READING PASSAGE 1
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which
are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
The White Horse of
Uffington
The
cutting of huge figures or ‘geoglyphs’ into the earth of English hillsides has
taken place for more than 3,000 years. There are 56 hill figures scattered
around England, with the vast majority on the chalk downlands of the country’s
southern counties. The figures include giants, horses, crosses and regimental
badges. Although the majority of these geoglyphs date within the last 300 years
or so, there are one or two that are much older.
The
most famous of these figures is perhaps also the most mysterious – the
Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire. The White Horse has recently been
re-dated and shown to be even older than its previously assigned ancient
pre-Roman Iron Age* date. More controversial is the date of the enigmatic Long
Man of Wilmington in Sussex. While many historians are convinced the figure is
prehistoric, others believe that it was the work of an artistic monk from a
nearby priory and was created between the 11th and 15th centuries.
The
method of cutting these huge figures was simply to remove the overlying grass
to reveal the gleaming white chalk below. However, the grass would soon grow
over the geoglyph again unless it was regularly cleaned or scoured by a fairly
large team of people. One reason that the vast majority of hill figures have disappeared
is that when the traditions associated with the figures faded, people no longer
bothered or remembered to clear away the grass to expose the chalk outline.
Furthermore, over hundreds of years the outlines would sometimes change due to
people not always cutting in exactly the same place, thus creating a different
shape to the original geoglyph. That fact that any ancient hill figures survive
at all in England today is testament to the strength and continuity of local
customs and beliefs which, in one case at least, must stretch back over
millennia.
The
Uffington White Horse is a unique, stylised representation of a horse
consisting of a long, sleek back, thin disjointed legs, a streaming tail, and a
bird-like beaked head. The elegant creature almost melts into the landscape.
The horse is situated 2.5 km from Uffington village on a steep close to the
Late Bronze Age* (c. 7th century BCE) hillfort of Uffington Castle and below
the Ridgeway, a long-distance Neolithic** track.
The
Uffington Horse is also surrounded by Bronze Age burial mounds. It is not far
from the Bronze Age cemetery of Lambourn Seven Barrows, which consists of more
than 30 well-preserved burial mounds. The carving has been placed in such a way
as to make it extremely difficult to see from close quarters, and like many
geoglyphs is best appreciated from the air. Nevertheless, there are certain
areas of the Vale of the White Horse, the valley containing and named after the
enigmatic creature, from which an adequate impression may be gained. Indeed on
a clear day the carving can be seen from up to 30 km away.
The
earliest evidence of a horse at Uffington is from the 1070s CE when ‘White
Horse Hill’ is mentioned in documents from the nearby Abbey of Abingdon, and
the first reference to the horse itself is soon after, in 1190 CE. However, the
carving is believed to date back much further than that. Due to the similarity
of the Uffington White Horse to the stylised depictions of horses on 1st
century BCE coins, it had been thought that the creature must also date to that
period.
However,
in 1995 Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) testing was carried out by the
Oxford Archaeological Unit on soil from two of the lower layers of the horse’s
body, and from another cut near the base. The result was a date for the horse’s
construction somewhere between 1400 and 600 BCE – in other words, it had a Late
Bronze Age or Early Iron Age origin.
The
latter end of this date range would tie the carving of the horse in with
occupation of the nearby Uffington hillfort, indicating that it may represent a
tribal emblem making the land of the inhabitants of the hillfort.
Alternatively, the carving may have been carried out during a Bronze or Iron
Age ritual. Some researchers see the horse as representing the Celtic*** horse
goddess Epona, who was worshipped as a protector of horses, and for her
associations with fertility. However, the cult of Epona was not imported from
Gaul (France) until around the first century CE. This date is at least six
centuries after the Uffington Horse was probably carved. Nevertheless, the
horse had great ritual and economic significance during the Bronze and Iron
Ages, as attested by its depictions on jewellery and other metal objects. It is
possible that the carving represents a goddess in native mythology, such as
Rhiannon, described in later Welsh mythology as a beautiful woman dressed in
gold and riding a white horse.
