How a sixteenth-century warship was recovered from the seabed
On 19 July 1545, English and French fleets were engaged in a sea battle off the coast of southern England in the area of water called the Solent, between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. Among the English vessels was a warship by the name of Mary Rose. Built in Portsmouth some 35 years earlier, she had had a long and successful fighting career, and was a favourite of King Henry VIII. Accounts of what happened to the ship vary: while witnesses agree that she was not hit by the French, some maintain that she was outdated, overladen and sailing too low in the water, others that she was mishandled by undisciplined crew. What is undisputed, however, is that the Mary Rose sank into the Solent that day, taking at least 500 men with her. After the battle, attempts were made to recover the ship, but these failed.
The Mary Rose came to rest on the seabed, lying on her starboard (right) side at an angle of approximately 60 degrees. The hull (the body of the ship) acted as a trap for the sand and mud carried by Solent currents. As a result, the starboard side filled rapidly, leaving the exposed port (left) side to be eroded by marine organisms and mechanical degradation. Because of the way the ship sank, nearly all of the starboard half survived intact. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the entire site became covered with a layer of hard grey clay, which minimised further erosion.
Then, on 16 June 1836, some fishermen in the Solent found that their equipment was caught on an underwater obstruction, which turned out to be the Mary Rose. Diver John Deane happened to be exploring another sunken ship nearby, and the fishermen approached him, asking him to free their gear. Deane dived down, and found the equipment caught on a timber protruding slightly from the seabed. Exploring further, he uncovered several other timbers and a bronze gun. Deane continued diving on the site intermittently until 1840, recovering several more guns, two bows, various timbers, part of a pump and various other small finds.
The Mary Rose then faded into obscurity for another hundred years. But in 1965, military historian and amateur diver Alexander McKee, in conjunction with the British Sub-Aqua Club, initiated a project called ‘Solent Ships’. While on paper this was a plan to examine a number of known wrecks in the Solent, what McKee really hoped for was to find the Mary Rose. Ordinary search techniques proved unsatisfactory, so McKee entered into collaboration with Harold E. Edgerton, professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1967, Edgerton’s side-scan sonar systems revealed a large, unusually shaped object, which McKee believed was the Mary Rose.
Further excavations revealed stray pieces of timber and an iron gun. But the climax to the operation came when, on 5 May 1971, part of the ship’s frame was uncovered. McKee and his team now knew for certain that they had found the wreck, but were as yet unaware that it also housed a treasure trove of beautifully preserved artefacts. Interest ^ in the project grew, and in 1979, The Mary Rose Trust was formed, with Prince Charles as its President and Dr Margaret Rule its Archaeological Director. The decision whether or not to salvage the wreck was not an easy one, although an excavation in 1978 had shown that it might be possible to raise the hull. While the original aim was to raise the hull if at all feasible, the operation was not given the go-ahead until January 1982, when all the necessary information was available.
An important factor in trying to salvage the Mary Rose was that the remaining hull was an open shell. This led to an important decision being taken: namely to carry out the lifting operation in three very distinct stages. The hull was attached to a lifting frame via a network of bolts and lifting wires. The problem of the hull being sucked back downwards into the mud was overcome by using 12 hydraulic jacks. These raised it a few centimetres over a period of several days, as the lifting frame rose slowly up its four legs. It was only when the hull was hanging freely from the lifting frame, clear of the seabed and the suction effect of the surrounding mud, that the salvage operation progressed to the second stage. In this stage, the lifting frame was fixed to a hook attached to a crane, and the hull was lifted completely clear of the seabed and transferred underwater into the lifting cradle. This required precise positioning to locate the legs into the stabbing guides’ of the lifting cradle. The lifting cradle was designed to fit the hull using archaeological survey drawings, and was fitted with air bags to provide additional cushioning for the hull’s delicate timber framework. The third and final stage was to lift the entire structure into the air, by which time the hull was also supported from below. Finally, on 11 October 1982, millions of people around the world held their breath as the timber skeleton of the Mary Rose was lifted clear of the water, ready to be returned home to Portsmouth.
Question (1)
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-4 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 There is some doubt about what caused the Mary Rose to sink.
2 The Mary Rose was the only ship to sink in the battle of 19 July 1545.
3 Most of one side of the Mary Rose lay undamaged under the sea.
4 Alexander McKee knew that the wreck would contain many valuable historical objects.
Look at the following statements (Questions 5-8) and the list of dates below.
Match each statement with the correct date, A-G.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 5-8 on your answer sheet.
List of Dates
| A | 1836 |
| B | 1840 |
| C | 1965 |
| D | 1967 |
| E | 1971 |
| F | 1979 |
| G | 1982 |
A search for the Mary Rose was launched. 5
One person’s exploration of the Mary Rose site stopped. 6
It was agreed that the hull of the Mary Rose should be raised. 7
The site of the Mary Rose was found by chance. 8
Questions 9 – 13
Label the diagram below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.
