Author: theieltsbridge

AIRCONDITIONING THE EARTH

The circulation of air in the atmosphere is activated by convection, the transference of heat resulting from the fact that warm gases or fluids rise while cold gases or fluids sink. For example, if one wall of a room is heated whilst the opposite wall is cooled, air will rise against the warm wall and flow across the ceiling to the cold wall before descending to flow back across the floor to the warm wall again. The real atmosphere, however, is like a very long room with a very low ceiling.

The distance from equator to pole is 10,000 km, while the ‘ceiling height’ to the beginning of the stratosphere is only about 10 km. The air therefore splits up into a number of smaller loops or convection cells. Between the equator and each pole there are three such cells and within these the circulation is mainly north-south.

Large-scale air-conditioning
The result of this circulation is a flow of heat energy towards the poles and a levelling out of the climate so that both equatorial and polar regions are habitable. The atmosphere generally retains its state of equilibrium as every north-going air current is counterbalanced by a south-going one. In the same way depressions at lower levels in the troposphere are counterbalanced by areas of high pressure in the upper levels, and vice versa. The atmospheric transference of heat is closely associated with the movement of moisture between sea and continent and between different latitudes. Moist air can transport much greater quantities of energy than dry air.

Because the belts of convection cells run east to west, both climate and weather vary according to latitude. Climatic zones are particularly distinguishable at sea where there are no land masses to disturb the pattern.

Man and the winds
For thousands of years mankind has been dependent upon the winds: they brought rain to the land and carried ships across the seas. Thus the westerly wind belts, the trade winds and the monsoon winds of the global circulation systems have been known to us for many centuries.

As recently as the 20th century, Arab ships sailed on the south-west monsoon winds from East Africa to India and back again on the north-east monsoon winds, without need of a compass. The winds alone were sufficient. In the equatorial convergence zone (the ‘doldrums’), and in the regions around the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn known as the ‘horse latitudes’, sailing ships could drift for weeks unable to steer, while the ‘roaring forties’ of the South Atlantic (40-50°S) were notorious among mariners for their terrible winds.

It was not until the development of the balloon at the end of the 18th century, however, that it became possible to study meteorological conditions at high altitudes. The balloon is still a significant research device although today it carries a radar reflector or a set of instruments and a radio transmitter, rather than the scientists themselves. Nowadays high-flying aircraft and satellites are also important aids to meteorology. Through them we have discovered the west to east jet stream. This blows at speeds of up to 500 km/h at altitudes of 9,000-10,000 m along the border between the Arctic and temperate zone convection belts.

Weather fronts
The circulation within the different convection cells is greater than the exchange of air between them and therefore the temperature in two cells that are close to each other can differ greatly. Consequently, the borders between the different convection cells are areas in which warm and cold air masses oppose each other, advancing and withdrawing. In the Northern Hemisphere, the dividing line between the Arctic and temperate convection zones is the polar front, and it is this which determines the weather in northern Europe and North America. This front is unstable, weaving sometimes northward, sometimes southward, of an average latitude of 60°N. Depressions become trapped within the deep concavities of this front and these subsequently move eastward along it with areas of rain and snowfall. In this way global air circulation determines not only the long-term climate but also the immediate weather.

Questions 1-3
Label the diagram below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

Questions 4-7
Complete the summary below using the list of words and phrases, A-L, below.

A on land
B polar regions
C moisture
D heat
E balanced
F at sea
G offset
H pole
I equatorial regions
J latitude
K in the air
L longitude

Global air circulation spreads heat from the equator towards the (4)……………………Generally, a state of balance in the atmosphere is maintained because the north-moving air currents are continually being (5)…………………..by the south ones. Within the system of heat transfer in the atmosphere, climate is affected not only by (6)………………..but also by the amount of moisture in the air. The most accurate geographical zone for the study of climate is (7)…………………….., where there are no local wind systems.

Questions 8-12
Write the correct letter, A, B or C in boxes 8-12 on your answer sheet.

Classify the following wind patterns according to whether the writer states they are

A useful
B problematic
C neither useful nor problematic

8. ‘roaring forties’
9. south-west monsoon winds
10. west to east jet stream
11. ‘horse latitudes’
12. north-east monsoon winds

Question 13
Answer the question below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage.

13. Which border between convection zones determines the weather in the Northern Hemisphere?

MONEY AS THE UNIT OF ACCOUNT

SECTION A
The most difficult aspect of money to understand is its function as a unit of account. In linear measurement we find the definition of a yard, or a metre, easy to accept. In former times these lengths were defined in terms of fine lines etched onto brass rods maintained in standards laboratories at constant temperatures. Money, however, is much more difficult to define because the value of anything is ultimately in the mind of the observer, and such values will change with time and circumstance.

Sir Isaac Newton, as Master of the Royal Mint, defined the pound sterling (£) in 1717 as 113 grains of pure gold. This took Britain off silver and onto gold as defining the unit of account. The pound was 113 grains of pure gold, the shilling was 1/20 of that, and the penny 1/240 of it.

By the end of the„19th century the gold standard had spread around most of the trading world, with the result that there was a single world money. It was called by different names in different countries, but all these supposedly different currencies were rigidly interconnected through their particular definition in terms of a quantity of gold.

SECTION B
In economic life the prices of different commodities and services are always changing with respect to each other. If the potato crop, for example, is ruined by frost or flood, then the price of potatoes will go up. The consequences of that particular price increase will be complex and unpredictable. Because of the high price of potatoes, prices of other things will decline, as demand for them declines. Similarly, the argument that the Middle East crisis following the Iraqi annexation of Kuwait would, because of increased oil prices, have led to sustained general inflation is, although widely accepted, entirely without foundation. With sound money (money whose purchasing power does not decline over time) a sudden price shock in any one commodity will not lead to a general price increase, but to changes in relative prices throughout the economy. As oil increases, other goods and services will drop in price, and oil substitutes will rise in price, as the consequences of the oil price increase work their unpredictable and complex way through the economy.

The use of gold as the unit of account during the days of the gold standard meant that the price of all other commodities and services would swing up and down with reference to the price of gold, which was fixed. If gold supplies diminished, as they did when the 1850s gold rushes in California and Australia were finishing, then deflation (a general price level decrease] would set in. When new gold rushes followed in South Africa and again in Australia, in the 1880s and 1890s, the general price level increased, gently, around the world, as there was more money in circulation.

SECTION C
The end of the gold standard began with the introduction of the Bretton-Woods Agreement in 1946. This fixed the value of all world currencies relative to the US dollar, which in turn was fixed to a specific value of gold (US$0.35/oz). However, in 1971 the US government finally refused to exchange US dollars for gold, and other countries soon followed. Governments printed as much paper money or coinage as they wanted, and the more that was printed, the less each unit of currency was worth.

The key problem with these government ‘fiat’ currencies is that their value is not defined; such value is subject to how much money a government cares to print. Their future value is unpredictable, depending as it does on political chance. In past economic calculations of the Australian Institute for Public Policy, incomes and expenditures were automatically converted to dollars of a particular year, using CPI deflators, which are stored in the Institute’s computers. When the Institute performs economic calculations into the future, it guesses at inflation rates and includes these guesses in its figures. The guesses are entirely based on past experience. In Australia most current calculations assume a three to four per cent inflation rate.

SECTION D
The great advantage of the 19th century gold standard was not just that it defined the unit of account, but that it operated throughout almost the entire world. Anthony Trollope tells us in his diaries about his Australian travels in 1872 that a pound of meat, selling in Australia for two pence, would have cost ten pence or even a shilling in the UK. It was this price difference which drove investment and effort into the development of shipboard refrigeration, and opening up of major new markets for Australian meat, at great benefit to the British public.

Today we can determine price differences between countries by considering the exchange rate of the day. In twelve months’ time, even a month’s time, however, a totally different situation may prevail, and investments of time and money made on the basis of an opportunity at an exchange rate of the day, may actually perform poorly because of subsequent exchange rate movements.

The great advantage of having a single stable world currency is that such currency would have very high information content. It tells people where to invest their time, energy and capital, all around the world, with much greater accuracy and predictability than would otherwise be possible.

