剑桥雅思真题8-阅读Test-1附答案

剑桥雅思真题

8.阅读Testi附答案Reading Passage1You shouldspend about20minutes onQUESTIONS1-13which arebased onReading Passage/below.The Chronicleof TimekeepingA Accordingto archaeologicalevidence,at least5,00years ago,and longbefore theadvent of the Roman Empire,he Babyloniansbegan to measure time,introducing calendarsto co-ordinate communalactivities,to planthe shipmentof goodsand.in particular,to regulateplanting andharvesting.They basedtheir calendarson threenatural cycles:the solarday,marked by the successiveperiods oflight and darkness as the earthrotates onits axis;the lunarmonth,following thephases of the moonas itorbits theearth;and the solar year,defined bythe changingseasons thataccompany ourplanets revolutionaround thesun.B Beforethe inventionof artificiallight,the moonhad greatersocial impact.And,for thoseliving nearthe equatorin particular,its waxingand waningwas moreconspicuous thanthe passing of heseasons.Hence,the calendarshat weredeveloped atthe lowerlatitudes wereinfluenced morebythelunar cyclethan bythe solaryear.In morenorthern climes,however,where seasonalagriculture waspracticed,the solaryear becamemore crucial.As theRoman Empireexpanded northward,it organisedits activitychart for the mostpart aroundthe solaryear.C Centuriesbefore theRomanEmpire,the Egyptianshad formulateda municipalcalendar having12months of30days,with fivedays addedto approximatethe solaryear.Each periodof tendays wasmarked bythe appearanceof specialgroups ofstars calleddecans.At therise of the starSirius justbefore sunrise,which occurredaround heall-important annualflooding of the Nile,12decans couldbe seenspanning theheavens.The cosmicsignificance theEgyptians placedin he12decans ledthem todevelop asystem in which each interval ofdarkness andlater,eachintervalof daylightwas divided into adozen equal parts.These periodsbecame known as temporal hours becausetheir durationvaried accordingo the changing lengthof daysand nightswith thepassingof the seasons.Summer hourswere long,winter onesshort;only atthe springand autumnequinoxes werethe hoursof daylightanddarknessequal.Temporal hours,which werefirst adoptedby heGreeks and then theRomans,who disseminatedthem throughEurope,remained inuse formore than2,5X years.D Inorder totrack temporal hours duringthe day,inventors createdsundials,which indicatetime bythe lengthor directionof thesuns shadow.The sundialscounterpart,the waterclock,was designedtomeasuretemporalhoursat night.One of the firstwater clockswas abasin witha smallhole nearthe bottomthrough which the waterdripped out.The fallingwater leveldenoted hepassing houras itdipped belowhour linesinscribed on the innersurface.Although thesedevices perforniedsatisfactorily aroundthe Mediterranean,they could not alwaysbe dependedon in the cloudyand oftenfreezing weatherof northernEurope.E Theadvent of the mechanicalclock meantthat althoughit couldbe adjustedto maintaintemporalhours,it wasnaturally suitedto keepingequal ones.With thesehowever,arose thequestion ofwhen to begin counting,and so,in theearly14th century,a number of systemsevolved.The schemesthat dividedthe dayinto24equalpartsvaried accordingto thestart of the count:Italian hoursbegan atsunset,Babylonian hoursat sunrise,astronomical hoursat middayand greatclock hours,used forsome largepublic clocksin Germany,at midnight.Eventually thesewere supersededby smallclock,or French,hours,which splithe dayinto two12-hour periodscommencing atmidnight.F The earliest recordedweight-driven mechanicalclock wasbuilt in1283in Bedfordshirein England.The revolutionaryaspect ofthis newtimekeeper wasneither thedescending weightthat providedits motiveforce northe gear wheels whichhad beenaround for at least1,300years hattransferred hepower；it wasthe partcalled heescapement.In theearly1400s camethe inventionof thecoiled springor fuseewhich maintainedconstant forceto thegearwheelsof thetimekeeper despitethechangingtension ofits mainspring.By the16th century,a pendulumclock hadbeen devised,but the pendulum swungin a large arcand thuswas notvery efficient.G Toaddress this,a variationon theoriginal escapementwas inventedin1670,in England.It wascalled the anchor escapement,which was a lever-based deviceshaped likea ships anchor.The motionof apendulum rocksthis deviceso thatit catchesand thenreleases eachtooth ofthe escape wheel,in turnallowing itto turna preciseamount.Unlike theoriginal formused inearly pendulumclocks,the anchorescapement permittedthe pendulumto travelin a very small arc.Moreover,this inventionallowed theuse of a long pendulum whichcould beatonce asecond andthus ledto the development of a newfloor-standing casedesign,which becameknownasthe grandfatherclock.H Today,highly accuratetimekeeping instrumentsset thebeat formost electronicdevices.Nearly allcomputers contain a quartz-crystal clockto regulatetheir operation.Moreover,not onlydo timesignals beameddown fromGlobal PositioningSystem satellitescalibrate thefunctions ofprecision navigationequipment,they doso aswell formobile phones,instant stock-trading systemsand nationwidepower-distribution grids.So integralhave thesetime-based technologiesbecome oday-to-day existencethat ourdependency onthem isrecognised onlywhen theyfail towork.Question1-4Reading PassageI haseight paragraphs,A-H.Which paragraphcontains the following informationWrite the correct letter,A-H,in boxes1-4on youranswer sheet.

