Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS/AND OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Vital Role in World Airline Industry
Telecommunications play a vital part in the world airline industry where there is a need for speedy contact over long distances, and where the sheer size of the number of people and freight being carried today would overwhelm systems lacking the most modem technology.
Most of the world’s airlines have highly advanced systems, although some of them have tended to be outpaced by the explosive growth enjoyed by the industry over the past decade, particularly in areas such as the Middle East, parts of Africa, and the Far East. Estimates made at the beginning of the 1970s of the number of messages which would be passed by 1980 proved in most cases to be far too low, with the result that there was a scramble during the late 1970s for new equipment.
But while the equipment is available, the highly skilled manpower needed to operate it and to service it remains scarce for the airlines which have to compete with the many other users of advanced telecommunications. Most of the bigger airlines now have their own training schools, while the smaller ones send their trainees to schools such as that operated by International Aeradio at Bath. There is still a residual glamour about working for an airline for some recruits, and the prospect of cheap staff travel also attracts people.
Airline communications break down into four main sections: radio, teletype, telephone and data processing. Radio is used for passing messages between ground and the airliners, although in remote parts of the world it may also be used for messages between various bases. Each operator will have a selective call band over which it can pass company messages to its crews in flight wherever they are.
Routine low-speed internal company messages generally come over the company teletype system, but in most airlines they have reached such large numbers that they are distributed by computer.
SITA, the international airlines communications consortium, and a similar organization in the United States, play a major part in this vast message-passing operation. Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, a medium-sized operator, passes, for instance, 30,000 routine low-speed messages every 24 hours, rising to 40,000 in 24 hours at the peak travel season.
It is in the area of data communications that telecommunications have had, and will continue to have, the greatest impact on the airline industry, however. To take the case of Saudia again, the airline is to install its own in-house computer in 1982, but in the meantime "piggybacks” on the British Airways computer at West London air terminal 3,000 miles away for its reservations, and on the Alitalia computer in Rome for its engineering inventory.
The link with the BA computer BABS in London is achieved by way of land lines in both Saudi Arabia and Britain and in between by satellite, one over the Indian Ocean, the other over the Atlantic. Reservations clerks in Jiddah can interrogate BABS by way of their keyboards and have the answer back on their video screens in the amazingly short time of two seconds.
When Saudia installs its own computer, it will cope not only with reservations and the engineering inventory at present carried in Rome, but such extra tasks as payroll, finance, flight-crew scheduling, and flight operations rosters.
Modem telecommunications help Saudia to answer up to 7000 calls a day at its Jiddah office alone, 90 per cent of them being replied to within 20 seconds against an airline industry average of 80 per cent.
Computer and telecommunications sharing is common in the airline industry. British Airways’ BABS, in fact, holds the schedules for 70 airlines, in addition to its own, and also provides the airline with facilities for payroll calculations, pensions, accounting, statistics, cost control, component control, flight planning and in-flight data analysis.
The system uses a vast network of communications links around the world consisting of more than 50 computers linked to 3,500 visual display units and 1,000 teleprinters in 650 cities. The network extends from Oslo and Helsinki in the north to Cape Town and Christchurch in the south, and east to west from Tokyo and Auckland to Los Angeles. BA has worked out that BABS represented 800 man-years to establish.
The system is equipped with four million characters of high-speed memory and more than 4,200 million characters of backing storage. BABS holds details of every flight for a year ahead and full booking details for some 15 million passengers a year.
The airline's offices, and those of many others, have access to the BABS system through a worldwide communications network of satellite, cable and microwave links operating at speeds of up to 9,600 bits per second.
Offices in such faraway places as Australia and South Africa receive replies to booking requests in two or three seconds. The computers in London handle such inquiries at the rate of 60 per second at peak times, and in total the system handles more than 1,250,000 messages every day. BA offices around the world can also make hotel reservations for passengers through BABS and can ask it for package-tour bookings and fares quotations. Later this year, each office with a computer terminal will be able to use the computer in London for the construction of fares, in the past a laborious and time-consuming task with enormous possibilities for error and therefore, loss of revenue for the airlines.
Modern telecommunications are expensive to develop and install, but once in and operating they have great potential for saving money as well as time. British Airways has estimated that its BABS system has reduced the costs per passenger for reservations from 12p in 1973 to 9.4p today. When the effect of inflation is considered, the latter figure drops still further to 5.9p.
What is the other attraction mentioned for working for an airline apart from Cheap staff travel?
What are the four main sections of airline communications?
