reading and listening book answer

reading and listening book answer

International College Brisbane, Australia CRICOS No: 00213J

English Language Programs

QCE009 EAP Plus

Reading and Listening Guide

October 2012

Class:

Table of Contents

The reading guide 1

W1  Elements of culture 3

W2  Religious dentistry 9

 Valium 11

 The brain 13

W3  Networking 18

 To MBA or not to MBA? 21

 Worker poll shows family, fringes gains favour 24

W4  Caring for the customer 28

 Conspicuous consumption 32

 Consumerism: Curses and causes 36

W5  Poverty and health 39

 Development without boarders 42

 Lost tribes, lost knowledge 44

W6  Human-powered pumps for African farmers 52

 Microbes at the gas pump 55

 Australia’s geothermal resources 58

W7  An ordinary miracle 62

 Dolly’s false legacy 64

 Genetic ethics 68

W8  The keyless society 72

 The high-tech poisoning of Asia 74

 Let the bones talk 78

W9  Spain family matters 87

 Twins 90

 Love and marriage in China 102

W10  Worms put new life into derelict site 108

 It’s ecological 111

 Oceans of death 115

W11  SUVs: Profits fuel the ‘highway arms race’ 118

 The face of beauty 121

W12  Mathematicians learn how to tame Chaos 131

 The life cycle of a star 134

 The influence of junk science and the role of science education 137

The listening guide 141

Listening Tips 142

 IELTS Style Listening: Intercultural Communication 143

 Listening for Context 144

 IELTS Style Listening: Obesity 145

 IELTS Style Listening: Presenteeism and Absenteeism 147

 IELTS Style Listening- Workplace Satisfaction 149

 IELTS Style Listening: Advertising 151

Julian Treasure: Shh! Sound Health in 8 Steps 152

 IELTS Style Listening: The Effects of Tourism 153

 IELTS Style Listening: Presentations 155

 IELTS Style Listening: Hybrid Solar Lighting 157

 IELTS Style Listening: Nuclear Energy 159

 IELTS Style Listening: Homes of the Future 161

 IELTS Style Listening: Changes in Car Technology 163

 IELTS Style Listening: Bicycle Road Safety 165

 IELTS Style Listening: Hotel Fire Safety 167

 IELTS Style Listening: Women and Work 169

 IELTS Style Listening: Water Shortages in Brisbane 171

 IELTS Style Listening: Home Fire Safety 173

 IELTS Style Listening: Water Shortages and Desalination 175

 IELTS Style Listening: Lighting Design 177

1

The reading guide

Reading and listening are skills that need to be built over time You cannot cram for a reading or

listening test, nor can you expect to improve your vocabulary and grammar without reading on a regular basis You should be reading and listening to a wide variety of texts every week, including this one, to improve your skills

How to use this Guide

This Reading and Listening Guide is designed to take you through a variety of readings and

listenings The readings and listenings differ in terms of topic, question types and degrees of

difficulty It uses the occasionally IELTS style readings and listening because the question types and skills used in IETLS are very similar to those used on the EAP tests that you will have However, it is heavily supplemented with longer reading texts like the ones you will encounter in faculty

 You should take about 20 – 30 minutes for shorter reading (unless otherwise stated) You may find some of the readings easier than others, and some will be quite difficult and take you longer For the longer reading take as long as you need

 Do not use a dictionary as this will slow down the reading and listening process It is better

to try and guess the meaning of unknown words You can look word up once you have

finished the reading

 Read the instructions for each question carefully

When to use

Your teacher will tell you when each set of readings or listening needs to be done by and when

you will check the answers It is important to bring this book to class on the day the teacher tells you

After you have finished your allocated reading or listening and the answers have been checked

Read back through your readings to look for areas that you did not understand Check any answers you got wrong Try to understand what the problem was: a vocabulary problem? a grammar

problem? a question-type problem? a reading/ listening skill problem?

‘TIP’ boxes

Some sections contain tip boxes (see example)

These are designed to help you with question types Read

each tip carefully If you have any questions, ask your

teacher

All ‘Tips’ from O’Connell, S (2002) Focus on IELTS Essex, England: Pearson.

 TIP: MATCHING HEADINGS TO

PARAGRAPHS

Be careful not to choose headings which refer to only part or one aspect of the paragraph Some of the headings may contain words or phrases that appear in exactly the same form in the reading passage, so you may at first think they are correct Remember that an example is usually given

2

Donald Light, Jr and Suzanne Keller

One of the most surprising things about culture is the way it influences our daily lives without our even being aware of it This essay makes clear that, from brushing our teeth in the morning with brush and paste

to having a pillow beneath our head at night, our habitual behaviours are governed by the culture in which

we live

Q12 “Come alive with Pepsi” proved a winning advertising slogan in the United States However, some

residents of Taiwan found the translation—”Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead”—

unappealing General Motors Corporation ran into difficulty in Belgium when the firm promoted its “Body

by Fisher” cars that translated into Flemish as “Corpse by Fisher.” Some car buyers in Spanish- speaking countries were reluctant to purchase the Chevrolet Nova because nova means “it doesn’t go.” These examples all demonstrate a failure to understand language differences in a foreign environment

A somewhat different problem arose in Salt Lake City, Utah, when a man came to purchase a Shetland pony advertised for sale The owner asked what the man planned to do with the horse “For my son’s birthday,” was the response Gratified that the pony was going to a child, the owner closed the deal But then the buyer took out a two-by-four, clubbed the pony over the head, dumped the carcass in his pickup truck, and drove off The horrified seller notified the police When the police arrived at the buyer’s home, they found

a birthday party underway The pony was Q5 roasting in a “luau pit.” The buyer, a recent immigrant from

Tonga, a group of Polynesian Islands off New Zealand, explained that the Tongans do not ride horses but eat them They had acquired their taste for horse meat from European missionaries who found horses the only readily available source of meat on the Pacific Islands

All of the customs, beliefs, values, knowledge, and skills that guide a people’s behaviour along shared paths

are part of their culture Q6 Culture can be divided into material aspects (the products of a people’s arts

and technology) and nonmaterial aspects (a people’s customs, beliefs, values, and patterns of

communication) People throughout the world have different cultures Thus, their standards for behaviour often differ We tend to assume that certain behaviours have pretty much the same meaning around the world, and we anticipate that other people will act as we do Yet this is clearly not the case When we are thrust into a different culture, we may find ourselves in situations for which we are unprepared

Not surprisingly, interaction among peoples of different cultures is often filled with uncertainties and even difficulties Take the matter of the “language of space,” identified by the anthropologist Edward T Hall He notes that Arabs tend to get very close to other people, close enough to breathe on them When Arabs do not breathe on a person, it means that they are ashamed However, Americans insist on staying outside the range of other people’s breath, viewing the odour as distasteful Arabs ask, “Why are Americans so

ashamed? They withhold their breath.” Americans on the receiving end wonder, “Why are the Arabs so pushy?” Americans typically back away as an Arab comes close, and the Arab follows Such differences can have serious consequences For example, an Arab business representative may not trust an American who backs off On the other hand, the American may distrust the Arab for seeming so pushy

Q13 Culture is a taken-for-granted aspect of life, one we commonly overlook as we go about our daily activities Yet it touches all aspects of our lives Q8 Alexander Alland, Jr., provides the following analogy for

culture:

Q17 I was struck by the similarity of this situation to the situation of all human beings who have

grown up within a particular social milieu Out of an incredibly large number of possible ways of living successfully, all normal human beings operate within a narrow framework of convention The convention is sometimes limiting and perhaps to certain individuals unsatisfying, but it provides a set of rules which act as guidelines for action

The anthropologist Edmund Carpenter confronted a situation similar to that described by Alland when he went to live among the Aivilik, an Eskimo people:

For months after I first arrived among the Aivilik, I felt empty, clumsy I never knew what to do, even where to sit or stand I was awkward in a busy world, as helpless as a child, yet a grown man I felt like a mental defective

Q16 The map of life that underlies both material and nonmaterial culture includes three elements: norms, values, and Q18 symbols Let’s consider what each contributes to social life

NORMS

In Games People Play Eric Berne describes the greeting ritual of the American:

“Hi!” (Hello, good morning.)

“Hi!” (Hello, good morning.)

“Warm enough forya?” (How are you?)

“Sure is Looks like rain, though.” (Fine How are you?)

“Well, take cara yourself.” (Okay.)

“I’ll be seeing you.”

“So long.”

“So long.”

