IP 350

READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-16, which are based on Reading
Passage 1 below.

The inventor of the periodic table – Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev

Mendeleev’s wish – to find a better way of

organizing chemistry – led to the creation of his
periodic table, one of the most iconic symbols in
science.

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was born on February 8, 1834 in Verkhnie Aremzyani, in

the Russian province of Siberia. His father, a graduate of Saint Petersburg's Main
Pedagogical Institute, died when Mendeleev was just 13. At age 16, Mendeleev
relocated to Saint Petersburg, which was then Russia's capital city. He won a place at
his father's old college, where he initially trained as a teacher, in part because the
director of the Institute had known his father. However, he went on to achieve worldwide
fame as a chemist.
By the time he was 20, Mendeleev was already having research papers published.
However, he was troubled with various health issues and was often so ill with
tuberculosis that he was forced to work from his bed. His uncontrollable temper made
him unpopular with some of the staff and his classmates, but he still graduated as the
top student in his year. In 1855, he got a job in Simferopol, Crimea, but soon returned to
Saint Petersburg, where he worked towards a Master's degree in chemistry. He gained
his Master's in 1856.
A few years later, he was given the opportunity to go to western Europe to pursue
chemical enquiry. He spent most of 1859 and 1860 in Heidelberg, Germany. Here he
had the good fortune to work briefly with renowned German chemist Robert Bunsen at
Heidelberg University, before setting up a laboratory in his own apartment.
In 1860, Mendeleev attended the first ever international chemistry conference, held in
Karlsruhe, Germany. Much of the event was spent discussing the need to standardize
chemistry, and this played a key role in Mendeleev's eventual development of his
periodic table of the elements.
By the time he returned to Saint Petersburg in 1861, this time to work at the Technical
Institute, Mendeleev had become even more passionate about chemistry. He was
concerned that Russia was trailing behind Germany in this field. He thought improved
Russian-language chemistry textbooks were necessary, and was determined to do
something about it. In just 61 days, the 27-year-old chemist wrote his 500-page Organic
Chemistry, which put him at the forefront of Russian chemical education.
Mendeleev was a charismatic lecturer and held a number of academic positions until, in
1867, aged just 33, he was awarded the Chair of General Chemistry at the University of
Saint Petersburg. In this prestigious position he continued pushing to improve chemistry
in Russia, publishing The Principles of Chemistry in 1869. The popularity of this work in
Russia and elsewhere led to the publication of translations three languages: English,
French and German.
At this time, chemistry was a patchwork of observations and discoveries. Mendeleev
was certain that better, more fundamental principles could be found. This was his
mindset when, in 1869, he began writing a second volume of his book The Principles of
Chemistry. At the heart of chemistry were hydrogen, oxygen and all its other elements.
What, wondered Mendeleev, could they reveal if he could find some way of organizing
them logically?
He wrote the names of the 65 known-elements on cards - one element on each card -
and then wrote the fundamental properties of each element, including atomic weight, on
its card. He saw that atomic weight was important in some way - the behavior of the
elements seemed to repeat as their atomic weights increased - but he could not see the
pattern. Convinced that he was close to making a significant discovery, Mendeleev
moved the cards about for hours until finally he fell asleep at his desk. When he awoke,
he found that his subconscious mind had done his work for him. He now knew the
pattern the elements fell into. He later wrote, ‘In a dream I saw a table where all the
elements fell into place as required. Awakening, I immediately wrote it down on a piece
of paper.’
Two weeks later, he published a paper entitled The Relation between the Properties
and Atomic Weights of the Elements. The-periodic table had been released to the
scientific world. As with many scientific discoveries, there is a time when a concept
becomes ripe for discovery, and this was the case in 1869 with the periodic table.
Lothar Meyer, for example, had proposed a rough periodic table in 1864 and by 1868
had devised one that was very similar to Mendeleev's, but he did not publish it until
1870.
Mendeleev was successful because he not only showed how the elements could be
organized, but he used his periodic table to predict the existence of eight new elements
and also to propose that some of the elements, whose behavior did not agree with what
he predicted, must have had their atomic weights measured incorrectly. It turned out
that chemists had measured some atomic weights incorrectly. Mendeleev was right.
Scientists everywhere started to pay attention to his periodic table. And on the discovery
of new elements, as per his prediction, Mendeleev's fame and scientific reputation were
further enhanced.
In 1905, the British Royal Society gave him its highest honor, the Copley Medal, for his
achievements, and in the same year he was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences. Element 101 is named Mendelevium in his honor.
Dmitri Mendeleev died in Saint Petersburg, on February 2, 1907.

