FURTHER PRACTICE TEST 01 (July 27th, 2021)

I. LISTENING

Part 1. You will hear a nutritionist talking about the production and uses of mastic, a spice that is
found in the Mediterranean area. Listen to the audio and complete the sentences with A WORD or
SHORT PHRASE.
Mastic is collected from a tree which looks like a smaller form of the (1)……….tree.
Mastic resin will (2)………..only in the region around the Mediterranean.
Basic tools like (3)………….are employed to remove impurities from the mastic.
Crystals of mastic have been referred to as (4)…………….in literature.
The sale of mastic crystals is handled by a (5)…………..to ensure that the growers get a fair deal.
It is thought that mastic was first used as (6)…………..by ancient peoples.
When mastic is added to (7)…………….it slows down the melting process.
Flavoured drinks are made in (8)………….which have had mastic burned under them.
Some people believe that mastic can help in the treatment of health problems, especially some (9)
………..conditions.
Part 2. You will hear part of a discussion between two language experts, George Steadman and
Angela Conti, who are talking about how advances in communication are affecting English usage.
1. What point is made about the effect of the internet on language?
A. It is making the standard written form of language obsolete.
B. It will radically alter the way grammar rules are followed.
C. It may have less serious consequences than feared.
D. It will bring about more changes than TV and radio have.

