Name: READING 5

Student ID: IN-CLASS PRACTICE

Time allotted: 60 minutes

Reading 1: Questions 1-10

You are going to read a magazine article about five women who have recently changed careers.
For questions 1-10, choose from the women (A-E). The women may be chosen more than once.
Which woman
Question 1: reduced her working hours in order to study?
Question 2: spends a lot of time outdoors?
Question 3: felt grateful that her employers trusted her?
Question 4: would like to start her own business?
Question 5: began her studies in a new location?
Question 6: travelled in her previous job?
Question 7: chose to be made redundant?
Question 8: is satisfied with her new lack of routine?
Question 9: took a long time to get on top of the job?
Question 10: had financial support from her parents?

MEET FIVE WOMEN WHO HAVE CHANGED CAREERS

A. AMANDA, 33: I had been working in sales for six years when I suffered an ankle injury that
was to change my whole life. It didn't heal and someone suggested acupuncture, a traditional
Chinese treatment for pain. I was so impressed by the treatment that I found out about classes. I
had reached a point in my life where things had to change. In many ways I had it all: a company
car, foreign business trips, my own house, a secure job. But at 29, I felt increasingly dissatisfied
and wanted to be more adventurous. So I persuaded my boss to let me work a four-day week and
did classes on the remaining day. It took four difficult years to qualify, as I was studying 25 hours
a week on top of my job. It's been worth it though, and I get on well with the people I work for
now. As for the BMW, I don't miss it at all!

B. DANI, 30: I trained as a doctor but I knew all along it wasn't right for me. My parents had run
their dairy farm for thirty years and needed a long holiday, so we decided that I'd look after things
for six months while they visited my brother in Australia. It gave me the career break I'd been
looking for, except that I never went back. Mum and Dad have emigrated, so now I'm in charge
for good, which is fine by me. At the beginning, I was quite inexperienced, though it felt natural
to be back on the farm and didn't take me long to master everything. I've learned to be flexible - to
fit in with the weather! Being in the open air is the best thing of all. I've just started selling my
own cheese and by this time next year, I'll have launched my own ice cream.
C. SUE, 34: I'd never seen myself as academic. Hairdressing seemed glamorous and I wanted a
car, so I went to work in a salon as an apprentice. I wasn't concerned about the poor pay - I had
fun! Then, all of a sudden, my husband's job moved to London. This forced me to reconsider my
own life and I decided to take English and Law at night school there. I was spending 45 hours a
week cutting hair and working for exams as well. I lost ten kilos in weight, but for all the stress of
studying, I knew I was doing the right thing. After leaving college I went into market research.
My confidence has always been low and it was three years before I felt I could cope effectively in
the role. But it was worth the wait.
D. RACHEL, 28: I worked for three investment banks in London, earning £60,000 a year in my
last job. If I'd added up the hours I spent at my desk. It would have been huge - sometimes I was
there until midnight. To begin with, I got a real buzz from the work, helped by the fact that
everyone was willing to give me so much responsibility. But eventually, it got to me. At the time,
the bank needed to reduce its staff and was offering a good leaving package, so I jumped at it.
 Now I'm working freelance, editing articles for financial magazines. I've set up the spare room as
an office and I hope to pick up enough work. People who need certainty and structure would find
my new life difficult, but all in all, I feel I've made the right decision.
E. ELEANOR, 25: I'd always loved skating and what I wanted above all was to be an ice dancer.
Mum and Dad spent a lot of time driving me to classes and I'm so grateful to them for that, not to
mention the huge sums they've invested in my training. I started competing at 14 and turned
professional at 16. I've done a lot of great shows, but I chose to hang up my skates long before
most ice dancers do. For the last six months, I've been working for a sportswear firm to gain
experience in business and my dream is to set up a company before long, producing costumes for
ice dancers

