SECTION 1

READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 1-14 which are based on Reading Passage 1
below.

Rainwater Harvesting

For two years southern Sri Lanka suffered a prolonged drought, described by locals as “the
worst in 50 years”. Some areas didn’t see a successful crop for four or five consecutive
seasons. Livestock died, water in wells dropped to dangerously low levels, children were
increasingly malnourished and school attendance has fallen. An estimated 1.6 million people
were affected.
A
Muthukandiya is a village in Moneragala district, one of the drought-stricken areas in the “dry
zone” of southern Sri Lanka, where half the country’s population of 18 million lives. Rainfall
in the area varies greatly from year to year, often bringing extreme dry spells in between
monsoons. But this drought was much worse than usual. Despite some rain in November,
only half of Moneragala’s 1,400 tube wells were in working order by March. The drought
devastated supplies of rice and freshwater fish, the staple diet of inland villages. Many local
industries closed down and villagers headed for the towns in search of work.
B
The villagers of muthukandiya arrived in the 1970s as part of a government resettlement
scheme. Each family was given six acres of land, with no irrigation system. Because crop
production, which relies entirely on rainfall, is insufficient to support most families, the
village economy relies on men and women working as day-labourers in nearby sugar-cane
plantations. Three wells have been dug to provide domestic water, but these run dry for much
of the year. Women and children may spend several hours each day walking up to three miles
(five kilometres) to fetch water for drinking, washing and cooking.
C
In 1998, communities in the district discussed water problems with Practical Action South
Asia. What followed was a drought mitigation initiative based on a low-cost “rainwater
harvesting” technology already used in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in the region. It uses tanks to
collect and store rain channeled by gutters and pipes as it runs off the roofs of houses.
D
Despite an indigenous tradition of rain-water harvesting and irrigation systems going back to
the third century BC, policy-makers in modern times have often overlooked the value of such
technologies, and it is only recently that officials have taken much interest in household-level
structures. Government and other programmes have, however, been top-down in their
conception and application, installing tanks free of charge without providing training in the
skills needed to build and maintain them properly. Practical Action South Asia’s project
deliberately took a different approach, aiming to build up a local skills base among builders
and users of the tanks, and to create structures and systems so that communities can manage
their own rainwater harvesting schemes.
E
The community of Muthukandiya was involved throughout. Two meetings were held where
villagers analysed their water problems, developed a mitigation plan and selected the
rainwater harvesting technology. Two local masons received several days’ on-the-job training
in building the 5,000 litre household storage tanks: surface tanks out of ferro-cement and
underground tanks out of brick. Each system, including tank, pipes, gutters and filters, cost
US$195 – equivalent to a month’s income for an average village family. Just over half the
cost was provided by the community, in the form of materials and unskilled labour. Practical
Action South Asia contributed the rest, including cement, transport and payment for the
skilled labour. Households learned how to use and maintain the tanks, and the whole
community was trained to keep domestic water supplies clean. A village rainwater harvesting
society was set up to run the project. To date, 37 families in and around Muthukandiya have
storage tanks. Evaluations show clearly that households with rainwater storage tanks have
considerably more water for domestic needs than households relying entirely on wells and
ponds. During the driest months, households with tanks may have up to twice as much water
available. Their water is much cleaner, too.
F
Nandawathie, a widow in the village, has taken full advantage of the opportunities that
rainwater harvesting has brought her family. With a better water supply now close at hand,
she began by growing a few vegetables. The income from selling these helped her to open a
small shop on her doorstep. This increased her earnings still further, enabling her to apply for
a loan to install solar power in her house. She is now thinking of building another tank in her
garden so that she can grow more vegetables. Nandawathie also feels safer now that she no
longer has to fetch water from the village well in the early morning or late evening. She says
that her children no longer complain so much of diarrhoea. And her daughter Sandamalee has
more time for school work.
G
In the short term, and on a small scale, the project has clearly been a success. The challenge
lies in making such initiatives sustainable, and expanding their coverage. At a purely
technical level, rainwater harvesting is evidently sustainable. In Muthukandiya, the skills
required to build and maintain storage tanks were taught fairly easily, and can be shared by
the two trained masons, who are now finding work with other development agencies in the
district.
H
The non-structural elements of the work, especially its financial and organizational, present a
bigger challenge. A revolving fund was set up, with households that had already benefited
agreeing to contribute a small monthly amount to pay for maintenance, repairs and new tanks.
However, it appears that the revolving fund concept was not fully understood and it has
proved difficult to get households to contribute. Recovering costs from interventions that do
not generate income directly will always be a difficult proposition, although this can be
overcome if the process is explained more fully at the outset.
I
The Muthkandiya initiative was planned as a demonstration project, to show that community-
based drought mitigation through rainwater harvesting was feasible. Several other
organizations have begun their own projects using the same approach. The feasibility of
introducing larger tanks is being investigated.
J
However, a lot of effort and patience are needed to generate the interest, develop the skills
and organize the management structures needed to implement sustainable community-based
projects. It will probably be some time before rainwater harvesting technologies can spread
rapidly and spontaneously across the district’s villages, without external support.

