Month: May 2024

Read Section 3 and answer Questions 29–40

CALISTHENICS

The world’s oldest form of resistance training

(A) From the very first caveman to scale a tree or hang from a cliff face, to the mighty armies of the Greco-Roman empires and the gymnasiums of modern American high schools, calisthenics has endured and thrived because of its simplicity and utility. Unlike strength training which involves weights, machines or resistance bands, calisthenics uses only the body’s own weight for physical development.

(B) Calisthenics enters the historical record at around 480 B.C., with Herodotus’ account of the Battle of Thermopolylae. Herodotus reported that, prior to the battle, the god-king Xerxes sent a scout party to spy on his Spartan enemies. The scouts informed Xerxes that the Spartans, under the leadership of King Leonidas, were practicing some kind of bizarre, synchronised movements akin to a tribal dance. Xerxes was greatly amused. His own army was comprised of over 120,000 men, while the Spartans had just
300. Leonidas was informed that he must retreat or face annihilation. The Spartans did not retreat, however, and in the ensuing battle they managed to hold Xerxes’ enormous army at bay for some time until reinforcements arrived. It turns out their tribal dance was not a superstitious ritual but a form of calisthenics by which they were building awe-inspiring physical strength and endurance.

(C) The Greeks took calisthenics seriously not only as a form of military discipline and strength, but also as an artistic expression of movement and an aesthetically ideal physique. Indeed, the term calisthenics itself is derived from the Greek words for beauty and strength. We know from historical records and images from pottery, mosaics and sculptures of the period that the ancient Olympians took calisthenics training seriously.
They were greatly admired – and still are, today – for their combination of athleticism and physical beauty. You may have heard a friend whimsically sigh and mention that someone ‘has the body of a Greek god’. This expression has travelled through centuries
and continents, and the source of this envy and admiration is the calisthenics method.

(D) Calisthenics experienced its second golden age in the 1800s. This century saw the birth of gymnastics, an organised sport that uses a range of bars, rings, vaulting horses and balancing beams to display physical prowess. This period is also when the phenomena of strongmen developed. These were people of astounding physical strength and development who forged nomadic careers by demonstrating outlandish feats of strength to stunned populations. Most of these men trained using hand balancing and horizontal bars, as modern weight machines had not yet been invented.

(E) In the 1950s, Angelo Siciliano – who went by the stage name Charles Atlas – was crowned “The World’s Most Perfectly Developed Man”. Atlas’s own approach stemmed from traditional calisthenics, and through a series of mail order comic books he taught these methods to hundreds of thousands of children and young adults through the 1960s and 1970s. But Atlas was the last of a dying breed. The tides were turning, fitness methods were drifting away from calisthenics, and no widely-regarded proponent of the method would ever succeed him.   

(F) In the 1960s and 1970s calisthenics and the goal of functional strength combined with physical beauty was replaced by an emphasis on huge muscles at any cost. This became the sport of body building. Although body building’s pioneers were drawn from the calisthenics tradition, the sole goal soon became an increase in muscle size. Body building icons, people such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sergio Oliva, were called mass monsters because of their imposing physiques. Physical development of this nature was only attainable through the use of anabolic steroids, synthetic hormones which boosted muscle development while harming overall health. These body builders also relied on free weights and machines, which allowed them to target and bloat the size of individual muscles rather than develop a naturally proportioned body.
Calisthenics, with its emphasis on physical beauty and a balance in proportions, had little to offer the mass monsters.

(G) In this “bigger is better” climate, calisthenics was relegated to groups perceived to be vulnerable, such as women, people recuperating from injuries and school students.
Although some of the strongest and most physically developed human beings ever to have lived acquired their abilities through the use of sophisticated calisthenics, a great deal of this knowledge was discarded and the method was reduced to nothing more than an easily accessible and readily available activity. Those who mastered the rudimentary skills of calisthenics could expect to graduate to weight training rather than advanced calisthenics.

(H) In recent years, however, fitness trends have been shifting back toward the use of calisthenics. Bodybuilding approaches that promote excessive muscle development frequently lead to joint pain, injuries, unbalanced physiques and weak cardiovascular health. As a result, many of the newest and most popular gyms and programmes emphasize calisthenics-based methods instead. Modern practices often combine elements from a number of related traditions such as yoga, Pilates, kettle-ball training, gymnastics and traditional Greco-Roman calisthenics. Many people are keen to recover the original Greek vision of physical beauty and strength and harmony of the mind-body connection.

Questions 29-35

The text has eight paragraphs, A–H.

Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–H, in boxes, 29–35 on your answer sheet.

29. The origin of the word ‘calisthenics’. 

30. The last popular supporter of calisthenics. 

31. The first use of calisthenics as a training method. 

32. A multidisciplinary approach to all-round health and strength. 

33. Reasons for the survival of calisthenics throughout the ages. 

34. The use of a medical substance to increase muscle mass and strength. 

35. A reference to travelling showmen who displayed their strength for audiences. 

QUESTIONS 36–40

Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 36–40 on your answer sheet.

During the sixties and seventies, attaining huge muscles became more important than (36)  or having an attractive-looking body. The first people to take up this new sport of body building had a background in calisthenics but the most famous practitioners became known as (37)  on account of the impressive size of their muscles. Drugs and mechanical devices were used to develop individual muscles to a monstrous size. Calisthenics then became the domain of ‘weaker’ people: females, children and those recovering from (38) . Much of the advanced knowledge about calisthenics was lost and the method was subsequently downgraded to the status of a simple, user-friendly activity. Once a person became skilled at this, he would progress to (39) . Currently a revival of calisthenics is under way as extreme muscle building can harm the body leaving it sore, out of balance, and in poor (40) .

Read Section 2 and answer Questions 15–28

BENEFICIAL WORK PRACTICES FOR THE KEYBOARD
OPERATOR

(A) Sensible work practices are an important factor in the prevention of muscular fatigue; discomfort or pain in the arms, neck, hands or back; or eye strain which can be associated with constant or regular work at a keyboard and visual display unit (VDU).

(B) It is vital that the employer pays attention to the physical setting such as workplace design, the office environment, and placement of monitors as well as the organisation of the work and individual work habits. Operators must be able to recognise work-related health problems and be given the opportunity to participate in the management of these. Operators should take note of and follow the preventive measures outlined below.

(C) The typist must be comfortably accommodated in a chair that is adjustable for height with a back rest that is also easily adjustable both for angle and height. The back rest and sitting ledge (with a curved edge) should preferably be cloth-covered to avoid excessive perspiration.

(D) When the keyboard operator is working from a paper file or manuscript, it should be at the same distance from the eyes as the screen. The most convenient position can be found by using some sort of holder. Individual arrangement will vary according to whether the operator spends more time looking at the VDU or the paper – whichever the eyes are focused on for the majority of time should be put directly in front of the operator.

(E) While keying, it is advisable to have frequent but short pauses of around thirty to sixty seconds to proofread. When doing this, relax your hands. After you have been keying for sixty minutes, you should have a ten minute change of activity. During this spell it is important that you do not remain seated but stand up or walk around. This period could be profitably used to do filing or collect and deliver documents.

(F) Generally, the best position for a VDU is at right angles to the window. If this is not possible then glare from the window can be controlled by blinds, curtains or movable screens. Keep the face of the VDU vertical to avoid glare from overhead lighting.

(G) Unsatisfactory work practices or working conditions may result in aches or pain.
Symptoms should be reported to your supervisor early on so that the cause of the trouble can be corrected and the operator should seek medical attention.

Questions 15–21

The text on the next page 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 15–21 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

1. How can reflection problems be avoided?
2. How long should I work without a break?
3. What if I experience any problems?
4. When is the best time to do filing chores?
5. What makes a good seat?
6. What are the common health problems?
7. What is the best kind of lighting to have?
8. What are the roles of management and workers?
9. Why does a VDU create eye fatigue?
10. Where should I place the documents?

15. Section A 

16. Section B 

17. Section C 

18. Section D 

19. Section E 

20. Section F 

21. Section G 

Workplace dismissals

Before the dismissal

If an employer wants to dismiss an employee, there is a process to be followed.
Instances of minor misconduct and poor performance must first be addressed through some preliminary steps.
Firstly, you should be given an improvement note. This will explain the problem, outline any necessary changes and offer some assistance in correcting the situation. Then, if your employer does not think your performance has improved, you may be given a written warning. The last step is called a final written warning which will inform you that you will be dismissed unless there are improvements in performance. If there is no improvement, your employer can begin the dismissal procedure.
The dismissal procedure begins with a letter from the employer setting out the charges made against the employee. The employee will be invited to a meeting to discuss these accusations. If the employee denies the charges, he is given the opportunity to appear at a formal appeal hearing in front of a different manager. After this, a decision is made as to whether the employee will be let go or not.

