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

Computer games for Preschoolers Nintendo’s

Research and Design Process
Designing computer games for young children is a daunting task for game producers,
who, for a long time, have concentrated on more “hard core” game fans. This article
chronicles the design process and research involved in creating Nintendo DS for
preschool gamers.

After speaking with our producers who have a keen interest in designing for the DS, we
finally agreed on three key goals for our project. First, to understand the range of
physical and cognitive abilities of preschoolers in the context of handheld system game
play; second, to understand how preschool gamers interact with the DS, specifically
how they control the different forms of play and game mechanics offered by the games
presently on the market for this platform; third, to understand the expectation
of preschooler’sparents concerning the handheld systems as well as the purchase and
play contexts within which game play occurs. The team of research decided that in-
home ethnographies with preschoolers and their families would yield comprehensive
database with which to give our producers more information and insights, so we start by
conducting 26 in-home ethnographies in three markets across the United States: an
East coast urban/suburban area, a West coast urban/suburban area, and a Midwest
suburban/rural area.

The subject is this study included 15 girls and 11 boys ranging from 3 years and 3
months old to 5 years and 11 months old. Also, because previous research had shown
the effects of older siblings on game play (demonstrated, for example, by more
advanced motor coordination when using a computer mouse), households were
employed to have a combination of preschoolers with and without elder peers. In order
to understand both “experienced” and “new” preschool users of the platform, we divided
the sample so that 13 families owned at least one Nintendo DS and the others did not.
For those households that did not own a DS, one was brought to the interview for the
kid to play. This allowed us to see both the instinctive and intuitive movements of the
new players (and of the more experienced players when playing new games), as well as
the learned movements of the more experienced players. Each of those interviews took
about 60 to 120 minutes and included the preschooler, at least one parent, and often
siblings and another caregiver.

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Three kinds of information were collected after each interview. From any older siblings
and the parents that were available, we gathered data about: the buying decisions
surrounding game systems in the household, the family’s typical game play patterns,
levels of parental moderation with regard to computer gaming, and the most favorite
games play by family members. We could also understand the ideology of gaming in
these homes because of these in-home interviews: what types of spaces were used for
game play, how the system were installed, where the handheld play occurred in the
house (as well as on-the-go play), and the number and type of games and game
systems owned. The most important is, we gathered the game-playing information for
every single kid.

Before carrying out the interviews, the research team had closely discussed with the in-
house game producers to create a list of game mechanics and problems tied to
preschoolers’ motor and cognitive capabilities that were critical for them to understand
prior to writing the games. These ranged from general dexterity issues related to game
controllers to the effectiveness of in-game instructions to specific mechanics in current
games that the producers were interested in implementing for future preschool titles.
During the interviews, the moderator gave specific guidance to the preschooler through
a series of games, so that he or she could observe the interaction and probe both the
preschooler and his or her parents on feelings, attitudes, and frustrations that arose in
the different circumstances.

If the subject in the experiment had previous exposure to the DS system, he or she was
first asked to play his or her favorite game on the machine. This gave the researchers
information about current level of gaming skill related to the complexity of the chosen
one, allowing them to see the child playing a game with mechanics he or she was
already familiar with. Across the 26 preschoolers, the Nintendo DS selections scope
were very broad, including New Super Mario Bros, Sonic Rush, Nintendogs, and Tony
Hawk’s Proving Ground. The interview observed the child play, noting preferences for
game mechanic and motor interactions with device as well as the complexity level each
game mechanic was for the tested subject. The researchers asked all of the
preschoolers to play with a specific game in consultation with our producers, The Little
Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. The game was chosen for two major reasons.
First, it was one of the few games on the market with characters that appeal to this
young age group. Second, it incorporated a large variety of mechanics that highlighted
the uniqueness of the DS platform, including using the microphone for blowing or
singing.

