15 bài thi thử IELTS READING

Bên cạnh SỬA BÀI IELTS WRITING TASK 2 ĐỀ THI THẬT NGÀY 22/8/2020 của HS IELTS TUTOR đạt 6.5 Writing, IELTS TUTOR cung cấp 15 bài thi thử IELTS READING

COMPUTER PROVIDES MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

A. The island of Antikythera lies 18 miles north of Crete, where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean. Currents there can make shipping treacherous -- and one ship bound for ancient Rome never made it. The ship that sank there was a giant cargo vessel measuring nearly 500 feet long. It came to rest about 200 feet below the surface, where it stayed for more than 2,000 years until divers looking for sponges discovered the wreck a little more than a century ago.

B. Inside the hull were a number of bronze and marble statues. From the look of things, the ship seemed to be carrying luxury items, probably made in various Greek islands and bound for wealthy patrons in the growing Roman Empire. The statues were retrieved, along with a lot of other unimportant stuff, and stored. Nine months later, an enterprising archaeologist cleared off a layer of organic material from one of the pieces of junk and found that it looked like a gearwheel. It had inscriptions in Greek characters and seemed to have something to do with astronomy.

C. That piece of “Junk” went on to become the most celebrated find from the shipwreck; it is displayed at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Research has shown that the wheel was part of a device so sophisticated that its complexity would not be matched for a thousand years — it was also the world’s first known analogue computer. The device is so famous that an international conference organized in Athens a couple of weeks ago had only one subject: the Antikythera Mechanism.

D. Every discovery about the device has raised new questions. Who built the device, and for what purpose? Why did the technology behind it disappear for the next thousand years? What does the device tell us about ancient Greek culture? And does the marvelous construction, and the precise knowledge of the movement of the sun and moon and Earth that it implies, tell us how the ancients grappled with ideas about determinism and human destiny?

E. “We have gear trains from the 9th century in Baghdad used for simpler displays of the solar and lunar motions relative to one another — they use eight gears,’ said Frangois Charette, a historian of science in Germany who wrote an editorial accompanying a new study of the mechanism two weeks ago in the journal Nature. “In this case, we have more than 30 gears. To see it on a computer animation makes it mind-boggling. There is no doubt it was a technological masterpiece.”

F. The device was probably built between 100 and 140 BC, and the understanding of astronomy it displays seems to have been based on knowledge developed by the Babylonians around 300-700 BC, said Mike Edmunds, a professor of astrophysics at Cardiff University in Britain. He led a research team that reconstructed what the gear mechanism would have looked like by using advanced three- dimensional-imaging technology. The group also decoded a number of the inscriptions. The mechanism explores the relationship between lunar months -- the time it takes for the moon to cycle through its phases, say, full moon to the full moon --­ and calendar years. The gears had to be cut precisely to reflect this complex relationship; 19 calendar years equal 235 lunar months.

G. By turning the gear mechanism, which included what Edmunds called a beautiful system of epicyclic gears that factored in the elliptical orbit of the moon, a person could check what the sky would have looked like on a date in the past, or how it would appear in the future. The mechanism was encased in a box with doors in front and back covered with inscriptions — a sort of instruction manual. Inside the front door were pointers indicating the date and the position of the sun, moon, and zodiac, while opening the back door revealed the relationship between calendar years and lunar months, and a mechanism to predict eclipses.

H. “If they needed to know when eclipses would occur, and this related to the rising and setting of stars and related them to dates and religious experiences, the mechanism would directly help,” said Yanis Bitsakis, a physicist at the University of Athens who co-wrote the Nature paper. “It is a mechanical computer. You turn the handle and you have a date on the front.” Building it would have been expensive and required the interaction of astronomer, engineers, intellectuals, and craftspeople. Charette said the device overturned conventional ideas that the ancient Greeks were primarily ivory tower thinkers who did not deign to muddy their hands with technical stuff. It is a reminder, he said, that while the study of history often focuses on written texts, they can tell us only a fraction of what went on at a particular time.

I. Imagine a future historian encountering philosophy texts written in our time -- and an aircraft engine. The books would tell that researcher what a few scholars were thinking today, but the engine would give them a far better window into how technology influenced our everyday lives. Charette said it was unlikely that the device was used by practitioners of astrology, then still in its infancy. More likely, he said, it was bound for a mantelpiece in some rich Roman’s home. Given that astronomers of the time already knew how to calculate the positions of the sun and the moon and to predict eclipses without the device, it would have been the equivalent of a device built for a planetarium today -- something to spur popular interest or at least claim bragging rights.

J. Why was the technology that went into the device lost? “The time this was built, the jackboot of Rome was coming through,” Edmunds said. “The Romans were good at town planning and sanitation but were not known for their interest in science.” The fact that the device was so complex, and that it was being shipped with a number of other luxury items, tells Edmunds that it is very unlikely to have been the one ever made. Its sophistication “is such that it can’t have been the only one,” Edmunds said. “There must have been a tradition of making them. We’re always hopeful a better one will surface.” Indeed, he said, he hopes that his study and the renewed interest in the Antikythera Mechanism will prompt second looks by both amateurs and professionals around the world. “The archaeological world may look in their cupboards and maybe say, ‘That isn’t a bit of rusty old metal in the cupboard’.”

Questions 14-18

The reading passage has ten paragraphs A- J.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-J, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.

14. The content inside the wrecked ship

15. Ancient astronomers and craftsman might involve

16. The location of the Antikythera Mechanism

17. Details of how it was found

18. Appearance and structure of the mechanism

Questions 19-22

Summary

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than two words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.

An ancient huge sunk _______________ 19______ was found accidentally by sponges searcher. The ship loaded with ______ 20______ such as bronze and sculptures. However, an archaeologist found a junk similar to a_______ 21______ which has Greek script on it. This inspiring and elaborated device was found to be the first _______22 _______ in the world.

Questions 23-26

Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-C) with opinions or deeds below. Write the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 23-27 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once

A. Yanis Bitsakis

B. Mike Edmunds

C. Francois Charette

23. More complicated than the previous device

24. Anticipate to find more Antikythera Mechanism in the future

25. Antikythera Mechanism was found related to the moon

26. Mechanism assisted ancient people to calculate the movement of stars.

BRIGHT CHILDREN

A. By the time Laszlo Polgar’s first baby was born in 1969 he already had firm views on child-rearing. An eccentric citizen of communist Hungary, he had written a book called “Bring up Genius!” and one of his favourite sayings was “Geniuses are made, not born”. An expert on the theory of chess, he proceeded to teach little Zsuzsa at home, spending up to ten hours a day on the game. Two more daughters were similarly hot-housed. All three obliged their father by becoming world-class players. The youngest, Judit, is currently ranked 13th in the world, and is by far the best female chess player of all time. Would the experiment have succeeded with a different trio of children? If any child can be turned into a star, then a lot of time and money are being wasted worldwide on trying to pick winners.

B. America has long held “talent searches”, using test results and teacher recommendations to select children for advanced school courses, summer schools and other extra tuition. This provision is set to grow. In his state-of-the-union address in 2006, President George Bush announced the “American Competitiveness Initiative”, which, among much else, would train 70,000 high-school teachers to lead advanced courses for selected pupils in mathematics and science. Just as the superpowers' space race made Congress put money into science education, the thought of China and India turning out hundreds of thousands of engineers and scientists is scaring America into prodding its brightest to do their best.

C. The philosophy behind this talent search is that ability is innate; that it can be diagnosed with considerable accuracy; and that it is worth cultivating. In America, bright children are ranked as “moderately”, “highly”, “exceptionally” and “profoundly” gifted. The only chance to influence innate ability is thought to be in the womb or the first couple of years of life. Hence the fad for “teaching aids” such as videos and flashcards for newborns, and “whale sounds” on tape which a pregnant mother can strap to her belly.

D. In Britain, there is a broadly similar belief in the existence of innate talent, but also an egalitarian sentiment which makes people queasy about the idea of investing resources in grooming intelligence. Teachers are often opposed to separate provision for the best-performing children, saying any extra help should go to stragglers. In 2002, in a bid to help the able while leaving intact the ban on most selection by ability in state schools, the government set up the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth. This outfit runs summer schools and master classes for children nominated by their schools. To date, though, only seven in ten secondary schools have nominated even a single child. Last year all schools were told they must supply the names of their top 10%.

E. Picking winners is also the order of the day in ex-communist states, a hangover from the times when talented individuals were plucked from their homes and ruthlessly trained for the glory of the nation. But in many other countries, opposition to the idea of singling out talent and grooming it runs deep. In Scandinavia, a belief in virtues like modesty and social solidarity makes people flinch from the idea of treating brainy children differently.

F. And in Japan, there is a widespread belief that all children are born with the same innate abilities – and should, therefore, be treated alike. All are taught together, covering the same syllabus at the same rate until they finish compulsory schooling. Those who learn quickest are expected then to teach their classmates. In China, extra teaching is provided, but to a self-selected bunch. “Children’s palaces” in big cities offer a huge range of after-school classes. Anyone can sign up; all that is asked is excellent attendance.

G. Statistics give little clue as to which system is best. The performance of the most able is heavily affected by factors other than state provision. Most state education in Britain is nominally non-selective, but middle-class parents try to live near the best schools. Ambitious Japanese parents have made private, out-of-school tuition a thriving business. And Scandinavia’s egalitarianism might work less well in places with more diverse populations and less competent teachers. For what it’s worth, the data suggest that some countries – like Japan and Finland, see table – can eschew selection and still thrive. But that does not mean that any country can ditch selection and do as well.

