Test 8

"READING'

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading
Passage 1 below.

The History of Glass

From our earliest origins, man has been ability in the making of glass bottles, and
making use of glass. Historians have many of the city's craftsmen left Italy to
discovered that a type of natural glass set up glassworks throughout Europe.
- obsidian- formed in places such as
the mouth of a volcano as a result of A major milestone in the history of glass
the intense heat of an eruption melting occurred with the invention of lead crystal
sand - was first used as tips for spears. glass by the English glass manufacturer
Archaeologists have even found evidence George Ravenscroft (1632-1683). He
of man-made glass which dates back to attempted to counter the effect of
4000 BC; this took the form of glazes used clouding that sometimes occurred in
for coating stone beads. It was not until blown glass by introducing lead to the raw
1500 BC, however, that the first hollow materials used in the process. The new
glass container was made by covering a glass he created was softer and easier
sand core with a layer of molten glass. to decorate, and had a higher refractive
index, adding to its brilliance and beauty,
Glass blowing became the most common and it proved invaluable to the optical
way to make glass containers from the industry. It is thanks to Ravenscroft's
first century BC. The glass made during invention that optical lenses, astronomical
this time was highly coloured due to the telescopes, microscopes and the like
impurities of the raw material. In the became possible.
first century AD, methods of creating
colourless glass were developed, which In Britain, the modern glass industry only
was then tinted by the addition of really started to develop after the repeal
colouring materials. The secret of glass of the Excise Act in 1845. Before that
making was taken across Europe by the time, heavy taxes had been placed on the
Romans during this century. However, amount of glass melted in a glasshouse,
they guarded the skills and technology and were levied continuously from
required to make glass very closely, and 1745 to 1845. Joseph Paxton's Crystal
it was not until their empire collapsed Palace at London's Great Exhibition of
in 476 AD that glass-making knowledge 1851 marked the beginning of glass as a
became widespread throughout Europe material used in the building industry. This
and the Middle East. From the lOth revolutionary new building encouraged
century onwards, the Venetians gained a the use of glass in public, domestic
reputation for technical skill and artistic and horticultural architecture. Glass

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manufacturing techniques also improved operating in a fiercely competitive global

with the advancement of science and the market where quality, design and service
development of better technology. levels are critical to maintaining market
share. Modern glass plants are capable
From 1887 onwards, glass mal<ing of making millions of glass containers a
developed from traditional mouth-blowing day in many different colours, with green,
to a semi-automatic process, after factory- brown and clear remaining the most
owner HM Ashley introduced a machine popular. Few of us can imagine modern
capable of producing 200 bottles per hour life without glass. It features in almost
in Castleford, Yorkshire, England- more every aspect of our lives - in our homes,
than three times quicker than any previous our cars and whenever we sit down to eat
production method. Then in 1907, the first or drink Glass packaging is used for many
fully automated machine was developed products, many beverages are sold in
in the USA by Michael Owens - founder glass, as are numerous foodstuffs, as well ·
of the Owens Bottle Machine Company as medicines and cosmetics.
(later the major manufacturers Owens-
Illinois) - and installed in its factory. Glass is an ideal material for recycling,
Owens' invention could produce an and with growing consumer concern
impressive 2,500 bottles per hour. Other for green issues, glass bottles and
developments followed rapidly, but it jars are becoming ever more popular.
was not until the First World War, when Glass recycling is good news for
Britain became cut off from essential glass the environment. It saves used glass
suppliers, that glass became part of the containers being sent to landfill. As less
scientific sector. Previous to this, glass energy is needed to melt recycled glass
had been seen as a craft rather than a than to melt down raw materials, this also
precise science. saves fuel and production costs. Recycling
also reduces the need for raw materials
Today, glass making is big business. It to be quarried, thus saving precious
has become a modern, hi-tech industry resources.

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Test 8

Questions 1-8

Complete the notes below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.

The History of Glass

• Early humans used a material called 1 ........................................... to make the sharp points
of their 2 ........................................... .
• 4000 BC: 3 ........................................... made of stone were covered in a coating of
man-made glass.
• First century BC: glass was coloured because of the 4 ........................................... in the
material.
• Until 476 AD: the 5 ........................................... knew how to make glass.
• From 1Oth century: Venetians became famous for making bottles out of glass.
• 17th century: George Ravenscroft developed a process using 6 .......................................... .
to avoid the occurrence of 7 ........................................... in blown glass.
• Mid-19th century: British glass production developed after changes to laws
concerning 8 ........................................... .

