The history of the world’s most luxurious fabric, from ancient China to the present day
Silk is a fine, smooth material produced from the cocoons – soft protective shells – that are made by mulberry silkworms (insect larvae). Legend has it that it was Lei Tzu, wife of the Yellow Emperor, ruler of China in about 3000 BC, who discovered silkworms. One account of the story goes that as she was taking a walk in her husband’s gardens, she discovered that silkworms were responsible for the destruction of several mulberry trees. She collected a number of cocoons and sat down to have a rest. It just so happened that while she was sipping some tea, one of the cocoons that she had collected landed in the hot tea and started to unravel into a fine thread. Lei Tzu found that she could wind this thread around her fingers. Subsequently, she persuaded her husband to allow her to rear silkworms on a grove of mulberry trees. She also devised a special reel to draw the fibres from the cocoon into a single thread so that they would be strong enough to be woven into fabric. While it is unknown just how much of this is true, it is certainly known that silk cultivation has existed in China for several millennia.
Originally, silkworm farming was solely restricted to women, and it was they who were responsible for the growing, harvesting and weaving. Silk quickly grew into a symbol of status, and originally, only royalty were entitled to have clothes made of silk. The rules were gradually relaxed over the years until finally during the Qing Dynasty (1644—1911 AD), even peasants, the lowest caste, were also entitled to wear silk. Sometime during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), silk was so prized that it was also used as a unit of currency. Government officials were paid their salary in silk, and farmers paid their taxes in grain and silk. Silk was also used as diplomatic gifts by the emperor. Fishing lines, bowstrings, musical instruments and paper were all made using silk. The earliest indication of silk paper being used was discovered in the tomb of a noble who is estimated to have died around 168 AD.
Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wool to the East. It was named the Silk Road after its most precious commodity, which was considered to be worth more than gold. The Silk Road stretched over 6,000 kilometres from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea, following the Great Wall of China, climbing the Pamir mountain range, crossing modern-day Afghanistan and going on to the Middle East, with a major trading market in Damascus. From there, the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea. Few merchants travelled the entire route; goods were handled mostly by a series of middlemen.
With the mulberry silkworm being native to China, the country was the world’s sole producer of silk for many hundreds of years. The secret of silk-making eventually reached the rest of the world via the Byzantine Empire, which ruled over the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East during the period 330—1453 AD. According to another legend, monks working for the Byzantine emperor Justinian smuggle silkworm eggs to Constantinople (Istanbul in modern-day Turkey) in 550 AD, concealed inside hollow bamboo walking canes. The Byzantines were as secretive as the Chinese, however, and for many centuries the weaving and trading of silk fabric was a strict imperial monopoly. Then in the seventh century, the Arabs conquered Persia, capturing their magnificent silks in the process.
Silk production thus spread through Africa, Sicily and Spain as the Arabs swept, through these lands. Andalusia in southern Spain was Europe’s main silk-producing centre in the tenth century. By the thirteenth century, however, Italy had become Europe’s leader in silk production and export. Venetian merchants traded extensively in silk and encouraged silk growers to settle in Italy. Even now, silk processed in the province of Como in northern Italy enjoys an esteemed reputation.
The nineteenth century and industrialisation saw the downfall of the European silk industry. Cheaper Japanese silk, trade in which was greatly facilitated by the opening of the Suez Canal, was one of the many factors driving the trend. Then in the twentieth century, new manmade fibres, such as nylon, started to be used in what had traditionally been silk products, such as stockings and parachutes. The two world wars, which interrupted the supply of raw material from Japan, also stifled the European silk industry. After the Second World War, Japan’s silk production was restored, with improved production and quality of raw silk. Japan was to remain the world’s biggest producer of raw silk, and practically the only major exporter of raw silk, until the 1970s. However, in more recent decades, China has gradually recaptured its position as the world’s biggest producer and exporter of raw silk and silk yarn. Today, around 125,000 metric tons of silk are produced in the world, and almost two thirds of that production takes place in China.
Questions 1 – 9
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-9 on your answer sheet.