H. Mr Polgar thought any child could be a prodigy given the right teaching, an early start and enough practice. At one point he planned to prove it by adopting three baby boys from a poor country and trying his methods on them. (His wife vetoed the scheme.) Some say the key to success is simply hard graft. Judit, the youngest of the Polgar sisters, was the most driven, and the most successful; Zsofia, the middle one, was regarded as the most talented, but she was the only one who did not achieve the status of grand master. “Everything came easiest to her,” said her older sister. “But she was lazy.”

Questions 28-33

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 28-33 on your answer sheet, write:

YES if the statement is true

NO if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

28. America has a long history of selecting talented students into different categories.

29. Teachers and schools in Britain held welcome attitude towards the government’s selection of gifted students.

30. Some parents agree to move near reputable schools in Britain.

31. Middle-class parents participate in their children’s education.

32. Japan and Finland comply with selected student’s policy.

33. Avoiding-selection-policy only works in a specific environment.

Questions 34-35

Choose the correct letter, A , B, C or D.

Write your answers in boxes 34-35 on your answer sheet.

34. What's Laszlo Polgar's point of view towards geniuses of children?

A. Chess is the best way to train geniuses.

B. Genius tends to happen on first child.

C. Geniuses can be educated later on.

D. Geniuses are born naturally.

35. What is the purpose of citing Zsofia’s example in the last paragraph?

A. Practice makes genius.

B. Girls are not good at chess.

C. She was an adopted child.

D. Middle child is always the most talented.

Questions 36-40

Use the information in the passage to match the countries (listed A-F) with correct connection below. Write the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.

A. Scandinavia

B. Japan

C. Britain

D. China

E. America

36. Less gifted children get help from other classmates

37. Attending extra teaching is open to anyone

38. People are reluctant to favor gifted children due to social characteristics

39. Both views of innate and egalitarian co-existed

40. Craze of audio and video teaching for pregnant women.

SOUNDS GOOD?

A. THE versificator, a machine described in George Orwell's novel “1984”, automatically generated music for the hapless masses. The idea of removing humans from the creative process of making music, an art form so able to stir the soul, made for a good joke when the book was published in 1949. But today, computer programmers working in a new field called “music intelligence” are developing software capable of predicting which songs will become hits. This surprisingly accurate technology could profoundly change the way pop music is created.

B.The software uses a process called “spectral deconvolution” to isolate and analyze around 30 parameters that define a piece of music, including such things as sonic brilliance, octave, cadence, frequency range, fullness of sound, chord progression, timbre and “bend” (variations in pitch at the beginning and end of the same note). “Songs conform to a limited number of mathematical equations,” says Mike McCready of Platinum Blue, a music-intelligence company based in New York, that he founded last December. Platinum Blue has compiled a database of more than 3m successful musical arrangements, including data on their popularity in different markets. To the human ear, music has changed a lot over the years. Music-intelligence software, however, can reveal striking similarities in the underlying parameters of two songs from different eras that, even to a trained ear, seem unrelated. According to Platinum Blue's software, called Music Science, for example, a number of hit songs by 1.12 have a close kinship to some of Beethoven's compositions. If a song written today has parameters similar to those of a number of past hits, it could well be a hit too.

C. Carlos Quintero, a producer and remixer at Orixa Producciones in Madrid, recently tried out another music-intelligence system, called Hit Song Science (HSS). "It practically left me in shock, it's stunning," he says. Mr Quintero's production company now has the most promising demo songs it receives from aspiring musicians evaluated by Polyphonic HMI, the Barcelona-based developer of HSS and Platinum Blue's only serious competitor. (Both companies perform analyzes in-house, rather than selling software.) The results—consisting of a graph, numerical scores, computer-generated comments and suggested changes—help Orixas managers decide which songs to produce. Then, during the recording and post-production phases, Orixa uses HSS to reanalyse successive versions of each track for fine-tuning.

D. Belief in music intelligence is spreading, as Polyphonic HMI and Platinum Blue rack up bull's-eye predictions of success, including "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent, "Be the Girl" by Aslyn, "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield, "She Says" by Howie Day, and "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. Still, labels that use music intelligence generally prefer to keep quiet about it, so non-disclosure agreements are common. "No one wants people to think their decisions are coming from a box," says Ric Wake, an American producer of two Grammy-winning acts who routinely employs Music Science. Even so, the names of many customers have leaked out. They include Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Music, EMIand Casablanca Records. Labels sometimes don't tell even their established artists when they use music intelligence to help decide which singles to promote.

E. Revenues at Polyphonic HMI will exceed $1m this year, twice last year's take. In March the company began serving India's music industry, after compiling a database of that country's pop music. Platinum Blue refuses to release figures. But one of its managers, Tracie Reed (who, like several people at Platinum Blue, used to work at Polyphonic HMI), says customers now come knocking-a reversal of the state of affairs not long ago, when "people's eyes glazed over and they asked things like, 'Are you joking?''' The service is relatively Inexpensive: a year's subscription for unlimited analyzes typically costs a large record company around $100,000. And the service reduces the need for expensive "call-out" research, in which labels call consumers, play part of a song over the telephone, and compile their reactions.

F. It is not just record companies that are interested in music intelligence, however. The market is expanding as radio playlist-programmers adopt the technology, often to put mathematically similar songs together to create a better "flow". Mobile operators such as Vodafone and Orange use the technology to develop mobile ringtones. Disney's Hollywood Records uses music intelligence to design soundtracks. Mr McCready of Platinum Blue says television advertising agencies have expressed interest in using it to select jingles, which, while structurally similar to those in a successful previous campaign, sound fresh to consumers. Lawyers are also interested in using the technology. Hillel Parness, a specialist in music copyright violation at Brown Raysman, a law firm in New York, contacted Platinum Blue to discuss the legal applications of the software. He would like to use the software in plagiarism suits as an objective way to alert judges, who often have little background in music, to suspicious similarities between two pieces of music. Music-intelligence software could also rustle up additional (and lucrative) copyright suits. Using a function known as "melody detection", record labels will soon be able to use the software to find songs that may have plagiarized songs in the label's catalogue.

G. Is there not a danger, however, that giving software a say in music selection will promote uniformity and hamper creativity? The opposite is more likely. High music-intelligence scores can help convince notoriously risk-averse and "it's-who-you-know" record labels to take a chance on new talent. Take the case of Frederic Monneron, a publisher of equestrian books in Mesnil-Simon, a village of 150 people in Lower Normandy, France. After a setback in his love life, the 43-year-old self-taught guitarist and pianist set up a makeshift home studio, where he wrote and recorded 12 syrupy, and somewhat improbable, romantic-political ballads. For fun, he paid Polyphonic HMlto analyse his songs. The results indicated that the tunes had what it takes. In September a French label will begin distributing 200,000 copies of Monneron's CD, "Fred's Pentagone", in Europe and North America. Two music videos and a tour will follow. "What happened is a fairy tale," says Mr Monneron.

Questions 14-19

The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-G, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.

14. Small amount of money cost for record company

15. Working principle of music intelligence

16. Technology Contrasted between past and present

17. Another version of software depicted

18. More singers believe music intelligence

19. Offer opportunities for new talent

Questions 20-25

Summary

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than two words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 20-25 on your answer sheet.

Music intelligence software working theory is using a procedure named _______20_______ which assesses decades of parameters of a music. According to McCready, “Songs follows several_______21_______”. The company he worked in called_______22_______which accumulates enough musical database. Music intelligence has the ability to distinguish remarkable _______23_______ between two different songs. For example, a software called _______24_______ once compared pop songs from U2 and _______25_______ , and found there were a few close relationships between the two.

Questions 26

Which one is the CORRECT statement according to paragraphs F and G ?

A. Music intelligence is not a promising industry

B. Music intelligence help judge make the right decision

C. Music industry dominates music intelligence application

D. Music intelligence has a wide range of application

AMERICAN BLACK BEAR

A. Not all black bears are black - their fur can range in color from pure white to a cinnamon color to very dark brown or black. Most populations have a mixture of these colors, including the pure white form which is found in some individuals in the island archipelago in southern British Columbia (Kermodi Island). This white black bear, which is called spirit bears, revered by Native Americans, is caused by inheriting a recessive gene for coat color from both the mother and the father who could, themselves, both be black. A genetic reason results in the light gray coat color called the “blue” or glacier bear in southeastern Alaska. Regardless of these genetic variants, most of the bears in any region are black in color. Some bears have a white patch on their chests. They have a short, inconspicuous tail, longish ears, a relatively straight profile from nose to forehead, and small, dark eyes.

B. Black bears have relatively short claws which enable them to climb trees. Unlike cats, the claws are non-retractable. Other than color, how do black bears differ from grizzly bears? Black bears have longer and less rounded ears and a more straight profile from forehead to nose compared to grizzly bears. Grizzlies have larger shoulder humps and a more dished-in facial profile and much longer front claws that are evident in the tracks. Black bears and grizzly bears can both have a wide variety of colors and sizes, but most commonly in areas where both species occur, black bears are smaller and darker than grizzly bears. Size: Black bears in some areas where food is scarce are much smaller than in other areas where food is abundant. Typically, adults are approximately 3 feet tall at the shoulder, and their length from nose to tail is about 75 inches. All bears, including black bears, are sexually dimorphic -- meaning adult males are much larger than adult females. A large male black bear can exceed 600 lbs in weight while females seldom exceed 200 lbs.

