How much higher? How much faster? IELTS Reading

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Reading passage 1

Since the early years of the twentieth century, when the International Athletic Federation began keeping records, there has been a steady improvement in how fast athletes run, how high they jump and how far they are able to hurl massive objects, themselves included, through space. For the so-called power events –that require a relatively brief, explosive release of energy, like the 100-metre sprint and the long jump-times and distances have improved ten to twenty percent. In the endurance events the results have been more dramatic. At the 1908 Olympics, John Hayes of the U.S. team ran to marathon in a time of 2:55:18. In 1999, Morocco’s Khalid Khannouchi set a new world record of 2:05:42, almost thirty percent faster.

No one theory can explain improvements in performance, but the most important factor has been genetics. ‘The athlete must choose his parents carefully,’ says Jesus Dapena, a sports scientist at Indiana University, invoking an oft-cited adage. Over the past century, the composition of the human gene pool has not changed appreciably, but with increasing global participation in athletics-and greater rewards to tempt athletes-it is more likely that individuals possessing the unique complement of genes for athletic performance can be identified early. ‘Was there someone like *sprinter+ Michael Johnson in the 1920s?’ Dapena asks. ‘I’m sure there was, but his talent was probably never realized.’

Identifying genetically talented individuals is only the first step. Michael Yessis, an emeritus professor of Sports Science at California State University at Fullerton, maintains that ‘genetics only determines about one third of what an athlete can do. But with the right training we can go much further with that one third than we’ve been going.’ Yesis believes that U.S. runners, despite their impressive achievements, are ‘running on their genetics’. By applying more scientific methods, ‘they’re going to go much faster’. These methods include strength training that duplicates what they are doing in their running events as well as plyometrics, a technique pioneered in the former Soviet Union.

Whereas most exercises are designed to build up strength or endurance, plyometrics focuses on increasing power- the rate at which an athlete can expend energy. When a sprinter runs, Yesis explains, her foot stays in contact with the ground for just under a tenth of a second, half of which is devoted to landing and the other half to pushing off. Plyometric exercises help athletes make the best use of this brief interval.

Nutrition is another area that sports trainers have failed to address adequately. ‘Many athletes are not getting the best nutrition, even though supplements,’ Yessis insists. Each activity has its own nutritional needs. Few coaches, for instance, understand how deficiencies in trace minerals can lead to injuries.

Focused training will also play a role in enabling records to be broken. ‘If we applied the Russian training model to some of the outstanding runners we have in this country,’ Yessis asserts, ‘they would be breaking records left and right.’ He will not predict by how much, however: ‘Exactly what the limits are it’s hard to say, but there will be increases even if only by hundredths of a second, as long as our training continues to improve.’

One of the most important new methodologies is biomechanics, the study of the body in motion. A biomechanic films an athlete in action and then digitizes her performance, recording the motion of every joint and limb in three dimensions. By applying Newton’s law to these motions, ‘we can say that this athlete’s run is not fast enough; that this one is not using his arms strongly enough during take-off,’ says Dapena, who uses these methods to help high jumpers. To date, however, biomechanics has made only a small difference to athletic performance.

Revolutionary ideas still come from the athletes themselves. For example, during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, a relatively unknown high jumper named Dick Fosbury won the gold by going over the bar backwards, in complete contradiction of all the received high-jumping wisdom, a move instantly dubbed the Fosbury flop. Fosbury himself did not know what he was doing. That understanding took the later analysis of biomechanics specialists. Who put their minds to comprehending something that was too complex and unorthodox ever to have been invented through their own mathematical simulations. Fosbury also required another element that lies behind many improvements in athletic performance: an innovation in athletic equipment. In Fosbury’s case, it was the cushions that jumpers land on. Traditionally, high jumpers would land in pits filled with sawdust. But by Fosbury’s time, sawdust pits had been replaced by soft foam cushions, ideal for flopping.

In the end, most people who examine human performance are humbled by the resourcefulness of athletes and the powers of the human body. ‘Once you study athletics, you learn that it’s a vexingly complex issue,’ says John S.Raglin, a sports psychologist at Indiana University. ‘Core performance is not a simple or mundane thing of higher,faster, longer. So many variables enter into the equation, and our understanding in many cases is fundamental.We’re got a long way to go.’ For the foreseeable future, records will be made to be broken.

Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1 Modern official athletic records date from about 1900.
2 There was little improvement in athletic performance before the twentieth century,
3 Performance has improved most greatly in events requiring an intensive burst of energy.
4 Improvements in athletic performance can be fully explained by genetics.
5 The parents of top athletes have often been successful athletes themselves.
6 The growing international importance of athletics means that gifted athletes can be recognised at a younger age.


Questions 7-10

Complete the sentences below with words taken from Reading Passage 1. Use ONE WORD for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.

7 According to Professor Yessis, American runners are relying for their current success on………………..

8 Yessis describes a training approach from the former Soviet Union that aims to develop an athlete’s…………

9 Yessis links an inadequate diet to…………………

10 Yessis claims that the key to setting new records is better…………….. 

Questions 11-13
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.

11 Biomechanics films are proving particularly useful because they enable trainers to

A highlight areas for improvement in athletes
B assess the fitness levels of athletes
C select top athletes
D predict the success of athletes

12 Biomechanics specialists used theoretical models to

A soften the Fosbury flop
B create the Fosbury flop
C correct the Fosbury flo
D explain the Fosbury flop.

13 John S. Raglin believes our current knowledge of athletics is

A mistaken
B basic
C diverse
D theoretical 

The Nature and Aims of Archaeology 

Archaeology is partly the discovery of treasures of the past, partly the work of the scientific analyst, partly the exercise of the creative imagination. It is toiling in the sun on an excavation in the Middle East, it is working with living Inuit in the snows of Alaska, and it is investigating the sewers of Roman Britain. But it is also the painstaking task of interpretation, so that we come to understand what these things mean for the human story. And it is the conservation of the world’s cultural heritage against looting and careless harm.

Archaeology, then, is both a physical activity out in the field, and an intellectual pursuit in the study or laboratory. That is part of its great attraction. The rich mixture of danger and detective work has also made it the perfect vehicle for fiction writers and film-makers, from Agatha Christie with Murder in Mesopotamia to Stephen Spielberg with Indiana Jones. However far from reality such portrayals are, they capture the essential truth that archaeology is an exciting quest – the quest for knowledge about ourselves and our past.

But how does archaeology relate to other disciplines such as anthropology and history that are also concerned with the human story? Is archaeology itself a science? And what are the responsibilities of the archaeologist in today’s world?

Anthropology, at its broadest, is the study of humanity- our physical characteristics as animals and our unique non- biological characteristics that we call culture. Culture in this sense includes what the anthropologist, Edward Tylor, summarised in 1871 as ‘knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society’. Anthropologists also use the term ‘culture’ in a more restricted sense when they refer to the ‘culture’ of a particular society, meaning the non-biological characteristics unique to that society, which distinguish it from other societies. Anthropology is thus a broad discipline – so broad that it is generally broken down into three smaller disciplines: physical anthropology, cultural anthropology and archaeology.

Physical anthropology, or biological anthropology as it is called, concerns the study of human biological or physical characteristics and how they evolved. Cultural anthropology – or social anthropology – analyses human culture and society. Two of its branches are ethnography (the study at first hand of individual living cultures) and ethnology (which sets out to compare cultures using ethnographic evidence to derive general principles about human society).

Archaeology is the ‘past tense of cultural anthropology’. Whereas cultural anthropologists will often base their conclusions on the experience of living within contemporary communities, archaeologists study past societies primarily through their material remains – the buildings, tools, and other artefacts that constitute what is known as the material culture left over from former societies.

Nevertheless, one of the most important tasks for the archaeologist today is to know how to interpret material culture in human terms. How were those pots used? Why are some dwellings round and others square. Here the methods of archaeology and ethnography overlap. Archaeologists in recent decades have developed ‘ethnoarchaeology’ where, like ethnographers, they live among contemporary communities, but with the specific purpose of learning how such societies use material culture – how they make their tools and weapons, why they build their settlements where they do, and so on. Moreover, archaeology has a role to play in the field of conservation. Heritage studies constitute a developing field, where it is realised that the world’s cultural heritage is a diminishing resource which holds different meanings for different people.

If, then, archaeology deals with the past, in what way does it differ from history? In the broadest sense, just as archaeology is an aspect of anthropology, so too is it a part of history – where we mean the whole history of humankind from its beginnings over three million years ago. Indeed, for more than ninety-nine percent of that huge span of time, archaeology – the study of past material culture – is the only significant source of information. Conventional historical sources begin only with the introduction of written records around 3,000 BC in western Asia, and much later in most other parts in the world.

A commonly drawn distinction is between pre-history, i.e. the period before written records – and history in the narrow sense, meaning the study of the past using written evidence. To archaeology, which studies all cultures and periods, whether with or without writing, the distinction between history and pre-history is a convenient dividing line that recognises the importance of the written word, but in no way lessens the importance of the useful information contained in oral histories.

Since the aim of archaeology is the understanding of humankind, it is a humanistic study, and since it deals with the human past, it is a historical discipline. But is differs from the study of written history in a fundamental way. The material the archaeologist finds does not tell us directly what to think. Historical records make statements, offer opinions and pass judgements. The objects the archaeologists discover, on the other hand, tell us nothing directly in themselves. In this respect, the practice of the archaeologist is rather like that of the scientist, who collects data, conducts experiments, formulates a hypothesis tests the hypothesis against more data, and then, in conclusion, devises a model that seems best to summarise the pattern observed in the data. The archaeologist has to develop a picture of the past, just as the scientist has to develop a coherent view of the natural world.

Questions 14-19. Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet write:

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

14 Archaeology involves creativity as well as investigative work.
15 Archaeologist must be able to translate texts from ancient languages.
16 Movies give a realistic picture of the work of archaeologists.
17 Anthropologist define culture in more than one way.
18 Archaeology is a more demanding field of study than anthropology.
19 The history of Europe has been documented since 3,000 BC.

Questions 20 and 21. Choose TWO letters A – E. Write your answer in boxes 20 and 21 on your answer sheet. The list below gives some statements about anthropology.

Which TWO statements are mentioned by the writer of the text?

A It is important for government planners
B It is a continually growing field of study
C It often involves long periods of fieldwork
D It is subdivided for study purposes
E It studies human evolutionary patterns

Questions 22 and 23 . Choose TWO letters A – E. Write your answer in boxes 22 and 23 on your answer sheet.

The list below gives some of the tasks of an archaeologist. Which TWO of these tasks are mentioned by the writer of the text?
A examining ancient waste sites to investigate diet
B studying cave art to determine its significance
C deducing reasons for the shape of domestic buildings
D investigating the way different cultures make and use objects
E examining evidence for past climate changes

Questions 24-27. Complete the summary of the last two paragraphs of Reading Passage 2. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.


Much of the work of archaeologists can be done using written records, but they find (24)………………………. equally
valuable. The writer describes archaeology as both a (25)…………………………. and a (26) However, as
archaeologists do not try to influence human behaviour, the writer compares their style of working to that of a (27)……………………….

The Problem of Scarce Resources

Section A
The problem of how health-care resources should be allocated or apportioned, so that they are distributed in both the most just and most efficient way, is not a new one. Every health system in an economically developed society is faced with the need to decide (either formally or informally) what proportion of the community’s total resources should be spent on health-care; how resources are to be apportioned; what diseases and disabilities and which forms of treatment are to be given priority; which members of the community are to be given special consideration in respect of their health needs; and which forms of treatment are the most cost-effective.

Section B
What is new is that, from the 1950s onwards, there have been certain general changes in outlook about the finitude of resources as a whole and of health-care resources in particular, as well as more specific changes regarding the clientele of health-care resources and the cost to the community of those resources. Thus, in the 1950s and 1960s, there emerged an awareness in Western societies that resources for the provision of fossil fuel energy were finite and exhaustible and that the capacity of nature or the environment to sustain economic development and population was also finite. In other words, we became aware of the obvious fact that there were ‘limits to growth’. The new consciousness that there were also severe limits to health-care resources was part of this general revelation of the obvious. Looking back, it now seems quite incredible that in the national health systems that emerged in many countries in the years immediately after the 1939-45 World War, it was assumed without question that all the basic health needs of any community could be satisfied, at least in principle; the ‘in visible hand’ of economic progress would provide.

Section C
However, at exactly the same time as this new realization of the finite character of health-care resources was sinking in, an awareness of a contrary kind was developing in Western societies: that people have a basic right to health-care as a necessary condition of a proper human life. Like education, political and legal processes and institutions, public order, communication, transport and money supply, health-care came to be seen as one of the fundamental social facilities necessary for people to exercise their other rights as autonomous human beings.
People are not in a position to exercise personal liberty and to be self-determining if they are poverty-stricken, or deprived of basic education, or do not live within a context of law and order. In the same way, basic health-care is a condition of the exercise of autonomy.

Section D
Although the language of ‘rights’ sometimes leads to confusion, by the late 1970s it was recognized in most societies that people have a right to health-care (though there has been considerable resistance in the United Sates to the idea that there is a formal right to health-care). It is also accepted that this right generates an obligation or duty for the state to ensure that adequate health-care resources are provided out of the public purse. The state has no obligation to provide a health-care system itself, but to ensure that such a system is provided. Put another way, basic health-care is now recognized as a ‘public good’, rather than a ‘private good’ that one is expected to buy for oneself. As the 1976 declaration of the World Health Organisation put it: ‘The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition’. As has just been remarked, in a liberal society basic health is seen as one of the indispensable conditions for the exercise of personal autonomy.

Section E
Just at the time when it became obvious that health-care resources could not possibly meet the demands being made upon them, people were demanding that their fundamental right to health-care be satisfied by the state. The second set of more specific changes that have led to the present concern about the distribution of health-care resources stems from the dramatic rise in health costs in most OECD countries, accompanied by large-scale demographic and social changes which have meant, to take one example, that elderly people are now major (and relatively very expensive) consumers of health-care resources. Thus in OECD countries as a whole, health costs increased from 3.8% of GDP in 1960 to 7% of GDP in 1980, and it has been predicted that the proportion of health costs to GDP will continue to increase. (In the US the current figure is about 12% of GDP, and in Australia about 7.8% of GDP.)
As a consequence, during the 1980s a kind of doomsday scenario (analogous to similar doomsday extrapolations about energy needs and fossil fuels or about population increases) was projected by health administrators, economists and politicians. In this scenario, ever-rising health costs were matched against static or declining resources.

Questions 28-31 . Reading Passage 3 has five sections A-E. Choose the correct heading for section A and C-E from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number i-viii in boxes 28-31 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i The connection between health-care and other human rights
ii The development of market-based health systems.
iii The role of the state in health-care
iv A problem shared by every economically developed country
v The impact of recent change
vi The views of the medical establishment
vii The end of an illusion
viii Sustainable economic development

28 Section A
Example: Section B viii
29 Section C
30 Section D
31 Section E

Questions 32-35. Classify the following as first occurring
A between 1945 and 1950
B between 1950 and 1980
C after 1980

32 the realisation that the resources of the national health system were limited
33 a sharp rise in the cost of health-care.
34 a belief that all the health-care resources the community needed would be produced by economic growth
35 an acceptance of the role of the state in guaranteeing the provision of health-care.

Questions 36-40
Do the following statements agree with the view of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 136-40 on your answer sheet write:
YES , NO , NOT GIVEN
36 Personal liberty and independence have never been regarded as directly linked to health-care.
37 Health-care came to be seen as a right at about the same time that the limits of health-care resources became evident.
38 IN OECD countries population changes have had an impact on health-care costs in recent years.
39 OECD governments have consistently underestimated the level of health-care provision needed.
40 In most economically developed countries the elderly will to make special provision for their health-care in the future.

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Henry Moore (1898-1986)

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Reading passage 1

Henry Moore was born in Castleford, a small town near Leeds in the north of England. He was the seventh child of Raymond Moore and his wife Mary Baker. He studied at Castleford Grammar School from 1909 to 1915, where his early interest in art was encouraged by his teacher Alice Gostick. After leaving school, Moore hoped to become a sculptor, but instead he complied with his father’s wish that he train as a schoolteacher. He had to abandon his training in 1917 when he was sent to France to fight in the First World War.

After the war, Moore enrolled at the Leeds School of Art, where he studied for two years. In his first year, he spent most of his time drawing. Although he wanted to study sculpture, no teacher was appointed until his second year. At the end of that year, he passed the sculpture examination and was awarded a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London. In September 1921, he moved to London and began three years of advanced study in sculpture.

Alongside the instruction he received at the Royal College, Moore visited many of the London museums, particularly the British Museum, which had a wide-ranging collection of ancient sculpture. During these visits, he discovered the power and beauty of ancient Egyptian and African sculpture. As he became increasingly interested in these ‘primitive’ forms of art, he turned away from European sculptural traditions.

After graduating, Moore spent the first six months of 1925 travelling in France. When he visited the Trocadero Museum in Paris, he was impressed by a cast of a Mayan”‘ sculpture of the rain spirit. It was a male reclining figure with its knees drawn up together, and its head at a right angle to its body. Moore became fascinated with this stone sculpture, which he thought had a power and originality that no other stone sculpture possessed. He himself started carving a variety of subjects in stone, including depictions of reclining women, mother-and-child groups, and masks.

Moore’s exceptional talent soon gained recognition, and in 1926 he started work as a sculpture instructor at the Royal College. In 1933, he became a member of a group of young artists called Unit One. The aim of the group was to convince the English public of the merits of the emerging international movement in modem art and architecture.

Around this time, Moore moved away from the human figure to experiment with abstract shapes. In 1931, he held an exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in London. His work was enthusiastically welcomed by fellow sculptors, but the reviews in the press were extremely negative and turned Moore into a notorious figure. There were calls for his resignation from the Royal College, and the following year, when his contract expired, he left to start a sculpture department at the Chelsea School of Art in London.

Throughout the 1930s, Moore did not show any inclination to please the British public. He became interested in the paintings of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, whose work inspired him to distort the human body in a radical way. At times, he seemed to abandon the human figure altogether. The pages of his sketchbooks from this period show his ideas for abstract sculptures that bore little resemblance to the human form.

In 1940, during the Second World War, Moore stopped teaching at the Chelsea School and moved to a farmhouse about 20 miles north of London. A shortage of materials forced him to focus on drawing. He did numerous small sketches of Londoners, later turning these ideas into large coloured drawings in his studio. Tn 1942, he returned to Castleford to make a series of sketches of the miners who worked there.

In 1944, Harlow, a town near London, offered Moore a commission for a sculpture depicting a family. The resulting work signifies a dramatic change in Moore’s style, away from the experimentation of the 1930s towards a more natural and humanistic subject matter. He did dozens of studies in clay for the sculpture, and these were cast in bronze and issued in editions of seven to nine copies each. In this way, Moore’s work became available to collectors all over the world. The boost to his income enabled him to take on ambitious projects and start working on the scale he felt his sculpture demanded.

Critics who had begun to think that Moore had become less revolutionary were proven wrong by the appearance, in 1950, of the first of Moore’s series of standing figures in bronze, with their harsh and angular pierced forms and distinct impression of menace. Moore also varied his subject matter in the 1950s with such works as Warrior with Shield and Falling Warrior. These were rare examples of Moore’s use of the male figure and owe something to his visit to Greece in 1951, when he had the opportunity to study ancient works of art.

In his final years, Moore created the Henry Moore Foundation to promote art appreciation and to display his work. Moore was the first modern English sculptor to achieve international critical acclaim and he is still regarded as one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century.

Questions 1-7

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-7, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

  1. On leaving school, Moore did what his father wanted him to do.
  2. Moore began studying sculpture in his first term at the Leeds School of Art.
  3. When Moore started at the Royal College of Art, its reputation for teaching sculpture was excellent.
  4. Moore became aware of ancient sculpture as a result of visiting London museums.
  5. The Trocadero Museum’s Mayan sculpture attracted a lot of public interest.
  6. Moore thought the Mayan sculpture was similar in certain respects to other stone sculptures.
  7. The artists who belonged to Unit One wanted to make modern art and architecture more popular.”

