Most of us are familiar with a local park. We spend time there, play there, and have some of our best memories in these places. But what is a park? Basically, it can be defined as a natural, or at least semi-natural, piece of land, planted with a variety of trees, bushes, and flowers, protected and reserved for the enjoyment of all citizens. There are usually regulations (Q31) about the sorts of behaviour that can take place within. And sometimes there are facilities such as children’s playgrounds, or fields for ball games and other sorts of activities. For this reason, if there is grass, it is kept short (Q32), and this also discourages the breeding of insect pests. A well-maintained park actually needs a lot of people to look after it, and more so if the park showcases special plants, flowers, or trees, in which ease it is called a ‘botanic garden’. In complete contrast, if the park is big and remote enough, it is sometimes designated as a wilderness park, to be left completely alone and untouched, protected from all development (Q33) in order to allow wild species, both plant and animal, to live undisturbed.
But it is the urban park – the sort of park that most people are familiar with, that I want to talk about now. These preserve natural landscapes for the pleasure of the urban population, most commonly just for passive recreation – in other words, allowing people just to observe the trees, and lie in the grass, and such passive recreation (Q34) is certainly needed.
Continuing on the subject of parks, it might surprise you to know that once there were none. A thousand years ago, there was no need, since there were already extensive open spaces, forests, and wilderness surrounding most cities and towns – for example, in Europe. These dark dank forests were large and even dangerous, full of wild animals and with the potentially fatal result of getting lost (Q35). Hence, fairy tales evolved about witches living in these areas, and the wolves and bears, which could threaten young children.
However, with the rapidly increasing human population, the original wilderness and natural open spaces were intruded upon. Forests were cut down as populations spread, and with them, urban pollution and further deforestation. But it was only with the advent of the Industrial Revolution (Q36) that people realised natural areas needed to be preserved, to give the populace access to the sort of nature that was fast disappearing due to the uncontrolled development and demand for resources.
The first park, expressly designed for that purpose, is usually considered to be Princes Park in Liverpool. This was in 1841, on land donated to the public by a rich iron merchant. With such a generous donation (worth about £ 50,000 (Q37)), the council decided to invest £5,000 of its own money in making it look good. Consequently, they hired a landscape designer, Joseph Paxton, who designed twisting turning pathways among shade-giving trees, all based around a central lake (Q38). In many ways, it became the prototype for all later large parks, including the famous Central Park in New York.
But, if we were to pick the park that most people are familiar with, it would be the much smaller neighbourhood park. These can be tiny, but, by being in the midst of extensive development and dense populations, they are increasingly seen as a refuge (Q39), where one can get a glimpse of true nature. Many psychologists now maintain that this glimpse is necessary, for ultimately, as a species, we have an innate affinity for nature, and the concrete urban zoo clashes with our inner being. This has seen the rejuvenation of many urban parks that were once left to decay, for example, in New York or London, and indeed, some cities, such as Melbourne (Q40), are known all over the world for their abundance of carefully maintained parks, including a world famous botanic garden.
You will hear two students, Sam: and Liz, discussing their university orientation program.
Sam: Hi Liz. How do you feel about starting university here?
Liz: A little bit nervous, but I’m confident I can handle it. This orientation program seems like it will help us a lot.
Sam: Sure. I’m looking at the timetable here myself. It seems that there are choices available.
Liz: I can see. So, what are you going to do Monday afternoon? In the morning we all have the opening lecture, but it looks like we have a choice later that day, as you said.
Sam: Well, the ‘Careers Lecture’ might be helpful, but I am interested in the ‘Uni Tour’. It’s probably too early to be thinking of careers now, anyway, and I want to know what’s what at this new university, so. I’m doing the tour (Q21).
Liz: Alright. I’ll come along with you. Might learn something interesting. After all, we haven’t seen much of this place yet, and we will be spending four years here.
Sam: Tuesday is another full day, too. In the afternoon there’s a lecture about study skills, but that morning offers another choice.
Liz: ‘Library Tour’ or ‘Student Union Induction’. What do you think?
Sam: I think the student union is very important, but we can go there any time, right, so we should take advantage of the library tour while it’s being offered. Maybe the week after, you and I can go to the student union.
Liz: Library it is, then (Q22). Now, Wednesday has a free session in the morning, but after lunch there’s a choice between visiting the computer lab, or attending a lecture on our legal rights.
Sam: Well, law and rights are important, but computers are the basis of everything these days, so I’m going to the computer lab (Q23).
Liz: Don’t you think knowing our legal rights is equally, if not more, important? We live in a very litigious and complex society now.
Sam: Sure, but it’s something we can pick up later, so let’s leave that one out.
Liz: Okay.
Sam: Let me see the timetable. Thursday is a free day, and the week winds up with some celebrations on Friday afternoon. It looks like a fun choice, too. There’s either a BBQ on the main lawn, or the dance (Q24).
Liz: I never pass up the chance to eat something. What about you?
Sam: If I can get a free meal, I’ll take it any day, and I’m not good at dancing anyway.
Liz: Well, that’s that decided. Right?
Sam: Right!
Sam: Guess what Liz? There’s another interesting thing in this orientation booklet, and it looks important -about a ‘style guide’.
Liz: What’s that?
Sam: Take a look yourself. It seems to be a set of rules regarding how to present written work – essays, and that sort of thing – to the lecturers. They want a uniform style of presentation.
Liz: I can see. So, everything we hand in must have a header and a footer.
Sam: A what?
Liz: A header and a footer. The footer is at the bottom of the page, and the header (Q25) is at the very top. That’s why they call it a ‘header’, you know, that little bit of writing giving details about the work. And they also want the word count. Why do they need that?
Sam: I guess because the lecturers will specify the number of words they want for their assignment, and they want to be sure students follow this.
Liz: And even the heading on the page has to be a specific dimension. 16 (Q26) points, and bold print, and underlined.
Sam: And subheadings are 14 points, and the font has to be Arial for everything
Liz: Yes, the main text is Arial, too, as you said, and the size is 12 (Q27) points, with the header and footer being slightly smaller, at 10 points each. Well, it seems logical. The size of everything is in proportion to its importance, but why do they need the spacing of the main text to be one and a half?The header and footer are different. They’re only single-spaced (Q28).
Sam: Probably to allow the teacher to insert comments, or corrections, or just to make it all more readable, I suppose.
Liz: And we need wide margins on the left, right, top, and bottom, probably for the same reason. Lots of space to allow the addition of comments. That’s a bit scary, actually. It seems to assume we will be making mistakes.
Sam: And look what they want in the header and footer. The header has the name of the work (Q29).
Liz: Not the name of the teacher?
Sam: No, the work, but surely the teacher’s (Q30) name must go somewhere. Ah, here it is. It goes in the footer.
Liz: Okay, I’d say this is all logical. If a page is lost, say, falls to the floor, then with all this information, it can always be traced back to the teacher involved.
You will hear a representative from EasyTravel Travel Agency explaining to some customers the benefits of her company.
Hello everyone. Now, you’re here because you’re interested in travel, right? And you’re in the right place, for at EasyTravel, we have the best deals for the best locations. We specialise in eco-travel, or holidays designed to get you amongst nature (Q11), ignoring the hustle and bustle of big cities. So, whether you want to hike in Nepal, as many people do, or follow some jungle paths in the rainforests of Queensland, we can give you the best deal.
If you look at our office here, you’ll see our overseas consultants. That’s for trips overseas, obviously, to Europe, to North America, but primarily for the Asian market, which is generally more popular in this part of the world (Q12). Most people like that touch of the orient, right? But they also like the domestic market, since this country offers its fair share of beautiful natural vistas. What about the deserts, anyone? What about some striking red-rock gorges? Then, talk to our domestic consultants, who can arrange anything you want. But they deal with the accounts in the morning, so you’ll need to talk to them in the afternoon(Q13). And remember, our office doesn’t open at night, sorry to say.
Now, around the outskirts and outer regions of this city, there are many beautiful places that you might not be aware of. And the advantages of these regional locations are many. Mostly, by being closer, some of them can be done in a day tour. Yes, it’s fast and convenient, with none of those long-haul bus trips which often leave you cramped and uncomfortable, and stuffing heavy suitcases into luggage racks (Q14).
But, I should tell you about our buses, those that are needed for the somewhat more distant holiday destinations. They definitely do not suffer from those problems I just mentioned. We use the services of the famous Sleek Line Company, whose buses are known as the very best. Yes, they are big, yes, they are comfortable, but what makes them especially different is the personal attendant, who accompanies the driver, ready and willing to serve you (Q15), and ensure that your trip is the very best. So, whether it’s overseas or local, we can certainly give you what you want. Now, do you have any questions?
Right, let me orient you to our main EasyTravel office here. On this table right beside us are travel magazines for you to browse through, and on the wall next to that are many more, for all parts of the world. Our four travel consultants sit over there, on the other side of that long counter. That’s right, four of them, side by side, all serving various regions.
Now, let me tell you their specific functions. Firstly, the consultant on the left, next to the plant, is the Q16 ‘Local Tours’ consultant (Q16), serving tours in the immediate vicinity of this city. Next to her is what we call ‘Regional Tours’, targeting the state-wide options. – Next- to her is the ‘Interstate- Tours’, and that can involve either buses or planes (Q17), in the former case, utilising the SleekLine Bus service, as you know. And finally, next to her, in the corner, is ‘General Enquiries’, which is self-explanatory. If you have questions of a general nature, rather than one relating to specific destinations, you can go there.
Now, as I said, we can do international tours, and for that you need our big office, just through that door – the one between those two plants (Q18). However, if your international tour is in the Asian region, which is generally our most popular option, then we deal with that in a separate room the one opposite International Tours, but not; the corner one. Just go through that door on the left – the one next to that cupboard (Q19). The door next to that is, in fact, our General Office, so please don’t go through there. That’s reserved for staff members only (Q20).
You will hear two teachers, Andrew and Katie, discussing the coming excursion of their language class.
Andrew: Well, we have this school excursion planned, but when exactly is it? Is it this Tuesday or Wednesday?
Katie: Well it can’t be Tuesday, with the English tests taking place.
Andrew: Ah, right. Not Tuesday, but Wednesday (Example).
Katie: That’s right – all day Wednesday – taking a bus outside the city.
Andrew: And where are we going?
Katie: Ah, last month we went to Arthur Island, so this time we’re going to the… Animal Park (Q1).
Andrew: Arthur Island was okay, but it was too cold. Let’s hope the weather for this week’s excursion is better. I don’t suppose animals care about bad weather, but I certainly do. Have you heard the forecast?
Katie: Yes, and it’s not too bad. Basically, they’re saying Monday will be sunny.
Andrew: Good…
Katie: But then the weather will change.
Andrew: Not so good.
Katie: Yes, Tuesday we’ll have some showers, but by Wednesday, the day of our excursion, it will be… well, their words are ‘old and cloudy’ (Q2).
Andrew: Cold and cloudy. Well, as long as it isn’t ‘wet and rainy’, I’m happy enough. We won’t need umbrellas, just warm clothing. And what time will we get there?
Katie: Let’s see. The bus picks us up at 8.30 am, and then it’s an hour and a half on the road, so we arrive at 10 am… sorry, with the 15 minutes break, that will actually be 10.15 am (Q3).
Andrew: That’s early enough. Then all our students can see the animals, have their fun, and do whatever they want to do.
Katie: Well, one fun event planned that day is ‘Birds of Prey’ (Q4).
Andrew: What’s that?
Katie: That’s when they bring out several birds of prey: eagles, falcons, kites, those sorts of birds, and throw pieces of meat into the air, and the birds swoop down and eat them. It’s quite impressive.
Andrew: Sounds great. ‘Birds of Prey’. Are there any other activities?
