Reading Practice 01

READING PASSAGE 1

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

Man or Machine

During July 2003, the Museum of Science in Cambridge, Massachusetts exhibited

what Honda calls ‘the world’s most advanced humanoid robot’, ASIMO (the
Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility). Honda’s brainchild is on tour in North America
and delighting audiences wherever it goes. After 17 years in the making, ASIMO
stands at four feet tall, weighs around 115 pounds and looks like a child in an
astronaut’s suit. Though it is difficult to see ASIMO’s face at a distance, on closer
inspection it has a smile and two large ‘eyes’ that conceal cameras. The robot
cannot work autonomously – its actions are ‘remote-controlled’ by scientists through
the computer in its backpack. Yet watching AIMIO perform at a show in
Massachusetts it seemed uncannily human. The audience cheered as ASIMO
walked forwards and backwards, side to side and up and downstairs. After the show,
a number of people told me that they would like robots to play more of a role in daily
life – one even said that the robot would be like ‘another person’.

While the Japanese have made huge strides in solving some of the engineering
problems of human kinetics and bipedal movements, for the past 10 years scientists
at MIT’s former Artificial Intelligence (AI) lab (recently renamed the Computer
Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, CSAIL) have been making robots that
can behave like humans and interact with humans. One of MIT’s robots, Kismet, is
an anthropomorphic head and has two eyes (complete with eyelids), ears, a mouth,
and eyebrows. It has several facial expressions, including happy, sad, frightened and
disgusted. Human interlocutors are able to read some of the robot’s facial
expressions, and often change their behavior towards the machine as a result – for
example, playing with it when it appears ‘sad’. Kismet is now in MIT’s museum, but
the ideas developed here continue to be explored in new robots.
C

Cog (short for Cognition) is another pioneering project from MIT’s former AI lab. Cog
has a head, eyes, two arms, hands and a torso – and its proportions were originally
measured from the body of a researcher in the lab. The work on Cog has been used
to test theories of embodiment and developmental robotics, particularly getting a
robot to develop intelligence by responding to its environment via sensors, and to
learn through these types of interactions.

MIT is getting furthest down the road to creating human-like and interactive robots.
Some scientists argue that ASIMO is a great engineering feat but not an intelligent
machine – because it is unable to interact autonomously with unpredictabilities in its
environment in meaningful ways, and learn from experience. Robots like Cog and
Kismet and new robots at MIT’s CSAIL and media lab, however, are beginning to do
this.

These are exciting developments. Creating a machine that can walk, make gestures
and learn from its environment is an amazing achievement. And watch this space:
these achievements are likely rapidly to be improved upon. Humanoid robots could
have a plethora of uses in society, helping to free people from everyday tasks. In
Japan, for example, there is an aim to create robots that can do the tasks similar to
an average human and also act in more sophisticated situations as firefighters,
astronauts or medical assistants to the elderly in the workplace and in homes –
partly in order to counterbalance the effects of an ageing population.

Such robots say much about the way in which we view humanity, and they bring out
the best and worst of us. On one hand, these developments express human
creativity – our ability to invent, experiment, and to extend our control over the world.
On the other hand, the aim to create a robot like a human being is spurred on by
dehumanized ideas – by the sense that human companionship can be substituted by
machines; that humans lose their humanity when they interact with technology; or
that we are a little more than surface and ritual behaviors, that can be simulated with
metal and electrical circuits.

Questions 1-6
Reading passage 1 has six paragraphs, A-F.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once

1 different ways of using robots

2 a robot whose body has the same proportion as that of an adult

3 the fact that human can be copied and replaced by robots

4 a comparison between ASIMO for Honda and other robots

5 the pros and cons of creating robots

6 a robot that has eyebrows

Questions 7-13

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage 1.

Using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet.

In 2003, Massachusetts displayed a robot named ASIMO which was invented by

Honda, after a period of 7……………………… in the making. The operating
information is stored in the computer in its 8……………………… so that scientists
can control ASIMO’s movement. While Japan is making great progress, MIT is
developing robots that are human-like and can 9………………………. Humans. What
is special about Kismet is that it has different 10……………………… which can be
read by human interlocutors. 11……………………… is another robot from MIT,
whose body’s proportion is the same as an adult. By responding to the surroundings
through 12……………………., it could develop its 13…………………………
READING PASSAGE 2

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

Photovoltaics on the rooftop

A natural choice for powering the family home

In the past, urban homeowners have not always had much choice in the way
electricity is supplied to their homes. Now, however, there is a choice, and a rapidly
increasing number of households worldwide are choosing the solar energy option.
Solar energy, the conversion of sunlight into energy, is made possible through the
use of ‘photovoltaics’, which are simple appliances that fit onto the roof of a house.

