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MID-COURSE ASSESSMENT 2 MCA2 Listen to Andy interviewing Trudi Walters,

a life coach and happiness guru, and choose the
(UNITS 1–6) correct option (a, b or c).
1 Trudi says that
SECTION A: LISTENING a it’s upsetting that people don’t like their work.
b people think too much about being miserable.
1 MCA1 Listen to four people talking about
c Andy should try to enjoy his work more.
conservation and write the correct letter for each
speaker (A, B, C or D). 2 Trudi says that people can improve their
workplace by
Which speaker:
a avoiding negative people altogether.
1 believes that projects focusing on humans
b challenging colleagues to smile more.
should take precedence?
c always being positive themselves.
2 is critical of a fashionable eco-friendly
business? 3 What does Trudi say about money?
3 is alarmed by some statistics? a It’s the main motivator for most people.
4 knows that their opinion may be rather b Moaning about salaries is a symptom of wider
unpopular? dissatisfaction.
5 believes that the future of man depends on c It’s the money that makes a job tolerable.
maintaining many different plant and 4 According to Trudi, bad management is
animal species? a the biggest cause of misery at work.
6 is preparing other people for a future role b usually due to a lack of training.
in conservation? c the reason for company failures.
7 is unconvinced about the value of 5 Trudi says that goals should not be
preserving wildlife? a set without consulting staff.
8 says that some conservation has forced b unrealistic.
local people into crime? c completed late.
9 mentions a belief of a specific group 6 According to Trudi, what makes people happy at
of people? work is
/9 a doing better than their colleagues.
b a chance to be creative.
c getting on with workmates.
/6

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SECTION B: READING
3 Read the article and complete the summary with words from the text. Write one word in each gap.

The value employer is prepared to take them on),

something they could easily have done
employment afterwards. Medicine and
law graduates have the highest level of

of a
without a degree. employment, but it must be noted that
Furthermore, the costs of taking a these are notoriously difficult courses
to get into and that there is a rigorous

degree
degree course leaves students with a
huge debt hanging over their heads, sorting process before students are
a burden which is beginning to make chosen. In addition, the level of the

in today’s students think more than twice about

going to university. Government
degree and the university it comes
from both play an important role in

society research and statistics proudly report the way in which the degree may be
that a graduate is likely to earn perceived by potential employers.
£200,000 more over their lifetime than One way of avoiding the disheartening
non-graduates, but that is providing job search is to delay it by taking a
they can get a job in the first place. master’s degree, but this should not
Recently in the UK many people However, evidence also proves that be seen as the soft option. A master’s
have been debating the value of a there is a much higher unemployment is quite different from a first degree
university degree in these days of high rate amongst non-graduates, but is that and consists of intense study over
unemployment. Does having a degree enough of a case to encourage students a shorter period of time and thus
still have the cachet it once had? And to take a university course? requires commitment, application
more importantly, does it offer the Despite these arguments which the and the ability to think independently.
graduate the job opportunities they anti-degree brigade trundle out, I do Once again, the cost of a master’s can
might have expected in the past? not believe that we should denigrate the be prohibitive and there is uncertainty
value of further education. No learning whether the investment will pay off.
The government has invested a lot
is ever wasted and having a degree However, what it does give a person
of money over the past decade in
benefits not only the graduate, but also is transferable skills and shows a
increasing the number of university
society as a whole, so we should regard degree of self-discipline which may be
places available, but experts question
them as national assets rather than appealing to employers, although work
whether it is money well spent, as a fair
expensive pariahs in our society. The experience is still high on their list.
percentage of graduates are struggling
to find employment despite excellent university experiences allow a young So is it worth doing that degree?
qualifications. There are many stories of person to become independent, to have Well, no education is wasted, but if
graduates applying for hundreds of jobs, time and space to think, develop and you measure it against the ability
only to receive rejections either because explore new ideas while at the same to get a job, there may well be
they are not experienced enough or time honing critical thinking – all valuable disappointment on the horizon for the
because they are over-qualified. Many skills for the welfare of a society. graduate and more ammunition for
have had to settle for employment in Having said that, the choice of a degree the critics questioning the cost to the
coffee or clothes shops (providing an course is vital if the main aim is to find taxpayer.

Summary
The debate about the value of a university degree continues as experts question whether the amount
1
in it is worth it to the taxpayer. Students are also concerned about the benefit of going to
university because, although they may have really good 2 , many are finding it hard to get a job.
Furthermore, many struggle to pay off a 3 which may remain with them for many years.
Government statistics indicate that graduates are still likely to earn much more during their working life than
non-graduates and that 4 is still more prevalent amongst non-graduates. Society should look at
graduates as being 5 rather then an expensive luxury. However, choosing the right degree course
is essential for those who go to university with the sole intention of finding a job, but it still does not guarantee
employment and it can be very 6 to get accepted onto some specialised courses. Doing a
master’s degree is a way of delaying the 7 for work. However, the skills developed through
doing a master’s can attract 8 .

