Daw Thuzar Latt: M.Med - SC Entrance Exam Preparation Course Reading Comprehension

Daw Thuzar Latt
M.A (English); Certificate in Teaching Knowledge Test (UK)

English Language Center
M.Med.Sc Entrance Exam Preparation Course
READING COMPREHENSION
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M.Med.Sc Entrance Exam Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)
I. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
Most fires start in a building's contents, not its structure. Understanding how fire grows indoors – in enclosed spaces – is the first step
in limiting its potential for death and destruction. Fire tests have been around for years, and most building codes make reference to
them. Some, however, are obsolete, in the sense that they can't accommodate a growing number of new materials in new
configurations. Nor can they rank items in order of flammability. What is needed are graded tests that attach numbers to the degree
of flammability. These numbers could then be plugged into suitable computer models. The computer could work out the total
flammability of an item, depending on what it's made of, how it's put together, and where it's placed.
Computer models are becoming important in research. Scientists are hoping that one day, with enough data and sufficiently powerful
computers, they will be able to calculate, without actually setting fire to anything, the way a fire will spread in any given building.
A fire indoors is a very different animal from the one outdoors. When you put a match to incinerator, the flames build up steadily.
Most of the heat is lost to the atmosphere, so you have no trouble staying close by.
Inside a room, it obeys different and more complex physics, and the danger quietly multiplies. First, instead of a match, imagine a
cigarette drop into a back of a lounge chair. Cigarettes, you should know, are among the major causes of fires in houses. A carelessly
discarded cigarette can stay alight in a concealed crevice for as long as 45 minutes. Then, after smouldering away, the chair's upholstery
suddenly ignites. Within perhaps 30 seconds, smoke, combustion gases, and heat begin curling upwards, and before 1 minute has
passed, they have started building up in a trapped layer under the ceiling.
As the chair continues to burn, the layer gets hotter and thicker, and after 2 minutes it starts radiating heat back down to the chair
and other furniture in the room. After 3 minutes or so, the trapped heat can become so intense that we see 'flashover' – everything
in the room, including combustible gases, has reached ignition point and bursts into flame.
Experiments have shown that some polyurethane armchairs can, 5 minutes after ignition, give out 1-2 megawatts of heat. That's no
more than a lively incinerator produces; but when it's confined in a room it can easily induce flashover. After flashover, anybody still
in the room would be dead. People rarely appreciate how quickly a small fire indoors can turn into a deadly inferno. They waste time
going to the laundry to get a bucket of water instead of making sure everybody is out of the house. By the time they get back, the fire
will almost certainly be out of control. Billowing clouds of smoke and toxic gases quickly spill through doorways and along halls,
enveloping and incapacitating sleeping occupants in the rest of the house.
You can appreciate that modelling the entire course of an indoor fire on a computer is a daunting task. The program needs to consider
the flaming combustion zone, the rising thermal plume above there beneath the ceiling, and ventilation. Turbulence of air is very
difficult to model because large eddies can grow from features as small as 0.1mm across.
Nevertheless, fire researchers overseas have simplified models to study aspects of fire behaviour in homes, hospitals, aircraft, tunnels,
stadiums, shopping malls, and airports. For example, the Fire Research Station in Britain has spent 7 years developing 'Jasmine', which
can show how air circulates in a burning building and how the smoke layer deepens with time.
In the United States, the National Bureau of Standards has developed ASET, which calculates 'available safe egress time'. This fire-
growth model requires figures for rates of mass loss, smoke release, production of toxic gases, and heat build-up. Most existing tests,
as we have noted, fail to provide the necessary data. They will need to be modified, or a whole new generation of tests devised.
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A. Choose the one best answer A, B, C or D to each question.
1. The majority of fires in buildings are caused by C. the rest of the room ignites.
A. materials left in building. D. peopel in the room will die. ( )
B. poor building structure. 7. The article suggests that if a person encounters a
C. outdated fire regulations. burning chair indoors,
D. enclosed spaces. ( ) A. it won't put out as much heat as an incinerator.
2. The increased number of new materials used to B. the person would try to put it out.
construct buildings C. the person will become incapacitated.
A. leads to increasing number of fires. D. the person should remove all people in the
B. means fire rules need to be updated. area. ( )
C. requires many new construction configurations. 8. Because indoor fires have many aspects,
D. uses graded tests to determine risk. ( ) A. they are difficult to understand.
3. The risk of flammability in a given material B. air turbulence is increased.
A. is due to computer modelling. C. eddies cannot be understood.
B. is due to what the item is made of. D. they are difficult to put out. ( )
C. is due to a variety of factors. 9. Overseas fire researchers
D. is due to graded tests. ( ) A. are particularly interested in fires in homes and
4. Due to insufficient computing power, hospitals.
A. scientists do not understand the risks of fire. B. study certain features of fires rather than the
B. scientists cannot upgrade fire regulations. whole process.
C. scientists cannot recommend using new C. understand how air circulates in a burning
materials. building.
D. scientists have to test materials by setting fire to D. have enough computer power to do complete
them. ( ) research. ( )
5. Fires in houses 10. The National Bureau of Standards in the US
A. are always caused by cigarettes. A. fails to provide necessary data.
B. take between 45 minutes and 2 hours to spread. B. needs to be modified.
C. are very different to fires outdoors. C. requires a wide range of data.
D. often start suddenly. ( ) D. helps control fires. ( )
6. When a chair inside a room has been burning for
about 3 minutes,
A. smoke becomes trapped under the ceiling.
B. the temperature rises.
B. Which word or phrase is used in the passage to express these meaning?
1. out of date; disused 1. ----------------

2. a container which is closed on all sides for burning waste at high temperature 2. ----------------
3. got rid of something 3. ----------------
4. to cause or stimulate something 4. ----------------
5. to realize; to understand that something is true 5. ----------------
6. a very large dangerous fire that is out of control 6. ----------------
7. making somebody or something unable to live or work normally 7. ----------------
8. a cloud of something that rises and curves upwards in the air 8. ----------------
9. movements of air, dust or water in a circle 9. ----------------
10. prepared; invented; thought up 10.----------------
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II. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
Finding the Lost Freedom

The private car is assumed to have widened our horizons and increased our mobility. When we consider our
children’s mobility, they can be driven to more places and more distant places than they could visit without access to a
motor vehicle. However, allowing our cities to be dominated by cars has progressively eroded children’s independent
mobility. Children have lost much of their freedom to explore their own neighbourhood or city without adult supervision.
In recent surveys, when parents in some cities were asked about their own childhood experiences, the majority
remembered having more, or far more, opportunities for going out on their own, compared with their own children today.
They had more freedom to explore their own environment.
Children’s independent access to their local streets may be important for their own personal, mental and
psychological development. Allowing them to get to know their own neighbourhood and community gives them a ‘sense
of place’. This depends on ‘active exploration’, which is not provided for when children are passengers in cars. Such
children may see more, but learn less. Not only is it important that children be able to get to local play areas by themselves,
but walking and cycling journeys to school and to other destinations provide genuine play activities in themselves.
There are very significant time and money costs for parents associated with transporting their children to school,
sport, and to other locations. Research in the United Kingdom estimated that this cost, in 1990, was between 10 billion
and 20 billion pounds.
The reduction in children’s freedom may also contribute to a weakening sense of local community. As fewer
children and adults use the streets as pedestrians, these streets become less sociable places. There is less opportunity for
children and adults to have the spontaneous exchanges that help to engender a feeling of community. This in itself may
exacerbate fears associated with assault and molestation of children because there are fewer adults available who know
their neighbours’ children and who can look out for their safety.
The extra traffic involved in transporting children results in increased traffic congestion, pollution, and accident
risk. As our roads become more dangerous, more parents drive their children to more places, thus contributing to
increased levels of danger for the remaining pedestrians. Anyone who has experienced either the reduced volume of
traffic in peak hour during school holidays or the traffic jams near schools at the end of a school day will not need
convincing about these points. Thus, there are also important environment implications of children’s loss of freedom.
As individuals, parents strive to provide the best upbringing they can for their children. However, in doing so, e.g.
by driving their children to sport, school, or recreation, parents may be contributing to a more dangerous environment
for children generally. The idea that ‘streets are for cars, and backyards and playgrounds are for children’ is a strongly held
belief, and parents have little choice as individuals but to keep their children off the streets if they want to protect their
safety.
In many parts of Dutch cities, and some traffic-calmed precincts in Germany, residential streets are now places
where cars must give way to pedestrians. In these areas, residents are accepting the view that the function of streets is
not solely to provide mobility for cars. Streets may also be for social interaction, walking, cycling, and playing. One of the
most important aspects of these European cities, in terms of giving cities back to children, has been a range of ‘traffic
calming’ initiatives, aiming at reducing the volume and speed of traffic. These initiatives have had complex interactive
effects, leading to a sense that children have been able to ‘recapture’ their local neighbourhood, and more importantly,
that they have been able to do this in safety. Recent research has demonstrated that children in many German cities have
significantly higher levels of freedom to travel to places in their own neighbourhood or city than children in other cities in
the world.
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Modifying cities in order to enhance children’s freedom will not only benefit children. Such cities will become
more environmentally sustainable, as well as sociable and more livable for all city residents. Perhaps it will be our concern
for our children’s welfare that convinces us that we need to challenge the dominance of the car in our cities.
A. Choose the one best answer A, B, C or D to each question.
1. One of the benefits of car use is 6. Because of the extra traffic,

