Decisions in a Worker-Owned Enterprise
About this practice test
A reading about how a worker-owned company shares decision-making, manages money, hires staff, distributes profits, and handles customer deadlines.
What you’ll practice
Finding detail
Locate specific information and evidence.
Interpreting ideas
Connect main points and inferences.
Evaluating arguments
Assess claims, evidence, and limitations.
What to expect:
12 questions with explanations to review after submission.
Study the questions and tasks
Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.
- Practice level
- B2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.
- Question formats
- Fill in the blank (text)
How to approach this practice
Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.
Decisions in a Worker-Owned Enterprise
At North River Outfitters, every worker owns a share. That does not mean every choice is made by a long meeting. The company keeps its power split between day-to-day teams and a monthly assembly. Each team can decide routine matters such as shift swaps, minor purchases, and how to solve small delays. Bigger questions move upward, but only after the people closest to the work have written a short proposal. This saves time and also stops arguments from becoming personal. The assembly meets on the first Tuesday of each month. It is run by a rotating facilitator, not by the managing director, because the members want the chair to stay neutral. Before a vote, the finance group posts the latest figures on the notice board and explains what is already committed. Workers do not expect perfect agreement. They expect enough information to judge whether the choice is safe. For that reason, any plan that would use more than half of the company’s free cash must win a two-thirds majority. Smaller spending requests need only a simple majority. This rule became important last winter, when the warehouse roof started to leak. One maintenance team wanted to repair only the worst section, while another argued for replacing the whole roof at once. The repair plan was cheaper and less disruptive, but the full replacement would probably last longer and reduce future downtime. After a short discussion, the workers approved a temporary patch and sent three people to get outside quotes. The final decision was delayed because the members wanted evidence, not slogans. The same habit of looking for evidence shapes hiring. New employees are usually chosen by a panel that includes workers from the relevant department and one person from a different team. The company does not treat unanimity as a sign of wisdom. Instead, it looks for a reasoned majority and keeps a written record of any serious disagreement. If a candidate fails, the panel must say whether the problem was technical skill, communication, or reliability. That rule helps the firm notice patterns over time, rather than blaming a single unlucky interview. Worker ownership also means that profits are not distributed in a simple way. A fixed share goes into a reserve fund, which protects the enterprise during slow months. Another portion is used for training, because members believe that a business can only share power well when people understand the numbers behind it. The rest is paid out as a bonus linked to hours worked, with a small adjustment for night shifts. No one claims this system is perfectly fair. Some senior workers wish experience counted for more, while newer staff prefer equal pay for equal labour. So the assembly reviews the formula every year. Last year, it agreed to keep the bonus model, but it also introduced a ceiling so that no one could receive more than three times the basic payout. Perhaps the most delicate decisions are about customers. The sales team is encouraged to bring in work, but it cannot promise a deadline that production cannot meet. If a client wants a rushed order, the proposal must be checked by both production and dispatch before it is accepted. This has occasionally cost the company contracts, yet it has also prevented bigger losses when a late shipment would have damaged the firm’s reputation. In other words, the workers have learned that ownership does not remove conflict; it makes the reasons for conflict more visible. Their task is not to avoid disagreement, but to turn it into a decision that can be defended later.
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Question 1 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The company keeps its power split between day-to-day teams and a ___.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- monthly assembly
The passage identifies the second part of the company’s decision-making structure as a monthly assembly.
The company keeps its power split between day-to-day teams and a monthly assembly
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Question 2 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The assembly is run by a ___, not by the managing director.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- rotating facilitator
The assembly is led by a rotating facilitator, while the managing director does not chair it.
It is run by a rotating facilitator, not by the managing director
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Question 3 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Any plan that would use more than half of the company’s free cash must win a ___.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- two-thirds majority
The correct phrase is "two-thirds majority". The passage gives that exact voting threshold for larger spending requests, and a simple majority would be insufficient.
any plan that would use more than half of the company’s free cash must win a two-thirds majority
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Question 4 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The workers sent three people to get ___ before deciding.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- outside quotes
The workers delayed the decision so they could obtain outside quotes before choosing a roof solution.
sent three people to get outside quotes
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Question 5 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The company does not treat unanimity as a sign of ___.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- wisdom
The correct answer is "wisdom". The writer contrasts unanimous agreement with wisdom, so other near-synonyms such as "agreement" do not match the passage.
The company does not treat unanimity as a sign of wisdom
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Question 6 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The panel keeps a ___ of any serious disagreement.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- written record
The hiring panel records serious disagreements in writing, allowing the company to identify patterns over time.
keeps a written record of any serious disagreement
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Question 7 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. A fixed share of profits goes into a ___.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- reserve fund
The correct phrase is "reserve fund". This is the part of profits set aside to protect the enterprise during slow months.
A fixed share goes into a reserve fund
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Question 8 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The rest is paid out as a bonus linked to ___.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- hours worked
The passage says the bonus is linked to "hours worked". "Work" or "shifts" would be too vague because the source gives the exact basis for payment.
The rest is paid out as a bonus linked to hours worked
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Question 9 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. No one could receive more than ___ the basic payout.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- three times
The correct phrase is "three times". The passage states the ceiling clearly, so another number would not fit the source.
no one could receive more than three times the basic payout
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Question 10 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. If a client wants a rushed order, the proposal must be checked by both production and ___ before it is accepted.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- dispatch
The missing word is "dispatch". The passage says both production and dispatch must check the request, so another department would be incorrect.
the proposal must be checked by both production and dispatch before it is accepted
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Question 11 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The final decision was delayed because the members wanted ___, not slogans.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- evidence
The passage says they wanted "evidence, not slogans". "Proof" is related in meaning, but the source uses the specific word evidence, so that is the correct answer.
The final decision was delayed because the members wanted evidence, not slogans
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Question 12 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Ownership makes the reasons for conflict more ___.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- visible
The missing word is "visible". The passage explicitly says ownership does not remove conflict; it makes the reasons for conflict easier to see.
it makes the reasons for conflict more visible
What to review next
Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.
A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.
Before you practise: a worked example
Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.
The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?
The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.
This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.