Tests Answer Key

9A Units 17-18 Listening Comprehension 21, page 4

Ella: Have you started your new job yet, Mark?
Reading Comprehension, page 1 Mark: Yes, I started last week.
Ella: What are you doing?
1 1. a 2. c 3. a 4. a 5. b Mark: I’m working for Team Bright. They run these
2 1. have problems at work activities for companies to help increase team
spirit.
2. ways to delegate work / ways for Tina to help
Ella: You mean like treasure hunts and survival
3. she understands what is weekends? We had a survival weekend in the last
company I worked for. Our boss thought it would
4. his boss is always criticising his work help our team bond as a group.
5. look for a new job / think about a new job Mark: Yes, we do treasure hunts too, but we also have
other activities. I’m running a workshop for Aldo’s
on Monday.
Vocabulary, page 2 Ella: Aldo’s?
1 1. bother 6. encourages Mark: They’re a chain of Mexican restaurants in the US.
They’re opening their first branch in the UK next
2. distractions 7. stressed month. I think they’re overrated, but they’re very
popular.
3. discipline8. overrated Ella: Why does a restaurant want to do these team-
4. settle 9. prove building activities?
Mark: Restaurants often have a high turnover of staff. It
5. relaxed 10. irrelevant doesn’t encourage good working relationships, so
Aldo’s management decided to do a social activity
2 1. revolution 6. challenge for the staff before the restaurant opens.
2. chain 7. reality Ella: That sounds good to me. They’re being proactive.
3. force 8. inspiration What activities are you going to do?
Mark: Well, we haven’t finished planning it but as the
4. crisis 9. implementation staff are all new, I thought I’d start with something
to break the ice and encourage people to talk to
5. substitute 10. input each other.
3 1. difficulties 5. skills Ella: And then?
2. responsibility 6. suppliers Mark: We haven’t decided yet. Aldo’s want to do some
sort of conflict resolution activity.
3. enhance 7. weaknesses Ella: Is there something wrong with that?
Mark: No, but it’s a bit too serious. I think it’s more
4. idea 8. contribution important for employees to socialise and get to
4 1. step back 5. pull together know each other.
2. a broader perspective 6. point of Ella: I agree! If the staff feel relaxed with each other,
view there will be fewer conflicts!
Mark: That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell Aldo’s!
3. team spirit 7. led to
1 1. last week
4. set aside 8. work out 2. workshop

page 3 3. before

5 1. a 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. b 6. c 4. a conflict resolution

6 1. vision 5. implement 5. relaxed

2. unmotivated 6. strenuous
2 1. They run activities for companies to increase team spirit.
3. prioritise 7. clues 2. a survival weekend

4. bond 8. advisor 3. It’s overrated.

4. a high turnover of staff
Functional Language
5. It’s a bit too serious.
1. f 3. d 5. a 7. g 9. h
2. c 4. j 6. e 8. i 10. b
 Tests Answer Key

Writing
Sample response:
Dear Mr Isner,
I am mailing you to provide you with some
recommendations about how to improve team spirit at our
company.
First, I would like to identify some reasons why team spirit
might be low. I think the main reason is that we rarely meet
to discuss issues or aspects of our work as a team. This
means that everyone is working on their own thing and
there is no feeling of group responsibility or understanding
when team members are stressed and need help. Also,
there is nowhere in the company building for staff to meet
and socialise during breaks, so people don’t often chat in
a relaxed setting.
In the light of this, I think we should hold weekly team
meetings. Perhaps we could provide some snacks and
drinks at these, so that staff can talk and break the ice
before the meeting starts. This will really help to bond
employees into a team. We could also organise some
team-building activities outside of work time. In my
previous job, we went on a team-building weekend. Some
of the challenges we faced were physical, and some were
about solving problems together. We had to overcome all
of these as a team, and it was very effective at bringing us
closer together. I think something similar would be great
for staff here too. It might also be worth asking senior
management if we could use one of the meeting rooms as
somewhere for staff to sit and relax during breaktimes.
If you require any further information, please do not
hesitate to get in touch.
With best wishes,
Angela Tresport