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Paper 1: Reading (1 hour)
T S E T
PART 1
You are going to read a newspaper article about careers advice. For questions 1–8 , choose the answer (A , B, C or D) which you think fts best according to the text. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.
Finding the t he career career that fts your personality personality ‘I you’ve fnished your exams and have absolutelyy no idea what to do next, absolutel you’re not not alone,’ says says Sheridan Hughes, Hughes, an occupational psychologist at Career Analysts, a career counselling counselling service. service. ‘At 18, it can be very difcult to know what you want want to do because because you don’t don’t really know what you’re interested in.’ Careers guidance, adds Alexis Hallam, one o her colleagues, is generally poor and ‘people can end up in the wrong job and stay there or years because they’re good at something wit hout actually enjoying it.’ To discover what people are good at, and more undamentally, what they will enjoy doing, doing, Career Analysts give their clients a battery o personality profle questionnaires and psychometric tests. An in-depth interview ollows, in which the test results are discussed and dierent career paths and options are explored with the aid o an occupational psychologist. Career Analysts oers oers guidance to everyone, rom teenagers to retirees looking or a new ocus in lie. The service sounded just what I needed. Dividing my time as I do between teaching and reelance journalism, I defnitely need advice about consolidating my career. Being too ancient or Career Analysts’ student career option guidance and not, unortunately, at the executive level yet, I opted opted or the career management management package.. This is aimed at people who package are established in their jobs and who either want a change or some advice about planning the next step in their careers. Having flled in a multitude o personality indicator questionnaires at home, I then spent a rather gruelling morning being aptitude-tested at Career Analysts’ ofces. ofces. The tests tests consisted
3 T S E T
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FCE PRACTICE TESTS
PAPER 1: READING
o logical reasoning ollowed by verbal, to orm a coherent pattern. mechanical and spatial aptitude papers. Having completed my personality and Logical reasoning required me to pick aptitude tests, I sat down with Sheridan out the next shape in a sequence o Hughes, who asked me airly searching triangles, squares and oblongs. I tried personal and proessional questions. my best but knew that it was really a What do my parents and siblings do lost cause. I ared rather better when or a living? Why had I chosen to do an it came to verbal aptitude - fnding the English degree? ‘I need to get a picture odd one out in a series o words couldn’t o you as a person and how you’ve come be simpler. My complacency was shortto be who you are,’ she explained. ‘What lived, however, however, when I was conronted we do works because because it’s a mixture with images o levers and pulleys pulleys or the o science and counselling. We use mechanical aptitude papers. My mind objective psychometric measures to went blank. I had no idea what what would discover our clients’ natural strengths happen to wheel X when string Y was and abilities and then we talk to them pulled. about what they want rom lie.’ At home, flling in questionnaires, I There were no real surprises in my had been asked to give my instinctive own test results, nor in the interview reaction (not an over-considered one) to that ollowed it. ‘We’re interested in statementss like: ‘It bothers me i people statement patterns,’ patterns ,’ Mrs Hughes explained, ‘and think I’m being odd or unconventional’, the pattern or you is strongly verbal or ‘I like to do my planning alone and communicative.’ This was putting it without interruptions interruptions rom others.’ others.’ rather kindly. I had come out as average I was asked to agree or disagree on a on the verbal skills test and below scale o one to fve with ‘I oten take on average in logic, numerical, perceptual impossible odds’, or ‘It is impossible or and mechanical reasoning. My spatial me to believe that chance or luck plays visualization was was so bad it was almost almost an important role in my lie.’ I was told o the scale. ‘A career in cartography, to indicate how important I consider navigation, tiling or architecture would status to be in a job, and how important not be playing to your strengths,’ she money and material benefts. said delicately. The questions attempt to construct Mrs Hughes encouraged me to a picture o the complete individual. expand the writing side o my career Using aptitude tests alongside and gave me straightorward, practical personality profling, occupational suggestions as to how I could go about psychologists will, the theory goes, it. ‘Widen the scope o your articles,’ she be able to guide a client towards a said. ‘You could develop an interest in rewarding, ulflling career. Some medical and psychological felds.’ These questions are as straightorward as latter, she said, would sit comortably indicatingg whether or not you would indicatin with an interest interest in human human behaviour behaviour enjoy a particular job. Designing aircrat indicated on my personality-profling runways? Preparing legal documents? questionnaires. questionnair es. She suggested that I Playing a musical instrument? Every consider writing e-learning content or career going makes an appearance and, on-line courses, an avenue that would as I was shown later, the responses tend never have occurred to me.
1
Which o the ollowing is mentioned in the frst paragraph? A B C D
2
B C D
B C D
B C D
B C D
B C D
She thought about them or longer than she was supposed to. She ound some o them rather strange. One o them ocused on her attitude to risk. One o them concerned her current situation only.
4 T E S T 3
people will fnd some o the questions quite hard to answer. the answers to them and the aptitude tests will provide all the necessary inormation. they will encourage people to have new ideas about p ossible careers. they will give a more accurate picture o people than the aptitude tests.
5
opinions o the tests and questionnaires. relationships with amily members. main regrets. progress through lie.
6
The writer elt that during the interview, Mrs Hughes A B C D
8
3
Some o the questions Sheridan Hughes asked concerned the writer’s A
7
She ound two o the papers extremely difcult. She put in very little eort on any o them. She didn’t understand what she was required to do on one o them. The papers were not what she had been expecting.
The writer says that the idea behind the questionnaires is that A
6
2
What does the writer say about the statements on the questionnaires? A
5
It is about to oer a service or people at executive level. The range o services it oers is unique. She was initially doubtul that it could be useul to her. Only one o its services was relevant to her.
What happened when the writer took the aptitude tests? A
4
1
What does the writer say about Career Analysts in the second paragraph? A
3
people underestimating their own abilities people accepting inappropriate advice people being unwilling to take risks people constantly changing their minds
was keen not to upset her concerning her test results. seemed surprised at how badly she had done in the tests. was being honest about her strengths and weaknesses. preerred to avoid talking about her test results.
7
The advice Mrs Hughes gave to the writer included the suggestion that she should A B C D
think about taking a course on writing. concentrate only on writing and not on any other kind o work. increase the number o subjects she writes about. do something she had previously considered unappealing.
FCE PRACTICE TESTS
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PAPER 1: READING
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