My First Science Lesson

from The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes

In my first Chemistry class, 1 (C at the age) of fourteen, I successfully

precipitated a single crystal of mineral salts. This elementary experiment 2 (B was
done) by heating a solution of copper sulphate (I think) over a Bunsen burner and
leaving it to cool overnight. The next morning there it lay at the bottom of my
carefully labelled test tube: a single beautiful crystal, the size of a flattened.
Glacier Mint, a miniature ziggurat with a faint blue opalescence, propped up
against the inside of the glass (too big to lie flat), monumental and mysterious to
my eyes. No one else's test tube held anything but 3 (B a few) feeble grains. I was
triumphant, my scientific future assured.
But it 4 (D turned out) that the chemistry master did not believe me. The crystal
was too big to be true. He said (not at all unkindly) that I 5 (A had obviously
faked) it, and slipped a piece of coloured glass into the tube instead. It was
quite a good joke. I implored him, 'Oh, test it, sir, just test it! But he refused,
and moved on to other matters. In that moment of helpless 6 (A disappointment) I
think I first glimpsed exactly what real science should be. To add to it, years
later I learned the motto of the Royal Society: Nullius in Verba - 'Nothing Upon
Another's Word.' I have never forgotten this incident, and have often related it to
scientific friends. They nod sympathetically, though they tend to add that I did
not (as a matter of chemical fact) precipitate a crystal at all - what I did was to
seed one, a rather different process

1
A in the age
B aged
C at the age
D of age

2
A has done
B was done
C has been done
D had done

3
A few
B a few
C little
D a little

4
A found out
B turned up
C came up
D turned out

5
A had obviously faked
B must obviously fake
C have obviously faked
D would obviously fake

6
A disappointment
B disagreement
C disapproval
D distaste

9 Complete the sentences with prepositions.

1 The man was arrested (for) being drunken and disorderly in a public place.
2 The assistant is suspected (of) passing on confidential information to the
competition.
3 The student was accused (of) plagiarism.
4 The three men were charged (with) armed robbery.
5 The driver who caused the accident was found guilty (of) manslaughter He was also
disqualified (from) driving
6 The bank robber was sentenced (to) ten years imprisonment (for) threatening the
cashier with a shotgun.

THE DARIEN SCHEME SCOTLAND'S DISASTER

SCOTLAND, 16951 A SMALL NATION ON THE NORTH-WESTERN FRINGE OF EUROPE WITH LITTLE
INDUSTRY, NO FOREIGN COLONIES AND A TINY NAVY, On its southern border lies England:
Larger, sicher and with one of the world's most powerful navies. Since 1603 the two
countries, although politically independent, each with its own Parliament, have
shated the same monarchy. Despite this, the English, fearful of competition, refuse
to let Scottish merchants trade freely abroad, blocking the routes to England's
colonial markers. In Scotland. the political and economic elite are desperate for
the wealth that foreign cominerce would bring.

Onto this stage stepped James Paterson, entrepreneur, marketing genius and the
Scotsman responsible for founding the Bank of England. For years, he had been
nurturing an ambitious money-making plan: the Darien Schame. Darien, on the east
coast of Central America, near where today the Panama Canal joins the Atlantic with
the Pacific, was, according to Paterson. the "door of the seas and the key of the
universe. He was convinced a colony there would enable its proprietors to give laws
to both oceans,

Paterson had already sought government support for his scheme in England, Holland,
Prussia and the Holy Roman Empire, but with no succes. Now, at last, in his
homeland, he found a country ready to finance his venture. The Scots were so keen
to invest in Darien that hundreds of thousands of pounds were raised, perhaps as
much as half of all the money circulating in the country at that time.

On 14 July 1698 five ships with nearly 1,300 settlers on board, including Paterson
and his wife, left Scotland. They wete carrying the hopes and money of a nation. In
October they landed on the coast of Darien and ser abour building New Edinburgh.
They built a fort, a harbour and houses, and planted crops. Paterson's dream seemed
about to become a realiry

But Darien was no dream it was a nightmare. The climate was hot and humid, the
crops failed, insects brought disease and the settlers suffered from malnutrition.
In June 1699, only eight months after landing, the colony was abandoned. On the way
home, hundreds more died and only one ship with 300 people made it safely back to
Scotland. Paterson was among them, bur his wife was not.

