Monday, 19 August 2019

IELTS Reading 19-08-2019: Reading Passage 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
Mysterious Dark Matter May Not Always Have Been Dark
Dark matter particles may have interacted extensively with normal matter long ago, when the universe was very hot, a new study suggests. The nature of dark matter is currently one of the greatest mysteries in science. The invisible substance — which is detectable via its gravitational influence on "normal" matter - is thought to make up five-sixths of all matter in the universe.
Astronomers began suspecting the existence of dark matter when they noticed the cosmos seemed to possess more mass than stars could account for. For example, stars circle the center of the Milky Way so fast that they should overcome the gravitational pull of the galaxy's core and zoom into the intergalactic void. Most scientists think dark matter provides the gravity that helps hold these stars back. Astronomers know more about what dark matter is not than what it actually is.
Scientists have mostly ruled out all known ordinary materials as candidates for dark matter. The consensus so far is that this missing mass is made up of new species of particles that interact only very weakly with ordinary matter. One potential clue about the nature of dark matter has to do with the fact that it's five times more abundant than normal matter, researchers said.
"This may seem a lot, and it is, but if dark and ordinary matter were generated in a completely independent way, then this number is puzzling," said study co-author Pavlos Vranas, a particle physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. "Instead of five, it could have been a million or a billion. Why five?" The researchers suggest a possible solution to this puzzle: Dark matter particles once interacted often with normal matter, even though they barely do so now. "This may have happened in the early universe, when the temperature was very high — so high that both ordinary and dark matter were 'melted' in a plasma state made up of their ingredients".
The protons and neutrons making up atomic nuclei are themselves each made up of a trio of particles known as quarks. The researchers suggest dark matter is also made of a composite "stealth" particle, which is composed of a quartet of component particles and is difficult to detect (like a stealth airplane). The scientists' supercomputer simulations suggest these composite particles may have masses ranging up to more than 200 billion electron-volts, which is about 213 times a proton's mass. Quarks each possess fractional electrical charges of positive or negative one-third or two-thirds. In protons, these add up to a positive charge, while in neutrons, the result is a neutral charge. Quarks are confined within protons and neutrons by the so-called "strong interaction."
The researchers suggest that the component particles making up stealth dark matter particles each have a fractional charge of positive or negative one-half, held together by a "dark form" of the strong interaction. Stealth dark matter particles themselves would only have a neutral charge, leading them to interact very weakly at best with ordinary matter, light, electric fields and magnetic fields. The researchers suggest that at the extremely high temperatures seen in the newborn universe, the electrically charged components of stealth dark matter particles could have interacted with ordinary matter. However, once the universe cooled, a new, powerful and as yet unknown force might have bound these component particles together tightly to form electrically neutral composites. Stealth dark matter particles should be stable — not decaying over eons, if at all, much like protons. However, the researchers suggest the components making up stealth dark matter particles can form different unstable composites that decay shortly after their creation. "For example, one could have composite particles made out of just two component particles," Vranas said.
These unstable particles might have masses of about 100 billion electron-volts or more, and could be created by particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) beneath the France-Switzerland border. They could also have an electric charge and be visible to particle detectors, Vranas said. Experiments at the LHC, or sensors designed to spot rare instances of dark matter colliding with ordinary matter, "may soon find evidence of, or rule out, this new stealth dark matter theory," Vranas said in a statement. If stealth dark matter exists, future research can investigate whether there are any effects it might have on the cosmos.
"Are there any signals in the sky that telescopes may find?" Vranas said. "In order to answer these questions, our calculations will require larger supercomputing resources. Fortunately, supercomputing development is progressing fast towards higher computational speeds." The scientists, the Lattice Strong Dynamics Collaboration, will detail their findings in an upcoming issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.

Questions 27-34
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 27-34 on your answer sheet.

27. One of the greatest mysteries in science is the nature of the  .
28. All known material have been mostly  as candidates for dark matter.
29. Dark matter is a lot more  than normal matter.
30. Due to high temperature, both ordinary and dark matter were 'melted' in a  .
31. It is confirmed that quarks are within protons and neutrons by  .
32. It is suggested that stealth dark matter particle would only have a  .
33. Experiments at the LHC may soon find  of the new stealth dark matter theory.
34. To answer questions we require  resources .