Reading 2: Questions 11-20

You are going to read a passage about cultural shock. Read it carefully and answer the following
questions:
Almost everyone who studies, lives or works abroad has problems adjusting to a new culture.
This response is commonly referred to as 'culture shock'. Culture shock can be defined as 'the
physical and emotional discomfort a person experiences when entering a culture different from their
own' (Weaver, 1993).
For people moving to Australia, Price (2001) has identified certain values which may give
rise to culture shock. Firstly, he argues that Australians place a high value on independence and
personal choice. This means that a teacher or course tutor will not tell students what to do, but will
give them a number of options and suggest they work out which one is the best in their
circumstances. It also means that they are expected to take action if something goes wrong and seek
out resources and support for themselves.
Australians are also prepared to accept a range of opinions rather than believing there is one
truth. This means that in an educational setting, students will be expected to form their own opinions
and defend the reasons for that point of view and the evidence for it. Price also comments that
Australians are uncomfortable with differences in status and hence idealise the idea of treating
everyone equally. An illustration of this is that most adult Australians call each other by their first
names. This concern with equality means that Australians are uncomfortable taking anything too
seriously and are even ready to joke about themselves.
Australians believe that life should have a balance between work and leisure time. As a
consequence, some students may be critical of others who they perceive as doing nothing but study.
Australian notions of privacy mean that areas such as financial matters, appearance and relationships
are only discussed with close friends. While people may volunteer such information, they may
resent someone actually asking them unless the friendship is firmly established. Even then, it is
considered very impolite to ask someone what they earn. With older people, it is also rude to ask
how old they are, why they are not married or why they do not have children. It is also impolite to
ask people how much they have paid for something, unless there is a very good reason for asking.
Kohls (1996) describes culture shock as a process of change marked by four basic stages.
During the first stage, the new arrival is excited to be in a new place, so this is often referred to as
the "honeymoon" stage. Like a tourist, they are intrigued by all the new sights and sounds, new
smells and tastes of their surroundings. They may have some problems, but usually they accept them
as just part of the novelty. At this point, it is the similarities that stand out, and it seems to the
newcomer that people everywhere and their way of life are very much alike. This period of euphoria
may last from a couple of weeks to a month, but the letdown is inevitable.
During the second stage, known as the 'rejection' stage, the newcomer starts to experience
difficulties due to the differences between the new culture and the way they were accustomed to
living. The initial enthusiasm turns into irritation, frustration, anger and depression, and these
feelings may have the effect of people rejecting the new culture so that they notice only the things
that cause them trouble, which they then complain about. In addition, they may feel homesick,
bored, withdrawn and irritable during this period as well.
 Fortunately, most people gradually learn to adapt to the new culture and move on to the third
stage, known as 'adjustment and reorientation'. During this stage a transition occurs to a new
optimistic attitude. As the newcomer begins to understand more of the new culture, they are able to
interpret some of the subtle cultural clues which passed by unnoticed earlier. Now things make more
sense and the culture seems more familiar. As a result, they begin to develop problem-solving skills,
and feelings of disorientation and anxiety no longer affect them.
In Kohls's model, in the fourth stage, newcomers undergo a process of adaptation. They have
settled into the new culture, and this results in a feeling of direction and self-confidence. They have
accepted the new food, drinks, habits and customs and may even find themselves enjoying some of
the very customs that bothered them so much previously. In addition, they realise that the new
culture has good and bad things to offer and that no way is really better than another, just different.

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
Write: TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

Question 11: Australian teachers will suggest alternatives to students rather than offer one solution.
Question 12: In Australia, teachers will show interest in students' personal circumstances.
Question 13: Australians use people's first names so that everyone feels their status is similar.
Question 14: Students who study all the time may receive positive comments from their colleagues.
Question 15: It is acceptable to discuss financial issues with people you do not know well.
Question 16: Younger Australians tend to be friendlier than older Australians.

Complete the table below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

THE STAGES OF CULTURE SHOCK

Name Newcomers’ reaction to problems
Stage 1 (17)…… They notice the (18) … between different nationalities and cultures.
They may experience this stage for up to a month.
Stage 2 Rejection They reject the new culture and lose the (19)……..they had at the
beginning.
Stage 3 Adjustment They can understand some (20) ......... which they had not previously
and observed.
reorientation They learn problem-solving skills for dealing with difficulties.
Stage 4 Adaptation They enjoy some of the customs that annoyed them before.

