Answer Short Question

LISTENING FILL IN BLANK

55
Now we come right out of the woods. Transpiration is the passive process by which water moves
from the wetness of the soil up a plant and into the air via the leaves. We've known about it for years and
you probably haven't thought about it since school. The assumption is that transpiration works by a wick
effect, where the negative pressure of the water in the leaves draws up water from the roots but until
now it has been impossible to replicate this process in the lab. Abraham Stroock and Tobias Wheeler from
Cornell University in New York have constructed a fake plastic tree which emulates the natural
process. I spoke to Abraham Stroock and started by asking why synthetic transpiration has been such
a tall order.
63
I‘m currently General Manager of Sports Coaching Ltd. We put sports coaches into primary schools
to deliver PE lessons. I chose the University of Birmingham because I wanted to study in a big city; also
for my course, the University of Birmingham was in the top three for institutions for the course that I
wanted to do. I wanted to come to a big city to study so that I could get a big social life but also have the
opportunities there to do what I wanted to do really and get the kind of work experience for life after
university. The course I did, Sport and Exercise Science, really helped in my current role because of all
the different modules we did. We did anything from sports psychology to biomechanics, to biology.
67
William had just graduated, only by a few months, from what was called the Mathematical Tripos at
Cambridge, which is an Honours BA in mathematics with a lot of physics. But he had never given a
lecture as far as I can tell. He had never taught ; he'd never done a research project, and he certainly
had never published a research paper. He was just a young student, just graduated .
79
In animals, a movement is coordinated by a cluster of neurons in the spinal cord called the central patterns
generator (CPG). This produces signals that drive muscles to contract rhythmically in a way that
produces running or walking, depending on the pattern of pulses. A simple signal from the brain
instructs the CPG to switch between modes such as going from a standstill to walking.
102
In this tutorial, we will show you how to find specific journal articles using the library catalogue. The
university subscribes to over 18,000 journals across a variety of subjects, most of which are available
electronically . To find a specific journal article using the library catalogue, we need to search by
the journal name, as individual article titles are not listed in the catalogue.
109
Speaker 1: "So, I know you read a lot, but how do you find time to read? I feel like I'm so busy and
it's hard to find time for that.‖
Speaker 2: ―You know, it's really not. I mean, how many hours do you spend watching TV? Or taking
too much time just doing nothing? So just stop doing that, and there you have it. Time to read.‖
Speaker 1: ―Yeah, you're right. Okay, but like, when do you actually read? Like, is it the same time of
every day, or just whenever?‖
Speaker 2: ―Uhmmm, it's more like setting yourself up to read, not having a set time every day. For
example, I leave my book on the table by my favourite chair. And if I sit down to watch a show,
maybe I decide I want to read instead. And so I pick up my book."
112
I have to be honest with you, saying one of my favourite aspects of being a researcher is being able to
travel and go to conferences . And I know that sounds superfluous because you‘re not working, but
actually you are working and you‘re networking. And… and that I‘ve… and I‘ve told my graduate
students and my postdocs, is the key to success as an individual scientist, but also as a community. We
have to be able to network and share things because this is a competitive field. And you can maybe be
repeating something that‘s already been done, and nobody reported that it didn‘t work because they don‘t
want negative findings. So I think that in that context, I think one of the most fulfilling things to me is
to be able to travel to other universities, institutes, not only to describe my work, but more importantly,
what are they doing and what techniques do they have that we can apply at our institute?
115
So climate adaptation is simply changing what we do to get what we want. So it's the idea of adjusting our
activities and our policies and institutions to suit the environment of the day. So it's not restricted to
climate change. It's something that humans always do in response to a range of different pressures
and stresses, or opportunities. There's a whole series of practical adaptation options that we can start
to undertake. This is in response to the changes that we're already seeing as well as those which may
happen in the future.
120
There are a couple different stories you can tell about our economy. One goes like this. Eight years after
the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, our economy has created jobs for 71 straight months.
That‘s a new record. Unemployment has fallen below five percent. Last year, the typical
household saw its income grow by about twenty-eight hundred dollars – the biggest one-year increase
ever. And the uninsured rate is at an all-time low. All that is true. What's also true is that too much of
our wealth is still taken by the top and that leaves too many families still working paycheck to paycheck,
without a lot of breathing room. There are two things we can do about this. We can prey on people's
worries for political gain. Or we can actually do something to help working families feel more secure
in today's economy. Count me in the latter camp. And here's one thing that will help right away:
making sure more of our families have access to paid leave. Today, having both parents in the workforce
is an economic necessity for many families. But right now, millions of Americans don't have access
to even a single day of paid sick leave.
124
These two paintings, both called ―Sunflowers,‖ are generally accepted as the finest of several depictions
of the thick-stemmed, nodding blooms that Van Gogh made in 1888 and 1889 during his time in Arles.
The first is now in the collection of the National Gallery in London, and the second is in the Van Gogh
Museum in Amsterdam. Van Gogh referred to this work as a repetition of the London painting. But
art historians and curators have long been curious to know how different this ―repetition‖ is from the
first. Should it be considered a copy, an independent artwork or something in between? An extensive
research project conducted over the past three years by conservation experts at both the National Gallery
and the Van Gogh Museum has concluded that the second painting was ―not intended as an exact copy of
the original example,‖ said Ella Hendriks, a professor of conservation and restoration at the
University of Amsterdam, who was the lead researcher on the project.
135
Lead-in time is the amount of time that elapses between a business placing an order with a supplier for
more stock or raw materials and the delivery of the goods to the business. Businesses want the lead-
time to be as short as possible, so that they can meet their customer orders and minimize the time
between paying for the stock and receiving the feedback from the customer. However, this may not
happen due to a number of factors , such as delays in the supplier receiving the order, or the
breakdown of the suppliers' lorries delivering the stock to the business.
136
So two decades later, what's changed? It's now widely recognized that just 20 percent of health outcomes
are tied to medical care, whereas up to 70 percent are tied to healthy behaviors and what's called the
social determinants of health — basically, everything that happens to us for that vast majority of
time when we're not in the doctor's office or the hospital. Health care executives now routinely
remind us that our zip code matters more than our genetic code. And one health care publication even
recently had the audacity to describe the social determinants of health as "the feel-good buzzword of
the year".
137
Adidas teamed up with an organization called Parley for the Oceans. Parley goes out and collects
plastic waste from the ocean. Adidas uses the plastic waste to make shoes. Shoes made with plastic from
the ocean: good for the environment and good for business. Because if you know that rapidly
growing consumer segment known as hipsters — and I know you know hipsters — then you know
that a hipster faced with the choice between a no-name shoe and an Adidas made with plastic from the
ocean will pick the Adidas every day of the week and twice on Sunday, and then walk around like it's no
big deal but look for every opportunity to talk about them.
139
One day the banana is perfect. Bright yellow, firm, flavorful. But even within that same day brown spots
appear on your perfectly ripe banana, its flesh turns mushy, and it‘s destined for the compost or at best,
banana bread. But scientists are developing a way to extend the life of ripe bananas. It‘s a spray-on
coating made from chitosan—a substance found in crab and shrimp shells. The new gel can be sprayed
on bananas to slow the ripening process by up to 12 days. Like other fruits bananas remain alive after
being picked and it actually continues to respire. This means that they take in oxygen and release carbon
dioxide. The more the banana breathes the faster it ripens and then rots. Bananas ripen more quickly
than most fruit because they don‘t naturally slow the respiration after being picked, in fact it speeds
up, causing bananas to become mushy. Chitosan not only kills the bacteria on banana‘s skin that then
leads to rot, it also significantly slows down the respiration in the first place. So bananas won‘t drive
you bananas.
140
You might picture Neanderthals as cavemen gnawing on bones around a campfire. Which wouldn‘t be
inaccurate But Neanderthals may have also dined on roasted vegetables and known a bit about
medicinal plants too. So says a study in the journal Naturwissenschaften (The Science of Nature).
Researchers analyzed hardened dental plaque from five Neanderthals found in El Sidrón cave, in
northern Spain. Yes, 50,000-year-old dental plaque. And they found a lot lurking between the teeth. Like
evidence of nuts, grasses and green veggies, chemical traces of wood smoke, and tiny, intact starch
granules, proof Neanderthals ate their carbs. And in one individual, they detected compounds found in the
medicinal herbs chamomile and yarrow. The herbs have no nutritional value, and since Neanderthals
did have the gene to detect the herbs‘ bitter taste, the researchers speculate that the cave dwellers
were munching on them not as food—but to self-medicate. Not too far-fetched, they say, because
primates like chimps also use medicinal plants. Luckily for the scientists doing this detective work,
Neanderthals may have known a thing or two about medicine, but they didn‘t get regular check-ups at the
dentist.
141
So in a very important tense, um, memory is the cognitive function that stores knowledge that we've
acquired through learning and perception , but also memory is important because memory frees our
behavior from being controlled by the present stimulus environment. If you didn't have memory, all
you'd be able to do was react to whatever is currently in the environment now, whatever it is that
you're experiencing . But memory allows us to respond to past events as well as events in the current
stimulus environment. And memory also gives us the means to reflect on our experiences so that we
plan for, for future encounters.
150
My hero is Marie Curie. She was a Polish physicist and chemist working in France, and she'd conducted
pioneering research on radioactivity. She was also the first woman who won a Nobel prize.
Marie Curie is my hero because she showed a lot of determination in following her career path and
her passions . She also showed a lot of patience in working for years to receive results from her
experiments. And Marie Curie, she designed and built the first mobile X-Ray machines. She worked
on the front lines of the first World War along with her daughter saving soldiers.
151
For four centuries the Viking declined , the people of the Shetland Islands off the north coast of
Scotland continued to sell their goods through the North European Hanseatic League. The Hansas
merchants bought shiploads of salted fish and in return the islanders got cash, grain, cloth and other
goods. This lasted until the Act of Union between Scotland and England in 1707. This Act prohibited the
Hansa merchants from sheltering with Scotland. Consequently Shetland went into an economic
depression . The independent farmers of Shetland had to sell their land and were then obligated
to pay rent, eventually becoming serfs.
152
Perhaps you remember the dire predictions from the analysts. The fall off in housing threatened to
drag down the entire economy. High energy prices put the kibosh on consumer spending. Runaway
inflation was poised to take off. David Wyss is an economist at Standard and Poor's. He says in
the end none of those things happended in the final three months of last year.
154
Spring wedding season has arrived, ushering in hefty costs for guests — and especially for members of
the wedding party. But it can be hard for twenty somethings to fit extra costs into scant budgets,
especially if you have multiple weddings to attend. So be sure to determine what you are signing up
for before committing to be part of the ceremony or a guest at a destination wedding — and look for ways
to trim costs. If you are asked to be part of a ceremony, don't hesitate to ask the bride and groom
upfront for details including the event's location and other functions they may expect you to attend. In
return, be honest with them about your financial situation. Colleen Bayus, 24, attended four weddings
last year, traveling from Washington to Boston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia a total of seven times for
dress fittings, bachelorette parties and the ceremonies. "It really added up... I had to tell my friend in
Boston that I didn't have the money to attend her bachelorette party in Manhattan," she says. If you know
you can't afford to fly to a destination wedding in the Caribbean plus a weekend bridal party in
Miami, speak up from the beginning, says Susan RoAnne, a networking and etiquette expert in San
Francisco. "It's fair to say 'I love you, but I don't want to shortchange you if I can't afford to participate
in every aspect,'" she says.
157
Within the past few minutes, the election commission in Kenya has declared that Tuesday‘s
presidential election was won by the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta. The opposition which has
complained fraud has rejected the results. An opposition spokesman described the process as a
masquerade. World leaders have expressed concern of the war of words between Washington and
Pyongyang over North Korea‘s nuclear program. After President Trump said the US military was locked
and loaded, North Korea accused him of driving the situation to the brink of nuclear war. Russia, China
and Germany have all appealed the calm and further diplomatic efforts.
160
Why do we need more entrepreneurs right now? The entrepreneurs who create and run our businesses,
who play by the rules, are in fact critical to our success as a nation. We need them especially today.
Business, not government, will end this recession. Government must help by creating fair rules, sound
monetary policy, and by protecting our fellow citizens in periods when they are jobless. We have to make
way for the new entrepreneurial firms that will push us to frontiers of innovation.
162
Modern wealth has been created mainly through the action of market forces, which now dominate the
whole of the industrial world. It is based on the false premise that we all start at an equal point. Of
course nobody starts at the same point. Market forces help a few to become very wealthy at the expense
of the many who become poorer. This is taking place all over the world. There is an increasing number of
hungry and desperate people living in utter poverty. Yet there are millionaires of all nationalities
throughout the developed world. Market forces are inevitably acting to divide our world because they
separate one section of society from another. Strangely enough, to create a society based on the free
play of market forces, there must be a very strict control over the economy to ensure business efficiency.
This is the poison of commercialization . It imposes restrictions on the natural needs of society. When
the politicians are not meeting the needs of society, the people revolt . When the people's voice is not
heard, there will inevitably be a revolution . Part of that revolution is the growing crime rate and the
violent street protests which are the result of the imbalance of our society — too great wealth side
by side with too great poverty.
163
The notion of establishing an international coalition to fight starvation was proposed by president
Johannes of Germany on World Food Day in 2001. He proposed forming an international coalition to
solve political and other problems that obstruct raising enough funds to fight starvation and poverty.
The proposal received the support from a large number of people. Five years later, in the World Grain
Summit Conference, attendants decided to amend the manifesto to "International Eradicate Starvation
Coalition". Many people hope the coalition can be supported, so that a resolution will be forged and
plans made to eliminate starvation and poverty. In 2002, during the Development Fund Raising
Conference held in Monterrey, Mexico, the Grain and Agricultural Organization, International
Agricultural Development Fund and World Grain Plan Department made a joint appeal for poverty
elimination. They also expressed dissatisfaction that governments and development partners didn't
turn their promise into a detailed action plan, so there is much to be desired . At the Monterrey
conference, many countries promised to increase official development aid. European Coalition countries
agreed to raise the $official development aid to 0.39% of the state income from 2006. The US also
announced it will increase development assistance by 5 billion US dollars in three years. The
