Target Score: 8.5
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Free Reading Mock Test

SECTION 1: Matching Paragraph

    Read the text and answer Questions 1 - 7

    ROMANCE IN THE WORK PLACE

    A.Romantic relationships in the work place has always been a touchy subject. With people on either side of the divide equally against and for them, it has become nigh impossible to voice your opinion on the subject without getting attacked by a die-hard member of either the “for” or “against” group depending on your stance.

    B.But why is it such a controversial subject? The average employee spends about 10 hours of their day in the office out of the 24 in the day. If you deduct sleeping time, approximately 8 hours, preparation for and commuting to and from work, another 3 – 4 hours depending on the city you live in and traffic congestion, that leaves between 2 – 3 hours of time free to socialize and bond with others outside your work environment on weekdays.

    C.For those who work weekends as well, it becomes much tougher to meet and cultivate meaning relationships outside the work place. Recent research places the percentage of people who meet their romantic partners at work at 22 compared to the 13, 18 and 10 percent that meet theirs online, through friends and on a night out respectively.

    D.So why are so many people still against this obvious frequently occurring circumstance? Firstly, there is the argument for focus. We all know that with romantic entanglements, at least for those in their early stages, productivity is at an all-time low. People involved in the early stages of a love relationship are affected by the cocktail of released neurochemicals that causes them to experience euphoria similar to that caused by drugs. This means that involved individuals are not able to focus on their given tasks and the job suffers.

    E. Secondly, there are the associated issues with favoritism where the involved persons work in close proximity with each other, or the contrasting issues of victimization by disapproving colleagues. It is no wonder then that many couples who find each other in the work tend to keep their relationship secret to avoid the scrutiny and backlash that comes with the territory.

    F.Even with all the possible hurdles and stigma faced by those in this situation, it is obvious that work place romances are not going anywhere anytime soon because as the saying goes, “you cannot choose when or where you fall in love”.

SECTION 2 (TRUE/ FALSE/ NOT GIVEN)

    Read the text and answer Questions 8 - 17

    The advent of social media has made the world smaller. With people making connections with strangers across the world and sharing moments of their lives, friendships and even romantic relationships are built online.

    While social media undeniably has its pro’s, from making the world more aware of goings on in different countries like the genocides and crimes previously suppressed by governments or overlooked by the media, to aiding businesses to reach a wider audience, to creating the next generation of superstars and influencers, it has become a growing concern that the con’s may outweigh the pro’s.

    In an age where privacy is fast becoming an outdated notion, the dangers of the sheer number of people that we open our lives to on social sites is unquantifiable. Firstly, the internet offers anonymity to users. You may be chatting with a person who claims to be one thing but is something else entirely. Numerous cases of what is now referred to as cat-fishing have surfaced where people think they have been communicating with someone entirely different from who they in reality have been communicating with.

    As innocent as it sounds, this has led to a number of scams on mostly older women seeking love. Their vulnerability and trusting nature, no doubt a remnant of a time when people were who they said they were and verification happened instantaneously, have made them prime targets for these love scams.

    Some victims have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars with some reportedly losing their entire life savings to scammers under the guise of requiring the funds to facilitate a meeting or as a short term loan in a dire situation.

    Cat-fishing is far from being the only danger on social media as a number of violent crimes such as murder have been facilitated by the criminals tracking the victims through social media. Most troubling is the exposure of underage children to predators when they gain access to social media sites. With the only requirement to opening an account being an email address and access to the internet, children as young as 7 years old have been found to have opened social media accounts without the knowledge of their parents.

    Reports of children getting propositioned and lured by pedophiles have become rampant and parents have been advised to keep a close eye on their children’s’ online activities. In a bid to ensure their safety and keep them away from social sites they shouldn’t be on, some parents have taken to cloning their children’s phones and covertly monitoring their communications.

    So while social media is all the rage with people trying to outshine their peers with flashy displays of wealth, accomplishments, and an interesting life, it is important to remember that a lot of what is shown to the public by users is fake, exaggerated or edited. People are not always who they say they are, and there is danger in overexposure.

Questions 1 - 7

The text has six sections, A – F. Which section contains the following information?

  • 1

    People who work in the same office or on the same project with their partners are likely to be treated better than other team members.

  • 2

    The love effect on the brain

  • 3

    The reason people do not disclose their office relationships

  • 4

    A quote on love

  • 5

    Places people come across their partners for the first time

  • 6

    Declining work output

  • 7

    Activity breakdown

Questions 1 - 7

Questions 8- 17

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this

  • 8

    Only older women seeking love get cat-fished

  • 9

    Some women who have been scammed thought they were going to get their money back

  • 10

    Adults approach children for sex on social media

  • 11

    Some children under the age of 7 have social media accounts

  • 12

    Perpetrators locate their targets through social media

  • 13

    The risks associated with social media use can be measured

  • 14

    People have become celebrities because of social media

  • 15

    Governments have hidden news of massacres.

  • 16

    The advantages of using social media are worth the associated risks

  • 17

    People embellish the truth on social media

Questions 8- 17

Question Palette

  • Answered
  • Unanswered