Mangroves Forests of the Tide

PASSAGE
At the intersection of land and sea, mangrove forests support a wealth of life, from starfish to people, and may
be more important to the health of the planet than we ever realized.
A Mangroves live life on the edge. With one foot on land and one in the sea, these botanical amphibians occupy
a zone of desiccating heat, choking mud, and salt levels that would kill an ordinary plant within hours. Yet the
forests mangroves form are among the most productive and biologically complex ecosystems on Earth. Birds
roost in the canopy, shellfish attach themselves to the roots, and snakes and crocodiles come to hunt. Mangroves
provide nursery grounds for fish; a food source for monkeys, deer, tree-climbing crabs, even kangaroos; and a
nectar source for bats and honeybees.
B As a group, mangroves can’t be defined too closely. There are some 70 species from two dozen families—
among them palm, hibiscus, holly, plumbago, acanthus, legumes, and myrtle. They range from prostrate shrubs
to 200-foothigh (60 meters) timber trees. Though most prolific in Southeast Asia, where they are thought to
have originated, mangroves circle the globe. Most live within 30 degrees of the Equator, but a few hardy types
have adapted to temperate climates, and one lives as far from the tropical sun as New Zealand. Wherever they
live, they share one thing in common: They’re brilliant adapters. Each mangrove has an ultrafiltration system to
keep much of the salt out and a complex root system that allows it to survive in the intertidal zone. Some have
snorkel-like roots called pneumatophores that stick out of the mud to help them take in air; others use prop roots
or buttresses to keep their trunks upright in the soft sediments at tide’s edge.
C These plants are also landbuilders par excellence. Some Aborigines in northern Australia believe one
mangrove species resembles their primal ancestor, Giyapara, who walked across the mudflats and brought the
tree into existence. The plants’ interlocking roots stop river-borne sediments from coursing out to sea, and their
trunks and branches serve as a palisade that diminishes the erosive power of waves.
D Despite their strategic importance, mangroves are under threat worldwide. They are sacrificed for salt pans,
aquaculture ponds, housing developments, roads, port facilities, hotels, golf courses, and farms. And they die
from a thousand indirect cuts: oil spills, chemical pollution, sediment overload, and disruption of their sensitive
water and salinity balance. Calls for mangrove conservation gained a brief but significant hearing following the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Where mangrove forests were intact, they served as natural breakwaters,
dissipating the energy of the waves, mitigating property damage, perhaps saving lives. Posttsunami, the logic of
allowing a country’s mangrove “bioshields” to be bulldozed looked not just flawed but reprehensible.
Bangladesh has not lost sight of that logic, putting a great premium on the ability of mangroves to stabilize
shores and trap sediments. The vast tidal woodland they form is known as the Sundarbans——literally
“beautiful forest.” Today, it’s the largest surviving single tract of mangroves in the world.
E Throughout the tropical world it’s the same: Mangrove forests are the supermarkets, lumberyards, fuel depots,
and pharmacies of the coastal poor. Yet these forests are being destroyed daily. One of the greatest threats to
mangrove survival comes from shrimp farming. At first glance, shrimp might seem the perfect export for a poor
country in a hot climate. Rich countries have an insatiable appetite for it (shrimp has overtaken tuna to become
America’s favorite seafood), and the developing world has the available land and right climate to farm it.

F A prime location for shrimp ponds, though, happens to be the shore zone occupied by mangroves, an unhappy
conflict of interests that has a predictable outcome: The irresistible force of commerce trumps the all-too-
removable mangrove. To compound matters, shrimp farmers typically abandon their ponds after a few crop
cycles (to avoid disease outbreaks and declining productivity) and move to new sites, destroying more
mangroves as they go.
G As serious as the threat from shrimp farming is to the world’s remaining mangroves, there looms a
potentially more disastrous problem: rising sea levels. Standing as they do at the land’s frontiers, mangroves
will be the first terrestrial forests to face the encroaching tides.
H Loss of mangrove forests could prove catastrophic in ways only now becoming apparent. For more than 25
years Jin Eong Ong, a retired professor of marine and coastal studies in Penang, Malaysia, has been exploring a
less obvious mangrove contribution: What role might these forests play in climate change? Ong and his
colleagues have been studying the carbon budget of mangroves— the balance sheet that compares all the carbon
inputs and outputs of the mangrove ecosystem—and they’ve found that these forests are highly effective carbon
sinks. They absorb carbon dioxide, taking carbon out of circulation and reducing the amount of greenhouse gas.
Mangroves may have the highest net productivity of carbon of any natural ecosystem, and as much as a third of
this may be exported in the form of organic compounds to mudflats. Mangroves, it seems, are carbon factories,
and their demolition robs the marine environment of a vital element.
I Ong’s team has also shown that a significant portion of the carbon ends up in forest sediments, remaining
sequestered there for thousands of years. Conversion of a mangrove forest to a shrimp pond changes a carbon
sink into a carbon source, liberating the accumulated carbon back into the atmosphere— but 50 times faster than
it was sequestered. If mangroves were to become recognized as carbon-storage assets, that could radically alter
the way these forests are valued, says Ong. If carbon trading becomes a reality—that is, if forest-rich, carbon-
absorbing countries are able to sell so-called emissions credits to more industrialized, carbon-emitting countries
—it could, at the least, provide a stay of execution for mangroves.

QUESTIONS
Questions 1-5  Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than
Three words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer
sheet.
Summary
Mangroves are outstanding 1 …………… who are able to live life in hard environment. There are two systems
—2 …………… and 3 …………… enabling them to survive at the intersection of land and sea. Meanwhile,
Mangroves have strategic importance. 4 …………… can be held by the roots, and the erosive power of waves
can be reduced by their 5 …………… .
Questions 6-11  Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In
boxes 6-11 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the sataement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
6 Mangroves are various and similar.
7 We can find mangroves in Singapore.
8 Mangroves had played an important role in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and saved lives.
9 Bangladesh is mentioned to have spent a huge sum of money on the mangroves.
10 In order to avoid loss, shrimp farmers will cut down the amount of ponds regularly.
11 Shrimp farming will greatly influence the function of mangroves that holding the carbon.

Questions 12-13  Choose the correct letter, A-F. Write your answers in boxes 12-13 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO of the followings are NOT mentioned to have put mangrove survival in danger?
A increasing greenhouse gas

B too much sediment

C cut by human

D shrimp export

E rising sea levels

F shrimp farming
The Need to Belong
PASSAGE
No one likes to feel left out, ignored by colleagues at meetings or not be invited to the big party that everyone is
talking about. Imagine not being part of a joke, or worse still, if the joke is on you. For most people, living the
life of an outsider can have a negative effect on self-esteem and mood. It can even lead to negative behaviour.
The pull to belong is extremely strong. Scientists believe that, in part, there is an evolutionary explanation for
why we have this need to belong.

In the past, people hunted and cooked together in tribes and each member of the group would be assigned a role.
As each member had a purpose, it meant that in the event of the loss of one person, the group as a whole would
suffer. For this reason, they had a vested interest in protecting each other. To our prehistoric ancestors,
membership of a group meant the difference between survival and death. Those who were rejected and
excluded from joining a group had to fend for themselves and struggled to stay alive alone in the wild.

Apart from protection, being part of a group also ensured that genes could be passed onto future generations.
Although it is very different now from the way our primitive ancestors lived, our brains have not had time to
evolve to fit today’s lifestyles. In this day and age, it is no longer a matter of survival to be affiliated to a tribe or
group, but the evolutionary instinct to find protection still lingers.

This inherent feeling of security that comes with being part of a group is powerful enough to make people
employ both conscious and unconscious strategies to gain membership. One obvious way people try to be
accepted into a group is self-presentation, which is the act of portraying yourself in the best possible light An
individual will attempt to outwardly display the characteristics which are important to the group’s advancement
At the same time, they will conceal any parts of their personality that may be seen as undesirable or not useful
to a group.

An example of self-presentation is the job application process. A candidate applying for a job will promote
themselves as motivated, but is likely to hide the fact that they are disorganised. These conscious tactics that
people use are not a surprise to anyone, but we also use other strategies unknowingly.

Psychologists Jessica Larkin, Tanya Chartrand and Robert Arkin suggested that people often resort to automatic
mimicry to gain affiliation into groups, much like our primitive ancestors used to do. Before humans had the
ability to speak, physical imitation was a method of begging for a place in the group. Most will be unaware they
are doing it. Larkin and her co-workers decided to test this hypothesis.

They took a group of student volunteers and had them play a game called Cyberball, a ball tossing arcade game
that resembled American football. The volunteers were led to believe they were all playing against each other,
but in actual fact they were not. The computer was manipulating the game by passing the ball to some
volunteers and excluding others.

The ‘accepted and ‘rejected students were then asked if they enjoyed the game and about their opinions of the
other players. Participants were then put alone in a room and their natural foot movements were filmed. Then a
female entered the room under the pretence of conducting a fake photo description task. The female deliberately
moved her foot during the task, but not in a way that would be noticeable to the volunteer. It turned out that the
rejected students mimicked the female’s foot movements the most This revealed that after exclusion, people
will automatically mimic to affiliate with someone new.

However, Larkin and her colleagues wanted to go further.They believed that more often than not, in the real
world, we actually know the people that reject us. How do we behave towards the group that we know has
excluded us? The experiment was repeated with this question in mind. In the second experiment, only female
volunteers played the Cyberball game, during which they experienced rejection by either men or women.Then
each volunteer did the fake photo task, but this time with a man and then a woman.

The results clearly indicated that the female students that felt rejected would unconsciously make more of an
effort to mimic members of their own in-group – that is, other women – rather than men. This deep-wired
instinct to mimic was not only directed towards random people, as initially thought, but targeted to specific
groups, the particular group that did the rejecting in the first place.

To some, it is inconceivable why people will go to great lengths to be accepted into one of life’s social groups
or clubs, enduring rejection and sometimes humiliation in order to be accepted. You only have to look at college
campuses, which are notorious for strict initiations inflicted on candidates desperately seeking membership. But
it happens and will continue to happen, because the desire to belong is a very powerful force and a fundamental
part of human nature.

QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 1-5
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Modern man’s basic need to belong to clubs and groups dates back to early history. Each person within the
group had a 1…………………. to play and was considered integral to the entire group’s dynamics and success.
For an individual, belonging to a group could affect their chances of 2……………….. In those times, few could
avoid death living alone in 3………………… . Living with other humans offered 5………………….. from
danger. Staying in a group also meant that 4……………………………. could be passed down to descendants.
QUESTIONS 6-10
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
THE PROCEDURE FOR LARKIN’S EXPERIMENT
6. Volunteers believed they were playing a computer game, similar to ……………………….
7. The computer was controlling the gameplay, ………………………….. to some and not others.
8. The volunteers gave their ……………………………… after the game.
9. Each volunteer first sat on their own in a room and had their foot movements
………………………………….
10. The volunteer took part in a task with a woman who …………………………………. on purpose.
QUESTIONS 11-13
Choose the correct letter A,B,C or D.
11. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the first paragraph?
A. one experts view on evolution
B. the consequences of being excluded
C. being made fun of by the people around you
D. a social event that people are eagerly awaiting

12. According to the article, which method do people consciously use to obtain membership into their chosen
group?
A. They tell the group they are strongly motivated.
B. They convey the best parts of their personality to the group.
C. They show how the group will be important to their lives.
D. They alter aspects of their personality to suit others.

13. The writer’s main purpose in writing this article is to

A. explain how people feel when they face rejection.
B. encourage people to go it alone and not be part of a group.
C. show the unconscious drive behind the need to belong.
D. compare how the modern lifestyle is different to the past.
The Green Revolution in China
PASSAGE
A couple of weeks ago, China’s highest government body published their conclusions from the second research
session on continental climate change over a period of twelve months. Due to China’s new global role and the
number of unprecedented environmental issues in China, the Chinese prime minister was very keen to raise
climate change as an important issue at the upcoming G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan.

It should be highlighted that the Chinese central government also had a similar meeting and that China is a
rapidly industrializing country with new coal-fueled power plants opening every week. China is like a terrifying
carbon-guzzling monster. As a result of thirty years of industrialization, China now has the highest level of
carbon dioxide emissions in the world. Carbon dioxide emissions are increasing up to eight per cent a year. The
EU achieved a twenty per cent reduction, but China’s emission rate was twice as much approaching the 2010
IPCC deadline for carbon dioxide emissions reduction.

However, it could be misleading to put too much emphasis on these statistics. A non- governmental
organization (Climate Group) newspaper report presents a slightly different picture. According to the Clean
Revolution in China, China is a nation that is more than aware of its environmental issues but also has the
potential to achieve a second miracle in 30 years.

The environmental price of the first “miracle” was that Chinese people always saw their daily lives. That’s why
most of the policies are related to energy efficiency, energy-saving and other alternative energy sources. Those
policies have already been met with some concern.

Whilst the personal sectors are so strong and developing, they are able to aid the central government to
introduce laws, like the National Renewable Energy Law in 2006. This has set hard targets, including increasing
the amount of energy made from new renewable sources from eight per cent to fifteen per cent until 2020. Also,
it has guaranteed at least three per cent of renewable energy sources, such as biomass, solar and wind.

Both wind and solar power are so successful, but their origins are very different. With 6 gigawatts of energy
made from wind turbines, surprisingly China is now ranked behind Germany, the US, Spain and India. Also,
some believe China will reach 100 GW by 2020.

Wind power successfully shows that with central government aid China is ready for new policies, subsidies and
advanced technology. This situation also has a role in the domestic market. The amount of electricity produced
by wind farms can be a burden to fund.

Even though western countries invented an open marketplace set to dominate in China, there were few domestic
incentives for solar power. In the global solar photovoltaic cell market, it is second only to Japan and growing
fast. In China, the solar market has been a small business, because the cells are so expensive. This puts pressure
on the government to rapidly follow up on their policies, for example, the role of the Climate Group is
important in developing domestic markets.

However, the image of new coal-fueled power stations still looms large as they are opening every week. It is
hard to imagine that China has achieved a 10.5 per cent of growth rate without such stations in the last quarter.
However, how many people actually know that China has been closing its small power stations over the last
couple of years? Step by step China is reducing its small power stations, first the 50-megawatt ones then the
100-megawatt ones and next will be the 300-megawatt power stations.

This policy is operated by the Chinese central government and backs up the new generation of coal station using
the most advanced technologies with supercritical and ultra-supercritical improved clean coal. Capture
functions and plants of carbon are researched and developed, but advanced thinking for the future is based on
the technology of Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) that turn coal materials into synthetic gas to
make power.

These days, Chinese consumers demand better homes and vehicles. Public awareness of energy- saving is on
the rise. The Chinese government introduced a standard fuel economy for vehicles in 2004 of 15.6 kilometers
per litre. This is higher than the US, Canada and Australia but behind Europe and Japan. In the meantime, in
spite of a high 20 per cent tax on SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles), the sale of these sorts of cars continues to
increase.

Up to now, China has been the kingdom of the bicycle, importing the electric bike at 1,500 yuan ($220) per
vehicle. Some of these vehicles have adopted an intelligent recovery system similar to that of hybrid cars. In
2007, the sale of electric bikes increased considerably and China is estimated to make up three-quarters of the
world electric vehicle market.

China, already, is doing a lot on the bottom line. So, could it do more? The answer is yes, China should learn
and open its mind through international communities. According to the Climate Group, they report the world
should refine their image of China, just not fear it and, constructively, work in unison. At the same time,
China’s government should develop a clean revolution and maintain internal pressure for improvements.

QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 1-7
Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement reflects the opinion of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the opinion of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
1. The Central Government of China concluded the second research scheme of climate change in less than one
year.
2. The main topic of the G8 Meeting in Japan was to discuss greenhouse gas emissions.
3. The Chinese Government must compensate the European Union for the loss of climate change.
4. NGO’s group reported about the truth of problems of a climate change in China.
5. Solar energy has increased the amount of energy.
6. With different launching, both wind and solar power are inefficient.
7. The high cost of cells causes less activity in the solar market in China.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
8. China is emitting ………………………… of the outstanding rates in the world.
9. Statistics that can be misleading have been corrected by a …………………………
10. In 2006 ………………………. has set a hard target, waxing the amount of renewable sources.
11. What are the renewable sources mentioned in the passage? …………………………
12. Wind energy is based on subsidies, policies and the equitable ……………………….
13. …………………….. should support to develop the domestic market in China facing financial problems.
 GROWING OF THE AGING SOCIETY
PASSAGE
A. American scientists say that the elderly are now healthier, happier and more independent. The results of a
study that has taken place over a 14-year period will be released at the end of the month. The research will show
that common health disorders suffered by the elderly are affecting fewer people and happening after in life.
B. Over the last 14 years, The National Long-term Health Care Survey has gathered data from more than 20,000
males and females over the age of 65 about their health and lifestyles. The group has analysed the results of data
gathered in 1994 on conditions such as arthritis, high blood pressure and poor circulation; these were the most
common medical complaints for this age group. The results show that these conditions are troubling a smaller
proportion of people each year and decreasing very quickly. Other diseases suffered by the elderly including
dementia, emphysema and arteriosclerosis are also affecting fewer people.
C. According to Kenneth Manton, a demographer from Duke University in North Carolina, “the question of
what should be considered normal ageing has really changed.” He also mentioned that diseases suffered by
many people around the age of 65 in 1982 are now not occurring until people reach the age of 70-75.
D. It is clear that due to medical advances some diseases are not as prominent as they used to be. However,
there were also other factors influencing this change. For instance, improvements in childhood nutrition in the
first quarter of the twentieth century gave many people a better start in life than was possible before.
E. The data also shows some negative changes in public health. The research suggests that the
rise of respiratory conditions such as lung cancer and bronchitis may reflect changing smoking habits and an
increase in air pollution. Manton says that as we have been exposed to worse and worse pollution, it is not
surprising that some people over the age of 60 are suffering as a result.
F. Manton also found that better-educated people are likely to live longer. For instance, women of 65 with less
than eight years of education are expected to live to around 82. Those who studied more could be able to live
seven years longer. Whilst some of this can be attributed to better- educated people usually having a higher
income, Manton believes it is mainly because they pay closer attention to their health.
G. Also, the survey estimated how independent people of 65 were and found a striking trend. In the 1994
survey, almost 80% of them were able to complete activities such as eating and dressing alone as well as
handling difficult tasks, like cooking and managing their financial affairs. This situation indicates an important
drop among disabled elderly people in the population. If 14 years ago, the apparent trends in the US had
continued, researchers believe that there would be one
million disabled elderly people in today’s population. Manton shows the trend saved more than $200 billion for
the US’s government’s Medicare system, and it has suggested the elderly American population is less of a
financial burden than expected.
H. The growing number of independent elderly people is probably linked to the huge increase in home medical
aids. For instance, the research shows the use of raising toilet seat covers and bath seats has increased by more
than fifty per cent. Also, these developments about health benefits are reported by the MacArthur Foundation’s
research group for successful ageing. It found the elderly who are able to take care of themselves were more
likely to stay healthy in their old age.
I. Retaining a certain level of daily physical activity may also help brain function, according to Carl Cotman, a
neuroscientist at the University of California at Irvine. He found that rats exercising on
a treadmill have higher levels of a brain-derived neurotrophic factor in their brains. He believes the hormone
which holds neuron functions may prevent the active human’s brain function from declining.
J. Teresa Seeman, a social epidemiologist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, was
conducting the same research. She found a line between self-esteem and stress in people over 70. The elderly
who do challenging activities such as driving have more control of their mind and have a lower level of the
stress hormone cortisol in their brains. Chronically high levels of this hormone can cause heart disease.
K. However, an independent life may have negative points. Seeman knew that the elderly people that were
living alone were able to retain higher levels of stress hormones even when sleeping. The research indicates that
elderly people are happier if they can live an independent life but also acknowledge when they need help.
L. Seeman says, “With many cases of research about ageing, these results help common sense.” Also, the
situations show that we may be ignoring some of the simple factors. She mentions, “The sort of thing your
grandmother always used to talk to you about seems to be exactly right.”
QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 1-6
Reading Passage 1 has twelve paragraphs, A-L.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-G from the list of headings below.
List of Headings
I. Disorders strike much later in life.
II. Drawbacks in public health.
III. Longevity based on high education.
IV. The elderly people of today got better nutrition when they were children.
V. The elderly are becoming more well off.
VI. Most of independent people over 65 complete activities themselves.
VII. Diseases have decreased recently.
1. Paragraph B
2. Paragraph C
3. Paragraph D
4. Paragraph E
5. Paragraph F
6. Paragraph G
QUESTIONS 7-13
Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1?
• TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
• FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
• NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
7. Smoking habits are a crucial cause in some cancers.
8. The better-educated elderly people tend to live longer.
9. People over 65 can independently manage a variety of tasks.
10. Elderly people have overcome dementia as a result of home medical aids.
11. Continuing physical exercises is likely to assist digestive function.
12. People over 70 who still do challenging things such as driving are able to lower their level of the hormone
cortisol which is linked to heart disease.
13. Isolation may cause a higher level of stress hormones.
Tomas Young The Last True Know-it-all
PASSAGE
A. Thomas Young (1773-1829) contributed 63 articles to the Encyclopedia Britannica, including 46
biographical entries (mostly on scientists and classicists) and substantial essays on “Bridge,” “Chromatics,”
“Egypt,” “Languages” and “Tides”. Was someone who could write authoritatively about so many subjects a
polymath, a genius or a dilettante? In an ambitious new biography, Andrew Robinson argues that Young is a
good contender for the epitaph “the last man who knew everything.” Young has competition, however: The
phrase, which Robinson takes for h
is title, also serves as the subtitle of two other recent biographies: Leonard Warren’s 1998 life of paleontologist
Joseph Leidy (1823-1891) and Paula Findlen’s 2004 book on Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), another
polymath.
B. Young, of course, did more than write encyclopedia entries. He presented his first paper to the Royal Society
of London at the age of 20 and was elected a Fellow a week after his 21st birthday. In the paper, Young
explained the process of accommodation in the human eye on how the eye focuses properly on objects at
varying distances. Young hypothesized that this was achieved by changes in the shape of the lens. Young also
theorized that light traveled in waves and he believed that, to account for the ability to see in color, there must
be three receptors in the eye corresponding to the three “principal colors” to which the retina could respond:
red, green, violet. All these hypothesis were subsequently proved to be correct.
C. Later in his life, when he was in his forties, Young was instrumental in cracking the code that unlocked the
unknown script on the Rosetta Stone, a tablet that was “found” in Egypt by the Napoleonic army in 1799. The
stone contains text in three alphabets: Greek, something unrecognizable and Egyptian hieroglyphs. The
unrecognizable script is now known as demotic and, as Young deduced, is related directly to hieroglyphic. His
initial work on this appeared in his Britannica entry on Egypt. In another entry, he coined the term Indo-
European to describe the family of languages spoken throughout most of Europe and northern India. These are
the landmark achievements of a man who was a child prodigy and who, unlike many remarkable children, did
not disappear into oblivion as an adult.
D. Born in 1773 in Somerset in England, Young lived from an early age with his maternal grandfather,
eventually leaving to attend boarding school. He haddevoured books from the age of two, and through his own
initiative he excelled at Latin, Greek, mathematics and natural philosophy. After leaving school, he was greatly
encouraged by his mother’s uncle, Richard Brocklesby, a physician and Fellow of the Royal Society. Following
Brocklesby’s lead, Young decided to pursue a career in medicine. He studied in London, following the medical
circuit, and then moved on to more formal education in Edinburgh, Gottingen and Cambridge. After completing
his medical training at the University of Cambridge in 1808, Young set up practice as a physician in London.
He soon became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and a few years later was appointed physician at
St. George’s Hospital.
E. Young’s skill as a physician, however, did not equal his skill as a scholar of natural philosophy or linguistics.
Earlier, in 1801, he had been appointed to a professorship of natural philosophy at the Royal Institution, where
he delivered as many as 60 lectures in a year. These were published in two volumes in 1807. In 1804 Young
had become secretary to the Royal Society, a post he would hold until his death. His opinions were sought on
civic and national matters, such as the introduction of gas lighting to London and methods of ship construction.
From 1819 he was superintendent of the Nautical Almanac and secretary to the Board of Longitude. From 1824
to 1829 he was physician to and inspector of calculations for the Palladian Insurance Company. Between 1816
and 1825 he contributed his many and various entries to the Encyclopedia Britannica, and throughout his career
he authored numerous books, essays and papers.
F. Young is a perfect subject for a biography – perfect, but daunting. Few men contributed so much to so many
technical fields. Robinson’s aim is to introduce non-scientists to Young’s work and life. He succeeds, providing
clear expositions of the technical material (especially that on optics and Egyptian hieroglyphs). Some readers of
this book will, like Robinson, find Young’s accomplishments impressive; others will see him as some historians
have – as a dilettante. Yet despite the rich material presented in this book, readers will not end up knowing
Young personally. We catch glimpses of a playful Young, doodling Greek and Latin phrases in his notes on
medical lectures and translating the verses that a young lady had written on the walls of a summerhouse into
Greek elegiacs. Young was introduced into elite society, attended the theatre and learned to dance and play the
flute. In addition, he was an accomplished horseman. However, his personal life looks pale next to his vibrant
career and studies.
G. Young married Eliza Maxwell in 1804, and according to Robinson, “their marriage was a happy one and she
appreciated his work.” Almost all we know about her is that she sustained her husband through some rancorous
disputes about optics and that she worried about money when his medical career was slow to take off. Very
little evidence survives about the complexities of Young’s relationships with his mother and father. Robinson
does not credit them, or anyone else, with shaping Young’s extraordinary mind. Despite the lack of details
concerning Young’s relationships, however, anyone interested in what it means to be a genius should read this
book.
QUESTIONS
Questions 1-7 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-
7 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1. The last man who knew everything has also been claimed to other people.
2. All Young’s articles were published in Encyclopedia Britannica.
3. Like others, Young wasn’t so brilliant when growing up.
4. Young’s talent as a doctor surpassed his other skills.
5. Young’s advice was sought by people responsible for local and national issues.
6. Young was interested in various social pastimes.
7. Young suffered from a disease in his later years.
Questions 8-13 Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A
NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
8. How many life stories did young write for the Encyclopedia Britannica?
9. What aspect of scientific research did young focus on in his first academic paper?
10. What name did Young introduce to refer to a group of languages?
11. Who inspired Young to start his medical studies?
12. Where did Young get a teaching position?
13. What contribution did Young make to London?
Going Bananas
PASSAGE
A The world’s favourite fruit could disappear forever in 10 years’ time. The banana is among the world’s oldest
crops. Agricultural scientists believe that the first edible banana was discovered around ten thousand years ago.
It has been at an evolutionary standstill ever since it was first propagated in the jungles of South-East Asia at the
end of the last ice age. Normally the wild banana, a giant jungle herb a mass of hard seeds that make the fruit
virtually inedible. But now and then, hunter-gatherers must have discovered rare mutant plants that produced
seed-less, edible fruits. Geneticists now know that the vast majority of these soft-fruited plants resulted from
genetic accidents that gave their cells three copies of each chromosome instead of the usual two. This imbalance
prevents seeds and pollen from developing normally, rendering the mutant plants sterile. And that is why some
scientists believe the world’s most popular fruit could be doomed. It lacks the genetic diversity to fight off pests
and diseases that are invading the banana plantations of Central America and the small-holdings of Africa and
Asia alike.
B In some ways, the banana today resembles the potato before blight brought famine to Ireland a century and a
half ago. But “it holds a lesson for other crops, too”, says Emile Frison, top banana at the International Network
for the Improvement of Banana an4 Plantain in Montpellier, France. “The state of the banana”, Frison warns,
“can teach a broader lesson the increasing standardisation of food crops round the world is threatening their
ability to adapt and survive.”
C The first Stone Age plant breeders cultivated these sterile freaks by replanting cuttings from their stems. And
the descendants of those original cuttings are the bananas we still eat today. Each is a virtual clone, almost
devoid of genetic diversity. And that uniformity makes it ripe for disease like no other crop on Earth.
Traditional varieties of sexually reproducing crops have always had a much broader genetic base, and the genes
will recombine in new arrangements in each generation. This gives them much greater flexibility in evolving
responses to disease-and far more genetic resources to draw on in the face of an attack. But that advantage is
fading fast, as growers increasingly plant the same few, high-yielding varieties. Plant breeders work feverishly
to maintain resistance in these standardized crops. Should these efforts falter, yields of even the most productive
crop could swiftly crash. “When some pest or disease comes along, severe epidemics can occur,” says Geoff
Hawtin, director of the Rome-based International Plant Genetic Resources Institute.
D The banana is an excellent case in point. Until the 1950s, one variety, the Gros Michel, dominated the
world’s commercial banana business. Found by French botanists in Asian the 1820s, the Gros Michel was by all
accounts a fine banana, richer and sweeter than today’s standard banana and without the latter/s bitter aftertaste
when green. But it was vulnerable to a soil fungus that produced a wilt known as Panama disease. “Once the
fungus gets into the soil it remains there for many years. There is nothing farmers can do. Even chemical
spraying won’t get rid of it,” says Rodomiro Ortiz, director of the Inter-national Institute for Tropical
Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria. So plantation owners played a running game, abandoning infested fields and
moving so “clean” land-until they ran out of clean land in the 1950s and Had to abandon the Gros Michel. Its
successor, and still the reigning commercial king, is the Cavendish banana, a 19th-century British discovery
from southern China. The Cavendish is resistant to Panama disease and, as a result, it literally saved the
international banana industry. During the 1960s, it replaced the Gros Michel on supermarket shelves. If you buy
a banana today, it is almost certainly a Cavendish. But even so, it is a minority in the world’s banana crop.
E Half a billion people in Asia and Africa depend on bananas. Bananas provide the largest source of calories
and are eaten daily. Its name is synonymous with food. But the day of reckoning may be coming for the
Cavendish and its indigenous kin. Another fungal disease, black Sigatoka, has become a global epidemic since
its first appearance in Fiji in 1963. Left to itself, black Sigatoka-which causes brown wounds on leaves and pre-
mature fruit ripening-cuts fruit yields by 50 to 70 per cent and reduces the productive lifetime of banana plants
from 30 years to as little as 2 or 3. Commercial growers keep Sigatoka at bay by a massive chemical assault.
Forty sprayings of fungicide a year is typical. But despite the fungicides, diseases such as black Sigatoka are
getting more and more difficult to control. “As soon as you bring in a new fungicide, they develop resistance,”
says Frison. “One thing we can be sure of is that the Sigatoka won’t lose in this battle.” Poor farmers, who
cannot afford chemicals, have it even worse. They can do little more than watch their plants die. “Most of the
banana fields in Amazonia have already been destroyed by the disease,” says Luadir Gasparotto, Brazil’s
leading banana pathologist with the government research agency EMBRAPA. Production is likely to fall by 70
percent as the disease spreads, he predicts. The only option will be to find a new variety.
F But how? Almost all edible varieties are susceptible to the diseases, so growers cannot simply change to a
different banana. With most crops, such a threat would unleash an army of breeders, scouring the world for
resistant relatives whose traits they can breed into commercial varieties. Not so with the banana. Because all
edible varieties are sterile, bringing in new genetic traits to help cope with pests and diseases is nearly
impossible. Nearly, but not totally. Very rarely, a sterile banana will experience a genetic accident that allows
an almost normal seed to develop, giving breeders a tiny window for improvement. Breeders at the Honduran
Foundation of Agricultural Research have tried to exploit this to create disease-resistant varieties. Further
backcrossing with wild bananas yielded a new seedless banana resistant to both black Sigatoka and Panama
disease.
G Neither Western supermarket consumers nor peasant growers like the new hybrid. Some accuse it of tasting
more like an apple than a banana. Not surprisingly, the majority of plant breeders have till now turned their
backs on the banana and got to work on easier plants. And commercial banana companies are now washing
their hands of the whole breeding effort, preferring to fund a search for new fungicides instead. “We supported
a breeding programme for 40 years, but it wasn’t able to develop an alternative to Cavendish. It was very
expensive and we got nothing back,” says Ronald Romero, head of research at Chiquita, one of the Big Three
companies that dominate the international banana trade.
H Last year, a global consortium of scientists led by Frison announced plans to sequence the banana genome
within five years. It would be the first edible fruit to be sequenced. Well, almost edible. The group will actually
be sequencing inedible wild bananas from East Asia because many of these are resistant to black Sigatoka. If
they can pinpoint the genes that help these wild varieties to resist black Sigatoka, the protective genes could be
introduced into laboratory tissue cultures of cells from edible varieties. These could then be propagated into
new, resistant plants and passed on to farmers.
I It sounds promising, but the big banana companies have, until now, refused to get involved in GM research for
fear of alienating their customers. “Biotechnology is extremely Expensive and there are serious questions about
consumer acceptance,” says David McLaughlin, Chiquita’s senior director for environmental affairs. With scant
funding from the companies, the banana genome researchers are focusing on the other end of the spectrum.
Even if they can identify the crucial genes, they will be a long way from developing new varieties that
smallholders will find suitable and affordable. But whatever biotechnology’s academic interest, it is the only
hope for the banana. Without banana production worldwide will head into a tailspin. We may even see the
extinction of the banana as both a lifesaver for hungry and impoverished Africans and as the most popular
product on the world’s supermarket shelves.
Questions 1-3 Complete the sentences below with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage. In
boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet, write Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet
1 Banana was first eaten as a fruit by humans almost …………………. years ago.
2 Banana was first planted in ………………….
3 Wild banana’s taste is adversely affected by its ………………….
Questions 4-10 Look at the following statements (Questions 4-10) and the list of people below Match each
statement with the correct person, A-F. Write the correct letter: A-F, in boxes 4-10  On your answer sheet.
List of People
A Rodomiro
B David Mclaughlin
C Emile Frison
D Ronald Romero
E Luadir Gasparotto
F Geoff Hawtin

NB You may use any letter more than once.

4 Pest invasion may seriously damage banana industry.
5 The effect of fungal infection in soil is often long-lasting.
6 A commercial manufacturer gave up on breeding bananas for disease resistant species.
7 Banana disease may develop resistance to chemical sprays.

