READING PASSAGE 1 - Questions 1–5

You should spend about 10 minutes on Questions 1–5, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

The Byzantine style had a deep influence on Russian architecture from the time that settled political societies emerged at the end of the 10th century until the 15th. The chief urban centers such as Kiev and Novgorod had numerous churches designed by architects either trained in or imported from Byzantium. Russian contributions to the style were a much wilder sense of fantasy in layout and elevation, and the proliferation of domes of the onion type. Even by the end of the 15th century and beyond, when Italian architects were imported in increasing numbers, the old style was blended with that of the new Renaissance.

A much stronger injection of Western influence came with the creation of St. Petersburg in 1703. The principal buildings and palaces of the city were put up at various times throughout the 18th century. At first foreign architects held the field and produced a modified form of the Baroque style with an emphasis on long, plain facades which were often colored. Some Russian architects emerged towards the end of the 18th century, but the classical influence remained strong well into the 19th century and was reinforced for a time by the Greek revival style. Then followed a dull, uninspired age where anything went in matters of style and the larger public buildings offered little more than large quantities of grandiose decoration. In a way this changed abruptly with the communist takeover. All building of any note was state- sponsored and showed a general tendency to copy Western form, with the occasional indulgence in ostentatious decoration.

READING PASSAGE 2 - Questions 6-10

You should spend about 10 minutes on Questions 6–10, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, but he certainly made it accessible through assembly-line production. His aim was to produce a light, speedy, reliable car at a low price to appeal to the mass market. When his partners in the Detroit Automobile Company wanted only to produce cars to order, Ford formed his own company, where he could carry out his own ideas. The Ford Motor Company mass-produced the 'Model T' through assembly-line production, where one car could be constructed in 93 minutes. Using this process, 15 million cars were produced between 1908 and 1927.

Ford also had independent and innovative ideas concerning the management of his business. He distrusted bankers and Wall Street, which led him to put back an unheard-of percentage of profits into the expansion of his business while avoiding outside control. Ford also sidestepped the middle man in procuring raw materials by acquiring iron mines, forests, steelworks and rubber and glass factories. These practices enabled him to pay his factory workers a minimum wage of $5 for an 8-hour day, which was double the going rate. His workers also took part in a profit-sharing scheme, another business innovation, all the while reducing the price of the Model T from $909 in 1909 to $295 in 1922.

READING PASSAGE 3 - Questions 11-15

You should spend about 10 minutes on Questions 11–15, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

As the plane gained speed, approaching take-off, the man in the seat next to John turned to him and said, 'I hope you're satisfied.' Even over the roar of jet engines, rattling plastic and chattering voices, the bitterness in the man's voice came through loud and clear.

Staring at the little, bald-headed, bespectacled man, John frowned and said, 'Excuse me?' 'Oh, nothing - nothing at all.' The man extracted the airline magazine from the seat pocket and began to flip through it  frantically. His hands seemed to be shaking more than the vibrations of the plane could justify.

Pressed back into his seat as the runway dropped away below them, John watched the man smack the magazine shut and shove it back into the seat pocket. Seeing the pinched, slightly mole-like face in a sudden flash of sunlight, a similar beam illuminated John's memory. More time than he liked to think about had passed since, in his last year of university, he had prevailed over twenty others in his bid for the funding to do a further two years of study in England. In his state of  exultation he had failed to notice the reactions of the other, worsted, candidates - in fact he had neglected even to acknowledge their existence. Now, dimly, the image came back of a shy, studious, insignificant person called Jim Morton who, according to others in the department, had been a definite walkover. But surely, if this little man sitting next to him now was Jim Morton, such resentment could not have been carried around for so long.

As the plane leveled out and the seatbelt sign blinked off, John turned to his frowning, tight-lipped neighbor and said,  'May I introduce myself?'