Questions 35-39
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 35–39 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

35. The nature of dark matter is a mystery. 
36. It is likely that dark matter consists of ordinary materials. 
37. Quarks have neither positive nor negative charge. 
38. Protons are not stable. 
39. Dark matter has a serious impact on the cosmos. 

Question 40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
40. Passage 3 is:
  1.  a scientific article
  2.  a sci-fi article
  3.  a short sketch
  4.  an article from a magazine

ANSWERS
Each question correctly answered scores 1 mark. Correct spelling is needed in all answers.
Section 3
  1. Dark matter
  2. Ruled out
  3. Abundant
  4. Plasma state
  5. Strong interaction
  6. Neutral charge
  7. Evidence
  8. Larger supercomputing
  9. True
  10. False
  11. False
  12. False
  13. Not given
  14. A
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IELTS Reading 19-08-2019: Reading Passage 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 13-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
Trash Talk
Sorting through a mountain of pottery to track the Roman oil trade
(A) In the middle of Rome’s trendiest neighborhood, surrounded by sushi restaurants and nightclubs with names like Rodeo Steakhouse and Love Story, sits the ancient world’s biggest garbage dump—a 150-foot-tall mountain of discarded Roman amphoras, the shipping drums of the ancient world. It takes about 20 minutes to walk around Monte Testaccio, from the Latin testa and Italian cocci, both meaning “potsherd.” But despite its size—almost a mile in circumference—it’s easy to walk by and not really notice unless you are headed for some excellent pizza at Velavevodetto, a restaurant literally stuck into the mountain’s side. Most local residents don’t know what’s underneath the grass, dust, and scattering of trees. Monte Testaccio looks like a big hill, and in Rome people are accustomed to hills.
(B) Although a garbage dump may lack the attraction of the Forum or Colosseum, I have come to Rome to meet the team excavating Monte Testaccio and to learn how scholars are using its evidence to understand the ancient Roman economy. As the modern global economy depends on light sweet crude, so too the ancient Romans depended on oil—olive oil. And for more than 250 years, from at least the first century A.D., an enormous number of amphoras filled with olive oil came by ship from the Roman provinces into the city itself, where they were unloaded, emptied, and then taken to Monte Testaccio and thrown away. In the absence of written records or literature on the subject, studying these amphoras is the best way to answer some of the most vexing questions concerning the Roman economy—How did it operate? How much control did the emperor exert over it? Which sectors were supported by the state and which operated in a free market environment or in the private sector?
(C) Monte Testaccio stands near the Tiber River in what was ancient Rome’s commercial district. Many types of imported foodstuffs, including oil, were brought into the city and then stored for later distribution in the large warehouses that lined the river. So, professor, just how many amphoras are there?” I ask José Remesal of the University of Barcelona, co-director of the Monte Testaccio excavations. It’s the same question that must occur to everyone who visits the site when they realize that the crunching sounds their footfalls make are not from walking on fallen leaves, but on pieces of amphoras. (Don’t worry, even the small pieces are very sturdy.) Remesal replies in his deep baritone, “Something like 25 million complete ones. Of course, it’s difficult to be exact,” he adds with a typical Mediterranean shrug. I, for one, find it hard to believe that the whole mountain is made of amphoras without any soil or rubble. Seeing the incredulous look on my face as I peer down into a 10-foot-deep trench, Remesal says, “Yes, it’s really only amphoras.” I can’t imagine another site in the world where archaeologists find so much—about a ton of pottery every day. On most Mediterranean excavations, pottery washing is an activity reserved for blisteringly hot afternoons when digging is impossible. Here, it is the only activity for most of Remesal’s team, an international group of specialists and students from Spain and the United States. During each year’s two-week field season, they wash and sort thousands of amphoras handles, bodies, shoulders, necks, and tops, counting and cataloguing, and always looking for stamped names, painted names, and numbers that tell each amphora’s story.
(D) Although scholars worked at Monte Testaccio beginning in the late 19th century, it’s only within the past 30 years that they have embraced the role amphoras can play in understanding the nature of the Roman imperial economy. According to Remesal, the main challenge archaeologists and economic historians face is the lack of “serial documentation,” that is, documents for consecutive years that reflect a true chronology. This is what makes Monte Testaccio a unique record of Roman commerce and provides a vast amount of datable evidence in a clear and unambiguous sequence. “There’s no other place where you can study economic history, food production and distribution, and how the state controlled the transport of a product,” Remesal says. “It’s really remarkable.”

