Reading For Nec BT Le Online

In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed.
For questions 1-7, read the passage

and choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra
paragraph which you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered
boxes provided.
Crying Wolf
When Bill Feeney stood out under the full moon on a frigid early April night in Northern
Wisconsin in 1944 and gave a deep, full-throated howl, he was not expecting what he received: an
equally deep, full-throated response from a wolf he and his colleagues from the Wisconsin
Conservation Department had been tracking. Rather than calling out the names of fellow
researchers whom he believed to be nearby, Feeney had howled as a bit of a joke.
1. ____________
Mimicking calls has spread far beyond wolves, however, and beyond voice to new devices and
digital recordings, as researchers now use vocalizations to get a peek into many corners of the
animal kingdom. Feeney reportedly howled just that one time. This was likely because he was
leading the wolf study in secret and felt nightly howling sessions would not be a good way to keep
the research clandestine.
2. ____________
In fact, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan now each have wolf hunting seasons and cull quotas.
Officially, Feeney was conducting a major deer study, but the secret wolf study was an offshoot.
He focused on counting and better understanding wolves' social and hunting habits - knowledge
he knew might be unattainable in the future, given that the state was paying a bounty of 20 dollars
for a dead adult wolf and 10 dollars for a pup.
3. ____________
Feeney and the biologists who worked for him disagreed with the bounty and hoped the species
would persist, and Feeney even told the famed ecologist Aldo Leopold that he would publish the
wolf study findings, which showed that wolves did not significantly affect deer population.
4. ____________
Indeed, they did. That planted the seed, and he and his colleagues began howling as a means of
locating wolves during late summer, when lack of snow and thick foliage prevents conventional
surveys, which are done mostly by tracking paw prints and conducting visual surveys during the
winter. After testing out their voices, they realized their own howls were as convincing to the
wolves as the recordings of real wolves.
5. ____________
Then, he waits and listens. If there is no response, he will repeat the four-howl sequence, at the
same cadence but louder. If this fails to elicit a response the howler might try a third time or move
to a different location before howling again. Biologists have long been using vocalizations not just
to locate animals but also to better understand animal communication and social structure.
6. ____________
'With digital files we can manipulate them. You can take a single note and change its frequency
and do playbacks right away and see how the animal we are studying responds. With tape, you
have to splice and it takes hours on end.' Webster says vocalizations let researchers start to unlock
animal language, which is especially important with birds because they use sound to identify
species and find mates and rivals.
7. ____________
'Birds in cities sing differently than those in the country, because we humans make a hell of a lot
of noise, so they shift the way they sing to make it louder.' Animal vocalization has a considerably
longer history in hunting than it does in wildlife research. In both applications, vocalizing is the
art of fooling wild animals by imitating their ilk, but the motivations are vastly different. For
wildlife biologists and other researchers, vocalization is a tool for conserving or arguably, saving
wildlife. Hunters use vocalizations, as well as decoys and olfactory attractants - smells, to lure
animals to within their gun or bow range.
The Paragraphs
A. While wolves are fairly easy to imitate with the human voice, many other species are more
difficult to mimic closely enough. Instead, researchers rely on recordings. 'It's far easier to do the
kinds of studies we do than it was a few years ago because now we're using digital files,' says Mike
Webster, a professor in Cornell's Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and the director of
the Macaulay Library, which holds the world's largest archive of wildlife sounds and videos.
B. In fact, many types of animals use language in important and fascinating ways - whales are a
focus area because their calls travel across thousands of miles under water. 'We can't talk to birds
in bird-ese, but we're getting closer to understanding birdsongs,' says Webster. We're basically
writing the translation dictionary.' Studying recordings lets researchers discern things like the
emotional state of individual birds, and it has revealed clues as to how animals adapt to changing
environments.
C. But the war disrupted academic publication schedules, and the public's abhorrence of wolves
grew more intense at each public meeting about deer-management policies. Feeney become quite
reticent, eventually sequestering all the research notebooks. The study remained secret and the
researchers mum. In the late 1950s, biologist Douglas Pimlott began broadcasting recordings of
wolf howls in Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park, wondering if they might respond.
D. Though the woods of Iron County were sparsely populated, they were frequented by trappers
trying their damnedest to kill every wolf they could. In the 1940s, Wisconsin was only one of four
states where wolves were still extant - the last known gray wolf in that state was killed in 1958. The
species has now returned and has been removed from the state's endangered species list.
E. The first auditory attractants used in North America were developed thousands of years ago by
Native American hunters, who imitated the animals they sought both by using their own voices
and by constructing calls using wood or bone. Hunters also camouflaged themselves, sometimes
in the hides of the animals they sought. In the late 1800s, non-indigenous hunters began using their
voices, and eventually fashioned mechanical duck and turkey calls made from wood, using designs
similar to those of Indian hunters.
F. Deer hunters were already steamed over the recent introduction of hunting regulations, and
considered wolves a major competitor. 'The public was so anti-predator and specifically anti-wolf
that it would have been committing employment and possibly life suicide to admit to doing any
investigation on wolves,' says Richard Thiel, a wolf biologist who led Wisconsin's wolf recovery
plan in the 1980s.
G. This meant Pimlott and his crew could ditch the truck from which they broadcast the recordings,
and set out on foot into the forest, armed only with their voices and notebooks. Over time, a
protocol was developed that wildlife biologists still use today. The vocalist issues an initial howl
- not too loud in case the pack is nearby - and then repeats the howl three times, turning 90 degrees
each time, to ensure it is amplified to each of the cardinal directions.
H. Since he is deceased, we can't ask him whether he considered this to be a new research tool that
built on tracking wolf prints, examining scat, and searching for dens. Feeney's call and
response came years before wildlife biologists began to use vocalizations as a tool to study wolf
packs. Imitation is a surprisingly good way to locate dens and estimate pack sizes and composition.
In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 1-7, read the passage
spaces provided.
Musical Roots
We don't need lengthy research and well-meaning experts on the subject to tell us that music affects
our mood. Music is everywhere in the world today, and neuroscientists say that melodies fire off
brain neurons synchronously and give a sense of well-being to the listener. Music is the food of
love - it fills our hearts, stirs our emotions, arouses our senses and soothes our souls.
1. ____________
Trying to pin down archaeological evidence that our extinct human forebears were capable of
making music is not easy. Not only does the human voice not fossilise, but neither do simple
instruments, such as drums, which are made of perishable organic materials like wood and skin.
2. ____________
The perforated thigh bone of a young bear, found in Slovenia, is significant in this respect, It is
thought to be associated with occupation of the cave more than 35,000 years ago. The bone has
two neat round holes reminiscent of finger holes, and the discovery has generated a lot of
excitement and speculation that it is a primitive flute or recorder. If this is true, then the
Neanderthals, who occupied the cave and are frequently described as nasty and brutish individuals,
may have been a lot more civilised than previously thought.
3. ____________
The excavators have concluded that there is apparently no convincing technological evidence that
the holes in the thigh bone were made by humans, but equally there is no convincing evidence that
the holes were made by the teeth of any of the predators from the list of animals on the site. The
jury is still out but, whatever the outcome, one broken bone recorder does not make a band.
4. ____________
And in fact, such mysterious incisions on bones have been found at a few other Neanderthal sites
in France. However, as one specialist has pointed out, polished and regularly spaced grooves on
bones can be produced by carnivore gnawing.
5. ____________
Evidence of their music can be found in wind-based instruments. From the archaeological record
on sites across Europe, quite a number of hollow tubes fashioned from bird and reindeer bones
have been found. Blowing across the hollow end of these horizontally held flutes produces a
whistling noise similar to that produced by blowing across the mouth of a bottle.
6. ____________
Such reservations notwithstanding, good evidence for wind instruments is provided by delicately
made bone pipes found on sites in several European countries. About three dozen sites are now
known, many of which are more than 30,000 years old. The French pipes are made of hollow bird
bones, and the Eastern example of reindeer or bear bones all have three to seven finger holes.
Experiments have shown that they could have been held vertically rather than horizontally.
7. ____________
The dating of these early instruments and pieces of evidence indicates that the emergence of
musical sound coincided with the first use of colour and ritual by the earliest modern humans,
somewhere between 35,000 and 30,000 years ago. In fact, this explosion of artistic ability may
have even contributed to the Cro-Magnons establishing their superiority over the Neanderthals.
The Paragraphs
A However, there is anatomical evidence, from the shape and position of fossilised bones which
are situated at the base of the tongue, that these early humans may have been just as capable of
singing as we are. But whether they used musical instruments is hotly disputed.
B Several settlement sites in the Czech Republic and Ukraine that are more than 20,000 years old
have yielded similar artefacts. A mammoth-bone but contained bones with polished and scratched
surfaces suggestive of their being held and hit. Interpretation of this new evidence therefore clearly
contradicts previously convincing theories.
C So perhaps the Neanderthals were not flautists at all. It should be easier to find indications that
our direct ancestors, the Cro-Magnons, were into making music. However, archaeological support
for this is equally fraught with controversy.
D So it is significant that there is another similarly contentious find, a 40,000 to 50,000-year-old