THE STORY OF SILKEarly silk production in China • Around 3000 BC, according to legend: – silkworm cocoon fell into emperor’s wife’s 1 – emperor’s wife invented a 2 to pull out silk fibres • Only 3 were allowed to produce silk • Only 4 were allowed to wear silk • Silk used as a form of 5 – e.g. farmers’ taxes consisted partly of silk • Silk used for many purposes – e.g. evidence found of 6 made from silk around 168 AD Silk reaches rest of world • Merchants use Silk Road to take silk westward and bring back 7 and precious metals • 550 AD: 8 hide silkworm eggs in canes and take them to Constantinople • Silk production spreads across Middle East and Europe • 20th century: 9 and other manmade fibres cause decline in silk production |
Question (10)
10 Gold was the most valuable material transported along the Silk Road.
11 Most tradesmen only went along certain sections of the Silk Road.
12 The Byzantines spread the practice of silk production across the West.
13 Silk yarn makes up the majority of silk currently exported from China.
Great Migrations
Animal migration, however it is defined, is far more than just the movement of animals. It can loosely be described as travel that takes place at regular intervals – often in an annual cycle – that may involve many members of a species, and is rewarded only after a long journey. It suggests inherited instinct. The biologist Hugh Dingle has identified five characteristics that apply, in varying degrees and combinations, to all migrations. They are prolonged movements that carry animals outside familiar habitats; they tend to be linear, not zigzaggy; they involve special behaviours concerning preparation (such as overfeeding) and arrival; they demand special allocations of energy. And one more: migrating animals maintain an intense attentiveness to the greater mission, which keeps them undistracted by temptations and undeterred by challenges that would turn other animals aside.
An arctic tern, on its 20,000 km flight from the extreme south of South America to the Arctic circle, will take no notice of a nice smelly herring offered from a bird-watcher’s boat along the way. While local gulls will dive voraciously for such handouts, the tern flies on. Why? The arctic tern resists distraction because it is driven at that moment by an instinctive sense of something we humans find admirable: larger purpose. In other words, it is determined to reach its destination. The bird senses that it can eat, rest and mate later. Right now it is totally focused on the journey; its undivided intent is arrival.
Reaching some gravelly coastline in the Arctic, upon which other arctic terns have converged, will serve its larger purpose as shaped by evolution: finding a place, a time, and a set of circumstances in which it can successfully hatch and rear offspring.
But migration is a complex issue, and biologists define it differently, depending in part on what sorts of animals they study. Joe! Berger, of the University of Montana, who works on the American pronghorn and other large terrestrial mammals, prefers what he calls a simple, practical definition suited to his beasts: ‘movements from a seasonal home area away to another home area and back again’. Generally the reason for such seasonal back-and-forth movement is to seek resources that aren’t available within a single area year-round.
But daily vertical movements by zooplankton in the ocean – upward by night to seek food, downward by day to escape predators – can also be considered migration. So can the movement of aphids when, having depleted the young leaves on one food plant, their offspring then fly onward to a different host plant, with no one aphid ever returning to where it started.
Dingle is an evolutionary biologist who studies insects. His definition is more intricate than Berger’s, citing those five features that distinguish migration from other forms of movement. They allow for the fact that, for example, aphids will become sensitive to blue light (from the sky) when it’s time for takeoff on their big journey, and sensitive to yellow light (reflected from tender young leaves) when it’s appropriate to land. Birds will fatten themselves with heavy feeding in advance of a long migrational flight. The value of his definition, Dingle argues, is that it focuses attention on what the phenomenon of wildebeest migration shares with the phenomenon of the aphids, and therefore helps guide researchers towards understanding how evolution has produced them all.
Human behaviour, however, is having a detrimental impact on animal migration. The pronghorn, which resembles an antelope, though they are unrelated, is the fastest land mammal of the New World. One population, which spends the summer in the mountainous Grand Teton National Park of the western USA, follows a narrow route from its summer range in the mountains, across a river, and down onto the plains. Here they wait out the frozen months, feeding mainly on sagebrush blown clear of snow. These pronghorn are notable for the invariance of their migration route and the severity of its constriction at three bottlenecks. If they can’t pass through each of the three during their spring migration, they can’t reach their bounty of summer grazing; if they can’t pass through again in autumn, escaping south onto those windblown plains, they are likely to die trying to overwinter in the deep snow. Pronghorn, dependent on distance vision and speed to keep safe from predators, traverse high, open shoulders of land, where they can see and run. At one of the bottlenecks, forested hills rise to form a V, leaving a corridor of open ground only about 150 metres wide, filled with private homes. Increasing development is leading toward a crisis for the pronghorn, threatening to choke off their passageway.