C. American black bears are omnivorous, meaning they will eat a variety of things, including both plants and meat. Their diet includes roots, berries, meat, fish, insects, larvae, grass and other succulent plants. They are able to kill adult deer and other hoofed wildlife but most commonly are only able to kill deer, elk, moose and other hoofed animals when these are very young. They are able to kill livestock, especially sheep. Bears are very attracted to human garbage, livestock food or pet food, or other human associated foods including fruit trees. Bears using these human associated foods can quickly become habituated to them and this commonly results in the bears being killed as nuisances. This is true for bee hives as well as bears are very attracted to honey.

D. Black bears can live up to 30 years in the wild but most die before they are in their early 20s. Because of their versatile diet, black bears can live in a variety of habitat types. They inhabit both coniferous and deciduous forests as well as open alpine habitats. They typically do not occur on the Great Plains or other wide open areas except along river courses where there is riparian vegetation and trees. They can live just about anywhere they can find food, but largely occur where there are trees. The American black bear's range covers most of the North American continent. They are found in Alaska, much of Canada and the United States, and extend as far south as northern Mexico.

E. Black bears are typically solitary creatures except for family (a female with cubs) groups and during mating season, which peaks in May and June. Following fertilization, the embryo doesn’t implant in the uterus until fall at the time of den entrance. This process of delayed implantation occurs in all bear species and allows the female bear’s body to physiologically “assess” her condition before implantation occurs and the period of gestation leading to the birth of cubs really begins. Delayed implantation allows the female to not waste fat reserves and energy in sustaining a pregnancy that would have little chance of success because her condition is too poor. Females give birth to cubs every other year if food sources are sufficiently plentiful. In years when food supplies are scarce a female may skip an additional year or two between litters. The cubs are born in the mother’s winter den, and will den with her again the following winter. The following spring when the cubs are 1.5 years old, the cubs and female will separate and the female will breed again. A black bear litter can be 1-5 cubs but most commonly litters are 2 cubs.

F. Conservation efforts for black bears have been effective and in most areas black bears are increasing and can sustain managed sport hunting. In areas with human populations, this can cause conflicts because bears are very attracted to human foods and refuse as well as to livestock and livestock foods. Since bears are large and strong animals, many people fear them and resent the damage they can cause. The key to successful coexistence between humans and bears is to recognize that it is no longer possible for either species to occupy all habitats but that where co-occupancy is possible and desirable, humans must be responsible for the welfare of the bear population. Wild areas with little human footprint will remain the most important habitat for bears but peaceful co-existence can occur in the urban-wildland interface as long as humans take the necessary steps to assure that the relationship remains a positive one.

G. The American black bear is not currently a species of conservation concern and even the formerly listed black bear of Florida and Louisiana is now increasing. Habitats in western Texas from which black bears were extirpated are now being re-colonized.

Questions 1-7

The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-G, in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

1. Variety of eating habit

2. Confliction between bear and human

3. Size of black bears

4. Different territorial range

5. Compare two kinds of bear

6. Explanation of fur color variation

7. Typical reproduction and breed habit

Questions 8-13

Filling the blanks below

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND / OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

8. American indigenous people name white fur bear as________________.

9. Male bears are larger than females, which is called ______________.

10. Bear often died accidentally as ___________ to humans because they relied on human.

11. Black bear's maximum age in the wild is________________.

12. ______________allows female bears to judge whether everything is ready for breeding.

13. A significant way for humans to co-exist with bears is that we need__________ instead of occupying all habitats.

SEED HUNTING

A. With quarter of the world's plants set to vanish within the next 50 years, Dough Alexander reports on the scientists working against the clock the preserve the Earth's botanical heritage. They travel the four corners of the globe, scouring jungles, forests and savannas. But they're not looking for ancient artefacts, lost treasure or undiscovered tombs. Just pods. It may lack the romantic allure of archeology or the whiff of danger that accompanies going after a big game, but seed hunting is an increasingly serious business. Some seek seeds for profit--hunters in the employ of biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies and private corporations on the lookout for species that will yield the drugs or crops of the future. Others collect to conserve, working to halt the sad slide into extinction facing so many plant species.

B. Among the pioneers of this botanical treasure hunt was John Tradescant, an English royal gardener who brought back plants and seeds from his journeys abroad in the early 1600s. Later, the English botanist Sir Joseph Banks – who was the first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and travelled with Captain James Cook on his voyages near the end of the 18th century – was so driven to expand his collections that he sent botanists around the world at his own expense.

C. Those heady days of exploration and discovery may be over, but they have been replaced by a pressing need to preserve our natural history for the future. This modern mission drives hunters such as Dr Michiel van Slageren, a good-natured Dutchman who often sports a wide-brimmed hat in the field -- he could easily be mistaken for the cinematic hero Indiana Jones. He and three other seed hunters work at the Millennium Seed Bank, an 80 million [pounds sterling] international conservation project that aims to protect the world's most endangered wild plant species.

D. The group’s headquarters are in a modern glass-and-concrete structure on a 200-hectare Estate at Wakehurst Place in the West Sussex countryside. Within its underground vaults are 260 million dried seeds from 122 countries, all stored at -20 Celsius to survive for centuries. Among the 5,100 species represented are virtually all of Britain’s 1,400 native seed-bearing plants, the most complete such collection of any country’s flora.

E. Overseen by the Royal botanic gardens, the Millennium Seed Bank is the world’s largest wild-plant depository. It aims to collect 24,000 species by 2010. The reason is simple: thanks to humanity’s effort, an estimated 25 per cent of the world’s plants are on the verge of extinction and may vanish within 50 years. We’re currently responsible for habitat destruction on an unprecedented scale, and during the past 400 years, plant species extinction rates have been about 70 times greater than those indicated by the geological record as being ‘normal’. Experts predict that during the next 50 years a further one billion hectares of wilderness will be converted to farmland in developing countries alone.

F. The implications of this loss are enormous. Besides providing staple food crops, plants are a source of many machines and the principal supply of fuel and building materials in many parts of the world. They also protect soil and help regulate the climate. Yet, across the globe, plant species are being driven to extinction before their potential benefits are discovered.

G. The world Conservation Union has listed 5,714 threatened species is sure to be much higher. In the UK alone, 300 wild plant species are classified as endangered. The Millennium Seed Bank aims to ensure that even if a plant becomes extinct in the wild, it won’t be lost forever. Stored seeds can be used the help restore damaged or destroyed the environment or in scientific research to find new benefits for society- in medicine, agriculture or local industry- that would otherwise be lost.

H. Seed banks are an insurance policy to protect the world’s plant heritage for the future, explains Dr Paul Smith, another Kew seed hunter. “Seed conservation techniques were originally developed by farmers,” he says. “Storage is the basis what we do, conserving seeds until you can use them-just as in farming,” Smith says there’s no reason why any plant species should become extinct, given today’s technology. But he admits that the biggest challenge is finding, naming and categorising all the world’s plants. And someone has to gather these seeds before it’s too late. “There aren’t a lot of people out there doing this,” he says. “The key is to know the flora from a particular area, and that knowledge takes years to acquire.”

I. There are about 1,470 seed banks scattered around the globe, with a combined total of 5.4 million samples, of which perhaps two million are distinct non-duplicates. Most preserve genetic material for agriculture use in order to ensure crop diversity; others aim to conserve wild species, although only 15 per cent of all banked plants is wild.

J. Many seed banks are themselves under threat due to a lack of funds. Last year, Imperial College, London, examined crop collections from 151 countries and found that while the number of plant samples had increased in two-thirds of the countries, budget had been cut in a quarter and remained static in another 35 per cent. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research has since set up the Global Conservation Trust, which aims to raise US $260 million to protect seed banks in perpetuity.

Questions 14-19

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement is true

FALSE if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

14. The purpose of collecting seeds now is different from the past.

15. The millennium seed bank is the earliest seed bank.

16. A major reason for plant species extinction is farmland expansion.

17. The approach that scientists apply to reserve seeds is similar to that used by farmers.

18. Development of technology is the only hope to save plant species.

19. The works of seed conservation are often limited by financial problems.

Questions 20-24

Summary
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage 2, using no more than three words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 20-24 on your answer sheet.

Some people collect seeds for the purpose of protecting certain species from 20 ………………………; others collect seeds for their ability to produce 21 ……………………… They are called seed hunters. The 22 ………………………. of them included both gardeners and botanists, such as 23 ……………………..., who financially supported collectors out of his own pocket. The seeds collected are usually stored in seed banks, one of which is the famous millennium seed bank, where seeds are all stored in the 24 ……………………… at a low temperature.

Questions 25-26

Choose the correct letter, A-E.
Write your answers in boxes 25, 26 on your answer sheet.

Which TWO of the following are provided by plants to the human?

A. food

B. fuels

C. clothes

D. energy

E. commercial products

WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?

A. We like to think that laughing is the height of human sophistication. Our big brains let us see the humour in a strategically positioned pun, an unexpected plot twist or a clever piece of word play. But while joking and wit are uniquely human inventions, laughter certainly is not. Other creatures, including chimpanzees, gorillas and even rats, chuckle. Obviously, they don’t crack up at Homer Simpson or titter at the boss’s dreadful jokes, but the fact that they laugh in the first place suggests that sniggers and chortles have been around for a lot longer than we have. It points the way to the origins of laughter, suggesting a much more practical purpose than you might think.

