Test 18 on social science

I. Прочитайте текст и выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию прочитанных фрагментов (А-E).

A. Stephen: "What does it feel like to be approaching the wrong end of middle age? Well, for the moment at least, the differences between myself as a bright young graduate thirty years ago and myself now are really more psychological than physical. I mean, I'm still about the same weight and I'm still pretty active. There've been a few inevitable changes, of course – the hair's gone, well, silver, and there's a bit less of it..."

B. Leslie: "One of the good things about being my age is that you can have the wildest dreams about the future and no-one can prove that they'll never happen. You see, I'm convinced that I'm going to be the most famous actress in the world. That's after I've got three grade As in my A-level exams, won a scholarship to Oxford University and married Richard Gere, of course!"

C. Janet: "It's easy enough to say what the problems of growing old are; in fact, it's impossible to ignore them! But it's much harder to think of the benefits. Not if you're poor or crippled with arthritis, at any rate. Luckily, I can still get around, do the garden, do my bit of shopping, But I'm slower than I used to be. There must be some good things, let me see ... Well, you save money with a pensioner's bus pass ... and I think people tend to be kinder to you. A young man offered to carry my shopping bag for me the other day, which was nice of him ..."

D. Peter: "One thing I like about getting older is that you don't get so many highs and lows as you do when you're a teenager, for example. You develop a sense of proportion. You don't waste emotion on silly things. You know where you're going, I suppose. The bad side? I've noticed the beginnings of a few wrinkles when I look in the mirror and even a grey hair or two ... Is this the onset of middle age, I ask myself!"

E. Michael: "You get old all of a sudden, or that's how it seems. One minute you're playing ball with the grandchildren and the next you're so ancient that they're having to help you to get up out of your chair. Not that I move about much nowadays. I'm not too steady on my legs and the eyes aren't what they used to be. Fortunately, I've got a daughter who looks after me, cooks and so on. But I find I eat much less than I used to when I was younger I have hardly any appetite these days. And I sleep much more. I'd probably sleep all day if I could!"

1. The respondents who tend to look at both sides of the coin are presented in

1. Sections A, B

2. Sections B, D

3. Sections E, В

4. Sections C, D

2. The respondents whose age and mood can be contrasted are introduced in

1. Sections A, E

2. Sections B, D

3. Sections E, В

4. Sections C, D

3. The respondents who tend to look at the bright side of things are presented in

1. Sections A, B

2. Sections C, D

3. Sections A, D

4. Sections C, E

4. Readers meet the most optimistic respondent in

1. Section A

2. Section B

3. Section D

4. Section E

5. Readers meet the oldest respondent in

1. Section A

2. Section B

3. Section E

4. Section D

II. Прочитайте текст. Подберите соответствующий заголовок к каждому абзацу (1-5).

(1) Sam Walton was the richest person in America. His chain of WAL-MART stores has sold more products than any other group of stores in the world. Sam Walton had a number rules for business. First of all, you should commit to your business. You've got to believe in your own business and work. Work as hard as you can on it. If you love what you're doing and really believe in it, it will show. Then everyone will want to work hard. They'll catch the feeling.

(2) Then you are to share your profits with everyone you work with. They're your partners, and partners work hard. If your company does well, the people who work there should, too. They should get a bonus of some kind. Owning stock in the company is a good way to share profits. One should motivate workers. Just giving money isn't enough. Think of new ways to do things. Challenge them. Encourage people to compete — with one another as well as with other businesses. Competition brings out the best in people.

(3) It's also important to appreciate everything people do. Now, profit sharing is important, but there are some things that money just can't do. But a word of praise – telling people when they're doing well – that will do wonders. Everyone likes to know they're appreciated. Celebrate your success. Don't be like a big, serious company with no emotions. When you're successful, celebrate! Why, Sam Walton did a hula dance on Wall Street. Have fun. Be original. And when you make mistakes or have failures, don't take those too seriously either. Learn to laugh at yourself.

(4) Listen to everyone in the company. You know, if you have a store, it's the clerks operating the cash registers who really talk to the customers. They know what the people who come to your store are thinking. The people in your company are a wonderful source of information. But you've got to really listen to them, or you're going to miss the message. Exceed your customers' expectations. It isn't enough to serve your customers. You need to do more than they expect. If there's a problem, apologize and fix it. Make absolutely sure they're satisfied. Do more than you need to, and your customers will keep on coming back.