Questions 13-16
Reading Passage 2 has four paragraphs A-D. Which paragraph contains what information? Write the correct letter, A-D, in boxes 13-16 on your answer sheet.

13. Questions about the Roman economy 
14. A unique feature 
15. Description of the dump 
16. Dialogue with a professor 

Questions 17–21
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 17–21 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

17. World’s biggest garbage dump is surrounded by restaurants and nightclubs. 
18. The garbage dump is as popular as the Colosseum in Rome. 
19. Ancient Roman economy depended on oil. 
20. There is no information on how many amphoras are there. 
21. Remesal says that Monte Testaccio is a great place to study economics. 

Questions 22–26
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 22–26 on your answer sheet.

22. It is unknown for  what’s underneath the grass, dust, and scattering of trees.
23. Monte Testaccio stands near the ancient Rome’s  .
24. Remesal doesn't believe that the whole mountain is made of  without any soil or rubble.
25. Remesal’s team washes and sorts thousands of amphoras each year’s two-week  .
26.  started working at Monte Testaccio in the late 19th century.


ANSWERS
Each question correctly answered scores 1 mark. Correct spelling is needed in all answers.
Section 2
  1. B
  2. D
  3. A
  4. C
  5. True
  6. False
  7. True
  8. False
  9. True
  10. Most local residents
  11. Commercial district
  12. Amphoras
  13. Field season
  14. Scholars
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IELTS Reading 19-08-2019: Reading Passage 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-12, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
The potential to sniff out disease
The fact diseases have a smell comes as no surprise - but finding someone or something that can detect them at an early stage could hold huge potential for medicine.
Breath, bodily odours and urine are all amazingly revealing about general health. Even the humble cold can give off an odour, thanks to the thick bacteria-ridden mucus that ends up in the back of the throat. The signs are not apparent to everyone - but some super-smellers are very sensitive to the odours. Joy Milne, for example, noticed her husband's smell had changed shortly before he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Humans can detect nearly 10,000 different smells. Formed by chemicals in the air, they are absorbed by little hairs, made of extremely sensitive nerve fibres, hanging from the nose's olfactory receptors. And the human sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than the sense of taste. But dogs, as the old joke might have had it, smell even better.
Their ability to detect four times as many odours as humans makes them a potential early warning system for a range of diseases. Research suggesting dogs' could sniff out cancers, for example, was first published about 10 years ago. And there have been many tales of dogs repeatedly sniffing an area of their owner's body, only for it to turn out to be hiding a tumour.
What they are smelling are the "volatile molecules" given off by cells when they become cancerous. Some studies suggest dogs can be 93% accurate. Others suggest they can detect very small tumours before clinical tests can. And yet more studies have produced mixed results.


Does cancer smell?
At Milton Keynes University Hospital, a small team has recently begun to collect human urine samples to test dogs' ability to detect the smell of prostate cancer. The patients had symptoms such as difficulty urinating or a change in flow, which could turn out to be prostate, bladder or liver cancer.
Rowena Fletcher, head of research and development at the hospital, says the role of the dogs - which have been trained by Medical Detection Dogs - is to pick out samples that smell of cancer. Further down the line, a clinical test will show if the dogs' diagnosis is correct. She says the potential for using dogs in this way is far-reaching - even if it is not practical to have a dog in every surgery.
"We hope one day that there could be an electronic machine on every GP's desk which could test a urine sample for diseases by smelling it," she says. "But first we need to pick up the pattern of what the dogs are smelling."
And that's the key. Dogs can't tell us what their noses are detecting, but scientists believe that different cancers could produce different smells, although some might also be very similar.