1.a descriptionof anearly timekeepinginvention affectedby coldtemperatures

2.an explanationof heimportance ofgeography in thedevelopmentofthecalendar infanning communities

3.a descriptionof heorigins of hependulumclock

4.details ofthe simultaneousefforts ofdifferent societiesto calculatetime usinguniform hoursQuestion5-8Look atthe followingevents Questions5-8and the list ofnationalities below.Match eachevent with the correctnationality,A-F.Write the correct letter,A-F,in boxes5-8on youranswer sheet.5They deviseda civilcalendar inwhichthemonths wereequal inlength.6They dividedthe dayinto twoequal halves.7They developeda newcabinet shapeforatype oftimekeeper.8They createda calendarto organisepublic events and workschedules.List ofNationalities A.Babylonians B.Egyptians C.Greeks D.English E.Germans F.French Question9-13Label thediagram below.Choose NOMORE THANTWO WORDSfrom the passage foreach answer.Write youranswers in boxes9-13on youranswer sheet.•12which beatseach—♦13_____________small arcReading Passage2You shouldspend about20minutes onQUESTIONS14-26which arebased onReading Passage2below.Air TrafficControl in the USAA Anaccident thatoccurred in the skies over theGrand Canyonin1956resulted in the establishmentoftheFederal AviationAdministration FAAto regulateand overseethe operationof aircraftin theskiesover the United States,which werebecoming quitecongested.The resultingstructure ofair trafficcontrol hasgreatly increasedthe safetyof flightin theUnited States,and similarair trafficcontrolprocedures arealso inplace overmuch ofthe restofthe world.B Rudimentaryair trafficcontrol ATCexisted wellbefore theGrand Canyondisaster.As earlyasthe1920s,heearliestair trafficcontrollers manuallyguided aircraftinthevicinity ofthe airports,using lightsand flags,while beaconsand flashing lights wereplaced alongcross-country routesto establishthe earliestairways.However,this purelyvisual systemwas uselessin badweather,and,by he1930s,radio communicationwas cominginto usefor ATC.The firstregion tohave somethingapproximating todaysATC wasNew YorkCity,with othermajor metropolitanareas followingsoon after.C Inthe1940s,ATC centrescould anddid takeadvantage ofthe newlydeveloped radarand improvedradio communicationbrought aboutby heSecond World War,but thesystem remainedrudimentary.It wasonly after the creationofthe FAA thatfull-scale regulationof Americas airspace tookplace,and thiswas fortuitous,fbr theadvent ofthe jetengine suddenlyresulted in alargenumberofvery fastplanes,reducing pilotsmargin oferror andpractically demandingsome set of rules to keepeveryone wellseparated andoperating safelyintheair.D Manypeople thinkthat ATCconsists ofa rowof controllerssitting infront oftheir radarscreens atthe nationsairports,telling arrivingand departingtraffic whatto do.This isaveryincomplete partofthepicture.The FAArealised that the airspaceovertheUnited Stateswould atany timehave many different kindsof planes,flying formanydifferentpurposes,in avariety ofweather conditions,and thesame kindof structurewas neededto accommodateall ofthem.E Tomeet thischallenge,hefollowingelements wereput intoeffect.First,ATC extendsover virtuallythe entireUnitedStates.In general,from365m abovethe groundand higher,the entirecountry isblanketed bycontrolled airspace.In certain areas,mainly nearairports,controlled airspaceextends down to215m abovethe ground,and,intheimmediate vicinity of an airport,all theway downto thesurface.Controlled