Listen to part
of a talk in a marine biology class.
LISTENING SECTION
Question
no 1 - 3
An ocean's waters are
not the same all the way through. They are divided up like a building with
several stories, where life is very different at the top, middle, and bottom
stories.
The upper layer of the
ocean is warmer than the layers underneath. The clear, sunlit waters near the
surface are an ideal place for the microscopic plants called plankton to grow.
The tiny plant plankton
provides food for tiny animal plankton, and so they start off the food chain
for everything else in the sea. Huge schools of fish, like herring and
sardines, cruise the upper waters to eat the animal plankton. Big, fast
swimming fish, like tuna and swordfish, swim through the same levels to capture
the smaller fish.
About 200 meters below
the surface, the temperature suddenly drops. This is a dimly lit twilight
world. From there to the ocean's bottom, it is very cold.
Utter darkness usually
begins at a depth of 1,000 meters. Down in the bottom zone, no plants can
survive, and all that can be found there are animals hunting and feeding on
other animals.
1. According
to the professor, what characterizes the ocean’s upper zone? (Click on two
answers)
a) Plant
life
b) Pollution
c) Cold
water
d) Sunlight
2.
The professor briefly describes the ocean’s food chain. Indicate whether each
sentence below is a step in the process. (for each sentence click in the
correct box)
YES
|
NO
|
||
Large fish regulate their body
temperature
|
|||
Animal plankton eats plant plankton
|
|||
Miscroscopic plants grow in sunlit
water
|
|||
Large schools of fish feed on plankton
|
|||
3. How does the professor describe each
layer of the ocean’s waters? (drag each answer choice to the correct box)
a) Completely
dark
b) Clear
and bright
c) Dimly
it
TOP
|
MIDDLE
|
BOTTOM
|
Question no 4 - 6
The worker bees,
underdeveloped females, do all the work that is done in the hive. They secrete
the wax, build the comb, gather pollen, feed and rear the brood and fight all
the battles necessary to defend the colony. The worker bees possess the whole
ruling power of the colony and regulate its economy.
The worker develops
from the egg into a perfect adult bee in twenty-one days. Each egg is laid by
the queen bee. who deposits it in the bottom of the worker cell. After three
days, the egg hatches into a small white worm called a larva, which, being fed
by the adult bees, increases rapidly in size. When the cell is nearly filled by
the growing larva, it is closed up by the bees. The larva then enters the pupa
state.
When the adult worker
emerges from the pupa, she usually does not leave the hive until about eight
days later. Then, accompanied by other young workers, she takes her first
flight in the warmth of the afternoon.
The body of the worker
bee is divided into three segments—head thorax, and abdomen. On the head are
the mandibles, the jaw-like organs which enable the bees to perform the
necessary hive duties and to mold the wax and build their combs. The honey
bee's four wings and six legs are fastened to the thorax. Located in the
abdomen are the honey sac and the sting, with its highly developed poison sac.
The sting is used by the workers for self-defense and for the protection of
their colony. The worker uses her sting only once, for in doing so, she loses her
life.
4. What tasks
does the worker bee perform? (click on two answers)
a) Laying
the eggs
b) Stinging
the queen
c) Defending
the colony
d) Gathering
the food
5. The professor describes the stages of
a worker bee development. Summarize the process by putting the events in the
correct order. (drag each sentence to the space where it belongs)
a) The
edge hatches into a larva
b) The
larva enters the pupa state
c) The
adult worker emerges
d) The
egg is placed in the worker cell
1
|
|
2
|
|
3
|
|
4
|
6.
What segment of the bee’s body contains the feature necessary for each
activity? (drag each sentence to the space where it belongs)
a) Head
b) Thorax
c) Abdomen
Stinging
|
Thorax
|
Flying
|
Question no 7 – 10
Bread and cereals have
a long history. The first bread was made in the Nile valley about 10,000 years
ago. The people used stones to crush the grain into coarse flour, and then they
made the flour into primitive forms of bread. Primitive bread was not like the
bread we know today because it was simply flour dough dried on heated stones.
The invention of ovens came later.
