Collins Practice Tests For IELTS 1 General Training Reading Test 2 (Online Test)

Read the text below and answer Questions 14-20.

Expenses Policy

All candidates invited for interview at Masons Finance are invited to claim back expenses for costs that are, by the HM Revenue and Customs definition, WHOLLY, NECESSARILY AND EXCLUSIVELY incurred during the process of attending the interview.

In general, for candidates travelling from within the UK, expenses covered include those for travel such as mileage or train tickets. Expenses are paid on the basis of the cost of second-class rail travel or 25p per mile for car travel. Mileage will be paid up to but not more than the equivalent cost of second-class rail travel. We request that when travelling by train an off-peak service is used whenever possible. Candidates can also claim taxi fares to and from Sharnfield Station to the company head office. In exceptional circumstances the company is prepared to reimburse candidates from the UK requiring hotel accommodation. However, this must be agreed with our HR department first.

For candidates travelling from overseas, subsistence and hotel costs can be reimbursed in addition to travel expenses. Candidates should contact our HR department regarding accommodation as we will pre-book and pay for a room at a local hotel. Please note that the company will not normally reimburse the costs of accommodation that has been booked independently by the candidate. As a general guide, candidates travelling from overseas can claim the cost of an economy airfare. Meals and refreshments consumed during travel can be claimed to a maximum of £20 per day. In exceptional cases we understand that further nights of accommodation might be required for candidates travelling from overseas. In such cases additional expenses may be claimed but only after written agreement has been received from our HR department.

Candidates must retain all receipts and submit these with the expense report we ask you to fill in when making a claim. Please note that the company will not reimburse any costs the candidate incurs in the form of tips paid nor will it pay for fines such as parking tickets or speeding tickets issued during travel.

If you have a question regarding an expense, please contact your interview contact or our HR team.

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The text below has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Join a Workplace Walking Group

A Several members of staff have been busy planning a series of lunchtime walks that we are sure you and your colleagues will soon become addicted to. Why join? The reasons are endless. You'll get the chance to chat with close friends and colleagues who participate as you would if you were stuck in your office. But what about all those other people you are on nodding terms with but have yet to get into conversation with? A lunchtime walk will be the perfect opportunity to get to know each other better.

B We rarely get the chance to experience work outside of our own department, which obviously isn't healthy for an organisation like ours. So apart form the pleasure you'll get from talking to new people, these lunchtime walks will also give you the chance to get an insight into how other teams and departments work and share experiences of how teams work together, including situations where problems sometimes arise. This may hopefully lead to better communication and more efficient internal systems.

C We also appreciate that many of you may want to completely switch off from work during your lunch break so we've tried to organise walks that will appeal to everyone. We are situated close to many historical landmarks and one of our walks takes in several of these sites. We've already had one or two employees with an interest in local history volunteer to act as guides, so now's your chance to discover more about where you work.

D For those who prefer a gentle stroll through the great outdoors we have countryside walks taking in some of the beautiful lanes and fields at the back of the building. You'll be amazed at how tranquil this area can be - experience some lovely views and the sound of birdsong to help you relax before returning to work fully revitalised after lunch. By the way, these walks take in a stop at the local café for those who'd like to end with a tea or coffee. And there's no need for walking boots as we'll follow landscaped routes.

E Of course an added benefit is the chance to get away from your desk, clear your head and keep fit. Walking, even at a gentle pace, is regarded as a great way to get into shape and help reduce stress. We also like to think it a pleasurable way to do this for those who don't like the idea of a gym or an aerobics session.

F We appreciate that people take their lunch breaks at different times and so have organised a staggered timetable so there will always be a spot at least once a week for everyone. However, please feel free to organise a walk independently if you'd like to make it a daily event.

G All departmental secretaries and managers have signed up already and will be more than pleased to give you any information you need. We also have a 'walking ambassador' in each department who will be able to answer any questions. See the departmental notice board to check for names or watch out for our next email on the subject. If you're convinced and are ready to sign up see if you can encourage some of your colleagues to join you. The more the merrier!

Read the text below and answer Questions 27-40.

