READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading
Passage 1 below.
How the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable was laid
On August 16, 1858, the first telegraphic message crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Travelling
along a recently laid cable, the message from Britain’s Queen Victoria to US President
James Buchanan took just 16 hours. Prior to this, communication across the Atlantic
would have been by ship – and taken around 10 days.

People had been communicating via overland telegraph since 1844 and messages had
been passing between Britain and France since 1850 when the first submarine cable was
laid in the English Channel. But the attempt to span the Atlantic Ocean was the most
daring attempt yet – and was the talk of the age, the 19th-century equivalent of the Apollo
space mission. The idea that one could seemingly cheat time and space was inspiring
and it changed the way people thought about the world and their place in it.

The driving force behind the trans-Atlantic telegraph cable was an American businessman
called Cyrus Field. In 1856, he and Englishmen John Watkins Brett and Charles Tilson
Bright formed the Atlantic Telegraph company. They raised £350,000 mostly from
businessmen in London, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. They also secured £14,000
annually from the British government plus the loan of ships and a similar amount from the
US government.

Getting the cable made proved to be difficult. The distance between the west coast of
Ireland and Newfoundland is over 3,700km, and Field was unable to find a company that
was capable of supplying the required cable in the desired time frame. As a result, two
companies were engaged to fulfil the order. The cable had a core of seven copper wires
down which the signal would pass. These were insulated with several layers of gutta-
percha (a natural plastic made from tree sap) and then armoured with iron wire. When it
was complete, the weight of the cable proved too great for any single ship. It was therefore
loaded onto two: the British ship, HMS Agamemnon and the American ship, USS Niagara.

The first attempt to lay the cable began on August 5 1857 with both ships departing from
the west coast of Ireland, near Ballycarbery Castle. The venture did not go according to
plan. The cable snapped on the first day, but was recovered from the bottom and repaired.
A few days later, mid-Atlantic, the cable snapped again, this time in water 3km deep. It
was lost and the expedition abandoned.

The next summer in 1858 they tried again. On this expedition, the two great ships met
mid- Atlantic, each carrying half the cable. The two ends were joined together and the
ships sailed away from each other. The cable broke three times and each time they were
forced to start again. On July 29, with little hope of success, the cable was joined for the
fourth time and the ships sailed for home. This time they succeeded. The cable was
landed in Newfoundland on August 4 and in Ireland the following day. And a week or so
later Queen Victoria sent that first trans-Atlantic message to President Buchanan.

The celebrations were tremendous. One US newspaper proclaimed:

New York has seldom seen a more complete holiday than that on September 1 1858, in
celebration of the successful laying of the Atlantic cable. The enthusiasm of an entire
nation was expressed in this jubilee of its metropolis, and the era of a closer connection
with Europe was well ushered in by a day of genuine rejoicing and gaiety.

Celebrations were, however, short-lived: the cable performed badly and failed after just
three weeks. The project was put on hold, but the concept had been proved possible. By
1865, further research had been carried out into the problems which had plagued the
earlier cables. In addition, cables had been successfully laid in the Mediterranean and in
the Persian Gulf. The cables that were used were better engineered, with thicker cores
and better insulation allowing faster transmission speeds.

In 1865, Field incorporated a second company to raise enough funds to try again. He
chartered the largest ship in the world at the time, the SS Great Eastern, which could
carry the entire Atlantic cable. Huge salt-water tanks and other state-of-the-art machinery
were fitted to ensure it remained in mint condition during its journey. All went well until, in
heavy winds 1000km off the coast of Newfoundland, the cable rubbed on the side of the
ship, snapped and plunged to the deep ocean floor.

Not one to quit, Field vowed to return the following year. This final 1866 expedition proved
to be successful and the cable was put into commercial service on July 28. One month
later, the 1865 cable was brought to the surface and repaired, providing a second Atlantic
telegraph link.
The service had obvious and immediate impact. People in government were able to
respond more swiftly to evolving situations. News travelled more quickly, which boosted
trade on both sides of the Atlantic. It also had a profound effect on things such as family
life and cultural ties. For example, it was no longer so difficult for immigrants in America
to keep in touch with their families back home.

The roller-coaster of cable-laying highs and lows between 1857 and 1866 caught the
imaginations of a generation the way the space race did in the 20th century. There was
immense public interest in the endeavour and in telegraphy more generally. At the time,
telegraphic science was reported widely in the newspapers and the fortunes of the
telegraph companies were followed closely. Discussions of the pitfalls and solutions to
spanning the Atlantic with cable became everyday topics of conversation, and endless
articles in the newspapers ensured that the project stayed in people’s thoughts.
Questions 1 – 6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text
In boxes 1 – 6 below, 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 Field failed to find a company that could produce all of the cable needed by the specified
date.
2 HMS Agamemnon and USS Niagara set sail from different locations on August 5, 1857.
3 On the 1858 expedition, the cable broke three times because of a manufacturing fault.
4 The newspaper quoted in the passage disapproved of the enthusiasm that met the 1858
expedition.
5 Many articles appeared in the press between 1857 and 1866 about the science behind
the telegraph.
6 Between 1857 and 1866, people talked about the problems related to the telegraph
project on a regular basis.
Questions 7 – 13
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7 – 13 below.
The history of the trans-Atlantic telegraph
The first attempts to lay cable:
• the Atlantic Telegraph company was set up by Field, Brett and Bright in 1856
• the central wires of the cable were made of 7…………………..
• the cable was put onto two ships due to its 8…………………..
• the 1857 attempt failed
• the cable was successfully laid in 1858
Events between 1858 and 1866:
• celebrations were brief since problems emerged
• further research led to the cable’s thickness and 9………………. being improved
• Field set up another company to get the 10……………….. for another attempt
• the strong winds experienced by the SS Great Eastern led to the cable being lost
• the 1866 expedition was successful
The changes the trans-Atlantic telegraph brought about:
• members of the 11……………………could react more quickly to events
• news could be relayed faster, thus improving 12…….. …………
• it became easier for US 13…………………..
• to maintain contact with their families
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading
Passage 2 below.
Bird Migration
A. Birds have many unique design features that enable them to perform such amazing
feats of endurance. They are equipped with lightweight, hollow bones, intricately
designed feathers providing both lift and thrust for rapid flight, navigation systems
superior to any that man has developed, and an ingenious heat conserving design that,
among other things, concentrates all blood circulation beneath layers of warm,
waterproof plumage, leaving them fit to face life in the harshest of climates. Their
respiratory systems have to perform efficiently during sustained flights at altitude, so
they have a system of extracting oxygen from their lungs that far exceeds that of any
other animal. During the later stages of the summer breeding season, when food is
plentiful, their bodies can accumulate considerable layers of fat, to provide sufficient
energy for their long migratory flights.
B. The fundamental reason that birds migrate is to find adequate food during the winter
months when it is in short supply. This particularly applies to birds that breed in the
temperate and Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, where food is abundant
during the short growing season. Many species can tolerate cold temperatures if food is
plentiful, but when food is not available, they must migrate. However, intriguing
questions remain.
C. One puzzling fact is that many birds journey much further than would be necessary
just to find food and good weather. Nobody knows, for instance, why British swallows,
which could presumably survive equally well if they spent the winter in equatorial Africa,
instead of fly several thousands of miles further to their preferred winter home in South
Africa’s Cape Province. Another mystery involves the huge migrations performed by
arctic terns and mudflat-feeding shorebirds that breed close to Polar Regions. In
general, the further north a migrant species breeds, the further south it spends the
winter. For arctic terns, this necessitates an annual round trip of 25,000 miles. Yet, en
route to their final destination in far-flung southern latitudes, all these individuals overfly
other areas of seemingly suitable habitat spanning two hemispheres. While we may not
fully understand birds’ reasons for going to particular places, we can marvel at their
feats.
D. One of the greatest mysteries is how young birds know how to find the traditional
wintering areas without parental guidance. Very few adults migrate with juveniles in tow,
and youngsters may even have little or no inkling of their parents’ appearance. A
familiar example is that of the cuckoo, which lays its eggs in another species’ nest and
never reencounters its young. It is mind-boggling to consider that, once raised by its
host species, the young cuckoo makes its way to ancestral wintering grounds in the
tropics before returning single-handedly to northern Europe the next season to seek out
a mate among its kind. The obvious implication is that it inherits from its parents an
inbuilt route map and direction-finding capability, as well as a mental image of what
another cuckoo looks like. Yet nobody has the slightest idea as to how this is possible.
E. Mounting evidence has confirmed that birds use the positions of the sun and stars to
obtain compass directions. They also seem to be able to detect the earth’s magnetic
field, probably due to having minute crystals of magnetite in the region of their brains.
However, accurate navigation also requires an awareness of position and time,
especially when lost. Experiments have shown that after being taken thousands of miles
over an unfamiliar landmass, birds are still capable of returning rapidly to nest sites.
Such phenomenal powers are the product of computing several sophisticated cues,
including an inborn map of the night sky and the pull of the earth’s magnetic field. How
the birds use their ‘instruments’ remains unknown, but one thing is clear: they see the
world with a superior sensory perception to ours. Most small birds migrate at night and
take their direction from the position of the setting sun. However, as well as seeing the
sun go down, they also seem to see the plane of polarized light caused by it, which
calibrates their compass. Travelling at night provides other benefits. Daytime predators
are avoided and the danger of dehydration due to flying for long periods in warm, sunlit
skies is reduced. Furthermore, at night the air is generally cool and less turbulent and
so conducive to sustained, stable flight.
F. Nevertheless, all journeys involve considerable risk, and part of the skill in arriving
safely is setting off at the right time. This means accurate weather forecasting and
utilizing favourable winds. Birds are adept at both, and, in laboratory tests, some have
been shown to detect the minute difference in barometric pressure between the floor
and ceiling of a room. Often birds react to weather changes before there is any visible
sign of them. Lapwings, which feed on grassland, flee west from the Netherlands to the
British Isles, France, and Spain at the onset of a cold snap. When the ground surface
freezes, the birds could starve. Yet they return to Holland ahead of a thaw, their arrival
linked to a pressure change presaging an improvement in the weather.
G. In one instance a Welsh Manx shearwater carried to America and released was back
in its burrow on Skokholm Island, off the Pembrokeshire coast, one day before a letter
announcing its release! Conversely, each autumn a small number of North American
birds are blown across the Atlantic by fast-moving westerly tailwinds. Not only do they
arrive safely in Europe, but, based on ringing evidence, some make it back to North
America the following spring, after probably spending the winter with European migrants
in sunny African climes.
Questions 14-20
Reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of headings
i. The best moment to migrate
ii. The unexplained rejection of closer feeding ground
iii.The influence of weather on the migration route
iv. Physical characteristics that allow birds to migrate
v. The main reason why birds migrate
vi. The best wintering grounds for birds
vii. Research findings on how birds migrate
viii. Successful migration despite the trouble of wind
ix. The contrast between long-distance migration and short-distance migration
x. Mysterious migration despite lack of teaching

14 Paragraph A
15 Paragraph B
16 Paragraph C
17 Paragraph D
18 Paragraph E
19 Paragraph F
20 Paragraph G
Questions 21 and 22
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in your answer sheet. Which TWO of the following statements
are true of bird migration?

A Birds often fly further than they need to

B Birds travelling in family groups are safe.
C Birds flying at night need less water.
D Birds have much sharper eyesight than humans.
E Only shorebirds are resistant to strong winds.

Question 23-26
Complete the sentences below using NO MORE THAN ONE WORD OR A
NUMBER from the passage.
Write your answers in your answer sheet

23 It is a great mystery that young birds like cuckoos can find their wintering grounds
without ………….. assistence.

24 Evidence shows birds can tell ……………. like a compass by observing the sun and
the stars.

25 One advantage for birds flying at night is that they can avoid contact with ………….
Avoid contact = avoid

26 Laboratory tests show that birds can detect weather without ……………… signs.
READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 below.

Decisions, Decisions.

Research explores when we can make a vital decision quickly and we need to proceed
more deliberately

A A widely recognised legend tells us that in Gordium (in what is now Turkey) in the
fourth century BC an oxcart was roped to a pole with a complex knot. It was said that
the first person to untie it would become the king of Asia. Unfortunately, the knot proved
impossible to untie. The story continues that when confronted with this problem, rather
than deliberating on how to untie the Gordian knot. Alexander, the famous ruler of the
Greeks in the ancient world, simply took out his sword and cut it in two – then went on
to conquer Asia. Ever since the notion of a ‘Gordian solution’ has referred to the
attractiveness of a simple answer to an otherwise intractable problem.

B Among researchers in the psychology of decision making, however, such

solutions have traditionally held little appeal. In particular, the ‘conflict model’ of decision
making proposed by psychologists Irving Janis and Leon Mann in their 1977 book,
Decision Making, argued that a complex decision-making process is essential for
guarding individuals and groups from the peril of ‘group-think’. Decisions made without
thorough canvassing, surveying, weighing, examining and reexamining relevant
information and options would be suboptimal and often disastrous. One foreign affair
decision made by a well-known US political leader in the 1960s is typically held us as an
example of the perils of inadequate thought, whereas his successful handling of a water
crisis is cited as an example of the advantages of careful deliberation. However,
examination of these historical events by Peter Suedfield, a psychologist at the
University of British Columbia, and Roderick Kramer, a psychologist at the Stanford
Graduate School of Business, found little difference in the two decision-making
processes; both crises required and received complex consideration by the political
administration, but later only the second one was deemed to be the effective.

C In general, however, organizational and political science offers little evidence that
complex decisions fare better than simpler ones. In fact, a growing body of work
suggests that in many situations simply ‘snap’ decisions with being routinely superior to
more complex ones – an idea that gained widespread public appeal with Malcolm
Gladwell’s best-selling book Blink (2005).

D An article by Ap Dijksterhuis of the University of Amsterdam and his colleagues,

Making the Right Choice: the Deliberation-without-attention Effect’, runs very much in
the spirit of Gladwell’s influential text. Its core argument is that to be effective, conscious
(deliberative) decision making requires cognitive resources. Because increasingly
complex decisions place increasing strain on those resources, the quality of our
decisions declines as their complexity increases. In short, complex decisions overrun
our cognitive powers. On the other hand, unconscious decision making (what the author
refer to as ‘deliberation without attention’) requires no cognitive resources, so task
complexity does not Effectiveness. The seemingly counterintuitive conclusion is that
although conscious thought enhances simple decisions, the opposite holds true for
more complex decisions.

E Dijksterhuis reports four Simple but elegant studies supporting this argument. In
one, participants assessed the quality of four hypothetical cars by considering either
four attributes (a simple task) or 12 attributes (a complex task). Among participants who
considered four attributes, those who were allowed to engage in undistracted
deliberative thought did better at discriminating between the best and worst cars. Those
who were distracted and thus unable to deliberate had to rely on their unconscious
thinking and did less well. The opposite pattern emerged when people considered 12
criteria. In this case, conscious deliberation led to inferior discrimination and poor
decisions.

F In other studies, Dijksterhuis surveyed people shopping for clothes (‘simple’

products) and furniture (‘complex’ products). Compared with those who said they had
deliberated long and hard, shoppers who bought with little conscious deliberation felt
less happy with their simple clothing purchase but happier with the complex furniture
purchases. Deliberation without attention actually produced better results as the
decisions became more complex.

G From there, however, the researchers take a big leap. They write: There is no
reason to assume that the deliberation-without-attention effect does not generalize to
other types of choices – political, managerial or otherwise. In such cases, it should
benefit the individual to think consciously about simple matters and to delegate thinking
about more complicated matters to the unconscious.

H This radical inference contradicts standard political and managerial theory but
doubtless comforts those in politics and management who always find the simple
solution to the complex problem an attractive proposition. Indeed, one suspects many of
our political leaders already embrace this wisdom.

I Still, it is there, in the realms of society and its governance, that the more
problematic implications of deliberation without attention begin to surface. Variables that
can be neatly circumscribed in decisions about shopping lose clarity in a world of group
dynamics, social interaction, history and politics. Two pertinent questions arise. First,
what counts as a complex decision? And second, what counts as a good outcome?

J As social psychologist Kurt Lewin (1890 – 1947) noted, a ‘good’ decision that
nobody respects is actually bad, his classic studies of decision making showed that
participating in deliberative processes makes people more likely to abide by the results.
The issue here is that when political decision-makers make mistakes, it is their politics,
or the relationship between their politics and our own, rather than psychology which is at
fault.

K Gladwell’s book and Dijksterhuis’s paper are invaluable in pointing out the
limitations of the conventional wisdom that decision quality rises with decision-making
complexity. But this work still tempts us to believe that decision making is simply a
matter of psychology, rather than also a question of politics, ideology and group
membership. Avoiding social considerations in a search for general appeal rather than
toward it.
Questions 27-31
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.