Questions 14-17
Reading Passage 2 has four sections, A-D. Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.

List of Headings
i The effects of inflation
ii The notion of money and its expression
iii The rise of problematic modern currencies
iv Stable money compared to modern ‘fiat’ currencies
v The function of money
vi The interrelationship of prices
vii Stability of modern currencies

14. SECTION A
15. SECTION B
16. SECTION C
17. SECTION D

Questions 18-22
Look at the following causes and the list of results below. Match each cause with the appropriate result.

18. Oil prices rise.
19. The price of potatoes goes up.
20. Gold was the unit of account.
21. The amount of gold available went down.
22. Meat in Australia was cheaper than elsewhere.

List of Results
A The price of goods fluctuated in relation to a fixed gold price
B People developed techniques of transporting it to other places.
C Oil substitutes become more expensive
D More people went to live in Australia
E The price of other things goes down, because fewer people could afford to buy them
F The price of commodities remained fixed
G There is no observable effect.
H All prices went down, everywhere.
I Oil substitutes drop in price

Questions 23-27
Classify the following characteristics as belonging to

A money based on a gold standard
B government ‘fiat’ monopoly currencies
C both money based on a gold standard and ‘fiat’ currencies

23. it has a clearly defined value
24. its value by definition varies over time
25. its future value is predictable
26. its past value can be calculated
27. it makes international investment easier

PURPOSES OF LANGUAGE STUDY: THE AUSTRALIAN SENATE INQUIRY INTO A NATIONAL LANGUAGE POLICY

The Report of the Inquiry by the Senate of the Australian Parliament into a national language policy in Australia proposed five purposes for studying a language other than English in Australian schools.

POINT ONE
The first point relates to what might be termed the more strictly utilitarian reasons for language learning: the acquisition of fluency in a language other than English for the purpose of direct communication. The communication in question may be of an informal nature, such as that which occurs during overseas travel, or between members of different groups within Australian society in a variety of social situations. In large measure, however, this language learning objective relates to the rote of languages other than English in various fields of employment, such as interpreting and translating, international trade, diplomacy and defence.

Professor M. Halliday, a witness to the Inquiry, cautioned against placing too heavy an emphasis on utilitarian goals, stating that ‘one should not be too restricted to the practical arguments which are in a sense dishonest if you say to someone: “If you spend all this time learning a language you will immediately be able to go and find a use for it”.’

The Committee agrees that, taken in isolation, practical arguments tend to give an incomplete picture of the value of language learning. In the early school years, for example, utilitarian objectives may well be less important than they are at tertiary level where employment considerations exert a strong influence.

POINT TWO
The second purpose concerns the link between a language and the cultural context from which it emerges. Many submissions stressed the value of the language learning experience as a means of understanding other cultures, and hence of developing sensitive and tolerant cross-cultural attitudes. This proposition is applied to cultures both within Australia and overseas. Thus, it is argued that language study can contribute in important ways both to harmonious community relationships within Australia, and to an understanding of the cultural values of other countries.

It is also contended that language provides the key to major historical cultures, such as the civilisations of classical antiquity which have exerted a profound influence on the Western tradition.

In the course of hearings, Dr David Ingram of the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations referred to evidence which lends some empirical support to the claim that the experience of language learning fosters the development of a better understanding of other cultures. The Committee does not find the proposition difficult to accept. It believes, however, that the measure of success achieved is likely to be largely dependent on the teaching methodology adopted, and the degree of teacher commitment to the goal of cultural awareness and sensitivity.

POINT THREE
The third objective relates to the role of language learning is the maintenance of ethnic languages and cultures within Australia. It was argued in submissions that a central element in Australia’s policy of multiculturalism is a recognition of the value of the cultural heritages of the different groups within Australian society. Since language and culture are inextricably intertwined, the preservation of cultural heritages necessarily entails the retention of the languages associated with them. In the case of Aboriginal communities this issue takes on a special note of urgency since, in many instances, Aboriginal cultures and languages are on the verge of disappearing completely. The objective in this context, therefore, is not simply to assist in the maintenance of a cultural and linguistic heritage but to aid in preserving that heritage from extinction.

POINT FOUR
Prominent amongst the purposes of language learning described in submissions was the fourth point: the development of the general cognitive and linguistic capacities of students. The educational outcomes at stake here were described in a number of ways. Professor M. Halliday, for example, spoke of language learning as an educational exercise of the first importance, as a development of thinking.’ Another submission referred to the development of ‘a sharpened, more critical awareness of the nature and mechanism of language.’ Professor Clyne pointed to research conducted particularly in Canada which, he states, ‘suggests that bilinguals are superior to monolinguals in logical thought and conceptual development, verbal intelligence and divergent thinking.’

POINT FIVE
Finally, several submissions spoke of the role of language learning is the general development of personality. To a large extent, this objective builds upon and sums up aspects of those already covered. The possibility of direct communication with speakers of another language, for example, offers the opportunity for a broadening of personal horizons. A similar outcome may be expected from the encounter with another culture made possible through language study. Where the language concerned is the child’s mother tongue, either the language of a migrant group or an Aboriginal language, an additional factor emerges. In this context, it is argued, language study contributes significantly to the development of individual self-esteem, since the introduction of the language into the school encourages children of that language background to value it and appreciate it as an asset. As a result, their estimation of their family’s value as well as of their own worth is likely to rise.

The Committee believes that submissions have been correct in drawing attention to these personal development issues. Naturally, the benefits of language learning in question here are less easy to quantify than those involved in the objectives previously discussed. Nonetheless, the Committee believes that, if appropriately taught, languages can play an important part in assisting young people to establish their identity, and develop their individual and social personalities.

Questions 28-32
Reading Passage 3 proposes five points for the Purpose of Language Study. Choose the correct heading for each of the five points from the list of headings below.

28. Point One
29. Point Two
30. Point Three
31. Point Four
32. Point Five

List of Headings
i Maintenance of ethnic languages and outlines as part of Australia’s policy of multiculturalism
ii Tolerance and acceptance of other races and cultures through language classes
iii Successful communication with non-English speaking people both within Australia and overseas
iv A better appreciation of the multicultural nature of Australian society
v Developing a better understanding of other cultures
vi Developing better cognitive and general linguistic abilities in students
vii Assessment whether bilinguals are superior to monolinguals
viii Developing the personality of students and sense of individual identity
ix The prevention of Aboriginal languages disappearing

Questions 33-37
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 33-37 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

33. Fluency skills in a language other than English are acquired for the purpose of communicating in informal settings.
34. There is evidence which suggests that language learning does not necessarily promote a better understanding of cultures.
35. Learning a second language produces greater tolerance, better understanding of others and acceptance of difference.
36. Preserving a culture involves retaining the language associated with it.
37. Learning a language facilitates a child’s communication with family members of non-English speaking backgrounds.

Questions 38-40
Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

Understanding of other cultures whether within Australia or overseas is one of the benefits gained through (38)………………..

Ability to study one’s background language at school seemingly raises an individual’s (39)………………….

Provided they are competently taught, languages can help to form the (40)…………………..of individuals and develop their personalities.

Nature on display in American zoos

The first zoo in the United States opened in Philadelphia in 1874, followed by the Cincinnati Zoo the next year. By 1940 there were zoos in more than one hundred American cities. The Philadelphia Zoo was more thoroughly planned and better financed than most of the hundreds of zoos that would open later but in its landscape and its mission – to both educate and entertain it embodied ideas about how to build a zoo that stayed consistent for decades. The zoos came into existence in the late nineteenth century during the transition of the United States from a rural and agricultural nation to an industrial one.

The population more than doubled between 1860 and 1900. As more middle class people lived in cities, they began seeking new relationships with the natural world as a place for recreation, self-improvement, and Spiritual renewal. Cities established systems of public parks, and nature tourism – already popular – became even more fashionable with the establishment of national parks. Nature was thought to be good for people of all ages and classes. Nature study was incorporated into school curricula, and natural history collecting became an increasingly popular pastime.

