IELTS reading collection

Passage 1:

Stepwells
A millennium ago, stepwells were fundamental to life in the driest parts of India. Richard Cox
travelled to north-western India to document these spectacular monuments from a bygone era.
During the sixth and seventh centuries, the inhabitants of the modern-day states of Gujarat and
Rajasthan in north-western India developed a method of gaining access to clean, fresh groundwater
during the dry season for drinking, bathing, watering animals and irrigation. However, the
significance of this invention – the stepwell – goes beyond its utilitarian application.
Unique to this region, stepwells are often architecturally complex and vary widely in size and shape.
During their heyday, they were places of gathering, of leisure and relaxation and of worship for
villagers of all but the lowest classes. Most stepwells are found dotted round the desert areas of
Gujarat (where they are called vav) and Rajasthan (where they are called baori), while a few also
survive in Delhi. Some were located in or near villages as public spaces for the community; others
were positioned beside roads as resting places for travellers.
As their name suggests, stepwells comprise a series of stone steps descending from ground level to
the water source (normally an underground aquifer) as it recedes following the rains. When the
water level was high, the user needed only to descend a few steps to reach it; when it was low,
several levels would have to be negotiated.
Some wells are vast, open craters with hundreds of steps paving each sloping side, often in tiers.
Others are more elaborate, with long stepped passages leading to the water via several storeys. Built
from stone and supported by pillars, they also included pavilions that sheltered visitors from the
relentless heat. But perhaps the most impressive features are the intricate decorative sculptures that
embellish many stepwells, showing activities from fighting and dancing to everyday acts such as
women combing their hair or churning butter.
Down the centuries, thousands of wells were constructed throughout northwestern India, but the
majority have now fallen into disuse; many are derelict and dry, as groundwater has been diverted
for industrial use and the wells no longer reach the water table. Their condition hasn’t been helped
by recent dry spells: southern Rajasthan suffered an eight-year drought between 1996 and
2004. However, some important sites in Gujarat have recently undergone major restoration, and the
state government announced in June last year that it plans to restore the stepwells throughout the

state.
In Patan, the state’s ancient capital, the stepwell of Rani Ki Vav (Queen’s Stepwell) is perhaps the
finest current example. It was built by Queen Udayamati during the late 11th century, but became
silted up following a flood during the 13th century. But the Archaeological Survey of India began
restoring it in the 1960s, and today it is in pristine condition. At 65 metres long, 20 metres wide and
27 metres deep, Rani Ki Vav features 500 sculptures carved into niches throughout the monument.
Incredibly, in January 2001, this ancient structure survived an earthquake that measured 7.6 on the
Richter scale.
Another example is the Surya Kund in Modhera, northern Gujarat, next to the Sun Temple, built by
King Bhima I in 1026 to honour the sun god Surya. It actually resembles a tank (kund means reservoir
or pond) rather than a well, but displays the hallmarks of stepwell architecture, including four sides


of steps that descend to the bottom in a stunning geometrical formation. The terraces house 108
small, intricately carved shrines between the sets of steps.
Rajasthan also has a wealth of wells. The ancient city of Bundi, 200 kilometres south of Jaipur, is
renowned for its architecture, including its stepwells. One of the larger examples is Raniji Ki Baori,
which was built by the queen of the region, Nathavatji, in 1699. At 46 metres deep, 20 metres wide
and 40 metres long, the intricately carved monument is one of 21 baoris commissioned in the Bundi
area by Nathavatji.
In the old ruined town of Abhaneri, about 95 kilometres east of Jaipur, is Chand Baori, one of India’s
oldest and deepest wells; aesthetically it’s perhaps one of the most dramatic. Built in around 850 AD
next to the temple of Harshat Mata, the baori comprises hundreds of zigzagging steps that run along
three of its sides, steeply descending 11 storeys, resulting in a striking pattern when seen from afar.
On the fourth side, verandas which are supported by ornate pillars overlook the steps.
Still in public use is Neemrana Ki Baori, located just off the Jaipur–Delhi highway. Constructed in
around 1700, it is nine storeys deep, with the last two being underwater. At ground level, there are
86 colonnaded openings from where the visitor descends 170 steps to the deepest water source.
Today, following years of neglect, many of these monuments to medieval engineering have been
saved by the Archaeological Survey of India, which has recognised the importance of preserving

them as part of the country’s rich history. Tourists flock to wells in far-flung corners of northwestern
India to gaze in wonder at these architectural marvels from hundreds of years ago, which serve as a
reminder of both the ingenuity and artistry of ancient civilisations and of the value of water to
human existence.
Questions 1-3
Answer the questions below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet
1. Which part of some stepwells provided shade for people?
2. What type of serious climatic event, which took place in southern Rajasthan, is mentioned in the
article?
3. Who are frequent visitors to stepwells nowadays?
Questions 4-8
Complete the table below.
Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 4-8 on your ansv/er sheet.

Stepwell

Date

Features

Other notes

Rani Ki Vav

Late
11th
century

As many as 500
sculptures decorate the
monument

Restored in the 1960s
Excellent condition, despite
the 4.. .. of 2001

1026

Steps on the
5………… produce a
geometrical pattern
Carved shrines

Looks more like a
6………… than a well

Surya Kund


1699

Intricately carved
monument

One of 21 baoris in the area
commissioned by Queen
Nathavatji

Chand Baori

850 AD

Steps take you down 11
storeys to the bottom

Old, deep and very
dramatic
Has 7….. which
provide a view of the steps

Neemrana
Ki Baori

1700

Has two 8……………..
levels

Used by public today

Raniji Ki
Baori

Passage 2:

William Kamkwamba
In 2002, William Kamkwamba had to drop out of school, as his father, a maize and tobacco farmer,

could no longer afford his school fees. But despite this setback, William was determined to get his
education. He began visiting a local library that had just opened in his old primary school, where he
discovered a tattered science book. With only a rudimentary grasp of English, he taught himself basic
physics - mainly by studying photos and diagrams. Another book he found there featured windmills
on the cover and inspired him to try and build his own.
He started by constructing a small model. Then, with the help of a cousin and friend, he spent many
weeks searching scrap yards and found old tractor fans, shock absorbers, plastic pipe and bicycle
parts, which he used to build the real thing.
For windmill blades, William cut some bath pipe in two lengthwise, then heated the pieces over hot
coals to press the curled edges flat. To bore holes into the blades, he stuck a nail through half a
corncob, heated the metal red and twisted it through the blades. It took three hours to repeatedly
heat the nail and bore the holes. He attached the blades to a tractor fan using proper nuts and bolts
and then to the back axle of a bicycle. Electricity was generated through the bicycle dynamo. When
the wind blew the blades, the bike chain spun the bike wheel, which charged the dynamo and sent a
current through wire to his house.
What he had built was a crude machine that produced 12 volts and powered four lights. When it was
all done, the windmill's wingspan measured more than eight feet and sat on top of a rickety tower 15
feet tall that swayed violently in strong gales. He eventually replaced the tower with a sturdier one
that stands 39 feet, and built a second machine that watered a family garden.
The windmill brought William Kamkwamba instant local famer, but despite his accomplishment, he
was still unable to return to school. However, news of his magetsi a mphepo - electric wind - spread
beyond Malawi, and eventually things began to change. An education official, who had heard news
of the windmill, came to visit his village and was amazed to learn that William had been out of school
for five years. He arranged for him to attend secondary school at the government's expense and
brought journalists to the farm to see the windmill. Then a story published in the Malawi Daily
Mail caught the attention of bloggers, which in turn caught the attention of organisers for the
Technology Entertainment and Design conference.