27 The legend of the Gordian knot is used to illustrate the idea that
A anyone can solve a difficult problem
B difficult problems can have easy solutions
C the solution to any problem requires a lot of thought
D people who can solve complex problems make good leaders

28 The ‘conflict model’ of decision making proposed by Janis and Mann requires that
A opposing political parties be involved
B all-important facts be considered
C people be encouraged to have different ideas
D previous similar situations be thoroughly examined

29 According to recent thinking reinforced by Malcolm Gladwell, the best decisions

A involve consultation
B involve complex thought
C are made very quickly
D are the most attractive option

30 Dijksterhuis and his colleagues claim in their article that

A our cognitive resources improve as tasks become more complex
B conscious decision making is negatively affected by task complexity
C unconscious decision making is a popular approach
D deliberation without attention defines the way we make decisions

31 Dijksterhuis’s car study found that, in simple tasks, participants

A were involved in lengthy discussions
B found it impossible to make decisions quickly
C were unable to differentiate between the options
D could make a better choice when allowed to concentrate
Questions 32-35
Complete the summary using the list of words A-I below.
Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.

Dijksterhuis’s shopping study and its conclusions

Using clothing and furniture as examples of different types of purchases, Dijksterhuis

questioned shoppers on their satisfaction with what they had bought. People who spent
32…………. time buying simple clothing items were more satisfied than those who had
not. However, when buying furniture, shoppers made 33………….. purchasing decisions
if they didn’t think too hard. From this, the researchers concluded that in other choices,
perhaps more important than shopping. 34……………… decisions are best made by the
unconscious. The writer comments that Dijksterhuis’s finding is apparently 35
…………. but nonetheless true.

A more B counterintuitive C simple

D better E conscious F obvious
G complex H less I worse

Questions 36-40
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage?
In boxes 36-40 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

36 Dijksterhuis’s findings agree with existing political and management theories.

37 Some political leaders seem to use deliberation without attention when making
complex decisions.
38 All political decisions are complex ones.
39 We judge political errors according to our own political beliefs.
40 Social considerations must be taken into account for any examination of decision
making to prove useful.
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1
below.

The Father of English Geology

William Smith, 1769–1839, has been called the ‘Father of English Geology’. His pioneering map of
1815, depicting the geology of England, Wales and part of Scotland, helped to shape the economic
and scientific development of Britain, just as the country was experiencing the Industrial Revolution.
William Smith was born in rural Oxfordshire in 1769. The son of the village blacksmith, Smith was
the eldest of five children. After elementary education at the village school, where he developed a
liking for geometry and drawing, he decided to teach himself the skills of surveying, possibly
because there were an increasing number of openings for that profession. At the age of 18 he was
employed by Edward Webb, a surveyor in a nearby town, and subsequently, in 1791, he set up in
business on his own.
As a boy, Smith had developed an interest in the exposures of rock and the fossils which were to
be found locally. As an adult, his surveys of land that would be suitable for building canals, and for
sources of building stone and coal in other parts of England, led to a great increase in his
knowledge and awareness of various geological features.
As he travelled, he found the strata* that he was familiar with in the south of England were repeated
in other areas, with some outcrops – the rocks emerging above ground – stretching right across
the country. Coal miners were already aware of the occurrences of regular successions of workable
coal seams. But on a larger scale, Smith began to recognise that sedimentary rocks could be
identified by the fossils they contained, and that these rocks were always arranged in the same
order. Smith’s discovery that beds of rocks can be distinguished by the fossils found in them was
a concept virtually unrecognised by geologists of that period.
Working on this principle, Smith was able to draw up a table of successive strata which could be
applied in any other locality – an early version of the geological column.
By 1799, Smith was using both his skills as a surveyor and the knowledge gained from his
observations in the field to draw up a geological map. This first map was circular in form, covered
the area around the city of Bath, and was exhibited at the Bath Agricultural Society. At the same
time, Smith continued to plan the publication of a treatise describing his discoveries, but financial
support proved difficult to find. In 1801, Smith produced a small geological map of England and
Wales which illustrated the outcrops of seven geological formations.
Other maps were produced for exhibition at various meetings, but it was not until 1815 that, with
input from the enterprising map publisher John Cary, Smith’s first major map actually appeared. It
was called ‘A delineation of the Strata of England and Wales with part of Scotland; exhibiting the
Collieries and Mines, the Marshes and Fen Lands originally overflowed by the Sea, and the
varieties of soil according to the variations in the substrata, illustrated by the most descriptive
names’.
Based on Cary’s new topographical map at the scale of five miles to the inch, Smith’s map showed
the outcrops of some twenty formations. Other publications on stratigraphy followed, including his
major mapping publication ‘Geological Atlas’, comprising maps of 21 counties. Published between
1819 and 1824, these maps represent a first attempt at systematic sheet mapping of England and
Wales.
Despite the importance of his ideas and publications, Smith continued to find recognition elusive
and it was not until 1831, when the Geological Society awarded him the first Wollaston Medal, that
the importance of his achievements was finally acknowledged. In his citation, the geologist Adam
Sedgwick called Smith the ‘Founder of English Geology’.
From time to time Smith’s expertise continued to be drawn upon for major projects. In 1838 he was
commissioned to accompany Henry De la Beche and Sir Charles Barry on a tour of the principal
stone quarries to recommend the stone to be used in the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament,
which had been destroyed by fire in 1835. The practical nature of the commission provides a link
between Smith’s work and that of De la Beche and his newly founded Geological Survey.
The main focus of Smith’s work was to apply his observations and ideas to the everyday needs of
the canal builders, quarry- and mine-owners, landowners and agriculturists who were underpinning
the Industrial Revolution. His understanding of geology enabled him to predict where coal or
different types of stone could be found, which was very useful for mining companies. He talked at
meetings about geology and its valuable contribution to the national economy.
The methods involved in map production have developed and the ways in which people access
maps have altered radically since Smith’s time. However, his conviction that geological mapping is
of vital importance at many levels and in many areas of the nation’s society, science, and industry
is as true today as it was two centuries ago, when he conceived his original geological map. It is
as vital for today’s industries to be provided with accurate geological map data as it was in Smith’s
time.
* Strata: layers of rock in the ground
Questions 1 - 6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?
In boxes 1 - 6 below, 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 At the time when Smith left school, there was a growing demand for surveyors.
2 When Smith was 18, he formed a partnership with another surveyor.
3 Smith’s interest in rocks and fossils was encouraged by his school.
4 Smith noticed that the same types of rocks were visible in a number of places.
5 Smith believed that the order of strata in the ground varied from locality to locality.
6 Smith’s map of Bath was commissioned by the Bath Agricultural Society.

Questions 7 - 13
Complete the sentences below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7 - 13 below.
7 Around 1799, Smith struggled to raise money for a publication about his ……….. .

8 Unlike other maps, Smith’s 1815 map was produced with help from a …………. .

9 Smith's ‘Geological Atlas’ contained maps of a number of the ……….. of England and Wales.

10 Smith did not receive ……….. for his work until 1831.

11 In 1838 Smith advised on the most suitable ……….. for rebuilding the Houses of Parliament.

12 Smith made speeches about how the country’s ………… benefited from geology.

13 Nowadays, geological maps still have the ………. that Smith believed they had.
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage
2 below.
REMOVING UNWANTED NOISE
A A noisy restaurant, a busy road, or a windy day are all situations that can be intensely
frustrating for the hearing impaired when trying to understand what other people are saying.
Some 10 million people in the UK suffer from hearing difficulties and, helpful as hearing aids
are, those who wear them often complain that background noise continues to interfere with their
understanding. But what if hearing aid wearers could choose to filter out all the troublesome
sounds and focus just on the voices they want to hear?
Engineer Dr Richard Turner believes that this is fast becoming a possibility. He is developing a
system that identifies the distracting noise and ‘rubs it out’. ‘The poor performance in noise of
current hearing devices is a major reason why six million people in the UK who would benefit
from hearing aids do not use them,’ he said. Moreover, as the population ages, a greater number
of people will be hindered by the inability to hear clearly. In addition, hearing-impaired patients
who have been fitted with cochlear implants – devices implanted to help those whose auditory
hair cells have died – suffer from similar limitations.
B The solution lies in the statistics of sound, as Turner explained: ‘Many interfering noises
are immediately recognisable. Raindrops patter on a surface, a fire crackles, talkers babble at a
party and the wind howls. But what makes these different noises sound the way they do? No
two rain sounds are identical because the precise arrangement of falling water droplets is never
repeated. Nonetheless, there must be statistical similarities in the sounds of these raindrops
compared with, say, the crackle of a fire.’ He believes that for this reason, the brain may be able
to group similar types of sounds together based on their specific characteristics.
Turner and his colleagues have analysed this process mathematically and then developed
algorithms that mimic what the brain is doing. The mathematical system that they have
developed is capable of being ‘trained’ – a process that uses new methods from the field of
machine learning – so that it can recognise new sounds. ‘Rather surprisingly, it seems that a
relatively small set of statistics is sufficient to describe a large number of sounds’ he says.
Crucially, the system that Turner and his team have come up with is capable of telling the
difference between speech and other types of sound.
C ‘What we can now do is to erase background noise and pass these cleaned-up sounds
to a listener to improve their perception in difficult surroundings,’ said Turner. The idea is that
future devices will have several different modes in which they can operate. These might include
a mode for travelling in a car or on a train, a mode for places like a noisy party or a busy
restaurant, a mode that can be used outdoors in windy weather, and so on. The device might
intelligently select an appropriate mode based on the characteristics of the incoming sound.
D ‘In a sense we are developing the technology to underpin intelligent hearing devices,’ said
Turner. An additional possibility would be for users to override the selection made by the device
and select a processing mode based upon what sorts of noise they wish to erase. They could
even guide the processing on their device using an interface on a mobile phone through wireless
communication. Turner anticipates that his team will need two more years of simulating the effect
of modifications that clean up sound before they start to work with device specialists. ‘If these
preliminary tests go well, then we’ll be looking to work with hearing device companies to try to
adapt their processing in order to incorporate these machine learning techniques.’

4
E Tinnitus sufferers, who are plagued by a constant ringing in their ears, could also benefit
from the technology. At present, people with tinnitus sometimes use environmental sound
generators as a distraction from the ringing in their ears. But such generators offer only a limited
selection of sounds – a gently flowing stream, waves lapping on the seashore, or leaves rustling.
With the new technology, individual patients could select the best sound to distract them from
their tinnitus.
F The technology not only holds promise for helping the hearing impaired, but it also has
the potential to improve phone calls – anyone who has ever tried to hold a conversation with
someone phoning from a crowded room will recognise the possible benefits of such a facility.
Systems that can deal with unwanted audio content would also be welcomed by the increasing
numbers of people using video-sharing websites. For example, a video containing a
conversation that takes place by a busy roadside on a windy day could be made more intelligible
by isolating the speech from the noises – users could even be offered the chance to de-noise
their video during the upload process.

5
Questions 14 – 19
The text has six sections, A – F.
Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i – ix, in boxes 14 – 19 below.

List of Headings
i How hearing loss may be caused by certain types of sounds
ii Uses for Turner’s research in media and communications
iii Creating a model for the classification of sounds
iv Potential developments that still require further research
v A drawback in the help currently available to those with hearing problems
vi Providing the hearing-impaired with training in new technology
vii A more effective way to take attention away from a hearing problem
viii Analysing the sounds produced in the process of speaking
ix The possibility of a hearing aid that can adjust itself to different environments

14 Section A ______
15 Section B ______
16 Section C ______
17 Section D ______
18 Section E ______
19 Section F ______

Questions 20 – 23
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 20 – 23 below.

Improving the performance of hearing aids

At present, many people find their hearing aids do not work well when there is background noise.
This also applies to people without hearing aids who have had implants fitted to help with hearing
loss. Dr Richard Turner is looking for a solution to this problem. Although sounds are never
20………….… , he believes they do share some similarities. He and his colleagues have worked
on a mathematical system using 21………...….. which replicate how we hear sounds. To allow
this system to be ‘trained’, they have applied procedures used in machine learning and found
that many different sounds can be described using a limited number of 22……...……. They have
now developed a system that can distinguish 23……………. from other sounds.

6
Questions 24 – 26
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes, 24-26 on your answer sheet.

24 Turner’s team are now planning a new development involving a device which could

A allow sound to be heard at a greater distance.

B adapt itself to different kinds of background noise.
C allow a user to remove all types of sound completely.
D adapt itself to disorders involving other senses.

25 In section E, a stream, waves and leaves are examples of the sounds that tinnitus
sufferers

A can currently use to help their condition.

B might choose to use if they were available.
C hear in their ears as a result of their condition.
D find to be the most natural solutions to their problem.

26 The writer refers to ‘a busy roadside on a windy day’ in section F to illustrate that

A unwanted noise could be erased from video recordings.

B some environments are difficult for the hearing-impaired.
C when noises are combined in a video they are difficult to erase.
D - people must cooperate in order to learn how to apply the technology

7
READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 below.
The Bug Picture
Lara Zanarini gives her view on insects

How many other species do we share our planet with? The truth is that scientists don't have the
slightest idea. Some early guesses of 30 million or even 100 million have been replaced in the
last few years with more reliable ones of somewhere between five to ten million species. But
despite this massive uncertainty there is one thing which is indisputable: the vast majority of
Earth’s inhabitants are invertebrate – without a backbone – and most of those are insects.

It is therefore not very surprising that these creatures have a pre-eminent impact on the
functioning of global ecosystems. Creatures like us – and I don’t just mean primates (such as
apes and monkeys), but all vertebrates (back-boned animals) – make up less than three percent
of all species.

Yet it is these very animals that most people hold dear, especially those with a passing
resemblance to ourselves. I use a slide in my lectures which has images of all sorts of insects
along with one face-on image of a female slender loris, a wide-eyed furry primate, with a baby
on its back. No prizes for guessing the first, and probably the only, thing audiences look at. It
seems we can’t help ourselves. Appealing they may be, but in the great ecological scheme of
things, they are fairly useless. If you really want to understand the world around you – you need
to take a serious look at insects.

Pollination, the process by which flying insects transfer grains of pollen from one plant to another
and so aid their reproduction, is perhaps one of the most essential partnerships ever to have
evolved. This plant-insect version of ‘I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine’, has been around
for 100 million years and it has given the world a rich diversity, and not just of flowering plants.
Twenty thousand species of bee are responsible for the continued survival of the angiosperms,
which includes a very long list of fruit and vegetables from pumpkins, plums and peas to cherries,
cucumbers and cocoa.

What about herbivory and carnivory – plant- and meat-eating? Ecology really doesn’t get much
more basic than this. The light energy from the sun is converted to chemical energy and the
plants – the producers – that carry out this astonishing transformation are fed on by primary
consumers – the herbivores. They in turn are eaten by secondary consumers – the carnivores.
But it may come as a surprise to many that all the herds of grazing ungulates – cows, goats and
sheep – are entirely ‘out-munched’, perhaps by a factor of ten to one, by myriads of tiny insects.
What about the meat-eaters? Again, insects consume many times more animal flesh than all
vertebrate carnivores put together, and ants alone are the major carnivorous species in any
habitat you could mention.

If this sounds implausible, consider that although insects are individually small, there are an
awful lot of them – an estimated ten million, million, million (1019) with an impressively large
biomass*. Insects are also the major food source for countless species. Many trillions of
creatures a year are eaten by insect-eating species of birds, bats and a multitude of other furry
and feathery animals. Space prevents me from extolling the role of insects in global
decomposition and nutrient recycling.

But there is a problem looming – the first effects of which we are already feeling. Almost every
study that has been done to date points to a steady decline in insect species’ richness and

8
abundance. The loss of natural habitat and the prodigious amounts of pesticides used in
agriculture are taking their toll. The decreases seen in well-studied insect groups such as bees
and butterflies are surely taking place in many other groups as well. At what point does the web
of life become so frayed that it starts to disintegrate? We may find out sooner rather than later.

It is thought that the world’s tropical forests hold more than half of all extant species. If these
complex habitats are being felled and degraded at even the slowest rate that has been
suggested, it will still only be a matter of a few hundred years before they are lost. It is therefore
an inescapable conclusion that our planet could lose more than half of all its living species in the
time it takes for a tiny acorn to become a veteran oak tree.

There’s no doubt about it – we are the most intelligent and capable species yet to evolve on
Earth. In a very short time after our appearance we covered the entire globe, establishing
colonies wherever it was possible to survive. A few of us have walked on the surface of the
Moon and visited the deepest abysses of the oceans. We spend vast sums of money to probe
the very make-up of matter and remotely examine other parts of our solar system. We want to
understand the science of everything from the infinitesimally small to the astronomically large.
This truly is ‘big’ science and of course it’s expensive. But do we have to do it right now? What
about understanding the environment a bit better? Perhaps what we actually need is a bit more
‘bug’ science.

* biomass: the total quantity or weight of organisms in a certain area

9
Questions 27 – 31
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the text?
In boxes 27 – 31 below, 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

27 Early guesses probably greatly over-estimated the total number of species on Earth.
28 Primates play a significant role in the ecology of our planet.
29 We still have a great deal to learn about the importance of pollination.
30 Some people may be unaware that the world’s insects consume more food overall than
mammals.
31 It will take a long time for us to learn the effects of habitat loss and extensive pesticide
use.

Questions 32 – 36
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A – F, below.
Write the correct letter, A – F, in boxes 32 – 36 below.

32 Scientists have recently revised their views regarding

33 There is absolutely no doubt about
34 Almost every study done so far has indicated
35 A lot of research on insect groups has focused on
36 The rate at which tropical forests are being lost can help us calculate

A a fall in the total number and variety of insects in the world.

