IELTS General Sample reading test 16

The Country Comfort Inn, Hunter Valley, is a beautifully restored 125-year-old building just 20 minutes from the vineyards.

Formerly an orphanage, the Inn is set on 10 acres of landscaped gardens complete with pool, sauna, tennis court, spa, gym, billiard room, guest lounge, fireplace, cocktail bar, and two restaurants, Special packages available.

New England Highway, Maitland.

Call toll free 1800 065 064 or (02) 4932 5288

'Spend a night - not a fortune'

That’s the Budget Motel chain motto. The Siesta Motel, rated 3-star, is conveniently placed at the gateway to the winery district and nearby to the historic towns of Morpeth and Wollombi.

The family-owned and operated Siesta offers airconditioned comfort and a friendly atmosphere. A free light breakfast is delivered to your suite, and excellent meals are available at the Maitland City Bowling Club next door.

Quality of accommodation is assured, yet our room rates are the lowest in the district.

258 New England Highway, Maitland.

Phone (049) 32 83 22

28 modern, comfortable 3-star units which open onto the swimming pool and barbeque area. All units feature flatscreen TVs and DVDs, airconditioning, 2 with spas.

Fully licensed restaurant with cocktail bar and lounge is open 7 nights. Close to all amenities.

New England Highway, East Maitland.

Phone (02) 4933 5488

Rustic cottages secluded amongst gum trees on 200 acres provide peace and quiet, and privacy. The cottages are located on the historic beef cattle property, 'Eskdale', nestled in the Williams Valley.

Each cottage is completely self-contained having 2 bedrooms, full kitchen facilities, and sitting rooms with TV and DVD, and offers comfortable rural accommodation to those who enjoy the delights of the country yet still wish to have access to the city. Situated dose to the towns of Morpeth, Maitland, Port Stephens and rainforests around Dungog.

Nelson Plains Road, Seaham NSW 2324.

Phone (02) 4988 6207 Fax (02) 4988 6209

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Morpeth is today a small town about two hours’ drive north of Sydney. The town of Morpeth grew from an original 2000 acres of land given to an English army officer, Lieutenant Edward Close (1790-1866), in 1821.

During the 1830s and 1840s, Morpeth became a major river port due to its favourable location. Produce, leather goods and timber were brought to Morpeth from inland New South Wales and shipped down the Hunter River to the coast and then to Sydney. However, in 1870 a railway line reached the town, and the importance of river shipping began to decline. Today, Morpeth, with its beautiful old buildings, is a popular tourist destination.

The best way to sec Morpeth is to take the Morpeth Heritage Walk. This covers about three kilometres, and takes visitors past many beautiful historic buildings. Starting at Fig Tree Hill, which has picnic facilities, stroll past the Surgeon’s Cottage, built in 1845, formerly home of the local doctor, now shops. From there you will come to Morpeth Bridge, erected in 1870, which replaced a ferry boat. Opposite it on the right is the Courthouse, still in use today. Continue your walk past the historic railway station, then turn into George Street. Stroll past gracious houses until you come to the Church of the Immaculate Conception on your right, built of bricks made in Gosford. Continuing up George Street, you come to the shopping district where you can browse through the shops or stop for refreshment. Your tour of Morpeth finishes at magnificent Closebourne House, built in 1826 by Lieutenant Edward Close.

BUSY PHARMACY in Eastern Suburbs urgently needs energetic, friendly assistant. Experience required, driver’s licence helpful. Ability to deal with the public essential. Great job for the right person. Apply in writing to P.O. Box 236, Elmdale South 2987.

CHILDMINDING Responsible teenager wanted to mind two school-age children Mon. to Fri. 3pm to 6pm. References necessary and experience with young children preferred. Phone 9776 5489.

SALES Tired of selling all day with little to show for it? Looking to improve your sales skills? We can brush up your selling performance so that every potential customer is a sure sale. Contact Eric on 0412 425 789 during business hours for any queries.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT required for busy publishing company. Word processing skills an advantage. Must be willing to work flexible hours and in different sections of the company. Apply in writing, naming two referees, to Recruitment Division, Wall and Fixture Press, P.O. Box 375, Dunsmore 2777.

EXPERIENCED WAITER required for exclusive city restaurant. Lunches and dinners. Good appearance essential, plus knowledge of Japanese an advantage. Phone 0408 233 188 after 5pm for interview.

ARE YOU a bright, cheerful person? Do you enjoy creative work? Are you willing to work hard in a very pleasant environment? If so, Beecroft Hearts and Flowers, a busy florist and gift shop in a major shopping centre needs you. Experience isn’t necessary but a driver’s licence is. Contact Ellen, 0422 123 766 after 7am.

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Many business and marketing courses require a knowledge of introductory statistics, computing or mathematics. If you feel inadequately prepared for your course, you can get help from the Numeracy Centre, which offers FREE help in mathematics and statistics. Grab a timetable from the Centre and drop in when it suits you.

COURSE A

The first course available to students is a Revision Course in Basic Maths. This three-hour lecture will review mathematical concepts such as ratios, averages and percentages that will be necessary for any courses requiring elementary statistics. Knowledge of Year 10 Maths is a must. Booking is not necessary.

COURSE B

For those students doing marketing courses and other courses requiring statistical analysis, there is the Bridging Course in Statistics for Marketing. This course introduces ideas in elementary statistics to provide a starting point for further developments in statistical skills later on in other courses. The course is run in sessions of three hours, in the form of a one-hour lecture followed by a two-hour tutorial. Examples will be drawn from reference books. The tutorials will be interactive where possible (e.g. drawing random samples from the population of numbered cards in class) with hands-on experience of data manipulation using MINITAB on a bank of PCs.