At the same time, the fields of study which were previously thought of as’ natural history’ grew into separate areas such as taxonomy, experimental embryology and genetics, each with its own experts and structures. As laboratory research gained prestige in the zoology departments of American universities, the gap between professional and amateur scientific activities widened. Previously, natural history had been open to amateurs and was easily popularized, but research required access to microscopes and other equipment in laboratories, as well as advanced education.

The new zoos set themselves apart from traveling animal shows by stating their mission as education and the advancement of science, In addition to recreation. Zoos presented zoology for the non specialist, at a time when the intellectual distance between amateur naturalists and laboratory oriented zoologists was increasing. They attracted wide audiences and quickly became a feature of every growing and forward thinking city. They were emblems of civic pride on a level of importance with art museums, natural history museums and botanical gardens.

Most American zoos were founded and operated as part of the public parks administration. They were dependent on municipal funds, and they charged no admission fee. They tended to assemble as many different mammal and bird species as possible, along with a few reptiles, exhibiting one or two specimens of each, and they competed with each other to become the first to display a rarity, like a rhinoceros. In the constant effort to attract the public to make return visits, certain types of display came in and out of fashion; for example, dozens of zoos built special Islands for their large populations of monkeys. In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration funded millions of dollars of construction at dozens of zoos, for the most part, the collections of animals were organized by species in a combination of enclosures according to a fairly loose classification scheme.

Although many histories of individual zoos describe the 1940s through the 1960s as a period of stagnation, and in some cases there was neglect, new zoos continued to be set up all over the country. In the 1940s and 1950s, the first zoos designed specifically for children were built, some with the appeal of farm animals. An increasing number of zoos tried new ways of organizing their displays. In addition to the traditional approach of exhibiting like kinds together, zoo planners had a new approach of putting animals in groups according to their continent of origin and designing exhibits showing animals of particular habitats, for example, polar, desert, or forest. During the 1960s, a few zoos arranged some displays according to animal behavior; the Bronx Zoo. for instance, opened its World of Darkness exhibit of nocturnal animals. Paradoxically, at the same time as zoo displays began incorporating ideas about the ecological relationships between animals, big cats and primates continued to be displayed in bathroom like cages lined with tiles.

By the 1970s, a new wave of reform was stirring. Popular movements for environmentalism and animal welfare called attention to endangered species and to zoos that did not provide adequate care for their animals. More projects were undertaken by research scientists and zoos began hiring full-time vets as they stepped up captive breeding programs. Many zoos that had been supported entirely by municipal budgets began recruiting private financial support and charging admission fees. In the prosperous 1980s and 1990s. zoos built realistic ‘landscape immersion’ exhibits, many of them around the theme of the tropical rainforest and. increasingly, conservation moved to the forefront of zoo agendas.

Although zoos were popular and proliferating institutions in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century, historians have paid little attention to them. Perhaps zoos have been ignored because they were, and remain still, multi-purpose institutions, and as such they fall between the categories of analysis that historians often use. In addition, their stated goals of recreation, education, the advancement of science, and protection of endangered species have often conflicted. Zoos occupy a difficult middle ground between science and showmanship, high culture and low, remote forests and the cement cityscape, and wild animals and urban people.

Questions 1-7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet, write

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

1. The concepts on which the Philadelphia zoo was based soon became unfashionable.
2. The opening of zoos coincided with a trend for people to live in urban areas.
3. During the period when many zoos were opened, the study of natural history became more popular in universities than other scientific subjects.
4. Cities recognized that the new zoos were as significant an amenity as museums.
5. Between 1940 and 1960 some older zoos had to move to new sites in order to expand.
6. In the 1970s, new ways of funding zoos were developed.
7. There has been serious disagreement amongst historians about the role of the first zoos.

Questions 8-13
Complete the notes below. Choose NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.

• Up to 1940 – More mammals and birds exhibited than (8)………………………. (9)…………….were very popular animals in many zoos at one time.
• 1940s and 1950s – Zoos started exhibiting animals according to their (10)………………and where they came from.
• 1960s – Some zoos categorized animals by (11)……………………
• 1970s – (12)………………….. were employed following protests about animal care.
• 1980s onward – The importance of (13)………………..became greater.

Can we prevent the poles from melting?

A Such is our dependence on fossil fuels, and such is the volume of carbon dioxide we have already released into the atmosphere, that most climate scientists agree that significant global warming is now inevitable – the best we can hope to do is keep it at a reasonable level, and even that is going to be an uphill task. At present, the only serious option on the table for doing this is cutting back on our carbon emissions, but while a few countries are making major strides in this regard, the majority are having great difficulty even stemming the rate of increase, let alone reversing it. Consequently, an increasing number of scientists are beginning to explore the alternatives. They oil fall under the banner of geoengineering – generally defined as the intentional large-scale manipulation of the environment.

B Geoengineering has been shown to work, at least on a small, localized scale, for decades. May Day parades in Moscow have taken place under clear blue skies, aircraft having deposited dry ice, silver iodide and cement powder to disperse clouds. Many of the schemes now suggested look to do the opposite, and reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the planet. One scheme focuses on achieving a general cooling of the Earth and involves the concept of releasing aerosol sprays into the stratosphere above the Arctic to create clouds of sulphur dioxide, which would, in turn, lead to a global dimming. The idea is modelled on historical volcanic explosions, such as that of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, which led to a short term cooling of global temperatures by 0.5“C. The aerosols could be delivered by artillery, highflying aircraft or balloons.

C Instead of concentrating on global cooling, other schemes look specifically at reversing the melting at the poles. One idea is to bolster an ice cap by spraying it with water. Using pumps to carry water from below the sea ice, the spray would come out as snow or ice particles, producing thicker sea ice with a higher albedo (the ratio of sunlight reflected from a surface) to reflect summer radiation. Scientists have also scrutinized whether it is possible to block icefjords in Greenland with cables which have been reinforced, preventing icebergs from moving into the sea. Veli Albert Kallio, a Finnish scientist, says that such an idea is impractical, because the force of the ice would ultimately snap the cables and rapidly release a large quantity of frozen ice into the sea. However, Kallio believes that the sort of cables used in suspension bridges could potentially be used to divert, rather than halt, the southward movement of ice from Spitsbergen. ‘It would stop the ice moving south, and local currents would see them float northwards,’ he says.

D A number of geoengineering ideas are currently being examined in the Russian Arctic. These include planting millions of birch trees: the thinking, according to Kallio, is that their white bark would increase the amount of reflected sunlight. The loss of their leaves in winter would also enable the snow to reflect radiation. In contrast, the native evergreen pines tend to shade the snow and absorb radiation. Using ice-breaking vessels to deliberately break up and scatter coastal sea ice in both Arctic and Antarctic waters in their respective autumns, and diverting Russian rivers to increase cold-water (low to ice-forming areas, could also be used to slow down warming, Kallio says. ‘You would need the wind to blow the right way, but in the right conditions, by letting ice float free and head north, you would enhance ice growth.’

E But will such ideas ever be implemented? The major counterarguments to geoengineering schemes are, first, that they are a ‘cop-out’ that allow us to continue living the way we do, rather than reducing carbon emissions; and, second, even if they do work, would the side- effects outweigh the advantages? Then there’s the daunting prospect of upkeep and repair of any scheme as well as the consequences of a technical failure. ’I think all of us agree that if we were to end geoengineering on a given day, then the planet would return to its pre-engineered condition very rapidly, and probably within 10 to 20 years,’ says Dr Phil Rasch, chief scientist for climate change at the US-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. ‘That’s certainly something to worry about. I would consider geoengineering as a strategy to employ only while we manage the conversion to a non-fossil- fuel economy.’ ‘The risk with geoengineering projects is that you can “overshoot”,’ says Dr Dan Lunt, from the University of Bristol. ‘You may bring global temperatures back to pre-industrial levels, but the risk is that the poles will still be warmer than they should be and the tropics will be cooler than before industrialization.’

F The main reason why geoengineering is countenanced by the mainstream scientific community is that most researchers have little faith in the ability of politicians to agree – and then bring in – the necessary carbon cuts. Even leading conservation organisations believe the subject is worth exploring. As Dr Mortin Sommerkorn, a climate change advisor says. ‘But human-induced climate change has brought humanity to a position where it is important not to exclude thinking thoroughly about this topic and its possibilities despite the potential drawbacks. If, over the coming years, the science tells us about an ever-increased climate sensitivity of the planet – and this isn’t unrealistic – then v/e may be best served by not having to start our thinking from scratch.’

