Cambridge IELTS 9 General Training Reading Test 1

[[READ: 1–6]]

JOB ADVERTISEMENTS

[A] HELP – snack bar serving person

Bright, friendly, experience not essential

Energy and enthusiasm an absolute must

Sat & Sun only

Call or drop in at Kingsway Centre, Melbourn/Royston.

Tel: 01763 24272 and ask for the Manager.

[B] Granta Hotel

requires a part-time silver service waiter/waitress.

Only applicants with experience and good references need apply.

Excellent wages, meals on duty.

Tel: 01223 51468 (office hours)

[C] WANTED from January till July, a nanny/carer for Toby, 2 yrs. Formal qualifications not as important as a sensible, warm and imaginative approach.

Hours: 8.30-5.00 Mon-Fri

Car driver essential, non smoker

References required

For further details phone: 01480 88056 after 6pm.

[D] Cleaner required for 12-floor modern office block in the Station Road area, St Ives.

2 hours per day. Mondays to Fridays – to finish work before the offices open

Wages: £80 per week

Tel: 01223 93292

[E] Mature, experienced Administrator/Secretary

for soft furnishing company, working within the hotel industry

Hours: 1pm – 5pm, Mon – Fri

Phone: Mr S Quinn 01353 71251

[F] FULL-TIME COOK for a new and exciting cafe venture.

Good conditions. Pay and hours can be negotiated.

Apply Red Cafe (01863) 72052

[G] 50-Seater Restaurant

TO LET

Ideal for very experienced person looking to start up on their own.

Located on busy A10 road.

Reply Box No. P762, Newmarket Newspapers Ltd., 51 Cambridge Road, Newmarket, CB8 3BN

[[READ: 7–14]]

INTERCITY SLEEPER BETWEEN LONDON AND SCOTLAND

Most tickets may be used for travel by Sleeper, subject to availability, and a reservation in a two-berth cabin can be made for £25, except in the case of Solo and Special tickets, which include Sleeper reservations in the fare. The price includes early morning tea or coffee and biscuits. A continental or hot breakfast can be ordered if you wish.

Choose from a range of tickets to suit your journey.

[A] SuperApex

Only available for travel after 9am. Book at least 2 weeks ahead and travel between Edinburgh or Glasgow and London for the unbeatable price of £59 return. This ticket is non-refundable unless the service is cancelled.

[B] Apex

A real bargain fare. Only £69 return between Edinburgh or Glasgow and London. Great value Sleeper travel available by booking at least a week before outward travel. Ticket refundable on payment of a 25% administrative charge.

[C] SuperSaver

Available right up to the day of travel and valid any day except these peak days: all Fridays, also 18-30 December, 31 March and 28 May. Departures between midnight and 2am count as previous day's departures. London to Glasgow or Edinburgh £82.

[D] Saver

This flexible ticket is valid every day and can be bought on the day of travel. Your ticket allows standard class travel on any train between 10am and midnight. No seat reservations available. London to Glasgow or Edinburgh £95.

[E] Solo

Treat yourself and enjoy exclusive use of a Standard cabin. Solo is an inclusive return travel ticket with Sleeper reservations for one or both directions. Outward and return reservations should be made at the time of booking. The journey must include a Saturday night away. £140-£160 London to Edinburgh/Glasgow return.

[F] Special

Special is an inclusive return travel package for two people including sleeper reservations for one or both directions. It can mean savings for both of you. Outward and return reservations should be made at the time of booking. From £120.

[G] Standard

Not the cheapest option but available up to the time of travel and valid for all trains and at all times. You are advised to turn up early for travel on a Friday.

Questions 1–6

Look at the seven job advertisements, A–G, below and read the descriptions of people. Which is the most suitable job for each person? Write the correct letter, A–G, for each person.

Questions 7–14

Look at the seven types of train ticket, A–G, below. For which type of train ticket are the following statements true? Write the correct letter, A–G. You may use any letter more than once.