This brief exchange is conspicuously lacking in content If you were to measure the success of the

conversation in terms of the information conveyed, you would have to rate it zero Even so, both parties leave the scene feeling quite satisfied In using the greeting ritual, they have made social contact and established a friendly atmosphere

Norms are the guidelines people are supposed to follow in their relations with one another; they are

shared rules that specify appropriate and inappropriate behaviour Not only do norms indicate what people should or should not do in a specific situation, they also enable people to anticipate how others will

interpret and respond to their words and actions Q2 Norms vary from society to society, from group to

group within societies, and from situation to situation Polite and appropriate behaviour in one society may

be disgraceful in another For example:

Among the Ila-speaking peoples of Africa, girls are given houses of their own at harvest time where they may play at being man and wife with boys of their choice It is said that among these people

Some norms are situational—they apply to specific categories of people in specific settings We consider it appropriate for a person to pray to God in church, or to speak to people who have long since “gone to the other side” during a séance (even if we think the séance is phony) But we usually find a person “peculiar” if

he or she addresses God or invokes spirits on a bus

Social norms shape our emotions and perceptions For example, people are supposed to feel sad and be depressed when a family member dies Similarly, people are supposed to pay attention to certain things but not to others For example, we consider it bad taste to gawk at a couple who is quarrelling bitterly or to

eavesdrop on an intimate conversation, yet we occasionally do both Thus, Q9 we hold norms, but at times

we violate them

Most of the time people follow norms more or less automatically; alternatives never occur to them This is particularly true of unspoken norms that seem self-evident, such as responding to a person who addresses

you Q9 People conform because it seems right, because to violate norms would damage their self-image

(or “hurt their conscience”), and because they want approval and fear ridicule, ostracism, or, in some cases, punishment

Folkways, mores, and laws

Norms vary in the importance that people assign to them and the leeway they permit violators Folkways

are everyday habits and conventions people obey without giving much thought to the matter For example,

Q14 Americans eat three meals a day and call other food “snacks.” We have cereal for breakfast but not for

other meals; we save sweets for the end of dinner Even though we could easily begin a meal with cherry pie, we don’t Other customs we observe are covering our mouths when we yawn, shaking hands when introduced, closing zippers on pants or skirts, and not wearing evening clothes to class People who violate folkways may be labelled eccentrics or slobs, but as a rule they are tolerated

In contrast, violations of mores provoke intense reactions Mores are the norms people consider vital to

their well-being and to their most cherished values Examples are the prohibitions against incest,

cannibalism, and sexual abuse of children People who violate mores are considered unfit for society and may be ostracized, beaten, locked up in a prison or a mental hospital, exiled, or executed (Hence, most Americans would not condemn an individual who gave a child molester a severe beating.)

Some norms are formalized into laws A law is a rule enacted by a political body and enforced by the power

of the state Whereas folkways and mores are typically enforced by the collective and spontaneous actions

of the members of the community, laws are enforced by the police, the military, or some other special organization Laws may formalize folkways (as some traffic regulations do) or back up mores (as laws against murder and treason do) Political authorities may also attempt to introduce new norms by enacting laws such as those governing the disposal of toxic wastes or the extension of civil rights to various

minorities In general, the laws that are most difficult to enforce are those that are not grounded in the folkways or mores—for example, laws against gambling or the use of marijuana

Norms are only guides to behaviour; by themselves they have no force It is sanctions, or socially imposed

rewards and punishments, that compel people to obey norms Such sanctions may be formal or informal Examples of formal sanctions that reward people are promotions, medals of honour, and pay checks Formal sanctions that punish people include jail terms, job dismissals, failing grades, and traffic fines Informal sanctions are those expressed by behaviour in everyday situations— smiles, frowns, friendly nods, gossip, praise, insults, and even attention

Societies vary in their use of sanctions For instance, Q10 the Amish punish those who violate their norms

with shunning, in which no one is allowed to speak to the offender Such a punishment is less effective in the larger American society In Japan, slurping one’s soup loudly is a positive sanction, indicating to a hostess that one has greatly enjoyed a meal In the United States, such slurping is itself disapproved;

instead, Americans are expected to compliment the cook verbally

way of life Q11 Even the games they play reflect their values A good illustration is formed among the

Tangu, a people who live in a remote part of New Guinea and play a game called taketak

In some respects, taketak resembles bowling The game is played with a toplilce object fashioned from a dried fruit and with two groups of coconut stakes that look like bowling pins The players divide into two teams The members of the first team step to the line and take turns throwing the top into their batch of stakes; every stake they hit they remove Then the members of the second team toss the top into their batch of stakes The object of the game, surprisingly, is not to knock over as many stakes as possible Rather, the game continues until both teams have removed the same number of stakes The Tangu

disapprove of winning while favouring value equivalence The idea that one individual or group should win and another lose bothers them, for they believe winning generates ill will In fact, when Europeans brought soccer to New Guinea, the Tangu altered the rules so that the object was for two teams to score the same number of goals Sometimes their soccer games went on for days! American games, in contrast, are highly competitive; there are always winners and losers

Since values entail broad and abstract cultural principles, we frequently have difficulty identifying them The sociologist Robin M Williams, Jr., in an interpretation of American society, identifies fifteen major value orientations These include the high value Americans place upon achievement and success, activity and work, humanitarianism, efficiency and practicality, progress, material comfort, equality, freedom, conformity, science and rationality, nationalism and patriotism, democracy, individuality, and racial and

ethnic group superiority Q15 Many of these values tend to be interrelated, including those having to do with achievement and success, activity and work, material comfort, and individuality Q15 Others are in

conflict, for example, stressing conformity and individuality or equality and racial and ethnic superiority

Moreover, Q3 values change Thus, in recent years many of America’s more overt racist attitudes have

faded The 1983 annual survey of college freshmen found that, for the first time, a majority supported busing to achieve racial integration in the schools In the same year, 69.3 percent of the freshmen said they believed that being well off was very important; in 1970 the figure stood at 39 percent The distinct

The Relation between norms and values

Values assume considerable importance because norms are usually based on them Even so, there is not a one-to-one correspondence between norms and values For instance, some American values favour

individuality and competition, yet some norms run counter to these values Affirmative-action laws, for example, have often allowed minorities to be hired in proportion to their numbers as a matter of fairness, while competitive standards of individual achievement are relaxed Such a norm attempts to reconcile the

values of individuality and competition with the values of justice and equality Q15 Thus conflicts in values

are often a source of social change that leads to new norms

In our daily lives, Q4 we frequently find that more than one value may also be operating in a given

situation If being honest also means being unkind to another person, we are caught in a conflict of values You have probably faced situations where the truth will hurt someone and kindness means lying Hinting gently at the truth or surrounding the hurtful truth with kindnesses or saying nothing at all are norms that attempt to reconcile two conflicting values

It is important not to confuse norms with values: The distinction is highlighted by a young child’s

obedience: A child obeys the parent because failure to do so may result in punishment or jeopardize

rewards (a norm) But the child as yet does not judge the behaviour as desirable or undesirable in its own right (a value) Likewise, you may stop at a red light even when there is no traffic, yet you do not attach an underlying value to stopping for a red light under these circumstances In sum, norms constitute rules for behaviour; values provide the criteria or standards we use for evaluating the desirability of behaviour LENGTH: 2,637 WORDS

Questions 1 - 15

Retention: Which of the following statements are True (T), False (F), or Not given (NG)?

1 Government sometimes tries to change norms by creating new folkways T / F / NG

6 Culture can be divided into two aspects, material and nonmaterial T / F / NG

7 Margaret Mead was one of the first to study courtship rituals among the Polynesians T / F / NG

8 Seeing a blind student become lost gave one anthropologist an idea of a way to explain culture to

9 Because the influence of norms is so powerful, we cannot bring ourselves to violate them T / F / NG

10 The Amish tradition of shunning involves refusing to talk to people who are not Amish T / F / NG

11 Recreational activities such as games may reflect people’ s values T / F / NG

15 A society’s values are harmonious, working smoothly together to create a conflict-free world T / F / NG

Question 16

Main Idea: Which of the following statement best represents the main point of the reading? _4

1 Culture means different things to different people; therefore, we should be careful in how we use the term

2 The most important elements of culture are the norms and values that affect our daily lives

3 The quality of each society can be evaluated on the basis of its cultural norms, mores, laws, and values

4 Culture is made up of three elements: norms, values, and symbols, each of which quietly shapes our behaviour

5 Conformity to one’s culture is necessary for mental health

Question 17

Interpretation: Which of the following is the best interpretation of a key point in this reading? _5

1 By setting some limits, conventions free us to live in a large number of possible ways

2 Although norms vary, the norms of one society will seldom be directly contradictory to those of another

3 Laws and norms have nothing in common

4 Norms and values are essentially the same thing

5 Culture is like a map of life in that it provides guidelines and a sense of direction

Question 18

Conclusion: Which of the following statements is the best conclusion that can be drawn from the

reading? Choose one statement: _5

1 People are probably more likely to obey laws not grounded in mores because they are enforced by the state, not by the members of the community

2 In their everyday interactions with each other, Americans usually say what they mean without any alternative meaning

3 An experienced American advertiser is probably better at designing ads to use in a foreign country than

known as potong gigi, or tooth filing

Tooth filing is part of Bali’s religious traditions and is not performed for cosmetic reasons In fact,

so important is the tooth filing ceremony that Q1 without it, the Balinese believe they may

experience serious social or behavioural problems later in life, or their personality may change altogether

Q10 Balinese religious life is surrounded by a belief in a variety of deities — gods and demons that Q2 inhabit different levels of the cosmic and real worlds These deities range from the most holy in

the mountains to the lowest that inhabit the ground and the sea There are gods and goddesses in

every walk of life which have special forces of their own Q2 They inhabit temple statues, trees,

even fly through the air They exist together in a dual concept of good and evil, clean and dirty, etc As such, both the good and the evil spirits must be appeased, and offerings are thus made at the myriad temples on the island

It is not only the good spirits that are worshipped, for Bali has a dark and evil side too Terrifying demons and monsters walk the earth and although they are seldom seen, they too must be

appeased These demons can take over and inhabit the body of an animal or human and wreak havoc in the community, so it is very important to strike a balance between offerings made to all spirits that swarm the island At every stage in a person’s life, he or she is susceptible to influences

of the super- natural — Q3 from demons and layak, to good spirits which may bring luck

