Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Candidate Name
Write your name, Centre number and candidate number at the top of this page.
Reading: 60 minutes.
Write your answers on your answer sheet.
Reading 60
Overall 110
500/2178/3, 500/2177/1
© UCLES 2008 [Turn over
BLANK PAGE
2
LISTENING
3
LISTENING
PART ONE
Questions 1 – 10
A B
2 What is the first thing that the speaker usually does at work?
A B
4
3 Which is the company’s best selling range?
A B
A B
5
5 Where has the company sold most of its new products?
A B
A quality assurance
B production processes
C operations management
6
8 What does the woman want her colleague to do?
A her boss
B another assistant
C a customer
A He's a trainer.
B He's a receptionist.
C He's a student.
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PART TWO
Questions 11 – 22
Conversation One
Questions 11 – 14
Conversation Two
Questions 15 – 18
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Conversation Three
Questions 19 – 22
Requirements:
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PART THREE
Section One
Questions 23 – 27
• You will hear five trainee managers saying what they find difficult about their jobs.
• As you listen, decide what each speaker finds difficult.
• Choose your answer from the list A – I, and write the correct letter in the space provided.
• You will hear the five pieces once only.
A telephoning
B writing letters
23 Person 1 ................................. C writing reports
24 Person 2 ................................. D contributing in meetings
25 Person 3 ................................. E giving presentations
26 Person 4 ................................. F socialising with customers
27 Person 5 ................................. G taking minutes
H interviewing
I writing memos
Section Two
Questions 28 – 32
• You will hear five speakers talking about mistakes made by retail companies.
• As you listen, decide which mistake each speaker refers to.
• Choose your answer from the list A – I, and write the correct letter in the space provided.
• You will hear the five pieces once only.
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PART FOUR
Section One
Questions 33 – 38
• You will hear two friends, Matthew and Anthea, discussing a curriculum vitae (CV) that
Matthew has written.
• For questions 33 – 38, circle one letter A, B or C for the correct answer.
• You will hear the conversation twice.
34 According to Anthea, what should Matthew have included at the top of his CV?
36 What information does Anthea suggest Matthew should add to his CV?
37 What does Anthea say Matthew should change about the presentation of his CV?
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Section Two
Questions 39 – 44
• You will hear a supervisor, called Belinda, talking to new recruits at AnswerCall, a call
centre.
• For questions 39 – 44, circle one letter A, B or C for the correct answer.
• You will hear the talk twice.
42 What does the supervisor think is the main reason for AnswerCall’s success?
44 What does the supervisor say call centre staff often forget?
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Section Three
Questions 45 – 50
• You will hear Dan and Kasha, two junior managers working for the shoe manufacturer,
Kingston. They are discussing a seminar Dan attended on quality control (QC) issues.
• For questions 45 – 50, circle one letter A, B or C for the correct answer.
• You will hear the discussion twice.
46 Dan thinks the most interesting part of the seminar was on evaluating
A too expensive.
B carried out too late.
C too difficult to follow.
50 Dan and Kasha agree that following on from this seminar, Kingston should try to
improve its
A choice of managers.
B health and safety record.
C internal communications.
That is the end of the Listening Section. You now have 5 minutes to copy
your answers onto your answer sheet.
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READING and LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE
PART ONE
Section One
Questions 51 – 57
Example:
A B C
0
51
! MESSAGE
To: George
From: Clare
52
AST, a major employer in Buckinghamshire, have announced they are to axe a
minimum of 50 jobs in a downsizing programme designed to cut costs by at least £1m
over the next 12 months.
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53
2007 latest available figures
SHARE OF MARKET
80 72.8%
70
60 57.7%
50 45.1%
40.9% 43%
Tech Solutions
40
Syscom
30
20 13.9%
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0
Midlands North East Greater London
54
For orders received before 1pm Monday through Thursday, tell customers we
guarantee next day delivery. For those received after that time, explain that
we can deliver within two working days.
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55
56
Dear Ms Willhead
Re: Premises Insurance – Renewal
We can confirm renewal of your insurance and duly enclose the relevant documentation for
your safekeeping. We hope you will find everything in order. Should you have any questions
please do not hesitate to contact us.