In 2007, William spoke at the TED Global conference in Tanzania and got a standing ovation.

Businessmen stepped forward with offers to fund his education and projects, and with money
donated by them, he was able to put his cousin and several friends back into school and pay for
some medical needs of his family. With the donation, he also drilled a borehole for a well and water
pump in his village and installed drip irrigation in his father's fields.
The water pump has allowed his family to expand its crops. They have abandoned tobacco and now
grow maize, beans, soybeans, potatoes and peanuts. The windmills have also brought big lifestyle
and health changes to the other villagers. 'The village has changed a lot,' William says. 'Now, the time
that they would have spent going to fetch water, they are using for doing other things. And also the
water they are drinking is clean water, so there is less disease.' The villagers have also stopped using
kerosene and can use the money previously spent on fuel to buy other things.
William Kamkwamba's example has inspired other children in the village to pursue science. William
says they now see that if they put their mind to something, they can achieve it. 'It has changed the
way people think,' he says.
Questions 9-13
Complete the flow chart below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Building the Windmill

William learned some (9) .................... from a
library book.

First, he built a (10) .................... of the
windmill.

Then he collected materials
from (11) .................... with a relative.


He made the windmill blades from pieces

of (12) .....................

He fixed the blades to a (13) .................... and
then to part of a bicycle.

He raised the blades on a tower.

Questions 14-16
Answer the questions below.
Use NO MORE THAN ONE WORD and/or a NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
14) How tall was the final tower that William built?
15) What did the villagers use for fuel before the windmill was built?
16) What school subject has become more popular in William's village?
Passage 3:

In Praise of Amateurs

Despite the specialization of scientific research, amateurs still have an important role to play
During the scientific revolution of the 17th century, scientists were largely men of private means who
pursued their interest in natural philosophy for their own edification. Only in the past century or two
has it become possible to make a living from investigating the workings of nature. Modern science was,
in other words, built on the work of amateurs. Today, science is an increasingly specialized and
compartmentalized subject, the domain of experts who know more and more about less and less.
Perhaps surprisingly, however, amateurs – even those without private means – are still important.
A recent poll carried out at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science by
astronomer Dr Richard Fienberg found that, in addition to his field of astronomy, amateurs are actively


involved in such fields as acoustics, horticulture, ornithology, meteorology, hydrology and palaeontology.
Far from being crackpots, amateur scientists are often in close touch with professionals, some of whom

rely heavily on their co-operation.
Admittedly, some fields are more open to amateurs than others. Anything that requires expensive
equipment is clearly a no-go area. And some kinds of research can be dangerous; most amateur
chemists, jokes Dr Fienberg, are either locked up or have blown themselves to bits. But amateurs can
make valuable contributions in fields from rocketry to palaeontology and the rise of the internet has
made it easier than before to collect data and distribute results.
Exactly which field of study has benefited most from the contributions of amateurs is a matter of
some dispute. Dr Fienberg makes a strong case for astronomy. There is, he points out, a long tradition of
collaboration between amateur and professional sky watchers. Numerous comets, asteroids and even
the planet Uranus were discovered by amateurs. Today, in addition to comet and asteroid spotting,
amateurs continue to do valuable work observing the brightness of variable stars and detecting novae‘new’ stars in the Milky Way and supernovae in other galaxies. Amateur observers are helpful, says Dr
Fienberg, because there are so many of them (they far outnumber professionals) and because they are
distributed all over the world. This makes special kinds of observations possible:’ if several observers
around the world accurately record the time when a star is eclipsed by an asteroid, for example, it is
possible to derive useful information about the asteroid’s shape.
Another field in which amateurs have traditionally played an important role is palaeontology. Adrian
Hunt, a palaeontologist at Mesa Technical College in New Mexico, insists that his is the field in which
amateurs have made the biggest contribution. Despite the development of high-tech equipment, he
says, the best sensors for finding fossils are human eyes – lots of them. Finding volunteers to look for
fossils is not difficult, he says, because of the near –universal interest in anything to do with dinosaurs.
As well as helping with this research, volunteers learn about science, a process he calls ‘recreational
education’.
Rick Bonney of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York, contends that amateurs
have contributed the most in his field. There are, he notes, thought to be as many as 60 million
birdwatchers in America alone. Given their huge numbers and the wide geographical coverage they
provide, Mr Bonney has enlisted thousands of amateurs in a number of research projects. Over the past
few years their observations have uncovered previously unknown trends and cycles in bird migrations
and revealed declines in the breeding populations of several species of migratory birds, prompting a
habitat conservation programme.
Despite the successes and whatever the field of study, collaboration between amateurs and

professionals is not without its difficulties. Not everyone, for example is happy with the term ‘amateur’.
Mr Bonney has coined the term ‘citizen scientist’ because he felt that other words, such as ‘volunteer’
sounded disparaging. A more serious problem is the question of how professionals can best
acknowledge the contributions made by amateurs. Dr Fienberg says that some amateur astronomers are
happy to provide their observations but grumble about not being reimbursed for out-of-pocket
expenses. Others feel let down when their observations are used in scientific papers, but they are not
listed as co-authors. Dr Hunt says some amateur palaeontologists are disappointed when told that they
cannot take finds home with them.
These are legitimate concerns but none seems insurmountable. Provided amateurs and professionals
agree the terms on which they will work together beforehand, there is no reason why co-operation
between the two groups should not flourish. Last year Dr S. Carlson, founder of the Society for Amateur
Scientists won an award worth $290,000 for his work in promoting such co-operation. He says that one
of the main benefits of the prize is the endorsement it has given to the contributions of amateur


scientists, which has done much to silence critics among those professionals who believe science should
remain their exclusive preserve.
At the moment, says Dr Carlson, the society is involved in several schemes including an innovative
rocket-design project and the setting up of a network of observers who will search for evidence of a link
between low- frequency radiation and earthquakes. The amateurs, he says, provide enthusiasm and
talent, while the professionals provide guidance ‘so that anything they do discover will be taken
seriously’. Having laid the foundations of science, amateurs will have much to contribute to its ever –
expanding edifice.
Questions 17-24
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 17-24 on your answer sheet.
Prior to the 19th century, professional (17) ............. did not exist and scientific research was largely
carried out by amateurs. However, while (18) ............. today is mostly the domain of professionals, a
recent US survey highlighted the fact that amateurs play an important role in at least

seven (19)............. and indeed many professionals are relied on their (20) ............. In areas such as
astronomy, amateurs can be invaluable when making specific (21) ............. on a global basis. Similarly
in the area of palaeontology their involvement is invaluable and helpers are easy to recruit because
of the popularity of (22) ............. Amateur birdwatchers also play an active role and their work has
led to the establishment of a (23) ............. Occasionally the term ‘amateur’ has been the source of
disagreement and alternative names have been suggested but generally speaking, as long as the
professional scientists (24) ............. the work of the non-professionals, the two groups can work
productively together.

