READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1.
Bakelite
Question Number | Answer | Keywords | Location in the Passage | Text Associated with Answer |
1 | candlewax | constituents, coal, oil | Para 2, line 4-5 | "constituents of coal or oil. Some are 'thermoplastic', which means that, like candlewax, they melt when heated and can then be reshaped." |
2 | synthetic | thermosetting plastic | Para 2, last 2 lines | "cannot revert to their original viscous state, and their shape is thus fixed for ever. Bakelite had the distinction of being the first totally synthetic thermosetting plastic." |
3 | chemistry | technological progress | Para 3, line 2-4 | "thermoplastic materials in the mid-nineteenth century. The impetus behind the development of these early plastics was generated by a number of factors – immense technological progress in the domain of chemistry..." |
4 | Novalak | wood, coal, kettle | Para 5, line 2-3 | "(from wood or coal) were initially combined under vacuum inside a large egg-shaped kettle. The result was a resin known as Novalak, which became soluble and malleable when heated." |
5 | fillers | woodflour, asbestos, cotton | Para 5, line 5-6 | "ground into powder. Other substances were then introduced: including fillers, such as woodflour, asbestos or cotton, which increase strength and moisture resistance, catalysts" |
6 | hexa | ammonia, formaldehyde | Para 5, line 7-8 | "substances to speed up the reaction between two chemicals without joining to either) and hexa, a compound of ammonia and formaldehyde which supplied the additional" |
7 | raw | formaldehyde, cool | Para 5, line 9-10 | "formaldehyde necessary to form a thermosetting resin. This resin was then left to cool and harden, and ground up a second time. The resulting granular powder was raw Bakelite, ready" |
8 | pressure | hollow mould, heat | Para 5, last 2 lines | "was poured into a hollow mould of the required shape and subjected to extreme heat and pressure, thereby 'setting' its form for life." |
9 | B | technical requirements | Para 6, line 2-4 | "large extent by the technical requirements of the moulding process. The object could not be designed so that it was locked into the mould and therefore difficult to extract." |
10 | C | molten Bakelite | Para 6, line 5-6 | "necessary the product was moulded in separate pieces. Moulds had to be carefully designed so that the molten Bakelite would flow evenly and completely into the mould. Sharp corners" |
11 | TRUE | Baekeland, patent | Para 4, last 3 lines | "making possible its preparation on a commercial basis. On 13 July 1907, Baekeland took out his famous patent describing this preparation, the essential features of which are still in use today." |
12 | FALSE | popularity | Para 7, first 2 lines | "Baekeland's invention, although treated with disdain in its early years, went on to enjoy an unparalleled popularity which lasted throughout the first half of the twentieth century. It revolutionized various industries, and Bakelite products became widely used and admired for their versatility and durability." |
Question Number | Answer | Keywords | Location in the Passage | Text Associated with Answer |
13 | FALSE | insulating, shades | Para 7, line 5-8 | "promoted as being germ-free and sterilizable. Electrical manufacturers seized on its insulating properties, and consumers everywhere relished its dazzling array of shades, delighted that they were now, at last, no longer restricted to the wood tones and drab browns of the pre-plastic era. It then fell from favor again during the 1950s, and was despised and destroyed." |
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 .