Questions 14-18
Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs A-F. Which paragraph contains the following information? NB You may use any letter more than once.

14. the existence of geoengineering projects distracting from the real task of changing the way we live
15. circumstances in which geoengineering has demonstrated success
16. maintenance problems associated with geoengineering projects
17. support for geoengineering being due to a lack of confidence in governments
18. more success in fighting climate change in some parts of the world than others

Questions 19-23
Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Geoengineering projects

A range of geoengineering ideas has been put forward, which aim either to prevent the melting of the ice caps or to stop the general rise in global temperatures. One scheme to discourage the melting of ice and snow involves introducing (19)……………………to the Arctic because of their colour. The build-up of ice could be encouraged by dispersing ice along the coasts using special ships and changing the direction of some (20)………………………but this scheme is dependent on certain weather conditions. Another way of increasing the amount of ice involves using (21)………………………to bring water to the surface. A scheme to stop ice moving would use (22)………………….but this method is more likely to be successful in preventing the ice from travelling in one direction rather than stopping it altogether. A suggestion for cooling global temperatures is based on what has happened in the past after (23)……………………..and it involves creating clouds of gas.

Questions 24-26
Look at the following people and the list of opinions below. Match each person with the correct opinion A-E.

24. Phil Rasch
25. Dan Lunt
26. Martin Sommerkorn

List of opinions
A The problems of geoengineering shouldn’t mean that ideas are not seriously considered.
B Some geoengineering projects are more likely to succeed than others.
C Geoengineering only offers a short-term solution.
D A positive outcome of geoengineering may have a negative consequence elsewhere.
E Most geoengineering projects aren’t clear in what they are aiming at

America’s oldest art?

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

Prior to the designation of 130,000 hectares as a National Park, the rock-art sites were difficult to get to and often dangerous to enter. In ancient times, this inaccessibility must have heightened the importance of the sites, and indeed of the people who painted on the rocks. Wild animals and human figures dominate the art and are incorporated into often-complex scenes involving hunting, supernatural beings, fighting and dancing. The artists depicted the animals that roamed the local ancient brushwood forest. The large mammals are usually painted in groups and tend to be shown a running stance, as though trying to escape from hunting parties. Processions – lines of human and animal figures – also appear of great impotence to these ancient artists. Might such lines represent family units or groups of warriors? On a number of panels, rows of stylized figures, some numbering up to 30 individual figures, were painted using the natural undulating contours of the rock surface, so evoking the contours of the seconding landscape Other interesting, but very rare, occurrences are scenes that show small human figures holding on to and dancing around a tree, possibly involved in some tom of a ritual dance.

Due to the favourable climatic conditions. the imagery on many panels is in a remarkable state of preservation. Despite this, however, there are serious conservation issues that affect their long term survival. The chemical and mineral quantities of the rock on which the imagery is panted is fragile and on several panels it is unstable. As well as the secretion of sodium carbonate on the rock surface, complete panel sections have, over the ancient and recent past, broken away from the main rock surface. These have then become buried and sealed into sometimes-ancient floor deposits. Perversely, this form of natural erosion and subsequent deposition has assisted archaeologists in dating several major rock-art sites. Of course, dating the art is extremely difficult oven the non-existence of plant and animal remains that might be scientifically dated. However, there am a small number of sites in the Serra da Capivara that are giving up their secrets through good systematic excavation. Thus, at Toca do Roqiomo da Pedra Furada. rock-art researcher Niéde Guidon managed to obtain a number of dates. At different levels of excavation, she located fallen painted rock fragments, which she was able to dale to at least 36,000 years ago. Along with toe painted fragments, crude stone tools were found. Also discovered wore a series of scientifically datable sites of fireplaces, or hearths, the earliest dated to 46,000 BC. arguably the oldest dates for human habitation in the America.

However, these conclusions are net without controversy. Critics, mainly from North America, have suggested that the hearths may in fact be a natural phenomenon, the result of seasonal brushwood fires. Several North American researchers have gone further and suggested that the rock art from this site dates from no earlier than about 3,730 years age, based on the results of limited radiocarbon dating. Adding further fool to the general debate is the fact that the artists in the area of the National Hark tended not to draw over old motifs (as often occurs with rock-art), which makes it hard to work out the relative chronology of the images or styles. However, the diversity of imagery and the narrative the paintings create from each of the many sites within the National Park suggests different artists were probably making their art at efferent times, and potentially using each site over many thousands of years.

With fierce debates thus raging over the dating, where these artists originate from is also still very much open to speculation. The traditional view ignores the early dating evidence from the South American rock-art sites. In a revised scenario, some palaeo – anthropologists are now suggesting that modern humans may’ have migrated from Africa using the strong currents of the Atlantic Ocean some 63.000 years or more ago, while others suggest a more improbable colonization coming from the Pacific Ocean. Yet, while ether hypothesis is plausible, there is still no supporting archaeological evidence between the South American coastline and the interior. Rather, it seems possible that there were a number of waves of human colonization of the Americas occurring possibly over a 60,000-100,000 year period, probably using the Bering Straits as a land bridge to cross into the Americas.

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

Questions 27-29
Choose the correct fetter, A, B, C or D.

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

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

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

Questions 30-36
In boxes 30-36 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the 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

30. Archaeologists have completed their survey of the rock-art in Piaui.
31. The location of the rock-art suggests that the artists had a significant role in their society.
32. The paintings of animals show they were regarded as sacred by the ancient humans.
33. Some damage to paintings is most likely due to changes in the weather of the region.
34. The fact that some paintings wore buried is useful to archaeologists.
35. The tools found near some paintings were probably used for hunting animals.
36. The North American researchers have confirmed Niéde Guidons dating of the paintings.

Questions 37-40
Complete each sentence with the correct ending. A-F below.

37. Materials derived from plants or animals
38. The discussions about the ancient hearths
39. Theories about where the first South Americans originated from
40. The finds of archaeologists in Oregon

A are giving rise to a great deal of debate among palaeo-anthropologists.
B do not support the earliest dates suggested for the arrival of people in America.
C are absent from rock-art sites In the Serra da Capivara.
D have not been accepted by academics outside America.
E centre on whether or not they are actually man-made.
F reflect the advances in scientific dating methods.

Communicating in Colour

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Questions 1-4
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

1. What kind of climate do most chameleons live in?
2. Which animal caught a chameleon that Dr. Andrew Marshall saw?
3. What was the new species named after?
4. Which part of the body is unique to the species Kinyongla magomberae?

Questions 5-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 5-13 on your answer sheet, write

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

5. Few creatures can change colour as effectively as cuttlefish.
6. Chameleons can imitate a pattern provided there are only two colours.
7. Chameleons appear to enjoy trying out new colours.
8. Size matters more than colour when male chameleons compete.
9. After a fight, the defeated male hides among branches of a tree.
10. Females use colour and movement to discourage males.
11. The popular explanation of why chameleons change colour has been proved wrong.
12. There are more predators of chameleons in grassland habitats than in others.
13. Measuring animals’ visual systems necessitates removing them from their habitat.

The Pursuit of Happiness

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

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

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

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

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

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

Questions 14-19
Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs A-F. Which paragraph mentions the following? NB You may use any letter more than once.

14. the need for individuals to understand what really matters to them
15. tension resulting from a wide variety of alternatives
16. the hope of success as a means of overcoming unhappy feelings
17. people who call themselves specialists
18. human beings’ capacity for coping with change
19. doing things which are interesting in themselves

Questions 20-21
Choose TWO letters A-E. Write the correct letters in boxes 20-21 on your answer sheet

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

A Martin Seligman
B Eric Wilson
C Sonja Lyubomirsky
D Russ Harris
E Barry Schwartz

Questions 22-23
Choose TWO letters A-E. Write the correct letters in boxes 22-23 on your answer sheet.