Passage 1:

The megafires of California
Wildfires are becoming an increasing menace in the western United States, with Southern California
being the hardest hit area. There’s a reason fire squads battling more frequent 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 ‘Santa Ana Winds, . The wildfires themselves,
experts say, are generally hotter, faster, and spread more erratically than in the past. 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. Some recent wildfires are among the biggest ever
in California in terms of acreage burned, according to state figures and news reports.
One explanation for the trend to more superhot fires is that the region, which usually has dry
summers, has had significantly below normal precipitation in many recent years. Another reason,


experts say, is related to the century- long policy of the US Forest Service to stop wildfires as quickly
as possible. The unintentional consequence has been 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 1degree
Fahrenheit rise in average yearly temperature across the western states. Second is fire seasons that
on average are 78 days longer than they were 20 years ago. Third is increased construction of homes

in wooded areas.
‘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, Massachusetts.
‘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,
more residential housing is being built. ‘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.’
That said, many experts give California high marks for making progress on preparedness in recent
years, after some of the largest fires in state history scorched thousands of acres, burned thousands
of homes, and killed numerous people. Stung in the past by criticism of bungling that allowed fires to
spread when they might have been contained, personnel are meeting the peculiar challenges of
neighborhood – and canyon- hopping fires better than previously, observers say.
State promises to provide more up-to-date engines, planes, and helicopters to fight fires have been
fulfilled. Firefighters’ unions that in the past 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 current state administration has been very proactive in its support of us, and [has] come
through with budgetary support of the infrastructure needs we have long sought,” says Mr. McHale
of the firefighters’ union.
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 in the strategies to run them. ‘In the fire sieges of earlier years, we found that other
jurisdictions and states were willing to offer mutual-aid help, 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 commission examined and revamped communications procedures, the
statewide response ‘has become far more professional and responsive” he says. There is a sense
among both government officials and residents that the speed, dedication, and coordination of

firefighters from several states and jurisdictions are resulting in greater efficiency than in past ‘siege
fire’ situations.
In recent years, the Southern California region has improved building codes, evacuation procedures,
and procurement of new technology. “I am extraordinarily impressed by the improvements we have
witnessed,’”says Randy Jacobs, a Southern California- based lawyer who has had to evacuate both his
home and business to escape wildfires. “Notwithstanding all the damage that will continue to be


caused by wildfires, we will no longer suffer the loss of life endured in the past because of the fire
prevention and firefighting measures that have been put in place” he says.
Questions 1-6
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in
boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
Wildfires
l Characteristics of wildfires and wildfire conditions today compared to the past: occurrence: more frequent
-temperature: hotter
-speed: faster
-movement: 1
-size of fires: 2

more unpredictably
greater on average than two decades ago

l Reasons wildfires cause more damage today compared to the past:
-rainfall: 3

average

-more brush to act as 4 ____________

-increase in yearly temperature
-extended fire 5 ____________
-more building of 6 ____________ in vulnerable places

Passage 2:
The Impact of the Potato
Jeff Chapman relates the story of history’s most important vegetable
The potato was first cultivated in South America between three and seven thousand years ago,
though scientists believe they may have grown wild in the region as long as 13,000 years ago. The
genetic patterns of potato distribution indicate that the potato probably originated in the
mountainous west-central region of the continent.
Early Spanish chroniclers who misused the Indian word batata (sweet potato) as the name for the
potato noted the importance of the tuber to the Incan Empire. The Incas had learned to preserve the
potato for storage by dehydrating and mashing potatoes into a substance called Chuno. Chuno could


be stored in a room for up to 10 years, providing excellent insurance against possible crop failures. As
well as using the food as a staple crop, the Incas thought potatoes made childbirth easier and used it
to treat injuries.
The Spanish conquistadors first encountered the potato when they arrived in Peru in 1532 in search
of gold, and noted Inca miners eating Chuno. At the time the Spaniards failed to realise that the
potato represented a far more important treasure than either silver or gold, but they did gradually
begin to use potatoes as basic rations aboard their ships. After the arrival of the potato in Spain in
1570, a few Spanish farmers began to cultivate them on a small scale, mostly as food for livestock.
Throughout Europe, potatoes were regarded with suspicion, distaste and fear. Generally considered
to be unfit for human consumption, they were used only as animal fodder and sustenance for the
starving. In northern Europe, potatoes were primarily grown in botanical gardens as an exotic
novelty. Even peasants refused to eat from a plant that produced ugly, misshapen tubers and that
had come from a heathen civilisation. Some felt that the potato plant’s resemblance to plants in the
nightshade family hinted that it was the creation of witches or devils.

In meat-loving England, farmers and urban workers regarded potatoes with extreme distaste. In
1662, the Royal Society recommended the cultivation of the tuber to the English government and the
nation, but this recommendation had little impact. Potatoes did not become a staple until, during the
food shortages associated with the Revolutionary Wars, the English government began to officially
encourage potato cultivation. In 1795, the Board of Agriculture issued a pamphlet entitled Hints
Respecting the Culture and Use of Potatoes this was followed shortly by pro-potato editorials and
potato recipes in The Times, Gradually, the lower classes began to follow the lead of the upper
classes.
A similar pattern emerged across the English Channel in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. While
the potato slowly gained ground in eastern France (where it was often the only crop remaining after
marauding soldiers plundered what fields and vineyards), it did not achieve widespread acceptance
until the late 1700s. The peasants remained suspicious, in spite of a 1771 paper from the Faculté de
Paris testifying that the potato was not harmful but beneficial. The people began to overcome their
distaste when the plant received the royal seal of approval: Louis XVI began 10 sport a potato flower
in his buttonhole, and Manc-Antoinette wore the purple potato blossom in her hair.
Frederick the Great of Prussia saw the potato’s potential to help feed his nation and lower the price
of bread, but faced the challenge of overcoming the people’s prejudice against the plant. When he
issued a 1774 order for his subjects to grow potatoes as protection against famine, the town of
Kolberg replied: “The things have neither smell nor taste, not even the dogs will eat them, so what
use are they to us?” Trying a less direct approach to encourage his subjects to begin planting
potatoes, Frederick used a bit of reverse psychology: he planted a royal field of potato plants and
stationed a heavy guard to protect this field from thieves. Nearby peasants naturally assumed that
anything worth guarding was worth stealing, and so snuck into the field and snatched the plants for
their home gardens. Of course, this was entirely in line with Frederick’s wishes.
Historians debate whether the potato was primarily a cause or an effect of the huge population
boom in industrial-era England and Wales. Prior to 1800, the English diet had consisted primarily of
meat, supplemented by bread, butter and cheese. Few vegetables were consumed, most vegetables
being regarded as nutritionally worthless and potentially harmful. This view began to change
gradually in the late 1700s. The Industrial Revolution was drawing an ever increasing percentage of
the populace into crowded cities, where only the richest could afford homes with ovens or coal