The
fact that geoglyphs can disappear easily, along with their associated rituals
and meaning, indicates that they were never intended to be anything more than
temporary gestures. But this does not lessen their importance. These giant
carving are a fascinating glimpse into the minds of their creators and how they
viewed the landscape in which they lived.
———-
*Iron
Age: a period (in Britain 800 BCE – 43 CE) that is characterised by the use of
iron tools
*Bronze
Age: a period (in Britain c. 2,500 BCE – 800 BCE) that is characterised by the
development of bronze tools
**Neolithic:
a period (in Britain c. 4,000 BCE – c. 2,500 BCE) that is significant for the
spread of agricultural practices, and the use of stone tools
***Celtic:
an ancient people who migrated from Europe to Britain before the Romans
Questions 1-8
Do
the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet,
write
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 Most geoglyphs in England
are located in a particular area of the country.
2 There are more geoglyphs
in the shape of a horse than any other creature.
3 A recent dating of the
Uffington White Horse indicates that people were mistaken about its age.
4 Historians have come to an
agreement about the origins of the Long Man of Wilmington.
5 Geoglyphs were created by people
placing white chalk on the hillside.
6 Many geoglyphs in England are no
longer visible.
7 The shape of some geoglyphs has
been altered over time.
8 The fame of the Uffington White
Horse is due to its size.
Questions 9-13
Complete
the summary below.
Choose ONE
WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on
your answer sheet.
The Uffington White
Horse
The location of the Uffington White Horse:
●
a distance of 2.5 km from Uffington village
●
near an ancient road known as the 9 …………………
●
close to an ancient cemetery that has a number of burial mounds
Dating the Uffington White Horse:
●
first reference to White Horse Hill appears in 10 ………………… from
the 1070s
●
horses shown on coins from the period 100 BCE – 1 BCE are similar in appearance
●
according to analysis of the surrounding 11 …………………, the Horse
is Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age
Possible reasons for creation of the Uffington
White Horse:
●
an emblem to indicate land ownership
●
formed part of an ancient ritual
●
was a representation of goddess Epona – associated with protection of horses
and 12…………………
● was a
representation of a Welsh goddess called 13 …………………
READING PASSAGE 2
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are
based on Reading Passage 2 below.
I contain
multitudes
Wendy Moore reviews Ed Yong’s book about microbes
Microbes,
most of them bacteria, have populated this planet since long before animal life
developed and they will outlive us. Invisible to the naked eye, they are
ubiquitous. They inhabit the soil, air, rocks and water and are present within
every form of life, from seaweed and coral to dogs and humans. And, as Yong
explains in his utterly absorbing and hugely important book we mess with them
at our peril.
Every
species has its own colony of microbes, called a ‘microbiome’, and these
microbes vary not only between species but also between individuals and within
different parts of each individual. What is amazing is that while the number of
human cells in the average person is about 30 trillion, the number of microbial
ones is higher – about 39 trillion. At best, Yong informs us, we are only 50
per cent human. Indeed, some scientists even suggest we should think of each
species and its microbes as a single unit, dubbed a ‘holobiont’.
In
each human there are microbes that live only in the stomach, the mouth or the
armpit and by and large they do so peacefully. So ‘bad’ microbes are just
microbes out of context. Microbes that sit contentedly in the human gut (where
there are more microbes than there are stars in the galaxy) can become deadly
if they find their way into the bloodstream. These communities are constantly
changing too. The right hand shares just one sixth of its microbes with the
left hand. And, of course, we are surrounded by microbes. Every time we eat, we
swallow a million microbes in each gram of food; we are continually swapping
microbes with other humans, pets and the world at large.
It’s
a fascinating topic and Yong, a young British science journalist, is an
extraordinarily adept guide. Writing with lightness and panache, he has a knack
of explaining complex science in terms that are both easy to understand and
totally enthralling. Yong is on a mission. Leading us gently by the hand, he
takes us into the world of microbes – a bizarre, alien planet – in a bid to
persuade us to love them as much as he does. By the end, we do.