Questions 8-13
Complete the notes below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. Moore’s career as an artist

1930s

  • Moore’s exhibition at the Leicester Galleries is criticised by the press
  • Moore is urged to offer his (8)……………………… and leave the Royal College

1940s

  • Moore turns to drawing because (9)…………………….. for sculpting are not readily available
  • While visiting his hometown, Moore does some drawings of (10)………………
  • Moore is employed to produce a sculpture of a (11) ………………
    (12)…………………….. start to buy Moore’s work
  • Moore’s increased (13)…………………….. makes it possible for him to do more ambitious sculptures

1950s

• Moore’s series of bronze figures marks a further change in his style.

Reading passage 2.

The Desolenator: producing clean water

A Travelling around Thailand in the 1990s, William Janssen was impressed with the basic rooftop solar heating systems that were on many homes, where energy from the sun was absorbed by a plate and then used to heat water for domestic use. Two decades later Janssen developed that basic idea he saw in Southeast Asia into a portable device that uses the power from the sun to purify water.

B The Desolenator operates as a mobile desalination unit that can take water from different places, such as the sea, rivers, boreholes and rain, and purify it for human consumption. It is particularly valuable in regions where natural groundwater reserves have been polluted, or where seawater is the only water source available. Janssen saw that there was a need for a sustainable way to clean water in both the developing and the developed countries when he moved to the United Arab Emirates and saw large-scale water processing. ‘1 was confronted with the enormous carbon footprint that the Gulf nations have because of all of the desalination that they do,’ he says.

C The Desolenator can produce 15 litres of drinking water per day, enough to sustain a family for cooking and drinking. Its main selling point is that unlike standard desalination techniques, it doesn’t require a generated power supply: just sunlight. It measures 120 cm by 90 cm, and is easy to transport, thanks to its two wheels. Water enters through a pipe, and flows as a thin film between a sheet of double glazing and the surface of a solar panel, where it is heated by the sun.

The warm water flows into a small boiler (heated by a solar-powered battery) where it is converted to steam. When the steam cools, it becomes distilled water. The device has a very simple filter to trap particles, and this can easily be shaken to remove them. There are two tubes for liquid coming out: one for the waste – salt from seawater, fluoride, etc. – and another for the distilled water. The performance of the unit is shown on an LCD screen and transmitted to the company which provides servicing when necessary.

D A recent analysis found that at least two-thirds of the world’s population lives with severe water scarcity for at least a month every year. Janssen says that by 2030 half of the world’s population will be living with water stress – where the demand exceeds the supply over a certain period of time. ‘It is really important that a sustainable solution is brought to the market that is able to help these people,’ he says. Many countries ‘don’t have the money for desalination plants, which are very expensive to build. They don’t have the money to operate them, they are very maintenance intensive, and they don’t have the money to buy the diesel to run the desalination plants, so it is a really bad situation.’

E The device is aimed at a wide variety of users – from homeowners in the developing world who do not have a constant supply of water to people living off the grid in rural parts of the US. The first commercial versions of the Desolenator are expected to be in operation in India early next year, after field tests are carried out. The market for the self-sufficient devices in developing countries is twofold – those who cannot afford the money for the device outright and pay through microfinance, and middle- income homes that can lease their own equipment. ‘People in India don’t pay for a fridge outright; they pay for it over six months. They would put the Desolenator on their roof and hook it up to their municipal supply and they would get very reliable drinking water on a daily basis,’ Janssen says. In the developed world, it is aimed at niche markets where tap water is unavailable – for camping, on boats, or for the military, for instance.

F Prices will vary according to where it is bought. In the developing world, the price will depend on what deal aid organisations can negotiate. In developed countries, it is likely to come in at $1,000 (£685) a unit, said Janssen. ‘We are a venture with a social mission. We are aware that the product we have envisioned is mainly finding application in the developing world and humanitarian sector and that this is the way we will proceed. We do realise, though, that to be a viable company there is a bottom line to keep in mind,’ he says.

G The company itself is based at Imperial College London, although Janssen, its chief executive, still lives in the UAE. It has raised £340,000 in funding so far. Within two years, he says, the company aims to be selling 1,000 units a month, mainly in the humanitarian field. They are expected to be sold in areas such as Australia, northern Chile, Peru, Texas and California.

Questions 14-20

Reading Passage 2 has seven sections, A-G. Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-20.

List of Headings

i Getting the finance for production
ii An unexpected benefit
iii From initial inspiration to new product
iv The range of potential customers for the device
v What makes the device different from alternatives
vi Cleaning water from a range of sources
vii Overcoming production difficulties
viii Profit not the primary goal
ix A warm welcome for the device
x The number of people affected by water shortages

14. Section A

15. Section B

16. Section C

17. Section D

18. Section E

19. Section F

20. Section G 

Questions 21-26

Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

How the Desolenator works

The energy required to operate the Desolenator comes from sunlight. The device can be used in different locations, as it has (21) …………………. Water is fed into a pipe, and a (22) …………………. of water flows over a solar panel. The water then enters a boiler, where it turns into steam. Any particles in the water are caught in a (23) …………………. The purified water comes out through one tube, and all types of (24) ………………… come out through another. A screen displays the (25) …………………. of the device, and transmits the information to the company so that they know when the Desolenator requires (26) …………………

Reading passage 3

Why fairy tales are really scary tales

People of every culture tell each other fairy tales but the same story often takes a variety of forms in different parts of the world. In the story of Little Red Riding Hood that European children are familiar with, a young girl on the way to see her grandmother meets a wolf and tells him where she is going. The wolf runs on ahead and disposes of the grandmother, then gets into bed dressed in the grandmother’s clothes to wait for Little Red Riding Hood. You may think you know the story – but which version? In some versions, the wolf swallows up the grandmother, while in others it locks her in a cupboard. In some stories Red Riding Hood gets the better of the wolf on her own, while in others a hunter or a woodcutter hears her cries and comes to her rescue.

The universal appeal of these tales is frequently attributed to the idea that they contain cautionary messages: in the case of Little Red Riding Hood, to listen to your mother, and avoid talking to strangers. ‘It might be what we find interesting about this story is that it’s got this survival-relevant information in it,’ says anthropologist Jamie Tehrani at Durham University in the UK. But his research suggests otherwise. ‘We have this huge gap in our knowledge about the history and prehistory of storytelling, despite the fact that we know this genre is an incredibly ancient one,’ he says. That hasn’t stopped anthropologists, folklorists* and other academics devising theories to explain the importance of fairy tales in human society. Now Tehrani has found a way to test these ideas, borrowing a technique from evolutionary biologists. To work out the evolutionary history, development and relationships among groups of organisms, biologists compare the characteristics of living species in a process called ‘phylogenetic analysis’. Tehrani has used the same approach to compare related versions of fairy tales to discover how they have evolved and which elements have survived longest.

Tehrani’s analysis focused on Little Red Riding Hood in its many forms, which include another Western fairy tale known as The Wolf and the Kids. Checking for variants of these two tales and similar stories from Africa, East Asia and other regions, he ended up with 58 stories recorded from oral traditions. Once his phylogenetic analysis had established that they were indeed related, he used the same methods to explore how they have developed and altered over time.

First he tested some assumptions about which aspects of the story alter least as it evolves, indicating their importance. Folklorists believe that what happens in a story is more central to the story than the characters in it – that visiting a relative, only to be met by a scary animal in disguise, is ‘Folklorists: those who study traditional stories more fundamental than whether the visitor is a little girl or three siblings, or the animal is a tiger instead of a wolf.

However, Tehrani found no significant difference in the rate of evolution of incidents compared with that of characters. ‘Certain episodes are very stable because they are crucial to the story, but there are lots of other details that can evolve quite freely,’ he says. Neither did his analysis support the theory that the central section of a story is the most conserved part. He found no significant difference in the flexibility of events there compared with the beginning or the end.

But the really big surprise came when he looked at the cautionary elements of the story. ‘Studies on hunter-gatherer folk tales suggest that these narratives include really important information about the environment and the possible dangers that may be faced there – stuff that’s relevant to survival,’ he says. Yet in his analysis such elements were just as flexible as seemingly trivial details. What, then, is important enough to be reproduced from generation to generation?

The answer, it would appear, is fear – blood-thirsty and gruesome aspects of the story, such as the eating of the grandmother by the wolf, turned out to be the best preserved of all. Why are these details retained by generations of storytellers, when other features are not? Tehrani has an idea: ‘In an oral context, a story won’t survive because of one great teller. It also needs to be interesting when it’s told by someone who’s not necessarily a great storyteller.’ Maybe being swallowed whole by a wolf, then cut out of its stomach alive is so gripping that it helps the story remain popular, no matter how badly it’s told.

Jack Zipes at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, is unconvinced by Tehrani’s views on fairy tales. ‘Even if they’re gruesome, they won’t stick unless they matter,’ he says. He believes the perennial theme of women as victims in stories like Little Red Riding Hood explains why they continue to feel relevant. But Tehrani points out that although this is often the case in Western versions, it is not always true elsewhere. In Chinese and Japanese versions, often known as The Tiger Grandmother, the villain is a woman, and in both Iran and Nigeria, the victim is a boy.

Mathias Clasen at Aarhus University in Denmark isn’t surprised by Tehrani’s findings. ‘Habits and morals change, but the things that scare us, and the fact that we seek out entertainment that’s designed to scare us – those are constant,’ he says. Clasen believes that scary stories teach us what it feels like to be afraid without having to experience real danger, and so build up resistance to negative emotions.

Questions 27-31

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below. Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 27-31.

27. In fairy tales, details of the plot
28. Tehrani rejects the idea that the useful lessons for life in fairy tales
29. Various theories about the social significance of fairy tales
30. Insights into the development of fairy tales
31. All the fairy tales analysed by Tehrani 

A may be provided through methods used in biological research.

B are the reason for their survival.

C show considerable global variation.

D contain animals which transform to become humans.

E were originally spoken rather than written.

F have been developed without factual basis.

Questions 32-36

Complete the summary using the list of words, A-l, below. Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 32- 36.

Phylogenetic analysis of Little Red Riding Hood

Tehrani used techniques from evolutionary biology to find out if (32) ……………….existed among 58 stories from around the world. He also wanted to know which aspects of the stories had fewest (33)………………., as he believed these aspects would be the most important ones. Contrary to other beliefs, he found that some (34)………………. that were included in a story tended to change over time, and that the middle of a story seemed no more important than the other parts. He was also surprised that parts of a story which seemed to provide some sort of (35)………………. were unimportant. The aspect that he found most important in a story’s survival was (36) ……………….

A ending

B events

C warning

D links

E records

F variations

G horror

H people I plot

Questions 37-40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

37. What method did Jamie Tehrani use to test his ideas about fairy tales?
A He compared oral and written forms of the same stories.

B He looked at many different forms of the same basic story.

C He looked at unrelated stories from many different countries.

D He contrasted the development of fairy tales with that of living creatures.

38. When discussing Tehrani’s views, Jack Zipes suggests that

A Tehrani ignores key changes in the role of women.

B stories which are too horrific are not always taken seriously.

C Tehrani overemphasises the importance of violence in stories.

D features of stories only survive if they have a deeper significance.

39. Why does Tehrani refer to Chinese and Japanese fairy tales?

A to indicate that Jack Zipes’ theory is incorrect

B to suggest that crime is a global problem

C to imply that all fairy tales have a similar meaning

D to add more evidence for Jack Zipes’ ideas

40. What does Mathias Clasen believe about fairy tales?

A They are a safe way of learning to deal with fear.

B They are a type of entertainment that some people avoid.

C They reflect the changing values of our society.

D They reduce our ability to deal with real-world problems.


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Show answer
Henry Moore

1. TRUE

2. FALSE

3. NOT GIVEN

4. TRUE

5. NOT GIVEN

6. FALSE

7. TRUE

8. resignation

9. materials

10. miners

11. family

12. collectors

13. income

14. Section A – iii

15. Section B – vi

16. Section C – v

17. Section D – x

18. Section E – iv

19. Section F – viii

20. Section G – i

21. wheels

22. film

23. filter

24. waste

25. performance

26. servicing

27. C

28. B

29. F

30. A

31. E

32. links

33. variations

34. events

35. warning

36. horror

37. B

38. D

39. A

40. A

GLACIERS IELTS READING

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Reading passage 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-15, which are based on Passage 1 below.

Questions 1-5. Reading Passage 1 has five paragraphs, A-E. Choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate numbers (I-VIII) on your Answer Sheet. There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use them all.

Paragraph List of headings: 
1.Paragraph A
2.Paragraph B
3.Paragraph C
4.Paragraph D
5.Paragraph E
I Glacial Continents
II Formation and Growth of Glaciers
III Glacial Movement
IV Glaciers in the Last Ice Age
V Glaciers Through the Years
VI Types of Glaciers
VII Glacial Effects on Landscapes
VIII Glaciers in National Parks”

Glaciers

A. Besides the earth’s oceans, glacier ice is the largest source of water on earth. A glacier is a massive stream or sheet of ice that moves underneath itself under the influence of gravity. Some glaciers travel down mountains or valleys, while others spread across a large expanse of land. Heavily glaciated regions such as Greenland and Antarctica are called continental glaciers. These two ice sheets encompass more than 95 percent of the Earth’s glacial ice. The Greenland ice sheet is almost 10,000 feet thick in some areas, and the weight of this glacier is so heavy that much of the region has been depressed below sea level. Smaller glaciers that occur at higher elevations are called alpine or valley glaciers. Another way of classifying glaciers is in terms of their internal temperature. In temperate glaciers, the ice within the glacier is near its melting point. Polar glaciers, in contrast, always maintain temperatures far below melting.”

В The majority of the earth’s glaciers are located near the poles, though glaciers exist on all continents, including Africa and Oceania. The reason glaciers are generally formed in high alpine regions is that they require cold temperatures throughout the year. In these areas where there is little opportunity for summer ablation (loss of mass), snow changes to compacted form and then crystallised ice. During periods in which melting and evaporation exceed the amount of snowfall, glaciers will retreat rather than progress. While glaciers rely heavily on snowfall, other climactic conditions including freezing rain, avalanches, and wind, contribute to their growth. One year of below average precipitation can stunt the growth of a glacier tremendously. With the rare exception of surging glaciers, a common glacier flows about 10 inches per day in the summer and 5 inches per day in the winter. The fastest glacial surge on record occurred in 1953, when the Kutiah Glacier in Pakistan grew more than 12 kilometres in three months.

C The weight and pressure of ice accumulation causes glacier movement. Glaciers move out from under themselves, via plastic deformation and basal slippage. First, the internal flow of ice crystals begins to spread outward and downward from the thickened snow pack also known as the zone of accumulation. Next, the ice along the ground surface begins to slip in the same direction. Seasonal thawing at the base of the glacier helps to facilitate this slippage. The middle of a glacier moves faster than the sides and bottom because there is no rock to cause friction. The upper part of a glacier rides on the ice below. As a glacier moves it carves out a U- shaped valley similar to a riverbed, but with much steeper walls and a flatter bottom.

D Besides the extraordinary rivers of ice, glacial erosion creates other unique physical features in the landscape such as horns, fjords, hanging valleys, and cirques. Most of these land-forms do not become visible until after a glacier has receded. Many are created by moraines, which occur at the sides and front of a glacier. Moraines are formed when material is picked up along the way and deposited in a new location. When many alpine glaciers occur on the same mountain, these moraines can create a horn. The Matterhorn, in the Swiss Alps is one of the most famous horns. Fjords, which are very common in Norway, are coastal valleys that fill with ocean water during a glacial retreat. Hanging valleys occur when two or more glacial valleys intersect at varying elevations. It is common for waterfalls to connect the higher and lower hanging valleys, such as in Yosemite National Park. A cirque is a large bowl-shaped valley that forms at the front of a glacier. Cirques often have a lip on their down slope that is deep enough to hold small lakes when the ice melts away.

E Glacier movement and shape shifting typically occur over hundreds of years. While presently about 10 percent of the earth’s land is covered with glaciers, it is believed that during the last Ice Age glaciers covered approximately 32 percent of the earth’s surface. In the past century, most glaciers have been retreating rather than flowing forward. It is unknown whether this glacial activity is due to human impact or natural causes, but by studying glacier movement, and comparing climate and agricultural profiles over hundreds of years, glaciologists can begin to understand environmental issues such as global warming.”



Questions 6-10. Do the following statements agree with the information in Passage 1? In boxes 6-10 on your Answer Sheet write
TRUE if the statement is true according to the passage.
FALSE if the statement contradicts the passage.
NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage.

6.Glaciers exist only near the north and south poles.

7.Glaciers are formed by a combination of snow and other weather conditions.

8.Glaciers normally move at a rate of about 5 to 10 inches a day.

9.All parts of the glacier move at the same speed

10.During the last Ice Age, average temperatures were much lower than they are now


Questions 11-15. Match each definition below with the term it defines.
Write the letter of the term, A-H, on your Answer Sheet. There are more terms than definitions, so you will not use them all.”

DefinitionTerm
11. a glacier formed on a mountain
12. a glacier with temperatures well below freezing
13. a glacier that moves very quickly
14. a glacial valley formed near the ocean
15. a glacial valley that looks like a bowl		A fjord
B alpine glacier
C horn
D polar glacier
E temperate glacier
F hanging valley
G cirque
H surging glacier


Reading Passage 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 16-28, which are based on Passage 2 below.

Irish Potato Famine


A. In the ten years following the Irish potato famine of 1845, over 750,000 Irish people died, including many of those who attempted to immigrate to countries such as the United States and Canada. Prior to the potato blight, one of the main concerns in Ireland was overpopulation. In the early 1500s, the country’s population was estimated at less than three million, but by 1840 this number had nearly tripled. The bountiful potato crop, which contains almost all of the nutrients that a person needs for survival, was largely to blame for the population growth. However, within five years of the failed crop of 1845, the population of Ireland was reduced by a quarter. A number of factors contributed to the plummet of the Irish population, namely the Irish dependency on the potato crop, the British tenure system, and the inadequate relief efforts of the English.

В. It is not known exactly how or when the potato was first introduced to Europe, however, the general assumption is that it arrived on a Spanish ship sometime in the 1600s. For more than one hundred years, Europeans believed that potatoes belonged to a botanical family of a poisonous breed. It was not until Marie Antoinette wore potato blossoms in her hair in the mid- eighteenth century that potatoes became a novelty. By the late 1700s, the dietary value of the potato had been discovered, and the monarchs of Europe ordered the vegetable to be widely planted.

C. By 1800, the vast majority of the Irish population had become dependent on the potato as its primary staple. It wasn’t uncommon for an Irish potato farmer to consume more than six pounds of potatoes a day. Families stored potatoes for the winter and even fed potatoes to their livestock. Because of this dependency, the unexpected potato blight of 1845 devastated the Irish. Investigators at first suggested that the blight was caused by static energy, smoke from railroad trains, or vapours from underground volcanoes; however, the root cause was later discovered as an airborne fungus that travelled from Mexico. Not only did the disease destroy the potato crops, it also infected all of the potatoes in storage at the time. Their families were dying from famine, but weakened farmers had retained little of their agricultural skills to harvest other crops. Those who did manage to grow things such as oats, wheat, and barley relied on earnings from these exported crops to keep their rented homes.

D. While the potato blight generated mass starvation among the Irish, the people were held captive to their poverty by the British tenure system. Following the Napoleonic Wars of 1815, the English had turned their focus to their colonial land holdings. British landowners realised that the best way to profit from these holdings was to extract the resources and exports and charge expensive rents and taxes for people to live on the land. Under the tenure system, Protestant landlords owned 95 percent of the Irish land, which was divided up into five-acre plots for the people to live and farm on. As the population of Ireland grew, however, the plots were continuously subdivided into smaller parcels. Living conditions declined dramatically, and families were forced to move to less fertile land where almost nothing but the potato would grow.

