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Prepare For IELTS - Page 4 - Forum
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Prepare For IELTS
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:23 AM | Message # 46 |
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| Part 1 continued
'To seriously address the problem we need opportunities for adults to upgrade their literacy and numeracy skills that are free of charge and widely available. It's estimated that 20 per cent of Australia's adults do not receive their schooling in Australia. Also, the population is ageing, and we believe about 70 percent of the workforce of the year 2000 has already left school. So we can't expect schools to be able to solve these problems.
'We need the help of familiesand communities to raise the understanding of the significance of reading not only during childhood years but life-long."
Ms Wickert went on to point to the impact of literacy problems on the economy. 'Literacy is now an important part of labour market programmes and economic restructuring. Government plans to promote a "productive culture" and a strong national economy will fail without a workforce w.hich is more adaptable, mobile and highly skilled,' she said.
The controversial nature of the debate about literacy was acknowledged. Differences of opinion arise because 'literacy' is not clearly definable. Ms Wickert said that 'earlier this century people were said to be literate if they could sign their name, but now adults are required to bring different kinds of literacy and problem solving skills to different contexts and these vary in complexity'.
The Report, entitled No Single Measure, combines a concern for the individuals who have failed to gain literacy skills adequate for their lives with the*national need to bring about the highest levels of skills, training and education among its workforce.
The data collected for the first time enables an estimate of what proportion of the adult Australian population is able to perform literacy tasks at various levels of difficulty. The tasks are grouped in three categories which are referred to as Document Literacy, Prose Literacy and Quantitative or numerical Literacy. A large amount of background data was also collected to gain a greater understand ing of the problem. A bigger picture will emerge as the survey data is further analysed.
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:24 AM | Message # 47 |
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Major general
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| Parti- First National Literacy Report
Questions 1-7
Read the passage headed 'First National Literacy Report'. Then, answer the questions below in the boxes on the Answer Sheet.
If the statement represents the points made in the article, write Correct; if the statement contradicts the article, write Incorrect; if the statement is not mentioned in the article, write Not Mentioned. The first one has been done as an example.
Example: The national survey of literacy levels showed that literacy is a serious problem in Australia.
Ex Correct
I. The results of the survey were unexpected.
2. Before the survey it had been estimated that about 10 per cent of the population had literacy and numeracy problems.
3. In fact a much smaller number have these problems.
4. Literacy and numeracy problems may make it difficult for workers to cope with changes in the workplace.
5. The problem cannot be solved simply in schools.
6. Schools cannot solve the problem because large numbers of people leave school at 15 without matriculating.
7- Despite the statistics, the literacy levels will not have a significant impact on the future national economy.
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:24 AM | Message # 48 |
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Major general
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| Part 1 continued
Questions 8-12
From the information in the same passage, identify the groups with specific literacy and numeracy problems represented by the columns in the graph below. Write your answers in the boxes on the Answer Sheet. For example, if you think that Column No. 1 represents Group A, you would write the number 1 in the box for Question 8, and so on.
Literacy Problems
& Group A: cannot calculate percentages = Column ?
9. Group B: cannot use a street directory = Column?
10. Group C: cannot make full use of
telephone directories = Column ?
11. Group D: cannot add up at all = Column?
12. Group E: cannot fully understand
the meaning of what they read = Column ?
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:24 AM | Message # 49 |
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Major general
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| Part 2. Hard Work Is Asians' Secret of Success
Read the passage below and answer Questions 13 - 26 on pages 55 to 57.
The authors of a major US study claim to have pinpointed why Chinese and Japanese children are such great school achievers wherever they compete — in Asia, in the US, or in Australia.
'Asians do better in school simply because they try harder ... and because they believe that academic success results from hard work just as much as from intelligence,' says Dr Harold Stevenson, the head of the research team conducting the study.
The study, comparing the school performance of Chinese, Japanese, and American children, shatters myths about why Chinese and Japanese children perform so well in school.
One misconception is that Chinese and Japanese children are innately more intelligent than Western children. Results of the study show that there is no evidence to support such a notion. For instance, compared with American children, Chinese and Japanese children do not score any higher on standardised IQ tests.
Another punctured myth is that too much television viewing by Western children may account for their poorer school performance. Again, evidence for this assertion is weak. In fact, Dr Stevenson points out that it is the Japanese school children who spend more hours in front of the television set than anyrotfyer group measured.
The study, 'Contexts of Achievement', was undertaken by Dr Stevenson and Dr Shin-ying Lee. Both are from the Centre for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan. Their study appears in the latest issue of Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development.
The study involved 1440 Year land Year 5 children attending schools in Minneapolis (USA), Taipeh (Taiwan) and Sendai (Japan). The children did standardised tests which measured reading and mathematics skills. Then they were interviewed in order to reveal their attitudes towards school. Their parents, teachers and principals also were interviewed and given questionnaires in order to uncover additional information about the children's attitudes.