Coalition will also keep pressure on each country to force them to honor their promises by exposing
the difficult situation faced by people in starvation and poverty to the public.
164
Green Chemistry is a concept designed to develop technologies which allow chemistry to be practiced
with minimal damage to the environment, or in an environmentally compatible way, and it's meant to
cover both chemical processes and chemical products . The center was set up about seven or eight
years ago. And the idea was to provide a hub of activities that covered fundamental research work,
international collaboration, but also educational development on public understanding of the project
as well, and also networking so we network out to well over 1000 people around the globe.
165
One of the things that people have said about agriculture is that on the whole it's more labor intensive
than hunting and gathering, and that's one of the reasons why people have looked to explanations which,
you might say, are kind of corrosive factors — that people have been forced into agriculture because
they had no alternative. That is ultimately what may happen. But at the very beginning it could be
that agriculture was developed because people wanted special status foods for feasting; that it was
actually a social need. I mean, how much of what we do in our lives is generated by competition with
others? And a lot of that is powered by desire for new things, new statuses, new whatever it might be.
Respect, recognition also are important. And in small-scale societies a lot of those sorts of factors are
generated by the ability to, for instance, throw feasts. One possibility is that some of these foods that
were being grown were actually intended especially as feasting foods.
166
Another arm of the United States government was the FSA, the Farm Security Administration , and
they had a peculiar task, because in addition to the Depression, which had obviously hit farmers quite
hard because suddenly the material that they were producing wasn't really as value , yet their costs for
producing it were exactly the same, they were hit not only that but also by another problem which was the
Dust Bowl; and the Dust Bowl was this terrible broad that hit the American West and Southwest
especially, and caused terrible economic problems for those farmers.
167
Well, the banana is the first cultivated fruit. It's one of the food items that literally brought people out
of the jungle, out of their hunter-gatherer lifestyles and was there at the dawn of agriculture which is
what helped force human beings into communities. It‘s really one of the things that helped invent human
culture. It's about 7000 years of history, and the banana, from its center of origin , which is believed
to be Papua New Guinea, spread out with people who traveled in boats across the Pacific into the
mainland of Asia and all the way south to Australia across Indonesia and Micronesia and eventually
they moved as far as Africa and even possibly to Ecuador all in this time and all on paddle boats and wind
driven boats.
 READING FILL IN BLANK
413
Academic writing addresses complex issues that require high-order thinking skills to comprehend (e.g.,
critical reflective logical and creative thinking). Think of your writing this way: one of the most
important attributes of a good teacher is the ability to explain complex ideas in a way that is
understandable and relatable to the topic being presented . This is also one of the main functions of
academic writing - describing and explaining the significance of complex ideas as clearly as possible.
Often referred to as higher-order thinking skills, these include cognitive processes that are used to
comprehend, solve problems and express concepts or that describe abstract ideas that cannot be easily
acted out, pointed to, or shown with images. As a writer you must take in the role of a good teacher
by summarizing a lot of complex information into a well-organized synthesis of ideas concepts and
recommendations that contribute to a better understanding of the research problem.
416
First, the scientific community that studies climate change is quietly panic-stricken, because things are
moving much faster than they expected. Greenhouse gas emissions are going up faster than predicted
both from industrializing countries in Asia and from melting permafrost in Siberia and Canada. The
Arctic Sea ice is melting so fast that the whole ocean may be ice-free in late summer in five years' time.
Most climate scientists now see last year's report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
whose forecasts are used by most governments for planning purposes, as a purely historical
document. Second, the biggest early impact of global warming will be on the food supply, both locally
and globally. When the global average temperature hits one and a half degrees hotter - and it will, the
carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere commits us to that much warming - some countries will no
longer be able to feed their people. Others, further from the equator, will still have enough food for
themselves, but none to spare .
418
Used in a variety of courses in various disciplines, Asking the Right Questions helps students bridge the
gap between simply memorizing or blindly accepting information, and the greater challenge of critical
analysis and synthesis. Specifically , this concise text teaches students to think critically by exploring
the components of arguments — issues, conclusions, reasons, evidence, assumptions, language — and on
how to spot fallacies and manipulations and obstacles to critical thinking in both written and visual
communication. It teaches them to respond to alternative points of view and develop a solid
foundation for making personal choices about what to accept and what to reject.
421
The speed of sound (otherwise known as Mach 1) varies with temperature. At sea level on a 'standard
day', the temperature is 59°F, and Mach 1 is approximately 761 mph. As the altitude increases, the
temperature and speed of sound both decrease until about 36,000 feet, after which the temperature
remains steady until about 60,000 feet. Within that 36,000 – 60,000 foot range, Mach 1 is about 661 mph.
Because of the variation , it is possible for an airplane flying supersonic at a high altitude to be slower
than a subsonic flight at sea level. The transonic band (the 'sound barrier‗) extends from around Mach
0.8 — when the first supersonic shock waves form on the wing — to Mach 1.2 when the entire wing
has gone supersonic.
423
Private schools in the UK are redoubling their marketing efforts to foreigners. Almost a third of the
68,000 boarding pupils at such schools already come from overseas. But now, with many UK
residents unwilling or unable to afford the fee - top boarding schools edging towards £30,000
($49,759) a year - and a cultural shift away from boarding, many schools are looking abroad to
survive. Overseas students now account for about £500m of fee income a year for boarding schools in
the UK.
426
Keith Haring began as an underground artist, literally. His first famous projects were pieces of stylized
graffiti drawn in New York subway stations. Haring travelled from station to station, drawing with
chalk and chatting with commuters about his work. These doodles helped him develop his classic style
and he grew so prolific , doing up to 40 drawings a day, that it was not long before fame and a
measure of fortune followed. Soon, galleries and collectors from the art establishment wanted to buy full-
sized pieces by Haring. The paintings skyrocketed in price but this did not sit well with Haring's
philosophy. He believed that art, or at least his art, was for everyone. Soon, Haring opened a store
called the Pop Shop, which he hoped would attract a broad range of people. While somewhat
controversial among street artists, some of whom accused Haring of 'selling out', the Pop Shop
changed the way people thought about the relationship between art and business.
428
People move to a new region for many different reasons. The motivation for moving can come from a
combination of what researchers sometimes call 'push and pull factors ' — those that encourage
people to leave a region, and those that attract people to a region. Some of the factors that motivate people
to move include seeking a better climate, finding more affordable housing, looking for work or
retiring from work, leaving the congestion of city living, wanting a more pleasant environment, and
wanting to be near to family and friends. In reality, many complex factors and personal reasons may
interact to motivate a person or family to move.
431
Dogs make great listeners. And that may be because man and man's best friend use analogous brain
regions to process voices. Researchers collected almost 200 sound samples, including human and
canine vocalizations , as well as environmental noises and silence. They played these clips to 22
people and 11 dogs while the subjects' brains were undergoing functional MRI scans. Human brains
tuned in most to vocal sounds. Dog brains were most sensitive to environmental noises. But they still had
a lot in common. A dedicated brain area reacted strongly to the vocalizations of their own species.
And that area also responded to the voices of the other species. Meanwhile, a different brain region
noted emotion in a voice, with a strong response to cheery sounds like laughter and a weaker reaction to
unhappy noises like canine whining. The study is in the journal Current Biology. Seems that thousands of
years of domestication have made our furry friends sensitive to the same vocal cues we are. You can
confide in Fido.
433
One of Australia's most remarkable natural gifts, the Great Barrier Reef is blessed with the breathtaking
beauty of the world's largest coral reef. The reef contains an abundance of marine life and comprises
of over 3000 individual reef systems and coral cays and literally hundreds of picturesque tropical
islands with some of the world's most beautiful sun-soaked, golden beaches. Because of its natural
beauty, the Great Barrier Reef has become one of the world's most sought after tourist destinations. A
visitor to the Great Barrier Reef can enjoy many experiences including snorkeling, scuba diving,
aircraft or helicopter tours, bare boats (self-sail) glass-bottomed boat viewing, semi-submersibles and
educational trips, cruise ship tours, whale watching and swimming with dolphins.
436
Colorful poison frogs in the Amazon owe their great diversity to ancestors that leapt into the region
from the Andes Mountains several times during the last 10 million years, a new study from The
University of Texas at Austin suggests. This is the first study to show that the Andes have been a major
source of diversity for the Amazon basin, one of the largest reservoirs of biological diversity on
Earth. The finding runs counter to the idea that Amazonian diversity is the result of evolution
only within the tropical forest itself. "Basically, the Amazon basin is 'melting pot' for South American
frogs," says graduate student Juan Santos, lead author of the study. "Poison frogs there have come from
multiple places of origin , notably the Andes Mountains, over many millions of years. We have shown
that you cannot understand Amazonian biodiversity by looking only in the basin. Adjacent regions have
played a major role."
438
In The Origin of Species, Darwin provided abundant evidence that life on Earth has evolved over time,
and he proposed natural selection as the primary mechanism for that change. He observed that individuals
differed in their inherited traits and that selection acts on such differences, leading to evolutionary
change. Although Darwin realized that variation in heritable traits is a prerequisite for evolution , he
did not know precisely how organisms pass heritable traits to their offspring. Just a few years after
Darwin published The Origin of Species, Gregor Mendel wrote a groundbreaking paper on inheritance in
pea plants. In that paper, Mendel proposed a model of inheritance in which organisms transmit
discrete heritable units (now called genes) to their offspring. Although Darwin did not know about genes,
Mendel‘s paper set the stage for understanding the genetic differences on which evolution is based.
441
Developing computational thinking helps students to better understand the world around them. Many of
us happily drive a car without understanding what goes on under the bonnet. So is it necessary for
children to learn how to program computers? After all, some experts say coding is one of the human
skills that will become obsolete as artificial intelligence grows. Nevertheless, governments believe
coding is an essential skill. Since 2014, the principles of computer programming have been featured in
England's curriculum for children from the age of five or six, when they start primary school. While not
all children will become programmers, Mark Martin, a computing teacher at Sydenham High School,
London, argues that they should learn to understand what makes computers work and try to solve
problems as a computer might.
Children who skip school are increasingly on family holidays, government figures revealed today. Fewer
children played truant this spring term compared with the spring term last year. Children missed 3m
unauthorised days of school last term, compared with 3.7m days of school in the same period last year.
But a hardcore group of truants - 6% of the school population - who account for more than three-
quarters of all those on unauthorised absence, are more likely to be on a family holiday than they were in
the same period last year. Some 1.2% of all absence was for family holidays, not agreed by their
school last term, compared with 0.9% for the same term last year. More than 60% of all absences were for
illness, the same figure as last year.
446
Participating regularly in physical activity has been shown to benefit an individual's health and well-
being . Regular physical activity is important in reducing the risk of chronic diseases, such as
heart disease and stroke, obesity, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. The National Physical Activity
Guidelines for Adults recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity,
preferably every day of the week, to obtain health benefits.
448
A common response to seeing an ant inside your house is to stomp on it. But if you crush a member of the
ant species Tapinoma sessile, you might catch a whiff of a strange smell—a smell that reminds some
people of blue cheese, rancid butter, or rotten coconut. In fact, the smell is so noticeable that the insect's
common name is the "odorous house ant." And many people call it the coconut ant. In an effort to figure
out why people have these reactions, researchers enlisted visitors at an event called the North
Carolina BugFest. One-hundred-forty-three volunteers smelled smushed ants and were asked to identify
the scent from four choices: blue cheese, rancid butter, rotten coconut, or just other. Although Web sites
overwhelmingly call the smell of rotten coconut, almost 40 percent of the human judges picked blue
cheese and about 25 percent picked rotten coconut. More than 30 percent went with the choice of other.
The scientists then analyzed the chemicals responsible for the ant odor, as well as the smelly
chemicals in blue cheese, fresh coconut, and coconut buried underground for three days. It turns out that
the chemistry of the ants' scent is indeed similar to that of blue cheese and rotten coconut, but not to fresh
coconut. And the researchers note that the Penicillium microbes that turn coconut oil rancid are also
involved in the production of blue cheese. The study is in the journal American Entomologist. The
researchers also noted that the most common write-in candidate as a description for the ants' aroma was
"cleaning spray." And one little girl told them that the ants "smelled exactly like her doctor."
451
Digital media and the internet have made the sharing of texts, music, and images easier than ever, and the
enforcement of copyright restriction harder. This situation has encouraged the growth of IP law, and
prompted increased industrial concentration on extending and 'policing' IP protection, while also
leading to the growth of an 'open access', or 'creative commons' movement which challenges such
control of knowledge and creativity .
453
Reading is an active process, not a passive one. We always read within a specific context and this
affects what we notice and what seems to matter. We always have a purpose in reading a text, and this
will shape how we approach it. Our purpose and background knowledge will also determine the
strategies we use to read the text.
456
English has been changing throughout its lifetime and it's still changing today. For most of us, these
changes are fine as long as they're well and truly in the past. Paradoxically, we can be curious about
word origins and the stories behind the structures we find in our language, but we experience a
queasy distaste for any change that might be happening right under our noses. There are even language
critics who are convinced that English is dying, or if not dying at least being progressively crippled
through long years of mistreatment
 SUMMARIXE SPOKEN TEXT
127
Transcript
People often forget to take their cards after taking the money from the ATM. Occasionally, this is
the common reason, because they get the money and walk away. In the UK it becomes less common,
because people take their money after they have taken their cards. In the past, people made error by
forgetting to get their cards after they got their money. The UK has restructured the new ATM system.
You have to get your card before you get your cash. Although you would forget to get your money, it
is more catastrophic if lose your card because it can access your bank account.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about the fact that people forgot to take their cards after taking the money from the
ATM. He firstly indicated that in the UK it became less common. Additionally, the UK had restructured
the new ATM system that people had to get the card before they got the cash. He finally concluded it was
more catastrophic to lose your card because it could access your bank account. (70 words)

