Test 3
LISTENING
SECTION 1
Questions 1-10: Complete the form below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A
NUMBER for each answer.
Registration Form
Example Answer
Type of crime reported: robbery
Example: Type of crime reported: Answer: robbery
Name: Anna 1 ___________
Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy): 2 ___________
Address: 3 4 ___________St.
Post code: 4 ___________
Nationality: Grenadian
Number of previous burglaries: 5 ___________
Time of apartment tenancy: 6 ___________
Number of occupants: 7 ___________
Entry point of burglar: 8 ___________
Details of lost property:
• Serial number of lost computer: 9 ___________
• Material of stolen purse: 10 ___________ Cloth
SECTION 2
Questions 11-14: Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
11. What is the project that Mark and Gina want to start?
A. business school requirements
B. directions to the business school
C. explaining the business school experience
12. Who is the target audience?
A. business students
B. business school applicants
C. summer school attendees
13. How will they convey the information?
A. summer course lecture
B. informational video
C. pamphlet in the mail
14. They want to do this project because
A. students worry about their studies.
B. they want to obtain a good grade.
C. they want to attract future business school applicants.
Questions 15-20: Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Topic Time
• Academics 7 minutes
– 15 ___________
• 16 ___________ 6 minutes
– Cafeteria
– 17 ___________
• Social activity 8 minutes
– 18 ___________
– 19 ___________
• Conclusion nearly 20 ___________
SECTION 3
Questions 21-26: Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
21. The subjects in questionnaire are
A. local residents.
B. people who are living in this area.
C. tourists in the hotel in this area.
22. The results of the questionnaire should be
A. scored by hand.
B. submitted directly to Professor Curran.
C. directly entered into the computer.
23. Why should John give a copy of plans to the professor?
A. to get advice
B. to earn high praise
C. to receive a good grade
24. How will the instructions be presented?
A. given by all members of the group
B. given by the professor
C. given by a group representative
25. What does Dani suggest to John when those subjects receive the questionnaire?
A. focus on the opinion of the interviewees
B. take consideration of both sides
C. divide into 2 parts to argue
26. Why is this project particularly important to John?
A. to raise his grade
B. to impress his professor
C. to earn respect from professors in the department
Questions 27-30: What is the source of each one below in this survey?
Choose FOUR answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-F, next to questions 27-30.
A radio
B council meeting
C the Internet
D journal
E newspaper
F the television
27 Map
28 Photo
29 Budget
30 Comment
SECTION 4
Questions 31-35: Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
31. Why did the lecturer choose to focus on the Pleasanton Town Market?
A. It was the first ever Town Market.
B. It has been covered extensively in local history classes.
C. It is often mentioned in some literature of the library.
32. The Town Market originally made a large profit selling
A. handcrafts
B. vegetables
C. animals
33. The money that the marketers made contributes to local
A. reconstruction
B. development
C. defence
34. Market sales plummeted due to a lack of viable.
A. agriculture
B. transport
C. city planning.
35. Mayor John C. Wiley decided the Clock tower would be used as a ………….. in the early stages of
the uprising
A. clock
B. grounds for battle
C. jail
Questions 36-40: Complete the table below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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 which can whisk you to
your destination along with a network of guideways. You wouldn’t have to share your space with strangers,
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. 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. 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 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. 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.
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. 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.
2. The pollution caused by city transport has been largely ignored.
3. Most states in America have taken actions to reduce vehicle growth.
4. Public transport is particularly difficult to use on steep hills.
5. Private cars are much more convenient for those who tend to buy a lot of things during shopping.
6. Government should impose compulsory restrictions on car use.
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.
8. It can run at high speed in cities.
9. It can run on existing roads.
10. It can be bought by private buyers.
11. It is not necessary to share with the general public.
12. It is always controlled by a computer.
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 or crops of the future. Others collect to
conserve, working to halt the sad slide into extinction facing so many plant species.
B. Among the pioneers 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-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. 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.
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. 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
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.” 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 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. 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)_________ ; others collect
seeds for their ability to produce (15) __________________ . They are called seed hunters. The
(16)________________ of them included both gardeners and botanists,such as (17)
_____________who financially suppo
(18) ___________ 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.
20. The Millennium Seed Bank is one of the earliest seed banks.
21. A major reason for plant species extinction is farmland expansion.
22. The method scientists use to store seeds is similar to that used by farmers.
23. Technological development is the only hope to save plant species.
24. The works of seed conservation are often limited by insufficient financial resources.
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
PASSAGE 3
Assessing the risk
A. As a title for a supposedly unprejudiced debate on scientific progress, “Panic attack: interrogating our
obsession with risk” did not bode well. Held last week at the Royal Institution in London, the event brought
together scientists from across the world to ask why society is so obsessed with risk and to call for a “more
rational” approach. “We seem to be organising society around the grandmotherly maxim of ’better safe than
sorry’,” exclaimed Spiked, the online publication that organised the event. “What are the consequences of
this overbearing concern with risks?”
