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TYPE 1: MATCHING HEADINGS Ep1: Science and the Stradivarius:Uncovering the secret of quality A. Violins made by long-dead Italian craftsmen from the Cremona region are beautiful works of art, coveted by collectors as well as players. Particularly outstanding violins have reputedly changed hands for over a million pounds. In contrast, fine modern instruments can be bought for under £100. Do such figures really reflect such large differences in quality? After more than a hundred years of vigorous debate, this question remains highly contentious, provoking strongly held but divergent views among musicians, violin makers and scientists alike. Những cây vĩ cầm được làm bởi những người thợ thủ công người Ý đã chết từ lâu ở vùng Cremona là những tác phẩm nghệ thuật tuyệt đẹp, được các nhà sưu tập cũng như người chơi đàn thèm muốn. Những cây vĩ cầm đặc biệt nổi bật đã được trao tay với giá hơn một triệu bảng Anh. Ngược lại, những nhạc cụ hiện đại tốt có thể được mua với giá dưới 100 bảng Anh. Những con số như vậy có thực sự phản ánh sự khác biệt lớn như vậy về chất lượng không? Sau hơn một trăm năm tranh luận sôi nổi, câu hỏi này vẫn còn gây nhiều tranh cãi, gây ra những quan điểm mạnh mẽ nhưng khác nhau giữa các nhạc sĩ, nhà sản xuất vĩ cầm cũng như các nhà khoa học. B. Every violin, whether a Stradivarius or the cheapest factory- made copy, has a distinctive 'voice’ of its 0. Just as any musician can immediately recognise the difference between Domingo and Pavarotti singing the same operatic aria, so a skilled violinist can distinguish between different qualities in the sound produced by individual Stradivari or Guarneri violins. Individual notes on a single instrument sound different each time they are played, which suggests that the perceived tone of a violin must be related to the overall design of the instrument, rather than the frequencies of particular resonances on it. But although various attempts have been made to analyse such global properties, it is extremely difficult to distinguish between a fine Stradivarius instrument and an indifferent modern copy on the basis of the measured response alone. The ear is a supreme detection device, and a system has yet to be developed which can match the brain's sophisticated ability to assess complex sounds. Mọi cây vĩ cầm, dù là đàn Stradivarius hay bản sao rẻ nhất do nhà máy sản xuất, đều có một 'giọng' đặc biệt của số 0. Giống như bất kỳ nhạc sĩ nào cũng có thể nhận ra ngay sự khác biệt giữa Domingo và Pavarotti khi hát cùng một bản aria opera, một nghệ sĩ vĩ cầm điêu luyện cũng có thể phân biệt giữa các phẩm chất khác nhau trong âm thanh do từng cây đàn violon Stradivari hoặc Guarneri tạo ra. Các nốt riêng lẻ trên một nhạc cụ sẽ phát ra âm thanh khác nhau mỗi khi chúng được chơi, điều này cho thấy rằng âm sắc cảm nhận được của một cây vĩ cầm phải liên quan đến thiết kế tổng thể của nhạc cụ, thay vì tần số của các cộng hưởng cụ thể trên đó. Nhưng mặc dù nhiều nỗ lực đã được thực hiện để phân tích các thuộc tính toàn cầu như vậy, nhưng vẫn cực kỳ khó để phân biệt giữa một nhạc cụ Stradivarius tốt và một bản sao hiện đại bình thường chỉ dựa trên cơ sở phản ứng đo được. Tai là một thiết bị phát hiện tối cao và một hệ thống vẫn chưa được phát triển có thể phù hợp với khả năng tinh vi của bộ não để đánh giá các âm thanh phức tạp. C. So how do skilled violinmakers optimise the tone of an instrument during the construction process? They begin by selecting a wood of the highest possible quality for the front and back plates (or parts of the violin), which they test by tapping with a hammer and judging how well it 'rings’. The next important step is to skillfully carve the plates out of the solid wood, taking great care to get the right degree of arching and variations in thickness. Traditional makers optimise the thickness by testing the ‘feel’ of the plates when they are flexed, and by the sounds produced when they are tapped at different positions with the knuckles. Vậy làm thế nào để những nghệ nhân vĩ cầm lành nghề tối ưu hóa âm thanh của nhạc cụ trong quá trình chế tạo? Họ bắt đầu bằng cách chọn một loại gỗ có chất lượng cao nhất có thể cho các tấm trước và sau (hoặc các bộ phận của đàn vĩ cầm), họ kiểm tra bằng cách gõ bằng búa và đánh giá xem nó 'đổ chuông' tốt như thế nào. Bước quan trọng tiếp theo là khéo léo chạm khắc các tấm ra
khỏi gỗ cứng, hết sức cẩn thận để có độ cong phù hợp và các biến thể về độ dày. Các nhà sản xuất truyền thống tối ưu hóa độ dày bằng cách kiểm tra 'cảm giác' của các tấm khi chúng được uốn cong và bằng âm thanh phát ra khi chúng được gõ ở các vị trí khác nhau bằng khớp ngón tay. D. However, in the last 50 years or so a group of violin makers has emerged who have tried to take a more overtly scientific approach to violin making. One common practice they have adopted is to replace the traditional flexing and tapping of plates by controlled measurements. During the carving process, the thinned plates are sprinkled with flakes of glitter and suspended horizontally above a loudspeaker. The glitter forms a pattern each time the loudspeaker excites a resonance. The aim is to interactively 'tune' these first few free plate resonances to specified patterns. Tuy nhiên, trong khoảng 50 năm trở lại đây, một nhóm các nhà sản xuất vĩ cầm đã nổi lên, những người đã cố gắng thực hiện một cách tiếp cận khoa học hơn đối với việc chế tạo đàn vĩ cầm. Một thực tế phổ biến mà họ đã áp dụng là thay thế việc uốn và gõ tấm truyền thống bằng các phép đo có kiểm soát. Trong quá trình chạm khắc, các tấm mỏng được rắc các mảnh lấp lánh và treo ngang phía trên loa. Lấp lánh tạo thành một mô hình mỗi khi loa tạo ra tiếng vang. Mục đích là để 'điều chỉnh' một cách tương tác một số cộng hưởng đĩa tự do đầu tiên này theo các mẫu được chỉ định. E. Unfortunately, there are very few examples of such measurements for really fine Italian instruments because their owners are naturally reluctant to allow their violins to be taken apart for the sake of science. The few tests that have been performed suggest that the first Italian makers may have tuned the resonant modes of the individual plates - which they could identify as they tapped them - to exact musical intervals. This would be consistent with the prevailing Renaissance view of ’perfection1, which was measured in terms of numbers and exact ratios. However, there is no historical data to support this case. Thật không may, có rất ít ví dụ về các phép đo như vậy đối với các nhạc cụ thực sự tốt của Ý vì chủ nhân của chúng đương nhiên không muốn cho phép tháo rời đàn violon của họ vì mục đích khoa học. Một số thử nghiệm đã được thực hiện cho thấy rằng các nhà sản xuất người Ý đầu tiên có thể đã điều chỉnh các chế độ cộng hưởng của các đĩa riêng lẻ - mà họ có thể xác định khi gõ vào chúng - theo các quãng âm nhạc chính xác. Điều này nhất quán với quan điểm thịnh hành của thời Phục hưng về 'sự hoàn hảo1', được đo lường bằng các con số và tỷ lệ chính xác. Tuy nhiên, không có dữ liệu lịch sử để hỗ trợ trường hợp này. F. Another factor that affects sound quality is the presence of moisture. To achieve the quality of “vibrancy” in a violin requires high-quality wood with low internal damping. By measuring the pattern of growth-rings in the wood of a Stradivarius, we know that the Italian violin makers sometimes used planks of wood that had only been seasoned for five years. However, such wood is now 300 years old, and the intrinsic internal damping will almost certainly have decreased with time. The age of the wood may therefore automatically contribute to the improved quality of older instruments. This may also explain why the quality of a modern instrument appears to improve in its first few years. Một yếu tố khác ảnh hưởng đến chất lượng âm thanh là sự hiện diện của độ ẩm. Để đạt được chất lượng “rung động” trong một cây vĩ cầm, cần có gỗ chất lượng cao với độ giảm chấn bên trong thấp. Bằng cách đo mô hình các vòng sinh trưởng trong gỗ của đàn Stradivarius, chúng ta biết rằng các nhà sản xuất vĩ cầm người Ý đôi khi sử dụng những tấm ván gỗ mới được ủ trong 5 năm. Tuy nhiên, gỗ như vậy hiện đã 300 năm tuổi và khả năng giảm chấn bên trong gần như chắc chắn sẽ giảm theo thời gian. Do đó, tuổi của gỗ có thể tự động góp phần cải thiện chất lượng của các nhạc cụ cũ hơn. Điều này cũng có thể giải thích tại sao chất lượng của một nhạc cụ hiện đại dường như được cải thiện trong vài năm đầu tiên. G. Another factor thought to account for sound quality is the nature of the varnish used to protect the instrument. One of the most popular theories for well over a century to account for the Stradivarius secret has been that the varnish had some sort of 'magic' composition. However, historical research has shown that it was very similar to the varnish used today. So
