Section 1: Question 1-14

Good Reading Reviews

A
Your Chinese Horoscope 2003
Astrologer Neil Somerville suggests the Year of the Goat will be one of healing. It was a Goat year that the first human organ transplant was performed and it appears that there will be more medical breakthroughs.
   — Maggie Hamilton
B
Start Me Up
For someone leaving the safety of full-time employment to face
the risks and challenges of running their own business, Start Me
Up by Toney Fitzgerald is not a bad learning tool.
   — Graeme Berwick
C
The Autobiography of Pat Cash
The book covers Pat Cash’s tennis career from junior Davis Cup member to Wimbledon champion. Cash also frankly shares his opinion on all matters relating to professional tennis.
    — Joanne Dover
D
GARDENS BY THE SEA
Gardens by the Sea showcases gardens all over the world. Some are grand, some are humble, but each of these stunning creations bears witness to the gardener’s dedication in the face of the harsh realities of seaside living.
   — Gordon Bain
E
Walking Home with Marie-Claire
This is a story about Pauline in Grade 6 at a primary school in the 70s. She meets a new friend, Marie-Claire with a very unusual family. But why won’t Marie-Claire let Pauline meet her family? The book portrays the lives of families struggling to understand each other’s points of view.
   — Merle Morcom
F
Splendours of an Ancient Civilisation
This book is the perfect coffee table book for lovers of Ancient Egypt. Its appeal lies in the colour photography and the illustrations. They include detailed close-ups of the most impressive and well-known objects and buildings of the time.
   — Myffanwy Bryant
G
Never Count Out the Dead
Police Officer John Sully is tricked into driving thirteen-year-old Shay Storey to an isolated spot, where her mother, Dee, is waiting to kill him. Sully miraculously survives and Dee flees to Mexico, where she abandons her daughter. Sully is contacted by a journalist who offers to help him catch Dee and find her daughter.
    — Phillip Knowles
H
Fresh Flavours of India
This is a mouth-watering book packed with innovative ideas that reflect the author’s passion for his homeland’s cuisine. The author offers dishes from contemporary India with straightforward recipes that burst with flavour and aroma.
    –Gordon Bain

[Reviews are adapted from reviews first appearing in Good Reading (magazine)]

Questions 1-5

Look at the reviews of books (A-H). Match each question 1-5 with a book review (A-H). Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on the answer sheet. You may use any letter more than once.

Example: Which book deals with cooking?     
Answer: H

1.  Which book is detective fiction?  
2.  Which book handles commercial matters?  
3.  Which book teaches about past history?  
4.  Which book is written by a sporting personality?
5.  Which book attempts to predict future discoveries in the field of medicine?

Legal information on call

What is Dial-A-Law?
Dial-A-Law is a library of pre-recorded messages to provide general information on specific topics of law. You can call this service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and listen to any tape from our complete library of pre-recorded messages.

Dial-A-Law provides information, not legal advice. Each legal problem is different so if you have a legal problem you should talk to a solicitor. If you don’t have a solicitor, the Legal Referral Service can refer you to a solicitor in your area.

While the Dial-A-Law information service is available 24 hours a day, the Legal Referral Service is open only during normal business hours.

What if I need a solicitor?
If you listen to a Dial-A-Law message after business hours, you can phone the Legal Referral Service during business hours the following day on the number given to you at the end of the message.

If you listen to a Dial-A-Law message during business hours and decide you want a referral to a solicitor, press the appropriate number when prompted and you will be automatically transferred to the Legal Referral Service.

You will be given the names of up to three solicitors in your suburb who practise in the specific area of law you require. You can simply arrange an appointment with one of these solicitors. Then you must contact the Legal Referral Service to obtain a referral letter. You must hand this to the solicitor at the beginning of your interview He or she will give you an initial interview of up to 30 minutes free of charge.

During the interview, the solicitor will tell you if you have a legal case, what is involved, approximately how long it should take to solve the problem, and how much it is likely to cost. Then, if you and the solicitor agree, you may hire the solicitor to handle your problem at his or her normal fee.

 — Law Institute Victoria, Dial-A-Law and the legal referral service

Questions 6-9

Read the Reading Passage “Legal information on call” about a new way to get legal information.
Choose the correct letter A-D for questions 6-9. Write your answers in boxes 6-9 on the answer sheet.