Transcript
Some economists argue that financial aid to developing countries is, in the long run, inefficient and
even counter-productive. However, there are two main types of aid that we will deal with here. First,
there is long-term aid to countries such as Ethiopia and Somalia, where there are recurrent
problems such as drought and poor agricultural production, and where there is little or no industry to
speak of – problems that won’t go away with an injection of money. Then there is emergency aid,
which also appeals for contributions from the public, when a disaster of one kind or another strikes.
Recent examples would be the earthquake in Haiti, and the tsunami in Japan. In the case
of emergency aid, it arrives in the first instance as food, clothing, shelter, and medical aid, all of
which are of immediate practical use and great benefit. With countries that have long-term
developmental problems, just pumping in money is not enough and, sad to say, a lot of the money
doesn’t go where it should. What is more important is providing know-how: teaching the skills and
expertise needed to help develop the economy and social services such as health, sanitation, and so on.
It is also necessary to help build the institutions – a bureaucracy, if you like – that can organize and run
these services.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about long-term aid and emergency aid. He firstly indicated long-term aid was for
countries of recurrent problems that would not go away with an injection of money. Additionally,
emergency aid appealed for contributions from the public when a disaster stroke, which were of
immediate practical use and great benefit. Finally, what was important was providing know-how:
teaching skills and expertise to develop the economy and social services. (70 words)

145
Transcript
Most people think of astronomers as people who spend their time in cold observatories peering through
telescopes every night. In fact, a typical astronomer spends most of his or her time analyzing data and
may only be at the telescope a few weeks of the year. Some astronomers work on purely theoretical
problems and never use a telescope at all. You might not know how rarely images are viewed directly
through telescopes. The most common way to observe the skies is to photograph them. The process is
very simple. First, a photographic plate is coated with a light-sensitive material. The plate is positioned so
that the image received by the telescope is recorded on it. Then the image can be developed, enlarged,
and published so that many people can study it. Because most astronomical objects are very remote,
the light we receive from them is rather feeble. But by using a telescope as a camera, long time
exposures can be made. In this way, objects can be photographed that are a hundred times too faint to be
seen by just looking through a telescope.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about astronomers who spent time analyzing data. He firstly indicated some
astronomers worked on purely theoretical problems and never used a telescope. Additionally, the most
common way to observe the skies was to photograph them, and the image could be developed, enlarged,
and published so that many people could study it. He finally concluded by using a telescope as a camera,
long time exposures could be made. (70 words)

146
Transcript
Perhaps the first example of what could be called a newspaper was the Acta Diurna – roughly, ―Daily
News‖ – that Julius Caesar introduced in 59 BC. This was a handwritten news-sheet posted daily in the
Forum at Rome and in other common meeting places around the city. Of course, a lot of the news would
be out of date in the sense that, for example, it took a long time for reports of a victory in a distant
country to get back to Rome. Nonetheless, a lot of items included are similar to those found in more
modern newspapers: news of battles, as already mentioned, as well as political and military
appointments, political events, and even a social diary recording marriages, births, and deaths. One
mustn‘t forget sport – if that is what you‘d call it. Just like modern fans of football, sports-minded
Romans could keep up with the latest results of the gladiator contests. People who lived in the
provinces and wanted to be kept up to date would send scribes to Rome to copy the news and have
them send it back by letter. Many of these scribes could make extra money by providing the news to
more than one client. Quite a few of them were slaves and would go on to use the extra money earned
to buy their freedom.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about the first example of newspaper. He indicated that it was a handwritten news-
sheet posted daily, in which some news would be out of date while others were similar to those found in
more modern newspapers. Additionally, sports-minded Romans could keep up with the latest results of
the gladiator contests. Finally, slaves would go on to use the extra money earned to buy their freedom. (68
words)

148

Transcript
Today, I‘d like to turn our attention to an area of management often overlooked in traditional
management courses: small-business management. Small businesses have gone from being traditional
small-town stores selling food or clothing to sophisticated, high-tech enterprises. And in addition to
the important products they produce, they create jobs for lots of people because there are so many of
them. It’s important for management to keep in mind which of the customers’ needs the business
serves, because it can‘t serve all their needs. Writing a business plan that everyone in the organization
understands and follows will help to provide the necessary focus and direction. It’s important
to state clearly what the purpose of the business is. Additionally, each person within the
organization must know what tasks to perform in order to fulfill that purpose. Now, if for some
reason a business plan doesn’t work, try hard to discover why not, rewrite it, and immediately focus
on the new plan. A work of caution, however, never give up a bad plan without replacing it. A business
has to have a plan because it can’t afford to waste its limited resources. And, as you know, waste leads
to unnecessarily high production costs. Production costs are at the heart of the company‘s ability to
make a high-quality product and sell it at an affordable price.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about small-business management, which had gone to sophisticated, high-tech
enterprises. He firstly indicated that writing a business plan helped provide the necessary focus and
direction. Additionally, if a business plan did not work, discover why not, rewrite it, and focus on the new
plan. Finally, a business could not afford to waste its limited resources to make a high-quality product and
sell it at an affordable price. (70 words)

151

Transcript
Interviewer: Is it true you once said that English as a subject at university, um, literature, I mean, was a
soft option - that it was just doing what you enjoy doing anyway, that is, reading books, um …

Interviewee: No, I didn't. In fact, I was arguing, and on occasion still have to argue, the opposite. This
goes back to the very beginning of English as an academic subject. There was a demand for it, but the
universities themselves didn't take it seriously as an academic discipline, so, to cut a long story short,
they would only accept its place in the curriculum if it was made more difficult. What I said was that too
many people do think of it as a soft option. If you want to find out just how rigorous a course it can be,
ask any of my students. If you were to try to read the books on the list for one semester as a leisure
activity you wouldn't get through them, let alone reading them with the proper attention, and
then having to come up with a suitable and well thought out critical response. And, and, it's not just
about the set books, there's the whole cultural context to take into account.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about whether English as a subject at university was a soft option. She firstly indicated
this is not true as there was a demand for it, but universities did not take it seriously. Additionally, she
highlighted that you needed to read books with proper attention and came up with suitable critical
responses. She finally concluded that there was the whole cultural context to take into account. (69 words)

152

Transcript
I became interested in - what would you call it? - the behavior, the psychology, perhaps - of crowds, after
getting caught up, quite by accident, in a demonstration that turned into a bit of a riot. You may have seen
it on the news not long ago. What interested me was, first my own reactions to the way the whole mood
changed from peaceful demonstration to violence. Secondly, I wondered if everyone else was feeling
the same as I was, and what that said about us and how we behave in crowds. Why is it that perfectly
ordinary, respectable members of the public can start behaving in ways they wouldn't dream of doing
when at home or among friends? A crowd, it seems to me, has a collective mind, each person there
adds his or her mind to the collective mind, and willingly gives up all sense of judgement and
responsibility. It gives you, I suppose, a feeling of freedom, of not having to be in control. It allows
you the freedom, or you allow yourself the freedom to behave in ways that, if asked, you would say were
against your principles, or made you feel guilty in some way - even criminal.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about psychology of crowds. She firstly indicated her own reactions to the way the
whole mood had changed from peaceful demonstration to violence. She highlighted that a crowd had a
collective mind, to which each person there added their mind, and willingly gave up all sense of
judgement and responsibility. She finally concluded it gave you a feeling of freedom, of not having to be
in control. (70 words)

181

Transcript
I became interested in - what would you call it? - the behavior, the psychology, perhaps - of crowds, after
getting caught up, quite by accident, in a demonstration that turned into a bit of a riot. You may have seen
it on the news not long ago. What interested me was, first my own reactions to the way the whole mood
changed from peaceful demonstration to violence. Secondly, I wondered if everyone else was feeling
the same as I was, and what that said about us and how we behave in crowds. Why is it that perfectly
ordinary, respectable members of the public can start behaving in ways they wouldn't dream of doing
when at home or among friends? A crowd, it seems to me, has a collective mind, each person there
adds his or her mind to the collective mind, and willingly gives up all sense of judgement and
responsibility. It gives you, I suppose, a feeling of freedom, of not having to be in control. It allows
you the freedom, or you allow yourself the freedom to behave in ways that, if asked, you would say were
against your principles, or made you feel guilty in some way - even criminal.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about psychology of crowds. She firstly indicated her own reactions to the way the
whole mood had changed from peaceful demonstration to violence. She highlighted that a crowd had a
collective mind, to which each person there added their mind, and willingly gave up all sense of
judgement and responsibility. She finally concluded it gave you a feeling of freedom, of not having to be
in control. (70 words)

184

Transcript
With the concept of moral objectivism, what we're looking at is the idea that there can be some
universal moral principles: some rules, some ideas and guidelines that are valid for all people in all
social environments and all situations. The idea that we can essentially have some signposts or a
road map to guide behavior is going to be consistent across all individuals. Now if we take a look at this
in another perspective, we can come up with a view of moral absolutism. In the area of moral
absolutism, basically, what we have is illustrated on the right-hand side of this slide, is a very firm and
unyielding boundary between what is right and what is wrong. And so, within moral absolutism,
basically what you have are these non-overridable principles. They must be followed. They must never
be violated and there were no exceptions. It is always right. It is always wrong. And nothing is subject
to interpretation, and nothing is dependent upon the situation.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about universal moral principles. (S)he firstly indicated that we could essentially have
some signposts or a road map to guide behavior. Additionally, (s)he highlighted that we could come up
with a view of moral absolutism. In addition, (s)he claimed that what we have is a very firm and
unyielding boundary. (S)he finally concluded that nothing is subject to interpretation, and nothing is
dependent upon the situation. (69 words)

186
Transcript
Now I'm going to talk about biology, especially applications used in biological systems. The biological
system does not always stay the same, but it evolves. Biology engineering is the next level of
engineering. Nowadays, scientists rewrite DNAs by cutting the pieces, and can create new organisms,
so they can engineer and design nature. While scientists could only cut and paste DNA from one
organism to another 40 years ago, they can now write and synthesize DNA to create new
organisms with new techniques. If these organisms have a bacterium, when they go to the lab
tomorrow, they will see millions of bacteria. Besides, scientists are building a cellular
factory and cultivating millions of bacteria based on one bacterium. People also want to see a natural
world in the future.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about biology, especially applications used in biological systems. (S)he firstly
indicated that the biological system did not always stay the same, but it evolved. Additionally, (s)he
highlighted that scientists rewrote DNAs by cutting the pieces. In addition, (s)he claimed that these
organisms had a bacterium. Moreover, (s)he explained that they would see millions of bacteria. (S)he
finally concluded that scientists were building a cellular factory. (68 words)

187

Transcript
Because of the economic model, the newspaper industry has been shrinking drastically from the last
50 years of the 20th century in some states of America. Also as the economic model changed,
newspapers increased the cash flow. However, there are still some newspaper industries losing
money because of a decrease in advertising and buyers. They can't find buyers. Only a few
newspapers have positive cash flow. Over 100 newspapers with cash flow in red had no money to
publish the newspaper everyday. Some of them published three days per week. Small-sized newspapers
only published once a week and had to go online. Some newspapers even disappeared. The staff working
in newspaper industry decreased by 30-60% or more.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about the newspaper industry. (S)he firstly indicated newspapers had increased the
cash flow as the economic model had changed. Additionally, (s)he highlighted there were still some
newspaper industries losing money because of a decrease in advertising and buyers. Moreover, (s)he
explained newspapers with cash flow in red had had no money to publish the newspaper everyday.
Finally, (s)he concluded the staff working in newspaper industry had decreased. (70 words)

190

Transcript
Since the discovery of DNA structure, people have believed that genes have an impact only on
people's physical structure. However, the study of mapping of genes in 2001 found that there is a
genetic responsibility to human’s physical and physiological behaviors, which has changed the way
we understand our behaviors. Findings from behavioral genetic research have broadly impacted
modern understanding of the role of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. The
research on genes has provided integrating information, and the findings can benefit biologists,
psychologists and neuroscientists. Qualitative research has fostered arguments that behavioral genetics
is an ungovernable field without scientific norms or consensus, which fosters controversy.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about the way we understand our behaviors. (S)he firstly indicated people had
believed that genes have an impact only on people's physical structure. Additionally, (s)he highlighted
findings from behavioral genetic research had broadly impacted modern understanding of the role of
genetic and environmental influences. Finally, (s)he concluded the research on genes had provided
integrating information, and could benefit biologists, psychologists and neuroscientists. (65 words)

195

Design of buildings is important according to architectural textbooks. At its roots, architecture exists
to create the physical environment in which people live, but architecture is more than just the built
environment, it‘s also a part of our culture. It stands as a representation of how we see ourselves, as
well as how we see the world. There are poorly designed buildings, but also some great building works.
In the Victoria Era, architects designed buildings based on bricks and other materials. The design of
flaws was based on lighting as it would not only affect appearance but also health conditions.
The materials that buildings are made of also matter. For example, the design of ground floors must
ensure that the building is able to withstand the weight of the higher levels. In the 20th century, many old
buildings with design flaws were demolished or modified through a natural selection process, which
means they are an altered state rather than an original state. This is an application of Darwin's theory of
natural selection to modification of old buildings, which means buildings should adapt to the new
world to survive, or be pulled down. So, it's argued to be unfair to criticize the demolition, although
some people believe that whether to be remained should be decided based on their nature and functions.
As the world became more and more connected, the styles evolved, but even in modern
construction, there is still an importance in honoring the cultural nuances in the built environment.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about design of buildings. (S)he firstly indicated that architecture existed to create the
physical environment in which people lived. Additionally, (s)he highlighted that architecture was more
than just the built environment. In addition, (s)he claimed that architects had designed buildings based on
bricks and other materials. (S)he finally concluded that buildings should adapt to the new world to survive
and styles had evolved. (66 words)