The photovoltaic-powered home remains connected to the power lines, but no

storage is required on-site, only a box of electronics (the inverter) to the interface
between the photovoltaics and the grid network. Figure 1 illustrates the system.
During the day, when the home may not be using much electricity, excess power
from the solar array is fed back to the grid, to factories and offices that need daytime
power. At night, power flows the opposite way. The grid network effectively provides
storage. If the demand for electricity is well matched to when the sun shines, solar
energy is especially valuable. This occurs in places like California in the US and
Japan, where air-conditioning loads for offices and factories are large but heating
loads for homes are small.

The first systematic exploration of the use of photovoltaics on homes began in the
US during the 1970s. A well-conceived program started with the sitting of a number
of residential experiment stations’ at selected locations around the country,
representing different climatic zones. These stations contained a number of ‘dummy’
houses, each with a different solar-energy system design. Homes within the
communities close to these stations were monitored to see how well their energy use
matched the energy generated by the stations’ dummy roofs. A change in US
government priorities in the early 1980s halted this program.

With the US effort dropping away, the Japanese Sunshine Project came to the fore.
A large residential test station was installed on Rokko Island beginning in 1986. This
installation consists of 18 ‘dummy’ homes. Each equipped with its own 2-5 kilowatt
photovoltaic system (about 20 – 50 square meters for each system). Some of these
simulated homes have their own electrical appliances inside, such as TV sets,
refrigerators and air conditioning units, which switch on and off under computer
control providing a lavish lifestyle for the non-existent occupants. For the other
systems, electronics simulate these household loads. This test station has been
explored in a systematic way, under well-controlled test conditions. With no
insurmountable problems identified, the Japanese have used the experience gained
from this station to begin their own massive residential photovoltaics campaign.

Meanwhile, Germany began a very important ‘1,000 roof program’ in 1990, aimed at
installing photovoltaics on the roofs of 1,000 private homes. Large federal and
regional government subsidies were involved, accounting in most cases for 70% of
the total system costs. The program proved immensely popular, forcing its extension
to over 2,000 homes scattered across Germany. The success of this program
stimulated other European countries to launch a similar program.

Japan’s ‘one million roof program’ was prompted by the experience gained in the
Rokko Island test site and the success of the German 1,000 roof program. The
initially quoted aims of the Japanese New Energy Development Organization were to
have 70,000 homes equipped with photovoltaics by the year 2000, on the way to 1
million by 2010. The program made a modest start in 1994 when 539 systems were
installed with a government subsidy of 50 percent. Under this program, entire new
suburban developments are using photovoltaics.

This is good news, not only for the photovoltaic industry but for everyone concerned
with the environment. The use of fossil fuels to generate electricity is not only costly
in financial terms, but also in terms of environmental damage. Gases produced by
the burning of fossil fuels in the production of electricity are a major contributor to the
greenhouse effect. To deal with this problem, many governments are now proposing
stringent targets on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions permitted. These
targets mean that all sources of greenhouse gas emissions including residential
electricity use will receive closer attention in the future.

It is likely that in the future, governments will develop building codes that attempt to
constrain the energy demands of new housing. For example, the use of
photovoltaics or the equivalent may be stipulated to lessen demands on the grid
network and hence reduce fossil fuel emissions. Approvals for building renovations
may also be conditional upon taking such energy-saving measures. If this were to
happen, everyone would benefit. Although there is an initial cost in attaching the
system to the rooftop, the householder’s outlay is soon compensated with the
savings on energy bills. In addition, everyone living on the planet stands to gain from
the more benign environmental impact.

Photovoltaics on the family home

Residential use of photovoltaics – by day excess power is sent to the grid, and by
night power is supplied to the home.

Questions 14-19

The Reading Passage 2 has nine paragraphs A-H

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.

14 examples of countries where electricity use is greater during the day than at
night

15 a detailed description of an experiment that led to photovoltaics being promoted

throughout the country

16 the negative effects of using conventional means of generating electricity

17 an explanation of the photovoltaic system.

18 the long-term benefits of using photovoltaics

19 a reference to wealthy countries being prepared to help less wealthy countries

have access to photovoltaics

Questions 20-26

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?

In boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE ​if the statement is true

FALSE ​if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

20 Photovoltaics are used to store electricity.

21 Since the 1970s, the US government has provided continuous support for the
use of photovoltaics on homes.

22 The solar-powered house on Rokko Island is uninhabited.

23 In 1994, the Japanese government was providing half the money required for
installing photovoltaics on homes.
24 Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Australia all have strict goals with regard to
greenhouse gas emissions.

25 Residential electricity use is the major source of greenhouse gas emission.

26 Energy-saving measures must now be included in the design of all new homes
and improvements to buildings.​

READING PASSAGE 3

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

What Are Dreams?