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The Gold Line Tour Co
Our staff may, at their discretion, require any person to withdraw from any
tour if they deem his acts or conduct offensive or a nuisance to other
passengers, and the company shall have no further liability.
A Gold Line may have to change their tour staff and hope this does not upset customers.
B Gold Line staff can ask people to leave the tour if their behaviour is not acceptable.
C Gold Line would like to be informed when customers disapprove of staff actions.
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PART ONE
Section Two
Questions 58 – 63
A by
B for
C of
D to
A refer
B reproduce
C quote
D mention
60 This storage cupboard is in a real mess - can somebody ……………….. it out today,
please?
A work
B keep
C make
D sort
61 If the company decides to ……………….. up food prices, some of our regular customers
will go and shop somewhere else.
A go
B put
C set
D take
62 The average business won't ……………….. a profit until it has operated for a least a year.
A made
B make
C makes
D making
A below
B under
C beneath
D underneath
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PART ONE
Section Three
Questions 64 – 69
• Read the article below about women who run their own business and answer questions
64 – 69 on the opposite page.
• For questions 64 – 69, mark one letter A, B or C for the correct answer.
According to recent research, a third of new companies set up in Britain are run by
women. Typical examples are Lisa Simons, who started up her own highly successful
clothing shops in London with a loan of £15,000 from her bank, and Kate Rogers, who
set up Cellar Cafés five years ago and sold out to a major restaurant chain this month,
at a profit of £3 million.
There are many other examples. Surprise, a mail order company selling unusual gifts,
had a turnover of $4 million last year. The company was started by Claire Fuller five
years ago in a garage, but later moved into premises in the centre of Coventry.
Similarly, Nina Taylor started her company, NC Books, in an old warehouse in Bristol. A
lawyer by training, she had no previous experience of the retail trade but believes that
this worked to her advantage. ‘Having no knowledge of the book trade,’ she says,
‘allowed me to bring fresh ideas into the business.’
Young women are also running successful businesses, like Maria Fellows and Christine
Craig, both still in their early twenties. Together they set up Denlows Recruitment
Agency in an office in Liverpool less than two years ago; the firm now has six offices
and a staff of 38. Another young woman, American-born Amy Bailey, could not find any
good coffee shops in England so set up Coffee Choice Company in 1994. Two years ago
a large American group bought the company, although Amy continues to play a leading
part in the business.
There are many reasons why women want to run their own businesses. One is that they
are increasingly confident that they are capable of doing this. Another is that many no
longer want to work for companies which fail to offer satisfying careers. ‘Women’s
businesses are often more successful that those run by men,’ says Denise Johnson, of
the National Business Bank, ‘because women are good at looking ahead and seeing
what will be best for a business – they find it very satisfying.’
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64 One third of new British businesses
A are aimed at female customers.
B are owned or managed by women.
C operate within the women’s clothing sector.
65 What does the second paragraph tell us about the company called Surprise?
A The company delivers its products by post.
B The company has made a profit every year.
C The company operates from a garage.
66 What did Nina Taylor think helped her when she started her business?
A having a good knowledge of the law
B being the owner of a warehouse
C knowing nothing about how to sell books
67 According to the third paragraph, Denlows Recruitment Agency has been a success
because
A it has been in business for over two years.
B it has recruited 25 new employees.
C it has opened several new offices.
69 According to the final paragraph, women are successful at running their own businesses
because they
A enjoy learning new skills.
B like making plans for the future.
C prefer working for small companies.
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PART ONE
Section Four
Questions 70 – 74
• For questions 70 – 74, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each
space.
• Write only one word for each space on your answer sheet.
Example:
Answer:
0 in
Dear Customer
We are writing to ask you to take part in Johnson’s latest customer survey
(70) ……………….. that we can find out if you are happy with our service. We’d also
like your views on some new developments at Johnson’s. The survey data is being
recorded (71) ……………….. NSB Research, an independent research agency. This
will ensure that all data is passed on to us at Johnson’s anonymously – we won’t even
know which of our customers (72) ……………….. taken part in the survey.
