Reading passage 1

A. Vince Cable has ordered media regulator Ofcom to examine News Corporation's 12bn bid to take control of BSkyB, as revealed by MediaGuardian.co.uk last night. Cable has issued an intervention notice under the Enterprise Act ordering Ofcom to investigate the proposed transaction, which would see News Corporation take control of the 61% of the satellite broadcaster it does not already own, on public interest grounds. "On the basis of the information and submissions available to me, I have decided that it is appropriate to issue an intervention notice in this particular case," said Cable. "The independent experts at Ofcom will now investigate and report to me on the media plurality issues that may arise from this proposed acquisition." B. Cable has given Ofcom until 31 December to submit a report examining the impact of the proposed acquisition on media plurality in the market. On the basis of the report Cable will then decide whether to refer the deal to the Competition Commission. News Corporation tried to play down the potential ramifications of Cable's move, saying it was "confident" that the deal would get the green light. "News Corporation is confident that the proposed investment will not adversely affect media plurality in the United Kingdom and looks forward to discussing any substantive issues with the relevant authorities," the company said in a statement. C. News Corporation formally notified the European Commission yesterday of its intention to take full control of BSkyB. The Commission will conduct an intial probe into the deal on competition grounds and report back on 8 December with a decision on whether to conduct a longer "phase 2" investigation. Competitors, worried about the scale of a company that owns four national newspapers and the largest broadcaster by turnover, wrote to Cable earlier this year urging him to act. D. His decision to refer the bid comes on the day Labour breaks its silence on the proposed deal by warning the government against waving it through and "seeking a political fix in Downing Street". In an article for the Guardian today, shadow culture secretary Ivan Lewis writes: "The Murdoch Empire has sometimes crossed reasonable boundaries with overzealous business practices and the assertion of political power. There is a case to answer, and the public interest can only be determined through proper scrutiny by the competent authorities." E. News Corp's competitors say the Sky takeover would create an organisation of unrivalled power in the UK media market, with a dominant position in newspapers and full ownership of a pay TV company set for annual pre-tax profits of over 1bn next year. The company's UK titles include the Times and the Sun. An alliance of media groups, including the BBC, Channel 4, the group which publishes the Guardian and the Observer, and the owners of the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail, have written to Cable urging him to refer the bid to Ofcom. Lewis said Labour would support the government's final decision on the Sky takeover, provided it follows the advice of regulators. F. Referring to a visit by News Corp chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch to Downing Street immediately after David Cameron was elected, Lewis added: "If they seek a political fix in Downing Street, with guests visiting through the front or back door, we will not hesitate to expose the hypocrisy of their claim to be acting in the national interest." Murdoch's UK papers

switched their support from Labour to the Tories in the run-up to the general election in May. The government has been slow to publish full details of meetings between , including Cameron cabinet members and senior News Corp executives, despite a series of written questions from Labour MPs. G. News Corp was obliged to notify Brussels because of the size of the deal. The commission will now decide whether to launch a full competition inquiry, which could take up to six months to complete. Sly Bailey, chief executive of the Daily Mirror's publisher, Trinity Mirror, one of the companies that signed the letter urging Cable to refer the takeover, welcomed today's intervention notice. "News Corporation already controls 37% of the national newspaper market and if its plans go ahead it would also control a huge chunk of the pay TV market," Bailey said. "That's bad news for consumers because the proposed takeover of BSkyB increases the dominance of News Corporation and reduces the plurality of news sources. Allowing such a dominant force to be created also increases the likelihood of the market being distorted through the bundling of products and services such as newspapers and tablet applications with a Sky subscription, which is damaging to competition." Source: The Guardian Questions You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1 to 14 which are based on Reading Passage 1 Questions 1 to 7 Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs A G. From the list of headings below, choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph. Write the appropriate numbers I ix in boxes 1 7 on your answer sheet.

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix.

The commissions final decision. The full control of BSkyB. The whaling lances and harpoons. The Murdoch Empire. The dominant position in newspapers. A visit by News Corp chairman. The difference in enthusiasm. The acquisition on media plurality. The News Corporation's 12bn bid.

1 2 3

Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C

4 5 6 7

Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G

Questions 8 10 Choose the correct letters, A, B, C or D Write your answers in boxes 8 10 on your answer sheet. 8 The company's UK titles include A. B. C. D. 9 A. B. C. D. 10 A. B. C. D. The Sun only. The Times and the Sun. The Times only. BBC and Channel 4. News Corporation formally notified the European Commission Yesterday. Two days ago. Today. Last week. Cable has given Ofcom until 31 January. 31 December. 31 October. 28 February.