E. During this same period of colonisation. The Penal Laws were also instituted as a means of weakening the Irish spirit. Under the Penal Laws, Irish peasants were denied basic human rights, such as the right to speak their own native language, seek certain kinds of employment, practice their faith, receive education, and own land. Despite the famine that was devastating Ireland, the landlords had little compassion or sympathy for tenants unable to pay their rent. Approximately 500,000 Irish tenants were evicted by their landlords between 1845 and 1847. Many of these people also had their homes burned down and were put in jail for overdue rent.

F. The majority of the British officials in the 1840s adopted the laissez-faire philosophy, which supported a policy of non-intervention in the Irish plight. Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel was an exception. He showed compassion toward the Irish by making a move to repeal the Corn Laws, which had been put in place to protect British grain producers from the competition of foreign markets. For this hasty decision, Peel quickly lost the support of the British people and was forced to resign. The new Prime Minister, Lord John Russell, allowed assistant Charles Trevelyan to take complete control over all of the relief efforts in Ireland. Trevelyan believed that the Irish situation should be left to Providence. Claiming that it would be dangerous to let the Irish become dependent on other countries, he even took steps to close food depots that were selling corn and to redirect shipments of corn that were already on their way to Ireland. A few relief programs were eventually implemented, such as soup kitchens and workhouses; however, these were poorly run institutions that facilitated the spread of disease, tore apart
families, and offered inadequate food supplies considering the extent of Ireland’s shortages.

G. Many of the effects of the Irish potato famine are still evident today. Descendants of those who fled Ireland during the 1840s are dispersed all over the world. Some of the homes that were evacuated by absentee landlords still sit abandoned in the Irish hills. A number of Irish descendants still carry animosity toward the British for not putting people before politics. The potato blight itself still plagues the Irish people during certain growing seasons when weather conditions are favourable for the fungus to thrive.

The passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter in boxes 16-20 on your Answer Sheet

  1. the position of the British government towards the potato famine
  2. a description of the system of land ownership in Ireland
  3. early European attitudes toward the potato
  4. explanation of the lack of legal protection for Irish peasants
  5. the importance of the potato in Irish society

    Questions 21-28. Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-L from the box at the top of the next page. Write the correct letter in boxes 21-28 on your Answer Sheet. There are more endings than sentences, so you won’t use them all.

    Sentence Beginnings
  6. At first Europeans didn’t eat potatoes
  7. European monarchs encouraged potato growing
  8. The potato blight was devastating to the Irish
  9. Farmers who grew oats, wheat, and barley didn’t eat these crops
  10. Many Irish farmers lived on infertile plots
  11. Many Irish farmers were arrested
  12. Sir Robert Peel lost his position as prime minister
  13. Soup kitchens and workhouses didn’t relieve the suffering

    Sentence Endings

    A because they couldn’t pay the rent on their farms. В because railroad trains caused air pollution.
    C because potatoes were their main source of food.
    D because Charles Trevelyan took over relief efforts.
    E because they needed the profits to pay the rent.
    F because they weren’t well-managed.
    G because there wasn’t enough land for the increasing population.
    H because his efforts to help the Irish were unpopular among the British. I because they believed that potatoes were poisonous.
    J because the British instituted penal laws.
    К because it was discovered that potatoes are full of nutrients.
    L because Marie Antoinette used potato blossoms as decoration


Reading Passage 3

Anaesthesiology

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 29-40, based on Reading Passage 3.

Since the beginning of time, man has sought natural remedies for pain. Between 40 and 60 A.D., Greek physician, Dioscorides travelled with the Roman armies, studying the medicinal properties of plants and minerals. His book, De materia medica, written in five volumes and translated into at least seven languages, was the primary reference source for physicians for over sixteen centuries. The field of anaesthesiology , which was once nothing more than a list of medicinal plants and makeshift remedies, has grown into one of the most important fields in medicine.

Many of the early pain relievers were based on myth and did little to relieve the suffering of an ill or injured person. The mandragora (now known as the mandrake plant) was one of the first plants to be used as an anaesthetic. Due to the apparent screaming that the plant made as it was pulled from the ground, people in the Middle Ages believed that the person who removed the mandrake from the earth would either die or go insane. This superstition may have resulted because the split root of the mandrake resembled the human form. In order to pull the root from the ground, the plant collector would loosen it and tie the stem to an animal. It was believed that the safest time to uproot a mandrake was in the moonlight, and the best animal to use was a black dog. In his manual, Dioscorides suggested boiling the root with wine and having a man drink the potion to remove sensation before cutting his flesh or burning his skin. Opium and Indian hemp were later used to induce sleep before a painful procedure or to relieve the pain of an illness. Other remedies such as cocaine did more harm to the patient than good as people died from their addictions. President Ulysses S. Grant became addicted to cocaine before he died of throat cancer in 1885.

The modern field of anaesthetics dates to the incident when nitrous oxide (more commonly known as laughing gas) was accidentally discovered. Humphrey Davy, the inventor of the miner’s lamp, discovered that inhaling the toxic compound caused a strange euphoria, followed by fits of laughter, tears, and sometimes unconsciousness. U.S. dentist, Horace Wells, was the first on record to experiment with laughing gas, which he used in 1844 to relieve pain during a tooth extraction. Two years later. Dr. William Morton created the first anaesthetic machine. This apparatus was a simple glass globe containing an ether-soaked sponge. Morton considered ether a good alternative to nitrous oxide because the numbing effect lasted considerably longer. His apparatus allowed the patient to inhale vapours whenever the pain became unbearable. In 1846, during a trial experiment in Boston, a tumor was successfully removed from a man’s jaw area while he was anaesthetised with Morton’s machine.

The first use of anaesthesia in the obstetrics field occurred in Scotland by Dr. James Simpson. Instead of ether, which he considered irritating to the eyes, Simpson administered chloroform to reduce the pain of childbirth. Simpson sprinkled chloroform on a handkerchief and allowed labouring women to inhale the fumes at their own discretion. In 1853, Queen Victoria agreed to use chloroform during the birth of her eighth child. Soon the use of chloroform during childbirth was both acceptable and fashionable. However, as chloroform became a more popular anaesthetic, knowledge of its toxicity surfaced, and it was soon obsolete.

After World War II, numerous developments were made in the field of anaesthetics. Surgical procedures that had been unthinkable were being performed with little or no pain felt by the patient. Rather than physicians or nurses who administered pain relief as part of their profession, anaesthesiologists became specialists in suppressing consciousness and alleviating pain. Anaesthesiologists today are classified as perioperative physicians, meaning they take care of a patient before, during, and after surgical procedures. It takes over eight years of schooling and four years of residency until an anaesthesiologist is prepared to practice in the United States. These experts are trained to administer three different types of anaesthetics: general, local, and regional. General anaesthetic is used to put a patient into a temporary state of unconsciousness. Local anaesthetic is used only at the affected site and causes a loss of sensation. Regional anaesthetic is used to block the sensation and possibly the movement of a larger portion of the body. As well as controlling the levels of pain for the patient before and throughout an operation, anaesthesiologists are responsible for monitoring and controlling the patient’s vital functions during the procedure and assessing the medical needs in the post- operative room.

The number of anaesthesiologists in the United States has more than doubled since the 1970s, as has the improvement and success of operative care. In addition, complications from anaesthesiology have declined dramatically. Over 40 million anaesthetics are administered in the United States each year, with only 1 in 250,000 causing death.

Questions 29-34. Do the following statements agree with the information in Passage 3? In boxes 29-34 on your Answer Sheet, write
TRUE if the statement is true according to the passage.
FALSE if the statement contradicts the passage.
NOT GIVEN inhere is no information about this in the passage.

29.Dioscorides’ book, De materia medica, fell out of use after 60 A.D.

30.Mandragora was used as an anaesthetic during the Middle Ages.

31.Nitrous oxide can cause the user to both laugh and cry.

32.During the second half of the 19th century, most dentists used anaesthesia .

33.Anaesthesiologists in the United States are required to have 12 years of education andtraining.

34.There are fewer anaesthesiologists in the United States now than in the past.

Questions 35-40. Match each fact about anaesthesia with the type of anaesthetic that it refers to. There are more types of anaesthetics listed than facts, so you won’t use them all. Write the correct letter, A-H in boxes 35-40 on your Answer Sheet.”



Fact about anaesthesiaType of anaesthetic 
35. used by sprinkling on a handkerchief
36. used on only one specific part of the body
37. used by boiling with wine
38. used first during a dental procedure
39. used to stop feeling over a larger area of the body
40. used in the first anaesthetic machine”
A general anaesthetic
B local anaesthetic
C regional anaesthetic
D chloroform
E ether
F nitrous oxide
G opium
H mandrake

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ELECTRORECEPTION IELTS READING

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Reading passage 1


A Open your eyes in sea water and it is difficult to see much more than a murky, bleary green colour. Sounds, too, are garbled and difficult to comprehend. Without specialised equipment humans would be lost in these deep sea habitats, so how do fish make it seem so easy? Much of this is due to a biological phenomenon known as electroreception – the ability to perceive and act upon electrical stimuli as part of the overall senses. This ability is only found in aquatic or amphibious species because water is an efficient conductor of electricity.

B Electroreception comes in two variants. While all animals (including humans) generate electric signals, because they are emitted by the nervous system, some animals have the ability – known as passive electroreception – to receive and decode electric signals generated by other animals in order to sense their location.

C Other creatures can go further still, however. Animals with active electroreception possess bodily organs that generate special electric signals on cue. These can be used for mating signals and territorial displays as well as locating objects in the water. Active electroreceptors can differentiate between the various resistances that their electrical currents encounter. This can help them identify whether another creature is prey, predator or something that is best left alone. Active electroreception has a range of about one body length – usually just enough to give its host time to get out of the way or go in for the kill.

D One fascinating use of active electroreception – known as the Jamming Avoidance Response mechanism – has been observed between members of some species known as the weakly electric fish. When two such electric fish meet in the ocean using the same frequency, each fish will then shift the frequency of its discharge so that they are transmitting on different frequencies. Doing so prevents their electroreception faculties from becoming jammed. Long before citizens’ band radio users first had to yell “Get off my frequency!” at hapless novices cluttering the air waves, at least one species had found a way to peacefully and quickly resolve this type of dispute.

E Electroreception can also play an important role in animal defences. Rays are one such example. Young ray embryos develop inside egg cases that are attached to the sea bed. The embryos keep their tails in constant motion so as to pump water and allow them to breathe through the egg’s casing. If the embryo’s electroreceptors detect the presence of a predatory fish in the vicinity, however, the embryo stops moving (and in so doing ceases transmitting electric currents) until the fish has moved on. Because marine life of various types is often travelling past, the embryo has evolved only to react to signals that are characteristic of the respiratory movements of potential predators such as sharks.

F Many people fear swimming in the ocean because of sharks. In some respects, this concern is well grounded – humans are poorly equipped when it comes to electroreceptive defence mechanisms. Sharks, meanwhile, hunt with extraordinary precision. They initially lock onto their prey through a keen sense of smell (two thirds of a shark’s brain is devoted entirely to its olfactory organs). As the shark reaches proximity to its prey, it tunes into electric signals that ensure a precise strike on its target; this sense is so strong that the shark even attacks blind by letting its eyes recede for protection.

G Normally, when humans are attacked it is purely by accident. Since sharks cannot detect from electroreception whether or not something will satisfy their tastes, they tend to “try before they buy”, taking one or two bites and then assessing the results (our sinewy muscle does not compare well with plumper, softer prey such as seals). Repeat attacks are highly likely once a human is bleeding, however; the force of the electric field is heightened by salt in the blood which creates the perfect setting for a feeding frenzy. In areas where shark attacks on humans are likely to occur, scientists are exploring ways to create artificial electroreceptors that would disorient the sharks and repel them from swimming beaches.

H There is much that we do not yet know concerning how electroreception functions. Although researchers have documented how electroreception alters hunting, defence and communication systems through observation, the exact neurological processes that encode and decode this information are unclear. Scientists are also exploring the role electroreception plays in navigation. Some have proposed that salt water and magnetic fields from the Earth’s core may interact to form electrical currents that sharks use for migratory purposes.



Questions 1–6. Reading Passage 1 has eight paragraphs, A–H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A–H, in boxes 1–6 on your answer sheet.

  1. how electroreception can be used to help fish reproduce
  2. a possible use for electroreception that will benefit humans
  3. the term for the capacity which enables an animal to pick up but not send out electrical signals
  4. why only creatures that live in or near water have electroreceptive abilities
  5. how electroreception might help creatures find their way over long distances
  6. a description of how some fish can avoid disrupting each other’s electric signals

Questions 7–9. Label the diagram. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 7–9 on your answer sheet. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Shark’s 7…………………… alert the young ray to its presence

Embryo moves its 8…………………… in order to breath

Embryo stops sending 9…………………… when predator close by

Questions 10–13. Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE words from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 10–13 on your answer sheet.

Shark Attack

A shark is a very effective hunter. Firstly, it uses its 10…………………… to smell its target. When the shark gets close, it uses 11…………………… to guide it toward an accurate attack. Within the final few feet the shark rolls its eyes back into its head. Humans are not popular food sources for most sharks due to their 12 ………………… Nevertheless, once a shark has bitten a human, a repeat attack is highly possible as salt from the blood increases the intensity of the 13 …………………

Reading passage 2

FAIR GAMES?

For seventeen days every four years the world is briefly arrested by the captivating, dizzying spectacle of athleticism, ambition, pride and celebration on display at the Summer Olympic Games. After the last weary spectators and competitors have returned home, however, host cities are often left awash in high debts and costly infrastructure maintenance. The staggering expenses involved in a successful Olympic bid are often assumed to be easily mitigated by tourist revenues and an increase in local employment, but more often than not host cities are short changed and their taxpayers for generations to come are left settling the debt.”

“Olympic extravagances begin with the application process. Bidding alone will set most cities back about $20 million, and while officially bidding only takes two years (for cities that make the shortlist), most cities can expect to exhaust a decade working on their bid from the moment it is initiated to the announcement of voting results from International Olympic Committee members. Aside from the financial costs of the bid alone, the process ties up real estate in prized urban locations until the outcome is known. This can cost local economies millions of dollars of lost revenue from private developers who could have made use of the land, and can also mean that particular urban quarters lose their vitality due to the vacant lots. All of this can be for nothing if a bidding city does not appease the whims of IOC members – private connections and opinions on government conduct often hold sway (Chicago’s 2012 bid is thought to have been undercut by tensions over U.S. foreign policy).

Bidding costs do not compare, however, to the exorbitant bills that come with hosting the Olympic Games themselves. As is typical with large-scale, one-off projects, budgeting for the Olympics is a notoriously formidable task. Los Angelinos have only recently finished paying off their budget-breaking 1984 Olympics; Montreal is still in debt for its 1976 Games (to add insult to injury, Canada is the only host country to have failed to win a single gold medal during its own Olympics). The tradition of runaway expenses has persisted in recentyears. London Olympics managers have admitted that their 2012 costs may increase ten times over their initial projections, leaving tax payers 20 billion pounds in the red.

Hosting the Olympics is often understood to be an excellent way to update a city’s sporting infrastructure. The extensive demands of Olympic sports include aquatic complexes, equestrian circuits, shooting ranges, beach volleyball courts, and, of course, an 80,000 seat athletic stadium. Yet these demands are typically only necessary to accommodate a brief influx of athletes from around the world. Despite the enthusiasm many populations initially have for the development of world-class sporting complexes in their home towns, these complexes typically fall into disuse after the Olympic fervour has waned. Even Australia, home to one of the world’s most sportive populations, has left its taxpayers footing a $32 million-a-year bill for the maintenance of vacant facilities.

Another major concern is that when civic infrastructure developments are undertaken in preparation for hosting the Olympics, these benefits accrue to a single metropolitan centre (with the exception of some outlying areas that may get some revamped sports facilities). In countries with an expansive land mass, this means vast swathes of the population miss out entirely. Furthermore, since the International Olympic Committee favours prosperous “global” centres (the United Kingdom was told, after three failed bids from its provincial cities, that only London stood any real chance at winning), the improvement of public transport, roads and communication links tends to concentrate in places already well- equipped with world-class infrastructures. Perpetually by-passing minor cities creates a cycle of disenfranchisement: these cities never get an injection of capital, they fail to become first-rate candidates, and they are constantly passed over in favour of more secure choices.

Finally, there is no guarantee that an Olympics will be a popular success. The “feel good” factor that most proponents of Olympic bids extol (and that was no doubt driving the 90 to 100 per cent approval rates of Parisians and Londoners for their cities’ respective 2012 bids) can be an elusive phenomenon, and one that is tied to that nation’s standing on the medal tables. This ephemeral thrill cannot compare to the years of disruptive construction projects and security fears that go into preparing for an Olympic Games, nor the decades of debt repayment that follow (Greece’s preparation for Athens 2004 famously deterred tourists from visiting the country due to widespread unease about congestion and disruption).

There are feasible alternatives to the bloat, extravagance and wasteful spending that comes with a modern Olympic Games. One option is to designate a permanent host city that would be re-designed or built from scratch especially for the task. Another is to extend the duration of the Olympics so that it becomes a festival of several months. Local businesses would enjoy the extra spending and congestion would ease substantially as competitors and spectators come and go according to their specific interests. Neither the “Olympic City” nor the extended length options really get to the heart of the issue, however. Stripping away ritual and decorum in favour of concentrating on athletic rivalry would be preferable.

Failing that, the Olympics could simply be scrapped altogether. International competition could still be maintained through world championships in each discipline. Most of these events are already held on non- Olympic years anyway – the International Association of Athletics Federations, for example, has run a biennial World Athletics Championship since 1983 after members decided that using the Olympics for their championship was no longer sufficient. Events of this nature keep world-class competition alive without requiring Olympic-sized expenses.



Questions 14–18. Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A–K, below. Write the correct letter, A–K, in boxes 14–18 on your answer sheet.

  1. Bids to become a host city
  2. Personal relationships and politicaltensions
  3. Cost estimates for the Olympic Games
  4. Purpose-built sporting venues
  5. Urban developments associated with the Olympics
    A. often help smaller cities to develop basic infrastructure.
    B. tend to occur in areas where they are least needed.
    C. require profitable companies to be put out of business.
    D. are often never used again once the Games are over.
    E. can take up to ten years to complete.
    F. also satisfy needs of local citizens for first-rate sports facilities.
    G. is usually only successful when it is from a capital city.
    H. are closely related to how people feel emotionally about the Olympics.
    I. are known for being very inaccurate.
    J. often underlie the decisions of International Olympic Committee members.
    K. are holding back efforts to reform the Olympics.

    Questions 19–25. Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 19–25 on your answer sheet, write
    True – if the statement agrees with the information
    False – if the statement contradicts the information
    Not Given – if there is no information on this
  6. Residents of host cities have little use for the full range of Olympic facilities.
  7. Australians have still not paid for the construction of Olympic sports facilities.
  8. People far beyond the host city can expect to benefit from improved infrastructure.
  9. It is difficult for small cities to win an Olympic bid.
  10. When a city makes an Olympic bid, a majority of its citizens usually want it to win.
  11. Whether or not people enjoy hosting the Olympics in their city depends on how athletes from their country perform in Olympic events.
  12. Fewer people than normal visited Greece during the run up to the Athens Olympics.

    Questions 26 and 27. Choose TWO letters, A–E. Write the correct letters in boxes 26 and 27 on your answer sheet.

Which TWO of the following does the author propose as alternatives to the current Olympics?

A. The Olympics should be cancelled in favour of individual competitions for eachsport.
B. The Olympics should focus on ceremony rather thancompetition.
C. The Olympics should be held in the same city every time.
D. The Olympics should be held over a month rather than seventeendays.
E. The Olympics should be made smaller by getting rid of unnecessary and unpopular sports.



Reading passage 3

TIME TRAVEL

Time travel took a small step away from science fiction and toward science recently when physicists discovered that sub-atomic particles known as neutrinos – progeny of the sun’s radioactive debris – can exceed the speed of light. The unassuming particle – it is electrically neutral, small but with a “non-zero mass” and able to penetrate the human form undetected – is on its way to becoming a rock star of the scientific world.