The questions are all online, short and straightforward, and should only take about 15
minutes (73) ……………….. total. Go to www.NSBResearch.co.uk and click on
‘Johnsons’. All survey participants will (74) ……………….. entered into a draw to win
£1,000 of travel vouchers. The closing date for completion of the survey is 9th May.
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READING and LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE
Part Two
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PART TWO
Section One
Questions 75 – 81
• Read the sentences below and the descriptions on the opposite page of four different
courses.
• Which course does each sentence 75 – 81 refer to?
• For each sentence, mark one letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet.
Example:
0 This course will help you if you are new to managing people
Answer:
A B C D
0
75 This course will give you a range of techniques to get teams of large numbers of
people working together effectively.
77 This course will help you to take account of the individual needs of team members.
78 This course will help you to assess how well the people who work for you are doing
their jobs.
79 This course will help you to organise tasks and deal with them in a logical order.
80 This course will enable you to make sure work is completed on time.
81 This course will introduce you to people who could be helpful to you.
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A
This course is for team leaders with less than one year's experience who wish to affirm that
they are doing well and to develop useful techniques. At this stage in your career, you want
to start taking responsibility for your future career development. Attending this course will
provide you with a greater understanding of how to adapt your management style to the
particular requirements of each person in your team.
This course is designed to support managers and leaders of big teams needing a suite of
performance management skills and an effective approach to dealing with a wide variety of
issues. Different stages of team-building will be examined, including avoiding failure in
the performances of your team members and performance measurement tools.
This course is for people on their way to great things. You will learn techniques to assist
you to move beyond team management and gain the confidence you need to undertake
more important duties within your organisation. You will also learn how to avoid the three
great errors of running businesses: not communicating, not delegating, and not providing
support. People you meet on this course will be useful contacts in the future.
This course is designed to address the needs of the modern manager. Outsourced or in-
house, proposals, tenders and one-off projects are an ever-greater part of the modern
manager's life. We will equip you with powerful techniques to help you reduce spend, beat
deadlines and plan for surprises. All projects need a beginning, middle and end, and this
course will show you the essential components required in planning these.
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PART TWO
Section Two
Questions 82 – 86
Example:
Answer:
A B C D
0
Since the first Molly Maid UK franchise started in Essex in 1986, the company
has become (83) ……………….. in most parts of the country. And over the
past decade, recruitment has switched to other areas, although there are still
many opportunities in the south east.
The new drive is powered by fresh resources committed to the company since
Canada-based Molly Maid International (MMI) (84) ……………….. its direct
investment in the UK at the end of 2002, when MMI (85) ……………….. the
UK Molly Maid franchise from Agostpolar Group. Thanks to this, Molly Maid
UK has undergone a comprehensive (86) ……………….., particularly in
regard to enhanced franchisee support services.
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PART TWO
Section Three
Questions 87 – 91
• For questions 87 – 91, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each
space.
• Write only one word for each space on your answer sheet.
Example:
Answer:
0 in
When writing a job profile, you need to be precise about what you want
(87) ……………….. order to ensure that you get it. You must define the position vacant
and the ideal candidate very accurately. (88) ……………….. you don’t, you will just
attract the wrong people for the job. Before you write the profile, establish a clear idea
of the kind of person you need and the actual work involved in the role.
When listing skills requirements, only list those related (89) ……………….. the position.
Similarly, when stating previous experience requirements, think about
(90) ……………….. much experience is strictly necessary for the candidate to do the job
well. You may ideally want your new employee to be highly trained in all things, but
avoid being unrealistic and consider only the competencies (91) ……………….. are
actually needed for the position offered.
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PART TWO
Section Four
Questions 92 – 97
A take
B let
C hold
D set
93 The company has good industrial ……………….. and disputes are rare.
A workings
B affairs
C terms
D relations
94 Do you know how much time the boss is going to ……………….. to each performance
review session?
A distribute
B allocate
C divide
D share
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95 More and more organisations are using the internet for the ……………….. of recruitment.