apart from the possibility that the Italian varnish was contaminated with the wings of passing insects and debris from the workshop floor, there is no convincing evidence to support the idea of a secret formula. Một yếu tố khác được cho là ảnh hưởng đến chất lượng âm thanh là bản chất của lớp sơn bóng được sử dụng để bảo vệ nhạc cụ. Một trong những lý thuyết phổ biến nhất trong hơn một thế kỷ để giải thích cho bí mật của Stradivarius là lớp sơn bóng có một loại thành phần 'ma thuật' nào đó. Tuy nhiên, nghiên cứu lịch sử đã chỉ ra rằng nó rất giống với loại sơn bóng được sử dụng ngày nay. Vì vậy, ngoài khả năng lớp sơn bóng của Ý bị nhiễm cánh côn trùng bay qua và mảnh vụn từ sàn xưởng, không có bằng chứng thuyết phục nào chứng minh cho ý tưởng về một công thức bí mật. H. Other researchers, meanwhile, have claimed that Stradivarius's secret was to soak the timber in water, to leach out supposedly harmful chemicals, before it was seasoned. Although this would be consistent with the idea that the masts and cars of recently sunken Venetian war galleys might have been used to make violins, other scientific and historical evidence to support this view is unconvincing. Trong khi đó, các nhà nghiên cứu khác đã tuyên bố rằng bí mật của Stradivarius là ngâm gỗ trong nước, để loại bỏ các hóa chất được cho là có hại, trước khi nó được tẩm gia vị. Mặc dù điều này phù hợp với ý kiến cho rằng cột buồm và ô tô của các chiến thuyền ở Venice bị đắm gần đây có thể đã được sử dụng để làm đàn vĩ cầm, nhưng các bằng chứng khoa học và lịch sử khác ủng hộ quan điểm này là không thuyết phục. I.
In conclusion, science has not provided any convincing evidence to set Cremonese instruments apart from the finest violins made by skilled craftsmen today. Indeed, some leading soloists do occasionally play on modern instruments. However, the foremost soloists - and, not surprisingly, violin dealers, who have a vested interest in maintaining the Cremonese legend of intrinsic superiority - remain utterly unconvinced.
Tóm lại, khoa học đã không cung cấp bất kỳ bằng chứng thuyết phục nào để phân biệt các nhạc cụ Cremonese với những cây vĩ cầm tốt nhất được làm bởi các thợ thủ công lành nghề ngày nay. Thật vậy, một số nghệ sĩ độc tấu hàng đầu thỉnh thoảng chơi các nhạc cụ hiện đại. Tuy nhiên, những nghệ sĩ độc tấu hàng đầu - và, không có gì ngạc nhiên, những người buôn bán vĩ cầm, những người có quyền lợi trong việc duy trì truyền thuyết về tính ưu việt nội tại của người Cremon - vẫn hoàn toàn không bị thuyết phục. List of Headings i An analysis of protective coatings ii Applying technology to violin production iii. Location - a key factor iv A controversial range of prices v Techniques of mass production vi The advantages of older wood
vii. A re-evaluation of documentary evidence viii. The mathematical basis of earlier design ix Manual woodworking techniques x Preferences of top musicians xi. The use of saturated wood xii. The challenge for scientists
9 10 humans.
The quality of any particular note played on the same violin varies. Scientific instruments analyse complex sound more accurately than
11 the craftsman.
The quality of handmade violins varies according to the musical ability of
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Modern violins seem to improve in their early years.
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Modern violins are gaining in popularity amongst the top violinists
Ep 2: Insect decision-making Insect decision-making
It has long been held that decision made collectively by large groups of people are more likely to turn out to be accurate than decisions made by individuals. The idea goes back to the 'jury theorem’ of Nicolas de Condorcet, an 18th-century French philosopher who was one of the first to apply mathematics to the social sciences. Condorcet’s theory describes collective decisions, outlining how democratic decisions tend to outperform dictatorial ones. If, for example, each member of a jury has only partial information ,the majority decision is more likely to be correct than a decision arrived at by a single juror. Moreover, the probability of a correct decision increases with the size of the jury. Now it is becoming clear that group decisions are also extremely valuable for the success of social animals, such as ants ,bees .birds and dolphins .Bees make collective decisions ,and they do it rather well, according to Christian List of the London School of Economics ,who has studied group decision-making in humans and animals. Researchers led by Dr List looked at colonies once the original colony reaches a certain size. The queen goes off with about two-thirds of the worker bees to live in a new home or nest, leaving a daughter queen in the old nest with the remaining workers. Among the bees that depart are some that have searched for and found some new nest sites, and reported back using a characteristic body movement known as a 'waggle dance' to indicate to the other bees the suitable places they have located. The longer the dance, the better the site. After a while, other bees start to visit the sites signaled by their companions to see for themselves and, on their return, also perform more waggle dances. The process eventually leads to a consensus on the best site and the breakaway swarm migrates. The decision is remarkably reliable ,with the bees choosing the best site even when there are only small difference between alternative sites. But exactly how do bees reach such a robust consensus? To find out ,Dr List and his colleagues used a computer generated model of the decision-making process. By experimenting with it they found that, when bees in the model were very good at finding nesting sites but did not share their information,
this dramatically slowed down the migration .leaving the swarm homelss and vulnerable .Conversely .bees in the model blindly following the waggle dances of others without first checking. The researchers concluded that the ability of bees to identify successfully and quickly the best site depends on both the bees ‘interdependence in communicating the whereabouts of the bees site, and their independence in confirming this information for themselves. Another situation in which collective decisions are taken occurs when animals are either isolated from crucial sources of information or dominated by other members of the group. José Halloy of the Free University of Brussels in Belgium used robotic cockroaches to subvert the behaviour of living cockroaches and control their decision-making process. In his experiment, the artificial bugs were introduced to the live ones and soon became sufficiently socially integrated that they were perceived by the real cockroaches as equals. By manipulating the robots, which were in the minority, Halloy was able to persuade the living cockroaches to choose an inappropriate shelter-even one which they had rejected before being infiltrated by the robots. The way insects put into effect collective decisions can be complex and as important as the decisions themselves .At the University of Bristol, in the UK, Nigel Franks and his colleagues studied how a species of ant establishes a new nest. Franks and his associates reported how the insects reduce the problems associated with making a necessarily swift choice. If the ants’ existing nest become suddenly threatened, the insects choose certain ants to act as scouts to find a new nest. How quickly they accomplish the transfer to a new home depends not only on how soon the best available site is found, but also on how quickly the migration there can be achieved. Once the suitable new nest is identified , the chosen ants begin to lead others , which have made it to the new site or which may simply be in the vicinity, back to the original threatened nest. In this way, those ants which are familiar with the route can help transport ,for example ,the queen and young ants to the new site, and simultaneously show the way to those ants which have been left behind to guard the old nest. In this way moving processes are accomplished faster and more efficiently. Thus the dynamics of collective decision-making are closely related to the efficient implementation of those decisions .How this might apply to choices that humans make is , as yet,unclear. But it does suggest, even for humans ,the importance of recruiting dynamic leaders to a cause,because the most important thing about collective decision-making ,as shown by these insect experiments, is to get others to follow. Questions 1-6 Reading Passage has six paragraphs,A-F Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-vii, in boxes -16 on your answer sheet. List of Headings i The effect of man-made imitations on insects ii The need to instruct additional insect guides iii Signals used by certain insects to indicate a discovery iv How urgency can affect the process of finding a new home v The use of trained insects in testing scientific theories vi The use of virtual scenarios in the study of insect behaviour vii How the number of decision-makers affects the decision 1
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Questions 7-10 Look at the following findings (Questions 7-10) and the list of academics below. Match each finding with the correct academic, A-D Write the correct letter, A-D, in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet. NB you may use any letter more than once. 7 decision.