Interestingly, Stevenson says it was data from the parents, particularly the mothers, that were the most revealing. These data point to sharp cultural differences in parental attitudes. He is convinced that such attitudinal differences have an all-important bearing on why Chinese and Japanese children excel in school.
What are these differences? Stevenson and Lee suggest six:
* Chinese and Japanese children pay more attention to school. Stevenson and Lee write that "background information about the children's everyday lives revealed much greater attention to academic activities among Chinese and Japanese than among American children'.
(Reading passage continues over page)
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:24 AM | Message # 50 |
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Major general
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| Part 2 continued
* Chinese and Japanese parents are more interested and involved in their children's schooling. The researchers write: 'Members of the three cultures differed significantly in terms of parents' interest in their child's academic achievement, involvement of the family in the child's education, [and] standards and expectations of parents concerning their child's academic achievement'.
* Chinese and Japanese parents are more likely to believe that success gomes from hard work, rather than from innate ability. Stevenson and Lee note that Chinese and Japanese parents instil in their children 'beliefs about the relative influence of effort and ability on academic achievement".
They add that 'Chinese and Japanese mothers stressed the importance of hard work to a greater degree than American mothers and American mothers gave greater emphasis to innate ability than did Chinese and Japanese mothers'.
* Chinese and Japanese parents are more likely to express their child's success in school as a major goal. The two researchers write that, 'whereas children's academic achievement did not appear to be a central concern of American mothers, Chinese and Japanese mothers viewed this as their child's most important pursuit'.
* Chinese and Japanese parents are more committed to their child's schooling success. Stevenson and Lee contend that once the child entered primary school, 'Chinese and Japanese families mobilised themselves to assist the child and to provide an environment conducive to achievement". In contrast, 'American mothers appeared to be less interested in their child's academic achievement".
* Chinese and Japanese parents have higher standards and are more knowledgeable. The researchers report that 'Chinese and Japanese mothers held higher standards for their children's achievement than American mothers and gave more realistic evaluations of their child's academic, cognitive, and personality characteristics.
'American mothers overestimated their child's abilities and expressed greater satisfaction with their child's accomplishments than the Chinese and Japanese mothers.'
Stevenson observes that Chinese and Japanese homes, although usually smaller than
American homes, are still more likely to provide a special place for the child to do homework. Furthermore, he maintains that research reveals that Chinese and Japanese pupils have better note-taking skills, better study skills and spend more hours per week on homework.
"These kids see school as central to their lives; most American students do not.'
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:25 AM | Message # 51 |
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Major general
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| Part 2. Hard Work is Asians' Secret of Success
Question 13
Below is an extract from a questionnaire completed by a parent in the study described in the reading passage. From the answers that the parent gives, decide whether the parent was from:
* Group A: Chinese and Japanese parents
or from:
* Group B: American parents.
Write the letter A or B in the box on the Answer Sheet for Question 13 to show to which group the parent probably belonged.
Do you Agree or Disagree with the following statements? Circle the number to show your opinion:
1 means "Strongly Agree",
5 means "Strongly Disagree"
agree disagree
*success comes from hard work 1 2 (3) 4 5
*success comes from natural talent (1) 2345
*school success is vital to
success in life 1 2 3 4 (5)
*school success is not as important
as being satisfied with what you
are doing (l) 2 3 4 5
*parents should be involved in
the education of their children 1 2 (3) 4 5
*children should have a fixed time
and place for homework 1 2 3 4 (5)
13. The parent was most likely from Group ?
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:25 AM | Message # 52 |
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Major general
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| Part 2 continued
Questions 14 - 26
The passage on the next page is a summary of part of the text. Complete the summary by choosing the correct word from the words in the box below and writing it in the appropriate box on the Answer Sheet. Not all of the words will be used; each word may be used more than once. The first one has been done as an example.
more beliefs
harder innate
effort actively
clever American
discovered. higher
intelligence expectations
nature worried
lower less
skills myths
mobilised Asian
realistic pessimistic
part 2 continued
Example: A research project in the USA claims to have ex the reasons
for an educational phenomenon that has intrigued people for some time.
EX DISCOVERED
The project claims to have found the reasons why Chinese and Japanese children are ....14.... achievers in their studies than other children. The study says that Asian children put more ....15.... into their studies and points to the belief of the children and their parents in the value of hard work over 16 intelligence. The study claims to have disproved some false 17 about the differences between children, such as that West- ern children watch ....18.... television than Japanese children; in fact, it is the other way round. The tests measured ....19.... as well as attitudes of
parents, teachers and the children themselves. The attitudes of American parents tended to put 20. emphasis on the importance of hard work and to give much 21 credit to natural ability in their children's success. The Chinese and Japanese families were more 22 in- volved in their children's academic life, and Chinese and Japanese mothers had higher 23 for their children's achievement. In addition, whereas 24 mothers tended to believe their children were doing better and were more able than in fact was the truth, the 25 mothers surveyed were more 26 in their assessment of their children.