6.  Dial-A-Law is

• A. a group of solicitors.    
• B. a law college library.
• C. a legal telephone service.
• D. a legal Internet message bank.

7. Dial-A-Law will

• A. give legal counselling.
• B. inform listeners about particular legal subjects.
• C. suggest to clients which solicitor they should see.   
• D. supply advice on difficulties concerning the law.

8. Dial-A-Law is available to customers

• A. at any time.   
• B. on weekdays only.   
• C. during business hours.
• D. for thirty minutes at a time.

9. The Legal Referral Service will

• A. A recommend a legal consultant.  
• B. nominate three solicitors in the client’s vicinity.
• C. choose the best of three solicitors for the client.
• D. decide whether the client must pay for a legal problem.

Questions 6-10

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text ‘Legal information on call’?
In boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet, write

    TRUE    if the statement agrees with the information
    FALSE    if the statement contradicts the information
    NOT GIVEN    if there is no information on this

10.  The client can be transferred to a solicitor at any time.  
11.  The first consultation with a solicitor is always free.  
12.  The client must write ä letter of referral for the solicitor.  
13.  The solicitor will advise the client of the expense involved in a legal matter.  
14.  The client should take the first solicitor offered. 

Section 2: Question 15-26

Which direction for a career?

To examine your career options, you should first gather as much information as possible.
Here are some places where you can get advice.

School
Your careers library will have some basic information on a variety of occupations. Ask the librarian questions like:

   •  What does someone with this job do?
   •  What subjects do I need to study?
   •  What courses are available?
   •  How long will it take to train?

Also, use careers advisors to expand your list of career ideas by finding out about related options. Many schools have work experience programs which give you the chance to check out a job which interests you.

Career Information Centres

Resources in these centres include printed information about jobs and tertiary study reference materials such as university and college handbooks. There are 12 Career Information Centres throughout the country. Assistance from the staff is also available.
Employers
You could talk to employers in areas you find interesting. You might ask them questions such as:

   •  What are the most demanding aspects of this work?
   •  What is the most preferred method of entry?
   •  Are there courses which will prepare me for this work?

Parents, friends, relatives
Relatives and friends can be helpful in giving you insights into the daily routine of an occupation. By questioning them, you can expand your knowledge of the work. Another option is to use this group to arrange industry contacts or check out possible vacancies.
Universities and colleges
These institutions have careers advisors for prospective students. You can also take advantage of their open days. During these days, you can have a look at the facilities offered- and chat to the students and lecturers.

Internet
Don’t forget the Internet. One great site to start at is the government careers directory.

Getting it all together
You will no doubt. gather lots of information, but it is easy to forget details, so you should collect the infor¬mation using a folder or filing system. Check that your information is kept up-to-date.

Questions 15-20

Complete the summary below. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text ‘Which direction for a career?’ Write your answers in boxes 15-20 on the answer sheet.

Complete the summary below:
Both schools and universities have 15 ……………… to assist students with job information. Schools may also run 16 ……………… for practice at specific jobs. There are several 17 ……………… which advise clients on careers. Acquaintances can sometimes provide 18 ……………… and colleges also hold 19 ……………… Finally, for those with access to the Internet, the 20 ……………… is a useful source of information.

Questions 21-26

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
In boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet, write

     TRUE    if the statement agrees with the information
     FALSE    if the statement contradicts the information
     NOT GIVEN    if there is no information on this

21.  Job seekers should speak to their school principals about future careers. 
22.  Career Information Centres do not offer information on tertiary courses. 
23.  Prospective employers could be consulted. 
24.  Job opportunities may be discovered through friends. 
25.  Tertiary institutions encourage prospective students to enrol in their courses. 
26.  Job seekers should keep all their information in one place.

Section 3: Question 27-40

Life in an international orchestra

A.  Playing in a big international orchestra is one of life’s most exciting experiences, yet it is also a very tough job. Players are part of a team of eighty or more musicians playing some of the world’s greatest music. They work very long hours – turning up early for rehearsals on dark, cold, winter’s mornings in a chilly, empty hall; working till late in the evening on the night of a concert; travelling on trains and planes at all hours of the day and night; eating and sleeping when they can; trying to play well when they are tired or hungry or have a headache. There’s not much time left for home, family or friends. In fact, their ‘family’ is the rest of the orchestra. The musicians share the hectic pace and the worries, but they also share the wonderful moments when they are all playing together and feel on top of the world.

