TEST 4 ANSWERS
Task 1
Questions 1-5
1. B.
2. F.
3. C.
4. A.
5. D.7
Questions 6-10 (in any order)
A. (par.1) “The initial one hundred
candidates selected
range from an archaeologist to a singer and a
19-year-old
student. Despite the fact that the candidates
come from
many different walks of life…”
C. (par.2) “Amongst the myriad of hazards
associated
with deep-space travel is prolonged exposure
to unrelenting
cosmic radiation. Such exposure is
detrimental to
DNA and can radically change its structure,
thereby increasing
the risk of diseases, such as cancer,
developing.”
This implies that it is not just prolonged
exposure to cosmic
radiation that can be detrimental but even
shortterm
exposure.
D. (par.3) According to par.3, in previous
studies suggested
that such effects were evident later in life,
but
now, it is believed that these detrimental
effects can
occur earlier “in just a few months”. So that
implies that
these effects may not be immediately
apparent.
F. (par.5) “Nevertheless, scientists are
pressing ahead
with advanced shielding technologies that
could better
protect astronauts on long-term missions into
deep space
… investigating pharmacological interventions
that could
protect brain tissue from cosmic radiation.”
H. (par.4) “The damage seen in the mice
affected was
akin to the defects seen in human brains
suffering from
neurodegenerative conditions which occur over
the
course of ageing.”
Questions 11-15
11. (considerable) reservations. (par.1) “The
majority
of us, though, would probably have
considerable reservations
in voluntarily committing ourselves to such a
project, as space is a dangerous place for
fragile humans.”
12. myriad of hazards. (par.2) “Amongst the
myriad of
hazards associated with deep-space travel is
prolonged
exposure to unrelenting cosmic radiation.”
13. complex maintenance tasks. (par.2) “…how
can
astronauts operate highly sophisticated
equipment and
perform complex maintenance tasks if they
suffer cognitive
impairment to any degree?”
14. within milliseconds. (par.4) “As a
result of exposure
to the ‘mind numbing’ effects of radiation,
free radical
reactions in cells, known to instigate
cancer, occurred
within milliseconds.”
15. as disturbing as. (par.5) “Nathan Schwadron,
Associate
Professor of Space Plasma Physics at the
University
of New Hampshire, believes that while such
findings
are cause for concern, they might not be
quite as disturbing
as they might first appear.”
Task 2
Questions 16-20
16. B. This text includes an exchange of
opinions about
the usefulness of school subjects in life: “But
I can honestly
say I’ve never had to use any of it (algebra
and
geometry) in my life.” … “Maybe if you’d
understood it,
you’d find it’s useful after all.” … “there
are plenty of
things we learn at school that we don’t
realise are relevant
until later in life.”
17. D. The bar chart analyses people’s
regrets because it
shows the eight most common skills that the
adults who
were questioned in the poll wished they had
learnt at
school, and it also shows the percentage of
the adults
who wished they had been taught each skill.
18. A. “The mid- to late-1960s are known as a
time
when people were questioning the status quo
and setting
out alternative visions of how things should
be done …
the origins of Summerhill go back as far as
1921…” (para. 1)
19. C. “…in the third year all pupils spend a
day doing
work experience at a local company. Two years
later, this
becomes a whole week spent with a different
company…”
(para. 2)
20. C. “Before they even join the school,
prospective
pupils attend an informal interview at their
primary school
to discuss their hopes and preferences for the
future. The
emphasis on employment continues during the
first two
years at Stevendon, then in the third year
all pupils spend
a day doing work experience at a local
company. Two
years later, this becomes a whole week spent
with a
different company, usually arranged by the
students
themselves.” (para. 2)
Questions 21-25 (in any order)
B. (Text A, par.2) “The media labelled
Summerhill as a
‘freedom school’ or, less complimentary, ‘the
do-as-youplease
school.’ Neill himself was often portrayed as
a
hopeless idealist who encouraged anarchy in
the classroom
and the world outside…”
D. (Text B) “Tony: I remember when I was at
school I
had to learn stuff like algebra and geometry.
After a while
I just switched off and I never managed to
grasp the
idea.”
E. (Text B) Tina says, “More generally,
though, as a lot of
people say, there are plenty of things we
learn at school
that we don’t realise are relevant until
later in life.”
F. (Text C, par.3) “Head Teacher Muriel
Greenwood believes
it’s money well spent.” She says: “Schools
often
think they’re fulfilling their commitments by
offering final
year pupils a lesson every week, taught by
existing staff
8
… Teachers aren’t trained to be careers
advisors, so we
bring in professional help.”
H. (Text D) From the bar chart, in Text D,
which points
out the eight most common life skills that
people wish
they had taught at school, we can see that
four are about
finance: “Managing household budgets”, “How
loans and
interest work”, “The process of buying a
house”, “Opening
a bank account”.
Questions 26-30
26. alternative visions. (Text A,
par.1) “The mid-to
late- 1960s are known as a time when people
were questioning
the status quo and setting out alternative
visions
of how things should be done…”
27. relevant. (Text B, Tina) “More generally, though,
as a lot of people say, there are plenty of
things we learn
at school that we don’t realise are relevant
until later in
life.”
28. work experience. (Text C, par.2) “The
emphasis
on employment continues during the first two
years at
Stevendon, then in the third year all pupils
spend a day
doing work experience at a local company.”
29. employment options. (Text C, par.3) “It’s part
of
a co-ordinated programme that aims to make
students
aware of the employment options available,
and how to
make the most of them.”
30. life skills. (Text D) “Here are eight of the most
common life skills people wish they’d been
taught…”
