27. C

First, we need to recognize here that ‘underline’ means emphasize. It is easy to locate the paragraph that talks about the ‘million dollar quartet’, but the answer isn’t to be found in this paragraph alone. The million dollar quartet is merely an example that illustrates the writer’s point, which is to be found in the preceding paragraph, where he/she states, “research shows that the fit between and employee’s values and a company’s values makes a difference to what contribution they make”. Since Orbison did not share the recording company’s values, his contribution was relatively small. Thus, the example of the million dollar quartet emphasizes (or ‘underlines’) the writer’s point about the importance of employees having shared values, or in other words, working as a team.

Knowledge or skill required:

• recognizing examples

• seeing that examples may illustrate points made in other paragraphs

 

28. A

This is a difficult question because the correct answer, A, is somewhat incomplete. A fuller answer would say that Watson and Crick “were conscious of their own limitations and therefore sought help from others”. Knowing that this second part of the answer is implied is the key to getting the right answer. Watson and Crick contrast themselves with Franklin who was more intelligent than they were but who did not discover the structure of DNA because she preferred to work alone. Thus, it is implied that Crick and Watson succeeded because, as a result of their awareness of their own limitations, they sought advice from others. As the writer says, “three people are better than one at solving problems even if that one person is the smartest person in the field”.

Knowledge or skill required:

• Recognizing implied information

• Recognizing the point illustrated or supported by a quotation

 

29. D

Not so difficult if you see the connection between the second and third sentences in the paragraph. The third sentence is a specific illustration of the point made in the second, which is that “even something as simple as writing deepens an individual’s engagement in the project”. ‘Strengthen commitment to an idea’ is roughly synonymous with deepening individual engagement, so it is the right answer. The other options may be true, but they aren’t referents of the pronoun ‘it’ at the beginning of the third sentence.

Knowledge or skill required:

• Recognizing the point illustrated or supported by a quotation

• Recognizing the referents of pronouns.

 

30. B

The text says “Leaders should . . .  assure all concerned that every recommendation is important to making the right decision and will be given full attention”. From the point of view of employees, this means that their contributions are valued by their organization’s leaders. When someone considers something important and gives it full attention, they value it.

Knowledge or skill required:

• Vocabulary: ‘value’ as a verb

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31.  G

When employees’ values ‘match’ those of their employers, there is value ‘fit’. When things match, they fit together. In the second paragraph, we are told that where there employee’s values fit those of their company, they are more likely to still be at the company two years after they join. Thus, G is the correct answer.

Knowledge or skill required:

• Vocabulary: fit (as a noun and a verb)

• Recognizing paraphrase: still be at the company = remain in their jobs

 

32.  E

Easy question, as long as you can locate the sentence, “When things change, we are hard-wired to play it safe”. ‘Play it safe’ is an idiomatic expression meaning ‘to avoid risk’ ‘Hard-wired’ is another idiom used to describe human qualities that are natural or innate. But knowing this is not crucial to getting the right answer.

Knowledge or skill required:

• Remembering and quickly locating the relevant part of the text containing key information.

• Vocabulary: ‘play it safe’ = avoid risk

 

33.  A

“Studies show that we invariably take more gambles when threatened with a loss than when offered a reward” Here, ‘take a gamble’ is the same as ‘take a chance’ and being ‘threatened with a loss’ is similar to being ‘aware of what they may lose’. Thus, it is a relatively easy question as long as you can locate the relevant paragraph and recognise the paraphrase.

Knowledge or skill required:

• vocabulary, recognizing paraphrase

 

34. F

Locating this paragraph is a little harder because it comes much later than the answer to the previous question. Applying common sense, we should recognize that a ‘dominant boss’ is not good in the context of this article on innovation. It is the ‘wrong kind of leadership’, which makes ‘team members opt out of team responsibilities’. In other words, they ignore their duties (to opt out of something means to choose not to do it).. Knowing that when people are ‘liable’ to do something, they ‘have a tendency’ to do it is useful vocabulary knowledge for this question.

Knowledge or skill required:

• Vocabulary: ‘liable’ ‘dominant’ ‘authority’, ‘opt out’

• Recognizing paraphrased information

 

35. B

It is not difficult to find the relevant paragraph. It must be either the last or the second-last since the answer to previous question was in the third-last paragraph. The second-last one talks about an organization that has only one rule, so the answer must be in this paragraph. We also know that the answer must be B, C, or D. This organisation with only one rule is a place that encourages ‘a free interchange of ideas’, so B must be the right answer since it is a paraphrase of ‘share their ideas’

Knowledge or skill required:

• Vocabulary: ‘interchange’

• Using knowledge of previous answers to narrow options.

• Recognizing paraphrased information

 

36. NO

The answer is in the first paragraph, where it tells us that people “working in luxurious, state-of-the-art centres designed to stimulate creativity find that their environment doesn’t make them feel at all creative.” Obviously, physical surrounding do not play a key role in creativity. Easy question.

 

37. YES

The second paragraph tells us that “almost every individual can be creative in the right circumstances” Another easy question. So easy, you might think it’s a trick. But it isn’t.

 

38. NOT GIVEN

To answer this question, you should look in the paragraph about Crick and Watson, as it is the only place in the article where intelligence is mentioned. But it only talks about the superior intelligence of their rival, Franklin. There is no information about whether Crick and Watson, despite being successful, were evenly matched in terms of intelligence.

 

39. NOT GIVEN

Companies that innovate are those whose values fit those of their employees, who have few rules, who value employees’ contributions. There is no information in the article about company size. If you have grasped the main idea in each paragraph, you will know that size is just not discussed at all in the article.

 

40. NO

The seventh paragraph tells us that "peer power, used horizontally not vertically, is much more powerful than any boss’s speech." We need to recognize that 'colleagues' and 'boss' mentioned in the question correspond to 'peer' and 'boss' in the text and that 'persuasive' in the question corresponds to 'powerful' in the question. Be careful not to confuse persuasive in the question with pervasive in the text. They are completely different words.