Reading passage 1

A. China should be given better access to lucrative European markets as a reward for opening its own economy to western companies, David Cameron said earlier today. Steps to allow its currency to rebalance against western currencies, making its exports more expensive, would also support its case for further integration, he said. Talking to a group of students at Peking University during his two-day trip to China, Cameron said he was prepared to lobby on China's behalf for preferred status within the European Union if it further opened its borders to trade with British and continental European companies. B. His speech also urged the world's new economic superpower to embrace human rights and democracy. He said the Chinese could not shut down debate about democracy, urging them instead to recognise that political freedom, the rule of law and a free press represent the best path to stability and prosperity. Cameron's main mission on the trip was to promote the prospects of British businesses and tie up a series of trade deals. C. In a question-and-answer session after his speech one student asked why fees for overseas students were high. Cameron said fees for domestic students needed to rise to maintain funding levels and prevent the many excellent British universities from losing out in competition with rivals in China, India and the US. He said the rise also kept fee rises to foreign students in check. D. "We won't go on increasing so fast fees for overseas students because in the past we have been pushing up the fees and using it as a way of keeping down the rest," he said. "Overseas students will still [have to pay] a significant amount of money, but we should be able to keep that growth under control." In the speech he said the Chinese authorities should be rewarded for pushing forward with reforms to its domestic economy, albeit over a slower timescale than many EU countries would like. E. He said: "If China is prepared to pursue further opening of its markets and to work with Britain and the other G20 countries to rebalance the world economy and take steps over time towards internationalising its currency that will go a long way towards helping the global economy lock in the stability it needs for strong and sustainable growth. "And just as importantly, it will go a long way in securing confidence in the global community that China as an economic power is a force for good," he said. F. France and many other EU countries have balked at offering China preferred access to European markets without a crackdown on intellectual property theft by Chinese companies. Aggressive deals in Africa and South America to secure food supplies and essential commodities have also made the EU authorities anxious about closer ties with China. However, Cameron said China should be encouraged to embrace further reforms

and not shut out from the international community. "I will make the case for China to get market economy status in the EU but China needs to help, by showing that it is committed to becoming more open, as it becomes more prosperous. G. "And we need to work together to do more to protect intellectual property rights because this will give more businesses confidence to come and invest in China." Also today, Michael Gove, the education secretary, who is accompanying Cameron, announced a partnership with China to train more than 1,000 Mandarin teachers for English secondary schools. Gove said he was "delighted to be building a stronger education partnership with the Chinese", adding: "This is not just about fostering a better understanding of China among our young people. Offering every young person the chance to learn Mandarin will help to encourage mobility between the two countries, equip the next generation with the skills they need to succeed, and ensure the long-term success of our economy and society." Source: The Guardian Questions You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1 to 14 which are based on Reading Passage 1 Questions 1 to 7 Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs A G. From the list of headings below, choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph. Write the appropriate numbers I ix in boxes 1 7 on your answer sheet.

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix.

Overseas students. China needs access to western market. Internationalising its currency. The shutdown of debate about democracy. The fees for domestic students. The success of our economy and society. 1overseas Paragraph A The companies. 2 Paragraph B Intellectual property theft. 3 Paragraph C Protection of intellectual property rights.

4 5 6 7

Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph

D E F G

Questions 8 10 Choose the correct letters, A, B, C or D Write your answers in boxes 8 10 on your answer sheet. 8 Fees for domestic students needed to rise to maintain A. B. C. D. 9 A. B. C. D. 10 Funding levels. Student strength. Attraction. Compete with the European universities. The Chinese could not shut down debate about Autocracy. Democracy. Diplomacy. Education policy. and many other EU countries have balked at offering China preferred access to European markets France. England. Portugal. Ecuador.

A. B. C. D.

Questions 11 14 Complete each of the following statements (questions 11 14) with the best endings A G from the box below Write the appropriate letters A G in boxes 11 14 on your answer sheet. 11 Protection of intellectual property rights will give more businesses confidence 12 Cameron was prepared to lobby on China's behalf 13 China is prepared to pursue further 14 Offering every young person the chance to learn Mandarin

A Opening of its markets. B Among early students might be succeeding. C Theyve given a good fight. D Will help to encourage mobility. E For preferred status within the European Union. F To come and travel in China.