Leavened breads and
cakes, which are made to rise by the action of yeast, were also a discovery of
the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians were the first people to master the art of
baking. News of this new wonder food spread to other places in the Middle East.
Soon other people were collecting seed, cultivating land, and inventing ways to
turn grain into flour.
Baking used to be a
social activity. While some homes had their own ovens, many families had to
bake their dough in communal bakeries. To identify their loaves, each household
would make a distinctive mark on the bread, sometimes with a special stamp bearing
the family name.
Modern cereals
descended from the cereals grown long ago. These grains now supply the world
with everything from bread and breakfast cereal to pasta, and even candy and
beer.
The most important
grain crop in the temperate regions of the world today is wheat. Bread wheat is
the most widely planted variety. The large grains of bread wheat are rich in
gluten—a kind of protein—and produce light, airy bread. Another widely
cultivated variety of wheal is durum, which goes into making pasta.
Other important cereal
crops are rye and oats. Rye is the hardiest cereal and is more resistant to
cold, pests, and disease than wheat. Oats are grown in temperate regions and
are mainly fed to cattle, but the best quality oats are made into oatmeal and other
breakfast foods.
7. What
topics does the speaker discuss? (click on two answers)
a) Recipes
for baking bread
b) Where
bread originated
c) Grains
that are grown today
d) How
people harvest cereal
8. The speaker traces the history of bread. Indicate
whether each sentence below describes an event in the history. (for each
sentence, click in the correct box).
YES
|
NO
|
|
People discover that yeast makes bread
rise
|
||
Beer is commonly used in making bread
|
||
Primitive bread is made on heated
stones
|
||
The Egyptians invent the art of baking
|
9. Why did people stamp their bread with
the family name?
a) To
make it more attractive than other loaves
b) To
advertise the baking skill of their family
c) To
identify their bread in communal bakery
d) To
encourage customers to buy their bread
10. Based in the information in the
talk, indicate whether each phrase below describes wheat or oats. (for each
phrase, click in the correct box)
Wheat
|
Oats
|
|
Mainly fed to cattle
|
||
Use to make bread and pasta
|
||
Rich in a protein called gluten
|
The
Answers :
1. A & D
2. No
Yes
Yes
Yes
3. B-C-A
4 C & D
5. D-A-B-C
6. C-A-B
7. B & C
8. Yes
No
Yes
Yes
9. C
10. Oats
Wheat
Wheat
STRUCTURE TEST
1. ____ the demands of aerospace, medicine, and agriculture, aengineers, are creating exotic new metallic substances.
(A) Meet
(B) Being met are
(C) To meet
(D) They are meeting
2. _____James A. Bland, “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” was adopted is the state song of Virginia in 1940.
(A) Was written b
(B) His writing was
(C) He wrote the
(D) Written by
3. Mary Garden, ______ the early 1900’s was considered one of the best singing actresses of her time. (A) a soprano was popular
(B) in a popular soprano
(C) was a popular soprano
(D) a popular soprano in
4. In the realm of psychological theory Margaret F. Washburn was a dualist _____ that motor phenomena have an essential role in psychology.
(A) who she believed
(B) who believed
(C) believed
(D) who did she believe
5. _________ was backed up for miles on the freeway.
(A) Yesterday
(B) In the morning
(C) Traffic
(D) Cars
6. Engineers________ for work on the new space program.
(A) necessary
(B) are needed
(C) hopefully
(D) next month
7. Fitzgerald_______ the society of the 1920's in his novel, The Great Gatsby.
(A) reflect
(B) reflects
(C) are reflecting
(D) have reflected
8. With his friend________ found the movie theater
(A) has
(B) he
(C) later
(D) when
9. _________, George, is attending the lecture.
(A) Right now
(B) Happily
(C) Because of the time
(D) My friend
10. __________ , Sarah rarely misses her basketball shots.
(A) An excellent basketball player
(B) An excellent basketball player is
(C) Sarah is an excellent basketball player
(D) Her excellent basketball play
11. The child_________ playing in the yard is my son.
(A) now
(B) is
(C) he
(D) was
12. The bread _________ baked this morning smelled delicious.
(A) has
(B) was
(C) it
(D) just
13. A power failure occured, _______ the lamps went out.
(A) then
(B) so
(C) later
(D) next
14. _______ was late, I missed the appointment.