Electronic noses
Lab tests to understand what these highly-trained dogs are smelling could then inform the development of 'electronic noses' to detect the same molecules. These might then give rise to better diagnostic tests in the future. The potential for using smell to test for a wide range of diseases is huge, Ms Fletcher says.
Bacteria, cancers and chronic diseases could all have their own odour - which may be imperceptible to only the most sensitive humans, but obvious to dogs. It may be possible in the future to use disease odours as the basis for a national screening programme or to test everybody at risk of a certain cancer in a particular age group.
However, there are fewer than 20 dogs in the UK trained to detect cancer at present. Training more will take more funding and time. On the positive side, all dogs are eligible to be trained provided they are keen on searching and hunting. Whatever their breed or size, it's our four-legged friend's astounding sense of smell which could unlock a whole new way of detecting human diseases.

Questions 1-5
Do the following statements agree with the information in the IELTS reading text?
In boxes 1-5 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

1. You can have a specific smell even due to simple cold. 
2. Human sense of taste is 10,000 less sensetive than human sense of smell. 
3. Dogs and cats can sniff out different diseases. 
4. Doctors believe that different cancers might have the same specific smell. 
5. There are more than 20 dogs in the UK trained to detect cancer. 


Questions 6-9
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 6-9 on your answer sheet.

6. All the studies suggest that dogs:
  1.  Can be 93% accurate
  2.  Can detect very small tumours
  3.  Can't detect tumours at all
  4.  Different studies have shown different results


7. What scientists give dogs to detect cancer?
  1. Urine samples
  2. Bacterias
  3. Different odours
  4. Nothing



8. What's an electronic nose?
  1. A specific tool for dogs
  2. A gadget to diagnose diseases
  3. A recovery tool for ill patients
  4. An artificial nose


9. The main objective of this passage is to:
  1. Bring awareness to the cancer problem
  2.  Show us how good dogs are at detecting cancer
  3. Show us how important it can be to be able to diagnose a disease by an odour
  4. Tell us about new technologies



Questions 10-12
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 10-12 on your answer sheet.

10. Scientists hope that one day an  will be on every desk.
11. Electronic nose would help to detect the .
12. Dogs can  a new way of diagnosing diseases.


ANSWERS
Each question correctly answered scores 1 mark. Correct spelling is needed in all answers.
Section 1
  1. True
  2. True
  3. Not Given
  4. False
  5. False
  6. D
  7. A
  8. B
  9. C
  10. Electronic machine
  11. Same molecules
  12. Unlock
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Sunday, 18 August 2019

IELTS Reading 18-08-2019: Reading Passage 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Britain needs strong TV industry

Comedy writer Armando Iannucci has called for an industry-wide defence of the BBC and British programme-makers. "The Thick of It" creator made his remarks in the annual MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
"It's more important than ever that we have more strong, popular channels... that act as beacons, drawing audiences to the best content," he said. Speaking earlier, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale rejected suggestions that he wanted to dismantle the BBC.

'Champion supporters'
Iannucci co-wrote "I'm Alan Partridge", wrote the movie "In the Loop" and created and wrote the hit "HBO" and "Sky Atlantic show Veep". He delivered the 40th annual MacTaggart Lecture, which has previously been given by Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, former BBC director general Greg Dyke, Jeremy Paxman and Rupert Murdoch. Iannucci said: "Faced with a global audience, British television needs its champion supporters."
He continued his praise for British programming by saying the global success of American TV shows had come about because they were emulating British television. "The best US shows are modelling themselves on what used to make British TV so world-beating," he said. "US prime-time schedules are now littered with those quirky formats from the UK - the "Who Do You Think You Are"'s and the variants on "Strictly Come Dancing" - as well as the single-camera non-audience sitcom, which we brought into the mainstream first. We have changed international viewing for the better."
With the renewal of the BBC's royal charter approaching, Iannucci also praised the corporation. He said: "If public service broadcasting - one of the best things we've ever done creatively as a country - if it was a car industry, our ministers would be out championing it overseas, trying to win contracts, boasting of the British jobs that would bring." In July, the government issued a green paper setting out issues that will be explored during negotiations over the future of the BBC, including the broadcaster's size, its funding and governance.
Primarily Mr Whittingdale wanted to appoint a panel of five people, but finally he invited two more people to advise on the channer renewal, namely former Channel 4 boss Dawn Airey and journalism professor Stewart Purvis, a former editor-in-chief of ITN. Iannucci bemoaned the lack of "creatives" involved in the discussions.
"When the media, communications and information industries make up nearly 8% our GDP, larger than the car and oil and gas industries put together, we need to be heard, as those industries are heard. But when I see the panel of experts who've been asked by the culture secretary to take a root and branch look at the BBC, I don't see anyone who is a part of that cast and crew list. I see executives, media owners, industry gurus, all talented people - but not a single person who's made a classic and enduring television show."
'Don't be modest'
Iannucci suggested one way of easing the strain on the licence fee was "by pushing ourselves more commercially abroad".
"Use the BBC's name, one of the most recognised brands in the world," he said. "And use the reputation of British television across all networks, to capitalise financially oversees. Be more aggressive in selling our shows, through advertising, through proper international subscription channels, freeing up BBC Worldwide to be fully commercial, whatever it takes.
"Frankly, don't be icky and modest about making money, let's monetise the bezeesus Mary and Joseph out of our programmes abroad so that money can come back, take some pressure off the licence fee at home and be invested in even more ambitious quality shows, that can only add to our value."
Mr Whittingdale, who was interviewed by ITV News' Alastair Stewart at the festival, said he wanted an open debate about whether the corporation should do everything it has done in the past.  He said he had a slight sense that people who rushed to defend the BBC were "trying to have an argument that's never been started".
"Whatever my view is, I don't determine what programmes the BBC should show," he added. "That's the job of the BBC." Mr Whittingdale said any speculation that the Conservative Party had always wanted to change the BBC due to issues such as its editorial line was "absolute nonsense".

