READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-14, which are based on Reading
Passage 1 below.
Prehistoric Cave Paintings Took up to 20,000
Years to Complete
It may have taken Michelangelo four long years to paint his fresco on the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel, but his earliest predecessors spent considerably longer perfecting their
own masterpieces. Scientists have discovered that prehistoric cave paintings took up to
20,000 years to complete. Rather than being created in one session, as archaeologists
previously thought, many of the works discovered across Europe were produced over
hundreds of generations, who added to, refreshed and painted over the original pieces
of art.
Until now it has been extremely difficult to pinpoint when prehistoric cave paintings and
carvings were created, but a pioneering technique is allowing researchers to date cave
art accurately for the first time and show how the works were crafted over thousands of
years. Experts now hope the technique will provide a valuable insight into how early
human culture developed and changed as the first modem humans moved across
Europe around 40,000 years ago.
Dr Alistair Pike, an archaeologist at Bristol University who is leading the research, said:
The art gives us a really intimate window into the minds of the individuals who produced
it, but what we don’t know is exactly which individuals they were as we don’t know
exactly when the art was created. If we can date the art then we can relate that to the
artefacts we find in the ground and start to link the symbolic thoughts of these
individuals to where, when and how they were living.’
Hundreds of caves have been discovered across Europe with elaborate prehistoric
paintings and carvings on their walls. It is thought the designs, which often depict
scenes of animals, were created up to 40,000 years ago – some time after humans
began moving from southern Europe into northern Europe during the last ice age.
Traditional dating techniques have relied on carbon dating the charcoal and other
pigment used in the paintings, but this can be inaccurate as it only gives the date the
charcoal was created not when the work was crafted. ‘When you go into these caves
today there is still charcoal lying on the ground, so the artists at the time could have
been using old charcoal rather than making it fresh themselves/ explained Dr Pike.
‘If this was the case, then the date for the painting would be very wrong. Taking
samples for carbon dating also means destroying a bit of these precious paintings
because you need to take away a bit of the pigment. For carvings, it is virtually
impossible to date them as there is no organic pigment containing carbon at all.’
The scientists have used their technique to date a series of famous Palaeolithic
paintings in Altamira cave, northern Spain. Known as the ‘Sistine Chapel of the
Palaeolithic’, the elaborate works were thought to date from around 14,000 years ago.
But in research published by the Natural Environment Research Council’s new website
Planet Earth, Dr Pike discovered some of the paintings were between 25,000 and
35,000 years old. The youngest paintings in the cave were 11,000 years old. Dr Pike
said:’We have found that most of these caves were not painted in one go, but the
painting spanned up to 20,000 years. This goes against what the archaeologists who
excavated in the caves found. It is probably the case that people did not live in the
caves they painted. It seems the caves they lived in were elsewhere and there was
something special about the painted caves.’
Dr Pike and his team were able to date the paintings using a technique known
as uranium series dating, which was originally developed by geologists to date rock
formations such as stalactites and stalagmites in caves. As water seeps through a cave,
it carries extremely low levels of dissolved radioactive uranium along with the mineral
calcium carbonate. Overtime small amounts of calcium carbonate are deposited to form
a hard layer over the paintings and this layer also traps the uranium. Due to its
radioactive properties, the uranium slowly decays to become another element known as
thorium. By comparing the ratio of uranium to thorium in the thin layers on top of the
cave art, the researchers were able to calculate the age of the paintings.
The researchers have also applied their technique to engravings found in rocks around
Creswell Crags in Derbyshire, which are Britain’s only examples of ice age cave art
They proved the engravings were made at least 12,000 years ago. Professor Pablo
Arias, an expert on Palaeolithic cave art at the University of Cantabria, Spain,
said: ’Until about ten years ago it was only possible to date cave art by using the style of
the figures, but this new technique developed by Bristol University allows that date to be
accurately bracketed. We want to study how the people of the time behaved and how
they felt and Palaeolithic art gives us a way of looking at the type of symbols that were
important to them, so we need to know when the people who were making the art
actually lived.’
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Great thanks to volunteer Truong Nhat Minh who has contributed these explanations
and markings.
SECTION 1: QUESTIONS 1-14
Questions 1-5
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
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 Cave paintings inspired Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel.
2 It now seems that cave paintings were painted in one go and then left
untouched.
3 Dr Pike is focusing on dating artefacts found on the ground in the
caves.
4 There are a number of disadvantages to using carbon dating to date
paintings and carvings.
5 The Allamira cave contains more cave paintings than any other cave in
Europe.
Question 6-8
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
6. Dr Pike believes that
A most caves remained undiscovered for thousands of years.
B archaeologists should not have excavated the caves at all.
C the caves were uninhabited but were treated as important.
D the paintings were painted by the people living in the caves.
7. Uranium series dating
A was previously used for other purposes.
B is a technique which was invented by Dr Pike.
C relies on the presence of stalactites in the caves.
D only works with caves which are underwater.
8. Professor Pablo Arias
A is sceptical about the benefits of the new dating technique.
B is enthusiastic about what the new technique will achieve.
C used the technique to successfully date Creswell Crags.
D believes it is necessary only to study the symbols in the art.
Questions 9-14
What is said about each of these things found in the caves?
Choose your answers from the box and write the letters A-H next to Questions 9-14.
A When this is removed, it damages the painting.
B This can damage the stalactites and stalagmites in the caves.
C Over time, this turns into a different element.
D We could determine when it was made, but not when it was used.
E This is produced as a result of radioactive decay.
F Scientists used to think that this was a mineral.
