IELTS Reading Recent Actual Test 12

READING PASSAGE 1

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

The Tyranny of Choice

A 

Americans today choose among more options in more parts of life than has ever been pos­sible before. To an extent, the opportunity to choose enhances our lives. It is only logical to think that if some choices are good, more is better; people who care about having infinite options will benefit from them, and those who do not can always just ignore the 273 versions of cereal they have never tried. Yet recent research strongly suggests that, psychologically, this assumption is wrong, with 5% lower percentage announcing they are happy. Although some choices are undoubtedly better than none, more is not always better than less.

B 

Recent research offers insight into why many people end up unhappy rather than pleased when their options expand. We began by making a distinction between “maximizers” (those who always aim to make the best possible choice) and “satisficers” (those who aim for “good enough,” whether or not better selections might be out there).

C 

In particular, we composed a set of statements—the Maximization Scale—to diagnose peo­ple’s propensity to maximize. Then we had several thousand people rate themselves from 1 to 7 (from “completely disagree” to “completely agree”) on such statements as “I never settle for second best.” We also evaluated their sense of satisfaction with their decisions. We did not define a sharp cutoff to separate maximizers from satisficers, but in general, we think of individuals whose average scores are higher than 4 (the scale’s midpoint) as maxi- misers and those whose scores are lower than the midpoint as satisficers. People who score highest on the test—the greatest maximizers—engage in more product comparisons than the lowest scorers, both before and after they make purchasing decisions, and they take longer to decide what to buy. When satisficers find an item that meets their standards, they stop looking. But maximizers exert enormous effort reading labels, checking out consumer magazines and trying new products. They also spend more time comparing their purchas­ing decisions with those of others.

D 

We found that the greatest maximizers are the least happy with the fruits of their efforts. When they compare themselves with others, they get little pleasure from finding out that they did better and substantial dissatisfaction from finding out that they did worse. They are more prone to experiencing regret after a purchase, and if their acquisition disappoints them, their sense of well-being takes longer to recover. They also tend to brood or ruminate more than satisficers do.

E 

Does it follow that maximizers are less happy in general than satisficers? We tested this by having people fill out a variety of questionnaires known to be reliable indicators of well­being. As might be expected, individuals with high maximization scores experienced less satisfaction with life and were less happy, less optimistic and more depressed than people with low maximization scores. Indeed, those with extreme maximization ratings had depression scores that placed them in the borderline of clinical range.

F 

Several factors explain why more choice is not always better than less, especially for maxi­misers. High among these are “opportunity costs.” The quality of any given option cannot be assessed in isolation from its alternatives. One of the “costs” of making a selection is losing the opportunities that a different option would have afforded. Thus, an opportunity cost of vacationing on the beach in Cape Cod might be missing the fabulous restaurants in the Napa Valley. Early Decision Making Research by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky showed that people respond much more strongly to losses than gains. If we assume that opportunity costs reduce the overall desirability of the most preferred choice, then the more alternatives there are, the deeper our sense of loss will be and the less satisfaction we will derive from our ultimate decision.

G 

The problem of opportunity costs will be better for a satisficer. The latter’s “good enough” philosophy can survive thoughts about opportunity costs. In addition, the “good enough” standard leads to much less searching and inspection of alternatives than the maximizer’s “best” standard. With fewer choices under consideration, a person will have fewer opportu­nity costs to subtract.

H 

Just as people feel sorrow about the opportunities they have forgone, they may also suffer regret about the option they settled on. My colleagues and I devised a scale to measure proneness to feeling regret, and we found that people with high sensitivity to regret are less happy, less satisfied with life, less optimistic and more depressed than those with low sensitivity. Not surprisingly, we also found that people with high regret sensitivity tend to be maximizers. Indeed, we think that worry over future regret is a major reason that individuals become maximizers. The only way to be sure you will not regret a decision is by making the best possible one. Unfortunately, the more options you have and the more opportunity costs you incur, the more likely you are to experience regret.

