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Long Pham IZONE - Chiến lược học IELTS

READING - MATCHING HEADINGS


I. TASK DESCRIPTION
● You choose the correct heading for each paragraph from a list of headings.
● The list of headings in the box is in random order.
● There are always more headings than you need, so you will not need to use them all.
● You will never need to use a heading more than once.
● The words in the headings summarize the main ideas in the passage, but do not use
exactly the same words or phrases.
● There may be some example headings too, so don't use these headings again.

II. STRATEGIES
● Read all the headings and underline or highlight the key words.
● Read the first paragraph of the passage, marking the topic sentence(s) and related
phrases and vocabulary. (The topic sentence(s) may not always come at the
beginning of the paragraph/section)
● Re-phrase the main idea of the paragraph in your mind.
● Read the list of heading to see if there is a match between IDEAS in the headings and
the IDEAS you have identified in the paragraph. (be careful when there is a match
between WORDS in the headings and those in the paragraph → could be a
distractor)
● Choose the heading that best summarizes the main idea of the first paragraph.
● Go on to the next paragraph and repeat the procedures.
● If you think two headings fit one paragraph, mark both of them and rule one of these
out later.

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III. SAMPLE TASK


EXERCISE 1
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-C from the list of headings below.
List of Headings
i The destruction of the library
ii Collection methods
ii Replacing lost books
iv The library's original purpose
v Storage methods
List of Paragraphs
1. Paragraph A
2. Paragraph B
3. Paragraph C
THE OLD LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA
A The ancient library of Alexandria, which served as the intellectual and cultural hub of
Egypt for 250 years, was tragically destroyed in 43 BC. Now there is widespread
speculation about its true beginnings. The most popular theory is that Ptolemy I Soter
(who ruled from 304 to 282 BC) gathered a vast selection of books on kingship, ruling
and the world’s people, so he might better understand trade terms and how to lead his
subjects.
B Ptolemy I longed to possess all the literature in the world. The manuscripts took the
form of scrolls kept in pigeonholes, the best of them wrapped in jackets of leather or
linen. They are likely to have remained in the groups in which they were acquired,
rather than being properly categorised. Parchment wasn’t used until later, when the
first books began to be written and kept in wooden chests in Roman times.
C As the library expanded, Ptolemy’s successors used increasingly unscrupulous
techniques to obtain manuscripts. One source claims that every ship sailing into
Alexandria’s harbour was routinely searched and, if a book was found, it was
confiscated and taken to the library. There it was examined and a decision made
whether to keep it and make a replacement copy, to be given to its rightful owner
together with adequate reimbursement, or to just return the original copy outright.

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IV. SKILLS-BUILDING EXERCISES


EXERCISE 2
Identifying an appropriate heading for paragraphs in a passage
Which of the headings (i or ii) best reflects the content of each paragraph (1-6)?
1. i What is special about the Rafflesia?
ii Why scientists find the Rafflesia interesting
2. i Unusual features of the Rafflesia
ii Unusual features of the Tetrastigma vine
3. i How to identify the plant
ii How the plant spreads
4. i The conservation status of the plant
ii How the plant should be protected
5. i Threats to the plant from tourism
ii How the plant is regarded
6. i Similarities and differences with the Titan arum
ii Why the Rafflesia's position is being challenged by the Titan arum

THE WORLD'S BIGGEST FLOWER


A The Rafflesia is not only the world's largest flower - it is also one of the most bizarre.
There are several species of Rafflesia that grow in the rainforests of Southeast Asia.
The largest is the Rafflesia arnoldii, which produces a flower a metre in width and can
weigh up to 11 kilograms. This species has been found only on the islands of Sumatra,
Borneo and Java in Southeast Asia, in particular in the Malaysian states of Sabah and
Sarawak.
B The Rafflesia lives as a parasite on the Tetrastigma vine, which grows only in primary
(undisturbed) rainforests. Rafflesia lacks any observable leaves, branches, or even
roots, yet is still considered a vascular plant. The plant grows as thread-like strands of
tissue completely embedded within the vine that hosts it Unlike most plants, the
Rafflesia has no leaves and no chlorophyll, so it cannot photosynthesize and make its
own food. Because it lacks roots, it cannot obtain water and minerals from the ground.
All of its water and nutrients come from the Tetrastigma vine.

