READING PRACTICE

Reading 1
Putting the brakes on climate change
Are hydrogen cars the answer?
A.It is tempting to think that the conservation of coral reefs and rainforests is a separate issue from traffic and
air pollution. But it is not. Scientists are now confident that rapid changes in the Earth's climate are already
disrupting and altering many wildlife habitats. Pollution from vehicles is a big part of the problem.

B.The United Nation’s Climate Change Panel has estimated that the global average temperature rise expected
by the year 2100 could be as much as 6°C, causing forest fires and dieback on land and coral bleaching in the
ocean. Few species, if any, will be immune from the changes in temperature, rainfall and sea levels. The panel
believes that if such catastrophic temperature rises are to be avoided, the quantity of greenhouse gases,
especially carbon dioxide, being released into the atmosphere must be reduced. That will depend on slowing
the rate of deforestation and, more crucially, finding alternatives to coal, oil and gas as our principal energy
sources.

C.Technologies do exist to reduce or eliminate carbon dioxide as a waste product of our energy consumption.
Wind power and solar power are both spreading fast, but what are we doing about traffic? Electric cars are one
possible option, but their range and the time it takes to charge their batteries pose serious limitations. However,
the technology that shows the most potential to make cars climate-friendly is fuel-cell technology. This was
actually invented in the late nineteenth century, but because the world's motor industry put its effort into
developing the combustion engine, it was never refined for mass production. One of the first prototype fuel-
cell-powered vehicles has been built by the Ford Motor Company. It is like a conventional car ， only with
better acceleration and a smoother ride. Ford engineers expect to be able to produce a virtually silent vehicle in
the future.

D.So what’s the process involved – and is there a catch? Hydrogen goes into the fuel tank, producing
electricity. The only emission from the exhaust pipe is water. The fuel-cell is, in some ways similar to a battery,
but unlike a battery it does not run down. As long as hydrogen and oxygen are supplied to the cell, it will keep
on generating electricity. Some cells work off methane and a few use liquid fuels such as methanol, but fuel-
ceils using hydrogen probably have the most potential. Furthermore, they need not be limited to transport. Fuel-
cells can be made in a huge range of size, small enough for portable computers or large enough for power
stations. They have no moving parts and therefore need no oil. They just need a supply of hydrogen. The big
question, then, is where to get it from.
E.One source of hydrogen is water. But to exploit the abundant resource, electricity is needed, and if the
electricity is produced by a coal-fired power station or other fossil fuel, then the overall carbon reduction
benefit of the fuel-cell disappears. Renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, do not produce enough
energy for it to be economically viable to use them in
the 'manufacture' of hydrogen as a transport fuel. Another source of hydrogen is, however, available and could
provide a supply pending the development of more efficient and cheaper renewable energy technologies. By
splitting natural gas (methane) into its constituent parts, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are produced. One way
round the problem of what to do with the carbon dioxide could be to store it back below ground – so-called
geological sequestration. Oil companies, such as Norway's Statoil, are experimenting with storing carbon
dioxide below ground in oil and gas wells.

F.With freak weather conditions, arguably caused by global warming, frequently in the headlines, the urgent
need to get fuel-cell vehicles will be available in most showrooms. Even now, fuel-cell buses are operating in
the US, while in Germany a courier company is planning to take delivery of fuel-cell-powered vans in the near
future. The fact that centrally-run fleets of buses and vans are the first fuel-cell vehicles identifies another
challenge – fuel distribution. The refueling facilities necessary to top up hydrogen-powered vehicles are
available only in a very few places at present. Public transport and delivery firms are logical places to start,
since their vehicles are operated from central depots.

G.Fuel-cell technology is being developed right across the automotive industry. This technology could have a
major impact in slowing down climate change, but further investment is needed if the industry – and the
world's wildlife – is to have a long-term future.
Questions 27-32
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-F from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-ix, in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i.Action already taken by the United Nations
ii.Marketing the hydrogen car
iii.Making the new technology available worldwide
iv Some negative predictions from one group of experts
v.How the new vehicle technology works
vi.The history of fuel-cell technology
vii.A holistic view of climate change
viii.Locating the essential ingredient
ix.Sustaining car manufacture
27. Paragraph A vii
28.Paragraph B iv
29.Paragraph C vi
30.Paragraph D v
31.Paragraph E viii
32.Paragraph F iii
Questions 33-36
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 33-36 on your answer sheet.
33.In the late nineteenth century, the car industry invested in the development of the
__combustion engine__________, rather than fuel-cell technology.
34.Ford engineers predict that they will eventually design an almost __silent_________ car.
35.While a fuel-cell lasts longer, some aspects of it are comparable to a ______battery_____.
36 Fuel-cells can come in many sizes and can be used in power stations and in ____portable computers_______
as well as in vehicles.
Questions 37-40
Do the following statements agree, with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE: if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE: if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
37.Using electricity produced by burning fossil fuels to access sources of hydrogen may increase the positive
effect of the fuel-cell. F
38.The oil company Statoil in Norway owns gas wells in other parts of the world. NG
39.Public transport is leading the way in the application of fuel-cell technology, T
40.More funding is necessary to ensure the success of the fuel-cell vehicle industry. T

READING 2
Knowledge in medicine
A What counts as knowledge? What do we mean when we say that we know something? What is the status of
different kinds of knowledge? In order to explore these questions we are going to focus on one particular area
of knowledge——medicine.