Katie: There’s a catered lunch, at the park restaurant. We’ve already paid for that, and in the afternoon there’s… well, I had a choice between the ‘Reptile Display’ and the ‘Koala Handling’. In the reptile display, the students can handle live pythons and various other snakes.
Andrew: Surely they’d rather hold koalas?
Katie: I’m sure, but the koalas can’t be handled unless the weather’s sunny, and given the forecast, I thought it better to choose the reptile display (Q5).
Andrew: Ummm, that’s a shame. These Asian students would love the ‘Koala Handling’. Katie: Yes, I know, but we can’t control the weather.
Andrew: And, then we get back. What time will that be?
Katie: We leave the park at 4.30, but then we face traffic, so wo won’t get back until well after 6pm. It will most likely be 6.30 (Q6). But that’s better than the last trip: we didn’t get home until 8.30 that time.
Andrew: Yes, that was a bit too late, wasn’t it?
Katie: Andrew, I understand you’ve been doing some research regarding the breakdown, by nationality of our student body. That must have produced some interesting results.
Andrew: You’re right. I got some statistics from head office.
Katie: I would imagine that most of our students are either Japanese or Chinese.
Andrew: You imagine right. But it’s the Chinese (Q7) who constitute the majority, but only just. I had thought Koreans might be second, but it’s actually the Japanese (Q8), quite close behind. It’s somewhat surprising, but obviously all those Study Tours that our university markets in Japan are bringing in students.
Katie: What’s the breakdown exactly?
Andrew: Japanese are a quarter of the whole, which is considerable. Last year they were only 16%, so that market has grown nicely. Ah, the only other proportions of some weight are the Indonesians and Koreans – about the same. Indonesians at 15%, and… ah… the Koreans (Q9) are a little higher -not like last year when they were less than 10%.
Katie: I thought we’d have more Indonesians than Koreans?
Andrew: Well, as I said, they’re about the same – just like the Saudi and Thai student numbers, almost the same also – both just under 10.
Katie: Which one is bigger?
Andrew: Ah, Thai (Q10) students number just a fraction more. As for the other nationalities, collectively they’re only 3%, so it wasn’t worth giving each of them a separate category. I just grouped them under ‘other’ – that’s Vietnamese, South American, a couple of Russians, and so on.
Putting the brakes on climate change: Are hydrogen cars the answer?
A It is tempting to think that the conservation of coral reefs and rainforests is a separate issue from traffic and air pollution. But it is not. Scientists are now confident that rapid changes in the Earth’s climate are already disrupting and altering many wildlife habitats. Pollution from vehicles is a big part of the problem.
B The United Nation’s Climate Change Panel has estimated that the global average temperature rise expected by the year 2100 could be as much as 6°C, causing forest fires and dieback on land and coral bleaching in the ocean. Few species, if any, will be immune from the changes in temperature, rainfall and sea levels. The panel believes that if such catastrophic temperature rises are to be avoided, the quantity of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, being released into the atmosphere must be reduced. That will depend on slowing the rate of deforestation and, more crucially, finding alternatives to coal, oil and gas as our principal energy sources.
C Technologies do exist to reduce or eliminate carbon dioxide as a waste product of our energy consumption. Wind power and solar power are both spreading fast, but what are we doing about traffic? Electric cars are one possible option, but their range and the time it takes to charge their batteries pose serious limitations. However, the technology that shows the most potential to make cars climate-friendly is fuel-cell technology. This was actually invented in the late nineteenth century, but because the world’s motor industry put its effort into developing the combustion engine, it was never refined for mass production. One of the first prototype fuel-cell-powered vehicles have been built by the Ford Motor Company. It is like a conventional car, only with better acceleration and a smoother ride. Ford engineers expect to be able to produce a virtually silent vehicle in the future.
D So what’s the process involved – and is there a catch? Hydrogen goes into the fuel tank, producing electricity. The only emission from the exhaust pipe is water. The fuel-cell is, in some ways similar to a battery, but unlike a battery, it does not run down. As long as hydrogen and oxygen are supplied to the cell, it will keep on generating electricity. Some cells work off methane and a few use liquid fuels such as methanol, but fuel-ceils using hydrogen probably have the most potential. Furthermore, they need not be limited to transport. Fuel-cells can be made in a huge range of size, small enough for portable computers or large enough for power stations. They have no moving parts and therefore need no oil. They just need a supply of hydrogen. The big question, then, is where to get it from.
E One source of hydrogen is water. But to exploit the abundant resource, electricity is needed, and if the electricity is produced by a coal-fired power station or other fossil fuel, then the overall carbon reduction benefit of the fuel-cell disappears. Renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, do not produce enough energy for it to be economically viable to use them in the ‘manufacture’ of hydrogen as a transport fuel. Another source of hydrogen is, however, available and could provide a supply pending the development of more efficient and cheaper renewable energy technologies. By splitting natural gas (methane) into its constituent parts, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are produced. One way round the problem of what to do with the carbon dioxide could be to store it back below ground – so-called geological sequestration. Oil companies, such as Norway’s Statoil, are experimenting with storing carbon dioxide below ground in oil and gas wells.
F With freak weather conditions, arguably caused by global warming, frequently in the headlines, the urgent need to get fuel-cell vehicles will be available in most showrooms. Even now, fuel-cell buses are operating in the US, while in Germany a courier company is planning to take delivery of fuel-cell-powered vans in the near future. The fact that centrally-run fleets of buses and vans are the first fuel-cell vehicles identifies another challenge – fuel distribution. The refueling facilities necessary to top up hydrogen-powered vehicles are available only in a very few places at present. Public transport and delivery firms are logical places to start since their vehicles are operated from central depots.
G Fuel-cell technology is being developed right across the automotive industry. This technology could have a major impact in slowing down climate change, but further investment is needed if the industry – and the world’s wildlife – is to have a long-term future.
Questions 1-6 Reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-F from the list of headings below.
List of Headings i. Action already taken by the United Nations ii. Marketing the hydrogen car iii. Making the new technology available worldwide iv. Some negative predictions from one group of experts v. How the new vehicle technology works vi. The history of fuel-cell technology vii. A holistic view of climatic change viii. Locating the essential ingredient ix. Sustaining car manufacture
1. Paragraph A 2. Paragraph B 3. Paragraph C 4. Paragraph D 5. Paragraph E 6. Paragraph F
Questions 7-10 Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
7. In the late nineteenth century, the car industry invested in the development of the ………………… , rather than fuel-cell technology. 8. Ford engineers predict that they will eventually design an almost ………………….. car. 9. While a fuel-cell lasts longer, some aspects of it are comparable to a ………………. 10. Fuel-cells can come in many sizes and can be used in power stations and in …………………… as well as in vehicles.
Questions 11-14 Do the following statements agree, with the information given in reading passage? In boxes 11-14 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
11. Using electricity produced by burning fossil fuels to access sources of hydrogen may increase the positive effect of the fuel-cell. 12. The oil company Statoil in Norway owns gas wells in other parts of the world. 13. Public transport is leading the way in the application of fuel-cell technology. 14. More funding is necessary to ensure the success of the fuel-cell vehicle industry.
Warning: Mondays are bad for your heart
A That ‘Monday morning feeling’ could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday morning and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break.
B The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study coordinated by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans revealed that the average person had a 20 per cent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.
C Working Germans are particularly vulnerable, with a 33 per cent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.
D A study of 11,000 Italians identified 8 am on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewer heart attacks in both countries.
E The findings could lead to a better understanding of what triggers heart attacks, according to Dr. Stefan Willich of the Free University. ‘We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol， but we don’t know what actually triggers heart attacks, so we can’t make specific recommendations about how to prevent them,’ he said.
F Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid transition from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work. ‘When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal changes in their bodies,’ Willich explained. ‘All these things can have an adverse effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot in the arteries which will cause a heart attack.’ ‘When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activity,’ said Willich. ‘We need to know how these events cause changes in the body before we can understand if they cause heart attacks.’
G But although it is tempting to believe that returning to work increases the risk of a heart attack, both Willich and the Italian researchers admit that it is only a partial answer. Both studies showed that the over-65s are also vulnerable on a Monday morning even though most no longer work. The reason for this is not clear, but the Italian team at the Luigi Saddo Hospital in Milan speculate that social interactions—the thought of facing another week and all its pressures—may play a part.
H What is clear, however, is that the Monday morning peak seems to be consistent from northern Germany to southern Italy in spite of the differences in diet and lifestyle.
I Willich is reluctant at this stage to make specific recommendations, but he suggests that anyone who suffers from heart disease should take it easy on Monday mornings and leave potentially stressful meetings until midweek. ‘People should try to create a pleasant working environment,’ he added. ‘Maybe this risk applies only to those who see work as a burden, and people who enjoy their work are not so much at risk. We need to find out more.’
Questions 15-18 Read the following statements 15-18. According to the reading passage, Write your answers in the spaces numbered 15-18 on the answer sheet.
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
15. Unemployed Germans have a higher risk of heart attack than employed Germans. 16. Unemployed Italians have a lower risk of heart attack than unemployed Germans. 17. Germans risk heart attack because of their high consumption of fatty food. 18. Cholesterol and smoking cause heart attacks.
Questions 19-27 Read reading passage and from the list of headings below, select the best heading for each paragraph A-I. Write the appropriate number i-ix, in the spaces numbered 6-14 on the answer sheet. Use each heading ONCE only.
List of headings i. Exact cause of heart attacks ii. The safest day iii. Breathless, sweaty and crushed iv. Reducing heart attack hazard v. High-risk Monday vi. Mondays: riskier than food and way of life vii. Jobless but safer viii. Elderly also at risk ix. Bodily adaptations
19. Paragraph A 20. Paragraph B 21. Paragraph C 22. Paragraph D 23. Paragraph E 24. Paragraph F 25. Paragraph G 26. Paragraph H 27. Paragraph I
Growing up in New Zealand
It has long been known that the first one thousand days of life are the most critical in ensuring a person’s healthy future; precisely what happens during this period to any individual has been less well documented. To allocate resources appropriately, public health and education policies need to be based upon quantifiable data, so the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development began a longitudinal study of these early days, with the view to extending it for two decades. Born between March 2009 and May 20I0, the 6,846 babies recruited came from a densely populated area of New Zealand, and it is hoped they will be followed until they reach the age of 21.
By 2014, fur reports, collectively known as Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ), had been published, showing New Zealand to be a complex, changing country, with the participants and their families’ being markedly different from those of previous generations.
Of the 6,846 babies, the majority were identified as European New Zealanders, but one quarter was Maori (indigenous New Zealanders), 20% were Pacific (originating in islands in the Pacific), and one in six were Asian. Almost 50% of the children had more than one ethnicity.
The first three reports of GUiNZ ae descriptive, portraying the cohort before birth, at nine months, and at two years of age. Already, the first report, Before we are born, has made history as it contains interviews with the children’s mothers and fathers. The fourth report, which is more analytical, explores the definition of vulnerability for children in their first one thousand days.
Before we are born, published in 2010, describes the hopes, dreams, and realities that prospective parents have. It shows that the average age of both parents having a child was 30, and around two-thirds of parents were in legally binding relationships. However, one-third of the children were born to either a mother or a father who did not grow up in New Zealand – a significant difference from previous longitudinal studies in which a vast majority of parents were New Zealanders born and bred. Around 60% of the births in the cohort were planned, and most families hoped to have two or three children. During pregnancy, some women changed their behaviour, with regard to smoking, alcohol, and exercise, but many did not. Such information will be useful for public health campaigns.
