PASSAGE 9
Interpreting the feelings of other people is not always easy, as we all know, and we (1)......... as
much on what they seem to be telling us, as on the actual words they say. Facial (2)......... and tone of
voice are obvious ways of showing our reaction to something, and it may well be that we (3).... express
views that we are trying to hide. The art of being (4)......... ...lies in picking up these signals, realising
what the other person is trying to say, and acting so that they are not embarrassed in any way. For example,
we may understand that they are in fact (5)... ........ to answer our question, and so we stop pressing them.
Body movements in general may also indicate feelings, and interviewers often (6)...... ......particular
attention to the way a candicate for a job walks into the room and sits down. However, it is not difficult to
present the right kind of appearance while what many employers want to know relates to the candidate’s
character traits, and (7)... ..... stability. This raises the awkward question of whether job candidates should
be asked to complete psychological tests, and the further problem of whether such tests actually produce
reliable results. For many people, being asked to take part in such a test would be an objectionable (8)......
........ into their private lives.
After all, a prospective employer would hardly ask a candidate to run a hundred metres, or expect his or her
family doctor to provide (9)......... .... medical information. Quite apart from this problem, can such tests
predict whether a person is likely to be a (10)...... ......employee or a valued colleague?
- A. estimate B. rely C. reckon D. trust
- A. looks B. expression C. image D. manner
- A. unconsciously B. rarely C. unaware D. cannot
- A. good at B. humble C. tactful D. successful
- A. reluctant B. used C. tending D. hesitant
- A. set B. again C. in D. pay
- A. similar B. physical C. psychological D. relevant
- A. invation B. intrusion C. infringement D. interference
- A. classified B. secretive C. reticent D. confidential
- A. thorough B. particular C. labourious D. conscientious
PASSAGE 10
Ask anyone over forty to make a comparison (1).....................the past and the present and nine
out of ten people will tell you that things have been getting (2)................... worse for as long as they can
remember. Take the weather for example, which has been behaving rather strangely lately. Everyone
remembers that in their childhood the summers were (3)..................hotter, and that winter always
included abundant falls of snow just when the school holidays had started. Of course, the food in those days
was far superior too, as nothing was imported and everything was fresh. Unemployment was
(4)...................., the pound really was worth something, and you could buy a sizeable house even if your
means were (5)................. And above all, people were somehow better in those days, far more friendly,
not inclined to crime or violence, and spent their free time making mordern boats and tending their stamp
collections (6)................... than gazing at the television screen for hours on end. As we know that this
picture of the past (7).....................cannot be true, and there are plenty of statistics dealing with health
and prosperity which prove that it is not true, why is it that we all have a (8).................... to idealize the
past? Is this simply nostalgia? Or is it rather that we need to believe in an image of the world which is
(9).................... the opposite of what we see around us? Whichever it is, at least it leaves us with a
nagging feeling that the present could be better, and perhaps (10)...................... us to be a little more
critical about the way we live.
- A. with B. from C. between D. in
- A. out B. so C. virtually D. steadily
- A. not only B. at least C. rarely D. considerably
- A. petty B. negligible C. miniature D. trivial