Dismissals

Of the various types of dismissal, a fair dismissal is the best kind if an employer wants an employee out of the workplace. A fair dismissal is legally and contractually strong and it means all the necessary procedures have been correctly followed. In cases where an employee’s misconduct has been very serious, however, an employer may not have to follow all of these procedures. If the employer can prove that the employee’s behaviour was illegal, dangerous or severely wrong, the employee can be dismissed immediately: a procedure known as summary dismissal.
Sometimes a dismissal is not considered to have taken place fairly. One of these types is wrongful dismissal and involves a breach of contract by the employer. This could involve dismissing an employee without notice or without following proper disciplinary and dismissal procedures. Another type, unfair dismissal, is when an employee is sacked without good cause.
There is another kind of dismissal, known as constructive dismissal, which is slightly peculiar because the employee is not actually openly dismissed by the employer. In this case the employee is forced into resigning by an employer who tries to make significant changes to the original contract. This could  mean an employee might have to work night shifts after originally signing on for day work, or he could be made to work in dangerous conditions.

Questions 22 and 23

Complete the sentences below.

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

Write your answers in boxes 22–23 on your answer sheet.

22. If an employee receives a  , this means he will lose his job if his work does not get better.

23. If an employee does not accept the reasons for his dismissal, a  can be arranged.

Questions 24–28

Look at the following descriptions (Questions 24–28) and the list of terms in the box below.

Match each description with the correct term A–E.

Write the appropriate letter A–E in boxes 24–28 on your answer sheet.

24. An employee is asked to leave work straight away because he has done something really bad.

25. An employee is pressured to leave his job unless he accepts conditions that are very different from those agreed to in the beginning.

26. An employer gets rid of an employee without keeping to conditions in the contract.

27. The reason for an employee’s dismissal is not considered good enough.

28. The reasons for an employee’s dismissal are acceptable by law and the terms of the employment contract.

A Fair dismissal

B Summary dismissal

C Unfair dismissal

D Wrongful dismissal

E Constructive dismissal

Read Section 1 and answer Questions 1–14

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

Revised July 2011

This applies to all persons on the school campus

In cases of emergency (e.g. fire), find the nearest teacher who will: send a messenger at full speed to the Office OR inform the Office via phone ext. 99.

PROCEDURE FOR EVACUATION

1. Warning of an emergency evacuation will be marked by a number of short bell rings. (In the event of a power failure, this may be a hand-held bell or siren.)

2. All class work will cease immediately.

3. Students will leave their bags, books and other possessions where they are.

4. Teachers will take the class rolls.

5. Classes will vacate the premises using the nearest staircase. If these stairs are inaccessible, use the nearest alternative staircase. Do not use the lifts. Do not run.

6. Each class, under the teacher’s supervision, will move in a brisk, orderly fashion to the paved quadrangle area adjacent to the car park.

7. All support staff will do the same.

8. The Marshalling Supervisor, Ms Randall, will be wearing a red cap and she will be waiting there with the master timetable and staff list in her possession.

9. Students assemble in the quad with their teacher at the time of evacuation. The teacher will do a head count and check the roll.

10. Each teacher sends a student to the Supervisor to report whether all students have been accounted for. After checking, students will sit down (in the event of rain or wet pavement they may remain standing).

11. The Supervisor will inform the Office when all staff and students have been accounted for.

12. All students, teaching staff and support personnel remain in the evacuation area until the All Clear signal is given.

13. The All Clear will be a long bell ring or three blasts on the siren.

14. Students will return to class in an orderly manner under teacher guidance.

15. In the event of an emergency occurring during lunch or breaks, students are to assemble in their home-room groups in the quad and await their home-room teacher.

Questions 1-8

Complete the sentences below.

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

Write your answers in boxes 1–8 on your answer sheet.

1. In an emergency, a teacher will either phone the office or .

2. The signal for evacuation will normally be several .

3. If possible, students should leave the building by the .

4. They then walk quickly to the .

5.  will join the teachers and students in the quad.

