Name Mark

Text 1

Predicting the unpredictable

1 In April 2009, a devastating earthquake struck the Italian town of L’Aquila. More
than 300 people lost their lives, over 1,500 people were injured, and many buildings
were destroyed. Two years later, seven earthquake experts were involved in a court
case: Did they adequately warn the public after the initial tremors began? At the heart
5 of the debate is whether they could have predicted a disaster like this.
Although a lot of scientists are working to improve our ability to predict natural
disasters, so far no one has come up with a reliable method to forecast earthquakes or
volcanic eruptions, days or weeks beforehand. Most of the research focuses on the
areas most likely to experience seismic activity – but even our knowledge about
10 where these areas are is very limited. One reason for this is that human beings have
only been around for a very small part of the Earth’s history. In geological terms, we
all arrived on the scene very recently. Records from the past 2,000 years are
incomplete, and the biggest earthquakes nearly always happen in areas where there
have been no earthquakes in recorded history.
15 So, is there any hope for improving our ability to predict disasters? A solution may
come from an unexpected source. In 2011, a team of US physicists at Rutgers
University in New Jersey were studying why pharmaceutical powders stick together.
They observed that the powder stuck together when placed in a spinning cylinder, but
then developed cracks and collapsed. Just before the cracks developed, an electric
20 signal, like a small bolt of lightning, was created. The scientists repeated the
experiment with a wide range of different materials, and they got similar results
every time.
This phenomenon might also exist in nature. Some scientists believe that rocks may
become electrically charged under unusual pressure, such as before an earthquake.
25 This electric charge then causes changes in the surrounding air or water, which
animals may be able to sense before humans do. For example, while biologists were
studying a colony of frogs in a pond near L’Aquila in 2009, they noticed that nearly
all the animals left the water days before the earthquake. A similar thing happened in
China in 1975, when snakes were hibernating for the winter in caves, but escaped just
30 before a large earthquake. The same kind of electric charge, like the small bolt of
lightning felt in the experiment at Rutgers, may have been responsible.
At the moment, there is no reliable way of using such findings to predict earthquakes,
and further studies may be necessary to give us a better understanding of the
interactions involved, but one day, the technology may be used to predict future
35 catastrophes. For example, two science institutions in Russia and Britain are already
developing a new micro-satellite, which could detect these electric signals and help
rescue people from natural disasters in time. Scientists are planning to launch the first
of these satellites into space in 2015. Will these satellites be the solution? Only time
will tell. For the time being, the best defense is to be prepared.

Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014
1 The main intention of the author of the article is …
A to tell inspirational stories of surviving natural disasters.
B to highlight the challenges in predicting disasters.
C to warn people about the importance of reliable disaster forecasts.
D to comment on a recent court case connected to a natural catastrophe.
E to give an account of current research at Rutgers University.

2 According to the article, which statements are true?

1 In 2011, a court found that seven scientists were responsible for 300 deaths
and 1,500 injuries in the L’Aquila earthquake.
2 Several research studies in physics and biology show that electric charges
may be able to predict earthquakes in the future.
3 Scientists in Britain and Russia have developed satellites that can already
predict earthquakes accurately.

A 1, 2, and 3.
B 2 only.
C 1 and 2.
D 1 and 3.
E None of the statements.

3 According to the information in paragraph 2 …

A the only thing we know for certain about earthquakes is which areas are
most at risk.
B the role of human beings in causing geological events, such as earthquakes,
has lasted for many centuries.
C it is likely that scientists will soon find a way of forecasting natural disasters
accurately.
D there is little historical information about earthquakes in areas where
earthquakes are likely today.
E we have a comprehensive record of disasters for the last two centuries.

Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014
4 Which of the following statements is true, according to the information in
paragraph 3?
A The team at Rutgers was experimenting with creating electric signals.
B None of the physicists expected pharmaceutical powders to stick together.
C The small lightning bolt, or electric charge, followed a short time after the
powder had fallen apart.
D The electrical charge only affected powders that have fallen apart suddenly.
E In the experiment, the electric charge always appeared before the materials
fell apart.

5 The title of the article, “Predicting the unpredictable,” is appropriate

because …
A at present, it is not possible to predict natural disasters reliably.
B it is unreasonable to expect scientists to predict natural disasters.
C science has accomplished something that previously was impossible.
D scientists have proven that there will never be a way to predict all natural
disasters.
E we don’t know, at the moment, when satellites will begin to predict
earthquakes.