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4 Read the forum posts and write the correct letter (A, B, C or D) for each post.

A CONSUMERISM: EVIL OR NECESSITY? C

Consumerism is the bane of our society. It keeps the I totally agree with what’s been said, but we now have
economy moving, but it also set us on a path to to find a way out of the hole into which we’ve dug
economic disaster as natural resources run out and landfill ourselves. As natural resources are shrinking very fast,
sites get bigger and bigger. The age of buying, using, prices are shooting up and will continue to do so. It’s up
discarding and then buying more has become unsustainable. to every individual consumer to change their buying
The term ‘consumerism’ was coined in the early 20th habits and re-use, recycle, repair or make things they
century when, as a result of cheap and abundant energy, want instead of buying them. Thanks to modern
manufacturing was wholly mechanised and suddenly technology, people-power is able to attack large
there was a glut of products available which needed to be corporations and make a real difference. If we all stop
sold. At that time people had always used cash to buy buying unsustainable products, products that do not last
goods, but they could not afford to purchase all this new a long time or goods that are made by children and
equipment which was being produced, so the idea of poor people in other countries, then the companies will
credit caught on in order to enable consumers to have the have to stop making these products or change the way
car, washing machine, food processor and vacuum cleaner they source their goods. Even if governments regulate
of their dreams. Advertising was born as manufacturers what companies can and cannot produce, if the
had to persuade people that these new-fangled devices customer still wants the old-fashioned, non-eco-friendly
were an absolute necessity. And we all know what products, then companies say they have to make them.
happened in the early noughties to those developed Each one of us holds the future of the way we live in
economies which had been built mainly upon credit. our hands.

B D
I am not sure that people have as much power as you I blame consumerism for many evils in the world today:
think or that people’s minds could be changed so easily. child slavery and poverty, obesity, mental health
Governments are in the pockets of multinational problems. If we did not have so much stuff in our lives,
corporations who promote the idea of consumerism, so we would not stress out about being able to pay for it all
they are reluctant to change the system. Furthermore, or get upset when it breaks or fails to function properly.
even if they realise that the long-term future is bleak, We live in a world of excess which has caused serious
they are reluctant to do anything which might cause problems for civilisation. I think that manufacturers should
redundancies, factory closures and so on because it will take responsibility for producing goods which are both
impact negatively on their popularity. Short-termism is durable and energy-efficient and that they should be
prevalent in our society and future generations will pay obliged to repair them to keep them working for much
the price for this. Easy credit is what has allowed longer than the five years or so goods generally have
consumerism to thrive and it has nurtured a society that thanks to built-in obsolescence. Planned obsolescence is
believes it is entitled to have anything it wants. I’m not another spin-off of the world of consumerism and was
sure that everyone is capable of behaving in a responsible developed in the sixties, when manufacturers tried to
way. People like to buy things cheaply and rarely consider work out how to keep people buying new versions of
how they were produced. Thanks to years of their products. Consumerism is totally unsustainable and
brainwashing, their incessant craving to have the newest we all need to act now to change the economic
device, car or whatever has become a kind of addiction. mentality of everyone.

Which post mentions:

1 a demand for unsustainable products?
2 a proposal for changing production policies?
3 an inability to stop buying?
4 a reason for slow government action?
5 the advent of widespread borrowing?
6 individual responsibility?
7 a past manufacturing policy?
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SECTION C: LANGUAGE 7 Choose the correct option (a, b, c or d) to

