MARKET LEADER ADVANCED U.

5 test Name …………………………

1. Choose the best words to complete these sentences.

1. Many people __________ several different jobs these days.
a) bid b) juggle c) graft d) work
2. Hi-tech and education services are two of the sectors known as __________ industries.
a) one-off b) high-value c) work-life d) part-time
3. One person interviewed about portfolio careers, painted a very __________ picture of a
freelancer’s life. She was very disillusioned.
a) lucrative b) complicated c) faint d) bleak
4. He’s been working on bits and __________ this week.
a) parts b) sections c) pieces d) things
5. I would say that this kind of job isn’t for the __________. You have to be pretty tough.
a) freedom b) fainthearted c) responsible d) technical
2. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in brackets.
1 While his commitment to the job was obvious, he wasn’t as ____________________ (dispense) as
he thought.
2 Their ______________________________ (responsible) led to the collapse of the bank.
3 My job is particularly _________________ (reward) in terms of the satisfaction I get from it.
4 The high ______________ (employ) figures are very worrying for the current government.
5 I find the ____________________ (predict) of a 9-to-5 job very disheartening. Every day
seems to be the same.
3. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in brackets.

Today many people have what is known as a portfolio career. The advantage for most people is

that by (1)__________ (work) for a variety of employers or clients, no one of them has

complete power over you. Many people are working on several individual projects at any one time

in a bid (2) __________ (survive) . But a (3) __________ (grow) numbers of professionals are

choosing to set up as portfolio workers, (4) __________ (rely) on a series of ‘gigs’ rather than a

job for life. However, it is not roses all the way as a freelancer’s life can be uncertain, working

three times as hard for the same money as a salaried employee, not (5) __________ (get) any

holiday pay or pension. Unless you are good at (6) __________ (sell) yourself to potential clients

and don’t mind the insecurity of not (7) __________ (know) where the next pay cheque is

coming from, then this kind of work is not for you. However, some people really enjoy the

challenge of (8) __________ (work) under pressure. In the portfolio world of work there is a

zero-tolerance attitude to (9) __________ (be) late. Fail once and you’ll never be given work

from that source again. But what you do get is the freedom (10) _________ (pick) and choose

to work at a time to suit you.

4.Read the article below about employment trends and their effect on companies.

 Choose the best sentence (A–H) to fill each of the gaps.

 For each gap 1–6, mark one letter (A–H).
 Do not use any letter more than once.
 There is an example at the beginning.

Who will train the new generation of ‘plug and play’ workers?

Mary Barra is a lifer, born and bred to do the job she now holds. But as General Motors'

Chief Executive pointed out in an interview last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos,

few young Americans now anticipate spending their lives in the warm embrace of a single

employer, as she has. (0) H It is a prediction that seems to transfix chief executives, many

of whom have themselves risen through the ranks after long tenure at a single company, as

they wonder how to engage younger staff. One way is ‘to make sure they have career

development and meaningful work’, Ms Barra said. However, I foresee tension between large

employers’ offer of long-range, deeply thought-out, but often costly, training and the short

period of time most of those staff will stay put. (1) One would be that young workers turn out

to be more loyal to single companies than they currently expect and that employers will be

more loyal to them. But I doubt it. A truism that executives trot out more frequently than

any other is that the only constant of modern business is rapid change. (2) Another possibility

is that employers will fight ever more fiercely to acquire skilled workers from one another.

Opinions differ about whether this works. I heard one consultant last week extolling the way

his company was now home to a bunch of tattooed millennials following a takeover. (3) I agree

with the second consultant. But many companies, particularly in the US, are impatient for ‘plug

and play’ staff – that is, the perfect person, made to order, ready for their position and

ready to go. (4) If the average assignment length for individual employees could be as short

as three years, you cannot afford to waste too much time settling people in. Vishal Sikka,

Chief Executive of India's Infosys, told me last week that he saw his main role as providing

the right ‘context’ for new staff. ‘It comes down to how quickly you can absorb the ability of

a person to contribute to the context you have created,’ he said. (5) He was appointed from

SAP last year. He is also a fan of ‘tours of duty’ – mutually beneficial short-term agreements

between employer and employee. But this approach leaves unanswered the question of how

companies will in future sustain the strong sense of purpose and values that young employees

find attractive, if most of the long-serving employees, who used to provide the backbone of

big companies, no longer stay on. Infosys and other multi-nationals continue, rightly, to set
 great store by their leadership institutes and training programmes. (6) For instance, can a

project, staffed by short-term contractors, connected virtually, and led by executives on

two-year tours of duty, have a culture?

