Reading passage 1

A. THE term corporate transparency has become rather fashionable. It is repeated by politicians, managers, consultants and even radical-chic activists. The belief that transparency results in responsibility and ethics seems to be a new axiom for our time. Trendy descriptionsextreme transparency, dynamic transparency, crystalline transparencyare bandied whenever discussion turns to anything corporate. But are naked organisations the new frontier of corporate governance? Will transparency prove to be the cure for our corrupt society? B. Transparency, it seems, is simply the latest attempt to make an old concepttruthfulnesstrendy. Our mothers told us that lying is a bad thing; what we now call transparency is merely the embodiment of that advice. But just sharing ever more information will not save society from business malpractice and corporate psychopaths. Crystalline organisations are a mirage, not a model to be followed. C. Indeed, full transparency is often associated with breaches to established rights such as privacy, confidentiality, security and safety. Internet-based tools can transform our corporations into fully-naked organisations almost instantly: just configure your servers. With the click of a mouse, there will be no secrets between your company and any manifestation of society, terrorists and competitors included. D. Companies around the world are learning that customers and governments are not interested in more information, more numbers, more reports or more sophisticated press briefings. What civil society is seeking is trustworthy, relevant and understandable information about how a company runs its business and the features of the products and services it offers to the market. We should not forget that, in the era of nanoprocessors, genetically modified seeds, auto-adaptive software and ultra complex OTC-SWAP contracts, understanding the features of products and services has become a serious problem for stakeholderseven for those with a PhD. E. Companies, then, struggle between two extremes. On the one hand, full disclosure about the features of products and services; on the other a minimum compliance with national legislation. Unfortunately, each represents a serious threat to both corporations and stakeholders. Full transparency is always associated with data asphyxia. Have you ever read the seven-point, 50-page text in your bank contract? On the other hand, strict compliance with national legislation minimises access to information that is relevant and which some stakeholders would be interested in: ask vegans how they felt when they discovered that McDonalds forgot to report that its French fries contained milk. F. It seems evident that a balance is required. But achieving that requires managers to construct a well thought out information strategy that takes

account of quite a long list of economic, social and, yes, even ethical issues. Successfully addressing this ethical expectation is more than a source of competitive advantage; it is key to gaining the trust of employees, current and potential customers, partners, and even competitors. By the same token, attempts to hide potentially relevant information or, even worse, disclosing false or confusing information, could be catastrophic and companies in many sectors (from banking to biomedical) have experienced the heavy costs of being caught out in these dirty games. G. So, todays call for transparency is as simple as our mothers advice: lying is both bad and risky. In our complex corporate environment, failure to heed the spirit of this basic lessonand taking comfort instead in sharing mountains of information as a means to ensure supposedly ethical behaviourleaves corporations and society exposed to lapses in responsibility and good citizenship. Source: Wikipedia.com 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.

The information. A balance is required. A serious threat. The corporate transparency. Todays call. An old concept. The difference in 1 Paragraph enthusiasm. 2 Paragraph The 3truth. Paragraph 4 Paragraph Internet-based tools. 5 Paragraph 6 Paragraph 7 Paragraph A B C 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 Our mothers told us that lying is a A. B. C. D. 9 A. B. C. D. 10 A. B. C. D. Bad thing. Good thing. Not a crime. Vice. Full transparency is often associated with Treachery. Breaches. Lies. Honesty. Customers and governments are not interested in More More More More reports. facts. papers. information.

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 Full transparency is always associated 12 Successfully addressing the ethical expectation is more than 13 Todays call for transparency is as simple as our mothers advice: 14 Transparency results in responsibility and ethics A A source of competitive advantage. B Seems to be the call of the day. C Treachery and lying. D Seems to be a new axiom for our time. E Lying is both bad and risky. F With data asphyxia.

