PART 1: Comprehension Multiple Choice

Choose the answers you think fit best according to the text.

BRITISH MANAGEMENT

According to an article in Management Today, the British manager still stops work for tea. The French managing
director of Novotel, the hotel group, tells what happened at his first management meeting when he took over its
English operation in 1991:

"The meeting was in the afternoon, and it got to about 3.30 and everyone started looking at their watches. I
didn't know what was going on. I turned to my secretary, who was English, and she said that they probably
wanted to break for tea. I couldn't understand it. In France we just carry on until we have finished. Now we
always break for tea."

I am not sure how many English managers now break for tea. Not that many, I imagine. Twenty years ago it was
commonplace. I will never forget a Canadian sales director, pink with fury, telling me at that time how he had
been offered tea and biscuits at three in the afternoon in Northampton: "I come three thousand miles, and take
three taxis and a damn steam engine into the sticks, and I wanna do business, and this guy gives me a `nice cup
of China tea and a biccy'. What IS he?" Mind you, this was the same man who in Rome told his Italian agent that
the Colosseum would make a nice parking lot.

It is not so much the cup of tea as the pint of bitter that managers from outside Britain find a bar to efficiency. In
the article, a German manager tells how when he first took over a job in Britain, he discovered that at lunchtime
and especially on Fridays, the majority of his management team left for the pub. He says: "I stopped that right
away. Now they are not allowed off the premises. It didn't make me very popular at the time but it is not good
for efficiency. There is no way we would do that in Germany. No way."

According to European managers the British are still too concerned with class and status. A German says: "People
say that the class system is a hindrance to progress and then two weeks later you overhear them discussing a
colleague and saying, `Well, he is not very well-spoken, is he?'" And another says: "The class gaps translate into
big gulfs in the pay league, too. In Germany, I might earn three times more than my secretary. Here it is five
times."

Some criticisms are rather like those levelled at Japanese management. For example, talking about status, a
Dutch manager says: "A director is God here. They respect him and think that he is right even when he is wrong.
It's quite difficult to have an open conversation. People will not say `I disagree'."

Too great an interest in money is also criticised. A Dutch manager says: "My first impression on coming to Britain
was that profit seemed to be the most important thing." And a Frenchman points out the difference between the
UK and France: "In France there is no pressure on the bottom line."

The French manager also points out a difference in educational standards: "In France all the secretaries, or
personal assistants as we call them, would have degrees. You wouldn't consider recruiting one without a degree.
So, that means you can delegate much more to the secretaries in France. In the UK you cannot do that so
much."

1. In the middle of the afternoon

A. everyone checked their watches.

B. hinted that it was teatime.
C. took a break.
D. noticed it was 3.30.

2. In the past

A. managers usually had a teabreak.

B. offered visitors China tea.
C. wasted a lot of time drinking tea.
D. drank a lot of tea.

3. The Canadian
A. was impressed by the Englishman's good manners.
B. had travelled a long way.
C. liked to do business.
D. considered his time was being wasted.

4. Why did the Canadian say the Colosseum would make a nice parking lot?

A. He had nowhere to park.

B. He was joking.
C. He was worried about Rome's traffic problems.
D. He was envious of Italy's glorious past.

5. The German didn't like his managers going to the pub because

A. he was against drink.

B. they got drunk.
C. it made them inefficient.
D. he believed playing sports would be better for them.

6. To stop them going to the pub, the managers

A. were ordered to stay in the office.

B. were given free lunches in the office.
C. played team games in the lunch-hour.
D. had meetings at lunchtime.

7. In Britain, managers are paid much more than their secretaries because of

A. sexism.
B. education.
C. class.
D. elocution.

8. English and Japanese managers are similar in that they

A. are tactful.
B. like tea.
C. avoid disagreement.
D. have a superiority complex.

9. In comparison with the British secretary, a French secretary

A. is better paid.
B. has more status.
C. is better spoken.
D. can take more responsibility.

1.. A

2. A

3. D

4. B

5. C
6. A

7. C

8. C

9. D

PART 2: Those Were the Days: New York in the 80s: Missing Sentences

Choose the sentences which best fit the numbered gaps.