Purification of the body and mind is therefore central to Balinese religious life and the tooth-filing ceremony represents one such rite of passage from childhood to becoming an adult

According to the Balinese, long pointed teeth resemble the fangs of animals and these give the person characteristics of the animal sides of human nature and ferocity The Balinese believe there are six of these evil qualities: desire, greed, anger, intoxication, irresoluteness and jealousy These are liable to flare up, along with animal instincts, when the canines are still sharp To prevent this,

Q8 the points of the canines are filed down, together with any prominent points of the lower

teeth in a special potong gigi ceremony Although this may prevent the person taking on animal

instincts and beautify the smile, it is, unfortunately Q9 offset by early tooth decay since the

protective enamel is removed from the points of the teeth, exposing them to acid decay The situation is exacerbated in those who go on to chew betel nuts, since the caustic lime rapidly attacks the teeth

10

Sahanaya, W., Lindeck, J & Stewart, R (1998) IELTS Preparation and practice: Reading and writing: Academic module (pp 6-15) Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press

The potong gigi ceremony Q13 usually is undertaken for members of the same family together

since it is a very expensive occasion to host It is often necessary to wait until the youngest child is

of age Girls are ready for tooth filing only when they have reached sexual maturity and boys are

usually older, about 17 or at least after puberty A person must have their teeth filed Q4 before marriage, and since marriage is early, the ceremony is often undertaken as a Q4 prenuptial event

The Q11 high priest is consulted first to choose an auspicious day from the Balinese calendar

Every day has a different function — a best day for rice planting, best day for cremations and other

festivals, as well as tooth-filing days Q5 The dentist’s chair, so to speak, is specially constructed

for the ceremony from bamboo in the form of a rack covered with coconut leaves, blankets and a

variety of offerings and frangipani flowers Q5 & 12 Surrounding the platform is food for the

guests and a huge display of skewered suckling pig, fruit, and whole roasted chickens adorn the entrance to the ceremony room

Questions 1 – 6 Choose the appropriate letters A – D

1 The Balinese have their teeth filed

A to have a perfect smile

B for cosmetic reasons

C to avoid problems in life

D to change their personality

2 Balinese spirits

A are usually easily seen B are only found in the mountains

C can all fly through the air D can be found anywhere

3 Layak are probably

A good spirits B evil spirits

C tooth-filing experts D people whose teeth have been filed

4 When do many Balinese have their teeth filed?

A just before getting married B as part of the marriage ceremony

C in early childhood D when the high priest has time

5 Where does tooth filing take place?

A in the dentist’s surgery B at the village temple

C on a special platform D in the family residence

6 What is the most likely source of this passage?

A an undergraduate essay B a scientific journal

C a current affairs news magazine D an airline magazine process of elimination

11

Scovell, D., Pastellas, V., & Knobel, M (2004) 404 Essential tests for IELTS Academic module (pp 47-48)

Sydney, NSW: Adams and Austen Press

 Valium

In the 1960s, Valium was launched around the world as the new miracle pill It was prescribed for dozens of

ailments, including stress, panic attacks, back pain, insomnia and calming patients before and after surgery

Four decades later, many are questioning why the drug is still so popular, given that Q1 doctors and drug

addiction workers believe Valium, and drugs like it, create more health problems than they solve

Valium — a Latin word meaning “strong and well” — was developed in the early 1960s in the United States (US) by Dr Leo Sternbach, a Polish chemist working for pharmaceutical giant Hoffman-LaRoche Approved for use in 1963, Valium quickly became a favourite among mental heath professionals and general practitioners Valium was the most

prescribed drug in the US between 1969 and 1982 Q2 At the peak of Valium use in the 1970s, Hoffman LaRoche’s

parent company, the Roche Group, was selling about two billion Valium pills a year, earning the company $US 600

million a year Valium quickly became a household name, Q3 the drug of choice for millions of people, from the rich

and famous to the stressed executive and the frustrated housewife

These days Valium is still a popular choice From 2002-2003, Q4 50% of prescriptions for diazepams (the generic name

for Valium) in Australia were for Valium Almost two million scripts were issued for diazepam in 2002, costing

consumers and governments more than $13 million

Diazepams belong to a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines, which include tranquillizers to ease anxiety and

hypnotics to treat insomnia Q 6 & 7 Valium and other benzodiazepines were marketed as fast acting, non-addictive

and as having no side effects Initially benzodiazepines were considered to be quite safe, especially compared to other drugs on the market For example, barbiturates were also very toxic and a small overdose would be fatal

One of the great advantages of benzodiazepines over their predecessors was that Q5 even if the patient took many

tablets, they would get very sick and go off to sleep, but they wouldn’t die It seemed too good to be true And of course it was

Some doctors began to observe alarming facts about benzodiazepines which weren’t well known during the 1960s and

the 1970s, and which are still true today Q8 They were addictive, even in small doses; they could be safely prescribed for only a very short period; and the body adapted to the drug within a week, Q9 which usually led the user to take

higher dosages or an increased number of tablets

In addition to this, what wasn’t well known until the early 1980s is that Q10 a much larger group of people had

become dependent on these benzodiazepines, including Valium, by taking the normal dose Although they were only taking 2 mg three times a day, doctors observed that within a week they were becoming dependent Moreover, they were becoming very ill if that dose was reduced or withdrawn

Because the withdrawal from benzodiazepines is brutal, doctors continue to prescribe the medication for fear of the patient’s health during withdrawal Doctors believe that there is no point in refusing to prescribe the drug until the

patient is prepared to stop Q11 Valium has a long half-life, which means that it takes 30-plus hours for the body to

get rid of half of the daily dose As a result, withdrawals from Valium are just as difficult as withdrawals from other drugs, including alcohol Patients who are withdrawing can have fits for five or six days after they have stopped taking Valium, which is one of the big risks It usually takes the body five to seven days to detoxify from alcohol and less than

a month for heroin compared to withdrawal from Valium which can take up to six months

Q12 Many doctors believe that Valium gives people false hope and argue that while many patients feel better when

they initially begin taking the drug, the feelings are short-lived In the case of benzodiazepines they should only be taken as part of an overall examination of the patient’s lifestyle

12

Scovell, D., Pastellas, V., & Knobel, M (2004) 404 Essential tests for IELTS Academic module (pp 47-48)

Sydney, NSW: Adams and Austen Press

Q13 Guidelines have been developed to support the appropriate use by doctors and patients of Valium and other

benzodiazepines Q14 Doctors need to talk about what is causing the stress and suggest possible alternative

treatment options The flip side of the coin is that consumers need to take ownership of the medicines that they are taking They should talk to their doctor about the impact the medication has on their health This also helps doctors to help manage their patient’s health The emergence of concerns over the use of Valium, originally hailed as the wonder drug of its day, is a warning for us all to be cautious about the newer drugs What it all boils down to is that doctors and patients need to monitor the use of all medicines — this includes prescription medicine as well as over-the- counter medications

(Source: The Weekend Australian, Saturday 26 July 2003, “Anxious and Addicted” by Clare Pirani Copyright: used with permission.)

Questions 1 - 5

Look at the following statements (Questions 1 - 5) Indicate:

YES if the statement agrees with information in the passage

NO if the statement contradicts information in the passage

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

1 Valium is of greater risk to users than their original illness Y / N / NG

2 Valium sales caused business in the Roche Group to peak in the 1970s Y / N / NG

3 Valium became popular because it seemed to suit a wide range of people Y / N / NG

4 Valium is part of the group of drugs called diazepams Y / N / NG

Questions 6 - 14

Complete the summary below by using words taken from reading Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS

OR A NUMBER for each answer

Initially, doctors believed that Valium was a comparatively 6.safe drug for a number of reasons: it worked quickly, patients could take it but give it up easily and it did not create any unpleasant 7 side effects

However, about thirty years ago some disturbing facts became apparent Doctors found that Valium was

8.addictive in the short term and users needed to 9 increase the dosage in order to get the same effect They also found that even users who took a 10 Small/normal dose became addicted very quickly In

addition to this, one of the most worrying concerns about Valium use was that it was extremely

11.difficult/ hard for users to give up the drug because it had a long half-life Doctors are now aware that patients who take Valium merely receive a short lived feeling 12 false hope

Therefore, guidelines have been developed to make sure that it is used only when it is 13 appropriate

More caution needs to be exercised Doctors need to talk about patients stress levels and advise them of

14.(possible) alternative treatment (options) Finally, patients need to be more aware of the medications

they take

13

Jacobus, L A (2001) Improving college reading, 361-368 (7th ed.) Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle Adapted

from: Starr, C & Taggart, R (1984) Biology: The university and diversity of life (pp 375-382, 3rd ed.)

Wadsworth, Inc Used by permission of the publisher

 The brain

Cecie Starr and Ralph Taggart

Q16 More complicated than a computer, more fascinating than outer space, the brain is only now

revealing its mysteries to science As much as we grow in understanding, however, one question remains: why do people sometimes deliberately destroy with drugs the very part of themselves that makes them human?

CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCE

Our two cerebral hemispheres are strapped together deep inside the cleft between them by a thick tract of white matter, the corpus callosum The corpus callosum consists of axons running from one hemisphere to the other

Thus you might assume that it functions in communication between the two hemispheres Indeed,

experiments such as those performed by Roger Sperry and his co-workers showed that this is the case They also demonstrated some intriguing differences in perception between the two halves!

Q9 The body’s right and left sides have the same kinds of sensory nerves These nerves enter the spinal

cord or brainstem, and then run in parallel to the brain Similarly, sensory nerves from the left eye and ear run in parallel with sensory nerves from the right eye and ear toward the brain The signals carried by these

nerves reach the left or right cerebral hemisphere Q14 But the signals are not all processed on the same

side as the nerves Instead, much of the information is projected onto the opposite hemisphere In other

words, many of the nerve pathways leading into and from one hemisphere deal with the opposite side of the body

Knowing this, Sperry’s group set out to treat severe cases of epilepsy Persons afflicted with severe epilepsy are wracked with seizures, sometimes as often as every half hour of their lives The seizures have a

neurological basis, analogous to an electrical storm in the brain What would happen if the corpus callosum

of afflicted persons were cut? Would the electrical storm be confined to one cerebral hemisphere, leaving

at least the other to function normally? Earlier studies of animals and of humans whose corpus callosum had been damaged suggested that this might be so

Q4 The surgery was performed And the electrical storms subsided, in both frequency and intensity

Apparently, cutting the neural bridge between the two hemispheres put an end to what must have been positive feedback loops of ever intensified electrical disturbances between them Beyond this, the “split-brain” individuals were able to lead what seemed, on the surface, entirely normal lives

But then Sperry devised some elegant experiments to determine whether the conscious experience of these individuals was indeed “normal.” After all, the corpus callosum is a tract of no less than 200 million

through-conducting axons; surely something was different Something was Q17 “The surgery,” Sperry later

reported, “left these people with two separate minds, that is, two spheres of consciousness What is

experienced in the right hemisphere seems to be entirely outside the realm of awareness of the left.”

In Sperry’s experiments, the left and right hemispheres of split-brain individuals were presented with different stimuli Recall that visual connections to and from one hemisphere are mainly concerned with the opposite visual field Sperry projected words—say, COWBOY—onto a screen He did this in such a way that

14

Jacobus, L A (2001) Improving college reading, 361-368 (7th ed.) Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle Adapted

from: Starr, C & Taggart, R (1984) Biology: The university and diversity of life (pp 375-382, 3rd ed.)

Wadsworth, Inc Used by permission of the publisher

COW fell only on the left visual field, and BOY fell on the right The subject reported seeing the word BOY (The left hemisphere, which received the word, controls language.) However, when asked to write the perceived word with the left hand—a hand that was deliberately blocked from view—the subject wrote COW The right hemisphere, which “knew” the other half of the word, had directed the left hand’s motor response But it couldn’t tell the left hemisphere what was going on because of the severed corpus

callosum The subject knew that a word was being written but he could not say what it was

The functioning of our two cerebral hemispheres has been the focus of many more experiments Taken together, the results have revealed the following information about our conscious experience:

1 Each cerebral hemisphere can function separately, but it functions in response to signals mainly from the opposite side of the body

Q1 2 The main association regions responsible for spoken language skills generally reside in the left

for memory: the storage of individual bits of information somewhere in the brain

The neural representation of information bits is known as a memory trace, although Q13 no one knows for

sure in what form a memory trace occurs, or where it resides So far, experiments strongly suggest that there are at least two stages involved in its formation One is a short-term formative period, lasting only a few minutes or so; then, information becomes spatially and temporally organized in neural pathways The other is long-term storage; then, information is put in a different neural representation that lasts more or less permanently

Observations of people suffering from retrograde amnesia tell us something about memory These people can’t remember anything that happened during the half hour or so before experiencing electroconvulsive shock or before losing consciousness after a severe head blow Yet memories of events before that time remain intact! Such disturbances temporarily suppress normal electrical activities in the brain These observations may mean that whereas short-term memory is a fleeting stage of neural excitation, long-term memory depends on chemical or structural changes in the brain

In addition, information seemingly forgotten can be recalled after being unused for decades This means that individual memory traces must be encoded in a form somewhat immune to degradation Most

molecules and cells in your body are used up, wear out, or age and are constantly being replaced—yet

memories can be retrieved in exquisite detail after many years of such wholesale turnovers Q7 Nerve cells,

recall, are among the few kinds that are not replaced You are born with billions, and as you grow older some 50,000 die off steadily each day Those nerve cells formed during embryonic development are the same ones present, whether damaged or otherwise modified, at the time of death

The part about being “otherwise modified” is tantalizing There is evidence that neuron structure is not static, but rather can be modified in several ways Most likely, such modifications depend on electrical and chemical interactions with neighbouring neurons Electron micrographs show that some synapses regress

as a result of disuse Such regression weakens or breaks connections between neurons The visual cortex of

15

Jacobus, L A (2001) Improving college reading, 361-368 (7th ed.) Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle Adapted

from: Starr, C & Taggart, R (1984) Biology: The university and diversity of life (pp 375-382, 3rd ed.)

Wadsworth, Inc Used by permission of the publisher

mice raised without visual stimulation showed such effects of disuse Similarly, Q18 there is some evidence

that intensively stimulated synapses may form stronger connections, grow in size, or sprout buds or spines

to form more connections! The chemical and physical transformations that underlie changes in synaptic connections may correspond to memory storage

SLEEPING AND DREAMING

Q5 Between the mindless drift of coma and total alertness are many levels of conscious experience, known

by such names as sleeping, dozing, meditating, and daydreaming Through this spectrum of consciousness, neurons in the brain are constantly chattering among themselves This neural chatter shows up as wavelike patterns in an electroencephalogram (EEG) An EEG is an electrical recording of the frequency and strength

of potentials from the brain’s surface Each recording shows the contribution of thousands of neurons

sleeping time for adults It occurs when sensory input is low and the mind is more or less idling Q10

Subjects awakened from slow-wave sleep usually report that they were not dreaming If anything, they seemed to be mulling over recent, ordinary events However, slow-wave sleep is punctuated by brief spells

of REM sleep The name refers to the Rapid Eye Movements accompanying this pattern (the eyes jerk about beneath closed lids) Also accompanying REM sleep are irregular breathing, faster heartbeat, and twitching fingers Most people who are awakened from REM sleep say that they were experiencing vivid dreams

With the transition from sleep (or deep relaxation) into wakefulness, EEG recordings show a shift to amplitude, higher frequency wave trains Associated with this accelerated brain activity are increased blood flow and oxygen uptake in the cortex The transition, called EEG arousal, occurs when individuals make a conscious effort to focus on external stimuli or even on their own thoughts

low-The Reticular Formation

What brain regions govern changing levels of consciousness? Deep in the brainstem, buried within

ascending and descending nerve pathways, lies a mass of nerve cells and processes called the reticular formation This mass forms connections with the spinal cord, cerebellum, and cerebrum, as well as back

with itself It constantly samples messages flowing through the central nervous system Q2 The flow of

signals along these circuits—and the inhibitory or excitatory chemical changes accompanying them—has a great deal to do with whether you stay awake or drop off to sleep For example, when certain areas of the reticular formation of sleeping animals are electrically stimulated, long, slow alpha rhythms are displaced

by high- frequency potentials associated with arousal Similarly, damage to the reticular formation leads to unconsciousness and coma

Within this formation are neurons collectively called the reticular activating system (RAS) Excitatory

pathways connect the RAS to the thalamus (the forebrain’s switching station) Messages routed from the RAS arouse the brain and maintain wakefulness

Also in the reticular formation are sleep centres One centre contains neurons that release the transmitter substance serotonin This chemical has an inhibitory effect on RAS neurons: high serotonin levels are

16

Jacobus, L A (2001) Improving college reading, 361-368 (7th ed.) Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle Adapted

from: Starr, C & Taggart, R (1984) Biology: The university and diversity of life (pp 375-382, 3rd ed.)

