READING PASSAGE 1 ( Đề gốc ngày 30.09.
2021 )
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading
Passage 1
Wood: a valuable resource in New Zealand's economy
During the settlement of New Zealand by European immigrants, natural timbers played a
major role. Wood was easily accessible and relatively cheap. A tradition of wooden houses
arose, supported by the recognition that they were less likely to collapse suddenly during
earthquakes, a not infrequent event in this part of the world. But in addition to demand from
the domestic no market, there was also a demand for forest products from overseas.
Early explorers recognised the suitability of the tall, straight trunks of the kauri for
constructing sailing vessels. The kauri is a species of coniferous tree found only in small
areas of the southern hemisphere. So from the early 1800s, huge amounts of this type of
wood were sold to Australia and the UK for that purpose . For a period, the forestry industry
was the country’s major export earner, but the rate of harvest was unsustainable and, by the
beginning of the 20th century, indigenous timber exports were rapidly declining.
From the 1940s, newly established plantations of an imported species of tree called radiata
pine supplied timber and other wood products in increasing quantities. By the 1960s,
plantation grown timber was providing most of the country’s sawn timber needs, especially
for construction. Today, less than two percent of timber is cut from indigenous forests, and
almost all of that is used for higher-value end uses, such as furniture and fittings. As the pine
industry developed, it became apparent that this type of wood was also well suited for many
uses. It makes excellent pulp *, and is frequently used for posts, poles, furnishings and
mouldings, particleboard, fibreboard, and for plywood and 'engineered' wood products. Pine
by-products are used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries and residues are
consumed for fuel. This amazing versatility has encouraged the development of an
integrated forest-products industry which is almost unique in the world.
Exporters of wood products have largely targeted the rapidly growing markets of South and
East Asia and Australia 80 percent of exports by value go to only five markets: Japan,
Korea, China, the United States and Australia. The product mix remains heavily based on
raw materials, with logs, sawn wood, pulp and paper comprising 75 percent of export value.
However, finished wood products such as panels and furniture components are exported to
more than 50 countries.
In New Zealand itself, the construction industry is the principal user of solid wood products,
servicing around 20,000 new house starts annually. However, the small size of New
Zealand’s population ( just over four million ), plus its small manufacturing and
remanufacturing base, limit the forestry industry’s domestic opportunities. For the last few
years local wood consumption has been around only four million cubic metres. Accordingly,
the development of
the export market is the key to the industry’s growth and contribution to the national economy
in decades to come.
In 2004, forestry export receipts were about 11 percent of the country’s total export income,
their value having increased steadily for ten years, until affected by the exchange
fluctuations and shipping costs of recent years. The forestry industry is New Zealand’s third
largest export sector, generating around $3,3 billion annually from logs and processed wood
products. But it is generally agreed that it is operating well below its capacity and, with the
domestic market already at its peak, almost all of the extra wood produced in future will have
to be marketed overseas. That presents a major marketing challenge for the industry
Although the export of logs will continue to provide valuable earnings for forest owners, there
is broad acceptance that the industry must be based on value-added products in future. So
the industry is investigating various processing, infrastructure and investment strategies with
a view to increasing the level of local manufacturing before export. The keys to future
success will depend on a variety of factor , better international marketing, product
innovation, internationally competitive processing, better infrastructure and a suitable
political, regulatory and investment environment. The industry claims that, given the right
conditions, by 2025 the forestry sector could be the country’s biggest export earner,
generating $20 billion a year and employing 60,000 people.
One competitive advantage that New Zealand has is its ability to source large quantities of
softwood from renewable forests. Consumers in several key wood markets are becoming
more worried about sustainability, and the industry is supporting the development of national
standards as well as the recognition of these internationally. However, New Zealand is not
the only country with a plantation-style forestry industry, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, South
Africa and Australia all have extensive plantings of fast-growing species ( hardwood and
softwood ), and in the northern hemisphere, Scandinavian countries have all expanded their
forests or controlled their use in the interests of future production.
Finally, in addition to competition from other wood producers, New Zealand faces competition
from goods such as wood substitutes. These include steel framing for houses. This further
underlines the necessity for globally competitive production and marketing strategies.
pulp * wood which is crushed until soft enough to form the basis of paper
Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In
boxes 1-6 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 Settlers realised that wooden houses were more dangerous than other types of structure.