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C Rafflesia can only be seen when it is ready to reproduce. Then, a tiny bud forms
outside the root or stem of its host and develops over a period of a year. The
cabbage-like head that develops eventually unfolds, revealing a massive, fleshy,
reddish-brown flower. A foul smell of spoiled meat attracts flies and beetles to
pollinate the plant. To pollinate successfully, the flies or beetles must visit both the
male and female plants, in that order. The fruit produced contain many thousands of
hard seeds that are eaten and spread by ground squirrels and tree shrews.
D It is not known how many individual plants exist; they are rare and hard to spot except
when they are in bloom, and the blossom only exists for a few days. However, all
species of Rafflesia are classified as threatened or endangered. The remaining primary
forests where the Rafflesia live are disappearing. To make matters worse, the flower of
the Rafflesia is collected and used as an ingredient in traditional medicines for women
to promote their recovery from childbirth.
E This strange and smelly parasitic plant has attracted eco-tourists eager to see the
world's largest flower. Landowners have been urged to preserve the flowers and charge
tourists a fee to see them. The flower of Rafflesia arnoldii has become an iconic
symbol of the Southeast Asian rainforest, and is often used on tile covers of tourist
brochures to symbolize the rich biodiversity of the region's forests. The flower has also
been depicted on Indonesian postage stamps on several occasions.
F There are some plants with flowering organs bigger than the flower of the Rafflesia.
The enormous Titan arum, also found in Indonesia, can reach a height of three metres
and can weigh an incredible 75 kilograms. Like the Rafflesia, the Titan arum emits an
unpleasant, rotting smell to attract pollinators. Technically, however, the Titan arum is
not a single flower, it is a cluster of many tiny flowers, called an inflorescence. So the
Rafflesia holds the record for the largest individual flower.

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EXERCISE 3

3.1. Read the first sentence of a paragraph about the city of Auroville, India. It is the
topic sentence. Which of the three options seems to be the most likely heading? Why?

In today's world of conflict, greed and constant struggles for power, Auroville - aka 'the
City of Dawn' - claims on its website that it was planned and built to create the ultimate
model of unity, peace and harmony that can be projected across all humanity.

A. The reason why attempts to create the perfect city always fail
B. An urban ideal designed for an imperfect world
C. A conflict between reality and imitation

3.2. Read the full paragraph and check your answer.

In today's world of conflict, greed and constant struggles for power, Auroville - aka 'the
City of Dawn' - claims on its website that it was planned and built to create the ultimate
model of unity, peace and harmony that can be projected across all humanity. It has no
government, no one owns any property, and money rarely, if ever, changes hands.
There is no leader and rules do not exist. While most experiments at creating the
perfect city do not meet with success, the majority of Auroville’s residents believe their
city to be an exception. Although its critics point to the fact that levels of crime have
been creeping up for some years now, its citizens choose to remain there, still believing
in its utopian dream, still following its path towards a better world.

→ The heading you want will probably not use the same words as those which appear
in the paragraph, but will paraphrase the ideas.

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3.3. Read this opening sentence about Longearbyen. Which heading seems to fit this
sentence best?

Longyearbyen, Norway, holds the record for being the furthest north city in the world,
boasting the world's most northerly school, airport and university.

A. An unwelcoming place to die


B. A city at the top of the world
C. An unusual approach to regulation

3.4. Now read the full paragraph and think about the overall message of the paragraph.
Which heading now best fits the paragraph? Identify the topic sentence in the paragraph

Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, in the Svalbard Archipelago of Norway, holds the record


for being the furthest north city in the world, boasting the world's most northerly
school, airport and university. But what really sets it apart is that it can also lay claim to
some of the world’s strangest rules. In Longyearbyen, for example, it has been
forbidden to die since 1950, the year in which scientists discovered that bodies simply
cannot decompose there - the cold is too extreme. To this day, anyone found ill or dying
is not given the chance to pass away, and is instead immediately taken by airplane or
ship to another part of Norway so that they can die and be buried safely. But it doesn’t
end there. Aside from prohibiting death, there are more peculiar rules and freedoms in
Longyearbyen. Residents are permitted to openly walk the streets with high-powered
guns (there are 3,000 polar bears living locally). At the same time, no one is allowed to
own any cats, which are forbidden because they are a danger to the bird population.

