MIDTERMEXAMINATION

INTERNATIONALCOLLEGEATBEIJING,CAU

NOVEMBER2011

MODULENAME INSTRUCTOR(S)

Reading&VocabularyIII LaurieSchiller,Wang Sheng,ZhaoXing

LEVEL TOOLS ALLOWED

1 none

DURATION

1hour

Thisexaminationisworth20points(20percent)ofyourtotalgrade. Writeyouranswersontheanswersheetprovided.Turninboththeanswersheetandtheexam paperattheconclusionoftheexam.Theexambeginsonpage2.

READINGPASSAGE1
Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions113,whicharebasedonReadingPassage1
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below.

Questions15
ReadingPassage1hassevenparagraphs,AG. ChoosethecorrectheadingforparagraphsCGfromthelistofheadingsbelow. Writethecorrectnumber,ix,inboxes15onyouranswersheet.

ListofHeadings

i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x

Consideringecologicalcosts Creatingsnowwiththecorrectconsistency Modificationstothedesignofthesnowgun Theneedfordifferentvarietiesofsnow Localconcernoverenvironmentalissues Aproblemandasolution Applicationsbeyondtheskislopes Convertingwetsnowtodrysnow Artificialprocess,naturalproduct Snowformationinnature

Example ParagraphB 1 2 3 4 5 ParagraphC ParagraphD ParagraphE ParagraphF ParagraphG

Answer x

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Snowmakers
Skiingisbigbusinessnowadays.Butwhatcanski resortownersdoifthesnowdoesntcome?
A Intheearlytomidtwentiethcentury,withthegrowingpopularityofskiing,skislopesbecame extremelyprofitablebusinesses.Butskiresortownerswerecompletelydependentonthe weatherifitdidntsnow,ordidntsnowenough,theyhadtocloseeverythingdown. Fortunately,adevicecalledthesnowguncannowprovidesnowwheneveritisneeded.These dayssuchmachinesarestandardequipmentinthevastmajorityofskiresortsaroundtheworld, makingitpossibleformanyresortstostayopenfourmonthsormoreayear. Snowformedbynaturalweathersystemscomesfromwatervapourintheatmosphere.The watervapourcondensesintodroplets,formingclouds.Ifthetemperatureissufficientlylow,the waterdropletsfreezeintotinyicecrystals.Morewaterparticlesthencondenseontothecrystal andjoinwithittoformasnowflake.Asthesnowflakegrowsheavier,itfallstowardstheearth. Thesnowgunworksverydifferentlyfromanaturalweathersystem,butitaccomplishesexactly thesamething.Thedevicebasicallyworksbycombiningwaterandair.Twodifferenthosesare attachedtothegun,oneleadingfromawaterpumpingstationwhichpumpswaterupfroma lakeorreservoir,andtheotherleadingfromanaircompressor.Whenthecompressedair passesthroughthehoseintothegun,itatomisesthewaterthatis,itdisruptsthestreamsothat thewatersplitsupintotinydroplets.Thedropletsarethenblownoutofthegunandifthe outsidetemperatureisbelow0C,icecrystalswillform,andwillthenmakesnowflakesinthe samewayasnaturalsnow. Snowmakersoftentalkaboutdrysnowandwetsnow.Drysnowhasarelativelylowamountof water,soitisverylightandpowdery.Thistypeofsnowisexcellentforskiingbecauseskisglide overiteasilywithoutgettingstuckinwetslush.Oneoftheadvantagesofusingasnowmakeris thatthispowderysnowcanbeproducedtogivetheskislopesalevelsurface.However,on slopeswhichreceiveheavyuse,resortownersalsousedenser,wetsnowunderneaththedry snow.Manyresortsbuildupthesnowdepththiswayonceortwiceayearandthenregularly coatthetrailswithalayerofdrysnowthroughoutthewinter. Thewetnessofsnowisdependentonthetemperatureandhumidityoutside,aswellasthesize
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ofthewaterdropletslaunchedbythegun.Snowmakershavetoadjusttheproportionsofwater andairintheirsnowgunstogettheperfectsnowconsistencyfortheoutdoorweather conditions.Manyskislopesnowdothiswithacentralcomputersystemthatisconnectedto weatherreadingstationsallovertheslope. F Butmanufacturedsnowplacesheavydemandsontheenvironment.Ittakesabout275,000litres ofwatertocreateablanketofsnowcoveringa60by60metrearea.Mostresortspumpwater fromoneormorereservoirslocatedinlowlyingareas.Therunoffwaterfromtheslopesfeeds backintothesereservoirs,sotheresortcanactuallyusethesamewateroverandoveragain. However,considerableamountsofenergyareneededtorunthelargeaircompressingpumps, andthedieselengineswhichrunthemalsocauseairpollution.Becauseoftheexpenseof makingsnow,skiresortshavetobalancethecostofrunningthemachineswiththebenefitsof extendingtheskiseason,makingsuretheyonlymakesnowwhenitisreallyneeded,andwhenit willbringthemaximumamountofprofitinreturnfortheinvestment. Manufacturedsnowhasanumberofotherusesaswell.Alayerofsnowkeepsalotofthe earthsheatfromescapingintotheatmosphere,sofarmerssometimesusemanufacturedsnow toprovideinsulationforwintercrops.Snowmakingmachineshaveplayedabigpartinmany movieproductions.Movieproducersoftentakeseveralmonthstoshootscenesthatcoverjusta fewdays.Ifthemovietakesplaceinasnowysetting,thesetdecoratorshavetogettheright amountofsnowforeachdayofshootingeitherbyaddingmanufacturedsnowormeltingnatural snow.Andanotherimportantapplicationofmanufacturedsnowisitsuseintheteststhat aircraftmustundergoinordertoensurethattheycanfunctionsafelyinextremeconditions.