B. There is no doubt that laughing typical involves groups of people. ‘Laughter evolved as a signal to others – it almost disappears when we are alone,’ says Robert Provine, a neuroscientist at the University of Maryland. Provine found that most laughter comes as a polite reaction to everyday remarks such as ‘see you later’, rather than anything particularly funny. And the way we laugh depends on the company we’re keeping. Men tend to laugh longer and harder when they are with other men, perhaps as a way of bonding. Women tend to laugh more and at a higher pitch when men are present, possibly indicating flirtation or even submission.

C. To find the origins of laughter, Provine believes we need to look at the play. He points out that the masters of laughing are children, and nowhere is their talent more obvious than in the boisterous antics, and the original context plays,’ he says. Well-known primate watchers, including Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall, have long argued that chimps laugh while at play. The sound they produce is known as a pant laugh. It seems obvious when you watch their behavior – they even have the same ticklish spots as we do. But remove the context, and the parallel between human laughter and a chimp’s characteristic pant laugh is not so clear. When Provine played a tape of the pant laughs to 119 of his students, for example, only two guessed correctly what it was.

D. These findings underline how chimp and human laughter vary. When we laugh the sound is usually produced by chopping up a single exhalation into a series of shorter with one sound produced on each inward and outward breath. The question is: does this pant laughter have the same source as our own laughter? New research lends weight to the idea that it does. The findings come from Elke Zimmerman, head of the Institute for Zoology in Germany, who compared the sounds made by babies and chimpanzees in response to tickling during the first year of their life. Using sound spectrographs to reveal the pitch and intensity of vocalizations, she discovered that chimp and human baby laughter follow broadly the same pattern. Zimmerman believes the closeness of baby laughter to chimp laughter supports the idea that laughter was around long before humans arrived on the scene. What started simply as a modification of breathing associated with enjoyable and playful interactions has acquired a symbolic meaning as an indicator of pleasure.

E. Pinpointing when laughter developed is another matter. Humans and chimps share a common ancestor that lived perhaps 8 million years ago, but animals might have been laughing long before that. More distantly related primates, including gorillas, laugh, and anecdotal evidence suggests that other social mammals nay do too. Scientists are currently testing such stories with a comparative analysis of just how common laughter is among animals. So far, though, the most compelling evidence for laughter beyond primates comes from research done by Jaak Panksepp from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, into the ultrasonic chirps produced by rats during play and in response to tickling.

F. All this still doesn’t answer the question of why we laugh at all. One idea is that laughter and tickling originated as a way of sealing the relationship between mother and child. Another is that the reflex response to tickling is protective, alerting us to the presence of crawling creatures that might harm us or compelling us to defend the parts of our bodies that are most vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. But the idea that has gained most popularity in recent years is that laughter in response to tickling is a way for two individuals to signal and test their trust in one another. This hypothesis starts from the observation that although a little tickle can be enjoyable, if it goes on too long it can be torture. By engaging in a bout of tickling, we put ourselves at the mercy of another individual, and laughing is a signal that we laughter is what makes it a reliable signal of trust according to Tom Flamson, a laughter researcher at the University of California, Los Angels. ‘Even in rats, laughter, tickle, play and trust are linked. Rats chirp a lot when they play,’ says Flamson. ‘These chirps can be aroused by tickling. And they get bonded to us as a result, which certainly seems like a show of trust.’

G. We’ll never know which animal laughed the first laugh, or why. But we can be sure it wasn’t in response to a prehistoric joke. The funny thing is that while the origins of laughter are probably quite serious, we owe human laughter and our language-based humor to the same unique skill. While other animals pant, we alone can control our breath well enough to produce the sound of laughter. Without that control, there would also be no speech – and no jokes to endure.

Questions 1-6

Look at the following research findings (questions 1-6) and the list of people below.
Match each finding with the correct person A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

NB  You may use any letter more than once.

A. Tom Flamson
B. Elke Zimmerman
C. Robert Provine
D. Jaak Panksepp

1. Babies and chimps produce similar sounds of laughter.
2. Primates are not the only animals who produce laughter Pan.
3. Laughter also suggests that we feel safe and easy with others.
4. Laughter is a response to a polite situation instead of humour.
5. Animal laughter evolved before human laughter.
6. Laughter is a social activity.

Questions 7-10

Complete the summary using the list of words, A-K, below.

Write the correct letter, A-K, in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.

Some researchers believe that laughter first evolved out of 7………………………. Investigation has revealed that human and chimp laughter may have the same 8………………………..Besides, scientists have been aware that 9……………………….. laugh, however, it now seems that laughter might be more widespread than once we thought. Although the reasons why humans started to laugh are still unknown, it seems that laughter may result from the 10………………………. we feel with another person.

Questions 11-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet, write:

TRUE if the statement is true

FALSE if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

11. Both men and women laugh more when they are with members of the same sex.

12. Primates lack sufficient breath control to be able to produce laughs the way humans do.

13. Chimpanzees produce laughter in a wider range of situations than rats do.

CALIFORNIA'S AGE OF MEGAFIRES

A. There’s a reason fire squads now battling more than a dozen blazes in southern California are having such difficulty containing the flames, despite better preparedness than ever and decades of experience fighting fires fanned by the notorious Santa Ana winds. The wildfires themselves, experts say, generally are hotter, move faster, and spread more erratically than in the past.

B. The short-term explanation is that the region, which usually has dry summers, has had nine inches less rain than normal this year. Longer term, climate change across the West is leading to hotter days on average and longer fire seasons. Experts say this is likely to yield more megafires like the conflagrations that this week forced evacuations of at least 300,000 resident in California’s southland and led President Bush to declare a disaster emergency in seven counties on Tuesday.

C. Megafires, also called “siege fires,” are the increasingly frequent blazes that burn 500,000 acres or more – 10 times the size of the average forest fire of 20 years ago. One of the current wildfires is the sixth biggest in California ever, in terms of acreage burned, according to state figures and news reports. The trend to more superhot fires, experts say, has been driven by a century-long policy of the US Forest Service to stop wildfires as quickly as possible. The unintentional consequence was to halt the natural eradication of underbrush, now the primary fuel for megafires. Three other factors contribute to the trend, they add. First is climate change marked by a 1-degree F. rise in average yearly temperature across the West. Second is a fire season that on average is 78 days longer than in the late 1980s. Third is increased building of homes and other structures in wooded areas.

D. “We are increasingly building our homes … in fire-prone ecosystems,” says Dominik Kulakowski, adjunct professor of biology at Clark University Graduate School of Geography in Worcester, Mass. Doing that “in many of the forests of the Western US … is like building homes on the side of an active volcano.” In California, where population growth has averaged more than 600,000 a year for at least a decade, housing has pushed into such areas. “What once was open space is now residential homes providing fuel to make fires burn with greater intensity,” says Terry McHale of the California Department of Forestry firefighters union. “With so much dryness, so many communities to catch fire, so many fronts to fight, it becomes an almost incredible job.”

E. That said, many experts give California high marks for making progress on preparedness since 2003, when the largest fires in state history scorched 750,000 acres, burned 3,640 homes, and killed 22 people. Stung then by criticism of bungling that allowed fires to spread when they might have been contained, personnel are meeting the peculiar challenges of a neighborhood – and canyon-hopping fires better than in recent years, observers say.

F. State promises to provide newer engines, planes, and helicopters have been fulfilled. Firefighters unions that then complained of dilapidated equipment, old fire engines and insufficient blueprints for fire safety are now praising the state’s commitment, noting that funding for firefighting has increased despite huge cuts in many other programs. “We are pleased that the Schwarzenegger administration has been very proactive in its support of us and come through with budgetary support of the infrastructure needs we have long sought,” says Mr McHale with the firefighters union.

G. Besides providing money to upgrade the fire engines that must traverse the mammoth state and wind along serpentine canyon roads, the state has invested in better command-and-control facilities as well as the strategies to run them. “In the fire sieges of earlier years, we found out that we had the willingness of mutual-aid help from other jurisdictions and states, but we were not able to communicate adequately with them,” says Kim Zagaris, chief of the state’s Office of Emergency Services, fire and rescue branch. After a 2004 blue-ribbon commission examined and revamped those procedures, the statewide response “has become far more professional and responsive,” he says.

H. Besides ordering the California National Guard on Monday to make 1,500 guardsmen available for firefighting efforts, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the Pentagon to send all available Modular Airborne Fighting Systems to the area. The military Lockheed C-130 cargo/utility aircraft carry a pressurized 3,000-gallon tank that can eject fire retardant or water in fewer than five seconds through two tubes at the rear of the plane. This load can cover an area 1/4-mile long and 60 feet wide to create a fire barrier. Governor Schwarzenegger also directed 2,300 inmate firefighters and 170 custody staff from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to work for hand in hand with state and local firefighters.

I. Residents and government officials alike are noting the improvements with gratitude, even amid the loss of homes, churches, businesses, and farms. By Tuesday morning, the fires had burned 1,200 homes and businesses and set 245,957 acres – 384 square miles – ablaze. Despite such losses, there is a sense that the speed, dedication, and coordination of firefighters from several states and jurisdictions are resulting in greater efficiency than is past “siege fire” situations.