→ Be careful: sometimes the first sentence of a paragraph seems to fit entirely with
one particular heading. However, don't be fooled - you still need to check by reading
the whole paragraph.

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3.5. Read the first sentence of the next paragraph about Marloth Park in South Africa.
Find words or phrases that correspond to the underlined words in the headings A-C
below.

Despite the fact the town of Marloth Park is close to the Kruger National Park, one of
the largest game reserves in Africa, and despite the constant threat of visits from wild
animals such as lions and hippopotamuses, its anxious residents are not allowed to
build fences around their houses to keep out their neighbours.

A. An unusual approach to regulation


B. Dealing with the occasional dangers of the wild
C. Where humans and animals cautiously co-exist

3.6. Now focus on the adverbs and adjectives of the headings. Which heading is no
longer a possible answer?
A. An unusual approach to regulation
B. Dealing with the occasional dangers of the wild
C. Where humans and animals cautiously co-exist
→ Pay particular attention to adjectives and adverbs in headings and texts, as they may
help you eliminate an incorrect heading immediately.

3.7. Read the rest of the paragraph and decide on you answer. Identify the topic sentence
in the paragraph.

In fact the only fence permitted in the town was built by the local authority,
interestingly, with the aim of keeping humans out of the park, rather than containing
the animals inside. Consequently, it is not unusual to see giraffes or elephants causing
traffic jams, for example, and even predator attacks on humans are unnervingly
common - a lion was recently said to have mauled and eaten an escaping burglar. Yet
even after this, while some residents then called for all lions to be rounded up and shot,
others suggested that they be allowed to walk the thoroughfares as a type of crime
control, after an increase in the number of burglaries. Everywhere in Marloth Park, a
wary understanding exists between man and beast.

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3.8. Some paragraphs have no clear topic sentence. Read this paragraph and formulate
the main idea before reading the list of headings.

The real Hallstat is in Austria and is proud to be a traditional UNESCO World Heritage
Site. The Chinese Hallstat is a carbon copy, built in Guangdong province, China, by a
millionaire who sponsored the construction of the imitation town. It cost approximately
$940 million to build, and looks exactly like the real Hallstat, all the way down to its
wooden houses, its narrow streets, and its funicular railway. When the residents of
Austria’s Hallstat (including the mayor) were invited to visit it, they expressed pride
that their town was considered so improbably beautiful that it had been reproduced in
its entirety, but they still had cause for complaint. Originally, the Chinese company had
promised to meet with the Austrian residents to confirm that they were happy for their
homes to be copied; instead, they simply sent their employees to Austria to take photos,
and they returned home to China without speaking to a single resident of the original
Hallstat.

3.9. Now choose the correct heading.


A. A conflict between reality and imitation
B. The importance of official recognition
C. The result of encouraging wider investment

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EXERCISE 4
Read the passage and answer questions 1- 6
The reading passage has six paragraphs, A-F. Choose the correct heading for each
paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i – viii
List of headings
i. The benefits of collaboration
ii. A forerunner of the modern metropolis
iii. A period of intense activity and plans completed
iv. A clear contrast between then and now
v. The rise and mysterious decline of Cahokia
vi. An archaeological theory to explain Cahokia's development
vii. The light and dark of archaeological finds
viii. A city completely unlike any of its contemporaries