Researchers from the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva sent the neutrinos hurtling through an underground corridor toward their colleagues at the Oscillation Project with Emulsion-Tracing Apparatus (OPERA) team 730 kilometres away in Gran Sasso, Italy. The neutrinos arrived promptly – so promptly, in fact, that they triggered what scientists are calling the unthinkable – that everything they have learnt, known or taught stemming from the last one hundred years of the physics discipline may need to be reconsidered.

The issue at stake is a tiny segment of time – precisely sixty nanoseconds (which is sixty billionths of a second). This is how much faster than the speed of light the neutrinos managed to go in their underground travels and at a consistent rate (15,000 neutrinos were sent over three years). Even allowing for a margin of error of ten billionths of a second, this stands as proof that it is possible to race against light and win. The duration of the experiment also accounted for and ruled out any possible lunar effects or tidal bulges in the earth’s crust.

Nevertheless, there’s plenty of reason to remain sceptical. According to Harvard University science historian Peter Galison, Einstein’s relativity theory has been “pushed harder than any theory in the history of the physical sciences”. Yet each prior challenge has come to no avail, and relativity has so far refused to buckle.”

“So is time travel just around the corner? The prospect has certainly been wrenched much closer to the realm of possibility now that a major physical hurdle – the speed of light – has been cleared. If particles can travel faster than light, in theory travelling back in time is possible. How anyone harnesses that to some kind of helpful end is far beyond the scope of any modern technologies, however, and will be left to future generations to explore.

Certainly, any prospective time travellers may have to overcome more physical and logical hurdles than merely overtaking the speed of light. One such problem, posited by René Barjavel in his 1943 text Le Voyageur Imprudent is the so-called grandfather paradox. Barjavel theorised that, if it were possible to go back in time, a time traveller could potentially kill his own grandfather. If this were to happen, however, the time traveller himself would not be born, which is already known to be true. In other words, there is a paradox in circumventing an already known future; time travel is able to facilitate past actions that mean time travel itself cannot occur.

Other possible routes have been offered, though. For Igor Novikov, astrophysicist behind the 1980s’ theorem known as the self-consistency principle, time travel is possible within certain boundaries. Novikov argued that any event causing a paradox would have zero probability. It would be possible, however, to “affect” rather than “change” historical outcomes if travellers avoided all inconsistencies. Averting the sinking of the Titanic, for example, would revoke any future imperative to stop it from sinking – it would be impossible. Saving selected passengers from the water and replacing them with realistic corpses would not be
impossible, however, as the historical record would not be altered in any way.

A further possibility is that of parallel universes. Popularised by Bryce Seligman DeWitt in the 1960s (from the seminal formulation of Hugh Everett), the many-worlds interpretation holds that an alternative pathway for every conceivable occurrence actually exists. If we were to send someone back in time, we might therefore expect never to see him again – any alterations would divert that person down a new historical trajectory.

A final hypothesis, one of unidentified provenance, reroutes itself quite efficiently around the grandfather paradox. Non-existence theory suggests exactly that – a person would quite simply never exist if they altered their ancestry in ways that obstructed their own birth. They would still exist in person upon returning to the present, but any chain reactions associated with their actions would not be registered. Their “historical identity” would be gone.

So, will humans one day step across the same boundary that the neutrinos have? World- renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking believes that once spaceships can exceed the speed of light, humans could feasibly travel millions of years into the future in order to repopulate earth in the event of a forthcoming apocalypse. This is because, as the spaceships accelerate into the future, time would slow down around them (Hawking concedes that bygone eras are off limits – this would violate the fundamental rule that cause comes before effect).

Hawking is therefore reserved yet optimistic. “Time travel was once considered scientific heresy, and I used to avoid talking about it for fear of being labelled a crank. These days I’m not so cautious.”



“Questions 28–33. Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 28–33 on your answer sheet, write


True – if the statement agrees with the information
False – if the statement contradicts the information
Not Given – if there is no information on this

  1. It is unclear where neutrinos come from.
  2. Neutrinos can pass through a person’s body without causingharm.
  3. It took scientists between 50-70 nanoseconds to send the neutrinos from Geneva to Italy.
  4. Researchers accounted for effects the moon might have had on the experiment.
  5. The theory of relativity has often been called into question unsuccessfully.
  6. This experiment could soon lead to some practical uses for time travel”
    “Questions 34–39. Complete the table below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 34–39 on your answer sheet.

Original 
Theory
Principle

René Barjavel 
Grandfather paradox 
Time travel would allow for 34………… that would actually make time travel impossible. 

Igor Novikov 
Self- consistency principle 
It is only possible to alter history in ways that result in no 35………………… . 

36……………… 
Many-worlds interpretation 
Each possible event has an 37………………, so a time traveller changing the past would simply end up 

Unknown 
38……………… 
If a time traveller changed the past to prevent his future life, he would not have a 39 ………………… as the person 

Question 40. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write the correct letter in box 40 on your answer sheet. Stephen Hawking has stated that 

A.Human time travel is theoretically possible, but is unlikely to ever actually occur.

B.Human time travel might be possible, but only moving backward in time.

C.Human time travel might be possible, but only moving forward in time.

D.All time travel is impossible.

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DIABETES IELTS READING

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Reading passage 1

Here are some facts that you probably didn’t know about diabetes. It is the world’s fastest growing disease. It is Australia’s 6th leading cause of death. Over 1 million Australians have it though 50% of those are as yet unaware. Every 10 minutes someone is diagnosed with diabetes. So much for the facts but what exactly is diabetes?

Diabetes is the name given to a group of different conditions in which there is too much glucose in the blood. Here’s what happens: the body needs glucose as its main source of fuel or energy. The body makes glucose from foods containing carbohydrate such as vegetables containing carbohydrate (like potatoes or corn) and cereal foods (like bread, pasta and rice) as well as fruit and milk. Glucose is carried around the body in the blood and the glucose level is called glycaemia. Glycaemia (blood sugar levels) in humans and animals must be neither too high nor too low, but just right. The glucose running around in the blood stream now has to get out of the blood and into the body tissues. This is where insulin enters the story. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas, a gland sitting just below the stomach. Insulin opens the doors that let glucose go from the blood to the body cells where energy is made. This process is called glucose metabolism. In diabetes, the pancreas either cannot make insulin or the insulin it does make is not enough and cannot work properly. Without insulin doing its job, the glucose channels are shut. Glucose builds up in the blood leading to high blood glucose levels, which causes the health problems linked to diabetes.

People refer to the disease as diabetes but there are actually two distinctive types of the disease. Type 1 diabetes is a condition characterized by high blood glucose levels caused by a total lack of insulin. It occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas then produces little or no insulin. Type 1 diabetes develops most often in young people but can appear in adults. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use sugar. Sugar is the basic fuel for the cells in the body, and insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells.

The diagnosis of diabetes often depends on what type the patient is suffering from. In Type 1 diabetes, symptoms are usually sudden and sometimes even life threatening – hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar levels) can lead to comas – and therefore it is mostly diagnosed quite quickly. In Type 2 diabetes, many people have no symptoms at all, while other signs can go unnoticed, being seen as part of ‘getting older’.

Therefore, by the time symptoms are noticed, the blood glucose level for many people can be very high. Common symptoms include: being more thirsty than usual, passing more urine, feeling lethargic, always feeling hungry, having cuts that heal slowly, itching, skin infections, bad breath, blurred vision, unexplained weight change, mood swings, headaches, feeling dizzy and leg cramps.

At present there is no cure for diabetes, but there is a huge amount of research looking for a cure and to provide superior management techniques and products until a cure is found. Whether it’s Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, the aim of any diabetes treatment is to get your blood glucose levels as close to the non-diabetic range as often as possible. For people with Type 1 diabetes, this will mean insulin injections every day plus leading a healthy lifestyle. For people with Type 2 diabetes, healthy eating and regular physical activity may be all that is required at first:

Sometimes tablets and/or insulin may be needed later on. Ideally blood glucose levels are kept as close to the non- diabetic range as possible so frequent self-testing is a good idea. This will help prevent the short-term effects of very low or very high blood glucose levels as well as the possible long-term problems. If someone is dependent on insulin, it has to be injected into the body. Insulin cannot be taken as a pill. The insulin would be broken down during digestion just like the protein in food. Insulin must be injected into the fat under your skin for it to get into your blood. Diabetes can cause serious complications for patients. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, it can cause problems. Short term problems are similar to the symptoms but long term high blood sugar levels can lead to heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, amputations and blindness. Having your blood pressure and cholesterol outside recommended ranges can also lead to problems like heart attack and stroke and in fact 2 out of 3 people with diabetes eventually die of these complications. Young adults age 18 – 44 who get type 2 diabetes are 14 times more likely to suffer a heart attack, and are up to 30 times more likely to have a stroke than their peers without diabetes. Young women account for almost all the increase in heart attack risk, while young men are twice as likely to suffer a stroke as young women. This means that huge numbers of people are going to get heart disease, heart attacks and strokes years, sometimes even decades, before they should.

Questions 1 – 7. Do the following statements reflect the views of the writer in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1 – 7 on your answer sheet write:

YES       if the statement agrees with the information
NO         if the statement contradicts the statement
NOT GIVEN    if there is no information on this in the passage

  1. Carbohydrate foods are the body’s source of glucose.
  2. Diabetics cannot produce insulin.
  3. Some patients develop diabetes due to faults in their own immune systems
  4. Hyperglycaemia leads to type 1 diabetes being diagnosed quite quickly.
  5. Artificial insulin is the most effective treatment for those patients requiring insulin.
  6. Frequent check ups at the doctor can drastically reduce the chances of suffering from problems related to diabetes.
  7. The majority of diabetics develop heart problems or suffer strokes.

Questions 8-11

Complete the following statements with the best ending from the box below. Write the appropriate letters A – H in boxes 8 – 11 on your answer sheet.

8 Bizarre as it may seem, many people with diabetes…

9 Insulin is a hormone that allows glucose to be absorbed by…

10 Non severe type 2 diabetes can be solely treated by…

11 Increases in diabetes related heart problems are mainly seen in…

A. a healthy lifestyle
B. never suffer any ill effects
C. women
D. people also suffering strokes
E. body cells
F. the pancreas
G. do not realise the fact
H. injections

Questions12-14

According to the text which of the following are symptoms of diabetes?

Choose THREE letters (A – G) and write them in boxes 12 – 14 on your answer sheet.

A hot flushes

B muscle pains

C nausea

D losing consciousness

E tiredness

F bleeding gums

G dilation of the eyes

Reading passage 2

Contaminating the Arctic

Our perception of the Arctic region is that its distance from industrial centers keeps it pristine and clear from the impact of pollution. However, through a process known as transboundary pollution, the Arctic is the recipient of contaminants whose sources are thousands of miles away. Large quantities of pollutants pour into our atmosphere, as well as our lakes, rivers, and oceans on a daily basis. In the last 20 years, scientists have detected an increasing variety of toxic contaminants in the North, including pesticides from agriculture, chemicals and heavy metals from industry, and even radioactive fall-out from Chernobyl. These are substances that have invaded ecosystems virtually worldwide, but they are especially worrisome in the Arctic.

Originally, Arctic contamination was largely blamed on chemical leaks, and these leaks were thought to be “small and localized.” The consensus now is that pollutants from around the world are being carried north by rivers, ocean currents, and atmospheric circulation. Due to extreme conditions in the Arctic, including reduced sunlight, extensive ice cover and cold temperatures, contaminants break down much more slowly than in warmer climates. Contaminants can also become highly concentrated due to their significantly lengthened life span in the Arctic.

Problems of spring run-off into coastal waters during the growth period of marine life are of critical concern. Spring algae blooms easily, absorbing the concentrated contaminants released by spring melting. These algae are in turn eaten by zooplankton and a wide variety of marine life. The accumulation of these contaminants increases with each step of the food chain or web and can potentially affect northerners who eat marine mammals near the top of the food chain. Pollutants respect no borders; transboundary pollution is the movement of contaminants across political borders, whether by air, rivers, or ocean currents. The eight circumpolar nations, led by the Finnish Initiative of 1989, established the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS) in which participants have agreed to develop an Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP). AMAP establishes an international scientific network to monitor the current condition of the Arctic with respect to specific contaminants. This monitoring program is extremely important because it will give a scientific basis for understanding the scope of the problem.

In the 1950’s, pilots traveling on weather reconnaissance flights in the Canadian high Arctic reported seeing bands of haze in the springtime in the Arctic region. It was during this time that the term “Arctic haze” was first used, referring to this smog of unknown origin. But it was not until 1972, that Dr. Glenn Shaw of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska first put forth ideas of the nature and long-range origin of Arctic haze. The idea that the source was long range was very difficult for many to support. Each winter, cold, dense air settles over the Arctic. In the darkness, the Arctic seems to become more and more polluted by a buildup of mid-latitude emissions from fossil fuel combustion, smelting and other industrial processes. By late winter, the Arctic is covered by a layer of this haze the size of the continent of Africa. When the spring light arrives in the Arctic, there is a smog-like haze, which makes the region, at times, looks like pollution over such cities as Los Angeles.

This polluted air is a well-known and well-characterized feature of the late winter Arctic environment. In the North American Arctic, episodes of brown or black snow have been traced to continental storm tracks that deliver gaseous and particulate-associated contaminants from Asian deserts and agricultural areas. It is now known that the contaminants originate largely from Europe and Asia.

Arctic haze has been studied most extensively in Point Barrow, Alaska, across the Canadian Arctic and in Svalbard (Norway). Evidence from ice cores drilled from the ice sheet of Greenland indicates that these haze particles were not always present in the Arctic, but began to appear only in the last century. The Arctic haze particles appear to be similar to smog particles observed in industrial areas farther south, consisting mostly of sulfates mixed with particles of carbon. It is believed the particles are formed when gaseous sulfur dioxide produced by burning sulfur- bearing coal is irradiated by sunlight and oxidized to sulfate, a process catalyzed by trace elements in the air. These sulfate particles or droplets of sulfuric acid quickly capture the carbon particles, which are also floating in the air. Pure sulfate particles or droplets are colourless, so it is believed the darkness of the haze is caused by the mixed-in carbon particles.

The impact of the haze on Arctic ecosystems, as well as the global environment, has not been adequately researched. The pollutants have only been studied in their aerosol form over the Arctic. However, little is known about what eventually happens to them. It is known that they are removed somehow. There is a good degree of likelihood that the contaminants end up in the ocean, likely into the North Atlantic, the Norwegian Sea and possibly the Bering Sea — all three very important fisheries.

Currently, the major issue among researchers is to understand the impact of Arctic haze on global climate change. The contaminants absorb sunlight and, in turn, heat up the atmosphere. The global impact of this is currently unknown but the implications are quite powerful.

Questions 15-21

Read passage 2and look at the statements below. In boxes 15 – 21 on your answer sheet write:

TRUE    if the statement is true
FALSE    if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN  if the information is not given in the passage

15 Industry in the Arctic has increased over the last 20 years.

16 Arctic conditions mean that the break down of pollutants is much accelerated

17 Pollution absorbed by arctic algae can eventually affect humans.

18 The AEPS has set up scientific stations in the Arctic to monitor pollution.

19 Arctic pollution can sometimes resemble US urban pollution.

20 Evidence that this smog has only occurred in the 20th Century has been found in the ice on the polar ice cap.

21 Research has shown that aerosol arctic pollutants remain the air indefinitely.

Questions 22-27. Complete the summary relating to Arctic Haze below.

Choose your answers from the box below the summary and write them in boxes 22 – 27 on your answer sheet. NB There are more words than spaces, so you will not use them at all.

Theories that the origins of spring, arctic haze, first seen over the ice cap in the 1950s, came from far away were at first not (22) …………………….. This haze is a smog formed in the dark, arctic winter by pollution delivered to the Arctic by storms (23)… …………………….. in Europe and Asia. It is known to be a recent phenomenon as proof from (24) ……………………… shows it only starting to occur in the 20th Century. The smog consists of sulphates and carbon, the latter creating the (25)…………………………. of the haze. Due to lack of research, the final destination of the pollution is unknown but it probably ends up in the (26)……………………………. and therefore into the food chain. Scientists are presently more worried about the (27) ……………………….effect it has on climate change.

Reading passage 3

The Story of Coffee

A. Coffee was first discovered in Eastern Africa in an area we know today as Ethiopia. A popular legend refers to a goat herder by the name of Kaldi, who observed his goats acting unusually friskily after eating berries from a bush. Curious about this phenomenon, Kaldi tried eating the berries himself. He found that these berries gave him renewed energy.

B. The news of this energy laden fruit quickly moved throughout the region. Coffee berries were transported from Ethiopia to the Arabian Peninsula, and were first cultivated in what today is the country of Yemen. Coffee remained a secret in Arabia before spreading to Turkey and then to the European continent by means of Venetian trade merchants.

C. Coffee was first eaten as a food though later people in Arabia would make a drink out of boiling the beans for its narcotic effects and medicinal value. Coffee for a time was known as Arabian wine to Muslims who were banned from alcohol by Islam. It was not until after coffee had been eaten as a food product, a wine and a medicine that it was discovered, probably by complete accident in Turkey, that by roasting the beans a delicious drink could be made. The roasted beans were first crushed, and then boiled in water, creating a crude version of the beverage we enjoy today. The first coffee houses were opened in Europe in the 17th Century and in 1675, the Viennese established the habit of refining the brew by filtering out the grounds, sweetening it, and adding a dash of milk.

D. If you were to explore the planet for coffee, you would find about 60 species of coffee plants growing wild in Africa, Malaysia, and other regions. But only about ten of them are actually cultivated. Of these ten, two species are responsible for almost all the coffee produced in the world: Coffea Arabica and Coffea Canephora (usually known as Robusta). Because of ecological differences existing among the various coffee producing countries, both types have undergone many mutations and now exist in many sub species.

E. Although wild plants can reach 10 – 12 metres in height, the plantation one reaches a height of around four metres. This makes the harvest and flowering easier, and cultivation more economical. The flowers are white and sweet-scented like the Spanish jasmine. Flowers give way to a red, darkish berry. At first sight, the fruit is like a big cherry both in size and in colour. The berry is coated with a thin, red film (epicarp) containing a white, sugary mucilaginous flesh (mesocarp). Inside the pulp there are the seeds in the form of two beans coupled at their flat surface. Beans are in turn coated with a kind of resistant, golden yellow parchment, (called endocarp). When peeled, the real bean appears with another very thin silvery film. The bean is bluish green verging on bronze, and is at the most 11 millimetres long and 8 millimetres wide.

F. Coffee plants need special conditions to give a satisfactory crop. The climate needs to be hot-wet or hot temperate, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, with frequent rains and temperatures varying from 15 to 25 Degrees C. The soil should be deep, hard, permeable, well irrigated, with well-drained subsoil. The best lands are the hilly ones or from just-tilled woods. The perfect altitude is between 600 and 1200 metres, though some varieties thrive at 2000-2200 metres. Cultivation aimed at protecting the plants at every stage of growth is needed. Sowing should be in sheltered nurseries from which, after about six months, the seedlings should be moved to plantations in the rainy season where they are usually alternated with other plants to shield them from wind and excessive sunlight. Only when the plant is five years old can it be counted upon to give a regular yield. This is between 400 grams and two kilos of arabica beans for each plant, and 600 grams and two kilos for robusta beans.

G. Harvesting time depends on the geographic situation and it can vary greatly therefore according to the various producing countries. First the ripe beans are picked from the branches. Pickers can selectively pick approximately 250 to 300 pounds of coffee cherry a day. At the end of the day, the pickers bring their heavy burlap bags to pulping mills where the cherry coffee can be pulped (or wet milled). The pulped beans then rest, covered in pure rainwater to ferment overnight. The next day the wet beans are hand-distributed upon the drying floor to be sun dried. This drying process takes from one to two weeks depending on the amount of sunny days available. To make sure they dry evenly, the beans need to be raked many times during this drying time. Two weeks later the sun dried beans, now called parchment, are scooped up, bagged and taken to be milled. Huge milling machines then remove the parchment and silver skin, which renders a green bean suitable for roasting. The green beans are roasted according to the customers’ specifications and, after cooling, the beans are then packaged and mailed to customers.