B. The debate was preceded by a survey of 40 scientists who were invited to describe how awful our lives
would be if the “precautionary principle” had been allowed to prevail in the past. Their response was: no
heart surgery or antibiotics, and hardly any drugs at all; no aeroplanes, bicycles or high-voltage power grids;
no pasteurisation, pesticides or biotechnology; no quantum of America. In short, their message was: no risk,
no gain
C. They have absolutely missed the point. The precautionary principle is a subtle idea. It has various forms,
but all of them generally include some notion of cost-effectiveness. Thus the point is not simply to ban things
that are not known to be absolutely safe. Rather, it says: “Of course you can make no progress without risk.
But if there is no obvious gain from taking the risk, then don’t take it.”
D. Clearly, all the technologies listed by the 40 wellchosen savants were innately risky at their inception, as
all technologies are. But all of them would have received the green light under the precautionary principle
because they all had the potential to offer tremendous benefits-the solutions to very big problems-if only the
snags could be overcome.
E. If the precautionary principle had been in place, the scientists tell us, we would not have antibiotics. But
of course we would-if the version of the principle that sensible people now understand had been applied.
When penicillin was discovered in the 1920s, infective bacteria were laying waste to the world. Children
died from diphtheria and whooping cough, every open drain brought the threat of typhoid, and any wound
could lead to septicaemia and even gangrene.
F. Penicillin was turned into a practical drug during the Second World War, when the many pestilences that
result from war threatened to kill more people than the bombs. Of course antibiotics were a priority. Of
course the risks, such as they could be perceived, were worth taking.
G. And so with the other items on the scientists’ list: electric light bulbs, blood transfusions, CAT scans,
knives, the measles vaccine—the precautionary principle would have prevented all of them, they tell us. But
this is just plain wrong. If the precautionary principle had been applied properly, all these creations would
have passed muster, because all offered incomparable advantages compared to the risks perceived at the
time.
H. Another issue is at stake here. Statistics are not the only concept people use when weighing up risk.
Human beings, subtle and evolved creatures that we are, do not survive to three-score years and ten simply
by thinking like pocket calculators. A crucial issue is choice. In deciding whether to pursue the development
of a new technology, the consumer’s right to choose should be considered alongside considerations of risk
and benefit. Clearly, skiing is more dangerous than genetically modified tomatoes. But people who ski
choose to do so; they do not have skiing thrust upon them by portentous experts of the kind who now feel
they have the right to reconstruct our crops. Even with skiing there is the matter of cost effectiveness to
consider: skiing, I am told, is exhilarating. Where is the exhilaration in GM soya?
I. Indeed, in contrast to all the other items on Spiked’s list, GM crops stand out as an example of a
technology whose benefits are far from clear. Some of the risks can at least be defined. But in the present
economic climate, the benefits that might accrue from them seem dubious. Promoters of GM crops believe
that the future population of the world cannot be fed without them. That is untrue. The crops that really
matter are wheat and rice, and there is no GM research in the pipeline that will seriously affect the yield of
either. GM is used to make production cheaper and hence more profitable, which is an extremely
questionable ambition.
J. The precautionary principle provides the world with a very important safeguard. If it had been in place in
the past it might, for example, have prevented insouciant miners from polluting major rivers with mercury.
We have come to a sorry pass when scientists, who should above all be dispassionate scholars, feel they
should misrepresent such a principle for the purposes of commercial and political propaganda. People at
large continue to mistrust science and the high technologies it produces partly because they doubt the
wisdom of scientists. On such evidence as this, these doubts are fully justified.
Questions 27-32: Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
27. The title of the debate is not unbiased.
28. All the scientists invited to the debate were from the field of medicine.
29. The message those scientists who conducted the survey were sending was people shouldn’t take risks.
30. All the 40 listed technologies are riskier than other technologies.
31. It was worth taking the risks to invent antibiotics.
32. All the other inventions on the list were also judged by the precautionary principle.
Questions 33-39: Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage.
When applying precautionary principle to decide whether to invent a new technology, people should also
consider the 33 _______________ along with the usual consideration of34 _____________. For example,
though risky and dangerous enough, people still enjoy 35 ________________ for the excitement it provides.
On the other hand, experts believe that future population desperately needs 36 _______________
in spite of their undefined risks. Howeverthe researches conducted so far have not been directed towards incr
37_____________, but to reduce the cost of 38 _____________ and to bring more profit out of
it. In the end, such selfish use of precautionary principle for business and political gain has often led people
to 39____________ science for they believe scientists are not to be trusted.
Question 40: Choose the correct letter, ABC or D.
40. What is the main theme of the passage?
A. there are not enough people who truly understand the precautionary principle
B. the precautionary principle bids us to take risks at all costs
C. people have right to doubt science and technologies
D. the precautionary principle could have prevented the development of science and technology