Reading passage 2
A. Fashion is a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing. The more technical term, costume, has become so linked in the public eye with the term "fashion" that the more general term "costume" has in popular use mostly been relegated to special senses like fancy dress or masquerade wear, while the term "fashion" means clothing generally, and the study of it. For a broad cross-cultural look at clothing and its place in society, refer to the entries for clothing, costume and fabrics. The remainder of this article deals with clothing fashions in the Western world. B. Changes in costume often took place at times of economic or social change (such as in ancient Rome and the medieval Caliphate), but then a long period without major changes followed. This occurred in Moorish Spain from the 8th century, when the famous musician Ziryab introduced sophisticated clothing styles based on seasonal and daily timings from his native Baghdad and his own inspiration to Crdoba, Spain. Similar changes in fashion occurred in the Middle East from the 11th century, following the arrival of the Turks who introduced clothing styles from Central Asia and the Far East. C. The beginnings of the habit in Europe of continual and increasingly rapid change in clothing styles can be fairly reliably dated to the middle of the 14th century, to which Fernand Braudel date the start of Western fashion in clothing. The most dramatic manifestation was a sudden drastic shortening and tightening of the male over-garment, from calf-length to barely covering the buttocks, sometimes accompanied with stuffing on the chest to look bigger. This created the distinctive Western male outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers. D. The pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women and men's fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex and changing. Art historians are therefore able to use fashion in dating images with increasing confidence and precision, often within five years in the case of 15th century images. Initially changes in fashion led to a fragmentation of what had previously been very similar styles of dressing across the upper classes of Europe, and the development of distinctive national styles. These remained very different until a counter-movement in the 17th to 18th centuries imposed similar styles once again, mostly originating from Ancien Rgime France. Though the rich usually led fashion, the increasing affluence of early modern Europe led to the bourgeoisie and even peasants following trends at a distance sometimes uncomfortably close for the elites - a factor Braudel regards as one of the main motors of changing fashion. E. Ten 16th century portraits of German or Italian gentlemen may show ten entirely different hats, and at this period national differences were at their most pronounced, as Albrecht Drer recorded in his actual or composite

contrast of Nuremberg and Venetian fashions at the close of the 15th century (illustration, right). The "Spanish style" of the end of the century began the move back to synchronicity among upper-class Europeans, and after a struggle in the mid 17th century, French styles decisively took over leadership, a process completed in the 18th century. F. Though colours and patterns of textiles changed from year to year, the cut of a gentleman's coat and the length of his waistcoat, or the pattern to which a lady's dress was cut changed more slowly. Men's fashions largely derived from military models, and changes in a European male silhouette are galvanized in theatres of European war, where gentleman officers had opportunities to make notes of foreign styles: an example is the "Steinkirk" cravat or necktie. G. The pace of change picked up in the 1780s with the increased publication of French engravings that showed the latest Paris styles; though there had been distribution of dressed dolls from France as patterns since the 16th century, and Abraham Bosse had produced engravings of fashion from the 1620s. By 1800, all Western Europeans were dressing alike (or thought they were): local variation became first a sign of provincial culture, and then a badge of the conservative peasant. 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. Fashion refers to a genre of style and attitude. 16. Fashion moves in a cyclic manner from generations. 17. The "Spanish style" of the end of the century began the move back to synchronicity. 18. Art historians are able to use fashion in dating images with confidence and precision. 19. The beginnings of the habit in Europe of continual change in clothing styles can be dated to the 14th century.

Question 20 23 Look at the following persons (questions 20 23) and the list of statements below. Match each person to the correct statement.

Write the correct letter A G in boxes 1 4 on your answer sheet. 20. Albrecht Drer 21. Art historians 22. Abraham Bosse 23. Fernand Braudel A Recorded in his actual or composite contrast of Nuremberg and Venetian fashions. B Able to use fashion in dating images. C Produced engravings of fashion from the 1620s. D Redefined the French fashion. E Works on the Victorian fashion.