B the number of plants that are pollinated by insects.
C how many different animal species are currently in existence.
D how long it will be before the Earth's biodiversity is drastically reduced.
E the predominance of invertebrates among the Earth's species.
F the declining numbers of bees and butterflies.

10
Questions 37 – 40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes, 37-40 on your answer sheet.

37 In the third paragraph, the writer refers to a particular slide to emphasise

A the predominance of insects in the world.

B a common misunderstanding about global biodiversity.
C our instinctive reaction towards certain types of animals.
D the main distinction between vertebrates and invertebrates.

38 What does 'they' in the third paragraph refer to?

A lectures about animals given by the writer

B audiences who attend events focused on insect life
C images which depict various different types of species
D creatures which appear comparatively similar to humans

39 What does the writer imply about 'big' science in the final paragraph?

A It should not be our priority at the moment.

B It serves no useful purpose in the long term.
C It will cost an unreasonable amount in the future.
D It results from our natural curiosity about the world.

40 What point does the writer make overall about insects?

A Certain insect species are more at risk than others.

B Insects are more important than many people realise.
C There is an interdependence between different insect species.
D The ecological role of insects is likely to change in the near future.

11
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage
1 below.

DISCOVERING PURPLE
For thousands of years, dyes used to colour textiles and other materials were made from only
natural sources. Historically, coloured dyes were made from the roots and leaves of plants, and
from certain animals. Among the most precious of the animal-based dyes was the purple colour
extracted from snails. This dye was very difficult to obtain and was therefore outrageously
expensive. What was more, colours from natural dyes tended to be quite dull, and they faded
when exposed to sunlight. But all this changed in 1856, when a London teenager made an
important discovery.
William Perkin was born on March 12, 1838, in London, England. His father was a builder, and
the family lived in fairly prosperous circumstances in an otherwise rather disreputable
neighbourhood in the city’s East End. As a boy, Perkin’s curiosity prompted early interests in the
arts, sciences, photography, and engineering. But then one day, when he was exploring his late
grandfather’s home, he happened to come across a run-down, yet functional, laboratory, and
this solidified his passion for chemistry.
As a student at the City of London School, Perkin became immersed in the study of chemistry.
His teacher, Thomas Hall, encouraged him to attend a series of lectures given by eminent
scientist Michael Faraday at the Royal Institution. Those speeches fired the young chemist’s
enthusiasm further, and he became determined to attend the Royal College of Chemistry.
Perkin’s father hoped to convince his bright young son to follow in his older brother’s footsteps
into the more respectable field of architecture, so he tried to prevent this at first. But pressure
from Hall and the wishes of his son won out, and Perkin entered the Royal College of Chemistry
in 1853, at the age of 15. At the time of Perkin’s enrolment, the college was headed by noted
German chemist August Wilhelm Hofmann. Perkin’s scientific gifts soon caught Hofmann’s
attention, and within two years, he became Hofmann’s youngest assistant. Not long after that,
Perkins made the discovery that would make him both famous and wealthy.
In 1856, the only viable medical treatment for the deadly disease malaria was quinine, derived
from the bark of the cinchona tree native to South America. Demand for this drug was surpassing
the available supply. Thus, when Hofmann made some passing comments about the desirability
of a synthetic substitute for quinine, it is unsurprising that his star pupil was moved to take up
the challenge.
During his spring school holidays that year, Perkin spent his time at home attempting to
manufacture the drug from aniline, a by-product from the manufacture of the gas that lit London’s
streets. Despite his best efforts, however, he did not end up with quinine. Instead, he produced
a mysterious dark sludge. Luckily, Perkin’s scientific training and nature prompted him to
investigate the substance further. Incorporating potassium dichromate and alcohol into the
aniline at various stages of the experimental process, he finally happened upon a deep purple
solution. Perkin quickly grasped that his purple solution could be used to colour fabric, thus
making it the world’s first synthetic dye.
Perkin asked advice of Scottish dye works owner Robert Pullar, who convinced him that
manufacturing the dye would be well worth it if the colour remained fast and the cost was not
prohibitive. Thus reassured, he decided to pursue his commercial plans. Over the fierce
objections of his mentor Hofmann, Perkin left college to give birth to the modern chemical
industry. He was still only eighteen years old.

1
With the help of his father and brother, Perkin set up a factory on a site near the
Grand Union Canal in Greenford Green, not far from London. Utilising the cheap and almost
unlimited supply of aniline available in the city, it began producing the world’s first synthetic dye
in 1857. Perkin originally called his dye ‘Tyrian Purple’ or ‘aniline purple’, but then decided to
call it ‘mauve’, after the French word for the mallow plant used to make the colour violet. This
was the name he fixed on in 1859, and is the name still in use to this day.
The company received an unexpected commercial boost from the Empress Eugenie of France
when she decided the new colour flattered her, and it soon became the must-have shade for all
the fashionable ladies of France. Not to be outdone, England’s Queen Victoria also appeared in
public wearing a gown of the same hue, thus making it all the rage in England as well. The dye
was bold and fast, and the public wanted more. So Perkin went back to the drawing board, and
between 1859 and 1864 he developed several more synthetic dye colours.
It is important to note that Perkin’s synthetic dye discoveries had effects far beyond the merely
decorative. The dyes also became vital to medical research in many ways. For instance, they
were used to stain previously invisible microbes and bacteria, allowing researchers to identify
such bacilli as tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax.

2
Questions 1 – 7
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1 - 7 below.
The first synthetic dye
Traditional dyes:
• made from plants, or animals e.g. 1 ………….

• purple dye was hard to obtain and extremely 2 ………..

William Perkin:
• found an old 3 ………. in grandfather’s house and decided to
study chemistry

• 1856: was trying to find a way to make the drug

called 4 ……….

• created a purple solution from aniline, a by-product of

the 5 ……… industry

• 1857: began manufacturing dye in his 6 ……… near London

• 1859: called his dye 7 ……….

Questions 8 – 13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?
In boxes 8 - 13, 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

8 Hofmann noticed that Perkin had a talent for chemistry.

9 Hofmann asked Perkin to do some experiments at home during the holidays.
10 Perkin faced challenges obtaining the raw material needed to produce his dye.
11 Perkin personally sent his new colour directly to the Empress Eugenie.
12 The popularity of Perkin’s product at home and abroad led to demand for additional colours.
13 Perkin’s dyes enabled scientists to see certain microbes and bacteria for the first time.

3
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage
2 below.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TO OUR FOOD?

Is the way we produce and process food making it less nourishing than in our grandparents’ day?

A We now know a lot about what food does to the body and the importance of a healthy diet.
But what if modern intensive farming methods have affected the mineral and vitamin content
of what we eat? Donald Davis, at the University of Texas, has found notable declines in
nutrients in crops including tomatoes, eggplants and squash. Davis blames agricultural
practices that emphasise quantity over quality. High-yielding crops produce more food,
more rapidly, but they can’t make or absorb nutrients at the same pace, so the nutrition is
diluted. ‘It’s like taking a glass of orange juice and adding water to it. If you do that, the
concentration of nutrients that was in the original juice drops,’ he says. But the idea that
modern farming produces less nourishing crops remains controversial, since nutrient levels
can vary widely according to the variety of plant, the year of harvest and the time of harvest.

B But intensive farming has also led to a huge increase in food supply, which has undoubtedly
had a positive effect on our diet and health. ‘Evidence suggests that some nutrients have
fallen, particularly trace elements such as copper in vegetables,’ says Paul Finglas, at the
Institute of Food Research in Norwich. ‘Foods are now bred for yield, and not necessarily
nutritional composition. But I don’t think that is a problem, because we eat a wider range of
foods today than we did 10 years ago, let alone 40 years ago’. Eric Decker, professor of
food science at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, agrees. If nutrients are
declining, the losses are insignificant, he says. ‘Over the last century, lifespans have got
longer, people are bigger and stronger, and a lot of that has to do with the food supply being
better.’ Even Davis agrees that any differences in nutrient levels are relatively small.
‘Despite their declines, fruit and vegetables are still our richest source of many nutrients,
and you can make up for it by eating more,’ he says. ‘But we know that many people don’t
get the recommended amounts of nutrients such as iron, magnesium, and calcium. They
aren’t overt deficiencies in the usual sense, but they increase susceptibility to lots of
different problems.’

C In addition to changes in its production, food is being transported for ever-increasing

distances. Fruit and vegetables in supermarkets might look shiny and fresh, but often they
were picked several days earlier. Some nutrients, particularly vitamin C and folic acid, begin
to deteriorate as soon as picking happens, but manufacturers can take action to minimise
this. ‘Lots of these reactions are driven by enzymes,’ says Carol Wagstaff, from the
University of Reading, UK, who points out that chilling is the best way of slowing down such
reactions. That said, if you are choosing between organic fruit or vegetables from a distant
country or locally grown, non-organic ones, always opt for home-grown, she says. ‘From a
nutritional standpoint, go for the shortest possible supply chain rather than the production
method.’
Many kinds of mass-produced fruit and veg – most famously tomatoes – are harvested
unripe before being transported to supermarkets. Wagstaff agrees that this may cause
some loss of flavor, compared with a tomato that you have grown at home, and left on the
plant until it’s absolutely ready to eat. ‘But there’s no way you could do that at a commercial
 level, because of the bruising and other types of damage that would occur if ripe fruits were
transported through a typical supply chain,’ she says. In addition, each method of shipping
and storing foods has different effects on the compounds they contain. Vitamin C, for
example, breaks down in the dark, whereas glucosinolates – found in vegetables like
cabbage – deplete in the light.

D Surprisingly, frozen fruit and vegetables are often nutritionally better than fresh. ‘Frozen
peas are much more nutritious than those you buy ready to shell,’ says Catherine Collins,
principal dietician at St George’s Hospital in London. What’s more, frozen foods often have
fewer additives. ‘Freezing is a preservative,’ she says. Similarly, processing has become a
maligned word in the context of food, but there are some cases where it enhances a food’s
health benefits. For example, lycopene – a compound tomatoes are rich in, and which has
been shown to protect against certain diseases – is much more readily absorbed by humans
from tomato paste than fresh tomatoes. A recent trend is the sale of ‘fresh-cut’ fruit and
vegetables – peeled potatoes, ready chopped carrots and bagged salads. One in five adults
in the UK regularly buys fruit and vegetables in this form every week, according to market
research firm Mintel. Surely this cutting and peeling speeds up the degradation of nutrients?
‘There is a chance that ready prepared vegetables may have a lower content of some
vitamins,’ says Judy Buttriss, of the British Nutrition Foundation in London. ‘But if their
availability means that such vegetables are consumed in greater quantities, then the net
effect is beneficial.’

E The bottom line is that although aspects of today’s food production, processing and storage
might make what we eat a bit less nutritious, they are also making foods more available –
and this is far more important. ‘The most important thing you can do is eat more fruits,
vegetables and wholegrains, and cut down on highly refined, processed foods, vegetable
oils and added sugars,’ says Davis. He believes this will make a far greater difference to us
than worrying about growing methods and transportation.
Questions 14 – 18
Reading Passage 2 has 5 sections, A - E.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A - E, in boxes 14 - 18 below.
NB You may use any letter more than once.

14 an admission that if one type of food is harvested too soon, its taste may be affected
15 the view that there is not a great difference between the quantity of nutrients in our food now
and in the past
16 a comparison which illustrates why developments in agriculture may reduce the amounts of
nutrients in foods
17 a warning that customers could be deceived by the attractive appearance of a fruit or vegetable
18 evidence of the popularity of a new development in food processing which aims to save
customers trouble
Questions 19 – 22
Look at the following statements (Questions 19 - 22) and the list of people below.
Match each statement with the correct person, A - F.
Write the correct letter, A - F, in boxes 19 - 22 below.

List of people
A Donald Davis
B Paul Finglas
C Eric Decker
D Carol Wagstaff
E Catherine Collins
F Judy Buttriss

19 People are more likely to become ill if they have low levels of some nutrients.
20 Making healthy foods easy to cook may be more important than their vitamin content.
21 An improved diet has made people nowadays live longer and be healthier than in the past.
22 People’s diets are more varied now than they were in the past.
Questions 23 – 26
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 23 - 26 below.
Food transportation
In order to prevent loss of nutrients when transporting fruit and vegetables, chilling is used to slow
down the effect that 23 ……… have on them.

Some foods, such as tomatoes, must be picked before they are ripe to avoid problems such
as 24 ……….. during transportation.

Other foods, such as cabbage, lose nutrients when kept in the 25 ………. . Vegetables such
as 26 ………. , which are picked fresh and transported to the supermarket, may be less nutritious
than those which are frozen.
READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 below.
The Bug Picture
Lara Zanarini gives her view on insects

How many other species do we share our planet with? The truth is that scientists don't have the
slightest idea. Some early guesses of 30 million or even 100 million have been replaced in the
last few years with more reliable ones of somewhere between five to ten million species. But
despite this massive uncertainty there is one thing which is indisputable: the vast majority of
Earth’s inhabitants are invertebrate – without a backbone – and most of those are insects.

It is therefore not very surprising that these creatures have a pre-eminent impact on the
functioning of global ecosystems. Creatures like us – and I don’t just mean primates (such as
apes and monkeys), but all vertebrates (back-boned animals) – make up less than three percent
of all species.

Yet it is these very animals that most people hold dear, especially those with a passing
resemblance to ourselves. I use a slide in my lectures which has images of all sorts of insects
along with one face-on image of a female slender loris, a wide-eyed furry primate, with a baby
on its back. No prizes for guessing the first, and probably the only, thing audiences look at. It
seems we can’t help ourselves. Appealing they may be, but in the great ecological scheme of
things, they are fairly useless. If you really want to understand the world around you – you need
to take a serious look at insects.

Pollination, the process by which flying insects transfer grains of pollen from one plant to another
and so aid their reproduction, is perhaps one of the most essential partnerships ever to have
evolved. This plant-insect version of ‘I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine’, has been around
for 100 million years and it has given the world a rich diversity, and not just of flowering plants.
Twenty thousand species of bee are responsible for the continued survival of the angiosperms,
which includes a very long list of fruit and vegetables from pumpkins, plums and peas to cherries,
cucumbers and cocoa.

What about herbivory and carnivory – plant- and meat-eating? Ecology really doesn’t get much
more basic than this. The light energy from the sun is converted to chemical energy and the
plants – the producers – that carry out this astonishing transformation are fed on by primary
consumers – the herbivores. They in turn are eaten by secondary consumers – the carnivores.
But it may come as a surprise to many that all the herds of grazing ungulates – cows, goats and
sheep – are entirely ‘out-munched’, perhaps by a factor of ten to one, by myriads of tiny insects.
What about the meat-eaters? Again, insects consume many times more animal flesh than all
vertebrate carnivores put together, and ants alone are the major carnivorous species in any
habitat you could mention.

If this sounds implausible, consider that although insects are individually small, there are an
awful lot of them – an estimated ten million, million, million (1019) with an impressively large
biomass*. Insects are also the major food source for countless species. Many trillions of
creatures a year are eaten by insect-eating species of birds, bats and a multitude of other furry
and feathery animals. Space prevents me from extolling the role of insects in global
decomposition and nutrient recycling.

But there is a problem looming – the first effects of which we are already feeling. Almost every
study that has been done to date points to a steady decline in insect species’ richness and

8
abundance. The loss of natural habitat and the prodigious amounts of pesticides used in
agriculture are taking their toll. The decreases seen in well-studied insect groups such as bees
and butterflies are surely taking place in many other groups as well. At what point does the web
of life become so frayed that it starts to disintegrate? We may find out sooner rather than later.

It is thought that the world’s tropical forests hold more than half of all extant species. If these
complex habitats are being felled and degraded at even the slowest rate that has been
suggested, it will still only be a matter of a few hundred years before they are lost. It is therefore
an inescapable conclusion that our planet could lose more than half of all its living species in the
time it takes for a tiny acorn to become a veteran oak tree.

There’s no doubt about it – we are the most intelligent and capable species yet to evolve on
Earth. In a very short time after our appearance we covered the entire globe, establishing
colonies wherever it was possible to survive. A few of us have walked on the surface of the
Moon and visited the deepest abysses of the oceans. We spend vast sums of money to probe
the very make-up of matter and remotely examine other parts of our solar system. We want to
understand the science of everything from the infinitesimally small to the astronomically large.
This truly is ‘big’ science and of course it’s expensive. But do we have to do it right now? What
about understanding the environment a bit better? Perhaps what we actually need is a bit more
‘bug’ science.

* biomass: the total quantity or weight of organisms in a certain area

9
Questions 27 – 31
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the text?
In boxes 27 – 31 below, 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

27 Early guesses probably greatly over-estimated the total number of species on Earth.
28 Primates play a significant role in the ecology of our planet.
29 We still have a great deal to learn about the importance of pollination.
30 Some people may be unaware that the world’s insects consume more food overall than
mammals.
31 It will take a long time for us to learn the effects of habitat loss and extensive pesticide
use.

Questions 32 – 36
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A – F, below.
Write the correct letter, A – F, in boxes 32 – 36 below.

