READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 1-13, which are based on
Reading passage 1 on pages 2 and 3.
Listening to the Ocean
The result of some recent research answer some long-standing questions

A The oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the planet’s surface, yet until
quite recently we knew less about their depths than about the surface of the
Moon. The Moon has been far more accessible to study because astronomers
have long been able to look at its surface, first with the naked eye and then
with the telescope, both instruments that focus light. Until the twentieth
century, however, no instruments were available for the study of Earth’s
oceans: light, which can travel trillions of kilometers through the vast
vacuum of space, cannot penetrate very far in seawater.

B It turns out that for penetrating water the best instrument is sound.
Curious investigators have long been fascinated by sound and the way it
travels in water. As early as 1490, the artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci
observed: If you cause your ship to stop and place the head of a long tube in
the water and place the outer extremity to your ear, you will hear ships at a
great distance from you.’ It was not until 1826 that two scientists, Colladon
and Sturm, accurately measured the speed of sound in water. Using a long
tube to listen under water (as da Vinci had suggested), they recorded how
fast the sound of a submerged bell traveled across Lake Geneva in
Switzerland. What these investigators demonstrated was that water is an
excellent medium for sound, transmitting it almost five times faster than its
speed in air.

C A number of factors influence how far sound travels under water and how
long it lasts, including particles, salinity, temperature and pressure. Particles
in seawater can reflect, scatter and absorb certain frequencies of sound, just
as certain wavelengths of light may be reflected, scattered and absorbed by
specific types of particles in the atmosphere. In 1943, Maurice Ewing and J L
Worzel conducted an experiment to test the theory that low-frequency waves,
which are less vulnerable than higher frequencies to scattering and
absorption, should be able to travel great distances, if the sound source is
placed correctly. The researchers set off an underwater explosion and learned
that it was detected easily by receivers 3,200 kilometers away. In analyzing
the results of this test, they discovered a kind of sound pipeline’, known as
the deep sound channel’. Sound introduced into this channel of water could
travel thousands of kilometers with minimal loss of signal.

D The US Navy was quick to appreciate the usefulness of low-frequency

sound and the deep sound channel. They developed the Sound Surveillance
System (SOSUS), which involved underwater microphones, called
hydrophones, that were placed on the ocean bottom and connected by cables
to onshore processing centers. It was Christopher Clark of Cornell University
who soon realized that SOSUS could be used to listen to whales. Using a
SOSUS receiver in the West Indies, he could hear whales that were 1,770
kilometers away.

E Whales are the biggest of Earth’s creatures, yet these animals are also
remarkably elusive. Scientists wishing to observe blue whales must simply
wait in their ships for the whales to surface. A few whales have been tracked
briefly in the wild in this way but not for very great distances, and much
about them remains unknown. But by using SOSUS, scientists can track the
whales and position them on a map. Moreover, they can track not just one
whale at a time, but many creatures simultaneously. They can also learn to
distinguish whale calls; researchers have detected changes in the calls of
finback whales as the seasons change and have found that blue whales in
different regions of the Pacific Ocean have different calls.

F SOSUS has also proved instrumental in obtaining information crucial to

our understanding of climate. The system has enabled researchers to begin
making ocean temperature measurements on a global scale, measurements
that are key to understanding the workings of heat transfer between the ocean
and the atmosphere. The ocean plays an enormous role in determining air
temperature – the heat capacity in only the upper few meters of ocean is
thought to be equal to all of the heat in the entire atmosphere. For sound
waves travelling horizontally in the ocean, speed is largely a function of
temperature. Thus, the travel time of a wave of sound between two points is a
sensitive indicator of the average temperature along its path. Transmitting
sound in numerous directions through the deep sound channel can give
scientists measurements spanning vast areas of the globe. Thousands of
sound paths in the ocean can be pieced together into a map of global ocean
temperatures, and by repeating measurements along the same paths over time,
scientists can track changes in temperature over months or years.
G Researchers are also using other acoustic techniques to monitor climate.
Oceanographer Jeff Nystuen, for example, has explored the use of sound to
measure rainfall over the ocean. Monitoring changing global rainfall patterns
will contribute to understanding major climate change as well as the weather
phenomenon known as El Nino. Since 1985, Nystuen has used hydrophones to
listen to rain over the ocean, acoustically measuring not only the rainfall rate
but also the rainfall type, ranging from drizzle to thunderstorms. By using
the sound of rain under water as a ‘natural’ rain gauge, the measurement of
rainfall over the oceans will become available to climatologists. In this way,
modern society continues to benefit from the investigations of those who,
like Leonardo da Vinci, pursued the answers to some basic questions of
nature.