Now we are born is the second report. Fifty-two percent of its babies were male and 48% female, with nearly a quarter delivered by caesarean section. The World Health Organisation and New Zealand guidelines recommend babies be breastfed exclusively for six months, but the median age for this in the GUiNZ cohort was fur months since almost one-third of mothers had returned to full-time work. By nine months, the babies were all eating solid food. While 54% of them were living in accommodation their families owned, their parents had almost all experienced a drop in income, sometimes a steep one, mostly due to mothers’ not working. Over 90% of the babies were immunised, and almost all were in very good health. Of the mothers, however, 11% had experienced post-natal depression – an alarming statistic, perhaps, but, once again, useful for mental health campaigns. Many of the babies were put in childcare while their mothers worked or studied, and the providers varied by ethnicity: children who were Maori or Pacific were more likely to be looked after by grandparents; European New Zealanders tended to be sent to daycare.
Now we are two, the third report, provides more insights into the children’s development – physically, emotionally, behaviourally, and cognitively. Major changes in home environments are documented, like the socio-economic situation, and childcare arrangements. Information was collected both from direct observations of the children and from parental interviews. Once again, a high proportion of New Zealand two-year-olds were in very good health. Two-thirds of the children knew their gender, and used their own name or expressed independence in some way. The most common first word was a variation on ‘Mum’, and the most common favourite first food was a banana. Bilingual or multi-lingual children were in a large minority of 40%. Digital exposure was high: one in seven two-year-olds had used a laptop or a children’s computer, and 80% watched TV or DVDs daily; by contrast, 66% had books read to them each day.
The fourth report evaluates twelve environmental risk factors that increase the likelihood of poor developmental outcomes for children and draws on experiences in Western Europe, where the specific factors were collated. This, however, was the first time for their use in a New Zealand context. The factors include: being born to an adolescent mother; having one or both parents on income-tested benefits; and, living in cramped conditions.
In addition to descriptive ones, future reports will focus on children who move in and out of vulnerability to see how these transitions affect their later life.
To date, GUiNZ has been highly successful with only a very small dropout rate for participants – even those living abroad, predominantly in Australia, have continued to provide information. The portrait GUiNZ paints of a country and its people are indeed revealing.
Questions 28-33 Do the following statements agree with the information given in passage? In boxes 28-33on 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
28. Findings from studies like GUiNZ will inform public policy. 29. Exactly 6,846 babies formed the GUiNZ cohort. 30. GUiNZ will probably end when the children reach ten. 31. Eventually, there will be 21 reports in GUiNZ. 32. So far, GUiNZ has shown New Zealanders today to be rather similar to those of 25 years ago. 33. Parents who took part in GUiNZ believe New Zealand is a good place to raise children.
Questions 34-40 Classify the following things that relate to:
Write the correct letter A, B, C, or D, in boxes 34-40 on your answer sheet.
A. Report 1 B. Report 2 C. Report 3 D. Report 4
34. This is unique because it contains interviews with both parents. 35. This looks at how children might be at risk. 36. This suggests having a child may lead to financial hardship. 37. Information for this came from direct observations of children. 38. This shows many children use electronic devices. 39. This was modelled on criteria used in Western Europe. 40. This suggests having a teenage mother could negatively affect a child.
A A dozen years ago, scientists at Cargill got the idea of converting lactic acid made from corn into plastic while examining possible new uses for materials produced from corn wet milling processes. In the past, several efforts had been made to develop plastics from lactic acid, but with limited success. Achieving this technological breakthrough didn’t come easily, but in time the efforts did succeed. A fermentation and distillation process using com was designed to create a polymer suitable for a broad variety of applications.
B As an agricultural based firm, Cargill had taken this product as far as it could by 1997. The company needed a partner with access to plastics markets and polymerization capabilities, and began discussions with The Dow Chemical Company. The next step was the formation of the joint venture that created Cargill Dow LLC. Cargill Dow’s product is the world’s first commercially available plastic made from annually renewable resources such as com.
C By applying their unique technology to the processing of natural plant sugars, Cargill Dow has created a more environmentally friendly material that reaches the consumer in clothes, cups, packaging and other products. While Cargill Dow is a stand-alone business, it continues to leverage the agricultural processing, manufacturing and polymer expertise of the two parent companies in order to bring the best possible products to market.
D The basic raw materials for PLA are carbon dioxide and water. Growing plants, like com, take these building blocks from the atmosphere and the soil. They are combined in the plant to make carbohydrates (sucrose and starch) through a process driven by photosynthesis. The process for making Nature Works PLA begins when a renewable resource such as corn is milled, separating starch from the raw material. Unrefined dextrose, in turn, is processed from the starch.
E Cargill Dow turns the unrefined dextrose into lactic acid using a fermentation process similar to that used by beer and wine producers. This is the same lactic acid that is used as a food additive and is found in muscle tissue in the human body. Through a special condensation process, a lactide is formed. This lactide is purified through vacuum distillation and becomes a polymer (the base for NatureWorks PLA) that is ready for use through a solvent-free melt process. Development of this new technology allows the company to “harvest” the carbon that living plants remove from the air through photosynthesis. Carbon is stored in plant starches, which can be broken down into natural plant sugars. The carbon and other elements in these natural sugars are then used to make NatureWorks PLA.
F Nature Works PLA fits all disposal systems and is fully compostable in commercial composting facilities. With the proper infrastructure, products made from this polymer can be recycled back to a monomer and re-used as a polymer. Thus, at the end of its life cycle, a product made from Nature Works PLA can be broken down into its simplest parts so that no sign of it remains.
G PLA is now actively competing with traditional materials in packaging and fiber applications throughout the world; based on the technology’s success and promise, Cargill Dow is quickly becoming a premier player in the polymers market. This new polymer now competes head-on with petroleum-based materials like polyester. A wide range of products that vary in molecular weight and crystallinity can be produced, and the blend of physical properties of PLA makes it suited for a broad range of fiber and packaging applications. Fiber and non-woven applications include clothing, fiberfill, blankets and wipes. Packaging applications include packaging films and food and beverage containers.
H As Nature Works PLA polymers are more oil- and grease-resistant and provide a better flavor and aroma barrier than existing petroleum-based polymers, grocery retailers are increasingly using this packaging for their fresh foods. As companies begin to explore this family of polymers, more potential applications are being identified. For example, PLA possess two properties that are particularly useful for drape fabrics and window furnishings. Their resistance to ultraviolet light is particularly appealing as this reduces the amount of fading in such fabrics, and their refractive index is low, which means fabrics constructed from these polymers can be made with deep colors without requiring large amounts of dye. In addition, sportswear makers have been drawn to the product as it has an inherent ability to take moisture away from the skin and when blended with cotton and wool, the result is garments that are lighter and better at absorbing moisture.
I PLA combines inexpensive large-scale fermentation with chemical processing to produce a value-added polymer product that improves the environment as well. The source material for PLA is a natural sugar found in plants such as com and using such renewable feedstock presents several environmental benefits. As an alternative to traditional petroleum-based polymers, the production of PLA uses 20%-50% less fossil fuel and releases a lower amount of greenhouse gasses than comparable petroleum-based plastic; carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is removed when the feedstock is grown and is returned to the earth when the polymer is degraded. Because the company is using raw materials that can be regenerated year after year, it is both cost-competitive and environmentally responsible.
Questions 1 – 4 Write the letters A-F in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
A. make things like clothes B. produce plastic from plant C. selling plastic in market D. fermentation process E. drape fabrics F. wrapping products
1. Scientists manage to 2. Cargill needs to have contacts with 3. Nature work is used for 4. Ingeo is used to
Questions 5 – 8 Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of reading passage. Using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the reading passage for each answer.
Question 9 – 10 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
9. Why did choose the PLA as material for food packaging? A It smells good B It can save food freshness C It can be used on other materials D Some other things need to be revised about it.
10. What is PLA packaging is used for? A absorbing moisture B composting facilities C Packaging fresh food D manufacturing
Questions 11 – 12 Which two features of PLA are correct?
A It is made of renewable raw materials B It involves the removal of carbon dioxide C It is no use of fossil fuel product D It uses renewable raw resources E It is sustenance which can absorb the CO2 in the atmosphere
Questions 13 – 14 Which two features of PLA are correct?
A It takes in moisture of skin B It is waterproof C comfortable sportswear D It’s fading under the sun E It is only made in deep color
Renewable Energy
An insight into the progress in renewable energy research
A The race is on for the ultimate goal of renewable energy: electricity production at prices that are competitive with coal-fired power stations, but without coal’s pollution. Some new technologies are aiming to be the first to push coal from its position as Australia’s chief source of electricity.
B At the moment the front-runner in renewable energy is wind technology. According to Peter Bergin of Australian Hydro, one of Australia’s leading wind energy companies, there have been no dramatic changes in windmill design for many years, but the cumulative effects of numerous small improvements have had a major impact on cost. ‘We’re reaping the benefits of 30 years of research in Europe, without have to make the same mistakes that they did,’ Mr Bergin says.
C Electricity can be produced from coal at around 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, but only if the environmental costs are ignored. ‘Australia has the second cheapest electricity in the world, and this makes it difficult for renewable to compete,’ says Richard Hunter of the Australian Ecogeneration Association (AEA). Nevertheless, the AEA reports: ‘The production cost of a kilowatt-hour of wind power is one-fifth of what it was 20 years ago,’ or around 7 cents per kilowatt-hour.
D Australian Hydro has dozens of wind monitoring stations across Australia as part of its aim to become Australia’s pre-eminent renewable energy company. Despite all these developments, wind power remains one of the few forms of alternative energy where Australia is nowhere near the global cutting edge, mostly just replicating European designs.
E While wind may currently lead the way, some consider a number of technologies under development have more potential. In several cases, Australia is at the forefront of global research in the area. Some of them are very site-specific, ensuring that they may never become dominant market players. On the other hand, these newer developments are capable of providing more reliable power, avoiding the major criticism of windmills – the need for back-up on a calm day.
F One such development uses hot, dry rocks. Deep beneath South Australia, radiation from elements contained in granite heats the rocks. Layers of insulating sedimentation raise the temperatures in some location to 250° centigrade. An Australian firm, Geoenergy, is proposing to pump water 3.5 kilometres into the earth, where it will travel through tiny fissures in the granite, heating up as it goes until it escapes as steam through another drilled hole.
G No greenhouse gases are produced, but the system needs some additional features if it is to be environmentally friendly. Dr Prue Chopra, a geophysicist at the Australian National University and one of the founders of Geoenergy, note that the steam will bring with it radon gas, along through a heat exchanger and then sent back underground for another cycle. Technically speaking, hot dry rocks are not a renewable source of energy. However, the Australian source is so large it could supply the entire country’s needs for thousands of years at current rates of consumption.
H Two other proposals for very different ways to harness sun and wind energy have surfaced recently. Progress continues with Australian company EnviroPower’s plans for Australia’s first solar chimney near Mildura, in Victoria. Under this scheme, a tall tower will draw hot air from a greenhouse built to cover the surrounding 5 km². As the air rises, it will drive a turbine* to produce electricity. The solar tower combines three very old technologies – the chimney, the turbine and the greenhouse – to produce something quite new. It is this reliance on proven engineering principles that led Enviropower’s CEO, Richard Davies, to state: There is no doubt this technology will work, none at all.’
I This year, Enviropower recognized that the quality of sunlight in the Mildura district will require a substantially larger collecting area than was previously thought. However, spokesperson kay Firth says that a new location closer to Mildura will enable Enviropower to balance the increased costs with extra revenue. Besides saving in transmission costs, the new site ‘will mean increased revenue from tourism and use of power for telecommunications. We’ll also be able to use the outer 500 metres for agribusiness.’ Wind speeds closer to the tower will be too high for farming.