Radio is used for passing messages between grounds and ?
Teletype is used for passing low speed internal messages?
How many routine low-speed messages does Saudia pass every 24 hours?
- Off-peak travel season:
- Peak travel season:
Before 1982, when Saudia was to install its own in-house computer, who helped it to deal with its reservation and who helped it for its engineering inventory?
Reservations: BA computer, where?
Engineering inventory: Alitalia computer, where?
What is BABS?
It can be inferred from the passage that Saudia is now using its own computer system for, apart from reservations and engineering inventory, some other purposes.
They are , , and .
How many calls per day can the Jiddah office of Saudia answer?
How fast can most of these calls be replied to?
| **** | Number of calls answered per day | Percentage of calls replied to within 20 seconds |
| JIddah, Saudi | ||
| Airline industry average | ******** |
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
{
"questions": [
{
"question": 1,
"correct_answer": "glamour",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "1 word (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Finding another attraction for working for an airline besides cheap staff travel",
"why_correct": "The passage says there is a residual glamour about working for an airline, and then adds cheap staff travel as another attraction. Because the question asks for the other attraction apart from cheap travel, the answer is glamour.",
"common_mistake": "Some students write cheap staff travel, but the question clearly says apart from that. This is a question misreading trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap needs a noun. Glamour fits naturally after the question.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'residual glamour about working for an airline' = Question: 'other attraction mentioned for working for an airline'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"residual = remaining"
],
"tips": "Always read words like apart from carefully. They tell you to exclude something.",
"passage_reference": ". There is still a residual glamour about working for an airline for some recruits, and the prospect of cheap staff travel also attracts people."
},
{
"question": 2,
"correct_answer": "radio",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "1 word (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Listing the four main sections of airline communications",
"why_correct": "The passage clearly lists the four sections, starting with radio. The summary follows the same order as the passage.",
"common_mistake": "Students sometimes change the order. This is a wrong order trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap needs a noun naming a section. Radio fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'Airline communications break down into four main sections' = Summary: 'What are the four main sections'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"break down into = are divided into"
],
"tips": "For lists, always keep the same order as the passage.",
"passage_reference": ".
Airline communications break down into four main sections: radio, teletype, telephone and data processing."
},
{
"question": 3,
"correct_answer": "teletype",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "1 word (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Second section of airline communications",
"why_correct": "After radio, the passage lists teletype as the next communication section.",
"common_mistake": "Writing telephone too early is a sequence trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap needs a noun. Teletype fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'radio, teletype, telephone and data processing' = Summary list",
"key_vocabulary": [
"teletype = text message system"
],
"tips": "Use commas in the passage to track list items.",
"passage_reference": ".
Airline communications break down into four main sections: radio, teletype, telephone and data processing."
},
{
"question": 4,
"correct_answer": "telephone",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "1 word (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Third section of airline communications",
"why_correct": "The third item in the list is telephone, exactly as written in the passage.",
"common_mistake": "Changing it to telephones is a spelling and form trap. Copy exactly.",
"grammar_fit": "A singular noun is required. Telephone fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage list = Summary list",
"key_vocabulary": [
"telephone = voice call system"
],
"tips": "Do not change singular or plural forms unless the passage does.",
"passage_reference": ".
Airline communications break down into four main sections: radio, teletype, telephone and data processing."
},
{
"question": 5,
"correct_answer": "data processing",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "2 words (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Final section of airline communications",
"why_correct": "The passage clearly names data processing as the fourth section.",
"common_mistake": "Writing only data is a partial truth trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap needs a noun phrase. Data processing fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage list = Summary list",
"key_vocabulary": [
"data processing = computer handling of information"
],
"tips": "If the passage uses two words, copy both if they belong together.",
"passage_reference": ".
Airline communications break down into four main sections: radio, teletype, telephone and data processing."
},
{
"question": 6,
"correct_answer": "airliners",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "1 word (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Who radio messages are sent to",
"why_correct": "The sentence says radio is used between ground and the airliners, which directly fits the gap.",
"common_mistake": "Writing aircraft is a synonym trap. You must copy the exact word.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap needs a plural noun. Airliners fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'between ground and the airliners' = Question: 'between grounds and ___'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"airliners = passenger planes"
],
"tips": "Always copy the exact noun used in the passage.",
"passage_reference": ". Radio is used for passing messages between ground and the airline"
},
{
"question": 7,
"correct_answer": "company",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "1 word (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Type of messages sent by teletype",
"why_correct": "The passage says internal company messages, so the missing word is company.",
"common_mistake": "Writing internal repeats the wrong word. This is a grammar fit trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap comes before 'messages', so it needs an adjective or noun modifier. Company fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'internal company messages' = Question: 'internal ___ messages'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"internal = inside the organization"
],
"tips": "Look carefully at the word already given after the gap.",
"passage_reference": ".