Conservation scientists, along with some biologists and land managers within the USA’s National Park Service and other agencies, are now working to preserve migrational behaviours, not just species and habitats. A National Forest has recognised the path of the pronghorn, much of which passes across its land, as a protected migration corridor. But neither the Forest Service nor the Park Service can control what happens on private land at a bottleneck. And with certain other migrating species, the challenge is complicated further – by vastly greater distances traversed, more jurisdictions, more borders, more dangers along the way. We will require wisdom and resoluteness to ensure that migrating species can continue their journeying a while longer.
Question (14)
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage2?
In boxes 14-18 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
14 Local gulls and migrating arctic terns behave in the same way when offered food.
15 Experts’ definitions of migration tend to vary according to their area of study.
16 Very few experts agree that the movement of aphids can be considered migration.
17 Aphids’ journeys are affected by changes in the light that they perceive.
18 Dingles aim is to distinguish between the migratory behaviours of different species.
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-G, below.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.
| A | be discouraged by difficulties. | ||||||
| B | travel on open land where they can look out for predators. | ||||||
| C | eat more than they need for immediate purposes. | ||||||
| D | be repeated daily. | ||||||
| E | ignore distractions. | ||||||
| F | be governed by the availability of water. | ||||||
| G | follow a straight line. |
|
According to Dingle, migratory routes are likely to 19
To prepare for migration, animals are likely to 20
During migration, animals are unlikely to 21
Arctic terns illustrate migrating animals’ ability to 22
Questions 23 – 26
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.
The migration of pronghornsPronghorns rely on their eyesight and 23 to avoid predators. One particular population’s summer habitat is a national park, and their winter home is on the 24 where they go to avoid the danger presented by the snow at that time of year. However, their route between these two areas contains three 25 One problem is the construction of new homes in a narrow 26 of land on the pronghorns’ route. |
Preface to ‘How the other half thinks:Adventures in mathematical reasoning’
Question (27)
Reading Passage has seven sections, A-G.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 27-34 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
27 a reference to books that assume a lack of mathematical knowledge
28 the way in which this is not a typical book about mathematics
29 personal examples of being helped by mathematics
30 examples of people who each had abilities that seemed incompatible
31 mention of different focuses of books about mathematics
32 a contrast between reading this book and reading other kinds of publication
33 a claim that the whole of the book is accessible to everybody
34 a reference to different categories of intended readers of this book
Complete the sentences below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet.
Some areas of both music and mathematics are suitable for someone who is a 35
It is sometimes possible to understand advanced mathematics using no more than a limited knowledge of 36
The writer intends to show that mathematics requires 37 thinking, as well as analytical skills.
Some books written by 38 have had to leave out the mathematics that is central to their theories.
The writer advises non-mathematical readers to perform 39 while reading
A lawyer found that studying 40 helped even more than other areas of mathematics in the study of law.