2. When discussing the main criticism of text messaging, George reveals

A. his concern that there is insufficient research.
B. his understanding of the annoyance some people feel.
C. his certainty that the criticism is totally unfounded.
D. his doubt as to how widespread the criticism is.
3. What view is stated about abbreviations in texting?
A. They are mainly to be found in commercial messages.
B. Some are beginning to enter official documents.
C. Adults are just as much to blame for them as teenagers.
D. They are not as novel as many people imagine.
4. When discussing the new genre of text-poetry, both researchers agree that
A. limiting a poem to a fixed number of letters is unhelpful.
B. it will never match some of the traditional verse forms.
C. it has potential if the writer is gifted.
D. the means of delivery is effective.
5. What final conclusion do both the researchers reach about the state of English today?
A. Language development need no longer be a concern in schools.
B. The negative predictions about its decline are mistaken.
C. Children’s written style is improving significantly.
D. The pace of change is unprecedented.
Part 3. Listen to a talk about the World’s fastest growing Megacities and supply the blanks with
the missing information. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or NUMBER taken from the
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recording for each blank.
1)______________in Bangladesh is over 78 inches, and two-thirds of the country’s 64 districts
experience regular flooding.
- Dhaka is adding more than 2)______________a year.
- Micro-economies become even 3)______________because of floods.
- Many unskilled people find work in the 4)______________economy.
- In order to 5)______________to provide better services and solve problems like traffic congestion, the
city needs to bring these people out of the shadow economy.
- In Dhaka’s heyday, it was one of the 6)______________and 7)______________cities on the planet.
- Dhaka fell into two centuries of 8)______________that saw its status decline.
- The great migration is 9)______________the city’s infrastructure and services.
- A dozen or more national authorities, mostly run by 10)______________control Dhaka’s police,
utilities and roadways.
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR
Part 1. Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D to each of the following questions. Write your answers
in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
1. It is not nice to pour water on someone's plan when you do not want to be a part of it in the
first place.
A. hot B. cold C. deep D. shallow
2. The West Bank of the River Jordan was a _ of contention between Palestine and Israel.
A. finger B. spot C. bone D. point
3. In with an international treaty, whale hunting in these areas has been banned.
A. common B. connection C. conjunction D. line
4. Everybody noticed my absence because you their attention to it.
A. gave B. brought C. paid D. called
5. The local council closed the roller skating-rink in the park it was unsafe for young
children.
A. on the grounds that B. on the understanding that
C. on the off-chance that D. on the terms that
6. Discussions on the issue of expansion of the company have been in since the outbreak of the
disease in the area.
A. hitch B. limbo C. feud D. core
7. Viewers were at the incredible sight of the lunar landscape, unable to take their eyes off the
screen until the very end of the broadcast.
A. switched B. devised C. transfixed D. stifled
8. Having lost her mother at an early age, Mary felt she had become a mere , having to do
absolutely everything for her five brothers and sisters.
A. taskmaster B. workmate C. slavedriver D. workhorse
9. If you need help, please don’t hesitate to call me. I can be there .
A. in a fix B. in a flash C. in a daze D. in the bag
10. My car broke down and I had to a huge sum of money to have it towed and serviced.
A. splash out B. fork out C. put aside D. pay off
11. The candidate’s optimism gave to doubt as the result of exit polls became known.
A. place B. lie C. vent D. voice
12. Somehow I managed to my physics exam. The pass mark was 55 and I got 56.
A. scrape through B. shake off C. sit through D. slip off
13. As much as the candidate tried to convince people of his honesty, he could not shake off his
past.
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 A. serene B. tranquil C. shady D. frigid
14. The local authorities annually between £50 million and £100 million on art projects.
A. disperse B. disband C. disburse D. dispose
15. Most people are to believe that girls and boys like certain toys when they are young.
A. hardened B. acclimated C. conditioned D. accustomed
Part 2. For questions 45-50, write the correct form of each bracketed word in the numbered space
provided.
1. telecommunications increasingly give ordinary citizens immediate access to the
major political decisions that affect their lives and property. (ACT)
2. This black comedy is a comment on the alienating and inhumanity effects of
contemporary urban life. (HUMAN)
3. The young Jaxxon landed on Nar Shaddaa, and spent the next few years honing his
survival skills and razor-sharp wit on the mean streets of the vertical cities.
(STREET)
4. With astonishingly rapid developments, even the hippest might wonder if
people in the future will even understand the cutting-edge lingo that is so exciting to us today.
(WORD)
5. Only who are seeking to make political capital out of the situation are peddling such
malicious and unjustified rumours. (SCARY)
III. READING
Part 1. Fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word and write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
My new friend’s a robot
In fiction robots have a personality, but reality is disappointingly different. Although sophisticated
(1) ……… to assemble cars and assist during complex surgery, modern robots are dumb automatons, (2)
………… of striking up relationships with their human operators. However, change is (3)………… the
horizon. Engineers argue that, as robots begin to make (4) …………… a bigger part of society, they will
need a way to interact with humans. To this end they will need artificial personalities. The big question is
this: what does a synthetic companion need to have so that you want to engage (5)………. it over a long
period of time? Phones and computers have already shown the (6)…………. to which people can develop
relationships with inanimate electronic objects.
Looking further (7)…………….., engineers envisage robots helping around the house, integrating with
the web to place supermarket orders using email. Programming the robot with a human-like persona
and (8)…………….. it the ability to learn its users’ preferences, will help the person (9)………at ease
with it. Interaction with such a digital entity in this (10)……….. is more natural than sitting with a mouse
and keyboard.
Your answers
1. enough 2. incapable 3. on 4. up 5. with

6. extent 7. ahead 8. giving 9. feel 0. context

Part 2. Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.
Structure and function of cell membranes
(A)  Human body is made up of millions of cells - little building blocks of life. Each cell contains many
functional subunits (organelles) that enable its proper functioning and is protected from the external
environment by a cell membrane. While structure and function of organelles are extensively covered in
various biology courses, the importance of study of cell membranes is often underrated. This article is
dedicated to provide a short introduction into the basic functions and anatomy of a cell membrane.
 
(B)  Cell membranes protect and organize cells. Most importantly they serve as barriers, discriminating
the cell’s interior from the outer milieu. Because cells always exist in aqueous environment their
membranes should be structured in such way so they do not solve in water. This function is ideally carried
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by special chemical molecules - phospholipids. These molecules are constructed from two parts: tails
made up of 2 molecules of fat that ‘avoid’ water and heads that have an affinity for water. For this
specific behaviour the phospholipid’s tails are called hydrophobic (‘hydro’ means water and ‘phobia’
means fear) and heads are called hydrophilic (‘philos’ means love). When phospholipids are added to
water, they self-assemble into double-layered structures, shielding their hydrophobic portions from water
and exposing their hydrophilic portions to the environment. This phospholipid bilayer may resemble a
sandwich, where phospholipid heads are bread rolls and tails are the sandwich filling.
 