Raising the hull of the Mary Rose: Stages one and two
9 10 11 12 13 |
What destroyed the civilisation of Easter Island?
A
Easter Island, or Rapu Nui as it is known locally, is home to several hundred ancient human statues – the moai. After this remote Pacific island was settled by the Polynesians, it remained isolated for centuries. All the energy and resources that went into the moai – some of which are ten metres tall and weigh over 7,000 kilos – came from the island itself. Yet when Dutch explorers landed in 1722, they met a Stone Age culture. The moai were carved with stone tools, then transported for many kilometres, without the use of animals or wheels, to massive stone platforms. The identity of the moai builders was in doubt until well into the twentieth century. Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer, thought the statues had been created by pre-Inca peoples from Peru. Bestselling Swiss author Erich von Daniken believed they were built by stranded extraterrestrials. Modern science – linguistic, archaeological and genetic evidence – has definitively proved the moai builders were Polynesians, but not how they moved their creations. Local folklore maintains that the statues walked, while researchers have tended to assume the ancestors dragged the statues somehow, using ropes and logs.
B
When the Europeans arrived, Rapa Nui was grassland, with only a few scrawny trees. In the 1970s and 1980s, though, researchers found pollen preserved in lake sediments, which proved the island had been covered in lush palm forests for thousands of years. Only after the Polynesians arrived did those forests disappear. US scientist Jared Diamond believes that the Rapanui people – descendants of Polynesian settlers – wrecked their own environment. They had unfortunately settled on an extremely fragile island – dry, cool, and too remote to be properly fertilised by windblown volcanic ash. {[ When the islanders cleared the forests for firewood and farming, the forests didn’t grow back. As trees became scarce and they could no longer construct wooden canoes for fishing, they ate birds. Soil erosion decreased their crop yields. Before Europeans arrived, the Rapanui had descended into civil war and cannibalism, he maintains. The collapse of their isolated civilisation, Diamond writes, is a ’worst-case scenario for what may lie ahead of us in our own future’.
C
The moai, he thinks, accelerated the self-destruction. Diamond interprets them as power displays by rival chieftains who, trapped on a remote little island, lacked other ways of asserting their dominance. They competed by building ever bigger figures. Diamond thinks they laid the moai on wooden sledges, hauled over log rails, but that required both a lot of wood and a lot of people. To feed the people, even more land had to be cleared. When the wood was gone and civil war began, the islanders began toppling the moai. By the nineteenth century none were standing.
D
Archaeologists Terry Hunt of the University of Hawaii and Carl Lipo of California State University agree that Easter Island lost its lush forests and that it was an ‘ecological catastrophe’ – but they believe the islanders themselves weren’t to blame. And the moai certainly weren’t. Archaeological excavations indicate that the Rapanui went to heroic efforts to protect the resources of their wind-lashed, infertile fields. They built thousands of circular stone windbreaks and gardened inside them, and used broken volcanic rocks to keep the soil moist. In short, Hunt and Lipo argue, the prehistoric Rapanui were pioneers of sustainable farming.
E
Hunt and Lipo contend that moai-building was an activity that helped keep the peace between islanders. They also believe that moving the moai required few people and no wood, because they were walked upright. On that issue, Hunt and Lipo say, archaeological evidence backs up Rapanui folklore. Recent experiments indicate that as few as 18 people could, with three strong ropes and a bit of practice, easily manoeuvre a 1,000 kg moai replica a few hundred metres. The figures’ fat bellies tilted them forward, and a D-shaped base allowed handlers to roll and rock them side to side.
F
Moreover, Hunt and Lipo are convinced that the settlers were not wholly responsible for the loss of the island’s trees. Archaeological finds of nuts from the extinct Easter Island palm show tiny grooves, made by the teeth of Polynesian rats. The rats arrived along with the settlers, and in just a few years, Hunt and Lipo calculate, they would have overrun the island. They would have prevented the reseeding of the slow-growing palm trees and thereby doomed Rapa Nui’s forest, even without the settlers’ campaign of deforestation. No doubt the rats ate birds’ eggs too. Hunt and Lipo also see no evidence that Rapanui civilisation collapsed when the palm forest did. They think its population grew rapidly and then remained more or less stable until the arrival of the Europeans, who introduced deadly diseases to which islanders had no immunity. Then in the nineteenth century slave traders decimated the population, which shrivelled to 111 people by 1877.
G
Hunt and Lipo’s vision, therefore, is one of an island populated by peaceful and ingenious moai builders and careful stewards of the land, rather than by reckless destroyers ruining their own environment and society. ‘Rather than a case of abject failure, Rapu Nui is an unlikely story of success’, they claim. Whichever is the case, there are surely some valuable lessons which the world at large can learn from the story of Rapa Nui.
