Test 10e2

WRITTEN TEST
PART 1: You are going to read an article about call-center workers who give advice to people over the
phone. Choose from the people (A-D).The call-center workers may be chosen more than once.
Which of the call-center workers says that she ...
1. advises people on the legal background to a problem?
2. enjoys the variety of things which people call about?
3. finds the equipment that she works with reassuring?
4. used to find it hard to work with only a spoken description of people’s problems?
5. gets back to certain callers within a given period of time?
6. can arrange for an expert to visit callers at home?
7. has identified a regular pattern in calls on certain subjects?
8. helps people to solve unexpected problems at night?
9. was sorry not to be in direct touch with the people she had the skills to help?
10. finds some people have unrealistic expectations of the service she can provide?
11. sometimes has to convince people that their problems will be taken seriously?
12. sometimes has to correct information obtained elsewhere?
13. gets the same people calling back more than once?
14. was initially apprehensive about the type of problems people would call with?
15. looks forward to the challenge of unexpected individual enquiries?
A. Claire Lippold, 23, works for the Bat Conservation Trust

I did a degree in biology, and studied bats as part of my thesis. When I saw the ad for this job, I thought it
would be perfect for me. We get about ten thousand calls a year, many from people worried that if they have
bats in their loft they can’t have any building work done. They need the right advice, because the law protects
bats. We’re contracted by an organization called Natural England to arrange a service whereby anybody with
bats on their property can have a specialist volunteer come out and give information and advice about the
creatures they’re living with. Generally, once they have the information, they’re happy. It’s the sign of a really
green environment if you have bats. In the summer, we get calls when bats have flown uninvited into people’s
houses after dark. We advise turning the lights out, shutting the door, leaving the window open and allowing the
bat to find its own way out. One of the most common myths we have to explode is that bats always turn left
when they leave roofs. Apparently that was printed in a magazine recently, so we got a clutch of calls about it.
We also get people calling and humming the entire Batman theme tune down the phone. The jokes are pretty
predictable, I’m afraid.
B. Anthea McNufty, 26, works for NHS Direct, the phone-in helpline operated by the National Health
Service
Having worked in nurse training for a while, I found I missed the patient contact I’d enjoyed doing nursing
itself. When I saw this job, I thought of it as a way of getting some of that contact back - without the cleaning
up! I remember the dread of what the calls might be about on my first day, but they give you so much training
before you’re let loose that you can handle it. It was a bit difficult not having the physical clues I'd have been
able to pick up on the wards.
But you very quickly get used to working with the computer, it makes you feel safe. Occasionally, there are
problems with the system but you’re never left with a blank screen, and because we’re a national service there’s
always somebody else who can take a call. The most common calls are about coughs and colds, things people
can manage on their own, but I need to look out for anything that will indicate that they might need to go and
see a doctor. People can be too embarrassed to go to a hospital with what seem like minor ailments, and we do
have to reassure them that if they do have to go in, people aren’t going to laugh at them.
C. Agnes Thomson, 60, works for a major broadcasting company
Yesterday, I got lots of calls relating to weekly programmes, though there was quite a contrast: the radio show
for the blind, ‘In Touch', and ‘Watchdog’ on TV. The 'In Touch' callers had heard of some new equipment and
wanted further details. ‘Watchdog’ is a consumer programme and people generally call me because they have a
problem with a product from a company we've covered on the show. We have regular callers, some very nice
and some not so nice, and you get to know them. Quite often people phone to complain spontaneously, and
when we call them again within ten days with a response, which we promise to do in some cases, they've
forgotten what made them cross. Television programmes probably generate more calls, particularly medical
programmes or programmes about children. People have a sense that we're a general repository of knowledge
and wisdom - which we're not! There’ll have been a show that has covered most things at one time or another so
I can always look things up. As a result, I have a lot of what you might call useless knowledge.
D. Caroline Hickman, 34, works for a company with a wide range of household products
I really get a lot out of the work. We have such a wide range of products - from beauty and haircare through to
nappies and household cleaners - that no two calls are ever the same. With laundry products, for example, we
get lots of specific queries - people want to know what to use with certain types of material. We can’t always go
into details of all the settings of different brands of machine, though. We also get a lot of calls about skincare
from people who want to know about specific ingredients in our products. You also get fascinating insight into
the country’s lifestyles. For instance, we tend to get lots of calls about cleaning products on a Monday,
presumably because people buy them over the weekend, then, towards Friday we'll get hair care and beauty
because they're planning a night out. I also long for one-off problems I can really get my teeth into - the ones
that come out of blue. We once had a call from a woman who'd seen a wedding dress on one of our TV adverts
and wanted one identical to it for her own big day. We found that it was still at the television studio and was
available for her to borrow - which she did. It just goes to show that it’s always worth asking!
Part 2: Think of ONE word which can be used appropriately in all three sentences.
16. Some young people are often subject to worry at certain _point__ in their lives.
Remember to write down the address of the meeting ___ in case you forget.
Tommy pressed so hard and the ___ of the pencil made a hole in the paper.
17. I suggested that they should _drop__ the subject of environmental pollution.
Don’t forget to ___ your friends an email before you visit them.
It would be extremely cold outside as the temperature was predicted to ___ drastically.
18. Some of the main political _parties__ in this country were in favor of the draft.
That restaurant gives a special discount to ___ of at least twenty.(nhóm người)
Young people often like throwing ___ on special occasion.
19. __Firmer_ conclusions are required in order to convince the public.
Would you mind if I exchanged this cushion for a much ___ one?
Controversy exists as to whether parents should be ___ with their sons than their daughters or not.
20. She is unpopular with her friends because of her _hollow__ promises.
The trunk was useless as it was ___ inside.
This was a tall man with a beard, a pointed nose and ___ eyes.

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WRITTEN TEST

A. Claire Lippold, 23, works for the Bat Conservation Trust

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