J Another Australian company, Wavetech, is achieving success with ways of harvesting the energy in waves. Wavetech’s invention uses a curved surface to push waves into a chamber, where the flowing water column pushes air back and forth through a turbine. Wavetech was created when Dr Tim Devine offered the idea to the world leader in wave generator manufacturers, who rather surprisingly rejected it. Dr Devine responded by establishing Wavetech and making a number of other improvements to generator design. Wavetech claims that, at appropriate sites, ‘the cost of electricity produced with our technology should be below 4 cents per kilowatt-hour.
K The diversity of forms of greenhouse – friendly energy under development in Australia is remarkable. However, support on a national level is disappointing. According to Richard Hunter of the AEA, ‘Australia has huge potential for wind, sun and wave technology. We should really be at the forefront, but the reality is we are a long way behind.’
Questions 15 – 21 Do the following statements agree with the information given in reading passage? In boxes 15-26 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
15. In Australia, alternative energies are less expensive than conventional electricity. 16. Geoenergy needs to adapt its system to make it less harmful to the environment. 17. Dr Prue Chopra has studied the effects of radon gas on the environment. 18. Hot, dry rocks could provide enough power for the whole of Australia. 19. The new Enviropower facility will keep tourists away. 20. Wavetech was established when its founders were turned down by another company. 21. According to AEA, Australia is a world leader in developing renewable energy.
Questions 22-27 Look at the following statements (Questions 8-13) and the list of companies below. Match each statement with the correct company, A-D.
22. During the process, harmful substances are prevented from escaping. 23. Water is used to force air through a special device. 24. Techniques used by other countries are being copied. 25. The system can provide services other than energy production. 26. It is planned to force water deep under the ground. 27. Original estimates for part of the project have been revised.
How Fair is Fair Trade?
The fair-trade movement began in Europe in earnest in the post-war period, but only in the last 25 years has it grown to include producers and consumers in over 60 countries.
In the 1950s and 60s, many people in the developed world felt passionately about the enormous disparities between developed and developing countries, and they believed the system of international trade shut out African, Asian, and South American producers who could not compete with multinational companies or who came from states that, for political reasons, were not trading with the West. The catchphrase ‘Trade Not Aid’ was used by church groups and trade unions – early supporters of fair trade – who also considered that international aid was either a pittance or a covert form of subjugation. These days, much fair trade does include aid: developed-world volunteers offer their services, and there is free training for producers and their workers.
Tea, coffee, cocoa, cotton, flowers, handicrafts, and gold are all major fair-trade items, with coffee being the most recognisable, fund on supermarket shelves and at café chains throughout the developed world.
Although around two million farmers and workers produce fair-trade items, this is a tiny number in relation to total global trade. Still, fair-trade advocates maintain that the system has positively impacted upon many more people worldwide, while the critics claim that if those two million returned to the mainstream trading system, they would receive higher prices for their goods or labour.
Fair trade is supposed to be a trade that is fair to producers. Its basic tenet is that developed-world consumers will pay slightly more for end products in the knowledge that developing-world producers have been equitably remunerated, and that the products have been made in decent circumstances. Additionally, the fair-trade system differs from that of the open market because there is a minimum price paid for goods, which may be higher than that of the open market. Secondly, a small premium, earmarked for community development, is added in good years; for example, coffee co-operatives in South America frequently receive an additional 25c per kilogram. Lastly, purchasers of fair-trade products may assist with crop pre-financing or with the training of producers and workers, which could take the form of improving product quality, using environmentally friendly fertilisers, or raising literacy. Research has shown that non-fair-trade farmers copy some fair-trade farming practices, and, occasionally, encourage social progress. In exchange for ethical purchase and other assistance, fair-trade producers agree not to use child or slave labour, to adhere to the United Nations Charter on Human Rights, to provide safe workplaces, and to protect the environment despite these not being legally binding in their own countries. However, few non-fair-trade farmers have adopted these practices, viewing them as little more than rich-world conceits.
So that consumers know which products are made under fair-trade conditions, goods are labelled, and, these days, a single European and American umbrella organisation supervises labelling, standardisation, and inspection.
While fair trade is increasing, the system is far from perfect. First and foremost, there are expenses involved in becoming a fair-trade-certified producer, meaning the desperately poor rarely participate, so the very farmers fair-trade advocates originally hoped to support are excluded. Secondly, because conforming to the standards of fair-trade certification is costly, some producers deliberately mislabel their goods. The fair-trade monitoring process is patchy, and unfortunately, around 12% of fair-trade-labelled produce is nothing of the kind. Next, a crop may genuinely be produced under fair-trade conditions, but due to a lack of demand cannot be sold as fair trade, so goes onto the open market, where prices are mostly lower. It is estimated that only between 18-37% of fair-trade output is actually sold as fair trade. Sadly, there is little reliable research on the real relationship between costs incurred and revenue for fair-trade farmers, although empirical evidence suggests that many never realise a profit. Partly, reporting from producers is inadequate, and ways of determining profit may not include credit, harvesting, transport, or processing. Sometimes, the price paid to fair-trade producers is lower than that of the open market, so while a crop may be sold, elsewhere it could have earnt more, or where there are profits, they are often taken by the corporate firms that buy the goods and sell them on to retailers.
There are problems with the developed-world part of the equation too. People who volunteer to work for fair-trade concerns may do so believing they are assisting farmers and communities, whereas their labour serves to enrich middlemen and retailers. Companies involved in West African cocoa production have been criticised for this. In the developed world, the right to use a fair-trade logo is also expensive for packers and retailers, and sometimes a substantial amount of the money received from sale is ploughed back into marketing. In richer parts of the developed world, notably in London, packers and retailers charge high prices for fair-trade products. Consumers imagine they are paying so much because more money is returned to producers when profit-taking by retailers or packers is a more likely scenario. One UK café chain is known to have passed on 1.6% of the extra 18% is charged for fair-trade coffee to producers. However, this happens with other items at the supermarket or cafe, so perhaps consumers are naive to believe fair-traders behave otherwise. In addition, there are struggling farmers in rich countries, too, so some critics think fair-trade associations should certify them. Other critics find the entire fair-trade system flawed – nothing more than a colossal marketing scam- and they would rather assist the genuinely poor in more transparent ways, but this criticism may be overblown since fair trade has endured for and been praised in the developing world itself.
Questions 28-32 Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer
28. What was an early slogan about addressing the imbalance between the developed and developing worlds? 29. What is probably the most well-known fair-trade commodity? 30. According to the writer, in terms of total global trade, what do fair-trade producers represent? 31. How do its supporters think fair trade has affected many people? 32. What do its critics think fair-trade producers would get if they went back to mainstream trade?
Questions 33-36 Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-H, below. Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 33-36 on your answer sheet.
A. loans or training for producers and employees. B. although they may not be obliged to do so in their own country C. for the various social benefits fair trade brings. D. to pay more for what they see as ethical products. E. has influenced non-fair-trade producers. F. because these are United Nations obligations. G. too much corruption. H. have been adopted by non-fair-trade producers.
33. Consumers of fair-trade products are happy 34. The fair-trade system may include 35. Some fair-trade practices 36. Fair-trade producers must adopt international employment standards
Questions 37-40 Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in reading passage? In boxes 37-40 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
37. The fair-trade system assists farmers who are extremely poor. 38. Some products labelled as fair-trade is in fact not. 39. UK supermarkets and cafes should not charge such high prices for fair-trade items. 40. Fair trade is mainly a marketing ploy and not a valid way of helping the poor.
A The underwater world holds many challenges. The most basic of these is movement. The density of water makes it difficult for animals to move. Forward movement is a complex interaction of underwater forces. Additionally, water itself has movement. Strong currents carry incredible power that can easily sweep creatures away. The challenges to aquatic movement result in a variety of swimming methods, used by a wide range of animals. The result is a dazzling underwater ballet.
B Fish rely on their skeleton, fins, and muscles to move. The primary function of the skeleton is to aid movement of other parts. Their skull acts as a fulcrum and their vertebrae act as levers. The vertebral column consists of a series of vertebrae held together by ligaments, but not so tightly as to prevent slight sideways movement between each pair of vertebrae. The whole spine is, therefore, flexible. The skull is the only truly fixed part of a fish. It does not move in and off itself but acts as a point of stability for other bones. These other bones act as levers that cause movement of the fish’s body.
C While the bones provide the movement, the muscles supply the power. A typical fish has hundreds of muscles running in all directions around its body. This is why a fish can turn and twist and change directions quickly. The muscles on each side of the spine contract in a series from head to tail and down each side alternately, causing a wave-like movement to pass down the body. Such a movement may be very pronounced in fish such as eels, but hardly perceptible in others, e.g. mackerel. The frequency of the waves varies from about 50/min in the dogfish to 170/min in the mackerel. The sideways and backward thrust of the head and body against the water results in the resistance of the water pushing the fish sideways and forwards in a direction opposed to the thrust. When the corresponding set of muscles on the other side contracts, the fish experiences a similar force from the water on that side. The two sideways forces are equal and opposite unless the fish is making a turn, so they cancel out, leaving the sum of the two forward forces
D The muscles involved in swimming are of two main types. The bulk of a fish’s body is composed of the so-called white muscle, while the much smaller areas at the roots of the fins and in a strip along the centre of each flank comprise red muscle. The red muscle receives a good supply of blood and contains ampler quantities of fat and glycogen, the storage form of glucose, which is used for most day-to-day swimming movements. In contrast, the white muscle has a poor blood supply and few energy stores, and it is used largely for short-term, fast swimming. It might seem odd that the body of an animal which adapts adapted so efficiently to its environment should be composed almost entirely of a type of muscle it rarely uses. However, this huge auxiliary power pack carried by a fish is of crucial significance if the life of the fish is threatened-by a predator, for instance-because it enables the fish to swim rapidly away from danger.
E The fins are the most distinctive features of a fish, composed of bony spines protruding from the body with skin covering them and joining them together, either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or more similar to a flipper, as seen in sharks. These usually serve as a means for the fish to swim. But it must be emphasized that the swimming movements are produced by the whole of the muscular body, and in only a few fish do the fins contribute any propulsive force! Their main function is to control the stability and direction of the fish: as water passes over its body, a fish uses its fins to thrust in the direction it wishes to go.
F Fins located in different places on a fish serve different purposes, such as moving forward, turning, and keeping an upright position. The tail fin, in its final lash may contribute as much as 40 per cent of the forward thrust. The median fins, that is, the dorsal, anal and ventral fins, control the rolling and yawing movements of the fish by increasing the vertical surface area presented to the water. The paired fins, pectoral and pelvic act as hydroplanes and control the pitch of the ash, causing it to swim downwards or upwards according to the angle to the water at which they are held by their muscles. The pectoral fins lie in front of the centre of gravity and, being readily mobile, are chiefly responsible for sending the ash up or down. The paired ins are also the means by which the fish slows down and stops.
G The swimming speed of fish is not so fast as one would expect from watching their rapid movements in aquaria or ponds. Tuna seems to be the fastest at 44 mph, trout are recorded as doing 23 mph, pike 20 mph for short bursts and roach about 10 mph, while the majority of small fish probably do not exceed 2 or 3 mph. Many people have attempted to make accurate measurements of the speed at which various fish swim, either by timing them over known distances in their natural environment or by determining their performance in man-made swimming channels. From these studies, we can broadly categorise fish into four groups: “sneakers”, such as eels that are only capable of slow speeds but possess some staying power; “stayers”, that can swim quite fast over long periods; “sprinters” that can generate fast bursts of speed (e.g. pike); and “crawlers” that are sluggish swimmers, although they can accelerate slightly (bream, for example).
H One type of sailfish is considered to be the fastest species of fish over short distances, achieving 68 mph over a three-second period, and anglers have recorded speeds in excess of 40 mph over longer periods for several species of tuna. One is likely to consider a fish’s swimming capabilities in relation to its size. However, it is generally true that a small fish is a more able swimmer than a much larger one. On the other hand in terms of speed in miles per hour, a big fish will, all other things being equal, be able to swim faster than a smaller fish.
