Pt'ttctir:e Test l
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes' on Questions i-15 y'hiclt are basecl on Reading
Passage I below.
A spark, a flint: How fire leapt to life
Ihe control of fire glasses rvere aiso
was the first and used by Mexican
perhaps greatest Aztecs anci the
of humanity's Chinese.
steps towards a Percnssion
life-enhancing methods of fire-
technology lighting date back to
To earh man, fire Paleolithic times.
was a divine gift when some Stone
randomly delivered Age tool-makers
in the form of discovered that
lightning, forest fire chipprng flints
or burning lava. produced sparks, The
Unable to make technique becaine
flame for themselves, more efficient after
the earliest peoples the discoven of iron.
probably stored fire about 500(l vears
by keeping slow- ago. In ,Arctic North
burning logs'alight or bl,carwing charcoal in pots. America, the Eshirnos produced a slor,,,-burning
llorv and rvhere man learnt horv to produce spark by striking q\^rtz against iron pvrites, a
flame at wiil is unknown. trt was probably a compound that contains sulphur. The Chinese lit
secondary inr,entioir, acr:identall.v made during tlieir fires by striking porcelain with bamboo. trn
tool-rnaking operations with rvood or stone. Europe, the combination of steel, flint and tinder
Studies of primitive sccieties suggest that the remained the main method of fire-lighting until the
earliest method of making fire was througli mid-l9th centurq.
friction. Huropean peasants would inserl a ivooden Fire-lighting rvas revoiutionised hy the discovery
drill in a round hole and rotate it brisklv befween of phosphorus, isoiated in 1(r69 by a Gerrnan
tirelr palms. This process could be speeded up by alchemist trying to transrnute silver into gold.
u,rapping a cord arouncl the drill ald pulling on Impressed bv the eiement's combustibiliry several
eacii end. 17th century chemists used it to manufacture fire-
The Ancient Greeks used lenses or concave lighting devices, bur the results were dangerously
mirrors to ccnceiltrate the sun's rays and burning inflammable. With pirosphorus costing the
20
R.eading
equivalent of several hundred pounds per ounce, That was 62years after a Swedish chernist called
the first matches were expensive. Pasch had discovered non-toxic red or aliorphous
The quest for a practical match really began after phosphorus, a deveiopment exploited
l78l when a group of French chemists came up commercially by Pasch's compatriotJ E Lundstrom
with the l'hospboric Candle or Etbereal Match, a in 1885. Lundstrom's safety rnatches were safe
sealed glass tube containing a twist of paper tipped because the red phosphorus r,vas non-toxic; it was
with phosphorus. When the tube rvas broken, air painted 0n to the striking surface iltstead of the
mshed in, causing the phosphorus to self-combust. match tip, which contained po{assium chlorate
.A.neverr mote hazatdous device, popuiar in with a relatively high ignition temperature of 182
funerica, was the Instr.r,ntaneous Ligbt Box a - degrees centigrade.
bottle filied rvith sulphuric acid into which splints America lagged betrind Er:rope in match
treated u,,ith chemicals u,ere dipped. technology and safetv standards. It wasn't until
The first malches resembling those used toda,v 1900 that the Diamond Match Company bought a
were made in 1827 hy John Walker, an Engiish -
French patent for s'afetlz matches but the formula
phar:rnacist who borrowed the formula from a did not work properly in the different climatic
military rocket-maker called Congreve. Costing a conditions prevailing in America and it was another
shiiling abox, Cottgreres were splints coated rvith 11 years before scientists finally adapted ttre
sulphur and tipperi with potassiurn chlorate. To French palcnt ior tlre US
li.eht them, the user drew them quickly tlirough The Arnericans, horvever. can claim seyeral
folded glass paper. 'f,rsts' in match technolop., and marketine. In tr892
Walker never patented hjs inventiori, and three the Diarnond Match Company pioneered lrook
years later it rvas copied by a Samuel Jones, who matches. The innovation didn't catch on until after
marketed his product as lutifers. About the salne 1896. rvhen a bre\l,erv had the novel idea of
time, a French chemistry student called Charles advertising its product in rnatch boohs. Todav hook
Sauria produced the first 'strike-anywhere' match matches are the most u,idely used rype in the t.lS,
by substitutrng rvhite phosphorus for the potassiurn with 90 percent handed out free by hoteis,
chlorate in the \Iiaiker formula. Flou,ever, since restaurailts and others.