Answers
- 1 Answer: tea
1. tea
Question: Around 3000 BC, according to legend:– silkworm cocoon fell into emperor’s wife’s 1………….– emperor’s wife invented a 2………… to pull out silk fibresKeywords: 3000 BC, fell into, invented, emperor’s wifeIn the first paragraph, the writer says that “Legend has it that it was Lei Tzu, wife of the Yellow Emperor, ruler of China in about 3000 BC, who discovered silkworms. [… - 2 Answer: reel
…2. reel
Question: Around 3000 BC, according to legend:– silkworm cocoon fell into emperor’s wife’s 1………….– emperor’s wife invented a 2………… to pull out silk fibresKeywords: 3000 BC, fell into, invented, emperor’s wifeIn the first paragraph, the writer says that “Legend has it that it was Lei Tzu, wife of the Yellow Emperor, ruler of China in about 3000 BC, who discovered silkworms. [… - 3 Answer: women
3. women
Question: Only…………. were allowed to produce silkKeywords: only, produce silkIn the second paragraph, the writer states that “Originally, silkworm farming was solely restricted to women, and it was they who were responsible for the growing, harvesting and weaving.”– only=solely– produce silk ~ the growing, harvesting and weaving - 4 Answer: royalty
…4. royalty
Question: Only………… were allowed to wear silkKeywords: only, wear silkIn the second paragraph, the writer indicates that “Silk quickly grew into a symbol of status, and originally, only royalty were entitled to have clothes made of silk.”– were allowed=were entitled– wear ~ have clothes made of silk - 5 Answer: currency
5. currency
Question: Silk used as a form of………..– e.g. farmers’ taxes consisted partly of silkKeywords: a form of, farmers, taxesIn the second paragraph, the writer says that “Sometime during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220AD), silk was so prized that it was also used as unit of currency. Government officials were paid their salary in silk, and farmers paid their taxes in grain and silk. - 6 Answer: paper
6. paper
Question: Silk used for many purposes– e.g. evidence found of………… made from silk around 168 ADKeywords: 168 AD, many purposes, evidenceAt the end of paragraph 2, the writer says that “The earliest indication of silk paper being used was discovered in the tomb of a noble who is estimated to have died around 168 AD”– evidence = indication - 7 Answer: wool
7. wool
Question: Merchants use Silk Road to take silk westward and bring back………….. and precious metals.Keywords: Silk Road, bring backIn paragraph 3, the writer explains that “Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wool to the East.”– precious metals ~ gold, silver - 8 Answer: monks
According to another legend, monks working for the Byzantine emperor Justinian smuggle silkworm eggs to Constantinople (Istanbul in modern-day Turkey) in 550 AD, concealed inside hollow bamboo walking canes.
- 9 Answer: nylon
The nineteenth century and industrialisation saw the downfall of the European silk industry. Cheaper Japanese silk, trade in which was greatly facilitated by the opening of the Suez Canal, was one of the many factors driving the trend. Then in the twentieth century, new manmade fibres, such as nylon, started to be used in what had traditionally been silk products, such as stockings and parachutes.
- 10 Answer: FALSE10. FALSEQuestion: Gold was the most valuable material transported along the Silk RoadKeywords: gold, most valuable materialIn paragraph 3, the writer says that “Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wool to the East. It was named the Silk Road after its most precious commodity, which was considered to be worth more than gold.” So, gold is not the most valuable material, it’s silk.– valuable=precious– material=commodity
11 Most tradesmen only went along certain sections of the Silk Road.
- 11 Answer: TRUE
11. TRUE
Question: Most tradesmen only went along certain sections of the Silk Road.
Keywords: tradesmen, certain sections
At the end of paragraph 3, the writer indicates that “The Silk Road stretched over 6,000 kilometers from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea. Few merchants traveled the entire route; goods were handled mostly by a series of middlemen.” This means that the Silk Road was too long for merchants to travel along; therefore, they only went along certain sections.
– tradesmen=merchants
12 The Byzantines spread the practice of silk production across the West.
- 12 Answer: FALSE
12. FALSE
Question: The Byzantines spread the practice of silk production across the West.
Keywords: The Byzantines spread
In paragraph 4, the writer says that “The Byzantines were as secretive as the Chinese, however, and for many centuries the weaving and trading of silk fabric was a strict imperial monopoly. Then in the seventh century, the Arabs conquered Persia, capturing their magnificent silks in the process. Silk production thus spread through Africa, Sicily and Spain as the Arabs swept through these lands.” This means that the Arabs, not the Byzantines, spread the practice of silk production across the West.
– the West ~ Africa, Sicily and Spain
13 Silk yarn makes up the majority of silk currently exported from China.
- 13 Answer: NOT GIVEN13. NOT GIVENQuestion: Silk yarn makes up the majority of silk currently exported from China.Keywords: silk yarn, the majority, exported, ChinaIn the last paragraph, the writer says that “in more recent decades, China has gradually recaptured its position as the world’s biggest producer and exporter of silk and silk yarn.” So, whether silk yarn makes up the majority of silk currently exported from China is not mentioned, we only know that both silk and silk yarn are exported.– currently=in more recent decades
- 14 Answer: FALSE14. FALSEQuestion: Local gulls and migrating arctic terns behave in the same way when offered food.Keywords: Local gulls, migrating arctic terns, same wayIn the second paragraph, the writer says that “An arctic tern, on its 20,000 km flight from the extreme south of South America to the Arctic circle will take no notice of a nice smelly herring offered from a birdwatcher’s boat along the way. While local gulls will dive voraciously for such handouts, the tern flies on.” This means that local gulls and migrating arctic terns behave in different ways when offered food.