mammoth bone with at least 12 regularly spaced grooves cut into it. Discovered in Belgium, it has
been interpreted as an idiophone, or skiffle, a simple percussion instrument that is still used today.
E Again, whether these constitute musical instruments is questionable; they may have been used
as decoy callers to attract animals. From their use, they may have evolved into music-making
devices. However, music archaeologist Graeme Lawson is highly sceptical of such interpretations,
and warns against the dangers of jumping to easy conclusions about primitive orchestras.
F However, others are sceptical of this view, because in those times, the instrument's holes would
have been made either by drilling or gouging. But close examination of the bone shows that the
holes have been punctured. Many experts therefore suspect that they were more likely to have been
produced by strong-jawed predators, such as hyenas, rather than to have been man-made.
G The need to make music seems to be deeply rooted in the human psyche - but when did it all
begin? Is musical composition and performance purely a modern human skill or is there evidence
that our ancestors could also appreciate the sound of music?
H Unfortunately, as most such pipes are broken, reconstructing their tonal properties is difficult.
But one concrete example has been investigated by a modern musicologist and it was found that
once a head was fixed to the tube to direct air flow, a strong, clear note was produced on a five-
tone scale.
Part 3. In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 1-7, read the
passage and choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra
boxes provided.
RoboRoach
The hand in the video scoops up a large beige cockroach and thrusts it into a jar of ice water. The
roach struggles briefly, then grows calm as the cold anesthetizes it. It remains stoic as the hand
scoops it up, sands away the waxy coating on its exoskeleton, glues down a homemade electrode
bundle, and then begins surgery. We see only the extremities of the bug surgeon, who uses silly
putty to secure the roach to a cutting board.
1. ____________
This is a roboroach, touted by its surgeon-creators as the world's first commercially available
cyborg. It's a living, breathing, radio-controlled roach designed by Backyard Brains in a cramped
suite of tatty second-floor offices next to a yoga studio in Michigan. And you can buy one, today,
for yourself or your favourite precocious niece. We all know how devilishly adept a skittering
cockroach is at evading capture, and being radio controlled makes it even better.
2. ____________
Stronger stimulus, be it an electrical jolt or a heel to the flanks, elicits a more extreme turn. Once
a dollar-coin-sized, bluetooth-linked micro-controller is connected to the header on the electrode
bundle installed on the iced cockroach, anyone with a smartphone can steer the little fella in just
about any direction. RoboRoach is many things to many people. A great way to learn about neural
micro-stimulation.
3. ____________
They were founded in 2009 by two University of Michigan engineers, Greg Gage and Tim
Marzullo. But the RoboRoach saga actually began a decade earlier, with the 1999 US military. A
project aimed at harnessing U.S. biological research which encouraged engineers to look to the
animal kingdom, where natural selection has already invested millions of years in research
4. ____________
The post-op roach could then be plugged into long, lightweight control cables wired to a project
box with a few dials, a battery, and directional turn buttons, and hey presto, radio-controlled roach.
Katherine Scott, a Boston-based research engineer, worked in the Advanced Technologies Lab as
an undergrad in 2001, clipping cockroach antennae and feeding in leads. According to Scott, the
art of electrically steering a cockroach remained in the engineering toolbox
5. ____________
They are now made in the billions for smartphones, tablets, and compact gaming devices: tiny
accelerometers to track speed, magnetometers to find magnetic north, barometers to sense altitude
change, and the like. Gage and Marzullo were graduate students working in Neural Engineering,
where they met Scott.
6. ____________
He had met Gage and Marzullo when he was still a biomedical engineering undergrad, after he
was blown away by an early SpikerBox demo Marzullo gave to his physiology class. By 2010,
Reith was on the team of students working on a wireless cockroach-control senior design project
at the behest of Backyard Brains. This early RoboRoach was much simpler than what's now on
sale, and was ultimately dubbed RoboRoach Beta.
7. ____________
The whole operation could be reliably performed outside of a lab setting with supplies any
motivated geek could get at RadioShack. But the total design of it was kind of awkward and almost
too big for the cockroach. Unfortunately, it depended on someone else's mass-produced product
staying on the market, and, worst of all, it didn't allow for any innovation. So, Backyard Brains
took the results and went back to the drawing board. They built a new micro-stimulation-and-
control system from the ground-up.
The Paragraphs
A. It can also be seen as an ethics-free lesson in mind control for the pursuit of entertainment.
Whichever side of the fence you find yourself on, one might reasonably wonder how we have
arrived at the cusp of what is either a terrible dystopia of cyborg enslavement or the glorious utopia
of kitchen-table neuroscience. Backyard Brains has the answer.
B. It was little more than a parlour trick. After all, what good is a cockroach on a leash to a soldier
in the field? By 2003 the program had morphed into the Robolife program, specifically dedicated
to examining the interface of living and nonliving systems, and Scott had transferred to Advanced
Tech's sister facility, the Neural Engineering Lab. There DARPA was funding research on sensor
systems blending neural probes, biofeedback, and microelectromechanical systems, also called
MEMS, which was a field in its infancy.
C. He then perforates the thorax and inserts the first of three hair-thin silver electrodes. Following
a break for another ice-water anaesthetic, the medics cut down the antennae and insert an electrode
in each. The roach is periodically sponged off with a cotton swab, and dabs of superglue secure
each component. A low-fi sci-fi YouTube film this is not, neither is it an art project, a political
statement, or a prank.
D. One key problem Reith at Backyard Brains found with direct neural micro-stimulation is
habituation. Over time, the cockroach grows accustomed to the signal and stops responding. After
about seven days, it can no longer be controlled at all and needs to be retired to a life of eating
compostables and making babies.
E. What's surprising is how easy it is to hack their sensory apparatus. You start by electrically
stimulating the long nerve running through the left antenna and the cockroach will experience a
sensation as though it had brushed up against something to its left, and thus will dodge right. Do
the opposite, and it veers left. This is analogous to how a mounted rider steers a bridled horse.
F. Although RoboRoach has become their most notorious product, it wasn't Gage and Marzullo's
first love. Their first product, and probably the most interesting to date, was the SpikerBox. This
is an affordable, portable bioamplifier that allows you to hear and see action potentials, or spikes,
moving across living neurons. According to Backyard Brains' current lead engineer, Bill Reith, the
company's goal is to create an affordable platform of neuroscience education tools that are broadly
accessible.
G. Researchers were already studying cockroach locomotion, and they hoped to use the cockroach
as a template for robots destined for rugged terrain, where traditional wheels or treads are
impractical. The challenge for the researchers was getting the cockroaches to scuttle around
consistently so they could be observed and measured. The solution was to pay undergrads $12 an
hour to clip down cockroach antennae and thread in hair-thin leads soldered to phone jacks.
H. The control rig for RoboRoach Beta was a neural micro-stimulator hacked to the controller
from an off-the-shelf remote-controlled toy bug. As a proof-of-concept, the RoboRoach Beta was
pretty mind-bending because it demonstrated the feasibility of building a wireless rig small enough
for the roach to carry. More importantly, the RoboRoach Beta team established a reproducible
surgery and implantation protocol with a very low failure rate.
In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 1-7, read the passage
spaces provided.
THE REINVENTION OF A BRAND
Almost everyone knows what Lego is and has probably played with it at some point in their lives.
Since the company’s foundation in 1932, millions have been delighted by the interlocking bricks
that can unleash the creative ideas lurking inside us, adults and children alike. Part of the attraction
is in the attention to detail, which of course the customer is largely unaware of. The Danish creator,
Ole Kirk Christiansen, was meticulous about ‘doing things right’, which is one of the reasons why
this popular toy has stood the test of time.
1.______
What led to this unfortunate state was a series of bad decisions based on advice given by external
business consultants. At this time, product diversity and business expansion were very much in
fashion in all sorts of different industries and so The Lego Group had started to move into various
sectors that lay well outside its expertise. It had created theme parks, and clothes and jewellery for
girls, none of which were creating significant revenues so it was clearly time to get back to basics
and rethink their product strategy.
2.______
This renewed focus chimed well with the company’s motto, created by the founder, Christiansen,
and which is carved into a plaque at the Lego Museum in Billund in Denmark: ‘Only the best is
good enough’. This idea of focusing on strengths and not expanding into unknown areas is a key
feature of the thinking in Danish business culture, and the mentality of The Lego Group is that the
company is about engineering good-quality products for play and that they should not stray from
this focus.
3.______
The change in the company’s fortunes has been analysed extensively by business experts
fascinated by such a momentous financial turnaround ever since. Countless books have been
written about it and many other large brands have analysed The Lego Group’s approach to see
how it can help their businesses. One of the fundamental approaches taken by the Danish company
is based on forging partnerships that allow collaboration on innovative projects while at the same
time remaining true to their principles of doing what they do best.
4.______
One of the most successful of these was with NASA, the American space agency. The two
organisations participated in a robotics competition during the 1990s, which was a big hit among
the participants and the organisations’ relationship has remained strong ever since. This is partly
because The Lego Group is deeply interested in how children play and learn, and also because
NASA has a long history of being involved in educational projects for young people. Both want
to encourage children to develop an interest in science and engineering through fun.
5.______
The Lego Group has never targeted its products on just one gender. However, historically, its
popularity has been overwhelmingly enjoyed by boys. They love the mini figures of people and
don’t much care how realistic they are. Girls, on the other hand, need to be able to identify with
model people. Apparently, this does not happen with the traditional figures, which is why, after
several years of market research, a set of figures aimed at girls was developed.
6.______
Focusing on what customers like and want has proven to be useful in a variety of ways. In what
could be called one of the first attempts at crowd sourcing, The Lego Group got its fans and
customers to vote on designs and even suggest ideas for new products. Ideas that went on to be
commissioned earned 1% of sales for the people that had suggested them – a great way to build
customer engagement.
7.______
The missing paragraphs:
A. A team from The Lego Group travels extensively and engages with children and parents to
develop a better understanding of what kinds of toys children like and dislike. By observing
children interacting with toys and each other, the company can target its products more effectively,
which is how the team learned more about marketing to girls, a sector that had previously eluded
them.
B. Innovation has been key to maintaining customers’ interest, too, as can be seen in the Lego
movies and the adult architecture range, and also in the new kids’ social media platform, which
allows children too young to partake in other social networking platforms to share their designs
safely online. These extensions into cinema, adult play and technology seem to represent the final
pieces of a huge jigsaw puzzle for a complete learning and creativity system by one company.
C. In order to do this, the newly appointed CEO set about rebuilding the organisation. Business
operations were streamlined, and many things were scaled back such as staff and the product
ranges. In addition, the company sold all the extras that were not a core part of the business, which
meant that it was able to return to its roots.
D. By returning to the original ethos, the company was able to put emphasis on renewed energy in
the brand and become financially stable. Over a decade later the results were clear to see, and they
were extremely positive. In 2017 the company was voted the number one toy brand in many
countries. It reported sales of over £600 million that year, and the turnaround was seen as amazing,
one of the most impressive success stories in commercial history.
E. This rethink led to moving the company’s factories to alternative locations. Many large
corporations outsource their production operations to parts of the world offering lower labour
costs, but The Lego Group has factories in Europe, South America and Asia so that a wide range
of products can be quickly shipped to their key markets to keep their customers, both adults and
children, happy.
F. However, this hasn’t always been the case. Despite its huge success during the 1970s and 80s,
by the beginning of the twentyfirst century, the company’s fortunes were looking decidedly
precarious. It was in debt to the tune of $800 million, and sales were in fast decline. What had
seemed inconceivable throughout the company’s history, a total and utter collapse was beginning
to look like reality.
G. The company became extremely successful and sales skyrocketed in a short space of time. This
attention to detail shows how serious The Lego Group is about understanding play. In fact, the
company thinks that it is important enough to have set up a sister company to study child
development as well as partnering with the children’s charity UNICEF and financing the first
Professor of Play at Cambridge University in the UK.
H. In recent years The Lego Group has worked with quite a diverse set of companies in order to
innovate, and an example of this is the collaboration with Lucasfilm, the production company
behind the Star Wars films. In 1999 the Lego Star Wars franchise was launched at a toy fair in
New York and it became instantly popular. The partnership worked well for both companies and
paved the way for further innovative Lego Group partnerships.
In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 1-7, read the passage and
choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra paragraph which
you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered spaces provided.
Science fiction
Science fiction and the science on which it's based have long had a dynamic relationship -
sometimes nurturing, sometimes oppositional. 'Where are our flying cars?' became a plaintive
cry of disappointment as the millennium arrived, reflecting the prevailing mood that science and
technology had failed to live up to the most fanciful promises of early 20th-century science
fiction
1. ____________
Science fiction's predictive score is not particularly high, and depends more on its sheer
multiplicity of ideas than on carefully extrapolated technological marvels..
2. ____________
But it is not the task of science fiction to predict the future. Rather, SF gives us a way of thinking
about humanity as a work in progress and contemplating what we might become. Science fiction
proposes and examines possible futures, it extrapolates from contemporary problems and trends,
but what it illuminates is the present.
3. ____________
This might be more generally true with extremely negative outcomes, as we seem to produce
more dystopias than utopias. We don't have much of a cultural expectation of dashing utopian
yarns.
Ted Chiang says that science fiction is especially well suited to asking philosophical questions,
such as questions about the nature of reality, what it means to be human, how do we know the
things that we think we know. When philosophers propose thought experiments as a way of
analyzing certain questions, their thought experiments often sound a lot like science fiction.
4. ____________
Corporations now regularly hire SF writers to create fictional prototypes, thought experiments,
and what-if stories about potentially marketable Products. Le Guin, however, holds that fiction,
as a creative endeavor, necessarily sets limits in how it depicts reality.
5. ____________
Science fiction sometimes seems more surreal than extrapolative. Philip K. Dick's work, in
which daily life becomes very strange, is probably the best-known example; Rudy Rucker calls
his related mode of altered reality transrealism.
6. ____________
One of the joys of reading science fiction is that we are tossed into an incomprehensible world
that eventually resolves into meaning. It's a microcosm of the human experience, except that you
can figure it out and resolve your adventure within a few hundred pages.
7. ____________
Science fiction, whether it relates to Utopia or the opposite, can prepare its readers for change
and for the shock of the new. Change is a human condition.
The Paragraphs
A. In this kind of SF, strangeness infuses the normal, and transforms it. When you finish the
story, you take a bit of its strangeness with you, and the normal is never quite normal again.
B. Sometimes the most startlingly contrarian ideas are the ones that come true, hence it's difficult
now to understand how wild and paranoid Philip K. Dick's visions of the future seemed 50 or 60
years ago, before reality bent and assumed their shape.
C. SF writer William Gibson, who coined the term 'cyberspace' - and will never be allowed to
forget it - explains why people want to judge science fiction on its predictive capability. “I take it
for granted, both as a reader and a writer of SF, that one aspect of the potential pleasure of the
text may be pretending to believe the future as presented is a likely outcome.”
D. Even what's now called dystopian fiction, such as Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games, in
which the world is measurably less pleasant than middle-class American life, generally narrates a
story in which the protagonist struggles within its grim world but eventually triumphs.
E. All art consists of defining boundaries and exclusion as well as invention and creation. To a
writer, the future is not only a laboratory but a blank canvas on which to paint possibilities, non-
existent but possible or plausible realities, contained within the limits of the canvas.
F. Stories set in the future are often taken for being about the future, and, if they are sufficiently
dire or wondrous, are considered warnings or predictions. SF novels that examine our present
ethical concerns about human progress and regress - ubiquitous computing, genetic
manipulation, climate control - will be judged, as time passes, merely on whether they 'came
true' or not.
G. Stories help us make sense out of the world - they give it order, and a sense of causality,
because one thing leads to another. Certainly one of the things that science fiction does best is
tackle big problems and suggest big solutions, while telling a briskly paced story.
H. There is no denying, however, a connection between technology and science fiction. We're
still waiting for our laser-powered space elevator and our light-driven intergalactic spaceship, but
these are projects that technologists take very seriously. Jordin Kare, an astrophysicist at the
Seattle-based company LaserMotive, who has done important practical and theoretical work on
lasers, space elevators, and light-sail propulsion, cheerfully acknowledges the effect science
fiction has had on his life and career.
THE ORIGIN OF ADVERTISING
Advertising has become a major force in our modern world. Through our airwaves, up in the
skies, on walls, streets and along motorways, almost nowhere can we go and not be bombarded
by adverts. It has become so prevalent that scientists and researchers have analyzed its
sociological effect extensively – how it influences buying habits, desensitizes consumers and in
some cases even repels them.
1.
Such rudimentary content is also believed to be present in the first printed adverts, used by
ancient Egyptians to communicate sales messages through the use of papyrus. In contrast with
the ephemeral nature of today’s advertising, they would also carve messages of commerce into
stone or on steel plates, which would remain visible for a lifetime.
2.
Naturally, we cannot know for sure, but one would guess that the power of persuasion was
present in the spoken adverts of ancient times. You could suppose that the loudest, most colorful,
most entertaining crier garnered the most business. Although we do not experience this form of
advertisement often today, sellers in public markets in Europe and the Middle East still employ
this method.
3.
The specific message on the printing plate was ‘We buy high-quality steel rods and make fine-
quality needles to be ready for use at home in no time', and the seller also placed a rabbit logo
and the name of his shop in the center. The plate, made of copper and dating back to the Song
dynasty of the 10th-century China, was used to print posters the dimensions of which were nearly
perfect squares roughly the size of a window frame.
4.
It was not until the rise of newspapers did advertising makes its next big leap. During this time,
targeted slogans and catchphrases became popular. The first such instance of a paid newspaper
advert appeared in the French newspaper La Presse in 1836 and what was so revolutionary about
it was that the seller paid for its placement, allowing the newspaper to charge its readers less.
5.
Known as quackery, such messages boasted cures for common ailments that went above and
beyond what traditional remedies could provide. Naturally, an unsuspecting and undereducated
public was particularly susceptible to such fabrications. Much as how quackery would be
dispelled today, doctors went out of their way to publish medical journals debunking the claims
made by these adverts.
6.
In the advert, a painting of a child blowing bubbles – a work of art literally entitled Bubbles, by
English artist Sir John Everett Millais – was used as the background of a poster, with the product
visible in the foreground. The visual immediately linked the product with high – class society
and it is a tactic that is undeniably still very much used today.
7.
Along with the staggering investment is the use of a broad range of tactics to maximize impact,
such as focus groups, evocative imagery, storytelling, and seemingly boundless product
placement. So psychological is the effect that it has given rise to the belief that companies know
everything about you. Nevertheless, with such creativity poured into the field, one can still
appreciate its art form and its place in history.
A. One need look no further than failed advertising campaigns. Some went too far in their shock
value, had to be apologized for and hurt the brand more than they helped. In one example, a
game manufacturer, in order to promote the carnal violence visible in the game, held an event
which showcased an actual deceased goat.
B. For better or worse, there was no stopping the budding advertising industry. Agencies started
to spring up and with that came campaigns. The first successful campaign was for the British
soap manufacturer Pears. With the help of chairman Thomas James Barratt, the company
successfully linked a catchy slogan with high culture.
C. In contrast to the adverts being produced for the literate populace of this region, text was
largely absent from adverts that proliferated in the towns and cities of medieval Europe. To
circumvent this obstacle, adverts used commonly recognizable imagery such a boot for a cobbler
or a diamond for a carver to promote products and services. And still, criers remained the go-to
medium for relaying the sellers’ messages to the public.
D. Also entering the industry was the vast sums of money that companies would splash out on
campaigns. A little over one hundred American companies in 1893 spent 50,000 US dollars on
advertising campaigns. That equates to over one million US dollars today, still a fraction of what
today’s companies spend at nearly 500 billion pounds globally.
E. In this era, though, the medium with the greatest prevalence was oral. Public criers would
circulate messages in urban centers to passers-by advertising various products. There is evidence
of written adverts and for more than just selling wares. In one such advert found at the ruins of
Thebes dated 1,000 BC, a man was offering a reward for a runaway slave. But oral messages
were the main method of delivery until the invention of the printing press in 1450.
F. But there was a time when an advert was a rare occurrence and its effect on society amounted
to no more than its core function; that is, to connect seller and buyer. We know that the written
word began around 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, in the Sumerian civilization that existed in
modern-day southern Iraq. The make – up of this early scrawling consisted of grain inventories,
from what historians and linguists can make of it.
G. Adverts in ancient times did contain an element of sophistication which essentially lured
buyers, albeit less obviously. On the other side of the world, in ancient China, the language of
adverts contained selling points and friendly imagery, such as in an advert to coax people into
using a craftsman’s services. This particular advertising medium is considered the oldest
example of printed advertising.
H. That formula was soon copied by other publishers looking to increase their profits while
expanding their circulation. British newspapers, which had been using newspaper advertising
since the 18th century, used adverts to promote books and newspapers themselves. The printing
press had made their production much more affordable and advertising content expanded to
include medicines, in what would prove to be the first instances of false advertising.
MERGING ART&SCIENCE: A FALSE PREMISE
The current vogue is for believing that art and science should be brought together. This obsession
for showing that art - particularly the visual arts - is similar to science in content and the creative
processes is bemusing. I detect in it an element of social snobbery - artists are envious of
scientists and scientists want to be thought of as artists.
1.
If Watson and Crick had not got the structure of DNA we know that Franklin and Klug would
soon have had it. Indeed simultaneous discovery is a common feature of science. If one could
rerun the history of science and start again it would have a different history but the end results
would be the same: water would be H2O and genes would code for proteins but the names would
be different.
2.
Whatever the feelings of the scientist these are absent from the final understanding of a process.
while art is a personal creation and contains the personal views of the artist. And since science is
a communal process a scientist has to be very aware of what is known about the problem being
investigated. There are strict criteria about lack of contradiction and, of course, correspondence
with reality. Science makes progress, we build on the work of our current and earlier colleagues.
To talk about progress in art makes no sense, there is change but not progress.
3.
Thus, I cannot understand what is being referred to when there is reference to critical thinking in
art. In what sense can a painting be right or wrong? Anyone can have views about a painting and
engage in art discussions. Non-scientists can thrill to scientific ideas but to make meaningful
comments about them, and I exclude their application to technology, one actually has to have
detailed knowledge; science needs a much greater, and quite different, intellectual effort.
4.
It is very rare for referees to recommend acceptance without changes. This can be a complex
procedure but in general authors are grateful for the careful reading and criticism of their paper.
Even so we reject about half of all papers we receive. Paintings, however, are neither revised nor
can be shown to be wrong.
5.
The idea of creativity makes scientists want to be thought of as artists and vice versa and there
may well be something similar in all human creativity, but that it is particularly similar in
scientists and artists is without foundation. The similarity between art and science is even less
than that between billiards and rugby, both of which at least use a ball.
6.
It seems just poetic licence to suggest that this picture did much to convince European scientists
that the great mystery of life might be explained in terms of electrochemical forces. (Although it
may be that Jan Vermeer did indeed discover that more compelling illusions can be achieved
through a kind of optical illusion that makes special use of the perceptual system inside our
brains, rather than through the details that reach our eyes).
7.
Art does not explain, but it broadens our experience in ways that are not clearly understood. I
value it in its own terms, but it has nothing to do with understanding how the world works. To
pretend that it does is to trivialise science and do nothing for art. We should stop pretending that
the two disciplines are similar, and instead rejoice in the very different ways that they enrich our
culture..

