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| IELTS Reading Practice Test-21 With Answers |
READING PASSAGE 1
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which
are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Corporate
social Responsibility
a
new concept of “market”
Maybe
Ben & Jerry’s and The Body Shop set themselves up for a fall by appearing
to have a monopoly on making an honest buck. But their struggles are a lesson
on how little we know about the minefield of “ethical” marketing. The Body
Shop, along with the American ice cream maker Ben and Jerry’s, was hailed as a
new breed of green, or environmentally conscious, business.
Ben and Jerry’s
A
Ben
& Jerry’s offers a very sweet benefits package to employees. First,
every one of the 700+ Ben & Jerry’s workers is entitled to three free pints
of ice cream, sorbet or frozen yoghurt per day worked. (Some workers use
allotments of their free treats to barter for other goods and services in town
such as haircuts). Beyond the freebies, personnel receive a 50% discount on the
company’s frozen goodies, a 40% discount on merchandise and further 30% break
on no- Ben & Jerry’s foods at company outlets.
B
Workers
are further entitled to paid family leave and may take advantage of the
Employee Stock Purchase Program to purchase company stock (after six months
with the organization) at a 15% discount. Beginning in 1998, 316 stock options
are awarded to each worker (excluding directors and officers) and stock is also
assigned to each employee’s 410K plan at the end of the calendar year. These
contributions are intended to achieve the company’s goal of linked prosperity,
i.e. to assure that future prosperity is widely shared by all employees.
The Body Shop
C
History
of The Body Shop Anita Roddick started The Body Shop with a mere £4,000 and a
dream. With over 1,900 stores in 50 countries. The Body Shop was founded in
1976 in Brighton, England. From her original shop, which offered a line of 25
different lotions, creams, and oils, Roddick became the first successful
marketer of body care products that combined natural ingredients with
ecologically-benign manufacturing processes. Her company’s refusal to test
products on animals, along with an insistence on nonexploitative labor
practices among suppliers around the world, appealed especially to upscale,
mainly middle-class women, who were and have continued to be the company’s
primary market. As sales boomed, even the conservative financial markets
approved of The Body Shop’s impressive profit picture, and a public stock
offering in 1984 was successful. An expansion campaign followed. In 1988 the
company entered the U.S. market by opening a store in New York City, and by
1977 the company boasted 1,500 stores, including franchises, in 47 countries.
Anti-marketing seemed to be smart marketing, at least as far as The Body Shop
was concerned.
D
Part
of the secret of The Body Shop’s early success was that it had created a market
niche for itself. The company was not directly competing against the
traditional cosmetics companies, which marketed their products as fashion
accessories designed to cover up flaws and make women look more like the
fashion models who appeared in their lavish ads. Instead, The Body Shop offered
a line of products that promised benefits other than appearance – healthier
skin, for instance – rather than simply a better-looking complexion. The company
is known for pioneering the natural-ingredient cosmetic market and establishing
social responsibility as an integral part of company operations. The Body Shop
is known for its ethical stances, such as its monetary donations to be
communities in which it operates, and its business partnerships with developing
countries. In 1988 Roddick opened her first store in the United States, and by
that time – through various social initiatives such as the “Stop the Burn”
campaign to save the Brazilian rainforest (the source of many of the company’s
natural ingredients), and strong support of employee volunteerism – The Body
Shop name had become synonymous with social activism and global preservation
worldwide. The company had also become immensely profitable.
E
By
the mid-1990s, however, The Body Shop faced growing competition, forcing it to
begin its first major advertising initiative, the most prominent part of which
was the “Ruby” campaign. The campaign was personified by Ruby, a doll with
Rubenesque proportions who was perched on an antique couch and who looked quite
pleased with herself and her plump frame. Randy Williamson, a spokesperson for
The Body Shop, said, “Ruby is the fruit of our long-established practice of
challenging the way the cosmetic industry talks to women. The Ruby campaign is
designed to promote the idea that The Body Shop creates products designed to
enhance features, moisturize, cleanse, and polish, not to correct ‘flaws.’ The
Body Shop philosophy is that there is real beauty in everyone. We are not
claiming that our products perform miracles.”
