Ms Katie

Reading practice 1
The Construction of Roads and Bridges

By the early nineteenth century – the start of the railway age – men such as John
McAdam and Thomas Telford had created a British road network totalling some 200,000
km, of which about one sixth was privately owned toll roads called turnpikes.
In the rst half of the nineteenth century, many roads in the US were built to the new
standards, of which the National Pike from West Virginia to Illinois was perhaps the most
notable. In the twentieth century, the ever-increasing use of motor vehicles threatened to
break up roads built to nineteenth-century standards, so new techniques had to be
developed.
On routes with heavy tra c, exible pavements were replaced by rigid pavements, in
which the top layer was concrete, 15 to 30 centimetres thick, laid on a prepared bed.
Nowadays steel bars are laid within the concrete. This not only restrains shrinkage during
setting, but also reduces expansion in warm weather. As a result, it is, possible to lay long
slabs without danger of cracking.

Questions 1 - 4
Complete the table below.
Use ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Time Period Type of Roads

Early 19th century Turn pikes also called as 1………… roads

First half of the 2……………….

exible pavements were replaced by 3…………..

Now 4……… bars are laid within the concrete

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Reading practice 2
The chicken egg

A chicken egg consists of six main parts: albumin, yolk, shell, germinal disc,
chalaza, and air cell. In further paragraphs, we will learn all the important
information you need to know about these parts.
One of the main parts of the egg is yolk - the yellow, inner part of the egg where
the embryo will form. The yolk contains the food that will nourish the embryo as it
grows. Yolk is a major source of vitamins, minerals, almost half of the protein, and
all of the fat and cholesterol. The yolk contains less water and more protein than
the white part of the egg, some fat, and most of the vitamins and minerals of the
egg. The yolk is also a source of lecithin, an e ective emulsi er. Yolk color ranges
from just a hint of yellow to a magni cent deep orange, according to the feed and
breed of the hen. Yolk is anchored by chalaza - a spiral, rope-like strand that
anchors the yolk in the thick egg white. There are two chalazae anchoring each
yolk; one on the top and one on the bottom.
Another very important part of the egg is the albumin, which is the inner thick white
part of the egg. This part of the egg is a excellent source of ribo avin and protein.
In high-quality eggs, the inner thick albumen stands higher and spreads less than
thin white. In low-quality eggs, it appears thin white.
Now let's talk about the outer part of the egg - the shell It is a hard, protective
coating of the egg. It is semi-permeable; it lets gas exchange occur, but keeps
other substances from entering the egg. The shell is made of calcium carbonate
and is covered with as many as 17,000 tiny pores.
Air cell is an air space that forms when the contents of the egg cool and contract
after the egg is laid. The air cell usually rests between the outer and inner
membranes at the eggs larger end. As the egg ages, moisture and carbon dioxide
leave through the pores of the shell, air enters to replace them and the air cell
becomes large.

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And last but not least, let's look at the germinal disc. It's a small, circular, white
spot (2-3 mm across) on the surface of the yolk; it is where the sperm enters the
egg. The nucleus of the egg is in the blastodisc. The embryo develops from this
disk, and gradually sends blood vessels into the yolk to use it for nutrition as the
embryo develops.

Questions 1-6
Complete the diagram below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer

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 Ms Katie

Reading practice 3
THE STORY OF SILK
The history of the world’s most luxurious fabric, from ancient China to the present day.
Silk is a ne, smooth material produced from the cocoons - soft protective shells - that
are made by mulberry silkworms (insect larvae). Legend has it that it was Lei Tzu, wife of
the Yellow Emperor, ruler of China in about 3000 BC, who discovered silkworms. One
account of the story goes that as she was taking a walk in her husband’s gardens, she
discovered that silkworms were responsible for the destruction of several mulberry trees.
She collected a number of cocoons and sat down to have a rest. It just so happened that
while she was sipping some tea, one of the cocoons that she had collected landed in the
hot tea and started to unravel into a ne thread. Lei Tzu found that she could wind this
thread around her ngers. Subsequently, she persuaded her husband to allow her to rear
silkworms on a grove of mulberry trees. She also devised a special reel to draw the
bres from the cocoon into a single thread so that they would be strong enough to
be woven into fabric. While it is unknown just how much of this is true, it is
certainly known that silk cultivation has existed in China for several millennia.

Originally, silkworm farming was solely restricted to women, and it was they who were
responsible for the growing, harvesting and weaving. Silk quickly grew into a symbol of
status, and originally, only royalty were entitled to have clothes made of silk. The rules
were gradually relaxed over the years until nally during the Qing Dynasty (1644—1911
AD), even peasants, the lowest caste, were also entitled to wear silk. Sometime during
the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), silk was so prized that it was also used as a unit
of currency. Government o cials were paid their salary in silk, and farmers paid
their taxes in grain and silk. Silk was also used as diplomatic gifts by the emperor.
Fishing lines, bowstrings, musical instruments and paper were all made using silk.
The earliest indication of silk paper being used was discovered in the tomb of a
noble who is estimated to have died around 168 AD.

Questions 1-6
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Early silk production in China
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• Around 3000 BC, according to legend:
- silkworm cocoon fell into emperor’s wife’s 1. _________
- emperor’s wife invented a 2. _______ to pull out silk bres
• Only 3. ________ were allowed to produce silk
• Only 4. __________ were allowed to wear silk
• Silk used as a form of 5. ____________
- e.g. farmers’ taxes consisted partly of silk
• Silk used for many purposes
- e.g. evidence found of 6. ___________ made from silk around 168 AD

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