Wadsworth, Inc Used by permission of the publisher

associated with drowsiness and sleep Another sleep centre, in the part of the reticular formation that lies

in the pons, has been linked to REM sleep Chemicals released from the second centre counteract the effects of serotonin Hence its action allows the RAS to maintain the waking state

Drug Action on Integration and Control

Each day can bring some minor frustration or disappointment, some pleasure or small triumph—and the brain responds to the shadings of environmental stimuli with delicate interplays among the activities of norepinephrine, dopamine, and the like These interplays translate into changing emotional and

behavioural states Q15 When stress leads to physical or emotional pain, the brain apparently deploys

other substances—analgesic, or pain relievers that the brain produces itself

Receptors for natural analgesics have been identified on neural membranes in many parts of the nervous system, including the spinal cord and limbic system (The limbic system includes structures bordering the cerebral hemispheres, at the top of the brainstem.) When bound to receptors, the pain relievers seem to inhibit neural activity Endorphins (including enkephalins) are brain analgesics that may have this inhibitory effect High concentrations of endorphins (“internally produced morphines”) occur in brain regions

concerned with our emotions and perceptions of pain Emotional stages—joy, elation, anxiety, depression, fear, anger—are normal responses to changing conditions in the complex world around us Sometimes, through imbalances in transmitter substances, one or another of these states becomes pronounced For instance, schizophrenic persons become despairing; they withdraw from the social world and focus

obsessively on themselves In an extreme form of the disorder (paranoid schizophrenia), afflicted persons suffer delusions of persecution or grandeur Yet by administering certain synthetic tranquilizers, the

symptoms can be brought under control It appears that the tranquilizers affect norepinephrine, dopaniine, and serotonin levels in the brain, in ways that depress the activity of neurons utilizing these transmitter substances

Tranquilizers, opiates, stimulants, hallucinogens—such drugs are known to inhibit, modify, or enhance the release or action of chemical messengers throughout the brain Yet research into the effects of drugs on integration and control is in its infancy For the most part, we don’t understand much about how any one drug works Given the complexity of the brain, it could scarcely be otherwise at this early stage of inquiry Despite our ignorance of drug effects, one of the major problems in the modern world is drug use—the self-destructive use of drugs that alter emotional and behavioural states The consequences show up in unexpected places—among seven-year- old heroin addicts; among the highway wreckage left by individuals whose perceptions were skewed by alcohol or amphetamines; among victims of addicts who steal and

sometimes kill to support their drug habit; Q3 among suicides on LSD trips who were deluded into believing

that they could fly, and who flew off buildings and bridges

Each of us possesses a body of great complexity Its architecture, its functioning are legacies of millions of years of evolution It is unique in the living world because of its nervous system—a system that is capable

of processing far more than the experience of the individual One of its most astonishing products is

language— the encoding of shared experiences of groups of individuals in time and space Through the evolution of our nervous system, the sense of history was born, and the sense of destiny Through this system we can ask how we have come to be what we are, and where we are headed from here Perhaps the sorriest consequence of drug abuse is its implicit denial of this legacy—the denial of self when we cease to ask, and cease to care

17

Jacobus, L A (2001) Improving college reading, 361-368 (7th ed.) Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle Adapted

from: Starr, C & Taggart, R (1984) Biology: The university and diversity of life (pp 375-382, 3rd ed.)

Wadsworth, Inc Used by permission of the publisher

Questions 1- 15

Retention: Which of the following statements are True (T), False (F), or Not given (NG)?

1 The main association regions responsible for spoken language skills generally reside in the right

4 Cutting the corpus callosum resulted in increased epileptic seizures T / F / NG

5 Even when we are in a coma, the neurons in our brains are constantly talking with one another T / F / NG

7 Nerve cells are among the few kinds of cells that can be replaced T / F / NG

9 The body’s right and left sides have the same kinds of sensory nerves T / F / NG

10 Most people who are awakened from slow-wave sleep report that they were experiencing vivid dreams

T / F / NG

11 Anxiety is a normal response to changing conditions in the world around us T / F / NG

12 The pituitary gland governs changing levels of consciousness T / F / NG

13 No one knows for sure in what form a memory trace occurs T / F / NG

14 Each cerebral hemisphere functions in response to signals from its own part of the body T / F / NG

15 The brain is actually capable of producing its own pain relievers T / F / NG

Question 16

Main Idea: Which of the following statements best represents the main point of the reading? 4

1 The brain consists of two cerebral hemispheres

2 The brain varies in its activity depending on whether we are asleep or awake, using drugs or not using drugs

3 The brain, carrier of our conscious and unconscious experiences, is that part of us which makes us distinctly human

4 The brain is a complex organ whose role and workings we are only beginning to understand

5 Experimentation on the brain is difficult because of the repercussions involved in terms of the quality of life

Question 17

Interpretation: Which of the following is the best interpretation of a key point in this reading? 2

1 Whether we are awake or asleep is a result of physical activity and time, not chemicals

2 When the corpus callosum was cut, people’s brains were to all intents and purposes cut in half, with one side not knowing what the other side was experiencing

3 Long-term memory and short-term memory have basically the same structure

4 Schizophrenia is a result of a normal response to change in our world

5 REM sleep periods represent a deeper sleep than do sleep periods characterized by alpha waves

Question 18

Conclusion: Which of the following statements is the best conclusion that can be drawn from the reading? 1

1 If synapses can be strengthened, scientists may be able to improve an individual’s memory by synapse

stimulation

2 Even if a person were placed in a different environment, the basic relative amounts of the substances put out

by his brain would not change

3 Cutting a person’s corpus callosum would mean that they would see a word such as backstop as two different words, each being read separately by one side of the brain

4 Alcoholism, while self-destructive, is not a form of drug abuse

5 The author of this article does not believe in evolution

19

McCarter, S., & Ash, J (2003) IELTS Testbuilder with answer key (pp 16-18, 55-57) Oxford, UK: Macmillan

Example Answer

Networking is a concept Yes

1 Networking is not a modern idea Y

2 Networking is worn like a badge exclusively in the business world N

3 People fall into two basic categories Y

4 A person who shares knowledge and friends makes a better networker than one who does

20

McCarter, S., & Ash, J (2003) IELTS Testbuilder with answer key (pp 16-18, 55-57) Oxford, UK: Macmillan

brings success/ has benefits

jealous/ insecure/envious

block/ stifle

Companies/ businesses/ enterprises

Cooperation and contacts

(the) academic world

(the) stereotypical academic

(around) Cambridge (in England)

culture Homosapiens

21

May, P (2004) IELTS practice tests (pp 107-110) London, UK: Oxford University Press

 To MBA or not to MBA?

‘You could be forgiven for thinking just about every man and Ms dog has an MBA these days, ‘ says Anthony Hesketh, of Lancaster University management school We know what he means Such is the worldwide growth and awareness of the MBA that this icon of career advancement and high salaries has almost become synonymous with

postgraduate education in the business sector

In reality many postgraduate alternatives to an MBA exist The total number of MBA programmes

worldwide is around 2,400, while other masters and advanced courses in the whole spectrum of business education add up to more than 10,000

Two key distinctions exist in matching what aspiring students want with what the universities offer: first is generalization versus specialization, and second is pre-experience versus post-experience, and the two

distinctions are interlinked 6 Carol Blackman, of the University of Westminster school of business, explains the first distinction ‘Specialist masters programmes are designed either for career preparation

in a clearly defined type of job or profession, or are intended to develop or enhance professional

competence in individuals who are already experienced The aim is to increase the depth of their

knowledge in the specialist area The MBA, on the other hand, is a general management programme which provides practising managers with an opportunity for personal development with a broadly-based introduction to all management subject areas and the theory and practice of management’

Specialist knowledge, however, is not everything when it comes to finding a job 1 Surveys by the UK’S Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) repeatedly confirm that what employers seek, and continue to find scarce, are the personal skills that will make graduates valuable employees In fact, when recruiting new graduates, most employers considered these skills more important than specialist knowledge What

employers seek most from new graduates are enthusiasm and self- motivation, interpersonal skills, team working and good oral communication Of the nineteen skills considered important in AGR’S 2002 survey, just three require specialist education — numeracy, computer Literacy and foreign languages — and these are low on the list

4 Nunzio Quacquarelli, chief executive of topcareers.net takes this further 2 ‘Clearly, salary differentials for those with a second degree, but no significant work experience, do not match those of a good MBA and a number of years in the workplace According to the AGR research, 4 about 14% of employers offered a better salary to those new graduates with a masters — or even a doctorate In my view the salary improvement of I0% to 15% largely reflects the recruit’s age and earning expectancy rather than

the increase in human capital perceived by the employer Contrast this with our latest topmba.com MBA

Recruiters Survey results which shows 2 that the average salary paid to an MBA with good work

experience in the US and Europe is US$80,000 — around two and a half times the average starting salary for a young postgraduate

22

May, P (2004) IELTS practice tests (pp 107-110) London, UK: Oxford University Press

5 & 7 Anthony Hesketh poses the question whether holding a second degree may even be a disadvantage

7 ‘I have seen many reports over the years suggesting that employers view postgraduates as eminently less employable than those with a first degree Drive, motivation and career focus, not to mention ability, are what employers value and are prepared to pay for 5 A postgraduate immediately has an uphill task explaining an additional year or three years of study’

This view may seem cynical, but if you are about to graduate and are considering a further degree, you should take the realities into account and ask yourself some hard questions:

 Is the qualification I am considering going to impress employers?

 Is it going to give me the edge over less qualified candidates?

 Is my consideration of a second degree because I am not sure of my career direction?

 Will employers consider that I lack drive and ambition because I have deferred my attempts to find

graduates the opportunity to combine the specialization of their first degree with a general management qualification — something employers recognize produces a well-rounded individual

Graduates tell us that the MBM allows them to access sectors previously out of reach It is designed to develop the business knowledge1 practical experience and personal skills which employers are seeking’

At the University of Durham business school, Sheena Maberly is careers development officer; she too sees high value in qualifications such as the Durham MA in management (DMAM) She says:

‘Whatever your first degree, from anthropology to zoology a postgraduate business degree can help you

gain a competitive edge in an over-crowded 9 job market If you’re just starting out in your career, a business masters degree like the DMAM will enable you to develop 10 skills directly relevant to employers’

needs So, extending your studies into management can make you better equipped to ‘hit the ground running’ — and that’s what employers expect Recruiters are highly selective and a vocational qualification

is additional evidence of 11 motivation.’

