READING PASSAGE 1

Read the passage and answer the following questions.

Cosmetic Surgery and the Beauty Premium

1 In 2007, Americans had a total of 11.7 million cosmetic procedures for an aggregate cost of just over
$13 billion. This represents a 114 percent increase in operations and a 754 percent rise in non-surgical
alterations over the previous 10 years. The most popular surgeries were liposuction, breast augmentation,
and eyelid surgery; top non-surgical procedures include Botox injections, moisturized acid fillers for the
skin, and laser hair removal. Americans generally embrace the concept of plastic surgery, with about one-
third of 25 to 44 year old planning a future cosmetic enhancement. However, because many individuals
find themselves worse after surgery than before, one has to wonder why so many people are willing to put
themselves at risk. There is one fairly compelling reason.

2 In a variety of independent studies, economists have found that a beauty premium exists in the
working world. In other words, the more attractive individuals are, the more financial compensation they
can expect. A US analysis revealed that the premium for beauty can be as high as an 18% difference in
wages, regardless of occupation. Likewise, a UK study found that unattractive men and women earn 15 and
11 less respectively. Other research focused on specific fields such as law. They have discovered better-
looking lawyers both worked longer hours and charged higher fees. Furthermore, the likelihood of a male
attorney becoming a law firm partner was directly linked to his attractiveness rating. Apparently, beauty is
a valuable commodity in today’s labor market.
3 These findings coincide with related studies in social sciences where the beautiful are attributed with
a so-called halo effect. This effect refers to documented evidence demonstrating that individuals tend to
assign positive personal and social characteristics to those who would be described as attractive. For
instance, in mock trials, attractive defendants were awarded shorter sentences than unattractive ones
even though the crimes and evidence were identical. Students rate better-looking instructors more
favorably in terms of both intelligence and personality, and attractive speakers are deemed more
convincing by audiences. In a beta-analysis, beautiful people were viewed as more talented, generous,
sincere, outgoing, affectionate, effective, and socially skilled than their less-attractive counterparts.
However, in testing for differences in these traits based on appearance, no such variation was detected.
4 According to scientists, a positive response to beauty may be biologically ingrained. This conclusion
is based on the fact that infants as young as one day old express a distinct preference for beautiful rather
than plain faces. In the UK experiment, 100 babies were shown paired photographs of faces while an
independent observer recorded how long the infants fixated on each one. In all cases, the newborns spent
a longer period of time gazing at the more attractive images. A number of anthropologists claim that this
innate beauty preference may have emerged as an evolutionary mechanism. Since reproductive success is
based on the health and strength of the mate selected, it is likely that an attractive face with symmetrical
features and radiant skin would signal the potential for healthy and successful offspring.

Questions 1-8: Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D.

1. The author mentioned 11.7 million cosmetic procedures in paragraph 1 in order to ______ .
A. compare the number of procedures to the total cost.
B. demonstrate the popularity of cosmetic surgery in the US.
C. imply that Americans are superficial and lack of certain core values.
D. show that cosmetic procedures are suitable and trendy.
2. In paragraph 1, why does the author say “There is one fairly compelling reason"?
 A. To conclude that the reason is not truly convincing.
B. To introduce the next paragraph.
C. To introduce the rest of the passage.
D. To provide a summary of the paragraph.
3. In paragraph 2, the author includes "In other words, the more attractive individuals are, the more
financial compensation they can expect" in order to ________?
A. draw a conclusion based on the previous sentence.
B. explain the previous sentence.
C. give a reason why the previous sentence is true.
D. give an example related to the previous sentence.
4. In paragraph 3, why does the author mention “These findings”?
A. To introduce a set of new findings in the social sciences.
B. To introduce the halo effect.
C. To refer to the previous paragraph.
D. To refer to the next paragraph.
5. In paragraph 3, the author includes “Students rate better-looking instructors more favorably in terms
of both intelligence and personality” in order to _______
A. give an example of the halo effect.
B. give a reason and solution why attractive instructors are effective.
C. illustrate unfairness in the educational system.
D. imply that students are easy to be tricked by their teacher's appearance.
6. The author specifies “no such variations was detected” in paragraph 3 in order to ________.
A. Clarify that the halo effect does not operate in all sectors of society.
B. Deny any concrete proof of the halo effect.
C. Illustrate that the testing for differences about trait based on appearance was inconclusive.
D. Refute claims made that beautiful people possess more positive characteristics.
7. In paragraph 4, why did the author mention “In all cases, the newborns spent a longer period of time
gazing at the more attractive images”?
A. To describe the procedure used in the experimental set-up.
B. To give an example of newborn behavior.
C. To present the correct results of a previously mentioned experiment.
D. To provide proof that newborns cannot distinguish between attractive and plain faces.
8. In which of the following sentences can the word "commodity" in paragraph 2 be used?
A. Oil is Dubai's most profitable ________.
B. It is a _________ to say that they are not paid enough.
C. All employees entrusted _________ to get away with their family members.
D. We have spent a lot of ________ on this house.
Questions 9 - 11 . Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
T if the statement agrees with the information
F if the statement contradicts with the information
NG if there is no information on this