F
The
Competition the Body Shop lost market share in the late 1990s to product-savvy
competitors that offered similar cosmetics at lower prices. The main
competitors are H20, Sephora, Bath and Body Works, and Origins. Research
Results Research showed that women appreciate The Body Shop for
their ethical standards. They are pleased by companies with green actions,
not promises. The research proved that The Body Shop has been put on the back
burner in many people’s minds: overcrowded by newer, fresher Brands. Companies
like the Body Shop continually hype their products through advertising and
marketing, often creating a demand for something where a real need for it does
not exist. The message pushed is that the route to happiness is through buying
more and more of their products. Under such consumerism, the increasing
domination of multinationals and their standardised products is leading to
global cultural conformity. Other downfall factors also include misleading the
public, low pay and against unions, exploiting indigenous people; Also the mass
production, packaging and transportation of huge quantities of goods are using
up the world’s resources faster than they can be renewed and filling the land,
sea and air with dangerous pollution and waste.
G
The
Problem The Body Shop has used safe and timid advertising over the last decade,
decreasing market share and brand value. With the rise of new, more natural and
environmentally friendly competitors, The Body Shop can no longer stand behind
being the greenest or most natural. The Solution The Body Shop is the
originator of ethical beauty with our actions speaking louder than our words.
This is the new direction of The Body Shop. We will be a part of different acts
of kindness in big cities. We will eliminate unwanted graffiti, purify city air,
and give the customer an opportunity to be a part of something good.
Questions 1-4
The
Reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-H.
Which
paragraph contains the following information?
Write
the correct letter A-G, in boxes 1-4 your answer sheet.
1
An action is taken to Establishing social responsibility in the conservation
project
2
a description of the conventional way the ads applied to talk to its customers
3
A history of a humble origin and expansion
4
management practices are intended to line up the company’s goal with
participants’ prosperity
Questions 5-7
Choose
the THREE correct letter, A-F.
Write
your answers in boxes 5-7 on your answer sheet.
5-7 What
is true about Ben & Jerry’s company management
A
There was little difference between the highest salary and the lowest
B
They were advertising their product with powerful internal marketing.
C
They offer the employee complimentary product
D
Employee was encouraged to give services back to the community
E
the products are designed for workers to barter for other goods and services
F
offered a package of benefits for disabled employees
Questions 8-10
Choose
the THREE correct letter, A-F.
Write
your answers in boxes 8-10 on your answer sheet.
What
are the factors once contributed to the success of the BODY SHOP?
A
pioneering the natural-ingredient cosmetics market
B
appealed to primary market mainly of the rich women
C
focused on their lavish ads campaign
D
The company avoided producing traditional cosmetics products
E
its moral concept that refuses to use animals-tested ingredients
F
its monetary donations to the communities and in developing countries
Questions 11-13
Choose
the THREE correct letter, A-F.
Write
your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.
What
are the factors leading to the later failure for BODY SHOP company?
A
its philosophy that there is real beauty in everyone is faulty
B
fail to fulfil promises while acted like misleading the public,
C
faced growing competition
D
its creating demand for something that the customers do not actually need
E
its newer, fresher Brands are not successful in the Market
F
fail to offer cosmetics at lower prices than competitors
READING PASSAGE 2
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on
Reading Passage 2 below.
Griffith
and American films
Movies
are key cultural artefacts that offer a window into American cultural and
social history. A mixture of art, business, and popular entertainment, the
popular entertainment, the movies provide a host of insights into Americans’
shifting ideas, fantasies, and preoccupations
A
Many
films of the early silent era dealt with gender relations. Before 1905, as
Kathy Peiss has argued, movie screens were filled with salacious sexual imagery
and risque humor, drawn from burlesque halls and vaudeville theaters. Early
films offered many glimpses of women disrobing or of passionate kisses. As the
movies’ female audience grew, sexual titillation and voyeurism persisted. But an
ever-increasing number of the film dealt with the changing work and sexual
roles of women in a more sophisticated manner. While D.W. Griffith’s films
presented an idealized picture of the frail Victorian child-woman and showed an
almost obsessive preoccupation with female honor and chastity, other silent
movies presented quite different images of femininity. These ranged from the
exotic, sexually aggressive vamp to the athletic, energetic “serial queen”; the
street smart urban working gal, who repels the sexual advances of her
lascivious boss; and cigarette-smoking, alcohol drinking chorus girls or
burlesque queens.
B
In
early 1910, director D.W. Griffith was sent by the Biograph Company to the west
coast with his acting troupe, consisting of actors Blanche Sweet, Lillian Gish,
Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, and others. While there, the company decided
to explore new territories, traveling several miles north to Hollywood, a
little village that was friendly and enjoyed the movie company filming there.
