Good morning. My name is Bridget Harrison, and this is my colleague, Tom Booth.
-And your names are? -I'm Ollin.
And I'm Rodrigo.
Thank you. Could I have your mark sheets, please?
Now, first of all, we'd like to know something about you.
Where are you from, Ollin?
I'm from Zurich in Switzerland, which is the biggest city.
Thank you. And you, Rodrigo?
I come from Argentina, although I live in the capital
I'm from another city in the north of the country.
Are you working or studying at the moment, Rodrigo?
Well, I finished university and I worked while I studied.
But now I'm taking a year off from studying a little bit.
And you, Ollin?
Well, I haven't been to university yet, but I'm also taking a gap year.
Thank you.
Do you have much opportunity to travel, Ollin?
Yes, luckily I have.
I have travelled a lot with my parents who have seen a lot.
But also, my school offers a lot of trips around Europe
not to other parts of the world, but that's still a nice opportunity to have.
And, Rodrigo, how good are you at organising your time?
Well, that's a good question. I think I'm pretty good
but sometimes I keep putting things off till the end and procrastinating
and doing that kind of stuff.
I try to set deadlines, but sometimes I find it quite difficult.
Yes.
Thank you.
Now, in this part of the test, you're going to do something together.
Here are some pictures of people in different situations.
First, I'd like you to look at picture A and C
and talk together about how common these situations are in your country.
You have about a minute for this, so don't worry if I interrupt you.
Well, first, the first picture looks like
a square with some restaurants
and some people having dinner outside. Is it common in your country?
No, not in Switzerland. It's a little too cold for that.
I think it's more typical of Italian or Spanish.
Well, that's the reason because in Argentina
we have a very big Italian influence
so, we have these kind of restaurants and we have dinner outside
usually in squares
or in parks or just next to the road. It's a bit common.
Well, I'd love to have it more often in Switzerland. Yeah.
How about the second picture?
The second picture? Well, it's just...
well, I'm just looking at his face and I think he might be oriental
in some place where they're just selling fish, or I don't know...
maybe they just fished them out.
Thank you. Okay. Now, look at all the pictures.
I'd like you to imagine that a television documentary is being produced
on working in the food industry.
These pictures show some of the issues that are being considered.
Talk together about the different issues related to working in the
food industry that these pictures show.
Then decide which issue might stimulate most interest.
You have about three minutes to talk about this.
Well, it's an interesting topic, isn't it?
Hot and cold drinks. Here in Cambridge I've seen this stall selling crabs
or other kind of stuff, and I think they're pretty common around the world.
Do you think that this picture is quite useful for you, got your attention, of
the readers?
Well, it represents, I think, the whole fast-food economy
which might not be representative for the whole food industry
but it's still a very important aspect of it.
Comparing that picture, for example
to picture A
which reflects a whole different atmosphere and
a whole different aspect. It also includes the service aspect of
the food industry. That's not just about food.
I agree because picture B is more fast-food, something quickly on the move.
Whereas picture A is more enjoying the meal, a social event.
So, yeah, I think you're absolutely right about it. And how
about picture D?
Well, it contrasts with picture B because it shows that
the natural aspect of food
which has become very rare, I think.
It is more difficult to find fair trade products and things like that.
But what caught my attention was that picture A and B are about eating
and picture the C and D are more about producing food.
Yeah, you're right. I hadn't noticed.
I think it's right. And picture C.
Do you like fish?
Yes, I do, but just as picture D
I think this is something that becomes more rare
because most often now it's big factories producing
food and doing fish.
But I think that small shops are becoming more
and more rare, you can't see them that often anymore.
Yeah, that's true. So, I would say that if we had to choose a main picture
I would choose between A or D. Do you agree with me
or do you have another opinion?
Yeah, I think you're right.
But I think that picture A combines more aspects than picture D
maybe because it shows the whole business, not just the production of food
but also how it is served and how people get in contact with it.
Yeah, I agree with you, I think picture A.
Thank you. Can I have the booklet, please? Thank you.
Now, in this part of the test
you're each going to talk on your own for about two minutes.
You need to listen while your partner is speaking
because you will be asked to comment afterwards.
Ollin, I'm going to give you a card with a question written on it
and I'd like you to tell us what you think.
There are also some ideas on the card for you to use if you like. All right?
So here is your card. Please let Rodrigo see the card.
And remember, Ollin, you have about two minutes to talk before we join in.
Yeah, I think it's a really interesting question.
Well, of course, it's a very personal question.
For me personally, I prefer making my own decisions.
Obviously, I ask other people for their advice, but in the end
I think it's very important that you decide on something
because you are convinced by it and not because someone else
convinced you for that or persuaded you to take something else
because you have to be able to stand up to it and defend your own opinions.