Questions 27-31
Do the following statements agree with the information in the IELTS reading text?
In boxes 27–31 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

27. Armando Iannucci expressed a need of having more popular channels. 
28. John Whittingdale wanted to dismantle the BBC. 
29. Iannucci delivered the 30th annual MacTaggart Lecture. 
30. Ianucci believes that British television has contributed to the success of American TV-shows. 
31. There have been negotiations over the future of the BBC in July. 

Questions 32–35
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.
32. Ianucci praised everything EXCEPT
      A  US shows
      B  British shows
      C  Corporation
      D  British programming

33. To advise on the charter renewal Mr Whittingdale appointed a panel of
      A  five people
      B  two people
      C  seven people
      D  four people

34. Who of these people was NOT invited to the discussion concerning BBC renewal?
      A  Armando Iannucci
      B  Dawn Airey
      C  John Whittingdale
      D  Stewart Purvis

35. There panel of experts lacks:
      A  media owners
      B  people who make enduring TV-shows
      C  gurus of Television industry
      D  top executives


Questions 36–40
Complete the summary below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 37–40 on your answer sheet.
Easing the strain on the licence fees
Iannucci recommended increasing BBC's profit by pushing ourselves more 36. . He suggests being more aggressive in selling British shows, through advertising and proper international 37. . Also, he invokes producers to stop being 38.  and modest about making money and invest into even 39.  quality shows. However, Mr Whittingdale denied any 40.  that the Conservative Party had always wanted to change the BBC because of its editorial line.


ANSWERS
Each question correctly answered scores 1 mark. Correct spelling is needed in all answers.
Section 3
  1. True
  2. False
  3. Not Given
  4. True
  5. False
  6. A
  7. C
  8. A
  9. B
  10. commercially abroad
  11. subscription channels
  12. icky
  13. more ambitious
  14. speculation
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IELTS Reading 18-08-2019: Reading Passage 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Life lessons from villains, crooks and gangsters
(A) A notorious Mexican drug baron’s audacious escape from prison in July doesn’t, at first, appear to have much to teach corporate boards. But some in the business world suggest otherwise. Beyond the morally reprehensible side of criminals' work, some business gurus say organised crime syndicates, computer hackers, pirates and others operating outside the law could teach legitimate corporations a thing or two about how to hustle and respond to rapid change.

(B) Far from encouraging illegality, these gurus argue that – in the same way big corporations sometimes emulate start-ups – business leaders could learn from the underworld about flexibility, innovation and the ability to pivot quickly. “There is a nimbleness to criminal organisations that legacy corporations [with large, complex layers of management] don’t have,” said Marc Goodman, head of the Future Crimes Institute and global cyber-crime advisor. While traditional businesses focus on rules they have to follow, criminals look to circumvent them. “For criminals, the sky is the limit and that creates the opportunity to think much, much bigger.”