(A) it helps children’s independent mobility. (A) noise levels increase.
(B) it allows children to be driven to more places. (B) danger levels for pedestrians increase.
(C) it allows cities to be dominated by cars. (C) there are more traffic jams during school
(D) it helps the economy. ( ) holidays.
2. One of the problems of car use is (D) there is more pressure on people to buy cars.
(A) it makes drivers selfish. ( )
(B) it gives children too much freedom. 7. As individuals, parents try to
(C) it makes children lazy. (A) encourage their children to play more sports.
(D) it reduces children’s freedom to explore their (B) bring up their children well.
own neighbourhood. ( ) (C) care about the environment.
3. When parents drive their children to school, (D) use their cars wherever possible. ( )
(A) children are more keen to play sport. 8. In some areas of Germany,
(B) the costs are significant. (A) cars have been banned.
(C) it reduces parents’ free time. (B) streets have been closed to cars.
(D) traffic jams are a problem. ( ) (C) cars must give way to pedestrians.
4. If children can explore their own neighbourhood, (D) children must walk to school. ( )
(A) they will develop a 'sense of place'. 9. 'Traffic calming' measures have
(B) they will not want to use cars. (A) angered local drivers.
(C) they will become more fit. (B) made the streets quieter.
(D) they will make new friends. ( ) (C) made it difficult for children to get to school.
5. If fewer children and adults use the streets, then (D) allowed children to get to know their
(A) shops and services are harmed. neighbourhood. ( )
(B) assaults on children increase. 10. Measures to make cities safer for children also have
(C) children and adults find it hard to get to know the effect that
each other. (A) the city becomes more sociable.
(D) children become less independent. ( ) (B) schools attract more pupils.
(C) car prices drop.
(D) child molestation decreases. ( )
B. Which word or phrase is used in the passage to express these meaning?
1. gradually destroyed something or made it weaker 1. -------------------

2. to be one of the causes of something 2. -------------------
3. people walking in the street and not travelling in a vehicle 3. -------------------
4. to make a feeling or situation exist 4. -------------------
5. to make something worse 5. -------------------
6. to try very hard to achieve something 6. -------------------
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7. commercial areas in towns where cars cannot go 7. -------------------

8. new plans for dealing with a particular problem 8. -------------------
9. to increase or further improve the good quality, value or status of something 9. -------------------
10. makes somebody believe that something is true 10.-------------------
III. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
Plant Scents
A Everyone is familiar with scented flowers, and many people have heard that floral odors help the plant attract pollinators. This
common notion is mostly correct, but it is surprising how little scientific proof of it exists. Of course, not all flowers are pollinated by
biological agents— for example, many grasses are wind- pollinated—but the flowers of the grasses may still emit volatiles. In fact, plants
emit organic molecules all the time, although they may not be obvious to the human nose. As for flower scents that we can detect with
our noses, bouquets that attract moths and butterflies generally smell “sweet,” and those that attract certain flies seem “rotten” to us.
B The release of volatiles from vegetative parts of the plant is familiar, although until recently the physiological functions of these
chemicals were less clear and had received much less attention from scientists. When the trunk of a pine tree is injured- for example,
when a beetle tries to burrow into it- it exudes a very smelly resin. This resin consists mostly of terpenes—hydrocarbons with a
backbone of 10，15 or 20 carbons that may also contain atoms of oxygen. The heavier C20 terpenes, called diterpenes, are glue-like
and can cover and immobilize insects as they plug the hole. This defense mechanism is as ancient as it is effective. Many samples of
fossilized resin, or amber, contain the remains of insects trapped inside. Many other plants emit volatiles when injured, and in some
cases the emitted signal helps defend the plant. For example,(Z)_3_ hexenyl acetate, which is known as a “green leaf volatile” because
it is emitted by many plants upon injury, deters females of the moth Heliothis virescens from laying eggs on injured tobacco plants.
Interestingly, the profile of emitted tobacco volatiles is different at night than during the day, and it is the nocturnal blend, rich in several
(Z) 3_hexen_i-olesters, that is most effective in repelling the night-active Heliothis virescens moths.
C Herbivore induced volatiles often serve as indirect defenses. These bulwarks exist in a variety of plant species, including corn,
beans, and the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. Plants not only emit volatiles acutely, at the site where caterpillars, mites, aphids
or similar insects are eating them, but also generally from non-damaged parts of the plant. These signals attract a variety of predatory
insects that prey on the plant-eaters. For example, some parasitic wasps can detect the volatile signature of a damaged plant and will
lay their eggs inside the offending caterpillar; eventually the wasp eggs hatch, and the emerging larvae feed on the caterpillar from the
inside out. The growth of infected caterpillars is retarded considerably, to the benefit of the plant. Similarly, volatiles released by plants
in response to herbivore egg laying can attract parasites of the eggs, thereby preventing them from hatching and avoiding the onslaught
of hungry herbivores that would have emerged. Plant volatiles can also be used as a kind of currency in some very indirect defensive
schemes. In the rainforest understory tree Leonardoxa africana, ants of the species Petalomyrmex phylax patrol young leaves and attack
any herbivorous insects that they encounter. The young leaves emit high levels of the volatile compound methyl salicylate, a compound
that the ants use either as a pheromone or as an antiseptic in their nests. It appears that methyl salicylate is both an attractant and a
reward offered by the tree to get the ants to perform this valuable deterrent role.
D Floral scent has a strong impact on the economic success of many agricultural crops that rely on insect pollinators, including
fruit trees such as the bee-pollinated cherry, apple, apricot and peach, as well as vegetables and tropical plants such as papaya.
Pollination not only affects crop yield, but also the quality and efficiency of crop production. Many crops require most, if not all, ovules
to be fertilized for optimum fruit size and shape. A decrease in fragrance emission reduces the ability of flowers to attract pollinators and
results in considerable losses for growers, particularly for introduced species that had a specialized pollinator in their place of origin.
This problem has been exacerbated by recent disease epidemics that have killed many honeybees, the major insect pollinators in the
United States.
E One means by which plant breeders circumvent the pollination problem is by breeding self-compatible, or apomictic, varieties
that do not require fertilization. Although this solution is adequate, its drawbacks include near genetic uniformity and consequent
susceptibility to pathogens. Some growers have attempted to enhance honeybee foraging by spraying scent compounds on orchard trees,
but this approach was costly, had to be repeated, had potentially toxic effects on the soil or local biota, and, in the end, proved to be
inefficient. The poor effectiveness of this strategy probably reflects inherent limitations of the artificial, topically applied compounds,
which clearly fail to convey the appropriate message to the bees. For example, general spraying of the volatile mixture cannot tell the
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insects where exactly the blossoms are. Clearly, a more refined strategy is needed. The ability to enhance existing floral scent, create
scent de novo or change the characteristics of the scent, which could all be accomplished by genetic engineering, would allow us to
manipulate the types of insect pollinators and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, the metabolic engineering of fragrance could
increase crop protection against pathogens and pests.
F Genetic manipulation of scent will also benefit the floriculture industry. Ornamentals, including cut flowers, foliage and potted
plants, play an important aesthetic role in human life. Unfortunately, traditional breeding has often produced cultivars with improved
vase life, shipping characteristics, color and shape while sacrificing desirable perfumes. The loss of scent among ornamentals, which
have a worldwide value of more than $30 billion, makes them important targets for the genetic manipulation of flower fragrance. Some
work has already begun in this area, as several groups have created petunia and carnation plants that express the linalool synthase
gene from C. Breweri. These experiments are still preliminary. For technical reasons, the gene was expressed everywhere in the plant,
and although the transgenic plants did create small amounts of linalool, the level was below the threshold of detection for the human
nose. Similar experiments in tobacco used genes for other monoterpene synthases, such as the one that produces limonene, but gave
similar results.
G The next generation of experiments, already in progress, includes sophisticated schemes that target the expression of scent
genes specifically to flowers or other organs—such as special glands that can store antimicrobial or herbivore- repellent compounds.
A. State whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F).
1. We have few evidences to support the idea that scent attracts pollinators. ( )
2. Substances are released to help plants themselves. ( )
3. Certain ants are attracted by volatiles to guard plants in rainforest. ( )
4. Pollination only affects fruit trees' production rather than other crop trees. ( )
5. Plant’s scent attracts herbivore’s enemy for protection. ( )
B. Choose the one best answer A, B, C or D to each question.

6. How do wasps protect plants when they are attracted by scents according to the passage?
A Plants induce wasps to prey herbivore.
B Wasps lay eggs into caterpillars.
C Wasps laid eggs on plants to expel herbivore.
D Offending caterpillars and wasp eggs coexist well. ( )
7. What reason caused number of honeybees decline m the United States?
A pollination process
B spread illness
C crop trees are poisonous
D grower's overlook ( )
8. Which of the following drawbacks about artificial fragrance is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A It’s very expensive.
B It can't tell correct information to pollinators.
C It needs massive manual labour.
D It poisons local environment. ( )
9. The number of $30 billion quoted in the passage is to illustrate the fact that:
A favorable perfumes are made from ornamental flowers
B traditional floriculture industry needs reform.
C genetic operation on scent can make vast profit.
D Scent plays a significant role in Ornamental industry. ( )
10. What is weakness of genetic experiments on fragrance?
A Linalool level is too low to be smelt by nose.
B No progress made in linalool emission.
C Experiment on tobacco has a better result.
D Transgenic plants produce intense scent . ( )
C. Which word or phrase is used in the passage to express these meaning?