A. What are the criteria used by the director of a gallery and his or her advisers when selecting
for exhibition? Is he or she like the editor of a science journal? No, for there is nothing in art like
the peer review so fundamental to science; there are no art critics, just art writers. As the editor
of a scientific journal, it is extremely rare that my personal view determines whether or not a
paper gets published. My role is to choose a good editorial board and to know to whom the
papers to be reviewed should be sent.
B. Bringing visual artists and scientists together merely makes them feel elevated: it is not a
scientific experience. Although it must be said that science has had a strong influence on certain
artists - in the efforts to imitate nature and thus to develop perspective or in the area of new
technologies - art has contributed virtually nothing to science.
C. Then of the hundreds of thousands of papers published each year, few have a lifetime of
more than a few years. Most disappear with little if any trace. The original papers, with very rare
exceptions, like those of Einstein, are never part of scientific culture and they are not for sale.
Science, unlike art, is not entertainment.
D. What intrigued me at the opening was how the exhibits were chosen. There is less of a
problem with well established artists such as Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon or Matisse. It is the
very modern works that present the problem.
E. How different from this are all the arts. No Shakespeare - no Hamlet; no Picasso - no
Guernica. Moreover a work of art is capable of many interpretations and has moral content.
There is but one correct scientific explanation for any set of observations and reliable scientific
understanding has no moral or ethical content; that is to say that the scientist does not allow his
own reactions to come into play.
F. The Oxford University art historian Martin Kemp takes a very different view from mine
here. He claims that during the 'Scientific Revolution' some artists were able to play an active
role in the dialogue between seeing and knowing. He gives the fiery emissions of Joseph
Wright's volcanoes painted in the late eighteenth century as an example. Wright's painting of
Vesuvius erupting may be dramatic but it owes nothing to geology.
G. Art is not constrained by reality. It cannot be shown to be wrong. And of all the arts,
painting is the one least related to science as it does not deal with complex ideas or explanations,
is the easiest to appreciate, and the response is often an emotional one. Ideas in the visual arts
come from art critics and historians, not the works themselves.
H. Science is about understanding how the world works, there being only one right description
of any observed phenomenon. Unlike the arts it is a collective endeavour in which the individual
is ultimately irrelevant - geniuses merely speed up discovery.
Happy as your genes allow
The true key to happiness, says researcher David Lykken, lies in our genes. To many of us, this
notion might seem absurd. Humans seem to be on an emotional roller coaster, the ups and downs
of which often appear to be determined by fate. We feel good when we win an award or make a
new friend; bad when we have to face one of life‘s inevitable setbacks.
1.
Lykken‘s interest in happiness was sparked by his earliest research into its possible determinants.
Scientists have tried for years to identify a link between contentment and marital status,
socioeconomic position, professional success and other factors. Yet they invariably come up
empty-handed. “I was intrigued by the way that things like beauty, wealth and status never
seemed to make much difference,” says Lykken, a semi-retired professor at the university of
Minnesota.
2.
As part of the comprehensive research on the siblings, Lykken had asked his subjects a range of
questions about how happy they felt. He decided to revisit those studies to see if he could
establish a genetic connection. The results, says Lykken, were surprising. He found a very high
correlation between happiness and genes as revealed by the similarities in the twins‘ responses to
questions, irrespective of whether they had been raised together or apart.
3.
Nine years on, therefore, he decided to ask the same subjects the same questions. The evidence
Lykken found suggested that their contentment was 90 per cent genetic. Both twins‘ previous
responses and those made almost a decade later enabled the answers of the other twin to be
predicted with a high level of accuracy. Lykken‘s first reaction was to label the pursuit of
happiness as a futile exercise.
4.
In his own life, Lykken concentrates on completing small tasks that give him a great deal of
satisfaction. “I have just spent the morning writing, which is something I like and that I am pretty
good at”, he says. “This afternoon, I‘ll bake some loaves of bread, because I need that for my
morning toast. I just discovered that American Psychological Association wants to give me an
award, and that makes me feel good, but maybe not as good as that daily baking.”
5.
The demeanour of those we live with is another vital factor. Teenagers with happy parents tend
to be happy themselves. It is not until they leave home that they find their own set point.
Likewise, a husband or wife‘s inner contentment has a large bearing on that of their spouse.
Marrying an upbeat person is probably the best mood enhancer around.
6.
In the science fiction work Brave New World, for example, people who took “happy pills” were
incapable of seeing life as it truly was. Fans of Woody Allen, the perpetually depressed actor and
film maker, will remember the scene in the film Annie Hall in which he asks a strolling couple
why they are so happy. “Because we are so shallow and mindless,” they reply.
7.
Lykken is skeptical. “Even if you can speak their language, they might not have the same
psychological vocabulary for expressing how they feel at any given moment,” he says. Lykken
refuses to believe that there is any correlation between the state of the society‘s technical or
intellectual development and personal happiness. In fact, he argues that good humour is probably
favoured by evolution. “The gloomiest probably don‘t do very well in the romance stakes,” he
theories. “So, as a human race, we‘re probably getting slightly happier over time.”