By focusing the camera on particular actors and actresses, Griffith
inadvertently encouraged the development of the star system. As early as 1910,
newspapers were deluged with requests for actors’ names. But most studios
refused to divulge their identities, fearing the salary demands of popular
performers. As one industry observer put it, “In the ‘star’ your producer gets
not only a ‘production’ value …. but a ‘trademark’ value, and an ‘insurance’
value which are … very potent in guaranteeing the sale of this product.” As the
star system emerged, salaries soared. In the course of just two years, the
salary of actress Mary Pickford rose from less than $400 a week in 1914 to
$10,000 a week in 1916. This action made Griffith believe the big potential in
the movie industry. Thus many competitors completely copy the same system as
Griffith used, for the considerable profits. Additionally, they also study the
theory and methods which Griffith suggested.
C
From
the moment America entered the war, Hollywood feared that the industry would be
subject to heavy-handed government censorship. But the government itself wanted
no repeat of World War I, when the Committee on Public Information had whipped
up anti-German hysteria and oversold the war as “a Crusade not merely to re-win
the tomb of Christ, but to bring back to earth the rule of right, the peace,
goodwill to men and gentleness he taught.”
D
The
formation of the movie trust ushered in a period of rationalization within the
film industry. Camera and projecting equipment were standardized; film rental
fees were fixed; theaters were upgraded; which improved the quality of movies
by removing damaged prints from circulation. This was also a period of intense
artistic and technical innovation, as pioneering directors like David Wark
Griffith and others created a new language of film and revolutionized screen
narrative.
E
With
just six months of film experience, Griffith, a former stage actor, was hired
as a director by the Biograph Company and promised $50 a week and one-twentieth
of a cent for every foot of film sold to a rental exchange. Each week, Griffith
turned out two or three one-reelers. While earlier directors had used such
cinematic devices as close-ups, slow motion, fade-ins and fade-outs, lighting
effects, and editing before, Griffith’s great contribution to the movie
industry was to show how these techniques could be used to create a wholly new
style of storytelling, distinct from the theater. Griffith’s approach to movie
storytelling has been aptly called “photographic realism.” This is not to say
that he merely wished to record a story accurately; rather he sought to convey
the illusion of realism. He demanded that his performers act less in a more
lifelike manner, avoiding the broad, exaggerated gestures and pantomiming of
emotions that characterized the nineteenth-century stage. He wanted his
performers to take on a role rather than directly addressing the camera.
Above
all, he used close-ups, lighting, editing, and other cinematic techniques
convey suspense and other emotions and to focus the audience’s attention on
individual performers.
F
During
the 1920s and 1930s, a small group of film companies consolidated their
control. Known as the “Big Five” – Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO, 20th
Century-Fox, and Lowe’s (MGM) and the “Little Three” – Universal, Columbia, and
United Artists, they formed fully integrated companies. The old film company’s
opposition was shocked by new tycoons. The confusion of tongues in the foreign
version of American films deepened when American directors themselves embarked
on the shooting of the new version. They did not usually speak Spanish (or the
given target language) and, at that time, there were only a few translators at
the studio’s disposal. For this reason, it was more general to contract Spanish
directors, actors, and screenwriters to produce American films in Spanish for
Latin American audiences and for the public in the Iberian Peninsula. Hollywood
had depended on overseas markets for as much as 40 percent of its revenue. But
in an effort to nurture their own film industries and prevent an excessive
outflow of dollars, Britain, France, and Italy imposed stiff import tariffs and
restrictive quotas on imported American movies.
G
A
basic problem facing today’s Hollywood is the rapidly rising cost of making and
marketing a movie: an average of $40 million today. The immense cost of
producing movies has led the studios to seek guaranteed hits: blockbuster
loaded with high-tech special effects, sequels, and remakes of earlier movies,
foreign films, and even old TV shows. Hollywood has also sought to cope with
rising costs by focusing ever more intently on its core audiences. Since the
mid-1980s, the movie-going audience has continued to decrease in size. Ticket
sales fell from 1.2 billion in 1983 to 950 million in 1992, with the biggest
drop occurring among adults. And since over half of Hollywood’s profits are
earned overseas, the target market has to be changed due to the increasing
costs and salary of making a film. The industry has concentrated much of its
energy on crude action films easily understood by an international audience,
featuring stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.
Questions 14-19
The
Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs A-F
Choose
the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write
the correct number, i-vii, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.
List
of Headings
i
Detailed description for a film system
ii
Griffith’s contribution to American films
iii
The gender in the development of American film
iv
Change the view of the American movie
v
People’s reaction to making movies in the war period
vi
The increasing market of the film in society
vii
Griffith improved gender recognition in society
14
Paragraph A
15
Paragraph B
16
Paragraph C
17
Paragraph D
18
Paragraph E
19
Paragraph F
Questions 20-23
Use
the information in the passage to match the companies (listed A-C) with
opinions or deeds below.