storage rooms, and people were working 12-16 hour days which left them with little time or energy


to prepare food. High yielding, easily prepared potato crops were the obvious solution to England’s
food problems.
Whereas most of their neighbours regarded the potato with suspicion and had to be persuaded to
use it by the upper classes, the Irish peasantry’ embraced the tuber more passionately than anyone
since the Incas. The potato was well suited to the Irish soil and climate, and its high yield suited the
most important concern of most Irish fanners: to feed their families.
The most dramatic example of the potato’s potential to alter population patterns occurred in Ireland,
where the potato had become a staple by 1800. The Irish population doubled to eight million
between 1780 and 1841, this without any significant expansion of industry or reform of agricultural
techniques beyond the widespread cultivation of the potato. Though Irish land- holding practices
were primitive in comparison with those of England, the potato’s high yields allowed even the
poorest fanners to produce more healthy food than they needed with scarcely any investment or
hard labour. Even children could easily plant, harvest and cook potatoes, which of course required no
threshing, curing or grinding. The abundance provided by potatoes greatly decreased infant mortality
and encouraged early marriage.
Questions 7-14
Complete the sentences below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7-14 on your answer sheet.
7. In France, people started to overcome their disgusting about potatoes because the King put a
potato _________ in his button hole.
8. Frederick realised the potential of potato but he had to handle the ___________ potatoes from
ordinary people.
9. The King of Prussia adopted some __________ psychology to make people accept potatoes.
10. Before 1800, the English people preferred eating __________ with bread, butter and cheese.
11. The obvious way to deal with England food problems was to grow high yielding potato
_________.

12. The Irish and _______ climate suited potatoes well.
13. Between 1780 and 1841, based on the ___________ of the potatoes, the Irish population
doubled to eight million.
14. The potato’s high yields helped the poorest farmers to produce more healthy food almost
without ________ or hard physical work.
Passage 3:

Investigating Children’s Language


A) For over 200 years, there has been an interest in the way children learn to speak and understand
their first language. Scholars carried out several small-scale studies, especially towards the end of the
19th century, using data they recorded in parental diaries. But detailed, systematic investigation did
not begin until the middle decades of the 20th century, when the tape recorder came into routine
use. This made it possible to keep a permanent record of samples of child speech, so that analysts
could listen repeatedly to obscure extracts, and thus produce a detailed and accurate description.
Since then, the subject has attracted enormous multi-disciplinary interest, notably from linguists and
psychologists, who have used a variety of observational and experimental techniques to study the
process of language acquisition in depth.
B) Central to the success of this rapidly emerging field lies the ability of researchers to devise
satisfactory methods for eliciting linguistic data from children. The problems that have to be faced
are quite different from those encountered when working with adults. Many of the linguist’s routine
techniques of enquiry cannot be used with children. It is not possible to carry out certain kinds of
experiments, because aspects of children’s cognitive development – such as their ability to pay
attention, or to remember instructions – may not be sufficiently advanced. Nor is it easy to get
children to make systematic judgments about language, a task that is virtually impossible below the
age of three. And anyone who has tried to obtain even the most basic kind of data – a tape recording
of a representative sample of a child’s speech – knows how frustrating this can be. Some children, it
seems, are innately programmed to switch off as soon as they notice a tape recorder being switched
on.

C) Since the 1960s, however, several sophisticated recording techniques and experimental designs
have been devised. Children can be observed and recorded through one-way-vision windows or
using radio microphones, so that the effects of having an investigator in the same room as the child
can be eliminated. Large-scale sampling programmes have been carried out, with children
sometimes being recorded for several years. Particular attention has been paid to devising
experimental techniques that fall well within a child’s intellectual level and social experience. Even
pre-linguistic infants have been brought into the research: acoustic techniques are used to analyse
their vocalisations, and their ability to perceive the world around them is monitored using special
recording equipment. The result has been a growing body of reliable data on the stages of language
acquisition from birth until puberty.
D) There is no single way of studying children’s language. Linguistics and psychology have each
brought their own approach to the subject, and many variations have been introduced to cope with
the variety of activities in which children engage, and the great age range that they present. Two
main research paradigms are found.
E) One of these is known as ‘naturalistic sampling’. A sample of a child’s spontaneous use of language
is recorded in familiar and comfortable surroundings. One of the best places to make the recording is
in the child’s own home, but it is not always easy to maintain good acoustic quality, and the presence
of the researcher or the recording equipment can be a distraction (especially if the proceedings are
being filmed). Alternatively, the recording can be made in a research centre, where the child is
allowed to play freely with toys while talking to parents or other children, and the observers and
their equipment are unobtrusive.
F) A good quality, representative, naturalistic sample is generally considered an ideal datum for child
language study. However, the method has several limitations. These samples are informative about
speech production, but they give little guidance about children’s comprehension of what they hear
around them. Moreover, samples cannot contain everything, and they can easily miss some
important features of a child’s linguistic ability. They may also not provide enough instances of a


developing feature to enable the analyst to make a decision about the way the child is learning. For
such reasons, the description of samples of child speech has to be supplemented by other methods.