Questions 1-6
Answer the questions below
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for
each answer.

1 What is the major way for local people make barely a support of living in Muthukandiya
village?
2 Where can adult workers make extra money from in daytime?
3 What have been dug to supply water for daily household life?
4 In which year did the plan of a new project to lessen the effect of drought begin?
5 Where do the gutters and pipes collect rainwater from?
6 What help family obtain more water for domestic needs than those relying on only wells
and ponds?
ANSWER

1. Crop production
2. sugar-cane plantations
3. three wells
4. 1998
5. roofs of houses
6. rainwater storage tanks
7. NOT GIVEN
8. YES
9. NO
10. YES
11. NO
12. YES
13. NOT GIVEN
14. NO

SECTION 2
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2
below.

Mammoth kill 2

Mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus, proboscideans commonly

equipped with long, curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair. They lived
from the Pliocene epoch from around 5 million years ago, into the Holocene at about 4,500
years ago and were members of the family Elephantidae, which contains, along with
mammoths, the two genera of modern elephants and their ancestors.
A
Like their modern relatives, mammoths were quite large. The largest known species reached
heights in the region of 4 m at the shoulder and weights up to 8 tonnes, while exceptionally
large males may have exceeded 12 tonnes. However, most species of mammoth were only
about as large as a modern Asian elephant. Both sexes bore tusks. A first, small set appeared
at about the age of six months and these were replaced at about 18 months by the permanent
set. Growth of the permanent set was at a rate of about 1 to 6 inches per year. Based on
studies of their close relatives, the modern elephants, mammoths probably had a gestation
period of 22 months, resulting in a single calf being born. Their social structure was probably
the same as that of African and Asian elephants, with females living in herds headed by a
matriarch, whilst bulls lived solitary lives or formed loose groups after sexual maturity.
B
MEXICO CITY – Although it’s hard to imagine in this age of urban sprawl and automobiles,
North
America once belonged to mammoths, camels, ground sloths as large as cows, bear-size
beavers and other formidable beasts. Some 11,000 years ago, however, these large bodied
mammals and others – about 70 species in all – disappeared. Their demise coincided roughly
with the arrival of humans in the New World and dramatic climatic change – factors that have
inspired several theories about the die-off. Yet despite decades of scientific investigation, the
exact cause remains a mystery. Now new findings offer support to one of these controversial
hypotheses: that human hunting drove this megafaunal menagerie to extinction. The overkill
model emerged in the 1960s, when it was put forth by Paul S. Martin of the University of
Arizona. Since then, critics have charged that no evidence exists to support the idea that the
first Americans hunted to the extent necessary to cause these extinctions. But at the annual
meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Mexico City last October,
paleoecologist John Alroy of the University of California at Santa Barbara argued that, in
fact, hunting- driven extinction is not only plausible, it was unavoidable. He has determined,
using a computer simulation, that even a very modest amount of hunting would have wiped
these animals out.
C
Assuming an initial human population of 100 people that grew no more than 2 percent
annually, Alroy determined that if each band of, say, 50 people killed 15 to 20 large mammals
a year, humans could have eliminated the animal populations within 1,000 years. Large
mammals in particular would have been vulnerable to the pressure because they have longer
gestation periods than smaller mammals and their young require extended care.
D
Not everyone agrees with Alroy’s assessment. For one, the results depend in part on
population-size estimates for the extinct animals – figures that are not necessarily reliable.
But a more specific criticism comes from mammalogist Ross D. E. MacPhee of the American
Museum of Natural History in New York City, who points out that the relevant archaeological
record contains barely a dozen examples of stone points embedded in mammoth bones (and
none, it should be noted, are known from other megafaunal remains) – hardly what one might
expect if hunting drove these animals to extinction. Furthermore, some of these species had
huge ranges – the giant Jefferson’s ground sloth, for example, lived as far north as the Yukon
and as far south as Mexico – which would have made slaughtering them in numbers sufficient
to cause their extinction rather implausible, he says.
E
Macphee agrees that humans most likely brought about these extinctions (as well as others
around the world that coincided with human arrival), but not directly. Rather he suggests that
people may have introduced hyperlethal disease, perhaps through their dogs or hitchhiking
vermin, which then spread wildly among the immunologically naive species of the New
World. As in the overkill model, populations of large mammals would have a harder time
recovering. Repeated outbreaks of a hyperdisease could thus quickly drive them to the point
of no return. So far MacPhee does not have empirical evidence for the hyperdisease
hypotheses, and it won’t be easy to come by: hyperlethal disease would kill far too quickly to
leave its signature on the bones themselves. But he hopes that analyses of tissue and DNA
from the last mammoths to perish will eventually reveal murderous microbes.
F
The third explanation for what brought on this North American extinction does not involve
human beings. Instead its proponents blame the loss on the water. The Pleistocene epoch
witnessed considerable climatic instability, explains paleontologist Russell W. Graham of the
Denver Museum of Nature and Science. As a result, certain habitats disappeared, and species
that had once formed communities split apart. For some animals, this change brought
opportunity. For much of the megafauna, however, the increasingly homogeneous
environment left them with shrinking geographical ranges – a death sentence for large
animals, which need large ranges. Although these creatures managed to maintain viable
populations through most of the Pleistocene, the final major fluctuation – the so-called
Younger Dryas event – pushed them over the edge, Graham says. For his part, Alroy is
convinced that human hunters demolished the titans of the Ice Age. The overkill model
explains everything the disease and climate scenarios explain, he asserts, and makes accurate
predictions about which species would eventually go extinct. “Personally, I’m a vegetarian,”
he remarks, “and I find all of this kind of gross – but believable.”