J. “I am extraordinarily impressed by the improvements we have witnessed between the last big fire and this,” says Ross Simmons, a San Diego-based lawyer who had to evacuate both his home and business on Monday, taking up residence at a Hampton Inn 30 miles south of his home in Rancho Bernardo. After fires consumed 172,000 acres there in 2003, the San Diego region turned communitywide soul-searching into improved building codes, evacuation procedures, and procurement of new technology. Mr Simmons and neighbors began receiving automated phone calls at 3:30 a.m. Monday morning telling them to evacuate. “Nothwithstanding all the damage that will be caused by this, we will not come close to the loss of life because of what we have … put in place since then,” he says.

Questions 1-6

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

Experts point out that blazes in California are having more heat, faster speed and they 1……………………. more unpredictably compared with former ones. One explanation is that California’s summer is dry, 2……………………… is below the average point. Another long term explanation is that hotter and longer potential days occur due to 3……………………….. Nowadays, Megafires burn 4………………………… the size of forest area caused by an ordinary fire of 20 years ago. The serious trend is mainly caused by well-grown underbrush, which provides 5……………………….. for the siege fires. Other contributors are climate change and extended 6……………………………

Questions 7-9

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write your answers in boxes 7-9 on your answer sheet.

7. What is expert’s attitude towards California’s performance after 2003 megafire?

A. They could have done better

B. Blamed them on casualties

C. Improvement made on preparation

D. Serious criticism

8. According to Governor Schwarzenegger, which one is CORRECT about his effort for firefighting?

A. Schwarzenegger requested successfully for military weapons

B. Schwarzenegger led many prisoners to work together with local fighters

C. Schwarzenegger acted negatively in recent megafire in California

D. Schwarzenegger ordered 1,500 office clerk to join firefighting scene.

9. What happened to Ross Simmon on the day of megafire breakout?

A. He was sleeping till morning

B. He was doing business at Hampton Inn

C. He suffered employee death on that morning

D. He was alarmed by machine calls

Questions 10-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement is true

FALSE if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

10. The area of open space in California has declined during the past decade.

11. Fire squad wants to recruit more firefighters this year.

12. Firefighters union declared that firefighters have had more improved and supportive facility by the local government.

13. Before the year of 2004, well coordination and communication between California and other states already existed in fire siege.

GREY WORKERS

A. Given the speed at which their workers are growing greyer, employers know surprisingly little about how productive they are. The general assumption is that the old are paid more in spite of, rather than because of, their extra productivity. That might partly explain why, when employers are under pressure to cut costs, they persuade the 55-year-olds to take early retirement. Earlier this year, Sun Life of Canada, an insurance company, announced that it was offering redundancy to all its British employees aged 50 or over “to bring in new blood”.

B. In Japan, says Mariko Fujiwara, an industrial anthropologist who runs a think-tank for Hakuhodo, Japan’s second-largest advertising agency, most companies are bringing down the retirement age from the traditional 57 to 50 or thereabouts – and in some cases, such as Nissan, to 45. More than perhaps anywhere else, pay in Japan is linked to seniority. Given that the percentage of workers who have spent more than 32 years with the same employer rose from 11% in 1980 to 42% by 1994, it is hardly surprising that seniority-based wage costs have become the most intractable item on corporate profit-and-loss accounts.

C. In Germany, Patrick Pohl, spokesman for Hoechst, expresses a widely held view: “The company is trying to lower the average age of the workforce. Perhaps the main reason for replacing older workers is that it makes it easier to ‘defrost’ the corporate culture. Older workers are less willing to try a new way of thinking. Younger workers are cheaper and more flexible.” Some German firms are hampered from getting rid of older workers as quickly as they would like. At SGL Carbon, a graphite producer, the average age of workers has been going up not down. The reason, says the company’s Ivo Lingnau, is not that SGLvalues older workers more. It is collective bargaining: the union agreement puts strict limits on the proportion of workers that may retire early.

D. Clearly, when older people do heavy physical work, their age may affect their productivity. But other skills may increase with age, including many that are crucial for goods management, such as an ability to handle people diplomatically, to run a meeting or to spot a problem before it blows up. Peter Hicks, who co-ordinates OECD work on the policy implications of ageing, says that plenty of research suggests older people are paid more because they are worth more.

E. And the virtues of the young may be exaggerated. “The few companies that have kept on older workers find they have good judgment and their productivity is good,” says Mr Peterson. “Besides, their education standards are much better than those of today’s young high-school graduates.” Companies may say that older workers are not worth training, because they are reaching the end of their working lives: in fact, young people tend to switch jobs so frequently that they offer the worst returns on training. “The median age for employer-driven training is the late 40s and early 50s,” says Mr Hicks. “It goes mainly to managers.”

F. Take away those seniority-based pay scales, and older workers may become a much more attractive employment proposition. But most companies (and many workers) are uncomfortable with the idea of reducing someone’s pay in later life – although workers on piece-rates often earn less over time. So retaining the services of older workers may mean employing them in new ways.

G. One innovation, described in Mr Walker’s report on combating age barriers, was devised by IBM Belgium. Faced with the need to cut staff costs, and have decided to concentrate cuts on 55-60-year-olds, IBM set up a separate company called SkillTeam, which re-employed any of the early retired who wanted to go on working up to the age of 60. An employee who joined SkillTeam at the age of 55 on a five-year contract would work for 58% of his time, over the full period, for 88% of his last IBM salary. The company offered services to IBM, thus allowing it to retain access to some of the intellectual capital it would otherwise have lost.

H. The best way to tempt the old to go on working may be to build on such “bridge” jobs: part-time or temporary employment that creates a more gradual transition from full-time work to retirement. Mr Quinn, who has studied the phenomenon, finds that, in the United States, nearly half of all men and women who had been in full-time jobs in middle age moved into such “bridge” jobs at the end of their working lives. In general, it is the best-paid and worst-paid who carry on working: “There are”, he says, “two very different types of bridge job-holders – those who continue working because they have to and those who continue working because they want to, even though they could afford to retire.”

I. If the job market grows more flexible, the old may find more jobs that suit them. Often, they will be self-employed. Sometimes, they may start their own businesses: a study by David Storey of Warwick University found that, in Britain, 70% of businesses started by people over 55 survived, compared with an average of only 19%. To coax the old back into the job market, work will not only have to pay. It will need to be more fun than touring the country in an Airstream trailer, or seeing the grandchildren, or playing golf. Only then will there be many more Joe Clarks.

Questions 1-4

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet, write:

TRUE if the statement is true

FALSE if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

1. Insurance company Sun Life of Canada made decision that it would hire more Canadian employees rather than British ones in order to get fresh staffs.
2. Unlike other places, employees in Japan get paid according to the years they are employed.
3. Elder workers are laid off by some German companies which are refreshing corporate culture.
4. According to Peter Hicks, companies pay older people more regardless of the contribution of they make.

Questions 5-6

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, D, E.

Write your answers in boxes 5-6 on your answer sheet.

According to the passage, there are several advantages to hire elder people, please choose TWO from below：

A. their productivity are more superior than the young.

B. paid less compared with younger ones.

C. run fast when there is a meeting.

D. have better inter-person relationship.

E. identify problems in an advanced time.

Questions 7-8

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, D, E.

Write your answers in boxes 7-8 on your answer sheet.

According to Mr.Peterson, Compared with elder employees, young graduates have several weaknesses in workplace, please choose TWO of them below：

A. they are not worth training.

B. their productivity is lower than counterparts.

C. they change work more often.

D. their academic criteria is someway behind elders’.

E. they are normally high school graduates.

Questions 9-13

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

9. According to paragraph F, the firms and workers still hold the opinion that:

A. Older workers are more likely to attract other staff

B. people are not happy if pay gets lower in retiring age.

C. Older people have more retaining motivation than young people

D. young people often earn less for their piece-rates salary.

10. SkillTeam that has been founded by IBM conducted which of the following movement:

A. Ask all the old worker to continue their job on former working hours basis

B. Carry on the action of cutting off the elder’s proportion of employment

C. Ask employees to work more hours in order to get extra pay

D. Re-hire old employees and kept the salary a bit lower

11. Which of the followings is correct according to the research of Mr Quinn:

A. About 50% of all employees in America switched into ‘bridge’ jobs.

B. Only the worst-paid continue to work.

C. More men than women fell into the category of 'bridge' work.

D. Some old people keep working for their motive rather than an economic incentive.

12. Which of the followings is correct according to David Storey?

A. 70% of business are successful if hire more older people.

B. Average success of self-employed business is getting lower.

C. Self-employed elder people are more likely to survive.

D. Older people’s working hours are more flexible.

13. What is the main purpose of the author in writing this passage?

A. there must be a successful retiring program for the old.

B. older people should be correctly valued in employment.

C. old people should offer more helping young employees grow.

D. There are more jobs in the world that only employ older people.

SILENT EARTHQUAKE

A. In early November 2000 the Big Island of Hawaii experienced its largest earthquake in more than a decade. Some 2,000 cubic kilometres of the southern slope of the Kilauea volcano lurched toward the ocean, releasing the energy of a magnitude 5.7 shock. Part of that motion took place under an area where thousands of people stop every day to catch a glimpse of one of the island’s most spectacular lava flows. Yet when the earthquake struck, no one noticed—not even seismologists.