A. “Then I began to ask myself whether those findings may have been influenced by how
people were feeling on a certain day – if they had just cut themselves, for example, or had
trouble finding a parking space,” he says.
B. Lykken also advocates control of anger as another regular way of boosting happiness
questions. “People would rather feel anger than feel scared,” he says. “When we are angry we
feel strong, but in the long run, I believe it‘s more harmful to happiness than anything else.”
C. The surest way to do this, Lykken believes, is to lose sight of our purpose in life. We
describe the case of a Californian firefighter - the patient of a friend – who recently retired from
the service and quickly became depressed. His mood picked up when he discovered that many
windows in the neighbourhood needed to have things fixed round the house.
D. Some philosophers question whether humans should actually be seeking such happiness
including arrangements in the first place. Joy is sometimes associated with ignorance, they argue,
causing happy people to “see the world through rose-tinted glasses”.
E. According to Lykken, however, each person possesses a “happiness set point” – the level of
contentment to which we return after the impact of such specific events is absorbed. While
humans teeter wildly around that point during their lives, experiencing moments of extreme
elation or depression, in the long run they gravitate back to their pre-set happiness level.
F. “I said at the time that trying to be happier might be the same as trying to be taller,” he
recalls, but he no longer views his research in that light. While the individual‘s sense of well-
being might be 90 per cent predetermined, people still have substantial leeway to control their
emotions. Lykken believes humans can – and should – aim to achieve happiness slightly above
their pre-set level.
G. In the late 1990s, the psychologist realized that he might be able to shed some further light
on the subject. “That was a happy moment,” he jokes. Over a long period of time, Lykken had
been following the progress of 300 pairs of identical twins. Identical twins help scientists
differentiate between the effects of the environment and heredity. Because twins‘ genetic make-
up is the same, small differences between them argue in favour of heredity. Large divergences
point to the environment as the greater determining factor.
H. Some people would rule out even this possibility, insisting that happiness is inconsistent
with modern times. Contemporary lives are so stressful, they say, that joy becomes elusive.
Primitive tribes are better off. We should feel nostalgic for “simpler” times when we felt content
with so much less.
You are going to read a magazine article. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the
article. Choose from the paragraphs A - H the one which fits each gap (1 - 7). There is one
extra paragraph which you do not need to use.
SOCIAL CHANGE DOWN IN BLACK AND WHITE

We are increasingly being led to believe that advances in communications technology have
brought us to the threshold of the paperless society, one in which the book may be seen as a
museum piece. However, for many of us, our progress down this path may involve much
dragging of heels..
1.
As soon as people discovered the secrets of paper-making, the communication of ideas and
values really took off in an unprecedented way. Scientific theories could be explained to a wider
audience, knowledge could be more readily accumulated by scholars, and literature, which had
relied on oral tradition, gained a new lease of life in an ever-expanding role.
2.
Within a thousand years, China well outstripped Europe in wealth. This was not only achieved
through paper-making, but also by virtue of other Chinese scientific achievements like
gunpowder and developments in astronomy and navigation, which helped the Chinese become
the leading military and trading power.
3.
Such was the importance of paper to the wealth and power of the Chinese emperors that they
were determined to keep the process of paper-making a closely guarded secret. But, as with other
profitable knowledge, it was just a matter of time before the secret became known, and other
countries were then empowered to flourish through the spread of knowledge and ideas that paper
could facilitate.
4.
The principles of printing had, in fact, been known in China for several hundred years before the
European 'invention' of printing. The Chinese had been working with clay, but found that this
wore down, so printers constantly had to make new type. From there, they went on to wooden
type. In fact, they did proceed to metal type, but were at a disadvantage, due to the complexity of
their language, which required many different types for the characters.
5.
It did not take long for this invention to catch on as the modern means to spread knowledge and
ideas. By the end of the fifteenth century there were sixty paper mills in Germany to satisfy the
demands of the printing presses and printing had been introduced to other European countries.
6.
As a result, books and knowledge were more accessible to the less well off and, accordingly, the
importance of literacy was more widely recognised. This became the impetus for a virtuous
cycle: with the availability of cheaper books, education and literacy grew, and with the increase
in the literate population there was a further rise in the demand for books.
7.
None of the social or intellectual revolutions of the past few hundred years would have taken
place with such rapid success had it not been for paper. Likewise, paper and cheap printed
material are responsible for the increasing growth of education and the ascendancy of democratic
principles. It is therefore no exaggeration to state that paper has played a major role in shaping
the modern world.
A No sooner did this cultural advantage find its way into western hands than its exploitation
began to be realised. The first paper mill in Germany was set up towards the end of the
fourteenth century, and it didn't take long for the church to appreciate the potential role of paper
in the expansion of its activities and teaching. From producing paper, it didn't take long for
Europeans to make the next great leap that would open the floodgates to advances in civilisation.
B The next consequence was the use of paper and printing to fuel revolution and social upheaval.
The availability of cheap printing technology enabled the Protestant Reformation to take off,
with the publication of hundreds of thousands of copies of Martin Luther's writings. Recognising
the power of the printed word, the Catholic church resorted to desperate retaliatory action by
attacking booksellers and destroying works that they did not approve of.
C This should come as no surprise. After all, we have had over a thousand years to form a strong
emotional attachment to paper, which has, along with writing and printing, comprised the basis
for the development and progress of society.
D It was not long afterwards that William Caxton, an English merchant, retired from his business
and went to Germany to learn about printing. He took part in producing the first book to be
printed in English, which was printed on a Flemish press, and he went on, in 1477, to publish the
first book printed in England.
E However, such inventions and discoveries can not, in themselves, account for the phenomenal
growth of Chinese power and influence. Credit for this progress must go to those tools at the
disposal of the Chinese which enabled them to exploit their discoveries and build on them:
writing paper and another Chinese invention, block printing.
F The massive surge in the production of books which followed as a result of the change from
writing books by hand to printing them enabled Europe to overtake China as the most advanced
civilisation. Knowledge which had previously been in the hands of the church, rulers and a
handful of scholars soon became more widely available.
G At the forefront of this great step towards civilisation were the Chinese. Around 105 AD, they
invented paper and, from the time of that crucial achievement, their civilisation developed in
leaps and bounds. With the secret of paper-making in their hands, the Chinese soon had the most
advanced civilisation and China enjoyed hundreds of years of prosperity.
H This lost knowledge was not only rediscovered when Johannes Gutenberg invented the type
mould in the middle of the fifteenth century, but vastly improved upon. His press used metal
type, and was not only a revolutionary invention, but was also one of the earliest precision
instruments. The letters were of a uniform shape and size and could be locked together in neat,
even lines of text. It was a fairly straightforward matter to set up and print a few pages then
rearrange the type and use it again for other pages.
Page Tài Liệu Tiếng Anh Nâng Cao
hohaidang1807@gmail.com
Exercise 39.
You are going to read an article. seven paragraphs have been removed from the article.
Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap 1-7. There is one extra
paragraph that you do not need to use.
Mobile Phone Etiquette

The term 'etiquette' refers to the set of largely unwritten rules and conventions that govern our
everyday behaviour. Many of these rules are reasonable and logical, and sticking to them makes
life easier for everyone. Other aspects of good etiquette might seem to be somewhat arbitrary,
with origins lost in the mists of time; for the most part, though, we abide by the rules because we
don't wish to appear bad-mannered or disrespectful.
1.
A prime example of this concerns the use of mobile phones. There can be no doubt that these
devices have a host of advantages and that, over the last twenty years or so, they have
revolutionised the way in which people communicate. On the negative side, though, the fact that
mobiles became ubiquitous almost overnight means that there hasn't been time for society as a
whole to develop a set of commonly accepted guidelines regarding their use.
2.
Journalist, Anne Perkins, was so infuriated by the lack of respect and consideration shown by
some mobile phone users that she decided to set up MobileManners.web. This website aims to
raise awareness of the issue and to encourage people to follow the Mobile Manners code of
conduct when using their mobile.
3.
Their conversation was well underway when it was interrupted by the ringing of the celebrity's
phone. Not only did he insist on taking the call, but he then proceeded to carry on a prolonged
conversation while Anne was left twiddling her thumbs. The worst part of this was that he wasn't
responding to a family emergency or even discussing an important business deal. He was simply
recounting his exploits of the previous night at some fashionable nightclub to some sycophantic
crony. After hanging up, he didn't even apologise to Anne, so when his phone rang again, two
minutes later, she cut the interview short and left.
4.
To begin with, the site points out that mobiles are supposed to make your life easier, not more
stressful. You should not feel obliged to answer the phone every time it rings, nor do you have to
respond to text messages immediately. You can, and, most of the time, should give priority to the
people around you.
5.
These are basic points that most people probably have an opinion on, even if they don't
necessarily agree with the Mobile Manners take on things. However, the code goes on to give
Anne's views on a wide range of issues which many of us may never have thought about before.
The topics that should and shouldn't be discussed on a mobile in public, the types of ringtone that
are appropriate for people with certain jobs, and the times of day when it is inappropriate to send
a colleague a text message are just some of the things that are covered.
6.
Of course, displaying good manners isn't the only thing that people need to think about in
connection to mobiles. Safety is another very important aspect of mobile phone use. In
particular, the issue of using mobiles while driving has been in the headlines in recent years. A
large number of road accidents are believed to have been caused by drivers who were chatting on
the phone or, even worse, texting while on the road.
7.
All in all, it is clear that it can take some time for us to fully understand the social and legal
ramifications of new technology. This is especially true of a development that changes the
culture as quickly and as radically as the mobile phone has.
A Rude behaviour, like that of the so-called 'star', certainly doesn't adhere to the Mobile Manners
code, the first rule of which is 'Show respect to the people affected by your mobile phone use'.
The website stresses that its founder truly believes that mobile phones are wonderful devices but
that, in a civil society, people should be more thoughtful about their impact on others.
B Anne says that she had long been annoyed by some impolite people's use of mobiles, but that
the final straw came about six months ago when she was interviewing a well-known public
figure for an article she was writing for a national newspaper.
C In a number of countries, it is now illegal to use a mobile while you are behind the wheel. In
other places, only hands-free phones are permitted, although this compromise might still
endanger road users, since research has shown that drivers are far more distracted by a phone
conversation than when chatting with another passenger.
D Problems arise, however, when people disagree about the correct etiquette, or aren't sure about
what the 'done thing' is in a certain situation. This can occur when a significant change in the
lifestyle of people in a community happens too rapidly for social norms to become ingrained.
E Anne points out that the details aren't crucial, and that she doesn't expect people to memorise
the whole code. The important thing, she says, is that people start thinking about the issue and
modifying their behaviour accordingly. Even if some people start lowering their voices when
talking on their mobiles or switching them to silent mode when in public places, Anne thinks she
will have achieved something and made the world a slightly more pleasant place.
F The Mobile Manners site is just one of many dealing with this issue that have sprung up in
recent years. There is also a large number of sites dealing with online etiquette (or 'netiquette)
and others covering the correct way (at least in the authors' opinion) to behave in relation to other
technological developments. People clearly feel the need for guidance in these matters.
G Consequently, otherwise polite people can use their phones in ways that irritate those around
them. And places such as museums, restaurants, cinemas and theatres have been forced to
introduce measures that regulate the use of mobile phones, or in some cases ban them outright,
because members of the public could not be relied upon to use their phones in a considerate
manner.
H This means that you shouldn't let a ringing phone interrupt a face-to-face conversation unless
you are expecting an important call and, under those circumstances, it is polite to apologise and
say something along the lines of 'Do you mind if I get that?' before answering the call. Similarly,
you should wait for an appropriate moment to respond to a text, and never try to carry on your
conversation and compose a text message at the same time.
Part 5. The passage below consists of five sections marked A, B, C, D and E. For questions 1-
10, read the passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes provided.
How self-help books have changed the way we think

