Day 10_Reading

● Let’s Practise!

Reading 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

Cutty Sark: the fastest sailing ship of all time

The nineteenth century was a period of great technological development in Britain, and for shipping the major changes were from wind to steam power, and from wood to iron and steel. The fastest commercial sailing vessels of all time were clippers, three-masted ships built to transport goods around the world, although some also took passengers. From the 1840s until 1869, when the Suez Canal opened and steam propulsion was replacing sail, clippers dominated world trade. Although many were built, only one has survived more or less intact: Cutty Sark, now on display in Greenwich, southeast London. Cutty Sark’s unusual name comes from the poem Tam O’Shanter by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Tam, a farmer, is chased by a witch called Nannie, who is wearing a ‘cutty sark’ – an old Scottish name for a short nightdress. The witch is depicted in Cutty Sark’s fgurehead – the carving of a woman typically at the front of old sailing ships. In legend, and in Burns’s poem, witches cannot cross water, so this was a rather strange choice of name for a ship. Cutty Sark was built in Dumbarton, Scotland, in 1869, for a shipping company owned by John Willis. To carry out construction, Willis chose a new shipbuilding frm, Scott & Linton, and ensured that the contrast with them put him in a very strong position. In the end, the frm was forced out of business, and the ship was fnished by a competitor. Willis’s company was active in the tea trade between China and Britain, where speed could bring shipowners both profts and prestige, so Cutty Sark was designed to make the journey more quickly than any other ship. On her maiden voyage, in 1870, she set sail from London, carrying large amounts of goods to China. She returned laden with tea, making the journey back to London in four months. However, Cutty Sark never lived up to the high expectations of her owner, as a result of bad winds and various misfortunes. On one occasion, in 1872, the ship and a rival clipper, Thermopylae, left port in China on the same day. Crossing the Indian Ocean, Cutty Sark gained a lead of over 400 miles, but then her rudder was severely damaged in stormy seas, making her impossible to steer. The ship’s crew had the daunting task of repairing the rudder at sea, and only succeeded at the second attempt. Cutty Sark reached London a week after Thermopylae. Steam ships posed a growing threat to clippers, as their speed and cargo capacity increased. In addition, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the same year that Cutty Sark was launched, had a serious impact. While steam ships could make use of the quick, direct route between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the canal was of no use to sailing ships, which needed the much stronger winds of the oceans, and so had to sail a far greater distance. Steam ships reduced the journey time between Britain and China by approximately two months. By 1878, tea traders weren’t interested in Cutty Sark, and instead, she took on the much less prestigious work of carrying any cargo between any two ports in the world. In 1880, violence aboard the ship led ultimately to the replacement of the captain with an incompetent drunkard who stole the crew’s wages. He was suspended from service, and a new captain appointed. This marked a turnaround and the beginning of the most successful period in Cutty Sark’s working life, transporting wool from Australia to Britain. One such journey took just under 12 weeks, beating every other ship sailing that year by around a month. The ship’s next captain, Richard Woodget, was an excellent navigator, who got the best out of both his ship and his crew. As a sailing ship, Cutty Sark depended on the strong trade winds of the southern hemisphere, and Woodget took her further south than any previous captain, bringing her dangerously close to icebergs off the southern tip of South America. His gamble paid off, though, and the ship was the fastest vessel in the wool trade for ten years. As competition from steam ships increased in the 1890s, and Cutty Sark approached the end of her life expectancy, she became less proftable. She was sold to a Portuguese frm, which renamed her Ferreira. For the next 25 years, she again carried miscellaneous cargoes around the world. Badly damaged in a gale in 1922, she was put into Falmouth harbor in southwest England, for repairs. Wilfred Dowman, a retired sea captain who owned a training vessel, recognised her and tried to buy her, but without success. She returned to Portugal and was sold to another Portuguese company. Dowman was determined, however, and offered a high price: this was accepted, and the ship returned to Falmouth the following year and had her original name restored. Dowman used Cutty Sark as a training ship, and she continued in this role after his death. When she was no longer required, in 1954, she was transferred to dry dock at Greenwich to go on public display. The ship suffered from fre in 2007, and again, less seriously, in 2014, but now Cutty Sark attracts a quarter of a million visitors a year.