[[READ: 15–21]]

FORMAL DRESS CODE FOR COMPANY EMPLOYEES

At TransitEuropean, the company's objective in establishing a formal dress code is to enable our employees to project the professional image that is in keeping with the needs of our clients and customers who seek our guidance, input, and professional services. Because our industry requires the appearance of trusted business professionals and we serve clients at our site on a daily basis, a more formal dress code is necessary for our employees.

Formal Dress Code Guidelines

In a formal business environment, the standard of dressing for men and women is a suit. Alternatively a jacket may be worn with appropriate accessories. Torn, dirty, or frayed clothing is unacceptable. Clothing should be pressed and never wrinkled. No dress code can cover all contingencies so employees must exert a certain amount of judgement in their choice of clothing to wear to work. If you experience uncertainty, please ask your supervisor for advice.

Shoes and Footwear

Conservative walking shoes, dress shoes, loafers, boots, flats, dress heels, and backless shoes are acceptable for work. Not wearing stockings or socks is inappropriate. Tennis shoes and any shoe with an open toe are not acceptable in the office.

Accessories and Jewellery

The wearing of ties, scarves, belts, and jewellery is encouraged, provided they are tasteful. Items which are flashy should be avoided.

Makeup, Perfume, and Cologne

A professional appearance is encouraged and excessive makeup is unprofessional. Remember that some employees may have allergic reactions to the chemicals in perfumes and makeup, so wear these substances in moderation.

Hats and Head Covering

Hats are not appropriate in the office. Head covers that are required for reasons of faith or to honour cultural tradition are permitted.

Dress Down Days

Certain days can be declared dress down days, generally Fridays. On these days, business casual clothing is allowed. Clothing that has our company logo is strongly encouraged. Sports team, university, and fashion brand names on clothing are generally acceptable. However, you may wish to keep a jacket in your office in case a client unexpectedly appears.

Violation of Dress Code

If clothing fails to meet these standards, as determined by the employee's supervisor, the employee will be asked not to wear the inappropriate item to work again. If the problem persists, the employee will receive a verbal warning and may be sent home to change clothes.

[[READ: 22–27]]

JLP RETAIL: STAFF BENEFITS

Whatever your role, your pay range will be extremely competitive and reviewed in the light of your progress. In addition to your salary, you will enjoy an array of excellent benefits from the moment you join the company.

Paid holiday

The holiday entitlement is four weeks per year, rising to five weeks after three years (or in the case of IT graduate trainees, after promotion to programmer or trainee analyst). There are further long-service increases for most staff after ten or fifteen years. Managers, including graduate trainees, receive five weeks' holiday from the outset.

Pension scheme

We offer a non-contributory final salary pension scheme, payable from the age of 60, to most staff who have completed the qualifying period of five years.

Life assurance

Our life assurance scheme pays a sum equivalent to three times your annual salary to your nominated beneficiary.

Discounts

After three months' service, all staff are entitled to a 12% discount on most purchases from the company's stores. This rises to 25% after one year's service.

Subsidised dining room

In most sites, we provide a dining room where you can enjoy excellent food at very reasonable prices.

Holiday and leisure facilities

The business owns a number of residential clubs which offer subsidised holiday accommodation for staff with at least three years' service.

Sports clubs

We support an extensive range of sports activities including football, netball, golf, skiing, sailing, squash, riding and gliding.

Ticket subsidies

Ticket subsidies of 50% of the cost of plays or concerts are available. Staff may also take advantage of corporate membership to bodies such as the Science Museum.

Education subsidies

We give generous financial support to staff who wish to acquire leisure skills or continue their education, e.g. through the Open University or evening classes.

Extended leave

Staff who complete 25 years' service can enjoy paid sabbatical leave of up to six months.

Health services

We have an occupational health service staffed by full-time doctors and health advisers.

Financial help, benefits and discounted deals

In cases of particular hardship, we will help staff with a loan. We have also negotiated a range of benefits for staff such as discounted private healthcare and a car purchase scheme, along with a number of one-off deals with hotels and amusement parks.

Questions 15–21

Complete the notes below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

Questions 28–33

Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the text for each answer.

