READING

PASSAGE 1

Going nowhere fast – New transport mode PRT RUF

A. This is ludicrous! We can talk to people anywhere in the world or fly to meet them in a few hours. We can
even send probes to other planets. But when it comes to getting around our cities, we depend on systems that
have scarcely changed since the days of Gottlieb Daimler.

B. In recent years, the pollution belched out by millions of vehicles has dominated the debate about
transport(2). The problem has even persuaded California that home of car culture to curb traffic growth. But
no matter how green they become, cars are unlikely to get us around crowded cities any faster(1). And
persuading people to use trains and buses will always be an uphill struggle. Cars, after all, are popular for
very good reasons, as anyone with small children or heavy shopping knows.(5)

C. A professor of mechanical engineering sits typing at a computer keyboard, conjuring up a scene on his
monitor that looks something like the classic computer game PacMan. White dots stream in from the right of
the screen, switch to red and merge with green boxes, which swiftly change colour to yellow and then red,
while moving through a bewildering maze. But this is not a video game. J. Edward Anderson of Boston
University is testing an urban transit system that he believes could revolutionise public transport worldwide.

D. For the past quarter of a century, Anderson has been promoting his version of personal rapid transit
(PRT). Other versions came and went in the 1970s, from Europe, Japan and elsewhere in the US, but he was
so convinced of the idea’s potential that he stuck with it and, in 1983, founded the Taxi 2000 Corporation to
‘commercialise’ the initiative. Although the University of Minnesota, Anderson’s employer until 1986, holds
the patents to the technology, he is licensed to develop it and to sub-license other developers. So politicians
should be trying to lure people out of their cars, not forcing them out(6). There’s certainly no shortage of
alternatives. Perhaps the most attractive is the concept known as personal rapid transit (PRT), independently
invented in the US and Europe in the 1950s.

E. The idea is to go to one of many stations and hop into a computer-controlled car(12) which can whisk you
to your destination along with a network of guideways. You wouldn’t have to share your space with
strangers,(11) and with no traffic lights, pedestrians or parked cars to slow things down, PRT guideways can
carry far more traffic, nonstop, than any inner-city road.(8) It’s a wonderful vision, but the odds are stacked
against PRT for a number of reasons. The first cars ran on existing roads, and it was only after they became
popular – and after governments started earning revenue from them – that a road network designed
specifically for motor vehicles was built. With PRT, the infrastructure would have to come first – and that
would cost megabucks.

F. What’s more, any transport system that threatened the car’s dominance would be up against all those with
a stake in maintaining the status quo, from private car owners to manufacturers and oil multinationals(7).
Even if PRTs were spectacularly successful in trials, it might not make much difference. Superior technology
doesn’t always triumph, as the VHS versus Betamax and Windows versus Apple Mac battles showed.
G. But “dual-mode” systems might just succeed where PRT seems doomed to fail. The Danish RUF system
envisaged by Palle Jensen, for example, resembles PRT (11)but with one key difference: vehicles have
wheels as well as a lot allowing them to travel on a monorail, so they can drive off the rail onto a normal
road(9). Once on a road, the occupant would take over from the computer, and the RUF vehicle – the term
comes from a Danish saying meaning to “go fast” – would become an electric car.(8)

H. Build a fast network of guideways in a busy city centre and people would have a strong incentive not just
to use public RUF vehicles, but also to buy their own dual-mode vehicle(10). Commuters could drive onto
the guideway, sit back and read as they are chauffeured into the city. At work, they would jump out, leaving
their vehicles to park themselves. Unlike PRT, such a system could grow organically, as each network would
serve a large area around it and people nearby could buy into it. And a dual-mode system might even win the
support of car manufacturers, who could easily switch to producing dual-mode vehicles.

I. The RUF system can reduce the energy consumption from individual traffic. The main factor is the
reduction of air resistance due to close coupling of vehicles. The energy consumption per ruf can be reduced
to less than 1/3 at 100 km/h. Since RUF is an electric system, renewable sources can be used without
problems. A combination of windmills and a RUF rail could be used over water. Solar cells can also be
integrated into the system and ensure completely sustainable transportation.

J. Of course, creating a new transport system will not be cheap or easy. But unlike adding a dedicated bus
lane here or extending the underground railway there, an innovative system such as Jensen’s could transform
cities. The vehicles in a RUF system “rides” very safely on top of a triangular monorail. This means that
derailments are impossible and that the users will feel safe because it is easy to understand that when the rail
is actually inside the vehicle it is absolutely stable. The special rail brake ensures that braking power is
always available even during bad weather. The brake can squeeze as hard against the rail as required in order
to bring the vehicle to a safe stop. If a vehicle has to be evacuated, a walkway between the two rails can be
used.

K. And it’s not just a matter of saving a few minutes a day. According to the Red Cross, more than 30
million people have died in road accidents in the past century – three times the number killed in the First
World War – and the annual death toll is rising. And what’s more, the Red Cross believes road accidents will
become the third biggest cause of death and disability by 2020, ahead of diseases such as AIDS and
tuberculosis. Surely we can find a better way to get around.
Questions 1-6: Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1. City transport developed slower than other means of communication.T
2. The pollution caused by city transport has been largely ignored.F
3. Most states in America have taken actions to reduce vehicle growth.NG
4. Public transport is particularly difficult to use on steep hills.NG
5. Private cars are much more convenient for those who tend to buy a lot of things during shopping.T
6. Government should impose compulsory restrictions on car use.F
Questions 7-12: Classify the following descriptions as referring to
A. PRT only
B. RUF only
C. both PRT and RUF

7. It is likely to be resisted by both individuals and manufacturers.A

8. It can run at high speed in cities.C
9. It can run on existing roads.B
10. It can be bought by private buyers.B
11. It is not necessary to share with the general public.C
12. It is always controlled by a computer. A

Question 13: Choose THREE letters, A-G.