Questions 1 – 8
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
Mendeleev’s early life:
• he studied to become a 1 …………. in St Petersburg
• he often had to work in bed when he was suffering from 2 ………….
Mendeleev’s career:
• went to a 3 …………. in 1860, which inspired his work on the periodic table
 • 1861 – he wrote Organic Chemistry, having identified a need for better 4
…………. in Russian
• several 5 …………. of The Principiles of Chemistry were published
Mendeleev’s work on the periodic table:
• he used cards to make a note of the atomic weight and other 6 …………. of the
elements
• when asleep, he subconciously discovered a 7 …………. which organised the
elements in a table
• 1869 – Mendeleev’s periodic table was made public
• Mendeleev’s reputation grew after he made 8 …………. about further elements

Questions 9 – 16
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 9-16 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
9 Dmitri Mendeleev was the first member of his family to receive a college education.
10 While he was studying in Saint Petersburg, Mendeleev often failed to control his
anger.
11 During his time at Heidelberg University, Mendeleev published a paper with Robert
Bunsen.
12 Mendeleev worried that Germany was more successful than Russia in the field of
chemistry.
13 It took Mendeleev less than a year to write the second volume of his book The
Principles of Chemistry.
14 Mendeleev was the first scientist to suggest the organisation of the element in a
table.
15 Mendeleev’s paper on the periodic table received a positive reception from the
scientific community.
16 In his lifetime, Mendeleev failed to receive any awards for his work in chemistry.
DAY 6
READING PASSAGE 3
Answer Questions 30-46, which are based on Reading Passage 3 on pages 10 and 11.