Certain members can influence the rest of the group to alter a previous
8 Individual verification of a proposed choice is important for successful decision outcome. 9 be.
The more individuals taking part in a decision, the better the decision will
10 The decision-making process of certain insects produces excellent results even when fine distinctions are required. List of Academics A Nicolas de Condorcet
C José Halloy
B Christian List and colleagues
D Nigel Franks and colleagues
Questions 11-13 Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet. A study of insect decision-making A Bristol University study looked at how insects make decisions when their home has been 11
. The ants in the experiment relied on the use of individuals
called 12 new nest and efficiently direct the others to go there. The study concluded that the effective implementation of the ants' decision meant that the insects could change homes quickly. The study emphasized the necessity, for people well as insects,of having active 13 order to execute decisions successfully. https://mini-ielts.com/1528/reading/insect-decision-making ep 3: Toxic Stress: A Slow Wear And Tear Toxic Stress: A Slow Wear And Tear
in
A. Our bodies are built to respond when under attack. When we sense danger, our brain goes on alert, our heart rate goes up, and our organs flood with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. We breathe faster, taking in more oxygen, muscles tense, our senses are sharpened and beads of sweat appear. This combination of reactions to stress is also known as the "fightor-flight" response because it evolved as a survival mechanism, enabling people and other mammals to react quickly to life-threatening situations. The carefully orchestrated yet nearinstantaneous sequence of hormonal changes and physiological responses helps someone to fight the threat off or flee to safety. Unfortunately, the body can also overreact to stressors that are not life-threatening, such as traffic jams, work pressure, and family difficulties. B. That's all fine when we need to jump out of the way of a speeding bus, or when someone is following us down a dark alley. In those cases, our stress is considered "positive", because it is temporary and helps us survive. But our bodies sometimes react in the same way to more mundane stressors, too. When a child faces constant and unrelenting stress, from neglect, or abuse, or living in chaos, the response stays activated, and may eventually derail normal development. This is what is known as "toxic stress". The effects are not the same in every child, and can be buffered by the support of a parent or caregiver, in which case the stress is considered "tolerable". But toxic stress can have profound consequences, sometimes even spanning generations. Figuring out how to address stressors before they change the brain and our immune and cardiovascular systems is one of the biggest questions in the field of childhood development today. C. In 1998, two researchers, Vincent Felitti and Robert Anda, pioneered in publishing a study demonstrating that people who had experienced abuse or household dysfunction as children were more likely to have serious health problems, like cancer or liver diseases, and unhealthy lifestyle habits, like drinking heavily or using drugs as adults. This became known as the "ACE Study," short for "adverse childhood experiences." Scientists have since linked more than a dozen forms of ACEs - including homelessness, discrimination, and physical, mental, and sexual abuse - with a higher risk of poor health in adulthood. D. Every child reacts to stress differently, and some are naturally more resilient than others. Nevertheless, the pathways that link adversity in childhood with health problems in adulthood lead back to toxic stress. As Jenny Anderson, senior reporter at Quartz, explains, "when a child lives with abuse, neglect, or is witness to violence, he or she is primed for that fight or flight all the time. The burden of that stress, which is known as 'allostatic load or overload,' referring to the wear and tear that results from either too much stress or from inefficient management of internal balance, eg, not turning off the response when it is no longer needed, can damage small, developing brains and bodies. A brain that thinks it is in constant danger has trouble organising itself, which can manifest itself later as problems of paying attention, or sitting still, or following instructions - all of which are needed for learning".
E. Toxic is a loaded word. Critics say the term is inherently judgmental and may appear to blame parents for external social circumstances over which they have little control. Others say it is often misused to describe the source of stress itself rather than the biological process by which it could negatively affect some children. The term, writes John Devaney, centenary chair of social work at the University of Edinburgh, "can stigmatise individuals and imply traumatic happenings in the past". Some paediatricians do not like the term because of how difficult it is to actually fix the stressors their patients face, from poverty to racism. They feel it is too fatalistic to tell families that their child is experiencing toxic stress, and there is little they can do about it. But Nadine Burke Harris, surgeon general of California, argues that naming the problem means we can dedicate resources to it so that paediatricians feel like they have tools to treat "toxic stress". F. The most effective prevention for toxic stress is to reduce the source of the stress. This can be tricky, especially if the source of the stress is the child's own family. But parent coaching, and connecting families with resources to help address the cause of their stress (sufficient food, housing insecurity, or even the parent's own trauma), can help. Another one is to ensure love and support from a parent or caregiver. Young children's stress responses are more stable, even in difficult situations, when they are with an adult they trust. As Megan Gunnar, a child psychologist and head of the Institute of Child at the University of Minnesota, said: "When the parent is present and relationship is secure, basically the parent eats the stress: the kid cries, the parent comes, and it doesn't need to kick in the big biological guns because the parent is the protective system". That is why Havard's Center on the Developing Child recommends offering care to caregivers, like mental health or addiction support, because when they are healthy and well, they can better care for their children. Question 1-6 The reading passage has six paragraphs, A-F. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct number (i – vii) in boxes. List of Headings i The controversy around the word “toxic” ii Effects of different types of stress iii How to protect children from toxic stress iv An association of adverse experience with health problems and unhealthy habits v Body’s reactions in response to the perceived harmful event vi Signs of being under sustained stress vii Negative impacts of toxic stress on children’s mental health 1
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Question 7-9 Choose TRUE if the statement agrees with the information given in the text, choose FALSE if the statement contradicts the information, or choose NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.
7 Felitti and Anda were the first to show that ACEs create impacts regarding health and habits later on in life. 8
Some children have the same level of vulnerability to stressful events.
9 toxic stress.
Several paediatricians consider poverty and racism the primary contributors to
Question 10-13 Look at the following people and the list of statements below. Match each person with the correct statement, A-E. Write the correct letter A-E in boxes. List of statements A Traumatic experiences in childhood might lead to poor self-management. B Supportive and responsive relationships with caring parents can prevent or reverse the damaging effects of toxic stress responses. C Properly naming a type of stress can facilitate its treatment process. D The real name of a particular form of stress could denounce a number of people. E Toxic stress can cause the next generations to suffer from negative consequences on both mental and physical health problems. 10
Megan Gunnar
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Nadine Burke Harris
https://mini-ielts.com/1525/reading/toxic-stress-a-slow-wear-and-tear ep 4: Chinstrap Penguin Population In The Last 50 Years
A. The chinstrap penguin has a cap of black plumage, a white face, and a continuous band of black feathers extending from one side of the head to the other, the “chinstrap.” The northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula, several Antarctic and subantarctic islands, and the uninhabited Balleny Islands between Antarctica and New Zealand are the habitats of the species.