Which THREE of the following are advantages of the new transport system?
A. economy
B. space
C. low pollution
D. suitability for families
E. speed
F. safety
G. suitability for children

PASSAGE 2
The seedhunters
A. With quarter of the world’s plants set to vanish within the next 50 years, Dough Alexander reports on the
scientists working against the clock the preserve the Earth’s botanical heritage. They travel the four comers
of the globe, scouring jungles, forests and savannas. But they’re not looking for ancient artefacts, lost
treasure or undiscovered tombs. Just pods. It may lack the romantic allure of archaeology, or the whiff of
danger that accompanies going after big game, but seed hunting is an increasingly serious business. Some
seek seeds for profit—hunters in the employ of biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies and private
corporations on the lookout for species that will yield the drugs(15) or crops of the future. Others collect to
conserve, working to halt the sad slide into extinction(14) facing so many plant species.

B. Among the pioneers(16) of this botanical treasure hunt was John Tradescant, an English royal gardener
who brought back plants and seeds from his journeys abroad in the early 1600s. Later, the English botanist
Sir Joseph Banks(17)-who was the first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and travelled with
Captain James Cook on his voyages near the end of the 18th century—was so driven to expand his
collections that he sent botanists around the world at his own expense.

C. Those heady days of exploration and discovery may be over, but they have been replaced by a pressing
need to preserve our natural history for the future(19). This modem mission drives hunters such as Dr
Michiel van Slageren, a good-natured Dutchman who often sports a wide-brimmed hat in the field—he could
easily be mistaken for the cinematic hero Indiana Jones. He and three other seed hunters work at the
Millennium Seed Bank, an 80 million [pounds sterling] international conservation project that aims to protect
the world’s most endangered wild plant species

D.

The group’s headquarters are in a modem glass-and-concrete structure on a 200-hectare Estate at Wakehurst Place in th

E. Overseen by the Royal botanic gardens, the Millennium Seed Bank is the world’s largest wild-plant
depository. It aims to collect 24,000 species by 2010. The reason is simple: thanks to humanity’s efforts, an
estimated 25 per cent of the world’s plants are on the verge of extinction and may vanish within 50 years.
We’re currently responsible for habitat destruction on an unprecedented scale, and during the past 400 years,
plant species extinction rates have been about 70 times greater than those indicated by the geological record
as being ’normal’. Experts predict that during the next 50 years a further one billion hectares of wilderness
will be converted to farmland in developing countries alone. (21)

F. The implications of this loss are enormous. Besides providing staple food crops, plants are a source of
many machines and the principal supply of fuel and building materials in many parts of the world(25,26).
They also protect soil and help regulate the climate. Yet, across the globe, plant species are being driven to
extinction before their potential benefits are discovered.

G.

The world Conservation Union has listed 5,714 threatened species is sure to be much higher. In the UK alone, 300 wild
Millennium Seed Bank aims to ensure that even if a plant becomes extinct in the
Stored seeds can be used the help restore damaged or destroyed
environment or in scientific research to find new benefits for society- in medicine, agriculture or local
industry- that would otherwise be lost.

H. Seed banks are an insurance policy to protect the world’s plant heritage for the future, explains Dr Paul
Smith, another Kew seed hunter. “Seed conservation techniques were originally developed by farmers/’ he
says. “Storage is the basis what we do, conserving seeds until you can use them-just as in farming(22).”
Smith says there’s no reason why any plant species should become extinct, given today’s technology. But he
admits that the biggest challenge is finding, naming and _ categorising all the world’s plants. And (23)
someone has to gather these seeds before it’s too late. “There aren’t a lot of people out there doing this,” he
says” The key is to know the flora from a particular area, and that knowledge takes years to acquire.”

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

J. Imperial College, London, examined crop collections from 151 countries and found that while the number
of plant samples had increased in two thirds of the countries, budget had been cut in a quarter and remained
static in another 35 per cent(24). Th UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research has since set up the Global Conservation Trust, which aims to raise US
$260 million to protect seed banks in perpetuity.

Questions 14-18: Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage.

Some people collect seeds for the purpose of protecting certain species from (14)___EXTINCTION______ ;
others collect seeds for their ability to produce (15) ________DRUGS__________ . They are called seed
hunters. The (16)______PIONEERS__________ of them included both gardeners and botanists,such as (17)

____SIR JOSEPH BANKS_________who financially supported collectors out of his own pocket. The seeds collected are
(18)
____UNDERGROUND VAULTS_______ at a low temperature.

Questions 19-24: Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

19. The reason to collect seeds is different from the past.T

20. The Millennium Seed Bank is one of the earliest seed banks.NG
21. A major reason for plant species extinction is farmland expansion.T
22. The method scientists use to store seeds is similar to that used by farmers.T
23. Technological development is the only hope to save plant species.F
24. The works of seed conservation are often limited by insufficient financial resources.T

Questions 25-26: Choose the correct letter, A-E.

Which TWO of the followings are provided by plants to the human ?
A food
B fuels
C clothes
D energy
E commercial products