A
Thousands of years ago, dreams were seen as messages from the gods, and in
many cultures, they are still considered prophetic. In ancient Greece, sick people
slept at the temples of Asclepius, the god of medicine, in order to receive dreams
that would heal them. Modern dream science really begins at the end of the 19th
century with Sigmund Feud, who theorized that dreams were the expression of
unconscious desires often stemming from childhood. He believed that exploring
these hidden emotions through analysis could help cure mental illness. The Freudian
model of psychoanalysis dominated until the 1970s when new research into the
chemistry of the brain showed that emotional problems could have biological or
chemical roots, as well as environmental ones. In other words, we weren’t sick just
because of something our mothers did (or didn’t do), but because of some imbalance
that might be cured with medication.
B
After Freud, the most important event in dream science was the discovery in the
early 1950s of a phase of sleep characterized by intense brain activity and rapid eye
movement (REM). People awakened in the midst of REM sleep reported vivid
dreams, which led researchers to conclude that most dreaming took place during
REM. Using the electroencephalograph (EEG), researchers could see that brain
activity during REM resembled that of the waking brain. That old them that a lot more
was going on at night than anyone had suspected. But what, exactly?
C
Scientists still don’t know for sure, although they have lots of theories. On one side
are scientists like Harvard’s Allan Hobson, who believes that dreams are essentially
random. In the 1970s, Hobson and his colleague Robert McCarley proposed what
they called the “activation-synthesis hypothesis’” which describes how dreams are
formed by nerve signals sent out during REM sleep from a small area at the base of
the brain called the pons. These signals, the researchers said, activate the images
that we call dreams. That put a crimp in dream research; if dreams were
meaningless nocturnal firings, what was the point of studying them?
D
Adult humans spend about a quarter of their sleep time in REM, much of it dreaming.
During that time, the body is essentially paralyzed but the brain is buzzing. Scientists
using PET and fMRI technology to watch the dreaming brain have found that one of
the most active areas during REM is the limbic system, which controls our emotions.
Much less active is the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with logical thinking.
That could explain why dreams in REM sleep often lack a coherent storyline (some
researchers have also found that people dream in non-REM sleep as well, although
those dreams generally are less vivid.) Another active part of the brain in REM sleep
is the anterior cingulate cortex, which detects discrepancies. Eric Nofzinger, director
of the Sleep Neuroimaging Program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center,
thinks that could be why people often figure out thorny problems in their dreams. “As
if the brain surveys the internal milieu and tries to figure out what it should be doing,
and whether our actions conflict with who we are,” he says.
E
These may seem like vital mental functions, but no one has yet been able to say that
REM sleep or dreaming is essential to life or even sanity. MAO inhibitors, an older
class of antidepressants, essentially block REM sleep without any detectable effects,
although people do get a “REM rebound” – extra REM – if they stop the medication.
That’s also true of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac, which
reduce dreaming by a third to a half. Even permanently losing the ability to dream
doesn’t have to be disabling. Israeli researcher Peretz Lavie has been observing a
patient named Yuval Chamtzani, who was injured by a fragment of shrapnel that
penetrated his brain when he was 19. As a result, he gets no REM sleep and doesn’t
remember any dreams. But Lavie says that Chamtzani, now 55, “is probably the
most normal person I know and one of the most successful ones.” He’s a lawyer, a
painter and the editor of a puzzle column in a popular Israeli newspaper.
F
The mystery of REM sleep is that even though it may not be essential, it is
ubiquitous – at least in mammals and birds. But that doesn’t mean all mammals and
birds dream (or if they do, they’re certainly not – talking about it). Some researchers
think REM may have evolved for physiological reasons. “One thing that’s unique
about mammals and birds is that they regulate body temperature”, says
neuroscientist Jerry Siegel, director of UCLA’s Center for Sleep Research. “There’s
no good evidence that any coldblooded animal has REM sleep.” REM sleep heats up
the brain and non-REM cools it off, Siegel says, and that could mean that the
changing sleep cycles allow the brain to repair itself. “It seems likely that REM sleep
is filling a basic physiological function and that dreams are a kind of
epiphenomenon,” Siegel says – an extraneous byproduct; like foam on beer.
G
Whatever the function of dreams at night, they clearly can play a role in therapy
during the day. The University of Maryland’s Clara Hill, who has studied the use of
dreams in therapy, says that dreams are a ‘backdoor’, into a patient’s thinking.
“Dreams reveal stuff about you that you didn’t know was there,” she says. The
therapists she trains to work with patients’ dreams are, in essence, heirs to Freud,
using dream imagery to uncover hidden emotions and feelings. Dreams provide
clues to the nature of the more serious mental illness. Schizophrenics, for example,
have poor-quality dreams, usually about objects rather than people. “If you’re going
to understand human behavior,” says Rosalind Cartwright, a chairman of psychology
at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, “here’s a big piece of it. Dreaming is
our own storytelling time – to help us know who we are, where we’re going and how
we’re going to get there.” Cartwright has been studying depression in divorced men
and women, and she is finding that “good dreamers,” people who have vivid dreams
with strong storylines, are less likely to remain depressed. She thinks that dreaming
helps diffuse strong emotions. “Dreaming is a mental-health activity,” she says.
Questions 27-31
Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct number, A-G, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
27 Reference of an artist’s dreams who has versatile talents
28 The dream actually happens to many animals
29 Dreams are related to benefit and happiness
30 advanced scientific technology applied in the investigation of the REM stage.
31 questioning concern raised about the usefulness of investigation on dreams

Questions 32-34
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 33-45 on your answer sheet.
32 What were dreams regarded as by ancient people?