(C) Joaquin Guzman, the head of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel, for instance, slipped out of his prison cell through a tiny hole in his shower that led to a mile-long tunnel fitted with lights and ventilation. Making a break for it required creative thinking, long-term planning and perseverance – essential skills similar to those needed to achieve success in big business.

(D) While Devin Liddell, who heads brand strategy for Seattle-based design consultancy, Teague, condemns the violence and other illegal activities he became curious as to how criminal groups endure. Some cartels stay in business despite multiple efforts by law enforcement on both sides of the US border and millions of dollars from international agencies to shut them down. Liddell genuinely believes there’s a lesson in longevity here. One strategy he underlined was how the bad guys respond to change. In order to bypass the border between Mexico and the US, for example, the Sinaloa cartel went to great lengths. It built a vast underground tunnel, hired family members as border agents and even used a catapult to circumvent a high-tech fence.

(E) By contrast, many legitimate businesses fail because they hesitate to adapt quickly to changing market winds. One high-profile example is movie and game rental company Blockbuster, which didn’t keep up with the market and lost business to mail order video rentals and streaming technologies. The brand has all but faded from view. Liddell argues the difference between the two groups is that criminal organisations often have improvisation encoded into their daily behaviour, while larger companies think of innovation as a set process. “This is a leadership challenge,” said Liddell. “How well companies innovate and organise is a reflection of leadership.”

Left-field thinking

(F) Cash-strapped start-ups also use unorthodox strategies to problem solve and build their businesses up from scratch. This creativity and innovation is often borne out of necessity, such as tight budgets. Both criminals and start-up founders “question authority, act outside the system and see new and clever ways of doing things,” said Goodman. “Either they become Elon Musk or El Chapo.” And, some entrepreneurs aren’t even afraid to operate in legal grey areas in their effort to disrupt the marketplace. The co-founders of music streaming service Napster, for example, knowingly broke music copyright rules with their first online file sharing service, but their technology paved the way for legal innovation as regulators caught up.

(G) Goodman and others believe thinking hard about problem solving before worrying about restrictions could prevent established companies falling victim to rivals less constrained by tradition. In their book The Misfit Economy, Alexa Clay and Kyra Maya Phillips examine how individuals can apply that mindset to become more innovative and entrepreneurial within corporate structures. They studied not just violent criminals like Somali pirates, but others who break the rules in order to find creative solutions to their business problems, such as people living in the slums of Mumbai or computer hackers. They picked out five common traits among this group: the ability to hustle, pivot, provoke, hack and copycat.

(H) Clay gives a Saudi entrepreneur named Walid Abdul-Wahab as a prime example. Abdul-Wahab worked with Amish farmers to bring camel milk to American consumers even before US regulators approved it. Through perseverance, he eventually found a network of Amish camel milk farmers and started selling the product via social media. Now his company, Desert Farms, sells to giant mainstream retailers like Whole Foods Market. Those on the fringe don’t always have the option of traditional, corporate jobs and that forces them to think more creatively about how to make a living, Clay said. They must develop grit and resilience in order to last outside the cushy confines of cubicle life. “In many cases scarcity is the mother of invention,” Clay said.

Questions 14-21
Reading Passage 2 has eight paragraphs A-H. Match the headings below with the paragraphs. Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 14-21 on your answer sheet.

14. Jailbreak with creative thinking 

15. Five common traits among rule-breakers 

16. Comparison between criminals and traditional businessmen 

17. Can drug baron's espace teach legitimate corporations? 

18. Great entrepreneur 

19. How criminal groups deceive the law 

20. The difference between legal and illegal organisations  

21. Similarity between criminals and start-up founders 



Questions 22–25

Complete the sentences below.
Write ONLY ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 22–25 on your answer sheet.

22. To escape from a prison, Joaquin Guzman had to use such traits as creative thinking, long-term planning and.
23. The Sinaloa cartel built a grand underground tunnel and even used a  to avoid the fence.
24. The main difference between two groups is that criminals, unlike large corporations, often have encoded into their daily life.
25. Due to being persuasive, Walid Abdul-Wahab found a  of Amish camel milk farmers.