Questions 28-33. The reading passage on The Story of Coffee has 7 paragraphs A – G. From the list of headings below choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B – G.

List of headings

i Growing Coffee

ii Problems with Manufacture

iii Processing the Bean

iv First Contact

v Arabian Coffee

vi Coffee Varieties

vii Modern Coffee

viii The Spread of Coffee

ix Consuming Coffee

x Climates for Coffee

xi The Coffee Plant

Example: Paragraph A iv

28 Paragraph B

29 Paragraph C

30 Paragraph D

31 Paragraph E

32 Paragraph F

33 Paragraph G

Questions 34-36. Complete the labels on the diagram of a coffee bean below. Choose your answers from the text and write them in boxes 34 – 36 on your answer sheet.

Questions 37-40
Using the information in the passage, complete the flow chart below. Write your answers in boxes 37 – 40 on your answer sheet. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

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IELTS ACADEMIC READING IELTS GENERAL READING VOCABULARY COACH WRTING TASK 1 VOCAB IELTS AC WRITING TASK 1 IELTS GENERAL WRITING TASK 1 IELTS WRITING TASK 2 IELTS SPEAKING TASK 1 IELTS SPEAKING TASK 2 IELTS LISTENING TEST

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DAYDREAMING IELTS READING

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Reading passage 1

Everyone daydreams sometimes. We sit or lie down, close our eyes and use our imagination to think about something that might happen in the future or could have happened in the past. Most daydreaming is pleasant. We would like the daydream to happen and we would be very happy if it did actually happen. We might daydream that we are in another person’s place, or doing something that we have always wanted to do, or that other people like or admire us much more than they normally do.

Daydreams are not dreams, because we can only daydream if we are awake. Also, we choose what our daydreams will be about, which we cannot usually do with dreams. With many daydreams, we know that what we imagine is unlikely to happen. At least, if it does happen, it probably will not do so in the way we want it to. However, some daydreams are about things that are likely to happen. With these, our daydreams often help us to work out what we want to do, or how to do it to get the best results. So, these daydreams are helpful. We use our imagination to help us understand the world and other people.

Daydreams can help people to be creative. People in creative or artistic careers, such as composers, novelists and filmmakers, develop new ideas through daydreaming. This is also true of research scientists and mathematicians. In fact, Albert Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge because knowledge is limited whereas imagination is not.

Research in the 1980s showed that most daydreams are about ordinary, everyday events. It also showed that over 75% of workers in so-called ‘boring jobs’, such as lorry drivers and security guards, spend a lot of time daydreaming in order to make their time at work more interesting. Recent research has also shown that daydreaming has a positive effect on the brain. Experiments with MRI brain scans show that the parts of the brain linked with complex problem-solving are more active during daydreaming. Researchers conclude that daydreaming is an activity in which the brain consolidates learning. In this respect, daydreaming is the same as dreaming during sleep.

Although there do seem to be many advantages with daydreaming, in many cultures it is considered a bad thing to do. One reason for this is that when you are daydreaming, you are not working. In the 19th century, for example, people who daydreamed a lot were judged to be lazy. This happened in particular when people started working in factories on assembly lines. When you work on an assembly line, all you do is one small task again and again, every time exactly the same. It is rather repetitive and, obviously, you cannot be creative. So many people decided that there was no benefit in daydreaming.

Other people have said that daydreaming leads to ‘escapism’ and that this is not healthy, either. Escapist people spend a lot of time living in a dream world in which they are successful and popular, instead of trying to deal with the problems they face in the real world. Such people often seem to be unhappy and are unable or unwilling to improve their daily lives. Indeed, recent studies show that people who often daydream have fewer close friends than other people. In fact, they often do not have any close friends at all.

Questions1-8

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text? For questions 1-8, write

TRUE     if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE    if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN  if there is no information on this

 1.People usually daydream when they are walking around.

2.Some people can daydream when they are asleep.

3.Some daydreams help us to be more successful in our lives.

4.Most lorry drivers daydream in their jobs to make them more interesting.

5.Factory workers daydream more than lorry drivers.

6.Daydreaming helps people to be creative.

7.Old people daydream more than young people.

8.Escapist people are generally very happy.

Questions9-10. Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.

Writers, artists and other creative people use daydreaming to (9)……………….

The areas of the brain used in daydreaming are also used for complicated (10)…………..

Questions11-13

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

11. Daydreamsare

A dreams that we have when we fall asleep in daytime.

B about things that happened that make us sad.

C often about things that we would like to happen.

D activities that only a few people are able to do.

12. In the nineteenth century, many people believed that daydreaming was

A helpful in factory work.

B a way of avoiding work.

C something that few people did.

D a healthy activity.

13. People who day dream a lot

A usually have creative jobs.

B are much happier than other people.

C are less intelligent than other people.

D do not have as many friends as other people.



Reading passage 2

TRICKY SUMS AND PSYCHOLOGY

A In their first years of studying mathematics at school, children all over the world usually have to learn the times table, also known as the multiplication table, which shows what you get when you multiply numbers together. Children have traditionally learned their times table by going from ‘1 times 1 is 1′ all the way up to ’12 times 12 is 144’.

B Times tables have been around for a very long time now. The oldest known tables using base 10 numbers, the base that is now used everywhere in the world, are written on bamboo strips dating from 305 BC, found in China. However, in many European cultures the times table is named after the Ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras (570-495 BC). And so it is called the Table of Pythagoras in many languages, including French and Italian.

C In 1820, in his book The Philosophy of Arithmetic, the mathematician John Leslie recommended that young pupils memories the times table up to 25 x 25. Nowadays, however, educators generally believe it is important for children to memorise the table up to 9 x 9, 10 x 10 or 12 x12.

D The current aim in the UK is for school pupils to know all their times tables up to 12 x 12 by the age of nine. However, many people do not know them, even as adults. Recently, some politicians have been asked arithmetical questions of this kind. For example, in 1998, the schools minister Stephen Byers was asked the answer to 7 x 8. He got the answer wrong, saying 54 rather than 56, and everyone laughed at him.

E In 2014, a young boy asked the UK Chancellor George Osborne the exact same question. As he had passed A- level maths and was in charge of the UK’s economic policies at the time, you would expect him to know the answer. However, he simply said, ‘I’ve made it a rule in life not to answer such questions.’

F Why would a politician refuse to answer such a question? It is certainly true that some sums are much harder than others. Research has shown that learning and remembering sums involving 6,7,8 and 9 tends to be harder than remembering sums involving other numbers. And it is even harder when 6,7,8 and 9 are multiplied by each other. Studies often find that the hardest sum is 6×8, with 7×8 not far behind. However, even though 7×8 is a relatively difficult sum, it is unlikely that George Osborne did not know the answer. So there must be some other reason why he refused to answer the question.

G The answer is that Osborne was being ‘put on the spot’ and he didn’t like it. It is well known that when there is a lot of pressure to do something right, people often have difficulty doing something that they normally find easy. When you put someone on the spot and ask such a question, it causes stress. The person’s heart beats faster and their adrenalin levels go up. As a result, people will often make mistakes that they would not normally make. This is called ‘choking’. Choking often happens in sport, such as when a footballer takes a crucial penalty. In the same way, the boy’s question put Osborne under great pressure. He knew it would be a disaster for him if he got the answer to such a simple question wrong and feared that he might choke. And that is why he refused to answer the question.

Questions 14-19 The text has seven paragraphs, A-G. 

Which paragraph contains the following information? 

14.a 19th-century opinion of what children should learn

15.the most difficult sums

16.the effect of pressure on doing something

17.how children learn the times table

18.a politician who got a sum wrong

19.a history of the times table

Questions20-25

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text? For questions 20-25, write

TRUE    if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE    if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN  if there is no information on this

20.Pythagoras invented the times table in China.
21.Stephen Byers and George Osborne were asked the same question.
22.All children in the UK have to learn the multiplication table.
23.George Osborne did not know the answer to 7 X 8.
24.7 X 8 is the hardest sum that children have to learn.
25.Stephen Byers got the sum wrong because he choked

Reading passage 3

Care in the Community

‘Bedlam’ is a word that has become synonymous in the English language with chaos and disorder. The term itself derives from the shortened name for a former 16th century London institution for the mentally ill, known as St. Mary of Bethlehem. This institution was so notorious that its name was to become a byword for mayhem. Patient ‘treatment’ amounted to little more than legitimised abuse. Inmates were beaten and forced to live in unsanitary

conditions, whilst others were placed on display to a curious public as a side-show. There is little indication to suggest that other institutions founded at around the same time in other European countries were much better.

Even up until the mid-twentieth century, institutions for the mentally ill were regarded as being more places of isolation and punishment than healing and solace. In popular literature of the Victorian era that reflected true-life events, individuals were frequently sent to the ‘madhouse’ as a legal means of permanently disposing of an unwanted heir or spouse. Later, in the mid-twentieth century, institutes for the mentally ill regularly carried out invasive brain surgery known as a ‘lobotomy’ on violent patients without their consent. The aim was to ‘calm’ the patient but ended up producing a patient that was little more than a zombie. Such a procedure is well documented to devastating effect in the film ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. Little wonder then that the appalling catalogue of treatment of the mentally ill led to a call for change from social activists and psychologists alike.

Improvements began to be seen in institutions from the mid-50s onwards, along with the introduction of care in the community for less severely ill patients. Community care was seen as a more humane and purposeful approach to dealing with the mentally ill. Whereas institutionalised patients lived out their existence in confinement, forced to obey institutional regulations, patients in the community were free to live a relatively independent life. The patient was never left purely to their own devices as a variety of services could theoretically be accessed by the individual. In its early stages, however, community care consisted primarily of help from the patient’s extended family network. In more recent years, such care has extended to the provision of specialist community mental health teams (CMHTs) in the UK. Such teams cover a wide range of services from rehabilitation to home treatment and assessment. In addition, psychiatric nurses are on hand to administer prescription medication and give injections. The patient is therefore provided with the necessary help that they need to survive in the everyday world whilst maintaining a degree of autonomy.

Often, though, when a policy is put into practice, its failings become apparent. This is true for the policy of care in the community. Whilst back-up services may exist, an individual may not call upon them when needed, due to reluctance or inability to assess their own condition. As a result, such an individual may be alone during a critical phase of their illness, which could lead them to self-harm or even become a threat to other members of their community. Whilst this might be an extreme-case scenario, there is also the issue of social alienation that needs to be considered. Integration into the community may not be sufficient to allow the individual to find work, leading to poverty and isolation. Social exclusion could then cause a relapse as the individual is left to battle mental health problems alone. The solution, therefore, is to ensure that the patient is always in touch with professional helpers and not left alone to fend for themselves. It should always be remembered that whilst you can take the patient out of the institution, you can’t take the institution out of the patient.

When questioned about care in the community, there seems to be a division of opinion amongst members of the public and within the mental healthcare profession itself. Dr. Mayalla, practising clinical psychologist, is inclined to believe that whilst certain patients may benefit from care in the community, the scheme isn’t for everyone. ‘Those suffering moderate cases of mental illness stand to gain more from care in the community than those with more pronounced mental illness. I don’t think it’s a one-size-fits-all policy. But I also think that there is a far better infrastructure of helpers and social workers in place now than previously and the scheme stands a greater chance of success than in the past.’

Anita Brown, mother of three, takes a different view. ‘As a mother, I’m very protective towards my children. As a result, I would not put my support behind any scheme that I felt might put my children in danger… I guess there must be assessment methods in place to ensure that dangerous individuals are not let loose amongst the public but I’m not for it at all. I like to feel secure where I live, but more to the point, that my children are not under any threat.’

Bob Ratchett, a former mental health nurse, takes a more positive view on community care projects. ‘Having worked in the field myself, I’ve seen how a patient can benefit from living an independent life, away from an institution. Obviously, only individuals well on their way to recovery would be suitable for consideration as

participants in such a scheme. If you think about it, is it really fair to condemn an individual to a lifetime in an institution when they could be living a fairly fulfilled and independent life outside the institution?’

Questions26-31

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

26. Which of the following statements is accurate?

A In the 20th century, illegal surgical procedures were carried out on the mentally ill.

B The Victorian era saw an increase in mental illness amongst married couples.

C Mental institutions of the past were better-equipped for dealing with the mentally ill.

D In the past, others often benefitted when a patient was sent to a mental asylum.

27. What does the writer mean by patient treatment being ‘legitimised abuse’?

A There were proper guidelines for the punishment of mentally ill patients.

B Maltreatment of mentally ill patients was not illegal and so was tolerated.

C Only those who were legally entitled to do so could punish mentally ill patients.

D Physical abuse of mentally ill patients was a legal requirement of mental institutions.

28. What brought about changes in the treatment of mentally ill patients?

A A radio documentary exposed patient maltreatment.

B People rebelled against the consistent abuse of mentally ill patients.

C Previous treatments of mentally ill patients were proved to be ineffective.

D The maltreatment of mentally ill patients could never be revealed.

29. What was a feature of early care in the community schemes?

A Patient support was the responsibility more of relatives than professionals.

B Advanced professional help was available to patients.

C All mentally ill patients could benefit from the scheme.

D Patients were allowed to enjoy full independence.

30. What is true of care in the community schemes today?

A They permit greater patient autonomy.

B More professional services are available to patients.

C Family support networks have become unnecessary.

D All patients can now become part of these schemes.

31.What can be said of the writer’s attitude towards care in the community?

A He believes that the scheme has proved to be a failure.

B He believes that it can only work under certain circumstances.

C He believes that it will never work as mentally ill patients will always be disadvantaged.

D He believes it has failed due to patient neglect by professional helpers.

Questions32-36. Look at the following statements, 32-36, and the list of people, A-C. Match each statement to the correct person.

A Dr. Mayalla

B Anita Brown

C Bob Ratchett

32.This person acknowledges certain inadequacies in the concept of care in the community, butrecognises that attempts have been made to improve on existing schemes.

33.This person whilst emphasising the benefits to the patient from care in the community schemesis critical of traditional care methods.

34.This person’s views have been moderated by their professional contact with the mentally ill.

35.This person places the welfare of others above that of the mentally ill.

36.This person acknowledges that a mistrust of care in the community schemes may be unfounded.

Questions37-40

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text? For questions 37-40, write

TRUE    if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE    if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN  if there is no information on this

37.There is a better understanding of the dynamics of mental illness today.

38.Community care schemes do not provide adequate psychological support for patients.

39.Dr. Mayalla believes that the scheme is less successful than in the past.

40.The goal of community care schemes is to make patients less dependent on the system.

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IELTS ACADEMIC READING IELTS GENERAL READING VOCABULARY COACH WRTING TASK 1 VOCAB IELTS AC WRITING TASK 1 IELTS GENERAL WRITING TASK 1 IELTS WRITING TASK 2 IELTS SPEAKING TASK 1 IELTS SPEAKING TASK 2 IELTS LISTENING TEST

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Crop-growing skyscrapers IELTS Reading

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Reading Passage 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

A. By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the Earth‟s population will live in urban centres. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about three billion people by then. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% larger than Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them if traditional farming methods continue as they are practised today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use. Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to ensure enough food for the world‟s population to live on?

B. The concept of indoor farming is not new since hothouse production of tomatoes and other produce has been in vogue for some time. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another three billion people. Many believe an entirely new approach to indoor farming is needed, employing cutting-edge technologies. One such proposal is for the “Vertical Farm”. These are multi-storey buildings in which food crops are grown in environmentally controlled conditions. Situated in the heart of urban centres, they would drastically reduce the amount of transportation required to bring food to consumers. Vertical farms would need to be efficient, cheap to construct and safe to operate. If successfully implemented, proponents, claim, vertical farms offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of safe and varied food supply (through year-round production of all crops), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.

C. It took humans 10,000 years to learn how to grow most of the crops we now take for granted. Along the way, we despoiled most of the land we worked, often turning verdant, natural ecozones into semi-arid deserts. Within that same time frame, weevolved into an urban species, in which 60% of the human population now lives vertically in cities. This means that, for the majority, we humans have shelter from the elements, yet we subject our food-bearing plants to the rigours of the great outdoors and can do no more than hope for a good weather year. However, more often than not now, due to a rapidly changing climate, that is not what happens. Massive floods, long droughts, hurricanes and severe monsoons take their toll each year, destroying millions of tons of valuable crops.

D. The supporters of vertical farming claim many potential advantages for the system. For instance, crops would be produced all year round, as they would be kept in artificially controlled, optimum growing conditions. There would be no weather- related crop failures due to droughts, floods or pests. All the food could be grown organically, eliminating the need for herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. The system would greatly reduce the incidence of many infectious diseases that are acquired at the agricultural interface. Although the system would consume energy, it would return energy to the grid via methane generation from composting nonedible parts of plants. It would also dramatically reduce fossil fuel use, by cutting out the need for tractors, ploughs and shipping.

E. A major drawback of vertical farming, however, is that the plants would require artificial light. Without it, those plants nearest the windows would be exposed to more sunlight and grow more quickly, reducing the efficiency of the system. Single-storey greenhouses have the benefit of natural overhead light: even so, many still need artificial lighting. A multi-storey facility with no natural overhead light would require far more. Generating enough light could be prohibitively expensive unless cheap, renewable energy is available, and this appears to be rather a future aspiration than a likelihood for the near future.

F. One variation on vertical farming that has been developed is to grow plants in stacked trays that move on rails. Moving the trays allows the plants to get enough sunlight. This system is already in operation, and works well within a single-storey greenhouse with light reaching it from above: it is not certain, however, that it can be made to work without that overhead natural light.

G. Vertical farming is an attempt to address the undoubted problems that we face in producing enough food for a growing population. At the moment, though, more needs to be done to reduce the detrimental impact it would have on the environment, particularly as regards the use of energy. While it is possible that much of our food will be grown in skyscrapers in future, most experts currently believe it is far more likely that we will simply use the space available on urban rooftops.

Questions 1-7. Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.

Indoor farming

  1. Some food plants, including , are already grown indoors.
  2. Vertical farms would be located in , meaning that there would be lessneed to take them long distances to customers
  3. Vertical farms could use methane from plants and animals to produce…………..
  4. The consumption of would be cut because agricultural vehicles would beunnecessary
  5. The fact that vertical farms would need light is a disadvantage
  6. One form of vertical farming involves planting in which are not fixed.
  7. The most probable development is that food will be grown on in towns and cities.

    Questions 8-13. Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write
    TRUE, if the statement agrees with the information
    FALSE, if the statement contradicts the information
    NOT GIVEN, if there is no information on this
  8. Methods for predicting the Earth‟s population have recently changed
  9. Human beings are responsible for some of the destruction of food-producing land
  10. The crops produced in vertical farms will depend on the season
  11. Some damage to food crops is caused by climate change
  12. Fertilizers will be needed for certain crops in vertical farms.
  13. Vertical filing will make plants less likely to be affected by infectious diseases.


    Reading Passage 2

    You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

    The Falkirk Wheel. A unique engineering achievement

    A. The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland is the world‟s first and only rotating boat lift. Opened in 2002, it is central to the ambitious £84.5m Millennium Link project to restore navigability across Scotland by reconnecting the historic waterways of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals.

    B.     The major challenge of the project lay in the fact that the Forth & Clyde Canal is situated 35 metres below the level of the Union Canal. Historically, the two canals had been joined near the town of Falkirk by a sequence of 11 locks – enclosed sections of canal in which the water level could be raised or lowered – that stepped down across a distance of 1.5 km. This had been dismantled in 1933, thereby breaking the link. When the project was launched in 1994, the British Waterways authority were keen to create a dramatic twenty-first- century landmark which would not only be a fittingcommemoration of the Millennium, but also a lasting symbol of the economic regeneration of the region.

    C. Numerous ideas were submitted for the project, including concepts ranging from rolling eggs to tilting tanks, from giant seesaws to overhead monorails. The eventual winner was a plan for the huge rotating steel boat lift which was to become The Falkirk Wheel. The unique shape of the structure is claimed to have been inspired by various sources, both manmade and natural, most notably a Celtic double-headed axe, but also the vast turning propeller of a ship, the ribcage of a whale or the spine of a fish.