B.  Much of an orchestra’s time is spent in rehearsal. The players may already know the music by heart, but every conductor has his or her own ideas about how a piece of music should be played. That is one reason why rehearsals are necessary. Another reason is the problem of orchestral balance of sound. With the rest of the orchestra around them, players cannot always hear themselves properly (sometimes not at all), and so they cannot gauge the balance of sound between their own instruments or section and the rest of the orchestra. At rehearsals, this is something that the conductor is able to put right.

C.  Some conductors like to go through a piece of music bar by bar, stopping the orchestra each time they want to make a comment. Others let an orchestra play for long stretches at a time, then go back to a particular point they want to rehearse again. Whatever the conductor’s method, it is important that the musicians are happy with it. If the players don’t like the conductor they can become very difficult, interrupting the session with questions or complaints. At one time conductors, such as Toscanini, used to get such fine performances out of an orchestra by shouting at the musicians and almost frightening them into playing well. That sort of behaviour would not work with most orchestras today. After all, orchestral musicians are highly trained and experienced people and they should be treated with respect.

D.  If a rehearsal is held in the morning of a concert, it probably takes place in the concert hall. In the morning, everybody will still be in casual clothes but in the evening they will change into formal dress. Most will arrive at least an hour early to unpack and inspect their instruments – violinists to check their strings and bow, woodwind players to check their reeds and change them if need be, and everyone to run over any difficult passages of music. If they want a bit of peace and quiet some members of the orchestra may even hide themselves away in the toilets or creep down to the boiler room! Players whose instruments are too big for them to carry, such as timpani, harps and double-basses, will arrive on the platform before the rest to make their last minute checks.

E.  About five minutes before the concert is due to start, everybody except the leader or concert master, files on and takes their place. Then the leader comes on to a round of applause from the audience and calls for silence, while the oboist sounds the note A. The rest of the orchestra tune their instruments to this note. Finally, on comes the conductor, to more applause, and, when there is quiet once more, the concert begins.

F.  However well the orchestra may have rehearsed, problems may still occur. In a warm, crowded concert hall the acoustics are different from those in a cool, empty building, and this can change the balance of the sound. Also, the instruments may go out of tune after some time in a warm atmosphere.

G.  Musicians, like actors, are aware of the audience; they notice whether the audience is a good one or not. A good audience will listen and respond to the music, whereas a difficult audience coughs and fidgets throughout the performance. Above all, the musicians are also aware of whether they are playing well, not just individually but as a team. Knowing they are giving a good performance makes all the difference at the end of a long, hard day.

Questions 27-33

The text ‘Life in an international orchestra’ has seven paragraphs (A-G).
Choose the correct heading for Paragraphs A-G from the list of headings (i-x) below.
Write your answers in boxes 27-33 on the answer sheet.
There are more headings than paragraphs so you will not use all of them.

Questions 34-40

Choose the letter A-D for questions 34-40. Write your answers, A-D, in boxes 34-40 on your answer sheet.

34.  Playing in a large orchestra requires long hours because

• A) there are many members in a team.     
• B) the rehearsals take a lot of time.
• C) the leader asks them to do so.     
• D) players are sometimes absent because they are sick.

35.  Frequent rehearsals may be needed because

• A) the musicians are occasionally worried.  
• B) the conductor must correct players’ mistakes.
• C) the players may not know each piece of music.   
• D) the volume of the instruments needs to be adjusted.

36.  An effective conductor is one who

• A) has the players’ approval.     
• B) forces the team to play well.
• C) explains everything to the players.     
• D) allows no interruption to the rehearsal.

37. Today, a conductor who loudly criticises the players

• A) is showing them respect.    
• B) can expect insults from them.
• C) will force them to play well.    
• D) will not get good music from them.

38. On the evening of a concert, the players, will

• A) visit the changing rooms.    
• B) arrive at the hall too early.
• C) make sure their instruments are working properly.    
• D) check they have their formal clothing.
  
  

39. Problems in a concert may occur if

• A) the hall temperature changes.  
• B) the audience does not applaud the conductor.
• C) the players are playing an unfamiliar piece of music.
• D) the conductor doesn’t go through the music bar by bar.
  
  

40. Players feel satisfaction in their music when

• A) they have rehearsed well.    
• B) they have worked a long hard day.
• C) the whole orchestra plays well together.    
• D) the audience is happy.