B. Antarctic penguin colonies in some parts of the Antarctic have declined over the last 50 years, mostly because of climate change, researchers say. The colonies of chinstrap penguins, also known as ringed or bearded penguins, have dramatically dropped since they were last surveyed almost 50 years ago, scientists discovered. The findings became surprising because, until now, the chinstraps have been deemed of “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). “We really didn’t know what to expect, and then we found this huge decline on Elephant Island,” Noah Strycker, an ornithologist and penguin researcher at Stony Brook University, told CNN from Greenpeace’s Esperanza ship in the Antarctic. “It’s a little bit worrying as it means that something is shifting in the ecosystem and the fall in penguin numbers is reflecting that shift.” C. Every colony of Elephant Island, which is a crucial penguin habitat northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula, when surveyed, experienced a population fall, as per the independent researchers who joined a Greenpeace expedition to the region. Elephant Island was last surveyed in 1971, and there were 122,550 pairs of penguins across all colonies. However, the recent count revealed just 52,786 pairs with a drop of almost 60%. On Elephant Island, the size of the population change varied from colony to colony, and the most significant decline was recorded at a colony known as Chinstrap Camp, which is 77%. D. Just the days after temperatures hit an all-time high in the Antarctic with 18.3 Celsius (64.94 Fahrenheit) recorded on February 6, the latest study is published. The previous high 17.5 C (63.5 F) was recorded in March 2015. Scientists recorded the temperature at Argentina’s Esperanza research station, according to the meteorological agency of the country. E. The reduced sea ice and warmer oceans due to climate change have led to less krill, the main component of the penguins’ diet. “Climate change is probably the underlying factor, and the effects are rippling through the food chain,” Strycker said. “Penguins, seals, and whales all depend on krill, which depends on ice. So if climate change affects the ice, that impacts on everything else.” Heather J. Lynch, associate professor of ecology and evolution at New York’s Stony Brook University and one of the expedition’s research leads, said: “Such significant declines in penguin numbers suggest that the Southern Ocean’s ecosystem has fundamentally changed in the last 50 years and that the impacts of this are rippling up the food web to species like chinstrap penguins.” She added that “while several factors may have a role to play, all the evidence we have pointed to climate change as being responsible for the changes we are seeing.” F. However, some good news was also there, as the researchers reported an increase in gentoo penguins population in neighbouring colonies, beyond Elephant Island. “It’s interesting, as a tale of two penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula,” said Strycker. “Gentoo is a species from further north and they appear to be colonizing the area and are actually increasing in numbers.” G. The Greenpeace ship Esperanza has been documenting the threat to the oceans worldwide and taking the scientists for travelling abroad. For the first time, the Low Island in the South Shetland Islands, north of the Antarctic Peninsula, has been surveyed properly. The manual and drone techniques are used by the researchers, from Stony Brook and Northeastern University in Boston, to survey a series of significant but relatively unknown colonies of chinstrap penguin here. The results are, however, not yet available. Greenpeace has been campaigning for the three Antarctic sanctuaries that it would establish to offer protection to many of the colonies surveyed. These would be off-limits to humans. H. Louisa Casson, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner, said in a statement: “Penguins are an iconic species, but this new research shows how the climate emergency is decimating their numbers and having far-reaching impacts on wildlife in the most remote corners of Earth. This is a critical year for our oceans. “Governments must respond to the science and agree on a strong Global Ocean Treaty at the United Nations this spring that can create a network of ocean sanctuaries to protect marine life and help these creatures adapt to our rapidly changing climate.”
Question 1 - 7 The Reading Passage has 8 paragraphs labelled A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-H in boxes. NB You may use any letter more than once. 1
the highest temperatures ever.
2 the difference between current and past records on penguin population. 3 to.
places where people cannot go
4 live.
places where chinstrap penguins
5 species.
measures to protect ocean
6 factors contributing to the decline in the amount of food available. 7
description of a specific specie
Question 8-10 Choose TRUE if the statement agrees with the information given in the text, choose FALSE if the statement contradicts the information, or choose NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this. 8
The IUCN showed little concern about the fall in penguin numbers.
9
Climate change is a reason for the changes in the food chain of chinstrap penguins.
10
Gentoo penguins are not affected by climate change.
Question 11 - 13 Complete the note below. Choose ONLY ONE WORD from the passage for each answer. The Greenpeace ship has been used to:
record the 11
carry the 12
Build 13
to marine life over the world. overseas. to protect many surveyed colonies.
https://mini-ielts.com/1523/reading/chinstrap-penguin-population-in-the-last-50-years ep 5: E-training
A E-learning is the unifying term to describe the fields of online learning, web-based training, and technology-delivered instruction, which can be a great benefit to corporate e-learning. IBM, for instance, claims that the institution of its e-training program, Basic Blue, whose purpose is to train new managers, saved the company in the range of $200 million in 1999. Cutting the travel expenses required to bring employees and instructors to a central classroom account for the lion’s share of the savings. With an online course, employees can learn from any Internet-connected PC, anywhere in the world. Ernst and Young reduced training costs by 35 percent while improving consistency and scalability. B In addition to generally positive economic benefits, other advantages such as convenience, standardized delivery, self-paced learning, and a variety of available content, have made e-learning a high priority for many corporations. E-learning is widely believed to offer flexible “any time, any place” learning. The claim for “any place” is valid in principle and is a great development. Many people can engage with rich learning materials that simply were not possible in a paper of broadcast distance learning era. For teaching specific information and skills, e-training holds great promise. It can be especially effective at helping employees prepare for IT certification programs. E-learning also seems to effectively address topics such as sexual harassment education’, safety training and management training – all areas where a clear set of objectives can be identified. Ultimately, training experts recommend a “blended” approach that combines both online and in-person training as the instruction requires. E-learning is not an end-all solution. But if it helps decrease costs and windowless classrooms filled with snoring students, it definitely has its advantages. C Much of the discussion about implementing e-learning has focused on the technology, but as Driscoll and others have reminded us, e-learning is not just about the technology, but also many human factors. As any capable manager knows, teaching employees new skills is critical to a smoothly run business. Having said that, however, the traditional route of classroom instruction runs the risk of being expensive, slow and, oftentimes, ineffective. Perhaps the classroom’s greatest disadvantage is the fact that it takes employees out of their jobs. Every minute an employee is sitting in a classroom training session is a minute they’re not out on the floor working. It now looks as if there is a way to circumvent these traditional training drawbacks. E-training promises more effective teaching techniques by integrating audio, video, animation, text and interactive materials with the intent of teaching each student at his or her own pace. In addition to higher performance results, there are other immediate benefits to students such as increased time on task, higher levels of motivation, and reduced test anxiety for many learners. D On the other hand, nobody said E-training technology would be cheap. E-training service providers, on the average, charge from $10,000 to $60,000 to develop one hour of online instruction. This price varies depending on the complexity of the training topic and the media used. HTML pages are a little cheaper to develop while streaming-video presentations or flash animations cost more. Course content is just the starting place for the cost. A complete e-learning solution also includes the technology platform (the computers, applications and network connections that are used to deliver the courses). This technology platform, known as a learning management system (LMS), can either be installed onsite or outsourced. Add to that cost the necessary investments in network bandwidth to deliver multimedia courses, and you’re left holding one heck of a bill. For the LMS infrastructure and a dozen
or so online courses, costs can top $500,000 in the first year. These kinds of costs mean that custom etraining is, for the time being, an option only for large organizations. For those companies that have a large enough staff, the e-training concept pays for itself. Aware of this fact, large companies are investing heavily in online training. Today, over half of the 400-plus courses that Rockwell Collins offers are delivered instantly to its clients in an e-learning format, a change that has reduced its annual training costs by 40%. Many other success stories exist. E E-learning isn’t expected to replace the classroom entirely. For one thing, bandwidth limitations are still an issue in presenting multimedia over the Internet. Furthermore, e-training isn’t suited to every mode of instruction or topic. For instance, it’s rather ineffective imparting cultural values or building teams. If your company has a unique corporate culture is would be difficult to convey that to firsttime employees through a computer monitor. Group training sessions are more ideal for these purposes. In addition, there is a perceived loss of research time because of the work involved in developing and teaching online classes. Professor Wallin estimated that it required between 500 and 1,000 person-hours, that is, Wallin-hours, to keep the course at the appropriate level of currency and usefulness. (Distance learning instructors often need technical skills, no matter how advanced the courseware system.) That amounts to between a quarter and half of a person-year. Finally, teaching materials require computer literacy and access to equipment. Any e-Learning system involves basic equipment and a minimum level of computer knowledge in order to perform the tasks required by the system. A student that does not possess these skills, or have access to these tools, cannot succeed in an e-Learning program. F While few people debate the obvious advantages of e-learning, systematic research is needed to confirm that learners are actually acquiring and using the skills that are being taught online, and that e-learning is the best way to achieve the outcomes in a corporate environment. Nowadays, a gobetween style of Blended learning, which refers to a mixing of different learning environments, is gaining popularity. It combines traditional face-to-face classroom methods with more modern computer-mediated activities. According to its proponents, the strategy creates a more integrated approach for both instructors and learners. Formerly, technology-based materials played a supporting role in face-to-face instruction. Through a blended learning approach, technology will be more important. Questions 1-6 The reading passage has six paragraphs, A-F Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-F from the list below. Write the correct number, i-xi, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. List of Headings i overview of the benefits for application of E-training ii IBM’s successful choice of training iii Future directions and a new style of teaching iv learners’ achievement and advanced teaching materials v limitations when E-training compares with traditional class vi multimedia over the Internet can be a solution vii technology can be a huge financial burden viii the distance learners outperformed the traditional university learners worldwide ix other advantages besides economic consideration x Training offered to help people learn using computers
1
Paragraph A
2
Paragraph B
5
Paragraph E
3
Paragraph C
6
Paragraph F
4
Paragraph D
Questions 7-10 The reading Passage has six paragraphs A-F Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-F, in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet. 7
Projected Basic Blue in IBM achieved great success.