Question 26
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
26. The main goal of this article is to:
      A  Show different ways of illegal activity
      B  Give an overview of various criminals and their gangs
      C  Draw a comparison between legal and illegal business, providing examples
      D  Justify criminals with creative thinking

ANSWERS
Each question correctly answered scores 1 mark. Correct spelling is needed in all answers.
Section 2
  1. C
  2. G
  3. B
  4. A
  5. H
  6. D
  7. E
  8. F
  9. Perseverance
  10. Catapult
  11. Improvisation
  12. Network
  13. C

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IELTS Reading 18-08-2019: Reading Passage 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1–13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Aphantasia: A life without mental images
Close your eyes and imagine walking along a sandy beach and then gazing over the horizon as the Sun rises. How clear is the image that springs to mind?
Most people can readily conjure images inside their head - known as their mind's eye. But this year scientists have described a condition, aphantasia, in which some people are unable to visualise mental images.
Niel Kenmuir, from Lancaster, has always had a blind mind's eye. He knew he was different even in childhood. "My stepfather, when I couldn't sleep, told me to count sheep, and he explained what he meant, I tried to do it and I couldn't," he says. "I couldn't see any sheep jumping over fences, there was nothing to count."
Our memories are often tied up in images, think back to a wedding or first day at school. As a result, Niel admits, some aspects of his memory are "terrible", but he is very good at remembering facts. And, like others with aphantasia, he struggles to recognise faces. Yet he does not see aphantasia as a disability, but simply a different way of experiencing life.

Mind's eye blind
Ironically, Niel now works in a bookshop, although he largely sticks to the non-fiction aisles. His condition begs the question what is going on inside his picture-less mind. I asked him what happens when he tries to picture his fiancee. "This is the hardest thing to describe, what happens in my head when I think about things," he says. "When I think about my fiancee there is no image, but I am definitely thinking about her, I know today she has her hair up at the back, she's brunette. But I'm not describing an image I am looking at, I'm remembering features about her, that's the strangest thing and maybe that is a source of some regret."
The response from his mates is a very sympathetic: "You're weird." But while Niel is very relaxed about his inability to picture things, it is often a cause of distress for others. One person who took part in a study into aphantasia said he had started to feel "isolated" and "alone" after discovering that other people could see images in their heads. Being unable to reminisce about his mother years after her death led to him being "extremely distraught".
The super-visualiser
At the other end of the spectrum is children's book illustrator, Lauren Beard, whose work on the Fairytale Hairdresser series will be familiar to many six-year-olds. Her career relies on the vivid images that leap into her mind's eye when she reads text from her author. When I met her in her box-room studio in Manchester, she was working on a dramatic scene in the next book. The text describes a baby perilously climbing onto a chandelier.
"Straightaway I can visualise this grand glass chandelier in some sort of French kind of ballroom, and the little baby just swinging off it and really heavy thick curtains," she says. "I think I have a strong imagination, so I can create the world and then keep adding to it so it gets sort of bigger and bigger in my mind and the characters too they sort of evolve. I couldn't really imagine what it's like to not imagine, I think it must be a bit of a shame really."
Not many people have mental imagery as vibrant as Lauren or as blank as Niel. They are the two extremes of visualisation. Adam Zeman, a professor of cognitive and behavioural neurology, wants to compare the lives and experiences of people with aphantasia and its polar-opposite hyperphantasia. His team, based at the University of Exeter, coined the term aphantasia this year in a study in the journal Cortex.
Prof Zeman tells the BBC: "People who have contacted us say they are really delighted that this has been recognised and has been given a name, because they have been trying to explain to people for years that there is this oddity that they find hard to convey to others." How we imagine is clearly very subjective - one person's vivid scene could be another's grainy picture. But Prof Zeman is certain that aphantasia is real. People often report being able to dream in pictures, and there have been reported cases of people losing the ability to think in images after a brain injury.
He is adamant that aphantasia is "not a disorder" and says it may affect up to one in 50 people. But he adds: "I think it makes quite an important difference to their experience of life because many of us spend our lives with imagery hovering somewhere in the mind's eye which we inspect from time to time, it's a variability of human experience."