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-ix, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
| i | Evidence of innovative environment management practices |
| ii | An undisputed answer to a question about the moai |
| iii | The future of the moai statues |
| iv | A theory which supports a local belief |
| v | The future of Easter Island |
| vi | Two opposing views about the Rapanui people |
| vii | Destruction outside the inhabitants’ control |
| viii | How the statues made a situation worse |
| ix | Diminishing food resources |
Paragraph A 14
Paragraph B 15
Paragraph C 16
Paragraph D 17
Paragraph E 18
Paragraph F 19
Paragraph G 20
Questions 21 – 24
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 21-24 on your answer sheet.
Jared Diamond’s ViewDiamond believes that the Polynesian settlers on Rapa Nui destroyed its forests, cutting down its trees for fuel and clearing land for 21 Twentieth-century discoveries of pollen prove that Rapu Nui had once been covered in palm forests, which had turned into grassland by the time the Europeans arrived on the island. When the islanders were no longer able to build the 22 they needed to go fishing, they began using the island’s 23 as a food source, according to Diamond. Diamond also claims that the moai were built to show the power of the island’s chieftains, and that the methods of transporting the statues needed not only a great number of people, but also a great deal of 24 |
Questions 25 – 26
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 25 and 26 on your answer sheet.
On what points do Hunt and Lipo disagree with Diamond?
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E the origins of the people who made the moai
Neuroaesthetics
An emerging discipline called neuroaesthetics is seeking to bring scientific objectivity to the study of art, and has already given us a better understanding of many masterpieces. The blurred imagery of Impressionist paintings seems to stimulate the brain’s amygdala, for instance. Since the amygdala plays a crucial role in our feelings, that finding might explain why many people find these pieces so moving.
Could the same approach also shed light on abstract twentieth-century pieces, from Mondrian’s geometrical blocks of colour, to Pollock’s seemingly haphazard arrangements of splashed paint on canvas? Sceptics believe that people claim to like such works simply because they are famous. We certainly do have an inclination to follow the crowd. When asked to make simple perceptual decisions such as matching a shape to its rotated image, for example, people often choose a definitively wrong answer if they see others doing the same. It is easy to imagine that this mentality would have even more impact on a fuzzy concept like art appreciation, where there is no right or wrong answer.
Angelina Hawley-Dolan, of Boston College, Massachusetts, responded to this debate by asking volunteers to view pairs of paintings – either the creations of famous abstract artists or the doodles of infants, chimps and elephants. They then had to judge which they preferred. A third of the paintings were given no captions, while many were labelled incorrectly -volunteers might think they were viewing a chimp’s messy brushstrokes when they were actually seeing an acclaimed masterpiece. In each set of trials, volunteers generally preferred the work of renowned artists, even when they believed it was by an animal or a child. It seems that the viewer can sense the artist’s vision in paintings, even if they can’t explain why.
Robert Pepperell, an artist based at Cardiff University, creates ambiguous works that are neither entirely abstract nor clearly representational. In one study, Pepperell and his collaborators asked volunteers to decide how’powerful’they considered an artwork to be, and whether they saw anything familiar in the piece. The longer they took to answer these questions, the more highly they rated the piece under scrutiny, and the greater their neural activity. It would seem that the brain sees these images as puzzles, and the harder it is to decipher the meaning, the more rewarding is the moment of recognition.
And what about artists such as Mondrian, whose paintings consist exclusively of horizontal and vertical lines encasing blocks of colour? Mondrian’s works are deceptively simple, but eye-tracking studies confirm that they are meticulously composed, and that simpiy rotating a piece radically changes the way we view it. With the originals, volunteers’eyes tended to stay longer on certain places in the image, but with the altered versions they would flit across a piece more rapidly. As a result, the volunteers considered the altered versions less pleasurable when they later rated the work.
In a similar study, Oshin Vartanian of Toronto University asked volunteers to compare original paintings with ones which he had altered by moving objects around within the frame. He found that almost everyone preferred the original, whether it was a Van Gogh still life or an abstract by Miro. Vartanian also found that changing the composition of the paintings reduced activation in those brain areas linked with meaning and interpretation.
In another experiment, Alex Forsythe of the University of Liverpool analysed the visual intricacy of different pieces of art, and her results suggest that many artists use a key level of detail to please the brain. Too little and the work is boring, but too much results in a kind of ‘perceptual overload’, according to Forsythe. What’s more, appealing pieces both abstract and representational, show signs of ‘fractals’ – repeated motifs recurring in different scales, fractals are common throughout nature, for example in the shapes of mountain peaks or the branches of trees. It is possible that our visual system, which evolved in the great outdoors, finds it easier to process such patterns.