8
E-learning wins as a priority for many corporations as its flexibility.
9
The combination of traditional and e-training environments may prevail.
10 customers.
Example of fast electronic delivery for a company’s products to its
Questions 11-13 Choose THREE correct letters, among A-E Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet. A
Technical facilities are hardly obtained.
B
Presenting multimedia over the Internet is restricted due to the bandwidth limit.
C
It is ineffective imparting a unique corporate value to fresh employees.
D
Employees need to block a long time leaving their position attending training.
E
More preparation time is needed to keep the course at a suitable level.
https://mini-ielts.com/1521/reading/e-training ep 6: THE STORY OF COFFEE
A Coffee was first discovered in Eastern Africa in an area we know today as Ethiopia. A popular legend refers to a goat herder by the name of Kaldi, who observed his goats acting unusually friskily after eating berries from a bush. Curious about this phenomenon, Kaldi tried eating the berries himself. He found that these berries gave him renewed energy. B The news of this energy laden fruit quickly moved throughout the region. Coffee berries were transported from Ethiopia to the Arabian Peninsula, and were first cultivated in what today is the country of Yemen. Coffee remained a secret in Arabia before spreading to Turkey and then to the European continent by means of Venetian trade merchants. C Coffee was first eaten as a food though later people in Arabia would make a drink out of boiling the beans for its narcotic effects and medicinal value. Coffee for a time was known as Arabian wine to Muslims who were banned from alcohol by Islam. It was not until after coffee had been eaten as a food product, a wine and a medicine that it was discovered, probably by complete accident in Turkey, that by roasting the beans a delicious drink could be made. The roasted beans were first crushed and then boiled in water, creating a crude version of the beverage we enjoy today. The first coffee houses were opened in Europe in the 17th Century and in 1675, the Viennese established the habit of refining the brew by filtering out the grounds, sweetening it, and adding a dash of milk. D If you were to explore the planet for coffee, you would find about 60 species of coffee plants growing wild in Africa, Malaysia, and other regions. But only about ten of them are actually cultivated. Of these ten, two species are responsible for almost all the coffee produced in the world: Coffea Arabica and Coffea Canephora (usually known as Robusta). Because of ecological differences existing among the various coffee producing countries, both types have undergone many mutations and now exist in many sub-species. E Although wild plants can reach 10 - 12 metres in height, the plantation one reaches a height of around four metres. This makes the harvest and flowering easier, and cultivation more economical. The flowers are white and sweet-scented like the Spanish jasmine. Flowers give way to a red, darkish berry. At first sight, the fruit is like a big cherry both in size and in colour. The berry is coated with a thin, red film (epicarp) containing a white, sugary mucilaginous flesh (mesocarp). Inside the pulp there are the seeds in the form of two beans coupled at their flat surface. Beans are in turn coated with a kind of resistant, golden yellow parchment, (called endocarp). When peeled, the real bean appears with another very thin silvery film. The bean is bluish green verging on bronze, and is at the most 11 millimetres long and 8 millimetres wide. F Coffee plants need special conditions to give a satisfactory crop. The climate needs to be hot-wet or hot temperate, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, with frequent rains and temperatures varying from 15 to 25 Degrees C. The soil should be deep, hard, permeable, well irrigated, with well-drained subsoil. The best lands are the hilly ones or from just-tilled woods. The perfect altitude is between 600 and 1200 metres, though some varieties thrive at 2000-2200 metres. Cultivation aimed at protecting the plants at every stage of growth is needed. Sowing should be in
sheltered nurseries from which, after about six months, the seedlings should be moved to plantations in the rainy season where they are usually alternated with other plants to shield them from wind and excessive sunlight. Only when the plant is five years old can it be counted upon to give a regular yield. This is between 400 grams and two kilos of arabica beans for each plant, and 600 grams and two kilos for robusta beans. G Harvesting time depends on the geographic situation and it can vary greatly therefore according to the various producing countries. First, the ripe beans are picked from the branches. Pickers can selectively pick approximately 250 to 300 pounds of coffee cherry a day. At the end of the day, the pickers bring their heavy burlap bags to pulping mills where the cherry coffee can be pulped (or wet milled). The pulped beans then rest, covered in pure rainwater to ferment overnight. The next day the wet beans are hand-distributed upon the drying floor to be sun dried. This drying process takes from one to two weeks depending on the amount of sunny days available. To make sure they dry evenly, the beans need to be raked many times during this drying time. Two weeks later the sun dried beans, now called parchment, are scooped up, bagged and taken to be milled. Huge milling machines then remove the parchment and silver skin, which renders a green bean suitable for roasting. The green beans are roasted according to the customers’ specifications and, after cooling, the beans are then packaged and mailed to customers. Questions 1-6 The reading passage on The Story of Coffee has 7 paragraphs A – G. From the list of headings below choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B – G. Write the appropriate number (i – xi) in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. NB There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use them all. I. Growing Coffee ii. Problems with Manufacture
vii. Modern Coffee
iii. Processing the Bean
viii. The Spread of Coffee
iv. First Contact
ix. Consuming Coffee
v. Arabian Coffee
x. Climates for Coffee
vi. Coffee Varieties
xi. The Coffee Plant
Example Answer Paragraph A iv 1
Paragraph B
4
Paragraph E
2
Paragraph C
5
Paragraph F
3
Paragraph D
6
Paragraph G
Questions 7-9 Complete the labels on the diagram of a coffee bean below. Choose your answers from the text and write them in boxes 7-9 on your answer sheet. 7 8 9
Questions 10-13 Using the information in the passage, complete the flowchart below. Write your answers in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Coffee Production Process
10
12
11
13
https://mini-ielts.com/1520/reading/the-story-of-coffee ep7: Education Philosophy
A Although we lack accurate statistics about child mortality in the pre-industrial period, we do have evidence that in the 1660s, the mortality rate for children who died within 14 days of birth was as much as 30 per cent. Nearly all families suffered some premature death. Since all parents expected to bury some of their children, they found it difficult to invest in their newborn children. Moreover, to protect themselves from the emotional consequences of children’s death, parents avoided making any emotional commitment to an infant. It is no wonder that we find mothers leave their babies in gutters or refer to the death in the same paragraph with reference to pickles. B The 18th century witnessed the transformation from an agrarian economy to an industrial one, one of the vital social changes taking place in the Western world. An increasing number of people moved from their villages and small towns to big cities where life was quite different. Social supports which had previously existed in smaller communities were replaced by ruthless problems such as poverty, crime, substandard housing and disease. Due to the need for additional income to support the family, young children from the poorest families were forced into early employment and thus their childhood became painfully short. Children as young as 7 might be required to work full-time, subjected to unpleasant and unhealthy circumstances, from factories to prostitution. Although such a role has disappeared in most wealthy countries, the practice of childhood employment still remains a staple in underdeveloped