Test de muestra
Part 1
For questions 1 - 4, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Esto es una muestra. Cada test del libro tiene ocho huecos; aquí te dejamos cuatro para que veas el formato y el estilo de las claves. Los otros cuatro van ya resueltos dentro del texto.
Example:
0. A knows B says C thinks D tells
Example answer: A
The Psychology of Queuing
Queuing is never taught in any school, and yet almost everybody (0) ____ how it works.
It holds together because everyone agrees to (1) ____ by an unwritten rule that nobody enforces. (2) ____, the rule is broken surprisingly rarely, and when it is, the reaction is out of all proportion to the time lost.
Psychologists have found that what upsets people is not the wait itself but the (3) ____ that somebody has slipped in further forward. Airports, banks and hospitals are under pressure to cut waiting times (4) ____ a minimum, yet the research suggests they are solving the wrong problem. One American airport reduced complaints about baggage by ninety per cent after moving the arrivals gate further from the carousel: passengers walked for longer, so they stood still for less, and the total wait stayed exactly the same.
Mirrors in lifts and magazines beside the till exist for exactly that reason. Above all, people want to know where they stand, which is why a screen counting the customers ahead of you is money better spent than an extra member of staff.
It holds together because everyone agrees to (1) ____ by an unwritten rule that nobody enforces. (2) ____, the rule is broken surprisingly rarely, and when it is, the reaction is out of all proportion to the time lost.
Psychologists have found that what upsets people is not the wait itself but the (3) ____ that somebody has slipped in further forward. Airports, banks and hospitals are under pressure to cut waiting times (4) ____ a minimum, yet the research suggests they are solving the wrong problem. One American airport reduced complaints about baggage by ninety per cent after moving the arrivals gate further from the carousel: passengers walked for longer, so they stood still for less, and the total wait stayed exactly the same.
Mirrors in lifts and magazines beside the till exist for exactly that reason. Above all, people want to know where they stand, which is why a screen counting the customers ahead of you is money better spent than an extra member of staff.
| 1 A abide | B obey | C hold | D keep |
| 2 A Either way | B Nonetheless | C Namely | D As a rule |
| 3 A doubt | B guess | C suspicion | D wonder |
| 4 A in | B on | C by | D to |