NEW YORK 1990

A New York newspaper is inviting its readers to "give the gift of hate" in its classified
advertisement columns. The Manhattan Pennysaver invites its readers to "slay a
rotten neighbour, to badmouth the public figure of your choice, to spew forth your
anger." Among entries on the hate page has been this missive from Janet to Jake:
"Thanks for the wonderful dinner. After eating with your fingers, burping and passing
wind all evening, I say, `Find someone else to date that's your own species.'"
1...............................................

You cannot stay neutral about New York. 2................................................ As far

as New Yorkers themselves are concerned, they love to hate it. For example, The
New York Times last year ran a series of leading articles under the overall title: "New
Calcutta: an occasional series". Several of the articles have dealt with homelessness
and the need for public housing. A specific case is that of the mentally ill. In New
York, as in London, many of the city's homeless are former occupants of mental
institutions who have been put on the streets without adequate shelter provided for
them in the city. No one knows exactly how many in New York have no homes to go
to, but it is roughly estimated at 100,000. 3................................................ There
are the weepers, those who sit with their knees drawn up, hand out, crying
continuously. There are the ones who ask for big money: "Give me a hundred
dollars," he cries. So you give him a quarter.

Everything in New York is extreme. It is a city of the incredibly rich and the
miserably poor. For the rich, there are expensive private schools and hospitals,
concert halls and theatres - although fewer of those than formerly - and restaurants.
The poor are on a hiding to nowhere: all public facilities, schools and hospitals and
housing, are deteriorating. 4............................................... There are 250,000
heroin addicts, 500,000 crack addicts, 400,000 carriers of the Aids virus.
Of all New York statistics, those concerning crimes of violence are most often quoted.
About five people are murdered every day. The record for one day's killing was set
on 9 July 1988 when 20 people were murdered. The total for any one year is going
on 2,000. These are not the traditional gangland slayings.
5...................................... A typical killing occurred in the Bronx when a 14-year-
old boy saw two friends being harassed by another teenager. When he tried to cool
things down, the teenager pulled out a revolver and shot him. He was dead in
seconds. In another case, a woman went to pull her child away from her apartment
door because she knew that her flatmate's boyfriend was outside and angry. A blast
from a shotgun ripped through the door, killing her.

The latest fashion in violence is called "wilding". Posses of teenagers often go on the
rampage. Their most frequent victims are fellow blacks and Hispanics from the
ghetto, violent and drug-infested neighbourhoods which are no longer in anyone's
control. 6..................................................... The strangest attacks have been on
white women by gangs of black teenage girls: victims have reported being stabbed
from behind by needles or pins, and some of them feared that they had been
injected with an Aids-infected syringe.

New Yorkers routinely compare their city with Calcutta. But the comparison is unfair:
7.................................................... It also has the know-how. In the early
eighties, through the drive of one man, Richard Ravitch, the New York subway
system was saved from total breakdown. Mr Ravitch, by huge efforts, raised the $8
billion capital needed to clean the stations and trains of their graffiti, to lay down
new track, and buy new, air-conditioned rolling stock.

What Washington has spent its money on is laser-guided weapons systems, and the
other fancy hardware of the star wars programme, such as the free electron laser. A
single research facility for the FEL, built in the New Mexico desert, has cost a cool
billion. 8....................................................