A superstitious and unreliable

B communication with gods and chance to predict the future
C medical relief for children with an ill desire
D rules to follow as they fell asleep in a temple

33 According to Paragraph D, which part of the brain controls reasoning?

A anterior cingulate cortex

B internal cortex
C limbic system
D prefrontal cortex

34 What can we conclude when the author cited a reference for dreams in animals?

A Brain temperature rises when REM pattern happens.

B The reason why mammals are warm-blooded
C mammals are bound to appear with more frequent REM.
D REM makes people want to drink beer with more foam.

Questions 35-40
Look at the following people and the list of statements below.
Match each statement with the correct person, A-G.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet.
​
List of people

A ​ Sigmund Freud
B ​ Allan Hobson (Harvard)
C ​ Robert McCarley
D ​ Eric Nofzinger
E ​ Jerry Siegel
F ​ Clara Hill
G ​ Rosalind Cartwright

35 Dreams sometimes come along with REM as no more than a trivial attachment
36 Exploring patients’ dreams would be beneficial for treatment as it reveals the
unconscious thinking
37 Dreams help people cope with the difficulties they meet in the daytime
38 Decoding dreams would provide a reminder to human desire in the early days
39 Dreams are a body function to control strong emotion
40 Dreams seem to be as randomly occurring and have limited research
significance.
Reading Practice 02

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

Rural transport plan of “Practical action”

For more than 40 years, Practical Action has worked with poor communities to identify
the types of transport that work best, taking into consideration culture, needs and skills.
With our technical and practical support, isolated rural communities can design, build
and maintain their own solutions.

Whilst the focus of National Development Plans in the transport sector lies heavily in
the areas of extending road networks and bridges, there are still major gaps
identified in addressing the needs of poorer communities. There is a need to develop
and promote the sustainable use of alternative transport systems and intermediate
means of transportation (IMTs) that complement the linkages of poor people with
road networks and other socio-economic infrastructures to improve their livelihoods.

On the other hand, the development of all weathered roads (only 30 percent of the
rural population have access to this so far) and motorable bridges are very costly for
a country with a small and stagnant economy. In addition, these interventions are not
always favourable in all geographical contexts environmentally, socially and
economically. More than 60 percent of the network is concentrated in the lowland
areas of the country. Although there are a number of alternative ways by which
transportation and mobility needs of rural communities in the hills can be addressed,
a lack of clear government focus and policies, lack of fiscal and economic incentives,
lack of adequate technical knowledge and manufacturing capacities have led to
under-development of this alternative transport sub-sector including the provision of
IMTs.

One of the major causes of poverty is isolation. Improving the access and mobility of
the isolated poor paves the way for access to markets, services and opportunities.
By improving transport, poorer people are able to access markets where they can
buy or sell goods for income, and make better use of essential services such as
health and education. No proper roads or vehicles mean women and children are
forced to spend many hours each day attending to their most basic needs, such as
collecting water and firewood. This valuable time could be used to tend crops, care
for the family, study or develop small business ideas to generate much-needed
income.

Road building

Without roads, rural communities are extremely restricted. Collecting water and
firewood, and going to local markets is a huge task, therefore it is understandable
that the construction of roads is a major priority for many rural communities. Practical
Action is helping to improve rural access/transport infrastructures through the
construction and rehabilitation of short rural roads, small bridges, culverts and other
transport-related functions. The aim is to use methods that encourage
community-driven development. This means villagers can improve their own lives
through better access to markets, health care, education and other economic and
social opportunities, as well as bringing improved services and supplies to the
now-accessible villages.

Driving forward new ideas

Practical Action and the communities we work with are constantly crafting and
honing new ideas to help poor people. Cycle trailers have practical business use too,
helping people carry their goods, such as vegetables and charcoal, to markets for
sale. Not only that, but those on the poverty-line can earn a decent income by
making, maintaining and operating bicycle taxis. With Practical Action’s know-how,
Sri Lanka communities have been able to start a bus service and maintain the roads
along which it travels. The impact has been remarkable. This service has put an end
to rural people’s social isolation. Quick and affordable, it gives them a reliable way to
travel to the nearest town; and now their children can get an education, making it far
more likely they’ll find a path out of poverty. Practical Action is also an active
member of many national and regional networks through which exchange of
knowledge and advocating based on action research are carried out and one
conspicuous example is the Lanka Organic Agriculture Movement.

