Read the text below and answer Questions 1-7.
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Evening
Courses
A Cooking for today
These are classes for those of you who
can already make basic meals by keeping strictly to a simple recipe, but who
would now like to use your imagination as well. We‘ll learn how to make great
family meals, discovering how to develop basic recipes into personal creations,
with a few tricks and tips to help you become more confident.
B Entertaining the easy way
This course has plenty of ideas and
tips for special occasions that you can enjoy preparing, love eating and be
proud to provide. The recipes are adaptable to your needs and lifestyle,
building on your current skills and aimed at developing your own cooking style.
C Cooking for the family
Keen to make better food for your
kids? This course is for parents who want to learn how to make fun food with
the aim of showing their kids how to cook later at home. We’ll learn plenty of
tasty tips for snacks and picnics, family favourites, and dishes with fresh
fruit and vegetables so that you and your family can get really fit and well
and enjoy your food.
Distance
learning system
D Jewellery making
This course aims to enable students to
create silver jewellery. Your first project will be to make a silver ring and
then you will have an opportunity to create another piece of your design. This
is an introductory course. Base metals are supplied free. Please wear suitable
workshop clothing and bring a notebook and pen.
E Photography
This course will allow you to take
full advantage of your digital camera. Covering portrait, landscape and
still-life photography, the classes will include effective use of lenses and
lighting. To really benefit from the course, learners should have time to read
ahead between sessions.
F Creative writing
Come and learn how to have fun with
stories and other kinds of creative writing. We will try out some new ideas and
techniques for improving style and waking up the imagination. Writers who have
not taken the foundation class will also be able to join, provided they already
have some experience of the subject.
Questions 1-7
Look at the
six advertisements for evening courses, A-F, in the text above.
For which evening course are the following statements true?
Write the correct letter, A-F, in
boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
1. After taking this course,
participants will be able to teach their skills to others.
2. Participants will be expected to prepare at home for each class.
3. Certain materials will be included in the course fee.
4. This course aims to teach people to prepare meals for guests.
5. This course will help participants to make the best use of a
certain item.
6. This course is for people who want to do more than follow
instructions.
7. Following this course should improve participants' health.
Read the text below and answer Questions 8-14.
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The Bike Foundry
The Bike Foundry aims to promote cycling, and
to make an environmentally-friendly means of transport and leisure available to
as many people as we can.
Our Bikes
All our bikes are hand-restored by our
team and come with a three month’s guarantee. We stock bikes to suit different
needs, at affordable prices. We gratefully accept donations of unwanted bikes.
Training
We offer maintenance and cycle training to schools and small groups on their
own premises. Additionally, we provide training to individuals and groups in
our workshops.
Maintenance Training
Bike Basics
This is a three-hour course which will teach
you everything you need to know to keep on top of simple maintenance issues
like looking after brakes and gears and how to repair a puncture. By the end of
the course, you’ll know how to take good care of your bike.
Home Mechanics
This twelve-hour course consists of teaching
you how to use specialist tools and how to fit compatible replacement parts.
It’s aimed at those who have completed Bike Basics or have some prior
knowledge.
Courses are run regularly for groups of up to
four trainees. We use professional mechanics’ tools and employ experienced
staff. Most importantly, we have tea and coffee-making facilities and a fridge
where participants can keep their sandwiches, etc. Unfortunately, our training
room is up a flight of stairs.
For £10 a year you can join our Tool Club.
Membership gives you access to our workshop for one evening a week. If you want
to repair your bike and know how to fix it, but lack specialist tools, then
join our club. There’s a range of reference manuals available and a mechanic to
offer advice.
Cycling Training
Our qualified instructors can teach
you how to ride your bike, whether you have had prior experience or not. If
you’re already riding and would like to build your confidence, we can teach you
safe techniques to negotiate traffic.
Booking Information
To book a place, email training@bikefoundry.org
We ask for a 50% deposit to confirm your
place, refundable up to seven days before the course.
Questions 8-14
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text above?
In boxes 8-14 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE
if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement
contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no
information on this
8. The Bike Foundry sells only
second-hand bicycles.
9. All the training sessions are held at the Bike Foundry.
10. The Bike Basics course is aimed at new cyclists.
11. Snacks are provided for participants on the maintenance
training courses.
12. Members of the Tool Club have access to cycle reference books.
13. Most of the participants on the Cycling Training courses are
beginners.
14. People can cancel their place on a training course one week
before it begins and still get their money back.
Write answers to questions in boxes 15-27 on your answer sheet.
GT Reading Sample - "Benefits for staff of
Hamberton Hospital" & "Performance-related
pay"
Read the text below and answer Questions 15-21.
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Benefits for
staff of Hamberton Hospital
Our attractive benefits package is
one of the ways we acknowledge the contribution they all make in the provision
of high quality patient care. Our package is extensive and varied.
