Passage

We have given the Hidden Histories of Exploration exhibition reading

answers with location. Go through the given passage carefully and answer the
questions.

The Hidden Histories of Exploration Exhibition

A. We have all heard tales of lone, heroic explorers, but what about the local
individuals who guided and protected European explorers in many different parts
of the globe? Or the go-betweens – including interpreters and traders – who
translated the needs and demands of explorers into a language that locals could
understand? Such questions have received surprisingly little attention in
standard histories, where European explorers are usually the heroes, sometimes
the villains. The Hidden Histories of Exploration exhibition at Britain’s Royal
Geographical Society in London sets out to present an alternative view, in which
exploration is a fundamentally collective experience of work, involving many
different people. Many of the most famous examples of explorers said to have
been ‘lone travelers’ – say, Mungo Park or David Livingstone in Africa – were
anything but ‘alone’ on their travels. They depended on local support of various
kinds – for food, shelter, protection, information, guidance, and solace – as well
as on other resources from elsewhere.
B. The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) seeks to record this story in its Hidden
Histories project, using its astonishingly rich collections. The storage of
geographical information was one of the main rationales for the foundation of the
RGS in 1830, and the Society’s collections now contain more than two million
individual items, including books, manuscripts, maps, photographs art-works,
artifacts, and film – a rich storehouse of material reflecting the wide geographical
extent of British interest across the globe. In addition to their remarkable scope
and range, these collections contain a striking visual record of exploration: the
impulse to collect the world is reflected in a large and diverse image archive. For
the researcher, this archive can yield many surprises: materials gathered for one
purpose – say, maps relating to an international boundary dispute or
photographs taken on a scientific expedition – may today be put to quite
different uses.
C. In their published narratives, European explorers rarely portrayed themselves as
vulnerable or dependent on others, despite the fact that without this support
 they were quite literally lost. Archival research confirms that Europeans were not
merely dependent on the work of porters soldiers translators, cooks, pilots,
guides, hunters, and collectors: they also relied on local expertise. Such
assistance was essential in identifying potential dangers of poisonous species,
unpredictable rivers, and uncharted territories – which could mean the difference
between life and death. The assistants themselves were usually in a strong
bargaining position. In the Amazon, for example, access to entire regions would
depend on the willingness of local crew members and other assistants to enter
areas inhabited by relatively powerful Amerindian groups. In an account of his
journey across South America published in 1836, William Smyth thus complained
of frequent desertion by his helpers: without them, it was impossible to get on.
D. Those providing local support and information to explorers were themselves
often not ‘locals’. For example, the history of African exploration in the
nineteenth century is dominated by the use of Zanzibar as a recruiting station for
porters, soldiers, and guides who would then travel thousands of miles across
the continent. In some accounts, the leading African members of expedition
parties – the ‘officers’ or ‘foremen’ – are identified, and their portraits are
published alongside those of European explorers.
E. The information provided by locals and intermediaries was of potential
importance to geographical science. How was this evidence judged? The formal
procedures of scientific evaluation provided one framework. Alongside these
were more ‘common sense’ notions of veracity and reliability, religiously inspired
judgments about the authenticity of testimony, and the routine procedures for
cross-checking empirical observations developed in many professions.
F. Given explorers’ need for local information and support, it was in their interests
to develop effective working partnerships with knowledgeable intermediaries
who could act as brokers in their dealings with local inhabitants. Many of these
people acquired far more experience in exploration than most Europeans could
hope to attain. Some managed large groups of men and women, piloted the
explorers’ river craft, or undertook mapping work. The tradition was continued
with the Everest expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s, which regularly employed
the Tibetan interpreter Karma Paul. In Europe, exploration was increasingly
thought of as a career; the same might be said of the non-Europeans on whom
their expeditions depended.
G. These individuals often forged close working relationships with European
explorers. Such partnerships depended on mutual respect, though they were not
always easy or intimate, as is particularly clear from the history of the Everest
expeditions depicted in the Hidden Histories exhibition. The entire back wall is
 covered by an enlarged version of a single sheet of photographs of Sherpas
taken during the 1936 Everest expedition. The document is a powerful reminder
of the manpower on which European mountaineering expeditions depended, and
also of the importance of local knowledge and assistance. Transformed from
archive to wall display, it tells a powerful story through the medium of individual
portraits – including Karma Paul, a veteran of previous expeditions, and the
young Tensing Norgay, 17 years before his successful 1953 ascent. This was a
highly charged and transitional moment as the contribution of the Sherpas,
depicted here with identity tags around their necks, was beginning to be much
more widely recognized. These touching portraits encourage us to see them as
agents rather than simply colonial subjects or paid employees. Here is a living
history, which looks beyond what we already know about exploration: a larger
history in which we come to recognize the contribution of everyone involved.