(C)  In addition to lipids, membranes are loaded with proteins. They usually go through the lipid
bilayer and are exposed to both aqueous environment and cell's interior. In fact, proteins account for
roughly half the mass of most cellular membranes. They make the membrane semi-permeable, which
means that some molecules can diffuse across the lipid bilayer but others cannot. Small hydrophobic
molecules and gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide cross membranes rapidly. Small molecules, such as
water and ethanol, can also pass through membranes, but they do so more slowly. On the other hand, cell
membranes restrict diffusion of highly charged molecules, such as ions, and large molecules, such as
sugars and amino acids. The passage of these molecules relies on specific transport proteins embedded in
the membrane.
 
(D)  Membrane transport proteins are specific and selective for the molecules they move, and they
often use energy to enhance passage. Also, these proteins transport some nutrients against the
concentration gradient, which requires additional energy. The ability to maintain concentration gradients
and sometimes move materials against them is vital to cell health and maintenance. Thanks to membrane
barriers and transport proteins, the cell can accumulate nutrients in higher concentrations than exist in the
environment and, conversely, dispose of waste products.
 
(E)  Other membrane-embedded proteins have communication-related jobs. Large molecules from the
extracellular environment, such as hormones or immune mediators, bind to the receptor proteins on the
cell membrane. Such binding causes a conformational change in the protein that transmits a signal to
intracellular messenger molecules. Like transport proteins, receptor proteins are specific and selective for
the molecules they bind.
 
(F)  Another important type of membrane’s components are cholesterol molecules, which account for
about 20 percent of the lipids in animal cell plasma membranes. However, cholesterol is not present in
bacterial membranes or mitochondrial membranes. The cholesterol molecules are embedded in place of
phospholipid molecules and help to regulate the stiffness of membranes. To function properly, the cell
membrane should be in fluid state. Cholesterol reduces membrane fluidity at moderate temperatures by
reducing the moving of phospholipids. But at low temperatures, it hinders solidification by disrupting the
regular packing of phospholipids.
Questions 1-3
Label the diagram below.
Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the passage for each answer. Do not write the articles.
Which elements of cell membrane correspond to the numbers in the diagram?

1.
2.
3.
 
 

Questions 4-8
The Reading Passage has six paragraphs, A-F.
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Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–F, in boxes 4–6 on your answer sheet.
4. Specific proteins transport nutrients from the external environment against the concentration
gradient. E
5. The barrier function of cell membranes is supported by a bilayer of phospholipids. D
6. The level of membrane fluidity is regulated by cholesterol molecules. F
7. The importance of cell membranes are often underestimated. A
8. Proteins make the membrane semi-permeable. C
 
Questions 9–13
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONLY ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9–13 on your answer sheet.
Cell membranes protect cells and organize their activities. The first main function of cell membrane -
barrier function - is carried by phospholipids. These molecules don’t solve in water and, thus, are ideal for
cells that always exist in (9)… aqueous ………environment.
In addition to lipids, membranes are loaded with (10)…… proteins ……….that make the membrane (11)
…… semi-permeable ……., which means that some molecules can diffuse across the lipid bilayer but
others cannot. One of the most important types of membrane proteins are (12)……transport………
proteins and receptor proteins.
The last type of membrane elements are cholesterol molecules, which are embedded in place of (13)
……… phospholipids …….molecules and help to regulate the stiffness of membranes.

Part 3. In the article below, seven paragraphs have been removed. Read the article and choose from
the paragraphs A - H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra paragraph which you do not
need to use.
GIVING HOPE TO THE HOPELESS
As Mrs Pep Atkins approached Lilian Baylis School with her 11-year-old son Glyn, her heart sank.
Disappointed by interviews at most of the other secondary schools in the run-down inner-city borough of
Lambeth, she already had half a mind to send Glyn to her native Ghana for his education. She saw
nothing to lift her spirits in this South London mixed comprehensive, its sprawling, vandalized buildings
defaced by graffiti.
1.