airspace is thatairspace inwhich FAA regulations apply.Elsewhere,in uncontrolledairspace,pilots arebound byfewer regulations.In hisway,the recreationalpilot whosimply wishesto goflying fora whilewithout all the restrictionsimposed bytheFAAhas onlyto stayin uncontrolledairspace,below365m,while the pilot whodoes wantthe protectionafforded byATC caneasily enterthe controlledairspace.F The FAA thenrecognised twotypes ofoperating environments.In goodmeteorological conditions,flying wouldbe permittedunder VisualFlight RulesVFR,which suggestsa strongreliance onvisual cuesto maintain an acceptablelevel ofsafety.Poor visibilitynecessitated aset ofInstnimental FlightRules IFR,under whichthepilotrelied onaltitude andnavigational informationprovided bythe planesinstrument panelto flysafely.On aclear day,a pilotin controlledairspace canchoose aVFR orIFR flightplan,andtheFAAregulationswere devisedinaway whichaccommodates bothVFR andIFR operationsinthesame airspace.However,a pilotcan onlychoose lofly IFRif theypossess aninsirumenl ratingwhich isabove andbeyond thebasic pilotslicense thatmust alsobe held.G Controlledairspace isdividedintoseveral differenttypes,designated byletters ofthe alphabet.Uncontrolled airspace is designated Class F,while controlledairspace below5,490m abovesea leveland noin hevicinity ofanairportis Class E.All airspaceabove5,490m isdesignatedClassA.The reasonforthedivision ofClass E and ClassA airspacestems from the typeof planesoperating inthem.Generally,ClassE airspace iswhere onefinds generalaviation aircraftfew ofwhich canclimb above5,490m anyway,and commercialturboprop aircraft.Above5,490m isthe realmoftheheavy jets,since jetengines operatemore efficientlyal higheraltitudes.The differencebetween ClassEandA airspaceis thatin ClassA,all operationsare IFR,and pilotsmust beinstrument-rated,that is,skilled andlicensed inaircraft instruincntation.This isbecause ATCcontrol ofthe entirespaceisessential.Three othertypes ofairspace.Classes D,C andB,govern thevicinityofairports.These correspondroughly tosmall municipalmedium-sized metropolitanand major metropolitan airportsrespectively,and encompassan increasinglyrigorous setof regulations.For example,allaVFR pilothas todo toenter ClassC airspaceis establishtwo-way radiocontact withATC.No explicitpermission fromATC toenter isneeded,although thepilot mustcontinue toobey allregulations governingVFR flight.Tb enterClass Bairspace,such ason approachto amajormetropolitanairport,an explicitATC clearanceis required.The privatepilot whocruises withoutpermission intothis airspacerisks losingtheir license.Question14-19Reading Passage2has sevenparagraphs,A~G Choosethecorrectheading forsections Aand C-G from thelistof headingsbelow.Write thecorrect number,i-x,in boxes14-19on youranswer sheet.List ofHeadings iDisobeying FAAregulations iiAviation disasterprompts actioniii Twocoincidental developmentsiv Sellingaltitude zonesV Anoversimplified viewvi Controllingpilots licencesvii Definingairspace categoriesviii Settingrulestoweather conditionsix Takingoff safelyX Firststeps towardsATC14Paragraph AExample AnswerParagraph BX15Paragraph C16Paragraph D17Paragraph E18Paragraph F19Paragraph GQuestion20-26Do thefollowing statementsagree withthe informationgiven inReading Passage2In boxes20-26on youranswer sheet,write TRUEif thestatement agreeswiththe information FALSEif thestatement contradictstheinformationNOT GIVENif thereis noinformation onthis inthepassage