Questions 11 14 Complete each of the following statements (questions 11 14) with the best endings A G from the box below Write the appropriate letters A G in boxes 11 14 on your answer sheet. 11 News Corp chairman and chief executive 12 The Sky takeover would create an organisation of 13 Labour would support the government's 14 The proposed takeover of BSkyB increases

A B C D E F G

David Cameron. Among early voters might be succeeding. Rupert Murdoch. The dominance of News Corporation. The dominance of BBC and the Times. Unrivalled power in the UK media market. Final decision on the Sky takeover.

Reading passage 2 A. Sir Alex Ferguson has derided what he perceives to be Manchester City's habit of "screaming from the rooftops" since coming into the immense wealth of the Abu Dhabi United Group and questioned whether some of the club's supporters were "embarrassed" by the way those in charge at Eastlands had conducted themselves. Ferguson, in typically provocative mood ahead of the first Manchester derby of the season, was almost certainly referring to City's chief executive, Garry Cook, who was once filmed bragging to supporters about building "without doubt the biggest and best football club in the world". B. Cook has curtailed his media duties after a series of gaffes but Ferguson believes the richest club on the planet have allowed themselves to "get carried away", and the Manchester United manager still holds a grudge about the "Welcome to Manchester" billboard posted after Carlos Tevez left Old Trafford to join City. C. Ferguson said: "I don't know what created that probably some advertising gimmick but I don't think they can be proud of it. I don't see how they thought that would get more points off us as opposed to playing against us on a football pitch. I said at the time I thought it was stupid and they probably think that themselves now. I think it was probably worthwhile for maybe some of their supporters, but not all of them. Others will have been embarrassed. If you ask their supporters I think they would prefer to see a trophy paraded through the city before they start getting carried away like that. D. "I mean, there was one City fan who put a tattoo around his body saying 'European Cup winners'. People get carried away. Unfortunately supporters are just as bad as directors. But I think a lot of their supporters would probably prefer to see a trophy paraded before they start screaming from the rooftops." This is a theme Ferguson has developed before, at various times describing City as "cocky" and "all talk." Yet Mancini took great care not to utter anything even remotely controversial at his own press conference, the City manager saying: "We must have respect for the top teams like United and Chelsea, those teams that have won things in recent years." E. Ferguson has made no secret of his dislike of the modern-day City and his tone hardened when it was put to him that the vast finances coming in from Abu Dhabi left United facing a considerable challenge. "Excuse me, but it was Chelsea who won the league," he said firmly. "That's our challenge. We have to chase Chelsea, and if you don't recognise who won the league

then you're very foolish." Ferguson's impression of the club he has described as United's "noisy neighbours" is not improved by the sense that Wayne Rooney had been made aware of the huge financial riches on offer at City before his recent contract dispute at Old Trafford. Ferguson said he could not answer questions on the subject because there had been no official approach, but it is widely known that Cook and his colleagues were optimistic of Rooney joining them. "That's them," Ferguson said when pressed further. "Don't ask me, Christ." F. Rooney's fitness issues look like they could jeopardise his involvement in England's friendly against France next week - "He can be available only if he's fit and at this moment he's not," Ferguson said but the bigger concern for United is the virus that has affected 10 of their players, and the manager himself, ahead of tomorrow night's game at Eastlands."I've no idea where to begin with my team, no idea at all," Ferguson said. "We've still got players out with flu and some were sent home yesterday so we're not in a great position." G. The problem is exacerbated by a long injury list and, though City are not convinced by Ferguson's claims that Ryan Giggs and Nani will miss the game, Mancini could be forgiven for thinking this is a good time to face Ferguson's men. Mario Balotelli, who has lost his appeal against the three-match ban for his red card at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, is suspended, but City have no other injury worries, with Emmanuel Adebayor able to train today despite a sore calf. United, though, are unbeaten in their past 24 games. "I watched Match of the Day on Saturday and they said we were hopeless," Ferguson said. "We had five world-class players out of the team [against Wolverhampton Wanderers]. We were playing with three players up front with only 30 games experience between them and we still won 2-1. I thought our result was a fantastic achievement given all the problems we have in the dressing room." Source: The Guardian Questions You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15 27 which are based on Reading Passage 2 Questions 15 19 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 15 -19 in your answer sheet write TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. if the statement agrees with the information if the statement contradicts the information if there is no information on this

Alex Ferguson is the coach of the Manchester United. Mario Balotelli has lost his appeal against the three-match ban for his red card. People are least interested about what happening around them in the football grounds. Advertisements often mislead the spectators. Tevez and Rooney have a very good relation outside the playground.

Question 20 23 Look at the following topics (questions 20 23) and the list of statements below. Match each topic to the correct statement. Write the correct letter A G in boxes 1 4 on your answer sheet. 20. Emmanuel Adebayor 21. Chelsea 22. Abu Dhabi 23. Ryan Giggs A B C D E F G A rival to the United in the Premiere League. Doing a lot of funding for the United. Able to train today despite a sore calf. Helping the club to play in the Middle East. Will miss the game. Owned the club. Will play in the next match.