Sky-scraping transport system

F

For people who live in remote, mountainous areas, getting food to market in order to
earn enough money to survive is a serious issue. The hills are so steep that
travelling down them is dangerous. A porter can help but they are expensive, and it
would still take hours or even a day. The journey can take so long that their goods
start to perish and become worthless and less. Practical Action has developed an
ingenious solution called an aerial ropeway. It can either operate by gravitation force
or with the use of external power. The ropeway consists of two trolleys rolling over
support tracks connected to a control cable in the middle which moves in a traditional
flywheel system. The trolley at the top is loaded with goods and can take up to
120kg. This is pulled down to the station at the bottom, either by the force of gravity
or by an external power. The other trolley at the bottom is, therefore, pulled upwards
automatically. The external power can be produced by a micro-hydro system if
access to an electricity grid is not an option.

Bringing people on board

Practical Action developed a two-wheeled iron trailer that can be attached (via a
hitch behind the seat) to a bicycle and be used to carry heavy loads (up to around
200 kgs) of food, water or even passengers. People can now carry three times as
much as before and still pedal the bicycle. The cycle trailers are used for transporting
goods by local producers, as ambulances, as mobile shops, and even as mobile
libraries. They are made in small village workshops from iron tubing, which is cut,
bent, welded and drilled to make the frame and wheels. Modifications are also
carried out to the trailers in these workshops at the request of the buyers. The
two-wheeled ‘ambulance’ is made from moulded metal, with standard rubber-tyred
wheels. The “bed” section can be padded with cushions to make the patient
comfortable, while the “seat” section allows a family member to attend to the patient
during transit. A dedicated bicycle is needed to pull the ambulance trailer, so that
other community members do not need to go without the bicycles they depend on in
their daily lives. A joining mechanism allows for easy removal and attachment. In
response to user comments, a cover has been designed that can be added to give
protection to the patient and attendant in poor weather. Made of treated cotton, the
cover is durable and waterproof.

Questions 1-4

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-4 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

1 A slow-developing economy often can not afford some road networks, especially
for those used regardless of weather conditions.

2 Rural communities’ officials know how to improve alternative transport technically.

3 The primary aim for Practical Action to improve rural transport infrastructures is
meant to increase trade among villages.

4 Lanka Organic Agriculture Movement provided service that Practical Action highly
involved in.

Questions 5-8

Answer the questions below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for
each answer.

5 What is the first duty for many rural communities to reach unrestricted
development?

6 What was one of the new ideas to help poor people carry their goods, such as
vegetables and charcoal, to markets for sale?

7 What service has put an end to rural people’s social isolation in Sri Lanka?

8 What solution had been applied for people who live in remote mountainous areas
getting food to market?

Questions 9-13
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage.

Using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

Besides normal transport tasks, changes are also implemented to the trailers in
these workshops at the request of the buyers when it was used on a medical
emergency or a moveable 9………………………; ‘Ambulance’ is made from metal,
with rubber wheels and drive-by another bicycle. When put with
10……………………… in the two-wheeled ‘ambulance’, the patient can stay
comfortable and which another 11………………………. can sit on caring for the
patient in a transport journey. In order to dismantle or attach other equipment, and
assembling 12………………………… is designed. Later, as users suggest,
13……………………….. has also been added to give protection to the patient.

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-27 which are based on
Reading Passage 2 below.

Malaria Combat in Italy

Mal-aria. Bad air. Even the world is Italian, and this horrible disease marked the life
of those in the peninsula for thousands of years. Giuseppe Garibaldi’s wife died of
the disease, as did the country’s first prime minister, Cavour, in 1861. Yet by 1962,
Italy was officially declared malaria-free, and it has remained so ever since. Frank
Snowden’s study of this success story is a remarkable piece of historical work.
Original, crystal-clear, analytical and passionate, Snowden (who has previously
written about cholera) takes us to areas historians have rarely visited before.

Everybody now knows that malaria is carried by mosquitoes. Malaria has always
been the subject of research for medical practitioners from time immemorial.
However, many ancient texts, especially medical literature, mention of various
aspects of malaria and even of its possible link with mosquitoes and insects. Early
man, confronting the manifestations of malaria, attributed the fevers to supernatural
influences: evil spirits, angered deities, or the black magic of sorcerers. But in the
19th century, most experts believed that the disease was not produced by unclean
air (“miasma” or “poisoning of the air”). Two Americans, Josiah Clark Nott and Lewis
Daniel Beauperthy, echoed Crawford’s ideas. Nott in his essay “Yellow Fever
Contrasted with Bilious Fever,” published in 1850, dismissed the miasma theory as
worthless, arguing that microscopic insects somehow transmitted by mosquitoes
caused both malaria and yellow fever. Others made a link between swamps, water
and malaria, but did not make the further leap towards insects. The consequences of
these theories were that little was done to combat the disease before the end of the
century. Things became so bad that 11m Italians (from a total population of 25m)
were “permanently at risk”. In malarial zones, the life expectancy of land workers
was a terrifying 22.5 years. Those who escaped death were weakened or suffered
from splenomegaly – a “painful enlargement of the spleen” and “a lifeless stare”. The
economic impact of the disease was immense. Epidemics were blamed on southern
Italians, given the widespread belief that malaria was hereditary. In the 1880s, such
theories began to collapse as the dreaded mosquito was identified as the real culprit.

