IELTS General Reading Test 94

Section 1
Read the text below and answer questions 1-7.

Passport Application

You will need to fill in an application for a passport in the following circumstances: if you are applying for a passport for the first time, if you wish to replace your current passport, if your passport has expired, or if it has been lost or stolen. Your application form must be completed in your own handwriting.

As proof of your citizenship and identity, you must enclose either your passport or your birth certificate. All documents must be originals; these will be returned with your passport.

The standard time to process an application is up to 10 working days. The processing begins from when we have received the completed application form. Applicants should expect delays if the Passport Office receives a form with missing information. Extra time should be allowed for delivery to and from the Passport Office.

Please provide two identical passport photos of yourself. Both photos must be the same in all respects and must be less than 12 months old.

Ask someone who can identify you to fill in the ‘Proof of Identity’ information and identify one of your photos. This person will be called your witness and needs to meet the following requirements: a witness must be aged 1 6 years or over, be contactable by phone during normal office hours and be the holder of a valid passport. A witness should fill in the ‘Proof of Identity’ page in their own handwriting. A witness must also write the full name of the person applying for the passport on the back of one of the photos, sign their own name and date the back of the same photo. Photos with this identifying information written in the applicant’s own handwriting will not be accepted.

Questions 1-7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text above? In boxes 1-7, 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

1. A husband can fill in an application form for his wife.
2. Photocopies of documents are acceptable in some circumstances.
3. An incomplete application will affect processing time.
4. The passport photos included with your application must be in colour.
5. A witness can be a relative of the applicant.
6. Anyone acting as a witness must have a passport.
7. The passport applicant must sign their name on the back of both photos.

Read the text below and answer questions 8-14.

Auckland International Airport Services

A The second floor of the international terminal offers a view of the airfield and all incoming and outgoing flights. There is a cafe situated here as well as a restaurant, which is available for all airport visitors to use.

B We are open for all international flights and provide a comprehensive service for visitors to the city. Brochures on a range of attractions are available, and we also offer a booking service for accommodation and transport. Shuttle buses into the city centre are provided at a competitive price.

C Passengers who require urgent medical attention should dial 9877 on any public telephone in the terminal. The airport pharmacy is located on the ground floor near the departure lounge, and stocks a comprehensive range of products.

D Departing passengers can completely seal their luggage or packages in recyclable polythene to protect them from damage. Luggage storage, charged at $10 per hour, is available on the first floor. Transit passengers have free access to storage facilities.

E Every international passenger, with the exception of children under 12 years of age and transit passengers in Auckland for less than 24 hours, is required to make a payment of $25 when leaving the country. This can be arranged at the National Bank on the ground floor.

F As Auckland International Airport has adopted the ‘quiet airport’ concept, there are usually no announcements made over the public address system. Details of all arrivals and departures are displayed on the monitors located in the terminal halls and lounge areas.

G The airport caters for the needs of business travellers and has several rooms available for seminars or business gatherings. These are located adjacent to the airport medical centre on the first floor. For information and bookings please contact the Airport Business Manager on extension 3294.

Questions 8-14
The reading passage “Auckland International Airport Services” has seven sections, A-G. Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.

8. Section A
9. Section B
10. Section C
11. Section D
12. Section E
13. Section F
14. Section G

List of Headings
i Departure procedures
ii Observation area
iii Baggage services
iv Meeting facilities
v Healthcare services
vi Flight information
vii Currency exchange
viii Health and safety advice
ix Departure fees
x Tourist travel centre

Section 2
Read the text below and answer the questions 15-20.

Planning a gap year

The best reason to take a gap year between school and work or higher education is to improve your CV with experience overseas. This is why some school leavers in Britain now consider a year out to be essential. Many want to travel, with Sydney the favourite destination. Shooting Star is an organisation that helps school leavers by offering training followed by appropriate employment.

We at Shooting Star offer much more than a trip abroad. At Shooting Star you acquire skills that lead to interesting jobs both for your gap year and future holidays. Magazines are full of ‘Wanted’ adverts for washing up in a restaurant. Well, we don’t do that it’s not our idea of excitement. We offer school leavers the chance for outdoor adventure, to teach things like sailing and snowboarding. No choice, really! In your year out you train, travel and work; you can combine work with pleasure and reap the rewards. You could become an experienced yacht skipper or instructor and many people go on to spend their future holidays being paid to enjoy their favourite sport.