A. Over the last year, I’ve read a lot of popular non-fiction books, and I’ve noticed an
interesting trend: many incorporate some level of self-help writing. It doesn’t matter if
the book is about neuroscience or running – they all seem to add in some type of lifeaffirming
advice, a classic ‘how to’, or an inspirational conclusion about the topic
discussed. Ever since I read Barbara Ehrenreich’s well-researched Bright-sided: How
the relentless promotion of positive thinking has undermined America, I have been
wary of the self-help and positive thinking movement. Ehrenreich’s book shows how
the current movement comes from an American history split between two ways of
going about things: one being a ‘pull-up-your-bootstraps’ practicality and the other a
naïve belief that if you think it up, you can do it. The most successful people, we
believe, are able to do both of these things well, and they don’t give up in the process
B. I am cynical about this way of thinking, especially after reading Ehrenreich’s expose of
the positive thinking movement. There are a lot of gurus out there trying to get me to
spend money on things that may or may not help me perform better, get more
productive or succeed in life. There is always a danger that I’ll spend my time and
money on these things and delay the work I could do on my own without experts
guiding me. Yet I still find myself drawn to these popular non-fiction titles. I read them
because they confirm things that I know about myself or help me see things I wouldn’t
have seen on my own. It’s human nature to want someone in an authority position to
confirm something we already know about ourselves. Sometimes, we need to feel like
we’ve been given ‘permission’ to move forward.
C. For example, I recently read Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop
talking by Susan Cain. In this book, Cain dives into the cultural and scientific reasons
why some people are introverted and concludes that we undervalue introverts by
honouring extroverts, yet introverts are the ones changing the world. She begins her
book with some convincing studies from sociology that show an ‘introvert’ is someone
who gets energy from being alone, and in a society that honours outward appearances,
many introverts get left behind. I’m an introvert, so I found myself agreeing with almost
everything she said throughout the book. But as I read through each chapter, the
underlying theme became ‘yes, you, the introvert, can be successful too!’ And that’s
when something started to occur to me: this reads a lot like a self-help book. It might
have scientific studies to back up the ideas, but it ends by giving advice to introverts
who feel left out in today’s extroverted world.
D. This move toward self-help could be an effect of internet culture. These books have
taken off in recent years, and many writers have pioneered the author-as-marketing
and self-help-guru approach to non-fiction. Or, it could be a result of our changing
economy: if you’re not portraying yourself as happy, successful, and productive, you
won’t get noticed (so we’re told), and, as a result you’ll be left behind. In order to be
successful, we are guided towards giving off the appearance of success. For example,
writers are told to have a ‘platform’ – a website, a social media strategy, a newsletter –
in addition to churning out a series of bestselling novels. But in order to have the
bestselling novel, it helps to write a lot, and that can only be done alone, away from the
spotlight.
E. This model of the non-fiction book that is really a self-help book seems like it’s here to
stay because it is incredibly successful. Even readers like me, who tend to be cynical
and guarded, find solace and comfort in a book that uplifts and confirms. What I hope is
that this approach to non-fiction won’t lead to intellectual laziness, sloppy writing, or
reductive thinking. I also hope it doesn’t lead to a group of 20- and 30-somethings who
are too busy reading books and articles about ‘how-to-be-that’ or ‘the-science-of-this’
that they stop creating things that lead to the next revolution. That type of future is
scarier to me than a future filled with padded non-fiction bestsellers.
In which section are the following mentioned?