2 During the 1800s, New Zealand exported wood for use in boat-building.
3 Plantation-grown wood is generally better for construction than native forest wood.
4 Compared to other types of wood, pine has a narrow range of uses.
5 Demand for housing in New Zealand is predicted to fall in the next few years.
6 In future, the expansion of New Zealand's wood industry will depend on its exports.
Questions 7-13
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each
answer Write your answers in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet.
7 Apart from exchange rates, which factor has had a negative impact on New Zealand's
forestry exports?
8 Which part of New Zealand's economy does the forestry industry rank third in?
9 According to the New Zealand forestry industry, what could be the size of its workforce by
2025?
10 What kind of timber product is available in large amounts from renewable forests in New
Zealand?
11 Which aspect of timber production are New Zealand's main customers increasingly
concerned about?
12 Outside the southern hemisphere, who are New Zealand forestry's main competitors? 13
Which group of products is New Zealand's forestry industry now having to compete with?
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.
Questions 14-20
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below Write the
correct number, i-ix, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i The theory linking capacity for tool use in birds and survival
ii The influence of humans on tool use
iii The theory linking cognitive ability and living in a society
iv Reviewing long-held beliefs
v Intelligence helps birds to remember
vi How some birds trick each other
vii Physiological evidence of birds’ intelligence
viii Several examples of birds who use tools
ix One species’ multiple tool-using techniques
14 Paragraph A
15 Paragraph B
16 Paragraph C
17 Paragraph D
18 Paragraph E
19 Paragraph F
20 Paragraph G
Intelligent behaviour in birds
Many people are aware of the intelligence of chimpanzees and other mammals. However,
birds also demonstrate intelligent behaviour
A For centuries, many scholars maintained that humans were the only intelligent organism
on Earth. Many traits were considered to be exclusively human examples of acumen - for
example, language, tool use, deception, awareness of self and others. However, exciting
new research on a number of animals, particularly birds, has called into question the
uniqueness of these traits, forcing us to reconsider this opinion. In 1964, people were
amazed when naturalist Jane Goodall first discovered chimpanzees making and using tools.
But ornithologists, people who study birds, were not overly surprised. Almost 20 years
earlier, a renowned ornithologist had shown that tool use was commonplace in populations
of woodpecker finches residing on the Galápagos Islands. These tiny birds routinely used
twigs to extract grubs from under bark.
B Since then, the catalogue of tool-using animals has grown. At least three Australian bird
species make tools similar to those of the woodpecker finch, and when white-winged
choughs come across shellfish they have been known to use rocks as hammers to crack
open the recalcitrant shells. Other birds show a more sophisticated level of insight. For
example, black kites have been reported dropping bait into lakes to bring fish to the surface
of the water, thereby making them easier to catch. A kite may also pick up a smouldering
stick from an area recently burned by a bushfire and drop the stick on a patch of unburned
grass. The bird then feasts on the small animals that flee from the subsequent fire.
C Most tool-using behaviours are a means of extracting food, which may provide a clue as to
how the mental abilities needed for tool use evolved. The predominant explanation is based
on the proverb that 'necessity is the mother of invention'. Essentially, brain tissue is
energetically expensive, so animals should have evolved only the necessary intellectual
capabilities required to overcome the challenges they face in their environment. Consider a
hypothetical duck grazing on a seemingly endless supply of grass. Being particularly
intelligent will not help the duck eat more grass. In contrast, other species, such as birds of
prey, live in a more challenging environment, where food may be distributed erratically,
hidden from view or highly mobile. The food itself may be quite intelligent. So, if there are not
enough resources to feed all individuals, then only the smartest in each generation will live
and reproduce.
D New Caledonian crows boast many different tools in their tool kit. They use a hooked tool
made by removing all but one of the side branches from a twig. They fashion serrated rakes
(using their beaks as scissors) from stiff, leathery pandanus leaves. They also make probes
by modifying their own moulted feathers. Each tool is used in slightly different ways to pull
grubs from deep within tree trunks. The crows carry their favourite tool from one foraging site
to the next. They also store their tools for later re-use in a secure place on their perch.
Problem-solving abilities have traditionally been thought to be beyond the reach of animals.
Nevertheless, birds are coming up with innovative solutions all the time. Recently, New
Caledonian crows were observed moulding a piece of wire, something they had never seen
before, into a hook and then using it to retrieve food.
E Literally hundreds of such reports have accumulated in back copies of scientific journals.
Recently, a team of biologists from McGill University in Canada collated them and compared
the frequency and size of innovations with the size of the birds' forebrain (the brain-area
responsible for higher-order information processing) relative to the hindbrain. The team
uncovered a clear relationship: birds with relatively large forebrains are able to invent fresh
solutions to ecological challenges, and to exploit the discoveries and inventions of others,
more often than birds with relatively small forebrains.