1. Paragraph A
2. Paragraph B
3. Paragraph C
4. Paragraph D
5. Paragraph E
6. Paragraph F

CAHOKIA - ANCESTOR OF TODAY'S CAPITAL CITIES


A A thousand years ago the Mississippians, a diverse group of Native Americans who
lived in the area which is today known as the southeastern United States, took a small
village on the Mississippi River and turned it into one of the world’s first great urban
centres. Cahokia, as it has been called by archaeologists, became as large as London
was in the 11th century, and some would argue that it was just as forward-looking and
prosperous as its European equivalents. Sophisticated, cosmopolitan and ahead of its
time, Cahokia was at the heart of ancient society in North America; an ancestor of
today's capital cities.
B In one respect in particular, Cahokia was quite unusual compared to other cities around
at the same time. Archaeologists working on the site have found enough evidence over

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the past fifty years to conclude that, at a certain time, around 35% of the population
were not from Cahokia at all; it seems that many of the tribes that lived all along the
Mississippi River at some point began to relocate to Cahokia. These researchers have
been unable to find more than a handful of other examples of such relocation of tribes,
but they do know that something about Cahokia attracted thousands of people to this
regional centre. And that, they postulated, appears to have been thanks to a small
group of planners who one day decided to redesign the entire village.
C After the redesigns of the village were put in place, the Native Americans at Cahokia
worked with tireless determination to carry them out. Over the course of a few
decades, they transported huge volumes of soil from the nearby countryside to create
120 huge mounds of earth, the biggest of which rose to one hundred feet. On top of
these, they built a vast urban environment, complete with a vibrant town centre,
municipal buildings, and a fifty-acre plaza at the foot of the biggest mound. What
makes it even more impressive to our modern imaginations is that, with no machinery
then, they used their bare hands and woven baskets to dig up and carry the soil from
the surrounding regions back to their city- in-waiting. Eventually, after these efforts,
the vision of the city planners was fulfilled, but even they could not have predicted
how popular Cahokia would become.
D From this period on, Cahokia was alive with intense activity, and grew in size every
year, partly because of the co-operation between the residents. While the men busied
themselves with manual work, like constructing new buildings, or hunting and fishing
in the forests and rivers within a day's walk of the city, the women made sure that the
fields stayed healthy and grew crops, and the homes were kept clean. In many ways, it
seems to have been the ideal place to live, and one with an exciting and prosperous
future ahead of it. And yet, having become a major population centre around AD 1050,
by 1350 it had been almost completely abandoned. Somewhere in the course of 300
years, something happened to Cahokia to cause this, but it is an enigma that even
archaeologists or historians themselves struggle to resolve.
E This rather curious state of affairs exists today because researchers have never found a
single piece of evidence that can conclusively explain why the residents left.
Academics who have studied other Native American sites have always found weapons

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of war buried deep underground. And yet, the bows, arrows and swords that littered
the ground at these other sites were nowhere to be seen at Cahokia. Other factors, such
as disease or colonisation from European invasion, do not seem to be possible in this
case, as common as they were elsewhere at that time. The absence of definitive
theories as to Cahokia’s decline is highly unusual, but then again, Cahokia was no
ordinary city and perhaps comparisons with other urban centres of the time cannot be
made.
F While academics remain bemused as to why the residents fled the city, we can still
marvel at the individual artefacts that archaeologists have discovered: the jewellery
worn, the pots used to cook in, the small workshop at the base of one of the mounds.
That said, there is also a more unpleasant side to their investigations. Human sacrifice,
it seems, was a common fact of life in Cahokia; even if we cannot be sure whether this
was for religious or for other reasons, we can have no doubt that it happened
frequently. The bodies of hundreds of people, mostly young women, have been found
buried in mass graves, and the way in which they died was often horrific. A sombre
reminder that even ‘advanced’ city states had their shadowy sides.

