read a letter to the editor about technology. Answer the questions based on what you have read.

I take exception to your article last week on smartphones, in which people who don’t use them were branded
as “Luddites.” The writer went on to disparage such people as pensioners, set in their ways and intimidated by
new technology that looks complicated. It was implied that a lack of a smartphone signified only partial
participation in modern life.

Since when did the ownership of a smartphone become a requirement for being a fully functioning modern
citizen? I don’t use one, not because the concept of a phone connected to the internet is overwhelming, but
because I don’t want to be continuously distracted. Nor do I wish to become one of those people who can’t sit
still for 15 seconds without looking at a screen, hoping for a message. Even worse in my view, are those who
can’t sustain a five minute conversation without constantly checking their phones.
I believe that rather than blindly embracing each new thing that comes along, our society needs to have an
informed conversation about where this technology is leading us. To this end, an understanding of the terms
Luddite and Neo-Luddite will be useful.

The Luddites were not some crazy fundamentalist sect who lived in caves, but rather a group of 19th century
English textile artisans opposed to some new technologies of the Industrial Revolution such as spinning frames
and power looms, which were destroying their livelihoods and producing inferior work in the name of profit.
They were active between 1811 and 1817 and their protests took the form of sabotage of machines and burning
down factories. In 1812 the Frame Breaking Act made the destruction of factory machinery punishable by
death. They were not anxious and apprehensive old fogies as your writer implies, but a passionate and driven
group of professionals who drilled and practiced at night in order to fight the English army, which they did on
two occasions. After a mass show-trial of 60 Luddites in 1813 in which most were sentenced to death or penal
transport, Luddite resistance became sporadic.

Serious questions about the value of technology have been raised ever since. The German philosopher Martin
Heidegger did not view technology as wholly negative, but he suggested that the modern technological "mode
of Being" was one which viewed the natural world — plants, animals, and even human beings — as resources
to be exploited. For him, technology was not just the collection of tools, but a way of being in the world.
Technological processes, he believed, create an abandonment of the natural world and the loss of any sense of
awe and wonder, as well as an indifference to that loss. The French philosopher Jacques Ellul said that the
rationality of technology drowns out human concerns in order to meet the demands of yield and production.

Contemporary Neo-Luddites are a widely diverse group which includes writers, academics, families and young
idealists seeking a technology-free environment. While they are apprehensive about the ability of any new
technology to solve current problems without creating more, potentially dangerous problems, and would like to
see the slowing and eventual end of new technologies, they are most critical of the wide-ranging and
devastating consequences of our technological civilization, such as climate change, environmental degradation,
psychological disorders, social alienation, loss of community, unemployment, economic and political
inequality, nuclear warfare and biological weapons. They believe that technology is the greatest threat to
humanity and to the natural world in general.

Neo-Luddites are not against all technology, only against certain technologies which are destructive to
communities and nature. Rather than looking at how technology improves the life of an individual, they would
like people to look at the wider social, economic and ecological implications of technological systems.

They are also critical of the link between technology, with its values of short-term efficiency, ease of
production, marketing and profit, and the rigid social institutions created around those values. They suggest
that the key change required will not take place through conventional politics but by focusing on technology
and economics. They favor a return to simple agrarian communities.

The lack of a smartphone or desire for any other new or existing technology should not be automatically
viewed as a personal failing, but a choice. And in most cases a sensible one.

1 of 8
Which ONE of the following best describes the main purpose of this passage?
To criticize the effects of smartphones on traditional personal interaction
To defend the activism of the Luddites
To argue that technology is responsible for major problems in the modern world
To state that smartphone ownership is not a legal or social requirement
To differentiate between the beliefs of the Luddites and Neo-Luddites
2 of 8
The writer of this letter to the editor says that the newspaper’s writer implied which TWO of the
following about Luddites?
Old age
A desire to return to agrarian societies
Fear of complex new technology
Belief in stopping and slowing new technologies
A sense of being isolated in their communities
Opposition to technology on ethical grounds
3 of 8
The writer of the letter wants to avoid which TWO of the following by not using a smartphone?
Developing a brain tumor
Being constantly available for work
Interrupting conversation
Creating a virtual society
Being distracted
Polluting the environment
4 of 8
According to the writer, what are TWO differences between Luddites and Neo-Luddites?
The Luddites were opposed to one kind of technology in particular.
The Luddites proposed a return to pre-Industrial revolution agrarian living.
The Luddites were comprised of a diverse group of workers.
Neo-Luddites are contemporary artisans.
Neo-Luddites believe technology creates harsh social institutions.
Neo-Luddites renounce all forms of violence.
5 of 8
According to the writer, which TWO beliefs were held by Martin Heidegger?
All technology leads to a diminishment of humanity.
Technology leads to indifference to human accomplishments.
Technology is driven by concerns of yield and production.
The use of technology can heighten feelings of loss.
A technological focus reduces people and nature to resources.
Technological processes lead people to abandon the natural world.
6 of 8
According to the writer, Neo-Luddites hold which TWO of the following beliefs about new
technology?
It should improve the life of the individual.
It is more likely to create problems than solve them.
It is a key cause of threats to civilization.
It is unlikely to have an effect on existing social institutions.
It will invariably put people out of work.
It is needlessly complicated.
7 of 8
According to the writer, in which TWO ways do Neo-Luddites believe technology shapes
society?
It allows people too much leisure time.
It removes a sense of generational stability.
It promotes a focus on short-term values.
It encourages communication of a trivial nature.
It leads to obesity and low standards.
It divides communities and isolates people.
8 of 8
According to the writer, which of the following TWO would be likely in a Neo-Luddite society?
Small communities
Veganism
Wooden ploughs
Numerous committees
A rural setting
Hunter gathering