G) The other main approach is through experimentation, and the methods of experimental
psychology have been widely applied to child language research. The investigator formulates a
specific hypothesis about children’s ability to use or understand an aspect of language, and devises a
relevant task for a group of subjects to undertake. A statistical analysis is made of the subjects’
behaviour, and the results provide evidence that supports or falsifies the original hypothesis.
H) Using this approach, as well as other methods of controlled observation, researchers have come
up with many detailed findings about the production and comprehension of groups of children.
However, it is not easy to generalise the findings of these studies. What may obtain in a carefully
controlled setting may not apply in the rush of daily interaction. Different kinds of subjects,
experimental situations, and statistical procedures may produce different results or interpretations.
Experimental research is therefore a slow, painstaking business; it may take years before researchers
are convinced that all variables have been considered and a finding is genuine.
Questions 15-19
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 15-19 on your answer sheet.
Ways of investigating children’s language
One method of carrying out research is to record children’s spontaneous language use. This can be
done in their homes, where, however, it may be difficult to ensure that the recording is of
acceptable 15) ..................... Another venue which is often used is a 16) ...................., where the
researcher can avoid distracting the child. A drawback of this method is that it does not allow
children to demonstrate their comprehension.
An alternative approach is to use methodology from the field of 17 ..................... In this case, a
number of children are asked to carry out a 18) ...................., and the results are subjected to
a 19).....................

Passage 1:

Ancient Chinese Chariots
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty, according to traditional historiography, ruled in the Yellow River

valley in the second millennium BC. Archaeological work at the Ruins of Yin (near modern-day
Anyang), which has been identified as the last Shang capital, uncovered eleven major Yin royal tombs
and the foundations of palaces and ritual sites, containing weapons of war and remains from both
animal and human sacrifices.
The Tomb of Fu Hao is an archaeological site at Yinxu, the ruins of the ancient Shang Dynasty’s capital
Yin, within the modern city of Anyang in Henan Province, China. Discovered in 1976, it was identified


as the final resting place of the queen and military general Fu Hao. The artefacts unearthed within
the grave included jade objects, bone objects, bronze objects etc. These grave goods are confirmed
by the oracle texts, which constitute almost all of the first hand written record we possess of the
Shang Dynasty. Below the corpse was a small pit holding the remains of six sacrificial dogs and along
the edge lay the skeletons of human slaves, evidence of human sacrifice.
The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 to the east of Xi’an In Shaanxi. The terracotta
soldiers were accidentally discovered when a group of local farmers was digging a well during a
drought around 1.6 km (1 mile) east of the Qin Emperor’s tomb around at Mount Li (Lishan), a region
riddled with underground springs and watercourses. Experts currently place the entire number of
soldiers at 8,000 – with 130 chariots (130 cm long), 530 horses and 150 cavalry horses helping to
ward off any dangers in the afterlife. In contrast, the burial of Tutankhamun yielded six complete but
dismantled chariots of unparalleled richness and sophistication. Each was designed for two people
(90 cm long) and had its axle sawn through to enable it to be brought along the narrow corridor into
the tomb.
Excavation of ancient Chinese chariots has confirmed the descriptions of them in the earliest texts.
Wheels were constructed from a variety of woods: elm provided the hub, rose-wood the spokes and
oak the felloes. The hub was drilled through to form an empty space into which the tempered axle
was fitted, the whole being covered with leather to retain lubricating oil. Though the number of
spokes varied, a wheel by the fourth century BC usually had eighteen to thirty-two of them. Records
show how elaborate was the testing of each completed wheel: flotation and weighing were regarded
as the best measures of balance, but even the empty spaces in the assembly were checked with
millet grains. One outstanding constructional asset of the ancient Chinese wheel was dishing. Dishing

refers to the dish-like shape of an advanced wooden wheel, which looks rather tike a flat cone. On
occasion they chose to strengthen a dished wheel with a pair of struts running from rim to rim on
each of the hub. As these extra supports were inserted separately into the felloes, they would have
added even greater strength to the wheel. Leather wrapped up the edge of the wheel aimed to
retain bronze.
Within a millennium, however, Chinese chariot-makers had developed a vehicle with shafts, the
precursor of the true carriage or cart. This design did not make its appearance in Europe until the
end of the Roman Empire. Because the shafts curved upwards, and the harness pressed against a
horse’s shoulders, not his neck, the shaft chariot was incredibly efficient. The halberd was also part of
a chariot standard weaponry. This halberd usually measured well over 3 metres in length, which
meant that a chariot warrior wielding it sideways could strike down the charioteer in a passing
chariot. The speed of the chariot which was tested on the sand was quite fast. At speed these passes
were very dangerous for the crews of both chariots.
The advantages offered by the new chariots were not entirely missed They could see how there were
literally the Warring States, whose conflicts lasted down the Qin unification of China. Qin Shi Huang
was buried in the most opulent tomb complex ever constructed in China, a sprawling, city-size
collection of underground caverns containing evening the emperor would need for the afterlife. Even
a collection of terracotta armies called Terra-Cotta Warriors was buried in it. The ancient Chinese,
along with many cultures including ancient Egyptians, believed that items and even people buried
with a person could be taken with him to the afterlife.
Questions 1-6
Complete the notes below


Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR NUMBERS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answer in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
1. The hub is made of wood from the tree of __________.
2. The room through the hub was to put tempered axle, which is wrapped up by leather, aiming to
retain _______.
3. The number of spokes varies from __________.

4. The shape of wheel resembles a __________.
5. Two ________ was used to strengthen the wheel.
6. The edge of the wheel was wrapped up by leather aiming to retain ________.
Questions 7-9
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passages for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7-9 on your answer sheet.
7. What body part of the horse was released from pressure to the horse shoulder after the
appearance of the shafts?
8. What kind of road surface did the researchers measure the speed of the chariot on?
9. What part of the afterlife palace was the Emperor Qin Shi Huang buried in?

Passage 2:

Graphic novels

People who think graphic novels are just comics with a different name should think again
A Graphic novels, as the name suggests, are books written and illustrated in the style of a comic
book. The term graphic novel was first used in 1978 by author and artist Will Eisner to distinguish a
comic novel he had written and illustrated from newspaper comic trips. He described graphic novel
as consisting of "sequential art" – a series of illustrations which, when viewed in order, tell a story.
B Although today's graphic novels are a recent phenomenon, this basic way of telling stories has
been used in various forms for centuries. Early cave drawings, hieroglyphics and medieval tapestries
are examples of this. The term graphic novel is now generally used to describe any book in a comic
format that resembles a novel in length and narrative development.


C Many adults feel that graphic novels are not the type of reading material that will help young
people become good readers. They believe that graphic novels are somehow a bad influence that
prevent "real" reading. In other words, they think that they are not "real" books.

D However, many quality graphic novels are now being seen as a method of storytelling on the same
level as novels, films or audio books. From originally appealing to small following of enthusiasts, they
are now being accepted by librarians and teacher as proper literature for children and young adults.
The main advantages are that they promote literacy, and attract and motivate young people to read.
E How do we know this? In the past few years, teachers and school libraries have reported
outstanding success getting children to read with graphics novels. Many have mentioned the
motivational factor of the graphic novel. This has been especially true with children who are usually
reluctant to read, especially boys. The colourful pictures attract them, and then encourage them to
find out what story is about. Providing young people of all abilities with a wide range of reading
materials, including graphic novels, can help them become lifelong readers.
F Furthermore, one of the main benefits of graphic novel is that it can help students who are learning
a foreign language, and who are having problems improving their reading skills. This is because the
pictures provide clues to the meaning of the words. Language learners are therefore more motivated
by graphic novels, and will acquire new vocabulary more quickly.
G Many teachers have reported great success when they have used graphic novels with their
students, especially in the areas of English, social study and arts. They have discovered that, just like
traditional
Questions 10 - 15
Complete the table below
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer
The advantages of graphic novels
Advantages
They provide motivation to read.