Reading passage 2 A. The Adams Morgan neighbourhood in Northwest Washington is known as a hub of nightlife where visitors can go dancing, see live music and, when hunger strikes, consume exorbitantly-sized pizza slices. What the neighbourhood is not known for is luxury, but that could change. B. For the past six years, developer Brian Friedman has been pushing a complex project that he says would reinvent Adams Morgan as a bustling attraction at all times of day, not just in the evenings. He has proposed transforming a historic church, formerly the First Church of Christ, Scientist, into a 174-room luxury hotel. His plan calls for preserving the church building and constructing a 10-story connecting building behind it, where there is now parking. C. And he is asking for the city's help, suggesting that the new hotel not be required to pay property taxes for 15 years after opening. Friedman, 32, grew up in Michigan and as a teenager coaxed his football teammates into helping with the grunt work of renovating and flipping houses for his mother, a real estate broker. After moving to D.C., launching companies in other fields and becoming bored at a desk job in security contracting, he turned to real estate professionally by partnering with a Michigan developer, Beztak Properties, to bid for the church's site. The church, with its membership shrinking, no longer needed the space and was seeking developers who had other ideas for the property, located at 1782 Columbia Rd. NW, near the intersection of 18th Street, the centre of the neighbourhoods nightlife. D. "I was the energy guy that would stay up all night and put together the presentations and talk to the people," Friedman said. Being selected by the church for the work was a start, but it has led mostly to other dilemmas so far. Friedman initially proposed housing for the site, but had to switch to a hotel when the building's historic status conflicted with his plan for condominiums. His plan to convert the church into a hotel met resistance from potential operators. "They would describe Adams Morgan as a place that's not safe enough for a hotel, that's not safe enough for people who want to walk around at night," he said. E. In the course of the search, however, Friedman met the man viewed by many as a visionary hotel designer: Ian Schrager, the intellect behind the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City and the darling of luxury lifestyle press. Friedman convinced Schrager to sign on, and shortly thereafter the

designer secured a deal to develop a line of boutique hotels -- dubbed Edition -- with Marriott International. Soon, Editions were planned for Waikiki, Istanbul, Barcelona, Mexico City, Bangkok, South Beach and ... Adams Morgan. F. Edition is marketed as a line that "will combine the personal, intimate, individualized and unique lodging experience that Ian Schrager is known for, with the global reach, operational expertise and scale of Marriott." Travel + Leisure magazine said Schrager may have done more "to bring design to the travel experience than any other living person." Friedman envisions a hotel for people who are in town for conventions and who can afford to stay at the Four Seasons and other existing offerings but who want "something a little more interesting." G. "A lot of those people who are staying at those hotels aren't happy," he said. He isn't out of the weeds yet. A competing hotel is planned by JBG for U Street Northwest. And to make his project work, Friedman asked the District for a 15-year, $61 million property tax abatement. The church, which owns the site, is not required to pay any taxes on it because it is a nonprofit. But tax breaks have generated controversy recently in part because the city faces millions of dollars in budget shortfalls. "It provides significant daytime commerce in Adams Morgan and that in turn means a better balance with the nightlife, so our daytime businesses are most certainly likely to be assisted," said D.C. Council member Jim Graham (DWard 1).

Source: The Washington Post Questions You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15 27 which are based on Reading Passage 2 Questions 15 19 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 15 -19 in your answer sheet write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this 15. The Adams Morgan neighbourhood is famous for its libraries. 16. A lot of those people who are staying at those hotels are happy. 17. Friedman, 32, grew up in Michigan and used to help his mother as a teenager. 18. Tax breaks have generated controversy recently in part. 19. Friedman envisions a hotel of his own in the city of Michigan.

Question 20 23 Look at the following topics (questions 20 23) and the list of statements below. Match each topic to the correct statement. Write the correct letter A G in boxes 1 4 on your answer sheet. 20. Friedman 21. Adams Morgan 22. The First Church of Christ 23. Ian Schrager A Is a hotel designer. B Is apprehensive about the future of Adams Morgan. C Banks are now relying more on hotel business. D Is a luxury hotel. E A hub of nightlife.

