Reading Exercises - Matching INFORMATION

Exercise 1. Read the text and answer the questions below.

Simplicity reigns at London's biggest design festival.
(A) With upwards of 300 product launches, installations and exhibitions, London's annual nine-day design festival is a showcase of
head-spinning choice. In many ways that's the beauty of the extravaganza, everyone has a different experience and takes something
unique away from it. There were however some intriguing themes and trends in this year's edition that spoke to larger social or cultural
preoccupations.
(B) One was the launch of two consumer electronics products designed to simplify and beautify our technology-addled lives. Both chose
the new London Design Festival venue of Somerset House to show their wares. The first was a mobile phone launched by Swiss
company Punkt and designed by Jasper Morrison that allows users to make calls and texts only (well, it has an alarm clock and an
address book too). Punkt founder Petter Neby doesn't believe it will replace your smart phone but suggests users fit it with the same
SIM card as your main phone and use it in the evenings, weekends and on holiday.
(C) The other electronics launch came from the unlikely French sibling duo of the Bouroullec brothers. Though tech companies like
Samsung are usually prescriptive about their products the Bouroullecs (who admitted they found most TVs sad and ugly) seem to have
been given free rein. Their new television for the mega Korean brand looks more like an item of furniture than an ultra-large and ultra-
slim piece of tech. More importantly, it comes with simplified on-screen interaction and a 'curtain mode' that turns your screen into a
shimmering pattern during ads or half-time. Again, their focus was on dialing down digital insanity.
(D) Customizable online furniture was also very much in vogue at this year's festival. But rest assured, weird and unreliable software or
off-the-wall designs sent to a 3D printer somewhere and arriving months later, seem to be a thing of the past. Customization may
finally have come of age. Two examples were Scandi-brand Hem that combined good design by the likes of Luca Nichetto, Form Us With
Love and Sylvain Willenz with affordable price points. The fact that the brand opened a pop-up store in Covent Garden during the
festival is a recognition of the importance of both physical and online spaces that work seamlessly together.
(E) Another online configurable brand to make its debut after years in development was Warsaw-based Tylko. Like Hem, Tylko has
spent time and money on very powerful and easy-to-use software, but with only three designs - a table, a shelf and salt and pepper
mills - it has a way to go. Its augmented reality app is simple to use however and its table has been developed with a nano-coating
option that really does appear to keep pesky stains at bay. Craft and 'making' in all its forms was once again a big hit and nowhere
more so than at TENT, the East London design event that gets better every year.
(F) A definite highlight was the massive space taken over by the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland and filled with weavers and potters
doing their thing and showing their wares. Irish Design had another delectable stand over at the Rochelle School in East London too.
The Souvenir Project was a series of nine non-cliché 'souvenirs' made in Ireland and included a rainbow plate by Nicholas Mosse Pottery
that featured rows of animals, flowers and watering cans and commemorated the legalization of same-sex marriage in Ireland in May
2015.
(G) If there was one material that could be said to define the festival it might just be Jesmonite, the wonder man-made building
composite. Lighter and more sustainable than concrete, its dramatic capabilities were brought to life by London-based design studio
PINCH and their tour-de-force limited edition Nim table and Swedish artist Hilda Hellström's giant colorful volcano made for the
restaurant in London's Ace Hotel. A show called Matter of Stuff near Covent Garden was in on the jesmonite act too, but even more
intriguingly was presenting vases made out of Propolis, a resinous material collected by bees and used to seal gaps in hives that,
according to their designer Marlene Huissoud, behaves like glass.
(H) Finally, this was the year that Chinese Design finally displayed a well-edited and inspired showcase of products. Despite the
mouthful of a title, Icon Presents: Hi Design Shanghai stand at 100% Design was a meaningful selection of designers exploring
materials and ideas. Young design duo Yuue's offerings were the most representative of a new conceptual approach to design that
seems to be emerging. Their lamps were functional but also thought-provoking and humorous. What more could one want from the
stuff that surrounds us?
Questions 1-8. The text has eight paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct
letter, A-H, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
1. Examples of customization
2. Unusual keepsakes
3. A new approach
4. A simple cell phone
5. Unbelievable material
6. A strange TV
7. Number of products shown on the festival
8. Three designs of a software

Exercise 2. Read the text and answer the questions below.