8 A banana disease has destroyed a large number of banana plantations.

9 Consumers would not accept genetically altered crop.
10 Lessons can be learned from bananas for other crops.
Questions 11-13 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In
boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
11 Banana is the oldest known fruit.
12 Gros Michel is still being used as a commercial product.
13 Banana is a main food in some countries

Biology of Bitterness
PASSAGE
To many people, grapefruit is palatable only when doused in sugar. Bitter blockers like adenosine
monophosphate could change that.
A There is a reason why grapefruit juice is served in little glasses: Most people don’t want to drink more than a
few ounces at a time. Naringin，a natural chemical compound found in grapefruit, tastes bitter. Some people
like that bitterness in small doses and believe it enhances the general flavor, but others would rather avoid it
altogether. So juice packagers often select grapefruit with low naringin content, even though the compound has
antioxidant properties that some nutritionists contend may help prevent cancer and arteriosclerosis.
B It is possible, however, to get the goodness of grapefruit juice without the bitter taste. I found that out by
participating in a test conducted at the Linguagen Corporation, a biotechnology company in Cranbury, New
Jersey. Sets of two miniature white paper cups, labeled 304 and 305，were placed before five people seated
around a conference table. Each of us drank from one cup and then the other, cleansing our palates between
tastes with water and a soda cracker. Even the smallest sip of 304 had grapefruit’s unmistakable bitter bite. But
305 was smoother; there was the sour taste of citrus but none of the bitterness of naringin. This juice had been
treated with adenosine monophosphate, or AMP, a compound that blocks the bitterness in foods without making
them less nutritious.
C Taste research is a booming business these days, with scientists delving into all five basics—sweet, bitter,
sour, salty, and umami, the savory taste of protein. Bitterness is of special interest to industry because of its
untapped potential in food. There are thousands of bitter-tasting compounds in nature. They defend plants by
warning animals away and protect animals by letting them know when a plant may be poisonous. But the
system isn’t foolproof. Grapefruit and cruciferous vegetables like brussels sprouts and kale are nutritious
despite—and sometimes because of—their bittertasting components. Over time, many people have learned to
love them, at least in small doses. “Humans are the only species that enjoys bitter taste,” says Charles Zuker, a
neuroscientist at the University Of California School Of Medicine at San Diego. “Every other species is averse
to bitter because it means bad news. But we have learned to enjoy it. We drink coffee, which is bitter, and
quinine [in tonic water] too. We enjoy having that spice in our lives.” Because bitterness can be pleasing in
small quantities but repellent when intense, bitter blockers like AMP could make a whole range of foods,
drinks, and medicines more palatable —and therefore more profitable.
D People have varying capacities for tasting bitterness, and the differences appear to be genetic. About 75
percent of people are sensitive to the taste of the bitter compounds phenylthiocarbamide and 6-n-
propylthiouracil，and 25 percent are insensitive. Those who are sensitive to phenylthiocarbamide seem to be
less likely than others to eat cruciferous vegetables, according to Stephen Wooding, a geneticist at the
University of Utah. Some people, known as supertasters, are especially sensitive to 6-n-propylthiouracil because
they have an unusually high numbe r of ta st e buds. Supertasters tend to shun all kinds of bitter-tasting things,
including vegetables, coffee, and dark chocolate. Perhaps as a result, they tend to be thin. They’re also less fond
of alcoholic drinks, which are often slightly bitter. Dewar’s scotch, for instance, tastes somewhat sweet to most
people. “But a supertaster tastes no sweetness at all, only bitterness,” says Valerie Duffy, an associate professor
of dietetics at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.

E In one recent study, Duffy found that supertasters consume alcoholic beverages, on average, only two to three
times a week, compared with five or six times for the average nontasters. Each taste bud, which looks like an
onion, consists of 50 to 100 elongated cells running from the top of the bud to the bottom. At the top is a little
clump of receptors that capture the taste molecules, known as tastants, in food and drink. The receptors function
much like those for sight and smell. Once a bitter signal has been received, it is relayed via proteins known as G
proteins. The G protein involved in the perception of bitterness, sweetness, and umami was identified in the
early 1990s by Linguagen’s founder, Robert Margolskee, at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
Known as gustducin, the protein triggers a cascade of chemical reactions that lead to changes in ion
concentrations within the cell. Ultimately, this delivers a signal to the brain that registers as bitter. “The
signaling system is like a bucket brigade,” Margolskee says. “It goes from the G protein to other proteins.”
F In 2000 Zuker and others found some 30 different kinds of genes that code for bitter-taste receptors. “We
knew the number would have to be large because there is such a large universe of bitter tastants,” Zuker says.
Yet no matter which tastant enters the mouth or which receptor it attaches to, bitter always tastes the same to us.
The only variation derives from its intensity and the ways in which it can be flavored by the sense of smell.
“Taste cells are like a light switch,” Zuker says. “They are either on or off.”
G Once they figured out the taste mechanism, scientists began to think of ways to interfere with it. They tried
AMP, an organic compound found in breast milk and other substances, which is created as cells break down
food. AMP has no bitterness of its own, but when put in foods, Margolskee and his colleagues discovered, it
attaches to bitter-taste receptors. As effective as it is, AMP may not be able to dampen every type of bitter taste,
because it probably doesn’t attach to all 30 bitter-taste receptors. So Linguagen has scaled up the hunt for other
bitter blockers with a technology called high-throughput screening. Researchers start by coaxing cells in culture
to activate bittertaste receptors. Then candidate substances, culled from chemical compound libraries, are
dropped onto the receptors, and scientists look for evidence of a reaction.
H In time, some taste researchers believe, compounds like AMP will help make processed foods less unhealthy.
Consider, for example, that a single cup of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup contains 850 milligrams of sodium
chloride, or table salt—more than a third of the recommended daily allowance. The salt masks the bitterness
created by the high temperatures used in the canning process, which cause sugars and amino acids to react. Part
of the salt could be replaced by another salt, potassium chloride, which tends to be scarce in some people’s
diets. Potassium chloride has a bitter aftertaste, but that could be eliminated with a dose of AMP. Bitter blockers
could also be used in place of cherry or grape flavoring to take the harshness out of children’s cough syrup, and
they could dampen the bitterness of antihistamines, antibiotics, certain HIV drugs, and other medications.
I A number of foodmakers have already begun to experiment with AMP in their products, and other bitter
blockers are being developed by rival firms such as Senomyx in La Jolla, California. In a few years, perhaps,
after food companies have taken the bitterness from canned soup and TV dinners, they can set their sights on
something more useful: a bitter blocker in a bottle that any of us can sprinkle on our brussels sprouts or stir into
our grapefruit juice
QUESTIONS
Questions 1-8 The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-I. Which paragraph contains the following
information? Write the correct letter A-I, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
1 Experiment on bitterness conducted
2 Look into the future application
3 Bitterness means different information for human and animals
4 Spread process of bitterness inside of body
5 How AMP blocks bitterness
6 Bitterness lowers unhealthy impact
7 Bitterness introduced from a fruit
8 Genetic feature determines sensitivity
Questions 9-12 Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than
two words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 9-12 on your answer sheet.
Summary
The reason why grapefruit tastes bitter is because a substance called 9 ………….. contained in it. However,
bitterness plays a significant role for plants. It gives a signal that certain plant is 10 ………….. . For human
beings, different person carries various genetic ability of tasting bitterness. According to a scientist at the
University of Utah, 11 ………….. have exceptional plenty of 12 ………….. , which allows them to perceive
bitter compounds.
Questions 13-14 Choose the correct letter, A, B，C or D. Write your answers in boxes 13-14 on your answer
sheet.
13 What is the main feature of AMP according to this passage?
A offset bitter flavor in food

B only exist in 304 cup

C tastes like citrus

D chemical reaction when meets biscuit

14 What is the main function of G protein?

A collecting taste molecule

B identifying different flavors

C resolving large molecules

D transmitting bitter signals

SOSUS: Listening to the Ocean
PASSAGE
A The oceans of Earth cover more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface, yet, until quite recently, we knew less
about their depths than we did about the surface of the Moon. Distant as it is, the Moon has been far more
accessible to study because astronomers long have been able to look at its surface, first with the naked eye and
then with the telescope-both instruments that focus light. And, with telescopes tuned to different wavelengths of
light, modem astronomers can not only analyze Earth’s atmosphere, but also determine the temperature and
composition of the Sun or other stars many hundreds of lightyears away. Until the twentieth century, however,
no analogous instruments were available for the study of Earth’s oceans: Light, which can travel trillions of
miles through the vast vacuum of space, cannot penetrate very far in seawater.
B Curious investigators long have been fascinated by sound and the way it travels in water. As early as
1490,Leonardo da Vinci observed: “If you cause your ship to stop and place the head of a long tube in the water
and place the outer extremity to your ear, you will hear ships at a great distance from you.” In 1687, the first
mathematical theory of sound propagation was published by Sir Isaac Newton in his Philosophiae Naturalis
Principia Mathematica. Investigators were measuring the speed of sound in air beginning in the midseventeenth
century, but it was not until 1826 that Daniel Colladon, a Swiss physicist, and Charles Sturm, a French
mathematician, accurately measured its speed in water. Using a long tube to listen underwater (as da Vinci had
suggested), they recorded how fast the sound of a submerged bell traveled across Lake Geneva. Their result-
1,435 meters (1,569 yards) per second in water of l.8 degrees Celsius (35 degrees Fahrenheit)- was only 3
meters per second off from the speed accepted today. What these investigators demonstrated was that water-
whether fresh or salt- is an excellent medium for sound, transmitting it almost five times faster than its speed in
air
C In 1877 and 1878, the British scientist John William Strutt, third Baron Rayleigh, published his two-volume
seminal work, The Theory of Sound, often regarded as marking the beginning of the modem study of acoustics.
The recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1904 for his successful isolation of the element argon, Lord
Rayleigh made key discoveries in the fields of acoustics and optics that are critical to the theory of wave
propagation in fluids. Among other things, Lord Rayleigh was the first to describe a sound wave as a
mathematical equation (the basis of all theoretical work on acoustics) and the first to describe how small
particles in the atmosphere scatter certain wavelengths of sunlight, a principle that also applies to the behavior
of sound waves in water.

D A number of factors influence how far sound travels underwater and how long it lasts. For one, particles in
seawater can reflect, scatter, and absorb certain frequencies of sound-just as certain wavelength  of light may be
reflected, scattered, and absorbed by specific types of particles in the atmosphere. Seawater absorbs 30 times
the amount of sound absorbed by distilled water, with specific chemicals (such as magnesium sulfate and boric
acid) damping out certain frequencies of sound. Researchers also learned that low frequency sounds, whose
long wavelengths generally pass over tiny particles, tend to travel farther without loss through absorption or
scattering. Further work on the effects of salinity, temperature, and pressure on the speed of sound has yielded
fascinating insights into the structure of the ocean. Speaking generally, the ocean is divided into horizontal
layers in which sound speed is influenced more greatly by temperature in the upper regions and by pressure in
the lower depths. At the surface is a sun-warmed upper layer, the actual temperature and thickness of which
varies with the season. At mid-latitudes, this layer tends to be isothermal, that is, the temperature tends to be
uniform throughout the layer because the water is well mixed by the action of waves, winds, and convection
currents; a sound signal moving down through this layer tends to travel at an almost constant speed. Next comes
a transitional layer called the thermocline, in which temperature drops steadily with depth; as temperature falls,
so does the speed of sound.
E The U.S. Navy was quick to appreciate the usefulness of low-frequency sound and the deep sound channel in
extending the range at which it could detect submarines. In great secrecy during the 1950s, the U.S. Nary
launched a project that went by the code name Jezebel; it would later come to be known as the Sound
Surveillance System(SOSUS).The system involved arrays of underwater microphones, called hydrophones, that
were placed on the ocean bottom and connected by cables to onshore processing centers. With SOSUS
deployed in both deep and shallow water along both coasts of North America and the British West Indies, the
U.S. Navy not only could detect submarines in much of the northern hemisphere, it also could distinguish how
many propellers a submarine had, whether it was conventional or nuclear, and sometimes even the class of sub.
F The realization that SOSUS could be used to listen to whales also was made by Christopher Clark, a
biological acoustician at Cornell University, when he first visited a SOSUS station in 1992. When Clark looked
at the graphic representations of sound, scrolling 24 hours day, every day, he saw the voice patterns of blue,
finback, minke, and humpback whales. He also could hear the sounds. Using a SOSUS receiver in the West
Indies, be could hear whales that were l,770 kilometers (1,100 miles) away. Whales are the biggest of Earth’s
creatures. The blue whale, for example, can be 100 feet long and weigh as many tons. Yet these animals also are
remarkably elusive. Scientists wish to observe blue time and position them on a map. Moreover, they can track
not just one whale at a time, but many creatures simultaneously throughout the North Atlantic and the eastern
North Pacific. They also can learn to distinguish whale calls. For example, Fox and colleagues have detected
changes in the calls of finback whales during different seasons and have found that blue whales in different
regions of the Pacific ocean have different calls. Whales firsthand must wait in their ships for the whales to
surface. A few whales have been tracked‘briefly in the wild this way but not for very great distances, and much
about them remains unknown. Using the SOSUS stations, scientists can track the whales in real time and
position them on a map. Moreover, they can track not just one whale at a time, but many creatures
simultaneously throughout the North Atlantic and the eastern North Pacific. They also can learn to distinguish
whale calls. For example, Fox and colleagues have detected changes in the calls of finback whales during
different seasons and have found that blue whales in different regions of the Pacific Ocean have different calls.
G SOSUS, with its vast reach, also has proved instrumental in obtaining information crucial to our
understanding of Earth’s weather and climate. Specifically, the system has enabled researchers to begin making
ocean temperature measurements on a global scale-measurements that are keys to puzzling out the workings of
heat transfer between the ocean and the atmosphere. The ocean plays an enormous role in determining air
temperaturethe heat capacity in only the upper few meters of ocean is thought to be equal to all of the heat in the
entire atmosphere. For sound waves traveling horizontally in the ocean, speed is largely a function of
temperature. Thus, the travel time of a wave of sound between two points is a sensitive indicator of the average
temperature along its path. Transmitting sound in numerous directions through the deep sound channel can give
scientists measurements spanning vast areas of the globe. Thousands of sound paths in the ocean could be
pieced together into a map of global ocean temperatures and, by repeating measurements along the same paths
over times, scientists could track changes in temperature over months or years.
H Researchers also are using other acoustic techniques to monitor climate. Oceanographer Jeff Nystuen at the
University of Washington, for example, has explored the use of sound to measure rainfall over the ocean.
Monitoring changing global rainfall patterns undoubtedly will contribute to understanding major climate change
as well as the weather phenomenon known as EJ Nino. Since 1985, Nystuen has used hydrophones to listen to
rain over the ocean, acoustically measuring not only the rainfall rate but also the rainfall type, from drizzle to
thunderstorms. By using the sound of rain underwater as a “natural” rain gauge, the measurement of rainfall
over the oceans will become available to climatologists.
QUESTIONS
Questions 1-4  Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage l? In boxes 1-
4 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the sataement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1 In the past, difficulties of research carried out on Moon were much easier than that of ocean.
2 The same light technology used on investigation of moon can be employed in the field of ocean.
3 Research on the depth of ocean by method of sound wave is more time-consuming
4 Hydrophones technology is able to detect the category of precipitation
Questions 5-8  The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following
information ? Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 5-8 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once
5 Elements affect sound transmission in the ocean
6 Relationship between global climate and ocean temperature
7 Examples of how sound technology help people research ocean and creatures in it
8 Sound transmission under water is similar to that of ligbt in any condition
Questions 9-13 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

9 Who of the followings is dedicated to the research of rate of sound?

A Leonardo da Vinci
B Isaac Newton
C John William Strutt
D Charles Sturm
10 Who explained that the theory of light or sound wavelength is significant in water?
A Lord Rayleigh
B John William Strutt
C Charles Sturm
D Christopher Clark
11 According to Fox and colleagues, in what pattern does the change of finback whale calls happen
A Change in various seasons
B Change in various days
C Change in different months
D Change in different years
12. In which way does the SOSUS technology inspect whales?
A Track all kinds of whales in the ocean
B Track bunches of whales at the same time
C Track only finback whale in the ocean
D Track whales by using multiple appliances or devices
13. what could scientists inspect via monitoring along a repeated route ?

A Temperature of the surface passed

B Temperature of the deepest ocean floor
C Variation of temperature
D Fixed data of temperature
 
Silent Earthquake
PASSAGE
A In early November 2000 the Big Island of Hawaii experienced its largest earthquake in more than a decade.
Some 2,000 cubic kilometers of the southern slope of Kilauea volcano lurched toward the ocean, releasing the
energy of a magnitude 5.7 shock. Part of that motion took place under an area where thousands of people stop
every day to catch a glimpse of one of the island’s most spectacular lava flows. Yet when the earthquake struck,
no one noticed not even seismologists.
B How could such a notable event be overlooked? As it turns out, quaking is not an intrinsic part of all
earthquakes. The event on Kilauea was one of the first unambiguous records of a so-called silent earthquake, a
type of massive earth movement unknown to science until just a few years ago. Indeed, I would never have
discovered this quake if my colleagues at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory had not
already been using a network of sensitive instruments to monitor the volcano’s activity. When I finally noticed
that Kilauea’s south flank had shifted 10 centimeters along an underground fault, I also saw that this movement
had taken nearly 36 hours— a turtle’s pace for an earthquake. In a typical tremor, opposite sides of the fault
rocket past each other in a matter of seconds—quickly enough to create the seismic waves that cause the ground
to rumble and shake.
C But just because an earthquake happens slowly and quietly does not make it insignificant. My co-
investigators and I realized immediately that Kilauea’s silent earthquake could be a harbinger of disaster. If that
same large body of rock and debris were to gain momentum and take the form of a gigantic landslide—
separating itself from the rest of the volcano and sliding rapidly into the sea—the consequences would be
devastating. The collapsing material would push seawater into towering tsunami waves that could threaten
coastal cities along the entire Pacific Rim. Such catastrophic flank failure, as geologists call it, is a potential
threat around many island volcanoes worldwide.
D Fortunately, the discovery of silent earthquakes is revealing more good news than bad. The chances of
catastrophic flank failure are slim, and the instruments that record silent earthquakes might make early warnings
possible. New evidence for conditions that might trigger silent slip suggests bold strategies for preventing flank
collapse. Occurrences of silent earthquakes are also being reported in areas where flank failure is not an issue.
There silent earthquakes are inspiring ways to improve forecasts of their ground-shaking counterparts.