The findings from this initial experiment were extensive. After reviewing the outcomes
and discussing the implications for the game design with our internal game production
team, we then outlined the designing needs and presented the findings to a firm
specializing in game design. We worked closely with those experts to set the game
design for the two preschool-targeted DS games under development on what we had
gathered.

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As the two DS games went into the development process, a formative research course
of action was set up. Whenever we developed new game mechanics, we brought
preschoolers into our in-house utility lab to test the mechanics and to evaluate both their
simplicity, and whether they were engaging. We tested either alpha or beta versions of
different elements of the game, in addition to looking at overarching game
structure. Once a full version of the DS game was ready, we went back into the field test
with a dozen preschoolers and their parents to make sure that each of the game
elements worked for the children, and that the overall objective of the game was
understandable and the process was enjoyable for players. We also collected parent’s
feedback on whether they thought the game is appropriate, engaging, and worth the
purchase.

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

The History of Pencil

The beginning of the story of pencils started with a lightning. Graphite, the main material
for producing pencil, was discovered in 1564 in Borrowdale in England when a lightning
struck a local tree during a thunder.

Local people found out that the black substance spotted at the root of the unlucky tree
was different from burning ash of wood. It was soft, thus left marks everywhere.

Chemistry was barely out of its infancy at the time, so people mistook it for lead, equally
black but much heavier. It was soon put to use by locals in marking their sheep for
ownership and calculation.

Britain turns out to be major country where mines of graphite can be detected and
developed. Even so, the first pencil was invented elsewhere. As graphite is soft, it requires
some form of encasement.

In Italy, graphite sticks were initially wrapped in string or sheepskin for stability, becoming
perhaps the very first pencil in the world.

Then around 1560, an Italian couple made what are likely the first blueprints for the
modern, wood-encased carpentry pencil. Their version was a flat, oval, more compact
type of pencil. Their concept involved the hollowing out of a stick of juniper wood. Shortly
thereafter in 1662, a superior technique was discovered by German people: two wooden
halves were carved, a graphite stick inserted, and the halves then glued together -

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essentially the same method in use to this day. The news of the usefulness of these early
pencils spread far and wide, attracting the attention of artists all over the known world.

Although graphite core in pencils is still referred to as lead, modern pencils do not contain
lead as the “lead” of the pencil is actually a mix of finely ground graphite and clay powders.
This mixture is important because the amount of clay content added to the graphite
depends on the intended pencil hardness, and the amount of time spent on grinding the
mixture determines the quality of the lead. The more clay you put in, the higher hardness
the core has.

Many pencils across the world, and almost all in Europe, are graded on the European
system. This system of naming used B for black and H for hard; a pencil’s grade was
described by a sequence or successive Hs or Bs such as BB and BBB for successively
softer leads, and HH and HHH for successively harder ones. Then the standard writing
pencil is graded HB.

In England, pencils continue to be made from whole sawn graphite. But with the mass
production of pencils, they are getting drastically more popular in many countries with
each passing decade. As demands rise, appetite for graphite soars. According to the
United States Geological Survey (USGS), world production of natural graphite in 2012
was 1,100,000 tonnes, of which the following major exporters are: China, India, Brazil,
North Korea and Canada. However, much in contrast with its intellectual application in
producing pencils, graphite was also widely used in the military. During the reign of
Elizabeth I, Borrowdale graphite was used as a refractory material to line moulds for
cannonballs, resulting in rounder, smoother balls that could be fired farther, contributing
to the strength of the English navy. This particular deposit of graphite was extremely pure
and soft, and could easily be broken into sticks. Because of its military importance, this
unique mine and its production were strictly controlled by the Crown.

That the United States did not use pencils in the outer space till they spent $1000 to make
a pencil to use in zero gravity conditions is in fact a fiction. It is widely known that
astronauts in Russia used grease pencils, which don’t have breakage problem.

But it is also a fact that their counterparts in the United States used pencils in the outer
space before real zero gravity pencil was invented.

