You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-14, which are based on Reading Passages below.
Write answers to questions in boxes 1-14 on your answer sheet.
GT Reading Sample – “The best travel wallets” & “UK rail services – how do l claim for my delayed train?”
Read the text below and answer Questions 1-8.
The best travel wallets
Keep all your bank cards, documents, passports and ID in one of these convenient carriers, which have been selected by Becca Meier.
A Kipling Travel Doc Travel Document Holder
This zip-around wallet comes in five different patterns and is made of nylon. It also has a space where users can put a pen, pockets for cards, an ID window and a pocket for change.
B Lifeventure Mini Travel Document Wallet
This is a waterproof wallet, which uses anti-RFID (radio frequency identification) material so your financial details will be safe. It is black with smart sky-blue finishing touches and has a small internal compartment, a smartphone pocket and an external pocket, It can fit two passports.
C Cath Kidston Breton Stripe
A wallet so slim it could easily pass for a small notebook. The inside compartment labels identifying each separate section all have silver lettering on them. The wallet has a special coating which makes it easy to wipe anything like sand off.
D Ted Baker Voyager’s Travel Wallet
This wallet comes in smooth black leather, and is no bigger than a passport, but roomy enough for any insurance documents or flight tickets. A small navy-blue pen is supplied inside.
E Radley Abbey Travel Wallet
This plain travel wallet opens up to reveal pockets in various colours labelled ‘cards’, ‘passport’ and ‘tickets’, as well as others left blank for extras. It comes in a handy drawstring bag.
F Gotravel Organiser
The black wallet features seven slip-in card compartments, two small interior zip pockets and a load of other slip-in compartments, it can fit at least four passports.
G Gotravel Glo Travel Wallet
This is a simple, very reasonably priced wallet. It is made of PVC plastic and will suit those who like a wallet that is easy to spot. It comes in a range of bright colours with a white holiday-related design on the front. It has five compartments that can fit a passport with other cards/tickets.
Questions 1-8
Look at the seven reviews of travel wallets, A-G, below.
For which travel wallet are the following statements true?
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
1. This wallet will suit people who prefer natural materials.
2. Users of this wallet do not need to worry about taking it out in the rain.
3. Parts of the inside of this wallet have categories printed on them in one colour.
4. This wallet would suit someone who needs to keep several passports together.
5. Something is provided for writing.
6. This will suit people who want to be able to find their document wallet easily in their luggage.
7. Something to keep this wallet in is provided.
8. This wallet has been specially made to prevent people detecting the numbers on any bank cards, etc. inside it.
Read the text below and answer Questions 9-14.
UK rail services – how do l claim for my delayed train?
Generally, if you have been delayed on a train journey, you may be able to claim compensation, but train companies all have different rules, so it can be confusing to work out what you’re entitled to. The type of delay you can claim for depends on whether the train company runs a Delay Repay scheme or a less generous, older-style scheme.
Delay Repay is a train operator scheme to compensate passengers when trains are late, and the train company will pay out even if it was not responsible for the delay. The scheme varies between companies, but up to 2016 most paid 50 percent of the single ticket cost for 30 minutes’ delay and 100 percent for an hour. On the London Underground, you get a full refund for 15-minute delays.
Companies that do not use Delay Repay and still use the older scheme will not usually pay compensation if the problem is considered to be out of their control. But it is still worth asking them for compensation, as some may pay out. You are unlikely to get compensation for a delay if any of the following occur:
• Accidents involving people getting onto the line illegally
• Gas leaks or fires in buildings next to the line which were not caused by a train company
• Line closures at the request of the emergency services
• Exceptionally severe weather conditions
• Strike action
National Rail Conditions of Travel state that you are entitled to compensation in the same form that you paid for the ticket. Some train companies are still paying using rail vouchers, which they are allowed to do if you do not ask for a cash refund.
Since 2016, rail passengers have acquired further rights for compensation through the Consumer Rights Act. This means that passengers could now be eligible for compensation due to: a severely overcrowded train with too few carriages available; a consistently late running service; and a service that is delayed for less than the time limit that applied under existing compensation schemes.
However, in order to exercise their rights beyond the existing compensation schemes, for instance Delay Repay, and where the train operating company refuses to compensate despite letters threatening court action, passengers may need to bring their claims to a court of law.
Questions 9-14
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text above?
In boxes 9-14 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
9. The system for claiming compensation varies from one company to another.
10. Under Delay Repay, a train company will only provide compensation if it caused the delay.
11. Under Delay Repay, underground and other train companies give exactly the same amounts of money in compensation.
12. An increasing number of train companies are willing to pay compensation for problems they are not responsible for.
13. It is doubtful whether companies using the older scheme will provide compensation if a delay is caused by a strike.
14. Passengers may receive compensation in the form of a train voucher if they forget to request cash.
Answer:
1. D
2. B
3. C
4. F
5. D
6. G
7. E
8. B
9. TRUE
10. FALSE
11. FALSE
12. NOT GIVEN
13. TRUE
14. TRUE