PRACTICE TEST READING (5) STARTER TOEIC 3RD EDITION

STARTER TOEIC 3^RD EDITION

PRACTICE TEST

READING (5)

Part VII Directions: In this part you will read a selection of texts, such as magazine and newspaper articles, letters, and advertisements. Each text is followed by several questions. Select the best answer for each question and mark the letter (A), (B), (C), or (D) on your answer sheet.

Questions 177 through 180 refer to the following advice.

Tips for shopping through the mail Every year, thousands of people successfully order goods from mail order catalogs. However, some more unfortunate individuals find that the goods they ordered look nothing like the pictures, arrive damaged, or don’t arrive at all. Here are some tips to help protect yourself when you shop through the mail. ·         Before placing your first order, ask around. Have your friends or family used this catalog before? How was their experience? Were they satisfied with the goods and service? Would they use the company again? ·         Read all available information, including the return policy. Look for companies that offer a no-questions asked return policy. Check whether you will have to pay postage if you need to return goods. ·         Always include shipping costs and sales tax in the final price when comparing costs. In some cases, the shipping costs can really add up. Make sure you know exactly what you are paying for. ·         How long will you have to wait for your order. If you need something in a hurry, shipping by mail might not be the best option. ·         Keep records of your orders, including the catalog name, address, telephone number, and the date that you placed the order. Of course, you should also keep track of items ordered, operator name, and expected date of delivery. ·         If you encounter any problems with a mail-order company, contact a consumer advocacy group. You can easily find telephone numbers for such groups in the telephone directory or on the internet.

177	What should be included in the final price?		179	When could it be a bad idea to buy something through the mail?
	A	Shipping and insurance costs		A	At busy times
	B	Sales tax and insurance		B	If you need something quickly
	C	Return cost and taxes		C	Because the goods are damaged
	D	Sales tax and shipping costs		D	If you don’t like the catalog
178	What should a buyer keep record of?		180	Who should you contact if you have problems?
	A	Return policy		A	Family or friends
	B	Fine print		B	The post office
	C	Operator name		C	A consumer advocacy group
	D	Shipping costs		D	The phone directory

Questions 181 through 185 refer to the following table and memo.

Survey: Destination Preference of 500 Potential Customers Sunshine Holidays Marketing Division Table of Results (to be posted in staff room of all branches) Research conducted March 22nd. To      : All Branch Managers From : Sunshine Holidays Marketing Division Re      : Customer Preferences: Competition As a result of recent research, we have decided to launch a staff competition. 500 British people were recently surveyed by Sunshine Holidays about their vacation plans for the coming summer. 100 people in each of five different age ranges were surveyed. They were asked to indicate which countries they planned to visit out of four possible choices. The choices given were Italy, France, Britain, and Spain. It seems that as they get older, people tend to choose not to travel overseas. As we can see from the table, the older participants chose Britain as their first choice to visit. When asked about this choice, they gave several reasons, including fears about health problems and access to medical care, worries about communicating in a foreign language, and the desire to spend time with their grandchildren during the school vacations. The youngest group of participants chose Spain as their favourite. They said it was because of Spain’s reputation as a fun and lively place with beautiful beaches. However, overall, France was the most popular destination for all age groups. This is because of its close location to Britain. We want to increase the number of older customers visiting Spain (target A), and the number of younger visitors travelling within Britain (Target B). For this reason, we are launching a staff competition. Please submit your ideas to increase the number of customers in either target group A and target group B. the two lucky winners will win all-expenses paid trip to Bermuda.

181	What were the people surveyed about?		184	Which country was the most popular with people in their twenties?
	A	Their vacation plans		A	Italy
	B	Countries they had visited		B	Spain
	C	Ski resorts in Europe		C	France
	D	General knowledge about four countries		D	Britain
182	What is the purpose of this memo?		185	How many people in their sixties were interviewed?
	A	To introduce Sunshine Holidays		A	20
	B	To announce a competition		B	30
	C	To talk about medical care and health		C	100
	D	To introduce France, Italy, Spain and Britain		D	2
183	Which country was the most popular with all age groups?
	A	Italy
	B	France
	C	England
	D	Spain

Questions 186 through 190 refer to the following article and letter.

Mankato Herald Musicians Hurt in Stage Accident Mankato: July 5th. Cheers turned to tears last weekend at the Summer Classics Music Festival in Woodland Park. Saturday night’s concert. The culmination of a week-long celebration, was attended by over 250 people. The evening closed with the first movement from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. For this final number, the Mankato Symphony Orchestra was joined by local band Sons of Poseidon, just back from a tour of the former Soviet Union and China. The audience didn’t seem to enjoy the performance which featured duelling solos from lead singer, Vince Voxx, and guitarist Barron Von Jamz. There are reports of some members of the audience throwing empty cans at the stage. Just minutes before the close of the piece, disaster struck. According to eye witness reports, the band’s rotating drum cage began to spin out of control. Some concert goers say that Vince Voxx had tried to throw back some of the cans, and they became entangled in the mechanism of the drum cage. A stagehand managed to disconnect the cage from its power source, but not before the drummer was knocked unconscious. He is listed in a stable condition at St. Gules Memorial Hospital.

The Editor Mankato Herald Local Newsdesk. Mankato Dear Sir, I am one of the musicians involved in last weekend’s Music Festival, and I would like to say that I feel your reporting was very biased. First, while I saw journalists from many newspapers, I did not see anyone from the Mankato Herald. The details in your report differ greatly from the facts. First, the audience thoroughly enjoyed the performance, cheering and singing along. Cans were not thrown at the stage, and even if they had been, our lead singer Vince Voxx would never do something irresponsible or dangerous like throwing them back at the audience. He is not that kind of person. He can always be trusted to do the right thing. The drum cage did not “spin out of control” and no one was hospitalized. The Mankato Herald has a history of writing negative reports about events involving Sons of Poseidon. I am not sure why, but would like to request that you write more objective articles in the future. Sincerely John Greer (Barron Von Jamz)

186	How long was the Summer Classics Music Festival?		189	Why did John Greer write to the Mankato Herald?
	A	250 days		A	To praise their article
	B	A weekend		B	To complain about the article
	C	7 days		C	To submit an article
	D	One night		D	To ask for a job
187	Where had Sons of Poseidon been touring?		190	According to John Greer, what kind of person is Vince Voxx?
	A	Brandenburg		A	Irresponsible
	B	Mankato		B	Dangerous
	C	America		C	Responsible
	D	China		D	Good at singing
188	According to the article, who stopped the rotating drum cage?
	A	Vince Voxx
	B	The guitarist
	C	A stagehand
	D	The conductor

ANSWER KEY

177	D	187	D
178	C	188	C
179	B	189	B
180	C	190	C
181	A
182	B
183	B
184	B
185	C
186	C