A rationale
B function
C purpose
D use
96 I don't think the business will succeed ……………….. it innovates more frequently.
A but
B despite
C even
D unless
97 Westburg plc got into trouble when they moved away from their ……………….. business.
A core
B basis
C heart
D essence
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PART TWO
Section Five
Questions 98 – 103
• Read the article below about careers advice and answer questions 98 – 103 on the
opposite page.
• For questions 98 – 103, mark one letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet.
But good careers advisors need to look at other factors when giving advice. For example, career counselling
is flawed if it fails to allow for the possibility of people adapting to, and changing, their jobs once they are in
them. Most organisations attempt through various explicit (induction, mentoring, training, appraisal) and
implicit (reliance on observation) techniques to mould behaviour into an acceptable pattern. This means that
attitudes and even aptitudes of employees may be changed over the first year of employment, sometimes,
but not always, in the direction desired by the organisation. Thus a fit may easily and quickly develop into a
misfit and vice versa.
Individuals also change their jobs (without leaving them). They rearrange furniture, use space and technology
differently and personalise different aspects of the job. They can negotiate with colleagues, earn special
privileges and use other means to improve their role and output. In this sense, very soon they are doing the
job differently from their predecessors, and possibly from the way recommended by the company. However,
both adaptation of personal work-style and attempts to change the way of doing the job are more likely to
lead to a higher level of fit, because the changes are usually all attempts to increase fit.
And jobs themselves change. Organisational restructuring, the development of new technology, changes in
the market, and so on all mean that jobs evolve fairly fast. Because of the speed of technology, all jobs are in
a state of flux. Job analysis is therefore less relevant to careers advice. Counsellors’ analysis has to focus
instead on personal potential rather than current knowledge or skill. And the features of such analysis are
potential speed and thoroughness in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills.
The areas that are probably most predictive of these are intelligence and personality. Intelligence is probably
the best predictor of speed of learning. Often, intelligent people are curious and self-confident and hence
happy to tackle new tasks. Intelligent people are better and quicker at analysing both logical and deductive
and creative problems. Probably the most important personality dimensions are conscientiousness and
neuroticism. Conscientious people soon get a good reputation which serves them in good stead. Coupled
with ability, this trait is a sure-fire career winner. On the other hand neuroticism is a deep and abiding
handicap. It is not easy to ‘cure’ and can have a lasting effect on a career. The neurotic is unhappy and tends
to be dissatisfied, stressed and complaining in all jobs they have. The consistency of their behaviour leads
them to develop a poor reputation which of course can be self-fulfilling.
Success in the job in 2020 can be assessed now. We have little idea what the world of work will be like but
advisors can do a reasonable job in assessing the potential of the individual within it because they know the
predictors of success. And it is these predictors that counsellors need to attend to if they are to give the best
advice.
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98 What does the writer say about careers advice in the first paragraph?
99 What does the writer say about organisations in the second paragraph?
100 The writer says that when individuals make changes to their jobs,
A people have become less sure about which career would suit them.
B people no longer want to stay in the same job for a long time.
C the speed of change in the world of work has caused confusion.
D careers advice should no longer be based on the fixed nature of
specific jobs.
102 The writer contrasts conscientious people with neurotic people with regard to
103 What is the writer’s general view on careers advice in the article as a whole?
A It has had to allow for the fact that people now have higher
aspirations.
B Whether it is useful or not has become harder to assess.
C Predicting future developments has become a prime ingredient.
D It has become much less relevant in today’s world of work.
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PART TWO
Section Six
Questions 104 – 110
• A colleague has given you this text for the company's intranet for you to check.
• In some lines there is one wrong word.
• If there is a wrong word, write the correct word on your answer sheet.
• If there is no mistake, put a tick (") on your answer sheet.
Example:
104 More than 90% of jobs now requiring IT skills, a fact that has made the appropriate
105 and safe use of technology a majority business issue for every employer, irrespective
106 by size or sector. There are some simple ways for employees to adapt and modify
107 the computers they use and so protect their health. Help your eyes by ensuring that
108 the font size and screen brightly are best suited to your particular needs. Also, make
109 sure your screen and keyboard are for the right height and angle to avoid the risk of
110 sitting awkwardly. Keep your wrists and fingers relaxation at all times, taking
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