B How do you know when you are ill? This may seem to be an absurd question. You know you are ill because
you feel ill; your body tells you that you are ill. You may know that you feel pain | or discomfort but knowing
you are ill is a bit more complex. At times, people experience the symptoms of illness, but in fact they are
simply tired or over-worked or they may just have a ‘ hangover. At other times, people may be suffering from a
disease and fail to be aware of the illness until it has reached a late stage in its development. So how do we
know we are ill, and what counts as knowledge?

C Think about this example. You feel unwell. You have a bad cough and always seem to be tired. Perhaps it
could be stress at work, or maybe you should give up smoking. You feel worse. You visit the doctor who listens
to your chest and heart, takes your temperature and blood pressure, and then finally prescribes antibiotics for
your cough.
D Things do not improve but you struggle on thinking you should pull yourself together, perhaps things will
ease off at work soon. A return visit to your doctor shocks you. This time the doctor, drawing on years of
training and experience, diagnoses pneumonia. This means that you will need bed rest and a considerable time
off work. The scenario is transformed. Although you still have the same symptoms, you no longer think that
these are caused by pressure at work. You now have proof that you are ill. This is the result of the combination
of your own subjective experience and the diagnosis of someone who has the status of a medical expert. You
have a medically authenticated diagnosis and it appears that you are seriously ill; you know you are ill and have
evidence upon which to base this knowledge.

E This scenario shows many different sources of knowledge. For example, you decide to consult the doctor in
the first place because you feel unwell—this is personal knowledge about your own body. However, the
doctor’s expert diagnosis is based on experience and training, with sources of knowledge as diverse as other
experts, laboratory reports, medical textbooks and years of experience.

F One source of knowledge is the experience of our own bodies; the personal knowledge we have of changes
that might be significant, as well as the subjective experience of pain and physical distress. These experiences
are mediated by other forms of knowledge such as the words we have available to describe our experience and
the common sense of our families and friends as well as that drawn from popular culture. Over the past decade,
for example, Western culture has seen a significant emphasis on stress-related illness in the media. Reference to
being Stressed out has become a common response in daily exchanges in the workplace and has become part of
popular common-sense knowledge. It is thus not surprising that we might seek such an explanation of physical
symptoms of discomfort.

G We might also rely on the observations of others who know us. Comments from friends and family such as
you do look ill or ‘that’s a bad cough might be another source of knowledge. Complementary health practices,
such as holistic medicine, produce their own sets of knowledge upon which we might also draw in deciding the
nature and degree of our ill health and about possible treatments.

H Perhaps the most influential and authoritative source of knowledge is the medical knowledge provided by the
general practitioner. We expect the doctor to have access to expert knowledge. This is socially sanctioned. It
would not be acceptable to notify our employer that we simply felt too unwell to turn up for work or that our
faith healer, astrologer, therapist or even our priest thought it was not a good idea. We need an expert medical
diagnosis in order to obtain the necessary certificate if we need to be off work for more than the statutory self-
certification period. The knowledge of the medical sciences is privileged in this respect in contemporary
Western culture. Medical practitioners are also seen as having the required expert knowledge that permits them
legally to prescribe drugs and treatment to which patients would not otherwise have access. However there is a
range of different knowledge upon which we draw when making decisions about our own state of health.
I However, there is more than existing knowledge in this little story; new knowledge is constructed within it.
Given the doctors’ medical training and background, she may hypothesize ‘is this now pneumonia’ and then
proceed to look for evidence about it. She will use observations and instruments to assess the evidence and—
critically interpret it in the light of her training and experience. This results in new knowledge and new
experience both for you and for the doctor. This will then be added to the doctor’s medical knowledge and may
help in future diagnosis of pneumonia.

Questions 27-32
Complete the table.
Choose no more than three words from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 27-32 on your
answer sheet

Source of Examples
knowledge
Symptoms of a (27)…bad cough…………………… and tiredness
Doctor’s measurement by taking (28)……blood pressure…………….. and
Personal temperature
experience Common judgment from (29)…………family and friends……………
around you

Scientific Medicalknowledgefromthegeneral(30)
……practitioner…………………
evidence
e.g. doctor’s medical(31)……diagnosis…………………………
Examine the medical hypothesis with the previous drill and(32) ……
background………………………..
Question 33-40

The reading Passage has nine paragraphs A-I

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-I, in boxes 33-40 on your answer sheet.

33.the contrast between the nature of personal judgment and the nature of doctor’s diagnosis E
34.a reference of culture about pressure F
35.sick leave will not be permitted without the professional diagnosis H
36.how doctors’ opinions are regarded in the society H
37.the illness of patients can become part of new knowledge I
38.a description of knowledge drawn from non-specialized sources other than personal knowledge G
39.an example of collective judgment from personal experience and professional doctor D
40.a reference that some people do not realize they are ill B

READING 3
Engineering a solution to climate change
A Looking at the rate of climate change and the disastrous effects it is having on the world. scientists are
concerned that we are acting too slowly. Many are now looking to geoengineering
— large-scale human interventions to change the world's climate — to counteract global warming. The schemes
range from the mundane to science fiction but all come from the same impulse: if we don't do something now,
it may be too late to do anything.
B Climate change is now so rapid that, in the very near future, the Arctic will be ice-free as less ice forms
during winter and more melts in summer. Scientists say that tackling climate change isn't a problem we need to
deal with in 10 or 20 years' time: we need to look at radical solutions now. A study has shown that the
technologies to produce these geoengineering projects already exist and could be in place for around $5 billion
a year. This is a bargain when compared with the cost of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, a major
greenhouse gas: that figure stands at somewhere between $200 and $2.000 billion.