15 Experts’ definitions of migration tend to vary according to their area of study.
- 15 Answer: TRUE15. TRUEQuestion: Experts’ definitions of migration tend to vary according to their area of study.Keywords: definitions of migration, vary, studyIn paragraph 3, the writer indicates that “But migration is a complex issue, and biologists define it differently, depending on what sorts of animals they study.”– experts=biologists– according to=depending on
16 Very few experts agree that the movement of aphids can be considered migration.
- 16 Answer: NOT GIVEN16. NOT GIVENQuestion: Very few experts agree that the movement of aphids can be considered migration.Keywords: few experts, agree, movement of aphids, migrationAphids are referred to in paragraph 5. Among the experts, we only know that Dingle and Berger have different definitions of migration. In this passage, the writer does not mention whether very few experts agree that the movement of aphids can be considered migration. So, the statement is NOT GIVEN.
17 Aphids’ journeys are affected by changes in the light that they perceive.
- 17 Answer: TRUE17. TRUEQuestion: Aphids’ journeys are affected by changes in the light that they perceive.Keywords: Aphids’ journeys, changes, lightIn paragraph 5, the writer says that “They allow for the fact that, for example, aphids will become sensitive to blue light (from the sky) when it’s time for takeoff on their big journey, and sensitive to yellow light (reflected from tender young leaves) when it’s appropriate to land.” So, the statement is TRUE.
18 Dingles aim is to distinguish between the migratory behaviours of different species.
- 18 Answer: FALSE18. FALSEQuestion: Dingle’s aim is to distinguish between the migratory behaviours of different species.Keywords: Dingle, distinguish, migratory behavioursIn paragraph 5, the writer says that “His definition is more intricate than Berger’s, citing those five features that distinguish migration from other forms of movement.” Dingle does not aim to study the migration of different species, he aims to study what makes migration different from other forms of animal movement. So, the statement is FALSE.
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-G, below.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.
| A | be discouraged by difficulties. | ||||||
| B | travel on open land where they can look out for predators. | ||||||
| C | eat more than they need for immediate purposes. | ||||||
| D | be repeated daily. | ||||||
| E | ignore distractions. | ||||||
| F | be governed by the availability of water. | ||||||
| G | follow a straight line. |
|
According to Dingle, migratory routes are likely to 19
- 19 Answer: G19. GQuestion: According to Dingle, migratory routes are likely toKeywords: Dingle, migratory routesIn the first paragraph, the writer says that “The biologist Hugh Dingle has identified five characteristics that apply, in varying degrees and combinations, to all migrations. They are prolonged movements that carry animals outside familiar habitats; they tend to be linear, not zigzaggy.” This means that according to Dingle, migratory routes are likely to follow a straight line.– straight=linear
To prepare for migration, animals are likely to 20
- 20 Answer: C
20. C
Question: To prepare for migration, animals are likely to
Keywords: prepare
In the first paragraph, the writer states that “they (migrations) involve special behaviour concerning preparation (such as overfeeding) and arrival.” This means that to prepare for migration, animals eat more than they need for immediate purposes.
– eat more than they need=overfeed
During migration, animals are unlikely to 21
- 21 Answer: A
21. A
Question: During migration, animals are unlikely to
Keywords: during migration, unlikely
At the end of the first paragraph, the writer explains that “And one more: migrating animals maintain an intense attractiveness to the greater mission, which keeps them undistracted by temptations and undeterred by challenges that would turn animals aside.” This means that during migration, animals are unlikely to be discouraged by difficulties.