6. Each class teacher will count up his or her students and mark .

7. After the  , everyone may return to class.

8. If there is an emergency at lunchtime, students gather in the quad in  and wait for their teacher.

Read the texts below and answer Questions 9–14

Community Education

SHORT COURSES: BUSINESS

Business Basics
Gain foundation knowledge for employment in an accounts position with bookkeeping and business basics through to intermediate level; suitable for anyone requiring knowledge from the ground up.
Code B/ED011
16th or 24th April 9am–4pm
Cost $420

Bookkeeping
This course will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of bookkeeping and a great deal of hands-on experience.
Code B/ED020
19th April 9am–2.30pm (one session only so advance bookings essential)
Cost $250

New Enterprise Module
Understand company structures, tax rates, deductions, employer obligations, profit and loss statements, GST and budgeting for tax.
Code B/ED030
15th or 27th May 6pm–9pm
Cost $105

Social Networking – the Latest Marketing Tool
This broad overview gives you the opportunity to analyse what web technologies are available and how they can benefit your organisation.
Code B/ED033
1st or 8th or 15th June 6pm–9pm
Cost $95

Communication
Take the fear out of talking to large gatherings of people. Gain the public-speaking experience that will empower you with better communication skills and confidence.
Code B/ED401
12th or 13th or 14th
July 6pm–9pm
Cost $90

 

Questions 9–14

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?
In boxes 9–14 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

9. Business Basics is appropriate for beginners.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

10. Bookkeeping has no practical component.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

11. Bookkeeping is intended for advanced students only.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

12. The New Enterprise Module can help your business become more profitable.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

13. Social Networking focuses on a specific website to help your business succeed.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

14. The Communication class involves speaking in front of an audience.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

READING PASSAGE 3

Read the text below and answer Questions 29–40.

What to do in a fire?

Fire drills are a big part of being safe in school: They prepare you for what you need to do in case of a fire. But what if there was a fire where you live? Would you know what to do? Talking about fires can be scary because no one likes to think about people getting hurt or their things getting burned. But you can feel less worried if you are prepared.

It’s a good idea for families to talk about what they would do to escape a fire. Different families will have different strategies. Some kids live in one-story houses and other kids live in tall buildings. You’ll want to talk about escape plans and escape routes, so let’s start there.

Know Your Way Out

An escape plan can help every member of a family get out of a burning house. The idea is to get outside quickly and safely. Smoke from a fire can make it hard to see where things are, so it’s important to learn and remember the different ways out of your home. How many exits are there? How do you get to them from your room? It’s a good idea to have your family draw a map of the escape plan.
It’s possible one way out could be blocked by fire or smoke, so you’ll want to know where other ones are. And if you live in an apartment building, you’ll want to know the best way to the stairwell or other emergency exits.

Safety Steps

If you’re in a room with the door closed when the fire breaks out, you need to take a few extra steps:

• Check to see if there’s heat or smoke coming in the cracks around the door. (You’re checking to see if there’s fire on the other side.)
• If you see smoke coming under the door — don’t open the door!
• If you don’t see smoke — touch the door. If the door is hot or very warm — don’t open the door!
• If you don’t see smoke — and the door is not hot — then use your fingers to lightly touch the doorknob. If the doorknob is hot or very warm — don’t open the door!

If the doorknob feels cool, and you can’t see any smoke around the door, you can open the door very carefully and slowly. When you open the door, if you feel a burst of heat or smoke pours into the room, quickly shut the door and make sure it is really closed. If there’s no smoke or heat when you open the door, go toward your escape route exit.

Questions 29-34

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 29-34 on your answer sheet.

29. While some might live in a tall buildings, others might live in a  .

30. Important thing is to talk with your kids about escape  and  .

31. Making a  is a good idea, it can help you escape.

32. If you live in an apartment, you have to know the way to the staircase or other  .

33. You can only open the door if the  is not hot and you can’t see smoke around the door.

34. You should immediately close the door, if smoke  into the room

Questions 35–39

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Section 3?

In boxes 35–39 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

35. It is important to have a strategy before escaping the fire.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

36. You should mark different ways out of your home on the map.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

37. If you’re stuck in a room, and see smoke coming from the other room, you should open the door and ran to the exit.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

38. Hot door means you shouldn’t open it to escape.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

39. If you open the door and everything seems fine, go straight to the exit.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

Question 40

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

Write the correct letter in box 40 on your answer sheet.

40. This article is mainly aimed at helping:

      A  Children

      B  Children and their parents

      C  Only parents

      D  Teachers at schools

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-28. Read the texts below and answer the following questions

1. The Vitamin Shoppe: 1,946 part-time openings.
The Vitamin Shoppe is a New Jersey-based retailer of nutritional supplements. They also operate stores in Canada under the name “VitaPath”. The company provides approximately 8,000 different SKU’s of supplements through its retail stores and over 20,000 different SKU’s of supplements through its online retail websites.

Employee Review: “Good growth opportunities and stores opening all over the US all year ’round. Company based out of NJ, so more progressive policies on employment and benefits. Good vacation, health, and dental benefits. Payment is above average. Good policies on customer service interaction as well. Focus on Customer service vs. pushing products.”