Questions610
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeviewsofthewritergiveninReadingPassage1? Inboxes610onyouranswersheet,write YES NO NOTGIVEN 6 7 8 9 10 ifthestatementagreeswiththeviewsofthewriter ifthestatementcontradictstheviewsofthewriter ifitisimpossibletosaywhatthewriterthinksaboutthis

Thesnowproducedbysnowmakersisconsiderablydifferentfromnaturalsnow. Wetsnowisusedtogiveslopesalevelsurface,whiledrysnowisusedtoincreasethedepthon busyslopes. Computersthatmeasuretemperatureandhumidityhelpsnowmakersdeterminetheidealratio ofwatertoairforsnowproduction. Themachineryusedintheprocessofmakingthesnowconsumesalotofenergyandproduces pollution. Mostskiresortshavenotyetlearnedhowtobalancethecostofrunningsnowmakerswiththe benefitsofextendingtheskiseason.

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Questions1113
ChooseTHREEletters,AG. Writethecorrectlettersinboxes1113onyouranswersheet. WhichTHREEindustriesinadditiontoskiresortsarementionedashavingauseforsnowmakers? A B C D E F G advertising agriculture aviation computer construction film realestate

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READINGPASSAGE2
Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions1426,whicharebasedonReadingPassage 2below.

Whyaresofewtigersmaneaters?
A AsyouleaveBandhavgarhNationalParklocatedincentralIndia,thereisanoticethatshowsa huge,placidtiger.Thenoticesays,Youmaynothaveseenme,butIhaveseenyou.There aremorethanabillionpeopleinIndiaandIndiantigersprobablyseehumanseverysingledayof theirlives.Tigerscananddokillalmostanythingtheymeetinthejungletheywillevenattack elephantsandrhino.Surely,then,itisalittlestrangethatattacksonhumansarenotmore frequent. Somepeoplemightarguethattheseattackswereinfactcommoninthepast.Britishwritersof adventurestories,suchasJimCorbett,gavetheimpressionthatvillagelifeinIndiaintheearly yearsofthetwentiethcenturyinvolvedastateofconstantsiegebymaneatingtigers.Butthey mayhaveoverstatedtheterrorspreadbytigers.Therewerealsofarmoretigersaroundinthose days(probably60,000inthesubcontinent,comparedtojust3,000today).Soinproportion,
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attacksappeartohavebeenasrarethenastheyaretoday. C Itiswidelyassumedthattheconstraintisfearbutwhatexactlyaretigersafraidof?Canthey reallyknowthatwemaybeevenbetterarmedthantheyare?Surelynot.Hasthespecies programmedtheexperiencesofalltigerswithhumansintoitsgenestobeinheritedasinstinct? Perhaps.Butsomebiologiststhinktheexplanationmaybemoresimpleand,inaway,more intriguing. Sincethegrowthofethology1 *inthe1950s,biologistshavetriedtounderstandanimalbehaviour fromtheanimalspointofview.Untilthefirstelegantexperimentsbypioneersinthefield,such asKonradLorenz,naturalistswroteaboutanimalsasiftheywereslightlylessintelligent humans.JimCorbettsbreathlessaccountsofhisduelswithmaneatersintruthtellusmore aboutJimCorbettthantheydoabouttheanimals.Theprincipleofethology,ontheotherhand, requiresbiologiststoattempttothinkinthesamewayastheanimaltheyarestudying,andto