For
most of human history we had no idea that microbes existed. The first man to
see these extraordinarily potent creatures was a Dutch lens-maker called Antony
van Leeuwenhoek in the 1670s. Using microscopes of his own design that could
magnify up to 270 times, he examined a drop of water from a nearby lake and
found it teeming with tiny creatures he called ‘animalcules’. It wasn’t until
nearly two hundred years later that the research of French biologist Louis
Pasteur indicated that some microbes caused disease. It was Pasteur’s ‘germ
theory’ that gave bacteria the poor image that endures today.
Yong’s
book is in many ways a plea for microbial tolerance, pointing out that while
fewer than one hundred species of bacteria bring disease, many thousands more
play a vital role in maintaining our health. The book also acknowledges that
our attitude towards bacteria is not a simple one. We tend to see the dangers
posed by bacteria, yet at the same time we are sold yoghurts and drinks that
supposedly nurture ‘friendly’ bacteria. In reality, says Yong, bacteria should
not be viewed as either friends or foes, villains or heroes. Instead we should
realise we have a symbiotic relationship, that can be mutually beneficial or
mutually destructive.
What
then do these millions of organisms do? The answer is pretty much everything.
New research is now unravelling the ways in which bacteria aid digestion,
regulate our immune systems, eliminate toxins, produce vitamins, affect our
behaviour and even combat obesity. ‘They actually help us become who we are,’
says Yong. But we are facing a growing problem. Our obsession with hygiene, our
overuse of antibiotics and our unhealthy, low-fibre diets are disrupting the
bacterial balance and may be responsible for soaring rates of allergies and
immune problems, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The
most recent research actually turns accepted norms upside down. For example,
there are studies indicating that the excessive use of household detergents and
antibacterial products actually destroys the microbes that normally keep the
more dangerous germs at bay. Other studies show that keeping a dog as a pet
gives children early exposure to a diverse range of bacteria, which may help
protect them against allergies later.
The
readers of Yong’s book must be prepared for a decidedly unglamorous world.
Among the less appealing case studies is one about a fungus that is wiping out
entire populations of frogs and that can be halted by a rare microbial
bacterium. Another is about squid that carry luminescent bacteria that protect
them against predators. However, if you can overcome your distaste for some of
the investigations, the reasons for Yong’s enthusiasm become clear. The
microbial world is a place of wonder. Already, in an attempt to stop mosquitoes
spreading dengue fever – a disease that infects 400 million people a year –
mosquitoes are being loaded with a bacterium to block the disease. In the
future, our ability to manipulate microbes means we could construct buildings
with useful microbes built into their walls to fight off infections. Just
imagine a neonatal hospital ward coated in a specially mixed cocktail of
microbes so that babies get the best start in life.
Questions 14-16
Choose
the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 14-16 on your
answer sheet.
14 What point does the writer
make about microbes in the first paragraph?
A They adapt quickly to their
environment.
B The risk they pose has been
exaggerated.
C They are more plentiful in animal
life than plant life.
D They will continue to exist for
longer than the human race.
15 In the second paragraph,
the writer is impressed by the fact that
A each species tends to have vastly
different microbes.
B some parts of the body contain
relatively few microbes.
C the average individual has more
microbial cells than human ones.
D scientists have limited
understanding of how microbial cells behave.
16 What is the writer doing
in the fifth paragraph?
A explaining how a discovery was
made
B comparing scientists’ theories
about microbes
C describing confusion among
scientists
D giving details of how microbes
cause disease
Questions 17-20
Complete
the summary using the list of words, A-H, below.
Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 17-20 on
your answer sheet.
We should be more
tolerant of microbes
Yong’s
book argues that we should be more tolerant of microbes. Many have a beneficial
effect, and only a relatively small number lead to 17 ………………… .
And although it is misleading to think of microbes as ‘friendly’, we should
also stop thinking of them as the enemy. In fact, we should accept that our
relationship with microbes is one based on 18 ………………… .