E The discovery of silent earthquakes and their link to catastrophic flank collapse was a by-product of efforts to
study other potential natural hazards. Destructive earthquakes and volcanoes are a concern in Japan and the U.S.
Pacific Northwest, where tectonic plates constantly plunge deep into the earth along what are called subduction
zones. Beginning in the early 1990s, geologists began deploying large networks of continuously recording
Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers in these regions and along the slopes of active volcanoes, such as
Kilauea. By receiving signals from a constellation of more than 30 navigational satellites, these instruments can
measure their own positions on the planet’s surface at any given time to within a few millimeters.
F The scientists who deployed these GPS receivers expected to see both the slow, relentless motion of the
planet’s shell of tectonic plates and the relatively quick movements that earthquakes and volcanoes trigger. It
came as some surprise when these instruments detected small ground movements that were not associated with
any known earthquake or eruption. When researchers plotted the ground movements on a map, the pattern that
resulted very much resembled one characteristic of fault movement. In other words, all the GPS stations on one
side of a given fault moved several centimeters in the same general direction. This pattern would have been no
surprise if it had taken a year or longer to form. In that case, scientists would have known that a slow and steady
process called fault creep was responsible. But at rates of up to centimeters a day, the mystery events were
hundreds of times as fast as that. Beyond their relative speediness, these silent earthquakes shared another
attribute with their noisy counterparts that distinguished them from fault creep: they are not steady processes but
instead are discrete events that begin and end suddenly.
G That sudden beginning, when it takes place on the slopes of a volcanic island, creates concern about a
possible catastrophic flank event. Most typical earthquakes happen along faults that have built-in brakes:
motion stops once the stress is relieved between the two chunks of earth that are trying to move past each other.
But activity may not stop if gravity becomes the primary driver. In the worst-case scenario, the section of the
volcano lying above the fault becomes so unstable that once slip starts, gravity pulls the entire mountainside
downhill until it disintegrates into a pile of debris on the ocean floor.
H The slopes of volcanoes such as Kilauea become steep and vulnerable to this kind of collapse when the lava
from repeated eruptions builds them up more rapidly than they can erode away. Discovering the silent
earthquake on Kilauea suggests that the volcano’s south flank is on the move perhaps on its way to eventual
obliteration.
I For now, friction along the fault is acting like an emergency brake. But gravity has won out in many other
instances in the past. Scientists have long seen evidence of ancient collapses in sonar images of giant debris
fields in the shallow waters surrounding volcanic islands around the world, including Majorca in the
Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. In the Hawaiian Islands, geologists have found
more than 25 individual collapses that have occurred over the past five million years—the blink of an eye in
geologic time.
J In a typical slide, the volume of material that enters the ocean is hundreds of times as great as the section of
Mount St. Helens that blew apart during the 1980 eruption“more than enough to have triggered immense
tsunamis. On the Hawaiian island of Lanai, for instance, geologists discovered evidence of wave action,
including abundant marine shell fragments, at elevations of 325 meters. Gary M. McMurtry of the University of
Hawaii at Manoa and his colleagues conclude that the most likely way the shells could have reached such a
lofty location was within the waves of a tsunami that attained the astonishing height of 300 meters along some
Hawaiian coastlines. Most of the tallest waves recorded in modern times were no more than one tenth that size.
QUESTIONS
Questions 1-5  Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the sataement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1 It takes a quite fast interaction caused by certain parts of the fault zone to produce a representative earthquake.
2 Flank failure is a prerequisite which is followed by a silent earthquake.
3 The silent earthquake can be used to forecast any forms of earthquake.
4 Kilauea falls into a category of the stirring volcanoes.
5 In some islands, no less than 25 independent dilapidations period from the perspective of geology.
Questions 6-10  The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following
information?
Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
6 the main characteristic to differentiate fault creep from earthquakes
7 occurrence of landslide in water areas near volcanoes in archaic times
8 catastrophe caused by silent earthquake under certain circumstances
9 a metaphor to describe how slow a silent earthquake takes place
10 the possible ending for the south slope of Kilauea are noticed in a short
Questions 11-13  Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than
three words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer
sheet.
Summary
When a model slide happens, the amount of the parts flowing into the sea is so huge that it might bring
about 11 ……………….. Ample shell debris included in 12 ……………….. is a good example because they
might be moved to the high area by currents of 13 ……………….. This height of the waves is much taller than
that documented in the the contemporary era
 TERRIFIC TUPPERWARE
PASSAGE
A. Throw open anyone’s kitchen cupboards from Andorra to Zimbabwe, and you’ll find colourful plastic
products for the preparation, serving, and storage of food. Chances are, some of these are Tupperware.
B. For many people in developed countries, Tupperware is redolent of the 1950s when grandma and her friends
bought and sold it at ‘Tupperware parties’. Some would even say Tupperware became a cultural icon in that
decade. However, these days, while parties are still popular, online sales are challenging the model. Indeed,
since 2000, more Tupperware franchises have opened in China than anywhere else.
C. Take the Hundred Benefits shop in Hangzhou, one of China’s fastest-growing cities. Located in a chic part
of town, it’s full of twenty-somethings who haven’t yet had a child but are building a nest. They’ve got plenty
of expendable income, and they’re picking out items to reflect their new- found optimism. China is undergoing
a home-decorating revolution after years of dull, unreliable products.
Furthermore, the average size of living space for urban Chinese has almost doubled recently, so there’s room
for lots of stuff. But why choose a Tupperware? It’s functional as well as fun. It’s sealable, stackable, durable,
microwave-and-freezable, dishwasher-friendly, and culturally sensitive: four-layer traditional Chinese lunch-
boxes, revamped in bright sexy colours, grace the shelves of the Hundred Benefits shop.

D. What is the Tupperware story? The special plastic used in it was invented in 1938 by an American called
Earl Tupper. The famous seals, which keep the air out and freshness in, came later. Tupper’s company was
established in 1946, and for more than 40 years boasted every success, but, recently, Tupperware Brands
Corporation has been sold several times, and its parent company, Illinois Tool Works, has announced that
declining American prospects may mean resale.
E. Until the 1990s, Tupperware relied totally on a pyramid sales model. In this, a person buys products from a
person above him or her, rather than from a wholesale company or retail shop, and after-sale of the new product
to a third party gives a small percentage of the money to the person from whom he or she originally bought. In
turn, when the person on the lowest level recruits more vendors, those people return percentages to the person
above. Initially, Tupperware operated like this because it was not available in shops.
A more direct line between the manufacturer and the buyer results in cheaper products, and, as Tupperware is
largely sold in the home, women suddenly have an independent income. A disadvantage might be that since
people typically buy from and sell to friends, there are pressures at ordinary social gatherings to do deals, which
some people may consider unethical. This raises the question: am I going for a pleasant dinner at Alison’s; or
am I expected to buy a set of measuring cups from her as I leave?

This pyramid model is prohibited in China and has lost favour in many countries like Britain, Germany,
Australia, and New Zealand, where once it was all-pervasive. At present, most US sales are still on the party
plan, but online and franchise sales are catching up.

F. Tupperware became fashionable after World War II. During the war, large numbers of women were in paid
employment outside the home while their men were away fighting. When the men returned, the women mostly
resumed their household duties. There are widely divergent views about Tupperware’s role at this time. Some
feminists propose that the company promulgated an image of women confined to the kitchen, making the
female pursuit of a career less likely. Others say that the pyramid sales model allowed women to earn,
promoting autonomy and prosperity. In particular, those who were pregnant and at home could enjoy some
extra cash.
G. Effective rebranding of Tupperware has taken place in the East, but what about in America? Well, the
Tupperware website there has developed a ‘Chain of Confidence’ programme to improve sales. In this, women
reinforce the notion of female solidarity by purchasing Tupperware and swapping true stories. Over a million
dollars from this programme has also been donated to a girls’ charity.
H. What the future holds for the pretty plastic product is uncertain. Will Tupperware become a relic of the past
like cane baskets and wooden tea chests, or will online social programmes and avid Chinese consumers save the
company?
QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 14-17
The text has eight paragraphs: A-H.
Which paragraph, A-H, has the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.
14. The benefits of Tupperware in the kitchen.

15. Opposing views on Tupperware and the position of women.

16. A sales model which might spoil the friendship.

17. Worldwide availability of Tupperware.

QUESTIONS 18-22
Look at questions 18-22 and the list of countries below.
Match each statement with a country.
Write the letters, A-D, in boxes 18-22 on your answer sheet.
List of countries
A. Andorra
B. China
C. Germany
D. US
18. Consumers here are now less keen on the pyramid sales model

19. Tupperware buyers in this country give money to help others

20. Young women here lead the way in the purchase of Tupperware

21. The writer uses this to represent many countries

22. Just after World War II, Tupperware was established here

QUESTIONS 23-26
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet, write:
• YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
• NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
• NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
23. Keeping food fresh is something Tupperware does well.
24. Tupperware was responsible for a negative image of women in the 1950s.
25. Rebranding in China has been unsuccessful.
26. Tupperware containers are good for the environment.

TASMANIAN TIGER
PASSAGE
A. Although it was called tiger, it looked like a dog with black stripes on its hack and it was the largest known
carnivorous marsupial of modern times. Yet, despite its fame for being one of the most fabled animals in the
world, it is one of the least understood of Tasmania’s native animals. The scientific name for the Tasmanian
tiger is Thylacine and it is believed that they have become extinct in the 20th century.
B. Fossils of thylacines dating from about almost 12 million years ago have been dug up at various places in
Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. They were widespread in Australia 7,000 years ago, but have
probably been extinct on the continent for 2,000 years ago. This is believed to be because of the introduction of
dingoes around 8,000 years ago.
Because of disease, thylacine numbers may have been declining in Tasmania at the time of European settlement
200 years ago, but the decline was certainly accelerated by the new arrivals. The last known Titsmanijin Tiger
died in I lobar! Zoo in 193fi and the animal is officially classified as extinct. Technically, this means that it has
not been officially sighted in the wild or captivity for 50 years. However, there are still unsubstantiated
sightings.

C. Hans Naarding, whose study of animals had taken him around the world, was conducting a survey of a
species of endangered migratory bird. The cat he saw that night is now regarded as the most credible sighting
recorded of thylacine that many believe has been extinct for more than 70 years.
D. “I had to work at night.” Naarding takes up the story. “I was in the habit of intermittently shining a spotlight
around. The beam fell on an animal in front of the vehicle, less than 10m away. Instead of risking movement by
grabbing for a camera, I decided to register very carefully what I was seeing. The animal was about the size of a
small shepherd dog, a very healthy male in prime condition.
What set it apart from a dog, though, was a slightly sloping hindquarter, with a fairly thick tail being a straight
continuation of the backline of the animal. It had 12 distinct stripes on its back, continuing onto its butt. I knew
perfectly well what I was seeing. As soon as I reached for the camera, it disappeared into the tea-tree
undergrowth and scrub.”

E. The director of Tasmania’s National Parks at the time, Peter Morrow, decided in his wisdom to keep
Naarding’s sighting of the thylacine secret for two years. When the news finally broke, it was accompanied by
pandemonium. “I was besieged by television crews, including four to five from Japan, and others from the
United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand and South America,” said Naarding.
F. Government and private search parties combed the region, but no further sightings were made. The tiger, as
always, had escaped to its lair, a place many insist exists only in our imagination. But since then, the thylacine
has staged something of a comeback, becoming part of Australian mythology.
G. There have been more than 4,000 claimed sightings of the beast since it supposedly died out, and the average
claims each year reported to authorities now number 150. Associate professor of zoology at the University of
Tasmania, Randolph Rose, has said he dreams of seeing a thylacine. But Rose, who in his 35 years in
Tasmanian academia has fielded countless reports of thylacine sightings, is now convinced that his dream will
go unfulfilled.
H. “The consensus among conservationists is that usually; any animal with a population base of less than 1,000
is headed for extinction within 60 years,” says Rose. “Sixty years ago, there was only one thylacine that we
know of, and that was in Hobart Zoo,” he says.
I. Dr. David Pemberton, curator of zoology at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, whose PhD thesis was
on the thylacine, says that despite scientific thinking that 500 animals are required to sustain a population, the
Florida panther is down to a dozen or so animals and, while it does have some inbreeding problems, is still
ticking along. “I’ll take a punt and say that, if we manage to find a thylacine in the scrub, it means that there are
50-plus animals out there.”
J. After all, animals can be notoriously elusive. The strange fish is known as the coelacanth’ with its “proto-
legs”, was thought to have died out along with the dinosaurs 700 million years ago until a specimen was
dragged to the surface in a shark net off the south-east coast of South Africa in 1938.
K. Wildlife biologist Nick Mooney has the unenviable task of investigating all “sightings” of the tiger totaling
4,000 since the mid-1980s, and averaging about 150 a year. It was Mooney who was first consulted late last
month about the authenticity of digital photographic images purportedly taken by a German tourist while on a
recent bushwalk in the state. On face value, Mooney says, the account of the sighting, and the two photographs
submitted as the proof amount to one of the most convincing cases for the species’ survival he has seen.
L. And Mooney has seen it all – the mistakes, the hoaxes, the illusions and the plausible accounts of sightings.
Hoaxers aside, most people who report sightings end up believing they have been a thylacine, and are
themselves believable to the point they could pass a lie-detector test, according to Mooney. Others, having
tabled a creditable report, then become utterly obsessed like the Tasmanian who has registered 99 thylacine
sightings to date.
Mooney has seen individuals bankrupted by the obsession, and families destroyed. “It is a blind optimism that
something is, rather than a cynicism that something isn’t,” Mooney says. “If something crosses the road, it’s not
a case of ‘I wonder what that was?’ Rather, it is a case of ‘that’s a thylacine!’ It is a bit like a gold prospector’s
blind faith, ‘it has got to be there’.”

M. However, Mooney treats all reports on face value. “I never try to embarrass people or make fools of them.
But the fact that I don’t pack the car immediately they ring can often be taken as ridicule. Obsessive characters
get irate that someone in my position is not out there when they think the thylacine is there.”
N. But Hans Naarding, whose sighting of a striped animal two decades ago was the highlight of “a life of
animal spotting”, remains bemused by the time and money people waste on tiger searches. He says resources
would be better applied to save the Tasmanian devil, and helping migratory bird populations that are declining
as a result of shrinking wetlands across Australia.
O. Could the thylacine still be out there? “Sure,” Naarding says. But he also says any discovery of surviving
thylacines would be “rather pointless”. “How do you save a species from extinction? What could you do with
it? If there are thylacines out there, they are better off right where they are.”
QUESTIONS
Questions 14-17
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.
The Tasmanian tiger, also called thylacine, resembles the look of a dog and has 14……………………… on its
fur coat. Many fossils have been found, showing that thylacines had existed as early
as 15………………………. years ago. They lived throughout 16…………………………. before disappearing
from the mainland. And soon after the 17………………………… settlers arrived the size of the thylacine
population in Tasmania shrunk at a higher speed.
QUESTIONS 18-23
Look at the following statements (Questions 18-23) and the list of people below, match each statement with the
correct person A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter A, B, C or D in boxes 18-23 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
List of People
A. Hans Naarding
B. Randolph Rose
C. David Pemberton
D. Nick Mooney
18.  His report of seeing a live thylacine in the wild attracted international interest.
19.  Many eye-witnesses’ reports are not trustworthy.
20.  It doesn’t require a certain number of animals to ensure the survival of a species.
21.  There is no hope of finding a surviving Tasmanian tiger.
22.  Do not disturb them if there are any Tasmanian tigers still living today.
23.  The interpretation of evidence can be affected by people’s beliefs.
QUESTIONS 24-26
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet.
24.  Hans Naarding’s sighting has resulted in
A. government and organisations’ cooperative efforts to protect
B. thylacine extensive interests to find a living thylacine.
C. increase in the number of reports of thylacine worldwide.
D. growth of popularity of thylacine in literature.

25.  The example of the coelacanth is to illustrate

A. it lived in the same period with dinosaurs.
B. has dinosaurs evolved legs.
C. some animals are difficult to catch in the wild.
D. extinction of certain species can be mistaken.

26.  Mooney believes that all sighting reports should be

A. given some credit as they claim even if they are untrue.
B. acted upon immediately.
C. viewed as equally untrustworthy.
D. questioned and carefully investigated.