Write
the appropriate letters A, B, C or D in
boxes 20-23 on your answer sheet.
A
old company’s opposition
B
huge drop happens among adults
C
the pressure to change its market
D
completely copy his system
20
Griffith’s successful in the 1910s, led his rivals
21
The growing costs and salary in Hollywood which shows it has
22
The increasing new movie industries have a big impact on
23
In 1992, ticket sales declined dramatically, due to
Questions 24-26
Choose
the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write
your answer in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet.
24
Why Griffith believe the potential in making movies?
A
The gender development in American films
B
He used the star system successfully
C
He prefers advanced movie techniques
D
He earns lots of money
25 What
is other competitors’ reaction to Griffith?
A
Adopt Griffith’s theory and methods in making films
B
Complete copy his theory and methods
C
Try to catch up with their innovations
D
Find a new system against Griffith
26
What is the great change in films industries during the 1920s and 1930s?
A
Try to seek the high-tech special efforts
B
Dismiss the needs of overseas audiences
C
Changed its goal market
D
Improved the foreign version of American movies
READING
PASSAGE 3
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on
Reading Passage 3 below.
Environmentally-friendly! vehicles
A
In
the early 1990s, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the government of
California’s “clean air agency”, began a push for more fuel-efficient,
lower-emissions vehicles, with the ultimate goal being a move to zero-emissions
vehicles such as electric vehicles. In response, automakers developed electric
models, including the Chrysler TEVan, Ford Ranger EV pickup truck, GM EV1 and
S10 EV pickup, Honda EV Plus hatchback, Nissan lithium-battery Altra EV
miniwagon and Toyota RAV4 EV. Ford Fusion is manufactured at Ford’s Hermosillo
Stamping & Assembly plant, located in Sonora Mexico. I thought going green
was supposed to provide the U.S. with more jobs.
B
The
automakers were accused of pandering to the wishes of CARB in order to continue
to be allowed to sell cars in the lucrative Californian market, while failing
to adequately promote their electric vehicles in order to create the impression
that the consumers were not interested in the cars, all the while joining oil
industry lobbyists in vigorously protesting CARB’s mandate. GM’s program came
under particular scrutiny; in an unusual move, consumers were not allowed to
purchase EV1s, but were instead asked to sign closed-end leases, meaning that
the cars had to be returned to GM at the end of the lease period, with no
option to purchase, despite lesser interest in continuing to own the cars.
Chrysler, Toyota, and a group of GM dealers sued CARB in Federal court, leading
to the eventual neutering of CARB’s ZEV Mandate.
C
After
public protests by EV drivers’ groups upset by the repossession of their cars,
Toyota offered the last 328 RAV4-EVs for sale to the general public during six
months, up until November 22, 2002. Almost all other production electric cars
were withdrawn from the market and were in some cases seen to have been
destroyed by their manufactures. Toyota continues to support the several
hundred Toyota RAV4-EV in the hands of the general public and in fleet usage.
GM famously de-activated the few EV1s that were donated to engineering schools
and museums.
D
Throughout
the 1990s, the appeal of fuel-efficient or environmentally friendly cars
declined among Americans, who instead favored sport utility vehicles, which
were affordable to operate despite their poor fuel efficiency thanks to lower
gasoline prices. American automakers chose to focus their product lines around
the truck-based vehicles, which enjoyed larger profit margins than the smaller
cars which were preferred in places like Europe or Japan. In 1999, the Honda
Insight hybrid car became the first hybrid to be sold in North America since
the little-known Woods hybrid of 1917.
E
In
1995, Toyota debuted a hybrid concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show, with testing
following a year later. The first Prius, model NHW10, went on sale on December
10, 1997. It was available only in Japan, though it has been imported privately
to at least the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The
first-generation Prius, at its launch, became the world’s first mass-produced
gasoline-electric hybrid car. The NHW10 Prius styling originated from
California designers, who were selected over competing designs from other
Toyota design studios.
F
In
the United States, the NHW11 was the first Prius to be sold. The Prius was
marketed between the smaller Corolla and the larger Camry. The published retail
price of the car was US$19,995. The NHW11 Prius became more powerful partly to
satisfy the higher speeds and longer distances that Americans drive. Air
conditioning and electric power steering were standard equipment. The vehicle
was the second mass-produced hybrid on the American market, after the two-seat
Honda Insight. While the larger Prius could seat five, its battery pack
restricted cargo space.