What’s so funny
ANSWERS | KEYWORDS | LOCATIONS | EXPLANATIONS |
14. FALSE | Arthur Koestler, biologically, important | Paragraph 1; last line | The writer Arthur Koestler dubbed it the luxury reflex: „unique in that it serves no apparent biological purpose. “no apparent biological purpose=not biologically important” |
15. Not Given | Plato,above-average, intelligence | paragraph 2 | Plato expressed the idea that humor is simply a delighted feeling of superiority over others. “feeling of superiority over other is given but whether it is the superiority of intelligence is not mentioned” |
16. True | Kant, release, nervous energy | paragraph 2, line 3 | “Kant and Freud felt that joke-telling relies on building up apsychic tension which is safely punctured by the ludicrousness of the punchline”. +release = punctured + nervous energy = psychic tension |
17. False | ignored, Aristotle | paragraph 2; line 4 | But most modern humour theorists have settled on some version of Aristotle’s belief that jokes are based on a reaction to or resolution of incongruity, when the punchline is either a nonsense or, though appearing silly, has a clever second meaning. “settled some version of Aristotle’s belief= not ignored Aristotle’s view on the subject” |
18. True | Graeme Ritchie, artificial intelligence | paragraph 3; 1st sentence | Graeme Ritchie, a computational linguist in Edinburgh, ………………reasoning in machines. “artificial intelligence = reasoning in machines” |
19. Not Given | personal situations, source of humour | paragraph 3; last sentence | A comedian will present a situation followed by an unexpected interpretation that is also apt”. This means there are a lot of different ways to tell a joke, for example, using a sudden, surprising/unexpected situation. “use of personal situation by comedians not mentioned” |
20. True | chimpanzees, playing | Paragraph 5; line 4 | Chimpanzees have a, play-face – a gaping expression accompanied by a panting ,ah,ah” noise. “play face= playing, ah, ah= particular noise” |
21. problem solving | right prefrontal cortex, light up | paragraph 8; line 3 | His scans showed that at the beginning of a joke the listener’s prefrontal cortex lit up, particularly the right prefrontal believed to be critical for problem solving. “Light up = lit up” |
22. temporal lobes | active, too | paragraph 8; line 6 | But there was also activity in the temporal lobes at the side of the head (consistent with attempts to rouse stored knowledge) and in many other brain areas. “active = activity, too = also” |
23. evaluating information | orbital prefrontal cortex, activated | Paragraph 8; last sentence | Then when the punchline arrived, a new area sprang to life – the orbital prefrontal cortex. This patch of brain tucked behind the orbits of the eyes is associated with evaluating information. “activated = sprang to life, involved with = associated with, this= orbital prefrontal cortex” |
24. C | brain, most difficult task | paragraph 9; line | Making a rapid emotional assessment of the events of the moment is an extremely demanding job for the brain, animal or human. “extremely= most, difficult task= demanding jobs” |
25. A | language, developed | paragraph 10; line | |
26. F | individual, responses, humour | paragraph 10; line | Whether a joke gives pleasure or pain depends on a person’s outlook. “a person’s subjective views = a person’s outlook” |
27. D | Peter Derks | Paragraph 11; last sentence |
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 .
The birth of scientific English
Question Number | Answer | Keywords | Location in the Passage | Text Associated with Answer |
28 | Latin | science, write, English, 17th century | Para 1, last 5 lines | "surprising that no one really knew how to write science in English before the 17th century. Before that, Latin was regarded..." |
29 | doctors | social distinction, gentlemen, Latin | Para 5, line 13-28 | "science and commercial exploitation. There was something of a social distinction between 'scholars and gentlemen' who understood Latin..." |
30 | technical vocabulary | English, deal, scientific argument | Para 7, line 5-8 | "English was not well equipped to deal with scientific argument. First, it lacked the necessary technical vocabulary..." |
31 | grammatical resources | English, deal, scientific argument | Para 7, line 5-8 | "English was not well equipped to deal with scientific argument. Second, it lacked the grammatical resources required..." |
32 | Royal Society | interests, language, John Wallis | Para 3, line 5-8 | "interests in language — John Wallis and John Wilkins — helped found the Royal Society in 1660 in order to promote empirical scientific research." |
33 | German | momentum, leading European language | Para 10, line 3-6 | "English. In the following century much of this momentum was lost as German established itself as the leading European language of science." |
34 | industrial revolution | lexical growth, new technical vocabulary | Para 10, last 7 lines | "England. However, in the 19th century scientific English again enjoyed substantial lexical growth as the industrial revolution created the need for new technical vocabulary..." |
35 | NOT GIVEN | N/A | N/A | N/A |
36 | FALSE | scientific developments, magnetism | Para 2, line 12-16 | "to India, was supported by scientific developments such as the discovery of magnetism..." |
37 | TRUE | foster, publication, science in English | Para 8, line 4-10 | "projects. Although a proposal in 1664 to establish a committee for improving the English language came to little, the society’s members did a great deal to foster the publication of science in English..." |
38 | popular | national languages, popular works | Para 4, line 3-9 | "traditions of science. In the initial stages of the scientific revolution, most publications in the national languages were popular works..." |
39 | Principia | Newton, mathematical treatise | Para 4, last 5 lines | "For example, Newton published his mathematical treatise, known as the Principia, in Latin..." |
40 | local | Latin, international audience | Para 5, last 5 lines | "Latin was suitable for an international audience of scholars, whereas English reached a socially wider, but more local, audience..." |
Outstanding!