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. Ten 16th century portraits of German or Italian gentlemen The pace of change picked up The most dramatic manifestation was a sudden drastic Initially changes in fashion led to

A A unification. B In the 1780s. C In the 1680s. D Shortening and tightening of the male overgarment. E A fragmentation. Reading Passage 3 A. In an unruly, unpredictable and chaotic election year, no group has asserted its presence and demanded to be heard more forcefully than the tea party. The grass-roots movement that was spawned with a rant has gone on to upend the existing political order, reshaping the debate in Washington, defeating a number of prominent lawmakers and elevating a fresh cast of conservative stars. But a new Washington Post canvass of hundreds of local tea party groups reveals a different sort of organization, one that is not so much a movement as a disparate band of vaguely

connected gatherings that do surprisingly little to engage in the political process. B. The results come from a months-long effort by The Post to contact every tea party group in the nation, an unprecedented attempt to understand the network of individuals and organizations at the heart of the nascent movement. Seventy percent of the grass-roots groups said they have not participated in any political campaigning this year. As a whole, they have no official candidate slates, have not rallied behind any particular national leader, have little money on hand, and remain ambivalent about their goals and the political process in general. C. "We're not wanting to be a third party," said Matt Ney, 55, the owner of a Pilates studio and a founder of the Pearland Tea Party Patriots in Pearland, Tex. "We're not wanting to endorse individual candidates ever. What we're trying to do is be activists by pushing a conservative idea." The group, with 25 active members, meets to discuss policies and listen to speakers, Ney said. "We provide opportunities for like-minded people to get together," he said. D. The local groups stand in contrast to - and, in their minds, apart from - a handful of large national groups that claim the tea party label. Most of those outfits, including FreedomWorks and Tea Party Express, are headed by longtime political players who have used their resources and know-how to help elect a number of candidates. The findings suggest that the breadth of the tea party may be inflated. The Atlanta-based Tea Party Patriots, for example, says it has a listing of more than 2,300 local groups, but The Post was unable to identify anywhere near that many, despite help from the organization and independent research. E. In all, The Post identified more than 1,400 possible groups and was able to verify and reach 647 of them. Each answered a lengthy questionnaire about their beliefs, members and goals. The Post tried calling the others as many as six times. It is unclear whether they are just hard to reach or don't exist. Mark Meckler, a founding member of the Tea Party Patriots, said: "When a group lists themselves on our Web site, that's a group. That group could be one person, it could be 10 people, it could come in and out of existence - we don't know. We have groups that I know are 15,000 people, and I have groups that I know are five people." F. There is little agreement among the leaders of various groups about what issue the tea party should be most concerned about. In fact, few saw themselves as part of a coordinated effort. The most common responses were concerns about spending and limiting the size of government, but together those were named by less than half the groups. Social issues, such as same-sex marriage and abortion rights, did not register as concerns.

G. If anything tied the groups together, it was what motivated their members to participate. Virtually all said that economic concerns were a factor, and nearly as many cited a general mistrust of government. Opposition to President Obama and Democratic policies was a big factor, but only slightly more so than dissatisfaction with mainstream Republican leaders. Eleven percent said that Obama's race, religion or ethnic background was either a "very important" or "somewhat important" factor in the support their group has received. While the tea party groups may lack a unifying direction or vision at the moment, the results show that they are ripe for action. A remarkable 86 percent of local leaders said most of their members are new to political activity, suggesting that they could be turned into a potent grass-roots force heading into the 2012 elections. Of course, their general lack of interest in politics also suggests that they could just as easily recede, particularly if the economy improves. Source: The Washington Post 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. The grass-roots movement that was spawned with a rant has gone on to upend the existing political order. The Post tried calling the others as many as sixty times. The Atlanta-based Tea Party Patriots has a listing of more than 2,300 local groups. Economic concerns were a factor. Everyone is apprehensive about the election result.

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 local groups stand in contrast to a handful of large . The Post identified more than 1,400 possible groups and was able to verify and reach . Opposition to President Obama and Democratic policies was . A remarkable 86 percent of local leaders said most of their members are new .

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. A new Washington Post canvass of hundreds of local tea party groups reveals a 37 .. The results come from a months-long effort by The Post to contact every 38 .. As a whole, they have no official candidate slates, have not rallied behind 39 .. The Tea Party provide opportunities for like-minded people 40 ..