Questions 9-13

In boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet, wr;te

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

9 In 1887, HM Ashley had the fastest bottle-producing machine that existed at the
time.
10 Michael Owens was hired by a large US company to design a fully-automated
bottle manufacturing machine for them.
11 Nowadays, most glass is produced by large international manufacturers.
12 Concern for the environment is leading to an increased demand for glass
containers.
13 It is more expensive to produce recycled glass than to manufacture new glass.

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 Reading

READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading
Passage 2 below.

Bring back the big cats

It's time to start returning vanished native animals to Britain, says John Vesty

There is a poem, written around 598 AD, trees return to places that have been
which describes hunting a mystery animal denuded, allowing parts of the seabed
called a 1/ewyn. But what was it? Nothing to recover from trawling and dredging,
seemed to fit, until 2006, when an animal permitting rivers to flow freely again .
bone, dating from around the same Above all, it means bringing back missin g
period, was found in the Kinsey Cave in species. One of the most striking findings
northern England . Until this discovery, the of modern ecology is that ecosystems
lynx- a large spotted cat with tasselled without large predators behave in
ears- was presumed to have died out in completely different ways from those that
Britain at least 6,000 years ago, before retain them. Some of them drive dynamic
the inhabitants of these islands took up processes that resonate through the whole
farming. But the 2006 find, together with food chain, creating niches for hundreds
three others in Yorkshire and Scotland, is of species that might otherwise struggle to
compelling evidence that the lynx and the survive. The killers turn out to be bri ngers
mysterious 1/ewyn were in fact one and the of lif e.
same animal. If this is so, it would bring
Such findings present a big cha llenge
forward the tassel-eared eat's estimated
to British conservation, which has often
extinction date by roughly 5,000 years.
selected arbitrary assemblages of plants
However, this is not quite the last glimpse and animals and sought, at great effort and
of the animal in British culture. A 9th- expense, to prevent them from changing .
century stone cross from the Isle of Eigg It has tried to preserve the living world as
shows, alongside the deer, boar and if it were a jar of pickles, letting nothing
aurochs pursued by a mounted hunter, a in and nothing out, keeping nature in
speckled cat with tasselled ears. Were it not a state of arrested development. But
for the animal's backside having worn away ecosystems are not merely. collections- of
with time, we could have been certain, as species; they are also the dynamic and
the lynx's stubby tail is unmistakable. But ever-shifting relationships between them .
even without this key feature, it's hard to And this dynamism often depends on large
see what else the creature could have been. predators.
The lynx is now becoming the totemic
At sea the potential is even greater: by
animal of a movement that is transforming
protecting large areas from commercial
British environmentalism: rewilding.
fishing, we could once more see what
Rewilding means the mass restoration of 18th-century literature describes: vast
damaged ecosystems. It involves letting shoals of fish being chased by fin and

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Test 8

sperm whales, within sight of the English On a recent trip to the Cairngorm
shore. This policy would also greatly boost Mountains, I heard several conservationists
catches in the surrounding seas; the fishing suggest that the lynx could be reintroduced
industry's insistence on scouring every inch there within 20 years. If trees return to
of seabed, leaving no breeding reserves, the bare hills elsewhere in Britain, the big
could not be more damaging to its own cats could soon follow. There is nothing
interests. extraordinary about these proposals,
seen from the perspective of anywhere
Rewilding is a rare example of an
else in Europe. The lynx has now been
environmental movement in which
reintroduced to the Jura Mountains, the
campaigners articulate what they are for
Alps, the Vosges in eastern France and
rather than only what they are against.
the Harz mountains in Germany, and has
One of the reasons why the enthusiasm for
re-established itself in many more places.
rewilding is spreading so quickly in Britain
The European population has tripled since
is that it helps to create a more inspiring
1970 to roughly 10,000. As with wolves,
vision than the green movement's usual
bears, beavers, boar, bison, moose and
promise of 'Follow us and the world will be
many other species, the lynx has been able
slightly less awful than it would otherwise
to spread as farming has left the hills and
have been.'
people discover that it is more lucrative to
The lynx presents no threat to human protect charismatic wildlife than to hunt it,
beings: there is no known instance of one as tourists will pay for the chance to see it.
preying on people. It is a specialist predator Large-scale rewilding is happening almost
of roe deer, a species that has exploded in everywhere- except Britain.
Britain in recent decades, holding back, by
Here, attitudes are just beginning to
intensive browsing, attempts to re-establish
change. Conservationists are starting to
forests. It will also winkle out sika deer:
accept that the old preservation-jar model
an exotic species that is almost impossible
is failing, even on its own terms. Already,
for human beings to control, as it hides in
projects such as Trees for Life in the
impenetrable plantations of young trees.
Highlands provide a hint of what might be
The attempt to reintroduce this predator
coming. An organisation is being set up
marries well with the aim of bringing
that will seek to catalyse the rewilding of
forests back to parts of our bare and barren
land and sea across Britain, its aim being to
uplands. The lynx requires deep cover, and
reintroduce that rarest of species to British
as such presents little risk to sheep and
ecosystems: hope.
other livestock, which are supposed, as a
condition of farm subsidies, to be kept out
of the woods.