complete the text.
5 Complete the text with the correct form of the
verbs in brackets. The old man trudged along the pavement 1 by
the craziness of Christmas shopping. Shoppers laden
So I decided to apply for a master’s in International down with huge carrier bags full of things, which
Relations. Having had some experience of working were probably not wanted and would never be used,
in conflict areas as a volunteer around the world, jostled each other and became quite aggressive if they
I was keen to get a qualification which thought he had got in their way. He had no intention
1
(open) doors for me into a of getting 2 off by greedy retailers. He shuffled
role where I could have some impact on conditions in past the 3 monument which marked the centre
conflict regions. While I 2 of the town square, where hundreds of young people
(live) in Sudan, I 3 (give) the were sitting around chatting and laughing. To them,
chance to meet several diplomats and international he was all but invisible: an old, unkempt man who
relations experts who 4 was probably homeless, someone who’d definitely
(work) there for some time. It was then that I realised had his day and wasn’t worth bothering about.
this was what I wanted to do. Not one person smiled at him as they did their
I seem 5 (study) for ages, but last-4 shopping, buying far more food and
it’s only six months and I 6 drink than was required. Nobody would recognise
(already/manage) to get a position with an aid agency. him as the extremely successful writer that he was,
When I finish my course in three months’ time, a5 man with a great 6 for learning.
I7 (get) on a plane straight He blamed the 7 down of the educational
to Mali. system for the behaviour he was witnessing. Young
people were not trained in observational and listening
/7 skills or taught to be respectful of others. They were
totally self-absorbed. Walking into the bookshop, he
smiled to himself as he saw several people queuing at
6 Complete the text. Write one word in each gap. the cash desk with his latest book in their hands. Of
course, he looked nothing like the photo in his books,
Bioengineering, 1 rapidly growing which had been taken many years ago. He 8
science, combines engineering skills with medical clear of publicity of any kind. Being invisible was the
requirements in order to solve problems in biology best way to discover the characters for his next
and medicine. As a(n) 2 of this highly offering.
specialised combination, more and more body parts
are 3 engineered. For example, blood 1 a disillusioned c disordered
vessels can 4 bio-engineered from b disoriented d disorganised
donated human cells and transplanted in a live
patient. The advantage of these blood vessels over 2 a broken c damaged
those made from synthetic materials 5 b torn d ripped
that they aren’t likely to clot or lead to post-operative 3 a ancient c old-fashioned
infection. Even 6 scientists have b antique d outdated
learned how to turn embryonic stem cells into all 4 a time c minute
kinds of different cells, it is difficult to get these cells b hour d second
to work together with tissues and organs which can be 5 a cultural c cultured
transplanted into patients. Nevertheless, it is not b cultivated d crude
impossible and already several body parts have been
6 a appeal c aspiration
transplanted. Every single cell in our bodies has the
b urge d passion
genetic information to replicate itself and
7
is so exciting is that eventually, 7 a running c dumbing
something which only a few decades ago might b playing d taking
8
seemed like science fiction will 8 a drove c moved
soon be possible: the creation by scientists of a whole b steered d turned
human being.
/8
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8 Complete the text with the words in the box.

You do not need all the words.

boutique budget charismatic charmed come

delighted denied meticulous obsessive
pragmatic speculation superseded take

As a successful businesswoman in the fashion

industry, it was essential that she was always
1
in her appearance. Genna
Winslop left the 2 hotel
where she was staying and climbed into the
chauffer-driven limousine waiting for her. Only
the best for Ms Winslop. She travelled from one
capital city to another without having a chance to
3
in any of the sights or soak
up the atmosphere. It was business all the way.
When she arrived for her afternoon meeting, she was
4
to see that there was no sign
of the press outside the building. Although there had
been 5 about a takeover, she
had 6 that there was any truth
in the rumours, but here she was now, about to put
her final offer on the table, which she was sure would
be accepted by her main rival. His business was
failing and he was 7 enough to
realise it.

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SECTION D: WRITING
9 Look at the table and write a report about the information in it, saying what it shows, describing the
main point/trends and suggesting reasons for some of these. You should include the following:
• introduction • approximators where appropriate
• main trend over period • suggested reasons for some figures
• key figures where necessary

DESTINATION EMPLOYMENT FOR BRITISH GRADUATES AND POSTGRADUATES

OF BIODIVERSITY AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT STUDIES
Job 2005 2010 2014
Nature Conservation Officer 12% 22% 30%
Eco-tourism 10% 15% 8%
Research 15% 5% 6%
Environmental Consultant 3% 2% 5%
Ecologist 20% 5% 18%
Voluntary work 13% 6% 20%
Environmental Health Officer 10% 3% 2%
Non-linked jobs 12% 35% 9%
Unemployed 5% 7% 2%

Write at least 250 words.

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SECTION E: SPEAKING
10 Prepare to talk to your teacher. You have two minutes to prepare. Make some notes so that you can:
• briefly describe your education and the system in your country.
• explain how you think education has changed due to technological advances.
• say if you believe national stereotypes exist and give reasons for your answer.
• explain what you think the advantages and disadvantages of working in a multinational team are.
• describe what changes you would have made in your country if you had been the leader for the past five years.
When you have prepared, talk to your teacher. Your teacher will ask you questions.

Your notes

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MID-COURSE ASSESSMENT SECTION E: SPEAKING

SCORE CARD
You
NAME: _______________________________________
briefly described your education and the
CLASS: _______________________________________ system in your country.
Content: 1 2
Effective communication: 1 2
SECTION A: LISTENING explained how you think education has
changed due to technological advances.
/15
Content: 1 2
SECTION B: READING Effective communication: 1 2
/15 said if you believe national stereotypes exist
and gave reasons for your answer.
SECTION C: LANGUAGE
Content: 1 2
/30 Effective communication: 1 2
SECTION D: WRITING explained what you think the advantages and
disadvantages of working in a multinational
Content points /5 team are.
Production and coherence /5 Content: 1 2
Range /5
Effective communication: 1 2
Accuracy /5
described what changes you would have made
/20 in your country if you had been the leader for
the past five years.
Content: 1 2
Effective communication: 1 2

/20

Total: /1000

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