Questions 1-6 The passage has 8 paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the appropriate letter, A-H, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
1. categorizations of fish by swimming speed 2. an example of fish capable of maintaining fast swimming for a long time 3. how fish control stability 4. frequency of the muscle movement of fish 5. a mechanical model of fish skeleton 6. energy storage devices in a fish
Questions 7-10 The diagram below gives information about fish fins and their purposes. Complete the diagram with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each blank.
Questions 11-13 Complete the summary below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each blank.
Two types of muscles are involved in fish swimming. The majority of a fish’s body comprises the (11)………………., and the red muscle is found only at the roots of the fins and in a strip along the centre of each flank. For most of its routine movements, the fish uses a lot of its (12)………………. saved in body, and white muscle is mostly used for short-term, fast swimming, such as escaping from (13)……………
Knowledge in medicine
A What counts as knowledge? What do we mean when we say that we know something? What is the status of different kinds of knowledge? In order to explore these questions, we are going to focus on one particular area of knowledge – medicine.
B How do you know when you are ill? This may seem to be an absurd question. You know you are ill because you feel ill; your body tells you that you are ill. You may know that you feel pain or discomfort but knowing you are ill is a bit more complex. At times, people experience the symptoms of illness, but in fact, they are simply tired or over-worked or they may just have a hangover. At other times, people may be suffering from a disease and fail to be aware of the illness until it has reached a late stage in its development. So how do we know we are ill, and what counts as knowledge?
C Think about this example. You feel unwell. You have a bad cough and always seem to be tired. Perhaps it could be stress at work, or maybe you should give up smoking. You feel worse. You visit the doctor who listens to your chest and heart, takes your temperature and blood pressure, and then finally prescribes antibiotics for your cough.
D Things do not improve but you struggle on thinking you should pull yourself together, perhaps things will ease off at work soon. A return visit to your doctor shocks you. This time the doctor, drawing on years of training and experience, diagnoses pneumonia. This means that you will need bed rest and a considerable time off work. The scenario is transformed. Although you still have the same symptoms, you no longer think that these are caused by pressure at work. You know have proof that you are ill. This is the result of the combination of your own subjective experience and the diagnosis of someone who has the status of a medical expert. You have a medically authenticated diagnosis and it appears that you are seriously ill; you know you are ill and have the evidence upon which to base this knowledge.
E This scenario shows many different sources of knowledge. For example, you decide to consult the doctor in the first place because you feel unwell – this is personal knowledge about your own body. However, the doctor’s expert diagnosis is based on experience and training, with sources of knowledge as diverse as other experts, laboratory reports, medical textbooks and years of experience.
F One source of knowledge is the experience of our own bodies; the personal knowledge we have of changes that might be significant, as well as the subjective experiences are mediated by other forms of knowledge such as the words we have available to describe our experience, and the common sense of our families and friends as well as that drawn from popular culture. Over the past decade, for example, Western culture has seen a significant emphasis on stress-related illness in the media. Reference to being ‘stressed out’ has become a common response in daily exchanges in the workplace and has become part of popular common-sense knowledge. It is thus not surprising that we might seek such an explanation of physical symptoms of discomfort.
G We might also rely on the observations of others who know us. Comments from friends and family such as ‘you do look ill’ or ‘that’s a bad cough’ might be another source of knowledge. Complementary health practices, such as holistic medicine, produce their own sets of knowledge upon which we might also draw in deciding the nature and degree of our ill health and about possible treatments.
H Perhaps the most influential and authoritative source of knowledge is the medical knowledge provided by the general practitioner. We expect the doctor to have access to expert knowledge. This is socially sanctioned. It would not be acceptable to notify our employer that we simply felt too unwell to turn up for work or that our faith healer, astrologer, therapist or even our priest thought it was not a good idea. We need an expert medical diagnosis in order to obtain the necessary certificate if we need to be off work for more than the statutory self-certification period. The knowledge of the medical sciences is privileged in this respect in contemporary Western culture. Medical practitioners are also seen as having the required expert knowledge that permits them legally to prescribe drugs and treatment to which patients would not otherwise have access. However, there is a range of different knowledge upon which we draw when making decisions about our own state of health.
I However, there is more than existing knowledge in this little story; new knowledge is constructed within it. Given the doctor’s medical training and background, she may hypothesize ‘is this now pneumonia?’ and then proceed to look for evidence about it. She will use observations and instruments to assess the evidence and – critically – interpret it in light of her training and experience. This results in new knowledge and new experience both for you and for the doctor. This will then be added to the doctor’s medical knowledge and may help in the future diagnosis of pneumonia.
Questions 14-19 Complete the table. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Source of knowledge
Examples
Personal experience
Symptoms of a (14)……………..and tiredness Doctor’s measurement by taking (15)…………….and temperature Common judgement from (16)…………….around you
Scientific evidence
Medical knowledge from the general (17)……………e.g. doctor’s medical (18)…………. Examine the medical hypothesis with the previous drill and(19)………….
Questions 20 – 27 The reading passage has nine paragraphs A-I. Which paragraph contains the following information?
20. the contrast between the nature of personal judgment and the nature of doctor’s diagnosis 21. a reference of culture about pressure 22. sick leave will not be permitted without the professional diagnosis 23. how doctors’ opinions are regarded in society 24. the illness of patients can become part of new knowledge 25. a description of knowledge drawn from non-specialized sources other than personal knowledge 26. an example of collective judgment from personal experience and professional doctor 27. a reference that some people do not realize they are ill
Spider silk
A strong, light bio-material made by genes from spiders could transform construction and industry
A Scientists have succeeded in copying the silk-producing genes of the Golden Orb Weaver spider and are using them to create a synthetic material which they believe is the model for a new generation of advanced bio-materials. The new material, biosilk, which has been spun for the first time by researchers at DuPont, has an enormous range of potential uses in construction and manufacturing.
B The attraction of the silk spun by the spider is a combination of great strength and enormous elasticity, which man-made fibres have been unable to replicate. On an equal-weight basis, spider silk is far stronger than steel and it is estimated that if a single strand could be made about 10m in diameter, it would be strong enough to stop a jumbo jet in flight. A third important factor is that it is extremely light. Army scientists are already looking at the possibilities of using it for lightweight, bulletproof vests and parachutes.
C For some time, biochemists have been trying to synthesise the drag-line silk of the Golden Orb Weaver. The drag-line silk, which forms the radial arms of the web, is stronger than the other parts of the web and some biochemists believe a synthetic version could prove to be as important a material as nylon, which has been around for 50 years, since the discoveries of Wallace Carothers and his team ushered in the age of polymers.
D To recreate the material, scientists, including Randolph Lewis at the University of Wyoming, first examined the silk-producing gland of the spider. ‘We took out the glands that produce the silk and looked at the coding for the protein material they make, which is spun into a web. We then went looking for clones with the right DNA,’ he says.
E At DuPont, researchers have used both yeast and bacteria as hosts to grow the raw material, which they have spun into fibres. Robert Dorsch, DuPont’s director of biochemical development, says the globules of protein, comparable with marbles in an egg, are harvested and processed. ‘We break open the bacteria, separate out the globules of protein and use them as the raw starting material. With yeast, the gene system can be designed so that the material excretes the protein outside the yeast for better access,’ he says.
F ‘The bacteria and the yeast produce the same protein, equivalent to that which the spider uses in the draglines of the web. The spider mixes the protein into a water-based solution and then spins it into a solid fibre in one go. Since we are not as clever as the spider and we are not using such sophisticated organisms, we substituted man-made approaches and dissolved the protein in chemical solvents, which are then spun to push the material through small holes to form the solid fibre.’
G Researchers at DuPont say they envisage many possible uses for a new biosilk material. They say that earthquake-resistant suspension bridges hung from cables of synthetic spider silk fibres may become a reality. Stronger ropes, safer seat belts, shoe soles that do not wear out so quickly and tough new clothing are among the other applications. Biochemists such as Lewis see the potential range of uses of biosilk as almost limitless. ‘It is very strong and retains elasticity: there are no man-made materials that can mimic both these properties. It is also a biological material with all the advantages that have over petrochemicals,’ he says.
H At DuPont’s laboratories, Dorsch is excited by the prospect of new super-strong materials but he warns they are many years away. ‘We are at an early stage but theoretical predictions are that we will wind up with a very strong, tough material, with an ability to absorb shock, which is stronger and tougher than the man-made materials that are conventionally available to us,’ he says.
I The spider is not the only creature that has aroused the interest of material scientists. They have also become envious of the natural adhesive secreted by the sea mussel. It produces a protein adhesive to attach itself to rocks. It is tedious and expensive to extract the protein from the mussel, so researchers have already produced a synthetic gene for use in surrogate bacteria.
Questions 28-32 Reading passage has nine paragraphs, A-I. Which paragraph contains the following information?
28. A comparison of the ways two materials are used to replace silk-producing glands 29. Predictions regarding the availability of the synthetic silk 30. Ongoing research into other synthetic materials 31. The research into the part of the spider that manufactures silk 32. The possible application of the silk in civil engineering2
Questions 33-37 Complete the flow-chart below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
• Synthetic gene grown in (33)…………….. or (34)…………….. • Globules of (35)…………… • Dissolved in (36)………….. • Passed through (37)………….. • To produce a solid fibre
Questions 38-40 Do the following statements agree with the information given in reading passage? In boxes 38-40 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
38. Biosilk has already replaced nylon in parachute manufacture. 39. The spider produces silk of varying strengths. 40. Lewis and Dorsch co-operated in the synthetic production of silk.
A When light travels from one medium to another, it generally bends, or refracts. The law of refraction gives us a way of predicting the amount of bending. Refraction has many applications in optics and technology. A lens uses refraction to form an image of an object for many different purposes, such as magnification. A prism uses refraction to form a spectrum of colors from an incident beam of light. Refraction also plays an important role in the formation of a mirage and other optical illusions. The law of refraction is also known as Snell’s Law, named after Willobrord Snell, who discovered the law in 1621. Although Snell’s sine law of refraction is now taught routinely in undergraduate courses, the quest for it spanned many centuries and involved many celebrated scientists. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that the first discovery of the sine law, made by the sixteenth-century English scientist Thomas Harriot (1560-1621), has been almost completely overlooked by physicists, despite much published material describing his contribution.
B A contemporary of Shakespeare, Elizabeth I, Johannes Kepler and Galilei Galileo, Thomas Harriot (1560-1621) was an English scientist and mathematician. His principal biographer, J. W. Shirley, was quoted saying that in his time he was “England’s most profound mathematician, most imaginative and methodical experimental scientist”. As a mathematician, he contributed to the development of algebra, and introduced the symbols of ”>”, and ”<” for ”more than” and ”less than.” He also studied navigation and astronomy. On September 17, 1607, Harriot observed a comet, later Identified as Hailey-s. With his painstaking observations, later workers were able to compute the comet’s orbit. Harriot was also the first to use a telescope to observe the heavens in England. He made sketches of the moon in 1609, and then developed lenses of increasing magnification. By April 1611, he had developed a lens with a magnification of 32. Between October 17, 1610 and February 26, 1612, he observed the moons of Jupiter, which had already discovered by Galileo. While observing Jupiter’s moons, he made a discovery of his own: sunspots, which he viewed 199 times between December 8, 1610 and January 18, 1613. These observations allowed him to figure out the sun’s period of rotation.