1. possible hypotheses about how a trend may have come about
2. a contrast between two different schools of thought
3. an attempt on the behalf of one author to back up ideas with evidence
4. his scepticism about the wisdom of paying too much attention to ‘experts’
5. a conviction that the self-help genre is likely to remain popular
6. a dawning realization that a book’s intention was different from what he had first thought
7. a concern about the future implications of reading self-help books
8. a compulsion to try to find out more about who he is
9. his initial observation that there was a movement towards a particular type of writing
10. an apparent contradiction in advice that is given
The passage below consists of four paragraphs marked A, B, C and D. For questions 86-95,
read the passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers in the corresponding
Against the Grain
(A) The LSE
In Against the Grain, A Deep History of the Earliest States, James C. Scott contributes to his
longstanding intellectual project of re-evaluating the role of the state in political thought by
looking at the development of the early agrarian states to challenge narratives of progress
founded on state formation. While acknowledging that a number of objections can be raised
against the historical claims of the book, Alex Sager praises it for encouraging vital critical
interrogation of the supposed inevitability and neutrality of state institutions today. He is not a
primitivist, advocating a return to hunting and gathering. And given that these objections are
obvious, he must be up to something else. Against the Grain invites us to critically appraise our
institutions. The rise of the state and its appetite for natural resources - central to fuelling state-
centric conceptions of development or progress - continues to be devastating for indigenous
peoples and uncontacted tribes. The continued bias toward sedentary lifestyles parallels the
'determined resistance by mobile peoples everywhere to permanent settlement, even under
relatively favorable circumstance'. State persecution of nomads continues today, targeting mobile
groups such as the Roma and the UK traveller community as well as refugees and other
migrants. Against the Grain does not call for the rejection of the state, but rather its re-
examination. In this, it brilliantly succeeds.
(B) Good Reads
In Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States, James C. Scott, a professor of
political science at Yale, presents a plausible contender for the most important piece of
technology in the history of man. It is a technology so old that it predates Homo sapiens and
instead should be credited to our ancestor Homo erectus. That technology is fire. We have used it
in two crucial, defining ways. The first and the most obvious of these is cooking. As Richard
Wrangham has argued in his book Catching Fire, our ability to cook allows us to extract more
energy from the food we eat, and also to eat a far wider range of foods. Our closest animal
relative, the chimpanzee, has a colon three times as large as ours, because its diet of raw food is
so much harder to digest. The extra caloric value we get from cooked food allowed us to develop
our big brains, something that was not believed to be the case till recent research, which absorb
roughly a fifth of the energy we consume, as opposed to less than a tenth for most mammals'
brains. That difference is what has made us the dominant species on the planet.
(C) London Book Review
When our ancestors began to control fire, most likely somewhere in Africa around 400,000 years
ago, the planet was set on a new course. We have little idea and even less evidence of how early
humans made fire, but perhaps they carried around smouldering bundles of leaves from forest
fires, or captured the sparks thrown off when chipping stone or rubbing sticks together. However
it happened, the human control of fire made an indelible mark on the earth's ecosystems, and
marked the beginning of the Anthropocene - the epoch in which humans have had a significant
impact on the planet. According to Scott in Against the Grain, the period of early states was the
Golden Age for the barbarians. They could prey on a state as if it were just another resource for
hunting or harvesting. In Scott's picture, the barbarians and the city-states were entirely
dependent on each other for their existence. They rose and fell together: the Huns and the
Romans; the 'Sea People' and the Egyptians. And for the vast part of recorded history the
majority of people lived in the barbarian world. Scott's view is that the barbarian Golden Age
ended as recently as four hundred years ago, when the power of the state finally became
overwhelming, partly due to the invention of durable gunpowder. Which is, of course, a means to
make fire sparked by flint - a return to the 'moment' 400,000 years earlier which marked the
beginning not of the steady rise of civilisation, but rather the muddled and messy affair that is the
human past.
(D) Yale University Press
An account of all the new and surprising evidence now available for the beginnings of the
earliest civilizations that contradict the standard narrative 'Why did humans abandon hunting and
gathering for sedentary communities dependent on livestock and cereal grains, and governed by
precursors of today's states?' Most people believe that plant and animal domestication allowed
humans, finally, to settle down and form agricultural villages, towns, and states, which made
possible civilization, law, public order, and a presumably secure way of living. But
archaeological and historical evidence challenges this narrative. The first agrarian states, says
James C. Scott in Against the Grain, were born of accumulations of domestications: first fire,
then plants, livestock, subjects of the state, captives, and finally women in the patriarchal family;
all of which can be viewed as a way of gaining control over reproduction. Scott explores why we
avoided sedentism and plow agriculture, the advantages of mobile subsistence, the unforeseeable
disease epidemics arising from crowding plants, animals, and grain, and why all early states are
based on millets and cereal grains and unfree labor. He also discusses the 'barbarians' who long
evaded state control, as a way of understanding continuing tension between states and non-
subject peoples.
Which text
1. negates mentioning the effect new evidence has on previously held convictions?
2. says that the book welcomes an evaluation of established systems?
3. indicates that recently discovered evidence had been unexpected?
4. gives an approximation as to the dissolution of nomadism?
5. gives examples of a symbiotic relationship between tribes?
6. speculates as to the creation of a natural element?
7. tells of an ongoing reassessment?
8. relates Scotts assertion that nomadic peoples flourished amongst early established
communities?
9. speaks of modern day ill-treatment?
10. compares a part of human anatomy with that of a close cousin?
The passage below consists of five paragraphs marked A, B, C, D and E. For questions 86-95,
Reviews of Books about Communication
A Actions speak louder than words by Karen Bradwell
As a general rule of thumb, no leader will be at his or her most effective as a communicator
without possession of outstanding verbal skills, but his or her ability to mesmerize an audience
also hangs on nonverbal skills – facial expression, gesture and the physical position assumed
when addressing listeners included, whether this be in the boardroom, a conference or during a
one-to-one. Actions speak louder than words is an indispensable guide to honing these skills to
perfection, drawing as it does on neuroscience and psychological research with the sole aim of
helping leaders to use body language to maximum effect – and read that of others. The guide also
includes a one-of-a-kind and incredibly constructive chapter on communication for visually-
impaired leaders, whose ability to understand aural cues in order to respond to others is
paramount.
B Communication is key by Arthur Mayhew
While peppering your speech with jargon and business speak may ostensibly make you look like
you know what you’re talking about, you could be, albeit unintentionally, alienating your
audience. Have you ever wondered why employees sit nodding away in meetings only to go
away and do the opposite to what you thought you’d intended they should do? If so, perhaps
being more amenable to engaging your brain before your mouth may be a good course of action.
Making concessions to your audience is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of a good – and
thoughtful – communicator. Communication is key outlines how to paraphrase those expressions
which many employees consider to be a barrier to effective communication. Adopting a few
useful synonyms, Mayhew suggests, will be enormously beneficial in helping others identify
your message.
C Public speaking by Paula Benson
Public speaking can be a nightmare for many of us at the best of times. It is a hard nut to crack
and can leave shy and retiring folk floundering. In Public speaking, Paula Benson addresses the
difficulty many such people have in getting up to speak in front of others, specifically in cases
where the speaker is paralysed by fear or overcome with feelings of powerlessness to better their
situation. In particular, she focuses on those who have a stutter or other speech impediment,
detailing established speech therapy techniques that promote a smooth and articulate flow of
words. While brief, this slim book is nothing less than enlightening, and has the potential to
change lives – or at the very least vastly improve one area of it.
D Listening by Jonathan Strasbourg
Books devoted to the skill of listening are few and far between, so it is with open arms that we
welcome this one to our bookshelves. If you’ve ever heard the expression that we’re given two
ears and only one mouth for a reason, and you concur with the sentiment behind it, then this
book will resonate with you. All too often we go through the motions of listening, but how often
we really hear what’s been said is a different matter entirely. Founded on the principles of
listening, i.e. applying an accurate interpretation to what you’ve just heard, however subtle the
message, is, professes Strasbourg, the singular most effective way to engage with others and
avoid breakdowns in communication. Many highly successful entrepreneurs credit mastering this
art as the key to their prowess in business.
E Style and communication by Heather Burton
What is all too often overlooked in books about communication is the way in which the genders
differ in style, resulting in either gross misunderstandings in the worst-case scenario or
uncertainty at the best. Burton’s in-depth analysis of what it is that goes wrong plays out through
a series of case studies, in which she ponders ways to facilitate better understanding between the
sexes and how this might come into play both at work and at home. While frustratingly
inconclusive, there is much food for thought here and one could indubitably cobble together a
strategy for getting to grips with other people’s communicative styles. On the surface of it, this
book appears to be geared towards businesspeople as a target market, but because this offers
insights into domestic situations too, this is more likely to be found in the general reader section
of a bookshop.
Which book
1. clarifies the reason why listeners may disengage with what is being said?
2. has the apparent capacity to better the circumstances of its audience?
3. supports its central arguments by reflecting on work carried out in other disciplines?
4. focuses on an ability to draw appropriate meaning from what is said?
5. should attract audiences from all walks of life?
6. is likely to appeal to readers who hold with a popular saying?
7. contains a unique focus on the requirements of a minority?
8. targets those who feel disadvantaged by particular personality traits?
9. points out that there is an advantage in reconsidering the kind of language to use?
10. concentrates on the disparity between how different groups of speakers communicate?
The Graduate
(A) The NY Times
The Graduate, the pungent story of the sudden confusions and dismays of a bland young man
fresh out of college who is plunged headlong into the intellectual vacuum of his affluent parents'
circle of friends, it fashions a scarifying picture of the raw vulgarity of the swimming-pool rich,
and it does so with a lively and exciting expressiveness through vivid cinema. Further, it offers
an image of silver-spooned, bewildered youth, standing expectantly out with misgiving where
the brook and the swimming-pool meet, that is developed so wistfully and winningly by Dustin
Hoffman, an amazing new young star, that it makes you feel a little tearful and choked-up while
it is making you laugh yourself raw. That's all. And yet in pursuing this simple story line, which
has been adorned with delicious incidents and crackling dialogue in the screenplay by Calder
Willingham and Buck Henry, based on a novel by Charles Webb, the still exploring Mr. Nichols
has done such sly and surprising things with his actors and with his camera, or, rather, Robert
Surtees's camera, that the overall picture has the quality of a very extensive and revealing social
scan. Funny, outrageous, and touching, The Graduate is a sophisticated film that puts Mr.
Nichols and his associates on a level with any of the best satirists working abroad today.
(B) The Guardian
If ever a movie captured the audience's imagination with its musical soundtrack, it was The
Graduate, that irresistibly watchable 1967 classic. Simon and Garfunkel's eerie and sublime The
Sound of Silence perfectly captures both Ben's alienation and bewilderment about what he should
do with his life, and then his post-coital disenchantment and self-loathing. The Graduate itself
does not seem the same in 2017 as it did in 1967. Then the emphasis was on sophisticated black
comedy with a hint of 60's radicalism and student discontent, mediated through the older
generation of suburbanites. Watched in the present day, the element of predatory abuse is
inescapable. You cannot see it without wondering how it might look and feel if the sexual roles
were reversed. But a modern audience might also, paradoxically, be much less content with the
villainous role the film finally assigns to Mrs Robinson, be more sympathetic to her midlife
crisis, and remember the pathos of her abandoned interest in art. Calder Willingham and Buck
Henry's screenplay, adapted from Charles Webb's 1963 novel, cleverly allows you to wonder if
Mr Robinson was, in some conscious or subconscious way, complaisant in his wife's
adventure. The excellence of Katherine Ross as Mrs Robinson's daughter, Elaine, is often
overlooked. A hugely pleasurable film.
(C) The Telegraph
The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft and directed by Mike Nichols, is
actually a very nasty film, and a very, very funny one. As the benchmark for every inter-
generational relationship film since, it tends to live in the male public imagination largely as a
reference point for cheeky forbidden fantasies regarding older women the world over. It takes
about three minutes, roughly the length of time it takes Hoffman to get down the moving
walkway to Simon and Garfunkel's Sound of Silence and from the airport to the suffocating
atmosphere of his graduation party, where he gets gradually trapped into a relationship with one
of his parents' friends, to realise that The Graduate is actually a very nasty film, and a very, very
funny one. Directorially, it is as cutting-edge late-Sixties as you can get, all fish-bowl
juxtapositions, dappled light and pensive close-ups. But the world we're in here is essentially a
Fifties hangover, a staid, suburban one still ruled over by The Old Folk, a place where the reason
you get together with a seductively smoking alcoholic in her forties is not so much because you
find her attractive but because she's the only person in the vicinity as bored as you. The result
is an exercise in claustrophobia that makes Panic Room look like a western by comparison. By
the end, it doesn't matter that the lesson he's learned is the one that the old folks were telling him
in the first place, that he should find a nice girl his own age. The feeling of freedom is immense.
(D) Variety
The Graduate is a delightful, satirical comedy-drama about a young man's seduction by an older
woman, and the measure of maturity which he attains from the experience. An excellent
screenplay by Calder Willingham and comedy specialist Buck Henry, based on the Charles
Webb novel, focuses on Hoffman, just out of college and wondering what it's all about.
Predatory Miss Bancroft, wife of Murray Hamilton, introduces Hoffman to mechanical sex,
reaction to which evolves into true love with Miss Ross, Miss Bancroft's daughter. In the 70
minutes which elapse from Hoffman's arrival home from school to the realization by Miss Ross
that he has had an affair with her mother, the pic is loaded with hilarious comedy and, because of
this, the intended commentary on materialistic society is most effective. Only in retrospect does
one realize a basic, but not overly damaging, flaw that Hoffman's achievements in school are not
credible in light of his basic shyness. No matter, or not much, anyway. Only in the final 35
minutes, as Hoffman drives up and down the LA-Frisco route in pursuit of Miss Ross, does the
film falter in pacing, result of which the switched-on cinematics become obvious, and therefore
tiring, although the experience is made tolerable by the excellent music of Simon and Garfunkel.
Which review
uses more than one contradiction to make its point? ______
neglects to identify the powerful role played by music in this film? ______
is critical of the rhythm of the film? ______
suggests the film contains elements which are hard to believe? ______
feels an actor's contribution was not appreciated as much as it should have been? ______
makes the point that the story on which the film was based is distasteful? ______
offers the suggestion that this film has become a cinematical reference? ______
looks at the film from different points in time? ______

offers a fleeting glimpse into the unfair way male and female behaviour is judged in society?
______
seems unnecessarily preoccupied by the timing of various elements of the film? ______
The passage below consists of five paragraphs marked A, B, C, D and E. For questions 1-10,
numbered spaces provided.
The Modern City
Jacob Moore spoke with five city dwellers to find out what they think are the problems with
modern cities.
A. Iain Bracewell
It goes without saying that modern cities are somewhat problematic, simply because we don’t
have the capacity for all the people who already live here, let alone the millions who see cities as
a potential destination. Therefore, in my mind, it’s vital that we become a bit more imaginative
about how we utilise city space. We’re going to be somewhat reliant on technology to help us
with this, by, for example, developing materials that we can use to build higher, slimmer and
underground. This might seem less than ideal for the average city dweller, especially the notion
having to spend a proportion of time below ground, but it might be the only practical solution to
what the data suggest if we want to avoid cities growing at an uncontrolled rate across our
countryside. And time is of the essence; we can’t put this kind of research and development off it
while the population growth remains uncontained.
B. Raphael Arco
Cities are often seen in a bad light, but I think this is undeserved because they offer so much to
so many. The fact is that cities are synonymous with opportunity, for employment, culture, you
name it! That’s not to say they are utopias without any room for improvement, but I think we can
solve a great majority of the issues affecting cities by addressing their infrastructure. People
often cite their bugbears as being issues of convenience such as streets that aren’t walkable or
road networks that are too dense, or even lack of space for increased public transport. Devote
serious attention on improving these elements and cities will become far more liveable places
with, in turn, generally all-round happier residents! This might consist of tweaks or alternatively,
in certain contexts,
starting from scratch to fundamentally redesign systems, but the benefits outweigh the sacrifices
as they’d offer valuable solutions to how modern city life affects the natural environment and
how well people gel together as a community.
C. Jenna Crawford
We need to face up to the fact that most cities aren’t the glorious places that they are painted to
be, and that, for the majority of the inhabitants, the streets aren’t paved with gold. There is a big
difference between the haves and have-nots, and while city life is a consumer paradise for the
former, members of the latter category are completely locked out of the benefits cities bring and
often lack fundamental services such as clean water or sanitation. Why this is still allowed in the
modern world I’ll never know, yet the powers that be seem disinclined to do anything but sweep
the issue under the carpet. Property rental prices are also excessive, and this just gets to the point
where you’ve got huge families living cramped in just two rooms, or people receiving full-time
salaries with little to no chance of getting on the housing ladder. I understand that people think
there are valuable opportunities to be had in cities, but, let’s face it, there are still plenty of
people for whom opportunity has passed by.
D. Caroline Birkenstein
Our cities right now are in dire straits. We’ve got an affordable housing and ecological crisis in
nearly every city on Earth, and it’s crucial that we concentrate our efforts on these matters if we
want our cities to continue to thrive. We can accomplish this by creating and promoting more
sharing and communal practices, like coworking spaces or apartment buildings with common
spaces for eating, socialising and exercising, and these, of course, shouldn’t be extravagantly
priced. It might not seem obvious, but it’s initiatives like these that help people form
communities, and this community atmosphere encourages people to care more about their
surroundings. Cities are also a massive drain on resources, and we need to identify strategies to
counter this and close the loop when it comes to this. With this in mind, we should ask ourselves
how one excess can be used to give power to something else. This kind of sustainability could be
the key to making our cities much healthier places for individuals, the community and the
surroundings we live in.
E. Doug de Souza
Cities today have one major problem that we need to curb, and that is urban sprawl. At the
moment, cities are like these huge sprawls, just spreading and spreading, and the further out you
go, the bigger plot each homeowner has and the more spacious all the services are. This really
has a negative effect on so many elements of our lives. Firstly, it makes us more isolated; we’re
behind fences, and this is where feelings of difference and fear can stem from. We need
integration to help people consider themselves a part of something, but, furthermore, sprawl
increases the urban footprint significantly, and people start becoming dependent on their cars,
simply because it’s not convenient to go anywhere on foot – rather, driving becomes the
preferred option. I mean, I don’t think it takes a scientist to see the environmental problems that
can arise from that.
In which sections are the following mentioned?
1. Cities need to focus on how they can reduce one-time consumption. ______
2. A fix that will take a varying amount of effort. ______
3. Cities have a common reputation that overlooks their positive aspects. ______
4. An acknowledgement that the solution may be disagreeable to some. ______