A Ms Barra herself forecast that her industry would change more in the next 5–10 years
than it has in the past 50.

B But as the form of companies changes to more collaborative networks it is increasingly hard
to see what the workers of 2075 will belong to.

C Even those chief executives who are trying to train workers internally have to be ready to
induct staff rapidly into their companies.

D Developing skilled employees for an ‘on demand’ age is an urgent priority.

E This contradiction could resolve itself in a number of ways.

F Unlike his predecessors, Mr Sikka was not one of the technology consulting group's
founding entrepreneurs.

G But another said companies put far too much weight on ‘talent acquisition’ and too little on
developing future leaders in-house.

H Ms Barra was not the only executive at Davos to point to surveys that suggest American
‘millennials’ (born 1980–1999) now expect to do between 15–20 jobs in their lifetime.

5. Complete the missing sentences using the expressions defined in the brackets. The
first letter is provided

1.Fast food restaurants are characterised by high staff t …………………………………………………. rates. (the
number of employees who leave an organization during a specified time period )

2.His contract was t ……………………..………………………………(ended) due to his unsatisfactory performance.

3.As we are going through difficulties, we need to make some our staff r…………………………..(lay them off).

4. I don’t want to have a boss. I would prefer to be s ………………………………….(to run an independent business).

5. A……………………………….(the rate at which people leave a company) rate is a reduction in the workforce
caused by retirement or resignation, without plans to fill or replace that vacant job position.

6. Theses short-term contracts offer workers little or no job s …………………………….(the real or perceived
probability that an individual will keep their job)

7. After such a long time in this company you should expect a generous r ………………… ( pay and
benefits offered to an employee upon being laid off from a company) package.

8. What is the length of the m …………………………….. (the period when a woman can legally be absent
from work in the weeks before and after she has a baby ) leave in your country?

9. The car parts themselves are not expensive, it's the l ………………..….. (work)

that costs the money.

6. Write the second sentence so it has a similar meaning to the first.
1.Warnings of the flood were given well in advance, yet people didn’t leave their homes.
(SPITE) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2.Very little of the remaining stock sold, despite the low prices.

(EVEN THOUGH)………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

3.The magazine had tried introducing several new features. Nevertheless, circulation continued
to drop.

(ALTHOUGH) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. The Scots won the battle, even though they had a far smaller force.

(DESPITE) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

5. Even though he had been promised a pay rise, he decided to leave.

(IN SPITE OF) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

7. Complete the second sentence so it has a similar meaning to the first one.

1. I am sorry that I gave up my studies. REGRET

I …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..my studies.

2.She said she hadn’t used my laptop. DENIED

She …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. my laptop.

3.After the introduction, the presenter described the layout of the speech. WENT

After the introduction, the presenter …………………………………………………………..the layout of the speech.

4.If you accept this job you will have to take on a lot of responsibility. MEAN

Accepting this job ……………………………………………………………………………………………… a lot of responsibility.

5.I am sorry to inform you that you haven’t been selected for this post. REGRET

I ………………………………………………………………… you haven’t been selected for this post.

6. I believed you were the murderer because of this clue. LED

This clue ……………………………………………………………………………………………….that you were the murderer.

7. My parents didn’t allow me to stay out late. LET

My parents ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. out late.

8.We can’t continue to ignore this problem. GO ON

We can’t ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… this problem.

9.The burglars jumped out of the window so they weren’t caught. AVOID

The burglars jumped out of the window …………………………………………………………………………………….