ELECTRIC DREAMS
PASSAGE
A. The days of the internal-combustion are numbered, and the fuel cell represents the future of automotive
transport, says PETER BREWER. A. Some of the world’s greatest inventions have been
discovered by accident. One such accident led to the discovery of the fuel cell and another led to its
commercialisation. And in around 30 years, when most of the energy analysts have predicted the oil wells will
run dry, motorists will be thankful for both these strange twists of fate. Why? Simply because without the fuel
cell to replace the combustion engine, private motoring as we all know it would be restricted to only those who
could afford the high price.
B. The exact date of the discovery of the fuel cell is not known, but historians agree it most likely occurred
around 1938 in the laboratories of British physicist Sir William Grove, who one day disconnected a simple
electrolytic cell (in which hydrogen and oxygen are produced when water contacts an electric current running
through a platinum wire) and reversed the flow of current. As author records in his book Powering the Future,
Grove realized that just as he could use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen it should be possible
to generate electricity by combining these two gases.
C. The principle behind the fuel cell is simple. Hydrogen and oxygen, two of the most common elements in the
world, are a very explosive combination. But separate them with a sophisticated platinum coated barrier and an
electro chemical reaction takes place, where positively charged hydrogen ions react with oxygen and leave the
hydrogen electrons behind. It is this reaction, the excess electrons on one side of the barrier and the deficit of
electrons on the other that creates electrical energy.
D. The early development of the fuel cell was fraught with problems and high cost. But by 1954 US giant
General Electric had produced a prototype that proved sufficiently effective to interest NASA. The Gemini
space programme proved the viability of the fuel cell to provide electrical power. The spacecraft used six stacks
of cells with three cells in each stack. The electrical power output from each stack was quite modest – just one
kilowatt and as a byproduct, produced half a litre of water for each kilowatt hour of operation. But the Gemini
Cells were very unstable and required constant monitoring.
E. At this time if anyone had suggested to Canadian Scientist Geoffrey Ballard that he would become a world
leader in fuel cell technology, he would have laughed. Ballard’s scientific background was actually geophysics,
but during the oil-crisis of 1973, the US government asked the Canadian to explore alternative forms of energy.
Ballard threw himself into the project enthusiastically but soon became disillusioned by the politics of the
programme. Energy systems take a long time to develop, Ballard said. The short-term vision of politicians, who
voted to fund such projects in the desire for quick results to bolster their re-election chances, were frustrating
for the scientists. However, since the US government lacked the vision for the job, he decided to tackle it
himself.
 F. The big breakthrough on Ballard’s fuel cell came by accident in the search for cheaper materials. Up until
late 1986, Ballard’s team had worked with only one type of fuel cell membrane manufactured by DuPont, but
Dow Chemical had also developed a similar membrane, which had not been released for sale. Ballard’s team
tracked down an experimental sample of the Dow material, put it into a fuel cell and set up a standard test.
Within a few minutes the fuel cell was generating so much electricity on the test bench that it had melted
through the power-output cable.
G. Ballard immediately knew he had a saleable product. The problem was: Should he aim his fuel cell at small
markets like military field generators, wheelchairs and golf carts, or try to sell it as a full blown alternative to
the combustion engine? “It was so needed and the world was ready for it,” Ballard said. “Los Angeles is dying;
Vancouver is going to be eaten alive by its own pollution very shortly. It seemed like a time to go for broke.”
Ballard Power Systems first built a small bus to demonstrate the technology, and then an even bigger bus.
H. As a result a number of multinational motor manufacturers, such as General Motors, Mitsubishi and
Daimler-Benz all tested Ballard’s cells. Finally, Daimler formed an alliance with Ballard that has yielded some
impressive prototypes, including a fully driveable fuel cellpowered A-class Mercedes-Benz compact car, known
as Necar 4. Daimler Chlysler, as the merged Daimler- Benz and Chlysler Corporation is now known, says the
fuel cell represents the future of automotive transport. “The significance of this technological advancement ( the
fuel cell) is comparable to the impact the microchip had on computer technology when it replaced the
transistor,” said Dr Ferdinand Panik, the head of Daimler Chlysler’s fuel cell development team.
QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 14-21
There are 8 paragraphs numbered A-H in Reading Passage 2.
From the list below numbered i- x, choose a suitable heading for the paragraphs.
There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all the headings.
14. Paragraph A
15. Paragraph B
16. Paragraph C
17. Paragraph D
18. Paragraph E
19. Paragraph F
20. Paragraph G
21. Paragraph H
i. A conflict of interests
ii. Science is sometimes a question of luck
iii. Using the fuel cell in different ways
iv. How does it work?
v. Deciding how to exploit the new product
vi. Using the fuel cell to be the first in the space race
vii. A key stage in the development of fuel cell
viii. A first step on the road to a new source of energy
ix. Applying the new technology on a global scale
x. The first fuel cell is tested

QUESTIONS 22-24
Choose the most appropriate letter A, B, C or D.
22. The fuel cell generates electricity because
A. hydrogen and oxygen can be used to create controlled explosions

B. of the reaction which occurs when hydrogen and oxygen are separated

C. hydrogen and oxygen are both gases

D. hydrogen and oxygen both contain electrons

23. The Gemini space programme demonstrated that

A. The fuel cell was too difficult to use in space programmes

B. The fuel cell can only work with pure oxygen

C. Generating a substantial amount of electricity requires many fuel cells

D. The fuel cell could be used successfully

24. The US government asked Ballard to carry out fuel cell research because
A. He was an expert in his field

B. supplies of oil were running out

C. They wanted to find new sources of energy

D. He offered to work completely independently.

QUESTIONS 25-27
Complete the sentences below by taking words from the passage. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.
25. The key step in the development of fuel cell occurred completely _________________.
26. Ballard decided that the fuel cell could be used to reduce ____________in large cities.
27. In an attempt to produce a more ecological car, Ballard _____________with a major automobile
corporation.

Cosmetics in Ancient Past

PASSAGE
A. Since cosmetics and perfumes are still in wide use today, it is interesting to compare the attitudes, customs
and beliefs related to them in ancient times to those of our own day and age. Cosmetics and perfumes have been
popular since the dawn of civilization; it is shown by the discovery of a great deal of pertinent archeological
material, dating from the third millennium BC. Mosaics, glass perfume flasks, stone vessels, ovens, cooking-
pots, clay jars, etc., some inscribed by the hand of the artisan. evidence also appears in the Bible and other
classical writings, where it is written that spices and perfumes were prestigious products known throughout the
ancient world and coveted by kings and princes. The written and pictorial descriptions, as well as archaeological
findings, all show how important body care and aesthetic appearance were in the lives of the ancient people.
The chain of evidence spans many centuries, detailing the usage of cosmetics in various cultures from the
earliest period of recorded history.
B. In antiquity, however, at least in the onset, cosmetics served in religious ceremonies and for healing
purposes. Cosmetics were also connected with cultic worship and witchcraft: to appease the various gods,
fragrant ointments were applied to the statuary images and even to their attendants. From this, in the course of
time, developed the custom of personal use, to enhance the beauty of the face and the body, and to conceal
defects.
C. Perfumes and fragrant spices were precious commodities in antiquity, very much in demand, and at times
even exceeded silver and gold in value. Therefore they were luxury products, used mainly in the temples and in
the homes of the noble and the wealthy. The Judean kings kept them in treasure houses (2 Kings 20:13).And the
Queen of Sheba brought to Solomon “camels laden with spices, gold in great quantity and precious stones.” (1
Kings 10:2,10). However, within time, the use of cosmetics became the custom of that period. The use of
cosmetics became widespread among the lower classes as well as among the wealthy; in the same way they
washed the body, so they used to care for the body with substances that softened the skin and anoint it with
fragrant oils and ointments.
D. Facial treatment was highly developed and women devoted many hours to it. They used to spread various
scented creams on the face and to apply makeup in vivid and contrasting colors. An Egyptian papyrus from the
16th century BC contains detailed recipes to remove blemishes, wrinkles, and other signs of age. Greek and
Roman women would cover their faces in the evening with a “beauty mask” to remove blemishes, which
consisted mainly of flour mixed with fragrant spices, leaving it on their face all night. The next morning they
would wash it off with asses’ milk. The very common creams used by women in the ancient Far East,
particularly important in the hot climate and prevalent in that area of the globe, were made up of oils and
aromatic scents. Sometimes the oil in these creams was extracted from olives, almonds, gourds, sesame, or from
trees and plants; but, for those of limited means, scented animal and fish fats were commonly used.
E. Women in ancient past commonly put colors around their eyes. Besides beautification, its purpose was also
medicinal as covering the sensitive skin of the lids with colored ointments that prevented dryness and eye
diseases: the eye-paint repelled the little flies that transmitted eye inflammations. Egyptian women colored the
upper eyelid black and the lower one green, and painted the space between the upper lid and the eyebrow gray
or blue. The women of Mesopotamia favored yellows and reds. The use of kohl for painting the eyes is
mentioned three times in the Bible, always with disapproval by the sages (2 Kings, 9:30; Jeremiah 4:30; Ezekiel
23:40). In contrast, Job names one of his daughters “Keren Happukh” —“horn of eye paint” (Job 42:14)
F. Great importance was attached to the care for hair in ancient times. Long hair was always considered a
symbol of beauty, and kings, nobles and dignitaries grew their hair long and kept it well-groomed and cared for.
Women devoted much time to the style of the hair, while not culling, they would apply much care to it by
arranging it skillfully in plaits and “building it up” sometimes with the help of wigs. Egyptian women generally
wore their hair flowing down to their shoulders or even longer. In Mesopotamia, women cherished long hair as
a part of their beauty, and hair flowing down their backs in a thick plait and tied with a ribbon is seen in art.
Assyrian women wore their hair shorter, braiding and binding it in a bun at the back. In Ancient Israel, brides
would wear their hair long on the wedding day as a sign of their virginity. Ordinary people and slaves, however,
usually wore their hair short, mainly for hygienic reasons, since they could not afford to invest in the kind of
treatment that long hair required.
G. From the Bible and Egyptian and Assyrian sources, as well as the words of classical authors, it appears that
the centers of the trade in aromatic resins and incense were located in the kingdom of Arabia, and even as far as
India, where some of these precious aromatic plants were grown. “Dealers from Sheba and Rammah dealt with
you, offering the choicest spices…” (Ezekiel 27:22). The Nabateans functioned as the important middlemen in
this trade; Palestine also served as a very important component, as the trade routes crisscrossed the country. It is
known that the Egyptian Queen Hatsheput (15th century BC) sent a royal expedition to the Land of Punt
(Somalia) in order to bring back myrrh seedlings to plant in her temple. In Assyrian records of tribute and spoils
of war, perfumes and resins are mentioned; the text from the time of Tukulti-Ninurta II (890-884 BC) refers to
balls of myrrh as part of the tribute brought to the Assyrian king by the Aramaean kings. The trade in spices and
perfumes is also mentioned in the Bible as written in Genesis (37:25-26), “Camels carrying gum tragacanth and
balm and myrrh”.
QUESTIONS
Questions 15-21 Reading Passage 2 has 7 paragraphs A-G. Which paragraph contains the following
information?
Write your answers in boxes 15-21 on your answer sheet.
15. recipes to conceal facial defects caused by aging.
16. perfumes were presented to conquerors in war.
17. long hair of girls had special meanings in marriage.
18. evidence exists in abundance showing cosmetics use in ancient times.
19. protecting eyes from fly-transmitted diseases.
20. from witchcraft to beautification.
21. more expensive than gold.
Questions 22-27 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 22-27 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
22 The written record for cosmetics and perfumes dates back to the third millennium BC.
23 Since perfumes and spices were luxury products, their use was exclusive to the noble and the wealthy.
24 In ancient Far East, fish fats were used as cream by women from poor households.
25 The teachings in the Bible were repeatedly against the use of kohl for painting the eyes.
26 Long hair as a symbol of beauty was worn solely by women of ancient cultures.
27 The Egyptian Queen Hatsheput sent a royal expedition to Punt to establish a trade route for myrrh.

Seed Hunting
PASSAGE
A With quarter of the world’s plants set to vanish within the next 50 years, Dough Alexander reports on the
scientists working against the clock the preserve the Earth’s botanical heritage. They travel the four comers of
the globe, scouring jungles, forests and savannas. But they’re not looking for ancient artefacts, lost treasure or
undiscovered tombs. Just pods. It may lack the romantic allure of archaeology, or the whiff of danger that
accompanies going after big game, but seed hunting is an increasingly serious business. Some seek seeds for
profithunters in the employ of biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies and private corporations on the
lookout for species that will yield the drugs or crops of the future. Others collect to conserve, working to halt
the sad slide into extinction facing so many plant species.
B Among the pioneers of this botanical treasure hunt was John Tradescant, an English royal gardener who
brought back plants and seeds from his journeys abroad in the early 1600s. Later, the English botanist Sir
Joseph Banks-who was the first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and travelled with Captain James
Cook on his voyages near the end of the 18th century-was so driven to expand his collections that he sent
botanists around the world at his own expense.
C Those heady days of exploration and discovery may be over, but they have been replaced by a pressing need
to preserve our natural history for the future. This modern mission drives hunters such as Dr Michiel van
Slageren, a goodnatured Dutchman who often sports a wide-brimmed hat in the field-he could easily be
mistaken for the cinematic hero Indiana Jones. He and three other seed hunters work at the Millennium Seed
Bank, an 80 million [pounds sterling] international conservation project that aims to protect the world’s most
endangered wild plant species.
D The group’s headquarters are in a modern glass-and-concrete structure on a 200-hectare Estate at Wakehurst
Place in the West Sussex countryside. Within its underground vaults are 260 million dried seeds from 122
countries, all stored at-20 Celsius to survive for centuries. Among the 5,100 species represented are virtually all
of Britain’s 1,400 native seed-bearing plants, the most complete such collection of any country’s flora.
E Overseen by the Royal botanic gardens, the Millennium Seed Bank is the world’s largest wild-plant
depository. It aims to collect 24,000 species by 2010. The reason is simple: thanks to humanity’s efforts, an
estimated 25 percent of the world’s plants are on the verge of extinction and may vanish within 50 years. We’re
currently responsible for habitat destruction on an unprecedented scale, and during the past 400 years, plant
species extinction rates have been about 70 times greater than those indicated by the geological record as being
‘normal’. Experts predict that during the next 50 years a further one billion hectares of wilderness will be
converted to farmland in developing countries alone.
F The implications of this loss are enormous. Besides providing staple food crops, plants are a source of many
machines and the principal supply of fuel and building materials in many parts of the world. They also protect
soil and help regulate the climate. Yet, across the globe, plant species are being driven to extinction before their
potential benefits are discovered.

G The world Conservation Union has listed 5,714 threatened species which is sure to be much higher. In the
UK alone, 300 wild plant species are classified as endangered. The Millennium Seed Bank aims to ensure that
even if a plant becomes extinct in the wild, it won’t be lost forever. Stored seeds can be used the help restore
damaged or destroyed environment or in scientific research to find new benefits for society-in medicine,
agriculture or local industry- that would otherwise be lost.
H Seed banks are an insurance policy to protect the world’s plant heritage for the future, explained by Dr Paul
Smith, another Kew seed hunter. “Seed conservation techniques were originally developed by farmers,” he says.
“Storage is the basis what we do, conserving seeds until you can use them-just as in farming.” Smith says
there’s no reason why any plant species should become extinct, given today’s technology. But he admits that
the biggest challenge is finding, naming and categorising all the world’s plants. And someone has to gather
these seeds before it’s too late. “There aren’t a lot of people out there doing this,” he says.“ The key is to know
the flora from a particular area, and that knowledge takes years to acquire.”
I There are about 1,470 seed banks scattered around the globe, with a combined total of 5.4 million samples, of
which perhaps two million are distinct nonduplicates. Most preserve genetic material for agriculture use in order
to ensure crop diversity; others aim to conserve wild species, although only 15 percent of all banked plants are
wild.
J Many seed banks are themselves under threat due to a lack of funds. Last year, Imperial College, London,
examined crop collections from 151 countries and found that while the number of plant samples had increased
in two thirds of the countries, budget had been cut in a quarter and remained static in another 35 percent. The
UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
has since set up the Global Conservation Trust, which aims to raise $260 million to protect seed banks in
perpetuity.
QUESTIONS
Question 14-19  Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? In
boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the sataement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
14 The purpose of collecting seeds now is different from the past.
15 The millennium seed bank is the earliest seed bank.
16 A major reason for plant species extinction is farmland expansion.
17 The approach that scientists apply to reserve seeds is similar to that used by farmers.
18 Development of technology is the only hope to save plant species.
19 The works of seed conservation are often limited by financial problems.
Question 20-24 Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than
three words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 20-24 on your answer
sheet.
Summary
Some people collect seeds for the purpose of protecting certain species from 20 …………… ; others collect
seeds for their ability to produce 21 …………… . They are called seed hunters. The 22 …………… of them
included both gardeners and botanists, such as 23 …………… who financially supported collectors out of his
own pockets. The seeds collected are usually stored in seed banks, one of which is the famous millennium seed
bank, where seeds are all stored in the 24 …………… at a low temperature.
Question 25-26 Choose the correct letter, A-E. Write your answers in boxes 25-26 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO of the followings are provided by plants to the human?
A food
B fuels
C clothes
D energy
E commercial products