I 

In a classic demonstration of the power of sunk costs, people were offered season subscrip­tions to a local theatre company. Some were offered the tickets at full price and others at a discount. Then the researchers simply kept track of how often the ticket purchasers actu­ally attended the plays over the course of the season. Full-price payers were more likely to show up at performances than discount payers. The reason for this, the investigators argued, was that the full-price payers would experience more regret if they did not use the tickets because not using the more costly tickets would constitute a bigger loss. To increase sense of happiness, we can decide to restrict our options when the decision is not crucial. For example, make a rule to visit no more than two stores when shopping for clothing.

Questions 1-4

Look at the following descriptions or deeds (Questions 1-4) and the list of catego­ries below.
Match each description or deed with the correct category, A-D.
Write the correct letter, A-D, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.

A          “maximizers”
B          “satisficers”
C          neither “maximizers” nor “satisficers”
D          both “maximizers” and “satisficers”

1   rated to the Maximization Scale of making choice

2   don’t take much time before making a decision

3   are likely to regret about the choice in the future

4   choose the highest price in the range of purchase

Questions 5-8

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 5-8 on you answer sheet, write

TRUE                 if the statement is true

FALSE                if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN      if the information is not given in the passage

5   In today’s world, since the society is becoming wealthier, people are happier.

6   In society, there are more maximisers than satisficers.

7   People tend to react more to loses than gains.

8   Females and males acted differently in the study of choice making.

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   The Maximization Scale is aimed to

A  know the happiness when they have more choices.

B  measure how people are likely to feel after making choices.

C  help people make better choices.

D  reduce the time of purchasing.

10   According to the text, what is the result of more choices?

A  People can make choices more easily

B  Maximizers are happier to make choices.

C  Satisficers are quicker to make wise choices.

D  People have more tendency to experience regret.

11   The example of theatre ticket is to suggest that

A  they prefer to use more money when buying tickets.

B  they don’t like to spend more money on theatre.

C  higher-priced things would induce more regret if not used properly

D  full-price payers are real theatre lovers.

12   How to increase the happiness when making a better choice?

A  use less time

B  make more comparisons

C  buy more expensive products

D  limit the number of choices in certain situations

13   What is the best title for Reading Passage 1?

A  Reasoning of Worse Choice Making

B  Making Choices in Today’s World

C  The Influence of More Choices

D  Complexity in Choice Making

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. 

Eco-Resort Management Practices

Ecotourism is often regarded as a form of nature-based tourism and has become an important alternative source of tourists. In addition to providing the traditional resort-leisure product, it has been argued that ecotourism resort management should have a particular focus on best-practice environmental management. an educational and interpretive component, and direct anil indirect contributions to the conservation of the natural and cultural environment (Ayala. I996).

Conran Cove Island Resort is a large integrated ecotourism-based resort located south of Brisbane on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Australia. As the world’s population becomes increasingly urbanised, the demand for tourist attractions which are environmentally friendly, serene and offer amenities of a unique nature has grown rapidly. Couran Cove Resort, which is one such tourist attractions, is located on South Stradbroke Island, occupying approximately 150 hectares of the island. South Stradbroke Island is separated from die mainland by the Broadwater, a stretch of sea .’ kilometres wide. More than a century ago. there was only one Stradbroke Island, and there were at least four Aboriginal tribes living and limiting on the island. Regrettably, most of the original island dwellers were eventually killed by diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox and influenza by the end of the 19th century. The second ship wrecked on the island in 1894, and the subsequent destruction of the ship (the Cambus Wallace) because it contained dynamite, caused a large crater in the sandhills on Stradbroke Island. Eventually. the ocean bloke through the weakened land form and Stradbroke became two islands. Conran Cove Island Resort is built on one of the world’s lew naturally -occurring sand lands, which is home to a wide range of plant communities and one of the largest remaining remnants of the rare livistona rainforest left on the Gold Coast. Many mangrove and rainforest areas, and Malaleuca Wetlands on South Stradbroke Island (and in Queensland), have been cleared, drained or filled for residential, industrial, agricultural or urban development in the first half of the 20th century. Farmers and graziers finally abandoned South Stradbroke Island in 1959 because the vegetation and the soil conditions there were not suitable for agricultural activities.