Her belief was justified. Today, after five years at Lilian Baylis School (named after the determined
woman who brought Shakespeare to the Old Vic music hall half a mile away), Glyn is working at a
college of further education for A levels in Business Studies, Sociology and Law. He aims to be a
barrister. Within a decade Hazel Hardy, now 57, with her deputy heads Daya Moodley and Cliff Stubbs,
has turned a blighted, unhappy school, plagued by disruptive pupils, into an exciting educational
adventure, universally admired as a showcase of what good teaching can achieve.
2.

It was not always like that. When Hazel took over in 1983, she faced a daunting challenge. She had to
create the school from scratch, using the dilapidated buildings of Beaufoy, an exciting boys’ school, and
merging its teachers and pupils with those of newly closed Vauxhall Manor school for girls. Parents,
pupils, even some teachers, resented the merger. “The children didn’t want to be with us,” she recalls,
“and they let us know it.” The school, already damaged, suffered more broken windows. Graffiti spread.
Pupils showed little respect for teachers. Truancy soared. “After that first year of indiscipline, anger and
vandalism, there was nowhere to go but up”.
3.

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So on a wet winter’s night, Hazel Hardy and Daya Moodley, a Hindu from South Africa who has taught
for many years in London schools, ventured out to visit the wrongdoers’ parents. They were nervous of
being mugged in the ill-lit streets, but even more of meeting a hostile response when they told parents
theirs offspring were badly behaved and disruptive.

4.

That moment saw the start of Hazel’s Family Programme, a unique initiative to involve parents deeply in
their children’s school work and draw in whole families to study together outside school hours. Says
Hazel, “Our vision has been the idealistic concept of the village school-open, welcoming, accessible,
days, evenings and weekends.”
So successfully has this vision been achieved that in July 1990, Lilian Baylis beat 287 contenders to win
the biggest educational award ever to go to a British school: £100,000 top prize from The Jerwood
Award, a foundation set up by philanthropic pearl merchant John Jerwood “for an original and significant
contribution to the theory and practice of education.”
5.

Soon they were visiting three homes an evening, twice a week. Over the next five years, they met more
than 750 families. If ever Hazel felt flagging, the memory of single mother’s moving words about her
little girl would reinforce her resolve to make the school a source of success. “Look after her for me, “ the
woman said. “She’s all I’ve got.”
With parents recruited as valuable allies, the school has become a centre for the whole family. Children at
the 51 primary schools that “feed” Lilian Baylis come with their parents to learn what to expect when they
move up. “At other schools I visited, you can meet teachers after hours,” one visiting primary-school
mother told me, “but you really need to see what the pupils are like. I’m very impressed by children here.
They don’t mumble and hide away-they can carry on a coherent conversation.”
6.

On the Costain course Mrs Carol Brennan sat with her son and daughter, discovering how to estimate the
cost of building a bridge.
“You learn a lot about your children, and they see you as more than just the mum at home who tells them
off,” she says. “I wish I’d gone to a school for a whole yea and nobody missed me.” Adds her daughter
Shani, 12, “Knowing that mum understands what we’re doing really makes me want to work.”
7.

Parents on these courses eat and sometimes sleep at Gurney House, a former education authority
residential centre next to the school. I watched Hazel, in trousers and sweatshirt, making stacks of
sandwiches and enough ratatouille and cottage pie for 70 adults and 70 children. Daya Moodly, Cliff
Stubbs and his wife Veronica, who works at another school, served food and drink, cleared away and
washed up. Hazel and her deputies often work a 70-hour week.
“The courses really bring results,” Hazel told me. “Otherwise I wouldn’t do it. I mean, this is hard work. I
left home at seven yesterday morning. We stayed the night here and were up at half-past five.”