r,vhite pliosphorus is a deadtry poison. from 1845 Other American innovations include an anti-
maich-makers exposed to its fumes succumbed to afterglorv solution to prevenr the match from
necrosis, a disease that eats away jaw-bones. It snrouidering after it tras been blown out; and the
wasn't untii 1906 that the substance was eventuallv u,aterproof march, wirich lights after eight hours in
banned. water.
21
Practice Test l
Questions 1-8
Complete the summary belov,. Choose your answers frorn. the box at the bottom of the page
and write them in boxes l-B on vour answer sheet.
NB There are more words than spaces so you will not use them all.
You may use any of the words more than once.
EARLY FIRE-LIGHTING METHODS
They tried to ... (1) ... burning logs or charcoal ... (2) ... that they
could create fire themselves. It is suspectedl that the first man-made
flames were produced by ... (3) ...
The very first fire-lightjng methods involved the creation of (O
by, for example, rapidly ... (5) ... a wooden stick in a round hole. The
use of . . (6) ... or persistent chipping was also widespread in Europe
and among other peoples such as the Chinese and ... (7) ... . European
practice of this method continued until the 1850s ... (8) ... the
discovery of phosphorus some years earlier.
List of Words
Mexicans random rotating
despite preserve realising
sunlight lacking heavenly
percussion chance friction
unaware without make
heating Eskimos surprised
until smoke
22
Reading
n"estions s-ls
I Look at fotlowing notes that have been made about the matches desuibed inlReading
the
Passage t . Decide which, type of match ( A-H ) corresponds with each desuiption and write
your answers in boxes 9-15 on your answer sheet.
NB There are more matches than desuiptians so you will not use them all. You may use
any match more than once.
rii*pt, i4nswett
could be lit aftercoukirrg in water H
NOTES
9 made using a less poisonous type of phosphorus
10 identical to a previous type of match
11 caused a deadly illness
12 first to look like modern matbhes
13 first matches used for advertising
14 relied on an airtight glass container
15 made with the help of an army design
Types of Matches
A the Ethereal Match
B the Instantaneous Lightbox
C Congreves
D Lucifers
E the flrst strike-anywhere match
F Lundstrom's safety match
G book matches
H waterproof matches
23
Practice Test l
READING PASSAGE 2
You shoultJ spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15-28 v,hich ure httsecl on Reoding
Ptts,sage 2 beloy,.
{oo conseraation Programmes
ne of LondanZoo's recent advertisements caused me some irritation, so
patently did it distort reality. Headlined 'Without zoos you might as well
tell these animals to get stuffed', it was bordered with illustrations of
several endangered species and went on to extol the myh that without
zoos like London Zoo these animals 'will aimost certainly disappear
forever'. With the zoo world's rather mediocre record on conselvation,
one might be forgiven for being slightly sceptical about such an
advertisement.
Zoos were originally created as places of entertainment) and their
suggested invohrement with conservation didn't seriously arise until
about 30 y'ears ago, when the Zoological Society of London held the
first formal international meeting on the sultject. Eight years later, a
series of world conferences took place, entitled 'The Breeding of
Endangered Species', and from this point onwards conservation became
the zoo community's buzzword. This commitment has now been clearly
defined tn The World .loo Conseruatian Strategt (IVZCS, September 1993).
which - although an important and welcome document - does seem to
be based on an unrealistic optirnism about the nature of the zoo
industry.