Questions

Questions 1-7

 Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading
Passage?
 In boxes 1-7 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

1. The Hidden Histories of Exploration exhibition aims to show the wide range of
people involved in expeditions.
2. The common belief about how Park and Livingstone traveled is accurate.
3. The RGS has organized a number of exhibitions since it was founded.
4. Some of the records in the RGS archives are more useful than others.
5. Materials owned by the RGS can be used in ways that were not originally
intended.
6. In their publications, European explorers often describe their dependence on
their helpers.
7. Local helpers refused to accompany William Smyth during parts of his journey.

Questions 8-13
  Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the
following information?

8. Reference to the distances that some non-European helpers traveled

9. Description of a wide range of different types of documents
10. Belief about the effect of an exhibition on people seeing it
11. Examples of risks explorers might have been unaware of without local help
12. Reference to various approaches to assessing data from local helpers
13. Reference to people whose long-term occupation was to organize local
assistance for European explorers

Read the following passage and answer the questions. Fatal attraction reading
answers with location at end of the section. Examine your answers to find and
correct any mistakes.

Fatal Attraction

During the mid-nineteenth century, Charles Darwin was the first to notice a flesh-
eating plant. Biologists studying cells and DNA using 21st-century techniques are
beginning to understand how these plants seek, eat, and digest, as well as how
such strange adaptations evolved.

A. The venus flytrap plant’s leaves are covered in hairs. Their main function is to
trigger a tiny electric charge, which travels down tunnels in the leaf and opens
up pores in the leaf’s cell membranes. This process takes place when an insect
brushes against them. The leaf rapidly flips in the shape from convex to concave,
like a soft lens as water surges from the cells on the inside of the leaf to those on
the outside. They snap together as the leaves flip, and trap the insect using its
sharp-toothed jaws.
B. The setting of an underwater trap is a sophisticated method for bladderwort. It
functions similarly to a tiny bag-like bladder, pumping water out while creating a
vacuum within. When small creatures swim by, they bend their hairs on the
bladder, causing a flap to open. The low pressure draws in water, dragging the
animal along with it. The door swings shut again in one five-hundredth of a
second. Meanwhile, the Drosera sundew has a thin, sweet liquid oozing from its
leaves that attracts insects and then holds them fast before the leaves snap
shut. Pitcher plants employ yet another strategy to entrap their prey, growing
long tube-shaped leaves. Raffles pitcher plant, native to Borneo's jungles,
produces nectar that both attracts insects and forms a slick surface on which
they cannot get a grip. Insects that land on the pitcher's rim slide on the liquid
and fall in.
C. The majority of carnivorous plants secrete enzymes in order to penetrate the
hard exoskeleton of insects and absorb nutrients from within their prey.
However, the purple pitcher plant, which lives in North American sides and
infertile study soils, relies on other organisms to process its food. It supports an
intricate food web of mosquito larvae, midges, and bacteria, many of which can
only survive in this one-of-a-kind environment. The prey that falls into the pitcher
is shredded by these animals, and the smaller organisms feed on the debris.
Finally, the plant absorbs the nutrients that have been released.
D. Due to the fact that these plants thrive on being carnivorous, the benefits of
consuming flesh are not what you might assume. Meat-eating animals, such as
humans, utilise the carbon found in meat's protein and fat to create muscle and
store energy. In order to manufacture light-harvesting enzymes, carnivorous
plants obtain nitrogen, phosphorus, and other essential elements from their
prey. In other words, eating animals enables carnivorous plants to carry out
photosynthesis, i.e., develop by directly absorbing energy from the sun.
E. In fact, carnivorous plants are extremely inefficient at converting sunlight into
tissue. This is due to the amount of energy used to create the equipment used to
catch animals, enzymes, pumps, and so on. A pitcher or a flytrap cannot do
much photosynthesis because, unlike plants with ordinary leaves, they lack flat
solar panels that can absorb a lot of sunlight. However, there are some
circumstances in which the advantages of being carnivorous outweigh the
disadvantages. Bog soil, for example, contains little nitrogen and phosphorus,
giving carnivorous plants an advantage over plants that obtain these nutrients
through more traditional means. Bogs are also flooded with sunlight, allowing
even the most inefficient carnivorous plant to photosynthesise enough light to
survive.
F. Evolution has made this trade-off numerous times. Certain scientists claim that
when the DNA of carnivorous plants and other species is compared, they evolved
independently on at least three separate occasions. Certain carnivorous plants
appear to be the same but are only distantly related. The tropical genus
Nepenthes and the North American genus Sarracenia are two types of pitcher
plants that surprisingly evolved from different ancestors, despite the fact that
both have deep pitcher-shaped leaves and use the same strategy for prey
capture.
G. Scientists can see the evolution of complex carnivorous plants from simpler ones
in a variety of cases. Venus flytraps, for example, are related to Portuguese
sundews, which catch prey passively through 'flypaper' glands on their stems.
They are related to Drosera sundews, which can also curl their leaves over their
prey. The Venus flytrap appears to have evolved a more complex version of this
type of trap, complete with jaw-like leaves.
H. Unfortunately, the adaptations that allow carnivorous plants to thrive in arid
environments also make them exceptionally sensitive. Agricultural runoff and
pollution from power plants are increasing nitrogen levels in many North
American bogs. Carnivorous plants are so finely tuned to low levels of nitrogen
that the extra fertiliser overloads their systems, causing them to burn out and
die.
I. Humans endanger carnivorous plants in other ways as well. Botanists are
keeping the location of some rare species hidden because the black market
trade in exotic carnivorous plants is so active. Even if poaching of carnivorous
plants is stopped, they will continue to face other threats. The increased
suppression of fires in North Carolina's savannah is allowing other plants to grow
too quickly and outcompete the flytraps in their native environment. Perhaps this
is good news for flies. But it's a loss for others who enjoy the sheer inventiveness
of evolution, as Darwin did.