Missing paragraphs:
A. Printed big on Hazel’s office wall is the motto, “Not failure, but low aim is sin.” And behind friendly
manner lies a steely determination to aim high in order to give her pupils a chance in life. Most live in
decaying high-rise flats, hemmed in by streets too full of menace to be the playgrounds they once were.
“These kids are deprived of too much,” she says. “A good education is their only way out, and we’re
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determined that at Lillian Baylis they’ll get fair share.”
B. Today’s volunteers-former antique dealer Martin Nash, local vicar Andrew Grant and PC Mark Perou,
one of several policemen who do a pre-duty stint-listen, encourage and help with the harder words. Over
by the wall, two 12-year-old boys sit with backs to the room; one, a good reader, has come in early to help
his friend to catch up. Hazel Hardy, not one to ask others to do what she won’t do herself, can be seen
through the open door of the big, untidy office she calls “Paddington Station,” already discussing the
day’s problems with colleagues.
C. One recent Saturday, in room after room I saw parents squeezed into desks beside young children.
Some were learning what kind of English teaching their children could expect I secondary school, others
brushing up simple Maths skills or doing pottery and art. Says Glyn Atkins, “The best thing about the
Family Programme is that you really have fun while you’re working with your parents. What the school
tries to create is on big, happy family.”
D. Each day in assembly Hazel read the riot act to pupils from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds –
Britain, Africa, the West Indies, India, Pakistan, China and Vietnam. No result. Then one morning,
desperate, she flung out an angry warning: “Anybody who misbehaves today can expect a visit from me at
home tonight.” Once the threat was made there was no drawing back.
E. Hazel and Daya got the Family Programme under was by systematically calling on parents of first-
year pupils with good news of their children’s achievements. They encouraged parents to make a corner
for study, to listen to their reading, supervise writing and spelling practice, and keep a home diary with
space for parents’ comments.
F. Then she heard laughter. Inside, instead of a formal interview with forbidding head teacher, she found
a group of parents chatting animatedly. “There was tea and biscuits. And so much laughter.” A bouncy
blonde woman came toward to introduce herself as Mrs Hazel Hardy, the head. And it’s like she’s known
me all my life,” says Pep Atkins. “With that wonderful welcome and the happy, lively atmosphere, I knew
this was the school for my son.”
G. Weekend courses attract droves of parents eager to learn what they can to help with their children’s
studies. Before last Christmas, children who were promised computers brought along parents for a
Saturday lesson from science teacher Rob Bellini on computers that would educate and simply play
games. National supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. and engineering and construction firm Costain are two
big companies which offer courses, work visits and talks for parents and children.
H. But they underrated the parents. In home after home in Lambeth’s densely populated tower blocks, the
teachers were invited in, offered food and drink. Parents, aware that life had dealt them a poor hand, were
eager to set their children on the road to educational success. As Hazel felt her way down the dark
stairway of one block, she said to Daya: “If that’s the response we get from bringing bad news about their
children, just think what would happen if we brought good news.
Part 4. You are going to read an article about surveillance. Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which
you think fits best according to the text.