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

A inherited wealth brings less happiness than earned wealth
B social status affects our perception of how happy we are
C an optimistic outlook ensures success
D unhappiness can and should be avoided
E extremes of emotion are normal in the young

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

In order to have a complete understanding of how people’s minds work, Martin Seligman suggested that research should examine our most positive (24)…………………….as closely as it does our psychological problems. Soon after arriving at a (25)…………………………in their lives, people become accustomed to what they have achieved and have a sense that they are lacking something. People who are (26)………………….by nature are more likely to succeed if they make thorough preparation for a presentation.

The Deep Sea

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

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

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

Another challenge is that the temperature near the bottom in very deep water typically hovers just four degrees above freezing, and submersibles rarely have much insulation. Since water absorbs heat more quickly than air. the cold down below seems to penetrate a diving capsule for more quickly than it would penetrate, say, a control van up above, on the deck of the mother ship. And finally, the abyss clamps down with crushing pressure on anything that enters it. ‘I his force is like air pressure on land, except that water is much heavier than air. At sea level on land, we don’t even notice I atmosphere of pressure, about 15 pounds per square inch, the weight of the earths blanket of air. In the deepest part of the ocean, nearly seven miles down, its about 1,200 atmospheres. 18,000 pounds per square inch. A square-inch column of lead would crush down on your body with equal force if it were 3,600 feet tall.

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

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

27. In the first paragraph, the writer finds it surprising that …
A we send robots to Mars rather than to the sea bed.
B we choose to explore the least accessible side of the moon.
C people reached the moon before they explored the deepest parts of the earth’s oceans.
D spaceships are sent beyond our solar system instead of exploring it.

28. The writer argues that saying 71 % of the earth’s surface is ocean is not accurate because it
A ignores the depth of the world’s oceans.
B is based on an estimated volume.
C overlooks the significance of landscape features.
D refers to the proportion of water in which life is possible.

29. How did the diving bell help divers?
A It allowed each diver to carry a supply of air underwater.
B It enabled piped air to reach deep below the surface.
C It offered access to a reservoir of air below the surface.
D It meant that they could dive as deep as 500 feet.

30. What point does the writer make about scientific discoveries between 1930 and 1970?
A They were rarely the primary purpose of deep sea exploration.
B The people who conducted experiments were not professional scientists.
C Many people refused to believe the discoveries that were made.
D They involved the use of technologies from other disciplines.

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

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

31. The Midocean Ridge is largely the same as when the continents emerged.
32. We can make an approximate calculation of the percentage of the ocean which sunlight penetrates.
33. Many unexpected scientific phenomena came to light when exploration of the Midocean Ridge began.
34. The number of people exploring the abyss has risen sharply in the 21st century.
35. One danger of the darkness is that deep sea vehicles become entangled in vegetation.
36. The construction of submersibles offers little protection from the cold at great depths.

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

Deep diving craft

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

A ocean
B air
C deep
D hollow
E sturdy
F atmosphere
G energetic
H violent
I heavy

Scientists Are Mapping the World’s Largest Volcano

A After 36 days of battling sharks that kept biting their equipment, scientists have returned from the remote Pacific Ocean with a new way of looking at the world’s largest – and possibly most mysterious – volcano, Tamu Massif.

B The team has begun making 3-D maps that offer the clearest look yet at the underwater mountain, which covers an area the size of New Mexico. In the coming months, the maps will be refined and the data analyzed, with the ultimate goal of figuring out how the mountain was formed.

C It’s possible that the western edge of Tamu Massif is actually a separate mountain that formed at a different time, says William Sager, a geologist at the University of Houston who led the expedition. That would explain some differences between the western part of the mountain and the main body.

D The team also found that the massif (as such a massive mountain is known) is highly pockmarked with craters and cliffs. Magnetic analysis provides some insight into the mountain’s genesis, suggesting that part of it formed through steady releases of lava along the intersection of three mid-ocean ridges, while part of it is harder to explain. A working theory is that a large plume of hot mantle rock may have contributed additional heat and material, a fairly novel idea.

E Tamu Massif lies about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) east of Japan. It is a rounded dome, or shield volcano, measuring 280 by 400 miles (450 by 650 kilometers). Its top lies more than a mile (about 2,000 meters) below the ocean surface and is 50 times larger than the biggest active volcano on Earth, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa. Sager published a paper in 2013 that said the main rise of Tamu Massif is most likely a single volcano, instead of a complex of multiple volcanoes that smashed together. But he couldn’t explain how something so big formed.

F The team used sonar and magnetometers (which measure magnetic fields) to map more than a million square kilometers of the ocean floor in great detail. Sager and students teamed up with Masao Nakanishi of Japan’s Chiba University, with Sager receiving funding support from the National Geographic Society and the Schmidt Ocean Institute.

G Since sharks are attracted to magnetic fields, the toothy fish “were all over our magnetometer, and it got pretty chomped up,” says Sager. When the team replaced the device with a spare, that unit was nearly ripped off by more sharks. The magnetic field research suggests the mountain formed relatively quickly, sometime around 145 million years ago. Part of the volcano sports magnetic “stripes,” or bands with different magnetic properties, suggesting that lava flowed out evenly from the mid-ocean ridges over time and changed in polarity each time Earth’s magnetic field reversed direction. The central part of the peak is more jumbled, so it may have formed more quickly or through a different process.

H Sager isn’t sure what caused the magnetic anomalies yet, but suspects more complex forces were at work than simply eruptions from the ridges. It’s possible a deep plume of hot rock from the mantle also contributed to the volcano’s formation, he says. Sager hopes the analysis will also help explain about a dozen other similar features on the ocean floor, as well as add to the overall understanding of plate tectonics.

Questions 1-8
Reading Passage 1 has eight paragraphs, A-H. What paragraph has the following information?

1. Possible explanation of the differences between parts of the mountain
2. Size data
3. A new way of looking
4. Problem with sharks
5. Uncertainty of the anomalies
6. Equipment which measures magnetic fields
7. The start of making maps
8. A working theory

Questions 9-12
Complete the sentences using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage.

A big plume of (9)………………….rock may have contributed extra heat and material.

Tamu Massif is a (10)…………………………..or shield volcano.

Replacing the device with a (11)……………………didn’t help, as that unit was nearly ripped off by more sharks.

Sager believes that the magnetic anomalies were caused by something more than (12)………………….from the ridges.

We know the city where HIV first emerged

It is easy to see why AIDS seemed so mysterious and frightening when US medics first encountered it 35 years ago. The condition robbed young, healthy people of their strong immune system, leaving them weak and vulnerable. And it seemed to come out of nowhere. Today we know much more how and why HIV – the virus that leads to AIDS – has become a global pandemic. Unsurprisingly, sex workers unwittingly played a part. But no less important were the roles of trade, the collapse of colonialism, and 20th Century sociopolitical reform. HIV did not really appear out of nowhere, of course. It probably began as a virus affecting monkeys and apes in west central Africa.

From there it jumped species into humans on several occasions, perhaps because people ate infected bushmeat. Some people carry a version of HIV closely related to that seen in sooty mangabey monkeys, for instance. But HIV that came from monkeys has not become a global problem. We are more closely related to apes, like gorillas and chimpanzees, than we are to monkeys. But even when HIV has passed into human populations from these apes, it has not necessarily turned into a widespread health issue. HIV originating from apes typically belongs to a type of virus called HIV-1. One is called HIV-1 group O, and human cases are largely confined to west Africa.

In fact, only one form of HIV has spread far and wide after jumping to humans. This version, which probably originated from chimpanzees, is called HIV-1 group M (for “major”). More than 90% of HIV infections belong in group M. Which raises an obvious question: what’s so special about HIV-1 group M? A study published in 2014 suggests a surprising answer: there might be nothing particularly special about group M. It is not especially infectious, as you might expect. Instead, it seems that this form of HIV simply took advantage of events. “Ecological rather than evolutionary factors drove its rapid spread,” says Nuno Faria at the University of Oxford in the UK. Faria and his colleagues built a family tree of HIV, by looking at a diverse array of HIV genomes collected from about 800 infected people from central Africa.