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1. releases a liquid in drops or small quantities 1. -------------------

2. active at night; happening at night 2. -------------------
3. things that protect or defense something 3. -------------------
4. a strong or violent attack 4. -------------------
5. the best possible; ideal; most favourable or desirable 5. -------------------
6. to find a way of avoiding a difficulty 6. -------------------
7. the state of being influenced or easily affected 7. -------------------
8. to control or use something in a skillful way 8. -------------------
9. concerned with beauty and art 9. -------------------
10. having genetic material introduced from another type of plant or animal 10.-------------------
IV. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
All about Renting

To make your move into an apartment as smooth as possible, we would like to make you aware of what will take place
before you are settled. Being prepared and avoiding problems can make it an easier and happier experience.
The first thing you must decide is how much of your income can be spent for your monthly rental. Besides the rent, the
coverage of the monthly electric bill and your phone charges should also be considered. Heat and water costs are almost
always included in your rent. Some rental units contain an individual heating system, in which case you will have heating
costs.
APPLICATION – When you make application to rent an apartment, it has always been common practice to check your
credit and references. You may now be required to pay a fee to have your application professionally checked.
If you do not want to hold up the process of confirming your rental, you should be prepared for the costs of application,
security and pet deposits.
DEPOSITS – You must expect to pay a deposit which can come under the name of security, damage or cleaning deposit.
They can range from a fee of $50 an up, or equal to a full month’s rent. This is insurance for a building owner against
damage or unusual cleaning after you have left, which means part or all of the deposit could be retained; otherwise, it is
refunded to you. The exact requirements for the deposit should be in writing so that you know what the money is for and
under what circumstances it can be retained or returned to you. You must also expect to pay an additional deposit if you
have a pet.
Many buildings may have a form available to check off items in the apartment and indicate their conditions. If there is a
tear in the carpet or a scratch on an appliance, it will be a matter of record and you cannot be charged for that later. If
such a form is not available, you can walk through the apartment with the manager making our own list, having it signed
by the manager and yourself.
All of this is a protection for you as well as the building owner and note that under a law enacted in 1973, your deposit
will earn interest at an annual rate of 3%. The deposit must also be returned to you within 3 weeks after you have vacated,
or the owner must provide you a written notice about the specific reason for withholding the deposit. You are required to
provide your building owner with a mailing address in order to receive your deposit within 3 weeks.
COMPLAINTS – It is not unusual that something may not function properly in your apartment. It certainly has happened
wherever you have lived before. If an appliance is not working, a faucet is leaking, and so on, put the problem in writing
and give it to your manager or caretaker.
If you have any serious complaints, you should call the building manager. If some action is not following, you can call the
Minnesota Multi-Housing Association “Hot Line” at 858-8222 between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. during weekdays for help or
service.
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SAFETY – It is important to all of us to feel safe and secure in your homes. First of all, your neighbours and the building
manager begin to know about your schedule, and any irregularity would make them question any activity that was out of
pattern. It is better for you to notify your neighbours or the manager that you will be gone for a few days and ask them to
pick up your mail or paper.
A building with controlled entry systems seems the ultimate in safety, but not when residents carelessly let anyone
through the door as they enter, or let anyone in who rings with a particular reason to enter the building.
Fire protection is the form of alarm systems and many neighbours to warn you if there is a fire in the building is extra
security in an apartment building.
In addition, you should know that apartment owners carry extensive insurance on the apartment building and property
within the building or the rental unit, but not on the property belonging to you. Burglary, damage from fire, smoke,
windstorm, explosion, or other misfortunes must be covered by you. It is recommended that you contact your insurance
agent regarding a Renter’s Insurance Policy.
LEASE – A lease or rental agreement becomes your next talk and could be your most important consideration. A lease
term could be for month to month, 6 months or one year. Your rent may be more per month on a short-term lease,
typically if for under 6 months. Some buildings will require a one-year lease and some will accept or only give a 6-month
lease.
When it comes to terminating your lease, you must remember that Minnesota State Law requires that you give the
building owner 30 days’ notice of your intent to vacate. You should present this notice in writing and deliver it the day
before your rent is due. If the owner needs to evict a resident, he is also required to give 30 days’ notice in writing and
deliver it the day before the rent is due. However, the owner may require 60 days’ notice of termination of a lease as
stated in the rental agreement. It is important that you read your lease and understand it before signing. It is for your
protection as well as the owner and here are some of the reasons:
1) It specifies in writing what the building owner’s responsibilities are and what yours are.
2) It protects you against rent increases for the term of your lease and against being evicted without any proper
reasons.
3) It describes policies and procedures to avoid misunderstanding and problems in the future.
4) It explains procedures for terminating your lease if the necessity arises.
If there is any part of your lease or rental agreement that you do not understand, be sure to question it before signing.
The management prefers to clear up any confusion at the start than have an unhappy resident at some later date.
A. Say whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F) according to the information given in the
passage.
1. The electric and telephone bills are probably excluded in the monthly rental. 1. ( )
2. The building owner is not supposed to send the deposit to you after you have left. 2. ( )
3. You are advised to call the manager if the TV set in your apartment is not working properly. 3. ( )
4. The Minnesota Multi-Housing Association “Hot Line” offers help and service seven days a week. 4. ( )
5. According to the passage, the longest term for the lease could be one year. 5. ( )
6. You can either phone to inform the building owner of your plan to move out or give him 6. ( )
a written notice.
7. The building owner is required by law to give the resident 60 days’ notice if he wants to end 7. ( )
the lease.
8. You can find in the rental agreement the building owner’s responsibilities as well as yours. 8. ( )
9. According to the rental agreement, the building owner cannot evict the residents without any 9. ( )
proper reasons.
10. You should ask before signing about any part of the lease which you do not understand. 10. ( )
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B. Find words or phrases in the text that mean:
1. moved out 1. ________________

2. work 2. ________________
3. inform 3. ________________
4. ending 4. ________________
5. hand over 5. ________________
6. force to leave 6. ________________
7. describes fully 7. ________________
8. to refuse to give someone something 8. ________________
9. the best, most advanced, greatest, etc of its kind 9. ________________
10. to delay or block the movement or progress of something 10. ________________
V. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
N E T W O R K I N G
N etworking as a concept has acquired what is in

all truth an unjustified air of modernity. It is
considered in the corporate world as an
essential tool for the modern businessperson, as they
benefit most. And why? Because all things being equal,
people move within circles and that person has the
potential of being sucked into ever growing spheres of
new contacts. It is said that, if you know eight people,
trot round the globe drumming up business for you are in touch with everyone in the world. It does not
themselves or a corporation. The concept is worn like a take much common sense to realize the potential for
badge of distinction, and not just in the business world. any kind of venture as one is able to draw on the
experience of more and more people.
People can be divided basically into those who keep
knowledge and their personal contacts to themselves, Unfortunately, making new contacts, business or
and those who are prepared to share what they know otherwise, while it brings success, does cause problems.
and indeed their friends with others. A person who is It enlarges the individual’s world. This is in truth not
insecure, for example someone who finds it difficult to altogether a bad thing, but it puts more pressure on the
share information with others and who is unable to networker through his having to maintain an ever larger
bring people, including close friends, together does not circle of people. The most convenient way out is,
make a good networker. The classic networker is perhaps, to cull old contacts, but this would be
someone who is strong enough within themselves to anathema to our networker as it would defeat the
connect different people including close friends with whole purpose of networking. Another problem is the
each other. For example, a businessman or an academic reaction of friends and associates. Spreading oneself
may meet someone who is likely to be a valuable thinly gives one less time for others who were perhaps
contact in the future, but at the moment that person closer to one in the past. In the workplace, this can
may benefit from meeting another associate or friend. cause tension with jealous colleagues, and even with
It takes quite a secure person to bring these people superiors who might be tempted to rein in a more
together and allow a relationship to develop successful inferior. Jealousy and envy can prove to be
independently of himself. From the non-networker’s very detrimental if one is faced with a very insecure
point of view such development may be intolerable, manager, as this person may seek to stifle someone’s
especially if it is happening outside their control. The career or even block it completely. The answer here is
unfortunate thing here is that the initiator of the to let one’s superiors share in the glory; to throw them
contact, if he did but know it, would be the one to
9
a few crumbs of comfort. It is called leadership from the years has been of enormous benefits to industry and
bottom. educational institutions. The stereotypical academic is
one who moves in a rarefied atmosphere living a life of
In the present business climate, companies and sometimes splendid isolation, a prisoner of their own
enterprises need to co-operate with each other in order genius. This sort of person does not fit easily into the
to expand. As globalization grows apace, companies mould of the modern networker. Yet even this insular
need to be able to span not just countries but world is changing. The ivory towers are being left ever
continents. Whilst people may rail against this more frequently as educational experts forge links with
development, it is for the moment here to stay. other bodies; sometimes to stunning effect as in Silicon
Without co-operation and contacts, specialist
Valley in America and around Cambridge in England,
companies will not survive for long. Computer which now has one of the most concentrated clusters of
components, for example, need to be compatible with high-tech companies in Europe.
the various machines on the market and to achieve this,
firms need to work in conjunction with others. No It is the networkers, the wheeler-dealers, the movers
business or institution can afford to be an island in and shakers, call them what you will, that carry the
today’s environment. In the not very distant past, it was world along. The world of the Neanderthals was shaken
possible for companies to go it alone, but it is now more between 35,000 and 40,000 BC; they were superseded
difficult to do so. by Homo sapiens with the very ‘networking’ skills that
separate us from other animals: understanding, thought
The same applies in the academic world, where ideas abstraction and culture, which are inextricably linked to
have been jealously guarded. The opening-up of
planning survival and productivity in humans. It is said
universities and colleges to the outside world in recent that the meek will inherit the earth. But will they?
(A) Say whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F).
1. Networking is not a modern idea. 1. ___________