(A) I
(B) Because
(C) The train
(D) Since he
15. You will get a good grade on the exam provided_______.
(A) studying.
(B) study.
(C) to study.
(D) you study.
The Answers
1. C. (To Meet)
2. D. (Written By)
3. D. (a popular soprano in)
4. B. (who believed)
5. C. (Traffic)
6. B. (Are needed)
7. B. (Reflects)
8. B. (He)
9. D. (My Friend)
10. A. ( An excellent basketball player)
11. A. (Now)
12. D. (Just)
13. B. (So)
14. D. (Since he)
15. D. (You study)
WRITTEN EXPRESSION TEST
WRITTEN EXPRESSION TEST
1. On Ellesmere Island in the Arctic one fossil forest consist of a nearly hundred
A B
large stumps scattered on an exposed coal bed.
large stumps scattered on an exposed coal bed.
C D
2. The surface conditions on the planet Mars are the more like the Earth’s than are
A B C
those of any other planet in the solar system.
D
those of any other planet in the solar system.
D
3. The midnight sun is a phenomenon in which the Sun visible remains in the sky
A B C
for twenty-four hours or longer.
D
for twenty-four hours or longer.
D
4. The Humber River and its valley form a major salmon-fishing, lumbering, hunting,
A B C
and farmer region in western Newfoundland, Canada.
and farmer region in western Newfoundland, Canada.
D
5. The dwarf lemon tree, grown in many areas of the world, bears fruit when it is fewer than six
A B C
Inch in high.
D
6. The brain in composed of a mass of softly gray matter in the skull that controls our intelligence.
A B C D
7. Polluter is a topic of such importance today that even elementary school children are
A B
well informed about its dangers.
C D
8. Together with his friend Little John, Robin Hood are fondly remembered today by millions of
A B C D
people.
9. In Vermont, the sap the maple tree is the primary ingredient in producing maple syrup.
A B C D
10. After to have won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for A Bell for Adano, John Hersey wrote a
A B C
nonfiction book about the bombing of Japan.
D
11. The smallest hummingbirds beat their wings 70 times a second and are about two inched long.
A B C D
12. Quality, price, and located are often considered to be the primary concerns in buying a house.
A B C D
13. The name “America” comes from Amerigo Vespucci, who was a 16th century Italian
A B C
explorer.
D
14. Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes for their discoveries of radioactivity and radioactive
A B C D
elements.
15. Although humans have highly developed brains, most animals have more acute senses than
A B C
them
D
The Answers
1. B. (a nearly)
2. B. (The more)
3. B. (visible remains)
4. D. (farmer)
5. D. (High)
6. B. (Softly)
7. A. (Polluter)
8. B. (Are)
9. A. (The)
10. A. (To have)
11. D. (Inched)
12. A. (Located)
13. A. (Name)
14. B. (Their)
15. D. (Than them)
READING SECTION
The Creators of Grammar
No student of a foreign language needs to be told that grammar is complex. By changing word sequences and by adding a range of auxiliary verbs and suffixes, we are able to communicate tiny variations in meaning. We can turn a statement into a question, state whether an action has taken place or is soon to take place, and perform many other word tricks to convey subtle differences in meaning. Nor is this complexity inherent to the English language. All languages, even those of so-called 'primitive' tribes have clever grammatical components. The Cherokee pronoun system, for example, can distinguish between 'you and I', 'several other people and I' and 'you, another person and I'. In English, all these meanings are summed up in the one, crude pronoun 'we'. Grammar is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how widespread it is. So the question which has baffled many linguists is - who created grammar?
At first, it would appear that this question is impossible to answer. To find out how grammar is created, someone needs to be present at the time of a language's creation, documenting its emergence. Many historical linguists are able to trace modern complex languages back to earlier languages, but in order to answer the question of how complex languages are actually formed, the researcher needs to observe how languages are started from scratch. Amazingly, however, this is possible.