The tragedy was not over. Two more expeditions had already set sail for Darien with
1,600 colonists expecting to find a flourishing settlement there. However, they
found it deserted and overgrown. Five hundred of them bravely chose to remain to
rebuild the fort and to try to save Darien. But illness and starvation weakened
them, and in March 1700 they surrendered to the Spanish. Seventy-one per cent of
the men, women and children who sailed to Darien died. Eleven of the fourteen ships
were lost. The dream of Darien was dead.

The consequences for the Scottish economy were devastating. However, it was at this
point that England came to the rescue by offering £398,085 to the Darien investors.
This represented an equivalent of all the money lost in the Darien scheme, with
interest. There was just one condition: that Scotland surrender its independence by
signing the Act of Union with England. So, in 1707 the Scottish Parliament voted
itself out of existence and Scotland became a part of the United Kingdom. Scottish
finances were in such a desperate state that the Scots may have had no choice other
than to accept the English offer, but the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament
was not popular: there were riots on the streets of Edinburgh. Poet Robert Burns
summed up the mood We are bought and sold for English gold, such a parcel of rogues
in a nation.

Read the text and choose the correct answers.

1 At the end of the 17th century, Scotland

A had no industry.
B had a powerful navy.
C experienced problems in foreign trade. +
D was entirely independent of England.

2 James Paterson's plan

A involved funding from the Bank of England.

B proposed new laws in ocean trade.
C gained the support of several governments.
D was taken up enthusiastically by the Scots. +

3 Which of the following is not mentioned as a cause of the failure of the Darien
colony?

A lack of government support +

B an inhospitable climate
C lack of food
D health problems

4 The second wave of settlers

A came to a flourishing settlement.

B all decided to stay and rebuild the fort.
C suffered hunger and disease. +
D fought against the Spanish.

5 The Scottish Parliament accepted the Act of Union because

A the idea was popular because of the financial problems.

B Robert Burns recommended it.
C there were riots in Edinburgh.
D the economic situation was desperate +

Someonegot to do it

Patio furniture, het thought as as he pulled up under streetlamp on the quiet

suburban avenue. Mustn't forget to pick up the patio furniture on the way home. The
forecast was good for the weekend, so the barbecue was definitely on, but they were
desperately short of garden chairs. He switched off the ignition, opened the car
door and smelt the delightful fragrance of the flowers bordering the lawn behind
the thick privet hedge. It was quiet. The wealthy suburbs always were. He got out
of the car and shut the door behind him. Above him he could hear the rush of wind
through the trees and the joyful sound of birdsong. Life was good.

The evening sun shone brightly on the red tiles on the roof of the house: a
Victorian mansion with a double garage at one side and a huge conservatory at the
other. Good. No nosy neighbours. The house was as isolated as a lonely farmhouse or
country cottage.

He strolled up the drive towards the front door, his shoes sinking into the thick
gravel, and then he frowned. There was something else he had to remember, he was
sure of it. But what was it? He bit his lip in frustration. He could hear himself
saying, 'Don't worry, darling. I won't forget But he had; he had forgotten.

Glancing up, he saw someone moving in a window upstairs. Excellent, the householder
was in. He hated it when he had to stand there pointlessly ringing the doorbell of
an empty house. Early evening was definitely the best time to call: people were
home from work but hadn't yet settled into the comfort of their armchairs and sofas
and game shows and series. Automatically, he wiped his feet on the doormat. There
was no bell, so he lifted the flap on the letter box and let it fall heavily three
times. After a moment, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and then a key
turning in the lock. The door swung open and a middle-aged woman stood there in the
hall, smiling at him.

He greeted the woman by name, opened his briefcase and pulled out an envelope.
Before she could realise what was happening, he handed over the letter and then
gave the short speech he'd delivered so many times before to his unsuspecting
victims. The phrases came mechanically fron his tight, thin lips: 'due to non-
payment of the mortgage, 't bank finds itself in the unhappy situation', 'forced to
reposs the property, 'in a period of no more than one month. The phrases seemed to
physically hurt the woman. She flinches her smile disappeared, she seemed to shrink
and her eyes glistened. By the time he had finished and wished her a go evening,
she was crying and her face was white with shock

As he was walking back to the car, he remembered with a little smirk of relief what
had been hiding in his memory Suntan lotion. He had to buy some suntan lotion.

Read the text and choose the correct answers.