Questions 14-20
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.

The reason why dad big size mammals become extinct 11,000 years ago is under hot debate.
First explanation is that 14 ........................ of human made it happen. This so called
15....................... began from 1960s suggested by an expert, who however received criticism
of lack of further information. Another assumption promoted by MacPhee is that deadly
16.......................... from human causes their demises. However his hypothesis required more
17.......................... to testify its validity. Graham proposed a third hypothesis that
18.......................... in Pleistocene epoch drove some species disappear, reduced
19........................... posed a dangerous signal to these giants, and 20........................ finally
wiped them out.

Questions 21-26
Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-C) with opinions or deeds
below.
Write the appropriate letters A-C in boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once
A John Alroy
B Ross D. E. MacPhee
C Russell W. Graham

21 Human hunting well explained which species would finally disappear.

22 Further grounded proof needed to explain human’s indirect impact on mammals.
23 Over hunting situation has caused die-out of large mammals.
24 Illness rather than hunting caused extensive extinction.
25 Double raised through the study of several fossil records.
26 Climate shift is the main reason of extinction.

ANSWER

14. hunting
15. overkill model
16. disease/hyperdisease
17. empirical evidence
18. climatic instability
19. geographical ranges
20. Younger Dryas event
21. A
22. B
23. A
24. B
25. B
26. C

SECTION 3
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3
below.