countries and rarely disappeared entirely. C The lives of children underwent a drastic change during the 1800s in the United States. Previously, children from both rural and urban families were expected to participate in everyday labour due to the bulk of manual hard working. Nevertheless, thanks to the technological advances of the mid-1800s, coupled with the rise of the middle class and redefinition of roles of family members, work and home became less synonymous over time. People began to purchase toys and books for their children. When the country depended more upon machines, children in rural and urban areas, were less likely to be required to work at home. Beginning from the Industrial Revolution and rising slowly over the course of the 19th century, this trend increased exponentially after civil war. John Locke, one of the most influential writers of his period, created the first clear and comprehensive statement of the ‘environmental position’ that family education determines a child’s life, and via this, he became the father of modem learning theory. During the colonial period, his teachings about child care gained a lot of recognition in America. D According to Jean Jacques Rousseau, who lived in an era of the American and French Revolution, people were ‘noble savages’ in the original state of nature, meaning they are innocent, free and uncorrupted. In 1762, Rousseau wrote a famous novel Emile to convey his educational philosophy through a story of a boy’s education from infancy to adult-hood. This work was based on his extensive observation of children and adolescents, their individuality, his developmental theory and on the memories of his own childhood. He contrasts children with adults and describes their agespecific characteristics in terms of historical perspective and developmental psychology. Johan Heinrich Pestalozzi, living during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, sought to develop schools to nurture children’s all-round development. He agreed with Rousseau that humans are naturally good but were spoiled by a corrupt society. His approach to teaching consists of the general and special methods, and his theory was based upon establishing an emotionally healthy homelike learning environment, which had to be in place before more specific instructions occurred. E One of the best-documented cases of Pestalozzi’s theory concerned a so-called feral child named Victor, who was captured in a small town in the south of France in 1800. Prepubescent, mute, naked, and perhaps 11 or 12 years old, Victor had been seen foraging for food in the gardens of the locals in the area and sometimes accepted people’s direct offers of food before his final capture. Eventually, he was brought to Paris and expected to answer some profound questions about the nature of human, but that goal was quashed very soon. A young physician Jean Marc Gaspard Itard was optimistic about the future of Victor and initiated a five-year education plan to civilise him and teach him to speak. With a subsidy from the government, Itard recruited a local woman Madame Guerin to assist him to provide a semblance of a home for Victor, and he spent an enormous amount of time and effort working with Victor. Itard’s goal to teach Victor the basics of speech could never be fully achieved, but Victor had learnt some elementary forms of communication.
F Although other educators were beginning to recognise the simple truth embedded in Rousseau’s philosophy, it is not enough to identify the stages of children’s development alone. There must be certain education which had to be geared towards those stages. One of the early examples was the invention of kindergarten, which was a word and a movement created by a German-born educator, Friedrich Froebel in 1840. Froebel placed a high value on the importance of play in children’s learning. His invention would spread around the world eventually in a verity of forms. Froebel’s ideas were inspired through his cooperation with Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. Froebel didn’t introduce the notion of kindergarten until 58 years old, and he had been a teacher for four decades. The notion was a haven and a preparation for children who were about to enter the regimented educational system. The use of guided or structured play was a cornerstone of his kindergarten education because he believed that play was the most significant aspect of development at this time of life. Play served as a mechanism for a child to grow emotionally and to achieve a sense of self-worth. Meanwhile, teachers served to organise materials and a structured environment in which each child, as an individual, could achieve these goals. When Froebel died in 1852, dozens of kindergartens had been created in Germany. Kindergartens began to increase in Europe, and the movement eventually reached and flourished in the United States in the 20th century. Questions 1-4 Reading Passage 1 has six paragraphs, A-F. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A and C-E from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-vii, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet. List of Headings i The inheritance and development of educational concepts of different thinkers ii Why children had to work to alleviate the burden on family iii Why children are not highly valued iv The explanation for children dying in hospital at their early age v The first appearance of modem educational philosophy vi The application of a creative learning method on a wild kid vii The emergence and spread of the notion of kindergarten 1
Paragraph A
3
Paragraph D
2
Paragraph C
4
Paragraph E
Questions 5-8 Look at the following events (Questions 5-8) and the list of dates below. Match each event with the correct date, A, B or C. Write the correct letter, A, B or C, in boxes 5-8 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once. List of Dates A the 18th century (1700-1799) B the 19th century (1800-1899) C the 20th century (1900-1999) 5
the need for children to work
6
the rise of the middle class
Questions 9-13
7 the emergence of a kindergarten 8 the spread of kindergartens around the U.S.
Look at the following opinions or deeds (Questions 9-13) and the list of people below. Match each opinion or deed with the correct person, A, B, C or D. Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once. List of People A Jean Jacques Rousseau B Johan Heinrich Pestalozzi 9
C Jean Marc Gaspard Itard D Friedrich Froebel
was not successful to prove the theory
10
observed a child’s record
11
requested a study setting with emotional comfort firstly
12
proposed that corruption was not a characteristic in people’s nature
13
was responsible for an increase in the number of a type of school
https://mini-ielts.com/1495/reading/education-philosophy Ep 8: Conflicting climatic phenomena co-existing on the Mars
A On Mars, signs of wetness keep pouring in: deeply carved river valleys, vast deltas and widespread remnants of evaporating seas have convinced many experts that liquid water may have covered large parts of the Red Planet for a billion years or more. But most efforts to explain how Martian climate ever permitted such clement conditions come up dry. Bitterly cold and parched today, Mars needed a potent greenhouse atmosphere to sustain its watery past. A thick layer of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from volcanoes probably shrouded the young planet, but climate models indicate time and again that C02 alone could not have kept the surface above freezing. B Now, inspired by the surprising discovery that sulfur minerals are pervasive in the Martian soil, scientists are beginning to suspect that C02 had a warm-up partner: sulfur dioxide (S02). Like C02, S02 is a common gas emitted when volcanoes erupt, a frequent occurrence on Mars when it was still young. A hundredth or even a thousandth of a percent S02 in Mars's early atmosphere could have provided the extra boost of greenhouse warming that the Red Planet needed to stay wet, explains geochemist Daniel p. Schrag of Harvard University. C That may not sound like much, but for many gases, even minuscule concentrations are hard to maintain. On our home planet, S02 provides no significant long-term warmth because it combines almost instantly with oxygen in the atmosphere to form sulfate, a type of salt. Early Mars would have been virtually free of atmospheric oxygen, though, so S02 would have stuck around much longer.