Fatal Attraction Reading Questions

Questions 14-17
Look at the following statements (Questions 14-17) and the list of plants. Match
each statement with the correct plant, A, B, C, D OR E. write the correct letter A,
B, C, D, or E in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.
14. It uses other creatures to help it digest insects.
15. It produces a slippery substance to make insects fall inside it.
16. It creates an empty space into which insects are stuck.
17. It produces a sticky substance which traps insects on its surface.

List of plants

A Venus flytrap
B bladderwort
C Drosera sundew
D Raffles pitcher plant
E purple pitcher plant

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Questions 18-21
Reading passage 2 has nine paragraphs, A-I.
Which paragraph contains the following information?

18. A disadvantage of some carnivorous plants with leaf shapes is mentioned.

19. An example of a conservation effort for carnivorous plants.
20. The unexpected origin of some carnivorous plant information.
21. In the form of an example, changes in the environment shorten the life
cycles of carnivorous plants.

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Questions 22-26
Complete the notes below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the
passage for each answer.

How a Venus flytrap traps an insect

A plant leaf is touched by an insect(22)___________.

small(23)_____________passes through leaf
(24)_____________ in the cell membrane open.
 Outside leaf cells are filled with (25)___________.
The leaves change into a (26)________________ shape and snap nut.

IELTS Reading Passage - Want to be friends

Want To Be Friends

A. For hundreds of millions of individuals throughout the globe, internet networking

has become an integral part of our everyday lives. However, a decades-old
observation from a study of conventional social networks clearly explains one of
the most crucial characteristics of modern internet networking. Sociologist Mark
Granovetter proved in 1973 that the weak connections in our social network
disproportionately affect our behaviour and decisions. According to Granovetter's
research findings, many large numbers of individuals get employment through
the suggestions or advice of a weak connection. Our weak-tie connections have
exploded through online social networking today. Jennifer Golbeck of the
University of Maryland says, ‘You couldn't keep all of those weak relationships on
your own, Online platforms, such as Facebook, provide a mechanism to
catalogue them.’ The result? It is now substantially simpler for a school friend
you haven't seen in years to give you a tip that changes your behaviour, such as
a suggestion for low-cholesterol morning cereal or an invitation to a party where
you meet your future spouse.

B. According to Judith Donath of the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society at
Harvard University, the emergence of weak relationships might also have
significant impacts on our social systems. She added, ‘We’re already seeing
changes.’ Many individuals today rely on their online social networks rather than
newspapers and television for credible and pertinent news and information, for
instance. Even though what they hear is incorrect, change is nevertheless
occurring. If these enormous supernets' - some of which include up to 5,000
individuals - continue to survive and expand, they might profoundly alter the way
we exchange information and our conceptions of relationships.