G
Hybrids,
which featured a combined gasoline and electric powertrain, were seen as a
balance, offering an environmentally friendly image and improved fuel economy,
without being hindered by the low range of electric vehicles, albeit at an
increased price over comparable gasoline cars. Sales were poor, the lack of
interest attributed to the car’s small size and the lack of necessity for a
fuel-efficient car at the time. The 2000s energy crisis brought renewed
interest in hybrid and electric cars. In America, sales of the Toyota Prius
jumped, and a variety of automakers followed suit, releasing hybrid models of
their own. Several began to produce new electric car prototypes, as consumers
called for cars that would free them from the fluctuations of oil prices.
H
In
2000, Hybrid Technologies, later renamed Li-ion Motors, started manufacturing
electric cars in Mooresville, North Carolina. There has been increasing
controversy with Li-ion Motors though due to the ongoing ‘Lemon issues’
regarding their product. And their attempt to cover it up. California
electric-car maker Tesla Motors began development in 2004 on the Tesla
Roadster, which was first delivered to customers in 2008. The Roadster remained
the only highway-capable EV in serial production and available for sale until
2010. Senior leaders at several large automakers, including Nissan and General
Motors, have stated that the Roadster was a catalyst which demonstrated that
there is pent-up consumer demand for more efficient vehicles. GM Vice Chairman
Bob Lutz said in 2007 that the Tesla Roadster inspired him to push GM to develop
the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid sedan prototype that aims to reverse years
of dwindling market share and massive financial losses for America’s largest
automaker. In an August 2009 edition of The New Yorker, Lutz was quoted as
saying, “All the geniuses here at General Motors kept saying lithium-ion
technology is 10 years away, and Toyota agreed with us – and boom, along comes
Tesla. So I said, ‘How come some tiny little California startup, run by guys
who know nothing about the car business, can do this, and we can’t?’ That was
the crowbar that helped break up the log jam.”
Questions 27-30
Choose
the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
27
What does the author think of the factory in Sonora in Mexico where the ford
fusion is manufactured?
A
the factory should be helpful in the US soil business
B
Employment of US will be created as consumers change their awareness
C
More competitive cars will be introduced into the market
D
this issue is hard to give a predict
28
In the 1990s, what dropped in America for environmentally friendly vehicles?
A
production
B
Attractiveness
C
Announcement
D
Expectation
29
What did GM notably send to engineering schools and museums?
A
EV 1
B
CARB
C
RAV4
D
MINI E
30
Nissan and GM high-level leaders declared the real reason for the popularity of
Roaster is its
A
legendary concert
B
huge population in the market
C
bursting demand
D
artistic design
Questions 31-35
Do
the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In
boxes 31-35 on your answer sheet, write
YES
if the statement is
true
NO
if the statement
is false
NOT
GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
31
Some automakers mislead and suppressed the real demand for electric cars of
keeping profit in a certain market by luring the want of CARB.
32
Toyota started to sell 328 RAV4-EVs for taking up the market share
33
In some countries, American auto-makers would like to grab the opportunity to
earn money in the vehicle of bigger litre engine cars rather than smaller ones
34
Hybrids cars are superior vehicles that combine the impression of an
environmental friend electric power engine and a lower price in the unit sale.
35
an inspiration to make an effort to produce hybrid cars is to cope with
economic difficulties result from a declining market for General Motors.
Questions 36-40
Complete
the summary using the list of words, A-L below
Write
the correct letter, A-L in boxes 36-40 on your answer
sheet.
A 36……………………………
was firstly introduced by Car maker Toyota in 1995. Then it started for sale in
1997 with a new first-generation model. Not only in Japan but included other
countries such as 37………………………….. and Oceania in which the Prius was
imported to. The first-generation Prius was the first car in mass production
which is powered by 38……………………………. The model NHW10 was designed by a
winning Californian designer. The innovated NHW 11 Prius has considerably
higher running velocity and 39 ……………………….. than American
counterparts. Still, the load capacity of current Prius version was limited in
its 40……………………………
|
A
electric car |
B United
Kingdom |
C Market |
D
concept car |
|
E
longer distances |
F
Emissions |
G battery |
H Consumers |
|
I gasoline-electricity |
J inspiration |
K cargo
space |
L
orientation |
1. E
2. F
3. D
4. B
5. C
6. E
7. F
8. A
9. E
10. F
11. B
12. C
13. D
14. iii
15. i
16. v
17. iv
18. ii
19. vi
20. D
21. C
22. A
23. B
24. B
25. A
26. D
27. B
28. B
29. A
30. C
31. YES
32. NO
33. NOT GIVEN
34. NO
35. YES
36. D
37. B
38. I
39. E
40. G
/ Griffith and American films/ Environmentally-friendly! vehicles)){kind=link}
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