They help improve a student’s
12 …………………………

Passage 3

The Life & Work of Marie Curie

Marie Curie is probably the most famous woman scientist who has ever lived. Born Maria
Sklodowska in Poland in 1867, she is famous for her work on radioactivity, and was twice a winner of
the Nobel A Prize. With her husband, Pierre Curie. and Henri Raeqiierel, she was awarded the 1903
Nobel Prize for Physics, and was then sole winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. She was the
hist woman to win a ·Nobel Prize.


From childhood, Marie was remarkable for her prodigious memory, and at the age of 16 won a gold
medal on completion of her secondary education. Because her father lost his savings through bad
investment, she then had to take work as a teacher. From her earnings she was able to finance her
sister Bronia's medical studies in Paris, on the understanding that Bronia would, in turn, later help
her to get an education.
ln 1891 this promise was fulfilled and Marie went to Paris and began to study at the Sorbonne (the
University of Paris). She often worked far into the night and lived on little more than bread and
butter and tea. She came first in the examination in the physical sciences in 1893, and in 1894 was
placed second in the examination in mathematical sciences It was not until the spring of that year
that she was introduced to Pierre Curie.
Their marriage in 1895 marked the start of a partnership that was soon to achieve results of world
significance. Following Henri BecquereI‘s discovery in 1896 of a new phenomenon, which Marie later
called 'radioactivity', Marie Curie decided to rind out if the radioactivity discovered in uranium was to
be found in other elements. She discovered that this was true for thorium.
Tuming her attention to minerals, she found her interest drawn to pitchblende, a mineral whose
radioactivity, superior to that of pure uranium, could be explained only by the presence in thc orc of
small quantities of an unknown substance of very high activity. Pierre Curie joined her in the work
that she had undertaken to resolve this problem. and that led to the discovery of the new elements,
polonium and radium. While Pierre Curie devoted himself chiefly to the physical study of the new
radiations, Marie Curie struggled to obtain pure radium in the metallic state. This was achieved with
the help of the chemist André-Louis Debierne, one of Pierre Curie's pupils. Based on the results of
this research. Marie Curie received her Doctorate of Science, and in 1903 Marie and Pierre shared
with Becquerel the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of radioactivity.

The births of Marie's two daughters, Irene and Eve, in 1897 and 1904 failed to internrpt her scientific
work. She was appointed lecturer in physics at the Ecole Nor-male Supérieure for girls in Sevres,
France (1900), and introduced a method of teaching based on experimental demonstrations. In
December 1904 she was appointed chief assistant in the laboratory directed by Pierre Curie.
The sudden death of her husband in 1906 was a bitter blow to Marie Curie. but was also a turning
point in her career: henceforth she was to devote all her energy to completing alone the scientific
work that they had undertaken. On May 19, 1906, she was appointed to the professorship that had
been left vacant on her husband's death, becoming the first woman to teach at the Sorbonne. In
1911 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the isolation of a pure form of radium.
During World War I, Marie Curie, with the help of her daughter Irene, devoted herself to the
development of the use of X—radiography, including the mobile units which came to be known as
'little Curies', used for the treatment of wounded soldiers. ln 1918 the Radium Institute, whose staff
Irene had joined, began to operate in earnest, and became a centre for nuclear physics and
chemistry. Marie Curie, now at the highest point of her fame and, from 1922, a member of the


Academy of Medicine, researched the chemistry of radioactive substances and their medical
applications
ln 1921, accompanied by her two daughters, Marie Curie made a triumphant journey to the United
States to raise funds for research on radium. Women there presented her with a gram of radium for
her campaign. Marie also gave lectures in Belgium. Brazil, Spain and Czechoslovakia and, in addition,
had the satisfaction of seeing the development of the Curie Foundation in Paris. and the inauguration
in 1932 in Warsaw of the Radium Institute, where her sister Bronia became director.
One of Marie Curie's outstanding achievements was to have understood the need to accumulate
intense radioactive sources. Not only to treat illness but also to maintain an abundant supply for
research. The existence in Paris at the Radium Institute of o stock of grams of radium made a decisive
contribution to the success of the experiments undertaken in the years around 1930. This work
prepared the way for the discovery of the neutron by Sir James Chadwick and, above all, for the
discovery in 1934 by Irene and Frédéric Joliot- Curie of artificial radioactivity. A few months after this
discovery, Marie Curie died as a result of leukaemia caused by exposure to radiation. She had often

carried test tubes containing radioactive isotopes in her pocket, remarking on the pretty blue-green
light they gave off.
Her contribution to physics had been immense, not only in her own work. the importance of which
had been demonstrated by her two Nobel Prizes, but because of her influence on subsequent
generations of nuclear physicists and chemists.
Question 20-26
Complete the notes below
Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer
Write your answers in boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet.
Marie Curie's research on radioactivity
When uranium was discovered to be radioactive. Marie Curie found that the element called 16……..
had the same property.
Marie and Pierre Curie‘s research into the radioactivity of the mineral known as 17……………..led to
the discovery of two new elements.
In 1911, Marie Curie received recognition for her work on the element 18........................
Marie and Irene Curie developed X-radiography which was used as a medical technique
for 19 ...................... .
Marie Curie saw the importance of collecting radioactive material both for research and for cases
of 20 ...................
The radioactive material stocked in Paris contributed to the discoveries in the 1930s of the 21......
……… and of what was known as artificial radioactivity.
During her research, Marie Curie was exposed to radiation and as a result she suffered
from 22 ..............