Genomes pick up new mutations at a fairly steady rate, so by comparing two genome sequences and counting the differences they could work out when the two last shared a common ancestor. This technique is widely used, for example to establish that our common ancestor with chimpanzees lived at least 7 million years ago. “RNA viruses such as HIV evolve approximately 1 million times faster than human DNA,” says Faria. This means the HIV “molecular clock” ticks very fast indeed. It ticks so fast, Faria and his colleagues found that the HIV genomes all shared a common ancestor that existed no more than 100 years ago. The HIV-1 group M pandemic probably first began in the 1920s.

Then the team went further. Because they knew where each of the HIV samples had been collected, they could place the origin of the pandemic in a specific city: Kinshasa, now the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. At this point, the researchers changed tack. They turned to historical records to work out why HIV infections in an African city in the 1920s could ultimately spark a pandemic. A likely sequence of events quickly became obvious. In the 1920s, DR Congo was a Belgian colony and Kinshasa – then known as Leopoldville – had just been made the capital. The city became a very attractive destination for young working men seeking their fortunes, and for sex workers only too willing to help them spend their earnings. The virus spread quickly through the population.

It did not remain confined to the city. The researchers discovered that the capital of the Belgian Congo was, in the 1920s, one of the best connected cities in Africa. Taking full advantage of an extensive rail network used by hundreds of thousands of people each year, the virus spread to cities 900 miles (1500km) away in just 20 years. Everything was in place for an explosion in infection rates in the 1960s.The beginning of that decade brought another change. Belgian Congo gained its independence, and became an attractive source of employment to French speakers elsewhere in the world, including Haiti. When these young Haitians returned home a few years later they took a particular form of HIV-1 group M, called “subtype B”, to the western side of the Atlantic.

It arrived in the US in the 1970s, just as sexual liberation and homophobic attitudes were leading to concentrations of gay men in cosmopolitan cities like New York and San Francisco. Once more, HIV took advantage of the sociopolitical situation to spread quickly through the US and Europe. “There is no reason to believe that other subtypes would not have spread as quickly as subtype B, given similar ecological circumstances,” says Faria. The story of the spread of HIV is not over yet. For instance, in 2015 there was an outbreak in the US state of Indiana, associated with drug injecting.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been analyzing the HIV genome sequences and data about location and time of infection, says Yonatan Grad at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. “These data help to understand the extent of the outbreak, and will further help to understand when public health interventions have worked.” This approach can work for other pathogens. In 2014, Grad and his colleague Marc Lipsitch published an investigation into the spread of drug-resistant gonorrhoea across the US.

“Because we had representative sequences from individuals in different cities at different times and with different sexual orientations, we could show the spread was from the west of the country to the east,” says Lipsitch. What’s more, they could confirm that the drug-resistant form of gonorrhoea appeared to have circulated predominantly in men who have sex with men. That could prompt increased screening in these at-risk populations, in an effort to reduce further spread. In other words, there is real power to studying pathogens like HIV and gonorrhoea through the prism of human society.

Questions 13-20
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 13-20 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

13. AIDS were first encountered 35 years ago.
14. The most important role in developing AIDS as a pandemia was played by sex workers.
15. It is believed that HIV appeared out of nowhere.
16. Humans are not closely related to monkey.
17. HIV-1 group O originated in 1920s.
18. HIV-1 group M has something special.
19. Human DNA evolves approximately 1 million times slower than HIV.
20. Scientists believe that HIV already existed in 1920s.

Questions 21-28
Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Scientists can place the origin of (21)……………………in a specific city.

Kinshasa was a very (22)…………………….for young working men and many others willing to spend their money.

In just 20 years virus managed to (23)……………………to cities 900 miles away.

Belgian Congo became an attractive source of employment to French speakers when it gained (24)……………..

HIV has spread quickly through the US and Europe because of the (25)……………………

It is said that outbreak in Indiana was associated with (26)…………………

The same approach as for HIV can work for (27)…………………

The form of gonorrhoea that is drug-resistant appeared to have (28)……………………..in men who have sex with men.

Penguins’ anti-ice trick revealed

Scientists studying penguins’ feathers have revealed how the birds stay ice free when hopping in and out of below zero waters in the Antarctic. A combination of nano-sized pores and an extra water repelling preening oil the birds secrete is thought to give Antarctic penguins’ feathers superhydrophobic properties. Researchers in the US made the discovery using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to study penguin feathers in extreme detail. Antarctic penguins live in one of Earth’s most extreme environments, facing temperatures that drop to -40C, winds with speeds of 40 metres per second and water that stays around -2.2C. But even in these sub-zero conditions, the birds manage to prevent ice from coating their feathers.

“They are an amazing species, living in extreme conditions, and great swimmers. Basically they are living engineering marvels,” says research team member Dr Pirouz Kavehpour, professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Birds’ feathers are known to have hydrophobic, or non-wetting, properties. But scientists from UCLA, University of Massachusetts Amherst and SeaWorld, wanted to know what makes Antarctic penguins’ feathers extra ice repelling.

“What we learn here is how penguins combine oil and nano-structures on the feathers to produce this effect to perfection,” explains Kavehpour. By analysing feathers from different penguin species, the researchers discovered Antarctic species the gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) was more superhydrophobic compared with a species found in warmer climes – the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) – whose breeding sites include Argentinian desert.

Gentoo penguins’ feathers contained tiny pores which trapped air, making the surface hydrophobic. And they were smothered with a special preening oil, produced by a gland near the base of the tail, with which the birds cover themselves. Together, these properties mean that in the wild, droplets of water on Antarctic penguins’ superhydrophobic feathers bead up on the surface like spheres – formations that, according to the team, could provide geometry that delays ice formation, since heat cannot easily flow out of the water if the droplet only has minimal contact with the surface of the feather.

“The shape of the droplet on the surface dictates the delay in freezing,” explains Kavehpour. The water droplets roll off the penguin’s feathers before they have time to freeze, the researchers propose. Penguins living in the Antarctic are highly evolved to cope with harsh conditions: their short outer feathers overlap to make a thick protective layer over fluffier feathers which keep them warm. Under their skin, a thick layer of fat keeps them insulated. The flightless birds spend a lot of time in the sea and are extremely agile and graceful swimmers, appearing much more awkward on land.

Kavehpour was inspired to study Antarctic penguins’ feathers after watching the birds in a nature documentary: “I saw these birds moving in and out of water, splashing everywhere. Yet there is no single drop of frozen ice sticking to them,” he tells BBC Earth. His team now hopes its work could aid design of better man-made surfaces which minimise frost formation.

“I would love to see biomimicking of these surfaces for important applications, for example, de-icing of aircrafts,” says Kavehpour. Currently, airlines spend a lot of time and money using chemical de-icers on aeroplanes, as ice can alter the vehicles’ aerodynamic properties and can even cause them to crash.

Questions 29-33
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

29. Penguins stay ice free due to
A A combination of nano-sized pores
B An extra water repelling preening oil
C A combination of nano-sized pores and an extra water repelling preening oil
D A combination of various factors

30. Antarctic penguins experience extreme weather conditions, including:
A Low temperature, that can drop to -40
B Severe wind, up to 40 metres per second
C Below zero water temperature
D All of the above

31. In line 5 words engineering marvels mean:
A That penguins are very intelligent
B That penguins are good swimmers
C That penguins are well prepared to living in severe conditions
D Both B and C

32. Penguins feather has everything, EXCEPT:
A Hydrophobic properties
B Extra ice repelling
C Soft structures
D Oil structures

33. The gentoo penguin:
A Is less superhydrophobic compared to the Magellanic penguin
B Has feathers that contain tiny pores
C Can’t swim
D Lives in Argentinian desert

Questions 34-40
Complete the sentences below. Write ONLY ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.

Formations like (34)…………………….could provide geometry that delays ice formation.

The delay in freezing is dictated by the (35)………………….of the droplet.

Penguins in Antarctic are highly evolved to be able to cope with (36)……………….conditions.

Penguins are insulated by a (37)…………………….layer of fat.

On the land, penguins appear much more (38)………………………than in the sea.

The inspiration came to Kavehpour after watching a (39)…………………..about penguins.

Kavehpour would like to see (40)……………………..surfaces which minimise frost formation.

