BEST IELTS General Reading Test 547

Table of Contents

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 547 – PASSAGE – 2

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 547

READING PASSAGE – 2

Choosing the Right Colours for your Business

When considering your company’s packaging and logo, picking the right colour could be essential. For example, in an experiment to test customers’ use of green and red buttons, it was expected that green would perform better as it’s linked with ‘go’ and movement such as with traffic lights. However, red outperformed green by 21%, probably because it’s more of an urgent, attention-seeking colour.

The way you feel about colours can be influenced by your age and gender. One study showed that, on average, men dislike the colour purple, whilst women feel the opposite, but both dislike the colour brown. Blue is the safest colour with all ages, especially those over 70, as most people are able to see the colour blue more clearly than any other colour, even those with colour-vision deficiencies.

Colour can be powerful, evoking particular emotions. This is why it’s important to choose a colour that reflects your brand. The restaurant and hospitality Industry have shown that orange makes people agitated, so they won’t stay long (useful in fast food restaurants). Browns are soothing, so people will stay (useful in bars).

IELTS General Reading Test

This is a bit of a tricky topic as colours do affect people differently, especially in different cultures, although there are some colours, such as gold, that are more universally understood. Other colours invite more subjective interpretations. In the UK, for example, white signifies peace and purity and is often used at weddings. In other cultures, white is seen to be synonymous with death.

It’s clear to see that colour can have a profound impact on bringing a brand, product, or design to life, in addition to its possible uses as a behavioural tool. It’s imperative to test colours thoroughly and not to make any assumptions about their impact. The way you interpret colours may not be the same as the way in which your customers see them.

Questions 15-21

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.

15. Colour is important for which aspects of an organisation’s branding?

16. Which colour is mentioned as being the most eye-catching?

17. Which colour often provokes differences of opinion?

18. Which colour is the easiest to perceive?

19. Which colour can make people feel restless?

20. Which colour represents different things to different people?

21. What’s the most important thing for businesses to do before choosing brand colours?

IELTS General Reading Test

Read the text and answer Questions 22-27.

When Things Go Wrong at Work: The Disciplinary Procedure

When things go wrong at work and employers need to discipline or even dismiss an employee, most countries, including the UK, have statutory procedures that must be adhered to. Failure to follow these could result in an employer being taken to court by an employee.

In cases where the employee’s behaviour or conduct is called into question, employers should ensure that they follow the processes outlined below. Similar processes should be followed when an employee’s capacity to execute tasks may be lacking, or when specific roles are no longer viable/necessary, and the employee is facing redundancy.

The first thing for management to do is to formally write to the employee, setting out the alleged misconduct and presenting any evidence that has been brought to the management’s attention. A meeting between management and the employee should be arranged without unreasonable delay. The meeting should be conducted at a reasonable time and place so that it is easy for the employee to attend. Sufficient time must be given for the employee to consider their response to allegations, but the onus is also on the employee to make sure they attend the meeting.

IELTS General Reading Test

Once arguments on both sides have been considered, the employer must make a decision and ensure that this is communicated to the employee in writing. The employee has the right to appeal. If an appeal is registered, the employer should be represented, as far as is possible, by a more senior manager than the one who attended the first meeting. The appeal meeting need not take place before the disciplinary action or dismissal.

In the initial meeting and in an appeal, if one is lodged, the employee has the right to be accompanied by a person of their choosing.