Routine low-speed internal company messages generally come over the company teletype syst"
},
{
"question": 8,
"correct_answer": "30000",
"alternative_answers": [
"30,000"
],
"word_count_check": "1 number (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Number of routine messages off-peak",
"why_correct": "The passage states Saudia passes 30,000 routine low-speed messages every 24 hours in normal periods.",
"common_mistake": "Mixing this with the peak figure is a detail confusion trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap needs a number. 30000 fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: '30,000 routine low-speed messages' = Question: 'Off-peak travel season'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"routine = regular"
],
"tips": "Underline numbers in the passage to avoid mixing them up.",
"passage_reference": ". Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, a medium-sized operator, passes, for instance, 30,000 routine low-speed messages every 24 hou"
},
{
"question": 9,
"correct_answer": "40000",
"alternative_answers": [
"40,000"
],
"word_count_check": "1 number (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Number of routine messages at peak season",
"why_correct": "The passage clearly says the number rises to 40,000 at peak travel season.",
"common_mistake": "Writing 30000 again is a comparison trap.",
"grammar_fit": "A number is required. 40000 fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'rising to 40,000' = Question: 'Peak travel season'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"peak = busiest"
],
"tips": "Watch for words like rising to which signal change.",
"passage_reference": ". Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, a medium-sized operator, passes, for instance, 30,000 routine low-speed messages every 24 hours, rising to 40,000 in 24 hours at the peak travel season."
},
{
"question": 10,
"correct_answer": "London",
"alternative_answers": [
"West London"
],
"word_count_check": "1-2 words (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Location of BA computer used by Saudia",
"why_correct": "The BA computer used for reservations is located in West London, which can also be written simply as London.",
"common_mistake": "Writing Britain is too general. This is a precision trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap asks for a place name. London fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'British Airways computer at West London' = Question: 'where?'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"piggybacks on = uses"
],
"tips": "Shorter place names are often acceptable if they are accurate."
},
{
"question": 11,
"correct_answer": "Rome",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "1 word (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Location of Alitalia computer",
"why_correct": "The passage states clearly that the Alitalia computer is in Rome.",
"common_mistake": "Writing Italy is a precision trap.",
"grammar_fit": "A place name is required. Rome fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'Alitalia computer in Rome' = Question: 'where?'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"inventory = stock list"
],
"tips": "City names are safer than country names if both appear.",
"passage_reference": "d on the Alitalia computer in Rome for its engineering inventory."
},
{
"question": 12,
"correct_answer": "BA computer in London",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "4 words (note: exceeds limit but accepted as per answer data)",
"question_focus": "Identifying what BABS is",
"why_correct": "The passage directly explains that BABS is the BA computer in London.",
"common_mistake": "Writing only computer system is a vague answer trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap asks for a noun phrase defining BABS. This fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'BA computer BABS in London' = Question: 'What is BABS?'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"link = connection"
],
"tips": "For definition questions, copy the full identifying phrase.",
"passage_reference": ".
The link with the BA computer BABS in Lond"
},
{
"question": 13,
"correct_answer": "payroll",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "1 word (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Extra task handled by Saudia computer",
"why_correct": "The passage lists payroll as one of the extra tasks handled by Saudia's computer.",
"common_mistake": "Skipping list items is a list omission trap.",
"grammar_fit": "A noun is required. Payroll fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage list = Question list",
"key_vocabulary": [
"payroll = salary payments"
],
"tips": "When you see a list, expect multiple answers close together.",
"passage_reference": ".
When Saudia installs its own computer, it will cope not only with reservations and the engineering inventory at present carried in Rome, but such extra tasks as payroll, finance, flight-crew scheduling, and flight operations rosters."
},
{
"question": 14,
"correct_answer": "finance",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "1 word (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Extra task handled by Saudia computer",
"why_correct": "The passage explicitly includes finance in the list of tasks.",
"common_mistake": "Writing financial is a word form trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap needs a noun. Finance fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage list = Question list",
"key_vocabulary": [
"finance = money management"
],
"tips": "Check the exact word form used in the passage.",
"passage_reference": ".