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES OF COUKAN COVE RESORT

Being located on an offshore island, the resort is only accessible by means of water transport. The resort provides hourly ferry service from the marina on the mainland to and from the island. Within the resort. transport modes include walking trails, bicycle tracks and the beach train. The reception area is the counter of the shop which has not changed for 8 years at least. The accommodation is an octagonal “Bure’’. These are large rooms that are clean but the equipment is tiled and in some cases just working. Our ceiling fan only worked on high speed for example. Beds are hard but clean. There is a television, a radio, an old air conditioner and a small fridge. These “Bures” are right on top of each other and night noises do carry. so he careful what you say and do. The only tiling is the mosquitoes, but if you forget to bring mosquito repellant they sell some oil the island.

As an ecotourism-based resort most of the planning and development of the attraction lias been concentrated on the need lo co-exist with the fragile natural environment of South Stradbroke Island io achieve sustainable development.

WATER AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT

South Stradbroke Island has groundwater at the centre of the island, which has a maximum height of 3 metres above sea level. The water supply is recharged by rainfall and is commonly known as an unconfined freshwater aquifer. Couran Cove Island Resort obtains its water supply by tapping into this aquifer and extracting it via a bore system. Some of the problems which have threatened the island’s freshwater supply include pollution, contamination and over-consumption. In order to minimise some of these problems, all laundry activities are carried out on the mainland. The resort considers washing machines as onerous to the island’s freshwater supply, and that the detergents contain a high level of phosphates which are a major source of water pollution. The resort uses LPG-power generation rather than a diesel-powered plant for its energy supply, supplemented by wind turbine, which has reduced greenhouse emissions by 70% of diesel-equivalent generation methods. Excess heat recovered from the generator is used to heat the swimming pool. Hot water in the eco-cabins and for some of the resort’s vehicles are solar-powered. Water efficient fittings are also installed in showers and toilets. However, not all the appliances used by the resort arc energy efficient, such as refrigera­tors. Visitors who stay at the resort are encouraged to monitor their water and energy usage via the in-house television systems, and are rewarded with prizes (such as a free return trip to the resort) accordingly if their usage level is low.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

We examined a case study of good management practice and a pro-active sustainable tourism stance of an eco-resort. In three years of operation, Couran Cove Island Resort has won 23 international and national awards, including the 2001 Australian Tourism Award in the 4-Star Accommodation category. The resort has embraced and has effectively implemented contem­porary environmental management practices. It has been argued that the successful implemen­tation of the principles of sustainability should promote long-term social, economic and envi­ronmental benefits, while ensuring and enhancing the prospects of continued viability for the tourism enterprise. Couran Cove Island Resort does not conform to the characteristics of the Resort Development Spectrum, as proposed by Pridcaux (2000). According to Pridcaux. the resort should be at least at Phase 3 of the model (the National tourism phase), which describes an integrated resort providing 3-4 star hotel-type accommodation. The primary tourist market in Phase 3 of the model consists mainly of interstate visitors. However, the number of interstate and international tourists visiting the resort is small, with the principal visitor markets com­prising locals and residents front nearby towns and the Gold Coast region. The carrying capac­ity of Couran Cove docs not seem to be of any concern to the Resort management. Given that it is a private commercial ecotourist enterprise, regulating the number of visitors to the resort to minimise damage done to the natural environment on South Stradbrokc Island is not a binding constraint. However, the Resort’s growth will eventually be constrained by its carrying capac­ity, and quantity control should be incorporated in the management strategy of the resort.

Questions 14-18

Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.

14   The Stradbroke became two islands

A  by an intended destruction of the ship of the Cambus Wallace.

B  by an explosion of dynamite on a ship and following nature erosion.

C  by the movement sandhills on Stradbroke Island.

D  by the volcanic eruption on island.

15   Why are laundry activities for the resort carried out on the mainland?

A  to obtain its water supply via a bore system

B  to preserve the water and anti-pollution

C  to save the cost of installing onerous washing machines

D  to reduce the level of phosphates in water around

16   The major water supplier in South Stradbroke Island is by

A  desalining the sea water.