Before committing yourself to postgraduate study, weigh up the 12 options Perhaps the best route

might be to take a job now and plan to do an MBA a few years down the line? Try to get sponsorship from a

13 company Or go for a well researched and thoroughly thought through masters that will help you land a

good job Ultimately the choice is yours, but focus on the future, and on your target employer’s

expectations

Questions 1-3

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

23

May, P (2004) IELTS practice tests (pp 107-110) London, UK: Oxford University Press

1 British employers are more interested in what potential recruits can do than what they

2 A recruit with a specialist masters usually earns as much as an experienced employee

3 The writer claims that undergraduates often plan to do a masters because they can’t

7 Graduates who have neither worked in nor studied business are suited to our programme D

8 There is evidence that companies may prefer to employ people without a masters degree A

Complete the summary below Choose ONE word from the reading passage for each answer

According to Sheena Maberly, a second degree can improve the 9 job prospects of graduates in any subject Taking a management MA gives them the 10 skills companies are looking for, and lets them get straight on with the job as soon as they start work It also shows they have the 11 motivation that companies seek

First, however, it is important to consider the 12 options whether to start right away on a carefully chosen postgraduate course or to do so after a few years’ work, preferably with financial assistance from the 13 Company Whichever they decide, they should think about the 14 future and what the company wants

24

Adapted from Gardener, P.S (2000) New directions: An integrated approach to reading, writing and critical

thinking (pp 177-181) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

 Worker poll shows family, fringes gains favour

American workers are sacrificing higher pay and fast promotion for 1 more fun on the job and 2 more time with their families, according to a 30 major survey of life in the American workplace Three in five employees say they feel 23.“used up” by the end of the day: a day that piles up an average of 8 hours at

work and 6 more hours of commuting, chores and children A similar majority say they have seen a worker lose a job in recent years, and are deeply nervous about the economy and their own job security The survey of 3,381 workers nationwide, by the New York-based Families and Work Institute, confirms some trends that have been chronicled informally for years Managers with families of their own, for instance, are far more patient with employees who lose job time because of child-related problems Furthermore, when it comes to cooking, cleaning, shopping, and child care, women in two-income couples are four times more likely than men to carry the load However, the most profound finding, labour specialists and workers say, is that most employees say they prefer 3 a decent supervisor and a chance at a

co-4 home life over big money and responsibility

The pattern makes sense to Anne McGrath, a 39-year-old data analyst with Hale & Dorr in Boston She said she could easily earn more than her $30,000 a year as an executive secretary in another office However,

the law firm’s 24 fringe benefits, which include emergency on-site day care, flexible work hours and a

computer terminal in the home, have kept her in place for seven years.“Let’s face it: data analysis is pretty dry” she said “I used to be a career-first person: I wanted to be a flight attendant, but I’ve changed I seek fulfilment from family.”

Punctuating the changes in McGrath’s life was the survey’s finding that 87 percent of American workers live with at least one family member (4 percent have roommates and just 9 percent live alone) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of workers who live with family members is 15 percent higher than it was in a 1990 survey, before recession and downsizing rippled through the American workforce, forcing many children and parents to live together to cut costs

A result, the survey said, is that finding time for spouses, children, parents 8 or partners is becoming a priority “It’s a profound new path after 15 turbulent years in the workplace,” said Ellen Galinsky, who directed the survey “For years, people were living and breathing their careers Now they’re saying, ‘I just won’t put aside my family life.”

Fandi Pleskow of Needham, a 35-year-old mother of three who trained as a paediatric surgeon, says she took the path of fewer hours despite her original ambitions of becoming well-known, even famous, in the

field of 25 gastroenterology “I guess I fit the bill exactly,” said Pleskow, who now works a flexible schedule

as a researcher at the New England Medical Center in Boston “I turned my whole career around: I could earn twice the money in a less joyful atmosphere; I’ve put my ambitions aside in favour of my 5 family life, and my husband he’s wonderful, but I’m the one who sweeps the house.”

MOMENTUM GROWING

The survey found that the family-first trend is gaining momentum among 6 younger men About one-third

of men under 40 said they would consider giving up both promotions and pay increases in favour of a better home life, twice the number of men who felt that way five years ago.“I used to think I’d put up with endless hours forever,” said 7 John Costello, 8 an engineer with Polaroid Corp in Waltham who has

25

Adapted from Gardener, P.S (2000) New directions: An integrated approach to reading, writing and critical

thinking (pp 177-181) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

declined offers of better pay from other companies “I once saw myself as a manager Now I manage my family”

Costello, 38, says he took the job at Polaroid for reasons big and small The office is within biking distance

of his Belmont home, and the company even installed new showers More importantly, he said, his bosses have children and never scowl when he needs a morning off “I took a half-day last week,” he said “It’s viewed more positively here, and believes me I’ve seen it viewed negatively elsewhere It’s not that I’ve dropped my career I’m doing well here and the fringe benefits are great But family is first.”

According to the survey, that view is gaining among managers, but is not as universal as workers would like Forty percent of the working parents questioned said they still felt they were breaking unspoken rules of the workplace by taking time off from the job to care for their children

A MORALE-BOOSTER

“I wouldn’t say all 9 employers have caught on to this,” said Whit Browne, a Wakefield 26 consultant who

helps businesses with employee needs “But the ones who listen are learning that simple things like 10 site child care work wonders for morale.”

on-In day care, at least, companies seem to be coming around The survey noted that parents with youngsters

tend to miss a week more each year due to 27.absenteeism than workers without children As a result,

more and more companies are investing in day care Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts yesterday opened its first day-care centre, in Quincy, with spaces for 20 children The company said it received nearly

70 applications and hopes to expand to 60 spaces in the next few weeks “Sure it’s a response,” said Susan Leahy, a spokeswoman for the giant health insurer “Our workers tell us what they need.”

Specialists said the survey’s results offer other insights into a work force where the presence of 11 women

has risen from 40 percent to 48 percent in 15 years Not since the Department of Labor’s Quality of

Employment Survey, conducted in 1977, they say, has such a 28 broad-based survey been conducted of

workers’ lives The discoveries included changes in the work environment Workers are crediting their employers with more flexibility and with trying to make the workplace more open and comfortable

OPEN DIALOGUE PRAISED

Asked why they had taken their most recent jobs, 65 percent of those surveyed cited 12 open communications; 60 percent cited 13 the effect on family life; and 59 percent 14 management quality Only 35 percent of workers rated salary as very important “A lot of this stems from the psychologists—that total-quality and team- management stuff,” said Browne “If people buy into it then they have huge motivational rewards They feel like they’ve practically signed the products they’ve made.”

It was that kind of environment that drew Michael Berry, a Cambridge father of two, to Thinking Machines Corp., a high-tech firm near his home that tries to keep the mood light Like many workers in the survey, Berry said he did not give up the urge to get ahead He just took his ambition to a new setting.“I took a pay cut—very willingly—to work in a 15 friendly environment,” he said “I’ve had fun, but I don’t feel like I gave

up all the traditional rewards I can get those here.”He also gets to enjoy a bit of 29 quirkiness Like the

day a co-worker raised a French flag in the lunchroom and declared one of the tables a French-only zone Even the food was French “It’s the kind of thing that adds extra appeal,” he said

26

Adapted from Gardener, P.S (2000) New directions: An integrated approach to reading, writing and critical

thinking (pp 177-181) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

MORE EMPLOYEE CONTROL

Browne said this type of workplace approach, which can give employees control over their own hours, work teams and even their spots on the assembly line, has angered 16.unions “The survey points up the weakened position of unions,” he said, noting that they now represent only 15 percent of the labour force “They’re ceding almost everything to managers.”

Still, the heart of the survey was its focus on the way employees balance 17 work and 18 family concerns Despite the big changes in the office place, 66 percent of employed parents with young children surveyed said they still lacked time at home with their children

Deirdre Mailing, a dental hygienist in Medway and new mother, said her key was finding a likable place and a liveable schedule, and not worrying too much about advancement above all else.“I’ve been told that I could make more money elsewhere,” she said ‘But we have a great group of girls here and we work well together We make time for our 19 kids Who needs anything else?”

27

Adapted from Gardener, P.S (2000) New directions: An integrated approach to reading, writing and critical

thinking (pp 177-181) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Questions 1-19

Read the text and complete the gap fill summary

US workers are seeking 1 more fun on the job and 2 more time with families rather than more income or

opportunities for advancement, claims a US workplace survey In fact, most employees surveyed claim that

they would rather have a 3 decent supervisor and more chances to have a better 4 home life Anne McGrath and Fandi Pleskow are examples as they too value their 5 family life above all else The text suggests that another group, 6 younger men , is giving more priority to families A person who is an

example of this group is 7 John Costello, who works as an 8 engineer Another group that is beginning to view families as more important is 9 employers Evidence of this is the provision of 10 child care at some

workplaces

One major factor driving this change is the rise in the number of 11 women in the workforce As a result, the top three criteria for selecting jobs are 12 open communications , 13 effect on family life and 14 management quality One happy employee, Michael Berry, describes his work environment as 15 friendly According to the article, one group that is not happy with the trend is 16 unions

The article argues that employees wish to create a balance between 17 work and 18 family (concerns) and cites Deirdre Mailing as an example of someone who wants more time to spend with her 19 kids

Questions 20-22

The following questions relate to the two bar graphs

20 What were the top three priorities for workers according to the first graph?

open communications, effect on personal/family life and management quality

21 Are these the same priorities mentioned in the article? YES

22 Who does most of the housework according to the second bar graph? women

Questions 23-30

Vocabulary in context Please answer the following questions without looking in dictionaries

