IELTS cic READING PASSAGE 1 ‘You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 (on pages ? and 3 Why good ideas fail As part of a marketing course, two marketing expert comment on a hypothetical case study involving TF, a fictional retail giant specializing in home furnishing. The experts give concrete solutions and advice to assist students ‘Hypothetical case study: TE became a setail success in the 1970s when it succeeded in spotting homeware trends and meeting the needs ofits then trendy young customer. However, by 2004, the TF stores were failing and a rethink was clearly necessary. Tibal Fisher, TF's founder and CEO, decided to change its focus under the new brand name of TF's NextStage. His aim was to recapture the now ageing customers that had given him his early success and target consumers aged 60+ with devices and gadgets specifically designed to assist them with the problems associated with ageing: mobile phones with screens that were easy to set and adjust. TE’s market research proved to be very positive, showing strong consumer support for the products In 2007, the store were remodeled at a cost of USS40 million’and the new bratid was launched. Each store was made more comfortable and featured a coffee shop to help increase traflic-Tibal had predicted that if they could get customers into the stores then the products would sell themselves. However, by 2009 it was clear that the idea was a failure and the stores consistently remained empty. Customers complained that the new stores felt like a senior center and reminded them that they were growing old. Feedback from experts: Expert 1: Donna Sturgess, global head of innovation, GlaxoSmithKline The TFteam’s customer research efforts are a classic case of missing the subconscious associations at work in consumers'minds. Tibal and his executives looked only at surface attitudes. Since those attitudes make up a relatively small part of the total consumer response, the executives are clueless about the reason for the poor sales. It's critical for companies to understand that every customer relates to a brand emotionally, and it’s those emotions that trigger-or block-purchases. ‘That's why we're focused on using emotional strategies behind branding for a number of years now. A great example is Alli (pronouncedially), a drug to aid weight loss. The product deals with a highly emotional issue, so in marketing it, we faced the same challenge that the new ‘TEstores are facing: the very thougitt of buying the product reminds customers that they have problems they fee! nesat-vely about. In the case of TF's NextStage, the problems are age and LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC M KET TRONG DE KHITHI THAT KHONG TAUNG HOAN 100% HOC PHIIELTS cic infirmity. In the case of Alli, the problems are excessive weight and all its consequences. There's always a risk that consumer's negative feelings will discourage them fiom starting or staying on a diet. So, after extensive market research, we took a number of steps to inject positive emotions into the whole process or using the product First we came up with a name that sounds like a helpfil partner. We also aimed to make the coutainer both beautifil and functional - something that didn't just hold pills but could later be used to store diet guides and recipes. Traditional market research is unlikely to uncover ideas like this, so we use a wide variety of techniques. Even simple techniques such as one-on-one interviews, or ethnographical observation that involves going into people's houses to examine their behavior, can provide valuable data Expert 2: Alex Lee, president of OXO International, maker of 0X0 Good Grips household products This retailer can get back on track by remembering a prineiple that applies to consumers in ‘general and those aged 60+ in particular: they're attracted by brands they associate with the type of people they'd like to be-not the type they really are. That's why marketing campaigns for surf geer feature surfers not the city dwellers who will wear the products while doing their shopping. Twas reminded of this principle a few years ago when we wanted to find out how far we could apply our design philosophy of making things easier to sue in order tomoye from cuf core business, kitchen tools; into other products: We conducted what are known as focus groups, where participants|were asked to look atphotos of people and pick tho se they pereeived to be user and nonusers of our products. Consistently they picked people wito looked fid as the sort who would use our products, and people who looked old and boring as.the sort who wouldnt. Yet the participants, all ewners of our products, looked a lot more like the latter than the former Although the needs of elderly users and those with detericrating vision or dexterity are very muuch taken into consideration when we develop new designs, we try to offer products that appeal to 20- and 30-year-olds. We believe that referring to these products as helping tools ‘would serve only to harm the brand in our customers ‘eyes. That's why our philosophy of universal design, which involves creating products that are comfortably useable by the largest possible range of people, is never explicitly stated as part of our marketing position. ‘We've found that market research