Exercise:

You are given a piece of text with six questions.

You are also given a set 4 choices  for each question.

Identify the correct option by clicking on it.

Once all the questions have been answered, click on the check button.

Correct answers will appear in green, incorrect answers in red.

Your mark will be given as a percentage.

The pass mark for this exercise is 60% or over and you need to be able to do this exercise in the exam in about 10 minutes.

(A timer is given here to help you.)

A Day's Work
A six-hour working day results in happier and healthier employees. It also leads to a higher quality of welfare services and a
more sustainable and equal labour market. Despite what some news reports may have indicated, these are the findings from

Sweden s trial of six-hour working days.

A shorter working day is often portrayed as a utopian dream that

would be too costly to realise,
much as previous work
reforms were portrayed in the past. But what if working less is the key to a more sustainable working life?

For the past two years the Swedish city of Gothenburg has undertaken
a trial of a six-hour working day at a care home for
elderly people.
The aim was to find out how it would impact on health and life quality for assistant nurses, as well as the
broader socioeconomic benefits and the possibility of creating jobs.

The preliminary results show that a shorter working day lowered sick leave by 10%. Also, the perceived health of the care
workers increased considerably in relation to stress and alertness. This was especially apparent in child-caring age groups.
Having longer to recuperate and spend time with family is evidently an important factor in creating a sustainable work-life
balance.

Residents in the care home also felt they were getting better care and more time with the nurses.
In interviews, they
described staff as more alert and happier. Social activities dramatically increased too, meaning that the higher level of
alertness is being put to good use by the staff.

In wider Swedish society sick leave has increased considerably in the care sector in recent years. Caring for children and

elderly people is work predominantly carried out by women. It is also an area that doesn t benefit in the same way as many
male-dominated sectors do from automation and technology. Care work is heavy-duty, face-to-face labour, tiring for both the
mind and body.
Little has changed over time for care workers,
except one thing: the economic constraints have grown
tighter. The six-hour working day project indicates that an improvement in working conditions has a clear impact on the
quality of care.

Increasing labour market participation is not only about creating a more equal labour market but a more sustainable one. The
retirement age is a fixed point in many countries. But in physically demanding professions such as construction or care,

working until you re 65 represents a greater challenge. And working until 67 or beyond seems more like a joke than reality.
Early retirement is not only an economic problem for society but a devastating blow for individuals
who risk having to spend
their old age in poverty. More flexible working hours can help with this.

A shorter working day is not a utopian dream. Rather it is a policy tool in a reform agenda to create a more sustainable
working life and labour market. Given
the attention in international media this small pilot project in Gothenburg has received,
 
it is clear that it s an issue that attracts broad interest. This shouldn t be neglected but met with a serious debate on the
benefits of working less but better.

The Tribune
QUESTIONS
1) The writer claims a shorter working week has never been given serious thought because

A) it was considered impractical.

B) it could have caused social divisions.

C) its implementation was thought to be difficult.

D) the financial outlay required would be excessive.

2) The writer explains that the idea was first put into practice

A) in several different work environments.

B) in factories with a large manual content.

C) at one old people's home.

D) at several popular supermarkets.

3) The writer describes the feedback in the following way:

A) It was very successful.

B) It should not have happened.

C) The results were inconclusive.

D) They were disappointed by the results.

4) The writer suggests that before this trial the working conditions in the care industry had

A) improved dramatically.

B) changed very little.

C) been studied in detail on several occasions.

D) been quite well paid.

5) The writer implies that early retirement is seen in a negative light by

A) society at large.

B) the man on the street.

C) the insurance companies.

D) both society and the individual.

6) In the final paragraph, the writer opines that the world's media has

A) generally ignored this experiment.

B) given this project a surprising amount of attention.

C) found this project amusing.

D) given the organisers many problems.