2. Chipotle: 1,553 part-time openings.
Chipotle is known for its use of organic meats throughout its more than 1,500 restaurants, which are located in 45 states. Since having been founded in 1993, the chain has since exploded and now counts some 37,000 employees. It is a pioneer in the “fast casual” dining movement.

Employee Review: “The people I work with are awesome and the food is good. It pays my bills and makes me laugh. The schedule is super flexible but it’s a lot of work. If you’re looking for something easy and laid back, keep looking.”

3. Advantage Sales & Marketing: 1,742 part-time openings.
Advantage Sales & Marketing provides outsourced sales, merchandising, and marketing services to consumer goods and food product manufacturers and suppliers. Owning more than 65 offices in the US and Canada, ASM does merchandising for 1,200 clients — including Johnson & Johnson, Mars, Unilever, Energizer.

Employee Review: “Long lasting business, able to adapt to changes in market. Well-thought out schedule, and flexible time off for both vacation and illness.”

4. Universal Protection Service: 1,219 part-time openings.
Universal Protection Service is one of the largest providers of security services in the U.S. They offer an expansive range of security solutions for airports, healthcare facilities, office buildings, and more.

Employee Review: “Good pay depending on where you work. Room for advancement based on availability. Better company than any other I have worked for in security.”

5. PSA Healthcare: 1,295 part-time openings
PSA Healthcare, also known as Pediatric Services of America, provides comprehensive home health services through a branch of office across the United States. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga.

Employee Review: “I love working one-on-one with the pediatric patient and their families. You have the time needed to give great compassionate care! Office staff and supervisors are very good with both employees and clients. There is a lot of flexibility with staffing. I never received grief for requesting a day off.”

Questions 14-22

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

Write the correct letter in boxes 14–22 on your answer sheet.

14. Which offer has the most part-time openings?

      A  Chipotle

      B  PSA Healthcare

      C  The Vitamin Shoppe

      D  Advantage Sales & Marketing

15. Which of these companies operate both in USA and Canada?

      A  The Vitamin Shoppe and Advantage Sales & Marketing

      B  PSA Healthcare and Advantage Sales & Marketing

      C  Chipotle and PSA Healthcare

      D  PSA Healthcare and The Vitamin Shoppe

16. Review of which company says that it is the best security company he/she worked for?

      A  Chipotle

      B  The Vitamin Shoppe

      C  Universal Protection Service

      D  PSA Healthcare

17. Which company was founded in 1993?

      A  The Vitamin Shoppe

      B  Universal Protection Service

      C  PSA Healthcare

      D  Chipotle

18. Main office of which company is situated in Atlanta?

      A  The Vitamin Shoppe

      B  PSA Healthcare

      C  Chipotle

      D  Advantage Sales & Marketing

19. VitaPath is the other name of which company?

      A  PSA Healthcare

      B  Universal Protection Service

      C  The Vitamin Shoppe

      D  Advantage Sales & Marketing

20. Which review doesn’t mention a comfortable timetable?

      A  Chipotle

      B  Advantage Sales & Marketing

      C  The Vitamin Shoppe

      D  PSA Healthcare

21. Which company is described as a long lasting business?

      A  PSA Healthcare

      B  Advantage Sales & Marketing

      C  Universal Protection Service

      D  Chipotle

22. Organic meat is used by what company?

      A  Chipotle

      B  The Vitamin Shoppe

      C  Advantage Sales & Marketing

      D  None of them

Questions 23-28

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Section 2?

In boxes 23–28 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

23. The Vitamin Shoppe has an above average salary, according to the review.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

24. Reviewer of the company Chipotle says that working there is both fun and earns enough money.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

25. Advantage Sales & Marketing owns 65 offices all over the world.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

26. Universal Protection Service offers various security services in the USA.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

27. Reviewer of the PSA Healthcare praises its high wages.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

28. None of the offers included an approximate salary in the description.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

READING PASSAGE 1

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

The Earth

(A) The Earth is the third planet from the Sun and it is the only planet known to have life on it. The Earth formed around 4.5 billion years ago. It is one of four rocky planets on the inside of the Solar System. The other three are Mercury, Venus, and Mars.

(B) The large mass of the Sun makes the Earth move around it, just as the mass of the Earth makes the Moon move around it. The Earth also turns round in space, so different parts face the Sun at different times. The Earth goes around the Sun once (one “year”) for every 365¼ times it turns all the way around (one “day”).