C. But are these enormous networks really that important for us on a personal
basis? An evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Oxford, Robin Dunbar,
believed that our primate brains enforce a limit of around 150 on the number of
genute interpersonal contacts we can handle. Online social networking seems to
 be very good for 'servicing relationships, but not for building them, according to
Dunbar. Our evolutionary roots indicate that we still rely primarily on physical
and face-to-face contact to be able to build connections, he argues.

D. Despite this, there is proof that online networking can influence our regular
conversations. Jeff Hancock, psychologist at Cornell University, in an experiment
he asked individuals to try to encourage other participants to like them through
instant messaging conversation. Beforehand, some individuals were permitted to
visit the Facebook account of the person they were attempting to convince.
Those with Facebook access made a questionnaire to which they already knew
the answers or brought up items they shared, resulting in far more effective
social interactions. People who visit these websites to keep updated on the
activities of their acquaintances are more likely to be liked in subsequent social
interactions, Hancock concluded.

E. Online social networking may also have significant ramifications on our

healthcare. Nicole Ellison of Michigan State University discovered that the
frequency of using networking sites correlates with greater self-esteem. Ellison
says, support and reinforcement from the weak connections could be the
explanation. She says, ‘There is nothing new about asking close friends for help
or guidance, but we are seeing a decline in barriers among strangers,’ People are
more willing than they formerly were to share their feelings and experiences with
a wider audience. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sandy Pentland,
agrees with this. He says, the ability to communicate with our social group
means we will never feel alone. Lack of social support is often the origin of our
problems. Now, there is more of a safety net.’

F. At MIT, Henry Holman, who analyses the connection between online social
networking and the real world, points out that growing accessibility also
indicates our various social spheres - family, work, friends - are combining, and
so we will have to prepare for new society's standards. He says, we will need to
learn how to live an open life. We may have to give up the opportunity to provide
others with very limited views into ourselves.

G. It seems that online networking is changing our social structures through

dominance. Michael Kearns, the University of Pennsylvania, In one repeated
experiment he asked 30 volunteers to quickly reach a decision in an online game
over a choice between two colours. If people succeeded in persuading the group
 to pick one or other colour, then each person was offered a cash reward.
Although all participants could see the colour chosen by some of the other
individuals, certain participants had an extra advantage: the ability to see more
of the participants’ chosen colours than others. Kearns discovered that
individuals who could see the choices of more participants (i.e. who were more
connected) were always able to persuade the group to choose their colour, even
though they had to convince the great majority to give up their cash incentive.
While Kearns emphasises that the environment was artificial, he suggests that
well-connected people may also have stronger persuasive power in the online
realm of ordinary life.

Want to be friends IELTS Reading Questions

Questions 1-4
Match the informations using the list of letters, A-F, below:
Write the correct letter, and answer 1-4 on your answer sheet.

List of findings,

A. Robin Dunbar
B. Michael Kearns
C. Judith Donath
D. Nicole Ellison
E. Mark Granovetter
F. Jeff Hancock

1. ___________There is a limit to how many meaningful relationships we can build.

2. __________People with large social networks may be more capable of putting
pressure on Others.
3. ___________Knowing about the lives of our internet contacts is advantageous from
a social point of view.
4. ___________We have become more willing to confide in an extensive number of
others.

Know about the IELTS Reading Matching Features completely.

Questions 5-8
 Choose TWO answers, A-E.

Which TWO of these advantages of online social networking are mentioned in the
Reading Passage?

A. Online social networking can solve problems in real-world relationships.

B. It is very easy to establish new friendships online.
C. It can be reassuring to be part of an online social network.
D. Social networking sites can be accessed on any day and at any time.
E. Online socialising is an efficient way of keeping in touch with a lot of people.

Which TWO of these disadvantages of online social networking are mentioned in

the Reading Passage?

A. We may become jealous of people who seem to have a wide circle of friends.
B. Using social networking sites may result in a lack of privacy.
C. It is easy to waste a lot of time on social networking sites.
D. Information from online social contacts may be unreliable.
E. We may lose the ability to relate to people face-to-face.

Prefer the IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Questions questions to know more and
score well.

Questions 9-14
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs from A-G from the given list.
Write the correct letter, and answer 9-14 on your answer sheet.

List of headings,

I. A shift in our fact-finding habits

II. The origins of online social networks
III. The emotional benefits of online networking
IV. Doubts about the value of online socialising
V. How to be popular
VI. Information that could change how you live
VII. The future of networking
VIII. More personal information being known
IX. A change in how we view our online friendships
X. The link between knowledge and influence

9. Paragraph B
10. Paragraph C
11. Paragraph D
12. Paragraph E
13. Paragraph F
14. Paragraph G