Italian scientists, drawing on the pioneering work of French doctor Alphonse

Laveran, were able to predict the cycles of fever but it was in Rome that further key
discoveries were made. Giovanni Battista Grassi, a naturalist, found that a particular
type of mosquito was the carrier of malaria. By experimenting on healthy volunteers
(mosquitoes were released into rooms where they drank the blood of the human
guinea pigs), Grassi was able to make the direct link between the insects (all
females of a certain kind) and the disease. Soon, doctors and scientists made
another startling discovery: the mosquitoes themselves were also infected and not
mere carriers. Every year, during the mosquito season, malarial blood was moved
around the population by the insects. Definitive proof of these new theories was
obtained after an extraordinary series of experiments in Italy, where healthy people
were introduced into malarial zones but kept free of mosquito bites – and remained
well. The new Italian state had the necessary information to tackle the disease.

A complicated approach was adopted, which made use of quinine – a drug obtained
from tree bark which had long been used to combat fever but was now seen as a
crucial part of the war on malaria. Italy introduced a quinine law and a quinine tax in
1904, and the drug was administered to large numbers of rural workers. Despite its
often terrible side-effects (the headaches produced were known as the
“quinine-buzz”), the drug was successful in limiting the spread of the disease, and in
breaking cycles of infection. In addition, Italy set up rural health centres and invested
heavily in education programmes. Malaria, as Snowden shows, was not just a
medical problem, but a social and regional issue, and could only be defeated through
multi-layered strategies. Politics was itself transformed by the anti-malarial
campaigns.

It was originally decided to give quinine to all those in certain regions – even healthy
people; peasants were often suspicious of the medicine being forced upon them.
Doctors were sometimes met with hostility and refusal, and many were dubbed
“poisoners”. Despite these problems, the strategy was hugely successful. Deaths
from malaria fell by some 80% in the first decade of the 20th century and some
areas escaped altogether from the scourge of the disease.

Shamefully, the Italian malaria expert Alberto Missiroli had a role to play in the
disaster: he did not distribute quinine, despite being well aware of the epidemic to
come. Snowden claims that Missiroli was already preparing a new strategy – with the
support of the US Rockefeller Foundation – using a new pesticide, DDT. Missiroli
allowed the epidemic to spread, in order to create the ideal conditions for a massive,
and lucrative, human experiment. Fifty-five thousand cases of malaria were recorded
in the province of Littoria alone in 1944. It is estimated that more than a bird of those
in the affected area contracted the disease. Thousands, nobody knows how many,
died.

With the war over, the US government and the Rockefeller Foundation were free to
experiment. DDT was sprayed from the air and 3m Italians had their bodies covered
with the chemical. The effects were dramatic, and nobody really cared about the
toxic effects of the chemical. By 1962, malaria was more or less gone from the whole
peninsula. The last cases were noted in a poor region of Sicily. One of the final
victims to die of the disease in Italy was the popular cyclist, Fausto Coppi. He had
contracted malaria in Africa in 1960, and the failure of doctors in the north of Italy to
spot the disease was a sign of the times. A few decades earlier, they would have
immediately noticed the tell-tale signs; it was later claimed that a small dose of
quinine would have saved his life.

H
As there are still more than 1m deaths every year from malaria worldwide,
Snowden’s book also has contemporary relevance. This is a disease that affects
every level of the societies where it is rampant. As Snowden writes: “In Italy, malaria
undermined agricultural productivity, decimated the army, destroyed communities
and left families impoverished.” The economic miracle of the 50s and 60s which
made Italy into a modern industrial nation would not have been possible without the
eradication of malaria. Moreover, this book convincingly argues that the disease was
“an integral part of the big picture of modern Italian history”. This magnificent study,
beautifully written and impeccably documented, deserves an audience beyond
specialists in history, or in Italy. It also provides us with “a message of hope for a
world struggling with the great present-day medical emergency”.

Questions 14-17

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage 2

Using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.

Theories for malaria origin have always been the issue of research for medical
practitioners from ancient times. Although the link between malaria and mosquitoes
was established lately, it has been recorded in words that 14……………………..,
including mosquitoes, may play the major culprits. In the 19th century, most experts
rejected the idea of the miasma theory which related malaria to
15…………………….. Even another widespread theory arose that southern Italians
were blamed, to whom malaria was 16………………………. In southern Italy, the
situation became so severe that nearly half the Italians population was thought to be
“permanently at risk”. In malarial areas the 17……………………. Rural workers were
surprisingly shorter. In the 1880s, such theories began to withdraw as the mosquito
was identified as the true cause.

Questions 18-21
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage
2?​
In boxes 18-21 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

18 The volunteers in Grassi experiments were from all parts over Italy.

19 Healthy people could remain safe in malaria – infectious zone if they did not
have mosquito bites.

20 Quinine is an effective drug which had long been used to combat malaria.

21 Eradicating malaria was a goal combined both medical and political significance.

Questions 22-27

Reading Passage 2 has 8 paragraphs, A-H.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 22-27 on your answer sheet.