-['ht. W'id:ii c'stimates
tiral t]rere are about 10,000 zoos in tl-rc r,,u.lci. ol
u.hicli arouncl tr,000 reprcsr:nt a core of qr:alitv collcctions capable of
pzrrticipatine in r:r.r-or"dinzited consen.ation proerammcs. T'his is
probably thc docrureni's tirst {aiiing, as 1}relieve that i0.000 is a serioris
uncierestimate olthc total numbel ol'places masqueradins a--. zcolosic:rl
estabiishrnents. Of course it is difficult to gct acclrrarc data but. to put
the issue into perspective, I haye lbund that, in a veai: oI'rvorkins irr
Eastern Europe, I discovcr lresir zoos on almost a rve ekly basis.
The second flan, in the reasonine oI'thc W<C|' docun-..cnt is the naive
laith il places in its 1,000 core zoos. one rvould assilme that the calibre
of these institutions rtoulcl have been carefuil,v eramined. but it appcars
that the criterion tbr inclusiorr on this select iist rnisht rnereiy be that the
zoo i.s a rnember of a zoct federation or association" 'Ilris nrieht be a
24
Reading
good starting point, worliing oir the premise that mt:mbers rnust meet
certain standards, but again the facts dr.ru't support the theory: T'he
greatlv respe cte d American Association o{'Zoalogical Parks and
Aquariirms (,\,\ZP,\) has had extremely dubior-is membcrs, and in the
UK the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland
has occasionally had tnembers that have been roundlv censlrred in thc
national press. These include Roirin Hill Adventure Park on the Isle of
\\risht, lvhich marly considered the most notorious collection of anirnals
in the country: ll'his estabiishment, r,vhich {br 1,ears u,-as protected by the
Isle's local council (r,vhich vier,r,ed it as a tour"ist amenitr), r,vas finallv
closeC down follor.ving a damning report by a veterinarf inspcctor'
appointed under the terms of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. As it rvas
alrvavs a r:oliection of dubious repute, onc is obliged to reflect upon tire
standards that the Zoo Federation sets i,vhen grantins membership. 'I'he
situation is er.en worse in der.eloping countries r,vhere little money is
available for redevelopment and it is hard to see a \,vay of incorporating
coliections into the overall scheme of-the ,1'<C,9.
Iir.en assuming that the WICSs 1,000 core zoos zrre all o{' a high
standard complete with scientific staff and rescarch facilities, trained
and dedicated keepers, accommodation that permits norma] or natural
behaviour, and a policy ol co-operating firll,v r,r.ith one another rvhat
might be the potential fbr consen.ation? Colin Tudge, author o{- La.rt
Aninals at the loo (Oxford University Press, 1992), arsues that 'i1'the
lvorld's zoos worked together in co-operatir.c brecdirg p,,rsr"ornlncs)
then even r,vithout further crpansion thcr. cor:ld save around 2,000
species of endangered land vertebrates'. l'liis seems an erxtremell,
optimistic proposition fiom a m:ln r,r'ho must be au.are of the failines
and w'eaknesses of the zoo indr-rstry the man u,ho, rvhen a membcr o{'
thc courrcil o{'London Zoo,had to persuade the zoo to det,ote more ol
its activities to consen.ation. Nforeover, u.here are the facts to support
sr-rch optirnism?
'lbday approximately 16 species mieht be sa.id to har,'e been 'sar.cd' by
captive breeding programmes, although a number ol these can irarcllv
be looked upon as resounding sucrcesses. Beyond that, :Lbout a lurther
20 species are being seriously considered for zoo conscrr.ation
prosrammes. Given thir.t the international conference at London Zoo
r,vas held 30 years ago, this is pretty slsly progress, and a lons rvay oil'
Tudse's tarqet of 2,000.
2.5
Piactice Test I
Questions 16-22
Do thefollowing stotements agree with the views o;f the w'riter in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes l6-22 write
YES if the statement agrees witlt the writer
NO iJ'the statement contradicts the writer
NOT GIYEN if it is impossible to suy n*hat the writer thinks about this
16 London Zoo's advertisements are dishonest.
17 Zoos made an insignificant contribution to conservation up until 30
years ago.