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 Reading

Questions 14-18

Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.

14 What did the 2006 discovery of the animal bone reveal about the lynx?
A Its physical appearance was very distinctive.
B Its extinction was linked to the spread of farming.
C It vanished from Britain several thousand years ago.
D It survived in Britain longer than was previously thought.
15 What point does the writer make about large predators in the third paragraph?
A Their presence can increase biodiversity.
B They may cause damage to local ecosystems.
C Their behaviour can alter according to the environment.
D They should be reintroduced only to areas where they were native.
16 What does the writer suggest about British conservation in the fourth paragraph?
A It has failed to achieve its aims.
B It is beginning to change direction.
C It has taken a misguided approach.
D It has focused on the most widespread species.
17 Protecting large areas of the sea from commercial fishing would result in
A practical benefits for the fishing industry.
B some short-term losses to the fishing industry.
C widespread opposition from the fishing industry.
D certain changes to techniques within the fishing industry.

18 According to the author, what distinguishes rewilding from other environmental

campaigns?
A Its objective is more achievable.
B Its supporters are more articulate.
C Its positive message is more appealing.
D It is based on sounder scientific principles.

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Test 8

Questions 19-22

Complete the summary using the list of words and phrases A-F below.

Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.

Reintroducing the lynx to Britain

There would be many advantages to reintroducing the lynx to Britain. While there is no
evidence that the lynx has ever put 19 ...................................... in danger, it would reduce the
numbers of certain 20 ...................................... whose populations have increased enormously in
recent decades. It would present only a minimal threat to 21 ...................................... , provided
these were kept away from lynx habitats. Furthermore, the reintroduction programme
would also link efficiently with initiatives to return native 22 ...................................... to certain
areas of the country.

A trees B endangered species C hillsides

D wild animals E humans F farm animals

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Questions 23-26

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 2?

In boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

23 Britain could become the first European country to reintroduce the lynx.
24 The large growth in the European lynx population since 1970 has exceeded
conservationists' expectations.
25 Changes in agricultural practices have extended the habitat of the lynx in Europe.
26 It has become apparent that species reintroduction has commercial advantages.

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Test 8

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 on pages 89 and 90.

Questions 27-33

Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs, A-G .

Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-viii, in boxes 27-33 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

Disputes over financial arrangements regarding senior managers

ii The impact on companies of being subjected to close examination
iii The possible need. for fundamental change in every area of business
iv Many external bodies being held responsible for problems
v The falling number of board members with broad enough experience
vi A risk that not all directors take part in solving major problems
vii Boards not looking far enough ahead
viii A proposal to change the way the board operates

27 Paragraph A
28 Paragraph B
29 Paragraph C
30 Paragraph D
31 Paragraph E
32 Paragraph F
33 Paragraph G

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UK companies need more effective boards of directors