It is also intriguing that the brain appears to process movement when we see a handwritten letter, as if we are replaying the writer’s moment of creation. This has led some to wonder whether Pollock’s works feel so dynamic because the brain reconstructs the energetic actions the artist used as he painted. This may be down to our brain’s ‘mirror neurons’, which are known to mimic others’ actions. The hypothesis will need to be thoroughly tested, however. It might even be the case that we could use neuroaesthetic studies to understand the longevity of some pieces of artwork. While the fashions of the time might shape what is currently popular, works that are best adapted to our visual system may be the most likely to linger once the trends of previous generations have been forgotten.
It’s still early days for the field of neuroaesthetics – and these studies are probably only a taste of what is to come. It would, however, be foolish to reduce art appreciation to a set of scientific laws. We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of the style of a particular artist, their place in history and the artistic environment of their time. Abstract art offers both a challenge and the freedom to play with different interpretations. In some ways, it’s not so different to science, where we are constantly looking for systems and decoding meaning so that we can view and appreciate the world in a new way.
Question (27)
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.
In the second paragraph, the writer refers to a shape-matching test in order to illustrate
- A
- B
- C
- D
Angelina Hawley-Dolan’s findings indicate that people
- A
- B
- C
- D
Results of studies involving Robert Pepperell’s pieces suggest that people
- A
- B
- C
- D
What do the experiments described in the fifth paragraph suggest about the paintings of Mondrian?
- A
- B
- C
- D
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-H, below.
Write the correct letters, A-H, in boxes 31-33 on your answer sheet.
| A | interpretation |
| B | complexity |
| C | emotions |
| D | movements |
| E | skill |
| F | layout |
| G | concern |
| H | images |
The discipline of neuroaesthetics aims to bring scientific objectivity to the study of art. Neurological studies of the brain, for example, demonstrate the impact which Impressionist paintings have on our 31
Alex Forsythe of the University of Liverpool believes many artists give their works the precise degree of 32
which most appeals to the viewer’s brain. She also observes that pleasing works of art often contain certain repeated 33 which occur frequently in the natural world.
Question (34)
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 34-39 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
34 Forsythe’s findings contradicted previous beliefs on the function of ‘fractals’ in art.
35 Certain ideas regarding the link between ‘mirror neurons’ and art appreciation require further verification.
36 People’s taste in paintings depends entirely on the current artistic trends of the period.
37 Scientists should seek to define the precise rules which govern people’s reactions to works of art.
38 Art appreciation should always involve taking into consideration the cultural context in which an artist worked.
39 It is easier to find meaning in the field of science than in that of art.
Question (40)
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in box 40 on your answer sheet.
What would be the most appropriate subtitle for the article?
- A
- B
- C
- D
Answers
Question (1)
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-4 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 There is some doubt about what caused the Mary Rose to sink.
- 1 Answer: TRUE
1. TRUE
Question: There is some doubt about what caused the Mary Rose to sink
Keywords: doubt, sink
In the first paragraph, the writer says that “Accounts of what happened to the ship vary: while witnesses agree that she was not hit by the French, some maintain that she was outdated, overladen and sailing too low in the water, others that she was by undisciplined crew.”
– what caused the Mary Rose to sink=accounts of what happened to the ship
2 The Mary Rose was the only ship to sink in the battle of 19 July 1545.
- 2 Answer: NOT GIVEN
2. NOT GIVEN
Question: The Mary Rose was the only ship to sink in the battle of 19 July 1545
Keywords: the only ship, sink, 19 July 1545
In the first paragraph, the writer states that “Among the English vessels was a warship by the name of Mary Rose” but he does not mention whether the Mary Rose was the only ship to sink in the battle. So, the statement is NOT GIVEN.
3 Most of one side of the Mary Rose lay undamaged under the sea.
- 3 Answer: TRUE
3. TRUE
Question: Most of one side of the Mary Rose lay undamaged under the sea.
Keywords: one side, undamaged, under the sea
In the second paragraph, the writer indicates that “Because of the way the ship sank, nearly all of the starboard half survived intact.”
– most of=nearly all of
– one side of the Mary Rose=the starboard half
– undamaged=intact
4 Alexander McKee knew that the wreck would contain many valuable historical objects.
- 4 Answer: FALSE
4. FALSE
Question: Alexander McKee knew that the wreck would contain many valuable historical objects.
Keywords: valuable historical objects, Alexander McKee
In paragraph 5, the writer argues that “McKee and his team now knew for certain that they had found the wreck, but were as yet unaware that it also housed a treasure trove of beautifully preserved artefacts.” This means that Alexander McKee did not know that the wreck would contain many valuable historical objects.
– contain=house
– many valuable historical objects ~ a treasure trove of beautifully preseved artefacts
Look at the following statements (Questions 5-8) and the list of dates below.
Match each statement with the correct date, A-G.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 5-8 on your answer sheet.