2. Networking is worn like a badge exclusively in the business world. 2. ___________
3. People fall into two basic categories. 3. ___________
4. A person who shares knowledge and friends makes a better networker than 4.___________
one who does not.
5. Making new acquaintances brings success, but also has its disadvantages. 5. ___________
6. A manager can suppress, or even totally block, the career of an employee. 6. ___________
7. A prisoner does not easily become a modern networker. 7. ___________
8. One of the greatest concentrations of high-tech companies is in America. 8. ___________
9. Homo sapiens replaced the Neanderthals. 9.___________
10. Only culture sets us apart from other animals. 10.___________
(B) Which word or phrase is used in the passage to express these meaning?
1. to walk or go somewhere 1. --------------------------

2. happy and confident 2. --------------------------
3. a new business activity that involves taking risks 3. --------------------------
4. something that is completely the opposite of what you believe in 4. --------------------------
5. causing harm or damage; damaging 5. --------------------------
10
6. to complain angrily about something, especially something that you think 6.--------------------------
is very unfair
7. relating to a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a 7.--------------------------
particular type of person or thing
8. a particular style showing the characteristics, attitudes or behaviour that are 8.-------------------------
typical of someone or something
9. very surprising or shocking 9. --------------------------
10. taken the place of something or someone that is considered to be 10.-------------------------
old-fashioned or no longer the best available
VI. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN AUSTRALIA

The first student to study medicine at university level in Australia began their four-year, full-time course at the University of
Technology, Sydney, in early 1994. Their course covered, among other therapies, acupuncture. The theory they learnt is based on
the traditional Chinese explanation of this ancient healing art: that it can regulate the flow of "Qi' or energy through pathways
in the body. This course reflects how far some alternative therapies have come in their struggle for acceptance by the medical
establishment.
Australia has been unusual in the Western world in having a very conservative attitude to natural or alternative therapies,
according to Dr. Paul Laver, a lecturer in Public Health at eh University of Sydney. 'We've had a tradition of doctors being
fairly powerful and I guess they are pretty loath to allow any pretenders to their position to come into it.' In many other
industrialised countries, orthodox and alternative medicine have worked 'hand in glove' for years. In Europe, only
orthodox doctors can prescribe herbal medicine. In Germany, plant remedies account for 10% of the national turnover of
pharmaceuticals. Americans made more visits to alternative therapists than to orthodox doctors in 1990, and each year
they spend about $US12 billion on therapists that have not been scientifically tested.
Disenchantment with orthodox medicine has seen the popularity of alternative therapies in Australia climb steadily during
the past 20 years. In a 1983 national health survey, 1.9% of people said they had contacted a chiropractor, naturopath,
osteopath, acupuncturist or herbalist in the two weeks prior to the survey. By 1990, this figure had risen to 2.6% of the
population. The 550,000 consultations with alternative therapists reported in the 1990 survey represented about an
eighth of the total number of consultations with medically qualified personnel covered by the survey, according to Dr
Laver and colleagues writing in the Australian Journal of Public Health in 1993.'A better educated and less accepting public
has become disillusioned with the experts in general, and increasingly sceptical about science and empirically based
knowledge,' they said. 'The high standing of professionals including doctors, has been eroded as a consequence.
Rather than resisting or criticizing this trend, increasing numbers of Australian doctors, particularly younger ones, are
forming group practices with alternative therapists or taking courses themselves, particularly in acupuncture and
11
herbalism. Part of the incentive was financial, Dr Laver said. 'The bottom line is that most general practitioners are business
people. If they see potential clientele going elsewhere, they might want to be able to offer a similar service.'
In 1993, Dr Laver and his colleagues published a survey of 289 Sydney people who attended eight alternative therapists'
practices in Sydney. These practices offered a wide range of alternative therapies from 25 therapists. Those surveyed had
experienced chronic illnesses, for which orthodox medicine had been able to provide little relief. They commented that
they liked the holistic approach of their alternative therapists and the friendly, concerned and detailed attention they had
received. The cold, impersonal manner of orthodox doctors featured in the survey. An increasing exodus from their clinics,
coupled with this and a number of other relevant surveys carried out in Australia, all pointing to orthodox doctors'
inadequacies, have led mainstream doctors themselves to begin to admit they could learn from the personal style of
alternative therapists. Dr Patrick Store, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, concurs that orthodox
doctors could learn a lot about bedside manner and advising patients on preventative health from alternative therapists.
According to the Australian Journal of Public Health, 18% of patients visiting alternative therapists do so because they
suffer from musculo-skeletal complaints; 12% suffer from digestive problems, which is only 1% more than those suffering
from emotional problems. Those suffering from respiratory complaints represent 7% of their patients, and candida
sufferers represent an equal percentage. Headache sufferers and those complaining of general ill health represent 6% and
5% of patients respectively, and a further 4% see therapists for general health maintenance.
The surgery suggested that complementary medicine is probably a better term than alternative medicine. Alternative
medicine appears to be an adjunct, sought in times of disenchantment when conventional medicine seems not to offer
the answer.
A. Say whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE.
1. In 1990, Americans consulted alternative therapists more often than doctors. 1.--------------
2. Australians have been turning to alternative therapies in increasing numbers over the past 2.--------------
20 years.
3. Between 1983 and 1990 the numbers of patients visiting alternative therapists rose to 3.--------------
include a further 8% of the population.
4. The 1990 survey related to 550,000 consultations with alternative therapists. 4.--------------
5. In the past, Australians had a higher opinion of doctors than they do today. 5.--------------
6. Some Australian doctors are retraining in alternative therapies. 6.--------------
7. Alternative therapists earn higher salaries than doctors. 7.--------------
8. The 1993 Sydney survey involved 289 patients who visited alternative therapists for 8.--------------
acupuncture treatment.
9. All the patients in the 1993 Sydney survey had long-term medical complaints. 9.--------------
10. According to the Australian Journal of Public Health, the percentage of patients suffering 10.--------------
from emotional problems account for 11%.
1. not willing to do something 1. ________________

2. a lack of belief that something is good or worth doing 2. ________________
3. having doubts that a claim or statement is true 3. ________________
4. all the customers or clients of a shop, store or organization 4. ________________
12
5. treating the whole person rather than just the symptoms of 5. ________________
a disease
6. included a particular person or thing as a special feature 6. ________________
7. a situation in which many people leave a place at the same time 7. ________________
8. agrees 8. ________________
9. an illness that affects a particular part of a body 9. ________________
10. a thing added to something else as a supplementary 10. ________________
VII. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
Britain’s Canals – the Solution to Overcrowded Roads?