23 “used up” in paragraph 1 means tired, exhausted

24 “fringe benefits” in paragraph 3 means

extra items paid for by employers e.g on-site day care, flexible hours, a computer at home

25 From the context you can tell that “gastroenterology” (paragraph 6) is a field of medicine

26 What do “consultants” (paragraph 10) do? help people (in this case employers)

27 What is “absenteeism” (paragraph 11)? missing work

28 What is a “broad-based survey” (paragraph 12)? a set of questions that many people answered

29 What is “quirkiness” (paragraph 14)? something odd and funny

30 The purpose of the article was to report on and discuss the results of a

survey about life in American workplaces

28

Miller, M (2004) QUTIC Resource Adapted from: New Scientist 6 March 1999

W4  Caring for the customer

A damning new report claims that tobacco giants possessed the technology to make cigarette smoking safer, but didn’t use it

Cigarette manufacturers abandoned dozens of technologies that could have reduced the death toll from their products, according to a new report from two leading British anti-smoking groups It claims that tobacco barons feared that marketing a ‘safer’ cigarette would amount to an

admission that smoking is dangerous

The report, from Action On Smoking and Health (ASH) and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, details 58 patented methods for cutting levels of toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke.(Q1) None has yet seen the light of day.( Q16)

These include a catalytic method to remove carbon monoxide and nitric oxide from smoke (Q2A) (US 412348), registered by British American Tobacco (BAT) in 1980 Philip Morris filed a similar

patent (US 4301817) (Q10) in 1981, which also describes a process to cut levels of hydrogen cyanide.(Q2B)

The cost of implementing these technologies (Q3A) may have been one of the reasons they were

abandoned But ASH believes concerns about the legal difficulties in admitting the dangers posed

by existing products were far more significant (Q3B)

RISING TOLLSmoking-related deaths in developed

“Marketing a cigarette on the basis it had less of a tasteless gas like ( Q11) carbon monoxide

would effectively mean admitting the product was bad for you,’(Q4) says Clive Bates, director of

ASH “Then you would move into the area of product liability with the smoker who has had heart

disease made worse by inhaling carbon monoxide.’(Q17)

Although cigarette manufacturers have promoted lower-tar brands for decades,( Q 12) Bates

says that the industry has been careful not to claim these are safer Instead, they have been

marketed as tasting milder

29

Miller, M (2004) QUTIC Resource Adapted from: New Scientist 6 March 1999

Bates also points to a confidential memo written in 1986 by Patrick Sheehy, then chief executive

of BAT, uncovered last year during litigation in the US It states: “In attempting to develop a ‘safe’

cigarette you are, by implication, in danger of being interpreted as accepting that the current

product is unsafe and this is not a position I think we should take.”( Q18)

Chris Proctor, head of science and regulatory affairs at BATs London headquarters, disputes

Bates’s claims He says that many of the technologies were not developed because they might in

theory increase Ievels of other toxic chemicals.(Q5)(Q19) But Proctor could not confirm whether

BAT had conducted tests to exclude this possibility

It is unclear to what extent the shelved patents could have cut premature deaths But Bates says:

“If you could make cigarettes 10 per cent less dangerous, that’s 12 000 lives saved each year in the

UK alone.”

Among the most dangerous substances in cigarette smoke (Q 13)are carcinogens called

nitrosamines The new report lists six patented processes for reducing or eliminating these chemicals from cigarette smoke.( Q20) The tobacco giants have never implemented any of them,

but a small company called Star Scientific of Petersburg, Virginia, hopes to introduce

nitrosamine-free cigarettes next year (Q14) In 1998, the company patented a method (US 5803081) of

microwaving tobacco to kill the bacteria that create the right chemical environment for the

production of nitrosamines (Q6)

“If their process is effective, it should be applied to cigarette manufacturing everywhere,” says

John Slade, a specialist in nicotine addiction at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New

Jersey in Newark “But it might require legislation”.( Q21)

The report will be seized upon by sick smokers who are trying to sue tobacco firms for damages.( Q15) They have been experiencing mixed fortunes Last week in Britain, for example, 46 smokers

abandoned their action against Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco after a judge ruled they had waited

too long after contracting lung cancer before launching their suit (Q7)(Q22)

However, Richard Daynard, a law professor at North-eastern University in Boston and founder of the Tobacco Products Liability Project advocacy group, believes the report could precipitate

further lawsuits (Q8) “The companies knew how to make changes that would mean many fewer

deaths, but they continued to make cigarettes as they are This is criminal level of

negligence.”(Q9)(Q23)

Proctor rejects this charge: “l firmly believe that BAT has been very responsible.” Philip Morris would not comment on the report

30

Miller, M (2004) QUTIC Resource Adapted from: New Scientist 6 March 1999

Read the text and answer the following questions

1 What did the new report on smoking list?

58 Patented methods for cutting levels of toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke

2 Provide two examples of the patented methods reduce toxicity in cigarettes

A catalytic method to remove carbon monoxide and nitric oxide from smoke

A process to cut levels of hydrogen cyanide

3 What two factors could have contributed to these technologies not being used?

Cost of the technologies

Concerns about the legal difficulties in admitting the dangers posed by existing products

4 According to Sheehy, what does stating you are developing a safer cigarette imply?

It would effectively mean admitting the product was bad for you

5 Why does Proctor believe the development of the technologies wasn't furthered?

He says that many of the technologies were not developed because they might in theory

increase levels of other toxic chemicals

6 How does microwaving tobacco affect it?

It kills the bacteria that create the right chemical environment for the production of

nitrosamines

7 What caused the approximately fifty British smokers to stop their court action?

The judge’s ruling that they had waited too long after contracting lunvh cancer before launching their suit

8 What does Daynard believe the new report might lead to?

Further lawsuits

9 In what way does he support this?

The companies knew how to make changes but didn’t He believes this is criminal negligence

True or false?

11 Having less carbon dioxide means the cigarette has less taste T F

12 Cigarettes with less tar have been advertised for more than ten years T F

13 Nitrosamines are the most dangerous chemicals in cigarettes T F

31

Miller, M (2004) QUTIC Resource Adapted from: New Scientist 6 March 1999

14 Star Scientific will start selling nitrosamine-less cigarettes next year T F

15 People who want to take cigarette companies to court will use the report to help them T F

Who said it?

Write the initials of the person/ group below who made the following statements

Clive Bates

(CB)

Chris Proctor (CP)

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)

"

Patrick Sheehy (PS)

A judge

(J)

Richard Daynard (RD)

Philip Morris (PM)

John Slade (JS)

16 None of the methods to reduce the levels of toxicity in cigarettes has been implemented

Complete the following sentences by adding the cause or effect as outlined in the article

24 Tobacco barons didn't want to introduce new smoking technologies because they were afraid

that marketing a “safer” cigarette would amount to an admission that smoking is dangerous

25 The tobacco companies are the same as criminals due to the fact they cigarette the same as

they are even though they knew how to make changes that would have meant fewer

26 The manufacture of less dangerous cigarettes by a factor of 10% could lead to 12,000 lives

saved every year

Bertacco, L (2012) QUTIC Resource Adapted from Nash, H (2011) Conspicuous consumption In J Mansvelt,

& P Robbins (Eds.), Green consumerism: An A-to-Z guide (pp 68-70) Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications,

Inc doi: 10.4135/9781412973809.n26

 Conspicuous consumption

Pre reading vocabulary questions

1 What does ‘conspicuous’ mean? Look it up in a dictionary and write the definition here:

2 What is the opposite of conspicuous? _

First published in 1899, The Theory of the Leisure Class, written by Norwegian American

sociologist and economist Thorstein Bunde Veblen, introduced the concept of conspicuous

consumption Q1 Conspicuous consumption is the term that describes the tendency of

individuals to purchase expensive products as an outward display of wealth and a means

of enhancing their status in society Veblen (1994) used the term to describe the

phenomena of gaining and holding the esteem of others in society through the evidential display of wealth In this way, an individual is attempting to prove that they have the

financial means to afford a particular product Conspicuous consumption is therefore closely linked to demonstrating status, success, and achievement

It has long been considered that material possessions, capable of being observed in society,

Q2 carry social meanings and are used as a communicator to signal a person's wealth,

status, and identity In Plato's The Republic, Book II, Adeimantus declares to Socrates:

“since… appearance tyrannizes over truth and is lord of happiness, to appearance I must

devote myself” (2007, p 42) Through consumption behaviour and product choices,

consumers can send signals to society Products and brands displayed conspicuously

(overtly) have the ability to indicate to others in a particular society one's image identity, as well as wealth Q3 Consuming conspicuously cannot be achieved without the presence of

others and the visual display of that consumption Therefore, those who consume

conspicuously rely on other people's understanding the “signalling by consuming” and evaluating the person on the basis of their choices, known as the spectator's view O'Cass and McEwen (2004) defined “conspicuous consumption” as the tendency for individuals to enhance their image through overt consumption of possessions, which communicates status

to others It is through consumption decisions that an individual can benefit not only from the direct effects of their choice but also from the indirect and social effects emanating from

society's observation of their choice Q4 Private or fundamental utility is the theoretical

framework that refers to the individual's evaluation of their own satisfaction from

consuming certain goods In this way, product styles and cost, rather than utility,

determine how consumers are perceived by others

Not all individuals desire conspicuous goods The level of conspicuous consumption

prevalent depends on one of a number of factors Firstly, Q5 the prevailing norms, values,

customs, beliefs, and laws in a society may all be part of sociocultural context that

underlies consumption patterns In this case, conspicuous consumption occurs where the

visibility of such behaviour can be understood by those within the society It is not only