They preferred mechanical pencils, which produced fine line, much clearer than the
smudgy lines left by the grease pencils that Russians favored. But the lead tips of these
mechanical pencils broke often. That bit of graphite floating around the space capsule
could get into someone’s eye, or even find its way into machinery or electronics, causing
an electrical short or other problems. But despite the fact that the Americans did invent
zero gravity pencils later, they stuck to mechanical pencils for many years.

Against the backcloth of a digitalized world, the prospect of pencils seems bleak. In
reality, it does not.

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The application of pencils has by now become so widespread that they can be seen
everywhere, such as classrooms, meeting rooms and art rooms, etc. A spectrum of users
are likely to continue to use it into the future: students to do math works, artists to draw
on sketch pads, waiters or waitresses to mark on order boards, make-up professionals to
apply to faces, and architects to produce blue prints. The possibilities seem limitless.

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

Motivating Drives
Scientists have been researching the way to get employees motivated for many
years. This research in a relational study which builds the fundamental and
comprehensive model for study. This is especially true when the business goal is to turn
unmotivated teams into productive ones. But their researchers have limitations. It is like
studying the movements of car without taking out the engine.

Motivation is what drives people to succeed and plays a vital role in enhancing an
organizational development. It is important to study the motivation of employees because
it is related to the emotion and behavior of employees. Recent studies show there are
four drives for motivation. They are the drive to acquire, the drive to bond, the drive to
comprehend and the drive to defend.

The Drive to Acquire

The drive to acquire must be met to optimize the acquire aspect as well as the
achievement element. Thus the way that outstanding performance is recognized, the type
of perks that is provided to polish the career path. But sometimes a written letter of
appreciation generates more motivation than a thousand dollar check, which can serve
as the invisible power to boost business engagement.Successful organizations and
leaders not only need to focus on the optimization of physical reward but also on moving
other levers within the organization that can drive motivation.

The Drive to Bond

The drive to bond is also key to driving motivation. There are many kinds of bonds
between people, like friendship, family. In company, employees also want to be an
essential part of company. They want to belong to the company.Employees will be
motivated if they find personal belonging to the company. In the meantime, the most
commitment will be achieved by the employee on condition that the force of motivation

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within the employee affects the direction, intensity and persistence of decision and
behavior in company.

The Drive to Comprehend

The drive to comprehend motivates many employees to higher performance. For years,
it has been known that setting stretch goals can greatly impact performance.
Organizations need to ensure that the various job roles provide employees with simulation
that challenges them or allow them to grow. Employees don’t want to do meaningless
things or monotonous job. If the job didn’t provide them with personal meaning and
fulfillment, they will leave the company.

The Drive to Defend

The drive to defend is often the hardest lever to pull. This drive manifests itself as a quest
to create and promote justice, fairness, and the ability to express ourselves freely. The
organizational lever for this basic human motivator is resource allocation. This drive is
also met through an employee feeling connection to a company. If their companies are
merged with another, they will show worries.

Two studies have been done to find the relations between the four drives and
motivation. The article based on two studies was finally published in Harvard Business
Review. Most authors’ arguments have laid emphasis on four-drive theory and actual
investigations. Using the results of the surveys which executed with employees from
Fortune 500 companies and other two global businesses (P company and H company),
the article mentions about how independent drives influence employees’ behavior and
how organizational levers boost employee motivation.

The studies show that the drive to bond is most related to fulfilling commitment, while the
drive to comprehend is most related to how much effort employees spend on works. The
drive to acquire can be satisfied by a rewarding system which ties rewards to
performances, and gives the best people opportunities for advancement. For drive to
defend, a study on the merging of P company and H company shows that employees in
former company show an unusual cooperating attitude.

The key to successfully motivate employees is to meet all drives. Each of these drives is
important if we are to understand employee motivation. These four drives, while not
necessarily the only human drives, are the ones that are central to unified understanding
of modern human life.

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