As a Hamberton employee, you’ll
enjoy both National Health Service (NHS) and locally developed schemes,
providing you with a range of benefits. These include:
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Financial Benefits
• opportunity to contribute to the NHS Pension Scheme – highly regarded
by the independent pensions and insurance sector
• Injury Benefits Scheme
• excellent occupational sick pay and maternity leave and pay
entitlements
• loans to assist with the purchase of housing for employees in the
health service
Work-Life Balance
Here at Hamberton, we are committed to helping all employees balance their work
and home life commitments. We believe by helping people make this balance we
are able to recruit, retain and motivate the most valuable asset of the NHS –
our employees. We are committed to making this balance work for all employees
equally, not just parents.
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Over 50% of our staff work
part-time in a range of flexible working options, which include:
• job sharing
• term-time-only working
• part-time working
• individually-tailored working patterns
We also support employees further
through our caring and special leave arrangements.
Health
• our own occupational health department, providing a totally
confidential service open to all staff during normal working hours
• a round-the-clock free and confidential counselling service
• policies supporting phased returns to work after long illnesses or
injuries
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Other Benefits
On-site facilities include:
• excellent food provided in our restaurant
• ample parking
• retail outlets
NHS Discounts
All NHS employees can access the NHS Discounts scheme. This allows members of
staff free access to a number of discounted products and services. For example,
discounts are available at many high street shops and elsewhere, including savings
on toys, utility bills, days out, and much more.
Red Guava
This is a further discount benefit, which is available to employees of
Hamberton. Red Guava provides discounts on holidays, for example, and can save
you money in many other ways too.
Questions 15-21
Complete the sentences below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 15-21 on your answer sheet.
15. The hospital provides
benefits to show its recognition of the ………………………… of staff to its work.
16. Financial benefits include pay for staff who are …………………………
or on maternity leave.
17. ………………………… are available for staff who wish to buy a home.
18. Helping staff with their work-life balance is not restricted
to …………………………
19. The hospital has ………………………… that are designed to help staff
return to work after a long absence.
20. The facilities on hospital premises include a large area for
…………………………
21. The cost of ………………………… is reduced by using the Red Guava
scheme.
Read the text below and answer Questions 22-27.
Performance-related
pay
There are a number of reasons why
your employer might introduce this type of pay scheme. They may:
• be keen to retain current staff
• want to compete for new talent
• be seeking a fairer way of distributing wages.
In order for performance-related
schemes to work, they should be based on clear, measurable targets agreed by
both employer and employee. You will normally find out about these targets from
your contract of employment and the performance appraisal meetings you have
with your manager.
Short-term schemes
Short-term schemes usually offer bonus payments, or, depending on the type of
work, commission on sales achieved. Payments vary and these schemes are
normally used just to encourage staff to improve their own performance.
Long-term schemes
Long-term schemes offer rewards like share options, and can help to encourage
loyalty to the organisation and its aims. Such schemes tend to be used as a way
of retaining senior staff.
What to do if you have problems
If you don’t receive bonus or commission payments which you believe you are
owed, check your contract of employment or staff handbook to see how your bonus
is paid. Ask your employer if you need more information.
If you think a mistake has been
made, you should:
• speak to your employer to see if there has been a misunderstanding
• ask your employer to set out in writing how they have calculated your pay
• keep copies of any letters and notes of any meetings.
There are three ways that the law
might cover a case of unpaid bonuses:
• breach of contract
• unlawful deductions from wages
• unlawful discrimination.
Deductions from wages / breach
of contract
Any right to a bonus will normally be included in your contract of employment.
It may not always be written down. It can be verbally agreed or understood to
be there due to normal practice in your particular area of business.
Failure to pay a bonus or
commission that you are entitled to could amount to an unlawful deduction of
wages.
Discrimination
Your employer must not discriminate against particular groups of people – for
example, by giving smaller bonuses to women. Ideally, your employer should have
some guidelines setting out the normal range of bonuses to give, and these must
be followed without discriminating against any specific group.
Questions 22-27
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 22-27 on
your answer sheet.
Performance-related pay
One of the
reasons for introducing performance-related pay is in order to 22 …………………… existing employees.
Employer and employee should agree on some 23 …………………… that can be measured.
Short-term schemes: bonus or the payment of a 24 …………………… related to sales.
Long-term reward schemes: generally offered to employees at a 25 …………………… level.
Details of bonus payments: may be included in a contract or a handbook for
staff.
If you think there has been a
mistake with your pay:
• discuss the
issue with your employer
• keep records of any relevant 26 ……………………
It is illegal
for employers to discriminate against any specific group, e.g. by giving less
money to 27 …………………… .
Answer:
1. C
2. E
3. D
4. B
5. E
6. A
7. C
8. TRUE
9. FALSE
10. NOT GIVEN
11. FALSE
12. TRUE
13. NOT GIVEN
14. TRUE
Sample 2
Answer:
15. contribution
16. sick
17. loans
18. parents
19. policies/schemes
20. parking
21. holidays
22. retain
23. targets
24. commission
25. senior
26. meetings/letters
27. women
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