A. It is hard to imagine that only a decade or so ago many of the nation’s canals were little more than the last resting
place for abandoned shopping trolleys. There is still work to be done, but their transformation has been remarkable.
Projects such as Castlefield in Manchester and Brindleyplace in Birmingham have transformed city-centre canals from
stagnant reminders of a fading industrial past to the epitome of urban cool. However, 21st-century priorities dictate
that the rehabilitation of this 18th-century motorway system cannot stop there. Canals and navigable rivers form a
major transport network, in need of only piecemeal investment, and with the spare capacity to take away the need
for hundreds of thousands of lorry journeys. In the second half of the 18th century, canals drove the industrial
revolution. Today, authorities want them to drive congestion off the roads. Last month, for example, the European
Commission proposed a seven-year plan to shift large amounts of freight from roads to inland waterways.
B. Europe’s enthusiasm comes as no surprise. Freight traffic is expected to grow by a third in the next decade. The cost
of pollution and congestion is set to swallow one per cent of Europe’s entire GDP by 2010. “With a fleet of 11,000
vessels and a capacity equaling 10,000 trains or 440,000 trucks, inland waterways can make transport in Europe more
efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly,” says Jacques Barrot, vice-president of the European Commission in
charge of transport. “Europe cannot afford to leave that potential untapped.”
C. Mainland Europe has never, in fairness, left it completely untapped. The canals of the low countries and the rivers of
central and eastern Europe buzzed with the sound of freight barges long after British industry had thrown in its lot
with railways and roads. Attempts to revive freight on British canals have been hampered by the fact that their heyday
lasted barely 60 years, and they were first considered obsolete 150 years ago. For much of the intervening period,
13
many have simply been left to rot. “Our network was in decline for a long time compared to much of Europe,” says
Eugene Baston of British Waterways. “Whereas other countries developed road and rail transport but carried on using
their waterways as well, our canals were neglected. In fact, many European countries actually enlarged their canals
100 years ago.”
D. That decline in Britain has been reversed, first by leisure seekers and more recently by industry. Boaters, anglers,
walkers, and cyclists now benefit from around 4,000 miles of navigable waterways and the paths and trails that run
alongside them. Waterside living is fashionable, and city-centre canals have been a focus for urban renewal. And,
despite our obsession with road transport, environmental considerations are forcing government and business to turn
the clock back 200 years and – at least in a minor way – get our waterways working again.
E. In fact, industrial goods such as coal, steel, aggregated, and petroleum have never completely disappeared from large
rivers and designated commercial waterways. Barges on the river Severn have recently started carrying the equivalent
of 34,000 lorry loads of aggregated each year, the first freight traffic on the river for a decade. British Waterways,
which owns about half of the country’s navigable inland waterways, carried the equivalent of 64,000 25-ton lorry loads
of freight in 2004. The organization says these figures are certain to increase as new schemes start, and
environmentalists hope they will. Carrying freight by water uses about a quarter of the energy of an equivalent road
journey. In comparison to lorries, barges produce low emissions, low noise and are visually unobtrusive. “We think
that anything that can take freight off the roads need to be fully explored,” says Tony Bosworth, transport campaigner
for Friends of the Earth. “Canals can do that. They can help cut the pollution that causes climate change.”
F. There is a limit to what canals can carry. The slow pace of water travel does not fit well with the limited shelf life of
fresh produce. If supermarkets won’t trust their cherry tomatoes to water, they might trust the waste paper and
plastic that protects them. Many of the proposals to utilize Britain’s waterways are based around waste management
and recycling schemes. For example, a pilot scheme in Hackney, east London, has seen municipal waste collected by
truck and transferred to barge for transportation to a reprocessing plant. In the future, the scheme could remove
300,000 dustcart miles from the borough’s streets every year. Current arrangements could be just the tip of the
iceberg.
G. Planning permission has been given for a Powerday recycling plant at Willesden Junction, a site that sits on the
intersection of road, rail, and canal networks. “The plant will have the capacity to handle a million and a half tons of
waste every year, but the amount carried by road will be capped at 500,000 tons,” says Ed Fox of British Waterways
London. “If they want to grow the business, they will have to work with us.” Fox says getting freight back on the canals
has been “a nice idea” for 50 years, but until recently little more than an idea. “The Powerday project, on the other
hand, is proof of what really can be done.”
H. Though details have yet to be decided, British Waterways believes the most appropriate way to transport some of the
building materials destined for London’s giant Olympic construction project is by the network of waterways that links
the Thames and east London. The Olympic Delivery Authority says: “It’s being looked at and the final solution could
well involve some transportation by water. What exactly we do will be based on a range of factors, but one of those
will be sustainability.” Their gentle pace will always make canals a niche player in a busy world, but after 200 years of
neglect, the tide is starting to turn.
A. State whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F).
1. Canals were important in the industrial revolution in Britain. 1. _________

2. The use of canals in Europe is expected to grow by a third over the next ten years. 2. _________
3. Britain was the only one country to let its canals decline. 3. _________
4. Canals in Britain have become a focus for city-centre renewal. 4. _________
5. Barges are less polluting than lorries. 5. _________
14
6. The amount of waste that can be taken to the Powerday plant by road is limited. 6. _________
7. Canals will not become a major form of transport in the world. 7. _________
8. Canals will require investment equal to 1% of Europe’s transport budget. 8. _________
9. The European canal network has actually been expanded in some countries over the last 9. _________
hundred years.
10. Waste can be transported to the Powerday plant by barge only. 10. ________
1. not developing, growing or changing 1. ________________

2. a little at a time; gradual; bit by bit 2. ________________
3. available but not yet used 3. ________________
4. prevented from easily doing or achieving something 4. ________________
5. disused; out-of-date 5. ________________
6. people who catch fish as a hobby 6. ________________
7. an extreme unhealthy interest in something or worry about something 7. ________________
8. not easily noticeable 8. ________________
9. only a small part of a much larger problem 9. ________________
10. limited the amount of something that can be used, allowed or spent 10. ________________
VIII. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
The Truth about the Environment

For many environmentalists, the world seems to be getting worse. They have developed a hit-list of our main
fears: that natural resources are running out; that the population is ever growing, leaving less and less to eat; that species
are becoming extinct in vast numbers, and that the planet’s air and water are becoming ever more polluted.
But a quick look at the facts shows a different picture. First, energy and other resources have become more
abundant, not less so, since the book ‘The Limits to Growth’ was published in 1972 by a group of scientists. Second, more
food is now produced per head of the world’s population that at any time in history. Fewer people are starving. Third,
although species are indeed becoming extinct, only about 0.7% of them are expected to disappear in the next 50 years,
not 25-50% as has so often been predicted. And finally, most forms of environmental pollution either appear to have been
exaggerated, or are transient – associated with the early phases of industrialization and therefore best cured not by
restricting economic growth, but by accelerating it. One form of pollution – the release of greenhouse gases that causes
global warming – does appear to be a phenomenon that is going to extend well into our future, but its total impact is
unlikely to pose a devastating problem. A bigger problem may well turn out to be an inappropriate response to it.
Yet opinion polls suggest that many people nurture the belief that environment standards are declining and four
factors seem to cause this disjunction between perception and reality.
One is the lopsidedness built into scientific research. Scientific funding goes mainly to areas with many problems.
That may be wise policy, but it will also create an impression that many more potential problems exit than is the case.
Secondly, environmental groups need to be noticed by the mass media. They also need to keep the money rolling
in. Understandably, perhaps, they sometimes overstate their arguments. In 1997, for example, the World Wide Fund for
15
Nature issued a press release entitled: ‘Two thirds of the world’s forests lost forever’. The truth turns out to be nearer
20%.
Though these groups are run overwhelmingly by selfless folk, they nevertheless share many of the characteristics
of other lobby groups. That would matter less if people applied the same degree of scepticism to environmental lobbying
as they do to lobby groups in other fields. A trade organization arguing for, say, weaker pollution controls is instantly seen
as self-interested. Yet a green organization opposing such a weakening is seen as altruistic, even if an impartial view of
the controls in question might suggest they are doing more harm than good.
A third source of confusion is the attitude of the media. People are clearly more curious about bad news than
good. Newspapers and broadcasters are there to provide what the public wants. That, however, can lead to significant
distortions of perception. An example was America’s encounter with El Nino in 1997 and 1998. This climate phenomenon
was accused of wrecking tourism, causing allergies, melting the ski-slopes and causing 22 deaths. However, according to
an article in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, the damage it did was estimated at US$4 billion but the
benefits amounted to some US$19 billion. These came from higher winter temperatures (which saved an estimated 850
lives, reduced heating costs and diminished spring floods caused by meltwaters).
The fourth factor is poor individual perception. People worry that the endless rise in the amount of stuff everyone
throws away will cause the world to run out of places to dispose of waste. Yet, even if America’s trash output continues
to rise as it has done in the past, and even if the American population doubles by 2100, all the rubbish America produces
through the entire 21st century will still take up only one-12,000th of the area of the entire United States.
So what of global warming? As we know, carbon dioxide emissions are causing the planet to warm. The best
estimates are that the temperatures will rise by 2-3’C in this century, causing considerable problems, at a total cost of US$
5,000 billion.
Despite the intuition that something drastic needs to be done about such a costly problem economic analyses
clearly show it will be far more expensive to cut carbon dioxide emissions radically than to pay the costs of
adaptation to the increased temperatures. A model by one of the main authors of the United Nations Climate Change
Panel shows how an expected temperature increase of 2.1 degrees in 2100 would only be diminished to an increase of
1.9 degrees. Or to put it another way, the temperature increase that the planet would have experienced in 2094 would
be postponed to 2100.
So this does not prevent global warming, but merely buys the world six years. Yet the cost or reducing carbon
dioxide emissions, for the United States alone, will be higher than the cost of solving the world’s single most pressing
health problem: providing universal access to clean drinking water and sanitation. Such measures would avoid 2 million
deaths every year, and prevent half a billion people from becoming seriously ill.
It is crucial that we look at the facts if we want to make the best possible decisions for the future. It may be costly
to be overly optimistic – but more costly still to be too pessimistic.
(A) State TURE or FALSE against the following.

1. Environmentalists take a pessimistic view of the world for a number of reasons. 1. ( )
2. Data on the Earth’s natural resources has only been collected since 1972. 2. ( )
3. The number of starving people in the world has increased in recent years. 3. ( )
4. Extinct species are being replaced by new species. 4. ( )
5. Some pollution problems have been correctly linked to industrialization. 5. ( )
(B) Choose the appropriate letters A-D.