F Intelligence in birds may also arise as a result of selection to overcome the dynamic
challenges of communal living. Since this involves competition between group members, to
be successful, a social animal may need to be able to reflect on its own intentions, as well
as those of others. The consequence of being part of a community may be the evolution of a
distinctly 'political' brain.
G What better way to exercise a political brain than to be deceitful! Perhaps the best
example of deception among birds comes from the white-winged choughs. Choughs are
cooperative breeders - that is, they form a communal group consisting of one breeding- pair
and up to 15 non-breeding 'helpers'. However, because young choughs have so little
enthusiasm for foraging, or gathering food, they are often too hungry to help. And because it
is socially unacceptable to be part of a group and provide little help, young choughs often act
deceptively. For example, when an adult is watching, a young chough will place some food
in the mouth of a hungry chick - but it does not release the food. Instead, it waits until the
adult departs and then eats it. A chough can also help the group by preening* the chicks.
Interestingly, it is more likely to preen the chicks if another bird can see it do so. A chough
that has been sitting totally still on the nest while the rest of the group is foraging out of sight
will comically spring up and frantically start to preen the chicks as soon as some of its group
members come into view. It is likely that these young choughs are only motivated to help
when others are watching because they are concerned about their social status. Choughs
need other choughs to like them as they cannot breed without them.
* preening: cleaning and arranging feathers on birds
Questions 21- 26
Look at the following characteristics (Questions 21- 26) and the list of birds below Match
each characteristic with the correct bird, A, B or C.
Write the correct letter, A, B, or C, in boxes 21- 26 on your answer sheet. NB You may use
any letter more then once
21 keeping tools that they like to use
22 drawing out their prey by frightening it
23 the use of tools to remove the outer covering from food
24 using food to attract their prey
25 the use of unfamiliar materials to make tools
26 engaging in certain activities for the benefit of observers
List of Birds
A white-winged choughs
B black kites
C New Caledonian crows
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 on pages 9 and 10.
Jean Piaget 1896-1980
Seymour Papert looks at the work of the pioneering Swiss philosopher and
psychologist
Jean Piaget spent much of his professional life listening to children, watching children and
poring over reports of researchers around the world who were doing the same. He found, to
put it most succinctly, that children don't think like grown-ups. After thousands of interactions
with young people often barely old enough to talk, Piaget began to suspect that behind their
cute and seemingly irrational utterances were thought processes that had their own kind of
order and their own special logic. Einstein called it a discovery 'so simple that only a genius
could have thought of it."
Although not an educational reformer, Piaget championed a way of thinking about children
that provided the foundation for today's education-reform movements. It was a shift
comparable to the way modern anthropology displaced stories of primitive tribes being
'noble savages' and 'cannibals'. One might say that Piaget was the first to take children's
thinking seriously.
He has been revered by generations of teachers inspired by the belief that children are not
empty vessels to be filled with knowledge (as traditional pedagogical theory had it) but active
builders of knowledge-little scientists who are constantly creating and testing their own
hypotheses about the world. And though he may not be as famous as Sigmund Freud or
even B F Skinner, his influence on psychology may be longer lasting.
In 1920, while doing research in a child-psychology laboratory in Paris, Piaget noticed that
children of the same age made similar errors on intelligence tests. Fascinated by their
reasoning processes, he began to suspect that the key to human knowledge might be
discovered by observing how the child's mind develops. On his return to Switzerland he
began watching children play, scrupulously recording their words and actions as their minds
raced to find reasons for why things are the way they are. In one of his most famous
experiments, Piaget asked children, "What makes the wind?". A typical dialogue would be:
Plaget: What makes the wind?
Julia: The trees.
Piaget: How do you know?
Julia: I saw them waving their arms.
Piaget: How does that make the wind?
Julia: (waving her hand in front of his face): Like this. Only they are bigger. And there are lots
of trees.
Piaget recognised that five-year-old Julia's beliefs, while not correct by any adult criterion,
are not 'incorrect either. They are entirely sensible and coherent within the framework of the
child's way of knowing. Classifying them as 'true' or 'false' misses the point and shows a lack
of respect for the child. What Piaget was after was a theory that the wind dialogue
demonstrated coherence, ingenuity and the practice of a kind of explanatory principle (in this
case by referring to body actions) that stands young children in very good stead when they
don't know enough or don't have enough skill to handle the kind of explanation that
grown-ups prefer.