C He was also an early English explorer of North America. He was a friend of the English courtier and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh and travelled to Virginia as a scientific observer on a colonising expedition in 1585. On June 30, 1585, his ship anchored at Roanoke Island ，off Virginia. On shore, Harriot observed the topography, flora and fauna, made many drawings and maps, and met the native people who spoke a language the English called Algonquian. Harriot worked out a phonetic transcription of the native people’s speech sounds and began to learn the language, which enabled him to converse to some extent with other natives the English encountered. Harriot wrote his report for Raleigh and published it as A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia in 1588. Raleigh gave Harriot his own estate in Ireland, and Harriot began a survey of Raleigh’s Irish holdings. He also undertook a study of ballistics and ship design for Raleigh in advance of the Spanish Armada’s arrival.
D Harriot kept regular correspondence with other scientists and mathematicians, especially in England but also in mainland Europe, notably with Johannes Kepler. About twenty years before Snell’s discovery, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) had also looked for the law of refraction, but used the early data of Ptolemy. Unfortunately, Ptolemy’s data was in error, so Kepler could obtain only an approximation which he published in 1604. Kepler later tried to obtain additional experimental results on refraction, and corresponded with Thomas Harriot from 1606 to 1609 since Kepler had heard Harriot had carried out some detailed experiments. In 1606, Harriot sent Kepler some tables of refraction data for different materials at a constant incident angle, but didn’t provide enough detail for the data to be very useful. Kepler requested further information, but Harriot was not forthcoming, and it appears that Kepler eventually gave up the correspondence, frustrated with Harriot’s reluctance.
E Apart from the correspondence with Kepler, there is no evidence that Harriot ever published his detailed results on refraction. His personal notes, however, reveal extensive studies significantly predating those of Kepler, Snell and Descartes. Harriot carried out many experiments on refraction in the 1590s, and from his notes, it is clear that he had discovered the sine law at least as early as 1602. Around 1606, he had studied dispersion in prisms (predating Newton by around 60 years), measured the refractive indices of different liquids placed in a hollow glass prism, studied refraction in crystal spheres, and correctly understood refraction in the rainbow before Descartes.
F As his studies of refraction, Harriot’ s discoveries in other fields were largely unpublished during his lifetime, and until this century, Harriot was known only for an account of his travels in Virginia published in 1588, ，and for a treatise on algebra published posthumously in 1631. The reason why Harriot kept his results unpublished is unclear. Harriot wrote to Kepler that poor health prevented him from providing more information, but it is also possible that he was afraid of the seventeenth century’s English religious establishment which was suspicious of the work carried out by mathematicians and scientists.
G After the discovery of sunspots, Harriot’ s scientific work dwindled. The cause of his diminished productivity might have been a cancer discovered on his nose. Harriot died on July 2, 1621, in London, but his story did not end with his death. Recent research has revealed his wide range of interests and his genuinely original discoveries. What some writers describe as his “thousands upon thousands of sheets of mathematics and of scientific observations” appeared to be lost until 1784, when they were found in Henry Percy’s country estate by one of Percy’s descendants. She gave them to Franz Xaver Zach, her husband’s son’s tutor. Zach eventually put some of the papers in the hands of the Oxford University Press, but much work was required to prepare them for publication, and it has never been done. Scholars have begun to study them，, and an appreciation of Harriot’s contribution started to grow in the second half of the twentieth century. Harriot’s study of refraction is but one example where his work overlapped with independent studies carried out by others in Europe, but in any historical treatment of optics his contribution rightfully deserves to be acknowledged.
Questions 1-5 Reading passage has 7 paragraphs A-G. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-E and G from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings i. A misunderstanding in the history of science ii. Thomas Harriot’s biography iii. Unknown reasons for his unpublished works iv. Harriot’s 1588 publication on North America studies v. Expedition to the New World vi. Reluctant cooperation with Kepler vii. Belated appreciation of Harriot’s contribution viii. Religious pressures keeping him from publishing ix. Correspondence with Kepler x. Interests and researches into multiple fields of study
1. Paragraph B 2. Paragraph C 3. Paragraph D 4. Paragraph E 5. Paragraph G
Questions 6-10 Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Various modem applications base on an image produced by lens uses refraction, such as (6)………………. And a spectrum of colors from a beam of light can be produced with (7)……………… Harriot travelled to Virginia and mainly did research which focused on two subjects of American (8)…………………. After, he also enters upon a study of flight dynamics and (9)……………….. for one of his friends much ahead of major European competitor. He undertook extensive other studies which were only noted down personally yet predated than many other great scientists. One result, for example, corrected the misconception about the idea of (10)……………..
Questions 11-14 Look at the following researchers (listed A-D) and findings. Match each researcher with the correct finding. Write your answers in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any researcher more than once.
A Willobrord Snell B Johannes Kepler C Ptolemy D Galileo E Harriot
11. Discovered the moons of Jupiter 12. Distracted experimental calculation on refraction 13. The discovery of sunspots 14. The person whose name the sin law was attributed to
Crisis! freshwater
A As in New Delhi and Phoenix, policymakers worldwide wield great power over how water resources and managed. Wise use of such power will become increasingly important as the years go by because the world’s demand for freshwater is currently overtaking its ready supply in many places, and this situation shows no sign of abating.
B That the problem is well-known makes it no less disturbing: today one out of six people, more than a billion, suffer inadequate access to safe freshwater. By 2025, according to data released by the United Nations, the freshwater resources of more than half the countries across the globe will undergo either stress- for example, when people increasingly demand more water than is available or safe for use-or outright shortages. By mid-century, as much as three-quarters of the earth’s population could face scarcities of freshwater.
C Scientists expect water scarcity to become more common in large part because the world’s population is rising and many people are getting richer (thus expanding demand) and because global climate change is exacerbating aridity and reducing supply in many regions. What is more, many water sources are threatened by faulty waste disposal, releases of industrial pollutants, fertilizer runoff, and coastal influxes of saltwater into aquifers as groundwater is depleted.
D Because lack of access to water can lead to starvation, disease, political instability, and even armed conflict, failure to take action can have broad and grave consequences. Fortunately, to a great extent, the technologies and policy tools required to conserve existing freshwater and to secure more of it are known among which several seem particularly effective. What is needed now is action. Governments and authorities at every level have to formulate and execute plans for implementing the political, economic, and technological measures that can ensure water security now and in the coming decades.
E The world’s water problems require, as a start, an understanding of how much freshwater each person requires, along with knowledge of the factors that impede supply and increase demand in different parts of the world. Main Falkenmark of the Stockholm International Water Institute and other experts estimate that, on average, each person on the earth needs a minimum of 1000 cubic meters (m3) of water. The minimum water each person requires for drinking, hygiene, and growing food. The volume is equivalent to two-fifths of an Olympic-size swimming pool.
F Much of the Americas and northern Eurasia enjoy abundant water supplies. But several regions are beset by greater or lesser degrees of “physical” scarcity-whereby demand exceeds local availability. Other areas, among them Central Africa, parts of the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia contend with “economic” water scarcity limit access even though sufficient supplies are available.
G More than half of the precipitation that falls on land is never available for capture or storage because it evaporates from the ground or transpires from plants; this fraction is called blue-water sources-rivers, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers-that people can tap directly. Farm irrigation from these free-flowing bodies is the biggest single human use of freshwater resources, but the intense local demand they create often drains the surroundings of ready supplies.
H Lots of water, but not always where it is needed one hundred and ten thousand cubic kilometers of precipitation, nearly 10 times the volume of Lake Superior, falls from the sky onto the earth’s land surface every year. This huge quantity would easily fulfill the requirements of everyone on the planet if the water arrived where and when people needed it. But much of it cannot be captured (top), and the rest is disturbed unevenly (bottom). Green water (61.1% of total precipitation): absorbed by soil and plants, then released back into the air: unavailable for withdrawal. Bluewater (38.8% of total precipitation): collected in rivers, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater: available for withdrawal before it evaporates or reaches the ocean. These figures may not add up to 100% because of rounding. Only 1.5% is directly used by people.
I Waters run away in tremendous wildfires in recent years. The economic actors had all taken their share reasonably enough: they just did not consider the needs of the natural environment, which suffered greatly when its inadequate supply was reduced to critical levels by drought. The members of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission are now frantically trying to extricate themselves from the disastrous results of their misallocation of the total water resource. Given the difficulties of sensibly apportioning the water supply within a single nation, imagine the complexities of doing so for international river basins such as that of the Jordan River, which borders on Lebanon, Syria, Israel, the Palestinian areas, and Jordan, all of which have claims to the shared, but limited, supply in an extremely parched region. The struggle for freshwater has contributed to civil and military disputes in the area. Only continuing negotiations and compromises have kept this tense situation under control.
Questions 15-19 Do the following statements agree with the information given in reading passage? In boxes 15-19 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
15. The prospect for the need for freshwater worldwide is obscure. 16. To some extent, the challenge for freshwater is alleviated by common recognition. 17. Researchers arrive at the specific conclusion about the water crisis based on persuasive consideration of several factors. 18. The fact that people do not actually cherish the usage of water scarcity. 19. Controversy can’t be avoided for adjacent nations over the water resource.
Questions 20-24 The reading passage has eleven paragraphs A-I. Which paragraph contains the following information?
20. The uneven distribution of water around the world. 21. Other factors regarding nature bothering people who make the policies. 22. Joint efforts needed to carry out the detailed solutions combined with various aspects. 23. No always-in-time match available between the requirements and the actual rainfall. 24. The lower limit of the amount of fresh water for a person to survive.
Questions 25-27 Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of reading passage, using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the reading passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 25–27 on your answer sheet.
Many severe problems like starvation and military actions etc result from the storage of water which sometimes for some areas seems (25)…………… because of unavailability but other regions suffer another kind of scarcity for insufficient support. (26)……………… of the rainfall can’t be achieved because of evaporation. Some other parts form the (27)……………….. which can be used immediately. Water to irrigate the farmland takes a considerable amount along with the use for cities and industries and the extended need from the people involved.
The return of monkey life
Rain forest trees growing anew on Central American farmland are helping scientists find ways for monkey and agriculture to benefit one another.
A Hacienda La Pacifica, a remote working cattle ranch in Guanacaste province of northern Costa Rica, has for decades been home to a community of mantled howler monkeys. Other native primates- white-faced capuchin monkeys and spider monkeys were once common in this area, too, but vanished after the Pan-American Highway was built nearby in the 1950s and most of the surrounding land was cleared for cattle-raising. At Hacienda La Pacifica, however, an enlightened ranch owner chose to leave some strips of native trees growing. He used these as windbreaks to protect both cattle and their food crops from dry-season winds. In the process, the farmer unwittingly founded a unique laboratory for the study of monkeys.
B Ken Glander, a primatologist from Duke University in the USA, is studying La Pacifica’s monkeys in an effort to understand the relationship between howlers and regenerating forests at the edges of grazing lands. Studying such disturbed woodlands is increasingly important because throughout much of the New World Tropics, these are the only forests left. In the 18th century, tropical dry forests once covered most of Central America, but by the 1980s less than two percent remained undisturbed, and less than one percent was protected.
C Howlers persists at La Pacifica, Glander explains, because they are leaf-eaters. They eat fruit when it is available but, unlike capuchin and spider monkeys, do not depend on large areas of fruiting trees. Glander is particularly interested in howlers’ ability to thrive on leaves loaded with toxins- poisonous substances designed to protect the plants. For leaf-eaters, long-term exposure to a specific plant toxin can increase their ability to neutralize the poisonous substances and absorb the leaf nutrients. Watching generations of howlers at La Pacifica has shown Glander that the monkeys keep their systems primed by sampling a variety of plants and then focusing on a small number of the most nutritious food items. The leaves that grow in regenerating forests, like those at La Pacifica, are actually more howler-friendly than those produced by the centuries-old trees that survive farther south. In younger forests, trees put most of their limited energy into growing wood, leaves, and fruit, so they produce much lower levels of toxin than do well-established, old-growth trees.