1. What aspect of scientific research does the writer B. the lack of financial support
express concern about in paragraph 4? C. the selection of areas to research
A. the need to produce results D. the desire to solve every research problem
16
2. The writer quotes from the World Wide Fund for 4. The writer suggests that newspapers print items that
Nature to illustrate how are intended to
A. influential the mass media can be. A. educate readers.
B. effective environmental groups can be. B. meet their readers’ expectations.
C. the mass media can help groups raise funds. C. encourage feedback from readers.
D. environmental groups can exaggerate their D. mislead readers.
claims. 5. What does the writer say about America’s waste
3. What is the writer’s main point about lobby problem?
groups in paragraph 6? A. It will increase in line with population growth.
A. Some are more active than others. B. It is not as important as we have been led to
B. Some are better organized than others. believe.
C. Some receive more criticism than others. C. It has been reduced through public awareness of
D. Some support more important issues than others. the issues.
D. It is only significant in certain areas of the country.
(C) Find the words and phrases in the given passage which mean the same as following.
1. plentiful 1. -----------------------
2. temporary 2. -----------------------
3. to prove to be; discover to be 3. -----------------------
4. being heavier, larger or higher on one side than on the other 4. -----------------------
5. an attitude of doubting 5. -----------------------
6. unselfish 6. -----------------------
7. the acts of twisting or changing facts, ideas etc. 7. -----------------------
8. to use up or finish a supply of something 8. -----------------------
9. an idea or strong feeling that something is true although you cannot explain why 9. -----------------------
10. decreased 10. ----------------------
IX. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
The History of Salt

1 Salt is so simple and plentiful that we almost take it for granted. In chemical terms, salt is the combination of a sodium
ion with a chloride ion, making it one of the most basic molecules on earth. It is also one of the most plentiful: it has
been estimated that salt deposits under the state of Kansas alone could supply the entire world’s needs for the next
250,000 years.
2 But salt is also an essential element. Without it, life itself would be impossible since the human body requires the
mineral in order to function properly. The concentration of sodium ions in the blood is directly related to the regulation
of safe body fluid levels. And while we are all familiar with its many uses in cooking, we may not be aware that this
element is used in some 14,000 commercial applications. From manufacturing pulp and paper to setting dyes in
textiles and fabric, from producing soaps and detergents to making our roads safe in winter, salt plays an essential
part in our daily lives.
3 Salt has a long and influential role in world history. From the dawn of civilization, it has been a key factor in economic,
religious, social and political development. In every corner of the world, it has been the subject of superstition,
folklore, and warfare, and has even been used as currency.
4 As a precious and portable commodity, salt has long been a cornerstone of economies throughout history. In fact,
researcher M.R. Bloch conjectured that civilization began along the edges of the desert because of the natural surface
17
deposits of salt found there. Bloch also believed that the first war – likely fought near the ancient city of Essalt on the
Jordan River – could have been fought over the city’s precious supplies of the mineral.
5 In 2200 BC, the Chinese emperor Hsia Yu levied one of the first known taxes. He taxed salt. In Tibet, Marco Polo noted
that tiny cakes of salt were pressed with images of the Grand Khan to be used as coins and to this day among the
nomads of Ethiopia’s Danakil Plains it is still used as money. Greek slave traders often bartered it for slaves, giving rise
to the expression that someone was “not worth his salt.” Roman legionnaires were paid in salt – a salarium, the Latin
origin of the word “salary.”
6 Merchants in 12th-centry Timbuktu – the gateway to the Sahara Desert and the seat of scholars – valued this mineral
as highly as books and gold. In France, Charles of Anjou levied the “gabelle,” a salt tax, in 1259 to finance his conquest
of the Kingdom of Naples. Outrage over the gabelle fueled the French Revolution. Though the revolutionaries
eliminated the tax shortly after Louis XVI, the Republic of France re-established the gabelle in the early 19th Century;
only in 1946 was it removed from the books.
7 The Erie Canal, an engineering marvel that connected the Great Lakes to New York’s Hudson River in 1825, was called
“the ditch that salt built.” Salt tax revenues paid for half the cost of construction of the canal. The British monarchy
supported itself with high salt taxed, leading to a bustling black market for the white crystal. In 1785, the earl of
DunDonald wrote that every year in England, 10,000 people were arrested for salt smuggling. And protesting against
British rule in 19230, Mahatma Gandhi led a 200-mile march to the Arabian Ocean to collect untaxed salt for India’s
poor.
8 In religion and culture, salt long held an important place with Greek worshippers consecrating it in their rituals.
Further, in Buddhist tradition, salt repels evil spirits, which is why it is customary to throw it over your shoulder before
entering your house after a funeral: it scares off any evil spirits that may be clinging to your back. Shinto religion also
uses it to purify an area. Before sumo wrestlers enter the ring for a match – which is reality an elaborate Shinto rite –
a handful is thrown into the center to drive off malevolent spirits.
9 In the Southwest of the United States, the Pueblo worship the Salt Mother. Other native tribes had significant
restrictions on who was permitted to eat salt. Hopi legend holds that the angry Warrior Twins punished mankind by
placing valuable salt deposits far from civilization, requiring hard work and bravery to harvest the precious mineral. In
1933, the Dalai Lama was buried sitting up in a bed of salt. Today, a gift of salt endures in India as a potent symbol of
good luck and a reference to Mahatma Gandhi’s liberation of India.
10 The effects of salt deficiency are highlighted in times of war, when human bodies and national economies are strained
to their limits. Thousands of Napoleon’s troops died during the French retreat from Moscow due to inadequate wound
healing and lowered resistance to disease – the results of salt deficiency.
A. Say whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F) according to the information given in the
passage.
1. Salt deposits in the state of Kansas are vast. 1. ( )