6 You can infer from the information in paragraph 2 that “beforehand”

(line 8) means …
A accurately, precisely.
B recently, lately.
C for a long time, for too long.
D soon, in the near future.
E in advance, earlier.

Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014
7 In the sentence, “This electric charge then causes changes in the
surrounding air or water, which animals may be able to sense before
humans do” (line 25), the underlined relative pronoun “which” refers to …
A the electric charge.
B changes.
C air or water.
D animals.
E humans.

8 Grammatically, the sentence, “The same kind of electric charge, like the
small bolt of lightning felt in the experiment at Rutgers, may have been
responsible” (line 30) is equivalent to ...
A The same kind of electric charge felt in the Rutgers experiment was
definitely the reason the snakes left their caves.
B It is possible that the same kind of electric charge felt in the Rutgers
experiment caused the snakes to leave their caves.
C The same kind of electric charge felt in the Rutgers experiment should have
made the snakes leave their caves.
D The snakes leaving their caves could have explained the electric charge felt
in the Rutgers experiment.
E Perhaps the electric charge felt in the Rutgers experiment was the result of
the snakes leaving their caves.

Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014
Text 2

Krakatoa
1 In May 1883, strange things were happening on the volcanic island of Krakatoa, in
Indonesia. Steam was rising from the volcano, and small earthquakes started
affecting the region. At first, some villagers on nearby Sumatra and Java held parties
when they saw that smoke was rising from the volcano. Others were more concerned.
5 When the Dutch scientist H. J. G. Ferzenaar was exploring the island in August, he
saw gray ash from the volcano everywhere. It stuck to his shoes and covered the trees
and flowers. All of the plants were dead.
On August 26, 1883, the volcano erupted again with a series of violent explosions.
The next day, a gigantic eruption roared out of the volcano. It was the loudest noise
10 ever heard by modern humans: it was louder than a nuclear bomb. The explosion was
so large that people heard it from a distance of 5,000 kilometers away. It destroyed
the island of Krakatoa: two-thirds of the land collapsed into the sea, and around 1,000
people on nearby islands were buried under a rain of hot ash.
The eruption on August 27 also generated some of the most powerful tsunamis in the
15 history of the world. The giant waves covered several islands. Some people survived
by holding onto trees while huge waves hit their streets and homes, but many
buildings collapsed, and whole towns disappeared. Over 30,000 people died as a
result of the destructive tsunamis.
The entire planet felt the effects of the eruption. Over the next twelve months, world
20 temperatures dropped by over one degree centigrade. As far away as Britain, people
reported strange clouds and unusual light in the evening.
The story doesn’t stop there. The volcano continued burning under the water. In
1927, it created a new island, called “Anak Krakatoa” (Son of Krakatoa), which rose
out of the sea. The new island is still there between Java and Sumatra, and it’s
25 growing all the time.

1 It can be inferred from the web page that the most life-threatening part of
the eruption was ...
A the heat of the volcano.
B the powerful explosions.
C the poisonous ash.
D a fire that started afterwards.
E the enormous sea waves.

Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014
2 According to the web page, which statements are true?
1 Skies looked different in the year after the eruption.
2 Summer was longer in the year after the eruption.
3 The world was cooler in the year after the eruption.

A 1 and 3.
B 2 only.
C 1 and 2.
D 3 only.
E None of the statements.

3 The web page states that ...

A Krakatoa is larger today than in 1883.
B Krakatoa is the same as in 1883.
C most of Krakatoa disappeared in 1883, and today there is a new, smaller
island.
D a small part of Krakatoa disappeared in 1883, but there is new, smaller
island.
E Krakatoa destroyed the smaller island, Anak Krakatoa, in 1883.

4 The word “ash” (line 6) means ...

A an unpleasant smell, like bad eggs.
B a very thick kind of smoke.
C a powder you get after burning something.
D hot rocks that are burning in a volcano.
E a type of tropical plant found in Indonesia.

5 Choose the best definition for the word “roared” (line 9).
A Disappeared.
B Fell, sank.
C Gave off light.
D Made a loud sound.
E Shocked people.

Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014