Part 1

Read the text below and answer questions 1-14

Read the text below and answer Questions 1-7.
Great cycling trails
Why not take the bike and try one of these wonderful cycling routes
next weekend?

A Bo'ness to Blackness Castle, Edinburgh

If you like cycling on flat ground and enjoy having interesting things
to look at, this is one of the best trails in Scotland, Among its plus
points, there are fantastic views of three of the bridges across the
river Forth, Simply return by the same path or continue on to South
Queens ferry for a longer day out.

B The Montgomery Canal cycle path, Wales

Dragonflies, swans, buzzards, fish and other creatures can be
spotted as you cycle alongside the canal. The path is in good
condition and broad enough for a family to ride safely, A day out
cycling in the area can also include a visit to the nearby thirteenth-
century Powis Castle and its beautiful gardens.

C A walking and cycling path in Birmingham, West Midlands

The busy city of Birmingham has several well-known bike trails,
including a quiet route along the Bourn Brook to Woodgate Valley
country park. One hump-backed bridge is best walked across, but
the rest of the route is flat and suitable for a range of bikes. It's then
2km along the signposted path to Woodgate Valley, which is perfect
for picnics, has a family-friendly visitor attraction especially known
for its sheep, and offers a break from cycling.

D The Cycle Trail in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire

The path is on a former railway route from the time when the area
was involved in coal mining. Cyclists can visit sites from this period
on the way, but those just along for the views won't be
disappointed. Stop for lunch at one of the numerous picnic spots
along the way, The route is circular, fully marked and suitable for
the whole family, including the dog.

E The Wirral Trail, Liverpool

The trail is safe, flat and with plenty of cafés on the way. Take in the
views of North Wales, have a rest on the beach at Caldy or
Thurstaston, then cross the border into Cheshire and on towards
Chester. Both West Kirby and Chester have regular direct trains
back to Liverpool.

Read the text below and answer Questions 8-14.

What steps to take to become a fashion designer

First, it's important to think about what types of fashion designers

are in demand currently. There are so many womenswear
designers, yet not as many menswear sportswear or accessories
designers. Opportunities might be greater in those categories.

When applying for internships, think about what you'll bring to the
company as well as what they can offer you: ls the company going
to teach you skills that are relevant to your future career? What mix
of skills can you bring to the company that is relevant to their
needs? Try to find the company that's the right fit for you, and you
are much more likely to be what the company is looking for as well.

Knocking on doors can lead to fantastic opportunities: Designers are

very busy and overwhelmed with people applying to work with
them, but they're far more impressed by people that try that little
bit harder. For example, some graduates go overseas to New York
or Milan to deliver a self-directed design project and CV to the
designer of their choice. Of course that can lead to considerable
expense, but it often results in success.

Make use of online fashion and business networking sites. Create

your profile on each one, as you never know who might be looking.
Apply to as many fashion hiring agencies as you can - there are
more than 20 in the UK alone. Not all of them take on new
graduates, but try them all anyway.

Consider your training and fill in any gaps in it. Assistant designers
and interns can make themselves more employable through
investing time in obtaining, for example, computer-aided design
(CAD) skills. Unfortunately, not all colleges and universities have
CAD as an integral part of their courses. If this has affected you, you
should study using online learning applications.

Finally, talent is not enough _ you need to get out there and make
sure everybody knows about your skills. Graduates should be aware
that they need to be proactive and persistent. It's all down to
developing new contacts and utilising the ones you already have.

Questions 1-7
Look at the five descriptions of cycle trails, A-E, on page 37.
For which cycle trail are the following statements true?
Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.

Questions 8-14
Complete the flow-chart below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 8-14 on your answer sheet.
 Part 2
Read the text below and answer questions 15-27
Read the text below and answer Questions 15-21.

Types of training in business

The type of training provided in a business will depend on the

resources available for training, the type of company, and the
priority the company places on training.

Technical training is a type of training meant to teach the new

employee the technological aspects of the job. For example, in a
consulting business, technical training might be used so the
consultant knows how to operate the system to input the number of
hours that should be charged to a client. In a restaurant, the server
might need to be trained on how to process customers' orders using
a tablet.

In production focussed businesses, quality training involves

familiarizing employees with the means of preventing, detecting,
and eliminating non-quality products. In a world where quality can
set your business apart from competitors, this type of training
provides employees with the knowledge to recognize products that
are not up to quality standards and teaches them what action to
take in this scenario. This type of training can result in cost savings
in production as well as provide an edge in the marketing of the
product.

Skills training includes proficiencies needed to actually perform the

job. For example, an administrative assistant might be trained in
how to answer the phone, while a salesperson might be trained in
assessment of customer needs and on how to offer the customer
the necessary information to make a buying decision. A cashier
needs to know not only the technology to ring something up on the
till, but what to do if something has been given the wrong price.

A fourth type of training is called 'soft skills' training. Soft skills refer
to personality traits and personal habits that may influence
relationships with other people. Executives say there is an
increasing need for people who have not only the technical skills to
do a job but also the necessary soft skills, such as being good at
different types of communication, including listening to colleagues
and customers. In a retail or restaurant environment, essential soft
skills might include how to motivate others establish rapport and
keep a conversation going. Skills such as these are used in every
interaction with customers and are a key component of the
customer experience.

Read the text below and answer Questions 22-27.

The small business lifecycle

From the moment you make the decision to set up a business,

you're in the ‘business Lifecycle’. This will see you progress from
idea to startup, and if successful, through to the growth and
maturity phases.