– difficulties=challenges
Arctic terns illustrate migrating animals’ ability to 22
- 22 Answer: E
22. E
Question: Arctic terns illustrate migrating animals’ ability to
Keywords: Arctic terns, ability
In paragraph 2, the writer says that “An arctic tern, on its 20,000 km flight from the extreme south of South America to the Arctic circle will take no notice of a nice smelly herring offered from a birdwatcher’s boat along the way. While local gulls will dive voraciously for such handouts, the tern flies on. The arctic tern resists distraction because it is driven at the moment by an instinctive sense of something we humans find admirable: larger purpose.” This means that arctic terns illustrate migrating animals’ ability to ignore distractions.
– ignore=resist
Questions 23 – 26
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.
The migration of pronghornsPronghorns rely on their eyesight and 23 to avoid predators. One particular population’s summer habitat is a national park, and their winter home is on the 24 where they go to avoid the danger presented by the snow at that time of year. However, their route between these two areas contains three 25 One problem is the construction of new homes in a narrow 26 of land on the pronghorns’ route. |
- 23 Answer: speed23. speed
Question: Pronghorns rely on their eyesight and…………… to avoid predators.
Keywords: pronghorns, eyesight, avoid predators
In paragraph 6, the writer says that “Pronghorn, dependent on distance vision and speed to keep safe from predators.”
– rely on=be dependent on
– eyesight=vision
– avoid=keep safe from
- 24 Answer: plains24. plains
Question: One particular population’s summer habitat is a national park, and their winter home is on the………….., where they go to avoid the danger presented by the snow at that time of year.
Keywords: winter home, danger, snow
In paragraph 6, the writer indicates that “If they (pronghorns) can’t pass through again in autumn, escaping south onto those windblown plains, they are likely to die trying to overwinter in the deep snow.”
– danger ~ likely to die
- 25 Answer: bottlenecks25. bottlenecks
Question: However, their route between these two areas contains three 25……………
Keywords: route, contains three
In paragraph 6, the writer explains that “These pronghorns are notable for the invariance of their migration route and the severity of its constriction at three bottlenecks.”
- 26 Answer: corridor / passageway /26. corridor/passageway
Question: One problem is the construction of new homes in a narrow 26………….. of land on the pronghorns’ route.
Keywords: construction, homes, narrow
At the end of paragraph 6, the writer indicates that “At one of the bottlenecks, forested hills rise to form a V, leaving a corridor of open ground only about 150 metres wide, filled with private homes.”
– narrow ~ only about 150 metres wide
- 27 Answer: D
27. D
Question: a reference to books that assume a lack of mathematical knowledge
Keywords: books, lack of mathematical knowledge
In paragraph D, the writer indicates that “Other scientists have written books to explain their fields to non-scientists, but have necessarily had to omit the mathematics, although it provides the foundation of their theories.”
– assume a lack of mathematical knowledge ~ omit the mathematics
28 the way in which this is not a typical book about mathematics
- 28 Answer: B
28. B
Question: the way in which this is not a typical book about mathematics.
Keywords: the way, not a typical book, mathematics
In paragraph B, the writer states that “I want to reveal not only some of the fascinating discoveries, but, more importantly, the reasoning behind them. In that respect, this book differs from most books on mathematics written for the general public.”
– not a typical book ~ differs from most books
29 personal examples of being helped by mathematics
- 29 Answer: G
29. G
Question: personal examples of being helped by mathematics
Keywords: personal examples, helped
In paragraph G, the writer mentions two personal examples: the example of a physician and the example of a lawyer. Both of them were helped by mathematics.
30 examples of people who each had abilities that seemed incompatible
- 30 Answer: C
30. C
Question: examples of people who each had abilities that seemed incompatible
Keywords: examples, abilities, incompatible
In paragraph C, the writer says that “To illustrate our human potential, I cite a structural engineer who is an artist, an electrical engineer who is an opera singer, an opera singer who published mathematical research, and a mathematician who publishes short stories.”
31 mention of different focuses of books about mathematics
- 31 Answer: B
31. B
Question: mention of different focuses of books about mathematics
Keywords: different focuses, books
In paragraph B, the writer states that “Some [books] present the lives of colourful mathematicians. Others describe important applications of mathematics. Yet others go into mathematical procedures, but assume that the reader is adept in using algebra.”
32 a contrast between reading this book and reading other kinds of publication
- 32 Answer: E
32. E
Question: a contrast between reading this book and reading other kinds of publication.