B. How could such a notable event be overlooked? As it turns out, quaking is not an intrinsic part of all earthquakes. The event on Kilauea was one of the first unambiguous records of a so-called silent earthquake, a type of massive earth movement unknown to science until just a few years ago. Indeed, I would never have discovered this quake if my colleagues at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory had not already been using a network of sensitive instruments to monitor the volcano’s activity. When I finally noticed that Kilauea’s south flank had shifted 10 centimetres along an underground fault, I also saw that this movement had taken nearly 36 hours—a turtle’s pace for an earthquake. In a typical tremor, opposite sides of the fault rocket past each other in a matter of seconds —quickly enough to create the seismic waves that cause the ground to rumble and shake.

C. But just because an earthquake happens slowly and quietly does not make it insignificant. My co-investigators and I realized immediately that Kilauea’s silent earthquake could be a harbinger of disaster. If that same large body of rock and debris were to gain momentum and take the form of a gigantic landslide—separating itself from the rest of the volcano and sliding rapidly into the sea—the consequences would be devastating. The collapsing material would push seawater into towering tsunami waves that could threaten coastal cities along the entire Pacific Rim. Such catastrophic flank failure, as geologists call it, is a potential threat around many island volcanoes worldwide.

D. FORTUNATELY, the discovery of silent earthquakes is revealing more good news than bad. The chances of catastrophic flank failure are slim, and the instruments that record silent earthquakes might make early warnings possible. New evidence for conditions that might trigger silent slip suggests bold strategies for preventing flank collapse. Occurrences of silent earthquakes are also being reported in areas where flank failure is not an issue. Their silent earthquakes are inspiring ways to improve the forecasts of their ground-shaking counterparts.

E. The discovery of silent earthquakes and their link to catastrophic flank collapse was a by-product of efforts to study other potential natural hazards. Destructive earthquakes and volcanoes are a concern in Japan and the U.S. Pacific Northwest, where tectonic plates constantly plunge deep into the earth along what are called subduction zones. Beginning in the early 1990s, geologists began deploying large networks of continuously recording Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers in these regions and along the slopes of active volcanoes, such as Kilauea. By receiving signals from a constellation of more than 30 navigational satellites, these instruments can measure their own positions on the planet’s surface at any given time to within a few millimetres.

F. The scientists who deployed these GPS receivers expected to see both the slow, relentless motion of the planet’s shell of tectonic plates and the relatively quick movements that earthquakes and volcanoes trigger. It came as some surprise when these instruments detected small ground movements that were not associated with any known earthquake or eruption. When researchers plotted the ground movements on a map, the pattern that resulted very much resembled one characteristic of fault movement. In other words, all the GPS stations on one side of a given fault moved several centimetres in the same general direction. This pattern would have been no surprise if it had taken a year or longer to form. In that case, scientists would have known that a slow and steady process called fault creep was responsible. But at rates of up to centimetres a day, the mystery events were hundreds of times as fast as that. Beyond their relative speediness, these silent earthquakes shared another attribute with their noisy counterparts that distinguished them from fault creep: they are not steady processes but instead are discrete events that begin and end suddenly.

G. That sudden beginning, when it takes place on the slopes of a volcanic island, creates concern about a possible catastrophic flank event. Most typical earthquakes happen along faults that have built-in brakes: motion stops once the stress is relieved between the two chunks of earth that are trying to move past each other. But activity may not stop if gravity becomes the primary driver. In the worst-case scenario, the section of the volcano lying above the fault becomes so unstable that once slip starts, gravity pulls the entire mountainside downhill until it disintegrates into a pile of debris on the ocean floor.

H. The slopes of volcanoes such as Kilauea become steep and vulnerable to this kind of collapse when the lava from repeated eruptions builds them up more rapidly than they can erode away. Discovering the silent earthquake on Kilauea suggests that the volcano’s south flank is on the move—perhaps on its way to eventual obliteration.

I. For now, friction along the fault is acting as an emergency brake. But gravity has won out in many other instances in the past. Scientists have long seen evidence of ancient collapses in sonar images of giant debris fields in the shallow waters surrounding volcanic islands around the world, including Majorca in the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. In the Hawaiian Islands, geologists have found more than 25 individual collapses that have occurred over the past five million years—the blink of an eye in geologic time.

J. In a typical slide, the volume of material that enters the ocean is hundreds of times as great as the section of Mount St. Helens that blew apart during the 1980 eruption—more than enough to have triggered immense tsunamis. On the Hawaiian island of Lanai, for instance, geologists discovered evidence of wave action, including abundant marine shell fragments, at elevations of 325 meters. Gary M. McMurtry of the University of Hawaii at Manoa and his colleagues conclude that the most likely way the shells could have reached such a lofty location was within the waves of a tsunami that attained the astonishing height of 300 meters along some Hawaiian coastlines. Most of the tallest waves recorded in modern times were no more than one tenth that size.

Questions 1-5
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet, write:

TRUE if the statement is True
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN If the information is not given in the passage

1. It takes a quite fast interaction caused by certain parts of the fault zone to produce a representative earthquake.
2. Flank failure is a prerequisite that is followed by a silent earthquake.
3. The silent earthquake can be used to forecast any forms of earthquake.
4. Kilauea falls into a category of the stirring volcanoes.
5. In some islands, no less than 25 independent dilapidations are noticed in a short period from the perspective of geology.

Questions 6-10 

The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-H.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

6. the main characteristic to differentiate fault creep from earthquakes

7. occurrence of landslide in water areas near volcanoes in archaic times

8. catastrophe caused by silent earthquake under certain circumstances

9. a metaphor to describe how slow a silent earthquake takes place

10. the possible ending for the south slope of Kilauea

Questions 11-13

Summary

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than two words or a number from the Reading Passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.

When a model slide happens, the amount of the parts flowing into the sea is so huge that it might bring about ……….11……….. Ample shell debris included in ……….12……… is a good example because they might be moved to the high area by currents. This height of the waves is as ……….13……… .times taller than that documented in the contemporary era.

CARLILL V

CARBOLIC SMOKE BALL COMPANY

A. The Carbolic Smoke Ball Company made a product called the “smoke ball”. It claimed to be a cure for influenza and a number of other diseases, in the context of the 1889-1890 flu pandemic (estimated to have killed 1 million people). The bottle was a patented design and the nozzle part was a mental one with the gauze inside which filters the air flux. The smoke ball was a rubber ball with a tube attached. It was filled with carbolic acid (or phenol). The tube would be inserted into a user’s nose and squeezed at the bottom to release medicine powder (the vapours) hold inside the rubber ball bottle. The nose would run, ostensibly flushing out viral infections.

B. The Company published advertisements in the Pall Mall Gazette and other newspapers on November 13, 1891, claiming that it would pay £100 to anyone who got sick with influenza after using its product according to the instructions set out in the advertisement.

£100 reward will be paid by the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company to any person who contracts the increasing epidemic influenza colds, or any disease caused by taking cold, after having used the ball three times daily for two weeks, according to the printed directions supplied with each ball.

£1000 is deposited with the Alliance Bank, Regent Street, showing our sincerity in the matter.

During the last epidemic of influenza many thousand carbolic smoke balls were sold as preventives against this disease, and in no ascertained case was the disease contracted by those using the carbolic smoke ball.

One carbolic smoke ball will last a family several months, making it the cheapest remedy in the world at the price, 10s, post-free. The ball can be refilled at a cost of 5s. Address: “Carbolic Smoke Ball Company, 27, Princes Street, Hanover Square, London.”

C. Mrs. Louisa Elizabeth Carlill saw the advertisement, bought one of the balls and used it three times daily for nearly two months until she contracted the flu on 17 January 1892. She claimed £100 from the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company. They ignored two letters from her husband, a solicitor. On a third request for her reward, they replied with an anonymous letter that if it is used properly the company had complete confidence in the smoke ball’s efficacy, but “to protect themselves against all fraudulent claims” they would need her to come to their office to use the ball each day and be checked by the secretary. Mrs Carlill brought a claim to court. The barristers representing her argued that the advertisement and her reliance on it was a contract between her and the company, and so they ought to pay. The company argued it was not a serious contract.

D. The Carbolic Smoke Ball Company, despite being represented by HH Asquith, lost its argument at the Queen’s Bench. It appealed straight away. The Court of Appeal unanimously rejected the company’s arguments and held that there was a fully binding contract for £100 with Mrs Carlill. Among the reasons given by the three judges were (1) that the advert was a unilateral offer to all the world (2) that satisfying conditions for using the smoke ball constitutes acceptance of the offer (3) that purchasing or merely using the smoke ball constitute good consideration, because it was a distinct detriment incurred at the behest of the company and, furthermore, more people buying smoke balls by relying on the advert was a clear benefit to Carbolic (4) that the company’s claim that £1000 was deposited at the Alliance Bank showed the serious intention to be legally bound.

E. Lord Justice Lindley gave the first judgment, after running through the facts again. He makes short shrift of the insurance and wagering contract arguments that were dealt with in the Queen’s Bench. He believed that the advert was intended to be issued to the public and to be read by the public. How would an ordinary person reading this document construe it? It was intended unquestionably to have some effect. He followed on with essentially five points. First, the advert was not “mere puff” as had been alleged by the company, because the deposit of £1000 in the bank evidenced seriousness. Second, the advertisement was an offer to the world. Third, communication of acceptance is not necessary for a contract when people’s conduct manifests an intention to contract. Fourth, that the vagueness of the advert’s terms was no insurmountable obstacle. And fifth, the nature of Mrs Carlill’s consideration (what she gave in return for the offer) was good, because there is both an advantage in additional sales in reaction to the advertisement and a “distinct inconvenience” that people go to use a smoke ball.