20.TheFAA wascreated asa resultofheintroduction of【he jetengine.

21.Air TrafficControl startedaftertheGrand Canyoncrash in

1956.

22.Beacons andflashinglightsare stillused byATC today.

23.Some improvementswere madein radiocommunication duringWorldWarII.

24.Class Fairspaceisairspace whichis below365m andnot nearairports.

25.All aircraftin ClassEairspacemust useIFR.

26.A pilotentering ClassC airspaceis flyingover anaverage-sized city.Reading Passage3You shouldspend about20minutes onQUESTIONS27-40which arebased onReading Passage3below.Telepathy-Can humanbeings communicateby thoughtalone Formore thana centurythe issueof telepathyhas dividedthe scientificcommunity,and eventoday itstill sparksbitter controversyamong topacademics Sincethe1970s,parapsychologists atleading universitiesand researchinstitutes aroundheworldhave riskedthe derisionof scepticalcolleagues byputting thevarious claimsfor telepathyto thetest indozens ofrigorous scientificstudies.The resultsand theirimplications aredividing eventhe researcherswho uncoveredthem.Some researcherssay the results constitutecompelling evidencethat elepaihyis genuine.Other parapsychologistsbelieve thefield isonthebrink ofcollapse,having tried to producedefinitive scientificproof andfailed.Sceptics andadvocates alikedo concuron oneissue,however:thatthemost impressiveevidence sofar hascome fromtheso-called ganzfbldexperiments,a Germanterm thatmeans wholefield!.Reports oftelepathic experienceshad bypeople duringmeditation ledparapsychologists tosuspect thattelepathy mightinvolve signalspassing betweenpeople thatwere sofaint thatthey wereusually swampedby normalbrain activity.In thiscase,such signalsmight bemore easilydetected bythose experiencingmeditation-like tranquillityinarelaxing wholefield oflight,sound andwarmth.The ganzfeldexperiment triesto recreatethese conditionswith participantssitting insoft recliningchairs ina scaledroom,listening torelaxing soundswhile theireyes arccovered withspecial filtersletting inonly softpink light.In earlyganzfeld experiments,the telepathytest involvedidentification ofa picturechosen from a randomselection offour takenfrom alarge imagebank.The ideawas thata person acting asa senderwould attemptto beamthe imageover to the receiverrelaxing inthe sealedroom.Once thesession wasover,this personwas askedto identifywhich ofthe fourimages hadbeen used.Random guessingwould givea hit-rate of25per cent;if telepathyis real,however,the hit-rate wouldbe higher.In1982,theresults fromthefirst ganzfeld studies wereanalysed byone ofits pioneers,the Americanparapsychologist CharlesHonorton.They pointedto typicalhit-rates ofbetter than30per cent-a smalleffect,but onewhich statisticaltests suggestedcouldnotbe put downtochance.The implicationwas thatthe ganzfeldmethod hadrevealed realevidence for telepathy.But therewasacrucial flawin thisargument—one routinelyoverlooked inmore conventionalareas ofscience.Just becausechance hadbeen ruledout asan explanationdid notprove telepathymust exist;there weremany otherways ofgetting positiveresults.These rangedfrom sensory leakage-where cluesabout thepictures accidentallyreach thereceiver-to outright fraud.In response,the researchersissued areview ofalltheganzfeld studiesdone upto1985to show that80per centhad foundstatistically significantevidence.However,they alsoagreed thatthere werestill