Cambridge IELTS 20 General Training Reading Test 2

[[READ: 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 Queensferry 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 cafes 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: 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: Is 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. For which cycle trail are the following statements true? Write the correct letter, A–E. 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.

[[READ: 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 focused 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: 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 Initial 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.

Questions 22–27

Complete the flow-chart below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

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: ‘I 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.

Questions 31–35

Look at the following statements and the list of people below. Match each statement with the correct person, A–E.

Questions 36–40

Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.