D The value of maturing forests to primates is also a subject of study at Santa Rosa National Park, about 35 miles northwest of La Pacifica. Large areas of Santa Rosa’s forests had at one time been burnt to make space for cattle ranching and coffee farming, thereby devastating local monkey habitat. But in 1971 the government protected the area by designating it a National Park, and species of Indigenous Lees which had been absent for decades began to invade the abandoned pastures. Capuchins were the first to begin using the reborn forests, followed by howlers. Eventually, even spider monkeys, fruit-eaters that need large areas of continuous forest, returned. In the first 28 years following protection of the area, the capuchin population doubled, while the number of howlers increased sevenfold.
E Some of the same traits that allow howlers to survive at La Pacifica also explain their population boom in Santa Rosa, Howler reproduction is faster than that of other native monkey species. They give birth for the first time at about 3.5 years of age, compared with seven years for capuchins, and eight or more for spider monkeys. Also, while a female spider monkey will have a baby about once every four years, well-fed howlers can produce an infant every two years. Another factor is diet. Howlers are very adaptable feeders, and only need a comparatively small home range. Spider monkeys, on the other hand, need to occupy a huge home range. Also crucial is fact that the leaves howlers eat hold plenty of water, so the monkeys can survive away from open streams and water holes. This ability gives them a real advantage over capuchin and spider monkeys, which have suffered during the long, ongoing drought in the area.
F Alejandro Estrada, an ecologist at Estacion de Biologia Los Tuxtlas in Veracruz, Mexico, has been studying the ecology of a group of howler monkeys that thrive in a habitat totally altered by humans: a cacao plantation in Tabasco state, Mexico. Cacao plants need shade to grow, so 40 years ago the owners of Cholula Cacao Farm planted figs, monkeypod and other tall trees to form a protective canopy over their crop. The howlers moved in about 25 years ago after nearby forests were cut. This strange habitat seems to support about as many monkeys as would a same-sized patch of wild forest. The howlers eat the leaves and fruit of the shade trees, leaving the valuable cacao pods alone.
G Estrada believes the monkeys bring underappreciated benefits to such plantations, dispersing the seeds of fruits such as fig and other shade trees, and fertilizing the soil. Spider monkeys also forage for fruit here, though they need nearby areas of forest to survive in the long term. He hopes that farmers will begin to see the advantages of associating with wild monkeys, which could include potential ecotourism projects, ‘Conservation is usually viewed as a conflict between farming practices and the need to preserve nature,’ Estrada says. ‘We’re moving away from that vision and beginning to consider ways in which commercial activities may become a tool for the conservation of primates in human-modified landscapes.’
Question 28 – 31 Reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the following information?
28. A reason why newer forests provide howlers with better feeding opportunities than older forests 29. A reference to a change in farmers’ attitudes towards wildlife 30. A description of the means by which howlers select the best available diet for themselves 31. Figures relating to the reduction of natural wildlife habitat over a period of time
Questions 32-35 Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Why do howlers have an advantage over other Central American monkeys?
Howler monkeys have a more rapid rate of (32)………………… than either capuchin of spider monkeys. Unlike the other local monkey species, howlers can survive without eating (33)……………. and so can live inside a relatively small habitat area. Their diet is more flexible, and they are able to tolerate leaves with high levels of (34)……………… Howlers can also survive periods of (35)…………….. better than the other monkey species can.
Question 36 – 40 Look at the following features (Questions 36-40) and the list of locations below. Match each feature with the correct location, A, B or C. Write the correct letter, A, B or C, in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.
List of Locations A A B B C C
36. It has seen the return of native tree species. 37. It supports only one species of native monkey. 38. Its monkey population helps the agriculture of the area. 39. It is home to populations of all three local monkey species. 40. Its landscape was altered by the construction of a transport link.
A Want to devise a new form of alternative medicine? No problem. Here is the recipe. Be warm, sympathetic, reassuring and enthusiastic. Your treatment should involve physical contact, and each session with your patients should last at least half an hour. Encourage your patients to take an active part in their treatment and understand how their disorders relate to the rest of their lives. Tell them that their own bodies possess the true power to heal. Make them pay you out of their own pockets. Describe your treatment in familiar words, but embroidered with a hint of mysticism: energy fields, energy flows, energy blocks, meridians, forces, auras, rhythms and the like. Refer to the knowledge of an earlier age: wisdom carelessly swept aside by the rise and rise of blind, mechanistic science. Oh, come off it, you are saying. Something invented off the top of your head could not possibly work, could it?
B Well yes, it could – and often well enough to earn you a living. A good living if you are sufficiently convincing, or better still, really believe in your therapy. Many illnesses get better on their own, so if you are lucky and administer your treatment at just the right time you will get the credit. But that’s only part of it. Some of the improvement really would be down to you. Your healing power would be the outcome of a paradoxical force that conventional medicine recognizes but remains oddly ambivalent about: the placebo effect.
C Placebos are treatments that have no direct effect on the body, yet still, work because the patient has faith in their power to heal. Most often the term refers to a dummy pill, but it applies just as much to any device or procedure, from a sticking plaster to a crystal to an operation. The existence of the placebo effect implies that even quackery may confer real benefits, which is why any mention of placebo is a touchy subject for many practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine, who are likely to regard it as tantamount to a charge of charlatanism. In fact, the placebo effect is a powerful part of all medical care, orthodox or otherwise, though its role is often neglected or misunderstood.
D One of the great strengths of CAM may be its practitioners’ skill in deploying the placebo effect to accomplish real healing. “Complementary practitioners are miles better at producing non-specific effects and good therapeutic relationships,” says Edzard Ernst, professor of CAM at Exeter University. The question is whether CAM could be integrated into conventional medicines, as some would like, without losing much of this power.
E At one level, it should come as no surprise that our state of mind can influence our physiology: anger opens the superficial blood vessels of the face; sadness pumps the tear glands. But exactly how placebos work their medical magic is still largely unknown. Most of the scant research done so far has focused on the control of pain because it’s one of the commonest complaints and lends itself to experimental study. Here, attention has turned to the endorphins, morphine-like neurochemicals known to help control pain.
F But exactly how placebos work their medical magic is still largely unknown. Most of the scant research to date has focused on the control of pain because it’s one of the commonest complaints and lends itself to experimental study. Here, attention has turned to the endorphins, natural counterparts of morphine that are known to help control pain. “Any of the neurochemicals involved in transmitting pain impulses or modulating them might also be involved in generating the placebo response,” says Don Price, an oral surgeon at the University of Florida who studies the placebo effect in dental pain.
G “But endorphins are still out in front.” That case has been strengthened by the recent work of Fabrizio Benedetti of the University of Turin, who showed that the placebo effect can be abolished by a drug, naloxone, which blocks the effects of endorphins. Benedetti induced pain in human volunteers by inflating a blood-pressure cuff on the forearm. He did this several times a day for several days, using morphine each time to control the pain. On the final day, without saying anything, he replaced the morphine with a saline solution. This still relieved the subjects’ pain: a placebo effect. But when he added naloxone to the saline the pain relief disappeared. Here was direct proof that placebo analgesia is mediated, at least in part, by these natural opiates.
H Still, no one knows how belief triggers endorphin release, or why most people can’t achieve placebo pain relief simply by willing it. Though scientists don’t know exactly how placebos work, they have accumulated a fair bit of knowledge about how to trigger the effect. A London rheumatologist found, for example, that red dummy capsules made more effective painkillers than blue, green or yellow ones. Research on American students revealed that blue pills make better sedatives than pink, a colour more suitable for stimulants. Even branding can make a difference: if Aspro or Tylenol is what you like to take for a headache, their chemically identical generic equivalents may be less effective.
I It matters, too, how the treatment is delivered. Decades ago, when the major tranquilliser chlorpromazine was being introduced, a doctor in Kansas categorised his colleagues according to whether they were keen on it, openly skeptical of its benefits, or took a “let’s try and see” attitude. His conclusion: the more enthusiastic the doctor, the better the drug performed. And this year Ernst surveyed published studies that compared doctors’ bedside manners. The studies turned up one consistent finding: “Physicians who adopt a warm, friendly and reassuring manner,” he reported, “are more effective than those whose consultations are formal and do not offer reassurance.”
J Warm, friendly and reassuring are precisely CAM’s strong suits, of course. Many of the ingredients of that opening recipe – the physical contact, the generous swathes of time, the strong hints of supernormal healing power – are just the kind of thing likely to impress patients. It’s hardly surprising, then, that complementary practitioners are generally best at mobilising the placebo effect, says Arthur Kleinman, professor of social anthropology at Harvard University.
Questions 1- 6 Use the information in the passage to match the deed (listed A-H) with people below. Write the appropriate letters A-H in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once
A Should easily be understood B Should improve by itself C Should not involve any mysticism D Ought to last a minimum length of time. E Needs to be treated at the right time. F Should give more recognition. G Can earn valuable money. H Do not rely on any specific treatment
1. Appointments with an alternative practitioner 2. An alternative practitioner’s description of the treatment 3. An alternative practitioner who has faith in what he does 4. The illness of patients convinced of alternative practice 5. Improvements of patients receiving alternative practice 6. Conventional medical doctors (who is aware of placebo)
Questions 7- 9 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
7. In the fifth paragraph, the writer uses the example of anger and sadness to illustrate that: A People’s feeling could affect their physical behaviour B Scientists don’t understand how the mind influences the body. C Research on the placebo effect is very limited D How placebo achieves its effect is yet to be understood.
8. Research on pain control attracts most of the attention because A Scientists have discovered that endorphins can help to reduce pain. B Only a limited number of researchers gain relevant experience C Pain reducing agents might also be involved in the placebo effect D Patients often experience pain and like to complain about it
9. Fabrizio Benedetti’s research on endorphins indicates that A They are widely used to regulate pain. B They can be produced by willful thoughts C They can be neutralized by introducing naloxone. D Their pain-relieving effects do not last long enough.
Questions 10 – 14 Do the following statements agree with the information given in reading passage? In boxes 10-14 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
10. There is enough information for scientists to fully understand the placebo effect. 11. London based researcher discovered that red pills should be taken off the market. 12. People’s preference for brands would also have an effect on their healing. 13. Medical doctors have a range of views of the newly introduced drug of chlorpromazine. 14. Alternative practitioners are seldom known for applying the placebo effect.
Elnino and Seabirds
A Rhythm of the seasons cannot always be relied upon. At times the tropical Pacific Ocean and large expanses of the global atmosphere seem to be marching to the beat of a different drummer, disrupting the normal patterns of countless species of plants and animals along with hundreds of millions of human beings. So they want anticipate these occasional lapses in the march of the seasons and help societies plan accordingly, scientists are seeking to understand these competing rhythms: the strongest of which is the alternation between the “normal climate” and a different but still recurrent set of climatic conditions in the Pacific region called El Nino.
B Seabirds are prominent and highly visible components of marine ecosystems that will be affected by global climate change. The Bering Sea region is particularly important to seabirds; populations there are larger and more diverse than in any similar region in North America—over 90% of seabirds breeding in the continental United States are found in this region. Seabirds, so named because they spend at least 80% of their lives at sea, are dependent upon marine resources for food. As prey availability changes in response to climatically driven factors such as surface sea temperature and extent of sea ice, so will populations of seabirds be affected.
C Seabirds are valued as indicators of healthy marine ecosystems and provide a “vicarious use value” or existence value—people appreciate and value seabirds simply because they are there and enjoy them through venues such as pictures, nature programs, and written accounts without ever directly observing seabirds in their native environment. A direct measure of this value is demonstrated by Federal legislation that established specific national wildlife refuges to protect seabirds and international treaty obligations that provide additional protection for seabirds. Seabirds are also an important subsistence resource for many who live within the Bering Sea Region. Furthermore, the rich knowledge base about seabirds makes them a valuable resource as indicator species for measurement of change in the marine environment.