Australians and New Zealanders travel to Europe and North America in large numbers to gain overseas experience. Those who qualify with Shooting Star are very soon using their skills in jobs they could only dream about before, working outdoors and seeing more of the world. Wherever you come from, a gap year with Shooting Star means professional training and international adventure.

Top tips for a successful gap year:
• Design your gap year in outline before applying for a permanent job or a college place. Human Resources officers or Admissions tutors will be impressed by a thought-out plan.
• What’s more important to you – travel or work experience? You can be flexible with travel plans but you must research job opportunities in advance. Go to our website and click on Recruitment for ideas.
• Who do you know who has taken a gap year before? Shooting Star can put you in touch with someone who has just completed one.
• Sort out the admin in plenty of time – air tickets, visas, insurance and medical matters such as vaccinations for some destinations. These are your responsibility.
• Who is in charge of your affairs while you are away? There will be forms to fill and letters to answer.
• Allow plenty of time to settle back home on your return – and don’t be surprised if it takes some time to readjust to everyday life!

Questions 15-20
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text above? In boxes 15-20, 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

15. For some young British people, the purpose of a gap year is to improve their academic qualifications.
16. Shooting Star finds employment for young people in the catering industry.
17. Training with Shooting Star can be expensive.
18. New trainees find it easy to get the sort of work they want.
19. New trainees who want work experience should check out vacancies before they depart.
20. Shooting Star helps with travel arrangements.

Read the text below and answer questions 21-27.

Succeeding at Interviews

A Getting invited to an interview means you have passed the first hurdle- your application must have made a good impression. Now you need to prepare yourself for the interview to make sure you make the most of this opportunity. There are a number of things you can do.

B Firstly you can do some research. Find out about the employer and the job, ask for an information pack or speak to people you know who work for the company. Try to plan for the interview by asking who will be interviewing you and whether there will be a test to take.

C Prepare for questions you might be asked. Some common ones are the reason why you want the job, whether you have done this kind of work before, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and which leisure pursuits you enjoy.

D Another important point is never to run the risk of arriving late. For example, consider making a ‘dummy run’ in advance to see how long the journey will take. Check out public transport or, if you are going by car, the nearest parking. Aim to arrive about 10 minutes before the interview is due to start.

E It is also crucial to give plenty of thought to what you are going to wear. This will depend on the job you are going for. There is no need to buy a new outfit, but aim to look neat and tidy. Remember, if you look good it will help you feel good.

F You need to make a good impression. Interviews can vary from a relatively informal ‘one-to-one’ chat to a very formal panel situation. Whatever the circumstances, you will give yourself an advantage by being friendly and polite, by making eye contact with the interviewer and by selling yourself by focusing on your strengths.

G There are also things you should avoid doing at your interview. First of all, don’t exaggerate. For example, if you don’t have the exact experience the employer is looking for, say so and explain you are willing to learn. Don’t simply give ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers, but answer questions as fully as you can. And lastly, don’t forget to ask questions as well as answering them.

H One final thing to remember: it is important to show good team spirit that you possess good people skills and that you are friendly and approachable. Finally, remember to be enthusiastic and show that you can be flexible.

Questions 21-27
Which section mentions the following? The text has eight sections, A-H. Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 21 – 27. NB You may use any letter more than once.

21. The importance of good manners.
22. Using your contacts
23. Giving adequate responses
24. Getting on well with colleagues
25. The information you may need to provide
26. Being honest with the interviewer
27. Being punctual

Section 3

The History of Cinema

The history of the cinema in its first thirty years is one of major and, to this day, unparalleled expansion and growth. Beginning as something unusual in a handful of big cities – New York, London, Paris and Berlin the new medium quickly found its way across the world, attracting larger and larger audiences wherever it was shown and replacing other forms of entertainment as it did so. As audiences grew, so did the places where films were shown, finishing up with the ‘great picture palaces’ of the 1920s, which rivalled, and occasionally superseded, theatres and opera-houses in terms of opulence and splendour. Meanwhile, films themselves developed from being short ‘attractions only a couple of minutes long. to the full-length feature that has dominated the world’s screens up to the present day.