(C) The Moon goes around the Earth about every 27⅓ days, and reflects light from the Sun. As the Earth goes round the Sun at the same time, the changing light of the Moon takes about 29½ days to go from dark to bright to dark again. That is where the idea of “month” came from. However, now most months have 30 or 31 days so they fit into one year.

(D) The Earth is the only planet in our Solar System that has a large amount of liquid water. About 71% of the surface of the Earth is covered by oceans. Because of this, it is sometimes called the “Blue Planet”.

(E) Because of its water, the Earth is home to millions of species of plants and animals. The things that live on Earth have changed its surface greatly. For example, early cyanobacteria changed the air and gave it oxygen. The living part of the Earth’s surface is called the “biosphere”.(F) The Earth is part of the eight planets and many thousands of small bodies that move around the Sun as its Solar System. The Solar System is moving through the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy now, and will be for about the next 10,000 years.

(G) The Earth is generally 150,000,000 kilometers or 93,000,000 miles away from the Sun (this distance is named an “Astronomical Unit”). The Earth moves along its way at an average speed of about 30 km or 19 mi a second. The Earth turns all the way around about 365¼ times in the time it takes for the Earth to go all the way around the Sun. To make up this extra bit of a day every year, an additional day is used every four years. This is named a “leap year”.

(H) The Moon goes around the Earth at an average distance of 400,000 kilometers (250,000 mi). It is locked to Earth, so that it always has the same half facing the Earth; the other half is called the “dark side of the Moon”. It takes about 27⅓ days for the Moon to go all the way around the Earth but, because the Earth is moving around the Sun at the same time, it takes about 29½ days for the Moon to go from dark to bright to dark again. This is where the word “month” came from, even though most months now have 30 or 31 days.

Questions 1–8

Reading Passage 1 has eight paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information?  Write the correct letter, A–H, in boxes 1–8 on your answer sheet.

1. Earth’s natural satellite 

2. Distance between Earth and Sun 

3. General information about Earth 

4. The Solar System 

5. Length of most moths 

6. Another name for Earth 

7. The living part of the Earth’s surface 

8. The movements of Earth around the Sun 

Questions 9-13

Complete the sentences below.Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

9. Apart from Earth, other rocky planets in our Solar Systems areVenus, Mars and .

10. Moon  from the Sun on Earth.

11. There are millions of  of plants and animalsthat inhabit Earth.

12. Nowthe Solar System is travelling through  .

13. The dark side of the Moon is the side, which  faces Earth.

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

The real risks of artificial intelligence

If you believe some AI-watchers, we are racing towards the Singularity – a point at which artificial intelligence outstrips our own and machines go on to improve themselves at an exponential rate. If that happens – and it’s a big if – what will become of us?

In the last few years, several high-profile voices, from Stephen Hawking to Elon Musk and Bill Gates have warned that we should be more concerned about possible dangerous outcomes of supersmart AI. And they’ve put their money where their mouth is: Musk is among several billionaire backers of OpenAI, an orgnisation dedicated to developing AI that will benefit humanity.

But for many, such fears are overblown. As Andrew Ng at Stanford University, who is also chief scientist at Chinese internet giant Baidu, puts it: fearing a rise of killer robots is like worrying about overpopulation on Mars.

That’s not to say our increasing reliance on AI does not carry real risks, however. In fact, those risks are already here. As smart systems become involved in ever more decisions in arenas ranging from healthcare to finance to criminal justice, there is a danger that important parts of our lives are being made without sufficient scrutiny. What’s more, AIs could have knock-on effects that we have not prepared for, such as changing our relationship with doctors to the way our neighbourhoods are policed.

What exactly is AI? Very simply, it’s machines doing things that are considered to require intelligence when humans do them: understanding natural language, recognising faces in photos, driving a car, or guessing what other books we might like based on what we have previously enjoyed reading. It’s the difference between a mechanical arm on a factory production line programmed to repeat the same basic task over and over again, and an arm that learns through trial and error how to handle different tasks by itself.

How is AI helping us? The leading approach to AI right now is machine learning, in which programs are trained to pick out and respond to patterns in large amounts of data, such as identifying a face in an image or choosing a winning move in the board game Go. This technique can be applied to all sorts of problems, such as getting computers to spot patterns in medical images, for example. Google’s artificial intelligence company DeepMind are collaborating with the UK’s National Health Service in a handful of projects, including ones in which their software is being taught to diagnose cancer and eye disease from patient scans. Others are using machine learning to catch early signs of conditions such as heart disease and Alzheimers.