observeeverytinydetailofitsbehaviourwithoutimposingourownhumansignificancesonits actions. Manybiologistssuspectthatatigersfearofhumansliesnotinsomepreprogrammedancestral logicbutinthewayitactuallyperceivesusvisually.Ifyoutrytothinklikeatiger,ahumanina carmightappearjusttobepartofthecar,andbecausetigersdonteatcarsthehumanis safeunlessthecarismenacingthetigeroritscubs,inwhichcaseabraveorenragedtiger maycharge.Ahumanonfootisadifferentsortofpuzzle.Imagineatigerseesamanwhois1.8 metrestall.Atigerislessthan1metretallbutmaybeupto3metreslongfromheadtotail.So whenatigerseesthemanfaceon,itmightnotbeunreasonableforittoassumethatthemanis 6metreslong.Ifthetigermetadeerofthissize,itmightattacktheanimalbyleapingonits back,butwhenthetigerlooksbehindtheman,itcantseeaback.Fromthefrontthemanis huge,butviewedfromthesideheallbutdisappears.Thismustbeverydisconcerting.Ahunter hastobeconfidentthatitcantackleitsprey,andnooneisconfidentwhentheyare disconcerted.Thisisespeciallytrueofasolitaryhuntersuchasthetigerandmayexplainwhy lionsparticularlyyounglionesses,whichtendtoencourageoneanothertotakerisksarethe moredangerousspecies. Ifthetheorythatatigerisdisconcertedtofindthatastandinghumanisbothverybigandyet somehowinvisibleiscorrect,theoppositeshouldbetrueofasquattinghuman.Asquatting humanishalfthesizeandpresentstwicethespreadofback,andmorecloselyresemblesa mediumsizeddeer.Iftigersweresimplyfrightenedofallhumans,thenasquattingpersonwould benomoreattractiveasatargetthanastandingone.This,however,appearsnottobethecase. Manyincidentsofattacksonpeopleinvolvevillagerssquattingorbendingovertocutgrassfor fodderorbuildingmaterial. Thefactthathumansstanduprightmaythereforebenotjustsomethingthatdistinguishesthem fromnearlyallotherspeciesbutalsoafactorthathelpedthemtosurviveindangerousand unpredictableenvironmentsthroughouthistory.

Questions1418
ReadingPassage2hassevenparagraphs,AG.

*ethology:thebranchofzoologythatstudiesthebehaviourofanimalsintheirnaturalhabitats
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Whichparagraphcontainsthefollowinginformation? WritethecorrectletterAGinboxes1418onyouranswersheet. 14 15 16 17 18 arejectedexplanationofwhytigerattacksonhumansarerare tworeasonswhytigerattacksonhumansmightbeexpectedtohappenmoreoftenthantheydo examplesofsituationsinwhichhumansaremorelikelytobeattackedbytigers aclaimabouttherelativefrequencyoftigerattacksonhumans anexplanationoftigerbehaviourbasedontheprinciplesofethology

Questions1923
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage2? Inboxes1923onyouranswersheet,write TRUE FALSE NOTGIVEN 19 20 21 ifthestatementagreeswiththeinformation ifthestatementcontradictstheinformation ifthereisnoinformationonthis

TigersintheBandhavgarhNationalParkareaprotectedspecies. Somewritersoffictionhaveexaggeratedthedangeroftigerstohumans. Thefearofhumansmaybepasseddowninatigersgenes.

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22 23

KonradLorenzclaimedthatsomeanimalsaremoreintelligentthanhumans. Ethologyinvolvesapplyingprinciplesofhumanbehaviourtoanimals.