The Carvers of Bukittinggi

The world is becoming increasingly familiar with the products of Indonesia's talented artists. The beautiful batik paintings from Java, the slender wood statues from Bali and the local jewellery from Sulawasi can be found in shops in New York and Paris. Fortunately, the natural wealth and beauty of the area around the Minangkabau town of Bukittinggi allowed both time and inspiration for the development of crafts, especially weaving, silverwork and wood-carving. Although the wood-carvers of the Minangkabau may not be as well known as some other Indonesian artisans, their strong sense of tradition and of dedication to detail makes for a fascinating story.

Nestled in a high valley between the two volcanic mountains of Merapi and Singgalang is the small village of Pandai Sikek, better known as the "Wood Carving Village." The village is south of Bukittinggi, the cultural centre of the Minangkabau, and east of Padang, the capital of west Sumatra. The terraced rice fields, lush tropical vegetation, cool breezes and abundant water of the Anai Valley have made it an ideal spot for creativity and an inspiration for centuries of wood-carvers. The neighbouring forest provides an abundance of the wood called suriyan, a hard but workable medium for the carvers. Today, more than one hundred carvers claim Pandai Sikek as their home, though only a few can be found at work in the village. Many are away on contract assignments in Malaysia and in major Indonesian cities.

In the village, carvers knee-deep in wood shavings work in little huts along the roadside. Many have two or three apprentices carving repetitive patterns on small items to supplement their incomes. Cigarette boxes, jewellery boxes, ashtrays, bookholders – all can be purchased for sums that seem very modest in relation to the skill involved in making them. Most large items, such as chairs, tables and bed frames, are done on a custom-order basis, and all the shops were busy filling orders, evidence of both the continual need for their craft and the appreciation of their handiwork.

The village's Handicraft Centre is a large framed hall whose outside and inside walls display a wide variety of the wood-carvers' work. The hall is also used as a centre to train future wood-carvers: recently, 19 students from Sekolah Menengah Seni Rupa, a fine-arts school in Padang, were being instructed, carving the letters of the alphabet and the numbers one to nine. Each student first stencilled a number or letter on a block of wood, which he or she then chiselled, carved and sanded into a finished product. The village craftsmen took turns inspecting, advising and encouraging the trainees.

"Pandai" translates as "clever" and Sikek, according to one of several local traditions, is a contraction of Si Ikek, the name of a cultural hero who introduced wood-carving in the area centuries ago. There are many "pandai" carvers in the village of Pandai Sikek today, such as one known as Bapak (Father or Uncle) Fauzi. His skill was developed through 20 years of memorizing, manipulating and mastering the styles and motifs his uncle taught him. As a young boy, Fauzi would intently watch his uncle's hands as they felt, touched, explored and worked the block of wood until an ornately carved treasure was created. Several years ago, Fauzi was chosen along with many of the other village carvers to work on the Minangkabau Palace of Pagaruyung. It was to be an exact replica of the royal palace destroyed by fire during the early days of Dutch colonial rule, and would be used as a museum to recall the wealth and artistry of the Minangkabau at the peak of their power.

Fauzi jumped at the opportunity, because he would be able to see, learn and recreate many of the historical patterns used in wood-carving.

The patterns used on many Minangkabau wood carvings are believed by anthropologists to have been adapted from stone carvings found scattered about the Anai Valley. The original settlers of the valley, probably Hindus, believed strongly in ancestral and natural spirits, and portrayed these beliefs on the stones. Other patterns came from the artistic interpretation of the carvers as they observed the local flora and fauna. The designs taken from nature, such as the bamboo shoot, fern tendrils and sirih leaf, have been passed down from generation to generation, and have symbolic social and cultural meanings for the Minangkabau.

The early inhabitants arrived in elaborately carved boats, so it was to be expected that they would also carve their houses, and indeed the gables on each end of the roof are decorated with intricately carved wood panels. On these panels adorning the inside walls of their traditional houses, the bamboo-shoot motif is usually placed on the border and is representative of the three male leaders in the Minangkabau culture: the clan chief, the religious leader and the intellectual leader. The fern tendril is thought to represent man as the Father and Uncle, symbolically signifying flexibility to turn inward and outward in dealing with the family unit. The sirih leaf is symbolic of male fertility. The traditional colours painted on the wood carvings of Minangkabau houses also have significance in the culture: red symbolizes life, black stands for independence and yellow for wisdom.

The Minangkabau can be proud of their past and look forward to new generations of master craftsmen following in the footsteps of present-day masters. Bapak Fauzi and his fellow carvers now have the responsibility to pass on to the younger generation the traditions and skills they were taught by their elders.