Keep a Watchful Eye on the Bridges

A Most road and rail bridges are only inspected visually, if at all. Every few months, engineers have to clamber over the structure in an attempt to find problems before the bridge shows obvious signs of damage. Technologies developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, and Texas A&M University may replace these surveys with microwave sensors that constantly monitor the condition of bridges.

B “The device uses microwaves to measure the distance between the sensor and the bridge, much like radar does,” says Albert Migliori, a Los Alamos physicist “Any load on the bridge – such as traffic induces displacements, which change that distance as the bridge moves up and down.” By monitoring these movements over several minutes, the researchers can find out how the bridge resonates. Changes in its behaviour can give an early warning of damage.

C The Interstate 40 bridge over the Rio Grande river in Albuquerque provided the researchers with a rare opportunity to text their ideas. Chuck Farrar, an engineer at Los Alamos, explains: “The New Mexico authorities decided to raze this bridge and replace it. We were able to mount instruments on it, test it under various load conditions and even inflict damage just before it was demolished.” In the 1960s and 1970s, 2500 similar bridges were built in the US. They have two steel girders supporting the load in each section. Highway experts know that this design is “fracture critical” because a failure in either girder would cause the bridge to fail.

D After setting up the microwave dish on the ground below the bridge, the Los Alamos team installed conventional accelerometers at several points along the span to measure its motion. They then tested the bridge while traffic roared across it and while subjecting it to pounding from a “shaker”, which delivered precise punches to a specific point on the road.

E “We then created damage that we hoped would simulate fatigue cracks that can occur in steel girders,” says Farrar. They first cut a slot about 60 centimetres long in the middle of one girder. They then extended the cut until it reached the bottom of the girder and finally they cut across the flange – the bottom of the girder’s “I” shape.

F The initial, crude analysis of the bridge’s behaviour, based on the frequency at which the bridge resonates, did not indicate that anything was wrong until the flange was damaged. But later the data were reanalysed with algorithms that took into account changes in the mode shapes of the structure – shapes that the structure takes on when excited at a particular frequency. These more sophisticated algorithms, which were developed by Norris Stubbs at Texas A&M University, successfully identified and located the damage caused by the initial cut.

G “When any structure vibrates, the energy is distributed throughout with some points not moving, while others vibrate strongly at various frequencies,” says Stubbs. “My algorithms use pattern recognition to detect changes in the distribution of this energy.” NASA already uses Stubbs’ method to check the behaviour of the body flap that slows space shuttles down after they land.

H A commercial system based on the Los Alamos hardware is now available, complete with the Stubbs algorithms, from the Quatro Corporation in Albuquerque for about $100,000. Tim Darling, another Los Alamos physicist working on the microwave interferometer with Migliori, says that as the electronics become cheaper, a microwave inspection system will eventually be applied to most large bridges in the US. “In a decade I would like to see a battery or solar-powered package mounted under each bridge, scanning it every day to detect changes,” he says.

Questions 1-4
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. How did the traditional way to prevent damage of the bridges before the invention of new monitoring system?
A Bridges has to be tested in every movement on two points
B Bridges has to be closely monitored by microwave devices.
C Bridges has already been monitored by sensors.
D Bridges has to be frequently inspected by professional workers with naked eyes.

2. How does the new microwave monitors find out the problems of bridges?
A by changeling the distance between the positions of devices
B by controlling the traffic flow on the bridges
C by monitoring the distance caused by traffic between two points
D by displacement of the several critical parts in the bridges

3. Why did the expert believe there is a problem for the design called “fracture critical”?
A Engineers failed to apply the newly developed construction materials.
B There was not enough finance to repair the bridges.
C The supporting parts of the bridges may crack and cause the bridge to fail.
D There was bigger traffic load conditions than the designers had anticipated.

4. Defect was not recognized by a basic method in the beginning
A until the mid of faces of bridges has fractures.
B until the damage appears along and down to the flanges.
C until the points on the road have been punched.
D until the frequency of resonates appears disordered.

Questions 5-8
Filling the blanks in the diagram labels.

5. Something circular, appear below the bridge
6. Something small, appear along the bridge
7. Two things under the bridge and are supporting it
8. Something under the bridge with a “L” (or “I”) shape

Questions 9-13
The reading Passage has eight paragraphs, A–H. Which paragraph contains the following information?

9. how is the pressure that they have many a great chance to test bridges
10. a ten-year positive change for microwave device
11. the chance they get a honorable contract
12. explanation of the mechanism for the new microwave monitoring to work
13. how is the damage deliberately created by the researchers

Activities for Children

A Twenty-five years ago, children in London walked to school and played in parks and playing fields after school and at the weekend. Today they are usually driven to school by parents anxious about safety and spend hours glued to television screens or computer games. Meanwhile, community playing fields are being sold off to property developers at an alarming rate. ‘This change in lifestyle has, sadly, meant greater restrictions on children,’ says Neil Armstrong, Professor of Health and Exercise Science at the University of Exeter. ‘If children continue to be this inactive, they’ll be storing up big problems for the future.’

B In 1985, Professor Armstrong headed a five-year research project into children’s fitness. The results, published in 1990, were alarming. The survey, which monitored 700 11-16-year-olds, found that 48 per cent of girls and 41 per cent of boys already exceeded safe cholesterol levels set for children by the American Heart Foundation. Armstrong adds, “heart is a muscle and need exercise, or it loses its strength.” It also found that 13 per cent of boys and 10 per cent of girls were overweight. More disturbingly, the survey found that over a four-day period, half the girls and one-third of the boys did less exercise than the equivalent of a brisk 10-minute walk. High levels of cholesterol, excess body fat and inactivity are believed to increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

C Physical education is under pressure in the UK – most schools devote little more than 100 minutes a week to it in curriculum time, which is less than many other European countries. Three European countries are giving children a head start in PE, France, Austria and Switzerland – offer at least two hours in primary and secondary schools. These findings, from the European Union of Physical Education Associations, prompted specialists in children’s physiology to call on European governments to give youngsters a daily PE programme. The survey shows that the UK ranks 13th out of the 25 countries, with Ireland bottom, averaging under an hour a week for PE. From age six to 18, British children received, on average, 106 minutes of PE a week. Professor Armstrong, who presented the findings at the meeting, noted that since the introduction of the national curriculum there had been a marked fall in the time devoted to PE in UK schools, with only a minority of pupils getting two hours a week.

D As a former junior football international, Professor Armstrong is a passionate advocate for sport. Although the Government has poured millions into beefing up sport in the community, there is less commitment to it as part of the crammed school curriculum. This means that many children never acquire the necessary skills to thrive in team games. If they are no good at them, they lose interest and establish an inactive pattern of behaviour. When this is coupled with a poor diet, it will lead inevitably to weight gain. Seventy per cent of British children give up all sport when they leave school, compared with only 20 per cent of French teenagers. Professor Armstrong believes that there is far too great an emphasis on team games at school. “We need to look at the time devoted to PE and balance it between individual and pair activities, such as aerobics and badminton, as well as team sports.” He added that children need to have the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of individual, partner and team sports.

E The good news, however, is that a few small companies and children’s activity groups have reacted positively and creatively to the problem. ‘Take That,’ shouts Gloria Thomas, striking a disco pose astride her mini-space hopper. ‘Take That,’ echo a flock of toddlers, adopting outrageous postures astride their space hoppers. ‘Michael Jackson,’ she shouts, and they all do a spoof fan-crazed shriek. During the wild and chaotic hopper race across the studio floor, commands like this are issued and responded to with untrammelled glee. The sight of 15 bouncing seven-year-olds who seem about to launch into orbit at every bounce brings tears to the eyes. Uncoordinated, loud, excited and emotional, children provide raw comedy.

F Any cardiovascular exercise is a good option, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be high intensity. It can be anything that gets your heart rate up: such as walking the dog, swimming, running skipping, hiking. “Even walking through the grocery store can be exercise,” Samis-Smith said. What they don’t know is that they’re at a Fit Kids class, and that the fun is a disguise for the serious exercise plan they’re covertly being taken through. Fit Kids trains parents to run fitness classes for children. ‘Ninety per cent of children don’t like team sports,’ says company director, Gillian Gale.