Reading 3: Questions 21-25

You are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or
D) which you think fits best according to the text
When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding more like Sunday,
there is something seriously wrong. I felt that from the moment I woke. And yet, when I started
functioning a little better, I became doubtful. I went on waiting. But presently I had my first bit of
real evidence - a distant clock struck what sounded to me just like eight. Soon another clock began.
In a leisurely fashion it gave an unquestionable eight. Then I knew things were wrong.
The way I came to miss the end of the world was sheer accident. I was in hospital. Chance
played it not only that I should be there at that particular time, but that my eyes should be enclosed
in bandages. This morning I was feeling annoyed because someone should begin to wash and tidy
me up at exactly three minutes after 7 a.m. That was one of the best reasons I had for appreciating a
private room. In a public ward the proceeding would have taken place a whole unnecessary hour
earlier. But here, today, clocks of varying reliability were continuing to strike eight in all directions -
and still nobody had shown up. Much as I disliked the washing process, its failure to occur was very
worrying. Besides, it was normally a close forerunner of breakfast, and I was feeling hungry.
The day outside, I realised now, was sounding even more wrong than I had thought. Why the
founders of St Merryn's Hospital chose to build their institution at a main road crossing upon a
valuable office site, I never properly understood. The buses thundered along trying to beat the lights
at the corner. Then the released cross traffic would roar as it started up the slight slope. But this
morning was different. No wheels rumbled, no buses roared, no sound of a car of any kind, in fact,
was to be heard.
I had to fight down the same feeling of fear that I had had when I was a kid crying in the dark
and when I had been too scared to put even a foot out of bed. The temptation to lift the bandages -
just enough to get some idea of what on earth could be happening - was immense. But I restrained
it. For one thing, it was a far less simple matter than it sounded. It wasn't just a case of lifting a
blindfold: there were a lot of pads and bandages.
Some little while must have passed, but after a bit I found myself looking once more for a
possible explanation for the silence. I became absolutely convinced that it was Wednesday. For the
previous day had been notable. You'll find it in the records that on Tuesday, May 7, the Earth's orbit
passed through a cloud of comet debris. I was in no state to see what happened myself. All that I
actually know is that I had to listen to eyewitness accounts of what was considered to be the greatest
free fireworks display ever. And yet, until the thing actually began, nobody had ever heard a word
about this comet. It was reported in the news bulletins during the day that mysterious bright green
flashes had been seen in the Californian skies the previous night. Accounts arrived from all over the
Pacific of a night made brilliant by green meteors said to be 'sometimes in such numerous showers
that the whole sky appeared to be wheeling about us'.

Question 21: How did the writer feel when he first woke up?
A certain that it must be a Sunday morning
B sure about what his senses were telling him
C worried that something unusual was happening
D unclear as to what time it was

Question 22: What do we learn about the writer in the second paragraph?
A He was keen to have his bandages changed.
B He was pleased he had not been put on a ward.
C He liked the sense of routine he found in the hospital.
D He felt he no longer needed to be in hospital.

Question 23: What does 'its' refer to?

A a breakfast
B a clock
C a close forerunner
D the washing process

Question 24: What does the writer say about the location of the hospital?
A It was next to a large office block.
B It was at a busy road junction.
C It was beside a motorway.
D It was at the top of a steep hill.

Question 25 What does the writer mean by 'I restrained it'?

A He controlled his wish to take a look.
B He held back his need to get out of bed.
C He tried to fight his feeling of fear.
D He checked his desire to cry.

VOCABULARY
A. Use the words from the box to complete the e-mail. Not all of the words will be used.
Choose the collocation that best completes each sentence.
1. In order to _____________________, people need to have patience and also know when to take
control of things.
A. try success B. want success
C. make success D. achieve success

2. Often, you still _____________________ no matter what you do and no matter how hard you
work.
A. earn obstacles B. start obstacles
C. meet obstacles D. attain obstacles

3. So, if you _____________________ at some point, just know that this is only one of many you
will
have in your lifetime.
A. show a difficulty B. begin a difficulty
C. receive a difficulty D. encounter a difficulty

4. Sometimes, the difficulties are easy to overcome, while others _____________________ of you.
A. take it out B. wake it out
C. make it out D. break it out