A After a number of serious failures of governance (that is, how they are managed
at the highest level), companies in Britain, as well as elsewhere, should consider
radical changes to their directors' roles. It is clear that the role of a board director
today is not an easy one. Following the 2008 financial meltdown, which resulted in
a deeper and more prolonged period of economic downturn than anyone expected,
the search for explanations in the many post-mortems of the crisis has meant
blame has been spread far and wide. Governments, regulators, central banks and
auditors have all been in the frame. The role of bank directors and management
and their widely publicised failures have been extensively picked over and
examined in reports, inquiries and commentaries.
B The knock-on effect of this scrutiny has been to make the governance of
companies in general an issue of intense public debate and has significantly
increased the pressures on, and the responsibilities of, directors. At the simplest
and most practical level, the time involved in fulfilling the demands of a board
directorship has increased significantly, calling into question the effectiveness of
the classic model of corporate governance by part-time, independent non-executive
directors. Where once a board schedule may have consisted of between eight and
ten meetings a year, in many companies the number of events requiring board
input and decisions has dramatically risen. Furthermore, the amount of reading
and preparation required for each meeting is increasing. Agendas can become
overloaded and this can mean the time for constructive debate must necessarily be
restricted in favour of getting through the business.
C Often, board business is devolved to committees in order to cope with the
workload, which may be more efficient but can mean that the board as a whole
is less involved in fully addressing some of the most important issues. It is not
uncommon for the audit committee meeting to last longer than the main board
meeting itself. Process may take the place of discussion and be at the expense of
real collaboration, so that boxes are ticked rather than issues tackled.
D A radical solution, which may work for some very large companies whose
businesses are extensive .and complex, is the professional board, whose members -
would work up to three or four days a week, supported by their own dedicated staff
and advisers. There are obvious.risks to this -and it would be important to establish
clear guidelines for such a board to ensure that it did not step on the toes of
management by becoming too engaged in the day-to-day running of the company.
Problems of recruitment, remuneration and independence could also arise and this
structure would not be appropriate for all companies. However, more professional
and better-informed boards would have been particularly appropriate for banks
where the executives had access to information that part-time non-executive
directors lacked, leaving the latter unable to comprehend or anticipate the 2008
crash.

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Test 8

E One of the main criticisms of boards and their directors is that they do not focus
sufficiently on longer-term matters of strategy, sustainability and governance,
but instead concentrate too much on short-term financial metrics. Regulatory
requirements and the structure of the market encourage this behaviour. The tyranny
of quarterly reporting can distort board decision-making, as directors have to 'make
the numbers' every four months to meet the insatiable appetite of the market for
more data . This serves to encourage the trading methodology of a certain kind of
investor who moves in and out of a stock without engaging in constructive dialogue
with the company about strategy or performance, and is simply seeking a short-
term financial gain. This effect has been made worse by the changing profile of
investors due to the globalisation of capital and the increasing use of automated
trading systems. Corporate culture adapts and management teams are largely
incentivised to meet financial goals.
F Compensation for chief executives has become a combat zone where pitched
battles between investors, management and board members are fought, often
behind closed doors but increasingly frequently in the full glare of press attention.
Many would argue that this is in the interest of transparency and good governance
as shareholders use their muscle in, the area of pay to pressure boards to
remove underperforming chief executives. Their powers to vote down executive
remuneration policies increased when binding votes came into force. The chair
of the remuneration committee can be an exposed and lonely role, as Alison
Carnwath , chair of Barclays Bank's remuneration committee, found when she had
to resign, having been roundly criticised for trying to defend the enormous bonus
to be paid to the chief executive; the irony being that she was widely understood to
have spoken out against it in the privacy of the committee .
G The financial crisis stimulated a debate about the role and purpose of the company
and a heightened awareness of corporate ethics. Trust in the corporation has been
eroded and academics such as Michael Sandel, in his thoughtful and bestselling
book What Money Can 't Buy, are questioning the morality of capitalism and the
market economy. Boards of companies in all sectors will need to widen their
perspective to encompass these issues and this may involve a realignment of
corporate goals. We live in challenging times.

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Questions 34-37

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 34-37 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

34 Close scrutiny of the behaviour of boards has increased since the economic
downturn.
35 Banks have been mismanaged to a greater extent than other businesses.
36 Board meetings normally continue for as long as necessary to debate matters
in full .
37 Using a committee structure would ensure that board members are fully informed
about significant issues.

Questions 38- 40

Complete the sentences below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 38- 40 on your answer sheet.

38 Before 2008, non-executive directors were at a disadvantage because of their lack

of ........................................... .
39 Boards tend to place too much emphasis on ........................................... considerations that
are only of short-term relevance.
' . ·· - --·

40 On certain matters, such as pay, the board may have to accept the views
of . . . . . n .. . . . . o . . . . . . . . .. . mon . .. . o. •

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