GT Reading Test 4 Section 2 - Benefits of business mentor & Planning for Projects

GT Reading Mock Test 4:

Reading Part 1  |  Reading Part 2  |  Reading Part 3  |

Section 2: Questions 15-27

You are advised to spend 20 minutes on Questions 15-27..


GT ReadingSamples:

The benefits of having a business mentor &

A Planning Process for Middle-Sized Projects


Read the text below and answer Questions 15-20.

The benefits of having a business mentor

Introduction:
If you're starting your own business, you probably need a mentor. This is a business person who volunteers to give their time to help somebody else with their work - particularly somebody who is new to the business. They have a wealth of experience they are willing to share, perhaps from setting up and running their own company. The mentor's role is to support, develop, stimulate and challenge. However, business mentors won't solve your problems for you or tell you what to do: they will talk things over with you, rather than acting as consultants. Many people while setting up their first business have found that a mentor can have a very positive effect on its success.

Why business mentoring is important:
If you have a gap in your knowledge or experience, then mentoring could work very well for you. For example, you may have a great concept for a business but need a bit of assistance to turn it into a successful venture.

A mentor can provide you with a number of benefits, such as:

• guidance on developing and improving your business
• help with decisions - particularly difficult ones
• ideas for new products or services, or for working practices that will improve your efficiency
• tips for your business that are gained from practical experience
• access to a network of contacts with other business people

A business mentor can also help you to:

• develop key business skills
• improve your problem-solving abilities
• build confidence
• work on your personal development

Face-to-face business mentoring:
If you decide that face-to-face business mentoring is right for you, mentor and mentee should decide in advance on the nature of the relationship.

You will need to agree on the degree of involvement that suits you both. Some mentors and mentees work extremely closely, keeping in touch with each other most weeks or even most days. In the majority of cases, however, a mentor will provide help every few weeks or months. In either case, they might meet, speak on the phone, or exchange emails.

You should also agree on a level of structure to suit you both. Mentoring can be a very formal process with regular meetings which follow a specific agenda and work towards a specific set of goals. It can also be quite a casual arrangement, where the mentee calls on the mentor as and when problems or questions arise.

Questions 15-20

Complete the notes below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 15-20 on your answer sheet.

How can a mentor help somebody setting up a business?

A mentor 15............................. to help a new business person.

Mentors have a different role from 16 ............................. .

A mentor can:

• help you turn your idea into a successful business
• assist when you need to make 17............................. .
• suggest how your business can increase its 18 ............................. .
• introduce you to a business network
• help you to develop your skills, abilities and provide you with more 19 ............................. .

To be agreed:

• how much 20 .............................  the mentor should have

• how much structure the mentoring process should have.

 

Read the text below and answer Questions 21-27.

A Planning Process for Middle-Sized Projects

Any business project - such as reducing energy costs, or improving efficiency - needs to be planned, and time spent planning will save far more time later on.

The typical stages in this planning process are explained below.

  • Your first task is to spot what needs to be done. Examine your firm’s current position, perhaps making a formal analysis of its strengths and weaknesses. Then think about how you might improve that position: what opportunities are there for achieving this?
  • The next step is to decide precisely what the aim of your plan is. This is best expressed in a simple single sentence, to ensure that it is clear and sharp in your mind. Doing this helps you to avoid wasting effort on irrelevant side issues.
  • Next you should work out how to do it. It is tempting just to grasp the first idea that comes to mind, but it is better to consider a wide range of options: this way, you may come up with less obvious but better solutions.
  • Once you have explored the options available to you, the selection of which option to use is the next step. If you have the time and resources, you might decide to evaluate all options, carrying out some planning, such as costing, for each. Normally you will not have this luxury.
  • You already have a broad idea of what your project will consist of. Now is the time to work out the full details, identifying the most efficient and effective method of carrying it out, including answering the questions of ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘when’.
  • The next stage is to review your plan and decide whether it will work satisfactorily. This evaluation enables you to change to another option that might be more successful, or to accept that no plan is needed.
  • Once you have finished your plan and decided that it will work satisfactorily, it is time for implementation. Your plan will cover how this is to be done.
  • Once you have achieved a plan, you can close the project. At this point, it is often worth assessing the project to see whether there are any lessons that you can learn.
     

Questions 21-27

Complete the flow-chart below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 21-27 on your answer sheet.

Suggested stages in a planning process

Image- Stages in a planning process
 

Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers.

 

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.61 (74 Votes)

Bharath
13/14.
Neela
Dear Madam,
I would like to say many thanks for the tips and practice samples. If you can explain taking any small topic with both options- T/F/NG and Y/N/NG, so that we can understand if there is any difference. Thanks.

Varun Singh
Amr Wady said :
The answer keyword is 'circuit training'. ;-)
Isn't circuit training like exercising, not sure how would that answer questions 18!

Amr Wady
You are completely right.
Amr Wady
The answer keyword is 'circuit training'. ;-)
Amr Wady
The answer keyword: cultural events excursions to places of interest. :)
Amr Wady
19 - A.
Blessing
I have got all the answers, I am so happy.
Mouna
Hi, I have got 6/7 for this test within 13 minutes. Thanks.
Mmafia
6/7 in 8 minutes. Gotta work harder.
Daniel
Exactly!!! Agreed!!
Prudhvi
Actually, 'A' looks right. Look for the keywords in the paragraph 'A' which are "places of interest" = "famous sites" in the question 19. Hope it solves the mystery :D
Rad
The button does not work 15. E, 16. D, 17. A, 18. E, 19. A, 20. B, 21. F
Al
The answer to the question 17 is 'C'.
Shinu
15. E, 16. D, 17. E, 18. C, 19. A, 20. B, 21. F.
Mina
19 = D; it is a little bit tricky.
HD
Correct Answers are: 15. E, 16. D, 17. A, 18. E, 19. A, 20. B, 21. F Got it from the page source. Show/hide answer did not work for me due to some HTML errors.
MNK
Malik said :
15- E, 16- D, 17- A, 18- E, 19- C, 20- B, 21- F.
19 answer is A, not C.

MNK
19 is A, not C.
Malik
15- E, 16- D, 17- A, 18- E, 19- C, 20- B, 21- F.
Fizza
Kindly, please send the answers for the following GT reading sample. Thanks.
Mohammed Ashikul Hoque
Please tell me the answers.
Mohammed Ashikul Hoque
'Show Answers' icon is inactive. Please send the Answers.
Ahmed
Show answers button is not working!
Palak
Can anyone please share the correct answers for this passage? I am unable to open up the answers through answer button.
Hamsa
Please send me answers to these questions.
Gupta
Yes I think so too... drama is mentioned in both cases.
Salma
IELTS Mentor, I guess the answer for no. 18 can be E and as well as F as drama is mentioned in both places. Please clarify.
Sehar
In paragraph A ...excursions in places of interest...
Goldy
In paragraph "C", it is clearly written that - "Friendship for Overseas Students KCOF is the society for young people from all countries. Each month there are some 40 parties, discos, visits to theatres, concerts, walks and other gatherings where you will be able to meet lots of people."It means you can visit famous sites with a group of people. Then why the answer is "A"?
Sam
Guru said :
Can you please tell me why the answer to the question 18 is 'E', and not 'F'?
I have the same question.

Guru
Can you please tell me why the answer to 18 is 'E', not 'F'?
Afiq
15 and 18 both of them are 'E'.17 and 19 both of them are 'A'.