18 The WZCS document is not known in Eastern Europe.
19 Zoos in the WZCS select list were carefully inspected.
20 No-one knew how the animals were being treated at Robin Hill
Adventure Park.
21 Colin Tudge was dissatisfied with the tleatment of animals at London
Zoo.
22 The number of successful zoo conservation programmes is
unsatisfactory.
Questions 23-25
Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 23-25 on voLtr answer sheet.
23 What were the obiectives of the WZCS document?
A to improve the calibre of zoos worid-wide
B to identify zoos suitable for conservation practice
C to provide funds for zoos in underdeveloped countries
D to list the endangered species of the world
24 Why does the writer refer to Robin Hill Adventure Park?
A to support the Isle of Wight local council
B to criticise the 1981 Zoo Licensing Act
C to illustrate a weakness in the WZCS document
D to exemplify the standards in AAZPA zoos
./.6
Reading
25 What word best describes the writer's response to Colin Tudges'
prediction on captive breeding programmes?
A disbelieving
B impartial
C prejudiced
D accepting
Questions 26-28
The writer mentions a number of factors yvhich lead him to doubt the value of the WZCS
document. Which THREE of the follov,ing factars are rnentioned? Write your answers
(A-F) in boxes 26-28 on your answer sheet.
List of Factors
A the number of unregistered zoos in the world
B the lack of money in developing countries
C the actions,of the Isle of Wight local council
D the failure of the WZCS to examine the
standards of the 'core zoos'
E the unrealistic aim of the WZCS in view of
the number of species 'saved' to date
F the policies of WZCS zoo managers
27
Practice Test 1
READING PASSAGE 3
You should sperul ubout 20 minutes on Questions 29-40 y.,hich are ba,;ed on R.euding
Ptrssoge 3 beloyr,.
fiRGIIIIIGI||RI r [nachinU Iur the $lry
Architecture is the art and industrialisation. A new style geometric simplicity and
science of designing buildings of architecture emerged to function became exploited for
and structures. A building reflect more idealistic notions proflt. The rediscovery of
reflects the scientific and for the future. It was made quick-and-easy-to-handle
technolo gical achievements of possible by new materials and reinforced concrete and an
the age as well as the ideas construction techniques and improved ability to
and aspirations ofthe was known as Modernism. prefabricate building sections
designer and ciient. The By the 1930s many meant that builders could
appearance of individual buildings emerging from this meet the budgets of
buildings, however, is often movement were designed in commissioning authorities
controversial the International Style. This and handle a renewed
The use ofan architectural was Iargely characterised by demand for development
style cannot be said to start or the bold use of new materials quickly and cheaply. But this
finish on a specific date. and simple, geometric forms, led to many badly designed
Neither is it possible to say often with white walls buildings, which discredited
exacUy what characterises a supported by stilt-like pillars. the original aims of
particular movement. But the These were stripped of Modernism.
origins of what is now unnecessary decoration that Inlluenced by Le
generally known as modern would detract from their Corbusier's ideas on town
architecture can be traced primary purpose - to be used pianning, every large British
back to the social and or lived in. city built multi-storey
technological changes of the Walter Gropius, Charles housing estates in the 1960s.
18th and 19th centuries. Jeanneret (better known as Mass-produced, low-cost high-
Instead of using timber, Le Corbusier) and Ludwig rises seemed to offer a
stone and traditional building Mies van der Rohe were solution to the problem of
techniques, architects began amongthe most influential of housing a growing inner-city
to explore ways ofcreating the many architects who population. But far from
buildings by using the latest contributed to the meeting human needs, the
technology and materials development of Modernism in new estates often proved to be
such as steel, glass and the first half of the century. windswept deserts lacking
concrete strengthened steel But the economic depression essential social facilities and
bars, known as reinforced ofthe 1930s and the second services. Many of these
concrete. Technological world war (1939-45) prevented buildings were poorly
advances also heiped bring their ideas from being widely designed and constructed and
about the decline ofrural realised until the economic have since been demolished.