And you can only do so if you actually
decided to do it by yourself and did
the whole thinking process for yourself.
Now that I see the recommendations
I see that they contrast education and work. During education
I suppose, it's much more important to take others advice
probably from your teachers and from your parents
because they have had more experience than yourself.
And sometimes, they even know you better most of all during puberty.
So I think they might take the decisions
with a better base.
In work, it's really important to be a team player
and to always take into account many different opinions
and not just try to push forward your own thoughts.
And Rodrigo, generally speaking, do you think you are a decisive person?
Yes, I am. Although I like to hear some advice
usually from my parents
I like to just ask them and have at least their point of view
so I can just gauge what I want to do myself.
How about you, Ollin?
Me personally?
Well, if people... yeah.
My parents always want the best for me
so I always have to take their opinion into account.
Yeah. But at the end, it's still my own decision. Nothing is going to change then.
Thank you.
Now, Rodrigo, it's your turn to be given a question and here is your card.
Please let Ollin see your card, and remember, Rodrigo
you have about two minutes to tell us what you think.
And there are some ideas on the card for you to use, if you like. All right.
Okay. So, the question is about how much people's decision
is influenced by the media.
I think nowadays since we have television and Internet
everything is somehow related to the media and different ways
of communication and networks, mainly the spending habits.
As I said here
since we live in a
consumption society, and now consumption
the way of living as a society, we like to follow some...
I don't know if I would call them rules
but we are somehow influenced by
advertising... advertisements and ways of advertising.
So, I think it's very much influenced by media, or Facebook
for example. Facebook at the beginning
used to be just about talking to people or meeting them or just having fun.
But nowadays you enter and the first thing that you see
there's just advertisements or ads about different shampoos or trips
or university education. So, it really comprises of
an immense variety of things
a pretty wide range. And about current affairs.
When we read the newspapers or we watch television
it's like you have a different point of view.
You have left-wing newspapers as opposed to right-wing. You have more central ones.
So, I think we are always influenced
and it is quite difficult to find yourself with
a strong opinion
and not being biased by society.
How much are people's decisions influenced by the media? About entertainment
I think, for example...
Thank you, Rodrigo. Okay. And Ollin
what kind of decisions need to be made before TV programmes
are broadcast to children?
Well, one has to decide whether they are adequate for small children.
It always depends on their age and not just concerning violence
but also other aspects.
And small children might not be mature enough to
think about and to realise what it means.
Do you agree, Rodrigo?
I agree, and also I've noticed that it used to be
more controlled
that, but nowadays you have a strong sense
you can find stronger sense, to be just earlier or in the afternoon
which sometimes just catches my attention.
Thank you.
Now, to finish the test, we're going to talk about decisions in general.
Nowadays, there are so many products to choose from
that it's impossible to choose.
To what extent do you agree?
Well, the first thing that came to my mind was when I go to
the supermarket to do some shopping and you want to buy, I don't know, for example
a product like coffee. And you have so many different brands
and you have some of them are fair trade and other ones are cheaper
and from different countries. You have such a big variety.
Do you feel the same?
I actually feel mostly overwhelmed when I am in the supermarket?
On the one hand, it's really nice to have this variety and be able to choose from
so many different products, also from different origins
and as you said, fair trade price.
But I mostly feel overwhelmed, and for me it's actually a little too much.
Who should decide how taxes are spent?
Government ministers or local people?
Wow, that's a good question. I think
I don't know if I can make a decision right now, but on one hand, I think the
inhabitants of a city, we can make our own decisions.
But on the other hand, when we vote and when we have elections
we choose the people who are going to represent us.
So, I don't know.
What is your opinion about it?
I believe in democracy. So, I think it's the local people who should decide what
the government does with their own money, because taxes come from the people
so they should be the ones to decide what's going to happen with them.
Yes, but I believe in democracy as well.
But democracy also involves choosing some people
who are going to represent us in some
way. So I find it tricky to decide how to come to terms with that.
It probably depends on how big the population is
and in what society you are.
Absolutely, I agree.
Why do jobs that involve taking difficult decisions appeal to some people?
You want to start?
Okay, I can start. Particularly in my case, I like freedom
so I like taking my own decisions and I know that if I make a mistake
it's my own fault. And I don't like just being told what I have to do.
I prefer to have my space and making my own decisions, basically. And you?
It's also a challenge to take on decisions
and not to be dependent
on others and to let others control themselves.
So, every step is a little challenge.
I like that idea. I like challenges. I like to push myself a little bit, yeah.
Thank you. That's the end of the test.
Thank you.