Making the most of trends: reading answers and analysis
Managers see the big trends but miss how deeply they change consumers. The writers describe three ways to respond: infuse and augment (Coach's cheaper Poppy bags, Tesco's green points), combine and transcend (Nike teaming up with Apple), and counteract and reaffirm (iToys' active video game). They end with when to use each.
The multiple choice (27-31) goes through Paragraphs 1 to 6, one company at a time. The company matching (32-37) uses Coach and Nike twice each, all from Paragraphs 3 to 6. The sentence endings (38-40) are all in Paragraph 7.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: The distractors often say the opposite of the text or overstate it. Managers can spot trends, Coach didn't keep every price the same, and Nike's move only looked pointless at first. For the ME2, separate what it shared with other games from what made it different.
Question 27
Answer: DParagraph 1, second sentence
What does the first paragraph say most managers get wrong?
managers often fail to recognize the less obvious but profound ways these trends are influencing consumers' aspirations, attitudes, and behaviors
Question says → Passage says
are unaware offail to recognize
the significant impact that trends havethe less obvious but profound ways these trends are influencing
consumers' livesconsumers' aspirations, attitudes, and behaviors
Why: D. Managers see the trends but miss how deeply they're changing what consumers want and do. 'Profound' is 'significant', and aspirations, attitudes and behaviours add up to consumers' lives.
The trap: A says the opposite of the first sentence: 'Most managers can identify the major trends of the day'. B and C aren't said: the problem isn't focusing on main trends or misreading data, it's missing the deeper effects.
Question 28
Answer: CParagraph 3, third and fourth sentences
What was Coach keen to do, according to the third paragraph?
the most obvious reaction to the downturn would have been to lower prices. However, that would have risked cheapening the brand's image.
Question says → Passage says
safeguard its reputationrisked cheapening the brand's image
a manufacturer of luxury goodsa symbol of opulence and luxury
Why: C. Coach avoided the obvious price cut because it would cheapen a brand that stood for luxury. Protecting that image is the motive behind everything it did.
The trap: B is close but wrong: Coach launched the lower-priced Poppy range, so prices weren't kept the same across the range. It only avoided an 'across-the-board' cut. D fails because Poppy was a sub-brand, not a new look for the whole brand.
Question 29
Answer: AParagraph 4, last sentence
What point is made about Tesco's green scheme?
Tesco has not abandoned its traditional retail offerings but augmented its business with these innovations
Question says → Passage says
did not require Tesco to modify its core business activitieshas not abandoned its traditional retail offerings
Why: A. Tesco kept its normal retail business and added the green scheme on top. That's the 'infuse and augment' idea: keep what you have, add something new.
The trap: C sounds plausible because it's an environmental scheme, but its stated purpose is to show Tesco's commitment and produce 'tangible results', not to raise awareness. B (new eco-conscious customers) and D (an earlier scheme) are never mentioned.
Question 30
Answer: DParagraph 5, third and fourth sentences
What does the writer suggest about Nike's approach?
At first glance, spending resources to incorporate elements of a seemingly irrelevant trend into one's core offerings sounds like it's hardly worthwhile. But consider Nike's move
Question says → Passage says
might appear to have few obvious benefitsAt first glance… sounds like it's hardly worthwhile
Why: D. The writer admits that 'combine and transcend' looks pointless 'at first glance', then uses Nike to show it isn't. 'Might appear' matches 'at first glance… sounds like'.
The trap: A tempts because the strategy is called 'more radical', but radical isn't risky, and nothing is said about danger. B (only a big company could afford it) and C (impossible in the past) aren't suggested.
Question 31
Answer: DParagraph 6, second half
What was original about the ME2?
What set it apart was that it incorporated the traditional physical component of children's play: it contained a pedometer
Question says → Passage says
originalWhat set it apart
people's concerns about unhealthy lifestylesassociations with lack of exercise and obesity
Why: D. It was a handheld game, but its pedometer rewarded physical activity, answering worries that video games mean no exercise and obesity. 'What set it apart' is the passage's word for 'original'.
The trap: C names features the ME2 shared 'Like other handheld games', so they weren't original. B is wrong because it appealed to kids' desire to play video games, not to kids already keen on fitness.
Matching features (companies A-D)
Questions 32-37
How to attack this block: Each company's paragraph is short, so match on the key action: research into customer attitudes and avoiding a price cut (Coach), a points scheme (Tesco), a partner and an unrelated trend (Nike), and turning a bad image into a selling point (iToys).
Question 32
Answer: DParagraph 6, second sentence
Which company used the idea that its kind of product could be harmful to its own advantage?
the ME2 counteracted some of the widely perceived negative impacts of digital gaming devices
Question says → Passage says
the notion that its products could have harmful effectsthe widely perceived negative impacts of digital gaming devices
turned… to its own advantagecounteracted / countering the negatives
Why: D, iToys. People thought video games were bad for children, so iToys built a game that answered that worry and sold it on that basis.
The trap: Coach also worked around a negative (the recession), but that wasn't a belief that its products were harmful.
Question 33
Answer: CParagraph 5, fifth sentence
Which company teamed up with another firm to extend what it offered?
In 2006, they teamed up with technology company Apple to launch Nike+
Question says → Passage says
collaborating with another manufacturerteamed up with technology company Apple
extended its offeringto launch Nike+, a digital sports kit
Why: C, Nike. It partnered with Apple to make Nike+, a sensor and receiver kit that added a digital product to its shoes.