C So what exactly are scientists planning to do to deal with global warming in the short term? Among the main
schemes are shielding the earth from the sun’s ray either at ground or atmospheric level, or capturing the carbon
produced by industry and sinking it back into the ground or the sea. Shielding the world has produced ideas that
range from simple science to science fiction. One suggestion has been made to make the roofs of buildings and
roads whiter to reflect the sun’s rays back into space. While this has the advantage of simplicity, it simply
won’t make much difference, reflecting only 0.15 watts per square metre, averaged across the planet. To put
this into perspective, to stop earth warming we need to increase heat lost by about 3.7 watts per square metre
averaged over the world. Another idea is to protect the Greenland ice field by covering it in giant sheets of
reflective material. If this works, it could help in the Antartic where the giant Filchner-Ronne ice shelf is
melting rapidly. If this glacier disappears completely, it would raise sea level, causing catastrophic flood
damage around the planet.

D If reflecting heat back from the ground has little effect, there are two alternatives: seeding clouds and
replicating volcanic activity. The first idea is to make clouds whiter by increasing the amount of rain in them.
Sending salt particles into clouds should “seed'” the clouds with more raindrops. Clouds carrying more
raindrops would be whiter and better reflectors of sunlight. This could be good news for the earth and in
addition could be stopped when necessary with the salt completely clear from the skies within ien years.
Unfortunately, other research indicates that creating whiter clouds may have unwanted side effects, producing
adverse weather conditions in the region and changing mean currents. A much older idea is to replicate the
effect volcanoes have had on the atmosphere. A volcanic eruption sends large amounts of ash and sulphur into
the air, which block the sun and create cooler conditions. For example. when Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991,
it produced a sulphur dioxide cloud, which reduced average global temperatures by one degree centigrade.
Geoengineers have long put forward the idea at circulating particles of sulphur in the atmosphere to counteract
global warming. The particles would be delivered by aircraft or balloons spraying them into the atmosphere.
However, this also has unpredictable effects on the amount and pattern of rainfall. Furthermore. this method
would delay the recovery of the ozone layer over the Antartic by 30 to 70 years. More ambitious
geoengineering projects have included placing billions of reflective balloons between the sun and the earth and
putting giant mirrors into orbit. Scientists have criticised these approaches as 'science fiction' and say they are
unlikely to happen due to the huge costs involved.

E Whatever actions we take to block or reflect the heat from the sun, we will still need to reduce the amount of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Various geoengineering projects have been proposed to do this. Carbon
capture technologies range from planting trees, which naturally use carbon dioxide as they grow, to pumping
carbon back into the earth and trapping it there. This is a good idea but would only account for about 0.5 watts
per square metre. Carbon capture technologies are already in use at power stations where the greenhouse gas is
taken at point of production and pumped underground into depleted gas and oil reserves. However, the
technology to do this is not very efficient. Other ideas for taking carbon out of the atmosphere include seeding
the oceans with iron. This would increase the growth of plankton which, like trees, use carbon naturally.
Unfortunately, this would only account for 0.2 watts per square metre.
F Proponents of geoengineering have never regarded the earth-changing engineering projects as a complete
solution. Nevertheless, the concept as a whole attracts many criticisms. One is that the problem of climate
change is of such huge scale and complexity that there will not be one single solutiion. All proposals so far
have advantages and disadvantages. The biggest problem of all is that many of the projects are untested and any
of the proposals may have unforeseen consequences. For example, we could not suddenly stop a
geoengineering scheme; keeping temperatures artificially low for a period then taking away the cause of this
would cause the temperature to rise again rapidly. Furthermore, global engineering solutions to the problem of
climate change would need the agreement of all the world’s leaders; having an American solution, a Chinese
solution. a Brazilian solution. and so on simply wouldn’t be politically acceptable. But the biggest downfall is
that geoengineering projects could reduce the political and popular pressure for reducing carbon emissions, as
polificians point to geoengineering for an answer rather than tackling the real cause of climate change: human
activity.
Questions 29-34
Reading Passage 3 has six paragraphs, A-F. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A
-F from the list of headings below.
List of Headings
i Shielding the earth from the atmosphere
ii Bouncing back the sun's rays from earth
iii The effect of volcanoes on the atmosphere
iv Criticism of geoengineering
v Trapping greenhouse gases
vi The root of the problem
vii Why attempt geoengineering?
Viii Protecting glaciers
Ix The need for action

29 Paragraph A ix
30 Paragraph B vii
31 Paragraph C ii
32 Paragraph D i
33 Paragraph E v
34 Paragraph F iv

Questions 35-40
Look at the following technical features [Questions 35-40] and the list of technologies below. Match each
technical feature with the correct technology, A, B or C. Write the correct letter, A, B or C, in boxes 35-40 on
your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
35 removes carbon dioxide as soon as it is produced
36 increases the reflectivity of white clouds
37 cleans carbon dioxide from the air naturally
38 would increase the number of small plants and animals in the sea
39 may help prevent rising water levels