New
research shows that microbes have numerous benefits for humans. Amongst other
things, they aid digestion, remove poisons, produce vitamins and may even help
reduce obesity. However, there is a growing problem. Our poor 19 …………………,
our overuse of antibiotics, and our excessive focus on 20 …………………
are upsetting the bacterial balance and may be contributing to the huge
increase in allergies and immune system problems.
A
solution B partnership C destruction
D
exaggeration E cleanliness F regulations
G
illness H nutrition
Questions 21-26
Do
the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage
2?
In boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement
agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement
contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to
say what the writer thinks about this
21 It is possible that using
antibacterial products in the home fails to have the desired effect.
22 It is a good idea to ensure that
children come into contact with as few bacteria as possible.
23 Yong’s book contains more cause
studies than are necessary.
24 The case study about bacteria
that prevent squid from being attacked may have limited appeal.
25 Efforts to control dengue
fever have been surprisingly successful
26
Microbes that reduce the risk of infection have already been put inside the
walls of some hospital wards.
READING PASSAGE 3
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are
based on Reading Passage 3 below.
How to make wise
decisions
Across
cultures, wisdom has been considered one of the most revered human qualities.
Although the truly wise may seem few and far between, empirical research
examining wisdom suggests that it isn’t an exceptional trait possessed by a
small handful of bearded philosophers after all – in fact, the latest studies
suggest that most of us have the ability to make wise decisions, given the
right context.
‘It
appears that experiential, situational, and cultural factors are even more
powerful in shaping wisdom than previously imagined,’ says Associate Professor
Igor Grossmann of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. ‘Recent
empirical findings from cognitive, developmental, social, and personality
psychology cumulatively suggest that people’s ability to reason wisely varies
dramatically across experiential and situational contexts. Understanding the
role of such contextual factors offers unique insights into understanding
wisdom in daily life, as well as how it can be enhanced and taught.’
It
seems that it’s not so much that some people simply possess wisdom and others
lack it, but that our ability to reason wisely depends on a variety of external
factors. ‘It is impossible to characterize thought processes attributed to
wisdom without considering the role of contextual factors,’ explains Grossmann.
‘In other words, wisdom is not solely an “inner quality” but rather unfolds as
a function of situations people happen to be in. Some situations are more
likely to promote wisdom than others.’
Coming
up with a definition of wisdom is challenging, but Grossmann and his colleagues
have identified four key characteristics as part of a framework of wise
reasoning. One is intellectual humility or recognition of the limits of our own
knowledge, and another is appreciation of perspectives wider than the issue at
hand. Sensitivity to the possibility of change in social relations is also key,
along with compromise or integration of different attitudes and beliefs.
Grossmann
and his colleagues have also found that one of the most reliable ways to
support wisdom in our own day-to-day decisions is to look at scenarios from a
third-party perspective, as though giving advice to a friend. Research suggests
that when adopting a first-person viewpoint we focus on ‘the focal features of
the environment’ and when we adopt a third-person, ‘observer’ viewpoint we
reason more broadly and focus more on interpersonal and moral ideals such as
justice and impartiality. Looking at problems from this more expansive
viewpoint appears to foster cognitive processes related to wise decisions.
What
are we to do, then, when confronted with situations like a disagreement with a
spouse or negotiating a contract at work, that require us to take a personal
stake? Grossmann argues that even when we aren’t able to change the situation,
we can still evaluate these experiences from different perspectives.
For
example, in one experiment that took place during the peak of a recent economic
recession, graduating college seniors were asked to reflect on their job
prospects. The students were instructed to imagine their career either ‘as if
you were a distant observer’ or ‘before your own eyes as if you were right
there’. Participants in the group assigned to the ‘distant observer’ role
displayed more wisdom-related reasoning (intellectual humility and recognition
of change) than did participants in the control group.
In
another study, couples in long-term romantic relationships were instructed to
visualize an unresolved relationship conflict either through the eyes of an
outsider or from their own perspective. Participants then discussed the
incident with their partner for 10 minutes, after which they wrote down their
thoughts about it. Couples in the ‘other’s eyes’ condition were significantly
more likely to rely on wise reasoning – recognizing others’ perspectives and
searching for a compromise – compared to the couples in the egocentric
condition.