    D. The various parts of The Falkirk Wheel were all constructed and assembled, like one giant toy building set, at Butterley Engineerings Steelworks in Derbyshire, some 400 km from Falkirk. A team there carefully assembled the 1,200 tonnes of steel, painstakingly fitting the pieces together to an accuracy of just 10 mm to ensure a perfect final fit. In the summer of 2001, the structure was then dismantled and transported on 35 lorries to Falkirk, before all being bolted back together again on the ground, and finally lifted into position in five large sections by crane. The Wheel would need to withstand immense and constantly changing stresses as it rotated, so to make the structure more robust, the steel sections were bolted rather than welded together. Over 45,000 bolt holes were matched with their bolts, and each bolt was hand-tightened.

    E. The Wheel consists of two sets of opposing axe-shaped arms, attached about 25 metres apart to a fixed central spine. Two diametrically opposed water-filled„gondolas‟, each with a capacity of 360,000 litres, are fitted between the ends of the arms. These gondolas always weigh the same, whether or not they are carrying boats. This is because, according to Archimedes principle of displacement, floating objects displace their own weight in water. So when a boat enters a gondola, the amount of water leaving the gondola weighs exactly the same as the boat. This keeps the Wheel balanced and so, despite its enormous mass, it rotates through 180° in five and a half minutes while using very little power. It takes just 1.5 kilowatt-hours (5.4 MJ) of energy to rotate the Wheel – roughly the same as boiling eight small domestic kettles of water.

    F. Boats needing to be lifted up enter the canal basin at the level of the Forth & Clyde Canal and then enter the lower gondola of the Wheel. Two hydraulic steel gates are raised, so as to seal the gondola off from the water in the canal basin. The water between the gates is then pumped out. A hydraulic clamp, which prevents the arms of the Wheel moving while the gondola is docked, is removed, allowing the Wheel to turn. In the central machine room an array often hydraulic motors then begins to rotate the central axle.

    G. The axle connects to the outer arms of theWheel, which begins to rotate at a speed of 1/8 of a revolution per minute. As the wheel rotates, the gondolas are kept in the upright position by a simple gearing system. Two eight-metre-wide cogs orbit a fixed inner cog of the same width, connected by two smaller cogs travelling in the opposite direction to the outer cogs – so ensuring that the gondolas always remain level. When the gondola reaches the top, the boat passes straight onto the aqueduct situated 24 metres above the canal basin.

    H. The remaining 11 metres of lift needed to reach the Union Canal is achieved by means of a pair of locks. The Wheel could not be constructed to elevate boats over the full 35-metre difference between the two canals, owing to the presence of the historically important Antonine Wall, which was built by the Romans in the second century AD. Boats travel under this wall via a tunnel, then through the locks, and finally on to the Union Canal.

    Questions 14-19. Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet, write
    TRUE, if the statement agrees with the information 
    FALSE, if the statement contradicts the information 
    NOT GIVEN, if there is no information on this
  14. The Falkirk Wheel has linked the Forth & Clyde Canal with the Union Canal for the first time in their history.
  15. There was some opposition to the design of the Falkirk Wheel at first.
  16. The Falkirk Wheel was initially put together at the location where its components were manufactured.
  17. The Falkirk Wheel is the only boat lift in the world which has steel sections bolted together by hand.
  18. The weight of the gondolas varies according to the size of the boat being carried.
  19. The construction of the Falkirk Wheel site took into account the presence of a nearby ancient monument.

Questions 20-26. Label the diagram below.

Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet.

How a boat is lifted on the Falkirk Wheel

Reading Passage 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Reducing the Effects of Climate Change

Mark Rowe reports on the increasingly ambitious geoengineering projects being explored by scientists

A. Such is our dependence on fossil fuels, and such is the volume of carbon dioxide already released into the atmosphere, that many experts agree that significant global warming is now inevitable. They believe that the best we can do is keep it at a reasonable level, and at present, the only serious option for doing this is cutting back on our carbon emissions. But while a few countries are making major strides in this regard, the majority arc having great difficulty even stemming the rate of increase, let alone reversing it. Consequently, an increasing number of scientists are beginning to explore the alternative of geo-engineering – a term which generally refers to the intentional large-scale manipulation of the environment. According to its proponents, geo-engineering is the equivalent of a backup generator: if Plan A – reducing our dependency on fossil fuels – fails, we require a Plan B, employing grand schemes to slow down or reverse the process of global warming.

B. Geo-engineering has been shown to work, at least on a small localised scale. For decades, May Day parades in Moscow have taken place under clear blue skies, aircraft having deposited dry ice, silver iodide and cement powder to disperse clouds. Many of the schemes now suggested look to do the opposite, and reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the planet. The most eye-catching idea of all is suggested by Professor Roger Angel of the University of Arizona. His scheme would employ up to 16 trillion minute spacecraft, each weighing about one gram, to form a transparent, sunlight-refracting sunshade in an orbit 1.5 million km above the Earth. This could, argues Angel, reduce the amount of light reaching the Earth by two per cent.

C. The majority of geoengineering projects so far carried out – which include planting forests in deserts and depositing iron in the ocean to stimulate the growth of algae – have focused on achieving a general cooling of the Earth. But some look specificallyat reversing the melting at the poles, particularly the Arctic. The reasoning is that if you replenish the ice sheets and frozen waters of the high latitudes, more light will be reflected back into space, so reducing the warming of the oceans and atmosphere.

D. The concept of releasing aerosol sprays into the stratosphere above the Arctic has been proposed by several scientists. This would involve using sulphur or hydrogen sulphide aerosols so that sulphur dioxide would form clouds, which would, in turn, lead to global dimming. The idea is modelled on historic volcanic explosions, such as that of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, which led to a short-term cooling of global temperatures by 0.5 °C. Scientists have also scrutinised whether it‟s possible to preserve the ice sheets of Greenland with reinforced high-tension cables, preventing icebergs from moving into the sea. Meanwhile, in the Russian Arctic, geoengineering plans include the planting of millions of birch trees. Whereas the regions native evergreen pines shade the snow and absorb radiation, birches would shed their leaves in winter, thus enabling radiation to be reflected by the snow. Re-routing Russian rivers to increase cold water flow to ice-forming areas could also be used to slow down warming, say some climate scientists.

E. But will such schemes ever be implemented? Generally speaking, those who are most cautious about geoengineering are the scientists involved in the research. Angel says that his plan is „no substitute for developing renewable energy: the only permanent solution‟. And Dr Phil Rasch of the US-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is equally guarded about the role of geoengineering: „I think all of us agree that if we were to end geoengineering on a given day, then the planet would return to its pre-engineered condition very rapidly, and probably within ten to twenty years. That‟s certainly something to worry about.‟

F. The US National Center for Atmospheric Research has already suggested that the proposal to inject sulphur into the atmosphere might affect rainfall patterns across the tropics and the Southern Ocean. „Geo-engineering plans to inject stratospheric aerosols or to seed clouds would act to cool the planet, and act to increase the extent of sea ice,‟ says Rasch. „But all the models suggest some impact on the distribution of precipitation.‟

G. A further risk with geoengineering projects is that you can “overshoot”,‟ says Dr Dan Lunt, from the University of Bristol‟s School of Geophysical Sciences, who hasstudied the likely impacts of the sunshade and aerosol schemes on the climate. „You may bring global temperatures back to pre-industrial levels, but the risk is that the poles will still be warmer than they should be and the tropics will be cooler than before industrialisation.‟ To avoid such a scenario, Lunt says Angel‟s project would have to operate at half strength; all of which reinforces his view that the best option is to avoid the need for geoengineering altogether.

H. “The main reason why geo-engineering is supported by many in the scientific community is that most researchers have little faith in the ability of politicians to agree – and then bring in – the necessary carbon cuts. Even leading conservation organisations see the value of investigating the potential of geoengineering. According to Dr Martin Sommerkorn, climate change advisor for the World Wildlife Fund‟s International Arctic Programme, „Human-induced climate change has brought humanity to a position where we shouldn‟t exclude thinking thoroughly about these topics and its possibilities.

Questions 27-29. Reading Passage 3 has eight paragraphs A-H.

Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 27-29 on your answer sheet.

27. mention of a geoengineering project based on an earlier natural phenomenon
28. an example of the successful use of geo-engineering
29. a common definition of geo-engineering

Questions 30-36. Complete the table below.

Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 30-36 on your answer sheet.

Geo-Engineering Projects

ProcedureAim
put a large number of tiny spacecraft into orbit far above Earthto create a 30………………… that would reduce
the amount of light reaching Earth
place 31 ………………..in the seato encourage 32……………….. to form

release aerosol sprays into the stratosphere		to create 33……………….. that would reduce
the amount of light reaching Earth
fix strong 34……………….. to Greenland ice
sheets
to prevent icebergs from moving into the sea
plant trees in the Russian Arctic that would lose their leaves in winterto allow the 35 ………………..to reflect radiation

change the direction of 36……………		to bring more cold water into ice-forming areas

Questions 37-40. Look at the following statements (Questions 37-40) and the list of scientists below.

Match each statement with the correct scientist, A-D. Write the correct letter, A-D, in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.

37. The effects of geoengineering may not be long-lasting
38. Geo-engineering is a topic worth exploring.
39. It may be necessary to limit the effectiveness of geoengineering projects.
40. Research into non-fossil-based fuels cannot be replaced by geo-engineering.

List of Scientists
ARoger Angel
BPhil Rasch
CDan Lunt
DMartin Sommerkorn
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IELTS ACADEMIC READING IELTS GENERAL READING VOCABULARY COACH WRTING TASK 1 VOCAB IELTS AC WRITING TASK 1 IELTS GENERAL WRITING TASK 1 IELTS WRITING TASK 2 IELTS SPEAKING TASK 1 IELTS SPEAKING TASK 2 IELTS LISTENING TEST

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 Communicating in colour IELTS reading

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Reading passage 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. 

A.There are more than 160 known species of chameleons. The main distribution is in Africa andMadagascar, and other tropical regions, although some species are also found in parts of southern Europe and Asia. There are introduced populations in Hawaii and probably in California and Florida too. 

B.New species are still discovered quite frequently. Dr. Andrew Marshall, a conservationist from York University, was surveying monkeys in Tanzania. Accidently, he stumbled across a twig snake in the Magombera forest, which, frightened, coughed up a chameleon and fled. Though a colleague persuaded him not to touch it because of the venom‟s risk, Marshall suspected it might be a new species and took a photograph to send to colleagues, who confirmed his suspicions. Kinyongia Magombera, literally “the chameleon from Magombera,” is the result, and the fact it was not easy to identify is precisely what made it unique. The most remarkable features of chameleons are their ability to change colour and ability rivalled only by cuttlefish and octopi in the animal kingdom. Because of this, colour is not the best thing for telling chameleons apart, and different species are usually identified based on the patterning and shape of the head, and the arrangement of scales. In this case, it was the bulge of scales on the chameleon‟s nose. 

C.Chameleons can use colour for both communication and camouflage by switching frombright, showy colours to the exact colour of a twig within seconds. They show an extraordinary range of colours, from nearly black to bright blues, oranges, pinks, and greens, even several at once. A popular misconception is that chameleons can match whatever background they are placed on, whether a chequered red and yellow shirt or a Smartie box. But each species has a characteristic set of cells containing pigment distributed over their bodies in a specific pattern, which determines the range of colours and patterns they can show. To the great disappointment of many children, placing a chameleon on a Smartie box generally results in a stressed, confused, dark grey or mottled chameleon. 

D.Chameleons are visual animals with excellent eyesight, and they communicate with colour. When two male dwarf chameleons encounter each other, each shows its brightest colours. They puff out their throats and present themselves side-on with their bodies flattened to appear as large  as possible and show off their colours. This enables them to assess each other from a distance. If one is clearly superior, the other quickly changes to submissive colouration, usually a dull combination of greys or browns. If the opponents are closely matched and both maintain their bright colours, the contest can escalate to physical fighting and jaw-locking, each trying to push each other along the branch in a contest of strength. Eventually, the loser will signal his defeat with submissive colouration. 

E.Females also have aggressive displays used to repel male attempts at courtship. When courting a female, males display the same bright colours that they use during contests. Most of the time, females are unreceptive and aggressively reject males by displaying a contrasting light and dark colour pattern, with their mouths open and moving their bodies rapidly from side to side. If the male continues to court a female, she often chases and bites him until he retreats. The range of colour-change during female displays, although impressive, is not as great as that shown by males. 

F.Many people assume that colour change evolved to enable chameleons to match a greater variety of backgrounds in their environment. If this was the case, then chameleons‟ ability to change colours should be associated with the range of background colours in the chameleon‟s habitat, but there is no evidence for such a pattern. For example, forest habitats might have a greater range of brown and green background colours than grasslands, so forest-dwelling species might be expected to have higher colour change powers. Instead, the males whose display colours are the most eye-catching, show the greatest colour change. Their displays are composed of colours that contrast highly with each other and the background vegetation. This suggests that the species that evolved the most impressive capacities for colour change did so to enable them to intimidate rivals or attract mates rather than to facilitate camouflage. 

G.How do we know that chameleon display colours are eye-catching to another chameleon – or, for that matter, to a predatory bird? Getting a view from the perspective of chameleons or their bird predators requires information on the chameleon‟s or bird‟s visual system and how their brains might process visual information. This is because the perceived colours of an object depend on the brain‟s wiring as on the physical properties of the object itself. Luckily, recent scientific advances have made it possible to obtain such measurements in the field, and information on visual systems of a variety of animals is becoming increasingly available. 

H.The spectacular diversity of colours and ornaments in nature has inspired biologists for centuries. But if we want to understand the function and evolution of animal colour patterns, we  need to know how they are perceived by the animals themselves – or their predators. After all, camouflage and conspicuousness are in the eye of the beholder. 

Questions 1-4 Answer the questions below. 

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. 

Write your answers in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet. 

1. What kind of climate do most chameleons live in? ………………………. 

2. Which animal caught a chameleon from an undiscovered species? …………………….. 

3. What was the new species named after? ………………………… 

4. Which part of the body is unique to the species Kinyongia Magombera? ……………………….. 

Questions 5-13 

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? 

TRUE, if the statement agrees with the information 

FALSE, if the statement contradicts the information 

NOT GIVEN, if there is no information on this 

5.Few creatures can change colour as effectively as cuttlefish.

6.Chameleons can imitate a pattern provided there are only two colours.

7.Chameleons appear to enjoy trying out new colours.

8.Size matters more than colour when male chameleons compete.

9.After a fight, the defeated male hides among branches of a tree.

10.Females use colour and movement to discourage males.

11.The popular explanation of why chameleons change colour has been proved wrong.

12.There are more predators of chameleons in grassland habitats than In others.

13.Measuring animals’ visual systems necessitates removing them from their habitat.

Reading Passage 2 

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 13-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. 

The Pursuit Of Happiness 

A.In late 1990, psychologist Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania urged colleagues to observe optimal moods with the same kind of focus with which they had for so long studied illnesses: we would never learn about the full range of human functions unless we knew as much about mental wellness as we do about mental illness. A new generation of psychologists built up a respectable body of research on positive character traits and happiness-boosting practices. At the same time, developments in neuroscience provided new clues to what makes us happy and what that looks like in the brain. Self-appointed experts took advantage of the trend with guarantees to eliminate worry, stress, dejection and even boredom. This happiness movement has provoked a great deal of opposition among psychologists who observe that the preoccupation with happiness has come at the cost of sadness, an important feeling that people have tried to banish from their emotional repertoire. Allan Horwitz of Rutgers laments that young people who are naturally weepy after breakups are often urged to medicate themselves instead of working through their sadness. Wake Forest University‟s Eric Wilson fumes that the obsession with happiness amounts to a „craven disregard” for the melancholic perspective that has given rise to the greatest works of art. “The happy man,” he writes, „is a hollow man.‟ 

B. After all, people are remarkably adaptable. Following a variable period of adjustment, we bounce back to our previous level of happiness, no matter what happens to us. (There are some scientifically proven exceptions, notably suffering the unexpected loss of a job or a partner. The events tend to permanently knock people back a step.) Our adaptability works in two directions. Because we are so adaptable, points out Professor Sonja J.yubomirsky of the University of California, we quickly get used to many of the accomplishments we strive for in life, such as landing the big job or getting married. Soon after we reach a milestone, we start to feel that something is missing. We begin coveting another worldly possession or eyeing a social advancement. But such an approach keeps us tethered to a treadmill where happiness is always just out of reach, one toy or one step away. It‟s possible to get off the treadmill entirely by focusing on activities that are dynamic, surprising, and attention-absorbing. and thus less likely to bore us than, say, acquiring shiny new toys. 

C. Moreover, happiness is not a reward for escaping pain. Russ Harris, the author of The Happiness Trap, calls popular conceptions of happiness dangerous because they set people up for a „struggle against reality‟. They don‟t acknowledge that real life is full of disappointments, loss, and inconveniences.”If you‟re going to live a rich and meaningful life.* Harris says, “you‟re going to feel a full range of emotions.” Action toward goals other than happiness makes people happy. It is not crossing the most rewarding finish line, it is anticipating achieving the goal. University of Wisconsin neuroscientist Richard Davidson has found that working hard toward a goal, and making progress to the point of expecting a goal to be realized, activates not only positive feelings but also suppresses negative emotions such as fear and depression. 

D. We are constantly making decisions, ranging from what clothes to put on to whom we should marry, not to mention all those flavours of ice cream. We base many of our decisions on whether we think a particular preference will increase our well-being. Intuitively, we seem convinced that the more choices we have, the better off we will ultimately be. But our world of unlimited opportunity imprisons us more  than it makes us happy. In what Swarthmore psychologist Barrs-Schwartz calls “the paradox of choice.” lacing many possibilities leaves us stressed out – and less satisfied with whatever we do decide. Having too many choices keeps us wondering about all the opportunities missed. 

E.Besides, not everyone can put on a happy face. Rirlxira Held, a professor of psychology at Bowdoin College, rails against “the tyranny of the positive attitude”. „Looking on the bright side isn‟t possible for some people and is even counterproductive,” she insists. „When you put pressure on people to cope in a way that doesn’t fit them, it not only doesn’t work, it makes them feel like a failure on top of already feeling bad.” The one-size-fits-all approach to managing emotional life is misguided, agrees Professor Julie Norem, author of The Positive Power of Negative Thinking. In her research, she has shown that the defensive pessimism that anxious people feel can be harnessed to help them get things done, which in turn makes them happier. A naturally pessimistic architect, for example, can set low expectations for an upcoming presentation and review all of the bad outcomes that she‟s imagining so that she can prepare carefully and increase her chances of success. 

F.By contrast, an individual who is not living according to their values, will not be happy, no matter how much they achieve. Some people, however, are not sure what their values are. In that case, Harris has a great question: „Imagine I could wave a magic wand to ensure that you would have the approval and admiration of everyone on the planet, forever. What, in that case, would you choose to do with your life?” Once this has been answered honestly, you can start taking steps toward your ideal vision of yourself. The actual answer is unimportant, as long as you‟re living consciously. The state of happiness is not really a state at all. It‟s an ongoing personal experiment. 

Questions 14-19 Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs A-F. 

Which paragraph mentions the following? 

Write the correct letter A-F in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once. 

14.the need for individuals to understand what really matters to them

15.tension resulting from a wide variety of alternatives

16.the hope of success as a means of overcoming unhappy feelings

17.people who call themselves specialists

18.human beings’ capacity for coping with change

19.doing things which are interesting in themselves

Questions 20 and 21: Choose TWO letters A-E.

Write the correct letters in boxes 20 and 21 on your answer sheet 

Which TWO of the following people argue against aiming for constant happiness? 

A.Martin Seligman

B.Eric Wilson

C.Sonja Lyubomirsky

D.Russ Harris

E.Barry Schwartz

Questions 22 and 23: 

Choose TWO letters A-E. 

Write the correct letters in boxes 22 and 23 on your answer sheet. 

Which TWO of the following beliefs are identified as mistaken in the text? 