32 Scientists have recently revised their views regarding

33 There is absolutely no doubt about
34 Almost every study done so far has indicated
35 A lot of research on insect groups has focused on
36 The rate at which tropical forests are being lost can help us calculate

A a fall in the total number and variety of insects in the world.

B the number of plants that are pollinated by insects.
C how many different animal species are currently in existence.
D how long it will be before the Earth's biodiversity is drastically reduced.
E the predominance of invertebrates among the Earth's species.
F the declining numbers of bees and butterflies.

10
Questions 37 – 40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes, 37-40 on your answer sheet.

37 In the third paragraph, the writer refers to a particular slide to emphasise

A the predominance of insects in the world.

B a common misunderstanding about global biodiversity.
C our instinctive reaction towards certain types of animals.
D the main distinction between vertebrates and invertebrates.

38 What does 'they' in the third paragraph refer to?

A lectures about animals given by the writer

B audiences who attend events focused on insect life
C images which depict various different types of species
D creatures which appear comparatively similar to humans

39 What does the writer imply about 'big' science in the final paragraph?

A It should not be our priority at the moment.

B It serves no useful purpose in the long term.
C It will cost an unreasonable amount in the future.
D It results from our natural curiosity about the world.

40 What point does the writer make overall about insects?

A Certain insect species are more at risk than others.

B Insects are more important than many people realise.
C There is an interdependence between different insect species.
D The ecological role of insects is likely to change in the near future.

11
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage
3 below.
REWILDING
Ecologist Derek Gow looks at the challenges of ‘rewilding’ – restoring areas of land to the wild and
reintroducing their original animal species
In Holland they have developed a creative landscape philosophy called ‘New Nature’, and the most
iconic illustration of this is the site called the Oostvaardersplassen, near Amsterdam. Here,
throughout 6,000 enclosed hectares, feral Heck bulls excavate amphibian ponds with their hooves
and horns, while stags and stallions battle fiercely for possession of herds of females. These
creatures present a living vision that many ‘rewilders’ adore. Although this project may present a
primeval impression, in reality it is a completely artificial though courageous creation, limited by
fences, budgets, an adjacent main railway line, surrounding land users and fickle political support.
Less than a lifetime ago the landscape these ‘wild’ herbivores now occupy was the bed of the North
Sea.
Despite the contention that surrounds such projects, the Oostvaardersplassen has produced some
inspirational results. Spoonbills have returned to breed in ever increasing numbers, creating a
surplus population which has overlapped back into Britain. Sea eagles have raised their first
nestlings in centuries, nourished by the ample supply of deer that the site affords. Projects of this
type, which restore key species or re- engineer landscapes to allow natural processes such as
seasonal flooding or forest fires to reoccur, have demonstrated that when nature is given free rein,
the results which arise can be truly spectacular. Are we, however, prepared to live in landscapes
where these processes, even if appropriately modified, become part of our own experience?
While space is without a doubt one of the biggest obstacles facing rewilders, a range of structural,
social and cultural issues can also conspire to hinder change. As an example, I have been involved
with the restoration of the Eurasian beaver – a large rodent that builds complex structures from
wood, stones and mud across rivers – in Britain since the early 1990s. Although they once had a
world range which extended from Britain to China and numbered tens of millions, beavers were
hunted virtually to extinction by humans as a result of an insatiable demand for their fur, scent
glands and meat. They have been widely reintroduced throughout much of their former European
range as an awareness of their critical function in the creation of wetland habitats has developed.
Beaver-generated landscapes also play a significant part in the retention and purification of water.
There is an abundance of entirely suitable beaver habitat available in Britain, and despite the fact
that occasional conflicts will arise between beavers’ engineering activities and human land use,
European experience again demonstrates quite ably that these conflicts are manageable. Despite
this well-established knowledge, the restoration of beavers in Britain has proven to be a pitifully
slow process. Political apathy and indifference have coupled with the total lack of knowledge of
opponents who simply want no change to the status quo. The official trials in Scotland and England
have focused on the creation of tiny populations which remain extremely fragile.
If a species as benevolent as the beaver presents a significant challenge, then how much more
difficult will it be to restore predators? While science and experience may dictate that wolves pose
no significant threat to humans, their tentative re-colonisation of many western European countries
over the course of the last few decades has often evoked a primal response. Farmers’ groups have
trapped them in pits in France and burnt them to death; hunters have poisoned them for
killing ‘their’ deer; kindergarten teachers have implored forest authorities to remove them from the
landscape to ensure that this medieval menace does not lurk in the dark when their tiny children
go to school on a winter’s morning. Attitude change, it would seem, is a slow and painful process,
one not easily turned round by knowledge.
Any start to rewilding is therefore likely to be humble. Despite a measured approach, it is probable
that fishermen and their strident support groups may not welcome the addition of the pelican, a
15kg water bird, to the large number of predators which they already detest. The scientific
community may dislike the pragmatism required on a semi-industrial scale to restore small species
to remake the base of essential food chains if newly available habitats emerge. Many farmers,
despite the sums they would be paid, will not wish to see their once-drained bogs rehydrated, their
dead animals consumed by sea eagles or their pastures revert to scrub.
In the end it comes down to changing patterns. We have moulded the landscapes of the world as
a species to suit our own passing needs, predilections and pleasures. While change is commonly
opposed on whatever basis arises, change is nevertheless a constant in life. It is likely that
‘rewilding’ or ‘New Nature’ – call it what you will – could become a base movement which affords
a fresh opportunity to approach nature conservation in a fashion which will, over time, be all the
more rewarding for the surprises it presents.
Questions 27 – 31

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

27 What does the writer say about the Oostvaardersplassen in the first paragraph?

A It is not a typical example of a successful rewilding project.

B It is not an ecologically sustainable project in the long term.
C It is not a true reconstruction of how the area originally was.
D It is not faithful to the principles of its underlying philosophy.

28 What is the writer’s attitude towards the Oostvaardersplassen?

A admiration for what it has achieved

B disappointment over its inevitable limitations
C optimism that the project will be imitated elsewhere
D concern about the choice of species introduced there

29 What point about beavers is emphasised in the third paragraph?

A Their numbers are falling dramatically.

B They play a key role within local ecosystems.
C They require a very specific kind of habitat in order to survive.
D There are environmental problems associated with their reintroduction.

30 The writer refers to beavers in the fourth paragraph in order to provide an

A indication of the likely resistance to the reintroduction of other species.

B illustration of a species that urgently needs to be restored to its habitat.
C example of some lessons learnt about how not to try to reintroduce species.
D example of a species whose restoration has faced more problems than most.

31 By putting inverted commas ‘ ’ around the word ‘their’ in line 49, the writer suggests that

A he has some sympathy for the hunters’ situation.

B there is some doubt as to who the deer belong to.
C restoration of wolves caused harm to local wildlife.
D the hunters have no right to claim ownership of the deer.

Questions 32 – 36
Complete the summary using the list of words, A - H, below.
Write the correct letter, A - H, in boxes 32 - 36 below.
Problems of Rewilding Projects

Rewilding projects have to deal with numerous challenges. For example, the reintroduction of
beavers to Britain has faced 32 ………. from government ministers together with 33 ……….. on
the part of opponents to the scheme. Where wolves have been reintroduced in western Europe,
there has been widespread 34 ……….. against these animals among local people, despite
clear 35 ………. that the species poses virtually no 36 ……… to them.
 A advice B ignorance

C danger D wildlife

E damage F prejudice

G evidence H disinterest

Questions 37 – 40
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in the text?
In boxes 37 - 40 below, write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

37 Beaver restoration in Britain is being held back by a lack of appropriate land.

38 Scientists have tried to persuade local residents of the benefits of restoring wolves.
39 Financial incentives will encourage most farmers to welcome rewilding on their land.
40 The results of rewilding will be unpredictable.
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage
2 below.

Beachcombing for early humans in Africa

From the earliest modern humans to the present day, our species has evolved dramatically in
both biological and behavioural terms. What forces prompted these momentous changes?

A Kenya has long been known as the ‘cradle of mankind’ following the discovery of fossils
thought to be of the first members of the human family, which arose in Africa around 6-7
million years ago. Various distinct species evolved from these ancestors over millions of
years, including our own – Homo sapiens – around 250,000 years ago. ‘A lot of the research
on the origins of modern humans has focused on defining their point of origin, then
understanding why humans left Africa about 60,000 years ago to colonise the rest of the
world,’ says anthropologist Dr Marta Mirazón Lahr of Cambridge University. ‘But we have
no idea what happened between 200,000 years and 60,000 years ago. We also have very
little information on what occurred inside Africa after 60,000 years, when the different
population groups and languages we see today evolved. The genetics suggest that the
expansion out of Africa is just the tip of a massive population expansion inside the
continent.’

B Along with fellow Cambridge anthropologist Professor Robert Foley, Mirazón Lahr is
investigating the evolutionary history of modern human populations. ‘The challenge is to
find the sites where evidence of these early people can be recovered – their stone tools,
the animals they hunted, their ornaments and, ultimately, the fossils of the people
themselves,’ she says. She has chosen to focus on East Africa based on the theory that its
past environment was suitable for sustained occupation over time. But the region is huge,
and finding the right place to look is absolutely crucial. ‘In the past there were periods of
enormous rainfall in the tropics,’ she says. ‘The lakes were much higher and their margins
were wider. We are looking at where the ancient lake margins would have been when the
lakes were last high, and that’s where we look.’

C Some of their most spectacular finds have been on the ancient Turkana beaches in Kenya’s
Rift Valley. ‘Ten thousand years ago, this area was wetter, with animals such as gazelles,
hippos and lions, and the beaches are still there, even though the lake is long gone. We’ve
found a great many shells on the surface, and a small number of harpoons the people fished
with. A lot has already been exposed by the wind, and occasionally we find sites where
things are buried, and then we dig,’ she says. ‘We’re looking at the stone tools and how
these relate to times of particularly high water levels. Then we’re looking at the fauna and,
if we’re lucky, we find actual human fossils. The oldest fossil ever found that looks like a
modern human is 200,000 years old, and comes from the Turkana Basin. We’re trying to
find the fossils that mark the origin of Homo sapiens.’

D The primitive technologies that our early ancestors left behind gradually evolve, and
comparing finds dated to different times can advance understanding of our own evolutionary
trajectory. ‘We think the evolution to modern humans is associated with changes in

4
 behaviour and in technology, for example in their tool use. We’ve already found evidence
that they started using animal bones to make tools, which was rare in earlier populations,’
says Mirazón Lahr. ‘The people who lived around here 10,000 years ago used microliths –
a form of miniaturised stone tool technology,’ adds her colleague Foley. ‘Instead of
producing one or two big flakes like the earliest modern humans, they produced lots of very
small flakes to make composite tools. We’ve also found a beach in the Turkana Basin from
about 200,000 years ago and that has its own very different fossilised fauna, and very
different stone tools. The technology and the people changed a lot during the past 200,000
years.’

E Mirazón Lahr emphasises that geography and climate played a critical role in the origins
and diversification of modern humans. ‘The times when the lakes were high were periods
of plenty in East Africa,’ she says. ‘When it was very wet there were lots of animals to hunt,
the vegetation could grow, and you can imagine that the people would have thrived.’ East
Africa had a unique mosaic environment with lake basins, highlands and plains that
provided alternative niches for foraging populations over this period. ‘We think that early
modern humans could live in the region throughout these long periods, even if they had to
move between basins.’ With a network of habitable zones, human populations survived by
expanding, contracting and shifting ranges according to the state of the environment at any
given time.

F By comparing the fossil records from different basins over time, Mirazón Lahr is trying to
establish a spatial and temporal image of human occupation over the past 200,000 years.
She believes that the way to find novel insights is to consider each problem from various
angles. Drawing on her wide-ranging interests from molecular genetics to prehistory, and
combining genetic, fossil, archaeological and palaeoclimatic information, she hopes to form
an accurate and complete picture of our early ancestors’ lives and the external forces that
shaped their evolution, both biological and behavioural.

5
 Questions 14 – 19
The text has six paragraphs, A - F.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i - vii, in boxes 14 - 19 below.
List of Headings
i How weather affected human evolution
ii A disappointing find
iii Two gaps in our knowledge
iv A multi-disciplinary approach
v Evidence of an earlier landscape
vi Developments in artefacts over time
vii Difficulties identifying where to focus research

14 Paragraph A
15 Paragraph B
16 Paragraph C
17 Paragraph D
18 Paragraph E
19 Paragraph F

Questions 20 – 24
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 20 - 24 below.
The ancient Turkana beaches
Ten thousand years ago, a wide range of 20 …………..….. lived in this area. The 21 ……………..
which was in the basin disappeared a long time ago, but its beaches remain. A lot of 22
……………... have been discovered on the ground, along with a few 23 …………..….. which
ancient humans used for fishing. The wind has uncovered many interesting objects, and others
have been found by digging. Sometimes human remains are found in the form of 24
…………….….

Questions 25 – 26
Choose TWO letters, A - E.
Which TWO aspects of early humans does Mirazon Lahr and Foley's research focus on?
A the type of artefacts they created
B the way they interacted with other populations
C the kind of societies they lived in
D the regions they inhabited
E the form of language they used

6
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 below.

Rewards for scientific achievement

While the Nobel Prizes are over 115 years old, rewards for scientific achievement have been
around much longer. As early as the 17th century, at the very origins of modern experimental
science, promoters of science realized the need for some system of recognition and reward
that would provide incentive for advances in the field.
Before the prize, it was the gift that dominated in science. Precursors to modern scientists –
the early astronomers, philosophers, physicians, alchemists and engineers – offered wonderful
discoveries, inventions and works of literature or art as gifts to powerful patrons, often royalty.
Many scientists prefaced their publications with extravagant letters of dedication; they might, or
they might not, be rewarded with a gift in return. Eventually, different kinds of incentives,
including prizes and awards, as well as new, salaried academic positions, became more
common and the favor of particular wealthy patrons diminished in importance. But at the height
of the Renaissance, early scientists relied on gifts from powerful princes to compensate and
advertise their efforts.

With courtiers all vying for a patron’s attention, scientific gifts had to be presented with drama
and flair. The astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) presented his newly discovered moons
of Jupiter to the Medici dukes of Italy as a ‘gift’ that was literally out of this world. In return, the
Medici family ‘ennobled’ Galileo with the title and position of court philosopher and
mathematician. If a gift succeeded, the gift-giver might, like Galileo in this case, be fortunate
enough to receive a gift in return. Gift-givers could not, however, predict what form a patron’s
gift would take, and they might find themselves burdened with offers they couldn’t refuse.
Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), the great Danish Renaissance astronomer, received everything
from exotic animals to chemical secrets in return for his discoveries.

By the early-17th century, scientific promoters realized that gift-giving was ill-suited to
encouraging experimental science. Experimentation required many individuals to collect data
in many places across long periods of time. Gifts emphasized competitive individualism at a
time when scientific collaboration and the often humdrum work of empirical observation were
paramount.

While it was accepted that some competitive rivalry helped to inspire and advance science,
scientific reformers believed that too much led to the ostentation that too often plagued courtly
gift-giving. Most of all, reformers feared an individual would not tackle a problem that couldn’t
be finished and presented to a patron in his or her lifetime – or even if they did, their findings
might die with them.

For these reasons, promoters of experimental science saw the reform of rewards as integral to
radical changes in the pace and scale of scientific discovery. For example, Sir Francis Bacon
(1561–1626), lord chancellor of England and an influential booster of experimental science,
emphasized the importance even of ‘approximations’ or unfinished attempts at reaching a
particular goal. Instead of dissipating their efforts attempting to appease patrons, many
researchers, he hoped, could be stimulated to work toward the same ends via a well-
publicized research wish list. Bacon coined the term ‘desiderata’, still used by researchers
today to denote widespread research goals. He also suggested many ingenious ways to
advance discovery by stimulating the human hunger for fame; a row of statues celebrating
famous inventors of the past, for example, could be paired with a row of empty plinths upon
which researchers might imagine their own busts one day resting.
7
Bacon’s techniques inspired one of his chief admirers, the reformer Samuel Hartlib (circa
1600–1662) to collect many schemes for reforming the system of recognition. One proposed
that rewards should go not only ‘to such as exactly hit the marke, but even to those that
probably misse it’, because their errors would stimulate others and make ‘active braines to
beate about for New Inventions’. Hartlib planned a centralized office systematizing rewards for
those who ‘expect Rewards for Services done to the King or State, and know not where to
pitch and what to desire’.

Collaborative scientific societies, beginning in the mid-17th century, distanced rewards from
the whims and demands of individual patrons. The periodicals that many new scientific
societies started publishing offered a new medium that allowed authors to tackle ambitious
research problems that might not individually produce a complete publication pleasing to a
dedicatee. The societies saw their periodicals as a means to entice discovery by offering
credit. Today’s Leopoldina, the German national scientific society, founded its publication in
1670. According to its bylaws, those who might not otherwise publish their findings could see
them ‘exhibited to the world … with the praiseworthy mention of their name’ – an important
step on the way to standardizing scientific citation.

States might also offer rewards for solutions to problems, most famously in the case of the
prize offered by the British government in 1714 for figuring out how to determine longitude at
sea. Some in the 17th century likened this long-sought discovery to the philosopher’s stone.
The idea of using a prize to highlight a specific problem is alive and well today. In fact, some
contemporary scientific prizes, such as the Simons Foundation’s ‘Cracking the Glass Problem’,
set forth specific questions that still need to be resolved.