5. Our cities are designed in a way that makes us feel detached from others. ______
6. How people can become more integrated in cities. ______
7. Some people are ignoring problems that we should be tackling. ______
8. Cities have been left to grow virtually unchecked. ______
9. Future enhancements will be determined by fundamental elements of construction. ______
10. The reputation of cities and the reality of cities are different. ______
The passage below consists of five sections marked A, B, C, D and E. For questions 1-10, read
the passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered
spaces provided.
The unstoppable spirit of inquiry
The president of the Royal Society, Martin Rees, celebrates the long history of one of Britain's
greatest institutions.
A. The Royal Society began in 1660. From the beginning, the wide dissemination of scientific
ideas was deemed important. The Society started to publish Philosophical Transaction, the first
scientific journal, which continues to this day. The Society's journals pioneered what is still the
accepted procedure whereby scientific ideas are subject to peer review - criticised, refined and
codified into 'public knowledge'. Over the centuries, they published Isaac Newton's researches on
light, Benjamin Franklin's experiments on lightning, Volta's first battery and many of the
triumphs of twentieth-century science. Those who want to celebrate this glorious history should
visit the Royal Society's archives via our Trailblazing website.
B. The founders of the Society enjoyed speculation, but they were also intensely engaged with
the problems of their era, such as improvements to timekeeping and navigation. After 350 years,
our horizons have expanded, but the same engagement is imperative in the 21st century.
Knowledge has advanced hugely, but it must be deployed for the benefit of the ever-growing
population of our planet, all empowered by ever more powerful technology. The silicon chip was
perhaps the most transformative single invention of the past century; it has allowed
miniaturisation and spawned the worldwide reach of mobile phones and the internet. It was
physicists who developed the World Wide Web and, though it impacts us all, scientists have
benefited especially.
C. Traditional journals survive as guarantors of quality, but they are supplemented by a

blogosphere of widely varying quality. The latter cries out for an informal system of quality
control. The internet levels the playing fields between researchers in major centres and those in
relative isolation. It has transformed the way science is communicated and debated. In 2002,
three young Indian mathematicians invented a faster scheme for factoring large numbers -
something that would be crucial for code-breaking. They posted their results on the web. Within
a day, 20,000 people had downloaded the work, which was the topic of hastily convened
discussions in many centres of mathematical research around the world. The internet also allows
new styles of research. For example, in the old days, astronomical research was stored on
delicate photographic plates; these were not easily accessible and tiresome to analyse. Now such
data (and large datasets in genetics and particle physics) can be accessed and downloaded
anywhere. Experiments and natural events can be followed in real time.
D. We recently asked our members what they saw as the most important questions facing us in
the years ahead and we are holding discussion meetings on the "Top Ten'. Whatever
breakthroughs are in store, we can be sure of one thing: the widening gulf between what science
enables us to do and what it's prudent or ethical actually to do. In respect of certain
developments, regulation will be called for, on ethical as well as prudential grounds. The way
science is applied is a matter not just for scientists. All citizens need to address these questions.
Public decisions should be made, after the widest possible discussion, in the light of the best
scientific evidence available. That is one of the key roles of the Society. Whether it is the work
of our Science Policy Centre, our journals, our discussion meetings, our work in education or our
public events, we must be at the heart of helping policy makers and citizens make informed
decisions.
E. But science isn't dogma. Its assertions are sometimes tentative, sometimes compelling; noisy
controversy doesn't always connote balanced arguments; risks are never absolutely zero, even if
they are hugely outweighed by potential benefits. In promoting an informed debate, the media
are crucial. When reporting a scientific controversy, the aim should be neither to exaggerate risks
and uncertainties, nor to gloss over them. This is indeed a challenge, particularly when
institutional, political or commercial pressures distort the debate. Scientists often bemoan the
public's weak grasp of science without some 'feel' for the issues, public debate can't get beyond
sloganising. But they protest too much: there are other issues where public debate is, to an
equally disquieting degree, inhibited by ignorance. The Royal Society aims to sustain Britain's
traditional strength in science, but also to ensure that wherever science impacts on people's lives,
it is openly debated.
In which section are the following mentioned?
1. a belief that a certain development has been of particular use to scientists ______
2. the variety of ways in which the Royal Society encourages people who are not scientists to
consider scientific issues ______
3. a rapid reaction to research being made public ______
4. a particular development that requires urgent action to improve it ______
5. a resource for information on past scientific discoveries ______
6. a lack of understanding of scientific matters among people in general ______
7. a system that the Royal Society introduced ______
8. the fact that scientists do not always reach firm conclusions ______
9. a problem that is not limited to the world of science ______
10. the belief that certain things that are possible are not desirable ______
The passage below consists of four sections marked A, B, C and D. For questions 1-10, read
the passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered
spaces provided.
Scientists and their emotions
A. Steven Greene, biologist Not long ago, I had a long argument with a fellow biologist about a
particular set of experiments. Things got pretty loud and heated, and harsh words were said. A
week later, we sent mutually apologetic texts and made up. This sort of thing doesn't find its way
into scientific papers. We have to present our data, analysis and interpretation in a way that
allows another scientist to understand each step. I am sometimes jealous of artists for whom
sharing and explaining the emotional journey of a piece of work is celebrated. The absence of a
natural forum for scientists to describe their emotions in their work can lead to the erroneous
view that we don't have any. In fact, we usually make a huge emotional investment in our work.
Science is not for the faint-hearted. I remember attending a talk years ago, at which the speaker,
a distinguished biologist, was continually challenged by the audience. At one point, a fierce
debate broke out at which the speaker was a mute bystander. This lack of deference is by no
means exceptional.
B. Catherine Edwards, oceanographer Writing a proposal is where most new science begins
these days and it's set out like a business case. After all, your fabulous new idea needs money:
equipment, salaries, overheads. The funding bodies are tough to impress. So the excitement of
having a big new idea is only the first step. The first proposal I ever wrote was for a three-year
project. Initially, writing about why my research topic mattered cheered me up no end. It's easy
to forget the bigger picture when you're working on details, and it was reassuring to be reminded
of the importance of my research subject. Working out the project details was fiddly and time-
consuming.Then it slowed down even more, to a dull plod, as I checked and rechecked things.
This was my idea and I desperately wanted it to be good, to deserve funding. Months after the
deadline, an email told me my project would be funded. My idea wasn't rubbish! Others wanted
it too!
C. Dominika Gajewska, neuroscientist While doing my postgraduate studies in psychology, I got

temporarily side-tracked by the question of why certain serious psychological problems that
afflict some people always seem to emerge at the end of adolescence. You can make it through
childhood and adolescence and then suddenly become affected. Does something happen in brain
development during adolescence that acts as a trigger? As I read the existing literature, I became
increasingly frustrated that there didn't seem to be many answers. I talked to my psychology
professor, an expert on child development, and she said: 'Why don't you fill the gap yourself?
Apply for funding and start some new research in developmental neuroscience focusing on
human adolescence?' As she said those words, I remember feeling excited and slightly
apprehensive. It wasn't until then that I realised it was exactly what I wanted to do — move into
a subject that was rather unknown territory to me. I was taking a risk by moving into
developmental work with so little experience, but my mentor's encouragement made all the
difference. Ten years later, I'm pleased with the outcome.
D. Arif Shah, chemist in a lab recently, a student of mine excitedly showed me a flask containing
a dark solution. She shone a torch and it lit up, in a vivid bright green. 'Fluorescence,' I said. The
glow attracted a small crowd. Although not a research-changing observation, it sparked off
excited speculation. What was the structure? How was the light being generated? What
spectrums and measurements should be recorded to understand the observation?
That buzz was a faint echo of the moment, over 200 years ago, when the pioneering chemist
Humphry Davy first electrolysed molten potash and was rewarded with a spray of brilliant
flashing droplets of potassium. Davy apparently danced round the room in delight. Few of us are
likely to come close to a discovery of that importance, though it's something many yearn for.
There is, however, something profoundly pleasurable in going over results and observations with
students and colleagues. The unexpected turns up in little ways in day-to-day research and each
time a miniature brainstorming session ensues, where adjustments are made to the way research
is going.
Which scientist
acknowledges the role another scientist has had in the development of their career? ______
draws a parallel between significant and less well-known scientific findings? ______
points out how unimpressed by reputation scientists tend to be? ______
mentions the desire scientists have to achieve a major breakthrough? ______
says that certain aspects of their work can be tedious? ______
comments on the impact discussion can have on the generation of new ideas? ______
draws attention to a common misconception? ______
mentions the satisfaction derived from thinking about the value of their work? ______
mentions a reconciliation with a colleague? ______
describes the anxiety involved in switching from one field of study to another? ______
The passage below consists of four paragraphs marked A, B, C and D. For questions 1-10,
numbered spaces provided.
Four readers give us their views on seasonal shift
A. It's a sad news story; groups of cows stranded on small islands of grass during floods;
hundreds of sheep drowned. But it's even sadder to realise that this is only the most obvious and
well-known indication of the hardship that farmers, both agricultural and dairy, have been facing
for decades because of increasingly unpredictable seasons. Think about it. Farmers depend on
the seasons to know when to plant, when to harvest, when to let livestock graze and when to
bring them in. In parts of Rwanda, for example, farmers used to be guided by the names of the
months which were taken from the weather; the name for March meaning hot and dry, for
example. Now sadly, that correlation is gone. In many countries we're getting longer and wetter,
and longer and hotter periods, with extreme rainfall and drought. The knock-on effect is crystal
clear. You don't have to be a former farmer like myself to understand that you can't plant when
it's too wet, and that droughts mean smaller crops, ravaged by increased numbers of pests and
weeds that thrive in the hot conditions. Animals have less grass to graze on and need to be fed -
and that costs money!
B. OK, so which biome on Earth (that is - a large region on the planet with its own range of
living things) has no really distinct seasons at all? Well done everyone who said the marine
biome. You're much better informed than I was before starting a project last month. Of course
conditions do change throughout the year in the oceans as a result of changing weather in
different locations, but for the living organisms in this biome it is the wider global climate
change that is having an enormous impact. I wasn't aware that the oceans have been taking in
extremely high amounts of carbon dioxide, which is a result of human industrial activity, and this
has, in effect, slowed down global warming for us. However, it's reaching a limit and salt water
on the earth is now showing a 25 percent rise in acidity. This, combined with warmer waters and
the more commonly discussed rise in sea levels, is affecting practically all sea creatures. Coral
reefs are dying, fish are moving towards the poles and coastal wetlands are being 'drowned'. We
are on the brink of marine disaster, and it isn't showing up in seasonal shifts.
C. So, what do kids know about the causes of the changing seasons? Actually, quite a lot! The
environment has been an important topic for us in education for a long time now. Classroom
walls have been decorated with posters about recycling, surveys have been conducted, trees have
been planted. Now, with movements such as that spearheaded by climate activist Greta
Thunberg, the urgency for action is touching young people all over the world. In my opinion,
how teachers address the topic of climate change is all about balance. It's vital to give
information but without instilling fear, instead showing how scientists are trying to find ways
through the problems - such as Dr Leslie Field's research into sprinkling a particular type of sand
over the Arctic ice to prevent the shrinking. The idea of using sand to reflect the sun links ideally
to basic physics lessons, too - a real life-changing application of scientific theory! Knowing that
there are people actively working on solutions may even encourage some children into scientific
research careers themselves. And that will help us all.
D. OK, my livelihood is at stake, so I can't be objective here, but believe me, the impact of
climate change and seasonal shift on the tourist industry will be devastating. I'm a ski instructor
and I'm seeing the results first hand. Snowfall used to be predictable, particularly at 'snow-
reliable' resorts. To those not in the know, these are resorts providing a continuous 100-day ski
season with at least 30 centimetres of snow on the slopes. But predictions now indicate that the
Alps could lose up to 50 percent of these resorts by the 2070s and for some lower-altitude ski
resorts it is already a thing of the past. Shorter seasons and the need to lop-up' with artificial
snow obviously involves higher costs, and smaller resorts have had to close; the business is just
no longer viable. Those that remain open are looking to raise prices which will make winter
sports holidays even more exclusive. Having said that, it's not all doom and gloom. Some resorts
have refocused and are promoting activities less dependent on reliable snowfall such as hiking,
mountain biking and snow shoeing. I guess I'll have to refocus, too!
Which contributor
1. explains how economic reasons have enforced certain changes? ______