READING 4
What is exploration?
We are all explorers. Our desire to discover, and then share that new-found knowledge, is part of what makes us
human — indeed, this has played an important part in our success as a species. Long before the first caveman
slumped down beside the fire and grunted news that there were plenty of wildebeest over yonder, our ancestors
had learnt the value of sending out scouts to investigate the unknown. This questing nature of ours undoubtedly
helped our species spread around the globe, just as it nowadays no doubt helps the last nomadic Penan maintain
their existence in the depleted forests of Borneo, and a visitor negotiate the subways of New York.
Over the years, we've come to think of explorers as a peculiar breed — different from the rest of us, different
from those of us who are merely 'well travelled', even; and perhaps there is a type of person more suited to
seeking out the new, a type of caveman more inclined to risk venturing out. That, however, doesn't take away
from the fact that we all have this enquiring instinct, even today; and that in all sorts of professions — whether
artist, marine biologist or astronomer — borders of the unknown are being tested each day.
Thomas Hardy set some of his novels in Egdon Heath, a fictional area of uncultivated land, and used the
landscape to suggest the desires and fears of his characters. He is delving into matters we all recognise because
they are common to humanity. This is surely an act of exploration, and into a world as remote as the author
chooses. Explorer and travel writer Peter Fleming talks of the moment when the explorer returns to the
existence he has left behind with his loved ones. The traveller 'who has for weeks or months seen himself only
as a puny and irrelevant alien crawling laboriously over a country in which he has no roots and no background,
suddenly encounters his other self, a relatively solid figure, with a place in the minds of certain people'.
In this book about the exploration of the earth's surface, I have confined myself to those whose travels were real
and who also aimed at more than personal discovery. But that still left me with another problem: the word
'explorer' has become associated with a past era. We think back to a golden age, as if exploration peaked
somehow in the 19th century — as if the process of discovery is now on the decline, though the truth is that we
have named only one and a half million of this planet's species, and there may be more than 10 million — and
that's not including bacteria. We have studied only 5 per cent of the species we know. We have scarcely
mapped the ocean floors, and know even less about ourselves; we fully understand the workings of only 10 per
cent of our brains.

Here is how some of today's 'explorers' define the word. Ran Fiennes, dubbed the 'greatest living explorer', said,
'An explorer is someone who has done something that no human has done before
— and also done something scientifically useful.' Chris Bonington, a leading mountaineer, felt exploration was
to be found in the act of physically touching the unknown: 'You have to have gone somewhere new.' Then
Robin Hanbury-Tenison, a campaigner on behalf of remote so-called 'tribal' peoples, said, 'A traveller simply
records information about some far-off world, and reports back; but an explorer changes the world.' Wilfred
Thesiger, who crossed Arabia's Empty Quarter in 1946, and belongs to an era of unmechanised travel now lost
to the rest of us, told me, 'If I'd gone across by camel when I could have gone by car, it would have been a
stunt.' To him, exploration meant bringing back information from a remote place regardless of any great self-
discovery.

Each definition is slightly different — and tends to reflect the field of endeavour of each pioneer. It was the
same whoever I asked: the prominent historian would say exploration was a thing of the past, the cutting-edge
scientist would say it was of the present. And so on. They each set their own particular criteria; the common
factor in their approach being that they all had, unlike many of us who simply enjoy travel or discovering new
things, both a very definite objective from the outset and also a desire to record their findings.
I'd best declare my own bias. As a writer, I'm interested in the exploration of ideas. I've done a great many
expeditions and each one was unique. I've lived for months alone with isolated groups of people all around the
world, even two uncontacted tribes'. But none of these things is of the slightest interest to anyone unless,
through my books, I've found a new slant, explored a new idea. Why? Because the world has moved on. The
time has long passed for the great continental voyages — another walk to the poles, another crossing of the
Empty Quarter. We know how the land surface of our planet lies; exploration of it is now down to the details —
the habits of microbes, say, or the grazing behaviour of buffalo. Aside from the deep sea and deep underground,
it's the era of specialists. However, this is to disregard the role the human mind has in conveying remote places;
and this is what interests me: how a fresh interpretation, even of a well-travelled route, can give its readers new
insights.
Questions 27-32: Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write the correct letter in boxes 27-32 on your
answer sheet.
27 The writer refers to visitors to New York to illustrate the point that
A exploration is an intrinsic element of being human.
B most people are enthusiastic about exploring.

C exploration can lead to surprising results.

D most people find exploration daunting.

28 According to the second paragraph, what is the writer's view of explorers?

A Their discoveries have brought both benefits and disadvantages.

B Their main value is in teaching others.

C They act on an urge that is common to everyone.

D They tend to be more attracted to certain professions than to others. 29 The writer
refers to a description of Egdon Heath to suggest that
A Hardy was writing about his own experience of exploration.
B Hardy was mistaken about the nature of exploration.

C Hardy's aim was to investigate people's emotional states.

D Hardy's aim was to show the attraction of isolation.

30 In the fourth paragraph, the writer refers to 'a golden age' to suggest that A the amount
of useful information produced by exploration has decreased. B fewer people are
interested in exploring than in the 19th century.
C recent developments have made exploration less exciting.

D we are wrong to think that exploration is no longer necessary.

31 In the sixth paragraph, when discussing the definition of exploration, the writer argues that
A people tend to relate exploration to their own professional interests.
B certain people are likely to misunderstand the nature of exploration.

C the generally accepted definition has changed over time.

D historians and scientists have more valid definitions than the general public.
32 In the last paragraph, the writer explains that he is interested in
A how someone's personality is reflected in their choice of places to visit.
B the human ability to cast new light on places that may be familiar.
C how travel writing has evolved to meet changing demands.
D the feelings that writers develop about the places that they explore.
Questions 38-40: Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the
passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 33-35 on your answer sheet. The writer's own bias
The writer has experience of a large number of 33 ……expeditions……………………, and was the first
stranger that certain previously 34 ……uncontacted…………………… people had encountered. He believes
there is no need for further exploration of Earth's 35 ………land surface…………………, except to answer
specific questions such as how buffalo eat.