201

Transcript
When Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web, he surely didn't anticipate that children would end
up becoming some of its main users. Most start using the internet at the average age of three – and as
recent research shows, children now spend more time playing and socializing online than watching
television programs. Given this change in habits, it is not surprising that a recent House of Lords
report has raised online safety and behavior as an important issue. The report said that for
children, learning to survive in a world dominated by the internet should be as important as reading
and writing. The House of Lords Communications Committee also warned that children should not be
leaving school without 'a well-rounded understanding of the digital world'. It also suggested that the
government should think about implementing new legal requirements and a code of
conduct companies would have to adhere to, which would help to bring the internet up to 'child-friendly
standards'. Of course, trying to rectify this lack of child-centered design is not an easy task, but one that
requires the cooperation and goodwill of many sectors. It will need to involve consultation with
technology, education, legal and policy experts. And it would also be a good idea to make children and
young people part of the process.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about most children using the internet at the average age of three. (S)he firstly
indicated learning to survive in a world dominated by the internet should be as important as reading and
writing. Moreover, (s)he explained the government should think about implementing new legal
requirements and a code of conduct. (S)he finally concluded it would need to involve consultation with
technology, education, legal, and policy experts. (69 words

202

Transcript
Telescopes and eyes are both tools for collecting and detecting light. In fact, telescopes can be thought of
as bigger, more powerful eyes. The type of lenses and mirrors and their arrangement determine some of
the features of the telescope. The resolution of the telescope is a measure of how sharply defined the
details of the image can be. The telescope‘s primary mirror may have a fraction. As a result, starlight is
not brought to a focus at the same point, resulting in blurry images. The name ’telescope‘ covers a wide
range of instruments. There are major differences in how astronomers must go about collecting light in
different frequency bands. The telescope is widely used in the astronomy field because it is a digital
detector, 100 times more efficient than our eyes. Now physicists have begun to develop a various
quantum mechanism.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about telescopes and eyes being tools for collecting and detecting light. (S)he firstly
indicated the resolution of the telescope was a measure of how sharply defined the details of the image
could be. Moreover, (s)he explained the name ‘telescope‗ covered a wide range of instruments. (S)he
finally concluded the telescope was widely used in the astronomy field because it was 100 times more
efficient than our eyes. (70 words)

213

Transcript
Talent is premium and there is a war for talents in 1990's because of the talent shortage. Companies and
countries are recruiting young talented people from different countries and sending young people
to universities. Some young people immigrated after they graduated from the university. They compete
with the local students. Countries and organizations should put talents at the primary positions. The
collapse of loyalty makes employees happy to change their workplace because of the higher
income. There are three reasons: first, the change of nature of economy leads to increase in the talents
demand and need skills. Second, the shrinking labor force after the baby-boom causes less supply of
skilled workers and the retirement of baby-boomers will cause a shortage of experienced workers. Third,
there is also a mismatch between what schools are producing and what companies need.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about a war for talents. (S)he firstly indicated that companies and countries were
recruiting young talented people from different countries and sending them to universities, and
highlighted that they competed with the local students. (S)he finally concluded there were three reasons:
the change of nature of the economy, the shrinking labor force after the baby-boom, and a mismatch
between what schools were producing and what companies needed. (70 words)

214

The war for talent refers to an increasingly competitive landscape for recruiting and retaining
talented employees. In the book, Michaels, et al., describe not a set of superior Human Resources
processes, but a mindset that emphasizes the importance of talent to the success of
organizations.The war for talent is intensified by demographic shifts (primarily in the United States
and Europe). This is characterized by increasing demand along with decreasing supply(demographically).
There are simply fewer post-baby-boom workers to replace the babyboom retirement in the US and
Europe (though this is not the case in most of East Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Central America,
South America, or the Middle East; Eastern Europe also tends to have similar demographics, namely an
aging and/or shrinking labor force). While talent is vague or ill-defined, the underlying assumption is that
for knowledge intensive industries, the knowledge worker (a term coined by Peter Drucker) is the key
competitive resource (see the Resource-based view of the firm). Knowledge-based theories of
organizations consistently place knowledge workers as a primary, competitive resource. Talent is
never explicitly defined in the book, though the Preface notes, "A certain part of talent elude description:
You simply know it when you see it." After several further caveats, the authors go on: "We can say,
however, that managerial talent is some combination of a sharp strategic mind, leadership ability,
emotional maturity, communications skills, the ability to attract and inspire other talented people,
entrepreneurial instincts, functional skills, and the ability to deliver results." The authors offer no outside
support for this assertion. A 2006 article in The Economist, which mentions the book, notes that,
"companies do not even know how to define "talent", let alone how to manage it. Some use it to mean
people like Aldous Huxley's alphas in "Brave New World"—those at the top of the bell curve. Others
employ it as a synonym for the entire workforce, a definition so broad as to be meaningless." The war for
talent is seen by various sources as becoming irrelevant during economic downturns.
However, there have been highly visible talent poaching by solvent firms of others who have
economic hardship.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about the war for talent. (S)he firstly indicated that it was an increasingly competitive
landscape for recruiting and retaining talented employees, and the war for talent was intensified by
demographic shifts. Moreover, (s)he explained that the war for talent was seen by various sources during
economic downturns. (S)he finally concluded that there had been highly visible talent poaching by
solvent firms of others who had economic hardship. (70 words)

215

The war for talent refers to an increasingly competitive landscape for recruiting and retaining
talented employees. In the book, Michaels, et al., describe not a set of superior Human Resources
processes, but a mindset that emphasizes the importance of talent to the success of
organizations.The war for talent is intensified by demographic shifts (primarily in the United States
and Europe). This is characterized by increasing demand along with decreasing supply(demographically).
There are simply fewer post-baby-boom workers to replace the babyboom retirement in the US and
Europe (though this is not the case in most of East Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Central America,
South America, or the Middle East; Eastern Europe also tends to have similar demographics, namely an
aging and/or shrinking labor force). While talent is vague or ill-defined, the underlying assumption is that
for knowledge intensive industries, the knowledge worker (a term coined by Peter Drucker) is the key
competitive resource (see the Resource-based view of the firm). Knowledge-based theories of
organizations consistently place knowledge workers as a primary, competitive resource. Talent is
never explicitly defined in the book, though the Preface notes, "A certain part of talent elude description:
You simply know it when you see it." After several further caveats, the authors go on: "We can say,
however, that managerial talent is some combination of a sharp strategic mind, leadership ability,
emotional maturity, communications skills, the ability to attract and inspire other talented people,
entrepreneurial instincts, functional skills, and the ability to deliver results." The authors offer no outside
support for this assertion. A 2006 article in The Economist, which mentions the book, notes that,
"companies do not even know how to define "talent", let alone how to manage it. Some use it to mean
people like Aldous Huxley's alphas in "Brave New World"—those at the top of the bell curve. Others
employ it as a synonym for the entire workforce, a definition so broad as to be meaningless." The war for
talent is seen by various sources as becoming irrelevant during economic downturns.
However, there have been highly visible talent poaching by solvent firms of others who have
economic hardship.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about the war for talent. (S)he firstly indicated that it was an increasingly competitive
landscape for recruiting and retaining talented employees, and the war for talent was intensified by
demographic shifts. Moreover, (s)he explained that the war for talent was seen by various sources during
economic downturns. (S)he finally concluded that there had been highly visible talent poaching by
solvent firms of others who had economic hardship. (70 words)

216

Transcript
Today, we'll discuss about abstraction, commonly known as description. There are two methods of
description. These are symbolic language and body language. The abstraction is an important part for
developing a computer. This is originated from the symbolic system in the computer system. The origin
of symbolic system was developed when people try to communicate with each other. The symbolic
language took communication to wider people and popularity group. The other part of abstraction is the
body language. People accepted body language as well. The physical movement facilitates the
development of sign language, which popularly became hand words.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about abstraction, commonly known as description. (S)he firstly indicated that there
were two methods of description, which were symbolic language and body language. Moreover, (s)he
explained that the origin of the symbolic system had been developed when people tried to communicate
with each other. (S)he finally concluded that the physical movement facilitated the development of sign
language, which had popularly become hand words. (66 words)

217

Transcript
A nuclear family consists of only a mother, a father and a child, which is the most common family
type in western countries. Typically, but not always, the adults in a nuclear family are married. Children
in a nuclear family may be the couple‘s biological or adopted offspring. In an extended family,
grandparents, parents and children live together with strong geographical proximity. If there is an
abusive ideology, however, the extended family can pose as much a risk as a buffer to children. Simple
generalizations, therefore, about features of family structure and their role in child maltreatment
cannot be made. An attenuated or tenuous family has children who do not live with grandparents
or parents but keep in contact with them on a daily basis over the phone or via the internet. The
lower the social class, the higher the incidence of attenuated families.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about a nuclear family consisting of a mother, a father, and a child. (S)he firstly
indicated in an extended family, grandparents, parents, and children lived together in strong geographical
proximity. Moreover, (s)he explained simple generalizations about features of family structure and their
role in child maltreatment could not be made. (S)he finally concluded an attenuated or tenuous family had
children not living with grandparents or parents. (69 words)

218

Transcript
Today, poems remain an important part of art and culture. We often talk about the knowledge about
the literature in poem. Poetry is probably the oldest form of literature, and probably predates the
origin of writing itself. The oldest written manuscripts we have are poems, mostly epic poems telling the
stories of ancient mythology. The English language in poems and poetries is difficult to understand,
often giving readers a feeling of frustration and making it hard for readers to enjoy poetry. This is
because poems use literary expressions. Poetry was once written according to fairly strict rules of
meter and rhyme, and each culture had its own rules. Some poems incorporate rhyme schemes, with
two or more lines that end in like-sounding words. We should learn to simply enjoy it, and to know
more about literature knowledge.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about poems remaining an important part of art and culture. (S)he firstly indicated
poetry was probably the oldest form of literature and predated the origin of writing itself. Moreover, (s)he
explained the English language in poems and poetries was difficult to understand. (S)he finally concluded
poetry had once been written according to fairly strict rules of meter and rhyme, and each culture had had
its own rules. (70 words)

218

Transcript
Today, poems remain an important part of art and culture. We often talk about the knowledge about
the literature in poem. Poetry is probably the oldest form of literature, and probably predates the
origin of writing itself. The oldest written manuscripts we have are poems, mostly epic poems telling the
stories of ancient mythology. The English language in poems and poetries is difficult to understand,
often giving readers a feeling of frustration and making it hard for readers to enjoy poetry. This is
because poems use literary expressions. Poetry was once written according to fairly strict rules of
meter and rhyme, and each culture had its own rules. Some poems incorporate rhyme schemes, with
two or more lines that end in like-sounding words. We should learn to simply enjoy it, and to know
more about literature knowledge.