Stage 1 is lnitial Development. This is the very beginning of the

business lifecycle. You've got your business idea and you're ready to
take the plunge. But before you do this you should get as many
opinions as possible from friends, family, colleagues, or any industry
specialists you have access to, Ultimately, the success of your
business will come down to your own abilities, the state of the
market and, of course, the decisions you make about the source of
finance for your startup.

Once you're satisfied that your idea is ready to go, you move on to
Stage 2, which is Startup. Many believe this is the riskiest stage of
the entire lifecycle, since mistakes made then can have an impact
many years later. Based on the feedback from your first customers,
you have to be ready to adapt your product or service. It can even
get to the point where you are making so many changes to it that
you start to feel a bit confused about what you're doing. Don't
worry-this feeling will soon disappear as your company develops.

Stage 3 is Establishment. You should now be seeing your profits

improve slowly and steadily, but you may struggle to divide the time
available to you between the growing demands of your business.
Employing the right people is essential, so you need to take a major
part in recruitment, It is your job now to start establishing order and
cohesion as you mobilize your team according to clearly defined and
communicated goals.

By Stage 4, Expansion, you may see rapid growth in profits and wish
to move forward. However, you need to be aware of the risks of
expanding too carelessly, and should keep an eye on how far
expansion might affect the quality of what you provide to your
existing customers.

Stage 5 is Maturity, Here you may wish to further expand the

business. Many companies in this situation bring in a new leader at
this stage, to face the new challenges. Other entrepreneurs may
decide that they should sell the company at this stage, and move on
to a new project.

Questions 15-21
Complete the table below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 15-21 on your answer sheet.
Questions 22-27
Complete the flow-chart below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer
Write your answers in boxes 22-27 on your answer sheet.
 Part 3
Read the text below and answer questions 28-40
The nursery that took all the children's toys away

Do toys stifle children's creativity? One Munich nursery decided to

find out. Sarah Jewell reports

Children are ready consumers, particularly of toys. Their toy chests

may be bursting but they are still desperate for the latest doll or
train set. Depriving children of their toys seems unkind, yet a
growing number of nurseries in Germany do just this. For three
months of the year they put away their toys and all that is left to
play with are the tables, chairs and a few blankets.
The project is called Der Spielzeugfreie Kindergarten (the nursery
without toys) and was founded by Rainer Strick and Elke Schubert,
public health officers who worked with adults suffering from various
forms of addiction. They were concerned about the addictive habits
that start early in childhood and wanted to show that children can
play happily and creatively when they are not being 'suffocated' by
their toys.

One of the nurseries that has been following this project for the past
two years is the Friedrich-Engels-Bogen nursery in Munich. Gisela
Marti, a teacher there, says: ‘In these three months we offer the
children space and time to get to know themselves.’ The aim is to
make the children 'self-confident, able to bear conflict and
frustration, able to say "yes" as well as "no" and also aware of their
weaknesses and strengths'. According to Gisela Marti, the children's
day is deliberately unstructured as one of the basic beliefs of the
project is that children spend too much time being rushed around
from one activity to another and they end up with a 'reduced space
for life'. The children are encouraged to do what they want, in their
own way.

A video taken of the children during the three-month toy-free period

shows them on the first day staring at each other hesitantly and
looking apprehensively around the big, empty classroom. One of the
nursery teachers, Gudrun Huber, says: ‘We left them alone, even if
they were bored, because sometimes things in life are boring and
you have to learn to cope.’ On the second day the children are
filmed playing with the chairs and blankets. They make a den by
draping the blankets over the tables and weighing them down with
shoes, and then they start running around the room, chatting and
laughing excitedly, Gudrun Huber explains how this put them in an
entirely different mood: ‘Once the children realised they could do
what they liked and they were in control, they really went a bit mad
- they got very boisterous and excited, climbing all over the
furniture.’ Initially it was difficult for the staff, not just because it
was unbearably noisy, but because, as Gudrun Huber says: ‘It was
difficult to hold back and let the children be.’

Like Gudrun Huber, Gisela Marti found it hard to re-evaluate the

rules she was used to: 'They weren't allowed to do anything really
dangerous, but they were allowed to jump on the chairs and tables,
and that is not something they would normally be allowed to do. As
a teacher you do have to have confidence in the children.' But she
adds: ‘Everyone has to work within their own boundaries and some
teachers will allow more dangerous and active play than others.’

Gisela Marti found that once the children settled down to the new
regime, they invented games: ‘They loved acting and putting on a
show, or pretending to be in a circus or on a train, but most
importantly, all the time they were playing, they were learning to
socialise.’

Two weeks before the end of the project the teachers and children
had a group discussion about which toys they would like brought
back. The children were happy to get their toys back, but they were
also aware that they had fun without them. As one little boy in
Gudrun Huber's class said: ' like having no toys because then you
can use your imagination instead.

At the end of the project, Elke Schubert thought there were definite
benefits. ‘We find that children on the project concentrate better
when they work, integrate better into groups and communicate
better than the children who didn't take part.’

The parents were also positive about how the 'time without toys'
affected their children. Some parents have even copied the
nursery's example. As one father said: 'Klaus used to get out all his
toys and spread them all over the room and they got in such a mess
that he wasn't playing properly with any of them. So we put all the
toys away in the cellar and now we only get out what he actually
wants to play with and he gets much less frustrated.'

Elsa Davies is Director of the National Playing Fields Association.

She says: ‘The most natural and durable learning happens through
play and often play which is freely chosen by the child. Teachers
often underestimate the power of that learning.’

Questions 28-30
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 28-30 on your answer sheet.
Questions 31-35
Look at the following statements (Questions 31-35) and the list of
people below.
Match each statement with the correct person, A-E.
Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 31-35 on your answer sheet.