Artificial intelligence is also being used to analyse vast amounts of molecular information looking for potential new drug candidates – a process that would take humans too long to be worth doing. Indeed, machine learning could soon be indispensable to healthcare.

Artificial intelligence can also help us manage highly complex systems such as global shipping networks. For example, the system at the heart of the Port Botany container terminal in Sydney manages the movement of thousands of shipping containers in and out of the port, controlling a fleet of automated, driverless straddle-carriers in a completely human-free zone. Similarly, in the mining industry, optimisation engines are increasingly being used to plan and coordinate the movement of a resource, such as iron ore, from initial transport on huge driverless mine trucks, to the freight trains that take the ore to port.

AIs are at work wherever you look, in industries from finance to transportation, monitoring the share market for suspicious trading activity or assisting with ground and air traffic control. They even help to keep spam out of your inbox. And this is just the beginning for artificial intelligence. As the technology advances, so too does the number of applications.

So what’s the problem? Rather than worrying about a future AI takeover, the real risk is that we can put too much trust in the smart systems we are building. Recall that machine learning works by training software to spot patterns in data. Once trained, it is then put to work analysing fresh, unseen data. But when the computer spits out an answer, we are typically unable to see how it got there.

There are obvious problems here. A system is only as good as the data it learns from. Take a system trained to learn which patients with pneumonia had a higher risk of death, so that they might be admitted to hospital. It inadvertently classified patients with asthma as being at lower risk. This was because in normal situations, people with pneumonia and a history of asthma go straight to intensive care and therefore get the kind of treatment that significantly reduces their risk of dying. The machine learning took this to mean that asthma + pneumonia = lower risk of death.

As AIs are rolled out to assess everything from your credit rating to suitability for a job you are applying for to criminals’ chance of reoffending, the risks that they will sometimes get it wrong – without us necessarily knowing – get worse.

Since so much of the data that we feed AIs is imperfect, we should not expect perfect answers all the time. Recognising that is the first step in managing the risk. Decision-making processes built on top of AIs need to be made more open to scrutiny. Since we are building artificial intelligence in our own image, it is likely to be both as brilliant and as flawed as we are.

Questions 28-36

Complete the sentences below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 28-36 on your answer sheet.

28. Singularity is the point, where AI  our own machines.

29. Many people, including Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Bill Gates warned us about possible  of supersmart AI.

30. According to Andrew Ng, fearing a rise of  is similar to worrying about overpopulation on Mars.

31. There is a danger that many important parts of our lives, like healthcar, finance and  will be without sufficient scrutiny.

32. Simply put, AI is machines doing things that are considered to require  when humans do them.

33. Nowadays, the main approach to AI is  .

34. DeepMind in collaboration with the UK’s National Health Service works on many projects, including the one where software learns how to  and eye disease.

35. In the nearest future machine learning could be  to healthcare.

36. AI might also help in managing  networks.

Questions 37-40

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 37–40 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

37. AI works in many different industries nowadays.              Choose             TRUE               FALSE               NOT GIVEN         

38. We shouldn’t put too much trust in AI in the future.              Choose             TRUE               FALSE               NOT GIVEN         

39. The quality of the data doesn’t affect the ability of AI to learn information correctly.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE               NOT GIVEN         

40. We can get perfect answers from AI all the time.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE               NOT GIVEN         

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-27, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

All The Ways Women Are Still Pressured To Put Family Before Career

  (A) There’s no denying that women around the world have made great strides toward equality in the past century. One hundred years ago, women in the United States still didn’t have the right to vote, and very few were allowed to pursue higher education or a meaningful career outside of their household duties. Fast forward to today, and more than 70 percent of women between the ages of 20 and 54 are active members of the national workforce. On top of this, 2015 marked the first year when women were, on average, more likely to have a bachelor’s degree than men, and this trend is on the rise.

  (B) But despite all this newfound opportunity, the prevailing societal attitudes about what women are historically supposed to value still have a long way to go. That’s why we’ve partnered with SK-II to learn more about all of the ways women are still pressured to stick to outdated gender norms. “Women have won unprecedented rights thanks to the feminist movement, but as a society, we still expect women to prioritize family over career, or even over their own needs,” says Silvia Dutchevici, president and founder of the Critical Therapy Center in New York City. Dutchevici says many women feel pressure to “have it all,” meaning both a thriving career and the perfect family, but that can be very difficult to achieve.