Question 34
Answer: BParagraph 4, second and third sentences
Which company used a reward scheme to show it acts responsibly?
Tesco customers can accumulate points for such activities as reusing bags, recycling cans and printer cartridges
Question says → Passage says
an incentive schemeaccumulate points / these green points can be redeemed for cash
demonstrate its corporate social responsibilitydemonstrates the company's commitment to protecting the environment
Why: B, Tesco. Green points you can turn into cash are an incentive scheme, and the programme 'demonstrates the company's commitment' to the environment.
The trap: iToys also gave points (for physical activity), but those improve skills in the game. They aren't about the company showing social responsibility.
Question 35
Answer: AParagraph 3, fifth sentence
Which company found its customers wanted to rise above hard times?
they initiated a consumer-research project which revealed that customers were eager to lift themselves and the country out of tough times
Question says → Passage says
discoveredrevealed
a positive attitude towards dealing withwere eager to lift themselves… out of
difficult circumstancestough times
Why: A, Coach. Its research showed customers were eager to lift themselves out of tough times, which is a positive attitude to difficulty.
The trap: Tesco also responded to customer concerns, but those were worries about the environment, not an attitude to hard times.
Question 36
Answer: CParagraph 5, fourth sentence
Which company responded to a trend from an unrelated sector?
But consider Nike's move to integrate the digital revolution into its reputation for high-performance athletic footwear.
Question says → Passage says
a growing lifestyle trendthe digital revolution
in an unrelated product sectora seemingly irrelevant trend
Why: C, Nike. The digital revolution belongs to technology, which has nothing obvious to do with running shoes. The passage calls it 'a seemingly irrelevant trend'.
The trap: Tesco reacted to growing environmental concern, but it acted within its own retail business. And iToys' digital gaming is its own sector, not an unrelated one.
Question 37
Answer: AParagraph 3, seventh sentence
Which company managed not to cut prices on its main products?
Creating the sub-brand allowed Coach to avert an across-the-board price cut.
Question says → Passage says
successfully avoidedallowed Coach to avert
charge its customers less for its core productsan across-the-board price cut
Why: A, Coach. Poppy was cheaper, but it was a sub-brand. Coach's main range kept its prices, so it avoided a general price cut.
The trap: Tesco's green points 'can be redeemed for cash', which sounds like charging less. It's a reward scheme, and nothing says Tesco needed to avoid a price cut.
Sentence endings (A-D)
Questions 38-40
How to attack this block: Paragraph 7 gives one rule per situation. First choose a strategy, then match a negative link to counteract and reaffirm and a growing gap to combine and transcend. Nobody suggests combining strategies, so that ending is left over.
Question 38
Answer: BParagraph 7, first sentence
What should you do once trends are affecting your category?
Once you have gained perspective on how trend-related changes in consumer opinions and behaviors impact on your category, you can determine which of our three innovation strategies to pursue.
Question says → Passage says
trend-related changes impacting on your categorytrend-related changes in consumer opinions and behaviors impact on your category
identify the most appropriate innovation strategydetermine which of our three innovation strategies to pursue
Why: B. The first step is choosing which of the three strategies fits, and the paragraph then explains which to use when.
The trap: A tempts because there are three strategies, but the writer never suggests combining them. You pick one.
Question 39
Answer: CParagraph 7, last sentence
What should you do if a trend shows up something negative about your category?
if aspects of the category clash with undesired outcomes of a trend, such as associations with unhealthy lifestyles, there is an opportunity to counteract those changes by reaffirming the core values of your category
Question says → Passage says
a negative aspect of your categoryaspects of the category clash with undesired outcomes of a trend
emphasise your brand's traditional valuesreaffirming the core values of your category
Why: C. When the category is linked with something undesirable, you counteract it by reaffirming its core values. 'Core values' is 'traditional values'.
The trap: D (combine and transcend) is for a growing gap between you and consumers, not for a negative image. That's the next sentence ending.
Question 40
Answer: DParagraph 7, third sentence
What should you do if consumers' new focus is drifting away from your offering?
If analysis reveals an increasing disparity between your category and consumers' new focus, your innovations need to transcend the category to integrate the two worlds.
Question says → Passage says
an increasing lack of connectionan increasing disparity
integrate the two worldsintegrate the two worlds
Why: D. A 'disparity' is a gap or lack of connection, and the answer is to transcend the category and integrate the two worlds, which is combine and transcend.
The trap: B (identify the strategy) is the general first step from question 38. This sentence already tells you which strategy to use.
C. Coach avoided a cut because it would cheapen a luxury image. B is wrong because the Poppy range was cheaper, so prices weren't kept the same across the board.
C, Nike. The digital revolution was a seemingly irrelevant trend from another sector. Tesco tempts because green concerns were growing, but that's in its own retail world.
Words from this passage worth keeping
peripheral(Paragraph 1)
on the edge, not central
jeopardize(Paragraph 2)
put at risk
ceding(Paragraph 2)
giving up something to someone else
engender(Paragraph 2)
cause something to develop
opulence(Paragraph 3)
great wealth and luxury
avert(Paragraph 3)
prevent something from happening
tangible(Paragraph 4)
real and able to be seen or measured
disparity(Paragraph 7)
a big difference or gap
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The full Cambridge 13 Test 2 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 13, Test 2, Reading Passage 3. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