1 As he stops in front of the house, the main character
A admires the patio furniture.
B allows his thoughts to wander.
C picks up some items.
D switches off the car radio. +

2 The character is pleased with the house because

A he is impressed by its wealth.
B he finds the style attractive.
C it is located in the countryside.
D it's not very close to other houses. +

3 The character realises there's someone in the house after he

A looks in through a window.
B rings the doorbell.
C hears the sound of a game show on TV.
D lifts the flap of the letter box. +
4 The main character is
A an estate agent.
B a person who delivers official documents. +
C a door-to-door salesman.
D a postman.

5 At the end of the story, the main character

A is moved by the woman's tears.
B is in a state of shock.
C returns to his earlier thoughts.
D feels relieved that the job has been done +

Task 6

Read the text below. For questions (33-42) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or
D). Write your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Beauty Filter: I want to Look Like My Selfie!

Photo filters on Instagram, Snapchat & Co. are very popular for editing selfies. In
(33) (A few) seconds, the skin is (34) (B perfect) pure, the lips bigger and the
nose smaller. However, the filtered selfie could lead to dissatisfaction with one's
own appearance in the longer term.

A large proportion of young people (35) (C are spending) several hours a day on
social media. There they are confronted with supposedly perfect bodies and faces.
Platforms like Instagram invite them (36) (B comparing) the appearance of others
with their own appearance every second. How true to reality photos in particular
are is not always apparent (37) (B at) first glance. How (38) (C others) present
themselves, however, has an influence on how users ultimately want to present
themselves. Beauty filters can be one way of getting (39) (D closer) to the ideals
of beauty conveyed online.

Selfies (40) (A have) quickly (taken) with a smartphone and can be edited with
little effort. Changing one's appearance with the help of filters on Instagram,
Snapchat or TikTok has become part of everyday life for many users. (41) (B
however) beauty filters in particular could lead to the actual appearance no longer
being perceived as beautiful. The use of filters creates an "optimized self" that
no longer corresponds to the real self. (42) (D looking) in the mirror then appears
as a disappointment. Self-esteem suffers because one no longer finds oneself
beautiful without filters.

33 A few B little C a few D a little

34 A perfectly B perfect C more perfect D less perfect
35 A spends B spend C are spending D spent
36 A to compare B comparing C сompared D being compared
37 A on B at C from D in
38 A other B the others C others D another
39 A less close B the closest C more close D closer
40 A have taken B being taken C are taking D are taken
41 A also B however C on the contrary D despite
42 A while looking B having looked C is looking D looking

B. Character
1. Andrew is a/an (a. ambitious) man – he is determined to become a famous
businessman.
a. ambitious b. sensible c. narrow-minded d. gentle
2. He is so (c. selfish) . He doesn’t care about anyone’s feelings except his own.
a. kind-hearted b. reliable c. selfish d. neutral

3. Mark is very (b. modest). He never tells anyone he is a self-made millionaire.

a. boastful b. modest c. moody d. talkative

4. I told Frank that the plan wouldn’t work, but he’s so (a. stubborn) that he just
wouldn’t listen.
a. stubborn b. polite c. patient d. miserable

5. My mother’s very (d. generous) ; she’s always buying little gifts for her
friends.
a. careless b. hardworking c. tolerant d. generous

6. Leo was too (b. shy) to ask Mandy out on a date.

a. responsible b. shy c. gullible d. funny

7. Fred always gets the best marks in class. He is the most (c. intelligent) person
I know.
a. self-assured b. short-tempered c. intelligent d. two-faced

8. She was a (d. cheerful ) girl – always smiling and singing.

a. sympathetic b. nasty c. adventurous d. cheerful

9. The children at my new school are (a. friendly) and made me feel welcome
immediately.
a. friendly b. conceited c. cruel d. ill-mannered

10. He was (c. confident) of his musical abilities and knew that he’d win the
talent contest.
a. scared b. broad-minded c. confident d. arrogant

11. Jane tends to be a bit (d. disorganised). She is always running late and losing
things.
a. charming b. bossy c. dull d. disorganised

12. Since Gayle is so (c. reserved), I sometimes can’t tell how she feels.
a. supportive b. lively c. reserved d. honest

13. Alice may be smart, but she tends to be a little (d. absent-minded) and is
always forgetting where she puts things.
a. obedient b. outgoing c. chatty d. absent-minded

14. Joanne is the life and soul of the party. She is such a (c. sociable) girl.
a. bad-tempered b. careless c. sociable d. defensive