Language Strategy In Multinational Company

A
The importance of language management in multinational companies has never been
greater than today. Multinationals are becoming ever more conscious of the importance
of global coordination as a soured of competitive advantage and language remains the
ultimate barrier to aspirations of international harmonization. Before attempting to
consider language management strategies, companies will have to evaluate the
magnitude of the language barrier confronting them and in doing so they will need to
examine it in three dimensions: the Language Diversity, the Language Penetration and
the Language Sophistication. Companies next need to turn their attention to how they
should best manage language. There is a range of options from which MNCs can
formulate their language strategy.
B
Lingua Franca: The simplest answer, though realistic only for English speaking
companies, is to rely on ones native tongue. As recently as 1991 a survey of British
exporting companies found that over a third used English exclusively in dealings with
foreign customers. This attitude that “one language fits all” has also been carried
through into the Internet age. A survey of the web sites of top American companies
confirmed that over half made no provision for foreign language access, and another
found that less than 10% of leading companies were able to respond adequately to
emails other than in the company’s language. Widespread though it is however, reliance
on a single language is a strategy that is fatally flawed. It makes no allowance for the
growing trend in Linguistic Nationalism whereby buyers in Asia, South America and the
Middle East in particular are asserting their right to “work in the language of the
customer”. It also fails to recognize the increasing vitality of languages such as Spanish,
Arabic and Chinese that overtime are likely to challenge the dominance of English as a
lingua franca. In the IT arena it ignores the rapid globalization of the Internet where the
number of English-language e-commerce transactions, emails and web sites, is rapidly
diminishing as a percentage of the total. Finally, the total reliance on a single language
puts the English speaker at risk in negotiations. Contracts, rules and legislation are
invariably written in the local language, and a company unable to operate in that
language is vulnerable.
C
Functional Multilingualism: Another improvised approach to Language is to rely on
what has been termed “Functional Multilingualism”. Essentially what this means is to
muddle through, relying on a mix of languages, pidgins and gestures to communicate by
whatever means the parties have at their disposal. In a social context such a shared
effort to make one another understand might be considered an aid to the bonding
process with the frustration of communication being regularly punctuated by moments
of absurdity and humor. However, as the basis for business negotiations it appears very
hit-and-nuts. And yet Hagen’s recent study suggests that 16% of international business
transaction; are conducted in a “cocktail of languages.” Functional Multilingualism
shares the same defects as reliance on a lingua franca and increases the probability of
cognitive divergence between the parties engaged in the communication.
D
External Language Resources: A more rational and obvious response to the language
barrier is to employ external resources such as translators and interpreters, and
certainly there are many excellent companies specialized in these fields. However, such
a response is by no means an end to the language barrier. For a start these services can
be very expensive with a top Simultaneous Interpreter, commanding daily rates as high
as a partner in an international consulting company. Secondly, any good translator or
interpreter will insist that to be fully effective they must understand the context of the
subject matter. This is not always possible. In some cases it is prohibited by the complexity or
specialization of the topic. Sometimes by lack of preparation time but most often the obstacle
is the reluctance of the parties to explain the wider context to an ‘outsider’. Another problem
is that unless there has been considerable pre-explaining between the interpreter and his
clients it is likely that there will be ambiguity and cultural overtones in the source messages
the interpreter has to work with. They will of course endeavor to provide a hi-fidelity
translation but in this circumstance the interpreter has to use initiative and guess work. This
clearly injects a potential source of misunderstanding into the proceedings. Finally while a
good interpreter will attempt to convey not only the meaning but also the spirit of any
communication, there can be no doubt that here is a loss of rhetorical power when
communications go through a third party. So in situations requiring negotiation, persuasion,
humor etc. the use of an interpreter is a poor substitute for direct communication.
E
Training: The immediate and understandable reaction to any skills-shortage in a
business is to consider personnel development and certainly the language training
industry is well developed. Offering programs at almost every level and in numerous
languages. However, without doubting the value of language training no company
should be deluded into believing this to be assured of success. Training in most
companies is geared to the economic cycle. When times are good, money is invested in
training. When belts get tightened training is one of the first “luxuries” to be pared
down. In a study conducted across four European countries, nearly twice as many
companies said they needed language training in coming years as had conducted
training in past years. This disparity between “good intentions” and “actual delivery”,
underlines the problems of relying upon training for language skills. Unless the company
is totally committed to sustaining the strategy even though bad times, it will fail.
F
One notable and committed leader in the field of language training has been the
Volkswagen Group. They have developed a language strategy over many years and in
many respects can be regarded as a model of how to manage language professionally.
However, the Volkswagen approach underlines that language training has to be
considered a strategic rather than a tactical solution. In their system to progress from
“basics” to “communications competence” in a language requires the completion of 6
languages stages each one demanding approximately 90 hours of refresher course,
supported by many more hours of self-study, spread over a 6-9 months period. The
completion of each stage is marked by a post-stage achievement test, which is a pre- requisite
for continued training. So even this professionally managed program expects a
minimum of three years of fairly intensive study to produce an accountant. Engineer,
buyer or salesperson capable of working effectively in a foreign language. Clearly
companies intending to pursue this route need to do so with realistic expectations and
with the intention of sustaining the program over many years. Except in terms of
“brush-up” courses for people who were previously fluent in a foreign language, training
cannot be considered a quick fix.

Questions 27-32
Complete the following summary of the Whole Paragraphs of Reading Passage,
choosing A-L words from the following options.
Write your answers in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.

MNCs often encounter language barrier in their daily, strategy, then they seek several
approaches to solve such problems. First, native language gives them a realistic base in a
different language speaking country, but problem turned up when they deal with
oversea 27 ....................... For example, operation on translation of some key
28......................., it is inevitable to generate differences by rules from different countries.
Another way is to rely on a combination of spoken language and 29........................, yet a
report written that over one-tenth business 30......................... Processed in a party
language setting. Third way: hire translators. However, firstly it is 31...........................,
besides if they are not well-prepared, they have to resort to his/her own
32......................... work.
A gestures B clients C transaction D understanding and assumption E accurate
F documents G managers H body language I long-term J effective K rivals L costly

Questions 33-39
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A
NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

33 What understandable reactions does Training pay attention to according to the

author?
34 In what term does the writer describe training during economy depression?
35 What contribution does Volkswagen Group set up for multinational companies?
36 What does Volkswagen Group consider language training as in their company?
37 How many stages are needed from basic course to advanced in training?
38 How long does a refresher course (single stage) need normally?
39 At least how long is needed for a specific professional to acquire a foreign language?

Question 40
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 40 on your answer sheet.
What is the Main function of this passage?
A to reveal all kinds of language problems that companies may encounter
B to exhibits some well known companies successfully dealing with language
difficulties
C to evaluate various approaches for language barrier in multinational
companies
D to testify that training is only feasible approach to solve language problem

ANSWER
27. B
28. F
29. A
30. C
31. L
32. D
33. personnel development
34. (the first) luxury
35. developed/set
36. strategic solution
37. 6 stages
38. 90 hours (for one single stage)
39. three years
40. C