Biodiversity
PASSAGE
A It seems biodiversity has become a buzzword beloved of politicians, conservationists, protesters and scientists
alike. But what exactly is it? The Convention on Biological Diversity an international agreement to conserve
and share the planet’s biological riches, providing a good working definition: biodiversity comprises every form
of life, from the smallest microbe to the largest animal or plant, the genes that give them their specific
characteristics and the ecosystems of which they are a part.
B In October, the World Conservation Union (also known as the IUCN) published its updated Red List of
Threatened Species, a roll call of 11,167 creatures facing extinction – 121 more than when the list was last
published in 2000. But the new figures almost certainly underestimate the crisis. Some 1.2 million species of
animal and 270,000 species of plant have been classified, but the well-being of only a fraction has been
assessed. The resources are simply not available. The IUCN reports that 5714 plants are threatened, for
example, but admits that only 4 percent of known plants have been assessed. And, of course, there are
thousands of species that we have yet to discover. Many of these could also be facing extinction.
C It is important to develop a picture of the diversity of life on Earth now, so that comparisons can be made in
the future and trends identified. But it isn’t necessary to observe every single type of organism in an area to get
a snapshot of the health of the ecosystem. In many habitats there are species that are particularly susceptible to
shifting conditions, and these can be used as indicator species.
D In the media, it is usually large, charismatic animals such as pandas, elephants, tigers and whales that get all
the attention when loss of biodiversity is discussed. However, animals or plants far lower down the food chain
are often the ones vital for preserving habitats – in the process saving the skins of those more glamorous
species. These are known as keystone species.
E By studying the complex feeding relationships within habitats, species can be identified that have a
particularly important impact on the environment. For example, the members of the fig family are the staple
food for hundreds of different species in many different countries, so important that scientists sometimes call
figs “jungle burgers”. A whole range of animals, from tiny insects to birds and large mammals, feed on
everything from the tree’s bark and leaves to its flowers and fruits. Many fig species have very specific
pollinators. There are several dozen species of fig tree in Costa Rica, and a different type of wasp has evolved to
pollinate each one. Chris Lyle of the Natural History Museum in London-who is also involved in the Global
Taxonomy Initiative of the Convention on Biological Diversity – points out that if fig trees are affected by
global warming, pollution, disease or any other catastrophe, the loss of biodiversity will be
enormous.Biodiversity
F Similarly, sea otters play a major role in the survival of giant kelp forests along the coasts of California and
Alaska. These “marine rainforests” provide a home for a wide range of other species. The kelp itself is the main
food of purple and red sea urchins and in turn the urchins are eaten by predators, particularly sea otters. They
detach an urchin from the seabed then float to the surface and lie on their backs with the urchin shell on their
tummy, smashing it open with a stone before eating the contents. Urchins that are not eaten tend to spend their
time in rock crevices to avoid the predators. This allows the kelp to grow and it can grow many centimetres in a
day. As the forests form, bits of kelp break off and fall to the bottom to provide food for the urchins in their
crevices. The sea otters thrive hunting for sea urchins in the kelp, and many other fish and invertebrates live
among the fronds. The problems start when the sea otter population declines. As large predators they are
vulnerable – their numbers are relatively small so disease or human hunters can wipe them out. The result is that
the sea urchin population grows unchecked and they roam the sea floor eating young kelp fronds. This tends to
keep the kelp very short and stops forests developing, which has a huge impact on biodiversity.
G Conversely, keystone species can also make dangerous alien species: they can wreak havoc if they end up in
the wrong ecosystem. The cactus moth, whose caterpillar is a voracious eater of prickly pear was introduced to
Australia to control the rampant cacti. It was so successful that someone thought it would be a good idea to
introduce it to Caribbean islands that had the same problem. It solved the cactus menace, but unfortunately
some of the moths have now reached the US mainland-borne on winds and in tourists’ luggage-where they are
devastating the native cactus populations of Florida.
H Organisations like the Convention on Biological Diversity work with groups such as the UN and with
governments and scientists to raise awareness and fund research. A number of major international meetings –
including the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg this year – have set targets for
governments around the world to slow the loss of biodiversity. And the CITES meeting in Santiago last month
added several more names to its list of endangered species for which trade is controlled. Of course, these
agreements will prove of limited value if some countries refuse to implement them.
I There is cause for optimism, however. There seems to be a growing understanding of the need for sustainable
agriculture and sustainable tourism to conserve biodiversity. Problems such as illegal logging are being tackled
through sustainable forestry programmes, with the emphasis on minimising the use of rainforest hardwoods in
the developed world and on rigorous replanting of whatever trees are harvested. CITES is playing its part by
controlling trade in wood from endangered tree species. In the same way, sustainable farming techniques that
minimise environmental damage and avoid monoculture.
J Action at a national level often means investing in public education and awareness. Getting people like you
and me involved can be very effective. Australia and many European countries are becoming increasingly
efficient at recycling much of their domestic waste, for example, preserving natural resources and reducing the
use of fossil fuels. This in turn has a direct effect on biodiversity by minimising pollution, and an indirect effect
by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from incinerators and landfill sites. Preserving ecosystems
intact for future generations to enjoy is obviously important, but biodiversity is not some kind of optional extra.
Variety may be “the spice of life”, but biological variety is also our life-support system.
QUESTIONS
Questions 14-20 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 14-20 0n your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
14 The term “biodiversity” consists of living creatures and environment that they live in.
15 There are species that have not been researched because it’s unnecessary to study all creatures.
16 It is not necessary to investigate all creatures in a certain place.
17 The press more often than not focus on animals well-known.
18 There is a successful case that cactus moth plays a positive role in the US.
19 Usage of hardwoods is forbidden in some European countries.
20 Agriculture experts advise farmers to plant single crops in the field in terms of sustainable farming
Questions 21-26 Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than
two words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes on your answer sheet.
Summary
Because of the ignorance brought by media, people tend to neglect significant creatures
called 21 ………………. . Every creature has diet connections with others, such as 22 ………………. , which
provide a majority of foods for other species. In some states of America, decline in number of sea otters leads to
the boom of 23 ………………. . An impressing case is that imported 24 ………………. successfully tackles
the plant cacti in 25 ………………. . However, the operation is needed for the government to increase their
financial support in 26 ……………….
Wealth in a cold climate
PASSAGE
A Dr William Masters was reading a book about mosquitoes when inspiration struck. “There was this anecdote
about the great yellow fever epidemic that hit Philadelphia in 1793,” Masters recalls. “This epidemic decimated
the city until the first frost came.” The inclement weather froze out the insects, allowing Philadephia to recover
B If weather could be the key to a city’s fortunes, Masters thought, then why not to the historical fortunes of
nations? And could frost lie at the heart of one of the most enduring economic mysteries of all—why are almost
all the wealthy, industrialised nations to be found at latitudes above 40 degrees? After two years of research, he
thinks that he has found a piece of the puzzle. Masters, an agricultural economist from Purdue University in
Indiana, and Margaret McMillan at Tufts University, Boston, show that annual frosts are among the factors that
distinguish rich nations from poor ones. Their study is published this month in the Journal of Economic Growth.
The pair speculate that cold snaps have two main benefits—they freeze pests that would otherwise destroy
crops, and also freeze organisms, such as mosquitoes, that carry disease. The result is agricultural abundance
and a big workforce.
C The academics took two sets of information. The first was average income for countries, the second climate
data from the University of East Anglia. They found a curious tally between the sets. Countries having five or
more frosty days a month are uniformly rich; those with fewer than five are impoverished. The authors
speculate that the five-day figure is important; it could be the minimum time needed to kill pests in the soil.
Masters says: “For example, Finland is a small country that is growing quickly, but Bolivia is a small country
that isn’t growing at all. Perhaps climate has something to do with that.” In fact, limited frosts bring huge
benefits to farmers. The chills kill insects or render them inactive; cold weather slows the break-up of plant and
animal material in the soil, allowing it to become richer; and frosts ensure a build-up of moisture in the ground
for spring, reducing dependence on seasonal rains. There are exceptions to the “cold equals rich” argument.
There are well-heeled tropical countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore (both citystates, Masters notes), a
result of their superior trading positions. Likewise, not all European countries are moneyed 一 in the former
communist colonies, economic potential was crushed by politics.
D Masters stresses that climate will never be the overriding factor — the wealth of nations is too complicated to
be attributable to just one factor. Climate, he feels, somehow combines with other factors—such as the presence
of institutions, including governments, and access to trading routes—to determine whether a country will do
well. Traditionally, Masters says, economists thought that institutions had the biggest effect on the economy,
because they brought order to a country in the form of, for example, laws and property rights. With order, so the
thinking went, came affluence. “But there are some problems that even countries with institutions have not been
able to get around,” he says. “My feeling is that, as countries get richer, they get better institutions. And the
accumulation of wealth and improvement in governing institutions are both helped by a favourable
environment, including climate.”
E This does not mean, he insists, that tropical countries are beyond economic help and destined to remain
penniless. Instead, richer countries should change the way in which foreign aid is given. Instead of aid being
geared towards improving governance, it should be spent on technology to improve agriculture and to combat
disease. Masters cites one example: “There are regions in India that have been provided with irrigation—
agricultural productivity has gone up and there has been an improvement in health.” Supplying vaccines against
tropical diseases and developing crop varieties that can grow in the tropics would break the poverty cycle.
F Other minds have applied themselves to the split between poor and rich nations, citing anthropological,
climatic and zoological reasons for why temperate nations are the most affluent. In 350BC, Aristotle observed
that “those who live in a cold climate… are full of spirit”. Jared Diamond, from the University of California at
Los Angeles, pointed out in his book Guns, Germs and Steel that Eurasia is broadly aligned east-west, while
Africa and the Americas are aligned north-south. So, in Europe, crops can spread quickly across latitudes
because climates are similar. One of the first domesticated crops, einkorn wheat, spread quickly from the
Middle East into Europe; it took twice as long for corn to spread from Mexico to what is now the eastern United
States. This easy movement along similar latitudes in Eurasia would also have meant a faster dissemination of
other technologies such as the wheel and writing, Diamond speculates. The region also boasted domesticated
livestock, which could provide meat, wool and motive power in the fields. Blessed with such natural
advantages, Eurasia was bound to take off economically.
G John Gallup and Jeffrey Sachs, two US economists, have also pointed out striking correlations between the
geographical location of countries and their wealth. They note that tropical countries between 23.45 degrees
north and south of the equator are nearly all poor. In an article for the Harvard International Review, they
concluded that “development surely seems to favour the temperate-zone economies, especially those in the
northern hemisphere, and those that have managed to avoid both socialism and the ravages of war”. But Masters
cautions against geographical determinism, the idea that tropical countries are beyond hope: “Human health and
agriculture can be made better through scientific and technological research,” he says, “so we shouldn’t be
writing off these countries. Take Singapore: without air conditioning, it wouldn’t be rich.’’
QUESTIONS
Questions 14-20  The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G Choose the correct heading for paragraphs
A-G from the list below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i. The positive correlation between climate and country
ii. The wealth influenced by other factors besides climate
iii. The inspiration from reading a book
iv. Other researcher results still do not rule out exceptional cases
v. Eruasia has different attributes with Africa
vi. Low temperature may benefit people and crop
vii. The traditional view reflecting the importance of institution.
viii. The best result to use aid which makes a difference
ix. The spread of crop in European and other courtiers
x. confusions and exceptional cases such as Singapore
14 Paragraph A
15 Paragraph B
16 Paragraph C
17 Paragraph D
18 Paragraph E
19 Paragraph F
20 Paragraph G
Questions 21-26 Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than
two words from the Reading passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 21-26 on your answer
sheet.
Summary
Dr William Master read a book saying that a(an) 21 ……………………. which struck an American city of
Philadelphia hundreds years ago, had been terminated by a cold frost. And academics found that there is a
connection between climate and country as in the small country of 22 ……………………. ; Yet besides
excellent surroundings and climate, one country need to improve both their economy
and 23 ……………………. to achieve long prosperity. Thanks to resembling weather condition across latitude
in the continent of 24 ……………………. , crops such as 25 ……………………. , is bound to spread faster
than those from South America to the North. William Master finally pointed out though geographical factors are
important but tropical country such as 26 still become rich due to scientific advancement.
The Lost City
PASSAGE
Thanks to modern remote-sensing techniques, a ruined city in Turkey is slowly revealing itself as one of the
greatest and most mysterious cities of the ancient world. Sally Palmer uncovers more.
A The low granite mountain, known as Kerkenes Dag, juts from the northern edge of the Cappadocian plain in
Turkey. Sprawled over the mountainside are the ruins of an enormous city, contained by crumbling defensive
walls seven kilometers long. Many respected archaeologists believe these are the remains of the fabled city of
Pteria, the sixth-century BC stronghold of the Medes that the Greek historian Herodotus described in his famous
work The Histories. The short-lived city came under Median control and only fifty years later was sacked,
burned and its strong stone walls destroyed.
B British archeologist Dr Geoffrey Summers has spent ten years studying the site. Excavating the ruins is a
challenge because of the vast area they cover. The 7 km perimeter walls run around a site covering 271
hectares. Dr Summers quickly realised it would take far too long to excavate the site using traditional
techniques alone. So he decided to use modern technology as well to map the entire site, both above and
beneath the surface, to locate the most interesting areas and priorities to start digging.
C In 1993, Dr Summers hired a special hand-held balloon with a remotecontrolled camera attached. He walked
over the entire site holding the balloon and taking photos. Then one afternoon, he rented a hot-air balloon and
floated over the site, taking yet more pictures. By the end of the 1994 season, Dr Summers and his team had a
jigsaw of aerial photographs of the whole site. The next stage was to use remote sensing, which would let them
work out what lay below the intriguing outlines and ruined walls. “Archaeology is a discipline that lends itself
very well to remote sensing because it revolves around space,” says Scott Branting, an associated director of the
project. He started working with Dr Summers in 1995.
D The project used two main remote-sensing techniques. The first is magnetometry, which works on the
principle that magnetic fields at the surface of the Earth are influenced by what is buried beneath. It measures
localised variations in the direction and intensity of this magnetic field. “The Earth’s magnetic field can vary
from place to place, depending on what happened there in the past,” says Branting. “if something containing
iron oxide was heavily burnt, by natural or human actions, the iron particles in it can be permanently reoriented,
like a compass needle, to align with the Earth’s magnetic field present at that point in time and space.’ The
magnetometer detects differences in the orientations and intensities of these iron particles from the present-day
magnetic field and uses them to produce an image of what lies below ground.
E Kerkenes Dag lends itself particularly well to magnetometry because it was all burnt at once in a savage fire.
In places the heat was sufficient to turn sandstone to glass and to melt granite. The fire was so hot that there
were strong magnetic signatures set to the Earth’s magnetic field from the timearound 547 BC-resulting in
extremely clear pictures. Furthermore, the city was never rebuilt, “if you have multiple layers confusing picture,
because you have different walls from different periods giving signatures that all go in different directions,”
says Branting. “We only have one going down about 1.5 meters, so we can get a good picture of this fairly
short-lived city.”
F The other main sub-surface mapping technique, which is still being used at the site, is resistivity. This
technique measures the way electrical pulses are conducted through sub-surface soil. It’s done by shooting
pulses into the ground through a thin metal probe. Different materials have different electrical conductivity. For
example, stone and mudbrick are poor conductors, but looser, damp soil conducts very well. By walking around
the site and taking about four readings per metre, it is possible to get a detailed idea of what is where beneath
the surface. The teams then build up pictures of walls, hearths and other remains. “It helps a lot if it has rained,
because the electrical pulse can get through more easily,” says Branting. “Then if something is more resistant, it
really shows up.” This is one of the reasons that the project has a spring season, when most of the resistivity
work is done. Unfortunately, testing resistivity is a lot slower than magnetometry. “If we did resistivity over the
whole site it would take about 100 years,” says Branting. Consequently, the team is concentrating on areas
where they want to clarify pictures from the magnetometry.
G Remote sensing does not reveal everything about Kerkenes Dag, but it shows the most interesting sub-surface
areas of the site. The archaeologists can then excavate these using traditional techniques. One surprise came
when they dug out one of the fates in the defensive walls. “Our observations in early seasons led us to assume
that we were looking at a stone base from a mudbrick city wall, such as would be found at most other cities in
the Ancient Near East,” says Dr Summers. “When we started to excavate we were staggered to discover that the
walls were made entirely from stone and that the gate would have stood at least ten metres high. After ten years
of study, Pteria is gradually giving up its secrets.”
QUESTIONS
Questions 14-17 Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.

14 The reason why various investigative methods are introduced.
15 An example of an unexpected discovery.
16 The methods to surveyed the surface of the site from above.
17 The reason why experts want to study the site.
Questions 18-25  Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than
THREE words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 18-25 on your answer
sheet.
Summary
Exploring the Ancient City of Pteria
The relevant work was done ten years ago. To begin with, experts took photos of the site from the ground and
then from a distance in a 18 ……………….. To find out what lay below the surface, they used two leading
techniques. One was magnetometer, which identifies changes in the magnetic field. These changes occur when
the 19 ………………. in buried structures have changed direction as a result of great heat. They match with the
magnetic field, which is similar to a 20 ……………….. The other one was resistivity, which uses
a 21 ………………. to fire electrical pulses into the earth. The principle is that building materials
like 22 ………………. and stone do not conduct electricity well, while 23 ………………. does this much
better. Archaeologists preferred to use this technique during the 24 ………………., when conditions are more
favourable. Resistivity is mainly being used to 25 ………………. some images generated by the magnetometer.
Questions 26 Choose the correct letter, A，B, C or D. Write the correct letter in box 26 on your answer sheet.
How do modern remote-sensing techniques help at the site?
A They avoid the need for experts to dig any part of the site.