(5) Control your expenses. Don't waste money. Every time you spend more than you need to – on a first-class airplane ticket or a first-class hotel room, by paying more for products than you need to – your customer has to pay more. If you keep your costs down, that means lower prices for your customer. That's what makes the business grow. Figure out the way everyone else is going and go in the opposite direction. If everyone is doing things one way, run your business the other way. You will be successful!

A. Motivate and Make Compete

B. Don't Gather Information

C. Better Believe in Buisness

D. Control Budget Everywhere

E. Be Systematic about Bonuses

F. Listen to What Customers Say

G. Try to Impress Workers

H. Celebrate Success, Forget Failure

III. Прочитайте текст и выполните послетекстовые задания

(1) Experiments have shown that in selecting personnel for a job, interviewing is at best a hindrance, and may even cause harm. These studies have disclosed that the judgments of interviewers differ markedly and bear little or no relationship to the adequacy of job applicants. Of the many reasons why this should be the case, three in particular stand out.

(2) The first reason is related to an error of judgment known as the halo effect. If a person has one noticeable good trait, their other characteristics will be judged as better than they really are. Thus, an individual who dresses smartly and shows self-confidence is likely to be judged capable of doing a job well regardless of his or her real ability.

(3) Interviewers are also prejudiced by an effect called the primacy effect. This error occurs when interpretation of later information is distorted by earlier connected information. Hence, in an interview situation, the interviewer spends most of the interview trying to confirm the impression given by the candidate in the first few moments. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that such an impression is unrelated to the aptitude of the applicant.

(4) The phenomenon known as the contrast effect also skews the judgment of interviewers. A suitable candidate may be underestimated because he or she contrasts with a previous one who appears exceptionally intelligent. Likewise, an average candidate who is preceded by one who gives a weak showing may be judged as more suitable than he or she really is.

(5) Since interviews as a form of personnel selection have been shown to be inadequate, other selection procedures have been devised which more accurately predict candidate suitability. Of the various tests devised, the one predictor which appears to do this most successfully is cognitive ability as measured by a variety of verbal and spatial tests.

Выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию прочитанного текста (задания 1-5).

1. The passage mainly discusses the

A. effects of interviewing on job applicants

B. inadequacy of interviewing job applicants

C. techniques that interviewers use for judging job applicants.

2. According to the passage, the halo effect

A. takes effect only when a candidate is well-dressed

B. exemplifies how one good characteristic colors perceptions

C. helps the interviewers capability to judge real ability

3. The reader can conclude that the first impression

A. can easily be altered

B. is the one that stays with the interviewer

C. is unrelated to the interviewers prejudices

4. The author mentions all of the following reasons why interviewing is not an accurate way to predict candidate suitability except the

A. halo effect

B. contrast effect

C. cognitive effect

5. The paragraphs following the passage most likely discuss which of the following

A. other selection procedures included in interviewing

B. more information on cognitive ability tests

C. other reasons for misjudgments of applicants

Определите значение указанного слова в тексте (задания 6-8).

6. hindrance (1)

A. encouragement B. assistance C. interference

7. confirm (2)

A. recollect B. verify C. conclude

8. skews (3)

A. opposes B. biases C. improve

Выберите правильный вариант перевода в соответствии с содержанием текста (задания 9-12).

9. Of the many reasons why this should be the case, three in particular stand out (1)

A. Среди многих причин, объясняющих это, три наиболее убедительны.

B. Из многих причин, объясняющих это, можно выделить три.

C. Среди многих причин, объясняющих это, три выделяются более всего.

10. Interviewers are also prejudiced by an effect called the primacy effect (2).

A. Неправильные мнения могут сложиться у проводящего собеседование и вследствие "эффекта первого впечатления".

B. Неправильные представления проявляются у проводящего собеседование и вследствие "эффекта первого впечатления".

C. Прдрассудки могут появиться у проводящего собеседование и вследствие "эффекта первого впечатления".

11. A suitable candidate may be underestimated… (3).

A. Подходящий кандидат может быть переоценен …

B. Подходящий кандидат может быть недооценен …

C. Подходящий кандидат может недооценить …

12. Of the various tests devised, the one predictor … (5)

A. Из множества созданных тестов лучший предсказатель…

B. Среди многих разработанных тестов, лучше предсказывает…

C. Из множества разработанных тестов самым надежным является…