Although French, German, American and British pioneers have all been credited with the invention of cinema, the British and the Germans played a relatively small role in its worldwide exploitation. It was above all the French, followed closely by the Americans, who were the most passionate exporters of the new invention, helping to start cinema in China, Japan, Latin America and Russia. In terms of artistic development it was again the French and the Americans who took the lead, though in the years before the First World War, Italy, Denmark and Russia also played a part.

In the end, it was the United States that was to become, and remain, the largest single market for films. By protecting their own market and pursuing a vigorous export policy, the Americans achieved a dominant position in the world market by the start of the First World War. The centre of film-making had moved westwards, to Hollywood, and it was films from these new Hollywood studios that flooded onto the world’s film markets in the years after the First World War, and have done so ever since. Faced with total Hollywood domination, few film industries proved competitive. The Italian industry, which had pioneered the feature film with spectacular films like Quo vadis (1913) and “Cabiria” (1914), almost collapsed.

In Scandinavia, the Swedish cinema had a brief period of glory, notably with powerful epic films and comedies. Even the French cinema found itself in a difficult position. In Europe, only Germany proved industrially capable, while in the new Soviet Union and in Japan, the development of the cinema took place in conditions of commercial isolation.

Hollywood took the lead artistically as well as industrially. Hollywood films appealed because they had better-constructed narratives, their special effects were more impressive, and the star system added a new dimension to the screen acting. If Hollywood did not have enough of its own resources, it had a great deal of money to buy up artists and technical innovations from Europe to ensure its continued dominance over present or future competition.

From early cinema, it was only American slapstick comedy that Successfully developed in both short and feature format. However, during this Silent Filmiera, animation, comedy, serials and dramatic features continued to thrive, along with factual films or documentaries, which acquired an increasing distinctiveness as the period progressed. It was also at this time that the avant-grade film first achieved commercial success, this time thanks almost exclusively to the French and the occasional German film.

Of the countries which developed and maintained distinctive national cinemas in the silent period, the most important were France, Germany and the Soviet Union. Of these, the French displayed the most continuity, in spite of the war and post-war economic uncertainties. The German cinema, relatively insignificant in the pre-war years, exploded onto the world scene after 1919. Yet even they were both overshadowed by the Soviets after the 1917 Revolution. They turned their back on the past, leaving the style of the pre-war Russian cinema to the emigres who fled westwards to escape the Revolution.

The other countries whose cinemas changed dramatically are: Britain, which had an interesting but undistinguished history in the silent period; Italy, which had a brief moment of international fame just before the war; the Scandinavian countries, particularly Denmark, which played a role in the development of silent cinema quite out of proportion to their small population, and Japan, where a cinema developed based primarily on traditional theatrical and, to a lesser extent, other art forms and only gradually adapted to western influence.

Questions 28 – 30
Which THREE possible reasons for American dominance of the film industry are given in the text ‘The history of cinema’? Write answers A-F in boxes 28-30.

A plenty of capital to purchase what it didn’t have
B making films dealing with serious issues
C being first to produce a feature film
D well-written narratives
E the effect of the First World War
F excellent special effects

(28) …………
(29) …………
(30) …………

Questions 31 – 33
Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the above reading passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 31-33.

31. Which TWO types of films were not generally made in major studios?
32. Which type of film did America develop in both short and feature films?
33. Which type of film started to become profitable in the ‘silent period?

Questions 34 – 40
Look at the following statements (Questions 34-40) and the list of countries below. Match each statement with the correct country. Write the correct letter A-J in boxes 34-40. NB You may use any letter more than once.

34. It helped other countries develop their own film industry.
35. It was the biggest producer of films.
36. It was first to develop the ‘feature’ film.
37. It was responsible for creating stars.
38. It made the most money from ‘avant-garde’ films.
39. It made movies based more on its own culture than outside influences.
40. It had a great influence on silent movies, despite its size.

List of countries
A France
B Germany
C USA
D Denmark
E Sweden
F Japan
G Soviet Union
H Italy
I Britain
J China

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