A. Inherited wealth brings less happiness than earned wealth.

B. Social status affects our perception of how happy we are.

C. An optimistic outlook ensures success.

D. Unhappiness can and should be avoided.

E. Extremes of emotion are normal in the young.

Questions 24-26 Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the passage for each answer. 

24.In order to have a complete understanding of how people’s minds work, Martin Seligman suggestedthat research should examine our most positive ……………………. as closely as it does our psychological problems. 

25. Soon after arriving at a …………………… in their lives, people become accustomed to what they have achieved and have a sense that they are lacking something. 

26. People who are ………………….. by nature are more likely to succeed if they make a thorough preparation for a presentation. 

Reading Passage 3.

The Deep Sea You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below. 

A.At a time when most think of outer space as the final frontier, we must remember that a great deal of unfinished business remains here on earth. Robots crawl on the surface of Mars, and spacecraft exit our solar system, but most of our planet has still never been seen by human eyes. It seems ironic that we know more about impact craters on the far side of the moon than about the longest and largest mountain  range on earth. It is incredible that human beings crossed a quarter of a million miles of space to visit our nearest celestial neighbour before penetrating just two miles deep into the earth own waters to explore the Midocean Ridge. And it would be hard to imagine a more significant part of our planet to investigate – a chain of volcanic mountains 42,000 miles long where most of the earth‟s solid surface was born, and where vast volcanoes continue to create new submarine landscapes. 

B.The figure we so often see quoted 71% of the earth‟s surface – understates the oceans‟ importance. If you consider three-dimensional volumes instead, the land dwellers‟ share of the planet shrinks even more toward insignificance: less than 1% of the total. Most of dying oceans‟ enormous volume, lies deep below the familiar surface. The upper sunlit layer, by one estimate, contains only 2 or 3% of the total space available to life. The other 97% of the earth‟s biosphere lies deep beneath the water‟s surface, where sunlight never penetrates. Until recently, it was impossible to study the deep ocean directly. By the sixteenth century, diving bells allowed people to stay underwater for a short time: they could swim to the bell to breathe air trapped underneath it rather than return to the surface. Later, other devices, including pressurized or armoured suits, heavy‟ metal helmets, and compressed air supplied through hoses from dying surface, allowed at least one diver to reach 500 feet or so. It was 1930 when a biologist named William Beebe and his engineering colleague Otis Barton sealed themselves into a new kind of diving craft, an invention that finally allowed humans to penetrate beyond the shallow sunlit layer of the sea and the history of deep-sea exploration began. Science then was largely incidental – something that happened along the way. In terms of technical ingenuity and human bravery, this part of the story is every bit as amazing as the history of early aviation. Yet many of these individuals, and the deep-diving vehicles that they built and tested, are not well known. 

C.It was not until the 1970s that deep-diving manned submersibles were able to reach the Midocean Ridge and begin making major contributions to a wide range of scientific questions. A burst of discoveries followed in short order. Several of these profoundly changed the whole fields of science and their implications are still not fully understood. For example, biologists may now be seeing – in the strange communities of microbes and animals that live around deep volcanic vents – clues to the origin of life on earth. No one even knew that these communities existed before explorers began diving to the bottom in a submersible. Entering the deep, black abyss presents unique challenges for which humans must carefully prepare if they wish to survive. It is an unforgiving environment, both harsh and strangely beautiful, that few who have not experienced it firsthand can fully appreciate. Even the most powerful searchlights penetrate the only lens of feet. Suspended particles scatter tile light and water itself is for less transparent than air; it absorbs and scatters light. The ocean also swallows other types of electromagnetic radiation, including radio signals. That is why many deep-sea vehicles dangle from tethers. Inside those  tethers, copper wires or fibre optic strands transmit signals that would dissipate and die if broadcast into open water. 

D.Another challenge is that the temperature near the bottom in very deep water typically hovers just four degrees above freezing, and submersibles rarely have much insulation. Since water absorbs heat more quickly than air, the cold down below seems to penetrate a diving capsule far more quickly than it would penetrate, say, a control van up above, on the deck of the mother ship. And finally, the abyss clamps down with crushing pressure on anything that enters it. „This force is like air pressure on land, except that water is much heavier than air. At sea level on land, we don‟t even notice 1 atmosphere of pressure, about 15 pounds per square inch, the weight of the earth‟s blanket of air. In the deepest part of die ocean, nearly seven miles down, it‟s about 1,200 atmospheres, 18,000 pounds per square inch. A square-inch column of lead would crush down on your body with equal force if it were 3,600 feet tall. 

E.Fish that live in the deep don‟t feel the pressure, because they are filled with water from their environment. It has already been compressed by abyssal pressure as much as water can be (which is not much). A diving craft, however, is a hollow chamber, rudely displacing the water around it. That chamber must withstand the full brunt of deep-sea pressure – thousands of pounds per square inch. If seawater with that much pressure behind it ever finds a way to break inside, it explodes through the hole with laser like intensity. It was into such a terrifying environment that the first twentieth-century explorers ventured. 

Questions 27-30: Write the correct letter. A, B, C or D, in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet. 

27. In the first paragraph, the writer finds it surprising that ……………………. 

A.we send robots to Mars rather than to the sea bed.

B.we choose to explore the least accessible side of the moon.

C.people reached the moon before they explored the deepest parts of the earth’s oceans.

D.spaceships are sent beyond our solar system instead of exploring it.

28.The writer argues that saying 71 % of the earth’s surface is the ocean is not accurate because of it…………………. 

A.ignores the depth of the world’s oceans.

B.is based on an estimated volume.

C.overlooks the significance of landscape features.

D.refers to the proportion of water in which life is possible.

29.How did the diving bell help divers?

A.It allowed each diver to carry a supply of air underwater.

B.It enabled piped air to reach deep below the surface.

C.It offered access to a reservoir of air below the surface.

D.It meant that they could dive as deep as 500 feet.

30.What point does the writer make about scientific discoveries between 1930 and 1970?

A.They were rarely the primary purpose of deep-sea exploration.

B.The people who conducted experiments were not professional scientists.

C.Many people refused to believe the discoveries that were made.

D.They involved the use of technologies from other disciplines.

Questions 31-36 Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 31-36 on your answer sheet, write 

YES, if the statement agrees with the views of the writer 

NO, if the statement contradicts the views of the writer NOT GIVEN, if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 

31.The Mid-ocean Ridge is largely the same as when the continents emerged.

32.We can make an approximate calculation of the percentage of the ocean which sunlight penetrates.

33.Many unexpected scientific phenomena came to light when exploration of the Mid-ocean Ridge began.

34.The number of people exploring the abyss has risen sharply in the 21st century.

35.One danger of the darkness is that deep-sea vehicles become entangled in vegetation.

36.The construction of submersibles offers little protection from the cold at great depths.

Questions 37-40: Complete the summary using the list of words A-I below. 

Deep diving craft 

A diving craft has to be 37 ……………… enough to cope with the enormous pressure of the abyss, which is capable of crushing almost anything. Unlike creatures that live there, which are not 38 ……………… because they contain compressed water, a submersible is filled with 39…………………… If it has a weak spot in its construction, there will be a 40…………………….. explosion of water into the craft. 

A.ocean

B.air

C.deep

D.hollow

E.sturdy

F.atmosphere

G.energetic

H.violent

I.heavy

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IELTS ACADEMIC READING IELTS GENERAL READING VOCABULARY COACH WRTING TASK 1 VOCAB IELTS AC WRITING TASK 1 IELTS GENERAL WRITING TASK 1 IELTS WRITING TASK 2 IELTS SPEAKING TASK 1 IELTS SPEAKING TASK 2 IELTS LISTENING TEST

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Cleaner, Abundant Fuels Attracting Record Investment IELTS READING

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Reading Passage 1


You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1 -13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

A. Renewable energy captured from the wind, sun, Earth’s heat, tides, and from small dams is drawing record levels of investment as poor villagers and entire nations alike seek clean, abundant ways to fuel economic growth. Global investment in renewable energy set a new record of $30 billion in 2004, according to a new report from the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21). Technologies such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and small hydro now provide 160 gigawatts of electricity generating capacity – about four per cent of the world total – the report said. They are growing at rates of around 20-30 per cent per year, however, compared to two or three per cent for oil and gas.

B. “Renewable energy has become big business,” said Eric Martinot, lead author of the study, “Renewables 2005: Global Status Report”. Martinot, a senior fellow at the Washington, DC-based think tank Worldwatch Institute and a lecturer at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said renewable energy has attracted some of the world’s largest companies, including General Electric, Siemens, Sharp, and Royal Dutch Shell. The report estimated that nearly 40 million households worldwide heat their water with solar collectors, most of them installed in the last five years. Altogether, renewable energy industries provide 1.7 million jobs, most of them skilled and well paid.

C. Martinot and 100-plus researchers in more than 20 countries assessed several renewable technologies: small hydro (meaning small dams), modem biomass (agricultural waste, for example), wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. These technologies now compete with conventional fuels in four distinct markets: power generation, hot water and space heating, transportation fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy supplies.

D. Renewable energy is gaining in popularity because it is considered to be in infinite supply – unlike oil, coal, and gas – and because it involves little or no pollution compared to those fossil fuels. Scientists blame the burning of fossil fuels for the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that stoke global climate changes, which in turn are intensifying droughts in some parts of the world, floods and storms in others, and the spread of tropical diseases to temperate zones.

E. Additionally, renewable energy could empower millions of poor and vulnerable people who lack access to reliable, affordable, and clean modem energy services, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a message to the Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference, which opened Monday. Annan said that rising oil prices have hit oil-importing developing countries especially hard and underscore the need for alternative energy supplies. According to the REN21 report, government support for renewable energy is growing rapidly. At least 48 countries now have some type of renewable energy promotion policy, including 14 developing countries. Typically, they include targets to ensure that renewable sources generate 5-30 per cent of energy use in a given country by around 2010-2012.

F. The renewable sector’s prospects appeared to receive a further boost Monday when China announced it was raising its target for reliance on renewable energy even as it acknowledged that coal would remain its primary source for electricity for decades to come. Renewable energy should account for 15 per cent of national consumption by 2020. China had previously aimed to get 10 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

G. Mandates for blending biofuels into vehicle fuels have been enacted in 20-plus states and provinces worldwide as well as in three key countries – Brazil, China, and India – the report said. Government leadership has ensured market success, according to REN21, which is composed of representatives of governments and non-governmental organisations. Market leaders in renewable energy in 2004 included Brawl in biofuels, China in solar hot water, Germany in solar electricity, and Spain in wind power, the report said.

H. The fastest-growing energy technology in the world is grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV), existing capacity of which blossomed by sixty per cent per year from 2000-2004, to cover more than 400,000 rooftops in Japan, Germany, and the United States, it found. Wind power came second, with generating capacity growing by 28 per cent last year with almost seventeen gigawatts installed as of 2004. Production of ethanol, biodiesel, and other biofuels exceeded 33 billion litres in 2004 when ethanol displaced about three per cent of the 1,200 billion litres of gasoline produced globally.

I. An estimated $500 million goes to developing countries each year as development assistance for renewable energy projects, training, and market support, with the German Development Finance Group (GDFG), the World Bank Group, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) providing the majority of these funds, and dozens of other donors and programmes providing the rest, the report said. More than 4.5 million “green” power consumers in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan purchased renewable electricity in 2004, it added. Asia is seen as a vast market for renewable energy as it seeks to meet the growing demand for power to feed rapid economic expansion amid runaway oil prices.



Questions 1-4. The text has 9 paragraphs (A – I).
Which paragraph contains each of the following pieces of information?

1. Cases where the use of renewable fuels is in competition with non-renewable ones

2. The membership of REN21

3. The rates at which the use of renewable fuels is growing faster than the use of nonrenewable ones in the world

4. The sources of funding for renewable fuels in developing countries

Questions 5-8

Complete the following sentences using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each gap.

5. Biomass technology can use ____________________

6. Governments with renewable energy policies usually set ____________________ for renewable energy use.

7. The most important source of energy for China in 2020 is expected to be ____________________

8. Economic expansion and high oil prices mean that Asian countries are ____________________ for renewable sources of energy.

Questions 9-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 9 -13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE, if the information in the text agrees with the statement
FALSE, if the information in the text contradicts with the statement
NOT GIVEN, if there is no information on this

9. Eric Martinot advises large companies on investing in renewable energy.

10. Eric Martinot has over 100 people working in his team.

11. Increases in oil prices hurt developing economies more than developed ones.

12. The use of solar power grew by 60% between the year 2000 and the year 2004.

13. “Green” power consumers only get part of their electricity from alternative energy sources.


Reading Passage 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

A guide to womenomics

A. In rich countries, girls now do better at school than boys, more women are getting university degrees than men arc, and females are filling most new jobs. Arguably, women are now the most powerful engine of global growth. In 1950, only one-third of American women of working age had a paid job. Today two-thirds do, and women make up almost half of America’s workforce. Since 1950, men’s employment rate has slid by 12 percentage points, to 77%. In fact, almost everywhere more women are employed and the percentage of men with jobs has fallen – although in some countries, the feminisation of the workplace still has far to go: in Italy and Japan, women’s share of jobs is still 40% or less.

B. The increase in female employment in developed countries has been aided by a big shift in the type of jobs on offer. Manufacturing work, traditionally a male preserve, has declined, while jobs in services have expanded. This has reduced the demand for manual labour and put the sexes on a more equal footing. In the developing world, too, more women now have paid jobs. In the emerging East Asian economics, forever)’ 100 men in the labour force there are now 83 women, higher even than the average in OECD countries. Women have been particularly important to the success of Asia’s export industries, typically accounting for 60- 80% of jobs in many export sectors, such as textiles and clothing.

C. Of course, it is misleading to talk of women’s “entry” into the workforce. Besides formal employment, women have always worked in the home, looking after children, cleaning or cooking, but because this is unpaid, it is not counted in the official statistics. To some extent, the increase in female paid employment has meant fewer hours of unpaid housework. However, the value of housework has fallen by much less than the time spent on it, because of the increased productivity afforded by dishwashers, washing machines and so forth. Paid nannies and cleaners employed by working women now also do some work that used to belong in the non-market economy.

D. The increase in female employment has also accounted for a big chunk of global growth in recent decades. GDP growth can come from three sources: employing more people; using more capital per worker, or an increase in the productivity of labour and capital due to new technology’. Since 1970, women have filled two new jobs for every’ one taken by a man. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that the employment of extra women has not only added more to GDP than new jobs for men but has also chipped in more than either capital investment or increased productivity. Carve up the world’s economic growth a different way and another surprising conclusion emerges: over the past decade or so, the increased employment of women in developed economies has contributed much more to global growth. Women are becoming more important in the global marketplace not just as workers, but also as consumers, entrepreneurs, managers and investors. Women have traditionally done most of the household shopping, but now they have more money of their own to spend. Surveys suggest that women make perhaps 80% of consumers’ buying decisions – from health care and homes to furniture and food.

E. Women’s share of the workforce has a limit. In America, it has already stalled. However, there will still be a lot of scopes for women to become more productive as they make better use of their qualifications. At school, girls consistently get better grades and in most developed countries, well over half of all university degrees are now being awarded to women. In America 140 women enroll in higher education each year for every 100 men; in Sweden, the number is as high as 150. (There are, however, only 90 female Japanese students for every 100 males.) In years to come, better-educated women will take more of the top jobs. At present, for example, in Britain, more women than men train as doctors and lawyers, but relatively few are leading surgeons or partners in law firms. The main reason why women still get paid less on average than men is not that they are paid less for the same occupations, such as nursing and teaching. This pattern is likely to change.

F. Making better use of women’s skills is not just a matter of fairness. Plenty of studies suggest that it is good for business, too. Women account for only 7% of directors on the worlds corporate boards – 15% in America, but less than 1% in Japan. Yet a study by Catalyst, a consultancy, found that American companies with more women in senior management jobs earned a higher return on equity than those with fewer women at the top. This might be because mixed teams of men and women are better than single-sex groups at solving problems and spotting external threats. Studies have also suggested that women are often better than men at building teams and communicating.

G. In poor countries too, the underutilization of women stunts economic growth. A study last year by the World Economic Forum found a clear correlation between sex equality (measured by economic participation, education, health and political empowerment) and GDP per head. Correlation does not prove the direction of causation. However, other studies also suggest that inequality between the sexes harms long-term growth. In particular, there is strong evidence that educating girls boosts prosperity. It is probably the single best investment that can be made in the developing world. Not only are better-educated women more productive, but they raise healthier, better-educated children. There is huge potential to raise income per head in developing countries, where fewer girls go to school than boys. More than two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults are women.

H. It is sometimes argued that it is short-sighted to get more women into paid employment. The more women go out to work, it is said, the fewer children there will be and the lower growth will be in the long run. Yet the facts suggest otherwise. Data shows that countries with high female labour participation rates, such as Sweden, tend to have a decline in fertility has been greatest in several countries where female employment is low.



Questions 14-17. The text has 8 paragraphs (A-H).

Which paragraph does each of the following headings best fit?

14. New producers, new consumers

15. More work, fewer children?

16. A better-educated workforce

17. Women in new, expanding industries

Questions 18-22

According to the text, FIVE of the following statements are TRUE

Write the corresponding letters in answer boxes 18 to 22 in any order.

A. A higher percentage of Italian women have jobs than Japanese women.

B. More women than men work in Asia’s textile industries.

C. The value of housework is not included in official statistics.

D. Research shows that men make more purchasing decisions than women.

E. Most surgeons in Britain are women.

F. Firms with more women in senior management offer higher investment returns.

G. Most illiterate people in the world are women.

H. Some people think that lower birth rates lead to lower economic growth.

Questions 23-26

According to the information given in the text, choose the correct answer or answers from the choices given.

23. Since 1950, the percentage of

A. American women with jobs have increased.

B. American men with jobs have decreased.

C. Japanese and Italian women with jobs have remained stable.

24. Economics can get bigger by

A. increasing the size of the workforce.

B. giving shares to workers.

C. using more advanced technology.

25. Mixed teams of male and female managers are thought to be better at

A. building teams.

B. solving problems.

C. communicating.

26. Research by the World Economic Forum shows that

A. sex equality leads to higher GDP.

B. there is a connection between sex equality and GDP.

C. higher education leads to higher GDP.



Reading Passage 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

A Library At Your Fingertips

A. A few years ago, at the height of the dotcom boom, it was widely assumed that a publishing revolution, in which the printed word would be supplanted by the computer screen, was just around the corner. It wasn’t: for many, there is still little to match the joy of cracking the spine of a good book and settling down for an hour or two of reading. A recent flurry of activity by big technology companies – including Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo! – suggests that the dream of bringing books online is still very much alive.

B. The digitizing of thousands of volumes of print is not without controversy. On Thursday, November 3, Google, the world’s most popular search engine, posted the first instalment of books on Google Print, an initiative first mooted a year ago. This collaborative effort between Google and several of the world’s leading research libraries aims to make many thousands of books available to be searched and read online free of charge. Although the books included so far are not covered by copyright, the plan has attracted the ire of publishers.

C. Five large book firms are suing Google for violating copyright on material that it has scanned and, although out of print, is still protected by law. Google has said that it will only publish short extracts from the material under copyright unless given express permission to publish more, but publishers are unconvinced. Ironically, many publishers are collaborating with Google on a separate venture, Google Print Publisher, which aims to give readers an online taste of books that are commercially available. The searchable collection of extracts and book information is intended to tempt readers to buy complete books online or in print form.

D. Not to be outdone, Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, has unveiled plans for its own foray into the mass e-book market. The firm, which began ten years ago as an online book retailer, now sells a vast array of goods. No doubt piqued that Google, a relative newcomer, should impinge upon its central territory, Amazon revealed on Thursday that it would introduce two new services. Amazon Pages will allow customers to search for key terms in selected books and then buy and read online whatever part they wish, from individual pages to chapters or complete works. Amazon Upgrade will give customers online access to books they have already purchased as hard copies. Customers are likely to have to pay around five cents a page, with the bulk going to the publisher.