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V. EXAM PRACTICE
EXERCISE 5
Questions 1-4
The Reading Passage has five paragraphs, A-E.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-E from the list of headings below.
List of headings
i. Economic and social significance of tourism
ii. The development of mass tourism
iii. Travel for the wealthy
iv. Earning foreign exchange through tourism
v. Difficulty in recognising the economic effects of tourism
vi. The contribution of air travel to tourism
vii. The world impact of tourism
viii. The history of travel
Paragraph A-viii
1. Paragraph B
2. Paragraph C
3. Paragraph D
4. Paragraph E

CONTEXT, MEANING AND SCOPE OF TOURISM


A Travel has existed since the beginning of time, when primitive man set out, often
traversing great distances in search of game, which provided the food and clothing
necessary for his survival. Throughout the course of history, people have travelled for
purposes of trade, religious conviction, economic gain, war, migration and other
equally compelling motivations. In the Roman era, wealthy aristocrats and high
government officials also travelled for pleasure. Seaside resorts located at Pompeii and
Herculaneum afforded citizens the opportunity to escape to their vacation villas in
order to avoid the summer heat of Rome. Travel, except during the Dark Ages, has
continued to grow and, throughout recorded history, has played a vital role in the
development of civilisations and their economies.

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B Tourism in the mass form as we know it today is a distinctly twentieth-century


phenomenon. Historians suggest that the advent of mass tourism began in England
during the industrial revolution with the rise of the middle class and the availability of
relatively inexpensive transportation. The creation of the commercial airline industry
following the Second World War and the subsequent development of the jet aircraft in
the 1950s signalled the rapid growth and expansion of international travel. This growth
led to the development of a major new industry: tourism. In turn, international tourism
became the concern of a number of world governments since it not only provided new
employment opportunities but also produced a means of earning foreign exchange.
C Tourism today has grown significantly in both economic and social importance. In
most industrialised countries over the past few years the fastest growth has been seen
in the area of services. One of the largest segments of the service industry, although
largely unrecognised as an entity in some of these countries, is travel and tourism.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (1992), ‘Travel and tourism is the
largest industry in the world on virtually any economic measure including value-added
capital investment, employment and tax contributions’. In 1992, the industry’s gross
output was estimated to be $3.5 trillion, over 12 per cent of all consumer spending.
The travel and tourism industry is the world’s largest employer with almost 130
million jobs, or almost 7 per cent of all employees. This industry is the world’s leading
industrial contributor, producing over 6 per cent of the world’s gross national product
and accounting for capital investment in excess of $422 billion in direct, indirect and
personal taxes each year. Thus, tourism has a profound impact both on the world
economy and, because of the educative effect of travel and the effects on employment,
on society itself.
D However, the major problems of the travel and tourism industry that have hidden, or
obscured, its economic impact are the diversity and fragmentation of the industry
itself. The travel industry includes: hotels, motels and other types of accommodation;
restaurants and other food services; transportation services and facilities; amusements,
attractions and other leisure facilities; gift shops and a large number of other
enterprises. Since many of these businesses also serve local residents, the impact of
spending by visitors can easily be overlooked or underestimated. In addition, Meis

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(1992) points out that the tourism industry involves concepts that have remained
amorphous to both analysts and decision makers. Moreover, in all nations this problem
has made it difficult for the industry to develop any type of reliable or credible tourism
information base in order to estimate the contribution it makes to regional, national
and global economies. However, the nature of this very diversity makes travel and
tourism ideal vehicles for economic development in a wide variety of countries,
regions or communities.
E Once the exclusive province of the wealthy, travel and tourism have become an
institutionalised way of life for most of the population. In fact, McIntosh and Goeldner
(1990) suggest that tourism has become the largest commodity in international trade
for many nations and, for a significant number of other countries, it ranks second or
third. For example, tourism is the major source of income in Bermuda, Greece, Italy,
Spain, Switzerland and most Caribbean countries. In addition, Hawkins and Ritchie,
quoting from data published by the American Express Company, suggest that the
travel and tourism industry is the number one ranked employer in the Bahamas, Brazil,
Canada, France, (the former) West Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Jamaica, Japan,
Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. However, because of problems
of definition, which directly affect statistical measurement, it is not possible with any
degree of certainty to provide precise, valid or reliable data about the extent of
world-wide tourism participation or its economic impact. In many cases, similar
difficulties arise when attempts are made to measure domestic tourism.