D The most abundant breeding species in Alaska are northern fulmars, storm-petrels, kittiwakes, murres, auklets and puffins. These species also form the largest colonies. Fulmars, storm-petrels and kittiwakes are surface feeders, picking their prey from the surface or just below the surface; murres, auklets, and puffins dive for their food. Fulmars nest primarily on island groups in and around the Bering Sea. They take a wide variety of prey (e.g., fish, squid, zooplankton, jellyfish) from the surface or just below the surface. Storm-petrels are strictly nocturnal and nest below ground in either burrows or crevices between rocks. They forage on zooplankton and squid; in some areas they are dependent upon small fish such as capelin and sand lance caught at the surface. Black-legged kittiwakes are widespread throughout Alaska, Canada and Eurasia while red-legged kittiwakes are found only in the Bering Sea region. Both are surface feeders although black-legged kittiwakes feed primarily on small fish and forage over the continental shelf and shelf break; red-legged kittiwakes feed primarily on myctophids and will forage beyond the shelf break.
E Marine mammals have exhibited similar signs of food stress in recent years. Harbor seals at Tugidak Island in the Gulf of Alaska declined by about 85% between 1976 and 1988 . Steller sea lion populations declined by 36% in the Gulf of Alaska between 1977 and 1985 , and by another 59% between 1985 and . Northern fur seals declined about 35% by 1986 from their average numbers in the 1970s, although numbers had rebounded somewhat (20%) by 1990 . Associated with the declines in Steller sea lions are declines in birth rate, fewer breeding females, fewer pups, decreased adult body condition, decreased juvenile survival, and a change in population age structure.
F Walker noticed that monsoon seasons with low-index conditions are often marked by drought in Australia, Indonesia, India, and parts of Africa. He also claimed that low-index winters tend to be unusually mild in western Canada. One of his British colleagues chided him in print for suggesting that climatic conditions over such widely separated regions of the globe could be linked. In his reply Walker predicted, correctly, that an explanation would be forthcoming, but that it would require a knowledge of wind patterns above ground level, which were not routinely being observed at that time.
G The need for long-term time series It seems obvious that without good baseline data ornithologists are doomed to be surprised by the arrival of El Nino every few years. Even when ornithologists and ecologists are at hand to take advantage of an incoming El Nino, lack of preexisting data, and of monitoring afterwards, makes it difficult 134 F.M. Jaksic & J.M. Farina to understand responses of birds to the successive El Nino, La Nina, and “normal” years. Indeed, according to Jaksic, during the last century there were 12 El Nino years and 12 La Nina years, thus leaving about 76 ‘normal’ years in between. Thus, by heavily concentrating attention on only 12% of the time span El Nino, and of neglecting possibly another 12% , ornithologists are essentially ignoring what happens during 76% of the time. This situation may be remedied only as long as data are logged on a regular or continuous basis, that is, as long-term time series. The recipe prescribed by Schreiber & Schreiber to understand El Nino, effects on birds still stands: ‘…carry out long-term studies that will shed further light on the interactions between global atmospheric cycles, oceanographic phenomena, and avian populations.’
H Populations of seabirds in Alaska are larger and more diverse than any similar region in the Northern Hemisphere. The extensive coastal estuaries and offshore waters of Alaska provide breeding, feeding and migrating habitats for 66 species of seabirds. At least 38 species of seabirds, over 50 million individuals, breed in Alaska. Eight Alaskan species breed only here and in adjacent Siberia. Five additional species range through the North Pacific, but their populations are concentrated in Alaska. In addition to breeding grounds, Alaskan waters also provide important wintering habitat for birds that breed in Canada and Eurasia. Shearwaters, which breed in the southern hemisphere, are the most numerous species in Alaskan waters during the summer.
I As another indication that food has been limiting in recent years, several largescale die-offs of seabirds, mostly surface-feeding species, have been observed in the Gulf of Alaska during the last decade, most notably in 1983, 1989，and 1993 . But Hatch thinks that it is too early to decide the these die-offs reports are somehow connected with effect of El nino. Byrd and Tobish believe that high rainfall can affect survival of chicks in earthen burrows, and incidence of big storms with high winds during the chick-rearing period can cause mortality for chicks of species nesting on cliff-ledges, but this view has not been considered as convincing evidence.
Questions 15-18 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write your answers in boxes 15-26 on your answer sheet.
15. Why do scientists want to investigate El Nino phenomenon at beginning of the paragraph? A To learn patterns of creatures that live in marine environment. B Assist us to map out because it disturbs normal cycle of for wildlife and human. C It has profound theory for both the academic side and practical side. D Tropical Pacific Ocean is where El Nino affects most.
16. Why do scientists use seabirds as important subjects when observe climate change World-widely? A Seabirds affected by prey changes according to the temperature and ice B Its size is large enough to be observed. C El Nino affects seabirds more than other sea creatures. D North America is situated in the area where El Nino affects most.
17. What happened for Marine mammals that live in Tugidak Island in Gulf of Alaska? A Number of seals declined about 85% from the mid of 20th century. B Number of Steller sea lion declined while Number seals grew. C Birth rate and breeding females declined on the Tugidak Island. D The situation of mammals on the island is not that worse than we expected.
18. According to J. Walker, what happens in the monsoon seasons notably? A Flood and drought seriously damage almost everywhere of the planet. B Walker’s prediction would soon come true. C Drought only affects some parts of Africa. D Drought will affect somewhere of the earth such as Australia and Indonesia.
Question 19 – 27 Do the following statements agree with the information given in reading passage? In boxes 19-27 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
19. Seabirds are regarded as precious indicators of changes in oceanic environment. 20. Seabirds such as Fulmars and Murres feed by the characteristic of prey in different ways. 21. Steller sea lions only decline in birth rate and fewer pups, but the whole population wouldn’t be affected by the changes. 22. With reply of Walker’s colleague, knowledge of wind patterns will be very helpful. 23. It is difficult to investigate El Nino for ornithologists and ecologist because lack of available statistics and inspections. 24. Habit of seabirds in Alaska is similar to those in the Northern Hemisphere. 25. Number of Shearwaters in the southern hemisphere feed most during the summer. 26. Hatch thinks that it is too early to determine all the problems that are caused by El Nino. 27. Byrd and Tobish think that heavy rainfall and storms cause mortality for chicks, which has already been a convincing proof.
The Impact of Environment to Children
A What determines how a child develops? In reality, it would be impossible to account for each and every influence that ultimately determines who a child becomes. What we can look at are some of the most apparent influences such as genetics, parenting, experiences, friends, family relationships and school to help us understand the influences that help contribute to a child’s growth.
B Think of these influences as building blocks. While roost people tend to have the same basic building blocks, these components can be put together in an infinite number of ways. Consider your own overall personality. How much of who you are today was shaped by your genetic inheritance, and how much is a result of your lifetime of experiences? This question has puzzled philosophers, psychologists and educators for hundreds of years and is frequently referred to as the nature versus nurture debate. Generally, the given rate of influence on children is 40 % to 50%. It may refer to all of siblings of a family. Are we the result of nature (our genetic background) or nurture (our environment)? Today, most researchers agree that child development involves a complex interaction of both nature and nurture, while some aspects of development may be strongly influenced by biology, environmental influences may also play a role. For example, the timing of when the onset of puberty occurs is largely the results of heredity, but environmental factors such as nutrition can also have an effect.
C The From the earliest moments of life, the interaction of heredity and the environment works to shape who children are and who they will become. While the genetic instructions a child inherits from his parents may set out a road map for development, the environment can impact how these directions are expressed, shaped or event silenced. The complex interaction of nature and nurture does not just occur at certain moments or at certain periods of time; it is persistent and lifelong.
D The shared environment (also called common environment) refers to environmental influences that have the effect of making siblings more similar to one another. Shared environmental influences can include shared family experiences, shared peer groups, and sharing the same school and community. In general, there has not been strong evidence for shared environmental effects on many behaviors, particularly those measured in adults. Possible reasons for this are discussed. Shared environmental effects are evident in children and adolescents, but these effects generally decrease across the life span. New developments in behavior genetic methods have made it possible to specify shared environments of importance and to tease apart familial and nonfamilial sources of shared environmental influence. It may also refer to all of siblings of a family, but the rate of influence is less than 10 per cent.
E The importance of non-shared environment lay hidden within quantitative genetic studies since they began nearly a century ago. Quantitative genetic methods, such as twin and adoption methods, were designed to tease apart nature and nurture in order to explain family resemblance. For nearly all complex phenotypes, it has emerged that the answer to the question of the origins of family resemblance is nature-things run in families primarily for genetic reasons. However, the best available evidence for the importance of environmental influence comes from this same quantitative genetic research because genetic influence never explains all of the variances for complex phenotypes, and the remaining variance must be ascribed to environmental influences. Non-shared environment, it may refer to the part of siblings of a family, the rate of influence to children is 40 % to 50%.
F Yet it took many decades for the full meaning of these findings to emerge. If genetics explains why siblings growing up in the same family are similar, but the environment is important, then it must be the case that the salient environmental effects do not make siblings similar. That is, they are not shared by children growing up in the same family-they must be ‘non-shared’. This implication about non-shared environmental import lay fallow in the field of quantitative genetics because the field’s attention was then firmly on the nature-nurture debate. ‘Nurture’ in the nature-nurture debate was implicitly taken to mean shared environment because, from Freud onwards, theories of socialization had assumed that children’s environments are doled out on a family-by-family basis. In contrast, the point of the non-shared environment is that environments are doled out on a child-by-child basis. Note that the phrase ‘non-shared environment’ is shorthand for a component of phenotypic variance-it refers to ‘effects’ rather than ‘events’, as discussed later. Research in recent years suggested that the impact from parents will be easy to be interrupted by the influence from the children of the same age. That also showed that variations of knowledge that children get from other culture are increasing. A number of interests between, whatever, fathers and mothers or parents and their children are conflicting.
G Because siblings living in the same home share some but not all of the potential genetic and environmental factors that influence their behaviors, teasing apart the potential influences of genetic and non-genetic factors that differentiate siblings is very difficult. Turkheimer and Waldron (2000) have noted that non-shared environmental influences——which include all of the random measurement error——may not be systematic, but instead may operate idiosyncratically and in ways that cannot be ascertained. Thus, the question is whether or not quasi-experimental behavioral genetic designs can be used to actually identify systematic non-shared environmental mechanisms cross-sectionally and longitudinally. This is the impetus for the current study.
Questions 28 – 32 Complete the table now. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the reading passage for each answer.
Type of Impact to Children
Range of Reference to Siblings
Rate of Influence
(28)……………. background from parents and family
including to all of siblings
40%-50%
Shared Environment
to (29)………………
Less than (30)……………
(31)……………….
to part of siblings
(32)……. – 50%
Questions 33-35 Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of reading passage. Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Research in recent years illuminated that the impact from parents will frequently be (33)……………… by the peer’s pressure. It was also indicated that (34)………………. of knowledge that children learned from other culture is increasing. The study has found quantities of competing (35)………………. between parents and children or even between parents themselves.
Question 36 – 39 Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in reading passage? In boxes 36-39 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
36. The more children there are in a family, the more impacts of environment it is. 37. Methods based on twin studies still meet unexpected differences that cannot be ascribed to be a purely genetic explanation. 38. Children prefer to speak the language from the children of the same age to the language spoken by their parents. 39. The Study of non-shared environment influence can be a generally agreed idea among researchers in the field.
Question 40 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
40. According to this passage, which comment is TURE about the current Study of non-shared environment influence to children? A a little biased in nature B not sufficiently proved C very systematic D can be workable