Piaget was not an educator and never laid down rules about how to intervene in such
situations. But his work strongly suggests that the automatic reaction of putting the child
right may well be counter-productive. If their theories are always greeted by 'Nice try, but this
is how it really is...’
they might give up after a while on making theories. As Piaget put it, 'children have real
understanding only of that which they invent themselves, and each time that we try to teach
them something too quickly, we keep them from inventing it themselves.'
Disciples of Piaget have a tolerance for - Indeed a fascination with children's primitive laws of
physics: that things disappear when they are out of sight; that the moon and the sun follow
you around; that big things float and small things sink. Einstein was intrigued by Piaget's
findings, especially by the idea that seven-year-olds insist that going faster can take more
time-perhaps because this, like Einstein's own theories of relativity, runs so contrary to
common sense.
Although every teacher in training still memorises Piaget's successive stages of childhood
development, the greater part of Piaget's work is less well known, perhaps because schools
of education regard it as 'too deep' for teachers. Piaget never thought of himself as a child
psychologist. His real interest was epistemology- the theory of knowledge - which, like
physics, was considered a branch of philosophy until Piaget came along and made it a
science.
Through epistemology, Plaget explored multiple ways of knowing. He acknowledged them
and examined them non-judgementally, yet with a philosopher's analytic rigour. Since Piaget,
the territory has been widely colonised by those who write about women's ways of knowing,
Afrocentric ways of knowing, even the computer's ways of knowing. Indeed, artificial
intelligence and the information-processing model of the mind owe more to Piaget than its
proponents may realise.
The core of Piaget is his belief that looking carefully at how knowledge develops in children
will elucidate the nature of knowledge in general. Whether this has in fact led to deeper
understanding remains, like everything about Piaget, controversial. In the past decade,
Piaget has been vigorously challenged by the current fashion of viewing knowledge as an
intrinsic property of the brain. Ingenious experiments have demonstrated that newborn
infants already have some
of the knowledge that Piaget believed children constructed. But for those, like me, who still
see Piaget as the giant in the field of cognitive theory, the difference between what the baby
brings and what the adult has is so immense that the new discoveries do not significantly
reduce the gap, but only increase the mystery.
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 In the second paragraph the writer mentions the example of modern anthropology
to illustrate
A the universality of Piaget's insights into the workings of the mind.
B the similarity between children's thought processing in different cultures. C how Piaget's
work represents a crucial turning-point in our approach to education. D how Piaget's work
has aided our understanding of man's evolution from primitive origins. 28 According to the
writer, what point is illustrated by the dialogue about the wind? A The factual accuracy
of what children say is of minor significance.
B Children want to learn about scientific principles.
C Children's reasoning processes can be amusing to adults.
D Children often pretend that they know the answers to questions.
29 Piaget believed in the importance of
A preventing children from making false assumptions.
B giving children honest feedback on their hypotheses.
C showing children how to formulate their own ideas about the world.
D maintaining children's confidence in their ability to interpret the world. 30 What does the
writer suggest in the seventh paragraph?
A Children's sense of their surroundings changes as they get older.
B Children are able to grasp certain complex ideas as well as adults are.
C Even apparently irrational ideas can be worthy of interest.
D Sometimes the simplest explanations are the best
31 The writer's main purpose is to
A outline Piaget's contribution to a range of scientific fields.
B summarise how education has benefited from Piaget's findings.
C discuss Piaget's role in the development of 20th-century psychology.
D express doubts about a number of Piaget's theories.
Questions 32-36
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-1, below.
Write the correct letter, A-l, in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.
Piaget maintained that children's mental processes were far more 32............ than they might
appear. He encouraged the view that a child was not a 'blank slate' waiting to be filled with
information, but rather a systematic builder of knowledge who regularly tries out his or her
own 33............ about the world.
Piaget's impact on the area of 34……..........could well outlast that of more celebrated
pioneers of this discipline. Despite doubts cast over his ideas by the current view associating
knowledge exclusively with the ..............the effects of his work are still strong today. His
principles are still widely used in the professional development of 36…………
A correct B theories C brain
D simple E teachers F psychology
G logical H thought I philosophers
Questions 37-40
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In
boxes 37-40 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 it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
37 Piaget's early work in Paris involved innovative research techniques.
38 Piaget gave clear guidelines as to how adults should give information to children.
39 Piaget made a significant contribution to the field of epistemology.
40 We still have much to learn about the nature of knowledge.