industries and an increase in contiitions improved and war- By the 1970s, a new respect
urban populations as people torn cities had to be rebuilt. for the place of buildings
rnoved to the towns to work in By the 1950s, the within the existing townscape
the new factories. Such rapid International Style had arose. Preserving historic
and uncontrolled growth developed into a universal buildings or keeping only
helped to turn parts ofcities approach to building, which their facades (or fronts) grew
into slums. standardised the appearance common. Architects also
By the 1920s architects of new buildings in cities began to make more use of
throughout Europe were across the wor1d. building styles and materials
reacting against the Unfortunately, this that were traditional to the
conditions created by Modernist interest in area. The architectural style
28
Reading
usually referred to as High- 1980s the coexistence of adopting one well defined
Tech was also emerging. It different styles of architecture style ofarchitecture.
celebrated scientific and in the same building became Twentieth century
engineering achievements by known as Post-Modern. Other architecture wilI mainly be
openly parading the architects looked back to the remembered for its tall
sophisticated techniques used classical tradition. The trend buildings. They have been
in construction. Such in architecture now favours made possible by the
buildings are commonly made smaller scale building desigrt development of light steel
of metal and glass; examples that reflects a growing public frames and safe passenger
are Stansted airport and the awareness of environmental lifts. They originated in the
Lloyd's building in London. issues such as energy US over a century ago to help
Disillusionment at the efflciency. Like the meet the demand for more
failure of many of the poor Modernists, people today economical use of land. As
imitations of Modernist recognise that a well designed construction techniques
architecture led to interest in environment improves the improved, the skyscraper
various styles and ideas from quality of life but is not became a reaiity.
the past and present. By the necessarily achieved by Ruth Coleman
Questions 29-35
Complete the table belo*- using informationJrom Reading Passage 3. Write NO MORE
THAN THREE IYORDS for each answer. Write ysvv ansluers in boxes 29-35 on your
ansv'er sheet.
PERIOD STYLE OF BUILDING CHARACTERISTICS
PERIOD MATERIALS
--.'
Examprc
Before .,E,' ,-..1-..i
r'
18th (2e) .
century ,I
introduction of steel, glass and exploration of latest
1920s
. (30) . concrete technology
1930s
.(31) .. geometric forms
1950s
decline of pre-fabricated
.(32)...
1960s
Modernism sections
end of traditional ...(33) ...
1970s
Modernist era materials of historic buildings
beginning of metal and glass sophisticated techniques
1970s
... (34) ... era paraded
1980s Post-Modernism (3s).
29
Practice Te,st l
Questions 36-40
Retttling Pctssoge 3 desoibes a nmnber oJ'c:ause ond eJJbc:t relationship"s. Makh esch Cause
(36-40) in List A,with its EJfe(:t (A H) in List B.
Write your ansy)ers (A*H) in bctxes 36 40 on r-our ansy,e.r slrcet.
n'B There are more efibcts in List B than you trill need, so 1;ou rttill not use all oJ them. Yrtu
ntore than once if'you t''i,sh.
mo),- use Gny eJlbct
List A CAUSES L#t B EFF,E{',TS
36 A rapid movement of people A The quality of trife is improved.
lrom rural arcas to cities is
triggered by technological B Architecture reflects the age.
advance.
C A number of these have been
37 Buildings become simple and knocked down.
lu nctional.
D Light steel frames and lifts are
38 An economic depression and the developed.
second world war hit Europe.
E l{istorical buildings are preserved.
39 Multi-storey housing estates are
built according to conternporary F All decoration is rernoved.
ideas on town planning.
G Parts of cities become slums.
40 Less land must be used f,or
building. H Modernist ideas cannot be put
into practice until the second haif
of the 20th century.
30