toomany problemsintheexperiments whichcould leadto positiveresults,and theydrew upa listdemanding newstandards fbrfuture research.After this,many researchersswitched toautoganzfcld tests-an automatedvariant ofthe techniquewhich usedcomputers toperform manyofthekey taskssuch asthe randomselection ofimages.By minimizinghuman involvement,the ideawas tominimize therisk offlawed results.In1987,resultsfromhundreds ofautoganzfeld testswere studiedby Honorioninamela-analysis,a statisticaltechnique forfinding theoverall resultsfrom asetofstudies.Though lesscompelling thanbefore,the outcomewas stillimpressive.Yet someparapsychologists remaindisturbed bythe lack of consistencybetween individualganzfeldstudies.Defenders of telepathy pointout thatdemanding impressiveevidence fromevery studyignores onebasic statisticalfact:it takeslarge samplesto detectsmall effects.If,as currentresults suggest,telepathy produceshit-rates onlymarginally abovehe25per centexpected bychance,its unlikelytobedetected bya typicalganzfeld studyinvolving around40people:the groupis justnot bigenough.Only whenmany studiesarc combinedinaincta-analysis willthe faintsignal oftelepathy reallybecome apparent.And thatis whatresearchers doseem tobe finding.What they are certainlynot finding,however,is anychange inattitude ofmainstream scientists:most stilltotally rejectthe veryidea oftelepathy.The problemstems atleast inpart fromthe lackof anyplausible mechanism fortelepathy.Various theorieshave beenput forward,many focusingon esotericideas fromtheoretical physics.They includequantum entanglement1,inwhicheventsafleeting onegroup ofatoms instantlyaffect anothergroup,no matterhow farapart theymay be.While physicistshave demonstratedentanglement withspecially preparedatoms,no-one knowsif italso existsbetween atomsmaking uphuman minds.Answering suchquestions wouldtransform parapsychology.This hasprompted someresearchers toargue thatthe futurelies notin collectingmore evidencefbr telepathy,but inprobing possiblemechanisms.Some workhas begunalready,with researcherstrying toidentify peoplewho arcparticularly successfulin autoganzfeldtrials.Early resultsshowthatcreative andartistic peopledo muchbetter thanaverage:in onestudy athe Universityof Edinburgh,musicians achieveda hit-rate of56per cent.Perhaps moretests likethese willeventually givethe researchershe evidencetheyareseeking andstrengthen thecase lorthe existenceoftelepathy.Question27-30Complete eachsentence withthecorrectending,A-G,below.Write thecorrect letter;A-G,inboxes27-30on youranswer sheet.27Researchers withdiffering attitudestowards telepathyagree on28Reports ofexperiences duringmeditation indicated29Attitudes toparapsychology wouldalter drasticallywith30Recent autoganzfeldtrials suggestthat successrates willimprove withA.the discoveryofamechanismfortelepathy.B.the needto createa suitableenvironment fortelepathy C.their claimsofahigh successrate.D.a solutionto theproblem posedby randomguessing.E.the significanceoftheganzfcld experiments.F.a morecareful selection of subjects.G.a needto keepaltering conditions.Question31-40Complete thetable below.Choose NOMORE THANTHREE WORDSfromthepassage foreach answer.Write youranswers inboxes31-40on youranswer sheet.Telepathy ExperimentsName/Date DescriptionResult FlawGanzfeld studiesInvolved apersonactingasaHit-rates werehigher Positiveresults couldbe