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Passage 1
As the new sales director for a national computer firm, Alex Gordon was looking forward to his first meeting with the company’s district managers. Everyone arrived on time, and Alex’s presentation went extremely well. He decided to end the meeting with the conversation about the importance of the district managers to the company’s plans. “I believe we are going to continue to increase our share of the market,” he began, “because of the quality of the people in this room. The district manager is the key to the success of the sales representatives in his district. He sets the term for everyone else. If he has ambitious goals and is willing to put in long hours, everyone in his unit will follow his example.” When Alex was finished, he received polite applauses, but hardly the warm response he had hoped for. Later he spoke with one of the senior managers. “Things were going so well until the end”, Alex said disappointedly. “Obviously, I said the wrong thing.” “Yes”, the district manager replied. “Half of our managers are women. Most have worked their way up from sales representatives, and they are very proud of the role they played in the company’s growth. They don’t care at all about political correctness. But they were definitely surprised and distressed to be referred to as ‘he’ in your speech.”
Q26 Who did Alex Gordon speak to at the first meeting?
Q27 What did Alex want to emphasize at the end of his presentation?
Q28 What do we learn about the audience at the meeting?
Q29 Why did Alex fail to receive the warm response he had hoped for?
Passage 2
The way to complain is to act business-like and important. If your complaint is immediate, suppose you got the wrong order at a restaurant, make a polite but firm request to see the manager. When the manager comes, ask his or her name. And then state your problem and what you expect to have done about it. Be polite! Shouting or acting rude will get you nowhere. But also be firm in making your complaint. Besides, act important. This doesn’t mean to put on airs and say “do you know who I am?” What it means is that people are often treated the way they expect to be treated. If you act like someone who expects a fair request to be granted, chances are it will be granted. The worst way to complain is over the telephone. You are speaking to a voice coming from someone you cannot see. So you can’t tell how the person on the line is reacting. It is easy for that person to give you the run-around. Complaining in person or by letter is generally more effective. If your complaint doesn’t require an immediate response, it often helps to complain by letter. If you have an appliance that doesn’t work, send a letter to the store that sold it. Be business-like and stick to the point. Don’t spend a paragraph on how your uncle John tried to fix the problem and couldn’t.
Q30 What does the speaker suggest you do when you are not served properly at a restaurant?
Q31 Why does the speaker say the worst way to complain is over the telephone?
Q32 What should you do if you make a complaint by letter?
Passage 3
Barbara Sanders is a wife and the mother of two children, ages 2 and 4. Her husband, Tom, is an engineer and makes an excellent salary. Before Barbara had children, she worked as an architect for the government, designing government housing. She quit her job when she became pregnant, but is now interested in returning to work. She's been offered an excellent job with the government. Her husband feels it's unnecessary for her to work since the family does not need the added income. He also thinks that a woman should stay home with her children. If Barbara feels the need to do socially important work, he thinks that she should do volunteer work one or two days a week. Barbara, on the other hand, has missed the excitement of her profession and does not feel she would be satisfied doing volunteer work. She would also like to have her own income, so she does not have to ask her husband for money whenever she wants to buy something. She does not think it's necessary to stay home every day with the children and she knows a very reliable babysitter who's willing to come to her house. Tom does not think a babysitter can replace a mother and thinks it's a bad idea for the children to spend so much time with someone who's not part of the family.
Q33 What was Barbara's profession before she had children?
Q34 What does Barbara's husband suggest she do if she wants to work?
Q35 What does Tom think about hiring a babysitter?