The shift from gift-giving to prize-giving completely transformed the rules of engagement in
scientific discovery. Of course, the need for monetary support hasn’t gone away. Obtaining
financial support can still be a sizable part of what it takes to get science done today.
Succeeding in grant competitions might seem mystifying, and winning a career-changing
Nobel might come as a bolt out of the blue. But researchers can take comfort that they no
longer have to present their innovations on bended knee as wondrous gifts that will appeal to
the whims of individual patrons.

8
Questions 27 – 30
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the text?
In boxes 27 - 30 below write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

27 The belief that progress depended on scientists benefiting from their work dates from the
17th century.
28 Early scientists could be confident of receiving patronage if they dedicated their work
appropriately.
29 Galileo considered his discovery of the moons of Jupiter to be one of his most important
contributions to science.
30 Some gifts bestowed by patrons were more welcome than others.

Questions 31 – 35
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes, 31-35 on your answer sheet.

31 What did promoters of science begin to understand by the early-17th century?

A the benefits of making science more appealing
B the importance of up-to-date scientific equipment
C the impact of inaccurate data on scientific research
D the need for scientists to share their work with one another

32 What was scientific reformers’ greatest concern about the patronage system?
A It was often restricted to royal courts.
B It led to unhealthy competition for resources.
C It resulted in scientists’ work not always being judged on its merits.
D It encouraged scientists to avoid research that took many years to complete.

33 Why does the writer refer to a row of statues?

A to propose how research goals should evolve
B to compare the achievements of different scientists
C to illustrate how a desire for recognition could be exploited
D to provide examples of important scientists from the past

34 It was accepted under one of Samuel Hartlib’s schemes that

A inspiration was hard to achieve.
B failure could bring about positive results.
C scientists needed assistance in record keeping.
D scientific research should be given a higher status.

35 What is the writer doing in the eighth paragraph?

A explaining how journals contributed to scientific progress
B describing how research projects became more ambitious
C indicating how scientific societies expanded their membership
D suggesting how nations attracted the best scientific researchers

9
Questions 36 – 40
Complete the summary using the list of words, A - J, below.
Write the correct letter, A - J, in boxes 36 - 40 below.

Offering rewards for solutions to problems

Scientific progress has long been encouraged through prizes. A famous case was that of the
reward offered in 1714 by the British government to resolve the problem of
maritime 36 ……….…….. The practice of prize-giving persists today, and in some cases, for
example the Simons Foundation’s ‘Cracking the Glass Problem’, details are provided on the
particular areas of 37 …………..….. that should be focused on.Prize-giving changed the way in
which people engaged in scientific discovery. Scientists today may still have to
secure 38 ……………….. for their research. But they should reassure themselves with the fact
that although there might be little 39 …………..…. of them winning a Nobel Prize, at least they
no longer have to satisfy the arbitrary 40 …………………. of individual patrons.

A inventions B strategy C investigation D likelihood

E facilities F funding G navigation H ambitions
L collaboration J interests

10
READING PASSAGE 3
Answer Questions 27 - 40, which are based on the text below.

Planet Earth’s blue heart

27 Water covers over 97 percent of the habitable ‘living space’ on our planet, yet it could be argued
that we know more about distant stars than we do about the deep blue ocean. We understand why
it is important to reach for the stars, to look at ourselves in perspective, and to ask big questions
such as ‘where did we come from?’ And we have devoted a great amount of resources to making
progress in this area, but meanwhile we have neglected understanding how the heart of our life
support system really functions.
28 Ocean exploration and the need to alert people to the ocean’s plight are critical to a better
understanding of the planetary systems that support us. Never before has the need been so great
to dive below the surface of the sea to explore and to understand the significance of our actions,
or to be more precise, the significant scale of current inactions and the consequences they hold for
all of us. It is like trying to understand your own body – is it good enough to only look at the skin?
Do we not have to delve in and understand how the lungs work, or do we just take that for granted?
Most people are still under the impression that the ocean is so vast and so resilient that humans
do not have the capacity to harm it – and if we do, that it does not matter.

We look at the scale and how unchanging the ocean seems to be and decide it is not really
something we should worry about – it might be an issue for future generations but not for us! What
has become increasingly clear, though, is our ability to really undermine the way the ocean works
by what we take out and by what we put in.
People ask – what is the biggest threat to the ocean? Overfishing, pollution, or climate change are
all usually mentioned. But by far and away the biggest threat to the ocean is a lack of understanding
that what we put in and take out matters – not just to the ocean, but to other aspects of our lives.
The ocean cannot be regarded as the planet’s ultimate dumpster or the ultimate place to get free
food. It is our life support system, and not being aware of the importance of the ocean to every
breath we take, every drop of water we drink, to a benign set of conditions that make the planet
work – that is the biggest threat.
30 By exploring the ocean we now understand better than ever before the consequences of what
is happening and how the ocean is being damaged. In a sense we now realise that we are
sleepwalking into a nightmare. This is because changes are slow but progressive, and at some
point occur to a level where we have to sit up and take notice. However, given the nature of
progressive change, this point is often reached when it is no longer possible to do anything about
it.
The ocean is difficult to study, much more so than dry land, but really there are no shortcuts to
gaining knowledge. The advent of SCUBA diving in the 1950s provided the current generation with
new tools to explore the shallowest margins of our watery world, and an explosion of knowledge
quickly followed. But what of the deep ocean? Our temptation is to turn to machines as we have
done in most aspects of our daily lives. But are machines good enough to take the place of
humans? James Cameron – one of only a few people alive today who have travelled to the deepest
part of the ocean – believes (as does the author), that humans lie at the centre of ocean science.
It is therefore unfortunate that just as we reach an era when we have the analytical powers to
start to make sense of how our planet works we see a reduction in funding of manned
exploration of the ocean. Manned exploration funding reduction --- unfortunate
It wasn’t until Florida International University stepped in that the US National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s Aquarius underwater laboratory, located off Key Largo, Florida, was
saved from closure. However, the number of countries with submarine research capabilities
continues to shrink. With the vast majority of the ocean yet to be explored this is a mistake, and
the hopes are that private donors will step forward to balance out the loss of government funding
for underwater exploration.
The value of seeing beneath the ocean surface is immense. It helps us understand how our wellbeing is
linked to the wellbeing of the ocean. We now know that since the mid-1900s about half of the world’s
coral reefs have either gone or are in serious decline. Coral reefs are important ecosystems with
approximately one quarter of all ocean species depending on them for food and shelter. Ninety percent of
many of the big fish that we consume are gone – down to about ten percent of what they were 50 years
ago. And we are changing the very nature of the blue part of our world that sets us apart from any other
planet we have so far discovered in the universe. Excessive carbon dioxide emissions from our activities
are not just changing the climate, they are driving the balance of the ocean waters towards more acidic
conditions with as yet unclear but likely significant consequences.

The impacts of these changes will be felt by people around the world – not just by those who live by the
sea but, with our super-efficient supply systems, people in inland areas too. It matters because we cannot
be blind to the fact that we are degrading the very part of our planet that enables us to live here.
Questions 27 – 30
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

27 What point does the writer make in the first paragraph?

A People fail to agree on the purpose of ocean exploration.
B The ocean reduces the amount of habitable space on our planet.
C Ocean exploration receives less support than exploration of space.
D It is likely that progress will be made in important areas of marine research.

28 What does the writer say about the ocean in the second paragraph?
A We need to find out what impact our neglect of the ocean has had.
B The ocean has a more important role than any organ in humans.
C Ocean exploration has produced a range of contrasting findings.
D Problems facing the ocean have been receiving increasing publicity.

29 The writer suggests that the apparent lack of change in the ocean
A has been disputed by some scientists.
B is a sign that pollution levels are relatively low.
C is linked to recent developments in ocean conservation.
D encourages people to assume the ocean cannot easily be damaged.

30 Why does the writer use the phrase ‘sleepwalking into a nightmare’ (paragraph 5)?
A to describe how the ocean has become degraded
B to imply that the pace of ocean damage has been slow
C to suggest that it may soon be too late to protect the oceans
D to illustrate how little ocean exploration has taken place

Questions 31 – 35
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in the text?
In boxes 31 - 35 below, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

31 James Cameron has contributed more than any other scientist to our understanding of the
ocean.
32 Ocean exploration is best carried out by unmanned machines.
33 The involvement of Florida International University prevented the closure of the Key Largo
underwater laboratory.
34 Our knowledge of the oceans has grown to such an extent that international marine research
capabilities can be reduced.
35 Private donors are more likely to fund underwater exploration if they have a scientific
background.
Questions 36 – 40
Complete the summary below using the list of phrases, A - H, below.
Write the correct letter, A - H, in boxes 36 - 40 below.

Seeing the damage beneath the ocean surface

We now know that many coral reefs, which provide food and shelter for a range of 36 …….., have
disappeared or have been damaged, and that the number of big fish has fallen dramatically. As
well as the impact it is having on the 37 ……… we experience, pollution is also altering
the 38 …….. of the ocean.

It is not only 39 ……… that will be affected by these changes – people living elsewhere will also
be affected. We need to realise that our world will cease to be a 40 ………. if we do not protect
our ocean.

A fishing vessels B habitable place C coastal communities

D distant stars E weather patterns F marine creatures

G extinct species H chemical composition

READING PASSAGE 2

The dingo debate

Graziers see them as pests, and poisoning is common, but some biologists think
Australia’s dingoes are the best weapon in a war against imported cats and foxes.

A A plane flies a slow pattern over Carlton Hill station, a 3,600 square kilometre ranch in
the Kimberley region in northwest Australia. As the plane circles, those aboard drop
1,000 small pieces of meat, one by one, onto the scrubland below, each piece laced
with poison; this practice is known as baiting.

Besides 50,000 head of cattle, Carlton Hill is home to the dingo, Australia’s largest
mammalian predator and the bane of a grazier's (cattle farmer's) life. Stuart McKechnie,
manager of Carlton Hill, complains that graziers’ livelihoods are threatened when
dingoes prey on cattle. But one man wants the baiting to end, and for dingoes to once
again roam Australia’s wide-open spaces. According to Chris Johnson of James Cook
University, ‘Australia needs more dingoes to protect our biodiversity.’

B About 4,000 years ago, Asian sailors introduced dingoes to Australia. Throughout the
ensuing millennia, these descendants of the wolf spread across the continent and, as
the Tasmanian tiger disappeared completely from Australia, dingoes became Australia’s
top predators. As agricultural development took place, the European settlers found that
they could not safely keep their livestock where dingoes roamed. So began one of the
most sustained efforts at pest control in Australia’s history. Over the last 150 years,
dingoes have been shot and poisoned, and fences have been used in an attempt to
keep them away from livestock. But at the same time, as the European settlers tried to
eliminate one native pest from Australia, they introduced more of their own.

C In 1860, the rabbit was unleashed on Australia by a wealthy landowner and by 1980
rabbits had covered most of the mainland. Rabbits provide huge prey base for two other
introduced species: the feral (wild) cat and the red fox.

The Interaction between foxes, cats and rabbits is a huge problem for native mammals.
In good years, rabbit numbers increase dramatically, and fox and cat populations grow
quickly in response to the abundance of this prey. When bad seasons follow, rabbit
numbers are significantly reduced - and the dwindling but still large fox and cat
populations are left with little to eat besides native mammals.

D Australian mammals generally reproduce much more slowly than rabbits, cats and
foxes - and adaption to prevent overpopulation in the arid environment, where food can
be scarce and unreliable - and populations decline because they can’t grow fast enough
to replace animals killed by the predators. Johnson says dingoes are the solution to this
problem because they keep cat and fox populations under control. Besides regularly
eating the smaller predators, dingoes will kill them simply to lessen competition.
Dingo packs live in large, stable territories and generally have only one fertile, which
limits their rate of increase. In the 4,000 years that dingoes have been Australia, they
have contributed to few, if any, extinctions, Johnsons says.
E Reaching out from a desolate spot where three states meet, for 2,500 km in either
direction, is the world’s longest fence, two metres high and stretching from the coast in
Queensland to the Great Australian Bight in South Australia; it is there to keep dingoes
out of southeast, the fence separates the main types of livestock found in Australia. To
the northwest of the fence, cattle predominate; to the southwest, sheep fill the
landscape. In fact, Australia is a land dominated by these animals - 25 million cattle, 100
million sheep and just over 20 million people.

F While there is no argument that dingoes will prey on sheep if given the chance, they
don’t hunt cattle once the calves are much past two or three weeks old, according to
McKechnie. And a study in Queensland suggests that dingoes don’t even prey heavily
on the newborn calves unless their staple prey disappears due to deteriorating
conditions like drought.

This study, co-authored by Lee Alien of the Robert Wicks Research Centre in
Queensland, suggests that the aggressive baiting programs used against dingoes may
actually be counter-productive for graziers. When dingoes are removed from an area by
baiting m the area is recolonized by younger, more solitary dingoes. These animals
aren’t capable of going after the large prey like kangaroos, so they turn to calves. In
their study, some of the highest rates of calf predation occurred in areas that had been
baited.

G Mark Clifford, general manager of a firm that manages over 200,000 head of cattle, is
not convinced by Allen’s assertion. Clifford says, ‘It’s obvious if we drop or loosen
control on dingoes, we are going to lose more calves.’ He doesn’t believe that dingoes
will go after kangaroos when calves are around. Nor is he persuaded of dingoes’
supposed ecological benefits, saying he is not convinced that they manage to catch
cats that often, believing they are more likely to catch small native animals instead.

H McKechnie agrees that dingoes kill the wallabies (small native animals) that compete
with his cattle for food, but points out that in parts of Westers Australia, there are no
fixes, and not very many cats. He doesn’t see how relaxing controls on dingoes in his
area will improve the ecological balance.

Johnson sees a need for a change in philosophy on the part of graziers. ‘There might be
a number of different ways of thinking through dingo management in cattle country,’ he
says. ‘At the moment, though, that hasn’t got through to graziers. There’s still just on
prescription, and that is to bait as widely as possible.’
Questions 14-20
Reading Passage has eight sections, A-H.
Which sections contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.

14 a description of a barrier designed to stop dingoes, which also divides two kinds of
non-natives animals
15 how dingoes ensure that rival species do not dominate
16 a reference to a widespread non-native species that other animals feed on
17 a mention of the dingo’s arrival in Australia
18 research which has proved that dingoes have resorted to eating young livestock
19 a description of a method used to kill dingoes
20 the way that the structure of dingo groups affects how quickly their numbers grow

Questions 21-23
Look at the following statements (Questions 21-23) and the list of people below.
Match each statement with the correct person, A, B, c or D.
Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 21-23 on your answer sheet.

21 Dingoes tend to hunt native animals rather than hunting other non-
native predators.
22 The presence of dingoes puts the income of some people at risk.
23 Dingoes have had little impact on the dying out of animal species in Australia.

List of People
A Stuart McKechnie
B Chris Johnson
C Lee Allen
D Mark Clifford

Questions 24-26
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet.
24 The dingo replaced the ………. as the main predatory animal in Australia.
25 Foxes and cats are more likely to hunt native animals when there are
fewer…………….
26 Australian animals reproduce at a slow rate as a natural way of avoiding …………….
READING PASSAGE 3

Pacific navigation and voyaging

How people migrated to the Pacific islands

The many tiny islands of the Pacific Ocean had no human population until ancestors of
today’s islanders sailed from Southeast Asia in ocean-going canoes approximately
2,000 years ago. At the present time, the debate continues about exactly how they
migrated such vast distances across the ocean, without any of the modern technologies
we take for granted.

Although the romantic vision of some early twentieth-century writers of fleets of heroic
navigators simultaneously setting sail had come to be considered by later investigators
to be exaggerated, no considered assessment of Pacific voyaging was forthcoming until
1956 when the American historian Andrew Sharp published his research. Sharp
challenged the ‘heroic vision’ by asserting that the expertise of the navigators was
limited, and that the settlement of the islands was not systematic, being more
dependent on good fortune by drifting canoes. Sharp’s theory was widely challenged,
and deservedly so. If nothing else, however, it did spark renewed interest in the topic
and precipitated valuable new research.

Since the 1960s a wealth of investigations has been conducted, and most of them,
thankfully, have been of the ‘non-armchair’ variety. While it would be wrong to denigrate
all ‘armchair’ research - that based on an examination of available published materials -
it has turned out that so little progress had been made in the area of Pacific voyaging
because most writers relied on the same old sources - travelers’ journals or missionary
narratives compiled by unskilled observers. After Sharp, this began to change, and
researchers conducted most of their investigations not in libraries, but in the field.

In 1965, David Lewis, a physician and experienced yachtsman, set to work using his
own unique philosophy: he took the yacht he had owned for many years and navigated
through the islands in order to contact those men who still find their way at sea using
traditional methods. He then accompanied these men, in their traditional canoes, on test
voyages from which all modern instruments were banished from sight, though Lewis
secretly used them to confirm the navigator’s calculations. His most famous such
voyage was a return trip of around 1,000 nautical miles between two islands in mid-
ocean. Far from drifting, as proposed by Sharp, Lewis found that ancient navigators
would have known which course to steer by memorizing which stars rose and set in
certain positions along the horizon and this gave them fixed directions by which to steer
their boats.