Solution 1
The lecturer talked about poems remaining an important part of art and culture. (S)he firstly indicated
poetry was probably the oldest form of literature and predated the origin of writing itself. Moreover, (s)he
explained the English language in poems and poetries was difficult to understand. (S)he finally concluded
poetry had once been written according to fairly strict rules of meter and rhyme, and each culture had had
its own rules. (70 words)
 HIGHLIGHT INCORRECT WORDS
46
Transcript
On a tour of Spain, in 1912, a fellow travel/traveler introduced Gustav Holst to astrology. And he became
so curious that sowed the sips/seeds of his spectacular orchestral suite. " The planets", his most popular if
not most representative of creativity/creation, which portrays the astrological rather than the
mythological characteristics/characters of seven planets in our solar system. Jupiter the Bringer of Jollity
has both of its jophiel feet planet/planted firmly on the ground
54
Transcript
I will try to have the practice. After class and/ends if you want to continue the discussion, you have some
questions that recurred/occurred to you forwards/towards the end, didn't have a chance to share them
with the class as a whole, I will, on a normal day, meet outside and continue to ask/talk with however
many of you want to do that, until you're done.
64
Transcript
Engineering is an incredibly diverse and exciting regime/field. But it can also be confusing because there
are so many types of engineering. Examples of engineering fields include civil, chemical,
electric/electrical, environmental, computer, mechanical, industrial, aerospace, biomedical, construction,
and agricultural. People often try to answer the question what is engineering by
demonstrating/describing each of these many fields. That may be useful if you know you want to be an
engineer. But if you're not sure engineering is right for you, a good way/place to start is to take a look at
the common characteristics of all these fields. Underlying all engineering fields is a common way of
thinking, analysing, and solving problems.
65
Transcript
" A: Hey, how's it going ? B: Good. Need any help ? A: Uh, yeah, I was in maybe a month ago. Uhm... I
bought a hat. Uh, It's... uh, it's a black hat with red stamps/letters. It said PDX on the... on the front of it. I
don't see it anywhere around here. Do you still have those ? B: Hmmm... No, I don't think so. Do you see
where the t-shirts/shirts are, over there in the back right corner ? The hats are just between them and the
shelf, a little bit further around the shelf/corner. But that hat doesn't sound familiar. Have a look though.
It might be here/there. A: ―Oh, uh, okay. Well, I'll take a look. Thanks."
67
Transcript
The world has changed. The economics of the world have changed and the art market has come in
beside/behind that. Absolutely. And it's part of the reason why Christie's left Australia. It no longer has an
office here at Sotheby's. It's basically a branch or a franchise, for want of a better word, of Sotheby's
International. So either/neither auction house has a really permanent international
representative/presence in Australia. Because they're focusing their attractiveness/attentions on the
places they can make money, which is the Middle East, India and Asia.
68
Transcript
Researchers asked/surveyed 370 parents at a hospital in urban Philadelphia. Nearly every household had
a TV. More than three quarters had smartphones and tablets. According to the parents, infants just six
months old were already logging half an hour a day on mobile devices, and they weren't just watching
cartoons. A third were swiping and tapping the devices/screens, and a quarter of the babies were actually
making calls. Although probably by accident. By age two, nearly all the kids were announced/reported to
be using tablets and smartphones, sometimes while clues/glued to the TV.
 DRAG AND DROP
255
In these distant times, the sun was seen to make its daily journey * across the sky. At night the moon
appeared. Every new night the moon waxed or waned a little and on a few nights, it did not appear at all.
At night the great dome of the heavens was dotted with tiny specks of light. They became * known as the
stars. It was thought that every star in the heavens had its own purpose and that the secrets * of the
universe could be discovered by making a study of them.
It was well known that there were wandering stars, they appeared in different nightly positions against
their neighbors and they became known as planets. It took centuries, in fact, it took millennia, for man to
determine * the true nature of these wandering stars and to evolve a model of the world to accommodate
them and to predict * their positions in the sky.
256
An eccentric mix of English, German and French has entered Japanese usage with grand abandon *. A
"kariya" woman is a career woman, and a "manshon" is an apartment. This increasing use of katakana, or
unique Japanese versions of Western words, and the younger generation's more casual use of the Japanese
language have prompted * Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to worry that these new words may not be
understood by a wider audience. As a result, a government panel is proposing to publish a manual on how
to speak proper Japanese. Foreign words became katakana Japanese because * no existing Japanese
words could quite capture a specific meaning or feeling. When the word "cool" traveled east, all of its
English connotations did not make the journey. A kuru person in Japan is someone who is calm and never
gets upset. On the other hand, someone who is kakkoii is hip, or in translation, "cool." Similarly, a hot to
a person is one who is easily excitable, perhaps passionate, but not necessarily a popular person or
personality of the moment.
257
Green spaces contribute significantly to a reduction * of soil and aerial temperatures during spells of hot
weather, so contributing to human wellbeing. In the garden context *, there is, however, little information
as to what extent various types of plants * differ in their cooling potential and how certain planting
combinations may maximise cooling under a scenario of low * rainfall and minimal water inputs.
258
One misconception concerns how creativity is defined. In lay terms, people often associate * it merely
with arts and crafts, limiting * its definition to only such forms of output. Equally problematic are
definitions, which are too broadly all-encompassing viewing * every form of educational endeavour as
creative. Despite these problems, there have been a number of attempts * to identify the defining
qualities of creativity.
259
Micro-enterprises in low-income economies are critical to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of poor
people, and micro-finance programmes have proliferated *, based on the assumption that they trigger *
micro-enterprise growth. But researchers say there are major concerns about access to micro-finance, its
regulation * and impact on poverty reduction and indebtedness *.
260
Participating regularly in physical activity has been shown to benefit an individual's health and wellbeing
*. Regular physical activity is important in reducing the risk of chronic * diseases, such as heart disease
and stroke, obesity, diabetes and some forms of cancer. The National Physical Activity Guidelines for
Adults recommend * at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, preferably * every day
of the week, to obtain * health benefits.
261
In the developed world, home appliances have greatly reduced the need for physical labour. Fewer *
people need to be involved in tasks that once left them little time to do much else.

For example, the word processor and email have, to a great extent *, replaced the dedicated secretarial
staff that briefly flourished with the rise of the typewriter. At one * time all copies were made with
manual scribes, carefully duplicating what they read. Then we had carbon paper. Then photocopiers. Then
printers. Then the requirement for physical copy reduced.

An entire stream of labour appeared and disappeared as technology advanced. We freed ourselves of one
kind of work; we just replaced it with * another.
262
In the preceding hundred years, Paris had been center * stage for political and social movements * that
had deeply affected all of Europe. The many ways in which tradition had already been challenged and
shaken * during those years helped make it easier for those to achieve a break with tradition art.
263
Like the sea turtles, we are drawn * to the bright lights of our phones, tablets, laptops, and TV's. Our
minds and bodies becoming disoriented * as we lose focus and direction. Each day, we are torn *
between the value of tech and the cost to our health
264
The new systematic nomenclature was so cumbersome * that many chemists preferred to revert * to the
older trivial names that were at least shorter. At least, that is the ostensible reason. Actually, tradition
seems to carry more weight than system * with some scientists.
265
It is often assumed that when Western firms, or any firm for that matter, reach out across borders * to
establish a factory outlet here, an assembly plant there or a subsidiary in some far-off location *, they do
so through directly investing and thereby wholly owning such facilities. In the 1970s and 1980s, among
the low-cost manufacturing overseas operations, this was indeed often the case, but increasingly Western
firms started to conduct their business at-a-distance through a variety of indirect means, of which
subcontracting became the principle arrangement *.
266
So why the concern? It's partly because * radioactivity is invisible. If you receive a large dose, or if you
ingest * radioactive heavy metals, it is certainly toxic, and we tend to associate * it with cancer, a great
fear in modern society *. Nuclear waste is also highly concentrated.
267
It is understandable that the government would look outside of Medicare to get the efficiency-related
changes it wants *. If Medicare was capable of delivering those changes *, it would have already done
so. Finding another organisation that can deliver these services at a reduced * cost with increased
functionality, especially to the consumer of these services, makes absolute sense. The objections to
making such a move will be about the potential loss of jobs * from Medicare.
268
The received, but unproved, wisdom * is that we are born with a certain genetic make-up * that means
we have a tendency * to have a sunnier disposition or a gloomier one. It is, however, generally agreed *
that nurture your early experiences in life can outweigh * any possible genetic predisposition.
269
It may be difficult to convince * working class people to buy fairtrade as it still tends to come across * as
a thing for middle-class do-gooders. As a result, fairtrade may experience * the same limits to future
growth as other lifestyle-choice based campaigns * around topics like * health promotion or
environmental awareness.
270
Maslow‘s most penetrating idea is that we have a hierarchy of needs, proceeding from physiological *
needs like water or warmth, through safety, love, esteem and then self-actualisation. He argued that lower
needs occupy * our attention when they are unmet and make it more difficult to fulfil * the higher ones
including self-actualisation, which is about becoming the self you always had the potential * to be.
271
Science works by making observations, coming up with theories to explain those observations, and then
attempting to disprove those theories by experiment *. Once a scientist has done these things, he can
present his results *. After a while, many scientists working all round the world, using large amounts of
data, build up a picture * of the way the world is.
272
Long-term goals may need to be divided into shorter-term realistic * target. For example, your long-term
goals could be to get a good degree but in order * to achieve this, you will need to set yourself several
short-term goals along the way *. These could include getting your assignments in on time, reading and
acting on * feedback, getting a higher mark in the next assignment, planing revision for exam, etc.
273
Great Britain, which had opposed the construction of the Suez canal, became the largest shareholder * in
1875 by purchasing the interest of the Egyptian khedive. The Convention of Constantinople signed in
1888 by all major European powers of the time declared the canal neutral and guaranteed free passage *
to all in time of peace and war. Great Britain was the guarantor * of the neutrality of the canal;
management was placed in the hands of the Suez Canal Company.
274
This presentation will look at criteria for credible proposal * for online research. This interactive session
will explore ways to look with learners who want to conduct investigation * online through interviews or
observations. What we will look at is research from a faculty perspective *. The workshop is relevant for
instructors * or mentors who teach research related classy or chair committees.
283
Considerable research has examined the health impact of damaging * behaviors, such as smoking,
physical inactivity, and medical noncompliance. Similarly, many studies have been devoted to examining
* the impact of specific healthy behaviors, such as eating a good diet and having proper sleep hygiene. On
the other hand, noticeably * less emphasis has been devoted toward the health implications of engaging
in enjoyable leisure activities that may also have beneficial * properties.
284
Almost no one regards corn with suspicion. But the same * can‘t be said for human‘s ingenious ability to
engineer the plants we eat. Genetically modified (GM) crops are viewed with such * hostility that they
are barely grown in Europe. However, a new study by an independent group of scientists, who have done
the most comprehensive review * of the evidence so far, shows that our aversion to GM food is pointless
unscientific * and harmful to farmers.
291
A brain-centred view of human * intelligence has led to the obvious, if crude, hypothesis of a relation
between brain size and intelligence. It turns out, though, that even a simple correlation between brain size
and any measure of intelligence appears to be very difficult to establish *. A convincing causal
association seems to have become increasingly likely *.
292
The financial crisis has not deterred prospective MBA students from taking up * the degree, according to
the latest research from CarringtonCrisp, the UK-based business school consultancy * service. According
to the report (Crisis? What crisis) only * 7 per cent of the 723 prospective students surveyed reported that
their attitude * towards the MBA had become more negative as a result of the financial crisis.
293
A good way to make sure that people police themselves is to get them to believe * essentially the same
stories about what the world is and why the way it is good, true and beautiful. The world needs to be
described *, and it needs to be justified by arguments about nature, philosophical principle, history or the
gods. People will find their place * in such a world. They will learn what hopes they might reasonably
hold for themselves.
294
Women can prove very difficult to trace in history, and this is particularly the case * in port history. Many
of the jobs carried out by women were casual or hidden away, often regarded as unimportant and have
therefore gone largely unrecorded in the historical evidence * we have left today. However, various forms
of records have survived, illustrating the _role_ women played in port life.
295
The University of Maryland boasts 78 academic programs ranked * in the top 25 nationally and 29
academic programs in the top 10 according to U.S. News and world report. By drawing top-notch faculty,
attracting the brightest students and investing * in the quality of our academic programs, we are a force to
reckon with on a national basis *.
296
Housing agencies pay the utility costs * , generally because units in developments don't have individual
meters. Some buildings have individual meters, and each family pays its own to the utility company * ,
so agencies will deduct that amount * from your rent *
297
Ice storms are dangerous types of weather * which can leave everything covered in ice. It happens when
very cold * raindrops fall on cold surfaces, turning the rain into ice *. In December 2008, more * than 1
million homes in north-eastern USA were left without power after * an ice storm caused power lines to
snap.
298
We will critically examine problems of historical theory * and practice, with an emphasis on debates
around key * topics such as historical narrative, objectivity and relativism, causation, the relationship of
history to other disciplines *, the rise and impact of social and cultural histories, and new directions in
historical research and writing.
299
Electric eels are born to shock. Thanks to cells called electrocytes which, stacked like batteries, make up
80% of their bodies, these cunning South American hunters * can deliver debilitating blows of up to 600
volts to their prey. But they‘ve harnessed their electricity to pack even bigger bunches. Last year,
Vanderbilt University biologist Kenneth Catania revealed electric eels bring their positively charged head
and negatively charged tail * closer together to generate a more powerful current * as they wrap around
tough prey.
300
Telephone networks are very large and complex * networks. This is due to the technological development
and the ever growing demand * for multiple services that these networks need to support. This poses a
need to forecast * the behavior of a network should a certain condition occur to it. This can only be done
by simulation, which is a modeling tool in great * use today.
301
Friedman showed that, while people do save more when they earn more, it is only * to spend later. Those
in work save against * a time of sickness, unemployment or old age - but because the sick, unemployed
and elderly spend their savings, overall consumption * does not fall as people get richer.
302
Protestors see globalization in a very different light than the treasury secretary of the United States.The
differences in views * are so great that one wonders, are the protestors and the policy makers talking
about the same phenomena *? Are the visions of those in power * clouded by special and particular
interests *?
303
Choosing the right mentor can be easy for some students and challenging * for others. It is a deceivant
that should be taken very seriously since it directly impacts how enjoyable and how successful * your
graduate career wil be. There are many things on which to base your decisions, the most important * of
which are discussed in more detail below.
304
Throughout its history, one of the strengths of the Press has been the diversity of the Press's list. The Press
has distinguished itself with its strong list in social work publishing texts have been widely * adopted in
courses and are used by professionals in the field. Through its European Perspectives series *, and the
publication of the Wellek Library Lectures, the Press has published a range of innovative and leading *
scholars.
305
The word "folklore" was first used by the English antiquarian William Thoms in 1846. Folklore, a
modern term for the body * of traditional customs, superstitions, stories, and songs that have been
adopted and maintained within a given community * by processes of repetition not reliant on the written
word *. This broad category * of cultural forms embraces all manifestations of the oral tradition *,
especially those of pre-literate societies.
306
The transitions which occurred in Britain around 100 BC, and after 43 AD (when the Roman Army
invaded * Britain) represent the key points of socio-economic trend in Britain's past. During the first
century BC, the traditional communal form of life shifted * rapidly to a world where certain individuals
become more important. During the first century AD, Britain became * fully a part of the Roman Empire.
307
Your library card is your key * to all 92 locations of The New York Public Library in the Bronx,
Manhattan, and Staten Island. In addition to borrowing library materials, your card allows you to
download digital media, search * hundreds of electronic databases, reserve a computer, and more.
Any person who lives, works, attends * school, pays property taxes in New York State is able to receive
a New York Public Library card free of charge *.
308
Mathematics and statistics play a part * in almost all daily activities. They are at the heart * of advances
in science and technology, as well as providing indispensable * problem-solving and decision-making
tools in many areas * of life. Forecasting the the weather or movements in the stock market, planning
travel timetables or calculating * how much water is needed to fill a swimming pool all depends on
Mathematics and Statistics.
309
The play's vitality depends upon its center characters more completely than any other work of
Shakespeare. Yet a newer * psychological study than any previously exhibited in an English theater
cannot be said to have been created *, but only to have been touched up and improved * by Shakespeare
who drew upon several different sources * of inspiration.
310
A movie is made up of a sequence of still pictures. The continuous * movement seen on the screen is an
illusion *. The human brain remembers an image for about a 10th of a second after the image disappears.
This effect is called "persistence of vision". When 2 pictures appear in quick succession *, persistence of
vision causes the first picture to blend * into the second appearing as a single movie image.
311
Having tracked down research that is relevant * to your area of interest the next task is to make sense *
of that research. This section is intended to show you how to be critical of the research you are reviewing
* and how to check that the evidence * is credible and represented appropriately.
312
Ministers' demands for help to cope with the pressures of an increasingly competitive and
professionalised political environment have been key drivers of the staffing system's development. But
there has not been commensurate growth in arrangements * to support and control it. The operating *
framework for ministerial staff is fragmented * and ad hoc.
314
People say it‘s your civic duty * to vote, but it also seems like it‘s very unlikely your vote will make a
difference.
Who is right? Is voting really valuable, or a waste of time?
We looked into the research * on this, especially regarding the US Presidential election, though similar
reasoning will apply to election overseas.
The answer *, surprisingly, is that the single hour you spend voting for the President and Congress can be
the most important thing you do with an hour each four years.
315
Business etiquette in Australia is relatively straightforward for Americans and Europeans. But it differs *
greatly from the approach taken in the country's Asian backyard, the source * of an increasing proportion
of its trade and investment. To many Asians, Australians' openness can appear blunt and unsubtle *, their
informality confusing and even disrespecful. Even if Australia is less egalitarian, then it is less
hierarchical * than many societies.
 SUMMARIZE WRITTEN TEXT
180
In a study conducted in Tubingen, Germany, chess experts and novices were shown geometric objects and
chess positions and were later asked to identify each one of them. Their reaction times and brain activity
closely monitored with the use of functional MRI scans. 1 On the first part, which was recognizing the
geometric objects, results reveal that the subjects’ performance didn’t show any dissimilarities,
which implied that the experts‘ visualization skills are no better than the amateurs‘. However, 2 during
the identification of the chess position, the experts were seen to have performance significantly
faster and better.