G A Prevention survey found that children whose parents keep in shape are much more likely to have healthy body weights themselves. “There’s nothing worse than telling a child what he needs to do and not doing it yourself,” says Elizabeth Ward, R.D., a Boston nutritional consultant and author of Healthy Foods, Healthy Kids. “Set a good example and get your nutritional house in order first.” In the 1930s and ’40s, kids expended 800 calories a day just walking, carrying water, and doing other chores,’ notes Fima Lifshitz, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist in Santa Barbara. “Now, kids in obese families are expending only 200 calories a day in physical activity,” says Lifshitz, “incorporate more movement in your family’s life – park farther away from the stores at the mall, take stairs instead of the elevator, and walk to nearby friends’ houses instead of driving.”

Questions 14-17
The reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A–G. Which paragraph contains the following information?

14. health and living condition of children
15. health organization monitored physical activity
16. comparison of exercise time between UK and other countries
17. wrong approach for school activity

Questions 18-21
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage? In boxes 18-21 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

18. According to American Heart Foundation, cholesterol levels of boys are higher than girls’.
19. British children generally do less exercise than some other European countries.
20. Skipping becomes more and more popular in schools of UK.
21. According to Healthy Kids, the first task is for parents to encourage their children to keep the same healthy body weight.

Questions 22-26
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

22. According to paragraph A, what does Professor Neil Armstrong concern about
A Spending more time on TV affect academic level
B Parents have less time stay with their children
C Future health of British children
D Increasing speed of property’s development

23. What does Armstrong indicate in Paragraph B
A We need to take a 10 minute walk every day.
B We should do more activity to exercise heart.
C Girls’ situation is better than boys.
D Exercise can cure many disease.

24. What is aim of First Kids’ training
A Make profit by running several sessions
B Only concentrate on one activity for each child.
C To guide parents how to organize activities for children.
D Spread the idea that team sport is better.

25. What did Lifshitz suggest in the end of this passage
A Create opportunities to exercise your body.
B Taking elevator saves your time.
C Kids should spend more than 200 calories each day.
D We should never drive but walk.

26. What is the main idea of this passage?
A health of the children who are overweight is at risk in the future
B children in UK need proper exercises
C government mistaken approach for children
D parents play the most important role in children’s activity

Have teenagers always existed?

A 600 years ago, roller coaster pioneers never would have imagined the advancements that have been made to create the roller coasters of today. The tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world is the Kingda Ka, a coaster in New Jersey that launches its passengers from zero to 128 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds (most sports cars take over four seconds to get to just 60 miles per hour). It then heaves its riders skyward at a 90-degree angle (straight up) until it reaches a height of 456 feet, over one and a half football fields, above the ground, before dropping another 418 feet (Coaster Grotto “Kingda Ka”). With that said, roller coasters are about more than just speed and height, they are about the creativity of the designers that build them, each coaster having its own unique way of producing intense thrills at a lesser risk than the average car ride. Roller coasters have evolved drastically over the years, from their primitive beginnings as Russian ice slides, to the metal monsters of today. Their combination of creativity and structural elements make them one of the purest forms of architecture.

B At first glance, a roller coaster is something like a passenger train. It consists of a series of connected cars that move on tracks. But unlike a passenger train, a roller coaster has no engine or power source of its own. For most of the ride, the train is moved by gravity and momentum. To build up this momentum, you need to get the train to the top of the first hill or give it a powerful launch. The traditional lifting mechanism is a long length of chain running up the hill under the track. The chain is fastened in a loop, which is wound around a gear at the top of the hill and another one at the bottom of the hill. The gear at the bottom of the hill is turned by a simple motor. This turns the chain loop so that it continually moves up the hill like a long conveyer belt. The coaster cars grip onto the chain with several chain dogs, sturdy hinged hooks. When the train rolls to the bottom of the hill, the dogs catches onto the chain links. Once the chain dog is hooked, the chain simply pulls the train to the top of the hill. At the summit, the chain dog is released and the train starts its descent down the hill.

C Roller coasters have a long, fascinating history. The direct ancestors of roller coasters were monumental ice slides – long, steep wooden-slides covered in ice, some as high as 70 feet – that were popular in Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Riders shot down the slope in sleds made out of wood or blocks of ice, crash-landing in a sand pile. Coaster historians diverge on the exact evolution of these ice slides into actual rolling carts. The most widespread account is that a few entrepreneurial Frenchmen imported the ice slide idea to France. The warmer climate of France tended to melt the ice, so the French started building waxed slides instead, eventually adding wheels to the sleds. In 1817, the Russes a Belleville (Russian Mountains of Belleville) became the first roller coaster where the train was attached to the track (in this case, the train axle fit into a carved groove). The French continued to expand on this idea, coming up with more complex track layouts, with multiple cars and all sorts of twists and turns.

D In comparison to the world’s first roller coaster, there is perhaps an even greater debate over what was America’s first true coaster. Many will say that it is Pennsylvania’s own Maunch Chunk-Summit Hill and Switch Back Railroad. The Maunch Chunk-Summit Hill and Switch Back Railroad was originally America’s second railroad, and considered my many to be the greatest coaster of all time. Located in the Lehigh valley, it was originally used to transport coal from the top of Mount Pisgah to the bottom of Mount Jefferson, until Josiah White, a mining entrepreneur, had the idea of turning it into a part-time thrill ride. Because of its immediate popularity, it soon became strictly a passenger train. A steam engine would haul passengers to the top of the mountain, before letting them coast back down, with speeds rumored to reach 100 miles per hour! The reason that it was called a switch back railroad, a switch back track was located at the top – where the steam engine would let the riders coast back down. This type of track featured a dead end where the steam engine would detach its cars, allowing riders to coast down backwards. The railway went through a couple of minor track changes and name changes over the years, but managed to last from 1829 to 1937, over 100 years.

E The coaster craze in America was just starting to build. The creation of the Switch Back Railway, by La Marcus Thompson, gave roller coasters national attention. Originally built at New York’s Coney Island in 1884, Switch Back Railways began popping up all over the country. The popularity of these rides may puzzle the modern-day thrill seeker, due to the mild ride they gave in comparison to the modern-day roller coaster. Guests would pay a nickel to wait in line up to five hours just to go down a pair of side-by-side tracks with gradual hills that vehicles coasted down at a top speed around six miles per hour. Regardless, Switchback Railways were very popular, and sparked many people, including Thompson, to design coasters that were bigger and better.

F The 1910s and 1920s were probably the best decade that the roller coaster has ever seen. The new wave of technology, such as the “unstop wheels”, an arrangement that kept a coaster’s wheels to its tracks by resisted high gravitational forces, showed coasters a realm of possibilities that has never been seen before. In 1919, North America alone had about 1,500 roller coasters, a number that was rising rampantly. Then, the Great Depression gave a crushing blow to amusement parks all over America. As bad as it was, amusement parks had an optimistic look on the future in the late 1930s. But, in 1942 roller coasters could already feel the effects of World War Two, as they were forced into a shadow of neglect. Most, nearly all of America’s roller coasters were shut down. To this very day, the number of roller coaster in America is just a very tiny fraction of the amount of roller coasters in the 1920s.

Questions 27-30
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

A diagram that explains the mechanism and working principles of roller coaster.

Questions 31-36
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

The first roller coaster was perhaps originated from Russia which is wrapped up by (31)……………….which was introduced into France, and it was modified to (32)………………….because temperature there would (33)………………the ice. This time (34)…………………..were installed on the board. In America, the first roller coaster was said to appear in Pennsylvania, it was actually a railroad which was designed to send (35)…………………between two mountains. Josiah White turned it into a thrill ride, it was also called switch back track and a (36)…………………..there allowed riders to slide downward back again.

Questions 37-40
Do the following statements agree with the information given 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 most exiting roller coaster in the world is in New Jersey.
38. French added more innovation on Russian ice slide including both cars and tracks.
39. Switch Back Railways began to gain popularity since its first construction in New York.
40. The Great Depression affected amusement parks yet did not shake the significant role of US roller coasters in the world.