F. Lord Justice Bowen LJ’s opinion was more tightly structured in style and is frequently cited. Five main steps in his reasoning can be identified. First, he says that the contract was not too vague to be enforced, because it could be interpreted according to what ordinary people would understand by it. He differed slightly from Lindley LJ on what time period one could contract flu and still have a claim (Lindley LJ said a “reasonable time” after use, while Bowen LJ said “while the smoke ball is used”) but this was not a crucial point, because the fact was the Mrs. Carlill got flu while using the smoke ball. Second, like Lindley LJ, Bowen LJ says that the advert was not mere puff because £1000 was deposited in the bank to pay rewards. Third, he said that although there was an offer to the whole world, there was not a contract with the whole world. Therefore, it was not an absurd basis for a contract, because only the people that used it would bind the company. Fourth, he says that communication is not necessary to accept the terms of an offer; conduct is and should be sufficient. Fifth, there was clearly good consideration given by Mrs Carlill because she went to the “inconvenience” of using it, and the company got the benefit of extra sales.

G. Carlill is frequently cited as a leading case in the common law of contract, particularly where unilateral contracts are concerned. This is perhaps due to the ingenuity of Counsel for the Defendant in running just about every available defense, requiring the court to deal with these points in turn in the judgment. It provides an excellent study of the basic principles of contract and how they relate to everyday life till the modern world. The case remains good law. It still binds the lower courts of England and Wales and is cited by judges with approval. However, in addition to the contractual remedy afforded to users, the same facts would give rise to a number of additional statutory remedies and punishments where an individual to place an advert in the same terms today.

Questions 14-17
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage? In boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet, write:

YES if the statement agrees with the writer
NO if the statement does not agree with the writer
NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage

14. Influenza epidemic was more rampant in London city than in rural areas.

15. A letter has replied to Ms. Carlill bearing no signed name to claim the company’s innocent.

16. The Carbolic Smoke Ball Company lost its law suit then the company accepted the sentence straight away.

17. The new patented carbolic acid product can be poisonous and viral infectious.

Questions 18-21

Look at the diagram and fill in the blank with no more than one word

18. The part of the........

19. a filtering ...... embedded inside

20. the bottle was made of.....

21. the...... form medicine inside the bottle

Questions 22-25
Look at the following statements (Questions 22-25) and the list of people in the box below:

Match each statement with the correct person A-E

Write the appropriate letter A-E in boxes 22-25 on your answer sheet.

A. Lord Justice Lindley

B. Lord Justice Bowen

C. Mrs. Carlill

D. Mr. Carlill (the husband)

22. The person who initiated a lawsuit against the company.

23. The contract effectiveness can be established because the advert was to be issued to the public including ordinary persons rather than professionals.

24. The person who wrote complaints to the company and got no response again.

25. Vagueness of the advert’s terms was no obstacle for people to enforce them.

Questions 26
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

Write your answers in boxes 26 on your answer sheet.

26. Why Carlill is frequently cited as a leading case in the common law of contract?

A. It was the first and one of the most famous unilateral contract cases to be concerned.

B. It helped companies to develop a number of the contractual remedies afforded to users.

C. The case remains an excellent example that the basic principles and validity of unilateral contract can be established.

D. An individual to place an advert in the similar terms today can be free of the punishment.

JUPITER WITH THE SHOEMAKER-LEVY9'S COLLISION

A. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Its diameter is 88,846 miles (more than 140,000 kilometres), more than 11 times that of Earth, and about one-tenth that of the sun. It would take more than 1,000 Earths to fill up the volume of the giant planet. When viewed from Earth, Jupiter appears brighter than most stars. It is usually the second brightest planet — after Venus. Jupiter is composed of a relatively small core of metal (iron and silicates surrounded by hydrogen). In the depths of the planet, the hydrogen is so compressed that it is metallic in the form: further from the centre where the inner atmosphere is stretched about 20000 km, the pressure is lower and the hydrogen is in its normal molecular form. The Jovian cloud tops visible from Earth consist primarily of methane and ammonia. There are other elements and compounds lurking in the cloud tops and below which are thought to be responsible for the colors seen in the atmosphere.

How does Jupiter come to form?

B. The Origin theory is a mystical problem. In our own solar system inside or around asteroid belt, there are four rocky planets close to the Sun, each formed in the way described follow – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars: The first stars which formed from primordial hydrogen and helium produced in the big bang, cannot have had any planets, because there were no heavy elements available from which they could be built up. Planetary systems are all second-generation (or later) systems. As the parent cloud of gas and dust from which our Solar System was being formed, began to shrink, any rotation it possessed made it spin faster and faster, and as the core of the cloud collapsed to form a star, some of the material from which it was forming was held out from the centre of the cloud by residual spin, and the material settled down into a dusty disc around the young star. Close to a young star, the lightest material in the disc, comprising mainly hydrogen and helium gas, is blown away by the heat of the star and solar radiation. The material left behind is made up of billions of tiny grains of dust that collide and stick together, building up larger lumps. The lumps of matter may be a few millimetres across and are settling into a thinner disc around the star. The process of accretion – lumps growing by sticking together carries on until the original dust grains have become lumps of rock about one kilometre across, similar to the asteroids that orbit in profusion between Mars and Jupiter today. Once the pieces of rock reach this size, they begin to tug on each other significantly through gravitation, pulling them into swarms that orbit around the star together, bumping into one another from time to time. Gravitation pulls the pieces more and more tightly together, with the largest lumps (which have the strongest gravitational pull) attracting more and more material, growing to become terrestrial planets and their satellites.

C. Then there is a belt of cosmic rubble (the asteroid belt), a ring representative in many ways of the kind of material from which the inner planets formed. The material in this ring could never settle down to become a planet itself because it is continuously being disturbed by the gravitational influence of Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. Beyond the asteroid belt, there are four “gas giant” planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. These are probably typical of planets that format large distances from their parent star, planets in which the primordial volatile material has been retained, so that even though they may contain a small rocky core, they are mostly made of gas and ices. Beyond the gas giants, at a great distance, comes small, rocky Pluto, an anomaly, and possibly a comet or asteroid, captured and held in a fixed orbit.

Shoemaker-Levy 9

D. In March 1993, astronomers Eugene Shoemaker, Carolyn Shoemaker, and David H. Levy discovered a comet near Jupiter. The comet was found orbiting planet Jupiter and is believed to have been captured from the Sun around two decades earlier. The comet, later named Shoemaker-Levy 9, probably once orbited the sun independently but had been pulled by Jupiter’s gravity into an orbit, the diameter of which becomes smaller, around the planet. When the comet was discovered, it had broken into 21 pieces. The comet probably had broken apart when it passed close to Jupiter.

The collision

E. According to David Levy, a half-mile-wide object should hit the Earth on the average of once every 100,000 years. However, small objects the size of a grain of sand or a piece of gravel hit the Earth each minute. The frequency with which a 100-meter asteroid/comet hits Earth is about once every 100 years. The chances could be higher or lower because these small objects are not easy to see with our telescopes, so their number is not well known. Calculations revealed that the cemetery fragments were on course to collide with Jupiter during July 1994 and that each fragment could deliver an energy equivalent to approximately 500,000 million tons of TNT. The prospect of celestial fireworks on such a grand scale immediately captured the attention of astronomers worldwide! Scientists hoped to learn much about the effects of a collision between a planet and a comet. Astronomers at all the major telescopes on Earth turned their instruments toward Jupiter at the predicted collision times. Scientists also observed Jupiter with the powerful Hubble Space Telescope, which is in orbit around Earth; and the remotely controlled space probe Galileo, which was on its way to Jupiter.

F. The fragments fell on the backside of Jupiter as viewed from Earth and the Hubble Space Telescope. But the rotation of Jupiter carried the impact sites around to the visible side after less than half an hour. Scientists estimate that the largest fragments were about 0.3 to 2.5 miles (0.5 to 4 kilometres) in diameter. The impacts were directly observable from Galileo, which was within about 150 million miles (240 million kilometres) from Jupiter. However, damage to certain of the probe’s instruments limited its ability to record and send data. The impacts caused large explosions, probably due to the compression, heating, and rapid expansion of atmospheric gases. The explosions scattered comet debris over large areas, some with diameters larger than that of Earth. The debris gradually spread into a dark haze of fine material that remained suspended for several months in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere. If a similar comet ever collided with Earth, it might produce a haze that would cool the atmosphere and darken the planet by absorbing sunlight. If the haze lasted long enough, much of Earth’s plant life could die, along with the people and animals that depend on plants.

G. The smaller cemetery fragments plunged into Jupiter rapidly disintegrated and left little trace; three of the smallest fragments, namely T, U and V left no discernible traces whatsoever. However, many of the cemetery fragments were sufficiently large to produce a spectacular display. Each large fragment punched through the cloud tops, heated the surrounding gases to some 20,000 K on the way, and caused a massive plume or fireball up to 2,000 km in diameter to rise above the cloud tops. Some days after the collision the impact sites began to evolve and fade as they became subject to the dynamics of Jupiter’s atmosphere. No one knows how long they will remain visible from Earth, but it is thought that the larger scars may persist for a year or more. The interest of professional astronomers in Jupiter is now waning and valuable work can therefore be performed by amateurs in tracking the evolution of the collision scars. The scars are easily visible in a modest telescope, and a large reflector will show them in some detail. There is scope for valuable observing work from now until Jupiter reaches conjunction with the Sun in November 2004.

Questions 14-17
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write your answers in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.