As the researchers geared toward an element of a study previously conducted on pattern and object
recognition by the chess experts, they had anticipated to notice areas of the left hemisphere of the experts‘
brains (involved in object recognition) to be more reactive when they performed the tasks. However, the
reaction times of the subjects were virtually identical. The very thing that sets the experts apart from
the amateurs is that the former‘s right brain hemispheres (involved in pattern recognition) were to seen to
have also lit up during the activity. Therefore, both sides of the experts‘ brains were active, processing
information in two places simultaneously. The researchers added that 3 when they showed the chess
diagrams to the subjects, they observed that the amateur relied on looking at the pieces intently to
be able to recognize them, whereas the experts merely relied on their peripheral vision and looked
across the boards.

Solution 1
On the first part, which was recognizing the geometric objects, results reveal that the subjects‘
performance didn‘t show any dissimilarities because during the identification of the chess position, the
experts were seen to have performance significantly faster and better , and the reaction times of the
subjects were virtually identical. (50 words)

181
Original Text
You used to think that 1 being green was a luxury for your company, but 1 climate change has made
you realize that you can no longer ignore it. The buzz is about 2 becoming carbon-neutral, but where
do you start? Consider your drivers. Do you want to become carbon-neutral for marketing reasons, for
financial reasons or to help save the planet? Simon Armitage of the Carbon Neutral Company believes:
"Your drivers will help you tailor your carbon-reduction program and determine key performance
indicators." This will help build a case for going carbon-neutral. First, 3 measure your carbon footprint,
or get a specialist to do it for you. That primarily means 4 taking account of your energy usage and
emissions caused through travel. Before you begin, think about whether you're collecting the right data
and whether it's readily accessible. When implementing any energy reduction measures, 5 ensure you
engage with your staff. "It's much better if your people decide for themselves when it's sensible for them
to travel," says Armitage. You'll also 6 need them to participate in switching off the lights and other
energy-saving measures. Set targets and show it's not a one-off exercise.

Solution 1
You used to think that being green was a luxury for your company, but climate change has made you
realize that you can no longer ignore it because first, measure your carbon footprint, or get a specialist to
do it for you , and that primarily means taking account of your energy usage and emissions caused
through travel because when implementing any energy reduction measures, ensure you engage with your
staff. (71 words)
182
1 A democratic country should have the right to decide whether to vote or not. It is strange that after
decades of crawling up the political backside of the US, 2 Australians don't have that right. Being fined
for not voting reminds me of the old saying "you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him
drink". The fine is not for failing to vote but for failing to have your name marked off a list! 3 Forcing
people to make a decision just means they'll make the easiest, quickest decision they can, not the
best one. You need an informed electorate for compulsory voting to work. However, the reality is that
nobody knows anything about the candidates and promotional material is not readily available. I'd rather
80% of people didn't vote than have them all just pick the first recognizable name on the ballot sheet.
Then at least the government is elected by the 20% who care and make informed decisions. Otherwise it
is largely pot chance who gets elected. Furthermore, 4 compulsory voting doesn't ensure that the entire
electorate is engaged in the democratic process. Those who don't want to vote can simply turn up and
get their name marked off, without even putting pencil to paper. But you're seriously deluding yourself if
you think that this is what all those who don't care about government do when they turn up to the polling
booth. 5 Voluntary voting at least ensures those who vote are the ones that care enough to do so.
Perhaps somebody could enlighten me as to the reason why, to the best of my knowledge, Australia is the
only 'democracy' that has compulsory voting. It is certainly not compulsory in the USA, England, Canada,
New Zealand, Philippines or any other European or Asian democracy that I am aware of. Compulsory
voting is, however, mandatory in most communist regimes.

Solution 1
A democratic country should have the right to decide whether to vote or not because Australians don't
have that right , and forcing people to make a decision just means they'll make the easiest, quickest
decision they can, not the best one because compulsory voting doesn't ensure that the entire electorate is
engaged in the democratic process. (57 words

183

1 Many insecurities, fears, and doubts stem from lack of understanding or lack of knowledge about
something. The more you understand and know about a situation, the more comfortable you will be and
thus the less power your shyness will have over you.

Let‘s take for example 2 the subject of public speaking. This is an activity that terrifies most people half
to death, but only because most people don‘t have much knowledge about it. If you do some research and
investigation, you‘ll come to learn that it‘s perfectly natural to be terrified of public speaking, and that
almost every single person has the same fears and insecurities that you do.

When you take it further and ask yourself why you are so terrified of this, you‘ll come to learn that 3 you
are scared of being judged, or of being laughed at. From there, you can go and read and learn about
people who are good at public speaking—learn their tips and strategies.

This way you are much more prepared because your knowledge on the subject is vast. As a result of this,
your confidence will already be much higher than before, which might allow you to attempt public
speaking when you join a club like Toastmasters. As you practice more, you will naturally become even
more confident.

This rule applies to any area where you feel insecure. 4 Read and research as much about the topic as
possible. 5 This will help increase your confidence enough to give the activity a try to see if you
might be able to become better at it. And that initial confidence to take action is all you need to get the
ball rolling and overcome your shyness.

Solution 1
Many insecurities, fears, and doubts stem from lack of understanding or lack of knowledge about
something because when you take it further and ask yourself why you are so terrified of this, you‘ll come
to learn that you are scared of being judged, or of being laughed at , and read and research as much about
the topic as possible. (60 words)

184

Original Text
On October 12, 1492 (the first day he encountered 1 the native people of the Americas), Columbus
wrote in his journal: They should be good servants. I, our Lord being pleased, will take hence, at the
time of my departure, six natives for your Highnesses. These captives were later paraded through the
streets of Barcelona and Seville when Columbus returned to Spain. 2 From his very first contact with
native people, Columbus had their domination in mind. For example, on October 14, 1492, Columbus
wrote in his journal, with fifty men they can all be subjugated and made to do what is required of them.
These were not mere words: after his second voyage, 3 Columbus sent back a consignment of natives
to be sold as slaves. Yet in an April, 1493, letter to Luis de Santangel (a patron who helped fund the first
voyage), 4 Columbus made clear that the people he encountered had done nothing to deserve ill
treatment.

Solution 1
On October 12, 1492 (the first day he encountered the native people of the Americas), Columbus wrote in
his journal: They should be good servants because from his very first contact with native people,
Columbus had their domination in mind , and these were not mere words: after his second voyage,
Columbus sent back a consignment of natives to be sold as slaves. (63 words)

185

1 The English have the reputation of being a nation of tea drinkers, but this wasn't always the
case. 2 By the end of the 17th century, the English were the biggest coffee drinkers in the Western
world, and coffee houses became the places to be seen. As well as gossip, you could pick up talk of the
latest intellectual developments in science, politics, and so on, in this age of scientific discovery and
progress. At first coffee houses were very basic; a room with a bar at one end and a few plain tables and
chairs. Customers paid a penny for a bowl — not a cup — of coffee. A polite young woman was usually
in charge of the bar because it was thought her presence would ensure that the customers didn't use bad
language or cause any trouble. An added attraction was that coffee houses provided free newspapers and
journals.

But people didn't go to the coffee houses just to drink coffee. They went to talk. They soon developed
from simple cafes, where anyone with a penny could go for a drink and a chat, into clubs. People started
to go to coffee houses where they would find other people who had the same jobs or who shared their
interests and ideas, to talk and conduct business.

The great popularity of coffee houses lasted about a hundred years. 3 In the later 18th century,
increased trade with other countries made such luxuries as coffee cheaper and more easily available
to the ordinary person. As a result, people started to drink it at home. Also, at this time 4 more tea was
imported from abroad, and the century of the coffee house was replaced by the domestic tea-party
as the typical English social occasion.

Solution 1
The English have the reputation of being a nation of tea drinkers, but this wasn't always the
case because by the end of the 17th century, the English were the biggest coffee drinkers in the Western
world, and coffee houses became the places to be seen , and in the later 18th century, increased trade with
other countries made such luxuries as coffee cheaper and more easily available to the ordinary person. (72
words)

186

Original Text
1 For those political analysts whose main interest remains class divisions in society, the biggest split
these days is that between those who control and work with informational technology (IT) and
those we might still call blue-collar workers. The old divisions of class have become a lot more
difficult to apply, if not completely outdated. There's no escaping the enormous impact of information
technology in the late 20th and, even more, the early 21st centuries, both economically and socially.

During the scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries, the spirit of experiment was in the air, and
those involved were practical people working to practical ends — often on their own or with a small
group of trusted friends. 2 Secrecy was important as there was money to be made in new inventions.

3 What interested them were results, not theories. 4 Most modern technological advances, however,
were developed as theories first, and then made reality by large teams of scientists and experts in
the field. What we have now is that more and more of this type of expertise is being used to analyse and
find solutions to all kinds of business and social problems, thus creating — in the eyes of the political
analysts mentioned above — a whole large new economic and social class.

Solution 1
For those political analysts whose main interest remains class divisions in society, the biggest split these
days is that between those who control and work with informational technology (IT) and those we might
still call blue-collar workers because what interested them were results, not theories , and most modern
technological advances, however, were developed as theories first, and then made reality by large teams
of scientists and experts in the field. (71 words)

187
Original Text
1 The saying "The camera never lies." has been with us almost since the beginning of photography
— yet we all now know that it can, and does lie, and very convincingly. Yet most of us still seem to
trust the truth of a photographic image — especially in our newspapers or on TV news reports — even
though we may question its message. We think of photographs as an accurate reflection of unaltered
reality. We're convinced of this when we take unposed snaps on our family holidays or of colleagues the
worse for wear at the office party. It is this property of photography that makes it hard to question the
evidence before our eyes.

2 Our holiday snaps, though, like photographs showing life ten, fifty, a hundred years ago, tend only to
bring about at most a feeling of nostalgia — not always a negative emotion. Many people keep
albums to relive the better moments of their lives — and their impact is reduced by the fact that what they
show is over, part of history. 3 News photos, on the other hand, in presenting moments of an event that
is probably still going on somewhere, must provoke a more vivid, emotional response.

Solution 1
The saying "The camera never lies." has been with us almost since the beginning of photography — yet
we all now know that it can, and does lie, and very convincingly because our holiday snaps, though, like
photographs showing life ten, fifty, a hundred years ago, tend only to bring about at most a feeling of
nostalgia — not always a negative emotion. (63 words)

188

Original Text
1 A country's standard of living generally depends on the size of its national income. Standards of
living 2 are measured by such things as the number of cars, televisions, telephones, computers,
washing machines, and so on, for every one thousand people. There is, however, no standard
international index, which is why national income figures are used as a substitute. But 3 the use of these
figures to compare the standard of living between countries needs to be done carefully, because they
are, at best, only a rough guide which can be misleading. 4 The main problem here is that it is
necessary to have a common unit of measurement if any sort of comparison is to be made at all. It has
become the custom to use the dollar, and each country's currency is converted at its official exchange rate
into a national income figure in dollars. Now, since the exchange rate is often set at an artificial level in
relation to dollars, you are likely to end up with a figure that is useless for your purposes.

Solution 1
A country's standard of living generally depends on the size of its national income because standards of
living are measured by such things as the number of cars, televisions, telephones, computers, washing
machines, and so on, for every one thousand people , and the main problem here is that it is necessary to
have a common unit of measurement if any sort of comparison is to be made at all. (70 words)

189

1 Many people have problems with irony, both in their everyday lives and as it is used or deployed
in literature. We learn early on at school about "dramatic irony", that is, we are told, when the audience
of a play is aware of some situation or circumstance, or has information that one or more characters in the
play do not. If you like, you are sharing a secret with the writer — you are in the know. Perhaps, as you
go about your daily business, irony is not so clear-cut.