List of Dates
| A | 1836 |
| B | 1840 |
| C | 1965 |
| D | 1967 |
| E | 1971 |
| F | 1979 |
| G | 1982 |
A search for the Mary Rose was launched. 5
- 5 Answer: C
5. C
Question: A search for the Mary Rose was launched
In paragraph 4, the writer says that “But in 1965, military historian and amateur diver Alexander McKee, in conjunction with the British Sub-Aqua Club, initiated a project called ‘Solent Ships’. While on paper this was a plan to examine a number of known wrecks in the Solent, what McKee really hoped for was to find the Mary Rose.”
– launched=initiated
One person’s exploration of the Mary Rose site stopped. 6
- 6 Answer: B
6. B
Question: One person’s exploration of the Mary Rose site stopped.
In paragraph 3 and 4, the writer argues that “Exploring further, he uncovered several other timbers and a bronze gun. Deane continued diving on the site intermittently until 1840, recovering several more guns, two bows, various timbers, part of a pump and various other small finds. The Mary Rose then faded into obscurity for another hundred years.” This means that in 1840, Deane’s exploration of the Mary Rose site stopped.
It was agreed that the hull of the Mary Rose should be raised. 7
- 7 Answer: G
7. G
Question: It was agreed that the hull of the Mary Rose should be raised.
In paragraph 5, the writer indicates that “While the original aim was to raise the hull if at all feasible, the operation was not given the go-ahead until January 1982, when all the necessary information was available.”
– agreed=given the go-ahead
The site of the Mary Rose was found by chance. 8
- 8 Answer: A
8. A
Question: The site of the Mary Rose was found by chance
In paragraph 3, “Then, on 16 June 1836, some fishermen in the Solent found that their equipment was caught on an underwater obstruction, which turned out to be the Mary Rose.”
Questions 9 – 13
Label the diagram below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.
Raising the hull of the Mary Rose: Stages one and two
9 10 11 12 13 |
- 9 Answer: lifting frame / frame /9. lifting frame
Question: ……………. attached to hull by wires
In the last paragraph, the writer says that “The hull was attached to a lifting frame via a network of bolts and lifting wires.”
– by=via
- 10 Answer: hydraulic jacks10. hydraulic jacks
Question: ………… to prevent hull being sucked into mud
In the last paragraph, the writer says that “The problem of the hull being sucked back downwards into the mud was overcome by using 12 hydraulic jacks.”
- 11 Answer: stabbing guides11. stabbing guides
Question: legs are placed into………….
In the last paragraph, the writer says that “This required precise positioning to locate the legs into the ‘stabbing guides’ of the lifting cradle.”
– place=locate
- 12 Answer: lifting cradle / cradle /12. lifting cradle
Question: hull is lowered into………….
Also, in the last paragraph, the writer says that “In this stage, the lifting frame was fixed to a hook attached to a crane, and the hull was lifted completely clear of the seabed and transferred underwater into the lifting cradle.”
– lowered into ~ transferred underwater into
- 13 Answer: air bags13. air bags
Question: …………….. used as extra protection for the hull.
Also, in the last paragraph, the writer says that “The lifting cradle was designed to fit the hull using archaeological survey drawings, and was fitted with airbags to provide additional cushioning for the hull’s delicate timber framework.”
– extra protection=additional cushioning
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-ix, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
| i | Evidence of innovative environment management practices |
| ii | An undisputed answer to a question about the moai |
| iii | The future of the moai statues |
| iv | A theory which supports a local belief |
| v | The future of Easter Island |
| vi | Two opposing views about the Rapanui people |
| vii | Destruction outside the inhabitants’ control |
| viii | How the statues made a situation worse |
| ix | Diminishing food resources |
Paragraph A 14
- 14 Answer: ii / 2 /
14. ii
Paragraph A
In this paragraph, the author writes about Easter Island and the moai. He says that “The identity of the moai builders was in doubt until well into the twentieth century.” Then, he explains some people’s assumptions of how the Moai were built. The paragraph ends by noting that modern science has definitively proved the moai builders were Polynesians”. So, the correct heading for this paragraph is an undisputed answer to a question about the moai.
– an undisputed answer to a question=definitively proved
Paragraph B 15
- 15 Answer: ix / 9 /
15. ix
Paragraph B
In this paragraph, the writer indicates that “When the islanders (the Rapanui people) cleared the forests for firewood and farming, the forests didn’t grow back. As trees became scarce and they could no longer construct wooden canoes for fishing, they ate birds. Soil erosion decreased their crop yields.” This led to the collapse of their isolated civilisation. So, the correct heading of this paragraph is diminishing food resources.
Paragraph C 16
- 16 Answer: viii / 8 /
16. viii
Paragraph C.
In this paragraph, the writer emphasizes that “The moai accelerated the self-destruction.” To support this idea, the writer lists what the moai did, such as competing by building ever bigger figures, laying the moai on wooden sledges, hauling over log rails, clearing land. So, the correct idea of this paragraph is how the statues made a situation worse
– the statues=the moai
– made a situation worse=accelerated the self-destruction
Paragraph D 17
- 17 Answer: i / 1 /
17. i
Paragraph D.