D "When you take away oxygen, it's a profound change, and the atmosphere works really differently," Schrag remarks. According to Schrag and his colleagues, that difference also implies that S02 would have played a starring role in the Martian water cycle—thus resolving another climate conundrum, namely, a lack of certain rocks. E Schrag's team contends that on early Mars, much of the S02 would have combined with airborne water droplets and fallen as sulfurous acid rain, rather than transforming into a salt as on Earth. The resulting acidity would have inhibited the formation of thick layers of limestone and other carbonate rocks. Researchers assumed Mars would be chock-full of carbonate rocks because their formation is such a fundamental consequence of the humid, C02-rich atmosphere. Over millions of years, this rock-forming process has sequestered enough of the carbon dioxide spewed from earthly volcanoes to limit the buildup of the gas in the atmosphere. stifling this C02-sequestration step on early Mars would have forced more of the gas to accumulate in the atmosphere—another way S02 could have boosted greenhouse warming, Schrag suggests. F Some scientists doubt that S02 was really up to these climatic tasks . Even in an oxygen-free atmosphere, S02 is still extremely fragile; the sun's ultraviolet radiation splits apart S02 molecules quite readily, points out James F. Kasting, an atmospheric chemist at Pennsylvania state University. In Easting's computer models of Earth's early climate, which is often compared with that of early Mars, this photochemical destruction capped S02 concentrations at one thousandth as much as Schrag and his colleagues describe. "There may be ways to make this idea work," Kasting says. "But it would take some detailed modeling to convince skeptics, including me, that it is actually feasible." G Schrag admits that the details are uncertain, but he cites estimates by other researchers who suggest that early Martian volcanoes could have spewed enough S02 to keep pace with the S02 destroyed photochemically. Previous findings also indicate that a thick C02 atmosphere would have effectively scattered the most destructive wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation—yet another example of an apparently mutually beneficial partnership between C02 and S02 on early Mars. H Kasting maintains that an S02 climate feedback could not have made early Mars as warm as Earth, but he does allow for the possibility that S02 concentrations may have remained high enough to keep the planet partly defrosted, with perhaps enough rainfall to form river valleys. Over that point, Schrag does not quibble. "Our hypothesis doesn't depend at all on whether there was a big ocean, a few lakes or just a few little puddles," he says. " Warm doesn't mean warm like the Amazon. It could mean warm like Iceland— just warm enough to create those river valleys . " with S02, it only takes a little. If sulfur dioxide warmed early Mars, as a new hypothesis suggests, minerals called sulfites would have formed in standing water at the surface. No sulfites have yet turned up, possibly because no one was looking for them. The next-generation rover, the Mars Science Laboratory, is well equipped for the search. Scheduled to launch in 2009, the rover (shown here in an artist's conception) will be the first to carry an x-ray diffractometer, which can scan and identify the crystal structure of any mineral it encounters. Questions 1-6 The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once. 1 SO2
A problem indirectly solved by
2 A device with an astounding ability for detection
3 A potential contributor to the warmth of the Mars interacting with CO2 4 The destructive effect brought by the sunlight proposed by the opponents
5 A specific condition on early Mars to guarantee the SO2 to maintain in the atmosphere for a long time
6 Conflicting climatic phenomena co-existing on the Mars
Questions 7-9 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage? In boxes 7-9 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
7
Schrag has provided concrete proofs to fight against the skeptics for his view.
8 More and more evidences show up to be in favor of the leading role SO2 has for the warming up the Mars. 9
The sulfites have not been detected probably because of no concern for them.
Questions 10-13 Summary Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using No More than Three words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet. An opinion held by Schrag’s team indicates that 10
formed from the integration of SO2
with 11 would have stopped the built up of thick layers of limestone as well as certain carbonate rocks. Wetness and abundance in CO2 could directly result in the good production rocky layer of 12 . As time went by, sufficient CO2 was emitted from the volcanoes and restricted the formation of the gas in the afr. To stop this process made SO2 possible to accelerate 13 https://mini-ielts.com/1484/reading/conflicting-climatic-phenomena-co-existing-on-the-mars ep 9: Reclaiming the future of aral sea
A The Aral Sea gets almost all its water from the Amu and Syr rivers. Over millennium the Amu’s course has drifted away from the sea, causing it to shrink. But the lake always rebounded as the Amu shifted back again. Today heavy irrigation for crops such as cotton and rice siphons off much of the two rivers, severely cutting flow into their deltas and thus into the sea. Evaporation vastly outpaces any rainfall, snowmelt or groundwater supply, reducing water volume and raising salinity. The Soviet Union hid the sea’s demise for decades until 1985, when leader Mikhail Gorbachev revealed the great environmental and human tragedy. By the late 1980s the sea’s level had dropped so much that the water had separated into two distinct bodies: the Small Aral (north) and the Large Aral (south). By 2007 the south had split into a deep western basin, a shallow eastern basin and a small, isolated gulf. The Large Aral’s volume had dropped from 708 to only 75 cubic kilometers (km3), and salinity had risen from 14 to more than 100 grams per liter (g/1). The 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union divided the lake between newly formed Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, ending a grand Soviet plan to channel in water from distant Siberian rivers and establishing competition for the dwindling resource. B Desiccation of the Aral Sea has wrought severe consequences. Greatly reduced river flows ended the spring floods that sustained wetlands with freshwater and enriched sediment. Fish species in the lakes dropped from 32 to 6 because of rising salinity and loss of spawning and feeding grounds (most survived in the river deltas). Commercial fisheries, which caught 40,000 metric tons of fish in 1960, were gone by the mid-1980s; more than 60,000 related jobs were lost. The most common remaining lake occupant was the Black Sea flounder, a saltwater fish introduced in the 1970s, but by 2003 it had disappeared from the southern lakes because salinity was more than 70 g/1, double that of a typical ocean. Shipping on the Aral also ceased because the water receded many kilometers from the major ports of Aralsk to the north and Moynak in the south; keeping increasingly long channels open to the cities became too costly. Groundwater levels dropped with falling lake levels, intensifying desertification. C The receding sea has exposed and dried 54,000 square kilometers of seabed, which is choked with salt and in some places laced with pesticides and other agricultural chemicals deposited by runoff from area farming. Strong windstorms blow salt, dust and contaminants as far as 500 km. Winds from the north and northeast drive the most severe storms, seriously impacting the Amu delta to the south —the most densely settled and most economically and ecologically important area in the region. Afrbome sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate kill or retard the growth of natural vegetation and crops—a cruel irony given that irrigating those crops starves the sea. Health experts say the local population suffers from high levels of respiratory illnesses, throat and esophageal cancer, and digestive disorders caused by breathing and ingesting salt-laden air and water. Liver and kidney ailments, as well as eye problems, are common. The loss of fish has also greatly reduced dietary variety, worsening malnutrition and anemia, particularly in pregnant women. D Returning the entire Aral Sea to its 1960s state is unrealistic. The annual inflow from the Syr and Amu rivers would have to be quadrupled from the recent average of 13 km3. The only means would be to curtail irrigation, which accounts for 92 percent of water withdrawals. Yet four of the five former Soviet republics in the Aral Sea basin (Kazakhstan is the exception) intend to expand irrigation, mainly to feed growing populations. Switching to less water- intensive crops, such as replacing cotton with winter wheat, could help, but the two primary irrigating nations, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, intend to keep cotton to earn foreign currency. The extensive irrigation canals could be greatly improved; many are simply cuts through sand, and they allow enormous quantities of water to
seep away. Modernizing the entire system could save 12 km3 a year but would cost at least $16 billion. The basin states do not have the money or the political will. Kazakhstan has nonetheless tried to partially restore the northern Aral. E We expect salinities in the Small Aral to settle at three to 14 g/1, depending on location. At these levels many more indigenous species should return, although the saltwater kambala would disappear from most places. Further restoration is possible. For example, if irrigation improvements raised the average annual inflow from the Syr to 4.5 km3, which is entirely feasible, the lake’s level could stabilize at about 47 meters. This change would bring the shoreline to within eight kilometers of Aralsk, the former major port city, close enough to allow recovery of an earlier channel that connected the city to the receding waters. The channel would give large commercial fishing vessels access to the sea, and shipping could restart. Marshlands and fish populations would improve even more because of a further reduction in salinity. Outflow to the southern lakes could also increase, helping then restoration. Such a plan would require a much longer and higher dike, as well as reconstruction of the gate facility, and it is not clear that Kazakhstan has the means or desire to pursue it. The country is, however, now discussing more modest proposals to bring water closer to Aralsk. F The Large Aral faces a difficult future; it continues to shrink rapidly. Only a long, narrow channel connects the shallow eastern basin and the deeper western basin, and this could close altogether. If countries along the Amu make no changes, we estimate that at current rates of groundwater in and evaporation out, an isolated eastern basin would stabilize at an area of 4,300 square kilometers (km2). But it would average only 2.5 meters deep. Salinity would exceed 100 g/1, possibly reaching 200 g/1; the only creatures that could live in it would be brine shrimp and bacteria. The western basin’s fate depends on ground- water inflow, estimates for which are uncertain. Someone has noted numerous fresh- water springs on the western cliffs. The most reliable calculations indicate that the basin would settle at about 2,100 km2. The lake would still be relatively deep, reaching 37 meters in spots, but salinity would rise well above 100 g/1. Questions 1-6 The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-F. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-F, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once. 1
A mission impossible
2 An extremely worrying trend for one main part of Aral Sea 3 An uncompleted project because of political reasons
4 future
A promising recovery in the
5 district
A strongly affected populated
6
The disclosure of a big secret
Questions 7-9 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage? In boxes 7-9 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
7 In response to the increasingly growing number in the population, not all nations near the Aral Sea consider plans which will enhance the severity of the problems the Aral Sea is faced with. 8 The willingness for Kazakhstan to take the restoration action to save the Small Aral Sea is somehow not certain. 9 groundwater.