Here's an example: your neighbour draws your attention to how lovely the dandelions and daisies growing
in your lawn are. Now, to someone not familiar with the care and attention many English people give to
their gardens, this might need a bit of explanation. Lawns are grass, and are cut and rolled regularly so
that a professional golfer could practice his putting on it. Daisies and dandelions are weeds. For a moment
— but just for a moment — you wonder how serious your neighbour is being. Does he really think the
weeds are lovely or is he telling you — in a rather superior way — that you're a lousy gardener?

Irony, however, usually needs an audience; and not only does it need some people to get the point, it also
very much needs there to be people who don't. 2 There is, it has to be said, a rather undemocratic air
of superiority about it.

3 Irony is slippery, sometimes difficult to get a firm hold on, and can easily backfire, like a joke that
falls flat. Those who don't like irony — usually those who don't get the point — argue that, in a world
that is already difficult enough to deal with, why should we want to complicate things further? Why throw
everything you say into doubt? Besides, there's an unpleasant air of intellectual snobbery about it, and that
sort of thing doesn't go down well any more.

Solution 1
Many people have problems with irony, both in their everyday lives and as it is used or deployed in
literature because there is, it has to be said, a rather undemocratic air of superiority about it , and irony is
slippery, sometimes difficult to get a firm hold on, and can easily backfire, like a joke that falls flat. (59
words)

190

It wasn't until the 19th century that Britain had a police force as we know it today. 1 In medieval times,
the maintenance of law and order was in the hands of local nobles and lords who were expected to
keep the peace in their own land, and they would often appoint "constables" to police it. For a long
time, 2 policing remained an unpaid activity or was paid for privately, either by individuals or
organizations. There were also people who made a living as "thief takers". They were not paid wages, but
were rewarded by a proportion of the value of the stolen possessions they recovered. Later, in London,
where the population was rapidly increasing crime was rising, night-watchmen — the first paid law
enforcement body — were created and worked alongside the unpaid, part-time constables.

3 Britain, then, was slower to create and develop a police force than the rest of Europe: France had
one long before — indeed, the word police is taken from the French. This fact was not unimportant, as the
very idea of a police force was seen as foreign — that is, French — and particularly undesirable, and was
generally regarded as a form of oppression. 4 It was not until Robert Peel set up his "new police" as a
separate force in 1829 that policemen began to replace the old part-time constables. Sir Robert
"Bobby" Peel's own name provided two common nicknames for the new force: "Peelers" or "Bobbies".
These names seem mild, if not affectionate, and are possibly an interesting gauge of how the police were
viewed by people at the time, in contrast with the kind of names they get called these days.

Solution 1
In medieval times, the maintenance of law and order was in the hands of local nobles and
lords because policing remained an unpaid activity or was paid for privately, either by individuals or
organizations , and Britain, then, was slower to create and develop a police force than the rest of
Europe because it was not until Robert Peel set up his "new police" as a separate force in 1829 that
policemen began to replace the old part-time constables. (79 words)

191

1 Current research into the nature of the relationship between participation in physical
activity/sport and educational performance has produced mixed, inconsistent and often non-
comparable results. For example, some cross-sectional studies illustrate a positive correlation between
participation in sport and physical activity and academic success (e.g. maths, reading, acuity, reaction
times). However, critics point to a general failure to solve the issue of direction of cause — whether
intelligence leads to success in sport, whether involvement in sport enhances academic performance, or
whether a third factor (e.g. personality traits) explains both. Longitudinal studies also generally support
the suggestion that academic performance is enhanced, or at least maintained, by increased habitual
physical activity. Yet 2 such studies are criticized for not being definitive because some do not use
randomised allocation of pupils to experimental and control groups (to control for pre-existing
differences), others tend to use (subjective) teacher-assigned grades to assess academic achievement,
rather than standardised and comparable tests; and some programmes include parallel interventions,
making it difficult to isolate specific effects.

More generically, one key piece of research illustrates that both acute exercise and chronic training
programmes have small, but beneficial, positive impacts on cognitive performance. However, 3 this
study concludes that as experimental rigour decreased, effect size increased.
Further, 4 generalisation is limited because effect size is influenced by the nature and type of
exercise, the type of participants, the nature of the cognitive tests and the methodological quality of the
study.

Solution 1
Current research into the nature of the relationship between participation in physical activity/sport and
educational performance has produced mixed, inconsistent and often non-comparable
results because such studies are criticized for not being definitive , and this study concludes that as
experimental rigour decreased, effect size increased because generalisation is limited because effect size
is influenced by the nature and type of exercise, the type of participants, the nature of the cognitive tests
and the methodological quality of the study. (79 words)

192

Original Text
Is 1 the purpose of history to promote a strong national identity and support national myths?
Certainly, it has been used in this way for centuries, and 2 this is often reflected in the history
curriculum. 3 We can all remember history at school as being a matter of learning lots of facts and
dates, and long lists of kings and queens - a grand narrative of how we got from a· not so civilized past
to the great nation we are today. Putting aside the fact that national identity is a complex and divisive
question - especially in countries like the UK, which is comprised of several nationalities - this approach
to history emphasizes a broad understanding, rather than a detailed understanding.

Yet 4 history is, or should be, a critical, skeptical discipline: some historians see their work as
disproving myths, demolishing orthodoxies, and exposing politically-motivated narratives which claim to
be objective. 5 What students need to develop are more critical and analytical skills; in other words,
to think for themselves. They can do this by studying certain historical problems in depth. This involves
being critical of the narratives presented by historians and skeptical of the myths preserved in the national
memory.

Solution 1
The purpose of history is to promote a strong national identity and support national myths because we
can all remember history at school as being a matter of learning lots of facts and dates, and long lists of
kings and queens , and history is, or should be, a critical, skeptical discipline because what students need
to develop are more critical and analytical skills. (64 words)

193

How do we measure efficiency? 1 To economists - or to a certain type of economist - it is simply a

question of profitability, even when it concerns what most people consider a social provision such as
public transport. What is lost when railway lines and bus routes to small, out-of-the-way communities are
cut in the name of efficiency? After all, if a line or a route is only used occasionally by a few people, it
would be much cheaper to rip up the lines and let everyone use their cars.
2 For many governments, the way to turn inefficient national services into profitable businesses has
been to sell off these services - and their responsibilities - to private enterprises. Cost, in terms of
profit and loss, is of course an important factor, but other factors need to be considered when dealing with
the livelihoods of whole communities, however small. Among these are the social, environmental, human
and cultural costs incurred by cutting off more remote communities from greater opportunities, including
economic activities that benefit society as a whole.

3 Taking away such links - the usual result of privatization - may well lead to economic benefits in the
short term, but, as the last twenty to thirty years have shown, also leads to long-term social and
cultural damage. Of course, no business with its eye on profits is going to "waste" money supporting
underused services. Only large collective bodies such as national and local governments can do that.
These services are, after all, a social provision, not businesses.

Solution 1
To economists - or to a certain type of economist - measure efficiency is simply a question of
profitability, even when it concerns what most people consider a social provision such as public
transport because for many governments, the way to turn inefficient national services into profitable
businesses has been to sell off these services - and their responsibilities - to private enterprises. (63 words)

194

Original Text
1 Humans have been cultivating chilies as food for 6,000 years, but we are still learning new things
about the science behind their heat and how it reacts with our body. In the late 1900's, scientists
identified the pain nerves that detect capsaicin: the chemical in chillies responsible for most of the
burning sensation in our mouth. But it's only during the last few years that scientists have also learnt why
chilies evolved to be spicy in the first place, and they have managed to cultivate new varieties that are up
to 300 times hotter than the common Jalapeno.

2 The hottest part of a chilli is not the seeds, as many people think, but the white flesh that houses
the seeds, known as the placenta. But why did chillies evolve to be hot in the first place? Most scientists
believe capsaicin acts mainly as a deterrent against would-be mammal predators such as rodents. But
recent research suggests this may not be the whole story. US scientists working in Bolivia have studied
how hot and mild chillies differ in their susceptibility to a certain harmful fungus. It turns out that the
hotter the chilli, the better its defences against the fungus, leading the 3 researchers to propose that heat
may have evolved to help chillies deal with harmful microbes, as well as hungry mammals.

Solution 1
Humans have been cultivating chilies as food for 6,000 years, but we are still learning new things about
the science behind their heat and how it reacts with our body because the hottest part of a chilli is not the
seeds, as many people think, but the white flesh that houses the seeds, known as the placenta. (57 words)

195

Original Text
We know that 1 Shakespeare took whole chunks of Plutarch word for word to use in his Roman
plays — though, of course, in doing so he turned them into great poetry. Does this
make 2 Shakespeare a plagiarist? Was he a word thief?
In its legal definition, plagiarism includes "both the theft or misrepresentation of intellectual property and
the substantial textual copying of another's work". 3 But it is also considered to be a factor of a
particular culture or time— that is, in some cultures and in some periods the idea was undefined —
which makes it harder to identify precisely. However, 4 the main problem these days is plagiarism in
academic writing, which is becoming increasingly common, due to the vast amount of material that
has been published which can be accessed via the Internet. This easy access, coupled with the
increasing pressure put on students, has led to a rapid rise in incidents of plagiarism. It comes down to
who owns the intellectual property in question, and with the advent of the Internet this has become less
clearly defined.

Solution 1
Shakespeare took whole chunks of Plutarch word for word to use in his Roman plays — though, of
course, in doing so he turned them into great poetry because it is also considered to be a factor of a
particular culture or time , and the main problem these days is plagiarism in academic writing due to the
vast amount of material that has been published which can be accessed via the Internet. (73 words)

196

Original Text
By far the most popular and most consumed drink in the world is water, but it may come as no surprise
that 1 the second most popular beverage is tea. Although tea was originally grown only in certain parts
of Asia – in countries such as China, Burma and India – it is now a key export product in more than 50
countries around the globe. 3 Countries that grow tea, however, need to have the right tropical
climate, which includes up to 200 centimeters of rainfall per year to encourage fast growth, and
temperatures that range from ten to 35 degrees centigrade. 4 They also need to have quite specific
geographical features, such as high altitudes to promote the flavor and taste of the tea, and land that
can offer plenty of shade in the form of other trees and vegetation to keep the plants cool and fresh.
Together these conditions contribute to the production of the wide range of high-quality teas that are in
such huge demand among the world‘s consumers. There is green tea, jasmine tea, earl grey tea, pepper
mint tea, tea to 2 help you sleep, tea to promote healing and tea to relieve stress; but above all, tea is
a social drink that seems to suit the palates and consumption habits of human beings in general.

Solution 1
The second most popular beverage is tea because countries that grow tea, however, need to have the right
tropical climate , and they also need to have quite specific geographical features, such as high altitudes to
promote the flavor and taste of the tea, and land that can offer plenty of shade in the form of other trees
and vegetation to keep the plants cool and fresh. (67 words)

Original Text
1 Twin studies have been very useful in giving us information about whether our genes or our
environment makes us who we are. A surprising result is the way that genes influence our work. At a
basic level, 2 our genes affect how we look and so they influence whether we can become a basketball
player or a supermodel, for example. However, there is evidence that genes 3 influence our job choice in
much greater ways.

Research shows that identical twins choose more similar jobs than non-identical twins. In fact, identical
twins who have grown up apart choose more similar jobs than non-identical twins who have grown up
together. Studies also show that identical twins suggest that our genes 4 affect both the satisfaction that
comes from doing a job and satisfaction that comes from working conditions such as a person's pay or
their manager.
So what does this mean? It means that from birth, you are more likely to prefer one occupation to another
and find certain jobs more satisfying than others. However, 4 genes are not the only factor. 5 Other
things in your life, such as family background and education, will also be influential in your career
choices.

Solution 1
Twin studies have been very useful in giving us information about whether our genes or our environment
makes us who we are because our genes affect how we look and so they influence whether we can
become a basketball player or supermodel , and there is evidence that genes influence our job choice in
greater ways because other things in your life, such as family background and education, will be
influential in your career choices. (75 words)

198

Original Text
Skipping Breakfast Has Drawbacks – 1 It's no mystery why so many people routinely skip breakfast:
bad timing. It comes at a time when folks can be more occupied with matters of grooming, attire and
otherwise making themselves presentable for a new day. However, 2 studies conducted both in the
United States and internationally have shown that skipping breakfast can affect learning, memory
and physical well-being. Students who skip breakfast are not as efficient at selecting critical information
for problem-solving as their peers who have had breakfast. For school children, skipping breakfast
diminishes the ability to recall and use newly acquired information, verbal fluency, and control of
attention, according to Ernesto Pollitt, a UC Davis professor of pediatrics whose research focuses on the
influence of breakfast on mental and physical performance. 3 Skipping breakfast can impair thinking
in adults, also. For both children and adults, a simple bowl of cereal with milk goes a long way toward
providing a sufficiently nutritious start to the day. Green-Burgeson 4 recommends choosing a cereal
that's low in sugar — less than five grams per serving — and using nonfat or one percent milk.
Frederick Hirshburg, a pediatrician at UC Davis Medical Group, Carmichael, says that babies and other
preschoolers rarely skip breakfast because "they're usually the hungriest at the beginning of the
day. 5 Breakfast then becomes more of a "learned experience" than a response to a biological need,
Hirshburg says.

Solution 1
It's no mystery why so many people routinely skip breakfast: bad timing because studies conducted both
in the United States and internationally have shown that skipping breakfast can affect learning, memory
and physical well-being , and skipping breakfast can impair thinking in adults because Green-Burgeson
recommends choosing a cereal that's low in sugar — less than five grams per serving — and using nonfat
or one percent milk. (68 words)

199

imes are fraught, and overstretched executives are constantly on the lookout for a way to clear their minds
so they can work in a calmer, more effective, and more responsive way. 1 Cultivating a special state of
consciousness called 'mindfulness' — an intense awareness of the here and now — is proving
attractive to a growing number of senior managers, both in the US and elsewhere.