In this paragraph, “archaeological excavations indicate that the Rapanui went to heroic efforts to protect the resources of their wind-lashed, infertile fields. They built thousands of circular stone windbreaks and gardened inside them, and used broken volcanic rocks to keep the soil moist.” Then, the writer concludes that “In short, the prehistoric Rapanui were pioneers of sustainable farming.” So, The correct heading of this paragraph is evidence of innovation environment management practices.
Paragraph E 18
- 18 Answer: iv / 4 /
18. iv
Paragraph E.
This paragraph is about some archaeological evidence of how the moai were moved, which “backs up Rapanui folklore”: “Recent experiments indicate that as few as 18 people could, with three strong ropes and a bit of practice, easily manoeuvre a 1,000 kg moai replica a few hundred metres.”So, the correct heading for this paragraph is a theory which supports the local belief.
– support=back up
– the folklore=the local belief
Paragraph F 19
- 19 Answer: vii / 7 /
19. vii
Paragraph F.
In this paragraph, the writer mentions some damage to the island that was not caused by the Rapanui, such as the rats (the rats arrived along with the settlers, and in a few years, hunt and Lipo calculate, they would have overrun the island) and “the arrival of the Europeans who introduced deadly diseases to which islanders had no immunity”. Hunt and Lippo claim that the Rapanui “were not wholly responsible for the loss of the island’s trees”. So, the correct heading for this paragraph is destruction outside the inhabitants’ control.
Paragraph G 20
- 20 Answer: vi / 6 /
20. vi
Paragraph G
In this paragraph, the writer mentions two points of view of the Rapanui. While Hunt and Lipo shared the vision that the moai builders were peaceful and ingenious, another assumption was that the Rapanui “were reckless destroyers ruining their own environment and society.” So, the correct heading for this paragraph is two opposing views about the Rapanui people.
Questions 21 – 24
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 21-24 on your answer sheet.
Jared Diamond’s ViewDiamond believes that the Polynesian settlers on Rapa Nui destroyed its forests, cutting down its trees for fuel and clearing land for 21 Twentieth-century discoveries of pollen prove that Rapu Nui had once been covered in palm forests, which had turned into grassland by the time the Europeans arrived on the island. When the islanders were no longer able to build the 22 they needed to go fishing, they began using the island’s 23 as a food source, according to Diamond. Diamond also claims that the moai were built to show the power of the island’s chieftains, and that the methods of transporting the statues needed not only a great number of people, but also a great deal of 24 |
- 21 Answer: farming21. farming
Question: Diamond believes that the Polynesian settlers on Rapa Nui destroyed its forests, cutting down its trees for fuel and clearing land for……………
Keywords: the Polynesian settlers, clearing land for, Jared Diamond
In paragraph B, the writer argues that “US scientist Jared Diamond believes that the Rapanui people – descendants of Polynesian settlers – wrecked their own environment. They had unfortunately settled on an extremely fragile island – dry, cool, and too remote to be properly fertilised by windblown volcanic ash. When islanders cleared the forests for firewood and farming, the forests didn’t grow back.”
In the next paragraph, he says “To feed the people, even more land had to be cleared.”
- 22 Answer: canoes22. canoes
Question: When the islanders were no longer able to build the 22………….. they needed to go fishing, they began using the island’s 23……………
Keywords: no longer, build, fishing
In paragraph B, the writer says that “As trees became scarce and they could no longer construct wooden canoes for fishing, they ate birds.
– build=construct
- 23 Answer: birds23. birds
Question: When the islanders were no longer able to build the 22………….. they needed to go fishing, they began using the island’s 23……………
Keywords: no longer, build, fishing
In paragraph B, the writer says that “As trees became scarce and they could no longer construct wooden canoes for fishing, they ate birds.
– build=construct
- 24 Answer: wood24. wood
Question: Diamond also claims that the moai were built to show the power of the island’s chieftains, and that the methods of transporting the statues needed not only a great number of people, but also a great deal of……………..
Keywords: transporting the statues, a great deal of
In paragraph C, the writer indicates that “Diamond thinks they laid the moai on wooden sledges, hauled over log rails, but that required both a lot of wood and a lot of people.”
– needed=required
– a great deal of=a lot of
Questions 25 – 26
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 25 and 26 on your answer sheet.
On what points do Hunt and Lipo disagree with Diamond?
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- 25 Answer: B25. B
Question: On what points do Hunt and Lipo disagree with Diamond?
Firstly, in paragraph C, Diamond assumes that “they (the Rapanui people) laid the moai on wooden sledges; hauled over log rails, but that required both a lot of wood and a lot of people.” But in paragraph E, Hunt and Lipo contend believe that “moving the moai required few people and no wood.” So, Hunt and Lipo disagree with Diamond about how the moai were transported.
- 26 Answer: C26. C
Question: On what points do Hunt and Lipo disagree with Diamond?