FREEDOM VS SECURITY
In much-vaunted rhetoric, the eleventh of September 2001 has gone down in history books as 'the
day the world changed forever'. This was seen as a positive change, with the majority of nations
supporting a clamp-down on terrorism on an international basis, and calling for more co-operation
between intelligence agencies and police forces.
Unfortunately, a more sinister force was unleashed, and democratic countries that formerly valued
the freedom of the individual suddenly became the targets of criticism for non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) such as Amnesty International and civil liberties campaigners like Statewatch, an
independent group which monitors threats to privacy and civil liberties in the European Union.
In some countries, civil liberties had already been compromised. Many Europeans had been living with
closed circuit television cameras in public places for many years, for example, and accepted their
existence as a necessary evil which would reduce the risk of street crimes, thus assuring the safety of the
majority. However, after the September 11th attacks, governments hastily dusted off and revived ancient
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statutes or drafted sweeping new acts which were aimed at giving themselves and the police considerably
more powers with a view to cracking down on terrorists, wherever they were to be found.
In the decade prior to 2001, government policies were put in place which aimed to provide citizens
with access to information. People were empowered to check their personal data to ensure its accuracy
wherever the data was held (ie — in banks, local government offices, etc). Now, though, draconian
measures were suddenly proposed, which included the storing of personal communications, including all
e-mails and phone calls, for at least one year, with all telecommunications firms having to keep records of
the names and addresses of their clients as well as the numbers and addresses of calls and e-mails sent by
them. Governments argued, quite convincingly, that such measures were necessary to combat terrorism,
and other benefits were also played up, such as improved ability to track child abductors. While balking at
the idea of telephone-tapping and uncontrolled information-swapping among government agencies, the
public, by and large, have been receptive to other such measures, but they may yet live to regret their
compliance.
An independent study of 50 countries published in 2002 criticised Britain, in particular, over a
series of measures which, its authors say, have undermined civil liberties, especially since the September
11th attacks. They accuse the government of having placed substantial limitations on numerous rights,
including freedom of assembly, privacy, freedom of movement, the right to silence and freedom of
speech. The implementation of tough new measures severely limiting the number of immigrants accepted
by Western countries has also raised concerns among civil rights groups, who point out that laws aimed at
reducing global terrorism have penalised many legitimate refugees fleeing war-torn countries or
repressive regimes. Furthermore, these measures have had far-reaching effects. Repressive regimes
around the world have seized upon the precedent being set by the West to legitimise their own previously
questionable human rights practices, with only NGOs like Amnesty International left to cry foul.
Individuals have unwittingly contributed to the erosion of their own personal freedom by adopting new
technologies that offer more convenience and security (eg — extensive use of credit cards, smart cards,
customer loyalty cards, etc), while compromising their freedom. It is easier to trace a person's movements
when such cards are used. Willingness to give up privacy in exchange for security will remain a strong
force, and some companies have jumped on the bandwagon, offering "personal location" devices aimed at
parents who fear for their children's safety. Whilst this may seem reasonable, consider the following: at
what age does a rebellious teenager have the right to remove such a tracking chip?
It seems a strange concept that, in the twenty-first century, the very peoples who have fought for
their freedom of expression and movement and freedom of the press are now allowing their governments
to have access to personal and confidential information which would have been unthinkable a decade ago.
For countries like Britain to be found to have acted unlawfully by discriminating against foreign nationals
would also have been unthinkable once, given Britain's strong legislation against racial discrimination and
the existence of a commission whose sole purpose is to investigate charges of such acts. There used to be
a distinction between countries which had poor records of human rights abuses and more liberal countries,
but the dividing line has become a trifle blurred.
George Orwell predicted that the age of surveillance would be 1984; he was 17 years out in his
calculations, but Orwell would have been horrified to discover that convenience and security have
become more important to the majority than basic human rights
1. In the second paragraph, the writer implies that
A certain NGOs are having to resort to undemocratic action.
B state repression is much more commonplace in countries that used to guard against it.
C civil liberties activists are endangering privacy.
D certain European Union countries lack respect for individual freedoms.
2. The writer indicates that before September 2001
A terrorism wasn't considered a threat in countries that now act against it.
B the police in some countries didn't have enough resources to fight terrorism.
C the police in some countries had been demanding more powers.
D some countries had dispensed with laws that had given the police more powers.
3. What does the writer feel about government attitudes to the individual in the 1990s?
A There was a move towards building public confidence with regard to the subject of personal
information.
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 B No careful thought had been given to using personal communications to combat crime.
C. Information about phonecalls and e-mails wasn't kept long enough.
D. Government policies unwittingly encouraged child abductions.
4. What is the general attitude of citizens to the question of the right to privacy?
A. People see this as their inalienable right.
B. They are prepared to surrender their liberty to some extent.
C. People have been placated with jargon about reducing crime.
D. People are not convinced that their rights are under threat.
5. What point is made about tracing people's movements or activities through financial
transactions?
A. It makes people feel more secure.
B. People have willingly exchanged privacy for convenience.
C. It could help parents who fear for their children's safety.
D. People who rely on "plastic" money facilitate such surveillance.
6. What does the writer suggest about some of the new legislation in the second-last paragraph?
A. Most people in the countries concerned find it unacceptable.
B. People had to struggle to achieve this.
C. It is contrary to the spirit of other existing legislation.
D. It is mainly relevant to foreigners.
7. What point does the writer make about George Orwell and his predictions?
A. Orwell would have been dismayed at the reasons underlying the current situation.
B. If he were alive, he would say that he had been right.
C. The prediction was fairly inaccurate.
D. Orwell would have been horrified by the importance of security.