B  collecting the rainfall.

C  transporting from the mainland.

D  boring ground water.

17   What is applied for heating water on Couran Cove Island Resort?

A  the LPG-power

B  a diesel-powered plant

C  the wind power

D  the solar-power

18   What does, as the managers of resorts believe, the prospective future focus on?

A  more awards for resort’s accommodation

B  sustainable administration and development in a long run

C  economic and environmental benefits for the tourism enterprise

D  successful implementation of the Resort Development Spectrum

Questions 19-23

Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 19-23 on your answer sheet. 

Being located away from the mainland, tourists can attain the resort only by 19………………….  in a regular service provided by the resort itself. Within the resort, transports include trails for walking or tracks for both 20 …………………….. and the beach train. The on-island equipment is old-fashioned which is barely working such as the 21 …………………… overhead. There is elevision, radio, an old 22 …………………….. and a small fridge. And you can buy the repellent for 23…………………..  if you forget to bring some.

Questions 24-26

Choose THREE letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet.

Which THREE of the following statements are true as to the contemporary situation of Couran Cove Island Resort in the last paragraph?

A  Couran Cove Island Resort goes for more eco-friendly practices.

B  The accommodation standard only conforms to the Resort Development Spectrum of Phase 3.

C  Couran Cove Island Resort should raise the accommodation standard and build more facilities.

D  The principal group visiting the resort is international tourists.

E  Its carrying capacity will restrict the future businesses’ expansion.

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Theory or Practice?

— What is the point of research carried out by biz schools?

Students go to universities and other academic institutions to prepare for their future. We pay tuition and struggle through classes in the hopes that we can find a fulfilling and exciting career. But the choice of your university has a large influence on your future. How can you know which university will prepare you the best for your future? Like other academic institutions, busi­ness schools are judged by the quality of the research carried out by their faculties. Professors must both teach students and also produce original research in their own field. The quality of this research is assessed by academic publications. At the same time, universities have another responsibility to equip their students for the real world, however that is defined. Most students learning from professors will not go into academics themselves—so how do academics best prepare them for their future careers, whatever that may be? Whether academic research actually produces anything that is useful to the practice of business, or even whether it is its job to do so, are questions that can provoke vigorous arguments on campus.

The debate, which first flared during the 1950s, was reignited in August, when AACSB Interna­tional. the most widely recognised global accrediting agency for business schools, announced it would consider changing the way it evaluates research. The news followed rather damning criti­cism in 2002 from Jeffrey Pfefler. a Stanford professor, and Christina Fong of Washington Uni­versity, which questioned whether business education in its current guise was sustainable. The study found that traditional modes of academia were not adequately preparing students for the kind of careers they faced in current times. The most controversial recommendation in AACSB’s draft report (which was sent round to administrators for their comment) is that the schools should be required to demonstrate the value of their faculties’ research not simply by listing its citations in journals, but by demonstrating the impact it has in the professional world. New qualifiers, such as average incomes, student placement in top firms and business collaborations would now be considered just as important as academic publications.

AACSB justifies its stance by saying that it wants schools and faculty to play to their strengths, whether they be in pedagogy, in the research of practical applications, or in scholarly endeavor. Traditionally, universities operate in a pyramid structure. Everyone enters and stays in an attempt to be successful in their academic field. A psychology professor must publish competi­tive research in the top neuroscience journals. A Cultural Studies professor must send graduate students on new field research expeditions to be taken seriously. This research is the core of a university’s output. And research of any kind is expensive—AACSB points out that business schools in America alone spend more than $320m a year on it. So it seems legitimate to ask for,’what purpose it is undertaken?

If a school chose to specialise in professional outputs rather than academic outputs, it could use such a large sum of money and redirect it into more fruitful programs. For example, if a business school wanted a larger presence of employees at top financial firms, this money may be better spent on a career center which focuses on building the skills of students, rather than paying for more high-level research to be done through the effort of faculty. A change in evaluation could also open the door to inviting more professionals from different fields to teach as adjuncts. Stu­dents could take accredited courses from people who are currently working in their dream field. The AACSB insists that universities answer the question as to why research is the most critical component of traditional education.