G This contains no carbon-based elements at all.
H This can act as a firm coating over something.
9 charcoal
10 pigment
11 carving
12 uranium
13 calcium carbonate
14 thorium
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15-27, which are based on Reading
Passage 2 below.
Children Tested to Destruction?
English primary school pupils subjected to more tests than in any other country.
English primary school pupils have to deal with unprecedented levels of pressure as
they face tests more frequently, at a younger age, and in more subjects than children
from any other country, according to one of the biggest international education inquiries
in decades. The damning indictment of England’s primary education system revealed
that the country’s children are now the most tested in the world. From their very earliest
days at school they must navigate a set-up whose trademark is ’high stakes’ testing,
according to a recent report
Parents are encouraged to choose schools for their children based on league tables of
test scores. But this puts children under extreme pressure which could damage their
motivation and self-esteem, as well as encouraging schools to ’teach to the test’ at the
expense of pupils’ wider learning, the study found. The findings are part of a two-year
inquiry – led by Cambridge University – into English primary schools. Other parts of the
UK and countries such as France, Norway and Japan used testing but it was,’less
intrusive, less comprehensive, and considerably less frequent’, Cambridge’s Primary
Review concluded.
England was unique in using testing to control what is taught in schools, to
monitor teaching standards and to encourage parents to choose schools based on the
results of the tests, according to Kathy Hall, from the National University of Ireland in
Cork, and Kamil Ozerk, from the University of Oslo, who conducted the research.
‘Assessment in England, compared to our other reviewed countries, is pervasive, highly
consequential, and taken by officialdom and the public more generally to portray
objectively the actual quality of primary education in schools,’ their report concluded.
Teachers’ leaders said the testing regime was ‘past its sell-by date’ and called for a
fundamental review of assessment
Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said England’s
testing system was having a ’devastating’ impact on schools.’Uniquely, England is a
country where testing is used to police schools and control what is taught,’ he
said.’When it comes to testing in England, the tail wags the dog. It is patently absurd
that even the structure and content of education is shaped by the demands of the tests.
I call on the Government to initiate a full and independent review of the impact of the
current testing system on schools and on children’s learning and to be prepared to
dismantle a system which is long past its sell-by date.’
John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders,
warned that the tests were having a damaging effect on pupils. The whole testing
regime is governed by the need to produce league tables,’ he said. ‘It has more to do
with holding schools to account than helping pupils to progress.’ The fear that many
children were suffering intolerable stress because of the tests was voiced by Mick
Brookes, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers. There are
schools that start rehearsing for key stage two SATs [Standard Assessment Tests]
from the moment the children arrive in September. That’s just utterly ridiculous/ he
said. There are other schools that rehearse SATs during Christmas week. These are
young children we are talking about. They should be having the time of their lives at
school not just worrying about tests. It is the breadth and richness of the curriculum that
suffers. The consequences for schools not reaching their targets are dire – heads can
lose their jobs and schools can be closed down. With this at stake it’s not surprising that
schools let the tests take over.’
David Laws, the Liberal Democrat schools spokesman, said 'The uniquely high stakes
placed on national tests mean that many primary schools have become too exam
focused.’ However, the Government rejected the criticism. The idea that children are
over-tested is not a view that the Government accepts/a spokesman said. The reality is
that children spend a very small percentage of their time in school being tested. Seeing
that children leave school up to the right standard in the basics is the highest priority of
the Government.’
In another child-centred initiative, both major political parties in the UK – Labour and the
Conservatives – have announced plans to make Britain more child-friendly following a
report by UNICEF which ranked the UK the worst place to be a child out of 21 rich
nations.
Parents were warned that they risked creating a generation of’battery-farmed children’
by always keeping them indoors to ensure their safety. The family’s minister, Kevin
Brennan, called for an end to the ’cotton wool’ culture and warned that children would
not learn to cope with risks if they were never allowed to play outdoors.
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Great thanks to volunteer Mèo Gấu who has contributed these explanations and
markings.
If you want to make a better world like this, please contact us.
SECTION 2: QUESTIONS 15-27
Questions 15-19
Complete the sentences.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
According to the inquiry, the amount of testing puts a lot of 15 on young
children.
The education report describes testing in England as 16 testing.
Parents often select their childrens schools after studying test results in 17
Kathy Hall and Kamil Ozerk believe testing in England is also used to
evaluate 18 in schools.
The major political parties have promised to make Britain 19 in view of the
UNICEF report.
Question 20-23
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN If there is no information on this
20 Steve Sinnott says what is taught at school should be more tightly
controlled.
21 According to John Dunford, children would make more progress with
much shorter and easier tests.
22 Mick Brookes wants to see earlier student preparation for SATs.
23 David Laws agrees with the opinions of Mick Brookes.
Questions 24-27
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
24. What does the government argue?
A There is not enough testing at present.
B Tests at primary school are too easy.
C Tests are not given too frequently.
D Teachers should take more tests.
25. The government spokesman
A is extremely critical of the way exams are written.
B accepts many of the points made by the teachers’ leaders.
C thinks education is what the government is most interested in.
D argues it is the teachers fault that students are tested so much.
26. According to UNICEF, children in the UK
A often spend too much time in the worst kind of places.
B are not so well behaved as in other countries.
C are not as rich as children in 21 other countries.
D could be having much more fulfilling childhoods.
27. What is the point Kevin Brennan makes?
A Children use too many electrical devices.
B Children would learn by being outside more.
C Its too risky for children to be outside on their own.
D The most important thing is children’s safety.