‘Ego-decentering
promotes greater focus on others and enables a bigger picture, conceptual view
of the experience, affording recognition of intellectual humility and change,’
says Grossmann.
We
might associate wisdom with intelligence or particular personality traits, but
research shows only a small positive relationship between wise thinking and
crystallized intelligence and the personality traits of openness and
agreeableness. ‘It is remarkable how much people can vary in their wisdom from
one situation to the next, and how much stronger such contextual effects are
for understanding the relationship between wise judgment and its social and
affective outcomes as compared to the generalized “traits”,’ Grossmann
explains. ‘That is, knowing how wisely a person behaves in a given situation is
more informative for understanding their emotions or likelihood to forgive [or]
retaliate as compared to knowing whether the person may be wise “in general”.’
Questions 27-30
Choose
the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 27-30 on
your answer sheet.
27 What point does the writer
make in the first paragraph?
A Wisdom appears to be
unique to the human race.
B A basic assumption about
wisdom may be wrong.
C Concepts of wisdom may
depend on the society we belong to.
D There is still much to be
discovered about the nature of wisdom.
28 What does Igor Grossmann
suggest about the ability to make wise decisions?
A It can vary greatly from
one person to another.
B Earlier research into it
was based on unreliable data.
C The importance of certain
influences on it was underestimated.
D Various branches of
psychology define it according to their own criteria.
29 According to the third
paragraph, Grossmann claims that the level of wisdom an individual shows
A can be greater than they
think it is.
B will be different in
different circumstances.
C may be determined by
particular aspects of their personality.
D should develop over time
as a result of their life experiences.
30 What is described in the
fifth paragraph?
A a difficulty encountered
when attempting to reason wisely
B an example of the type of
person who is likely to reason wisely
C a controversial view about
the benefits of reasoning wisely
D a recommended strategy
that can help people to reason wisely
Questions 31-35
Complete
the summary using the list of words, A-J, below.
Write the correct letter, A-J, in
boxes 31-35 on your answer sheet.
The characteristics
of wise reasoning
Igor
Grossmann and colleagues have established four characteristics which enable us
to make wise decisions. It is important to have a certain degree of 31 …………………..
regarding the extent of our knowledge, and to take into account 32 …………………..
which may not be the same as our own. We should also be able to take a
broad 33 ………………….. of any situation. Another key
characteristic is being aware of the likelihood of alterations in the way that
people relate to each other.
Grossmann
also believes that it is better to regard scenarios with 34 …………………..
. By avoiding the first-person perspective, we focus more on 35 …………………..
and on other moral ideals, which in turn leads to wiser decision-making.
A
opinions B
confidence C
view
D
modesty E problems
F
objectivity
G
fairness
H
experiences I
range
J reasons
Questions 36-40
Do
the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 36-40 on your answer
sheet, write
TRUE
if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE
if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if
there is no information on this
36 Students
participating in the job prospects experiment could choose one of two perspectives
to take.
37 Participants in the
couples experiment were aware that they were taking part in a study about wise
reasoning.
38 In the couples
experiments, the length of the couples’ relationships had an impact on the
results.
39 In both experiments, the
participants who looked at the situation from a more detached viewpoint tended
to make wiser decisions.
40
Grossmann believes that a person’s wisdom is determined by their intelligence
to only a very limited extent
Passage 1
1 TRUE
2 NOT GIVEN
3 TRUE
4 FALSE
5 FALSE
6 TRUE
7 TRUE
8 NOT GIVEN
9 Ridgeway
10 documents
11 soil
12 fertility
13 Rhiannon
Passage 2
14 D
15 C
16 A
17 G
18 B
19 H
20 E
21 YES
22 NO
23 NOT GIVEN
24 YES
25 NOT GIVEN
26 NO
Passage 3
27 B
28 C
29 B
30 D
31 D
32 A
33 C
34 F
35 G
36 FALSE
37 NOT GIVEN
38 NOT GIVEN
39 TRUE
40 TRUE
No comments:
Post a Comment