Questions 5-10
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
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
5. The largest employment figures in the world are found in the travel and tourism
industry.
6. Tourism contributes over six per cent of the Australian gross national product.
7. Tourism has a social impact because it promotes recreation.

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8. Two main features of the travel and tourism industry make its economic significance
difficult ascertain.
9. Visitor spending is always greater than the spending of residents in tourist areas.
10. It is easy to show statistically how tourism affects individual economies.

Questions 11-13
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
11. In Greece, tourism is the most important ________________________.
12. The travel and tourism industry in Jamaica is the major
________________________.
13. The problems associated with measuring international tourism are often reflected in
the measurement of ________________________.

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EXERCISE 6
Questions 1-8
The Reading Passage has nine paragraphs, A-I.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
List of headings
i. A fresh and important long-term goal
ii. Charging for roads and improving other transport methods
iii. Changes affecting the distances goods may be transported
iv. Taking all the steps necessary to change transport patterns
v. The environmental costs of road transport
vi. The escalating cost of rail transport
vii. The need to achieve transport rebalance
viii. The rapid growth of private transport
ix. Plans to develop major road networks
x. Restricting road use through charging policies alone
xi. Transport trends in countries awaiting EU admission

1. Paragraph A
2. Paragraph B
3. Paragraph C
4. Paragraph D
5. Paragraph E
Paragraph F-vii
6. Paragraph G
7. Paragraph H
8. Paragraph I

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EUROPEAN TRANSPORT SYSTEMS 1990-2010


What have been the trends and what are the prospects for European transport systems?
A It is difficult to conceive of vigorous economic growth without an efficient transport
system. Although modern information technologies can reduce the demand for
physical transport by facilitating teleworking and teleservices, the requirement for
transport continues to increase. There are two key factors behind this trend. For
passenger transport, the determining factor is the spectacular growth in car use. The
number of cars on European Union [EU] roads saw an increase of three million cars
each year from 1990 to 2010, and in the next decade the EU will see a further
substantial increase in its fleet.
B As far as goods transport is concerned, growth is due to a large extent to changes in the
European economy and its system of production. In the last 20 years, as Internal
frontiers have been abolished, the EU has moved from a 'stock' economy to a 'flow
economy. This phenomenon has been emphasised by the relocation of some industries,
particularly those which are labour intensive, to reduce production costs, even though
the production site is hundreds or even thousands of kilometres away from the final
assembly plant or away from users.
C The strong economic growth expected in countries which are candidates for entry to
the EU will also increase transport flows, in particular road haulage traffic. In 1998,
some of these countries already exported more than twice their 1990 volumes and
imported more than five times their 1990 volumes. And although many candidate
countries inherited a transport system which encourages rail, the distribution between
modes has tipped sharply in favour of road transport since the 1990s. Between 1990
and 1998, road haulage increased by 19.4%, while during the same period rail haulage
decreased by 43.5%, although - and this could benefit the enlarged EU - it is still on
average at a much higher level than in existing member states.
D However, a new imperative - sustainable development - offers an opportunity for
adapting the EU's common transport policy. This objective, agreed by the Gothenburg
European Council, has to be achieved by integrating environmental considerations into
Community policies, and shifting the balance between modes of transport lies at the
heart of its strategy. The ambitious objective can only be fully achieved by 2020, but