2. rephrases terminology readers may not understand? ______
3. suggests that the public are unaware of the full extent of a problem? ______
4. describes a potential solution to a global problem? ______
5. refers to terminology which is no longer appropriate? ______
6. indicates that nature has helped reduce the rate of climate change? ______
7. mentions an unwanted positive effect of climate change on certain wildlife? ______
8. exemplifies a phrase by giving a measurement? ______
9. points out a change in emphasis on how to address a topic? ______

10. refers to information only recently acquired? ______
The passage below consists of four sections marked A, B, C and D. For questions 1-10, read
the passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers (A, B, C or D) in the
corresponding numbered spaces provided.
LIFTING HIGHER EDUCATION TO LOFTIER HEIGHTS?
Academic John Brennan asks whether universities should leave on-the-job training to
employers.
A There is a lot of emphasis nowadays placed on the need for universities and business groups to
get graduates “work ready” through vocational workplace training. This is to be welcomed but it
is also to be questioned – about what it should mean in practice and how it should be applied.
The concept is nothing new. I remember some years back being at a meeting about higher
education and employment, attended by a number of employer representatives. I recall one
employer remarking that of the many thousands of graduates that he had hired what he really
wanted and expected was for each of them to have changed the nature of the job by the time they
had left the role.
B Rather than being concerned with how recruits would fit into existing organisational
arrangements and master existing ways of doing things, here was an employer who expected
graduates to change existing arrangements and ways of working. Who, rather than focusing on
whether graduates had the right kinds of skills and competencies, acknowledged that he didn’t
know what skills and competencies his workers would need in a few years’ time. The very point
of hiring graduates was that he hoped to get people who would themselves be able to work out
what was required and be capable of delivering it and a bold new future.
C Of course, starting any job requires some work-specific knowledge and capability and when
recruiting staff, graduate or non-graduate, employers have a responsibility to provide suitable
induction and training. The responsibilities of higher education are different. They are about
preparing for work in the long term, in different jobs and, quite possibly, in different sectors.
This is preparation for work in a different world, for work that is going to require learning over a
lifetime, not just the first few weeks of that first job after graduation. Current initiatives set out a
perfectly reasonable set of objectives for the ways in which higher education can help prepare
students for their working lives. But much will depend on the interpretation and on recognising
who – higher education or employer – is best equipped to contribute what.
D In the rush to focus on “vocational training to improve graduate employability” academics

need to remember that all higher education is vocational in the sense that it can help shape a
graduate’s capacity to succeed in the workplace. In this way higher education is about life skills,
not just job skills. Many years ago, Harold Silver and I wrote a book entitled A Liberal
Vocationalism. It was based on a project we had just completed on the aims of degree courses in
vocational areas such as accountancy, business and engineering. The book’s title intentionally
conveyed the message that even vocational degree courses were about more than training for a
job. There were assumptions about criticality, transferability of skills, creating and adapting to
change and, above all, an academic credibility.
E Degree courses in subjects such as history and sociology are preparations for employment as
much as vocational degrees such as business and engineering. But the job details will not be
known at the time of study. Indeed, they may not be known until several years later. Thus, the
relevance of higher education to later working life for many graduates will lie in the realm of
generic and transferable skills rather than specific competencies needed for a first job after
graduation. The latter competences are not unimportant but the graduate’s employer is generally
much better equipped than a university to ensure that the graduate acquires them. Work
experience alongside or as part of study can also help a lot. Higher education is for the long term.
Universities, employers and students should realise that.
In which paragraph is it stated that
1. new proposals require an appropriate level of scrutiny? ______
2. academic subjects have benefits beyond their syllabuses? ______
3. business is investing in an unknown quantity in the pursuit of an uncertain goal? ______
4. responsibility for service provision needs to be correctly allocated? ______
5. educators need to make sure that they don’t lose sight of an important point? ______
6. the issues discussed are a recurring theme that is yet to be agreed upon? ______
7. beliefs about the key topics of a study were alluded to in the heading of a publication? ______
8. industry is better suited to cover some issues than educational institutions? ______
9. original thinking is key in finding solutions to future challenges? ______
10. while obligations vary, they are still present for both parties? ______
Exercise 34.
You are going to read an article about microfinance, a system of financial services provided
to the poor to try to help them escape poverty. For questions 1-10, choose from the sections
(A-E). The sections may be chosen more than once.
In which section are the mentioned?
1. the fact that microfinance loans are frequently put to unintended uses
2. a description of the microfinance concept
3. the 'romantic' notion that all poor people are entrepreneurs
4. the fact that the hardest hit in society can't take advantage of microfinance
5. the view that the evidence microfinance is effective lies in the fact people take out repeated
loans
6. the fact that traditional lenders of money to the poor now have competition
7. the key influence of the labour market on a country's standard of living
8. the necessity to dispel the idea that microfinance is a total solution to poverty
Microfinance
A Microfinance refers to a movement that envisions a world in which poor people have
permanent access to a range of high-quality and affordable financial services in order to finance
income-producing activities. The idea is that low-income individuals are fully capable of lifting
themselves out of poverty if only they are given access to capital. Over the last thirty years,
microtinance institutions and other sources of microfinance have, according to advocates,
become a key weapon in the fight against poverty in all its dimensions and levels. The core
product of microfinance is microcredit: an extremely small loan (typically less than $100) given
to poor people so that they can start or expand very small, self-sufficient businesses. Unlike
commercial loans, no collateral is required for a micro-loan and, the loan is typically repaid
within a short period of time (six months to a year). From small - beginnings, microfinance
programmes have enjoyed a strong and steady growth worldwide. Today, there are well over
3,000 microcredit institutions, providing loans to more than 150 million clients. With around
98% of loanS typically repaid on time, microfinance has proved itself to be a commercially
viable enterprise. Nevertheless, many argue that far from being the best thing to ever happen to
international development, microfinance is over-hyped and does little to eradicate poverty.
B The conclusion of one of the most comprehensive studies ever carried out on microfinancing
is that while microcredit helps a few, of the more entrepreneurial poor to start up businesses, it
does not translate into gains for the majority of borrowers, as measured by indicators like
income, spending, health, or education. In fact, most microcredit clients actually spend their
borrowed money not on a business but on household expenses, on paying off other debts, or on a
luxury item like a TV. And while champions of microcredit point to micro-loans as a tool for
empowering women, the study saw no impact on gender roles, and found evidence that if any
one group benefits more, it's actually male entrepreneurs with existing businesses. According to
Dean Karlan, an economics professor at Yale University, "microcredit is not a transformational
panacea that lifts people out of poverty. There might be pockets of people here and there who are
made better off, but the average effect is weak, if not nonexistent. In short, there's a place for
microcredit in fighting poverty, just not a very big one."
C Microcredit's defenders say the new findings, while suggestive, aren't enough to prove
anything. Microcredit's more dramatic effects, they suggest, may take longer to appear than the
16-to-2-year window the researchers looked at. They argue that the findings actually show that
microcredit works, albeit in a qualified way, by providing a cheaper alternative to the village
moneylender and his ruinous interest rates. Others argue that microcredit has proliferated as fast
as it has, with new clients signing on in droves and old ones coming back repeatedly; means it
must be providing a reliable benefit to borrowers – if only by allowing them to pay off higher-
interest moneylender loans. Nevertheless, even some of microcredit’s most passionate

proponents have toned down their rhetoric in recent years. What microcredit may do, they argue,
is not transform lives, but simply ameliorate them; giving poor people a more affordable source
of credit.
D Underlying all this is a debate over the importance of the micro-entrepreneur. Part of the
appeal of microcredit lies in its suggestion that the world's slums are populated not by helpless
victims of global forces, but by eager entrepreneurs lacking only a $30 loan to start a business
and pull themselves out of poverty. The new research underlines the fact that inspiring as that
story may be it misrepresents how both individuals and nations climb the economic ladder.
Developing nations climb out of poverty when jobs are provided. According to the International
Labour Organisation, 'nothing is more fundamental to poverty reduction than employment.
Creating opportunities for steady employment at reasonable wages is the best way to take people
out of poverty'. The United Nations Development Programme agrees, ‘employment’ is the key
link between economic growth and poverty reduction’. In short, the state cannot abrogate its role
in area of social provision. Only through governments making policy changes that impact on job
creation (e.g. providing key services such as public safety, basic education, public health and
infrastructure) are societies pulled out of poverty.
E In summary, there is little question that microfinance can and does play a role in the battle
against poverty. However, it is but one strategy battling an immense problem and should never
be seen as more than that. Microfinance has been shown to be incapable of reaching the poorest
of the poor in society (in part because microfinance organisations must charge very high interest
rates) and falls far short of eradicating poverty. China, Vietnam and South Korea have
significantly reduced poverty in recent years with little microfinance activity. On the other hand,
Bangladesh, Bolivia and Indonesia haven't been as successful at reducing poverty despite the
influx of microcredit. The myth of microfinance as a cure-all needs to be debunked.

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In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed.

For questions 1-7, read the passage

D So it is significant that there is another similarly contentious find, a 40,000 to 50,000-year-old

THE REINVENTION OF A BRAND

The missing paragraphs:

The missing paragraphs:

The missing paragraphs:

SOCIAL CHANGE DOWN IN BLACK AND WHITE

Mobile Phone Etiquette

How self-help books have changed the way we think

In which section are the following mentioned?

(A) The NY Times

(B) The Guardian

(C) The Telegraph

uses more than one contradiction to make its point? ______

is critical of the rhythm of the film? ______

looks at the film from different points in time? ______

The Modern City

In which sections are the following mentioned?

2. A fix that will take a varying amount of effort. ______

4. An acknowledgement that the solution may be disagreeable to some. ______

6. How people can become more integrated in cities. ______

7. Some people are ignoring problems that we should be tackling. ______

8. Cities have been left to grow virtually unchecked. ______

9. Future enhancements will be determined by fundamental elements of construction. ______

The unstoppable spirit of inquiry

C. Traditional journals survive as guarantors of quality, but they are supplemented by a

In which section are the following mentioned?

3. a rapid reaction to research being made public ______

4. a particular development that requires urgent action to improve it ______

5. a resource for information on past scientific discoveries ______

6. a lack of understanding of scientific matters among people in general ______

7. a system that the Royal Society introduced ______

9. a problem that is not limited to the world of science ______

Scientists and their emotions

C. Dominika Gajewska, neuroscientist While doing my postgraduate studies in psychology, I got

points out how unimpressed by reputation scientists tend to be? ______

mentions the desire scientists have to achieve a major breakthrough? ______

says that certain aspects of their work can be tedious? ______

draws attention to a common misconception? ______

mentions a reconciliation with a colleague? ______

Four readers give us their views on seasonal shift

1. explains how economic reasons have enforced certain changes? ______

9. points out a change in emphasis on how to address a topic? ______

LIFTING HIGHER EDUCATION TO LOFTIER HEIGHTS?

D In the rush to focus on “vocational training to improve graduate employability” academics

In which paragraph is it stated that

1. new proposals require an appropriate level of scrutiny? ______

2. academic subjects have benefits beyond their syllabuses? ______

3. business is investing in an unknown quantity in the pursuit of an uncertain goal? ______

4. responsibility for service provision needs to be correctly allocated? ______

9. original thinking is key in finding solutions to future challenges? ______

In which section are the mentioned?

2. a description of the microfinance concept

3. the 'romantic' notion that all poor people are entrepreneurs

7. the key influence of the labour market on a country's standard of living

interest moneylender loans. Nevertheless, even some of microcredit’s most passionate

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