READING 5
Can we call it “ART”
 Life-Casting and Art
Julian Bames explores the questions posed by Life-Casts, an exhibition of plaster moulds of living people and
objects which were originally used for scientific purposes
A
Art changes over time and our idea of what art is changing too. For example, objects originally intended for
devotional, ritualistic or recreational purposes may be recategorized as art by members of other later
civilisations, such as our own, which no longer respond to these purposes.
B
What also happens is that techniques and crafts which would have been judged inartistic at the time they were
used are reassessed. Life-casting is an interesting example of this. It involved making a plaster mould of a
living person or thing. This was complex, technical work, as Benjamin Robert Haydon discovered when he
poured 250 litres of plaster over his human model and nearly killed him. At the time, the casts were used for
medical research and, consequently, in the nineteenth- century life-casting was considered inferior to sculpture
in the same way that, more recently, photography was thought to be a lesser art than painting. Both were
viewed as unacceptable shortcuts by the ‘senior’ arts. Their virtues of speed and unwavering realism also
implied their limitations; they left little or no room for the imagination.
C
For many, life-casting was an insult to the sculptor’s creative genius. In an infamous lawsuit of 1834, a moulder
whose mask of the dying French emperor Napoleon had been reproduced and sold without his permission was
judged to have no rights to the image. In other words, he was specifically held not to be an artist. This
judgement reflects the view of established members of the nineteenth-century art world such as Rodin, who
commented that life-casting ‘happens fast but it doesn’t make Art’. Some even feared that ‘if too much nature
was allowed in, it would lead Art away from its proper course of the Ideal.
D
The painter Gauguin, at the end of the nineteenth century, worried about future developments in photography.
If ever the process went into colour, what painter would labour away at a likeness with a brush made from
squirrel- tail? But painting has proved robust. Photography has changed it, of course, just as the novel had to
reassess narrative after the arrival of the cinema. But the gap between the senior and junior arts was always
narrower than the traditionalists implied. Painters have always used technical back-up such as studio assistants
to do the boring bits, while apparently lesser crafts involve great skill, thought, preparation and, depending on
how we define it, imagination.
E
Time changes our view in another way, too. Each new movement implies a reassessment of what has gone
before? What is done now alters what was done before. In some cases, this is merely self-serving, with the new
art using the old to justify itself. It seems to be saying, look at how all of that points to this! Aren’t we clever to
be the culmination of all that has gone before? But usually, it is a matter of re- alerting the sensibility,
reminding us not to take things for granted. Take, for example, the cast of the hand of a giant from a circus,
made by an anonymous artist around 1889, an item that would now sit happily in any commercial or public
gallery. The most significant impact of this piece is on the eye, in the contradiction between unexpected size
and verisimilitude. Next, the human element kicks in, you note that the nails are dirt-encrusted, unless this is the
caster’s decorative addition, and the fingertips extend far beyond them. Then you take in the element of choice,
arrangement, art if you like, in the neat, pleated, buttoned sleeve-end that gives the item balance and variation
of texture. This is just a moulded hand, yet the part stands utterly for the whole. It reminds us slyly, poignantly,
of the full-size original.
F
But is it art? And, if so, why? These are old tediously repeated questions to which artists have often responded,
‘It is art because I am an artist and therefore what I do is art. However, what doesn’t work for literature works
much better for artworks of art do float free of their creators’ intentions. Over time the “reader” does become
more powerful. Few of us can look at a medieval altarpiece as its painter intended. We believe too little and
aesthetically know too much, so we recreate and find new fields of pleasure in the work. Equally, the lack of
artistic intention of Paul Richer and other forgotten craftsmen who brushed oil onto flesh, who moulded, cast
and decorated in the nineteenth century is now irrelevant. What counts is the surviving object and our response
to it. The tests are simple: does it interest the eye, excite the brain, move the mind to reflection and involve the
heart. It may, to use the old dichotomy, be beautiful but it is rarely true to any significant depth. One of the
constant pleasures of art is its ability to come at us from an unexpected angle and stop us short in wonder.

Questions 14-18
The Reading Passage has six paragraphs A-F
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-F, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
14.an example of a craftsman’s unsuccessful claim to ownership of his work C
15.an example of how trends in the art can change attitudes to an earlier work E
16.the original function of a particular type of art B
17.ways of assessing whether or not an object is an art F
18.how artists deal with the less interesting aspects of their work D

Questions 19-24
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 19-
24 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement is true
NO if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
19.Nineteenth-century sculptors admired the speed and realism of life-casting. N
20.Rodin believed the quality of the life-casting would improve if a slower process were used. Y
21.The importance of painting has decreased with the development of colour photography. N
22.Life-casting requires more skill than sculpture does. NG
23.New art encourages us to look at earlier work in a fresh way. N
24.The intended meaning of a work of art can get lost over time. Y
Questions 25-26
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 25 and 26 on your answer sheet.
25.The most noticeable contrast in the cast of the giant’s hand is between the
A dirt and decoration
B size and realism
C choice and arrangement
D balance and texture
26. According to the writer, the importance of any artistic object lies in
A. the artist’s intentions
B the artist’s beliefs
C the relevance it has to modern life
D the way we respond to it