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proposed measures are nonetheless a first essential step towards a sustainable transport
system which will ideally be in place in 30 years’ time, that is by 2040.
E In 1998, energy consumption in the transport sector was to blame for 28% of emissions
of CO2, the leading greenhouse gas. According to the latest estimates, if nothing is
done to reverse the traffic growth trend, CO? emissions from transport can be expected
to increase by around 50% to 1,113 billion tonnes by 2020, compared with the 739
billion tonnes recorded in 1990. Once again, road transport is the main culprit since it
alone accounts for 84% of the CO2 emissions attributable to transport. Using
alternative fuels and improving energy efficiency is thus both an ecological necessity
and a technological challenge.
F At the same time greater efforts must be made to achieve a modal shift. Such a change
cannot be achieved overnight, all the less so after over half a century of constant
deterioration in favour of road. This has reached such a pitch that today rail freight
services are facing marginalisation, with just 8% of market share, and with
international goods trains struggling along at an average speed of 18km/h. Three
possible options have emerged.
G The first approach would consist of focusing on road transport solely through pricing.
This option would not be accompanied by complementary measures in the other
modes of transport. In the short term it might curb the growth in road transport through
the better loading ratio of goods vehicles and occupancy rates of passenger vehicles
expected as a result of the increase in the price of transport. However, the lack of
measures available to revitalise other modes of transport would make it impossible for
more sustainable modes of transport to take up the baton.
H The second approach also concentrates on road transport pricing but is accompanied
by measures to increase the efficiency of the other modes (better quality of services,
logistics, technology). However, this approach does not include investment in new
infrastructure, nor does it guarantee better regional cohesion. It could help to achieve
greater uncoupling than the first approach, but road transport would keep the lion’s
share of the market and continue to concentrate on saturated arteries, despite being the
most polluting of the modes. It is therefore not enough to guarantee the necessary shift
of the balance.

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I The third approach, which is not new, comprises a series of measures ranging from
pricing to revitalising alternative modes of transport and targeting investment in the
trans-European network. This integrated approach would allow the market shares of
the other modes to return to their 1998 levels and thus make a shift of balance. It is far
more ambitious than it looks, bearing in mind the historical imbalance in favour of
roads for the last fifty years, but would achieve a marked break in the link between
road transport growth and economic growth, without placing restrictions on the
mobility of people and goods.

Questions 9-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
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
9. The need for transport is growing, despite technological developments.
10. To reduce production costs, some industries have been moved closer to their relevant
consumers.
11. Cars are prohibitively expensive in some EU candidate countries.
12. The Gothenburg European Council was set up 30 years ago.
13. By the end of this decade, CO2 emissions from transport are predicted to reach 739
billion tonnes.

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EXERCISE 7
Questions 1-6
The Reading Passage has six sections, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.
List of headings
i. From the laboratory to the High Street
ii. Seeking royal support
iii. An unexpected but fortunate side result
iv. The healing power of purple
v. An old problem
vi. Standing out from the crowd
vii. Finding an alternative cure for a common illness
viii. Part of a larger family
ix. An ancient manufacturing practice

1. Section A vi
2. Section B ix
3. Section C
4. Section D
5. Section E
6. Section F
AN INVENTION TO DYE FOR: THE COLOUR PURPLE
A 19th century research chemist was trying to make medicine when, instead, he came up
with a coloured dye that has ensured the world is a brighter place
A Of all the colours, purple has perhaps the most powerful connotations. From the
earliest cultures to the present day, people have sought to harness its visual power to
mark themselves out as better than those around them. From bishops to kings, pop
stars to fashion models, its wearing has been a calculated act of showing off. In ancient
Rome, for example, purple was such a revered colour that only the emperor was
allowed to wear it. Indeed, an emperor who was referred to as porphyrogenitus, (‘born
to the purple’) was especially important, since this meant that he had inherited his
position through family connections rather than seizing power through military force.