2. The uses of salt are countless. 2. ( )
3. It has been suggested that salt was responsible for the first war. 3. ( )
4. Being a prized and portable commodity, it has played a major part in the economies of many 4. ( )
countries.
5. The first tax on salt was imposed by a Chinese emperor. 5. ( )
6. Salt is no longer used as a form of currency. 6. ( )
7. Salt contributed to the French Revolution. 7. ( )
8. Most of the money for the construction of the Erie Canal came from salt taxes. 8. ( )
9. Hopi legend believes that salt deposits were placed far away from civilization to penalize mankind. 9. ( )
18
10. A lack of salt is connected with the deaths of many of Napoleon’s soldiers during the French 10. ( )
retreat from Moscow.
1. the belief that particular events bring good or bad luck 1. ------------------------------
2. a thing that is useful or has a useful quality 2. ------------------------------
3. formed an opinion about something even though you do not have much 3.------------------------------
information
4. exchanged goods, property, services, etc. for other goods without using money 4. ------------------------------
5. used official authority to demand and collect a payment, tax, etc. 5. ------------------------------
6. a strong feeling of shock or anger 6. ------------------------------
7. increased something; made something stronger 7. ------------------------------
8. a series of actions that are always performed in the same way especially part of 8.------------------------------
a religious ceremony
9. a confined area in which people perform or compete 9. ------------------------------
10. evil; wicked; harmful 10. -----------------------------
X. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
(A) More and more women are now joining the paid labour force worldwide. They represent the majority of the workforce
in all the sectors which are expending as a result of globalization and trade liberalization – the informal sector, including
subcontracting ; export processing or free trade zones; homeworking; and the “flexible”, part-time, temporary, low-paid labour
force. Even in countries which have low levels of women paid workers, such as the Arab countries, employment is rising.
In South-East Asia women represent up to 80 per cent of the work force in the export processing zones, working mainly
in the labour-intensive textile, toy, shoe and electronic sectors. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 70 percent of economically
active women are employed in services. Many women in South-East Asia are moving from manufacturing into services.
(B) Long excluded from many paid jobs and thus economically dependent on husbands or fathers, paid employment has
undoubtedly brought economic and social gains to many women. For many previously inexperienced young women, the
opportunity to gain financial independence albeit limited and possibly temporary has helped break down some of the taboos of
their societies and prescriptions on women’s behaviour.
Any gains, however, should be seen in a wider context. Declining economic and social conditions throughout the world,
in particular declining household incomes, have compelled many women to take any kind of paid work to meet their basic needs
and those of their families. The jobs available to them are, in the main, insecure and low-paid with irregular hours, high levels
of intensity, little protection from health and safety hazards and few opportunities for promotion.
19
(C) Women’s high participation in informal employment is partly due to the fact that many jobs in the formal economy are
not open to them; they are actively excluded from certain kinds of work or lack access to education and training or have domestic
commitments. The increase of women’s participation in the informal sector has been most marked in countries of Sub-Saharan
Africa where sharp economic decline and structural adjustment policies have reduced the official job market drastically.
(D) Job gains for some women have meant losses for others. Female employment in export production is increasing in
Bangladesh, Vietnam and El Salvador, for instance, while women in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong are faced with
redundancies as the industries which have relied on their labour for three decades (textile, clothing, shoe and electronics)
relocate elsewhere. (In South Korea, industries which tend to employ men – steel, petrochemicals, electricity, automobiles,
shipbuilding and machinery – have received government subsidies to stay put).
As domestic markets are opened up to international competition and quotas which restricted the quantity of imports
from any one country are abandoned, cheap, subsidized foreign imports are threatening the livelihoods of many women, small
producers and entrepreneurs in “cottage industries”. In countries such as India and Bangladesh, for instance, more than 90 per
cent of economically-active women work in the informal sector at jobs such as hand loom weaving.
(E) Far from escaping patriarchal control, the industrial setting invariably replicates it, the head of the factory taking the
place of husband or father. To attract investors, some Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand emphasise the “dexterity
of the small hands of the oriental women and traditional attitude of submission”. Women workers are particularly exposed to
sexual harassment, a form of violence which reflects the subordination they have to submit to be allowed to work. Complaints
often lead to dismissal.
(F) In general, women are paid less than men are, and women’s jobs pay less than men’s jobs. On average, most women
earn 50 to 80 percent of men’s pay, but there are considerable variations. In Tanzania, which ranks first in the world for pay
equality, women earn 92 per cent of what men earn; in Bangladesh, they earn 42 per cent. Women also have less job security
and fewer opportunities for promotion. Higher status jobs, even in industries which employ mostly women, tend to be filled by
men.
(G) In addition, women usually have to continue their unpaid domestic and caring work, such as of children, the sick and
the elderly, which is often regarded as women’s ‘natural’ and exclusive responsibility. Even when they have full-time jobs outside
the home, women take care of most household tasks, particularly the preparation of meals, cleaning and childcare. When
women become mothers, they often have no option other than to work part-time or accept home work.
(A). Choose the best option to complete the sentences or to answer the question.
1. The best title for this text is 5. Section (C) is mainly about
a) Women in Development a) the economic crisis in some countries of sub-
b) A Woman’s Work is Never Done Saharan Africa
c) A Woman’s Place is in the Home b) the reason why women have to involve in
d) Women as Temporary Workers informal employment
2. The reading passage is mainly about c) the formal economy which favours men
a) The social position of women d) the women who lack education
b) the situation of the working mothers 6. Section (D) is mainly about
c) the situation of women in the developing world a) women being threatened
d) the situation of women as paid workers b) the effects of competition and quotas on
3. Section (A) is mainly about women’s incomes
a) The paid labour force c) women becoming redundant as industries
b) women working part-time relocate
c) more women in the labour force d) how women have been disadvantaged in the job
d) lack of female workers in Arab countries market
4. Section (B) is mainly about
a) how women benefit and lose from work 7. According to second part of Section (D), which of the
opportunities following is true?
b) breaking down social taboos a) Local companies are not able to compete against the
c) young women gaining experience from work international companies.
d) women working to fulfill basic needs
20
b) Lack of government subsidies caused the small a) there are variations in the amount women are paid
producers to lose markets. b) men generally get the top jobs
c) Ninety per cent of women in India and Bangladesh c) men get better treatment than women do
earn their living by weaving. d) women in Bangladesh earn less than women in
d) Cheap subsidized foreign imports get the most Tanzania do
domestic market share and this affects women. 10. Section (G) is mainly about
8. Section (E) highlights the point that a) the extent of women’s work
a) Oriental women have small hands b) women’s natural role
b) men are still in positions of authority over women c) why women work part-time
c) women usually work for their husband or their father d) women doing menial tasks
d) women who complain are dismissed
9. Section (F) emphasises the point that
(B). Match the words in Column A with the meanings in Column B.
Column A Column B
1. liberalization ( ) (a) a person who makes money by starting business, especially when it
involves taking risks.
2. albeit ( ) (b) the situation when somebody has to leave their job because there is no
more work available for them.
3. taboo ( ) (c) money that is paid by a government or an organization to reduce the cost
of services or of producing goods so that their prices can be kept
4. compelled ( ) (d) ruled or controlled by men
5. drastically ( ) (e) making something such as a law or a system less strict
6. redundancy ( ) (f) although
7. subsidy ( ) (g) a cultural religious custom that does not allow people to do, use or talk
about particular thing
8. entrepreneur ( ) (h) skill in using your hand
9. patriarchal ( ) (i) forced somebody to do something
10. dexterity ( ) (j) severely
XI. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
ABSENTEEISM IN NURSING
Absent from work is costly and disruptive problem for any organization. The cost of absenteeism in Australia has been
put at 1.8 million hours per day or $400 million annually. The study reported here was conducted in the Prince William Hospital
in Brisbane, Australia, where, prior to this time, few active steps had been taken to measure, understand or manage the
occurrence of absenteeism.
Nursing Absenteeism
A prevalent attitude amongst many nurses in the group selected for study was that there was no reward or recognition
for not utilizing the paid sick leave entitlement allowed them in their employment conditions. Therefore, they believed they
may as well take the days off-sick or otherwise. Similar attitudes have been noted by James (1989), who noted that sick leave is
seen by many workers as a right, like annual holiday leave.
21
Miller and Norton (1986), in their survey of 865 nursing personnel, found that 73 per cent felt they should be rewarded
for not taking sick leave, because some employees always used their sick leave. Further, 67 per cent of nurses felt that
administration was not sympathetic to the problems shift work causes to employees’ personal and social lives. Only 53 per cent
of the respondents felt that every effort was made to schedule staff fairly.
In another longitudinal study of nurses working in two Canadian hospitals, Hackett, Bycio and Guion (1989) examined
the reasons why nurses took absence from work. The most frequent reason stated for absence was minor illness to self. Other
causes, in decreasing order of frequency, were illness in family, family social function, work to do at home and bereavement.
Method
In an attempt to reduce the level of absenteeism amongst the 250 Registered and Enrolled Nurses in the present study,
the Prince William management introduced three different, yet potentially complementary, strategies over 18 months.
Strategy 1: Non-financial (material) incentives

Within the established wage and salary system it was not possible to use hospital funds to support this strategy.
However, it was possible to secure incentives from local businesses, including free passes to entertainment parks, theatres,
restaurants, etc. At the end of each roster period, the ward with the lowest absence rate would win the prize.
Strategy 2: Flexible fair rostering

Where possible, staff were given the opportunity to determine their working schedule within the limits of clinical needs.
Strategy 3: Individual absenteeism and counseling

Each month, managers would analyse the pattern of absence of staff with excessive sick leave (greater than ten days
per year for full-time employees). Characteristic patterns of potential ‘voluntary absenteeism’ such as absence before and after
days off, excessive weekend and night duty absence and multiple single days off were communicated to all ward nurses and
then, as necessary, followed up by action.
Results
Absence rates for the six months prior to the incentive scheme ranged from 3.69 per cent to 4.32 per cent. In the
following six months they ranged between 2.87 per cent and 3.96 per cent. This represents a 20 per cent improvement.
However, analyzing the absence rates on a year-to-year basis, the overall absence rate was 3.60 per cent in the first year and3.43
per cent in the following year. This represents a 5 per cent decrease from the first to the second year of the study. A significant
decrease in absence over the two-year period could not be demonstrated.
Discussion
The non-financial incentive scheme did appear to assist in controlling absenteeism in the short term. As the scheme
progressed it became harder to secure prizes and this contributed to the program’s losing momentum and finally ceasing. There
were mixed results across wards as well. For example, in wards with staff members who had long-term genuine illness, there
was little chance of winning, and to some extent the staff on those wards were disempowered. Our experience would suggest
that the long-term effects of incentive awards on absenteeism are questionable.
Over the time of the study, staff were given a larger degree of control in their rosters. This led to significant
improvements in communication between managers and staff. A similar effect was found from the implementation of the third
strategy. Many of the nurses had not realized the impact their behavior was having on the organization and their colleagues but
there were also staff members who felt that talking to them about their absenteeism was ‘picking’ on them and this usually had
a negative effect on management-employee relationships.
Conclusion
Although there has been some decrease in absence rates, no single strategy or combination of strategies has had a
significant impact on absenteeism per se. Notwithstanding the disappointing results, it is our contention that the strategies
were not in vain. A shared ownership of absenteeism and a collaborative approach to problem solving has facilitated improved
cooperation and communication between management and staff. It is our belief that this improvement alone, while not tangibly
measurable, has increased the ability of management to manage the effects of absenteeism more effectively since this study.
A. State TRUE or FALSE against the following.

