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FINAL EXAM
Subject: IE6 - READING & WRITING 6 Semester: I School year: 2020-2021
Time allotted: 60 minutes _ Date:
Trang 2TEST PAPER READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below
William Henry Perkin
The man who invented synthetic dyes
William Henry Perkin was born on March 12, 1838, in London, England As a boy, Perkin’s curiosity prompted early interests in the arts, sciences, photography, and engineering But it was a chance stumbling upon a run-down, yet functional, laboratory in his late grandfather’s home that solidified the young man’s enthusiasm for chemistry As a student at the City of London School, Perkin became immersed in the study of chemistry His talent and devotion to the subject were perceived by his teacher, Thomas Hall, who encouraged him to attend a series of lectures given by the eminent scientist Michael Faraday at the Royal Institution Those speeches fired the young chemist’s enthusiasm further, and he later went on to attend the Royal College of Chemistry, which he succeeded in entering in 1853, at the age of 15
At the time of Perkin’s enrolment, the Royal College of Chemistry was headed by the noted German chemist August Wilhelm Hofmann Perkin’s scientific gifts soon caught Hofmann’s attention and within two years, he became
Hofmann’s youngest assistant Not long after that, Perkin made the scientific breakthrough that would bring him both fame and fortune
At the time, quinine was the only viable medical treatment for malaria The drug Is derived from the bark of the cinchona tree, native to South America and by 1856 demand for the drug was surpassing the available supply Thus, when Hofmann made some passing comments about the desirability of a synthetic substitute for quinine, it was unsurprising that his star pupil was moved to take up the challenge
During his vacation in 1856, Perkin spent his time in the laboratory on the top floor of his family’s house He was attempting to manufacture quinine from aniline, an inexpensive and readily available coal tar waste product Despite his best efforts, however, he did not end up with quinine Instead, he produced a mysterious dark sludge Luckily, Perkins scientific training and nature prompted him to investigate the substance further Incorporating potassium dichromate and alcohol into the aniline at various stages of the experimental process, he finally produced a deep purple solution And, proving the truth of the famous scientist Louis Pasteur’s words ‘chance favors only the prepared mind’ Perkin saw the potential of his unexpected find
Historically, textile dyes were made from such natural sources as plants and animal excretions Some of these, such as the glandular mucus of snails, were difficult to obtain and outrageously expensive Indeed, the purple color extracted from a snail was once so costly that in society at the time only the rich could afford it Further, natural dyes tended to be muddy in hue and fade quickly It was against this backdrop that Perkin’s discovery was made
Trang 3With the help of his father and brother, Perkin set up a factory not far from London Utilizing the cheap and plentiful coal tar that was an almost unlimited byproduct of London’s gas street lighting, the dye works began producing the world’s first synthetically dyed material in 1857 The company received a commercial boost from the Empress Eugénio | of France, when she decided the new color flattered her Very soon, mauve was the necessary shade for all the
fashionable ladies in that country Not to be outdone, England’s Queen Victoria also appeared in public wearing a mauve gown, thus making it all the rage in England as well The dye was bold and fast, and the public clamored for more Perkin went back to the drawing board
Although Perkins fame was achieved and fortune assured by his first discovery, the chemist continued his research Among other dyes he developed and introduced were aniline red (1859) and aniline black (1863) and in the late 1860s, Perkin’s green It is important to note that Perkin’s synthetic dye discoveries had outcomes far beyond the merely decorative The dyes also became vital to medical research in many ways For instance, they were used to stain previously invisible microbes and bacteria, allowing researchers to identify such bacilli as tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax Artificial dyes continue to play a crucial role today And, in what would have been particularly pleasing to Perkin, their current use is in the search for a vaccine against malaria —
Question 1-7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet, write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this more than once
Michael Faraday was the first person to recognize Perkin’s ability as a student of chemistry Michael Faraday suggested Perkin should enroll in the Royal College of Chemistry
Perkin employed August Wilhelm Hofmann as his assistant
Perkin was still young when he made the discovery that made him rich and famous The trees from which quinine is derived grow only in South America
Perkin hoped to manufacture a drug from a coal tar waste product
Perkin was inspired by the discoveries of the famous scientist Louis Pasteur
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DOU
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Question 8-13
Answer the Questions below: Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer Write your answers in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet
8 Before Perkin’s discovery, with what group in society was the color purple associated? 9 What potential did Perkin immediately understand that his new dye had?
10 What was the name finally used to refer to the first color Perkin invented?
11 What was the name of the person Perkin consulted before setting up his own dye works? 12 In what country did Perkins newly invented color first become fashionable?
Trang 4READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below
| Children Tested to Destruction?
