PRACTICE TEST 3

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

Ancient Chinese Chariots

A. The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty, according to traditional historiography, ruled in the
Yellow River valley in the second millennium Archaeological work at the Ruins of Yin (near
modern-day Anyang), which has been identified as the last Shang capital, uncovered
eleven major Yin royal tombs and the foundations of palaces and ritual sites, containing
weapons of war and remains from both animal and human sacrifices.
B. The Tomb of Fu Hao is an archaeological site at Yinxu, the ruins of the ancient Shang
Dynasty Capital Yin, within the modem city of Anyang in Henan Province, China.
Discovered in 1976，it was identified as the final resting place of the queen and military
general Fu Hao. The artifacts unearthed within the grave included jade objects, bone
objects, bronze objects etc. These grave goods are confirmed by the oracle texts, which
constitute almost all of the first hand written record we possess of the Shang Dynasty.
Below the corpse was a small pit holding the remains of six sacrificial dogs and along the
edge lay the skeletons of human slaves, evidence of human sacrifice.
C. The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 to the east of Xi’an in Shaanxi. The
terracotta soldiers were accidentally discovered when a group of local farmers was
digging a well during a drought around 1.6 km (I mile) east of the Qin Emperors tomb
around at Mount Li (Lishan), a region riddled with underground springs and watercourses.
Experts currently place the entire number of soldiers at 8,000 — with 130 chariots (130 cm
long), 530 horses and 150 cavalry horses helping to ward of any dangers in the afterlife. In
contrast, the burial of Tutank hamun yielded six complete but dismantled chariots of
unparalleled richness and sophistication. Each was designed for two people (90 cm long)
and had its axle sawn through to enable it to be brought along the narrow corridor into
the tomb.
D. Excavation of ancient Chinese chariots has confirmed the descriptions of them in the
earliest texts. Wheels were constructed from a variety of woods: elm provided the hub,
rose-wood the spokes and oak the felloes. The hub was drilled through to form an empty

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 space into which the tampering axle was fitted the whole being covered with leather to
retain lubricating oil. Though the number of spokes varied, a wheel by the fourth century
BC usually had eighteen to thirty-two of them. Records show how elaborate was the
testing of each completed wheel: flotation and weighing were regarded as the best
measures of balance, but even the empty spaces in the assembly were checked with millet
grains. One outstanding constructional asset of the ancient Chinese wheel was dishing.
Dishing refers to the dish-like shape of an advanced wooden wheel, which looks rather
like a flat cone. On occasion, they chose to strengthen a dished wheel with a pair of struts
running from rim to rim on each of the hub. As these extra supports were inserted
separately into the felloes, they would have added even greater strength to the wheel.
Leather wrapped up the edge of the wheel aimed to retain bronze.
E. Within a millennium, however, Chinese chariot-makers had developed a vehicle with
shafts, the precursor of the true carriage or cart. This design did not make its appearance
in Europe until the end of the Roman Empire. Because the shafts curved upwards, and the
harness pressed against a horse’s shoulders, not his neck, the shaft chariot was incredibly
efficient. The halberd was also part of chariot standard weaponry. This halberd usually
measured well over 3 metres in length, which meant that a chariot warrior wielding it
sideways could strike down the charioteer in a passing chariot. The speed of chariot which
was tested on the sand was quite fast. At speed these passes were very dangerous for the
crews of both chariots.
F. The advantages offered by the new chariots were not entirely missed. They could see how
there were literally the warring states, whose conflicts lasted down the Qin unification of
China. Qin Shi Huang was buried in the most opulent tomb complex ever constructed in
China, a sprawling, city-size collection of underground caverns containing everything the
emperor would need for the afterlife. Even a collection of terracotta armies called Terra-
Cotta Warriors was buried in it. The ancient Chinese, along with many cultures including
ancient Egyptians, believed that items and even people buried with a person could be
taken with him to the afterlife

Questions 1-4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-4 on you answer sheet, write
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 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. when discovered, the written records of the grave goods proved to be accurate.
2. Human skeletons in Anyang tomb were identified ad soldiers who were killed in the war.
3. The Terracotta Army was discovered by people lived nearby by chance.
4. The size of the King Tutankhamen’s tomb is bigger than that of in Qin Emperors’ tomb.