The Work of Caravaggio

A Every once in a while, a controversy takes the art world by storm. One such example is
the case of a painting of a group of three men playing cards, which may or may not be by
the Italian painter Caravaggio (1571 to 1610) and which has been at the centre of a case at
the High Court in London. The painting was owned by one Mr Lancelot William
Thwaytes.who, back in 2006, sold the painting through the London auction house
Sotheby's for £42,000 The painting was bought on behalf of the art collector and
Caravaggio expert Sir Denis Mahon. After carrying out extensive research into and
restoration of the painting, Sir Denis announced that the painting was in fact an original
Caravaggio. It has since been valued at £10 million. Mr Thwaytes proceded to sue the
auctioneers for professional negligence arguing that they should have consulted more
experts when assessing the painting, and advised him of its potential value. Had they done
so, he insists, he could have sold the painting for millions,
B Authenticating a work of art is often difficult, especially when it is, as in this case, several
hundred years old, and at least one tool for the expert, namely records of all prior owners
are limited or non-existent. In some cases, these records can be traced right back to the
artist himself, but this is rare. Most judges, at least in the English-speaking world, are
reluctant to rule on whether an artwork should or should not be attributed 1 to a particular
artist, as this question lies outside their field of expertise.
C In civil legal cases, when a decision is challenged in court, a judge must decide if the
experts are right or wrong. The standard of proof is ‘more likely than not', or ‘on the
balance of probabilities’. And yet, in the art world, the degree of proof required is more
similar to that needed in criminal trials, which require ‘proof beyond all reasonable doubt’.
No one would pay full price for a painting that was more-likely-than-not, on-the-balance-of-
probabilities, by the legendary artist Picasso.
D An additional difficulty in attributing a work to a particular artist arises when the artist had
a studio, where pupils may have been engaged to make copies of works by the master
himself. This was the case with artists such as Guido Rent, but not with Caravaggio, Some
artists are known to have made copies, or ‘autograph replicas’ of their own works. The
majority of Caravaggio scholars are not of the opinion that Caravaggio himself painted
copies of his own works. However, Sir Denis Mahon, the new owner claimed that this was
precisely what Caravaggio had done in this case, and that this was an autograph replica of
the Caravaggio painting The Cardsharps2, which is on display in the Kimbell Art Museum,
in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, and depicts a very similar scene.
E Sotheby's contends that any resemblances between The Cardsharps and the painting it
sold on behalf of Mr Thwaytes are insufficient to attribute the latter as genuine Caravaggio It
presented to the court a record of about 30 versions of the card game scene which had
changed hands at auction, none of which were described as being by Caravaggio. An
image of men cheating at cards was, they argued, popular subject matter at the time, and by
no means unique to one artist.
F Unsurprisingly, auction houses such as Sotheby's go to great lengths not to misrepresent
what is known about a painting's authorship when their catalogue. A set of phrases are
employed to describe the degree of certainty as to the identity of the artist, such as
'Attributed to Giovanni Bellini’, which means that the auctioneers consider that the work is
probably by Bellini, but that they cannot be absolutely positive. ‘Circle of Giovanni Bellini’
would indicate that, in the considered opinion of Sotheby's experts, the work in question
was produced by someone closely associated with Bellini, but almost certainly not by
Bellini himself, 'After Giovanni Bellini' would mean that the work is considered to be a copy
of a Bellini painting. In this case, Sotheby's attributed the work being sold by Mr Thwaytes
to a ‘follower’ (and that does not necessarily mean someone who was a pupil) of
Caravaggio.
G The court heard much discussion over the degree of artistic skill shown in the painting.
The judge drew the conclusion that the quality was not up to that of the rest of the artist's
known body of work, and as such ultimately ruled against Mr Thwaytes, who now faces
substantial costs, but who still has the right to appeal, and may yet do so. While
acknowledging many remarkable features of the picture, the judge instinctively felt that
something was not quite right, and that Sotheby's were justified in being reluctant to label
the painting a Caravaggio. She made a comparison with The Cardsharps, which is known
to be a genuine Caravaggio and pointed out how a feather in that picture looked lifelike,
soft and fluffy, whereas the one in the painting in question was far less convincing and
three-dimensional.
H Mr Thwaytes's legal team also put forward the case that changes had been made to the
picture. It can be seen that the artist had repainted a ribbon which hangs from the elbow of
one of the card players, making it shorter than it had been before. This, they argued, would
not have been necessary had someone simply been producing a duplicate from the original
painting. Yet the judge did not accept that this suggested evidence of a creative mind at
work rather than a copyist, or that this repainting should have alerted Sotheby's to any
need to investigate further.
1attribute = to say or believe that an artwork is the work of a particular person
2cardsharp = a person who cheats at card games

Questions 30-37

Reading Passage 3 has six paragraphs, A-H.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 30-37 on your answer sheet

NB You may use any letter more than once.

30 accusations again Sotheby's

31 the result of Mr Thwaytes's court case

32 a widespread belief about Caravaggio's practice

33 an area in which legal professionals have limited knowledge

34 an explanation of the way a painting is credited to a certain artist affects its value

35 aanguage used to convey any doubts about who a painting is attributed to

36 whether conclusions can be drawn from changes which were made to Mr

Thwaytes's painting

37 evidence of sales of painting by other artists which are similar to Caravaggio's work

Questions 38 and 39

Which TWO of these beliefs are expressed by the writer?

A It is possible that Mr Thwaytes might not accept the court's verdict.

B The painting which belonged to Mr Thwates is probably a genuine Caravaggio

C When Sir Dennis Mahon was purchasing the painting, he already knew it was by
Caravaggio

D Judges frequently make decisions about whether paintings are by particular known
artists

E Greater certainty is required when attributing work to artists than would be needed in
other civil cases

Questions 40-41

Complete the summary below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

It can be very difficult who an old painting is by, especially when there is little information
as to its previous 40 …………………., or when the artist worked in a 41
…………………………
It is important that vendors accurately state in their 42 …………………… what is or isn’t
known about who the artist was.
Sotheby’s said that Mr Thwaytes’s picture was by a 43 …………………. of Caravaggio.
The judge believed that the 44 …………………. of Mr Thwayte’s painting was not that
which would be expected of Caravaggio.
The judge drew particular attention to the way a 45 ……………………. had been portrayed
in the picture and argued that Caravaggio could and would have painted it differently.

Question 46

What would be the best title for the article?

A Sotheby's wins case over 'Caravaggio'

B Caravaggio forgery discovered by art collector

C Many great artworks are actually fakes, claims expert

D Judge clarifies misunderstood law on attribution of artworks