Secondly, in paragraph C, Diamond thinks that the moai accelerated the destruction of the island. Meanwhile, in paragraph F, “Hunt and Lipo are convinced that the settlers were not wholly responsible for the loss of the island’s trees.” So, Hunt and Lipo disagree with Diamond about the impact of the moai on Rapanui society.
Question (27)
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.
In the second paragraph, the writer refers to a shape-matching test in order to illustrate
- A
- B
- C
- D
- 27 Answer: C
27. C
Question: In the second paragraph, the writer refers to a shape-matching test in order to illustrate
Keywords: shape-matching test, illustrate
In paragraph 2, the writer says that “We certainly do have an inclination to follow the crowd. When asked to make simple perceptual decisions such as matching a shape to its rotated image, for example, people often choose a definitively wrong answer if they see others doing the same.” This means that the writer refers to a shape-matching test in order to illustrate our tendency to be influenced by the opinions of others.
Angelina Hawley-Dolan’s findings indicate that people
- A
- B
- C
- D
- 28 Answer: D
28. D
Question: Angelina Hawley-Dolan’s findings indicate that people
Keywords: Angelina Hawley-Dolan’s findings
In paragraph 3, Angelina Hawley-Dolan’s experiment shows that “volunteers generally preferred the work of renowned artists, even when they believed it was by an animal or a child. It seems that the viewers can sense the artists’ vision in paintings, even if they can’t explain why.” So, Angelina Hawley-Dolan’s findings indicate that people have the ability to perceive the intention behind works of art.
– perceive the intention behind works of art=sense the artists’ vision in paintings
Results of studies involving Robert Pepperell’s pieces suggest that people
- A
- B
- C
- D
- 29 Answer: B
29. B
Question: Results of studies involving Robert Pepperell’s pieces suggest that people
Keywords: results of studies, Pepperell’s pieces
At the end of paragraph 4, the writer argues that “It would seem that the brain sees these images as puzzles, and the harder it is to decipher the meaning, the more rewarding is the moment of recognition.” This means that results of studies involving Robert Pepperell’s pieces suggest that people find it satisfying to work out what a painting represents.
– satisfying=rewarding
– work out=decipher
– what a painting means=the meaning
What do the experiments described in the fifth paragraph suggest about the paintings of Mondrian?
- A
- B
- C
- D
- 30 Answer: A
30. A
Question: What do the experiments described in the fifth paragraph suggest about the paintings of Mondrian?
Keywords: experiments, suggest, paintings of Mondrian
In the fifth paragraph, the writer indicates that “eye-tracking studies confirm that they (Mondrian’s) works are meticulously composed, and that simply rotating a piece radically changes the way we view it.” This means that the paintings of Mondrian are more carefully put together than they appear.
– experiments=studies
– paintings=works
– carefully=meticulously
– be put together=be composed
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-H, below.
Write the correct letters, A-H, in boxes 31-33 on your answer sheet.
| A | interpretation |
| B | complexity |
| C | emotions |
| D | movements |
| E | skill |
| F | layout |
| G | concern |
| H | images |
The discipline of neuroaesthetics aims to bring scientific objectivity to the study of art. Neurological studies of the brain, for example, demonstrate the impact which Impressionist paintings have on our 31
- 31 Answer: C
31. C (emotions)
Question: The discipline of neuroaesthetics aims to bring scientific objectivity to the study of art. Neurological studies of the brain, for example, demonstrate the impact which Impressionist paintings have on our…………..
Keywords: the impact, Impressionist paintings have on our
In the first paragraph, the writer says that “The blurred imagery of Impressionist paintings seems to stimulate the brain’s amygdala, for instance. Since the amygdala plays a crucial role in our feelings, that finding might explain why many people find these pieces so moving.” This means that Impressionist paintings have impact on our feelings.
– emotions=feelings
Alex Forsythe of the University of Liverpool believes many artists give their works the precise degree of 32
- 32 Answer: B32. B (complexity)Question: Alex Forsythe of the University of Liverpool believes many artists give their works the precise degree of………….. which most appeals to the viewer’s brain.Keywords: precise degree, appeals to the viewer’s brainIn paragraph 7, the writer indicates that “In another experiment, Alex Forsythe of the University of Liverpool analysed the visual intricacy of different pieces of art, and her results suggest that many artists use a key level of detail to please the brain. This means that Alex Forsythe believes many artists give their works the precise degree of visual intricacy which most appeals to the viewer’s brain.
which most appeals to the viewer’s brain. She also observes that pleasing works of art often contain certain repeated 33 which occur frequently in the natural world.
- 33 Answer: H
33. H (images)
Question: She also observes that pleasing works of art often contain certain repeated……………..which occur frequently in the natural world.