B They bring parts of the site into light so that key areas can be researched further.

 C They show minute buried objects for the archaeologists to dig up.

D They make the investigation more flexible as they can be used at any time of year

AMERICA’S OLDEST ART?

PASSAGE
Set within treacherously steep cliffs, and hidden away valleys of northeast Brazil, is some of Southeast
America’s most significant and spectacular rock-art. Most of the art so far discovered from the ongoing
excavations comes from the archaeologically – important National Park of the Serra da Capivara in the state of
Piaui, and it is causing quite a controversy. The reason for the uproar? The art is being dated to around 25.CC0
or perhaps. According to some archaeologists, even 36,000 years ago. If correct, this is set to challenge the
widely held view that America was first colonized from the north, via the Bering Straits from eastern Siberia at
around 10.000 BC. only moving down into Central and South America in the millennia thereafter.

Prior to the designation of 130,000 hectares as a National Park, the rock-art sites were difficult to get to. and
often dangerous to enter. In ancient times, this inaccessibility must have heightened the importance of the sites,
and indeed of the people who painted on the rocks. Wild animals and human figures dominate the an. and are
incorporated into often-complex scenes involving hunting, supernatural beings, fighting and dancing. The artists
depicted the animals that roamed the local ancient brushwood forest. The large mammals are usually planted in
groups and tend to be shown a running stance, as though trying to escape from hunting parties.

Processions – lines of human and animal figures – also appear of great importance to these ancient artists.
Might such lines represent family units or groups of warriors? On a number of panels, rows of stylized figures,
some numbering up to 30 individual figures, were painted using the natural undulating contours of the rock
surface, so evoking the contours of the seconding landscape. Other interesting, but very rare, occurrences are
scenes that show small human figures holding on to and dancing around a tree, possibly involved in some tom
of a ritual dance.

Due to the favourable climatic conditions. The imagery on many panels is in a remarkable state of preservation.
Despite this, however, there are serious conservation issues that affect their long term survival. The chemical
and mineral quantities of the rock on which the imagery is painted is fragile and on several panels it is unstable.
As well as the secretion of sodium carbonate on the rock surface, complete panel sections have, over the ancient
and recent past, broken away from the main rock surface. These have then become buried and sealed into
sometimes-ancient floor deposits. Perversely, this form of natural erosion and subsequent deposition has
assisted archaeologists in dating several major rock-art sites.

Of course, dating the art is extremely difficult due to the non-existence of plant and animal remains that might
be scientifically dated. However, there am a small number of sites in the Serra da Capivara that are giving up
their secrets through good systematic excavation. Thus, at Toca do Roquismo da Pedra Furada. rock-art
researcher Niede Guidon managed to obtain a number of dates. At different levels of excavation, she located
fallen painted rock fragments, which she was able to date to at least 36,000 years ago. Along with toe painted
fragments, crude stone tools were found. Also discovered wore a series of scientifically datable sites of
fireplaces, or hearths, the earliest dated to 46,000 BC arguably the oldest date for human habitation in America.

However, these conclusions are not without controversy. Critics, mainly from North America, have suggested
that the hearths may in fact be a natural phenomenon, the result of seasonal brushwood fires. Several North
American researchers have gone further and suggested that the rock art from this site dates from no earlier than
about 3,730 years old, based on the results of limited radiocarbon dating.

Adding further fool to the general debate is the fact that the artists in the area of the National Hark tended not to
draw over old motifs (as often occurs with rock- art), which makes it hard to work out the relative chronology
of the images or styles. However, the diversity of imagery and the narrative the paintings create from each of
the many sites within the National Park suggests different artists were probably making their art at different
times, and potentially using each site over many thousands of years.

With fierce debates thus raging over tho dating, where these artists originate from is also still very much open to
speculation. The traditional view ignores the early dating evidence from the South American rock-art sites. In a
revised scenario, some palaeo – anthropologists are now suggesting that modern humans may have migrated
from Africa using the strong currents of the Atlantic Ocean some 63.000 years or more ago, while others
suggest a more improbable colonization coming from the Pacific Ocean.

Yet, while either hypothesis is plausible, there is still no supporting archaeological evidence between the South
American coastline and the interior. Rather, it seems possible that there were a number of waves of human
colonization of the Americas occurring possibly over a 60,000-100,000 year period, probably using the Bering
Straits as a land bridge to cross into the Americas.

Despite the compelling evidence from South America, it stands alone: the earliest secure human evidence yet
found in the state of Oregon in North America only dates to 12,300 years BC. So this is a fierce debate that is
likely to go on for many more years. However, the splendid rock art and its allied anthropology of northeast
Brazil, described here, is playing a huge and significant role in the discussion.

QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 27-29
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
27. According to the first paragraph, the rock-art in Serra da Capivara may revolutionize accepted ideas about
…………………….
A. the way primitive people lived in North America.
B. the date when the earliest people arrived in South America.
C. the origin of the people who crossed the Bering Straits.
D. the variety of cultures which developed in South America.

28. How did the ancient artists use the form of the rock where they painted?
A. to mimic the shape of the countryside nearby
B. to emphasize the shape of different animals
C. to give added light and shade to their paintings
D. to give the impression of distance in complex works

29. In the fourth paragraph, what does the winter say that is unusual about the rock-artists of Serra da Capivara?
A. They had a very wide range of subject-matter.
B. Their work often appears to be illustrating a story.
C. They tended to use a variety of styles in one painting.
D. They rarely made new paintings on top of old ones.

QUESTIONS 30-36
In boxes 30-36 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
30. Archaeologists have completed their survey of the rock-art in Piaui.
31. The location of the rock-art suggests that the artists had a significant role in their society.
32. The paintings of animals show they were regarded as sacred by the ancient humans.
33. Some damage to paintings is most likely due to changes in the weather of the region.
34. The fact that some paintings were buried is useful to archaeologists.
35. The tools found near some paintings were probably used for hunting animals.
36. The North American researchers have confirmed Niede Guidon’s dating of the paintings.
QUESTIONS 37-40
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F below.
A. are giving rise to a great deal of debate among palaeo-anthropologists.
B. do not support the earliest dates suggested for the arrival of people in America.
C. are absent from rock-art sites In the Serra da Capivara.
D. have not been accepted by academics outside America.
E. centre on whether or not they are actually man-made.
F. reflect the advances in scientific dating methods.
37. Materials derived from plants or animals …………………
38. The discussions about the ancient hearths ……………….
39. Theories about where the first South Americans originated from ………………..
40. The finds of archaeologists in Oregon …………………….
 LEFT OR RIGHT?
PASSAGE
A. Creatures across the animal kingdom have a preference for one foot, eye or even antenna. The cause of this
trait, called lateralisation, is fairly simple: one side of the brain, which generally controls the opposite side of
the body, is more dominant than the other when processing certain tasks. This does, on some occasions, let the
animal down, such as when a toad fails to escape from a snake approaching from the right, just because it’s
right eye is worse at spotting danger than its left. So why would animals evolve a characteristic that seems to
endanger them?
B. For many years it was assumed that lateralisation was a uniquely human trait, but this notion rapidly fell
apart as researchers started uncovering evidence of lateralisation in all sorts of animals. For example, In the
1970s. Lesley Rogers, now at the University of New England in Australia, was studying memory and learning
in chicks.
She had been injecting a chemical into chicks’ brains to stop them learning how to spot grains of food among
distracting pebbles, and was surprised to observe that the chemical only worked when applied to the left
hemisphere of the brain. That strongly suggested that the right side of the chicks brain played little or no role in
the learning of such behaviours. Similar evidence appeared in songbirds and rats around same time, and since
then, researchers have built up an impressive catalogue of animal lateralisation.

C. In some animals, lateralisation is simply a preference for a single paw or foot, while in others it appears in
more general patterns of behaviour. The left side of most vertebrate brains, for example, seems to process and
control feeding. Since the left hemisphere processes input from the right side of the body, that means animals as
diverse as fish, toads and birds are more likely to attack prey or food items viewed with their right eye. Even
humpback whales prefer to use the right side of their jaws to scrape sand eels from the ocean floor.
D. Genetics plays a part in determining lateralisation, but environmental factors have an impact too. Rogers
found that a chick’s lateralisation depends on whether it is exposed to light before hatching from its egg – if it is
kept in the dark during this period, neither hemisphere becomes dominant. In 2004, Rogers used this
observation to test the advantages of brain bias in chicks faced with the challenge of multitasking.
She hatched chicks with either strong or weak lateralisation, then presented the two groups with food hidden
among small pebbles and the threatening shape of a fake predator flying overhead. As predicted, the birds
incubated in the light looked for food mainly with their right eye, while using the other to check out the predator
The weakly-lateralized chicks, meanwhile, had difficulty performing these two activities simultaneously.

E. Similar results probably hold true for many other animals. In 2006, Angelo Bisazza at the University of
Padua set out to observe the differences in feeding behaviour between strongly- lateralized and weakly-
lateralized fish. He found that strongly-lateralized individuals were able to feed twice as fast as weakly-
lateralized ones when there was a threat of a predator looming above them. Assigning different jobs to different
brain halves may be especially advantageous for animals such as birds or fish, whose eyes are placed on the
sides of their heads. This enables them to process input from each side separately, with different tasks in mind.
F. And what of those animals who favour a specific side for almost all tasks? In2009,MariaMagat and Culum
Brown at Macquarie University in Australia wanted to see if there was general cognitive advantage in
lateralisation. To investigate, they turned to parrots, which can be either strongly right- or left-footed, or
ambidextrous (without dominance). The parrots were given the intellectually demanding task of pulling a snack
on a string up to their beaks, using a coordinated combination of claws and beak. The results showed that the
parrots with the strongest foot preferences worked out the puzzle far more quickly than their ambidextrous
peers.
G. A further puzzle is why are there always a few exceptions, like left-handed humans, who are wired
differently from the majority of the population? Giorgio Vallortigora and Stefano Ghirlanda of Stockholm
University seem to have found the answer via mathematical models. These have shown that a group of fish is
likely to survive a shark attack with the fewest casualties if the majority turn together in one direction while a
very small proportion of the group escape in the direction that the predator is not expecting.
H. This imbalance of lateralisation within populations may also have advantages for individuals. Whereas most
co-operative interactions require participants to react similarly, there are some situations – such as aggressive
interactions – where it can benefit an individual to launch an attack from an unexpected quarter. Perhaps this
can portly explain the existence of left-handers in human societies. It has been suggested that when it comes to
hand-to-hand fighting, left-handers may have the advantage over the right-handed majority. Where survival
depends on the element of surprise, it may indeed pay to be different.
QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 27-30
Complete each sentence with the correct ending. A-F, below.
A. lateralisation is more common in some species than in others.
B. it benefits a population if some members have a different lateralisation than the majority.
C. lateralisation helps animals do two things at the same time.
D. lateralisation is not confined to human beings.
E. the greater an animal’s lateralisation, the better it is at problem-solving.
F. strong lateralisation may sometimes put groups of animals in danger.
QUESTIONS 31-35
Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage.
Lesley Rogers’ 2004 Experiment
Lateralisation is determined by both genetic and 31_____________ influences. Rogers found that chicks whose
eggs are given 32_________________ during the incubation period tend to have a stronger lateralisation. Her
2004 experiment set out to prove that these chicks were better at 33________________ than weakly lateralized
chicks. As expected, the strongly lateralized birds in the experiment were more able to
locate 34 ________________ using their right eye while using their left eye to monitor an
imitation 35_______________ located above them.
QUESTIONS 36-40
Reading Passage 3 has eight paragraphs, A-H.
Which paragraph contains the following information?

36. description of a study which supports another scientist’s findings.

37. the suggestion that a person could gain from having an opposing lateralisation to most of the population.
38. reference to the large amount of knowledge of animal lateralisation that has accumulated.
39. research findings that were among the first to contradict a previous belief.
40. a suggestion that lateralisation would seem to disadvantage animals.
Source of Knowledge 
PASSAGE
A. What counts as knowledge? What do we mean when we say that we know something? What is the status of
different kinds of knowledge? In order to explore these questions we are going to focus on one particular area of
knowledge-medicine.
B. How do you know when you are ill? This may seem to be an absurd question. You know you are ill because
you feel ill; your body tells you that you are ill. You may know that you feel pain or discomfort but knowing
you are ill is a bit more complex. At times, people experience the symptoms of illness, but in fact they are
simply tired or over-worked or they may just have a hangover. At other times, people may be suffering from a
disease and fail to be aware of the illness until it has reached a late stage in its development. So how do we
know we are ill, and what counts as knowledge?
C. Think about this example. You feel unwell. You have a bad cough and always seem to be tired. Perhaps it
could be stress at work, or maybe you should give up smoking. You feel worse. You visit the doctor who listens
to your chest and heart, takes your temperature and blood pressure, and then finally prescribes antibiotics for
your cough.
D. Things do not improve but you struggle on thinking you should pull yourself together, perhaps things will
ease off at work soon. A return visit to your doctor shocks you. This time the doctor, drawing on years of
training and experience, diagnoses pneumonia. This means that you will need bed rest and a considerable time
off work. The scenario is transformed. Although you still have the same symptoms, you no longer think that
these are caused by pressure at work. You now have proof that you are ill. This is the result of the combination
of your own subjective experience and the diagnosis of someone who has the status of a medical expert, You
have a medically authenticated diagnosis and it appears that you are seriously ill; you know you are ill and have
evidence upon which to base this knowledge.
E. This scenario shows many different sources of knowledge. For example, you decide to consult the doctor in
the first place because you feel unwell-this is personal knowledge about your own body. However, the doctor’s
expert diagnosis is based on experience and training, with sources of knowledge as diverse as other experts,
laboratory reports, medical textbooks and years of experience.
F. One source of knowledge is the experience of our own bodies: the personal knowledge we have of changes
that might be significant, as well as the subjective experience of pain and physical distress. These experiences
are mediated by other forms of knowledge such as the words we have available to describe our experience and
the common sense of our families and friends as well as that drawn from popular culture. Over the past decade,
for example, Western culture has seen a significant emphasis on stress-related illness in the media. Reference to
being ‘stressed out has become a common response in daily exchanges in the workplace and has become part of
popular common-sense knowledge. Itis thus not surprising that we might seek such an explanation of physical
symptoms of discomfort.
G. We might also rely on the observations of others who know us. Comments from friends and family such as
“you do look ill’ or ‘that’s a bad cough’ might be another source of knowledge. Complementary health
practices, such as holistic medicine, produce their own sets of knowledge upon which we might also draw in
deciding the nature and degree of our ill health and about possible treatments.
H. Perhaps the most influential and authoritative source of knowledge is the medical knowledge provided by
the general practitioner. We expect the doctor to have access to expert knowledge. This is socially sanctioned. It
would not be acceptable to notify our employer that we simply felt too unwell to turn up for work or that our
faith healer, astrologer, therapist or even our priest thought it was not a good idea. We need an expert medical
diagnosis in order to obtain the necessary certificate if we need to be off work for more than the statutory self-
certification period. The knowledge of the medical sciences is privileged in this respect in contemporary
Western culture. Medical practitioners are also seen as having the required expert knowledge that permits them
legally to pre-scribe drugs and treatment to which patients would not otherwise have access. However there is a
range of different knowledge upon which we draw when making decisions about our own state of health.
I. However, there is more than existing knowledge in this little story: new knowledge is constructed within it.
Given the doctor’s medical training and background, she may hypothesise “is this now pneumonia?” and then
proceed to look for evidence about it. She will use observations and instruments to assess the evidence and-
critically-interpret it in the light of her training and experience. This results in new knowledge and new
experience both for you and for the doctor. This will then be added to the doctor’s medical knowledge and may
help in future diagnosis of pneumonia.
QUESTIONS
Questions 27-34 Reading Passage 3 has nine paragraphs, A-I Which paragraph contains the following
information? Write the correct letter A-I, in boxes 27-34 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
27. the contrast between the nature of personal judgment and the nature of doctor’s diagnosis
28. a reference of culture about pressure
29. sick leave will not be permitted without professional diagnosis
30. how doctors’ opinions are regarded in the society
31. the illness of patients can become part of new knowledge
32. a description of knowledge drawn from non-specialised sources other than personal knowledge
33. an example of collective judgment from personal experience and professional doctor
34. a reference that some people do not realise they are ill

Questions 35-40 Complete the notes below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage
for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet.