English primary school pupils subjected to more tests than in any other country
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at a younger age, and in more subjects than children from any other country, according to one of the biggest
international education inquiries in decades The damning indictment of England’s primary education system revealed that the country’s children are now the most tested in the world From their very earliest days at school they must English primary school pupils have to deal with unprecedented levels of pressure as they face tests more frequently,
| navigate a set-up whose trademark is ‘high stakes’ testing, according to a recent report
Parents are encouraged to choose schools for their children based on league tables of test scores But this puts | children under extreme pressure which could damage their motivation and self-esteem, as well as encouraging
schools to ‘teach to the test’ at the expense of pupils’ wider learning, the study found The findings are part of a two- year inquiry —led by Cambridge University — into English primary schools Other parts of the UK and countries such as | France, Norway and Japan used testing but it was, ‘less intrusive, less comprehensive, and considerably less frequent’,
Cambridge’s Primary Review concluded
England was unique in using testing to control what is taught in schools, to monitor teaching standards and to encourage parents to choose schools based on the results of the tests, according to Kathy Hall, from the National University of Ireland in Cork, and Kamil Ozerk, from the University of Oslo, who conducted the research ‘Assessment in England, compared to our other reviewed countries, is pervasive, highly consequential, and taken by officialdom and the public more generally to portray objectively the actual quality of primary education in schools,’ their report concluded, Teachers’ leaders said the testing regime was ‘past its sell-by date’ and called for a fundamental review of assessment
Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said England’s testing system was having a ‘devastating’ impact on schools ‘Uniquely, England is a country where testing is used to police schools and control what is taught,’ he said ‘When it comes to testing in England, the tail wags the dog It is patently absurd that even the structure and content of education is shaped by the demands of the tests | call on the Government to initiate a full and independent review of the impact of the current testing system on schools and on children’s learning and to be prepared to dismantle a system which is long past its sell-by date.’
| John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, warned that the tests were having a damaging effect on pupils The whole testing regime is governed by the need to produce league tables,’ he said ‘It has more to do with holding schools to account than helping pupils to progress.’
The fear that many children were suffering intolerable stress because of the tests was voiced by Mick Brookes, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers ‘There are schools that start rehearsing for key stage two SATs [Standard Assessment Tests] from the moment the children arrive in September That’s just utterly
ridiculous,’ he said ‘There are other schools that rehearse SATs during Christmas week These are young children we are talking about They should be having the time of their lives at school not just worrying about tests It is the
breadth and richness of the curriculum that suffers The consequences for schools not reaching their targets are dire — heads can lose their jobs and schools can be closed down With this at stake it’s not surprising that schools let the tests takeover.’
David Laws, the Liberal Democrat schools spokesman, said ‘The uniquely high stakes placed on national tests mean that many primary schools have become too exam focused.’ However, the Government rejected the criticism ‘The idea that children are over-tested is not a view that the Government accepts,’ a spokesman said ‘The reality is that
Trang 5
children spend a very small percentage of their time in school being tested Seeing that children leave school up to the | right standard in the basics is the highest priority of the Government.’ | In another child-centered initiative, both major political parties in the UK — Labor and the Conservatives — have
announced plans to make Britain more child-friendly following a report by UNICEF which ranked the UK the worst place to be a child out of 21 rich nations
Parents were warned that they risked creating a generation of ‘battery-farmed children’ by always keeping them indoors to ensure their safety The family’s minister, Kevin Brennan, called for an end to the ‘cotton wool’ culture and | warned that children would not learn to cope with risks if they were never allowed to play outdoors
Questions 14-18
Complete the sentences Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer 14 According to the inquiry, the amount of testing puts a lot of on young children 15 The education report describes testing in England as testing
16 Parents often select their children’s schools after studying test results in ‘
17 Kathy Hall and Kamil Ozerk believe testing in England is also used to evaluate in schools 18 The major political parties have promised to make Britain in view of the UNICEF report Questions 19-22
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? Write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
19 Steve Sinnott says what is taught at school should be more tightly controlled
20 According to John Dunford, children would make more progress with much shorter and easier tests 21 Mick Brookes wants to see earlier student preparation for SATs
22 David Laws agrees with the opinions of Mick Brookes
Questions 23-26
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D 23 What does the government argue?
A There is not enough testing at present B_ Tests at primary school are too easy C_ Tests are not given too frequently D_ Teachers should take more tests 24 The government spokesman
A is extremely critical of the way exams are written
Trang 625 According to UNICEF, children in the UK A
B C D
often spend too much time in the worst kind of places are not so well behaved as in other countries
are not as rich as children in 21 other countries could be having much more fulfilling childhoods 26 What is the point Kevin Brennan makes?