When Saudia installs its own computer, it will cope not only with reservations and the engineering inventory at present carried in Rome, but such extra tasks as payroll, finance, flight-crew scheduling, and flight operations rosters."
},
{
"question": 15,
"correct_answer": "flight crew scheduling",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "3 words (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Extra task handled by Saudia computer",
"why_correct": "The passage lists flight-crew scheduling, which matches the summary wording.",
"common_mistake": "Dropping crew is a partial truth trap.",
"grammar_fit": "A noun phrase is required. This fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'flight-crew scheduling' = Question: 'flight crew scheduling'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"scheduling = planning timetables"
],
"tips": "Hyphens can usually be removed without changing the word count.",
"passage_reference": ".
When Saudia installs its own computer, it will cope not only with reservations and the engineering inventory at present carried in Rome, but such extra tasks as payroll, finance, flight-crew scheduling, and flight operations rosters."
},
{
"question": 16,
"correct_answer": "flight operations rooters",
"alternative_answers": [],
"word_count_check": "3 words (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Extra task handled by Saudia computer",
"why_correct": "The final task listed is flight operations rosters, which must be copied exactly.",
"common_mistake": "Spelling rosters wrong is a spelling trap.",
"grammar_fit": "A plural noun phrase is needed. This fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage list = Question list",
"key_vocabulary": [
"rosters = work schedules"
],
"tips": "Double-check spelling when copying long phrases.",
"passage_reference": ".
When Saudia installs its own computer, it will cope not only with reservations and the engineering inventory at present carried in Rome, but such extra tasks as payroll, finance, flight-crew scheduling, and flight operations rosters."
},
{
"question": 17,
"correct_answer": "7000",
"alternative_answers": [
"7,000"
],
"word_count_check": "1 number (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Calls answered per day by Jiddah office",
"why_correct": "The passage states the Jiddah office answers up to 7000 calls a day.",
"common_mistake": "Confusing this with message numbers is a context shift trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap needs a number. 7000 fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: '7000 calls a day' = Question: 'How many calls per day'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"alone = only"
],
"tips": "Calls and messages are different. Keep them separate."
},
{
"question": 18,
"correct_answer": "Within 20 seconds",
"alternative_answers": [
"20 seconds"
],
"word_count_check": "3 words (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Speed of replying to calls",
"why_correct": "The passage says most calls are replied to within 20 seconds.",
"common_mistake": "Writing two seconds mixes it with computer response time. This is a context shift trap.",
"grammar_fit": "A time expression is needed. This fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: 'within 20 seconds' = Question: 'How fast can most of these calls be replied to'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"replied to = answered"
],
"tips": "Match the information to the correct activity.",
"passage_reference": ", 90 per cent of them being replied to within 20 secon"
},
{
"question": 19,
"correct_answer": "7000",
"alternative_answers": [
"7,000"
],
"word_count_check": "1 number (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Table completion for Jiddah calls",
"why_correct": "The table repeats the same information about Jiddah, which is 7000 calls per day.",
"common_mistake": "Leaving it blank assumes repetition is unnecessary. This is a format trap.",
"grammar_fit": "A number is required. 7000 fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage sentence = Table data",
"key_vocabulary": [
"per day = a day"
],
"tips": "Even repeated information must be written again."
},
{
"question": 20,
"correct_answer": "90",
"alternative_answers": [
"90 per cent"
],
"word_count_check": "1-2 words (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Percentage of fast replies in Jiddah",
"why_correct": "The passage says 90 per cent of calls are replied to within 20 seconds.",
"common_mistake": "Writing 80 confuses it with the industry average. This is a comparison trap.",
"grammar_fit": "The gap needs a number. 90 fits.",
"paraphrasing": "Passage: '90 per cent' = Table column: 'Percentage of calls replied'",
"key_vocabulary": [
"per cent = percent"
],
"tips": "Compare figures carefully when two percentages appear.",
"passage_reference": ", 90 per cent of them being replied to within 20 secon"
},
{
"question": 21,
"correct_answer": "80",
"alternative_answers": [
"80 per cent"
],
"word_count_check": "1-2 words (within the 3-word limit)",
"question_focus": "Airline industry average response rate",
"why_correct": "The passage contrasts Jiddah with the airline industry average of 80 per cent.",
"common_mistake": "Repeating 90 is a contrast misunderstanding trap.",
"grammar_fit": "A number is required. 80 fits.",
of 80 per cent."