Questions 1 – 4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading
Passage 1?
In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there no information on this
1. In the past, it was easier for scientists to study the Moon than the
oceans.
2. Techniques for investigating the Moon are the same as techniques for
researching the ocean.
3. Measuring temperature changes in the ocean using sound is more time-
consuming than other methods.
4. Hydrophones can distinguish different kinds of rain

Question 5 – 8
Reading passage 1 has seven paragraphs, A-G
Which paragraph contains the following information?
NB You may use any letter more than once.
5. Examples of things that affect the distance sound can travel in water.
6. Details of the connection between ocean temperatures and climate.
7. Details of ways in which light and sound are similar.
 8. Reference to a long-term study of different types of weather

Questions 9 -13
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.
9.According to the passage, who conducted research into the rate at which
sound travels in water?
A. Leonardo da Vinci
B. Colladon and Sturm
C. Ewing and Worzel
D. Jeff Nystuen
10.According to the passage, who conducted research into the distances
certain types of sound waves travel in water?
A. Leonardo da Vinci
B. Colladon and Sturm
C. Ewing and Worzel
D. Christopher Clark
11.SOSUS allows whale researchers to
A. follow a number of whales at the same time.
B. protect whales as they migrate.
C. imitate whale calls of different species.
D. change the whales’ direction of travel.
12.Finback whale calls change
A. when scientists track them.
B. at different times of year.
C. when whales communicate with other species.
D. when whales come to the surface.
13.SOSUS allows scientists to
A. make accurate maps of the ocean floor.
B. measure water level changes.
C. investigate ocean currents.
D. measure variations in temperature.
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, wthich are based on
Reading passage 2 on pages 6 and 7.

Boring buildings
There could be more than an economic or nostalgic price to
impersonal retail and high-rise construction; boring
architecture may take an emotional toll on the people forced to
live with it.

A A growing body of research in cognitive science illuminates the

physical and mental toll bland cityscapes take on residents. Generally, these
researchers argue that humans are healthier when they live surrounded by
variety or work in well-designed, unique spaces, rather than unattractive,
generic ones. Urban policy professor Justin Hollander and architect Ann
Sussman review scientific data to help architects and urban planners
understand how, exactly, people respond to their built surroundings,
particularly at work. People, they argue, function best in intricate settings,
not ‘big, blank, boxy offices.

B Indeed, that’s what Colin Nellard, a neuroscientist at the University of

Waterloo in Canada, has found in his work. Five years ago, Nellard became
interested in a certain building – the gigantic Whole Foods Market ‘plopped
into’ a notoriously textured part of lower Manhattan in New York. Nellard
partnered with the Guggenheim Museum to analyze what happens when
someone walks out of a tiny neighborhood restaurant and encounters a full
city block with nothing but ‘the long, blank façade of the Whole Foods
Market’ building.
In 2011, Nellard led small groups on Lower East Side walks to measure the
effect of the urban environment on them. Participants recorded their response
to questions at each stopping point are wore sensors that measured skin
conductance, a response to emotional excitement. Passing the monolithic
Whole Foods Market, people’s state of arousal plummeted. Physiologically,
Nellard explained, they were bored. To describe this place, they used words
like ‘bland’ and ‘passionless’. In contrast, one block east at the other test
site – a ‘lively sea of restaurants with lots of open doors and windows’ –
people measured high levels of excitement, and they listed workds like
‘lively’, and ‘socializing’. Nellard explains that the main objective of urban
design should be to produce some kind of novelty or change every few
seconds; otherwise, we become cognitively disengaged.

C The trick, it seems, is to design a world that excites but doesn’t

overload our faculties with a constant barrage of information. ‘We are, as
animals, programmed to respond to thrill,’ said professor Brendan Walker. In
Walker’s ‘thrill laboratory’ at the University of Nottingham in the UK,
devices measure heart rate and skin conductance to see how people respond
to adrenaline-producing experiences such as a roller-coaster ride. A thrilling
encounter moves us quickly from a state of equilibrium to a desirable
‘disorientation’. ‘Humans want a certain element of turmoil or confusion, ‘he
said. ‘Complexity is thrilling whether in an amusement park or architecture.’

