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IELTS Practice Tests Plus Volume 2

IELTS Practice Tests Plus Volume 2

3.8
(606 votes)
  • Published on: 15 Dec 2017
  • Tests taken: 367,185

Answer Keys:

Part 1: Question 1 - 13
  • 1 vi
  • 2 ix
  • 3 iii
  • 4 viii
  • 5 i
  • 6 iv
  • 7 D
  • 8 B
  • 9 D
  • 10 A
  • 11 managers and sportsmen
  • 12 driving
  • 13 Pharmaceutical (companies)
Part 2: Question 14 - 26
  • 14 TRUE
  • 15 FALSE
  • 16 NOT GIVEN
  • 17 TRUE
  • 18 FALSE
  • 19 D
  • 20 F
  • 21 B
  • 22 H
  • 23 E
  • 24 A
  • 25 G
  • 26 B
Part 3: Question 27 - 40
  • 27 G
  • 28 D
  • 29 J
  • 30 B
  • 31 I
  • 32 C
  • 33 asphalt
  • 34 9/nine
  • 35 concrete
  • 36 E
  • 37 J
  • 38 G
  • 39 C
  • 40 A

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剑桥雅思12听力原文-TEST5

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25 Oct 2023

Review & Explanations:

The detailed explanation is not available yet. We are working on it and will provide an update soon.
Part 1: Questions 1-13

Questions 1-6

Questions 7-10

Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D

Write your answers in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.

7

People initially found Kahneman's work unusual because he

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
Answer: D

Keywords in Questions

Similar words in Passage

Q7: People initially found Kahneman's work unusual because he

A.  saw mistakes as following predictable pa.tterns.

B. was unaware of behavioural approaches.

C.  dealt with irrational types of practice.

D.  applied psychology to finance and economics.

When Kahneman and his colleagues first started work, the idea of applying psychological insights to economics and business decisions was seen as rather bizarre.

Note:

  • Quickly scan the passage to look for the particular name “Kahneman

  • Paragraph B states that when Kahneman’s work first started, he applied psychology to economics and business decisions and this was seen as rather bizarre (unusual). Hence, the answer is D.

8

The writer mentions house-owners attitudes towards the value of their homes to illustrate that

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
Answer: B

Keywords in Questions

Similar words in Passage

Q8: The writer mentions house-owners attitudes towards the value of their homes to illustrate that:

A.  past failures may destroy an optimistic attitude.

B.  people tend to exaggerate their chances of success.

C.  optimism may be justified in certain circumstances.

D.  people are influenced by the success of others.

One common cause of problems in decision-making is over-optimism. Ask most people about the future, and they will see too much blue sky ahead, even if past experience suggests otherwise . Surveys have shown that people's forecasts of future stock market movements are far more optimistic than past long-term returns would justify. The same goes for their hopes of ever-rising prices for their homes or doing well in games of chance

Note:

  • The keywords: house-owner, illustrate

  • In paragraph C, the author indicates that people are too much optimistic (too much blue sky) about the future  even if past suggests it was not practical.

  • The author also claims that “The same goes for their hopes of ever-rising prices for their homes. This means they put their hopes up way too high that the prices of their houses is always rising or exaggerate of their chances of success while it may be worse than it really is. For all of which, the answer is B.

9

Stubbornness and inflexibility can cause problems when people

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
Answer: D

Keywords in Questions

Similar words in Passage

Q9: Stubbornness and inflexibility can cause problems when people:

A.  think their financial difficulties are just due to bad luck.

B.  avoid seeking advice from experts and analysts.

C.  refuse to invest in the early stages of a project.

D.  are unwilling to give up unsuccessful activities or beliefs.

In addition, mistakes may arise due to stubbornness. No one likes to abandon a cherished belief, and the earlier a decision has been taken, the harder it is to abandon it . Drug companies must decide early to cancel a failing research project to avoid wasting money, but may find it difficult to admit they have made a mistake. In the same way, analysts may have become wedded early to a single explanation that coloured their perception. A fresh eye always helps .

Note:

  • The keywords are stubbornness and inflexibility.

  • In paragraph E, it is said that mistakes may occur due to stubbornness, inflexibility in changing belief. To support this idea, the author gives out 2 examples, one about the stubbornness of drug companies can cause wasting of money and the inflexibility of analysts can affect their perception. So, the answer is D.

10

Why do many Americans and Europeans fail to spread their financial risks when investing?

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
Answer: A

Keywords in Questions

Similar words in Passage

Q10: Why do many Americans and Europeans fail to spread their financial risks when investing?

A They feel safer dealing in a context which is close to home.

B They do not understand the benefits of diversification.

C  They are over-influenced by the successes of their relatives.

D They do not have sufficient knowledge of one another’s countries.

In finance, too much emphasis on information close at hand helps to explain the tendency by most investors to invest only within the country they live in . Even though they know that diversification is good for their portfolio,a large majority of both Americans and Europeans invest far too heavily in the shares of their home countries. They would be much better off spreading their risks more widely.

Note

  • The keywords: Americans and Europeans, quickly scan the passage for those particular words and read some sentences before and after them to locate the answer.

  • By reading around the keywords “Americans and Europeans”, we can see that option C and D are not mentioned, option B wrong because the author says they know that “diversification is good for their portfolio”. So, the correct answer is A because they feel safer in dealing with information close at hand (close to home countries) which they are already familiar with.

Questions 11-13

Answer the questions below, using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.

Which two occupations may benefit from being over-optimistic? 11

Which practical skill are many people over-confident about?  12

Which type of business has a generally good attitude to dealing with uncertainty?  13

  • 11 Answer: managers and sportsmen

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q11:

    Which two occupations may benefit from being over-optimistic?