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:26 AM | Message # 53 |
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Major general
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| Part 3. Got What It Takes To Be A Marketing Manager?
Read the passage below and answer Questions 27 -36 on page 60.
David Corkindale, Head of Marketing at the South Australian Institute of Technology, outlines 11 basic skills you must acquire if you are to make it as marketing manager in these tough times.
Marketing is fast becoming a understand how competitors influ- First, strategic thinking takes one
key role in all sorts of indus- ence buying habits. much further into the future; one is
tries. Many organisations are still forced lo think not about next
exploring the role of marketing. The marketing manager must be month's sales figures, but about the
This article spells out the skills and skilled in analysing competitors' company performance ihrec to five
abilities needed by a marketing strengths and weaknesses, and in us- years hence. Without (hat sort of
manager* who is lo survive and ing that analysis to strengthen his or horizon, strategic thinking about the
prosper during the next ten years. her own marketing activities. annual plan must be short-term.
Eleven trails are identified in this 2 Secondly, the variables that bear on
article. This list is by no means de- The organisation of new product strategic thinking arc more numer-
finitive but constitutes the essence development is critical lo the future ous and their interactions more com -
of effective marketing management survival and growth of virtually plex than in thinking about the
in the 1990s. every company. nearer term, so the marketing man-
ager must be thoroughly familiar
1 The management of innovation with such tools as portfolio analysis
Too often marketing managers starts with the vigilant marketing and the directional policy matrix,
in firms outside the fast-moving manager identifying a marketing industry analysis techniques and the
consumer goods companies arc not opportunity, particularly from con- issuc'of sustainable competitive ad-
skilled either in analysing buyer be- tinual monitoring of the market vantage.
haviour or in commissioning market place, the environment, his competi-
research. tors' activities, and the company it-
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:27 AM | Message # 54 |
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Major general
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| self. Planning is the most abused area
Skilled salesmen use their abilities of marketing management activity.
to understand the factors that deter- The marketing manager should be At worst it is an annual exercise pur-
mine whether a contact is convert- proactive in the search for new ideas sued with ill grace and nervousness.
ible into a customer. The skilled and in establishing a constructive
marketing manager must under- and proactive environment for Planning is a continuing process.
stand the key factors that will deter- monitoring new product ideas. The Plans too often find their way into a
mine the decision to buy in each of marketing company is searching for drawer and arc re-examined only
the market segments that are under products that will satisfy the needs under duress. A plan should be seen
consideration. of market segments, and it is to that as a living organism, changing as the
end that research and development environment requires, not as an his-
Buying factors are determined by a should be dedicated. torical document. Planning is the out-
complex interactive system affected comcof a complex process of analysis
both by factors internal to the buyer The new product development and and should reflect the quality of the
and responses to external stimuli. introduction system, requiring the thinking and activity that has gone on
Consumer's perceptions of individ- careful management of a number of in the preceding stages.
ual products are influenced by the intra company interfaces and then
range of product offerings before exposure of the product to the mar- That activity should be continuous;
them, and it is very important to ket place through test marketing or therefore the plan should continu-
direct launch, requires enormous ously benefit from continual think-
*In many organisations the role of marketing management skills. ing and analysis.
marketing manager is occupied by both men and women. For conven- ience 1 have used the term 'he' to represent either sex: no preference is intended.
3
Most marketing managers have tactical marketing skills. But the skills needed for thinking strategi cally are of a high order Too many senior marketing manag-
ers send their plans to oblivion once
the annual planning exercise is com-
plete. Thus, planning skills are a first requirement for the marketing manager.
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:27 AM | Message # 55 |
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Major general
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| The proactive marketing manager be tempted by the management
Market research is a vital sup- must be thoroughly at home with the game that produces dramatic short-
port to the marketing manager's decision-making. profit and loss statement and the balance sheet, with productivity ratios, term results, induced primarily by a desire for glory leading to promo tion or enhanced self
with calculating rates of return on marketability.