9. According to experts, the way people perceive beauty may have started recently.
10. Effective and socially skilled are some of the false assumptions for attractive people.
11. Looks can be deceiving is a phrase used for saying that people and things are often very different from
how they appear.

READING PASSAGE 2
Social Media Influencers
It is estimated that about 40 percent of the world’s population use social media, and many of these billions
of social media users look up to influencers to help them decide what to buy and what trends to follow. So
what is an influencer and how do we become one?
An influencer is a person who can influence the decisions of their followers because of their relationship
with their audience and their knowledge and expertise in a particular area, e.g. fashion, travel or
technology.
Influencers often have a large following of people who pay close attention to their views. They have the
power to persuade people to buy things, and influencers are now seen by many companies as a direct way
to customers’ hearts. Brands are now asking powerful influencers to market their products. With some
influencers charging up to $25,000 for one social media post, it is no surprise that more and more people
are keen to become influencers too. If you are one of them, then here are the five “Do’s” and
two “Don’ts” on how to do it.
1. Choose your niche.
What is the area that you know most about? What do you feel most excited talking about? Find the
specific area that you’re most interested in and develop it.
2. Choose your “medium” and write an interesting bio.
Most influencers these days are bloggers and micro-bloggers. Decide which medium – such as your own
online blog, Instagram or Snapchat – is the best way to connect with your followers and chat about your
niche area. When you have done that, write an attention-grabbing bio that describes you and your
speciality area in an interesting and unique way. Make sure that people who read your bio will want to
follow you.
3. Post regularly and consistently.
Many influencers post daily on their social media accounts. The more you post, the more likely people will
follow you. Also, ensure that your posts are consistent and possibly follow a theme.
4. Tell an interesting story.
Whether it is a photo or a comment that you are posting, use it to tell a story that will catch the attention
of your followers and help them connect with you.
5. Make sure people can easily find your content.
Publicise your posts on a variety of social media, use hashtags and catchy titles and make sure that they
can be easily found. There is no point writing the most exciting blogposts or posting the most attractive
photographs if no one is going to see them.
And here are two of the “Don’ts” as Media Influencers:
1. Don’t Opt for Quantity over Quality.
Do not assume that a macro-influencer’s massive following will translate into massive engagement. Don’t
reach out to every micro-influencer you find, though.
2. Don’t Confuse Micro Influencers with Brand Ambassadors.
Micro-influencers are content creators who often profit in some way from their social media presence.
While most have day jobs, an increasing number of micro-influencers are relying on their online content to
generate income.
Most importantly, if you want to become a social media influencer, you need to have patience. Keep
posting and your following will gradually increase.

Questions 1-4
1. What is the main idea of the article?
A. Tips on making money as an influencer
B. Tips on becoming a social media influencer
C. Ways to influence people
D. Ways to use influencers in marketing
2. The word “medium” in Dos number 2 is closest in meaning to _______
A. moderate
B. middle
C. method
D. mind-reader
3. This is one of the things that you need to consider on your post as a social media influencer.
A. post about similar subjects
B. post about all sorts of different things
C. post about famous people
D. post at least once a week
4. All of the following are mentioned as ways to make sure that people find your post EXCEPT ______
A. using different social media to link to your post
B. using hashtags
C. using funny or memorable titles
D. delete the low-quality old post

Questions 5-8
True, False or Not Given. Write
T if the statement agrees with the passage
F if the statement disagrees with the passage
NG if the statement is not found in the passage

5. A social media influencer is someone who pays their followers to buy products.
6. Companies want to use their influencers to help them sell their products to their followers.
7. If you want to be an influencer, your bio on social media account shouldn’t be the same as other
people’s bio. F
8. Companies only accept contents that are high-quality and evergreen. NG

Questions 9-12
Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the passage.
9. Companies are paying some influencers up to $25,000 for a ______________ about their products.
10. Most influencers write regular posts on their _____________.
11. Your post should not only be attractive but should tell a ________________.
12. ______________creators or micro-influencers regularly benefit in some ways from their public
network.