ENGLISH MATTERS
PASSAGE 1
A
Today, there are more than 350 extant species of parrots. These intelligent birds come in a
variety of size and vibrant colours. While they are prized as pets around the world for their
ability to mimic speech, they are not always as beloved in their native lands.
B
One good example of this is Australia, which is home to the sulphur – created cockatoo, a large
parrot with vivid feathers on its head. These birds more in large flocks and have become a
nuisance to local inhabitants. Not only do their chatter and pre-dawn calls disturb humans, but
they are also very destructive. Local farmers and homeowners often complain that they are
decimating crops and destroying timber used in homebuilding by chewing on it. They are also
expanding their territory, which displaces other native bird species.
C
To address these problems, Sulphur-crested cockatoos have been declared a pest species in
some areas. This prevents them from being imported into new areas and puts regulations on
their ownership. In some regions, there are also regular culls to keep the populations in check
and to prevent them from damaging the local ecosystem. While these polices may have an
impact, it is unclear whether they will resolve the issue.
Th reading passage has three paragraphs, A-C
Which paragraph contains the following information?
1. a reference to a banning a bird species form certain areas
2. details of how parrots impact humans in terms of noise.
PASSAGE 2
A
Carbon is found all around us today – in the air, the earth and in all living things – but it is
neither created nor destroyed. This is due to a process called the carbon cycle. About 99 per
cent of Earth ‘s carbon is trapped in the rocks of its crust, but through this process, it is slowly
released into the atmosphere. Plants can then take in the carbon, as carbon dioxide, for
photosynthesis and pass it along to animals when it is consumed. Eventually, as these animals
die and their bodies decompose, the carbon is return to the soil.
B
ENGLISH MATTERS
An often-overlooked aspect of the carbon cycle is that oceans are a highly significant factor in
determining the level of carbon in the atmosphere. Our oceans act a large carbon sinks, or
storage units. This occurs because carbon dioxide enters the ocean from the atmosphere,
undergoes a chemical reaction, and becomes trapped there. Unfortunately, sine the Indistrial
Revolution, the burning of fossil fuels has greatly increased the amount of carbon dioxide we
release into the atmosphere, while the ocean’s ability to take in more carbon dioxide has
remained the same. This is resulting in a build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and
leading to higher global temperatures.
C
The increased carbon dioxide levels in the levels in the oceans since the Industrial Revolution
are also leading to the problems for marine life. The chemical reactions that occur as carbon
dioxide is dissolved into seawater lower the PH level of the water at the surface. This
acidification slows the growth of microscopic marine life such as plankton and coral. These tiny
organisms form the base of the marine food web, so the acidification have a negative impact on
the entire system. And, since we also rely on the marine food web, our food supply is
threatened as well.
5. the reason why one process can influence a whole system
6. the role of oceans in the carbon-cycle
7. how carbon gets put back into the earth
PASSAGE 3
The Intersection of Health Sciences and Geography
B
Geography can often play a very large role in the health concerns of certain populations. For
instance, depending on where you live, you will not have the same health concerns as someone
who lives in a different geographical region. Perhaps one of the most obvious examples of this
idea is malaria-prone areas, which are usually tropical regions that foster a warm and damp
environment in which the mosquitos that can give people this disease can grow. Malaria is
much less of a problem in high-altitude deserts, for instance.
C
In some countries, geographical factors influence the health and well-being of the population in
very obvious ways. In many large cities, the wind is not strong enough to clear the air of the
massive amounts of smog and pollution that cause asthma, lung problems, eyesight issues and
more in the people who live there. Part of the problem is, of course, the massive number of
cars being driven, in addition to factories that run on coal power. The rapid industrialisation of
ENGLISH MATTERS
some countries in recent years has also led to the cutting down of forests to allow for the
expansion of big cities, which makes it even harder to fight the pollution with the fresh air that
is produced by plants.
D
It is in situations like these that the field of health geography comes into its own. It is an
increasingly important area of study in a world where diseases like polio are re-emerging,
respiratory diseases continue to spread, and malaria-prone areas are still fighting to find a
better cure. Health geography is the combination of, on the one hand, knowledge regarding
geography and methods used to analyse and interpret geographical information, and on the
other, the study of health, diseases and healthcare practices around the world. The aim of this
hybrid science is to create solutions for common geography-based health problems. While
people will always be prone to illness, the study of how geography affects our health could lead
to the eradication of certain illnesses, and the prevention of others in the future. By
understanding why and how we get sick, we can change the way we treat illness and disease
specific to certain geographical locations.
F
Researchers study the interactions between humans and their environment that could lead to
illness (such as asthma in places with high levels of pollution) and work to create a clear way of
categorising illnesses, diseases and epidemics into local and global scales. Health geographers
can map the spread of illnesses and attempt to identify the reasons behind an increase or
decrease in illnesses, as they work to find a way to halt the further spread or re-emergence of
diseases in vulnerable populations.
G
The second subcategory of health geography is the geography of healthcare provision. This
group studies the availability (of lack thereof) of healthcare resources to individuals and
populations around the world. In both developed and developing nations, there is often a very
large discrepancy between the options available to people in different social classes, income
brackets, and levels of education. Individuals working in the area of the geography of
healthcare provision attempt to assess the levels of healthcare in the area (for instance, it may
be very difficult for people to get medical attention because there is a mountain between their
village and the nearest hospital). These researchers are on the frontline of making
recommendations regarding the policy to international organisations, local government bodies
and others.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet
ENGLISH MATTERS
14. an acceptance that not all diseases can be totally eliminated
15. examples of physical conditions caused by human behaviour
16. a reference to classifying diseases on the basis of how far they extend geographically
17. reasons why the level of access to healthcare can vary within a country
18. a description of health geography as a mixture of different academic fields
19. a description of the type of area where a particular illness is rare