The geographer Edwin Doran followed a quite different approach. He was interested in
obtaining exact data on canoe sailing performance, and to that end employed the latest
electronic instrumentation. Doran traveled on board traditional sailing canoes in some of
the most remote parts of the Pacific, all the while using his instruments to record canoe
speeds in different wind strengths - from gales to calms - the angle canoes could sail
relative to the wind. In the process, he provided the first really precise attributes of
traditional sailing canoes.

A further contribution was made by Steven Horvath. As a physiologist, Horvath’s interest

was not in navigation techniques or in canoes, but in the physical capabilities of the men
themselves. By adapting standard physiological techniques, Horvath was able to
calculate the energy expenditure required to paddle canoes of this sort at times when
there was no wind to fill the sails, or when the wind was contrary. He concluded that
paddles, or perhaps long oars, could indeed have propelled for long distances what
were primarily sailing vessels.

Finally, a team led by Wall Garrard conducted important research, in this case by
making investigations while remaining safely in the laboratory. Wall Garrard’s unusual
method was to use the findings of linguists who had studied the languages of the Pacific
islands, many of which are remarkably similar although the islands where they are
spoken are sometimes thousands of kilometres apart. Clever adaptation of computer
simulation techniques pioneered in other disciplines allowed him to produce convincing
models suggesting the migrations were indeed systematic, but not simultaneous. Wall
Garrard proposed the migrations should be seen not as a single journey made by a
massed fleet of canoes, but as a series of ever more ambitious voyages, each pushing
further into the unknown ocean.

What do we learn about Pacific navigation and voyaging from this research? Quite
correctly, none of the researchers tried to use their findings to prove one theory or
another; experiments such as these cannot categorically confirm or
negate a hypothesis. The strength of this research lay in the range of
methodologies employed. When we splice together these findings we can propose that
traditional navigators used a variety of canoe types, sources of water and navigation
techniques, and it was this adaptability which was their greatest accomplishment. These
navigators observed the conditions prevailing at sea at the time a voyage was made
and altered their techniques accordingly. Furthermore, the canoes of the navigators
were not drifting helplessly at sea but were most likely part of a systematic migration; as
such, the Pacific peoples were able to view the ocean as an avenue, not a barrier, to
communication before any other race on Earth. Finally, one unexpected but most
welcome consequence of this research has been a renaissance in the practice of
traditional voyaging. In some groups of islands in the Pacific today young people are
resurrecting the skills of their ancestors, when a few decades ago it seemed they would
be lost forever.
Question 27-31
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage?
In boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

27 The Pacific islands were uninhabited when migrants arrived by sea from Southeast
Asia
28 Andrew Sharp was the first person to write about the migrants to islanders
29 Andrew Sharp believed migratory voyages were based on more on luck than skill
30 Despite being controversial, Andrew Sharp’s research had positive results
31 Edwin Doran disagreed with the findings of Lewis’s research

Questions 32-36
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.

32 David Lewis’s research was different because

A he observed traditional navigators at work
B he conducted test voyages using his own yacht
C he carried no modern instruments on test voyages
D he spoke the same language as the islanders he sailed with

33 What did David Lewis’s research discover about traditional navigators?

A They used the sun and moon to find their position
B They could not sail further than about 1,000 nautical miles
C They knew which direction they were sailing in
D They were able to drift for long distances

34 What are we told about Edwin Doran’s research?

A Data were collected after the canoes had returned to land
B Canoe characteristics were recorded using modern instruments
C Research was conducted in the most densely populated regions
D Navigators were not allowed to see the instruments Doran used

35 Which of the following did Steven Horvath discover during his research?
A Canoe design was less important than human strength
B New research methods had to be developed for use in canoes
C Navigators became very tired on the longest voyages
D Human energy may have been used to assist sailing canoes
36 What is the writer’s opinion of p Wall Garrard’s research?
A He is disappointed it was conducted in the laboratory
B He is impressed by the originality of the techniques used
C He is surprised it was used to help linguists with their research
D He is concerned that the islands studied are long distances apart

Questions 37-40
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.

37 One limitation in the information produced by all of this research is that it

38 The best thing about this type of research
39 The most important achievement of traditional navigators
40 The migration of people from Asia to the Pacific

A was the variety of experimental techniques used

B was not of interest to young islanders today
C was not conclusive evidence in support of a single theory
D was being able to change their practices when necessary
E was the first time humans intentionally crossed an ocean
F was the speed with which it was conducted
READING PASSAGE 2

Insect decision-making

It has long been held that decision made collectively by large groups of people are more
likely to turn out to be accurate than decisions made by individuals. The idea goes back
to the 'jury theorem’ of Nicolas de Condorcet, an 18th-century French philosopher who
was one of the first to apply mathematics to the social sciences. Condorcet’s theory
describes collective decisions, outlining how democratic decisions tend to outperform
dictatorial ones. If, for example, each member of a jury has only partial information ,the
majority decision is more likely to be correct than a decision arrived at by a single juror.
Moreover, the probability of a correct decision increases with the size of the jury.

Now it is becoming clear that group decisions are also extremely valuable for the
success of social animals, such as ants ,bees .birds and dolphins .Bees make collective
decisions ,and they do it rather well, according to Christian List of the London School of
Economics ,who has studied group decision-making in humans and animals.
Researchers led by Dr List looked at colonies once the original colony reaches a certain
size. The queen goes off with about two-thirds of the worker bees to live in a new home
or nest, leaving a daughter queen in the old nest with the remaining workers. Among the
bees that depart are some that have searched for and found some new nest sites, and
reported back using a characteristic body movement known as a 'waggle dance' to
indicate to the other bees the suitable places they have located. The longer the dance,
the better the site. After a while, other bees start to visit the sites signaled by their
companions to see for themselves and, on their return, also perform more waggle
dances. The process eventually leads to a consensus on the best site and the
breakaway swarm migrates. The decision is remarkably reliable ,with the bees choosing
the best site even when there are only small difference between alternative sites.

But exactly how do bees reach such a robust consensus? To find out ,Dr List and his
colleagues used a computer generated model of the decision-making process. By
experimenting with it they found that, when bees in the model were very good at finding
nesting sites but did not share their information, this dramatically slowed down the
migration .leaving the swarm homelss and vulnerable .Conversely .bees in the model
blindly following the waggle dances of others without first checking. The researchers
concluded that the ability of bees to identify successfully and quickly the best site
depends on both the bees ‘interdependence in communicating the whereabouts of the
bees site, and their independence in confirming this information for themselves.

Another situation in which collective decisions are taken occurs when animals are either
isolated from crucial sources of information or dominated by other members of the
group. José Halloy of the Free University of Brussels in Belgium used robotic
cockroaches to subvert the behaviour of living cockroaches and control their decision-
making process. In his experiment, the artificial bugs were introduced to the live ones
and soon became sufficiently socially integrated that they were perceived by the real
cockroaches as equals. By manipulating the robots, which were in the minority, Halloy
was able to persuade the living cockroaches to choose an inappropriate shelter-even
one which they had rejected before being infiltrated by the robots.
The way insects put into effect collective decisions can be complex and as important as
the decisions themselves. At the University of Bristol, in the UK, Nigel Franks and his
colleagues studied how a species of ant establishes a new nest. Franks and his
associates reported how the insects reduce the problems associated with making a
necessarily swift choice. If the ants’ existing nest become suddenly threatened, the
insects choose certain ants to act as scouts to find a new nest.

How quickly they accomplish the transfer to a new home depends not only on how soon
the best available site is found, but also on how quickly the migration there can be
achieved.

Once the suitable new nest is identified, the chosen ants begin to lead others , which
have made it to the new site or which may simply be in the vicinity, back to the original
threatened nest. In this way, those ants which are familiar with the route can help
transport, for example ,the queen and young ants to the new site, and simultaneously
show the way to those ants which have been left behind to guard the old nest. In this
way moving processes are accomplished faster and more efficiently. Thus the dynamics
of collective decision-making are closely related to the efficient implementation of those
decisions .How this might apply to choices that humans make is , as yet,unclear. But it
does suggest, even for humans, the importance of recruiting dynamic leaders to a
cause,because the most important thing about collective decision-making ,as shown by
these insect experiments, is to get others to follow.
Questions 14-19
Reading Passage has six paragraphs, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-vii, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings
i The effect of man-made imitations on insects
ii The need to instruct additional insect guides
iii Signals used by certain insects to indicate a discovery
iv How urgency can affect the process of finding a new home
v The use of trained insects in testing scientific theories
vi The use of virtual scenarios in the study of insect behaviour
vii How the number of decision-makers affects the decision

14 Paragraph A
15 Paragraph B
16 Paragraph C
17 Paragraph D
18 Paragraph E
19 Paragraph F

Questions 20-23
Look at the following findings (Questions 20-23) and the list of academics below.
Match each finding with the correct academic, A-D
Write the correct letter, A-D, in boxes 20-23 on your answer sheet.
NB you may use any letter more than once.

20 Certain members can influence the rest of the group to alter a previous decision.
21 Individual verification of a proposed choice is important for successful
decision outcome.
22 The more individuals taking part in a decision, the better the decision will be.
23 The decision-making process of certain insects produces excellent results
even when fine distinctions are required.
List of Academics
A Nicolas de Condorcet
B Christian List and colleagues
C José Halloy
D Nigel Franks and colleagues
Questions 24-26
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.

A study of insect decision-making

A Bristol University study looked at how insects make decisions when their home has
been 24……… . The ants in the experiment relied on the use of individuals
called 25………… new nest and efficiently direct the others to go there. The study
concluded that the effective implementation of the ants' decision meant that the insects
could change homes quickly. The study emphasized the necessity, for people well as
insects,of having active 26…………….. in order to execute decisions successfully.
READING PASSAGE 3
Answer Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3.

Learning to Walk

These days the feet of a typical city dweller rarely encounter terrain any more uneven
than a crack in the pavement. While that may not seem like a problem, it turns out that
by flattening our urban environment we have put ourselves at risk of a surprising
number of chronic illnesses and disabilities. Fortunately, the commercial market has
come to the rescue with a choice of products. Research into the idea that flat floors
could be detrimental to our health was pioneered back in the late 1960s in Long Beach,
California. Podiatrist Charles Brantingham and physiologist Bruce Beekman were
concerned with the growing epidemic of high blood pressure, varicose veins and deep-
vein thromboses and reckoned they might be linked to the uniformity of the surfaces
that we tend to stand and walk on.
The trouble, they believed, was that walking continuously on flat floors, sidewalks and
streets concentrates forces on just a few areas of the foot. As a result, these surfaces
are likely to be far more conducive to chronic stress syndromes than natural surfaces,
where the foot meets the ground in a wide variety of orientations. They understood that
the anatomy of the foot parallels that of the human hand - each having 26 bones, 33
joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments - and that modern lifestyles
waste all this potential flexibility.
Brantingham and Beekman became convinced that the damage could be rectified by
making people wobble. To test their ideas, they got 65 factory workers to try standing on
a variable terrain floor - spongy mats with varying degrees of resistance across the
surface. This modest irregularity allowed the soles of the volunteers' feet to deviate
slightly from the horizontal each time they shifted position. As the researchers hoped,
this simple intervention made a huge difference, within a few weeks. Even if people
were wobbling slightly, it activated a host of muscles in their legs, which in turn helped
pump blood back to their hearts. The muscle action prevented the pooling of blood in
their feet and legs, reducing the stress on the heart and circulation. Yet decades later,
the flooring of the world's largest workplaces remains relentlessly smooth. Earlier this
year, however, the idea was revived when other researchers in the US announced
findings from a similar experiment with people over 60. John Fisher and colleagues at
the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene designed a mat intended to replicate the effect
of walking on cobblestones*.
In tests funded by the National Institute of Aging, they got some 50 adults to walk on the
toots in their bare feet for less than an hour, three times a week. After 16 weeks, these
people showed marked improvements in mobility, and even a significant reduction in
blood pressure. People in a control group who walked on ordinary floors also improved
but not as dramatically. The mats are now available for purchase and production is
being scaled up. Even so, demand could exceed supply if this footstimulating activity
really is a 'useful nonpharmacological approach for preventing or controlling
hypertension of older adults, as the researchers believe. They are not alone in
recognising the benefits of cobblestones. Reflexologists have long advocated walking
on textured surfaces to stimulate so-called 'acupoints' on the soles of the feet. They
believe that pressure applied to particular spots on the foot connects directly to
particular organs of the body and somehow enhances their function. In China,
spas, apartment blocks and even factories promote their cobblestone paths as healthful
amenities. Fisher admits he got the concept from regular visits to the country. Here, city
dwellers take daily walks along cobbled paths for five or ten minutes, perhaps several
times a day, to improve their health. The idea is now taking off in Europe too.
People in Germany, Austria and Switzerland can now visit 'barefoot parks' and walk
along 'paths of the senses - with mud, logs, stone and moss underfoot. And it is not
difficult to construct your own path with simple everyday objects such as stones or
bamboo poles. But if none of these solutions appeal, there is another option. A new
shoe on the market claims to transform flat, hard, artificial surfaces into something like
uneven ground. 'These shoes have an unbelievable effect,' says Benno Nigg, an
exercise scientist at Calgary University in Canada.
Known as the Masai Barefoot Technology, the shoes have rounded soles that cause you
to rock slightly when you stand still, exercising the small muscles around the ankle that
are responsible for stability. Forces in the joint are reduced, putting less strain on the
system, Nigg claims.
Some of these options may not appeal to all consumers and there is a far simpler
alternative.
If the urban environment is detrimental to our health, then it is obvious where we should
turn. A weekend or even a few hours spent in the countryside could help alleviate a
sufferer's aches and pains, and would require only the spending of time.
However, for many modern citizens, the countryside is not as accessible as it once was
and is in fact a dwindling resource. Our concrete cities are growing at a terrifying rate -
perhaps at the same rate as our health problems.
Questions 27-31
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 27-31 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

27 Brantingham and Beekman were the first researchers to investigate the relationship
between health problems and flat floors.
28 The subjects in Fisher's control group experienced a decline in their physical
condition.
29 The manufacturers are increasing the number of cobblestone mats they are making.
30 Fisher based his ideas on what he saw during an overseas trip.
31 The Masai Barefoot Technology shoes are made to fit people of all ages.

Questions 32-24
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 32-34 on your answer sheet.

32 The writer suggests that Brantingham and Beekman's findings were

A ignored by big companies.
B doubted by other researchers.
C applicable to a narrow range of people.
D surprising to them.

33 What claim is made by the designers of the cobblestone mats"?

A They need to be used continuously in order to have a lasting effect.
B They would be as beneficial to younger people as to older people.
C They could be an effective alternative to medical intervention.
D Their effects may vary depending on individual users.

34 Which of the following points does the writer make in the final paragraph?
A People should question new theories that scientists put forward.
B High prices do not necessarily equate to a quality product.
C People are setting up home in the country for health reasons.
D The natural environment is fast disappearing.
Questions 35-40
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet.

In their research, Brantingham and Beekman looked at the complex physical

35……………. of the foot and noted that the surfaces of modem environments restrict
its movement. They invented a mat which they tried out on factory workers. Whenever
the workers walked on it, the different levels of 36…………………. in the mat would
encourage greater muscle action. In turn, this lessened the effect of 37………………..
on the cardiovascular system.

Similar research was undertaken by John Fisher and colleagues in Oregon. As a result
of their findings, they decided to market cobblestone mats to the elderly as a means of
dealing with 38…………………. Reflexologists claim that by manipulating specific parts
of the feet, the performance of certain 39…………………… will also improve. Finally,
Benno Nigg at Calgary University believes that specially shaped 40...…………… on
shoes should give health benefits.
READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading
Passage 2 on pages 6 and 7.