14. People believe the origin of planets of inner asteroid belt can be

A. somewhat an inaccurate and too broad theory

B. a sophisticated mystery though certain speculation has been proposed

C. a totally wrong speculation

D. totally explained by the theory made

15. When did the planet of Jupiter come to form?

A. when there were no heavy elements

B. at the same time as the big bang happened

C. during the generation of first stars

D. when our Solar System was being formed

16. According to the passage, what is true for the “gas giant” planets?

A. They are at large distances from their parent star.

B. The original volatile material has been lost.

C. They contain gas and ice core.

D. Each is possibly a comet or asteroid, captured and held in a fixed orbit.

17. Astronomers and scientists on Earth started their instruments toward Jupiter at the predicted collision times mainly because

A. hoped to calculate the real risk of the collision between the Earth and a comet.

B. hoped to learn unknown knowledge of a collision between a planet and a comet.

C. hoped to collect data about the structure of the Jupiter.

D. hoped to test the powerful Hubble Space Telescope.

Questions 18-23

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage 2.

Choose the appropriate letter from A-L and write your answers in boxes 18-23 on your answer sheet.

A. wider

B. smaller

C. expansion

D. collision

E. 20 years

F. 30 years

G. 100 years

H. gathered

I. calculation

J. released

K. gravity

L. pulled

The comet of Shoemaker is thought to have been orbiting Jupiter at least for 18……… The comet probably once orbited the sun independently, but had been pulled by Jupiter’s 19………into an orbit around the planet. When the diameter of orbit became 20………with Jupiter’s force, it came closer and had broken into 21-pieces. According to David Levy, the possibility with which a 100-meter asteroid / comet hits Earth is about once every 21………. The chances could be higher or lower and their number is not well determined.

Calculations revealed that the cemetery fragments were on course to collide with Jupiter during July 1994. Finally, the fragments collide into the backside of Jupiter as viewed from Earth and the Hubble Space Telescope. Large explosion from the impacts 22……… the huge, hot atmospheric gases. And the comet debris gradually expanded into a dark dust of material that 23……… suspended for months in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere.

Questions 24-26 

Filling the table, Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

JOHN FRANKLIN:

''THE DISCOVERY OF THE SLOWNESS"

A. John Franklin (1786-1847) was the most famous vanisher of the Victorian era. He joined the Navy as a midshipman at the age of 14 and fought in the battles of Copenhagen and Trafalgar. When peace with the French broke out, he turned his attention to Arctic exploration, and in particular to solve the conundrum of the Northwest Passage, the mythical clear-water route which would, if it existed, link the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans above the northern coast of the American continent. The first expedition Franklin led to the Arctic was an arduous overland journey from Hudson Bay to the shores of the so-called Polar Ocean east of the Coppermine River. Between 1819 and 1822, Franklin and his twenty-strong team covered 5550 miles on foot. Their expedition was a triumph of surveying – they managed to chart hundreds of miles of previously unknown coastline.

B. There followed a career as a travel writer and salon-goer (‘the man who ate his boots’ was Franklin’s tag-line), a second long Arctic expedition, and a controversial spell as Governor of Van Diemen’s Land. Then, in May 1845, Franklin set off with two ships – the Erebus and the Terror – and 129 men on the voyage that would kill him. In July, the convoy was seen by two whalers, entering Lancaster Sound. Nothing more would be heard of it for 14 years. Had the ships sunk or been iced in? Were the men dead, or in need of rescue? Or had they broken through to the legendary open polar sea, beyond the ‘ice barrier’?

C. In his personal correspondence and his published memoirs, Franklin comes across as a man dedicated to the external duties of war and exploration, who kept introspection and self-analysis to a minimum. His blandness makes him an amenably malleable subject for a novelist, and Sten Nadolny has taken full advantage of this license. Most important, he has endowed his John Franklin with a defining character trait for which there is no historical evidence: (‘slowness’, or ‘calmness’).

D. Slowness influences not only Franklin’s behaviour but also his vision, his thought, and his speech. The opening scene of The Discovery of Slowness (The Discovery of Slowness by Sten Nadolny) – depicts Franklin as a young boy, playing catch badly because his reaction time is too slow. Despite the bullying of his peers, Franklin resolves not to fall into step with ‘their way of doing things’. For Nadolny, Franklin’s fatal fascination with the Arctic stems from his desire to find an environment suited to his peculiar slowness.

E. He describes Franklin as a boy dreaming of the ‘open water and the time without hours and days’ which exist in the far north, and of finding in the Arctic a place ‘where nobody would find him too slow’. Ice is a slow mover. Ice demands corresponding patience from those who venture onto it. The explorers who have thrived at high latitudes and at high altitudes haven’t usually been men of great speed. They have tended instead to demonstrate unusual self-possession, a considerable capacity for boredom, and a talent for what the Scots call ‘tholing’, the uncomplaining endurance of suffering.

F. These were all qualities which the historical Franklin possessed in abundance, and so Nadolny’s concentration and exaggeration of them isn’t unreasonable. Even as an adult, his slowness of thought means that he is unable to speak fluently, so he memorizes ‘entire fleets of words and batteries of response’, and speaks a languid, bric-a-brac language. In the Navy, his method of thinking first and acting later initially provokes mockery from his fellow sailors. But Franklin persists in doing things his way, and gradually earns the respect of those around him. To a commodore who tells him to speed up his report of an engagement, he replies: ‘When I tell something, sir. I use my own rhythm.’ A lieutenant says approvingly of him: ’Because Franklin is so slow, he never loses time.’

G. Since it was first published in Germany in 1983. The Discovery of Slowness has sold more than a million copies and been translated into 15 languages. It has been named as one of German literature’s twenty ‘contemporary classics’, and it has been adopted as a manual and manifesto by European pressure groups and institutions representing causes as diverse as sustainable development, the Protestant Church, management science, motoring policy, and pacifism.

H. The various groups that have taken the novel up have one thing in common: a dislike of the high-speed culture of Postmodernity. Nadolny’s Franklin appeals to them because he is immune to ‘the compulsion to be constantly occupied’, and to the idea that ‘someone was better if he could do the same thing fast.’ Several German churches have used him in their symposia and focus groups as an example of peacefulness, piety, and self-confidence. A centre scheme (a ‘march of slowness’ or ‘of the slow’), inspired by the novel. Nadolny has appeared as a guest speaker for RIO, a Lucerne-based organisation which aims to reconcile management principles with ideas of environmental sustainability. The novel has even become involved in the debate about speed limits on German roads. Drive down an autobahn today, and you will see large road-side signs proclaiming 'tranquillity' or ‘unhurriedness’ a slogan that deliberately plays off the title of the novel.

I. A management journal in the US described The Discovery of Slowness is a ‘major event not only for connoisseurs of fine historical fiction, but also for those of us who concern themselves with leadership, communication, and systems-thinking, issues’. It’s easy to see where the attraction lies for the management crowd. The novel is crammed with quotations about time-efficiency, punctiliousness, and profitability: ‘As a rule, there are always three points in time: the right one, the lost one and the premature one’. ‘What did too late mean? They hadn’t waited for it long enough, that’s what it meant.’

Questions 27-32

Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs A-H.

Which paragraph contains the following information? 

Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

1. What was Sir John Franklin’s occupation before he went on career of the arctic exploration?
2. A story John Franklin reacted strangely when he met bullies by other children.
3. Reason of popularity for the book The Discovery of Slowness.
4. A depiction that Sten Nadolny’s biography on John Franklin is not much based on facts.
5. The particular career Sir John Franklin took after his expedition unmatched before.
6. What is the central scheme and environment conveyed by the book The Discovery of Slowness.

Questions 33-36

Summary

Complete the Summary paragraph described below. In boxes 33-36 on your answer sheet, write the correct answer with one word chosen from the box below.

In his personal correspondence to and in his published memoirs by Sten Nadolny, John Franklin was depicted as a man dedicated to the exploration, and the word of “slowness” was used to define his 33……; when Franklin was in his childhood, his determination to the 34………of the schoolboys was too slow for him to fall into step. And Franklin was said to be a boy dreaming finding in a place he could enjoy the 35………in the Arctic. Later in 20^th, His biography of discovery of slowness has been adopted as a 36............as for the movement such as sustainable development, or management science, motoring policy.

A. exploration

B. blandness

C. personality

D. policy

E. pressure

F. guidebook

G. management

H. timelessness

I. sports

J. bully

K. evidence

Questions 37-40

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write your answers in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet

37. Why does the author mention “the ice is slow mover” in the geological arctic, to demonstrate the idea:

A. of the difficulties Franklin conquered

B. that Franklin had a dream since his childhood

C. of fascination with the Arctic exploration

D. that explorer like Franklin should possess the quality of being patient

38. When Franklin was on board with sailors, how did he speak to his fellow sailors:

A. he spoke in a way mocking his followers

B. he spoke a bric-a-brac language to show he languish attitude

C. he spoke in the words and phrases he previously memorized

D. he spoke in a rhythmical tune to save chatting time

39. His effort to overcome his slowness in marine time life had finally won the

A. understanding of his personality better
B. capacity for coping with boredom
C. respect for him as he insisted to overcome his difficulties
D. the valuable time he can use to finish a report

40. Why is the book The Discovery of Slowness sold more than a million copies

A. it contains aspects of the life people would like to enjoy
B. it contains the information for the flag language applied in ships
C. it induces a debate about speed limits German
D. it contains the technique for symposia German churches

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