doesn't need to be very sophisticated. For instance, we have conducted simple surveys in the lobby of our building offering free products in excliange for people's opinions. Some may call this unscientific but we have uncovered great insights this way. Sometimes the most important signals come fiom an executive's own instincts, In Tibal Fisher's cease, this could have told him what his surveys and focus groups dida't: 60-plus-year-olds won't support a business that expects them to act their age. LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC M KET TRONG DE KHITHI THAT KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHIQuestions 1-5 Do the following statements agree with the information given Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-5 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 ‘The TF NextStage stores plamed to sell products to make life easier for older people. ‘T's market research indicated that people liked the products 1 2 3 Itcost more than expected to remodel the TFstores, 4 The TF NextStage coffee shops sold their own brand of food and drink, 5 TE Nextstage customers liked the atmosphere in the new stores. IELTS cic LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC a eNroan KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHIIELTS cic Questions 6-13 Complete the notes below. ‘Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS fiom the passage for cach answer. Write your answers in boxes 6-13 on your answer sheet. Feedback from experts Donna Sturgess Problems with customer research: + TF team limited their research to attitudes that oceur at a 6 .. .. level in customers’ minds + TF didn't consider customers’ emotions How my company dealt with a similar problem: + Product: Alli + Use: help people achieve 7 .. + Marketing aim: help customers see the product in a positive way by: ~ giving the Pioduct a ® .......[l.... flat Sees help fl aul sippartive ~ giving the produet a reusable 9 . Market research + does not need to be complex + good information can come from interviews or stdying the 10 «2.0... OF consumers in the home Alex Lee Problem: + customersareattracted to the ideal uot the realty, e.g, ads for surf gear How my company dealt with a similar problem: + weorganised 11 .............0. 10 find out what images customers associate with our products + we do not call our products helping tools in our marketing campaigns Market research: + canbe basic, e.g. by doing 12 + company executives should follow their 13 .. LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC ENIGEn Ces KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHIREADING PASSAGE 2 ‘You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 (on pages 6 and 7 IELTS cic Keeping the water away New approaches to flood control A. Recently, winter floods on the rivers of central Europe have been among. the worst for 600 to 700 years, and dams and dykes (protective sea walls) have failed to solve the problem. Traditionally, siver engineers have tried to get rid of the water quickly, draining it off the land and downto the sea in rivers re- engineered as high-performance drains, But however high they build the artificial riverbanks, the floods keep coming back. And when they come, they/seemto be worse tham ever B. Engineers are now turning toa different plan: to sap the water's, destructive strength by dispersing it into fields, forgotten lakes and flood plains. They are seviving river bends and marshes to curb the flow, and even phigging city drains to encourage floodwater to use other ‘means to go underground, Back in the days when rivers took a winding path to sea, oodwaters lost foree and volume while meandering across flood plains and island deltas, but today the water tends to have a direct passage to the sea. This means that, ‘when it rains in the uplands, the water comes down all at once, C. Worse, when the flood plains are closed off, the river's flow Jownstte nore violent LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC M KET TRON a KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHI and uncontrollable; by turning complex river systems into the simple mechanics of a water pipe, engineers have often created danger where they promised safety. The Rhine, Europe's most engineered river, isa good example. For a long. time engineers have erased its backwaters and cut it off fiom its flood plain. The aim was partly to improve navigation, and partly to speed floodwaters out ofthe Alps and down tothe North Sea. Now, when tains bard in the Alps, the Deak flows fromseveral branches of the Rhine coincide where once they arrived separately, and with four- fifths of the Lower Rhine's flood plain barricaded off, the waters rise. The result is more fiequent flooding and greater damage. The same thing has happened in the Us on the Mississippi river, which drains the world’s second largest river catchment into the Guli of Mexico. Despite some $7 billion spent over the last century on levees (embankments), the situation is growing worse. Special in water control now say that a new approach is needed-one which takes the whole landscape into consideration. To help keep London's feet dry, the UK Environment Agency is refloodingIELTS cic 10 square kilometres of the ancient flood plain of the River Thames outside