The lost giants of Australian fauna
(A) Australia's wildlife is unique. The vast majority of the animals that live there are not found anywhere else – and things were no
different 1 million years ago during the Pleistocene: the age of the super-sized mammal. Before humanity became Earth's undisputed
superpower, giant beasts of all shapes and sizes dominated every continent, but the Pleistocene mammals of Australia were different.
Some of them could grow to the size of small cars, or possessed teeth longer than knife blades.
(B) None of these animals survive today – although exactly why that's the case is a mystery. Humans, with their advanced hunting
techniques and use of fire to modify the landscape, may have played a central role in the megafauna's disappearance, but this idea is
still a matter of heated debate.
(C) Even if we cannot be sure that the arrival of Australian Aboriginals on the continent had catastrophic effects on its native animals, it
seems that the animals had a rather spiritual effect on the humans. The Aboriginal mythological "Dreamtime" includes a cast of
monstrous creatures, many of which bear a close resemblance to some of the real-life monsters that once stalked Australia's plains. Are
the myths based in fact? Perhaps: after all, these creatures are far stranger than anything dreamed up by humans.
(D) For instance, the two-tonnes weighting Diprotodon comfortably holds the title of largest marsupial ever. In size and appearance it
looked superficially like a modern rhinoceros, but the Diprotodon seems to have had a social lifestyle more like that of an elephant,
another mammal with which it shares anatomical similarities. What the Diprotodon most resembles, however, is exactly what it is: an
enormous wombat.
(E) Another record breaker, this time a world champion; Varanus priscus, commonly known by its antiquated genus name Megalania –
was the largest terrestrial lizard the world has ever known. Megalania was a goanna lizard, a relative of today's infamous Komodo
dragon, and conservative estimates have predicted that it was at least 5.5m long.
(F) These monster marsupials were not the only giants. Their numbers were swelled by half-tonne birds and dinosaur-like tortoises.
Although this biological assemblage was truly nightmarish for humans, it greatly enriched the Australia’s fauna and contributed to the
world’s biological diversity. Unfortunately, all of these species are extinct nowadays. This fact shows us that even strong, monstrous
creatures can easily die out. So we need to care about animals that surround us today and don’t let them disappear as it happened to
their distant ancestors.
Questions 1-8. The text has eight paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct
letter, A-F, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet
1. Extinction of monstrous creatures
2. The largest mammal
3. Myths and reality
4. Incredible creatures of Pleistocene Australia
5. Importance of animal protection
6. Giant lizards
7. Arrival of Australian Aboriginals
8. Mystery the giants' disappearance

Exercise 3. Read the text and answer the questions below.

Black rats rainforest invasion 'speeded by deforestation'
(A) Cutting down trees in rainforests facilitates the spread of invasive black rats, a study suggests. The rodents normally avoid mature
forests with large trees as they provide little in the way of cover. But researchers, writing in Biotropica, say that logging makes
rainforests more attractive for rats as fallen wood contains more insects which they eat.
(B) Scientists are concerned that the invading black rats will be bad news for native mammals. Sometimes called the ship rat, these
rodents have spread around the world over the past 400 years, often causing the extinctions of native species and spreading disease.
(C) Much of their notoriety rests on the idea that black rats were the origin of bubonic plague, although recent research casts doubt on
that notion. Black rats have usually avoided older forests as they contain large trees which do not provide much in the way of ground
level protection. They also tend to have leafy forest floors which are noisy for rats to run through, as they attract predators.
(D) This new study examined the idea that logging of trees in rainforests might facilitate the spread of the rodents. The researchers
looked at the island of Borneo where large tracts of the natural forest have been degraded.
(E) It had been believed that black rats were confined to urban areas in Borneo. To test the idea that they might spread into deforested
regions, the scientists trapped rats from four different species - they then attached small spools of cotton thread to their backs and and
tracked their movements.
(F) Across the animals in the study, the researchers found that the black rats had the strongest preference for the type of disturbed
habitat associated with logging. The increased amount of fallen wood boosted the amount of insects which the rats eat. The logged
forests also have more undergrowth which provides better cover. The researchers believe that black rats favour these small changes far
more than related species.
(G) "Logging creates micro-environments that black rats love, helping them move in," said study co-author Dr Rob Ewers from Imperial
College London. "This could be bad news for native mammals who might not be able to compete with black rats for food and resources.
It's also bad for the forest, as many small mammals are important seed dispersers, helping rainforest plants to grow, and they are also
prey for larger animals."
(H) The researchers say that the widespread destruction of forests throughout the tropics may well be multiplying the threat from
invasive species like black rats. They believe the presence of these rats could pose a significant threat to nesting birds and other small
mammals. The scientists say that the way that logging is done can have a big impact on the suitability of the land for the black rats.
The more dead wood that is left behind the better the black rats like it. If felled trees were more accurately cleared as well as the vines
that connect the trees, the rat's progress might be curbed.
Questions 1-8. The text has eight paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct
letter, A-H, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
1. A valid concern
2. The experiment
3. More food for rats
4. Possible threats
5. Bad news
6. A place of the research
7. The difference between species
8. The reason for bad reputation
Exercise 4. Read the text and answer the questions below.
When the flip of a coin wins an election
(A) In the first vote to decide the US's presidential candidates, several results were decided on the toss of a coin. How common is it for
elections to be decided this way? A silver coin balanced on thumb and forefinger is pinged upwards, falls, then gives its verdict - heads
or tails. In sport, it's a common practice to decide who kicks off or opens the batting. In elections it's rarer, but not as rare as you might
suppose. In Iowa's Democratic caucuses - a contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for the party's presidential nomination -
the results in several precincts were decided by flipping a coin, according to the Des Moines Register.