22
1. The Prince William Hospital has been trying to reduce absenteeism amongst nurses for many years. 1. ( )
2. Nurses in the Prince William Hospital study believed that there were benefits in taking as little sick 2. ( )
leave as possible.
3. Just over half the nurses in the 1986 study believed that management understood the effects that 3. ( )
shift work had on them.
4. The Canadian study found that ‘illness in the family’ was a greater cause of absenteeism than ‘work to 4. ( )
do at home’.
5. In relation to management attitude to absenteeism, the study at the Prince William Hospital found 5. ( )
similar results to the two 1989 studies.
6. The study at the Prince William Hospital aimed to find out the causes of absenteeism among 250 6. ( )
nurses.
7. The study at the Prince William Hospital involved changes in management practices. 7. ( )
8. In the first strategy, wards with the lowest absence in different periods would win prizes donated 8. ( )
by foreign companies.
9. In the second strategy, staff were given more control over their working schedule. 9. ( )
10. According to the article, absenteeism is very common in hospitals in Australia. 10. ( )
B. Find words or phrases in the passage that mean the same as followings.
1. habitual failure to appear for work or duty 1. ---------------------------------
2. causing problems so that something cannot continue normally 2. ---------------------------------
3. widespread; common 3. ---------------------------------
4. people who answer questions, especially in a survey 4. ---------------------------------
5. concerning the development of people or groups over a period of time 5. ---------------------------------
6. the death of relative or close friend 6. ---------------------------------
7. to obtain or achieve something 7. ---------------------------------
8. lists of people’s names and the jobs that have to do at a particular time 8. ---------------------------------
9. without success 9. ---------------------------------
10. physically 10. ---------------------------------
XII. Read the passage and answer the following questions.
The link between health and economic outcomes has always been a critical issue for economists and sociologists. More
experts believe that there is a strong causal link between health and economic prosperity. For example, those earning higher
incomes have more money to invest in human capital such as improving and maintaining health. This means that their standard
of living improves as their earning power increases and they are able to invest in better diets, improved sanitation and better
health care. A healthy worker is less likely to contract disease, and this means productivity at work improves with the resultant
opportunity to command higher earnings.
A clear example of the link between economic productivity and poor health is Uganda, which is situated in the east of
central Africa. Recent surveys have indicated that 46% of the population is forced to live on less than $1.00 per day. Only 49%
of households in Uganda have access to health care facilities. The current average life expectancy is 48 years from birth, which
is estimated to be about 45 for males and 50.5 for females. An assessment of the burden of disease in Uganda in 1995
demonstrated that 75% of life years lost as a result of premature death were due to entirely preventable disease: perinatal and
maternal conditions accounted for 20%; malaria for 15.4%; acute lower respiratory tract infections 10.5%; AIDS 9.1%; diarrhea
23
8.4%. In addition, 38% of under five-year olds are stunted, 25% are under weight and 5% wasted. These factors accounted for
the extremely high mortality rate experienced in this age-group.
A recent report from Healthcare Worldwide makes the clearest and strongest case yet that disease had a fundamental
and disastrous effect on the economics of countries and, in the long run, at the global level. The report concludes that funding
increases for health from affluent and poorer countries alike are vital. Although the extra expenditure from poorer countries
would be difficult to find, the report concluded that the benefits received would be worth it. It is estimated that this injections
of funds into the healthcare systems of the poorer countries would result in a significant increase in productivity because people
would be healthier and more able to work. The report also urges a focus on the biggest killers, from childbirth and AIDS, and on
medical care at a local clinic level rather than in prestigious hospital.
To this end, the Uganda government has pursued a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy which has addressed
the issues of access to appropriate and adequate health care by utilizing the existing political structure of the country. This
strategy has resulted in the incident of the poverty in Uganda falling from 56% in 1992 to 35% in 2000. The Multinational Finance
Corporation (MFC) has praised the East African country for the progress it has made towards reducing poverty and has just
announced its approval of staggered $21 million loan which will be made available in three equal parts over three years
beginning in 2002.
This incentive means that Uganda has become the first country this year to benefit from a Poverty Reduction Support
(PRSC). This is a new approach to World Bank lending, available exclusively to low-income countries with strong policy and
institutional reform programs, which allows poverty reduction strategies to be carried out.
However, the MFC notes that although the Ugandan economy has performed relatively well during 2001-2002 in
achieving a 5.5% growth, Uganda would still continue to rely heavily on donor assistance. The United Nations Human
Development Report for 2002 ranks Uganda as 150th out of 173 countries, and reports it is “far behind” in its attempts to gain
the anticipated 10% increase. It may also be unable to reach the hoped-for Millennium Development goal of halving the
proportion of people suffering from hunger by 2015.
The Ugandan government is also dedicated to the control of AIDS through the Uganda AIDS Commission. In 1993,
Uganda reported the highest rate of AIDS cases per population in Africa and, therefore, the world. HIV, the name given to the
preliminary stages of AIDS, and AIDS, the fully developed form of the disease, are still one of the leading causes of death in
Uganda. Currently, about 2.4 million people in the country are HIV positive while another 0.9 million have the fully developed
form. To make matters worse, the majority of those affected with the disease are within the 15 and 40 years age group, which
is where the majority of the labour force comes from. Therefore the economy suffers. However, since the introduction of the
Uganda AIDS Commission, there has been a major decrease in the incidence of the disease.
The struggle to maintain adequate and appropriate levels of health care in underdeveloped countries will continue to
represent a major challenge to organizations such as Healthcare Worldwide and UNICEF. However, through the involvement of
the more affluent countries and the development of a global fund set up by the United Nations, hope is present and there is an
air of optimism about the future.
A. Say TRUE or FALSE against the following.
1. Some experts in sociology are always aware of the relationship between health and ( )
economic prosperity.
2. Almost every citizen of Uganda can make use of health care facilities. ( )
3. In Uganda, men enjoy longer life expectancy than women. ( )
4. Poverty reduction strategies are available to any country with low income. ( )
5. The Uganda government managed to reduce the cases of AIDS with the help of the ( )
Uganda AIDS Commission.
B. Choose the appropriate letter A-D and write them in the space given.
24
1. Poor health amongst Ugandans 3. The Poverty Reduction Support Credit

a) results from insufficient access to healthcare a) was first offered to Uganda.
facilities. b) is a department of a World Bank.
b) can be attributed to poor economic conditions. c) only helps certain low-income countries.
c) has resulted in increased mortality rate. d) None of the above. ( )
d) All of the above. ( ) 4. HIV/AIDS in Uganda
2. Healthcare Worldwide recommends a) is not as prevalent as it used to be.
a) spending more money on health worldwide. b) causes the highest rate of the world.
b) investigating the incidence of death due to c) targets those who no longer work.
childbirth and AIDS. d) occurs in 2.4 million of the population.
c) making healthcare facilities accessible a local ( )
level. 5. The writer of this article
d) All of the above. ( ) a) believes Uganda’s situation will ultimately
improve.
b) thinks that developed countries do not help
Uganda enough.
c) is optimistic about the future in general.
d) is sympathetic to poorer countries. ( )
C. Match the words and phrases in column A with the meanings in column B.
Column A Column B
1. perinatal ( ) (a) respected and admirable as very high quality

2. stunted ( ) (b) causes of death
3. account for ( ) (c) wanted and thought possible
4. injection ( ) (d) working hard at something because it is important
5. killers ( ) (e) an impression given by something or somebody
6. prestigious ( ) (f) at or around the time of birth
7. staggered ( ) (g) a large sum of money spent to help improve a situation
8. the hoped-for ( ) (h) to be considered as the primary cause of something
9. dedicated for ( ) (i) amazing
10. air ( ) (j) not being able to grow or develop as much as it should
25

Daw Thuzar Latt: M.Med - SC Entrance Exam Preparation Course Reading Comprehension

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Daw Thuzar Latt: M.Med - SC Entrance Exam Preparation Course Reading Comprehension

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Daw Thuzar Latt

M.A (English); Certificate in Teaching Knowledge Test (UK)

M.Med.Sc Entrance Exam Preparation Course

I. Read the passage and answer the following questions.

A. Choose the one best answer A, B, C or D to each question.

B. Which word or phrase is used in the passage to express these meaning?

1. out of date; disused 1. ----------------

II. Read the passage and answer the following questions.

Finding the Lost Freedom

A. Choose the one best answer A, B, C or D to each question.

1. One of the benefits of car use is 6. Because of the extra traffic,

B. Which word or phrase is used in the passage to express these meaning?

1. gradually destroyed something or made it weaker 1. -------------------

7. commercial areas in towns where cars cannot go 7. -------------------

III. Read the passage and answer the following questions.

B. Choose the one best answer A, B, C or D to each question.

C. Which word or phrase is used in the passage to express these meaning?

1. releases a liquid in drops or small quantities 1. -------------------

All about Renting

B. Find words or phrases in the text that mean:

1. moved out 1. ________________

N etworking as a concept has acquired what is in

1. Networking is not a modern idea. 1. ___________

1. to walk or go somewhere 1. --------------------------

VI. Read the passage and answer the following questions.

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN AUSTRALIA

A. Say whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE.

B. Find words or phrases in the text that mean:

1. not willing to do something 1. ________________

VII. Read the passage and answer the following questions.

Britain’s Canals – the Solution to Overcrowded Roads?

1. Canals were important in the industrial revolution in Britain. 1. _________

B. Find words or phrases in the text that mean:

1. not developing, growing or changing 1. ________________

VIII. Read the passage and answer the following questions.

The Truth about the Environment

(A) State TURE or FALSE against the following.

(B) Choose the appropriate letters A-D.

The History of Salt

1. Salt deposits in the state of Kansas are vast. 1. ( )

B. Find words or phrases in the text that mean:

X. Read the passage and answer the following questions.

XI. Read the passage and answer the following questions.

Strategy 1: Non-financial (material) incentives

Strategy 2: Flexible fair rostering

Strategy 3: Individual absenteeism and counseling

A. State TRUE or FALSE against the following.

XII. Read the passage and answer the following questions.

A. Say TRUE or FALSE against the following.

1. Poor health amongst Ugandans 3. The Poverty Reduction Support Credit

1. perinatal ( ) (a) respected and admirable as very high quality

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