Oxford. Nearer to London, it has spent £100 million creating new wetlands and a relief channel across 16 kilometres of flood plain. Similar ideas are being tested in Austria, in one of Europe's largest river restorations to date. The engineers calculate that the restored flood plain of the Drava River ean now store up to 10 million cublic metres of floodwater, and slow down storm surges coming out of the Alps by more than an hour, protecting towns not only in Austria, but as far downstream as Slovenia and Croatia E. The Dutch, for whom preventing floods is a matter of survival, have gone farthest. This nation, built largely on drained marshes and seabed, has had several severe shocks in the last two decades, when very large numbers of people have had to be evacuated. Since that time, the Dutch have broken one of their most enduring national stereotypes: by allowing engineers to punch holes in dykes. They plan to return up to a sixth of the country to its former waterlogged state in order to better protect the rest. F. Water use in cities also needs to change. At the moment, cities seem designed to create floods; they are conereted and paved so that rains flow quickly into rivers. A new breed of ‘soft engineers’ wants cities to become porous. Berlin is one place where this is being done. Tough new rules for new developments mean that drains will er ‘oming LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC M KET TRON a KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHI overloaded after heavy rains. Architects of new urban buildings are diverting rainwater from the roof for use in toilets and the imtigation of roof gardens, while water falling conto the ground os eollected in ponds, or passes underground through porous paving. One high- tech urban development can storea sixth of its annual rainfall, and reuse most of the rest. Could this be expanded to protect a whole city? The test ease could be Los Angeles. With non-porous surfaces covering 70% of the city, drainage is « huge challenge. Billions of dollars have been spent digging huge drains and concreting riverbeds, but many communities still flood seaularly, Meanwhile this desert city ships water from hundreds of kilometres away to fill its taps aud swimming pools. Los Angeles has recently launched a new scheme to utilise floodwater in the Sun Valley section of the city. The plan is to catch the vain that falls on thousands of driveways, parking lots and rooftops in the valley. Trees will soak up water fiom parking lots; houses and public buildings will capture roof water to irrigate garden and parks, and road drains will empty into old gravel pits to recharge the city’s underground water reserves. Result: less flooding and more water for the city. It may sound expensive, until we realise how ‘uch is spent trying to drain cities and protect areas from flooding, and how little this method achieves.Questions 14 - 19 Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G. ‘Which paragraph contains the following information? ‘Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet. 14 how legislation has forced building designers to improve water use 15 two reasons why one river was isolated fiom its flood plain 16 how natural water courses in the past assisted flood control 17 anexample of flood control on one river, affecting three countries 18 a country which has partly destroyed one of its most typical features in order to control water 19 the writer's comment on the comparative cost effectiveness of traditional flood control and newer methods Questions 20/and 21 Choose TWO letters, A-E. ‘Write the correct letters in boxes 20 and 21 on your answer shect: According to the article, which TWO of these statements are true of the new approach to flood control? A. Itaimsto slow the movement of water to the sea B_ _Iraimsto channel water more directly into rivers. C It will cost more than twice as much as former measures. D It will involve the loss of some areas of land. E _Ithas been tested only in The Netherlands. 1eLTS cic LUYEN DE THI G6c - TANG BAND THAN TOC a M KET TRON oa KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHIQuestions 22 - 26 ‘Complete the sentences below. ‘Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS fiom the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 22-26 on your answer sheet. 22 23 24 26 IELTS cic Some of the most severe floods for many centuries have recently occured in parts of The Rhine and the ............s..+. vers have experienced similar problems with water control. Anarea near Oxford will be flooded to protect the city of ... Planners who wish to allow water to pass more fieely through city surfaces are called... A proposal for part of the city of ...........:+.