Questions 24 27 Complete the following statements with the correct alternative from the box. Write the correct letter A F in boxes 24 27 on your answer sheet. 24. 25. 26. 27. Edition is marketed as a line that "will combine the A competing hotel is planned by Friedman initially proposed housing Friedman turned to real estate professionally by

A For the site of the church. B Personal, intimate, individualized and unique lodging experience. C JBG for U Street Northwest. D Partnering with a Michigan developer. E Could be finished in 2015. Reading Passage 3 A. It's a timeworn tactic for politicians. When you fail at home, go abroad. Four days after the Democrats' defeat in the U.S. midterm elections, Barack Obama headed on his longest overseas journey as President: a 10day tour of Asia, where his foreign fans far outstrip his domestic ones. B. The itinerary of America's self-proclaimed "first Pacific President" has taken him to India (the world's largest democracy) and Indonesia (the

world's biggest Muslim-majority democracy) before he attends a pair of global summits in South Korea (a dictatorship turned democracy that was saved from communism by U.S. intervention) and in Japan (Asia's oldest democracy). Even though the vagaries of democratic politics had just dealt Obama what he called a "shellacking," the U.S. President has spent much of his tour highlighting the virtues of governance by the people. "Instead of being lured by the false notion that progress must come at the expense of freedom, you built the institutions upon which true democracy depends," Obama told the Indian Parliament on Nov. 8. "The lesson is clear: India has succeeded not in spite of democracy; India has succeeded because of democracy." C. While Obama's trip is a celebration of Asia's liberal bastions, it is the dragon in the room decidedly undemocratic China, a nation not even on the President's itinerary that is the underlying focus of his grand tour. In recent months, China's international image has morphed from global economic saviour into, frankly, a bit of a bully. Asian nations that once showed only gratitude for Chinese investment are now discovering that the cash often comes with the economic and even political imprint of state-owned Chinese companies. D. At the same time, China's increasingly aggressive territorial claims in surrounding seas have spooked countries that lie within its historic sphere of influence. From Japan to Vietnam, Asian nations have cozied up to the U.S. as a geopolitical counterweight to their giant neighbour. "Asia, which faces many uncertainties, including the rise of China, will need the firm diplomatic and economic engagement of the United States," said the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's top financial daily, in an editorial. E. Just a year ago, as America was mired in recession, Obama visited China and spoke of "deep and even dramatic ties" with what is now the world's second largest economy. Yet through 2010, China's foreign policy has displayed little of the maturity expected of a rising power: Beijing has reacted with outsize indignation to perceived slights like Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama or Tokyo's detention of a Chinese trawler that collided with a Japanese naval vessel in disputed waters. In the wake of the October awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned writer Liu Xiaobo, Beijing unleashed a shrill fury that makes it nigh impossible to ignore the nation's tendency to silence anyone who contradicts the narrative of a stable, happy China. Since Liu's award was announced on Oct. 8, dozens of his fellow intellectuals have been placed under house arrest or barred from travelling overseas, while the Nobel laureate himself still languishes in jail. F. Beijing has also dismissed Washington's recent suggestion that it could dip a mediating hand in the contested waters of the East and South China Seas, even though such American involvement would be welcomed by many of China's neighbours. "The freedom of navigation which the U.S.

claims to protect is actually the freedom of the U.S. military to threaten other countries," fulminated an editorial in the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Partyowned daily. "The U.S. cannot tolerate the reasonable growth of China's national strength and regional influence." G. Beijing, which has a historical distrust of any foreign interference, insists that it is pursuing a policy of "peaceful development." China's assertive stance against external challengers and internal critics, however, has triggered a rethink of the so-called Beijing Consensus, China's development model based upon authoritarian capitalism. Even a few months ago, the Beijing Consensus was being hawked across the developing world as the most stable and efficient way to build an economy. But as Obama tours democratic Asia, it is the alternative Mumbai Consensus that is serving as the philosophy du jour. A term popularized this summer by White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers, the Mumbai Consensus refers to an altogether messier but democratically rooted economic model in which private enterprise has a big role and in which, Summers said, "respect for individuals is the paramount value." Source: Time Questions You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28 40 which are based on Reading Passage 3. Questions 28 32 The passage has seven paragraphs labelled AG. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 28-32 on your answer sheet. NB: You may use any letter more than once. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. Barack Obama headed on his longest overseas journey as President. India is the worlds largest democracy. Beijing has also dismissed Washington's recent suggestion. China's foreign policy has displayed little of the maturity expected of a rising power. Asian nations have cozied up to the U.S. as a geopolitical counterweight to their giant neighbour.

Questions 33 36 Complete the sentences below with words taken from Reading Passage 3. Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 33-36 on your answer sheet.

33. 34. 35. 36.

The freedom of navigation is actually the freedom of the U.S. military to . The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned writer . China's development model is based upon . It is the alternative Mumbai Consensus that is serving as the .

Questions 37 40 Complete the summary of the paragraphs A C below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet. Barack Obama headed on his longest 37 The U.S. President has spent much of his tour highlighting the virtues of 38 . India has succeeded not in spite of democracy; India has 39 Asian nations that once showed only gratitude for Chinese investment are now 40 .