22 A breakthrough was found that mosquito was the carrier of malaria

23 A scientist intentionally failed to restrict the epidemic area.

24 This successful story still holds true for today’s readers worldwide.

25 One of the final cases reported dying of malaria in Italy

26 the negative symptoms of the highly effective drug

27 A list of the speculative hypothesis was cited.

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-40 which are based on
Reading Passage 3 below.
 Video Games’​
Unexpected Benefits to Human Brain
A
James Paul Gee, professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
played his first video game years ago when his six-year-old son Sam was playing
Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It’s Dark Outside. He wanted to play the game
so he could support Sam’s problem-solving. Though Pajama Sam is not an
“educational game”, it is replete with the types of problems psychologists study when
they study thinking and learning. When he saw how well the game held Sam’s
attention, he wondered what sort of beast a more mature video game might be.
B
Video and computer games, like many other popular, entertaining and addicting kid’s
activities, are looked down upon by many parents as time-wasters, and worse,
parents think that these games rot the brain. Violent video games are readily blamed
by the media and some experts as the reason why some youth become violent or
commit extreme antisocial behavior. Recent content analyses of video games show
that as many as 89% of games contain some violent content, but there is no form of
aggressive content for 70% of popular games. Many scientists and psychologists,
like James Paul Gee, find that video games actually have many benefits – the main
one being making kids smart. Video games may actually teach kids high-level
thinking skills that they will need in the future.
C
“Video games change your brain,” according to University of Wisconsin psychologist
Shawn Green. Video games change the brain’s physical structure the same way as
do learning to read, playing the piano, or navigating using a map. Much like exercise
can build muscle, the powerful combination of concentration and rewarding surges of
neurotransmitters like dopamine, which strengthens neural circuits, can build the
player’s brain.
D
Video games give your child’s brain a real workout. In many video games, the skills
required to win involve abstract and high-level thinking. These skills are not even
taught at school. Some of the mental skills trained by video games include: following
instructions, problem-solving, logic, hand-eye coordination, fine motor and spatial
skills. Research also suggests that people can learn iconic, spatial, and visual
attention skills from video games. There have been even studies with adults showing
that experience with video games is related to better surgical skills. Jacob Benjamin,
a doctor from Beth Israel Medical Center NY, found a direct link between skill at
video gaming and skill at keyhole or laparoscopic surgery. Also, a reason given by
experts as to why fighter pilots of today are more skillful is that this generation’s
pilots are being weaned on video games.
E
The players learn to manage resources that are limited and decide the best use of
resources, the same way as in real life. In strategy games, for instance, while
developing a city, an unexpected surprise like an enemy might emerge. This forces
the player to be flexible and quickly change tactics. Sometimes the player does this
almost every second of the game giving the brain a real workout. According to
researchers at the University of Rochester, led by Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive
scientist, games simulating stressful events such as those found in battle or action
games could be a training tool for real-world situations. The study suggests that
playing action video games primes the brain to make quick decisions. Video games
can be used to train soldiers and surgeons, according to the study Steven Johnson,
author of Everything Bad is Good For You: How Today’s Popular Culture, says
gamers must deal with immediate problems while keeping their long-term goals on
their horizon. Young gamers force themselves to read to get instructions, follow
storylines of games, and get information from the game texts.
F
James Paul Gee, professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
says that playing a video game is similar to working through a science problem. Like
students in a laboratory, gamers must come up with a hypothesis. For example,
players in some games constantly try out combinations of weapons and powers to
use to defeat an enemy. If one does not work, they change the hypothesis and try
the next one. Video games are goal-driven experiences, says Gee, which is
fundamental to learning. Also, using math skills is important to win in many games
that involve quantitative analysis like managing resources. In higher levels of a
game, players usually fail the first time around, but they keep on trying until they
succeed and move on to the next level.
G
Many games are played online and involve cooperation with other online players in
order to win. Video and computer games also help children gain self-confidence and
many games are based on history, city building, governance and so on. Such games
indirectly teach children about aspects of life on earth.
H
In an upcoming study in the journal Current Biology, authors Daphne Bavelier,
Alexandre Pouget, and C. Shawn Green report that video games could provide a
potent training regimen for speeding up reactions in many types of real-life
situations. The researchers tested dozens of 18 to 25-year-olds who were not
ordinarily video game players. They split the subjects into two groups. One group
played 50 hours of the fast-paced action video games “Call of Duty 2” and “Unreal
Tournament,” and the other group played 50 hours of the slow-moving strategy game
“The Sims 2.” After this training period, all of the subjects were asked to make quick
decisions in several tasks designed by the researchers. The action game players
were up to 25 percent faster at coming to a conclusion and answered just as many
questions correctly as their strategy game playing peers.

Questions 28-31
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 28-31 on your answer sheet.
28 What is the main purpose of paragraph ONE?