2 Mindfulness is achieved by meditation techniques, often involving sitting on a cushion, eyes

closed, concentrating on the inflow and outflow of your breath. Or you might spend 10 minutes
studying, sniffing, tasting and finally eating a piece of fruit. That might make it sound like a remnant of
the navel-gazing 1960s and 1970s, but the evidence for mindfulness's effectiveness is good enough to
have impressed hard-nosed companies such as Google (which has invited mindfulness gurus to speak at
the Googleplex), General Mills, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deutsche Bank, Procter & Gamble,
AstraZeneca, Apple, Credit Suisse, KPMG, Innocent, Reuters and many more.

According to Don McCormick, assistant professor of management at California State University and a
dedicated meditator, 3 it 'can help individuals to manage workplace stress, perform tasks more
effectively, enhance self-awareness and self-regulation, experience work as more meaningful, improve
workplace relationships, increase ethical behavior, and make perception more accurate'. It is said to
pay dividends for leaders and managers, by improving the quality of their listening and communicating.

Solution 1
Cultivating a special state of consciousness called 'mindfulness' — an intense awareness of the here and
now — is proving attractive to a growing number of senior managers, both in the US and
elsewhere because mindfulness is achieved by meditation techniques, often involving sitting on a cushion,
eyes closed, concentrating on the inflow and outflow of your breath. (58 words)

200

1 Tradition and commerce often clash in many cultures. In Trinidad, it is the Carnival that is the cause
of current friction. 2 The complaint, as you would expect, is that traditional skills and creativity are
being lost in the rush to make profits. And the profits are large: the two-day festival, which attracts up
to 40,000 tourists each year, is estimated to generate somewhere between $27 million and $100 million.

A particular problem for the traditionalists is that the extravagant colorful costumes people wear in the
bands or processions are now largely being imported, especially from China. These costumes are cheaper
and more revealing (another cause of complaint) than those made locally. Critics say these imports are a
threat to traditional creations and, worse, mean sending work elsewhere. Others see turning the Carnival
into a profitable and exportable industry as a progressive move, benefiting the country as a whole. 3 A
large number of people are in two minds. On the one hand, the changes are a reflection of what
people - mainly tourists - want, and bring in money. On the other, 4 there is a desire to preserve
traditions. The transformation of the bands and processions into businesses has disrupted the social
order, which used to be made up of friends getting together to relax, eat and drink, and make costumes.
Both sides agree, though, that the country needs to make better use of the skills of the people in the
Carnival business and that the country's resources must appeal to a wider market.

Solution 1
Tradition and commerce often clash in many cultures because the complaint, as you would expect, is that
traditional skills and creativity are being lost in the rush to make profits , and a large number of people are
in two minds because the changes are a reflection of what people - mainly tourists - want, and bring in
money. (59 words)

201

1 Most sea creatures, from whales and dolphins to fish, sharks, shrimps and possibly even
anemones respond to sound, and many can produce it. They use it to hunt and to hide, find mates and
food, form and guide shoals, navigate 'blind', send messages and transmit warnings, establish territories,
warn off competitors, stun prey, deceive predators, and sense changes in water and conditions. Marine
animals click bones and grind teeth; use drum-tight bladders and special sonic organs to chirp, grunt, and
boom: belch gases; and vibrate special organs. Far from the 'silent deep', the oceans are a raucous babel.
2 Into this age-long tumult, in the blink of an evolutionary eye, has entered a new thunder: the
throb of mighty engines as 46,220 large vessels plough the world's shipping lanes. Scientists say that
background noise in the ocean has increased roughly by 15 decibels in the past 50 years. It may not sound
like much in overall terms; but it is enough, according to many marine biologists, to mask the normal
sounds of ocean life going about its business. At its most intense, some even say noise causes whales to
become disoriented, dolphins to develop 'the bends', fish to go deaf, flee their breeding grounds or fail to
form shoals - enough to disrupt the basic biology of two thirds of the planet. 'Undersea noise pollution is
like the death of a thousand cuts', says Sylvia Earle, chief scientist of the US National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. 'Each sound in itself may not be a matter of critical concern, but taken all
together. 3 The noise from shipping, seismic surveys, and military activity is creating a totally
different environment than existed even 50 years ago. That high level of noise 4 is bound to have a
hard, sweeping impact on life in the sea.

Solution 1
Most sea creatures, from whales and dolphins to fish, sharks, shrimps and possibly even anemones
respond to sound, and many can produce it because into this age-long tumult, in the blink of an
evolutionary eye, has entered a new thunder: the throb of mighty engines , and the noise from shipping,
seismic surveys, and military activity is creating a totally different environment than existed even 50
years ago. (68 words)

202

Original Text
1 Almost 120 years ago, during the first Gilded Age, sociologist Thorstein Veblen coined the term
"conspicuous consumption". He used it 2 to refer to rich people flaunting their wealth through
wasteful spending. Why buy a thousand-dollar suit when a hundred-dollar one serves the same function?
The answer, Veblen said, was power. The rich asserted their dominance by showing how much money
they could burn on things they didn't need. While radical at the time, Veblen's observation seems obvious
now. 3 In the intervening decades, conspicuous consumption has become deeply embedded in the
texture of American capitalism. Our new Gilded Age is even more Veblenian than the last. Today's
captains of industry publicize their social position with private islands and superyachts while the president
of the United States covers nearly everything he owns in gold. But the acquisition of insanely expensive
commodities isn't the only way that modern elites project power. More recently, another form of status
display has emerged. 4 In the new Gilded Age, identifying oneself as a member of the ruling class
doesn't just require conspicuous consumption. It requires conspicuous production. If conspicuous
consumption involves the worship of luxury, conspicuous production 5 involves the worship of labor. It
isn't about how much you spend. It's about how hard you work. Nowhere is the cult of conspicuous
production more visible than among America's CEOs.

Solution 1
Almost 120 years ago, during the first Gilded Age, sociologist Thorstein Veblen coined the term
"conspicuous consumption" because He used it to refer to rich people flaunting their wealth through
wasteful spending , and in the intervening decades, conspicuous consumption has become deeply
embedded in the texture of American capitalism because in the new Gilded Age, identifying oneself as a
member of the ruling class doesn't just require conspicuous consumption. (70 words)

203

Original Text
The Brundtland Report, Our Common Future (1987), defines sustainable development as
"development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs'. Implicit in this definition is the idea that the old pattern of
development could not be sustained. Is this true? Development in the past was driven by growth and
innovation. It led to new technologies and huge improvements in living standards. To assume that we
know what the circumstances or needs of future generations will be is mistaken and inevitably leads
to the debilitating sense that we are living on borrowed time. Only if we assume that society will
remain static can we understand the needs of the future. The way we live today could not have been
predicted twenty years ago. The sustainability paradigm fails to recognize this. It is a static view and
thus places limits on human ingenuity. Similarly, a whole host of false assumptions dominate
environmental thought; the scale of problems is exaggerated, the amount of resources is underestimated
and spurious links are made between areas such as green policies and profit, poverty and environmental
degradation. Those of us who want a better future need to question these assumptions.

Solution 1
The Brundtland Report, Our Common Future (1987), defines sustainable development as "development
which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs' because implicit in this definition is the idea that the old pattern of development could not be
sustained , and the sustainability paradigm fails to recognize this. (58 words)

204

Original Text
Dehydration can impair athletic performance and, in extreme cases, may lead to collapse and even
death. Drinking plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise is very important. Don‘t wait until you
are thirsty. Fluid intake is particularly important for events lasting more than 60 minutes, of high
intensity or in warm conditions. Water is a suitable drink, but sports drinks may be required,
especially in endurance events or warm climates. Sports drinks contain some sodium, which helps
absorption. A sodium content of 30 mmol/L (millimoles per litre) appears suitable in sports nutrition.
Using salt tablets to combat muscle cramps is no longer advised. It is lack of water not sodium that affects
the muscle tissue. Persistent muscle cramps might be due to zinc or magnesium deficiencies.

Solution 1
Dehydration can impair athletic performance and, in extreme cases, may lead to collapse and even
death because fluid intake is particularly important for events lasting more than 60 minutes, of high
intensity or in warm conditions , and water is a suitable drink, but sports drinks may be required,
especially in endurance events or warm climates because persistent muscle cramps might be due to zinc
or magnesium deficiencies. (68 words)

205

Original Text
Increasing global demand for low-cost timber products supports a multi-billion dollar business of
illegal and unsustainable logging in forests worldwide. According to some estimates, logging in
violation of national laws accounts for 8-10% of global production and trade in forest products. It also
represents 40-50% of all logging in some of the most valuable and threatened forests on
earth. Consumption of tropical timber by the U.S. and other industrial countries plays a significant
role in tropical deforestation. Trade in forest products has increased significantly over the past 50
years, especially in processed wood products such as sawn timber, pulpwood, board, and wood-
based panels. According to the United Nation‘s Food and Agriculture Organization, wood-based panel
trade has skyrocketed 800 percent in the past three decades. WWF believes that demand for
responsible forest products in international trade can provide enormous incentives for sustainable
forest management. However, in the absence of appropriate forest management policies,
environmental and social safeguards, and responsible demand, trade can negatively impact forest
conservation.

Solution 1
Increasing global demand for low-cost timber products supports a multi-billion dollar business of illegal
and unsustainable logging in forests worldwide because consumption of tropical timber by the U.S. and
other industrial countries plays a significant role in tropical deforestation , and in the absence of
appropriate forest management policies, environmental and social safeguards, and responsible demand,
trade can negatively impact forest conservation. (62 words)

206

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most significant of the greenhouse gases, accounting for over 80
percent of global warming pollution. Atmospheric levels of CO2 are now higher than at any time in the
past 420,000 years. And the changes we are witnessing - and those that are predicted - are largely due to
human behavior. Around 97 percent of the CO2 emitted by western industrialized countries comes from
burning coal, oil and gas for energy. We spew approximately 25 billion metric tons of CO2 into the
atmosphere every year. That's about 800 metric tons every second. Not surprisingly, a global
temperature build-up on this scale is seriously disrupting the natural balance of the world's climate.
It is not what you think, but how you think. Business must play a vital role in reducing the impact of
climate change. They can do it by implementing technologies that reduce CO2 emission. The link
between practice and profitable, long-term business sustainability makes it increasingly important for
businesses to make better use of resources and create more energy efficient products. Already risks
associated with environmental issues are considered right alongside other factors that impact a company's
performance and value. Moving toward a sustainable future worldwide life fund partners with
companies to help them achieve their environmental objectives. Without a global rich scientific
expertise and in-depth knowledge across a full spectrum of environmental issues, we are positioned
to accept companies interested in reducing their environmental footprint. We offer comprehensive
assessment and measure tools to identify key issues, develop best practices, set effective benchmarks, and
verify improved environmental impacts.By addressing environmental issues in their business models,
companies only improve their practices, but also ensure the sustainability of their core business and
transform the entire market to a more sustainable future.

Solution 1
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most significant of the greenhouse gases, accounting for over 80 percent of
global warming pollution because a global temperature build-up on this scale is seriously disrupting the
natural balance of the world's climate , and business must play a vital role in reducing the impact of
climate change because moving toward a sustainable future worldwide life fund partners with companies
to help them achieve their environmental objectives. (72 words)

207

Original Text
So how can design be understood in a meaningful, holistic sense? Beyond all the confusion created by the
froth and bubble of advertising and publicity, beyond the visual pyrotechnics of virtuoso designers
seeking stardom, beyond the pronouncements of design gurus and the snake-oil salesmen of lifestyles,
lies a simple truth. Design is one of the basic characteristics of what it is to be human, and an
essential determinant of the quality of human life. It affects everyone in every detail of every aspect of
what they do throughout each day. As such, it matters profoundly. Very few aspects of the material
environment are incapable of improvement in some significant way by greater attention being paid
to their design. Inadequate lighting, machines that are not user-friendly, badly formatted information, are
just a few examples of bad design that create cumulative problems and tensions. It is therefore worth
asking: if these things are a necessary part of our existence, why are they often done so badly? There is no
simple answer. Cost factors are sometimes advanced in justification, but the margin between doing
something well or badly can be exceedingly small, and cost factors can in fact be reduced by
appropriate design inputs. The use of the term ‘appropriate’, however, is an important
qualification. The spectrum of capabilities covered by the term ‗design‘ requires that means be carefully
adapted to ends. A solution to a practical problem which ignores all aspects of its use can be
disastrous, as would, say, medical equipment if it were treated as a vehicle for individual expression
of fashionable imagery.

Solution 1
Design is one of the basic characteristics of what it is to be human, and an essential determinant of the
quality of human life because very few aspects of the material environment are incapable of improvement
in some significant way by greater attention being paid to their design , and the use of the term
‗appropriate‘, however, is an important qualification. (61 words)

208

Original Text
The Brundtland Report, Our Common Future (1987), defines sustainable development as
"development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs'. Implicit in this definition is the idea that the old pattern of
development could not be sustained. Is this true? Development in the past was driven by growth and
innovation. It led to new technologies and huge improvements in living standards. To assume that we
know what the circumstances or needs of future generations will be is mistaken and inevitably leads
to the debilitating sense that we are living on borrowed time. Only if we assume that society will
remain static can we understand the needs of the future. The way we live today could not have been
predicted twenty years ago. The sustainability paradigm fails to recognize this. It is a static view and thus
places limits on human ingenuity. Similarly, a whole host of false assumptions dominate environmental
thought; the scale of problems is exaggerated, the amount of resources is underestimated and spurious
links are made between areas such as green policies and profit, poverty and environmental
degradation. Those of us who want a better future need to question these assumptions.

Solution 1
The Brundtland Report, Our Common Future (1987), defines sustainable development as "development
which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs because to assume that we know what the circumstances or needs of future generations will be
is mistaken and leads to the debilitating sense that we are living on borrowed time, and those of us who
want a better future need to question assumptions. (75 words)