Mock Exam 1

Are smells making us sick?

When archaeologists opened ancient Egyptian tombs in 1897, sweet smells of perfume floated out into
the air. Pharaohs were buried in beautifully decorated rooms, heavy with perfume. It was also common
in Babylonia and India, where perfume containers have been found dating from around the same time
as the ancient Egyptian tombs. In Europe, France has always been the centre of perfume – Louis XIV
used a different scent every day and Napoleon consumed 60 bottles of jasmine perfume every month!
Smells provoke powerful reactions in our memories and bodies. We often associate smells with
particular places or times – jasmine in the summer, perhaps, or the smells coming from a bakery in the
morning. The basic idea behind aromatherapy is that certain smells also have health benefits and can
help relieve certain conditions. It is claimed that the use of essential oils can relieve stress and anxiety,
give us extra energy or help us to sleep better.
However, recent research also indicates that the increasing use of perfumes and scents may also be
making us sick. In her book The Case Against Fragrance, Kate Grenville presents evidence that up to
a third of people suffer from headaches or asthma as a direct reaction to scents or fragrances. Most
modern perfumes contain artificial chemicals and the precise ingredients are secret, so we’ve no idea
what we’re actually breathing. Furthermore, many properties of essential oils have been found to cause
allergies.
Humans have used scents for thousands of years for many purposes and more recently we have
studied how certain smells can be good for our health. However, it may be that it’s not all roses.

1 Are the following statements T (true) or F (false)? Justify your answers with words from the text.
(2 points)
1 The perfume containers found in Babylonia and India were probably made in 1897.

2 Perfumes and fragrances might have both positive and negative effects on our health.

2 Answer the questions in your own words. (2 points)

1 Why is it difficult to find out why perfumes may be damaging people’s health?

2 What does the author mean with the expressions ‘it’s not all roses’?

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3 Find words in the text with the following meanings. (1 point)
1 moved through the air (paragraph 1)
2 feeling worried or nervous (paragraph 2)
3 reasons for believing something is true (paragraph 3)
4 exact (paragraph 3)

4 Choose the best answer according to the text. (2 points)

1 Archaeologists in 1897 discovered that Pharaohs …
a wore perfume.
b were buried in tombs.
c were buried in perfumed tombs.
2 In the first paragraph the author gives …
a a short history of perfume.
b an explanation of why perfume was so popular in France.
c a brief description of where perfume comes from.
3 What is the main aim of the second paragraph?
a To explain all the possible benefits of smells.
b To describe some psychological effects of smells.
c To define what aromatherapy is used for.
4 What conclusion can we draw from paragraph 3?
a That perfumes are actually bad for us.
b That there is still a lot we need to learn about perfumes.
c Perfume is bad for some people and we still don’t know why.

5 Write a composition (100–120 words) on the following: (3 points)

Food companies should reveal all the ingredients in their products. Discuss.

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