The western basin seems to have a destined future regardless of the influx of the
Questions 10-13 Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using No More than Three words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet. The 10 in 11
produced by the floodwaters, which were ceased because of the decrease of the Aral Sea, are main sources to keep the survival of the wetlands. The types of
fishes living in it experienced a devastating tragedy out of the increase in 12
and
decrease in spots for 13 with a good example of the extinction of a specific fish. What is more, fisheries and shipping suffered greatly from these vast changes. https://mini-ielts.com/1481/reading/reclaiming-the-future-of-aral-sea ep 10: Light pollution
{A} If humans were truly at home under the light of the moon and stars, we would go into darkness happily, the midnight world as visible to us as it is to the vast number of nocturnal species on this planet. Instead, we are diurnal creatures, with eyes adapted to living in the sun’s light. This is a basic evolutionary fact, even though most of us don’t think of ourselves as diurnal beings any more than we think of ourselves as primates or mammals, or Earthlings. Yet it’s the only way to explain what we’ve done to the night: We’ve engineered it to receive us by filling it with light. {B} This kind of engineering is no different than damming a river. Its benefits come with consequences—called light pollution—whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study. Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design, which allows artificial light to shine outward and upward into the sky, where it’s not wanted, instead of focusing it downward, where it is.
Ill-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and radically alters the light levels and light rhythms—to which many forms of life, including ourselves, have adapted. {C} Now most of humanity lives under intersecting domes of reflected, refracted light, of scattering rays from overlit cities and suburbs, from light-flooded highways and factories. Nearly all of nighttime Europe is a nebula of light, as is most of the United States and all of Japan. In the south Atlantic the glow from a single fishing fleet squid fishermen during their prey with metal halide lamps —can be seen from space, burning brighter, in fact, than Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro. {D} We’ve lit up the night as if it were an unoccupied country when nothing could be further from the truth. Among mammals alone, the number of nocturnal species is astonishing. Light is a powerful biological force, and in many species, it acts as a magnet, a process being studied by researchers such as Travis Longcore and Catherine Rich, co-founders of the Los Angeles-based Urban Wildlands Group. The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being “captured” by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms, circling and circling in the thousands until they drop. Migrating at night, birds are apt to collide with brightly lit tall buildings; immature birds on their first journey suffer disproportionately. {E} Insects, of course, cluster around streetlights, and feeding at those insect clusters is now ingrained in the lives of many bat species. In some Swiss valleys, the European lesser horseshoe bat began to vanish after streetlights were installed, perhaps because those valleys were suddenly filled with lightfeeding pipistrelle bats. Other nocturnal mammals—including desert rodents, fruit bats, opossums, and badgers-forage more cautiously under the permanent full moon of light pollution because they’ve become easier targets for predators. {F} Some birds—blackbirds and nightingales, among others—sing at unnatural hours in the presence of artificial light. Scientists have determined that long artificial days— and artificially short nights induce early breeding in a wide range of birds. And because a longer day allows for longer feeding, it can also affect migration schedules. One population of Bewick’s swans wintering in England put on fat more rapidly than usual, priming them to begin their Siberian migration early. The problem, of course, is that migration, like most other aspects of bird behaviour, is a precisely timed biological behaviour. Leaving early may mean arriving too soon for nesting conditions to be right {G} Nesting sea turtles, which show a natural predisposition for dark beaches, find fewer and fewer of them to nest on. Their hatchlings, which gravitate toward the brighter, more reflective sea horizon, find themselves confused by artificial lighting behind the beach. In Florida alone, hatchling losses number in the hundreds of thousands every year. Frogs and toads living near brightly lit highways suffer nocturnal light levels that are as much as a million times brighter than normal, throwing nearly every aspect of their behaviour out of joint, including their nighttime breeding choruses. {H} Of all the pollution we face, light pollution is perhaps the most easily remedied. Simple changes in lighting design and installation yield immediate changes in the amount of light spilt into the atmosphere and, often, immediate energy savings. {I} It was once thought that light pollution only affected astronomers, who need to see the night sky in all its glorious clarity. And, in fact, some of the earliest civic efforts to control light pollution—in Flagstaff, Arizona, half a century ago—were made to protect the view from Lowell Observatory, which sits high above that city. Flagstaff has tightened its regulations since then, and in 2001 it was declared the first International Dark Sky City. By now the effort to control light pollution has spread around the globe. More and more cities and even entire countries, such as the Czech Republic, have committed themselves to reducing unwanted glare. {J} Unlike astronomers, most of us may not need an undiminished view of the night sky for our work, but like most other creatures we do need darkness. Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, as light itself. The regular oscillation of waking and sleep in our lives, one of our circadian rhythms—is nothing less than a biological expression of the regular oscillation of light on Earth. So fundamental are these rhythms to our being that altering them is like altering gravity.
Questions 1-6 The reading Passage has ten paragraphs A-J. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-J, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. 1 pollution.
A reason that contributes to light
4 The popularity of light pollution in the world.
2 A city has lessened light pollution successfully.
5 pollution.
3
6 The reason why we have changed the night
The importance of darkness.
Methods to reduce light
.Questions 7-8 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D. Write your answers in boxes 7-8 on your answer sheet. Question 7: How does light pollution influence creatures? A
by bad lighting design
B by changing the cities and suburbs creatures are used to
C
by changing the directions of light
D to
by changing the light creatures are used
Question 8: Some aspects of animals’ lives are affected by unwanted light, EXCEPT: A
Migration
C
Natural life span
B
Reproduction
D
Feeding
Questions 9-13 Light pollution has affected many forms of life. Use the information in the passage to match the animals with the relevant information below. Write the appropriate letters A-G in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet. 9
Songbirds
10
Horseshoe bat
11
Nightingales
12
Bewick’s swans
13
Sea turtles
(A) eat too much and migrate in advance.
competitors.
(B) would not like to sing songs at night.
(E) have become easier targets for predators.
(C) is attracted by the light and then a crash happens.
(F) be active at unusual times.
(D) suffers from food shortages because of
(G) have trouble inbreeding.
https://mini-ielts.com/1479/reading/light-pollution ---End of the Test---