D Psychologists have found that awe-inspiring moments can potentially

improve our well-being. One study conducted by Melanie Rudd, Kathleen
Vohs and Jennifer Aaker of Stanford University in the US showed that the
feeling of ‘awe’ can make people more patient and less materialistic. In an
experiment, the researchers showed students 60-second clips of waterfalls,
whales, or astronauts in space. After only a minute of virtual images, those
who said they were awed also felt less pressed for time. And in another
variation, people made hypothetical choices between physical and
experiential goods of equal monetary value. Those who had just ‘felt awe’
were more likely to choose an experience over a possession, a choice that is
linked with greater satisfaction in the long run. In other words, a visual buzz
– whether architectural or natural – might have the ability to change our
frame of mind, making modern-day life more satisfying and interactive.

E It’s important to note, however, that architectural boredom isn’t about

how pristine a street is. People often confuse successful architecture with
whether an area looks pleasant. On the contrary, when it comes to city
buildings, people often focus too narrowly on aesthetics, said Charles,
Montgomery, author of Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban
Design. Some of the happiest blocks in New York City, he argues, are ‘kind
of ugly and messy’.
In 2014, Montgomery’s Happy City lab conducted an experiment in which he
found a strong correlation between messier blocks and pro-social behavior.
Montgomery sent researchers, posing as lost tourist, to places he coded as
either ‘active’ or ‘inactive’ facades. He concluded that the former had a high
level of interest, that is they were messy, while the latter had no special
features such as long warehouse blocks. Pedestrians at active sites were
nearly five times more likely to offer assistance than at inactive ones. Of
those who assisted, seven times as many at the active site offered use of their
phone.

F Fortunately, it’s not necessarily a dichotomy – new architecture can

achieve the optimal level of cacophony and beauty. Take the 2006 Hearst
Tower in midtown Manhattan. Designed by architect Norman Foster, Hearst
Tower is a glass-and-steel skyscraper, 40 stories of which are designed in a
triangular pattern, differing in style from the 1920s Art Deco base. From the
outside, the façade jolts city dwellers from their daily commutes, while
energizing employees who enter it each morning. For many who walk by,
Hearst Tower’s design may not be the easiest to understand; it’s both sleek
and old. The top looks like it traveled from the future. Inside, workers travel
upon diagonal escalators, up a three-story water sculpture, through the
tower’s historic atrium, flooded with light. Few New Yorkers who pass by
would find this building boring. And they’re likely to be happier- maybe
even nicer to each other- because of it.

Questions 14-18
Reading Passage 2 has six sections, A-F
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
14. a description of a building that has a positive effect
15. a reference to architecture affecting people’s performance in their jobs
16. examples of the intensity of people’s reactions in two urban settings
17. details of a study where seeing certain pictures reduces people’s stress
18. a claim about feelings experienced in response to both architecture and
leisure settings
Questions 19-23
Look at the following statements (Questions 19-23) and the list of
researchers below.
Match each statement with the correct researcher, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 19-23 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
19. The aim of good city planning is to provide variety in architecture.
20. People in untidy areas were more helpful.
21. People who had recently felt amazed, placed less importance on material
goods.
22. ‘Attractive’ places are not necessarily the most enjoyable places to be.
23. One particular building failed to provide visual stimulation.

List of Researchers
A Colin N Nellard
B Brendan Walker
C Rudd, Vohs and Aaker
D Charles Montgomery

Questions 24-26
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet.

Hearst Tower
Norman Foster’s Hearst Tower was built in 2006. The 40-storey modern
triangular- patterned building is made of glass and steel, contrasting with the
base which is in the style of the 1920s. The sight of the building’s
24…………… has a striking impact on commuters and employees. Some
passers-by may find the building’s design confusing, as it mixes old and new
elements. Inside the tower 25…………… carry employees up past a large
water sculpture in the light-filled 26………….
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on
Reading Passage 3.

Marketing and the information age

A For the early practitioners of marketing in the late 19 th and early 20th
centuries, the business of selling was simply a matter of continually finding
new customers. By contrast, marketing managers in the current era recognize
the importance of gathering information about the market and about potential
customers. They recognize that if companies are to be profitable, customers
must gain and retain their perceptions of value from the brands they buy over
a long time frame, rather than from a single transaction. This also means that
customers must see value in returning continually to the stores where they
shop, as well as to the service providers they deal with.