UNDOING OUR EMOTIONS

A Three generations ago, 180 young women wrote essays describing why they wanted
to join a convent (a religious community of nuns). Years later, a team of
psychological researchers came across these autobiographies in the convent's
archives. The researchers were seeking material to confirm earlier studies hinting at
a link between having a good vocabulary in youth and a low risk of Alzheimer’s
disease in old age. What they found was even more amazing. The researchers
found that, although the young women were in their early twenties when they wrote
their essays,, the emotions expressed in these writings were predictive of how long
they would live: those with upbeat autobiographies lived more than ten years longer
than those whose language was more neutral. Deborah Danner, a psychologist at
the University of Kentucky who spearheaded the study, noted that the results were
particularly striking because all members of the convent lived similar lifestyles,
eliminating many variables that normally make it difficult to interpret longevity
studies. It was a phenomenal finding she says. "A researcher gets a finding like that
maybe once in a lifetime. However, she points out that no one has been able to
determine why positive emotions might have such life-extending effects

B Barbara Fredrickson, Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, believes

that part of the answer is the 'undo effect’. According to this theory, positive emotions
help you live longer by shutting down the effects of negative ones. Fredrickson's
theory begins with the observation that negative emotions, like fear and stress,
enhance our flight-or-fight response to very real threats. However, even when the
emergency is gone, negative emotions produce lingering effects. Brooks Gump, a
stress researcher at the State University of New York, explains that one of these
effects is excessive cardiovascular reactivity. Behaviorally, Gump says, this reactivity
is related to excessive vigilance: the state of being constantly on guard for potential
dangers. Not only is it physically draining to live in a perpetual state of high vigilance,
but high cardiovascular reactivity could be linked to increased chances of a heart
attack
C Fredrickson believes positive emotions work their magic
by producing a rapid unwinding of pent-up tension, restoring the system to normal.
People who quickly bounce back from stress often speed the process by harnessing
such emotions as amusement, interest, excitement, and happiness, she says. To test
her theory, Fredrickson told a group of student volunteers that they, had only a few
minutes to prepare a speech that would be critiqued by experts. After letting the
students get nervous about that, Fredrickson then told them they wouldn't actually
have to deliver their speeches. She monitored heart rates and blood pressure. Not
surprisingly, all students got nervous about their speeches, but those who viewed the
experiment with good-humored excitement saw their heart rates return to normal
much more quickly than those who were angry about being fooled. In a second
experiment, Fredrickson reported that even those who normally were slow to bounce
back could be coached to recover more quickly by being told to view the experiment
as a challenge, rather than a threat

D Fredrickson believes that positive emotions make people more flexible and creative.
Negative emotions, she says, give a heightened sense of detail that makes us
hypersensitive to minute clues related to the source of a threat. But that also
produces tunnel vision in which we ignore anything unrelated to the danger.
Fredrickson speculated that just as positive emotions can undo the cardiovascular
effects of negative ones, they may also reverse the attention-narrowing effects of
negative feelings: broadening our perspectives.

E To verify her theory, Fredrickson showed a group of students some film clips- some
saw frightening clips, some saw humorous ones or peaceful ones. They then did a
matching test in which they were shown a simple drawing and asked which of two
other drawings it most resembled. The drawings were designed so that people would
tend to give one answer if they focused on details, and another answer if they
focused on the big picture. The results confirmed Fredrickson’s suspicion that positive
emotions affect our perceptions. Students who had seen the humorous or peaceful
clips were more likely to match objects according to broad impressions.
F This fits with the role that positive emotions might have
played in early human tribes, Fredrickson says. Negative emotions provided focus,
which was important for surviving in life or-death situations, but the ability to feel
positive emotions was of long-term value because it opened the mind to new ideas.
Humour is a good example of this. She says: 'The emotions are transient, but the
resources are durable. If you building a friendship through being playful, that
friendship is a lasting resource.' So while the good feelings may pass, the friendship
remains. On an individual level, Fredrickson’s theory also says that taking time to do
things that make you feel happy isn’t simply self-indulgent. Not only are these
emotions good for the individual, but

G. Other researchers are intrigued by Fredrickson's findings. Susan Folkman, of the

University of California, has spent two decades studying how people cope with long-
term stresses such as bereavement, or caring for a chronically ill child. Contrary to
what one might expect, she says, these people frequently experience positive
emotions. These emotions aren't there by accident, she adds. "Mother Nature
doesn't work that way, I think that they give a person time out from the intense
stress to restore their resources and keep going. This is very consistent with
Fredrickson’s work.'
Questions 14-18

Reading Passage 2 has seven sections, A-G

Which section contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.

NB you may use any letter more than once.

14 a conclusion that it is possible to train people to deal with anxiety conclusive evidence
that lifespan can be influenced by emotions

15 an explanation of the way negative emotions affect what people concentrate on

16 an experiment that showed how a positive outlook can help people adjust to

17 a stressful situation faster than others

18 a discovery beyond what researchers were investigating

19 an experiment where the nature of a material seen by participants affected the way they
performed a task
Questions 20-23

Look at the following statements and the list of researchers below

Match each statement with the correct researcher, A-D

Write the correct letter, A-D, in boxes 20-23 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once

List of Researchers
A Deborah Danner
B Barbara Fredrickson
C Brooks Gump
D Susan Folkman

20 People whose daily lives are stressful often have surprisingly positive emotions
21 The body’s reaction to a crisis may trigger a life-threatening event
22 It is unusual to have a study group whose circumstances were very alike
23 The reasons for a link between positive emotions and a longer life have not been
established

Question 24-26

Complete the sentences below

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer

Write your answers in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet

24 In early tribes, negative emotions gave humans the....................... that they needed to
deal with emergencies

25 Fredrickson believes that a passing positive emotion can lead to an enduring asset such
as a ……………………, which is useful in times to come
26 Fredrickson also believes that both individuals and ................ benefit from positive
emotions.
READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 on pages 10 and 11.

The hidden lives of solitary bees

There are 275 different species of bee in Great Britain and Ireland. Apart from
the familiar honeybee and 25 species of bumblebee, the rest are known as
solitary bees

Solitary bees are unlike ’social' honeybees and bumblebees, which live in large colonies
consisting of a queen whose function is to lay the eggs, white the workers gather pollen and
nectar to feed the tiny grubs With solitary bees, there are typically just males and females.
They mate, the male dies and the female makes a nest

Ian Beavis is a naturalist and blogger with a mission to raise the profile of the many solitary
bees, whose pollinating services are so important yet so little recognised. Solitary bees
inhabit gardens, parks, woodlands, fields and diffs. In fact they represent 95% of the world's
bee species Leading wildlife illustrator Richard Lewington, best known for his beautiful
paintings of butterflies, says, ‘Solitary bees are so useful to gardeners and commercially
valuable Yet until recently they barely registered in the public consciousness. I wanted to
help publicise their vital role in our lives ' The problem with solitary bees has long been one
of identification - with more than 240 species to choose from, and no accessible guidebook,
where do people start? So Richard Lewington has spent any spare time over the past few
years working on a new guide to the bees of Great Britain and Ireland. This, amazingly, is the
first book of its kind to be published for over a century.

How do solitary bees live? A female solitary bee constructs a nest and then lays her eggs in
individual cells, lining or sealing them with various materials depending on the species of bee
- red mason bees use mud, leafcutter bees use sections of leaf The female leaves what
naturalists call a ’parcel' of pollen and nectar for each of her little grubs to feed on When the
female has laid all her eggs, she dies The emerging grubs eat. grow and develop into adults
the following year.

While some bees are plentiful and widespread, others have been designated as rare, or are
very local in distribution. In 2013. fan Beavis came across what has long been known as one
of Britain’s rarest species, the banded mining bee. An impressive species with white hairs on
its face, the banded mining bee nests in the ground, typically on steep banks. Ian Beavis
explains that it always chooses bare earth because it doesn't like having to eat through plant
roots to make its nest. Females feed on a variety of plants, but seem particularly fond of
yellow dandelions that bloom from spring to autumn

Another bee that has attracted naturalists' attention is the ivy bee It was only identified as a
distinct species in 1993. It is one of a number of bees that have been able to establish
themselves in Britain due to the recent warmer winters About the same size as a honeybee,
with distinctive orange-yellow banding on its abdomen, it was initially thought to feed only on
ivy. but has since been seen visiting other plants

The discoveries about ivy bees show how rewarding the study of solitary bees can be. but its
not the only species whose habits are changing Ian Beavis believes we can see in solitary
bees the beginning of social behaviour. He explains that many species make their nests
close to each other in huge groups, and there are some, like Andrena scotica, where several
bees use the same entrance without becoming aggressive. It's not difficult to see how this
behaviour, which could be seen as the foundation of social behaviour, might evolve in future
into worker bees sharing care of the grubs. Indeed some of Britain’s solitary bees,
Lasioglossum rnalachurum for example, are already demonstrating this type of social
behaviour. So will all solitary bees evolve into social insects? Not necessarily. According to
Ian Beavis, there are advantages to social behaviour but there are also advantages to
nesting alone. Bees that nest socially are a target for predators, diseases and parasites.

Pesticides can also pose a threat to solitary bees. At the University of Sussex in England.
Beth Nicholls is conducting research into the effects of certain pesticides on the red mason
bee. She explains. 'We know that pesticides harm social bees, but very little research has
been done into solitary bees.’ Honeybees fly throughout the summer, so they may be
exposed to different levels of pesticides. But if the shorter flight period of solitary bees - the
red mason bee only flies from March to May - coincides with peak pesticide levels, that might
be disastrous. If the red mason bee declines dramatically, it could affect the fruit-growing
industry. According to Beth Nicholls, it is much more efficient at pollinating orchard trees.
Social bees carry pollen in ‘baskets’ on their back legs, but a female red mason bee carries it
on the underside of her abdomen. This is a messier way of transporting it, and so more
pollen is transferred to other flowers. The social bees’ method is much tidier*. so once they
have collected the pollen and tucked it away behind their legs, it won’t be dropped.

Solitary bees are all around us. We need to start paying attention to them before it's too late.
Questions 28-31

Choose the correct letter. A B C or D

Write the correct letter in boxes 28-31 on your answer sheet

28 Ian Beavis and Richard Lewington both believe that solitary bees

A are as interesting as many butterfly species.

B have an extremely varied range of habitats.
C should be appreciated much more widely.
D are valued by many gardeners.

29 What does the writer think is surprising about the new book on bees?

A There is such a wide range of species in it.

B Some of the species in it are hard to differentiate.
C Richard Lewington chose to give up his main work to write it
D It was so long since a guide like this had been produced.

30 Beth Nicholls explains that red mason bees

A have had more studies into their behaviour than others.

B may suffer more from pesticides than social bees.
C have an advantage because of when they fly.
D have certain similarities with honey bees.

31 Why does Beth Nicholls consider red mason bees to be valuable pollinators?

A They regularly lose some of the pollen they are carrying

B They transport pollen with great care.
C Their pollination season is longer than that of social bees.
D The females do most of the pollen collection.
 Questions 32 - 35

Look at the following statements and end the list of solitary bees below.

Match each statement with the correct bee, A-E

Write the correct letter. A-E in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

32 Some members of this species have started to contribute more to the care of the
young

33 This species avoids areas covered with vegetation when selecting nest sites.

34 This species has a favourite flower that it feeds on.

35 This species has only been found in Britain in the past few years.

List of Solitary Bees

A The banded mining bee

B The ivy bee
C Andrena scotica
D Lasioglossum malachurum
E The red mason bee
Questions 36-40

Complete the summary below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer

Write your answers in boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet.

The life of the solitary bee

Female solitary bees make their nests with separate 36 ................. where single eggs are
deposited. Females try to ensure the survival of all their 37 ............ They do this by
providing suitable food in what is referred to as a 38.......................................... Solitary
bees use a range ofsubstances to make their nests comfortable and secure, such as plant
material or 39.............................. ,
Although some solitary bees are common, certain species are thought to be
40…………………
The different solitary bees vary widely in their distribution, some being found all over
Britain while others are much more restricted geographically.
READING PASSAGE 2

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

Chinstrap Penguin Population In The Last 50 Years

The chinstrap penguin has a cap of black plumage, a white face, and a continuous band of
black feathers extending from one side of the head to the other, the “chinstrap.” The northern
part of the Antarctic Peninsula, several Antarctic and subantarctic islands, and the
uninhabited Balleny Islands between Antarctica and New Zealand are the habitats of the
species.

Antarctic penguin colonies in some parts of the Antarctic have declined over the last 50
years, mostly because of climate change, researchers say. The colonies of chinstrap
penguins, also known as ringed or bearded penguins, have dramatically dropped since they
were last surveyed almost 50 years ago, scientists discovered. The findings became
surprising because, until now, the chinstraps have been deemed of “least concern” by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). “We really didn’t know what to expect,
and then we found this huge decline on Elephant Island,” Noah Strycker, an ornithologist and
penguin researcher at Stony Brook University, told CNN from Greenpeace’s Esperanza ship
in the Antarctic. “It’s a little bit worrying as it means that something is shifting in the
ecosystem and the fall in penguin numbers is reflecting that shift.”

Every colony of Elephant Island, which is a crucial penguin habitat northeast of the Antarctic
Peninsula, when surveyed, experienced a population fall, as per the independent
researchers who joined a Greenpeace expedition to the region. Elephant Island was last
surveyed in 1971, and there were 122,550 pairs of penguins across all colonies. However,
the recent count revealed just 52,786 pairs with a drop of almost 60%. On Elephant Island,
the size of the population change varied from colony to colony, and the most significant
decline was recorded at a colony known as Chinstrap Camp, which is 77%.

Just the days after temperatures hit an all-time high in the Antarctic with 18.3 Celsius (64.94
Fahrenheit) recorded on February 6, the latest study is published. The previous high 17.5 C
(63.5 F) was recorded in March 2015. Scientists recorded the temperature at Argentina’s
Esperanza research station, according to the meteorological agency of the country.
The reduced sea ice and warmer oceans due to climate change have led to less krill, the
main component of the penguins’ diet. “Climate change is probably the underlying factor, and
the effects are rippling through the food chain,” Strycker said. “Penguins, seals, and whales
all depend on krill, which depends on ice. So if climate change affects the ice, that impacts
on everything else.” Heather J. Lynch, associate professor of ecology and evolution at New
York’s Stony Brook University and one of the expedition’s research leads, said: “Such
significant declines in penguin numbers suggest that the Southern Ocean’s ecosystem has
fundamentally changed in the last 50 years and that the impacts of this are rippling up the
food web to species like chinstrap penguins.” She added that “while several factors may have
a role to play, all the evidence we have pointed to climate change as being responsible for
the changes we are seeing.”

However, some good news was also there, as the researchers reported an increase in
gentoo penguins population in neighbouring colonies, beyond Elephant Island. “It’s
interesting, as a tale of two penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula,” said Strycker. “Gentoo is a
species from further north and they appear to be colonizing the area and are actually
increasing in numbers.”

The Greenpeace ship Esperanza has been documenting the threat to the oceans worldwide
and taking the scientists for travelling abroad. For the first time, the Low Island in the South
Shetland Islands, north of the Antarctic Peninsula, has been surveyed properly. The manual
and drone techniques are used by the researchers, from Stony Brook and Northeastern
University in Boston, to survey a series of significant but relatively unknown colonies of
chinstrap penguin here. The results are, however, not yet available. Greenpeace has been
campaigning for the three Antarctic sanctuaries that it would establish to offer protection to
many of the colonies surveyed. These would be off-limits to humans.

Louisa Casson, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner, said in a statement: “Penguins are an

iconic species, but this new research shows how the climate emergency is decimating their
numbers and having far-reaching impacts on wildlife in the most remote corners of Earth.
This is a critical year for our oceans. “Governments must respond to the science and agree
on a strong Global Ocean Treaty at the United Nations this spring that can create a network
of ocean sanctuaries to protect marine life and help these creatures adapt to our rapidly
changing climate.”
Question 14 - 20
The Reading Passage has 8 paragraphs labelled A-H.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-H in boxes.
NB You may use any letter more than once.

14 the highest temperatures ever.

15 the difference between current and past records on penguin population.
16 places where people cannot go to.
17 places where chinstrap penguins live.
18 measures to protect ocean species.
19 factors contributing to the decline in the amount of food available.
20 description of a specific species.

Question 21-23

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information given in the text,
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information,
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

21 The IUCN showed little concern about the fall in penguin numbers.

22 Climate change is a reason for the changes in the food chain of chinstrap penguins.

23 Gentoo penguins are not affected by climate change.

Question 24 - 26
Complete the note below.
Choose ONLY ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.

The Greenpeace ship has been used to:

● record the 24…………….. to marine life over the world.

● carry the 25………………. overseas.
● Build 26………………to protect many surveyed colonies.
READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3.

Global Warming in New Zealand 2

New Zealand is expected to warm by about 3°C over the next century. The northern polar
regions will be more than 6°C warmer, while the large continents – also the largest centres of
population – will be 4°C or warmer. In contrast, the Southern Ocean, which surrounds New
Zealand, may warm by only 2°C. The sea will act as an air conditioner and in this aspect,
New Zealand’s location is comparatively fortunate.

Any predictions are complicated by the variability of New Zealand’s climate. The annual
temperature can fluctuate as much as 1°C above or below the long-term average. The early
summer of 2006-7, for instance, was notably cool, thanks in part to the iceberg that drifted up
the east coast. A few months later, warm water from the Tasman Sea helped make May
2007 unusually hot. These variables will continue unaffected so that, although the general
pattern will be for rising temperatures, the warming trend may not be uniform.

The Ocean to the south of New Zealand will have one important effect. As the world warms,
the great bank of west winds that circle Antarctica will become stronger. This has already
been observed, and its impact on New Zealand is likely to be profound, stronger, more
frequent west winds will bring increased, sometimes catastrophic rainfall to the west coast of
the country and create drier conditions in some eastern regions that are already drought-
prone. At the same time, the general warming will spread south.

Furthermore, in the drier regions, the average moisture deficit – that is, the difference
between the amount of water in soils available to plants and the amount plants need for
optimum growth – will increase. Soils could go into moisture deficit earlier in the growing
season and the deficits could last longer into autumn that at present. What we think of today
as a medium-severity drought could be an almost annual occurrence by the end of the
century. One direct consequence of warmer – and shorter – winters will be a reduction in
snow cover. The permanent snow line in the mountains will rise, while snow cover below this
will be shorter-lived. The amount of snow that falls may actually increase, however, even in
some northern centres, owing to the intensification of precipitation, Ski-field base station may
eventually have to be moved upwards to be within reach of the new snow line but there could
still be plenty of the white stuff up there.