+. eould show whether small-scale water projects could apply on a large seale. LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC M KET TRON a KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHIIELTS cic READING PASSAGE 3 ‘You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 ‘on pages 10 and 11 ‘The Diprotodon (a rhinoceros-sized wombat), an example of Australia's now extinct megafauna Australia's Megafauna Controversy Just how long did humans live side by side with megafauna in Australia? Barry Brook, Richard Gillespie and Paul Martin dispute previous claims ofa lengthy coexistence ‘Over the past 50 millennia, Australia has witnessed the extinction of many species of large animals, including a rhinoceros-sized ‘wombat and goannas the size of crocodiles, Debate about the possible cause of these extinctions has continued for more than 150 years and one of the crucial questions raised is how long humais and megafiumna coexisted in/Australia. We needto know the overlap of time to make an informed choice between the two main theories regarding the causes of these extinctions. If humans and megafauna coexisted fora protracted period then climate change is the more likely cause However, if the megafauna became extinct shortly after the arrival of humans, then Jbumans are the likely culprits. The archaeological site at Cuddle Springs in eastern Australia appears to be well preserved. This dusty claypan holds within its sediments a rich cache of flaked stone and seed-grinding tools, and side by side with these clear signals of human culture are the bones of a dozen or more species of megafiuuna, Drs Judith Field and Stephen Wroe of the University of Sydney, who excavated the site, claim that it provides equivocal evidence of a long overlap of humans and megafauna, and niclude that a upto the last LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC M KET TRONG DE KHITHI THAT KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHI Ice Age brought about their eventual demise. In the long-standing explanation of this site, artefacts such as stone tools and extinet animal remains were deposited over many thousands of years in an ephemeral lake-a body of water existing for a relatively short time - and remained in place and 1Widiturbed until the present day. “There is no disputing the dose association of bones aud stones at Cuddle Springs, as both are fond 1 to 1.7 metres delow the modern surface, The dating of these layers is accurate: ages for the sediments were obtained through radiocarbon dating of charcoal fragments and luminescence dating of sand grains from the same levels (revealing when a sample was last exposed to sunlight). Intriguingly, some of the stone tools show surface features indicating their use for processing plants, and a few even have well-preserved blood and hair residues suggesting were used in butchering animals But is the case proposed by Field and ‘Wroe clear-cut? We carried out a reanalysis of the scientific data from Cuddie Springs that brings into question their conclusions. ‘The amount of anthropological evidence found at the site is remarkable: we estimate there are more than 3 tonnes of charcoal andmore than 300 tonnes of stone buried there Field and Wroe estimate that there ate approximately 20 million artefacts. This plethora of tools is hard to reconcile with a site that was only available for occupation when the lake was dry. Furthermore, no cultural features sich as oven pits have been discovered. If the sediment layers have reumained undisturbed since being laid dowa, as Field and Wroe contend, then the ages of those sediments shonld increase with depth. However, our analysis revealed a number of inconsistencies. Firs, the charcoal samples are all roughly 36,000 years old, Second, sand in the two upper levels is considerably younger than charcoal from the same levels. Third, Field and Wroe say that the tools and seed- grinding stones used for plant and animal processing areaneient, yet thiey are very. similar to implements found elsewhere that were inuse only a few thousand years ago, Also of interests the fact that a deep drill core made a mere 60 metres from the site recovered no stone artefacts or fossil bones whatsoever. These points suggest strongly that the sediments have been moved about and some of the old charcoal has been re- deposited in younger layers. Indeed, one sample of cow bone found 1 meire below the surface came from sediments where charcoal dated at 6,000 and 23,000 years old is mixed with 17,000-year-old sand. The megafinma bones themselves have not yet been dated, although new technological developments make this a possibility in the near fiture We propose that the archaeologists have actually been sampling the debris carried by ancient flood channels beneath the site, including charcoal transported from IELTS cic LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC M KET TRONG DE KHITHI THAT KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHI bushiires that intermittently occurred within the catchmeut. Flood events more likely explain the accumulation of megafauna remains, and could have mixed old bones with fresh deposits. European graziers also disturbed the site in 1876 by constructing a well to provide water for their cattle. Given the expense of well-digging, we speculate that the graziers made sure it was protected from the damage caused by cattle hooves by lining the surface with small stones collected from further afield, including prehistoric quarries. This idea is consistent with the thin layer of stones spread over a large area, with cattle occasionally breaking through the gravel surface and foreing the stone and even cattle bones deeper into the waterlogged soil The lack of eonelusive evidence that ‘bumans and megafarma coexisted for a Tengthy period casts doubt on Field and Wroe's assertion that climate change was ‘responsible for the extinction of Australia's megafatna. However, we do'tiot suggest that newly arrived, well-armed hunters systematically slaughtered all the large beasts they encountered. Recent studies based on the biology of modern-day large mammal, combined with observations of people who still practice a traditional hmnter- gatherer lifestyle, reveal an unexpected paradox and suggest a further possible explanation as to what happened. Using a mathematical model, it was found that a group of 10 people killing only one juvenile Diprotodon each year would be sufficient to bring about the extinction of that species within 1,000 years. This suggests that here, as in other parts of the world, the arrival of Immans in lands previously inhabited only by animals created a volatile combination in which large animals fared badly.IELTS cic Questions 27-30 Do the following statements agree with claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet, write YES ifthe statement agrees with the claims of the writer NO ifthe statement contradicts the claims of the writer NOT GIVEN iris impossible 10 say what the vwviter thinks about this 27 Field and Wroe argue that findings at the Cuddie Springs site show that people lived in this area at the same time as megafauna. 28 Field and Wroe believe itis likely that smaller megafaune species survived the last Ice Age. 29 The waiters believe that the dating 6 carth up to 1.7m below the present surface at Cuddie Springs is umeliable. 30 Some artefacts found at Cuddie Spings were preserved well enough to reveal their finction. Questions 31-35 ‘Complete the summary using the list of words, A-I, below. ‘Write the correct letter, A-I in boxes 31-35 on your answer sheet. The writer’ arguments Field and Wroe's analysis of the scientific data from Cuddle Springs ‘One objection to Ficld and Wroe's interpretation ithe lange quantity of charcoal, 31 . a and artefacts found at Cnddie Springs. Such large numbers of artefacts would be impossible if the area had been covered with 32 fora period, There is also a complete lack of man-made structures, for instance those used for 33 ......... ‘Other evidence that casts doubt on Field and Wroe’s claim is the fact that while some material in the highest levels of sediment is 36.000 years old. the 34 ... in the same levels is, nnich more recent. The tools used to process plants and animals may also be newer than Field and Wroe believe. Further evidence against human occupation of the area is the absence of tools and 35... vv. justa short distance away. A seeds B stone C sand D cooking E deep drill core F vater G fossil bones H sediment I storage LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC M KET TRON a KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHIQuestions 36 — 40 ‘Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write the correct letter in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet 36 What conclusions did the writers reach about the inconsistencies in the data from Cuddle Springs? A The different layers of sediment have been mixed over time. B The sand evidence is unhelpful and should be disregarded. C The area needs to be re-examined when technology improves D The charcoal found in the area cannot be dated. 37 According to the writers, what impact conld a natural phenomenon have had on this site? A Floods could have caused the death of the mega fauna B___ Floods could have disturbed the archaeological evidence © Bushfires could have prevented humans from settling in the area for any length of time D Bushfires could have destroyed much of the evidence left by megafauna and humans. 38 What did the writers speculate about the people who lived at this site in 1876? A They bred eattleWhdse bones could have been confused with megafiuna B__. They found that the soil was too waterlogged for farming C They allowed cattle to move around freely-at the site D _ They brought stones there from another area. 39 Inthe final paragraph, what suggestion do the writers make about Australia's megafauna? A Arapid change in climate may have been responsible for the extinction of the megafauna. B —_ Megafiauna could have died out as a result of small numbers being killed year after year C The population of humans at that time was probably insufficient to canse the extinction of the megafiuna, D_ The extinction of ancient animals should not be compared to that of modem-day species. 40 Which of the following best represents the writers’ criticism of Field and Wroe? A Their methods were not well thought out. B Their excavations did not go deep enough C Their technology failed to obtain precise data D Their conclusions were based on inconsistent data IELTS cic LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC a M KET TRON oa KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHITest Why good ideas fail | Keeping the water away | Australia's Megafauna Controversy 1 TRUE MF 27 YES 2 TRUE Isc 28 NOT GIVEN 3. NOT GIVEN 16B 29NO 4NOT GIVEN 17D 30 YES S FALSE 18E 31B 6 surface 19G 32F 7 weight loss 20A 33D 8 name 21D 34C 9 container 22 Ewope 35G 10 behavior 23 Mississippi 36A 11 focus groups 24 London 37B 12 (simple) surveys 25 soft engineers 38D 13 instinets 26 Los Angeles 39B 40D IELTS cic LUYEN DE THI GOC - TANG BAND THAN TOC KHONG TRONG HOAN 100% HOC PHI