IELTS Reading MCQ Quiz 1

Take away those seniority-based pay scales, and older workers may become a much more attractive employment proposition. But most companies (and many workers) are uncomfortable with the idea of reducing someone’s pay in later life – although workers on piece-fates often earn less over time. So retaining the services of older workers may mean employing them in new ways.

According to the paragraph above, the firms and workers still hold the opinion that:

•  Older workers are more likely to attract other staff

• people are not happy if pay gets lower in retiring age.

• Older people have more retaining motivation than young people

• young people often earn less for their piece-rates salary.

Take away those seniority-based pay scales, and older workers may become a much more attractive employment proposition. But most companies (and many workers) are uncomfortable with the idea of reducing someone’s pay in later life – although workers on piece-fates often earn less over time. So retaining the services of older workers may mean employing them in new ways.

According to the paragraph above, the firms and workers still hold the opinion that:

•  Older workers are more likely to attract other staff

• people are not happy if pay gets lower in retiring age.

• Older people have more retaining motivation than young people

• young people often earn less for their piece-rates salary.

One innovation, described in Mr Walker’s report on combating age barriers, was devised by IBM Belgium. Faced with the need to cut staff costs, and have decided to concentrate cuts on 55-60-year-olds, IBM set up a separate company called SkillTeam, which re-employed any of the early retired who wanted to go on working up to the age of 60. An employee who joined SkillTeam at the age of 55 on a five-year contract would work for 58% of his time, over the full period, for 88% of his last IBM salary. The company offered services to IBM, thus allowing it to retain access to some of the intellectual capital it would otherwise have lost.

SkillTeam that has been founded by IBM conducted which of the following movement:

• Ask all the old worker to continue their job on former working hours basis

• Carry on the action of cutting off the elder’s proportion of employment

•  Ask employees to work more hours in order to get extra pay

•  Re-hire old employees and kept the salary a bit lower

The best way to tempt the old to go on working may be to build on such “bridge” jobs: part-time or temporary employment that creates a more gradual transition from full-time work to retirement. Mr Quinn, who has studied the phenomenon, finds that, in the United States, nearly half of all men and women who had been in full-time jobs in middle age moved into such “bridge” jobs at the end of their working lives. In general, it is the best-paid and worst-paid who carry on working: “There are”, he says, “two very different types of bridge jog-holders – those who continue working because they have to and those who continue working because they want to, even though they could afford to retire.”

Based on the paragraph above, which of the followings is correct according to the research of Mr Quinn:

• About 50% of all employees in America switched into ‘Bridge’ jobs.

•  Only the worst-paid continue to work.
  

• More men than women fell into the category of ’bridge’ work.

• Some old people keep working for their motives rather than an economic incentive.

One innovation, described in Mr Walker’s report on combating age barriers, was devised by IBM Belgium. Faced with the need to cut staff costs, and have decided to concentrate cuts on 55-60-year-olds, IBM set up a separate company called SkillTeam, which re-employed any of the early retired who wanted to go on working up to the age of 60. An employee who joined SkillTeam at the age of 55 on a five-year contract would work for 58% of his time, over the full period, for 88% of his last IBM salary. The company offered services to IBM, thus allowing it to retain access to some of the intellectual capital it would otherwise have lost.

SkillTeam that has been founded by IBM conducted which of the following movement:

• Ask all the old worker to continue their job on former working hours basis

• Carry on the action of cutting off the elder’s proportion of employment

•  Ask employees to work more hours in order to get extra pay

•  Re-hire old employees and kept the salary a bit lower

If the job market grows more flexible, the old may find more jobs that suit them. Often, they will be self-employed. Sometimes, they may start their own businesses: a study by David Storey of Warwick University found that, in Britain, 70% of businesses started by people over 55 survived, compared with an average of only 19%. To coax the old back into the job market, work will not only have to pay. It will need to be more fun than touring the country in an Airstream trailer, or seeing the grandchildren, or playing golf. Only then will there be many more Joe Clarks.

Which of the followings is correct according to David Storey:

• 70% of business is successful if hire more older people.

• The average success of the self-employed business is getting lower.

• Self-employed elder people are more likely to survive.

• Older people’s working hours are more flexible.

As Nature Works PLA polymers are more oil- and grease-resistant and provide a better flavor and aroma barrier than existing petroleum-based polymers, grocery retailers are increasingly using this packaging for their fresh foods. As companies begin to explore this family of polymers, more potential applications are being identified. For example, PLA possess two properties that are particularly useful for drape fabrics and window furnishings. Their resistance to ultraviolet light is particularly appealing as this reduces the amount of fading in such fabrics, and their refractive index is low, which means fabrics constructed from these polymers can be made with deep colors without requiring large amounts of dye. In addition, sportswear makers have been drawn to the product as it has an inherent ability to take moisture away from the skin and when blended with cotton and wool, the result is garments that are lighter and better at absorbing moisture.

Why do some retailers choose the PLA as material for food packaging?

• It resists ultraviolet light

• It can save food freshness

•  It can be used on other materials

• It absorbs moisture

PLA combines inexpensive large-scale fermentation with chemical processing to produce a value-added polymer product that improves the environment as well. The source material for PLA is a natural sugar found in plants such as corn and using such renewable feedstock presents several environmental benefits. As an alternative to traditional petroleum-based polymers, the production of PLA uses 20%-50% less fossil fuel and releases a lower amount of greenhouse gasses than comparable petroleum-based plastic; carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is removed when the feedstock is grown and is returned to the earth when the polymer is degraded. Because the company is using raw materials that can be regenerated year after year, it is both cost-competitive and environmentally responsible.

In what way is PLA better than petroleum-based polymers

• It is made for packaging natural products that are beneficial to the environment

• It releases 20%-50% of fossil fuels into the atmosphere

• It more environmentally friendly

• It has regenerative abilities

As Nature Works PLA polymers are more oil- and grease-resistant and provide a better flavor and aroma barrier than existing petroleum-based polymers, grocery retailers are increasingly using this packaging for their fresh foods. As companies begin to explore this family of polymers, more potential applications are being identified. For example, PLA possess two properties that are particularly useful for drape fabrics and window furnishings. Their resistance to ultraviolet light is particularly appealing as this reduces the amount of fading in such fabrics, and their refractive index is low, which means fabrics constructed from these polymers can be made with deep colors without requiring large amounts of dye. In addition, sportswear makers have been drawn to the product as it has an inherent ability to take moisture away from the skin and when blended with cotton and wool, the result is garments that are lighter and better at absorbing moisture.

Why do some retailers choose the PLA as material for food packaging?

• It resists ultraviolet light

• It can save food freshness

•  It can be used on other materials

• It absorbs moisture

The history of today's plastics begins with the discovery of a series of semi-synthetic thermoplastic materials in the mid-nineteenth century. The impetus behind the development of these early plastics was generated by a number of factors - immense technological progress in the domain of chemistry, coupled with wider cultural changes, and the pragmatic need to find acceptable substitutes for dwindling supplies of 'luxury' materials such as tortoiseshell and ivory.

Which of the following inspired the development of plastics?

• The invention of thermoplastics in the mid-19th century

• The increasing need for alternatives to some high-end materials

• The adverse impacts of technology on the activities of chemists

• Limitations imposed by culture and tourism