Bertacco, L (2012) QUTIC Resource Adapted from Nash, H (2011) Conspicuous consumption In J Mansvelt,

& P Robbins (Eds.), Green consumerism: An A-to-Z guide (pp 68-70) Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications,

Inc doi: 10.4135/9781412973809.n26

Western industrialized countries that can be characterized by conspicuous consumption

Belk (1988) argues that even in Q6 less economically developed countries people are often

attracted to and indulge in aspects of conspicuous consumption before they have

adequate food, clothing, and shelter Secondly, an individual's social network or reference

group can influence their consumption patterns Thirdly, psychological variables, that is, the way in which an individual regulates their own behaviour, otherwise referred to as “self- monitoring,” plays a role in conspicuous consumption According to O'Cass and McEwen (2004), high self-monitors tend to place more importance on the overt self and be

concerned with maintaining their appearance and overall image as a means of

compensating for a lack of security in their own identity Braun and Wicklund (1989) argue that people who are committed to an identity and who evidence incompleteness with respect to that identity will be more prone to exaggerate the prestige value of whatever

symbols they have at hand Q7 Last, gender has been found to also increase susceptibility

to conspicuous consumption Auty and Elliot observe that females use clothing and

apparel more than males to tell others who they are and how much status they have

In these ways, Veblen's theory implies a positive relationship between wealth and

conspicuous consumption, in which the more costly the item, the greater the demand, although the utility remains the same as a similar item at a lower price The rationale for this has been explained by Brehm (as cited in Burke, Lake, & Paine, 2008) in his theory of

psychological reactance A higher-priced product is more attractive because the affordability

of the item decreases, which precludes the majority from obtaining the product Intrinsically linked to the higher price of a product is the prestige value and status that intensify a

product's attractiveness to consumers on the basis of exclusivity Q9 It follows, then, that

certain brand dimensions and associations can lead to increased marketplace recognition and economic success, although researchers have found that with greater utility and uptake of more expensive products, the prestige and symbolism of wealth can dissipate,

as can be observed with the Burberry label

Today, Q10 conspicuous consumption not only refers to the wealthy obtaining expensive

and relatively exclusive goods not for their utility but for the prestige value, as Veblen

described, but it also has come to be regarded as a broader term to explain the

phenomenon of expenditures made by an individual from any socioeconomic background for the purpose of ostentatiously displaying wealth, status, image, or a certain identity that will be perceived by their particular social networks and reference groups However, with the global economic crisis, there has been a distinct reduction in support for conspicuous consumption Instead, Western societies in particular are focusing increasingly on

inconspicuous consumption This theory, adopted by scholars in 1980, provides the

antithesis of Veblen's conspicuous consumption Inconspicuous consumption is

characterized by consumers buying cheaper items than they need to avoid Q11 ostentation The underlying motivation of the inconspicuous consumer is either to Q12 avoid

embarrassing others by their wealth or to discourage them from asking for Q13 financial support So, although higher-priced items continue to be bought, many individuals,

described as “furtive shoppers,” are now choosing discretion over demonstrable,

conspicuous goods

Bertacco, L (2012) QUTIC Resource Adapted from Nash, H (2011) Conspicuous consumption In J Mansvelt,

& P Robbins (Eds.), Green consumerism: An A-to-Z guide (pp 68-70) Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications,

Inc doi: 10.4135/9781412973809.n26

References

Auty, S., & Elliott, R (1998) Social identity and the meaning of fashion brands In B G

Englis, and A Olofsson, (Eds.), European advances in consumer research, Provo, UT:

Association for Consumer Research

Belk, R.W (1988) Possessions and the extended self Journal of Consumer Research 15(2),

139-168 Retrieved from:

http://www.jstor.org.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/stable/2489522

Braun, O L., & Wicklund, R A (1989) Psychological antecedents of conspicuous

consumption Journal of Economic Psychology 10(2), 161–187 Retrieved from:

http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/science/article/pii/01674870 89900184

Brehm, J W (1966) A theory of psychological reactance In Burke, W W., Lake, D G., &

Paine J.W (Eds) (2008) Organisation change: A comprehensive reader (pp 377-390) London, UK: Josey Bass Wiley

O'Cass, A., & McEwen, H (2004) Exploring consumer status and conspicuous consumption

Journal of Consumer Behaviour 4(1), 25–39 Retrieved from:

http://dx.doi.org.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/10.1002/cb.155

Plato (2007).) The republic MobileReference.com [EBL version] Retrieved from:

http://reader.eblib.com.au.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/%28S%28tfjj5khmxuwrla0efytwv gyt%29%29/Reader.aspx?p=370170&o=96&u=Sxsv%2blrc58hEflXyseNHig%3d%3d&t= 1349831521&h=D4D3B6144A126245AA228BE09464446643291365&s=6951472&ut=2 45&pg=1&r=img&c=-1&pat=n

Veblen, T B (1994) The theory of the leisure class New York, NY: Penguin

35

Bertacco, L (2012) QUTIC Resource Adapted from Nash, H (2011) Conspicuous consumption In J Mansvelt,

& P Robbins (Eds.), Green consumerism: An A-to-Z guid (pp 68-70) Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Publications, Inc doi: 10.4135/9781412973809.n26

Questions 1-3

Circle the best answer, A, B, or C

1 The term conspicuous consumption refers to:

a) Someone purchasing an expensive item to display their wealth, and boost their social

standing

b) Someone purchasing a high quality item to be associated with its designer

c) Someone purchasing an expensive item to display their wealth, so that people will envy them

2 We use the ways we consume and the products we choose, to send out signals about our:

Read the statement and decide if it True, False or Not Given

4 A person is judged on how useful their product is not by its style or cost T F NG

5 The sociocultural context determines patterns of consumption T F NG

6 In developing countries some people may put aspects of conspicuous consumption before their

7 Sex does not influence an individual’s vulnerability to conspicuous consumption T F NG

9 Burberry is an example of a brand whose increased economic success has meant that their social

Summary 10-13

This is a summary of the final paragraph Complete the gaps in the summary with three words or less from the paragraph You may need to change some of the word forms

These days the term Q10 conspicuous consumption has come to refer to the ways that people from

different backgrounds use products to convey their financial status, and image to their peers

However, the global financial crisis has seen a shift towards less Q11 ostentatious displays of wealth

in harsh economic times to Q12 avoid embarrassing others or deter people from seeking Q13

financial support This shift has been termed inconspicuous consumption

36 Healy, J (2012) Adapted from: Wolff, R (2008) http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2008/wolff300408.html

 Consumerism: Curses and causes

consumerism

2 The reasons for the emergence of consumerism are not so obvious 10 The cause is not advertising,

since that begs the question of why that industry should have been so successful in the US and grown to such influence Nor is it plausible to attribute some national personality flaw to our citizens

3 A big part of the explanation lies in the unique history of US business 11 From 1820 to 1970, over

every decade, 15 average real wages rose enabling a rising standard of consumption These 150 years

rooted workers' beliefs that the USA was a "chosen" place where every generation would live better than its parents This was "the good news" of US capitalism for the workers The "bad news" was that the

average 13 worker's productivity, the amount of output each worker produced for his/her employer to

sell, rose even faster This was because workers were relentlessly driven by employers to work harder,

faster, and 13 with ever more (and more complicated) machinery Thus, alongside rising workers' wages, faster 14 rising productivity brought even bigger gains for employers

4 An unspoken, historic deal defined the US economy for those 150 years 16.Businesses paid rising

wages to enable rising working class consumption; while the 16 workers had to provide rising work effort,

rising profitability, and thus the even faster rise of profits As the rise in workers consumption was slower

than the rise of their productivity, the output that they delivered to employers, the gap between workers and employers widened across US history A fundamentally unequal society emerged, one that forever

mocked, challenged, and undermined the ideological claims of the US to be the land of equality and

opportunity The working class labored ever harder, consumed more, and yet fell ever further behind the minority who lived off the growing difference between what workers produced and their wages

This deal might have collapsed at any time if US workers rebelled against the organization of production in the US This could have occurred if rising wages did not suffice to make them ignore the growing inequality

of US life, or if they rejected subordination to ever more automated, exhausting work disciplines, or if they refused to deliver ever more wealth to ever fewer corporate boards of directors of immense corporations ever further removed from them in power, wealth, and access to culture For that deal to survive, for the

US economy to have been "successful" for so long, something had to emerge in US society that prevented any of these deal-breakers from happening Enter consumerism!

5 The idea settled into US culture that consumption was the proper goal of work and the measure of personal worth, of one's "success" in life 17 Business boosters and ideologues pushed that idea, but they

were hardly alone 17 Advertisers made it their constant message 17 Trade unions focused also on

raising wages and consumption, just what US capitalism could and did deliver, rather than challenging the

organization of production 17 Economists did their part by building modern economics on the

unquestioned axiom that labor was a burden for which consumption enabled by wages was the

compensation This definition of economics required banishing any alternative economic theories from