Market research can best serve the investment, with calling-cost per
manager when the skills exist to un- customer calculations. 10
derstand the scope of market re- Managers are paid to be dy-
search, to differentiate between The financial illiterate has no place namic organisers of resources —
good and bad research agencies, and
particularly to commission good re- in the ranks of the marketing department of the marketing company. that quality is what should separate managers from bureaucrats! But
search. they must continually ask the ques-
8 tion: is that company organised lo
The market researcher cannot be ex- The marketing company is a re- serve the needs of its chosen mar-
pected lo specify the problem facing source management enterprise. Its ket?
the marketing manager; it is the mar- resources extend from places to peo-
keting manager who must identify ple, from manufacturing back to Since markets arc in continuous
the problem and the role that addi- procurement of materials, forward change, since product offerings are
tional data will play in resolving that to distribution from factory to mar- likely to be in continuous change,
problem. He must also be able to ket place. the skill to alter the organisation of
calculate the cost/benefit equation the company to meet changing
relating to buying additional infor- The marketing company is a very needs is a skill that must be found in
mation. complex system, each part of the the marketing manager, perhaps to a
system relating lo all other pans of much greater degree than in any
6 the system. other functional'area.
The marketing manager's job is
to blend together all elements of the The system manager has an un- 11
'
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:27 AM | Message # 56 |
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Major general
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| marketing mix, each of which repre- derstanding of how to analyse Every department of a com-
sents an investment, into an optimal and understand complex systems pany feels, as an instinct for self
mix, one in which no element is out in order to make them work more preservation would demand, that it
of phase. effectively. is indispensable lo the future sur-
vival of the company. The reality is
The right products, existing or in The marketing manager, as senior that without full and complete co-
process of development, the right member of the management team, operation between all departments
level of service support, the right must be a systems thinker and a sys- survival chances are measurably re-
prices (right in terms of yielding op- tems manager. duced.
timum revenue given the demand
conditions prevailing), the right 9 The sources of conflict between the
channels of distribution, the right The marketing manager as marketing and other departments
advertising support, the right sales guardian of the company's future are well known, but conflict resolu-
support — all elements must work has a role not well understood. Too tion requires considerable manage-
together to produce a coherent and often the preoccupation with pre- rial skill, often of the interpersonal
effective market offering. sent-day problems, typical of the re- kind.
active manager's style, precludes
Productivity analysis will be an im- intelligent thinking about the long The highest skill is identifying po-
portant tool in making such meas- term, typical of the proactive man- tential conflict and removing its
urements, but the marketing ager, the strategic thinker, living in cause — preventativc rather than re-
manager must be a skilful energy an environment characterised by in- medial management. Much of this
manager. creasingly rapid change. skill can in fact be taught and
learned.
7, The temptation lo reduce one's ho-
Long gone are the days when we rizons in thinking about the future
left it all to the accountants. They are great indeed. It is all too easy lo
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:27 AM | Message # 57 |
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Major general
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| Part 3. Got What It Takes to be a Marketing Manager?
Questions 27 - 36
Read the passage headed 'Got What It Takes to be a Marketing Manager?'. Listed below are eleven titles for the eleven numbered points in the passage. Write the correct point number for each title in the boxes on the Answer Sheet. The first one has been done as an example.
Title
I Example: Planning Skills Point No. ? j
Ex 4
27. Conflict Resolution = Point No. ?
28. Organisational Ability = Point No. ?
'29. Commissioning Research = Point No. ?
30. Strategic Skills Point No. ?
31. Market Behaviour Analysis = Point No. ?
32. Innovation Management = Point No. ?
33. Financial Management = Point No. ?
34. Systems Thinking = Point No. ?
35. Marketing Skills Point No. ?
36. Long-Term Thinking = Point No. ?
This is the end of the reading test
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:28 AM | Message # 58 |
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Major general
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| Module C Reading & Writing Practice Test 3
Write your answers to lite reading practice tests in the boxes below.
You may cut out this page to make it easier to use.
Answer Sheet
1 21
2 22
3 23
4 24 .
5 25
6 26
7 27
S 28
9 29
10 30
11 31
12 32
13 33
14 34
IS 35
16 36
17 37
18 38
19 39
20 40
This page has been deliberately left blank.
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:28 AM | Message # 59 |
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Major general
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| Test Number 3
Writing
Writing Task 1
'In 1989 significantly fewer students in higher education in Aus- tralia came from rural areas than from urban areas, with an even smaller number coming from remote areas. Also, women students in higher education outnumbered male students.'
Use the statistics in the graph and the chart below to support this statement.
* You should write at least 100 words.
*You should take about 15 minutes for this task.
Figure 1.
Participation in Higher Education
Rales by Sex and Home Location, 1989
Source: Data from DEET. Sept 1990
Figure 2.
Students in Higher Education, 1989
Home area Total number of students % female
Urban 320 561 52.3
Rural 77925 54.8
Remote 13959 54.8
Total 412 445 52.8
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:28 AM | Message # 60 |
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Major general
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| Writing Task 2
Write an essay for a university lecturer on the following topic:
The attitude of parents to the education of their children is more important than the quality of schools and teachers in producing well-educated people.
*You should write at least 150 words.
*You may refer to the reading passages in your answer but do not copy directly from them.
*Your essay should be well constructed to show your point of view.
*You should take about 30 minutes for this task.
Use This Space for Notes
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