COURSE C

Statistics for the Practitioner is slightly different to the previous course, which must be completed before this course. This course is largely non-mathematical. It will instead concentrate on the interpretation and application of statistics rather than on computation. The statistical package MINITAB will be used as a teaching tool. This course will be conducted over two days in the form of workshops and small group discussions, with a strong emphasis on hands-on experience of data manipulation using computers.

COURSE D

Another course of interest to many students is this refresher Course in Basic Computing Skills designed specifically for business and marketing. Students who need more practise using and creating graphs, managing table data, setting up spreadsheets or embedding Excel data are encouraged to enrol in this 8-hour course. Students will learn through workshops giving hands-on experience. Course notes and practice files provided.

GUIDELINES

A resume is a summary of your skills and abilities, education and employment history, including your experience. It needs to be concise, informative and presented effectively so as to create a good first impression. A good resume can help to open the door for an interview.

For an effective resume, six information sections should be delineated. PERSONAL INFORMATION

Head your resume with personal details, including your name, address, telephone number(s) and email address. This information is generally centred on the page.

CAREER OBJECTIVE

Write a career goal statement to define what you want to achieve in your chosen career and the direction you are taking to achieve it. This statement should be placed directly under your personal details. Stating your goal not only articulates to the potential employer that you have given some thought to your future career but how your employment may work to the advantage of both parties. For example, if you have excelled in computer-based technologies, you might state that you are seeking an opportunity to both use your IT skills and further develop them for the advancement of the business or company, ie the potential employer.

SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In this section, highlight specific skills and abilities acquired through work experience and which are relevant to the position you are applying for. Demonstrate how you developed them and in what capacity, and how others have benefited from your expertise. Ability to get the job done is what a potential employer wants to see. Include any special accomplishments as well. For example, completing a major project ahead of schedule and to budget is a significant achievement.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Provide a listing of your work experience, starting from your most recent job, showing each of the following: employment dates, your job title or role, employer's name and location of the company or organisation.

Just below this, using bullets, list your main responsibilities or duties, such as the number of people you have managed or supervised, budgetary responsibilities and maintenance of databases.

EDUCATION

Start by listing your highest level of school or university education and then any training or workplace certificates that are relevant to the job you are applying for. The latter may include leadership training programs or certification in technologies.

REFERENCES

References are provided so that your credentials can be verified.

It is important to get permission beforehand from the referee(s) to be certain they are available and willing to provide a positive reference on your behalf. List each referee's name, job title, name of the company/organisation and contact telephone numbers.

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is probably best described as a summary and evaluation in writing of your business idea.

Preparation of a business plan is the first and most important task for the business starter. The plan should include details concerning the industry in which you operate, your product or service, marketing, production, personnel and financial strategies.

What purpose does it serve?

A business plan allows you to think through all the factors of a business, and to solve potential problems. It will identify strengths and weaknesses and help to assess whether the business can succeed. It is a blueprint for starting, maintaining or expanding a business. It is a working plan to use in comparing your achievements to the goals you set. It should provide information required by financial institutions when finance is sought.

How to produce a Business Plan

Step 1: Gathering Information

Gather as much relevant information as possible concerning the industry in which you intend to operate (the number of businesses already operating, the size of their operations and where they are located). Use books, industry associations, and existing business owners to help you.

Collect all possible information regarding the market/s you are aiming for (who buys, why do they buy and what are the key features the customer looks for).

Learn all you can about the product/s or services you intend to produce, distribute or offer.

Step 2: Analysis

Read over all the material you have collected and decide what is relevant to your business idea. You may have to modify your idea depending on what your research shows. The key question to ask is:

'Can you design a business that will earn enough to cover costs and pay a wage and reasonable profit to you as the proprietor?'

When Steps l and 2 are completed, you should have decided if there is a market for your product or service which is large enough and sufficiently accessible to make your new business financially worthwhile. Now you are ready to commit your plan to paper.

Step 3: Strategy Formulation

Decide how the business will operate. You should describe how the business will be managed and the staff and organisational structure that will be in place. Diagrams may be useful to show how these areas will work. Don't forget to include the areas of responsibility for each member of staff. This is especially important if some of your staff will be family members.

There are three further parts that go together to make a comprehensive business plan:

• A Marketing Plan, which includes location, method of selling, packaging and pricing. In all these areas you must be aware of consumer trends to make sure that your business does not become outdated or irrelevant.

• An Operational Plan, which describes the day-to-day running of the business. You should include supply sources, cost and quantities of materials, processes, equipment and methods of extending the services or products offered.

• A Financial Plan, which is a master budget for the operation and includes:

- cash flow forecast

- balance sheet

- profit and loss statement

- sources of finance

- sales forecast and target.

The financial aspects of the plan are most important and you should develop or access financial skills to make sure this part of your plan is accurate and realistic. Don't forget set-up costs and the money needed to see you through an initial period of low cash flow when calculating your first year's budget.

Update your Business Plan

Nothing remains constant in business: circumstances change, markets change, fashions change, methods change.

From time to time you must check your sources of information and reassess your business plan. What is relevant when you start is not necessarily so in five years' time. You may also need to revise targets and budgets if external factors (such as interest rates) vary.

Keep your information up-to-date and be prepared to change as circumstances demand. A business plan should be thought of as flexible, not fixed. If you use these steps to develop a business plan, changing it according to circumstances, you will be well on the way to a successful business.