Questions2426
Choosethecorrectletter,A,B,CorD. Writethecorrectletterinboxes2426onyouranswersheet. 24 Whydotigersrarelyattackpeopleincars? A B C Theyhavelearnedthatcarsarenotdangerous. Theyrealisethatpeopleincarscannotbeharmed. Theydonotthinkofpeopleincarsaslivingcreatures.
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D 25

Theydonotwanttoputtheircubsatrisk.

Thewritersaysthattigersrarelyattackamanwhoisstandingupbecause A B C D theyareafraidofthemansheight. theyareconfusedbythemansshape. theyarepuzzledbythemanslackofmovement. theyareunabletolookatthemandirectly.

26

Amanismorevulnerabletotigerattackwhensquattingbecause A B C D hemaybeunawareofthetigersapproach. hecannoteasilymovehisheadtoseebehindhim. hisheadbecomesabettertargetforthetiger. hisbackappearslongerinrelationtohisheight.

READINGPASSAGE3
Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions2740,whicharebasedonReadingPassage 3below.

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Keeptakingthetablets
A IntheopeningpagesofAspirin:TheRemarkableStoryofaWonderDrug,DiarmuidJeffreys describesthislittlewhitepillasoneofthemostamazingcreationsinmedicalhistory,adrugso astonishinglyversatilethatitcanrelieveheadache,easeyourachinglimbs,loweryour temperatureandtreatsomeofthedeadliesthumandiseases. Itspropertieshavebeenknownforthousandsofyears.AncientEgyptianphysiciansused extractsfromthewillowtreeasananalgesic,orpainkiller.CenturieslatertheGreekphysician Hippocratesrecommendedthebarkofthewillowtreeasaremedyforthepainsofchildbirth andasafeverreducer.Butitwasntuntiltheeighteenthandnineteenthcenturiesthat salicylatesthechemicalfoundinthewillowtreebecamethesubjectofseriousscientific investigation.Theracewasontoidentifytheactiveingredientandtoreplicateitsynthetically. AttheendofthenineteenthcenturyaGermancompany,FriedrichBayer&Co.,succeededin creatingarelativelysafeandveryeffectivechemicalcompound,acetylsalicylicacid,whichwas namedaspirin. Thelatenineteenthcenturywasafertileperiodforexperimentation,partlybecauseofthe hungeramongscientiststoanswersomeofthegreatscientificquestions,butalsobecausethose questionswerewithintheirmeanstoanswer.Onescientistinalaboratorywithsomechemicals andatesttubecouldmakesignificantbreakthroughswhereastoday,inordertomapthe humangenome,forinstance,oneneedsanarmyofresearchers,abankofcomputersand millionsandmillionsofdollars. Butanunderstandingofthenatureofscienceandscientificinquiryisnotenoughonitsownto explainhowsocietyinnovates.Inthenineteenthcentury,scientificadvancewascloselylinkedto theindustrialrevolution.Thiswasaperiodwhenpeoplefrequentlyhadthemeans,motiveand determinationtotakeanideaandturnitintoreality.Inthecaseofaspirinthathappened piecemealaseriesofminor,oftenunrelatedadvances,fertilisedbythecenturysbroader economic,medicalandscientificdevelopments,thatledtoonebigfinalbreakthrough. Thelinkbetweenbigmoneyandpharmaceuticalinnovationisalsoasignificantone.Aspirins continuedshelflifewasensuredbecauseforthefirst70yearsofitslife,hugeamountsofmoney wereputintopromotingitasanordinaryeverydayanalgesic.Inthe1970sotheranalgesicswere enteringthemarket,andthepharmaceuticalcompaniesthenfocusedonpublicisingthesenew drugs.Butjustatthesametime,discoveriesweremaderegardingthebeneficialroleofaspirin inpreventingheartattacks,strokesandotherafflictions.Haditnotbeenforthesefindings,this pharmaceuticalmarvelmaywellhavedisappeared. Sotherelationshipbetweenbigmoneyanddrugsisanoldone.Commercialmarketsare necessaryfordevelopingnewproductsandensuringthattheyremainaroundlongenoughfor scientiststocarryoutresearchonthem.Butthecommercialmarketsarejustaslikelytokilloff certainproductswhensomethingmoreattractivecomesalong.Inthecaseofaspirin,apotential wonderdrugwasaroundforover70yearswithoutanybodyinvestigatingthewayinwhichit achieveditseffectsbecausetheyweremakingmorethanenoughmoneyoutofitasitwas.If ibuprofenorparacetamolhadenteredthemarketjustadecadeearlier,aspirinmightthennotbe heretoday.Itwouldbejustanotherforgottendrugthatpeoplehadntbotheredtoexplore. Noneoftherecentdiscoveriesofaspirinsbenefitsweremadebythebigpharmaceutical companiestheyweremadebyscientistsworkinginthepublicsector.Thereasonforthatis verysimpleandstraightforward,Jeffreyssaysinhisbook.Drugcompanieswillonlypursue
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researchthatisgoingtodeliverfinancialbenefits.Theresnoprofitinaspirinanymore.Itis incrediblyinexpensivewithtinyprofitmarginsandithasnopatentanymore,soanyonecan produceit.Infact,theresalmostadisincentivefordrugcompaniestofurtherboostthedrug, heargues,asitcouldpossiblyputthemoutofbusinessbystoppingthemfromsellingtheirmore expensivebrands. H Sowhatisthesolutiontoalackofcommercialinterestinfurtherexploringthetherapeutic benefitsofaspirin?Morepublicmoneygoingintoclinicaltrials,saysJeffreys.IfIwerethe DepartmentofHealth,Iwouldsay,Thisisaveryinexpensivedrug.Theremaybealotofother thingswecoulddowithit.Weshouldputalotmoremoneyintotryingtofindout. Jeffreysbookwhichnotonlytellsthetaleofawonderdrugbutalsoexploresthenatureof innovationandtheroleofbigbusiness,publicmoneyandregulationremindsuswhysuch researchissoimportant.