A Introduction of Professor James Paul Gee.

B Introduction of the video game: Pajamas Sam.
C Introduction of types of video games.
D Introduction of the background of this passage.

29 What does the author want to express in the second paragraph?

A Video games are widely considered harmful for children’s brain.

B Most violent video games are a direct reason for juvenile delinquency.
C Even there is a certain proportion of violence in most video games; scientists and
psychologists see its benefits of children’s intellectual abilities.
D Many parents regard video games as time-wasters, which rot children’s brain.

30 What is correctly mentioned in paragraph four?

A Some schools use video games to teach students abstract and high-level
thinking.
B Video games improve brain ability in various aspects.
C some surgeons have better skills because they play more video games.
D Skillful fighter pilots in this generation love to play video games.

31 What is the expectation of the experiment the three researchers did?

A Gamers have to make the best use of the limited resource.

B Gamers with better math skills will win in the end.
C Strategy game players have a better ability to make quick decisions.
D Video games help increase the speed of the players’ reaction effectively.

Questions 32-35
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE ​if the statement is true

FALSE ​if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN​ if the information is not given in the passage
32 Most video games are popular because of their violent content.
33 The action game players minimized the percentage of making mistakes in the
experiment.
34 It would be a good idea for schools to apply video games in their classrooms.
35 Those people who are addicted to video games have lots of dopamine in their
brains.

Questions 36-40
Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-F) with opinions or
deeds below.
Write the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.

A The writer’s opinion

B James Paul Gee
C Shawn Green
D Daphne Bavelier
E Steven Johnson
F Jacob Benjamin

36 Video games as other daily life skills alter the brain’s physical structure.
37 The brain is ready to make decisions without hesitation when players are
immersed in playing stressful games.
38 The purpose-motivated experience that video games offer plays an essential
role in studying.
39 Players are good at tackling prompt issues with future intentions.
40 It helps children broaden their horizon in many aspects and gain self-confidence.

Listening Practice 01​

SECTION 1
Questions 1-5
Complete the notes.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR NUMBERS for each answer.

Basic Details of Project

 Example involves selecting rooms & 1……………
equipment

Pre-phase

Phase 1: time needed: 3 days

staff involved: Jenna, Marco, & 2……………

Fred

Phase 2: time needed: 3……………

6 days

Mike
staff involved: 4……………, with assistance from
5……………
Leo

Questions 6-10
Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C.
6 The main form of data collection will be

A questionnaires.
B Internet polling.
C face-to-face interviews.

7 To finish in time, the staff will have to

A work late.
B come in early.
C take some work home.

8 The final report will contain

A three appendices.
B material from the company website.
C a supplementary booklet.

9 The final report will be handed in on the

A 5th.
B 15th.
C 25th.

10 At the end, there will be

A an office party.
B a restaurant dinner.
C presents for all involved.

SECTION 2
Questions 11-15

Complete the repair schedule.

Write the correct letter, A-F, for each answer.

Problems to Fix

A​ Birds in ceiling

B​ Broken windows

C Electrical fault

D Fallen tree

E​ Leaking roof

F​ Staining on walls

Schedule of Repairs

E
11 ……………

12 ……………
A

13 ……………
D
14 ……………
F

C
15 ……………

Questions 16-20

Complete the sentences.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

Additional Details Concerning Repairs

yellow
The stained walls will be painted 16……………

garden shed
Extra paint will be left in the 17……………

The baby birds will be given to a 18……………

wildlife reserve

The fallen tree will be used as 19……………

wooden fire

The smaller parts of the tree will be put in a 20……………

garden bin

SECTION 3
Questions 21-26
Complete the table.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

Subject Textbook Used Criticism of this book

Social History Welfare State

21…………… It is 22……………
too long

Cultural Studies 23……………

In perspective It 24……………
oversimplifies

25……………
political theory Government in It is 26……………
not relevant
Action
Questions 27-30
Choose the correct letter, S, C, or P.
NB You may use a letter more than once.

S​ Social History
C​ Cultural Studies
P​ Political Theory

What are the speakers’ favorite subjects?​

27 Steve C
28 David S
29 Susan​ P
30 Olive P

SECTION 4
Questions 31-32
Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C.
​
31 Originally, country

A required fewer workers.

B had lots of animals.
C were more interesting places.

32 Now, the problems there

A can be solved.
B are numerous.
C are expected. predictable

Questions 33-35
Choose THREE answers from the list and write the correct letter, A-F, next to the
questions 33-35.​

Which THREE factors are typical of modern farming?

A​ Many overheads
B​ More machines
C​ Fewer types of products
D​ More frequent feeding
E​ Greater numbers of products
F​ More factories
Questions 36-40
Complete the table.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

Possible Important Factor Examples

Solution

tourism Locals must Daylesford area

participate
36…………… uses its

natural spring
37……………

characterized
using the – is 39…………… by Shepparton is known
38……………
local product its distinctive product for its

– must market the mature cheese

40……………
idea effectively