Passage 1:

Climate change and the Inuit
A.Unusual incidents are being reported across the Arctic. Inuit families going off on snowmobiles to
prepare their summer hunting camps have found themselves cut off from home by a sea of mud,

following early thaws. There are reports of igloos losing their insulating properties as the snow drips
and refreezes, of lakes draining into the sea as permafrost melts, and sea ice breaking up earlier than
usual, carrying seals beyond the reach of hunters. Climate change may still be a rather abstract idea
to most of us, but in the Arctic it is already having dramatic effects - if summertime ice continues to
shrink at its present rate, the Arctic Ocean could soon become virtually ice-free in summer. The
knock-on effects are likely to include more warming, cloudier skies, increased precipitation and
higher sea levels. Scientists are increasingly keen to find out what's going on because they consider
the Arctic the ‘canary in the mine’ for global warming - a warning of what's in store for the rest of the
world.
B.For the Inuit the problem is urgent. They live in precarious balance with one of the toughest
environments on earth. Climate change, whatever its causes, is a direct threat to their way of life.
Nobody knows the Arctic as well as the locals, which is why they are not content simply to stand back
and let outside experts tell them what's happening. In Canada, where the Inuit people are jealously
guarding their hard-won autonomy in the country's newest territory, Nunavut, they believe their best


hope of survival in this changing environment lies in combining their ancestral knowledge with the
best of modern science. This is a challenge in itself.
C.The Canadian Arctic is a vast, treeless polar desert that's covered with snow for most of the year.
Venture into this terrain and you get some idea of the hardships facing anyone who calls this home.
Farming is out of the question and nature offers meagre pickings. Humans first settled in the Arctic a
mere 4,500 years ago, surviving by exploiting sea mammals and fish. The environment tested them
to the limits: sometimes the colonists were successful, sometimes they failed and vanished. But
around a thousand years ago, one group emerged that was uniquely well adapted to cope with the
Arctic environment. These Thule people moved in from Alaska, bringing kayaks, sleds, dogs, pottery
and iron tools. They are the ancestors of today's Inuit people.
D.Life for the descendants of the Thule people is still harsh. Nunavut is 1.9 million square kilometres
of rock and ice, and a handful of islands around the North Pole. It's currently home to 2,500 people,
all but a handful of them indigenous Inuit. Over the past 40 years, most have abandoned their
nomadic ways and settled in the territory's 28 isolated communities, but they still rely heavily on

nature to provide food and clothing.
Provisions available in local shops have to be flown into Nunavut on one of the most costly air
networks in the world, or brought by supply ship during the few ice-free weeks of summer. It would
cost a family around £7,000 a year to replace meat they obtained themselves through hunting with
imported meat. Economic opportunities are scarce, and for many people state benefits are their only
income.
E.While the Inuit may not actually starve if hunting and trapping are curtailed by climate change,
there has certainly been an impact on people's health. Obesity, heart disease and diabetes are
beginning to appear in a people for whom these have never before been problems. There has been a
crisis of identity as the traditional skills of hunting, trapping and preparing skins have begun to
disappear. In Nunavut's ‘igloo and email’ society, where adults who were born in igloos have children
who may never have been out on the land, there's a high incidence of depression.
F.With so much at stake, the Inuit are determined to play a key role in teasing out the mysteries of
climate change in the Arctic. Having survived there for centuries, they believe their wealth of
traditional knowledge is vital to the task. And Western scientists are starting to draw on this wisdom,
increasingly referred to as ‘Inuit Qaujimajatugangit’, or IQ. ‘In the early days scientists ignored us
when they came up here to study anything. They just figured these people don't know very much so
we won't ask them,’ says John Amagoalik, an Inuit leader and politician. ‘But in recent years IQ has
had much more credibility and weight.’ In fact it is now a requirement for anyone hoping to get
permission to do research that they consult the communities, who are helping to set the research
agenda to reflect their most important concerns. They can turn down applications from scientists
they believe will work against their interests, or research projects that will impinge too much on their
daily lives and traditional activities.
G.Some scientists doubt the value of traditional knowledge because the occupation of the Arctic
doesn't go back far enough. Others, however, point out that the first weather stations in the far north
date back just 50 years. There are still huge gaps in our environmental knowledge, and despite the
scientific onslaught, many predictions are no more than best guesses. IQ could help to bridge the gap
and resolve the tremendous uncertainty about how much of what we're seeing is natural
capriciousness and how much is the consequence of human activity.
Questions 1-8

Complete the summary of paragraphs C and D below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from paragraphs C and D for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
If you visit the Canadian Arctic, you immediately appreciate the problems faced by people for whom
this is home. It would clearly be impossible for the people to engage in 1 ....................as a means of
supporting themselves. For thousands of years they have had to rely on
catching 2 .................... and 3 .................... as a means of sustenance. The harsh surroundings saw
many who tried to settle there pushed to their limits, although some were successful.
The 4 .................... people were an example of the latter and for them the environment did not
prove unmanageable. For the present inhabitants, life continues to be a struggle. The territory of
Nunavut consists of little more than ice, rock and a few 5.................... . In recent years, many of
them have been obliged to give up their 6.................... lifestyle, but they continue to depend mainly
on 7 .................... their food and clothes. 8 .................... produce is particularly expensive.
Passage 2:

Let’s Go Bats
A Bats have a problem: how to find their way around in the dark they hunt at flight, and cannot use
light to help them find prey and avoid obstacles. You might say that this is a problem of their own
making one that they could avoid simply by changing their habits and hunting by day. But the
daytime economy is already heavily exploited by other creatures such as birds. Given that there is a
living to be made at night, and given that alternative day time trades are thoroughly occupied,
natural selection has_ favored bats that make a go of the night-hunting trade. It is probable that the
nocturnal trades go way back in the ancestry of all mammals. In the time when the dinosaurs.
dominated the daytime economy, our mammalian ancestors probably only managed to survive at all
because they found ways of scraping a living at night Only after the my stenos mass extinction of the
dinosaurs about 65 million years ago were our ancestors able to emerge into the day light in any
substantial numbers.
B Bats have an engineering problem: how to find their way and find their prey in the absence of light

Bats are not the only creatures to face this difficulty today. Obviously the night-flying insects that
they prey on must find their way about somehow. Deep-sea fish and whales have little or no light by
day or by night. Fish and dolphins that live in extremely muddy water cannot see because, although
there is light, it is obstructed and scattered by the dirt in the water Plenty" of other modern animals
make their living in conditions where seeing is difficult or impossible.
C Given the questions of how to manoeuvre in the dark, what solutions might an engineer consider?
The first one that might occur to him is to manufacture light, to use a lantern or a searchlight Fireflies
and some fish (usually with the help of bacteria) have the power to - manufacture their own light but
the process seems to consume a large amount of energy. Fireflies use their light for attracting mates.
This doesn't require a prohibitive amount of energy: a male's tiny pinprick of light can be seen by a
female from some distance on a dark night since her eyes are exposed directly to the light source
itself. However, using light to find one's own way around requires vastly more energy, since the eyes
have to detect the tiny fraction of the light that bounces off each part of the scene. The light source
must therefore be immensely brighter if it is to be used as a headlight to illuminate the path, than if
it is to be used as a signal to others. In any event, whether or not the reason is the energy expense, it