(B) It was a series of dramatic finishes in a race the party called "the closest in Iowa Democratic caucus history". On Twitter there were
reports that contests were settled in this way in Ames, one Des Moines precinct, another Des Moines precinct, Newton, West Branch and
West Davenport. In some of these cases it was reported that there was a dead heat in voting. In Ames, it was the vagaries of the voting
system and the decision by 60 of those present not to vote that left the final result unclear. Party officials were contacted on a hotline to
advise, and recommended tossing a coin.

(C) Unusually, all six coin tosses were won by Clinton. According to John Moriarty, Reader in Mathematics at Queen Mary University
London, there would have been a one-in-64 or 1.6% chance of Clinton winning all six flips. (That's nothing, however, compared to the
time the England cricket team lost 12 tosses of the coin in a row - a probability of about 4,000-to-one.) The caucus system used in 10
US states, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands, differs from the primary system used in most states in that votes are taken in small
groups rather than on a statewide basis. This makes ties more likely.

(D) "It's quite an idiosyncratic process," says Rene Lindstaedt, an expert on US politics at the University of Essex. Unlike in primaries,
which are conducted like ballots, Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa show their support for candidates by standing or sitting together in
"preference groups" before a head count is taken (Iowa Republicans use secret ballots or a show of hands).

(E) The Iowa Democratic party's caucus guide states that "where two or more preference groups are tied for the loss of a delegate, a
coin shall be tossed to determine who loses the delegate". With the statewide result a virtual tie between Clinton and Sanders, the flips
became one of the night's biggest talking points, and within hours the coin had its own Twitter profile.

(F) It's not unprecedented for elections to be decided in this manner. The mayor of San Teodoro, a town in the central Philippines, was
ultimately chosen by a coin toss in 2013 after two rival candidates both received 3,236 votes apiece. In the UK, returning officers are
legally obliged to settle elections immediately if recounts fail to establish a winner. This has never happened in an election to the House
of Commons, but it has in local elections.

(G) Worksop North East seat in Bassetlaw District Council was won by Labour on the toss of a coin in 2000 after three recounts.
Christopher Underwood-Frost, a Conservative councillor in Lincolnshire held his seat by the toss of a coin in 2007. And control of Stirling
District Council was decided by cutting a deck of cards on two occasions in 1988 and 1992. There are other uses for coin flips, too.
Government contracts in Canada can be awarded this way if tenders are identical.

(H) But there remains unease about the use of making decisions so arbitrarily - even in sport, where the use of coin tosses is perhaps
best established. From 2016, under an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) trial, visiting county teams will be given the option of
bowling first, and a coin toss will only take place if they decline. Perhaps the ECB will share its findings with Iowa's Democratic Party.
Questions 1-8. The text has eight paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct
letter, A-H, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
1. Heat in voting
2. A fact about the UK
3. Statement of the caucus guide
4. The way Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa show their support
5. A parallel with sport
6. Some examples of winning by the toss of a coin
7. An unexpected outcome
8. New rule