Questions 1–5
Do the following statements agree with the information in the IELTS reading text?
In boxes 1-5 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

1. Aphantasia is a condition, which describes people, for whom it is hard to visualise mental images.

2. Niel Kenmuir was unable to count sheep in his head. 
3. People with aphantasia struggle to remember personal traits and clothes of different people. 
4. Niel regrets that he cannot portray an image of his fiancee in his mind. 
5. Inability to picture things in someone's head is often a cause of distress for a person. 
6. All people with aphantasia start to feel 'isolated' or 'alone' at some point of their lives. 
7. Lauren Beard's career depends on her imagination. 
8. The author met Lauren Beard when she was working on a comedy scene in her next book. 


Questions 9–13
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

9. Only a small fraction of people have imagination as  as Lauren does.
10. Hyperphantasia is  to aphantasia.
11.There are a lot of subjectivity in comparing people's imagination - somebody's vivid scene could be another person's .
12. Prof Zeman is  that aphantasia is not an illness.
13. Many people spend their lives with  somewhere in the mind's eye.

ANSWERS
Each question correctly answered scores 1 mark. Correct spelling is needed in all answers.
Section 1
  1. False
  2. True
  3. Not Given
  4. True
  5. True
  6. Not Given
  7. True
  8. False
  9. Vibrant
  10. Polar-opposite
  11. Grainy picture
  12. Adamant
  13. Imagery hovering

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Saturday, 17 August 2019

IELTS General Reading 17-08-2019: Reading Passage 3

Read the text below and answer Questions 29–40.
What to do in a fire?
Fire drills are a big part of being safe in school: They prepare you for what you need to do in case of a fire. But what if there was a fire where you live? Would you know what to do?Talking about fires can be scary because no one likes to think about people getting hurt or their things getting burned. But you can feel less worried if you are prepared.

It's a good idea for families to talk about what they would do to escape a fire. Different families will have different strategies. Some kids live in one-story houses and other kids live in tall buildings. You'll want to talk about escape plans and escape routes, so let's start there.

Know Your Way Out

An escape plan can help every member of a family get out of a burning house. The idea is to get outside quickly and safely. Smoke from a fire can make it hard to see where things are, so it's important to learn and remember the different ways out of your home. How many exits are there? How do you get to them from your room? It's a good idea to have your family draw a map of the escape plan.
It's possible one way out could be blocked by fire or smoke, so you'll want to know where other ones are. And if you live in an apartment building, you'll want to know the best way to the stairwell or other emergency exits.

Safety Steps

If you're in a room with the door closed when the fire breaks out, you need to take a few extra steps:
  • Check to see if there's heat or smoke coming in the cracks around the door. (You're checking to see if there's fire on the other side.)
  • If you see smoke coming under the door — don't open the door!
  • If you don't see smoke — touch the door. If the door is hot or very warm — don't open the door!
  • If you don't see smoke — and the door is not hot — then use your fingers to lightly touch the doorknob. If the doorknob is hot or very warm — don't open the door!
If the doorknob feels cool, and you can't see any smoke around the door, you can open the door very carefully and slowly. When you open the door, if you feel a burst of heat or smoke pours into the room, quickly shut the door and make sure it is really closed. If there's no smoke or heat when you open the door, go toward your escape route exit.

Questions 29-34

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 29-34 on your answer sheet.
29. While some might live in a tall buildings, others might live in a  .
30. Important thing is to talk with your kids about escape  and  .
31. Making a  is a good idea, it can help you escape.
32. If you live in an apartment, you have to know the way to the staircase or other  .
33. You can only open the door if the  is not hot and you can’t see smoke around the door.

34. You should immediately close the door, if smoke  into the room

Questions 35–39
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Section 3?
In boxes 35–39 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

35. It is important to have a strategy before escaping the fire.

36. You should mark different ways out of your home on the map.

37. If you’re stuck in a room, and see smoke coming from the other room, you should open the door and ran to the exit.

38. Hot door means you shouldn’t open it to escape. 

39. If you open the door and everything seems fine, go straight to the exit.

Question 40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in box 40 on your answer sheet.
40. This article is mainly aimed at helping:
      A Children
      B Children and their parents
      C Only parents
      D Teachers at schools

ANSWERS
Each question correctly answered scores 1 mark. Correct spelling is needed in all answers.
Section 3
  1. One-story houses
  2. Plans, routes
  3. Map
  4. Emergency exits
  5. Doorknob
  6. Pours
  7. True
  8. Not Given
  9. False
  10. True
  11. True
  12. B
   
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