Keywords: pleasing works of art, repeated
In paragraph 7, the writer argues that “What’s more, appealing pieces both abstract and representational, show signs of ‘fractals’–repeated motifs recurring in different scales. Fractals are common throughout nature, for example in the shapes of mountain peaks of branches of trees. It is possible that our visual system, which evolved in the great outdoors, finds it easier to process such patterns.” So, pleasing works of art often contain certain repeated motifs/ patterns which occur frequently in the natural world.
– motifs=patterns=images
– pleasing=appealing
– works of art=pieces
– occur frequently=are common
– in the natural world=throughout nature
Question (34)
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 34-39 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
34 Forsythe’s findings contradicted previous beliefs on the function of ‘fractals’ in art.
- 34 Answer: NOT GIVEN
34. NOT GIVEN
Keywords: contradicted, previous beliefs
In paragraph 7 which details Forsythe‟s findings, the writer does not mentions whether her findings
contradicted previous beliefs on the function of „fractals‟ in art. Although fractals are mentioned, this
is only to explain what they are. So, the statement is NOT GIVEN.
35 Certain ideas regarding the link between ‘mirror neurons’ and art appreciation require further verification.
- 35 Answer: YES
Question: Certain ideas regarding the link between ‘mirror neurons’ and art appreciation require further verification.
Keywords: link, mirror neurons, art appreciation, further verification
In paragraph 8, the writer says that “It is also intriguing that the brain appears to process movement when we see a handwritten letter, as if we are replaying the writer’s moment of creation. This has led some to wonder whether Pollock’s works feel so dynamic because the brain reconstructs the energetic actions the artist used as he painted. This may be down to our brain’s ‘mirror neurons’, which are known to mimic others’ actions. The hypothesis will need to be thoroughly tested…”
– require further verification= The hypothesis will need to be thoroughly tested
36 People’s taste in paintings depends entirely on the current artistic trends of the period.
- 36 Answer: NO
36. NO
Question: People’s taste in paintings depends entirely on the current artistic trends of the period.
Keywords: taste, current artistic trends
At the end of paragraph 8, the writer indicates that “While the fashion of the time might shape what is currently popular, works that are best adapted to our visual system may be the most likely to linger once the trends of previous generations have been forgotten.” So, it is not true that people’s taste in paintings depends entirely on the current artistic trends of the period.
– trend of the period=fashion of the time
37 Scientists should seek to define the precise rules which govern people’s reactions to works of art.
- 37 Answer: NO
37. NO
Question: Scientists should seek to define the precise rules which govern people’s reactions to works of art.
Keywords: define precise rules, govern, reactions
In the last paragraph, the writer argues that “It would, however, be foolish to reduce art appreciation to set a set of scientific laws.” So, it is not true that scientists should seek to define the precise rules which govern people’s reactions to works of art.
– rules=laws
– people’s reactions to works of art ~ art appreciation
38 Art appreciation should always involve taking into consideration the cultural context in which an artist worked.
- 38 Answer: YES38. YESQuestion: Moffat’s research may help explain people’s reactions to EMIKey words: Moffat, explain, reactions, EMIAt the beginning of paragraph 6, the writer asks: “…why did so many people love the music, yet recoil when they discovered how it was composed? We then learn that Moffat’s study helps to provide an answer to this question: “A study by computer scientist David Moffat of Glasgow Caledonian University provides a clue”.Thus, people’s reactions to music composed by a computer required some explanation. Their reaction was either to love the music or to recoil. The study provided a clue.– research = study– help explain = provide a clue.The answer is YES.
39 It is easier to find meaning in the field of science than in that of art.
- 39 Answer: NOT GIVEN39. NOT GIVENQuestion: The non-experts in Moffat’s study all responded in a predictable wayKey words: non-experts, Moffat, predictableMoffat asked both experts and non-experts to take part in his study by listening to six pieces of music (paragraph 6). The writer tells us that: “People who thought the composer was a computer tended to dislike the piece more than those who believed it was human. This was true even among the experts, who might have been expected to be more objective in their analysis”.We learn that everyone in the study (experts and non-experts) generally disliked a piece of music more when they thought the composer was a computer. The writer was surprised that even the music experts reacted in the same way as the non-experts.Non-experts are not mentioned again, so we don’t know if they all responded in a predictable way.The answer is NOT GIVEN.
Question (40)
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in box 40 on your answer sheet.
What would be the most appropriate subtitle for the article?
- A
- B
- C
- D
- 40 Answer: A
40. A
Question: What would be the most appropriate subtitle for the article?
In this passage, the writer refers to some scientific experiments, theories and knowledge of the way the brain reacts to abstract art. Neuroaesthectics are mentioned in paragraph 1 in the study of past masterpieces and then, in paragraph 2, the writer asks: “Could the same approach also shed light on abstract twentieth-century pieces…? The rest of the article tries to answer this question. So, the most appropriate subtitle for this article is some scientific insights into how the brain responds to abstract art.
– insights=shed light on