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B But why purple? At that time, purple dye was an expensive substance produced in a
complicated, foul-smelling and time-consuming process. This involved boiling
thousands of molluscs in water in order to harvest their glandular juices. The technique
had originally been developed by the Phoenicians over a thousand years previously,
and it hadn’t changed since. Cheaper but poorer quality purple dyes could be made
from lichens using an equally messy and unpleasant procedure, but they were not as
bright, and the colour quickly faded. It was no surprise, therefore, that good purple dye
was a rare and precious thing, and clothes dyed purple were beyond the financial
means of most people.
C However, times have changed. In the great consumer democracy of the 21st century,
even the most humble citizen can choose it as the colour of their latest outfit. For that
privilege, we must thank a young 19th century research chemist, William Perkin. A
talented 15-year-old when he entered the Royal College of Chemistry in London in
1853, Perkin was immediately appointed as laboratory assistant to his tutor, August
Wilhelm von Hofmann. He became determined to prove Hofmann’s claim that
quinine, a drug used to treat fevers such as malaria, could be synthesised in a
laboratory. However, rather than the cure desperately needed for people dying from
malaria in tropical countries, he produced little more than a black, sticky mess that
turned purple when dissolved in industrial alcohol. Perkin’s experiments could have
been a complete waste of time, but to his surprise and, ultimately, financial benefit, his
purple liquid turned out to be a long-lasting dye that was to transform fashion.
D Perkin repeated his experiments in an improvised laboratory in his garden shed,
perfecting the process for making the substance he had called mauveine after the
French mallow plant. It was, says Simon Garfield, the author of Mauve which details
Perkin’s life and work, an astonishing breakthrough. ‘Once you could do that you
could make colour in a factory from chemicals rather than insects or plants. It opened
up the prospect of mass-produced artificial dyes and made Perkin one of the first
scientists to bridge the gap between pure chemistry and its industrial applications.’ It
didn’t take long for the chemist, still only 18, to capitalise on his creation, patenting
the product, convincing his father and brother to back it with savings, and finding a
manufacturer who could help him bring it rapidly to the market. The buying public

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loved it, and clothes coloured with purple started appearing in shops up and down the
country. Appropriately, considering the origins of Perkins’ colour, he was to receive a
helping hand from the two most important women of the day. Queen Victoria caused a
sensation when she stepped out at the Royal Exhibition in 1862 wearing a silk gown
dyed with mauveine. In Paris, Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie, amazed the court
when she was seen wearing it. To propel the scientist further on the way to a great
fortune, the fashion of the time was for broad skirts that, happily for him, needed a lot
of his revolutionary new dye.
E Perkins, ever the serious scientist, would have been among the first to point out that his
mauve is just one of a range of colours described in everyday language as purple. Not
itself a true colour of the spectrum - that position is given to indigo and violet - purple
normally refers to those colours which inhabit the limits of human perception in the
area between red and violet. Newton excluded the colour from his colour wheel.
Scientists today talk about the line of purples’ which include violet, mauve, magenta,
indigo and lilac.
F In the alternative medical practice of colour therapy, which practitioners say can trace
its origins back to ancient India, the ‘purple range’ colours of indigo and violet are
vital. They refer to spiritual energy centres known as chakras and are situated in the
head. The colour and their ‘medical’ qualities are first officially listed by the Swiss
scientist Dr Max Luscher, who said that appropriately coloured lights, applied to
specific chakras, could treat ailments from depression to grief. Julia Kubler is one of
Britain’s leading colour therapists and has been using colours to treat patients at her
clinic at Manningtree, Essex, for 15 years. Purple, she says, ‘is consistent with
intuition and higher understanding, with spirituality and meditation. It combines the
coolness of blue with a bit of red that makes it not just passive but active.’ It is hardly
the most outlandish of claims for this most enigmatic of colours. Variously touted as
the colour of everything from insanity to equality, it is enjoying a new role as the
symbol of political compromise. Purple may have had its origins in the ancient world,
but thanks to a young chemist, it still has a brilliant future.

Questions 7-10
Choose TWO letters, A-E.

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Questions 7-8
What TWO points does the writer make about the colour purple and purple dye before
William Perkin's creation?
A. It was only used to colour clothes.
B. It was originally produced for Roman emperors.
C. It was not easy to make.
D. There were many different techniques used to make it.
E. Some purple dyes were inferior to others.

Questions 9-10
What TWO things about William Perkin are true, according to the passage?
A. He taught Chemistry at a college in London.
B. He believed that quinine could be artificially produced.
C. He extracted the substance for his dye from a common plant.
D. He quickly realised the financial benefits of his new creation.
E. He set a new fashion trend for large skirts.

Questions 11-14
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
The purple range of colours plays an essential role in colour therapy, a form of 11.
_________________.
Colour therapy is said to h have originated many years ago in 12._________________
and is still used by colour therapists such as Julia Kubler, who uses it to
13._________________ with various health issues.
According to Kubler, purple 14._________________ aspects of two colours, making it
both active and passive.

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