Keyword: contrast
In paragraph E, the writer says that “This book presents details that illustrate the mathematical style of thinking, which involves sustained, step-by-step analysis, experiments, and insights. You will turn these pages much more slowly than when reading a novel or a newspaper.”
– other kinds of publication ~ a novel, a newspaper
33 a claim that the whole of the book is accessible to everybody
- 33 Answer: A
33. A
Question: a claim that the whole of the book is accessible to everybody
Keywords: accessible to everybody
In paragraph A, the writer says that “There are some discoveries in advanced mathematics that do not depend on specialized knowledge, not even on algebra, geometry, or trigonometry. Instead, they may involve, at most, a little arithmetic, such as ‘them sum of two odd numbers is even’, common sense. Each of the eight chapters in this book illustrates this phenomenon. Anyone can understand every step in the reasoning.”
– the whole of the book ~ each of the eight chapters
34 a reference to different categories of intended readers of this book
- 34 Answer: F
34. F
Question: a reference to different categories of intended readers of this book.
Keywords: intended readers
In paragraph F, the writer explains that “As I wrote, I kept in mind two types of readers: those who enjoyed mathematics until they were turned off by an unpleasant episode, usually around fifth grade, and mathematics aficionados, who will find much that is new throughout the book. This book also serves readers who simply want to sharpen their analytical skills.”
– categories=types
Complete the sentences below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet.
Some areas of both music and mathematics are suitable for someone who is a 35
- 35 Answer: beginner
35. beginner
Question: Some areas of both music and mathematics are suitable for someone who is a…..
Keywords: areas, music and mathematics, suitable
In the first paragraph, the writer argues that “Occasionally, in some difficult musical compositions, there are beautiful, but easy parts – parts so simple a beginner could play them. So it is with mathematics as well.”
– areas=parts
It is sometimes possible to understand advanced mathematics using no more than a limited knowledge of 36
- 36 Answer: arithmetic
36. arithmetic
Question: It is sometimes possible to understand advanced mathematics using no more than a limited knowledge of………….
Keywords: understand, advanced mathematics, limited knowledge
In paragraph A, the writer claims that “There are some discoveries in advanced mathematics that do not depend on specialized knowledge, not even on algebra, geometry, or trigonometry. Instead, they mayinvolve, at most, a little arithmetic, such as ‘the sum of two odd numbers is even’, and common sense.”
– no more than a limited knowledge of arithmetic ~ a little arithmetic
The writer intends to show that mathematics requires 37 thinking, as well as analytical skills.
- 37 Answer: intuitive
37. intuitive
Question: The writer intends to show that mathematics requires……………. thinking, as well as analytical skills.
Keywords: mathematics requires, analytical
In paragraph C, the writer says that “As the chapters will illustrate, mathematics is not restricted to the analytical and numerical; intuition plays a significant role.” So, besides analytical skills, mathematics requires intuition, or intuitive thinking.
– intuitive thinking=intuition
Some books written by 38 have had to leave out the mathematics that is central to their theories.
- 38 Answer: scientists
38. scientists
Question: Some books written by……………. have had to leave out the mathematics that is central to their theories.
Keywords: written by, leave out, theories
In paragraph D, the writer says that “Other scientists have written books to explain their fields to nonscientists, but have necessarily had to omit the mathematics, although it provides the foundation of their theories.
– leave out=omit
– is central to= provides the foundation of
The writer advises non-mathematical readers to perform 39 while reading
- 39 Answer: experiments
39. experiments
Question: The writer advises non-mathematical readers to perform…………… while reading the book
Keywords: non-mathematical readers, perform
In paragraph E, the writer argues that “Still, non-mathematical readers can go far in understanding mathematical reasoning […] It may help to have a pencil and a paper ready to check claims and carry out experiments.”
– perform=carry out
A lawyer found that studying 40 helped even more than other areas of mathematics in the study of law.
- 40 Answer: theorems
40. theorems
Question: A lawyer found that studying……………. helped even more than other areas of mathematics in the study of law.
Keywords: lawyer, studying, helped, law
In paragraph G, a lawyer indicates that “Although I had no background in law – not even one political science course – I did well at one of the best law schools. I attribute much of my success there to having learned, through the study of mathematics, and, in particular, theorems, how to analyze complicated principles.”