seems to be the case that with the possible exception of some weird deep-sea fish, no animal apart
from man uses manufactured light to find its way about
D What else might the engineer think off Well, blind humans sometimes seem to have an uncanny
sense of obstacles in their path, ft has been given the name’ facial vision', because blind people have
reported that Ft feels a bit like the sense of touch, on the face. One report tells of a totally blind boy
who could and his tricycle at good speed round the block near his home, using facial vision.
Experiments showed that, in fact, facial vision is nothing to do with touch or the front of the face,
although the sensation may be referred to the front of the face, like the referred pain in a phantom
limb. The sensation of facial vision, it turns out really goes in through the ears. Blind people, without
even being aware of the fact are actually using echoes of their own footsteps and of other sounds, to
sense the presence of obstacles. Before this was discovered, engineers had already built instruments
to exploit the principle, for example to measure the depth of the sea under a ship. After this
technique had been invented, it was only a matter of time before weapons designers adapted ft for

the detection of submarines. Both sides in the Second World War relied heavily on these devices,
under such codenames as Asdic (British) and Sonar (Amencan), as wail as Radar (American) or RDF
(British), which uses radio echoes rather .-than sound echoes.
E The Sonar and Radar pioneers Didn’t know it then, but all the world now knows that bats, or rather
natural selection working on bats, had perfected the system tens of millions of years earlier, and their
radar'" achieves feats of detection and navigation that would strike an engineer dumb with
admiration .It is technically incorrect to talk about bat'radar1, since they do not use radio waves. It is
sonar. But the underlying mathematical theories the ones of radar and sonar are very similar, and
much of our scientific understanding of the details of what bats are doing has come from applying
radar theory to them. The American zoologist Donald Griffin, who was largely responsible for the
discovery of sonar in bats, coined the term 'echolocation' to cover both sonar and radar, whether
used by animals or by human instruments.
Questions 9-12
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9-12 on your answer sheet.
Facial Vision
Blind people report that so-called 'facial vision' is comparable to the sensation of touch on the face In
fact, the sensation is more similar to the way in which pain from a 9…………… arm or leg might be
felt. The ability actually comes from perceiving 10…………..through the ears. However, even before
this was understood, the principle had been applied in the design of instruments which calculated
the 11…………..of the seabed. This was followed by a wartime application in devices for
finding 12……………….. .
Question 13-16
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet.
13 Long before the invention of radar,…………… had resulted in a sophisticated radar-like system in
bats.
14 Radar is an inaccurate term when referring to bats because……….are not used in their navigation

system.
15 Radar and sonar are based on similar.......................................... .
16 The word 'echolocation' was first used by someone working as a..................... .
Passage 3:

Gifted children and learning
A Internationally, ‘giftedness’ is most frequently determined by a score on a general intelligence test,
known as an IQ test, which is above a chosen cutoff point, usually at around the top 2-5%. Children’s
educational environment contributes to the IQ score and the way intelligence is used. For example, a
very close positive relationship was found when children’s IQ scores were compared with their home
educational provision (Freeman, 2010). The higher the children’s IQ scores, especially over IQ 130,
the better the quality of their educational backup, measured in terms of reported verbal interactions
with parents, number of books and activities in their home etc. Because IQ tests are decidedly
influenced by what the child has learned, they are to some extent measures of current achievement
based on age-norms; that is, how well the children have learned to manipulate their knowledge and
know-how within the terms of the test. The vocabulary aspect, for example, is dependent on having
heard those words. But IQ tests can neither identify the processes of learning and thinking nor
predict creativity.
B Excellence does not emerge without appropriate help. To reach an exceptionally high standard in
any area very able children need the means to learn, which includes material to work with and
focused challenging tuition -and the encouragement to follow their dream. There appears to be a
qualitative difference in the way the intellectually highly able think, compared with more averageability or older pupils, for whom external regulation by the teacher often compensates for lack of
internal regulation. To be at their most effective in their self-regulation, all children can be helped to
identify their own ways of learning – metacognition – which will include strategies of planning,
monitoring, evaluation, and choice of what to learn. Emotional awareness is also part of
metacognition, so children should be helped to be aware of their feelings around the area to be
learned, feelings of curiosity or confidence, for example.
C High achievers have been found to use self-regulatory learning strategies more often and more

effectively than lower achievers, and are better able to transfer these strategies to deal with
unfamiliar tasks. This happens to such a high degree in some children that they appear to be
demonstrating talent in particular areas. Overviewing research on the thinking process of highly able
children, (Shore and Kanevsky, 1993) put the instructor’s problem succinctly: ‘If they [the gifted]
merely think more quickly, then .we need only teach more quickly. If they merely make fewer errors,
then we can shorten the practice’. But of course, this is not entirely the case; adjustments have to be
made in methods of learning and teaching, to take account of the many ways individuals think.
D Yet in order to learn by themselves, the gifted do need some support from their teachers.
Conversely, teachers who have a tendency to ‘overdirect’ can diminish their gifted pupils’ learning
autonomy. Although ‘spoon-feeding’ can produce extremely high examination results, these are not
always followed by equally impressive life successes. Too much dependence on the teachers risks
loss of autonomy and motivation to discover. However, when teachers o pupils to reflect on their
own learning and thinking activities, they increase their pupils’ self-regulation. For a young child, it


may be just the simple question ‘What have you learned today?’ which helps them to recognise what
they are doing. Given that a fundamental goal of education is to transfer the control of learning from
teachers to pupils, improving pupils’ learning to learn techniques should be a major outcome of the
school experience, especially for the highly competent. There are quite a number of new methods
which can help, such as child- initiated learning, ability-peer tutoring, etc. Such practices have been
found to be particularly useful for bright children from deprived areas.
E But scientific progress is not all theoretical, knowledge is a so vital to outstanding performance:
individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those
who do not (Elshout, 1995). Research with creative scientists by Simonton (1988) brought him to the
conclusion that above a certain high level, characteristics such as independence seemed to
contribute more to reaching the highest levels of expertise than intellectual skills, due to the great
demands of effort and time needed for learning and practice. Creativity in all forms can be seen as
expertise se mixed with a high level of motivation (Weisberg, 1993).
F To sum up, learning is affected by emotions of both the individual and significant others. Positive
emotions facilitate the creative aspects of earning and negative emotions inhibit it. Fear, for example,

can limit the development of curiosity, which is a strong force in scientific advance, because it
motivates problem-solving behaviour. In Boekaerts’ (1991) review of emotion the learning of very
high IQ and highly achieving children, she found emotional forces in harness. They were not only
curious, but often had a strong desire to control their environment, improve their learning efficiency
and increase their own learning resources.

Questions 17-20
Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each
answer.
Write your answers in boxes 17-20 on your answer sheet
17. One study found a strong connection between children’s IQ and the availability
of…………..and………..at home.
18. Children of average ability seem to need more direction from teachers because they do not
have………
19. Meta-cognition involves children understanding their own learning strategies, as well as
developing………..
20. Teachers who rely on what is known as………….often produce sets of impressive grades in class
tests.