  (C) “Most women try to balance work and family,” Dutchevici says, “but that balance is seldom equal.” In fact, she says working mothers ― even those with partners ― often find themselves essentially working two full-time jobs: keeping their career together while doing the brunt of housework, cooking and child-rearing. This happens for a variety of reasons, but societal expectations about the roles of women and men at home are still very much to blame, says Tamra Lashchyk, a Wall Street executive, business coach and author of the book “Lose the Gum: A Survival Guide to Women on Wall Street.”

  (D) “No matter how successful she is, the burden of running a household still falls on the woman’s shoulders,” Lashchyk says. “Men get more of a pass when it comes to these duties, especially those that involve children.” Lashchyk says much of this pressure on women to conform to a more domestic lifestyle comes from friends and family.

  (E) “In many people’s minds, a woman’s career success pales in comparison to having a family,” she says. “Especially if the woman is single, no matter how great her professional achievements, almost every single one of her conversations with her family will include questions about her romantic life or lack thereof. I could literally tell my family I’d cured cancer and the conversation would still end with, ‘But are you dating anyone?’” While covert societal expectations might contribute to some of this inequality, workplace policies on maternity and paternity leave can hold a lot of the blame.

  (F) “Unfortunately, many workplace policies regarding taking time off to care for family do not the changing times,” Dutchevici says. “Both men and women suffer in their careers when they prioritize family, but women carry far harsher punishments. Their choice to take time off and start a family can result in lower pay, and fewer promotions in the future. The right to family leave is not a woman’s issue, it is a society’s issue, a family’s issue.” Lashchyk agrees with this sentiment. “There should be more flexibility and benefits [in the workplace], like longer periods of time for paternity leave….If paternity leave was extended, men could share a greater responsibility in child care, and they could also spend more time bonding with their infant children, which is beneficial for the entire family.

  (G) Another less visible way the modern workplace forces women to choose family over career has to do with the fact that women are pushing back pregnancy, says Jeni Mayorskaya, a fertility expert and CEO of Stork Club, an online community for women dedicated to fertility issues. “Compared to our parents, our generation is having children a decade later,” Mayorskaya says. “Unfortunately, when we hit our mid-30s and we’re finally ready for that managing position or that title of a partner at a firm we fought so hard for, we have to think about putting our career on pause and becoming a mom.”

  (H) So what can women do to combat these societal pressures? Finding workplaces that offer flexible schedules, work-at-home opportunities and ample maternity and paternity leave is a good first step, but Dr. Neeta Bhushan, an emotional intelligence advocate and author, says women should also learn to put themselves first. “The first step is being mindful of your emotional health in your relationships with others and the relationship you have with yourself,“ Bhushan says. “When you put yourself first, you are able to make a bigger impact on your community. This is different than being selfish ― think beyond you. You want to make sure that you are being taken care of so that you can take care of others.”

Questions 14-21

Reading Passage 2 has eight paragraphs, A-H.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 14-21 on your answer sheet.

14. Two “jobs” that women essentially do 

15. Question about dating 

16. Delaying pregnancy 

17. The first year, when women are more likely to have bachelor’s a degree 

18. The reasons to put yourself first 

19. The source of conformation to domestic lifestyle 

20. Our expectancy over women’s prioritization 

21. Pros of extended paternity 

Questions 22-27

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

Write the correct letter in boxes 22-27 on your answer sheet.

22. One hundred years ago, women in USA:

1.  had no rights.
2.  were not allowed to pursue higher education.
3.  couldn’t vote.
4.  were members of the national workforce.

23. According to Silvia Dutchevici:

1.  feminist movement has more disadvantages than advantages.
2.  now we expect women to prioritize career over family.
3.  now we expect women to prioritize their own needs over family.
4.  women rarely achieve equal balance between family and work.

24. Tamra Lashchyk, a Wall Street executive, says that

1.  most women are still responsible for the house duties.
2.  men don’t really need to do any housework.
3.  it’s more important for a women to have a career than a family.
4.  both A and B.

25. Lashchyk agrees with Dutchevici on

1.  women’s rights and feminism.
2.  the fact that he right to family leave is a society’s issue.
3.  the state of women’s rights in America.
4.  the reason why women want to pursue their careers.

26. Jeni Mayorskaya says that

1.  nowadays women give birth later than they used to.
2.  now women don’t push pregnancy back.
3.  when women are in their 30s, they have to think about putting career on pause to become a mother.
4.  Both A and C.

27. According to the last paragraph, how can women deal with societal pressure?

1.  They should be selfish.
2.  They shouldn’t work at home.
3.  They should put themselves first.
4.  They should avoid marriage at all.