OUT OF THE ASHES

[A] On the afternoon of 30th August 1989, fire broke out at Uppark, a large eighteenth-century house in Sussex. For a year builders had been replacing the lead on the roof, and by a stroke of irony, were due to finish the next day, on August 31st. Within fifteen minutes of the alarm being sounded, the fire brigade had arrived on the scene, though nothing was to survive of the priceless collection on the first floor apart from an oil painting of a dog which the firemen swept up as they finally retreated from the blaze. But due to the courage and swift action of the previous owners, the Meade-Featherstonhaugh family, and the staff, stewards and visitors to the house, who formed human chains to pass the precious pieces of porcelain, furniture and paintings out on to the lawn, 95 per cent of the contents from the ground floor and the basement were saved. As the fire continued to rage, the National Trust's conservators were being mobilised, and that evening local stationers were especially opened to provide the bulk supplies of blotting paper so desperately needed in the salvage operation.

[B] The following morning, Uppark stood open to the sky. A sludge of wet charcoal covered the ground floor and basement, and in every room charred and fallen timbers lay amongst the smoke. It was a scene of utter devastation.

[C] After the initial sense of shock, the days which followed the fire were filled with discoveries. Helped by volunteers, the National Trust's archaeologists and conservators swung into action, first of all marking the site out into a grid and then salvaging everything down to the last door handle. The position of each fragment was recorded, and all the debris was stored in countless dustbins before being sifted and categorised.

[D] There was great excitement as remnants of the lantern from the Staircase Hall were pulled out from the debris of two fallen floors, and also three weeks later when the Red Room carpet, thought to have been totally lost, was found wrapped around the remains of a piano. There was a lucky reprieve for the State Bed too. Staff who had left the scene at 3am on the night of the fire had thought its loss was inevitable, but when they returned the next morning it had escaped largely undamaged. Firemen, directed by the National Trust's conservators from outside the Tapestry Room window, dismantled the silk-hung bed and passed it out piece by piece. Twenty minutes later the ceiling fell in.

[E] The scale of the task to repair Uppark was unprecedented in the National Trust. The immediate question was whether it should be done at all. A decision had to be taken quickly, as the building was unsound and whatever had not been damaged by the fire was exposed to the elements. Within a month, after consulting many experts and with the agreement of the National Trust's Executive Committee, the restoration programme began. It was undertaken for three main reasons. After the fire it had become apparent just how much remained of the structure with its splendidly decorated interiors; to have pulled the house down, as one commentator suggested, would have been vandalism. Also the property was covered by insurance, so the repairs would not call upon the National Trust's own funds. Lastly, much had been saved of the fine collection acquired especially for Uppark from 1747 by Sir Matthew Featherstonhaugh and his son Harry. These objects belonged nowhere else, and complete restoration of the house would allow them to be seen and enjoyed again in their original setting.

[F] The search for craftsmen and women capable of doing the intricate restoration work was nation-wide. Once the quality and skill of the individual or company had been ascertained, they had to pass an economic test, as every job was competitively tendered. This has had enormous benefits because not only have a number of highly skilled people come to the fore – woodcarvers for example, following in the footsteps of Grinling Gibbons – but many of them, for example plasterers, have relearnt the skills of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries which can now be of use to other country house owners when the need arises.

[G] In June 1994 the building programme was completed, on time and on budget. The total cost of the work to repair the house and its contents came to be nearly £20 million, largely met from insurance. In addition, it made economic sense for the National Trust to invest time and money in upgrading water and heating systems, installing modern environmental controls, and updating fire and security equipment.

[H] The final stages of restoration and the massive programme of reinstallation took eight months. The family and the room stewards were visibly moved when returning to their old haunts, perhaps the best testament that the spirit of Uppark had not died. But the debate will no doubt continue as to whether or not it was right to repair the house after the fire. The National Trust has done its best to remain true to Uppark; it is for others to judge the success of the project.

Note: The National Trust is a charitable organisation in Britain set up over a hundred years ago to preserve the national heritage.

Questions 34–39

The passage has eight paragraphs, A–H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A–H.

Questions 40–43

Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the text for each answer.

Questions 44–46

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.