A. Has the American government got its priorities right?

B. The streets are filled with beggars, or panhandlers, as Americans call them.

C. New York has the wealth to do something about its problems.

D. These are the result of casual violence combined with easy access to firearms.

E. And from Susan to Ginger: "Darling, next bus out of town. Be under it."

F. School-children from the ghetto commonly battle each other with knives and
razors.

G. The statistics of social breakdown make depressing reading.

H. You either love it or hate it.

I. Political action appears totally inadequate.

1. E

2. H

3. B

4. G

5. D

6. F

7. C

8. A

Instructions
Read the text below. Some of the lines contain an extra, incorrect word. If there is an extra,
incorrect word in the line, type the word in the box on the right. If the line is correct, type 'OK'.

Informal Letter
Dear Sally
0 This is just a short note to let you know about my
00 new college. You know that I have arrived in Cambridge
1 last week, don’t you? Well, my host family met with me
2 at the airport and drove me to their home. They're a
3 really such nice family and I’m enjoying myself a lot.
4 The college where I’m studying it is also lovely. The
5 teachers are helpful and I’ve met a lot of students from
6 different countries. As soon as we will have the opportunity,
7 we are going to have a party. I’m pleased that there are
8 not many people from Italy because of I want to improve my
9 English. Unfortunately the weather has been horrible.
10 When I had arrived at the airport it was raining and
11 it feels much more colder than in my country.
12 Anyway, my host family are happy for me to have the
13 visitors so if you would like to come and stay for a little
14 while I could show you around in the city. If you come
15 soon maybe you can come to the party! Write me back
soon and let me know if you would like to come.
Writing Paper Part 2. Task Type: Informal Letter

Question
You have received the following letter from your English-speaking friend.

...We're doing a project this month at

school on eating habits and customs
around the world. Will you be able to
help me by telling me what the
traditional meals are in your country,
what people typically eat and at what
time of day?

Thanks very much!

Love Alison

Write a letter to your friend giving her the information she needs (around 120-180
words).

What you need to do to pass

Use our checklist first to understand what the examiner wants you to do.

Ideas for writing

Ask yourself the following questions to help you get started:

• What are the main meals that people eat in your country? Make a list of the
meal, what is typically eaten and the time of day.
E.g. Breakfast - not much, coffee and bread, 7am
• Do you yourself eat something different?
E.g. Me - just fruit
• How are you going to combine these notes into a paragraph? Look at the
example below for help, which is written in an informal style because the
letter is for a friend.
Breakfast is usually something very light - a large cup of coffee and maybe a
bread roll. Most people eat fairly early at around 7.00am. However, as you'll
find out if you come to stay with me, I can't face anything other than fruit
before 9 o'clock!
• Is there anything else worth mentioning in your letter? (Drinks that are
served with each meal? Changes in eating habits over the last decade?)
• How would you normally end a letter to a friend? Finish off with a friendly
remark.

Drafting and proofreading your work

You should look at your first draft of the task and decide:
 • Have you answered the question? Have you remembered to state which
country you are writing about?
• Is the letter organised in a clear and logical way?
• Is the language correct with a good range of structures?
• Will your friend enjoy reading your letter?
• Is the style OK?

If the answer to any of these questions is 'no' you will need to do some more drafting!

Writing Paper Part 2. Task Type: Informal Letter

Content
Should give an account of the traditional meals in the country in
question, including details of what is eaten and when. May also
give a brief account of personal habits but the main focus should
be on the country as a whole.

Range
Language of description and explanation. Vocabulary related to
food and meals (e.g. breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, tea, supper,
snack, fast food, etc.) Present simple tenses for describing habits
and customs. (e.g. Most people eat.... NOT *are eating...)
Organisation
Should have the layout of an informal letter, with appropriate
beginning and ending (e.g. 'Dear Alison', 'Best wishes' or 'With
love'). Should acknowledge the friend's letter in the first
paragraph and mention which country is being described.
N.B. In the exam there is no need to write addresses.
Register
Informal. Contracted forms (e.g. 'don't' instead of 'do not') are
acceptable, as are exclamation marks.
Target reader
The friend would be informed and have enough information to
add to the project.
Language accuracy
Should not contain major errors that lead to misunderstandings
or that irritate the reader.