READING 6

E-TRAINING
A. E-learning is the unifying term to describe the fields of online learning, web-based training, and
technology-delivered instruction, which can be a great benefit to corporate e-learning. IBM, for instance, claims
that the institution of its e-training program, Basic Blue, whose purpose is to train new managers, saved the
company in the range of $200 million in 1999. Cutting the travel expenses required to bring employees and
instructors to a central classroom accounts for the lion’s share of the savings. With an online course, employees
can learn from any Internet-connected PC, anywhere in the world. Ernest and Young reduced training costs by
35 percent while improving consistency and scalability.
B. In addition to generally positive economic benefits, other advantages such as convenience, standardized
delivery, self-paced learning, and a variety of available content, have made e-learning a high priority for many
corporations. E-learning is widely believed to offer flexible “any time, any place” learning. The claim for “any
place” is valid in principle and is a great development. Many people can engage with rich learning materials that
simply were not possible in a paper or broadcast distance learning era. For teaching specific information and skills,
e-training holds great promise. It can be especially effective at helping employees prepare for IT certification
programs. E-learning also seems to effectively address topics such as sexual harassment education, safety training
and management training - all areas where a clear set of objectives can be identified. Ultimately, training experts
recommend a “blended” approach that combines both online and in-person training as the instruction requires. E-
learning is not an end-all solution. But if it helps decrease costs and windowless classrooms filled with snoring
students, it definitely has its advantages.
C. Much of the discussion about implementing e-learning has focused on the technology, but as Driscoll and others
have reminded us, e-learning is not just about the technology, but also many human factors. As any capable manager
knows, teaching employees new skills is critical to a smoothly run business. Having said that, however, the
traditional route of classroom instruction runs the risk of being expensive, slow and, oftentimes, ineffective. Perhaps
the classroom’s greatest disadvantage is the fact that it takes employees out of their jobs. Every minute an employee
is sitting in a classroom training session is a minute they’re not out on the floor working. It now looks as if there is a
way to circumvent these traditional training drawbacks. E-training promises more effective teaching techniques by
integrating audio, video, animation, text and interactive materials with the intent of teaching each student at his or
her own pace. In addition to higher performance results, there are other immediate benefits to students such as
increased time on task, higher levels of motivation, and reduced test anxiety for many learners. A California State
University Northridge study reported that e-learners performed 20 percent better than traditional learners. Nelson
reported a significant difference between the mean grades of 406 university students earned in traditional and
distance education classes, where the distance learners outperformed the traditional learners.
On the other hand, nobody said e-training technology would be cheap. E-training service providers, on the
average, charge from $10,000 to $60,000 to develop one hour of online instruction. This price varies depending
on the complexity of the training topic and the media used. HTML pages are a little cheaper to develop while
streaming-videos, presentations or flash animations cost more. Course content is just the starting place for cost.
A complete e-learning solution also includes the technology platform (the computers, applications and network
connections that are used to deliver the courses). This technology platform, known as a learning management
system (LMS), can either be installed onsite or outsourced. Add to that cost the necessary investments in
network bandwidth to deliver multimedia courses, and you’re left holding one heck of a bill . For the LMS
infrastructure and a dozen or so online courses, costs can top $500,000 in the first year. These kinds of costs
mean that custom e-training is, for the time being, an option only for large organizations. For those companies
that have a large enough staff, the e-training concept pays for itself. Aware of this fact, large companies are
investing heavily in online training. Today, over half of the 400-plus courses that Rockwell Collins offers are
delivered instantly to its clients in an e-learning format, a change that has reduced its annual training costs by
40%. Many other success stories exist.
E. E-learning isn’t expected to replace the classroom entirely. For one thing, bandwidth limitations are still an
issue in presenting multimedia over the Internet. Furthermore, e-training isn’t suited to every mode of
instruction or topic. For instance, it’s rather ineffective imparting cultural values or building teams. If your
company has a unique corporate culture, it would be difficult to convey that to first-time employees through a
computer monitor. Group training sessions are more ideal for these purposes. In addition, there is a perceived
loss of research time because of the work involved in developing and teaching online classes. Professor Wallin
estimated that it required between 500 and 1,000 person-hours, that is, Wallin-hours, to keep the course at the
appropriate level of currency and usefulness. (Distance learning instructors often need technical skills, no
matter how advanced the courseware system.) That amounts to between a quarter and half of a person-year.
Finally, teaching materials require computer literacy and access to equipment. Any e-learning system involves
basic equipment and a minimum level of computer knowledge in order to perform the tasks required by the
system. A student that does not possess these skills, or have access to these tools, cannot succeed in an e-
learning program.
F. While few people debate the obvious advantages of e-learning, systematic research is needed to confirm
that learners are actually acquiring and using the skills that are being taught online, and that e-learning is the
best way to achieve the outcomes in a corporate environment. Nowadays, a go-between style of the Blended
learning, which refers to a mixing of different learning environments, is gaining popularity. It combines
traditional face-to-face classroom methods with more modern computer-mediated activities. According to its
proponents, the strategy creates a more integrated approach for both instructors and learners. Formerly,
technology-based materials played a supporting role to face-to-face instruction. Through a blended learning
approach, technology will be more important.
Questions 106-111
The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-F. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-F from the
list below. Write the correct number i-xi in boxes 106-111 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i. Overview of the benefits for the application of e-training
ii. IBM’s successful choice of training
iii. Future direction and a new style of teaching
iv. Learners’ achievement and advanced teaching materials
v. Limitations when e-training compares with traditional class
vi. Multimedia over the Internet can be a solution
vii. Technology can be a huge financial burden
viii. The distance learners outperformed the traditional university learners worldwide
ix. Other advantages besides economic consideration
x. Training offered to help people learn using computers
106. Paragraph A i
107. Paragraph B ix
108. Paragraph C iv
109. Paragraph D vii
110. Paragraph E v
111. Paragraph F iii