Part 5. The article below consists of four paragraphs marked A, B, C, D and E. Read the article
and do the task that follows. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.

Is the Internet changing our lives?

Sarah
The Internet often tells us what we think we know, spreading misinformation and nonsense while it’s at it.
It can substitute surface for depth, imitation for authenticity, and its passion for recycling would surpass
the most committed environmentalist. In 10 years, I’ve seen thinking habits change dramatically: if
information is not immediately available via a Google search, people are often completely at a loss. And
of course a Google search merely provides the most popular answer, not necessarily the most accurate.
Nevertheless, there is no question, to my mind, that the access to raw information provided by the internet
is unparalleled.  We’ve all read that the internet sounds the death knell of reading, but people read online
constantly – we just call it surfing now. What’s being read is changing, often for the worse; but it is also
true that the internet increasingly provides a treasure trove of rare documents and images, and as long as
we have free access to it, then the internet can certainly be a force for education and wisdom.
Geoff
Sometimes I think my ability to concentrate is being nibbled away by the Internet. In those quaint days
before the Internet, once you made it to your desk there wasn’t much to do. Now you sit down and there’s
a universe of possibilities – many of them obscurely relevant to the work you should be getting on with –
to tempt you. To think that I can be sitting here, trying to write something about the Swedish film director
Ingmar Bergman and, a moment later, on the merest whim, while I’m in Swedish mode, can be watching
a clip from a Swedish documentary about the jazz musician Don Cherry – that is a miracle (albeit one
with a very potent side-effect, namely that it’s unlikely I’ll ever have the patience to sit through an entire
Bergman film again). Then there’s another thing. From the age of 16, I got into the habit of compiling
detailed indexes in the backs of books of poetry and drama. So if there was a quote I needed for an
assignment, I would spend hours going through my books, seeking it out. Now I just google key words.
Colin
It’s curious that some of the most vociferous critics of the internet – those who predict that it will produce
generations of couch potatoes – are the very sorts of people who are benefiting most from this wonderful,
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liberating, organic extension of the human mind. They are academics, scientists, scholars and writers, who
fear that the extraordinary technology they use every day is a danger to the unsophisticated. They
underestimate the capacity of the human mind to capture and capitalise on new ways of storing and
transmitting information. When I was at school I learned by heart great swathes of science textbooks.
What a waste of my neurons, all clogged up with knowledge and rules that I can now obtain with the click
of a mouse. At its best, the internet is no threat to our minds. It is another liberating extension of them, as
significant as books, the abacus or the pocket calculator.
Ian
The evidence that the internet has a deleterious effect on the brain is zero. In fact, by looking at the way
human beings gain knowledge in general, you would probably argue the opposite. The opportunity to
have multiple sources of information or opinion at your fingertips, and to dip into these rather than trawl
laboriously through a whole book, is highly conducive to the acquisition of knowledge. It is being argued
by some that the information coming into the brain from the internet is the wrong kind of information. It’s
too short, it doesn’t have enough depth, so there is a qualitative loss. It’s an interesting point, but the only
way you could argue it is to say that people are misusing the internet. It’s a bit like saying to someone
who’s never seen a car before and has no idea what it is: “Why don’t you take it for a drive and you’ll
find out?” If you seek information on the internet like that, there’s a good chance you’ll have a crash. But
that’s because your experience has yet to grasp what a car is.

In which section of the text are the following mentioned? Your answer:
 Reservations about the benefits of universal access to it are unfounded. 1.
 It excels in its ability to disseminate facts. 2.
 Its power to sidetrack us can be both positive and negative. 3.
 It assists learning by exposing people to a wider range of ideas than was previously possible. 4.
 Much of the material on it is not original. 5.
 It enables us to follow up on ideas that suddenly occur to us. 6.
 It is only with time and practice that we can make best use of the internet. 7.
 The quality of material on it is questionable. 8.
 It still requires people to process the written word. 9.
 It has still reduced the need to memorise information. 10.

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