On one level, the question is simple to answer. Research in business schools, as anywhere else, is about expanding the boundaries of knowledge; it thrives on answering unasked questions. Surely this pursuit of knowledge is still important to the university system. Our society progresses because we learn how to do things in new ways, a process which depends heavily on research and academics. But one cannot ignore the other obvious practical uses of research publications. Research is also about cementing schools’ and professors’ reputations. Schools gain kudos from their faculties’ record of publication: which journals publish them, and how often. In some cases, such as with government-funded schools in Britain, it can affect how much money they receive. For professors, the mantra is often “publish or perish”. Their careers depend on being seen in the right journals.

But at a certain point, one has to wonder whether this research is being done for the benefit of the university or for the students the university aims to teach. Greater publications will attract greater funding, which will in turn be spent on better publications. Students seeking to enter pro­fessions out of academia find this cycle frustrating, and often see their professors as being part of the “Ivory Tower” of academia, operating in a self-contained community that has little influ­ence on the outside world.

The research is almost universally unread by real-world managers. Part of the trouble is that the journals labour under a similar ethos. They publish more than 20,000 articles each year. Most of the research is highly quantitative, hypothesis-driven and esoteric. As a result, it is almost univer­sally unread by real-world managers. Much of the research criticises other published research. A paper in a 2006 issue of Strategy & Leadership commented that “research is not designed with managers’ needs in mind, nor is it communicated in the journals they read. For the most part, it has become a self-referential closed system irrelevant to corporate performance.” The AACSB demands that this segregation must change for the future of higher education. If students must invest thousands of dollars for an education as part of their career path, the academics which serve the students should be more fully incorporated into the professional world. This means that uni­versities must focus on other strengths outside of research, such as professional networks, tech­nology skills, and connections with top business firms around the world. Though many universi­ties resisted the report, today’s world continues to change. The universities which prepare students for our changing future have little choice but to change with new trends and new standards.

Questions 27-29

Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 27-29 on your answer sheet.

27   In the second paragraph, the recommendation given by AACSB is

A  to focus on listing research paper’s citation only.

B  to consider the quantity of academic publications.

C  to evaluate how the paper influences the field.

D  to maintain the traditional modes of academia.

28   Why does AACSB put forward the recommendation?

A  to give full play to the faculties’ advantage.

B  to reinforce the play to the pyramid structure of universities.

C  to push professors to publish competitive papers.

D  to reduce costs of research in universities.

29   Why does the author mention the Journal Strategy & Leadership?

A  to characterize research as irrelevant to company performance

B  to suggest that managers don’t read research papers.

C  to describe students’ expectation for universities.

D  to exemplify high-quality research papers.

Questions 30-31

Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 30-31 on your answer sheet.

Which TWO choices are in line with Jeffrey Pfeffer and Christina Fong’s idea?

A  Students should pay less to attend universities.

B  Business education is not doing their job well.

C  Professors should not focus on writing papers.

D  Students are ill-prepared for their career from universities.

E  Recognized accrediting agency can evaluate research well.

Questions 32-36

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 32-36 on you answer sheet, write

TRUE                 if the statement is true

FALSE                if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN      if the information is not given in the passage

32   The debate about the usefulness of academic research for business practices is a recent one.

33   AACSB’s draft report was not reviewed externally.

34   Business schools in the US spend more than 320 million dollars yearly on research.

35   Many universities pursue professional outputs.

36   Greater publications benefit professors and students as well.

Questions 37-40

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-E, below.
Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.

A          it progresses as we learn innovative ways of doing things.
B          the trends and standards are changing.
C          their jobs depend on it.
D          they care about their school rankings and government funds.
E          it helps students to go into top business firms.

37   Most professors support academic research because

38   Schools support academic research because

39   Our society needs academic research because

40   Universities resisting the AACSB should change because