Some of the most recent languages evolved due to the Atlantic slave trade. At that time, slaves from a number of different ethnicities were forced to work together under colonizer's rule. Since they had no opportunity to learn each other's languages, they developed a make-shift language called a pidgin. Pidgins are strings of words copied from the language of the landowner. They have little in the way of grammar, and in many cases it is difficult for a listener to deduce when an event happened, and who did what to whom. [A] Speakers need to use circumlocution in order to make their meaning understood. [B] Interestingly, however, all it takes for a pidgin to become a complex language is for a group of children to be exposed to it at the time when they learn their mother tongue. [C] Slave children did not simply copy the strings of words uttered by their elders, they adapted their words to create a new, expressive language. [D] It included standardised word orders and grammatical markers that existed in neither the pidgin language, nor the language of the colonizers. Complex grammar systems which emerge from pidgins are termed creoles, and they are invented by children.
Further evidence of this can be seen in studying sign languages for the deaf. Sign languages are not simply a series of gestures; they utilise the same grammatical machinery that is found in spoken languages. Moreover, there are many different languages used worldwide. The creation of one such language was documented quite recently in Nicaragua. Previously, all deaf people were isolated from each other, but in 1979 a new government introduced schools for the deaf. Although children were taught speech and lip reading in the classroom, in the playgrounds they began to invent their own sign system, using the gestures that they used at home. It was basically a pidgin. Each child used the signs differently, and there was no consistent grammar. However, children who joined the school later, when this inventive sign system was already around, developed a quite different sign language. Although it was based on the signs of the older children, the younger children's language was more fluid and compact, and it utilised a large range of grammatical devices to clarify meaning. What is more, all the children used the signs in the same way. A new creole was born.
Some linguists believe that many of the world's most established languages were creoles at first. The English past tense –ed ending may have evolved from the verb 'do'. 'It ended' may once have been 'It end-did'. Therefore it would appear that even the most widespread languages were partly created by children. Children appear to have innate grammatical machinery in their brains, which springs to life when they are first trying to make sense of the world around them. Their minds can serve to create logical, complex structures, even when there is no grammar present for them to copy.
Questions :
1 In paragraph 1, why does the writer include information about the Cherokee language?
2 What can be inferred about the slaves' pidgin language?
3 All the following sentences about Nicaraguan sign language are true EXCEPT:
4 In paragraph 3, where can the following sentence be placed?
3 All the following sentences about Nicaraguan sign language are true EXCEPT:
4 In paragraph 3, where can the following sentence be placed?
Speakers need to use circumlocution in order to make their meaning understood.
Interestingly, however, all it takes for a pidgin to become a complex language is for a group of children to be exposed to it at the time when they learn their mother tongue.
Slave children did not simply copy the strings of words uttered by their elders, they adapted their words to create a new, expressive language.
It included standardised word orders and grammatical markers that existed in neither the pidgin language, nor the language of the colonizers
5 'From scratch' in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to:
6 'Make-shift' in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:
7 Which sentence is closest in meaning to the highlighted sentence?
Grammar is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how widespread it is.
8 All of the following are features of the new Nicaraguan sign language EXCEPT:
9 Which idea is presented in the final paragraph?
10 Look at the word 'consistent' in paragraph 4. This word could best be replaced by which of the following?
Interestingly, however, all it takes for a pidgin to become a complex language is for a group of children to be exposed to it at the time when they learn their mother tongue.
Slave children did not simply copy the strings of words uttered by their elders, they adapted their words to create a new, expressive language.
It included standardised word orders and grammatical markers that existed in neither the pidgin language, nor the language of the colonizers
5 'From scratch' in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to:
6 'Make-shift' in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:
7 Which sentence is closest in meaning to the highlighted sentence?
Grammar is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how widespread it is.
8 All of the following are features of the new Nicaraguan sign language EXCEPT:
9 Which idea is presented in the final paragraph?
10 Look at the word 'consistent' in paragraph 4. This word could best be replaced by which of the following?
The Answers :
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. D
5. A
6. B
7. A
8. D
9. A
10. D