Questions 24 27 Complete the following statements with the correct alternative from the box. Write the correct letter A F in boxes 24 27 on your answer sheet. 24. 25. 26. 27. Cook has curtailed his media duties Ferguson has made no secret of his dislike of Rooney's fitness issues look like they could jeopardise City are not convinced by

A The modern-day City. B Critical to the analysts. C After a series of gaffes. D His involvement in England's friendly against France. E Ferguson's claims. F Ferguson's analysis.

Reading Passage 3 A. SAN FRANCISCOVoters have turned back an effort to suspend California's efforts to tackle climate change, a wide-reaching program ranging from a cap-and-trade market for greenhouse

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

gas emissions to energy efficiency standards for televisions. In 2006 California passed a lawthe Global Warming Solutions Act (Assembly Bill 32)that pledged the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emission levels back to 1990 levels by 2020. That's reducing to 427 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted per year; current emissions in the state are roughly 525 million metric tons of greenhouse gases and have been projected to exceed 600 million metric tons by 2020 without such efforts. The California Air Resources Board developed the program, a set of 70 measures, such as a lowcarbon fuel standard, an increase in electricity generated from renewable resources to 33 percent, and a cap-and-trade program for 360 utilities, refineries and other emitting industries. The state released its more than 3,000-page rules for that greenhouse gas permit trading program on October 29. "If I'm under the cap, I make more and more money," explains policy analyst Tiffany Roberts of California's Legislative Analyst's Office. "If I'm over the cap, I pay more and more money." The majority of the efforts are simple standards, however, such as a new limit on energy usage for televisions with more than 42-inch screens. "We're down from 450 watts per television to 125 to 200 watts per TV," says Thom Kelly, acting chief deputy director at the California Energy Commission. "We're estimating that we'll save about $700 million a year just in energy costs." The low-carbon fuel standard orders providers to reduce the carbon intensity of their fuels by 10 percent by 2020 through efforts such as blending in biofuels that result in less greenhouse gases emitted when burned. That final rule is expected in early 2011, according to transportation expert Daniel Sperling of University of California, Davis, although the board is struggling to understand the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the land both directly and indirectly impacted by growing crops for biofuels. "It really is the single issue holding back the low-carbon fuel standards," he says. "We've got to figure it out." "We have an obligation to the world to deliver clean, reliable, low-cost energy that is hopefully low carbon, too," adds chemical engineer David Rogers, general manager for climate change at Chevron, a California-based oil company that did not join efforts to suspend California's climate change initiative. "Maybe we can have the best of both worlds: a price on carbon to create an innovative environment for clean technology in California and keep businesses within state lines and not cause an adverse impact on consumers through radically higher prices for transportation fuels or electricity." In large part, that may be because California hopes its efforts will quickly be followed by other states so that it is not the only state raising the cost of burning fossil fuels. Already, New Mexico will attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy use in the state by 2 percent per year, and 11 northeastern states have formed a regional cap-and-trade program. That said, it does not appear to improve the prospects for climate change action at a national level. Republican gains in the U.S. Congress suggest climate change and energy will not be addressed in the next two years, and a voluntary national cap-and-trade market for companies, known as the Chicago Climate Exchange, will expire at the end of this year. Then again, it took more than a decade for California's car regulations to be adopted at the national level. That remains the main thing the Obama administration has done to cut greenhouse gas emissions nationally, and it was done via executive ordera method that does

not require the congressional ratification. "Washington screwed around and couldn't get it done," says Sperling, who is also a member of the California Air Resources Board that set up the climate change program. "We're going to be adopting [cap-and-trade] in two weeks." Source: Scientific American Questions You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28 40 which are based on Reading Passage 3. Questions 28 32 The passage has seven paragraphs labelled AG. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 28-32 on your answer sheet. NB: You may use any letter more than once. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. The low-carbon fuel standard orders providers to reduce the carbon intensity of their fuels by 10%. It took more than a decade for California's car regulations to be adopted at the national level. Chevron, a California-based oil company, did not join efforts to suspend California's climate change initiative. Blending in biofuels results in less greenhouse gases emitted when burned. California hopes its efforts will quickly be followed by other states.

Questions 33 36 Complete the sentences below with words taken from Reading Passage 3. Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 33-36 on your answer sheet.

33. 34. 35. 36.

The final rule is expected in . A price on carbon will create an innovative environment for clean . The board is struggling to understand the . The California Air Resources Board set up the climate .

Questions 37 40

Complete the summary of the paragraphs A C below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet. Voters have turned back an effort to suspend California's efforts to 37 . The California Air Resources Board developed the program, a set of 70 measures, such as 38 The majority of the efforts are 39 . the California Energy Commission will save about $700 million a year 40