Questions 5-10
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet

5. The hub is made wood from the tree of________________.

Questions 11-13
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet

11. What body part of horse was released the pressure from to the shoulder?
12. what kind road surface did the researchers measure the speed of the chariot?
13. What part of his afterlife palace was the Emperor Qin Shi Huang buried?

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

Crop-growing skyscrapers
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By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the Earth’s population will live in urban centres. Applying the
most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase
by about three billion people by then. An estimated 10 hectares of new land (about 20% larger
than Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming methods
continue as they are practised today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that
is suitable for raising crops is in use. Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor
management practices. What can be done to ensure enough food for the world’s population to
live on?
The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes and other
produce has been in vogue for some time. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this
technology to accommodate another three billion people. Many believe an entirely new
approach to indoor farming is required, employing cutting-edge technologies. One such
buildings in which food crops are grown in environmentally controlled conditions. Situated in the
heart of urban centres, they would drastically reduce the amount of transportation required to
bring food to consumers. Vertical farms would need to be efficient, cheap to construct and safe
to operate. If successfully implemented, proponents claim, vertical farms offer the promise of
urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (through year-round
production of all crops), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for
horizontal farming.
It took humans 10,000 years to learn how to grow most of the crops we now take for granted.
Along the way, we despoiled most of the land we worked, often turning verdant, natural
ecozones into semi-arid deserts. Within that same time frame, we evolved into an urban species,
in which 60% of the human population now lives vertically in cities. This means that, for the
majority, we humans have shelter from the elements, yet we subject our food- bearing plants to
the rigours of the great outdoors and can do no more than hope for a good weather year.
However, more often than not now, due to a rapidly changing climate, that is not what happens.
Massive floods, long droughts, hurricanes and severe monsoons take their toll each year,
destroying millions of tons of valuable crops.
The supporters of vertical farming claim many potential advantages for the system. For instance,
crops would be produced all year round, as they would be kept in artificially controlled, optimum
growing conditions. There would be no weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods or
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pests. All the food could be grown organically, eliminating the need for herbicides, pesticides
and fertilisers. The system would greatly reduce the incidence of many infectious diseases that
are acquired at the agricultural interface. Although the system would consume energy, it would
return energy to the grid via methane generation from composting non- edible parts of plants.
It would also dramatically reduce fossil fuel use, by cutting out the need for tractors, ploughs and
shipping.
A major drawback of vertical farming, however, is that the plants would require artificial light.
Without it, those plants nearest the windows would be exposed to more sunlight and grow more
quickly, reducing the efficiency of the system. Single-storey greenhouses have the benefit of
natural overhead light even so, many still need artificial lighting. A multi-storey facility with no
natural overhead light would require far more. Generating enough light could be prohibitively
expensive, unless cheap, renewable energy is available, and this appears to be rather a future
aspiration than a likelihood for the near future.
One variation on vertical farming that has been developed is to grow plants in stacked trays that
move on rails. Moving the trays allows the plants to get enough sunlight. This system is already
in operation, and works well within a single-storey greenhouse with light reaching it from above:
it is not certain, however, that it can be made to work without that overhead natural light.
Vertical farming is an attempt to address the undoubted problems that we face in producing
enough food for a growing population. At the moment, though, more needs to be done to
reduce the detrimental impact it would have on the environment, particularly as regards the use
of energy. While it is possible that much of our food will be grown in skyscrapers in future, most
experts currently believe it is far more likely that we will simply use the space available on urban
rooftops.

Questions 14-20
Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for
each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
INDOOR FARMING

14. Some food plants, including _____________ are already grown indoors.
15. Vertical farms would be located in _____________meaning that there would be less need
to take them long distances to customers.
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 16. Vertical farms could use methane from plants and animals to produce _____________.
17. The consumption of _____________would be cut because agricultural vehicles would be
unnecessary.
18. The fact that vertical farms would need _____________light is a disadvantage.
19. One form of vertical farming involves planting in_____________ which are not fixed.
20. The most probable development is that food will be grown on_____________ in towns
and cities.

Questions 21-26
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

21. Methods for predicting the Earth’s population have recently changed.
22. Human beings are responsible for some of the destruction to food-producing land.
23. The crops produced in vertical farms will depend on the season.
24. Some damage to food crops is caused by climate change.
25. Fertilisers will be needed for certain crops in vertical farms.
26. Vertical farming will make plants less likely to be affected by infectious diseases.

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