A B c D
Children use too many electrical devices Children would learn by being outside more It’s too risky for children to be outside on their own The most important thing is children’s safety READING PASSAGE 2 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below ROBOTS
Since the dawn of human ingenuity, people have devised ever more cunning tools to cope with work that is dangerous, boring, onerous, or just plain nasty That compulsion has culminated in robotics - the science of conferring various human capabilities on machines
The modern world is increasingly populated by quasi-intelligent gizmos whose presence we barely notice but whose creeping ubiquity has removed much human drudgery Our factories hum to the rhythm of robot assembly arms Our banking is done at automated teller terminals that thank us with rote politeness for the transaction Our subway trains are controlled by tireless robo-drivers Our mine shafts are dug by
automated moles, and our nuclear accidents - such as those at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl - are cleaned up by robotic muckers fit to withstand radiation
Such is the scope of uses envisioned by Karel Capek, the Czech playwright who coined the term ‘robot’ in 1920 (the word ‘robota’ means ‘forced labor’ in Czech) As progress accelerates, the experimental becomes the exploitable at record pace
Other innovations promise to extend the abilities of human operators Thanks to the incessant
miniaturization of electronics and micromechanics, there are already robot systems that can perform some kinds of brain and bone surgery with submillimeter accuracy - far greater precision than highly skilled physicians can achieve with their hands alone At the same time, techniques of long-distance control will keep people even farther from hazard In 1994 a ten-foot-tall NASA robotic explorer called Dante, with video-camera eyes and with spiderlike legs, scrambled over the menacing rim of an Alaskan volcano while technicians 2,000 miles away in California watched the scene by satellite and controlled Dante's descent But if robots are to reach the next stage of labor-saving utility, they will have to operate with less human supervision and be able to make at least a few decisions for themselves - goals that pose a formidable challenge ‘While we know how to tell a robot to handle a specific error,’ says one expert, ‘we can't yet give a robot enough common sense to reliably interact with a dynamic world.’ Indeed the quest for true artificial intelligence (Al) has produced very mixed results Despite a spasm of initial optimism in the 1960s and 1970s, when it appeared that transistor circuits and microprocessors might be able to perform in the same way as the human brain by the 21st century, researchers lately have extended their forecasts by decades if not centuries
What they found, in attempting to model thought, is that the human brain’s roughly one hundred billion neurons are much more talented - and human perception far more complicated - than previously imagined They have built robots that can recognize the misalignment of a machine panel by a fraction of a millimeter
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—— ——— ———— \
-ina controlled factory environment But the human mind can glimpse a rapidly changing scene and
immediately disregard the 98 per cent that is irrelevant, instantaneously focusing on the woodchuck at the side of a winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a tumultuous crowd The most advanced computer systems on Earth can’t approach that kind of ability, and neuroscientists still don’t know quite how we do it
Nonetheless, as information theorists, neuroscientists, and computer experts pool their talents, they are finding ways to get some lifelike intelligence from robots One method renounces the linear, logical structure of conventional electronic circuits in favor of the messy, ad hoc arrangement of a real brain’s neurons These ‘neural networks’ do not have to be programed They can ‘teach’ themselves by a system of feedback signals that reinforce electrical pathways that produced correct responses and, conversely, wipe out connections that produced errors Eventually the net wires itself into a system that can pronounce certain words or distinguish certain shapes In other areas researchers are struggling to fashion a more natural relationship between people and robots
in the expectation that some day machines will take on some tasks now done by humans in, say, nursing homes This is particularly important in Japan, where the percentage of elderly citizens is rapidly increasing So experiments at the Science University of Tokyo have created a ‘face robot’ - a life-size, soft plastic model of a female head with a video camera imbedded in the left eye - as a prototype The researchers’ goal is to create robots that people feel comfortable around They are concentrating on the face because they believe facial expressions are the most important way to transfer emotional messages We read those messages by interpreting expressions to decide whether a person is happy, frightened, angry, or nervous Thus the Japanese robot is designed to detect emotions in the person it is ‘looking at’ by sensing changes in the spatial arrangement of the person's eyes, nose, eyebrows, and mouth It compares those configurations with a database of standard facial expressions and guesses the emotion The robot then uses an ensemble of tiny pressure pads to adjust its plastic face into an appropriate emotional response
Other labs are taking a different approach, one that doesn’t try to mimic human intelligence or emotions Just as computer design has moved away from one central mainframe in favor of myriad individual
Trang 8Questions 27-32
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs A-G From the list of headings below choose the most suitable heading foreach paragraph Write the appropriate numbers (i-x) in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet
27 ParagraphA List of headings 28 Paragraph B
29 Paragraph C i Some success has resulted from observing how the brain functions 30 Paragraph D ii Are we expecting too much from one robot?
31 Paragraph E iii Scientists are examining the humanistic possibilities 32 Paragraph F iv There are judgements that robots cannot make
v Has the power of robots become too great?
vi Human skills have been heightened with the help of robotics vii There are some things we prefer the brain to control
viii Robots have quietly infiltrated our lives ix Original predictions have been revised x Another approach meets the same result Example Answer ParagraphG ii Questions 33-37 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 7-11 on your answer sheet write
YES if the statement agrees with the information NO if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage 33 Karel Capek successfully predicted our current uses for robots 34 Lives were saved by the NASA robot, Dante
35 Robots are able to make fine visual judgements
36 The internal workings of the brain can be replicated by robots 37 The Japanese have the most advanced robot systems
Questions 12-14
Complete the summary below with words taken from paragraph F Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer Write your answers in boxes 12-14 on your answer sheet
The prototype of the Japanese ‘face robot’ observes humans through a 38 which is planted in its head It then refers to a 39 of typical ‘looks’ that the human face can have, to decide what emotion the person is feeling To respond to this expression, the robot alters it’s own expression using a number of
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