B Marketing practitioners and marketing scientists have never worked more

closely than they currently do. There are many reasons for this, including the
fact that this is the information age where convergence in
telecommunications, media and technology is causing old ways to be
challenged, and new methods and tools to be tested. Customer expectations
have risen as new technologies allow new approaches. For instance, the
subscriber-TV music channel Channel [V), encourages its viewers to sign up
for text messages and email alerts that tell them when their favourite artists
and songs are about to be broadcast. Competitive advantage lies in being able
to recognize which customers can be given greater attention, not just because
they demand it but because it makes commercial sense to provide high levels
of product quality and service.

C Modern marketing information systems rely on information technology to

enable marketing intelligence to be gathered and to store and analyse
marketing research information. While some of the information used is
gathered by government bodies such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics
and Statistics New Zealand, most of it is purposefully gathered by marketing
organisations for client companies. In the process, computer technology is
used to manipulate the data and then to present the information in such a way
that executives can readily identify any problems or issues, and quickly
arrive at solutions.
D In order to produce superior value and satisfaction for customers,
marketing managers need information at almost every turn. They need
information about customers-end-users and resellers – as well as competitors
and governmental and other forces in the marketplace. One marketing
executive put it this way: “To manage a business well is to manage its future;
and to manage the future is to manage information.” Increasingly, marketers
are viewing information not just as an input for making better decisions but
also as an important strategic asset and marketing tool. As household
incomes increase, choice widens and buyers become better discriminating, so
sellers need information about how buyers respond to different products and
advertising campaigns.

E The supply of information has also increased greatly. It has been

suggested by the futurist and bestselling author John Naisbitt that the United
States and, by observation, developed countries such as Australia, New
Zealand and Singapore are moving from industrial to information-based
economies. These post-industrial economies earn 70-80% of their Gross
Domestic Product from services and have entered what some commentators
have termed the ‘Information Age’ or the ‘Information Technology Era’.

F One study found that with all the information now available through
supermarket scanners, packaged goods products controllers is bombarded
with one million to one billion new numbers each week. As Naisbitt points
out: ‘Running out of information is not a problem, but drowning in it is. Yet
marketers frequently complain that they lack information of the right kind
but have plenty of the wrong kind, or they claim that marketing information
is so widely spread throughout the organization that is takes great effort to
locate even simple facts. In addition, subordinates may withhold information
they believe will reflect badly on their performance and important
information often arrives too late to be useful, or on-time information is not
accurate. So marketing managers need better information. Although
marketing organisations have greater capacity to provide managers with
information, they often do not use it well. As a result, many marketing
organisations are now studying their managers’ information needs and
designing information systems specifically to meet those needs.

G One solution is to use a Marketing Information System (MIS). This

consists of people, equipment and procedures which, when put together, are
able to gather, analyse, evaluate and distribute needed, timely and accurate
information to marketing decision-makers. The MIS begins and ends with
marketing managers. First, it interacts with these managers to assess the
information needs they have. Next, it develops the needed information from
internal records, marketing intelligence activities and the research process.
The analysis unit processes the data to make it more useful and, finally, the
MIS distributes it to managers in the right form and at the right time to help
them make better marketing decisions.

H However, the costs of obtaining, processing, storing and delivering

information can mount quickly. In some cases additional information will do
little to change or improve a manager’s decision, or the costs of the
information will exceed the returns from the improved decision. For example,
if an organization estimates that launching a new product without any further
information will yield a profit of $500,000, then it would be foolish to spend
$30,000 for additional information that would increase the profit to only
$525,000. By itself information is valueless – its value comes from its use.

Questions 27-31
Reading Passage 3 has eight paragraphs, A-H
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
27. the fact that there may be too much information to cope with
28. the relevance of generating repeat business
29. an example of personalized marketing
30. an illustration of a situation where commissioning new information
research might not be advisable
31. how the greater wealth of customers enables them to select from a
broader range of products

Question 32-36
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading
Passage 3?
 In boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
32. The majority of marketing statistics are gathered by government
agencies.
33. The move from an industrial to an information-based economy has
happened more quickly in New Zealand than in Australia.
34. Employees sometimes hide information that gives a poor impression of
them.
35. Managers frequently fail to make good use of the information they
receive.
36. Marketing information has to be used to be valuable.

Questions 37-40
Complete the Bow-chart below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.

The Marketing Information System (MIS)

Find out their 38…………… Developed through:

 39…………
 marketing
intelligence
activities
37……………………  research process

Timely and accurate

data distribution Processed by the 40………………...