Questions 112-115
The reading passage has seven paragraphs A-F.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letters A-F, in boxes 112-115 on your answer sheet.
112. Projected Basic Blue in IBM achieved a great success. A
113. E-learning wins as a priority for many corporations as its flexibility. B
114. The combination of the traditional and e-training environments may prevail. F
115. Example of a fast electronic delivery for a company’s products to its customers. D

Questions 116-118
Choose THREE correct letters (A-E) which show the correct information in the passage.
Write the correct letters in box 116-118 (in any order) on your answer sheet.
A. Technical facilities are hardly obtained.
 B. Presenting multimedia over the Internet is restricted due to the bandwidth limit.
C. It is ineffective imparting a unique corporate value to fresh employees.
D. Employees need block a long time leaving their position attending training.
E. More preparation time is needed to keep the course at the suitable level.

READING 7
HELP GUIDE US THROUGH THE UNIVERSE

Sir Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, launches this year's Young Science Writer competition.

If you ask scientists what they’re doing, the answer won’t be ‘Finding the origin of the universe’, ‘Seeking the
cure for cancer’ or suchlike. It will involve something very specialised, a small piece of the jigsaw that builds
up the big picture.

119. F

So, unless they are cranks or geniuses, scientists don’t shoot directly for a grand goal - they focus on bite-sized
problems that seem timely and tractable. But this strategy (though prudent) carries an occupational risk: they
may forget they’re wearing blinkers and fail to see their own work in its proper perspective.

120. D

I would personally derive far less satisfaction from my research if it interested only a few other academics. But
presenting one’s work to non-socialists isn’t easy. We scientists often do it badly, although the experience helps
us to see our work in a broader context. Journalists can do it better, and their efforts can put a key discovery in
perspective, converting an arcane paper published in an obscure journal into a tale that can inspire others.

121. H

On such occasions, people often raise general concerns about the way science is going and the impact it may
have; they wonder whether taxpayers get value for money from the research they support. More intellectual
audiences wonder about the basic nature of science: how objective can we be? And how

creative? Is science genuinely a progressive enterprise? What are its limits and are we anywhere near them? It
is hard to explain, in simple language, even a scientific concept that you understand well. My own (not always
effective) attempts have deepened my respect for science reporters, who have to assimilate quickly, with a
looming deadline, a topic they may be quite unfamiliar with.
122. A
It's unusual for science to earn newspaper headlines. Coverage that has to be restricted to crisp newsworthy
breakthroughs in any case distorts the way science develops. Scientific advances are usually gradual and
cumulative, and better suited to feature articles, or documentaries - or even books, for which the latent demand
is surprisingly strong. For example, millions bought A Brief History of Time, which caught the public
imagination.
123. E
Nevertheless, serious books do find a ready market. That's the good news for anyone who wants to enter this
competition. But books on pyramidology, visitations by aliens, and suchlike do even better: a symptom of a
fascination with the paranormal and ‘New Age’ concepts. It is depressing that these are often featured
uncritically in the media, distracting attention from more genuine advances.
124. B
Most scientists are quite ordinary, and their lives unremarkable. But occasionally they exemplify the link
between genius and madness; these ‘eccentrics’ are more enticing biographees.
125. C
There seems, gratifyingly, to be no single ‘formula’ for science writing - many themes are still under-exploited.
Turning out even 700 words seems a daunting task if you’re faced with a clean sheet of paper or a blank screen,
but less so if you have done enough reading and interviewing on a subject to become inspired. For research
students who enter the competition, science (and how you do it) is probably more interesting than personal
autobiography. But if, in later life, you become both brilliant and crazy, you can hope that someone else writes
a best-seller about you.
A However, over-sensational claims are a hazard for them. Some researchers themselves ‘hype up’ new
discoveries to attract press interest. Maybe it matters little what people believe about Darwinism or cosmology.
But we should be more concerned that misleading or over-confident claims on any topic of practical import
don’t gain wide currency. Hopes of miracle cures can be raised; risks can be either exaggerated, or else glossed
over for commercial pressures. Science popularisers - perhaps even those who enter this competition - have to
be as sceptical of some scientific claims as journalists routinely are of politicians.
B Despite this, there’s a tendency in recent science writing to be chatty, laced with gossip and biographical
detail. But are scientists as interesting as their science? The lives of Albert Einstein and Richard Feyman are of
interest, but is that true of the routine practitioner?
C Two mathematicians have been treated as such in recent books: Paul Erdos, the obsessive itinerant
Hungarian (who described himself as ‘a machine for turning coffee into theorems’) and John Nash, a
pioneer of game theory, who resurfaced in his sixties, after 30 years of insanity, to receive a Nobel Prize.
D For example, the American physicist Robert Wilson spent months carrying out meticulous measurements
with a microwave antenna which eventually revealed the ‘afterglow of creation’ - the ‘echo’ of the Big Bang
with which our universe began. Wilson was one of the rare scientists with the luck and talent to make a really
great discovery, but afterwards he acknowledged that its importance didn’t sink in until he read a ‘popular’
description of it in the New York Times.
E More surprising was the commercial success of Sir Roger Penrose’s The Emperor’s New Mind. This is a
fascinating romp through Penrose’s eclectic enthusiasms - enjoyable and enlightening. But it was a surprising
best seller, as much of it is heavy going. The sales pitch ‘great scientist says mind is more than a mere machine’
was plainly alluring. Many who bought it must have got a nasty surprise when they opened it.