E. Microsoft, too, has joined the online-book bandwagon. At the end of October, the software giant said it would spend around $200 million to digitize texts, starting with 150,000 that are in the public domain, to avoid legal problems. It will do so in collaboration with the Open Content Alliance, a consortium of libraries and universities. (Yahoo! has pledged to make 18,000 books available online in conjunction with the same organisation.) On Thursday, coincidentally the same day as Google and Amazon announced their initiatives, Microsoft released details of a deal with the British Library, the country’s main reference library, to digitize some 25 million pages; these will be made available through MSN Book Search, which will be launched next year.

F. These companies are hoping for a return to the levels of interest in e-books seen when Stephen King, a best- selling horror writer, published “Riding the Bullet” exclusively on the Internet in 2000. Half a million copies were downloaded in the first 48 hours after publication. This proved to be a high-water mark rather than a taste of things to come. While buyers were reluctant to sit in front of a computer screen to read the latest novels, dedicated e-book reading gadgets failed to catch on. Barnes and Noble, a leading American bookshop chain, began selling e-books with fanfare in 2000 but quietly pulled the plugin 2003 as interest faded.

G. The market for e-books is growing again, though from a tiny base. According to the International Digital Publishing Forum, which collates figures from many of the world’s top publishers, in the third quarter of 2004, worldwide sales were 25% higher than the year before. Unfortunately, this only amounted to a paltry $3.2 million split between 23 publishers in an industry that made sales worth over $100 billion that year.

H. Both retailers and publishers reckon they will eventually be able to persuade consumers to do a lot more of their reading on the web. Some even hope they can become to online books what Apple’s iTunes is to online music. There are crucial differences between downloading fiction and downloading funk. Online music was driven from the bottom up: illegal filesharing services became wildly popular, and legal firms later took over when the pirates were forced (by a wave of lawsuits) to retreat; the legal providers are confident that more and more consumers will pay small sums for music rather than remain beyond the law. The iPod music player and it’s like have proved a fashionable and popular new way to listen to songs. The book world has no equivalent.

I. So the commercial prospects for sellers of online books do not yet look very bright. They may get a lift from some novel innovations. The ability to download mere parts of books could help, for instance: sections of manuals, textbooks or cookery books may tempt some customers; students may wish to download the relevant sections of course books, or readers may want a taste of a book that they subsequently buy in hard copy. The ability to download reading matter onto increasingly ubiquitous hand-held electronic devices and 3G phones may further encourage uptake. In Japan, the value of e-books (mainly manga comic books) delivered to mobile phones has jumped, though it will be worth only around ¥6 billion ($51 million) in 2005, according to estimates.

Questions 27-30
For each question, only ONE of the choices is correct.

Write the corresponding letter in the appropriate box on your answer sheet.

27. A few years ago, it was widely thought that

A. people would read fewer ‘paper’ books.

B. companies like Amazon would go bankrupt.

C. the dotcom boom would soon end.

28. Publishers are unhappy with Google because

A. Google is only publishing extracts, not complete books.

B. they think Google is in breach of copyright.

C. Google is cooperating with leading research libraries.

29. Amazon will

A. sell books that previously only Google sold online.

B. buy the copyright for many books it sells online.

C. allow people to buy only parts that they want to read from books.

30. It is clear that most readers if given the choice, prefer

A. ‘paper’ books.

B. reading from computer screens.

C. using dedicated e-book readers.

Questions 31-35
Complete the following sentences using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each gap.

31) If companies publish books online that are not covered by copyright, they avoid __________________.
32) The _______________________ is very small but getting larger.
33) The ____________________ expect that they will be able to convince more people to read online.
34) The ___________________ has nothing similar to an iPod.
35) In Japan, most of the publications sent to mobile phones are ________________

Questions 36-40
Do the statements on the next page agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 36–40 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE, if the information in the text agrees with the statement
FALSE, if the information in the text contradicts with the statement
NOT GIVEN, if there is no information on this

36. Books that are out of print are not covered by copyright law.

37. Amazon began by selling books online.

38. Microsoft signed a deal with the British Library on the same day as Google and Amazon made their announcements.

39. Barnes and Noble published Riding the Bullet online.

40. The ability to sample a book online before buying it might help sales.

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CATHY FREEMAN – AUSTRALIAN’S TRACK QUEEN 

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Reading passage 1

A. Runner Cathy Freeman is the first Aborigine, the name given to indigenous Australians, ever to compete in the Olympics, and the first to wave the Aboriginal flag at a sporting event. Freeman lit the Olympic flame at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and won a gold medal in the 400 meters at those Games.

B. Freeman’s grandmother was part of the “stolen generation” of Aboriginal people in Australia—from the early 20th century until the 1970s; many Aboriginal children were taken from their parents to be raised in state- run institutions. This practice was intended to remove the children from the poverty, disease, and addiction that plagued many aboriginal people, but it also resulted in tragically broken family ties and loss of ancient cultural traditions. Although Freeman was not taken from her family, she had a difficult childhood. Both her younger sister and her father died when she was young.

C. When Freeman was still a girl; her talent in running was obvious. Her mother, Cecilia, encouraged her to pursue her interest in athletics, and when she was ten, her stepfather told her she could win a gold medal at the Olympics if she trained properly. However, although she had the talent, she was also a member of a minority group that historically had not had access to the same resources that other athletes had. Freeman was one of only a few Aborigines who won a scholarship to a boarding school where she could learn and train.

D. At the age of 15, she competed at the National School Championships, and did well enough to be encouraged to try out for the 1990 Commonwealth Games team. She made the team as a sprinter, and was a member of the 4 X 100-meter relay team, which won gold at the Commonwealth Games. In 1990, she competed in the Australian National Championships, winning the 200 meters, and then ran in the 100, 200, and 4 X 100- meter races at the World Junior Games. During this time, she met Nick Bideau, an Australian track official who would later become her coach, manager, and boyfriend.

E. In 1992, she competed in the 400-meter relay at the Barcelona Olympics, making it to the second qualifying round. She was also a member of the 4 X 100 meter team, which ran in the final but did not win a medal. At the World Junior Championships in 1992, she won a silver medal in the 200 meters. In 1993, she made it to the semifinals in the 200 meters in the World Championships.

F. In 1994, Freeman won the 200 meters and the 400 meters at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. After winning the 400 meters, Freeman ran her victory lap, carrying not the Australian national flag, but the red, black, and yellow Aboriginal flag. She was criticised in the press, and Australian team leader Arthur Tunstall told her she should not display the flag again. Freeman used the publicity she got to publicly discuss what the flag meant to Aboriginal people, explaining its symbolism: red for earth, yellow for sun, and black for skin. Defying Tunstall’s orders, she ran with the flag again after winning the 200 meters.

G. At the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, Freeman won a silver medal in the 400 meters. After those Games, she broke off her romantic relationship with Bideau, although he continued as her manager. Freeman won the World Championships in the 400 meters in 1997 and 1998, even though she suffered a heel injury in 1998.

H. In 1999, Freeman met Alexander Bodecker, an American executive for the Nike shoe company, and the two fell in love. As a result, her relationship with Bideau became strained, and she eventually fired him. Freeman and Bodecker were married on September 19, 1999, in San Francisco. Bideau subsequently claimed that she owed him over $2 million in assets from deals he negotiated while he represented her, leading to a long court battle.

I. Freeman was, of course, Australia’s favourite to win a gold medal in the 400 meters at the 2000 Olympics, held in Sydney. Like any athlete, Freeman wanted to win in order to meet her own goals, but she also knew that she was viewed as a representative of the Aboriginal people, and she wanted to win for them. “I could feel the crowd all over me,” she told Mark Shimabukuro in the Sporting News. “I felt the emotion being absorbed into every part of my body.” When she won, with a time of 49.11 seconds, she was so relieved that she dropped to her knees on the track after completing the race.

J. Freeman’s shoes were yellow, black, and red, traditional Aboriginal colours, but after she won, she took them off and ran her victory lap, in traditional Aboriginal style, carrying both the Australian and Aboriginal flags around the track as the crowd cheered. This time, instead of being criticised for carrying the Aboriginal flag round the track; she was widely celebrated by the Australian media and public.

“Questions 1-9. The text has ten paragraphs labelled A–J. Choose the correct heading for sections B–J from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i–xii, in boxes 1-9 on your answer sheet. The first one is done for you as an example below.



Paragraph Headings

i An Australian sporting icon
ii A new love
iii Early competition
iv Winning isn’t everything
v Family support for running
vi Her first Olympics
vii Adored by her nation
viii Aboriginal identity on the track
ix Winning the top medal at home
x Second on the big stage
xi A difficult childhood
xii Losing in Sydney

e.g Paragraph A i

1 Paragraph B
2 Paragraph C
3 Paragraph D
4 Paragraph E
5 Paragraph F
6 Paragraph G
7 Paragraph H
8 Paragraph I
9 Paragraph J

Questions 10–14. Complete the notes below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 10-14 on your answer sheet.

How Cathy Freeman became a sports star

Although she had a hard upbringing she got support from her mother and 10……………….. She won a 11……………… at a young age to train and study which helped her develop as an athlete. Her first international success was in 1990 at the 12…………………… as part of the Australian sprint team. At her second Olympics in 1996 she won a silver medal for coming second in the 13…………………….In 2000, she finally won a 14………………….. at the Sydney Olympics making here one of the most loved sports star in Australia.



READING PASSAGE 2.

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

“THE WORLD’S DESIRE FOR PLASTIC IS DANGEROUS

A. A million plastic bottles are purchased around the world every minute and the number will jump another 20% by 2021, creating an environmental crisis some campaigners predict will be as serious as climate change. The demand, equivalent to about 20,000 bottles being bought every second, is driven by an apparently insatiable desire for bottled water and the spread of a western, urbanised culture to China and the Asia Pacific region.

B. More than 480 billion plastic drinking bottles were sold in 2016 across the world, up from about 300 billion a decade ago. If placed end to end, they would extend more than halfway to the sun. By 2021 this will increase to 583.3 billion, according to the most up-to-date estimates.”

C. Most plastic bottles, which are used for soft drinks and water, are made from Pet plastic, which is highly recyclable. But as their use grows rapidly across the globe, efforts to collect and recycle the bottles to keep them from polluting the oceans, are failing to keep up. For instance, fewer than half of the bottles bought in 2016 were collected for recycling and just 7% of those collected were turned into new bottles. Instead most plastic bottles produced end up in rubbish dumps or in the ocean.

D. Whilst the production of single use plastics has grown dramatically over the last 20 years, the systems to contain, control, reuse and recycle them just haven’t kept pace. In the UK 38.5 million plastic bottles are used every day – only just over half make it to recycling, while more than 16 million are put into rubbish dumps, burnt or leak into the environment and oceans each day. “Plastic production is set to double in the next 20 years and grow by 4 times that by 2050 so the time to act is now,” according to environmentalist. There has been growing concern about the impact of plastics pollution in oceans around the world. Last month scientists found nearly 18 tonnes of plastic on one of the world’s most remote islands, an uninhabited place in the South Pacific.

E. The majority of plastic bottles used across the globe are for drinking water, according to Rosemary Downey, head of packaging at Euromonitor and one of the world’s experts in plastic bottle production. China is responsible for most of the increase in demand. The Chinese public’s consumption of bottled water accounted for nearly a quarter of global demand, she said. “It is a critical country to understand when examining global sales of plastic Pet bottles, and China’s requirement for plastic bottles continues to expand,” said Downey. In 2015, consumers in China purchased 68.4 billion bottles of water and in 2016 this increased to 73.8 billion bottles, up 5.4 billion. “This increase is being driven by increased urbanisation,” said Downey. “There is a desire for healthy living and there are ongoing concerns about contamination of water and the quality of tap water, which all contribute to the increase in bottle water use,” she said. India and Southeast Asia are also witnessing strong growth, which is bound to cause problems in the future for the planet.

F. Major drinks brands produce the greatest numbers of plastic bottles. Coca-Cola produces more than 100 billion single use plastic bottles every year – or 3,400 a second, according to analysis carried out by Greenpeace after the company refused to publicly disclose its global plastic usage. The top six drinks companies in the world use a combined average of just 6.6% of recycled Pet in their products, according to Greenpeace. A third have no targets to increase their use of recycled plastic and none are aiming to use 100% across their global production.

G. Plastic drinking bottles could be made out of 100% recycled plastic, known as RPet – and campaigners are pressing big drinks companies to radically increase the amount of recycled plastic in their bottles. But brands are hostile to using RPet for cosmetic reasons because they want their products in shiny, clear plastic. The industry is also resisting any taxes or charges to reduce demand for single-use plastic bottles – like the 5p charge on plastic bags that is credited with reducing plastic bag use by 80%.

H. Coca Cola said it was still considering requests from Greenpeace to publish its global plastics usage. The company said: “Globally, we continue to increase the use of recycled plastic in countries where it is feasible and permitted. We continue to increase the use of RPet in markets where it is feasible and approved for regulatory food-grade use – 44 countries of the more than 200 we operate in.” Coca Cola agreed plastic bottles could be made out of 100 per cent recycled plastic but there was nowhere near enough high quality food grade plastic available on the scale that was needed to increase the quantity of RPet to that level. “So if we are to increase the amount of recycled plastic in our bottles even further then a new approach is needed to create a circular economy for plastic bottles,” Coca Cola said.

I. Greenpeace said the big six drinks companies had to do more to increase the recycled content of their plastic bottles. “During Greenpeace’s recent exploration of plastic pollution on remote Scottish coast, we found plastic bottles nearly everywhere we went,” said Louisa Casson, oceans campaigner for Greenpeace. “It’s clear that the soft drinks industry needs to reduce its plastic waste.”



Questions 15-20. Do the following statements agree with claims of the writer? In boxes 15-20 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
FALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this”

15 Experts say that plastic waste is worse than global warming.
16 Most bottles manufactured for drinking are made from plastic that can be easily recycled.
17 In Britain, only 20% of plastic bottles are recycled and the rest is reused or thrown out.
18 By 2020, China’s use of plastic bottles will be greater than the rest of the world.
19 Major drink companies only use a small percentage of recycled plastic in their bottles.
20 A leading environmental organisation says that the oceans will be filled with plastic if big business doesn’t act.

Questions 21–26. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write the correct letter (A-D) in boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet.

21 Every second, approximately how many plastic bottles are purchased on the planet?
A twelve thousand
B twenty thousand
C fifteen million
D thirty-eight million
22 Most plastic bottles that aren’t recycled are…
A set fire to
B put into boats at sea
C put into garbage tips
D sent to companies
23 The majority of plastic bottles are used for…
A storage
B drinking water
C recycling
D Coca Cola
24 What is the percentage of drinks companies who have no plans to use more recyclable plastic in their products?
A 6.6%
B 30%
C 33%
D 100%
25 According to the article, RPet is
A a major drinks company
B an expert in plastic bottle production
C bottles made out of highly recyclable material
D bottles made out of 100% recycled plastic
26 Greenpeace thinks one way to reduce plastic waste is to…
A tax plastic manufactures
B clean the oceans
C stop drinking bottled water
D use more recycled material




READING PASSAGE 3.

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

ON THE TRAIL OF AFRICA’S WILD DOGS

Just before dawn at a National Park in North Eastern South Africa, Micaela Szykman stands on a hill with a radio transmitter held in the air, listening for signals from the radio collars of African wild dogs. If the dogs are within range, Szykman jumps back into her four-wheel drive to catch up with them before they awake. Szykman, a researcher at the Smithsonian National Animal Park in Washington, D.C., is tracking the dogs for a park project.

The African wild dog, officially named Lycaon pictus, and also called the painted wolf or the Cape hunting dog is the victim mainly of human hunting. The dog is listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union. Lycaon pictus once roamed most of sub-Saharan Africa. Now only about 5,000 dogs can be found in isolated pockets of the continent.

In 1997, 2000, and 2003, wildlife managers reintroduced several packs of wild dogs from elsewhere in South Africa to this park in the hope of rebuilding the species. Wildlife officials and scientists like Szykman are watching and studying the reintroduction because such programs are integral to Lycaon’s survival.

Adult wild dogs, with round saucer-like ears and a “painted” black, white, brown, and yellow coat, weigh up to 25 kilograms and stand about 60 centimetres with a delicate build. “This is one of the most intensely social animals out there,” said Szykman, a behavioural scientist. “The entire pack, sometimes up to 20 dogs, always hunts, plays, walks, and feeds together. They never leave an animal behind and are always strengthening social bonds.” Each pack has only one breeding pair, and the rest of the pack helps raise the annual litter, up to 20 pups, one of the largest litter sizes of all African animals. Lycaon pictus hunts in packs and Szykman’s job is particularly difficult because wild dogs are tough to track. They travel up to 30 kilometres daily, with vast home ranges, 600 to 800 square kilometres on average.

As a discipline, the science of reintroduction has been poorly studied,” said Steven Monfort, a research veterinarian at the Conservation and Research Centre in Front Royal, Virginia. “Reintroduction is not easy. Governments set aside land, and other people dump animals in there, which makes them feel good. If the animals increase, the reintroduction is a big success. If numbers fall nobody knows what went wrong,” Monfort said. The dogs’ radio collars provide only limited contact. Monfort has proposed the development of a satellite- tagging system so that Szykman and Monfort can track the animals year-round and mark their range, including how close they come to humans and other threats.

The researchers also hope to expand the use of satellite collars to hyenas and lions to understand how competition with these animals affects the dogs’ reproduction and survival. These two species also play a role in reducing African wild dog numbers. “If you fence in a reserve or surround a wild area with human settlement then you need to adjust the species levels to maintain healthy populations of dogs, hyenas, and lions which are all interacting on overlapping areas of land,” said Monfort.

To Scott Creel, a behavioural scientist at Montana State University in Bozeman, reintroduction is the right approach for South Africa. “Reintroduction is exciting because it beats caged management in zoos. But in the long term, it is useless unless it results in larger, well-protected reserves or changes patterns of land use. These wild dog populations won’t be self sustaining unless the land area is large enough” said Creel, co-author of The African Wild Dog: Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation. “There’s a long history of reintroduction there. They have a good idea of what works and what doesn’t.”

Hunting drastically reduced the wild dog population in South Africa except for Kruger National Park where there are approximately 300 to 500 dogs. Though Creel is also not convinced that the reintroduced wild dog population will thrive without hands-on management, he supports the effort because reintroduction of these animals at smaller satellite parks and private reserves raises the national wild dog population and is an insurance policy if disease hits. Already the luck of African wild dogs is changing. In the past, farmers often just shot the dogs on sight. Now when somebody sees the dogs outside the reserve, Szykman gets a call about their location.



Questions 27-32. Do the following statements agree with claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 27- 32 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

27 The African wild dog has other names associated with it, often being referred to as the ‘hunting wolf’.
28 There are more African wild dogs in Sub-Saharan African than in South Africa.
29 Scientists are trying to save the African wild dog by putting them in new national parks in South Africa.
30 African wild dogs roam large areas and often travel extreme distances
31 Introducing African wild dogs into new areas is quite easy and there has been a lot of research related to this field.
32 Radio transmitters help scientist track the movements of hyenas and lions.

Questions 33-35. Choose THREE letters A-G. Write the correct letter A-G, in boxes 33-35 on your answer sheet.

Which THREE of the following are given as reasons for African wild dogs currently being endangered?

A Doing scientific tests on the wild dogs.
B The loss of habitat for the dogs.
C The building of fences to capture them.
D Hyenas and lions competing with them.
E Transporting the dogs to other areas.
F Not having enough food to eat.
G Humans killing wild dogs.

Questions 36-40. Look at the statements (Questions 36-40) and the list of scientists and researches below. Match each statement with the correct person, A-C. Write the correct letter, A-C, in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet. NB You may use some letters more than once.

This scientist or researcher…

36 is monitoring the African wild dogs’ movement and behaviour.
37 has found that African wild dogs are a family orientated species.
38 does not think current systems of tracking African wild dogs is sufficient.
39 believes repopulating areas with African wild dogs is currently the best solution for their survival.
40 thinks that local attitude towards African wild dogs is changing in a positive way.



List of People

A Micaela Szykman
B Steven Monfort
C Scott Creel”

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