Questions2732
ReadingPassage3hasnineparagraphs,AI. Whichparagraphcontainsthefollowinginformation? WritethecorrectletterAIinboxes2732onyouranswersheet. NB 27 28 29 30 31 32 Youmayuseanylettermorethanonce. adescriptionofwhomadenewdiscoveriesaboutaspirininthe1970s adescriptionofwhatisneededforamoderndayscientificbreakthrough thenameofthefirstcompanytoproduceaspirin twoofthefirstknownusesforthecompoundfoundinthewillowtree thenameoftwomedicineswhichmighthavespelttheendofaspirin twokillersthatmaybepreventedbyaspirin

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Questions3335
Choosethecorrectletter,A,B,CorD. Writethecorrectletterinboxes3335onyouranswersheet. 33 Thedevelopmentofaspirinwaspartlyduetotheeffectsof A B C D 34 commercialadvertisingcampaigns. thediscoveryofnewmedicinalapplications. theindustrialrevolution. thenegativeeffectsofpublicity.

Largepharmaceuticalcompaniesdidnotstudyaspirinbecause A B C D ithadbeenreplacedbyibuprofenandparacetamol. itwasalreadyhighlyprofitable. itwaslesslucrativethanoriginallybelieved. itwastooexpensivetoproduce.

35

DiarmuidJeffreysrecommendsthatadditionalresearchintoaspirinbefundedby A B C D educationalinstitutions. largepharmaceuticalcompanies. smallpharmaceuticalcompanies. thestate.

Questions3640
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeviewsofthewritergiveninReadingPassage3? Inboxes3640onyouranswersheet,write YES NO NOTGIVEN 36 37 38 39 40 ifthestatementagreeswiththeviewsofthewriter ifthestatementcontradictstheviewsofthewriter ifitisimpossibletosaywhatthewriterthinksaboutthis

Fornineteenthcenturyscientists,smallscaleresearchwasenoughtomakeimportant discoveries. Thenineteenthcenturyindustrialrevolutioncausedachangeinthefocusofscientificresearch. Thedevelopmentofaspirininthenineteenthcenturyfollowedastructuredpatternof development. Inthe1970ssalesofnewanalgesicdrugsovertooksalesofaspirin. Commercialcompaniesmayhavebothgoodandbadeffectsontheavailabilityof

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pharmaceuticalproducts.

Thisistheendoftheexam.

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