The Rainmaker
PASSAGE
A. Sometimes ideas just pop up out of the blue. Or in Charlie Paton’s case, out of the rain. “I was in a bus in
Morocco travelling through the desert,” he remembers. “It had been raining and the bus was full of hot, wet
people. The windows steamed up and I went to sleep with a towel against the glass. When I woke, the thing was
soaking wet. I had to wring it out. And it set me thinking. Why was it so wet?”
B. The answer, of course, was condensation. Back home in London, a physicist friend, Philip Davies, explained
that the glass, chilled by the rain outside, had cooled the hot humid air inside the bus below its dew point,
causing droplets of water to form on the inside of the window. Intrigued, Paton-a lighting engineer by
profession-started rigging up his own equipment. “I made my own solar stills. It occurred to me that you might
be able to produce water in this way in the desert, simply by cooling the air. I wondered whether you could
make enough to irrigate fields and grow crops.”
C. Today, a decade on, his dream has taken shape as giant greenhouse on a desert island off Abu Dhabi in the
Persian Gulf —the first commercially viable Version of his “seawater greenhouse”. Local scientists, working
with Paton under a license from his company Light Works, are watering the desert and growing vegetables in
what is basically a giant dew-making machine that produces fresh water and cool air from sum and seawater. In
awarding Paton first prize in a design competition two years ago, Marco Goldschmied, president of the Royal
Institute of British Architects, called it “a truly original idea which has the potential to impact on the lives of
millions of people living in coastal water-starved areas around the world.”
D. The design has three main parts (see Graphic). The greenhouse faces into the prevailing wind so that hot, dry
desert air blows in through the front wall of perforated cardboard, kept wet and cool by a constant tickle of
seawater pumped up from the nearby shoreline. The evaporating seawater cools and moistens the air. Last June,
for example, when the temperature outside the Abu Dhabi greenhouse was 46°c, it was in the low 30s inside.
While the air outside was dry, the humidity in the greenhouse was 90 percent. The cool, moist air allows the
plants to grow faster, and because much less water evaporates from the leaves their demand for moisture drops
dramatically. Paton’s crops thrived on a single liter of water per square meter per day, compared to 8 liters if
they were growing outside.
E. The second feature also cools the air for the plants. Paton has constructed a double-layered roof with an outer
layer of clear polythene and an inner, coated layer that reflects infrared light. Visible light can stream through to
maximize photosynthesis, while heat from the infrared radiation is trapped in the space between the layer, away
from the plants.
F. At the back of the greenhouse sits the third element, the main water-production unit. Just before entering this
unit, the humid air of the greenhouse mixes with hot, dry air from between the two layers of the roof. This
means the air can absorb more moisture as it passes through a second moist cardboard wall. Finally, the hot
saturated air hits a condenser. This is a metal surface kept cool by still more seawater-the equivalent of the
window on Paton’s Moroccan bus. Drops of pure distilled water from on the condenser and flow into a tank for
irrigating the crops.
G. The greenhouse more or less runs itself. Sensors switch everything on when the sun rises and alter flows of
air and seawater through the day in response to changes in temperature, humidity and sunlight. On windless
days, fans ensure a constant flow of air through the greenhouse. “once it is tuned to the local environment, you
don’t need anyone there for it to work,” says Paton. “we can run the entire operation off one 13-amp plug, and
in future we could make it entirely independent of the grid, powered from a few solar panels.”
H. The net effect is to evaporate seawater into hot desert air, then re-condense the moisture as fresh water. At
the same time, cool moist air flows through the greenhouse to provide ideal conditions for the crops. The key to
the seawater greenhouse’s potential is its unique combination of desalination and air conditioning. By tapping
the power of the sun, it can cool as efficiently as a 500-kilowatt air conditioner while using less than 3 kilowatts
of electricity. In practice, it evaporates 3000 liters of seawater a day and turns it into about 800 liters of fresh
water—just enough to irrigate the plants. The rest is lost as water vapor.
I. Critics point out that construction costs of £25per square meter mean the water is twice as expensive as water
from a conventional desalination plant. But the comparison is misleading, says Paton. The natural air
conditioning in the greenhouse massively increases the value of that water. Because the plants need only an
eight of the water used by those grown conventionally, the effective cost is only a quarter that of water from a
standard desalination. And costs should plummet when mass production begins, he adds.
J. Best of all, the greenhouse should be environmentally, friendly. “I suppose there might be aesthetic
objections to large structures on coastal sites,” says Harris, “but it is a clean technology and doesn’t produce
pollution or even large quantities of hot water.”
QUESTIONS
Questions 27-31 Do the following statements agree with the information given in reading passage 3?
In boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
27. Paton came up with the idea of making water in desert by pure accident.
28. The bus Paton rode in had poor ventilation because of broken fans.
29. Paton woke up from sleep to discover that his towel was wet.
30. Paton started his greenhouse project immediately after meeting up with his friend.
31. Paton later opened his own business in the Persian Gulf.
Questions 32-36 Complete the diagram below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage.
Write your answers in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.
Questions 37-40 Complete the summary below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage.
Write your answers in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.
The greenhouse Paton built is installed with 37………………. to keep the air flowing if the wind stands still,
and it is expected in the future to rely on electricity provided solely by 38. ………………. Despite the high
construction costs compared to desalination plant, the plants grown in Paton’s greenhouse need much less
water, and if produced in large quantities the 39. ………………. could be reduced remarkably. In addition to all
these advantages, it is also 40.………………. because it is clean and pollution free.

Musical Maladies
PASSAGE
Norman M. Weinberger reviews the latest work of Oliver Sacks on music.
A. Music and the brain are both endlessly fascinating subjects, and as a neuroscientist specializing in auditory
learning and memory, I find them especially intriguing. So I had high expectations of Musicophilia, the latest
offering from neurologist and prolific author Oliver Sacks. And I confess to feeling a little guilty reporting that
my reactions to the book are mixed.
B. Sacks himself is the best part of Musicophilia. He richly documents his own life in the book and reveals
highly personal experiences. The photograph of him on the cover of the book which shows him wearing
headphones, eyes closed, clearly enchanted as he listens to Alfred 1 Brendel perform Beethoven’s Pathetique
Sonata-makes a positive impression that is borne out by the contents of the book. Sacks’s voice throughout is
steady and erudite but never pontifical. He is neither self-conscious nor self-promoting.
C. The preface gives a good idea of what the book will deliver. In it Sacks explains that he wants to convey the
insights gleaned from the enormous and rapidly growing body of work on the neural underpinnings of musical
perception and imagery, and the complex and often bizarre disorders to which these are prone.” He also stresses
the importance of the simple art of observation” and the richness of the human context. He wants to combine
observation and description with the latest in technology,” he says, and to imaginatively enter into the
experience of his patients and subjects. The reader can see that Sacks, who has been practicing neurology for 40
years, is torn between the old-fashioned path of observation and the new-fangled, high-tech approach: He
knows that he needs to take heed of the latter， but his heart lies with the former.
D. The book consists mainly of detailed descriptions of cases, most of them involving patients whom Sacks has
seen in his practice. Brief discussions of contemporary neuroscientific reports are sprinkled liberally throughout
the text. Part I, Haunted by Music,” begins with the strange case of Tony Cicoria, a nonmusical, middle-aged
surgeon who was consumed by a love of music after being hit by lightning. He suddenly began to crave
listening to piano music， which he had never cared for in the past. He started to play the piano and then to
compose music，which arose spontaneously in his mind in a torrent of notes. How could this happen? Was I
the cause psychological? (He had had a near-death experience when the lightning struck him.) Or was it the
direct result of a change in the auditory regions of his cerebral cortex? Electro-encephalography (EEG) showed
his brain waves to be normal in the mid-1990s, just after his trauma and subsequent conversion to music. There
are now more sensitive tests, but Cicoria has declined to undergo them; he does not want to delve into the
causes of his musicality. What a shame!
E. Part II, “A Range of Musicality,” covers a wider variety of topics，but unfortunately，some of the chapters
offer little or nothing that is new. For example, chapter 13, which is five pages long, merely notes that the blind
often have better hearing than the sighted. The most interesting chapters are those that present the strangest
cases. Chapter 8 is about “ amusia ， ” an inability to hear sounds as music ， and “dysharmonia，”a highly
specific impairment of the ability to hear harmony, with the ability to understand melody left intact. Such
specific dissociations are found throughout the cases Sacks recounts.
F. To Sacks’s credit, part III, “Memory, Movement and Music,” brings us into the underappreciated realm of
music therapy. Chapter 16 explains how “melodic intonation therapy” is being used to help expressive aphasic
patients (those unable to express their thoughts verbally following a stroke or other cerebral incident) once
again become capable of fluent speech. In chapter 20, Sacks demonstrates the near-miraculous power of music
to animate Parkinson’s patients and other people with severe movement disorders, even those who are frozen
into odd postures. Scientists cannot yet explain how music achieves this effect.
G. To readers who are unfamiliar with neuroscience and music behavior, Musicophilia may be something of a
revelation. But the book will not satisfy those seeking the causes and implications of the phenomena Sacks
describes. For one thing, Sacks appears to be more at ease discussing patients than discussing experiments. And
he tends to be rather uncritical in accepting scientific findings and theories.
H. It’s true that the causes of music-brain oddities remain poorly understood. However, Sacks could have done
more to draw out some of the implications of the careful observations that he and other neurologists have made
and of the treatments that have been successful. For example, he might have noted that the many specific
dissociations among components of music comprehension, such as loss of the ability to perceive harmony but
not melody, indicate that there is no music center in the brain. Because many people who read the book are
likely to believe in the brain localization of all mental functions, this was a missed educational opportunity.
I. Another conclusion one could draw is that there seem to be no cures for neurological problems involving
music. A drug can alleviate a symptom in one patient and aggravate it in another, or can have both positive and
negative effects in the same patient. Treatments mentioned seem to be almost exclusively antiepileptic
medications, which “damp down” the excitability of the brain in general; their effectiveness varies widely.
J. Finally, in many of the cases described here the patient with music-brain symptoms is reported to have
“normal” EEG results. Although Sacks recognizes the existence of new technologies, among them far more
sensitive ways to analyze brain waves than the standard neurological EEG test, he does not call for their use. In
fact, although he exhibits the greatest compassion for patients, he conveys no sense of urgency about the pursuit
of new avenues in the diagnosis and treatment of music-brain disorders. This absence echoes the book’s
preface, in which Sacks expresses fear that the simple art of observation may be lost” if we rely too much on
new technologies. He does call for both approaches, though, and we can only hope that the neurological
community will respond.
QUESTIONS
Questions 27-30 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D Write the correct letter in boxes 27-30 on your answer
sheet.
27. Why does the writer have a mixed feeling about the book?
A. The guilty feeling made him so.

B. The writer expected it to be better than it was.

C. Sacks failed to include his personal stories in the book.

D. This is the only book written by Sacks.

28. What is the best part of the book?
A. the photo of Sacks listening to music

B. the tone of voice of the book

C. the autobiographical description in the book

D. the description of Sacks’s wealth

29. In the preface, what did Sacks try to achieve?

A. make terms with the new technologies

B. give detailed description of various musical disorders

C. explain how people understand music

D. explain why he needs to do away with simple observation

30. What is disappointing about Tony Cicoria’s case?

A. He refuses to have further tests.

B. He can’t determine the cause of his sudden musicality

C. He nearly died because of the lightening

D. His brain waves were too normal to show anything

Questions 31-36 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 31-36 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the information
NO if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
31. It is difficult to give a well-reputable writer a less than favorable review.
32. Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata is a good treatment for musical disorders.
33. Sacks believes technological methods is not important compared with observation when studying his
patients.
34. It is difficult to understand why music therapy is undervalued.
35. Sacks should have more skepticism about other theories and findings.
36. Sacks is impatient to use new testing methods.
Video Game’s Unexpected Benefits to Human Brain
PASSAGE
A James Paul Gee, professor of education at the University of WisconsinMadison, played his first video game
years ago when his six-year-old son Sam was playing Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It’s Dark Outside.
He wanted to play the game so he could support Sam’s problem solving. Though Pajama Sam is not an
“educational game”, it is replete with the types of problems psychologists study when they study thinking and
learning. When he saw how well the game held Sam’s attention, he wondered what sort of beast a more mature
video game might be.
B Video and computer games, like many other popular, entertaining and addicting kid’s activities, are looked
down upon by many parents as timewasters, and worse, parents think that these games rot the brain. Violent
video games are readily blamed by the media and some experts as the reason why some youth become violent
or commit extreme anti-social behavior. Recent content analyses of video games show that as many as 89% of
games contain some violent content, but there is no form of aggressive content for 70% of popular games. Many
scientists and psychologists, like James Paul Gee, find that video games actually have many benefits – the main
one being making kids smart. Video games may actually teach kids high-level thinking skills that they will need
in the future.
C “Video games change your brain,” according to University of Wisconsin psychologist Shawn Green. Video
games change the brain’s physical structure the same way as do learning to read, playing the piano, or
navigating using a map. Much like exercise can build muscle, the powerful combination of concentration and
rewarding surges of neurotransmitters like dopamine, which strengthens neural circuits, can build the player’s
brain.
D Video games give your child’s brain a real workout. In many video games, the skills required to win involve
abstract and high level thinking. These skills are not even taught at school. Some of the mental skills trained by
video games include: following instructions, problem solving, logic, handeye coordination, fine motor and
spatial skills. Research also suggests that people can learn iconic, spatial, and visual attention skills from video
games. There have been even studies with adults showing that experience with video games is related to better
surgical skills. Jacob Benjamin, doctor from Beth Israel Medical Center NY, found a direct link between skill at
video gaming and skill at keyhole or laparoscopic surgery. Also, a reason given by experts as to why fighter
pilots of today are more skillful is that this generation’s pilots are being weaned on video games.
E The players learn to manage resources that are limited, and decide the best use of resources, the same way as
in real life. In strategy games, for instance, while developing a city, an unexpected surprise like an enemy might
emerge. This forces the player to be flexible and quickly change tactics. Sometimes the player does this almost
every second of the game giving the brain a real workout. According to researchers at the University of
Rochester, led by Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive scientist, games simulating stressful events such as those found
in battle or action games could be a training tool for realworld situations. The study suggests that playing action
video games primes the brain to make quick decisions. Video games can be used to train soldiers and surgeons,
according to the study. Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad is Good For You: How Today’s Popular
Culture, says gamers must deal with immediate problems while keeping their long-term goals on their horizon.
Young gamers force themselves to read to get instructions, follow storylines of games, and get information from
the game texts.
F James Paul Gee, professor of education at the University of WisconsinMadison, says that playing a video
game is similar to working through a science problem. Like students in a laboratory, gamers must come up with
a hypothesis. For example, players in some games constantly try out combinations of weapons and powers to
use to defeat an enemy. If one does not work, they change hypothesis and try the next one. Video games are
goal-driven experiences, says Gee, which are fundamental to learning. Also, using math skills is important to
win in many games that involve quantitative analysis like managing resources. In higher levels of a game,
players usually fail the first time around, but they keep on trying until they succeed and move on to the next
level.
G Many games are played online and involve cooperation with other online players in order to win. Video and
computer games also help children gain self-confidence and many games are based on history, city building,
and governance and so on. Such games indirectly teach children about aspects of life on earth.
H In an upcoming study in the journal Current Biology, authors Daphne Bavelier, Alexandre Pouget, and C.
Shawn Green report that video games could provide a potent training regimen for speeding up reactions in
many types of real-life situations. The researchers tested dozens of 18- to 25-year-olds who were not ordinarily
video game players. They split the subjects group played 50 hours of the fast-paced action video games “Unreal
Tournament,” and the other group played 50 hours of the slow-moving strategy game “The Sims 2.” After this
training period, all of the subjects were asked to make quick decisions in several tasks designed by the
researchers. The action game players were up to 25 percent faster at coming to a conclusion and answered just
as many questions correctly as their strategy game playing peers.
Questions 28-31 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write your answers in boxes 28-31 on your answer
sheet.
28 What is the main purpose of paragraph ONE?
A Introduction of professor James Paul Gee.
B Introduction of the video game: Pajamas Sam.
C Introduction of types of video games.
D Introduction of the background of this passage.
29 What does the author want to express in the second paragraph?
A Video games are widely considered harmful for children’s brain.
B Most violent video games are the direct reason of juvenile delinquency.
C Even there is a certain proportion of violence in most video games; scientists and psychologists see its
benefits of children’s intellectual abilities.
D Many parents regard video games as time-wasters, which rot children’s brain.
30 What is correctly mentioned in paragraph four?
A Some schools use video games to teach students abstract and high level thinking.
B Video games improves the brain ability in various aspects.
C Some surgeons have better skills because they play more video games.
D Skillful fighter pilots in this generation love to paly video games.
31 What is the expectation of the experiment the three researchers did?
A Gamers have to make the best use of the limited resource.
B Gamers with better math skills will win in the end.
C Strategy game players have better ability to make quick decisions.
D Video games help increase the speed of players’ reaction effectively
Questions 32-35  Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
TRUE if the sataement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
32 Most video games are popular because of their violent content.
33 The action game players minimized the percentage of making mistakes in the experiment.
34 It would be a good idea for schools to apply video games in their classrooms.
35 Those people who are addicted to video games have lots of dopamine in their brains.
Questions 36-40  Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-F) with opinions or deeds
below. Write the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.
A The writer’s opinion
B James Paul Gee
C Shawn Green
D Daphne Bavelier
E Steven Johnson
F Jacob Benjamin
36 Video games as other daily life skills alter the brain’s physical structure.
37 Brain is ready to make decisions without hesitation when players are immersed in playing stressful games.
38 The purpose-motivated experience that video games offer plays an essential role in studying.
39 Players are good at tackling prompt issues with future intensions.
40 It helps children broaden their horizon in many aspects and gain self-confidence.