    Surveys have shown that people's forecasts of future stock market movements are far more optimistic than past long-term returns would justify. The same goes for their hopes of ever-rising prices for their homes or doing well in games of chance. Such optimism can be useful for managers or sportsmen

    Note:

    • The keyword in question is two occupations.

    • Based on the question, we need to find out 2 jobs that can take advantage of being over-optimistic. In the middle of paragraph C, the author writes “Such optimism can be useful for managers or sportsmen”. So, the answer is “managers or sportsmen”

  • 12 Answer: driving

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q12: Which practical skill are many people over-confident about?

    Kahneman's work points to three types of over-confident. First, people tend to exaggerate their own skill and prowess; in polls, far fewer than half the respondents admit to having below-average skills in, say, driving.

    Note:

    Based on the question, we need to find out a particular practical skill that people are very confident about. In paragraph C, the author writes “far fewer than half the respondents admit to having below-average skills in, say, driving”. This means most of the respondents are over-confident about their driving skill. So, the answer is “ driving”.

  • 13 Answer: Pharmaceutical (companies)

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q13

    Which type of business has a generally good attitude to dealing with uncertainty?

    Kahneman reckons that some types of businesses are much better than others at dealing with risk. Pharmaceutical companies , which are accustomed to many failures and a few big successes in their drug-discovery programmes, are fairly rational about their risk-taking

    Note:

    Based on the question, we need to find out a particular type of business that mostly succeed in dealing with unpredictable situations. In paragraph I, the writer mentions “Pharmaceutical companies, which are accustomed to many failures and a few big successes in their drug-discovery programmes, are fairly rational about their risk-taking” This means that Pharmaceutical companies are used to many failures so they can face failure with a good attitude. So, the answer is “Pharmaceutical companies”

Part 1

Reading Passage 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

Why Risks Can Go Wrong

Human intuition is a bad guide to handling risk


A. People make terrible decisions about the future. The evidence is all around, from their investments in the stock markets to the way they run their businesses. In fact, people are consistently bad at dealing with uncertainty, underestimating some kinds of risk and overestimating others. Surely there must be a better way than using intuition?


B. In the 1960s a young American research psychologist, Daniel Kahneman, became interested in people's inability to make logical decisions. That launched him on a career to show just how irrationally people behave in practice. When Kahneman and his colleagues first started work, the idea of applying psychological insights to economics and business decisions was seen as rather bizarre. But in the past decade the fields of behavioural finance and behavioural economics have blossomed, and in 2002 Kahneman shared a Nobel prize in economics for his work. Today he is in demand by business organizations and international banking companies. But, he says, there are plenty of institutions that still fail to understand the roots of their poor decisions. He claims that, far from being random, these mistakes are systematic and predictable.

C. One common cause of problems in decision-making is over-optimism. Ask most people about the future, and they will see too much blue sky ahead, even if past experience suggests otherwise. Surveys have shown that people's forecasts of future stock market movements are far more optimistic than past long-term returns would justify. The same goes for their hopes of ever-rising prices for their homes or doing well in games of chance. Such optimism can be useful for managers or sportsmen, and sometimes turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy. But most of the time it results in wasted effort and dashed hopes. Kahneman's work points to three types of over-confidence. First, people tend to exaggerate their own skill and prowess; in polls, far fewer than half the respondents admit to having below-average skills in, say, driving. Second, they overestimate the amount of control they have over the future, forgetting about luck and chalking up success solely to skill. And third, in competitive pursuits such as dealing on shares, they forget that they have to judge their skills against those of the competition.

D. Another source of wrong decisions is related to the decisive effect of the initial meeting, particularly in negotiations over money. This is referred to as the 'anchor effect'. Once a figure has been mentioned, it takes a strange hold over the human mind. The asking price quoted in a house sale, for example, tends to become accepted by all parties as the 'anchor' around which negotiations take place. Much the same goes for salary negotiations or mergers and acquisitions. If nobody has much information to go on, a figure can provide comfort - even though it may lead to a terrible mistake.

E. In addition, mistakes may arise due to stubbornness. No one likes to abandon a cherished belief, and the earlier a decision has been taken, the harder it is to abandon it. Drug companies must decide early to cancel a failing research project to avoid wasting money, but may find it difficult to admit they have made a mistake. In the same way, analysts may have become wedded early to a single explanation that coloured their perception. A fresh eye always helps.

F. People also tend to put a lot of emphasis on things they have seen and experienced themselves, which may not be the best guide to decision-making. For example, somebody may buy an overvalued share because a relative has made thousands on it, only to get his fingers burned. In finance, too much emphasis on information close at hand helps to explain the tendency by most investors to invest only within the country they live in. Even though they know that diversification is good for their portfolio, a large majority of both Americans and Europeans invest far too heavily in the shares of their home countries. They would be much better off spreading their risks more widely.

G. More information is helpful in making any decision but, says Kahneman, people spend proportionally too much time on small decisions and not enough on big ones. They need to adjust the balance. During the boom years, some companies put as much effort into planning their office party as into considering strategic mergers.

H. Finally, crying over spilled milk is not just a waste of time; it also often colours people's perceptions of the future. Some stock market investors trade far too frequently because they are chasing the returns on shares they wish they had bought earlier.

I. Kahneman reckons that some types of businesses are much better than others at dealing with risk. Pharmaceutical companies, which are accustomed to many failures and a few big successes in their drug-discovery programmes, are fairly rational about their risk-taking. But banks, he says, have a long way to go. They may take big risks on a few huge loans, but are extremely cautious about their much more numerous loans to small businesses, many of which may be less risky than the big ones. And the research has implications for governments too. They face a whole range of sometimes conflicting political pressures, which means they are even more likely to take irrational decisions.

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