F But if they have judged right, it won't be a trivial problem - indeed it will be the most difficult that they are
likely to make progress on. The great zoologist Sir Peter Medawar famously described scientific work as ‘the
art of the soluble’. ‘Scientists,’ he wrote, ‘get no credit for failing to solve a problem beyond their capacities.
They earn at best the kindly contempt reserved for utopian politicians.’
G This may be because, for non-specialists, it is tricky to demarcate well-based ideas from flaky speculation. But
it’s crucially important not to blur this distinction when writing articles for a general readership. Otherwise
credulous readers may take too much on trust, whereas hard- nosed sceptics may reject all scientific claims, without
appreciating that some have firm empirical support.
H Such a possibility is one reason why this competition to encourage young people to take up science writing
is so important and why I am helping to launch it today. Another is that popular science writing can address
wider issues. When I give talks about astronomy and cosmology, the questions that interest people most are the
truly ‘fundamental’ ones that I can’t answer: ‘Is there life in space?’, ‘Is the universe infinite?’ or ‘Why didn’t
the Big Bang happen sooner?’
A. Monosodium Glutamate
Good food is one of life’s pleasures and even 1,200 years ago, oriental cooks knew that food tasted better when
prepared with a soup stock made from a type of seaweed. But it was only in 1908 that Japanese scientists
identified the ingredient responsible for enhancing flavour.
That ingredient is known today by its scientific name, monosodium glutamate. It is often referred to as MSG
and it is an amino acid found in virtually all foods. The bound form is linked to other amino acids in proteins
and is manufactured in the human body. The free form of glutamate in foods enhances food flavours.
Tomatoes, cheese and mushrooms are just some free glutamate rich foods. Free glutamate content increases
during ripening, bringing out a fuller taste in many foods and is made as a flavour enhancer by a fermentation
process similar to that used for making soy sauce and vinegar.
People have long known about the four basic tastes - sweet, sour, salty and bitter. But now a fifth basic taste
called umami has been recognised. This is imparted to foods by glutamate and is responsible for the savoury
taste of many foods, such as tomatoes and cheese.

B. Organic Food & Business

Organic farmers pride themselves on fostering sustainable agriculture, but it remains to be seen if the industry’s
rapid growth is in fact sustainable. One challenge facing the industry is to bring the price of organic products
more in line with those of conventional products. The price of organic ingredients is improving but demand still
outpaces supply. However, supply issues are overshadowed by the fact that the organic foods sector continues
to grow faster than the food industry as a whole, fundamentally due to the natural alliance between organic
crops and processed foods. Firstly, organic foods earmarked for processing do not have to be as cosmetically
perfect as their fresh counterparts. In addition, freezing or tinning reduces many of the shelf-life problems
associated with fresh produce. It was only a question of time before mainstream food companies woke up to
these synergies.
The pioneers of the organic food industry view the growing presence of major food companies in their markets
as a mixed blessing. Many smaller companies fear that the ideals of organic agriculture will be compromised.
Others think major food companies will help persuade consumers to buy organic products through the power of
their branding.

C. Chilli
Capsicums, commonly known as chillis, come in all dimensions and colours from the tiny, pointed, extremely
hot, bird’s eye chilli, to the large, mild, fleshy peppers like the Anaheim. Indigenous to Central and South
America and the West Indies, they were cultivated long before the Spanish conquest, which was the eventual
cause of their introduction to Europe. Chillis along with tomatoes, avocados, vanilla and chocolate changed the
flavours of the known world. Today, there are around 400 different varieties of chillis grown. They are easy to
cultivate and are one of the world’s most widely distributed crops, available for sale at most food outlets.
In 1902, a method was developed for measuring the strength of a given variety of capsicum, ranking it on a
predetermined scale. This originally meant tasting the peppers, but nowadays it can be done more accurately
with the help of computers to rate the peppers in units to indicate parts per million of capsaicin. This potent
chemical not only causes the fiery sensation, but also triggers the brain to produce endorphins, natural
painkillers that promote a sense of well-being.

D. Writing about Cooking

Two cookery writers are often credited with the present revival of interest in food and cooking. Elizabeth David
discovered her taste for good food when she lived with a French family for two years. After returning to
England, she learnt to cook so that she could reproduce some of the food that she had come to appreciate in
France. Her first book appeared when rationing was still in force after the war and most of the ingredients she
had so lovingly described were not available. At the time, her book was read rather than used, and it created a
yearning for good ingredients and for a way of life that saw more in food than mere sustenance. Her later books
confirmed her position as the most inspirational and influential cookery writer in the English language. She
shared with Jane Grigson an absorbing interest in the literature of cookery.
Jane Grigson was brought up in the north-east of England, where there is a strong tradition of good eating, but
it was not until she began to spend time in France that she became really interested in food. She was renowned
for her fine writing on food and cookery, often catching the imagination with a deftly chosen fragment of
history or poetry, but never failing to explain the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ of cookery.

In which section are the following mentioned? Your answers:

A group of foods that changed the way an area of the world cooked 136. C
A period of time when access to food was restricted 137. D
A comparison of the process of producing a substance with that also used for B
138.
some other foods
The global popularity of a particular food 139. C
An interest in discovering more about unfamiliar types of food 140. D
The discrepancy between the amount of a type of food produced and the B
141.
demand for it
A substance that reinforces the savoury aspect of food 142. A
A way of determining the strength of a foodstuff 143. C
Using literary forms to talk about food dishes 144. D
Worries about the ethical future of a food industry 145. B