There will also be a marked impact on New Zealand’s glaciers. Over the last 100 years, the
glaciers have been reduced by 35%, although since 1978 increase snowfall has offset the
effect of warming. The latest studies conducted by the National Institute for Water and
Atmospheric. Research (NIWA), however, suggest that by the end of the century, warming
over the Southern Alps could be significantly greater than over the rest of the country.

Sea levels around New Zealand have risen by 25cm since the middle of the 9th century and
by 7 cm since 1990. Predictions for the coming years cover a wide range, however, partly
because of unknown rises resulting from the melting of the ice in the Arctic, Greenland and
Antarctica. In addition, sea level at any given time is affected by many different factors, one
of which is called storm surge. When a Coincides with a high tide along low lying coastal
areas, this bulge raises the tide higher than normal, creating. Surge not unlike a slow-motion
tsunami. Not only does a rise in sea level increase the potential for his sort damage, but it
also has less immediate impacts. The one potentially grave outcome is that groundwater
systems may become contaminated with saltwater, spoiling them for the irrigation of
farmland, which in turn could diminish crop harvests. Similarly, over time, estuaries may be
enlarged by erosion as tidal influences reach further upstream, altering the contours of whole
shorelines and initiating further unforeseen consequences.

The impacts these changes will have on New Zealand are difficult to generalize. Human
systems are better able to adapt to change than natural ecosystems because humans can
see a problem coming and plan a response. Farmers and horticulturalists have made
considerable advances, replacing crops they grow to better suit the new conditions.
However, plant breeders will need to show considerable ingenuity if they can overcome the
acute water shortages that are forecast.

For natural ecosystems the rate of change is crucial. If it is low, the plants and animals and
fish will be able to ‘keep up’; if it is high, only the most adaptable species-those that can
survive in the widest range of ecological niches-are likely to survive. Species adapted to only
a narrow range of conditions or food sources will find adaptation much more difficult. Take
tuatara, for instance. Their sex is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are
incubated in warm (currently above 22 °C) condition become predominately male – and now
males already outnumber females by nearly two to one in some island refuges. In the
mountains, as the permanent snow line moves upwards, the tolerance zones of some alpine
plants and animals may simply disappear. It should also be remembered that global warming
is just that – a global phenomenon. ‘New Zealand’s own greenhouse emissions are tiny –
around 0.5% of the global total. Even if New Zealanders were to achieve the government’s
target of carbon neutrality, this would have no discernable impact on global climate change.

The changes that global warming is going to bring to New Zealand during the 21st century
are going to be significant, but where the country is likely to be most vulnerable is with
respect to climate change elsewhere. New Zealand may warm more slowly than most places,
but if its major export markets undergo damaging change, the economic impact will be
severe.
Questions 27-32
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write your answers in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.

27 What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

A The air condition in New Zealand will maintain a high quality because of the ocean
B The Southern Ocean will remain at a constant strength
C The continents will warm more than the point
D New Zealand will not warm as much as other countries in the next century because it is
surrounded by sea.

28 What does the writer say about New Zealand’s variable weather?

A Temperature changes of 1°C will not be seem important in future

B Variable weather will continue, unchanged by global warming
C There was an unusually small amount of variation in 2006-2007
D Summer temperatures will vary but winter ones will be consistent

29 What is the predicted impact of conditions in the ocean to the south of New Zealand?

A New Zealand will be more affected by floods and droughts

B Antarctica will not be adversely affected by warming.
C The band of west winds will move further to the south.
D The usual west wind will no longer be reliable

30 The writer mentions ‘moisture deficit’ to show?

A The droughts will be shorter but more severe

B How the growing season will become longer.
C How growing conditions will deteriorate
D That farmers should alter the make-up of soils

31 What are the implications of global warming for New Zealand’s

A Skiing may move to lower the altitude in future.

B The ski season will be later in the year than at present.
C The northern ski field will have to move to the south
D Warming may provide more snow for some ski locations
32 The writer refers to NIWA’s latest studies in the 3rd paragraph to show

A how a particular place could be affected by warming

B that the warming trend has been intensifying since 1978
C that freezing levels will rise throughout the century
D how the growth of glaciers is likely to cause damage
Questions 33-35
Complete the summary below.
Choose a letter from the box below for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 33-35 on your answer sheet.

Rising sea levels

The extent of future sea level rises around New Zealand is uncertain and may be determined in
the 33…………… . Another variable is sudden rises in sea level caused by bad weather. Higher
sea levels can lead to reduced 34……………. and result in changes to the shape of
35……………..

A agriculture production B tropical waters C tidal waves

D polar regions E global warming F coastal land
G high tides

Questions 36-40
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement is true

NO if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

36 The natural world is less responsive to challenges than humans.

37 The agricultural sector is being too conservative and resistant to innovation.
38 The global warming is slow; it will affect different regions in different ways.
39 The tuatara is vulnerable to changes in climate conditions.
40 New Zealand must reduce carbon emission if global warming is to be slowed.
PASSAGE 2
Developmental Tasks of Normal Adolescence

Some years ago, Professor Robert Havighurst of the University of Chicago, USA,
proposed that stages in human development can best be thought of in terms of the
developmental ‘tasks’ that are part of the normal transition. He identified ten
developmental tasks associated with the adolescent transition. Each of the Havighurst
tasks can also be seen as elements of the overall sense of self that adolescents carry
with them as they move towards and into young adulthood. Adolescents do not progress
through these multiple developmental tasks separately; at any given time they may be
dealing with several.

The adolescent must adjust to a new physical sense of self. At no other time since birth
does an individual undergo such profound physical changes as during early
adolescence. Puberty is marked by sudden rapid growth in height and weight. Also, the
young person experiences the emergence and accentuation of those physical traits that
make the person a boy or a girl. The young person looks less like a child and more like
a physically mature adult. The effect of this rapid change is that mid-adolescents are
body-conscious, and their concerns are directed towards their opposite-sexed peers.

The adolescent must adjust to new intellectual abilities. In addition to a sudden spurt in
physical growth, adolescents experience a sudden increase in their ability to think about
their world. As a normal part of maturity, they are able to think more things. However,
they are also able to conceive of their world with awareness. Before adolescence,
children's thinking is dominated by a concrete example for any problem that they solve;
their thinking is constrained to what is real and physical. During adolescence, young
people begin to recognise and understand abstractions. The growth in ability to deal
with abstractions accelerates during the middle stages of adolescence.

The adolescent must adjust to increased cognitive demands at school. Adults see high
school in part as a place where adolescents prepare for adult roles and responsibilities
and in part as preparatory for further education. School curricula are frequently
dominated by the inclusion of more abstract, demanding material, regardless of whether
the adolescents have achieved formal thought. Since not all adolescents make the
intellectual transition at the same rate, demands for abstract thinking prior to the
achievement of that ability may be frustrating.

The adolescent must adopt a personal value system. During adolescence, as teens
develop increasingly complex knowledge systems, they also adopt an integrated set of
values and morals. During the early stages of moral development, parents provide their
child with a structured set of rules of what is right and wrong, what is acceptable and
unacceptable. Eventually the adolescent must assess the parent's values as they come
into conflict with values expressed by peers and other segments of society. To reconcile
differences, the adolescent restructures those beliefs into a personal ideology.
The adolescent must develop expanded verbal skills to accommodate more complex
concepts and tasks. Their limited language of childhood is no longer adequate. As their
conceptual development may outstrip their verbal development, adolescents may
appear less competent than they really are.

The adolescent must establish adult vocational goals. As part of the process of
establishing a personal identity, the adolescent must also begin the process of focusing
on the question, 'What do you plan to be when you grow up?1 Mid-adolescents must
identify, at least at a preliminary level, what their adult vocational goals are and how
they intend to achieve them.

The adolescent must develop a personal sense of identity. Prior to adolescence, one's
identity is an extension of one's parents' identity. During the early adolescent years a
young person begins to recognise their uniqueness and to establish themselves as
separate individuals, independent of their parents. As such, one must reconsider the
answer to the question, ‘what does it mean to be me?' or "who am l?"

The adolescent must establish emotional and psychological independence from his or
her parents, childhood is marked by strong dependence on one's parents. Adolescents
may yearn to keep that safe, secure, supportive, dependent relationship. Yet, to be an
adult implies a sense of independence, of autonomy, of being one's own person. In an
attempt to assert their need for independence and individuality, adolescents may
respond with what appears to be hostility and lack of cooperation.

The adolescent must develop stable and productive peer relationships. Although peer
interaction is not unique to adolescence, it seems to hit a peak of importance during
early adolescence. Certainly by late adolescence or early adulthood the need for peer
approval has diminished. This degree to which an adolescent is able to make friends
and have an accepting peer group, though, is a major indicator of how well the
adolescent will adjust in other areas of social and psychological development. Early
adolescence is also a period of intense conformity to peers.” Fitting in' not being
different, and being accepted seem somehow pressing to this age group. The worst
possibility, from the view of the young teen, is to be seen by peers as different.

The adolescent must develop increased impulse control and behavioural maturity. In
their shift to adulthood, most young people engage in one or more behaviours that place
them at physical, social, or educational risk. Risky behaviours are sufficiently pervasive
among adolescents to suggest that risk-taking may be a normal developmental process
of middle adolescence. Gradually adolescents develop a set of behavioural self-controls
through which they assess which behaviours are acceptable and adult-like.
Questions 14-19
Classify the following developments as characterising

A early adolescence
B middle adolescence
C late adolescence

Write the correct letter, A, B or C, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet

14 becoming interested in people of the other gender

15 beginning to choose a future career
16 needing to feel the same as one's friends
17 beginning to form a self-image separate from the family context
18 having less need for the good opinion of friends
19 exposing oneself to dangers

Questions 20-23
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-E, below.
Write the correct letter, A-E in boxes 21-23 on your answer sheet.

20 Havighurst proposed a set of tasks which

21 A course of study at high school
22 The speed of development of thinking ability during adolescence
23 Adolescence is a time when the young person

A reflects an adolescent's emerging self-perception.

B cannot solve a problem without an example.
C is designed to become more challenging.
D formulates a personal set of moral beliefs and values.
E varies according to the individual.

Questions 24-26
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 24-26 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

24 Most pre-adolescent children are capable of abstract thought.

25 Adolescents ‘limited skills with words may give a false impression of their ability.
26 Whether or not an adolescent is accepted by their age-group is an important clue to
other aspects of their social adjustment.
PASSAGE 3

The fluoridation controversy

The long-standing debate about whether to fluoridate our drinking water continues
Fluoridation is the addition of fluorine to public water supplies with the aim of reducing
tooth decay. The fluorine, when mixed with water, becomes fluoride and the desired
concentration of fluoride in public water is approximately one part per million, depending
on the regional temperature and hence the amount of water people are likely to drink.
Many studies, such as those by McClure in 1970 through to Burt in 1983, have shown
that when children drink fluoridated water, their average rate of tooth decay seems
greatly reduced. A typical figure claimed is 50 percent reduction. This apparently
enormous benefit for children's teeth is the major argument in favor of fluoridation.

Three main grounds for opposition to fluoridation have been expressed. First,
opponents claim the benefits are exaggerated or not established. Second, there are
claims of health risks to pans of the population, for example, allergic reactions. It is also
accepted that high levels of fluoride can cause discoloration of otherwise healthy teeth.
Proponents do not consider this to be a problem in such small concentrations, whereas
opponents disagree - especially because some people drink more water and obtain
much more than the standard 1 milligram of fluoride per day. Third, fluoridation is
thought to be an infringement on individual rights because it is compulsory medication
of all members of a community.

An understanding of the fluoridation issue has important implications. If, according to

the experts, fluoridation is unquestionably a beneficial and non-hazardous measure,
then the wisdom of allowing the public to vote on, and reject it must be questioned.

Almost all studies that have been done have assumed that the scientific aspects of the
controversy are unproblematic, and they have excluded science from sociological
examination. The traditional view is that science is a special kind of knowledge, which is
established through scientific methods and objectively applied by members of a
scientific community. However, in recent years there has been a major challenge to this
picture by a sociology of science that shows how scientific knowledge is socially
negotiated, and inevitably linked to the values of the relevant parties, both scientists and
nonscientists. These challengers do not see scientific knowledge as exempt from social
inquiry.

Kuhn (1970) argued that scientific knowledge does not always develop as an orderly
process, but is characterized by periodic revolutions. in which the methods of study and
the assessment criteria change in a fragmented way. According to Kuhn, the shift from
one scientific way of thinking to another is not made solely on the basis of clear rules of
formal scientific practice, but can include social factors, though Kuhn has never
developed a full analysis of what these might be. Collins (1975) took this concept further
when he asserted that the outcome of experiments was not something whose meaning
could be immediately comprehended, but rather something for interpretation, discussion
between scientists, and reinterpretation in the light of other experiments.
One interpretation of this analysis of science is that traditional distinctions between facts
and theories, and between scientific knowledge and values, can no longer be justified.
Because social processes are involved at all stages of the creation, evaluation, and
establishing of scientific knowledge, social values may also be involved.

In the same way as many scientists who study fluoridation have overlooked social
values, sociologists have also downplayed an important part of the debate by ignoring
the number of eminent scientists who have questioned aspects of fluoridation. An
example is the study by Sutton in 1960, which analyzed the classic North American
studies of the effect of fluoridation on tooth decay, and found that each showed
significant methodological shortcomings. Sutton's detailed study throws doubt as to the
extent of reductions in tooth decay from fluoridation. Yet Sutton's book is not cited in a
single analysis of the fluoridation issue by any sociologist. In a situation of some
scientific uncertainty, differences in values are highlighted. A supporter of fluoridation
might argue. The evidence for the benefits of fluoridation is quite substantial, while the
evidence for harm is limited and dubious. I think the likely benefits outweigh the possible
dangers; hence I support fluoridation because it is the cheapest and easiest way to
make sure every child reaps the benefits. An opponent might argue, 'Though the
evidence for the benefits of fluoridation is substantial, there is some doubt about it.
Since fluoridation is not necessary for good teeth, we should forego the benefits if there
is some slight chance of harm. Some scientists claim that a small percentage of the
population could be harmed by fluoride. Therefore, I oppose fluoridation of water
supplies and favor the voluntary use of fluoride tablets by those who want to take them.'

Both arguments consider the scientific evidence concerning fluoridation, but differ in
their assessments of the social benefits and costs. This difference is not between
rationality and irrationality but is a legitimate difference in values, for example, the
positive value placed on good teeth, the negative value placed on possible health risks,
and the social benefits or costs of compulsory or voluntary intake of fluorides.

From the sociological point of view, opposition to fluoridation is not necessarily irrational.
Rather, claims to rationality and to scientific authority are better seen as part of a
strategy to promote fluoridation than as incontrovertible statements of fact. Second,
social values are likely to be bound up in any decision about fluoridation, so this is not
an issue on which declarations by scientific experts ought to be considered the final
word.
Questions 27-31
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D
Write the correct letter in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet

27 The optimum amount of fluorine in fluoridated water is calculated partly according to

A how hot the area is.
B how warm the water is.
C how many dental problems there are in the community.
D how much fluorine the community chooses to have in its water.

28 One reason given by the writer for opposing fluoridation is that

A it may contribute to tooth decay
B it will be unacceptably expensive for the public.
C obligatory fluoridation takes away personal freedom.
D excessive fluoride could be added to the water by mistake.

29 The writer mentions Kuhn in order to

A provide a contrast with the view of Collins.
B support the rational nature of scientific inquiry.
C demonstrate that Kuhn did not argue his case adequately.
D show that science can be influenced by non-scientific considerations

30 What did Sutton's research discover about earlier studies in North America?
A There were failings in the way they were carried out.
B The scientists involved had achieved unique results.
C Proponents of fluoridation had not understood its long-term effects.
D Fluoridation had a greater effect on tooth decay than previously believed.

31 In the last paragraph, what does the writer say about scientists?
A They should reveal their true motivations.
B They should not decide the fluoridation policy.
C They are solely concerned with scientific truths.
D They cannot reach agreement on the fluoridation issue.

Questions 32-35
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage?
In boxes 32-35 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

32 Scientific knowledge should be kept separate from social values.

33 Many sociologists have disregarded the doubts that some scientists have
concerning fluoridation.
34 Sutton's findings have been given insufficient attention by scientists outside of
North America.
35 There are valid arguments on both sides of the fluoridation debate.

Questions 36-40
Complete each sentence with the correct ending. A-G. below. Write the correct letter. A-
G, in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.

36 The traditional view of science is that

37 A sociological view of science argues that
38 Collins is of the opinion that
39 The writer suggests that a supporter of fluoridation may conclude that
40 The writer suggests that an opponent of fluoridation may conclude that

A the results of scientific research are not always understood at first

B if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
C people should be able to choose whether they want fluoride.
D there is insufficient proof to support a cautious approach.
E the serious damage fluoride causes far outweighs any positive effects.
F children are not the only ones who benefit from fluoridation.
G scientific knowledge is affected by the beliefs of everyone concerned.