Questions 1-8 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-8 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 Clippers were originally intended to be used as passenger ships. 2 Cutty Sark was given the name of a character in a poem. 3 The contract between John Willis and Scott & Linton favoured Willis. 4 John Willis wanted Cutty Sark to be the fastest tea clipper travelling between the UK and China. 5 Despite storm damage, Cutty Sark beat Thermopylae back to London. 6 The opening of the Suez Canal meant that steam ships could travel between Britain and China faster than clippers. 7 Steam ships sometimes used the ocean route to travel between London and China. 8 Captain Woodget put Cutty Sark at risk of hitting an iceberg. Questions 9-13

Complete the sentences below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

9 After 1880, Cutty Sark carried ………………………… as its main cargo during its most

successful time.

10 As a captain and …………………………., Woodget was very skilled.

11 Ferreira went to Falmouth to repair damage that a …………………………. had caused.

12 Between 1923 and 1954, Cutty Sark was used for …………………………..

13 Cutty Sark has twice been damaged by ………………………… in the 21st century.

Reading 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. Daylight Saving Time

Each year in many countries around the world, clocks are set forward in spring and then back again in autumn in an effort to ‘save’ daylight hours. Like many modern practices, Daylight Savings Time (DST) dates back to ancient civilisations. The Romans would adjust their routines to the sun’s schedule by using different scales in their water clocks for different months of the year. This practice fell out of favour, however, and the concept was renewed only when, in

1784, the American inventor Benjamin Franklin wrote a jocular article for The Journal of Paris exhorting the city’s residents to make more use of daylight hours in order to reduce candle use. In 1895, in a more serious effort, New Zealand entomologist

George Vernon Hudson proposed a biannual two-hour shift closely resembling current forms of DST. His cause was not taken up, however, until Germany frst pushed their clocks forward in April 1916 as part of a drive to save fuel in World War I.

Over the next several decades, global use of DST was sporadic and inconsistent.

Countries such as the UK and USA adopted DST in World Wars I and II, but reverted to standard time after the wars ended. In the USA, the decision to use DST was determined by states and municipalities between 1945 and 1966, causing widespread confusion for transport and broadcasting schedules until Congress implemented the

Uniform Time Act in 1966.

Today, DST is used in some form by over 70 countries worldwide, affecting around one sixth of the world’s population. There is still no uniform standard, however. Countries such as Egypt and Russia have adjusted their policies on multiple occasions in recent years, in some instances leading to considerable turmoil. Muslim countries often suspend DST for the month of Ramadan. The European Union fnally standardised DST in 2000, while the USA’s most recent adjustments were introduced with the Energy

Policy Act of 2005.

In general, the benefts of DST are considerable and well documented. Perhaps the most signifcant factor in terms of popular support is the chance to make better use of daylight in the evening. With extended daylight hours, offce workers coming off a 9 to

5 shift can often take part in outdoor recreational activities for an hour or two. This has other positive effects, such as reducing domestic electricity consumption as more opportunities become available to use sunlight instead of artifcial lighting. A further beneft is a reduction in the overall rate of automobile accidents, as DST ensures that streets are well lit at peak hours.

Many industries are supportive of DST due to the opportunities it provides for increased revenue. Extended daylight hours mean people are more likely to stay out later in the evening and spend more money in bars and restaurants, for example, so tourism and hospitality are two sectors that stand to gain a lot from more daylight. In

Queensland, Australia, which elected not to implement DST due to complaints from dairy farmers over disruption to milking schedules, the annual drain on the state’s economy is estimated to be as high as $4 billion.

Some research casts doubt on the advantages of DST, however. Although the overall incidence of traffc accidents is lower, for pedestrians the risk of being hit by a car in the evening increases by as much as 186 per cent in the weeks after clocks are set back in autumn, possibly because drivers have not yet adjusted to earlier sunsets. Although this shift does in turn make streets safer in early mornings, the risk to pedestrians is not offset simply because fewer pedestrians use the streets at that time.

A further health concern involves the disruption of our body clock. Setting clocks one hour forward at night can cause many people to lose sleep, resulting in tiredness and all its well-documented effects, such as mood swings, reduced productivity and problems with overall physical well-being. In 2008, a Swedish study found that heart attack rates spike in the few days following the switch to DST for summer. Tiredness may also be a factor behind the increase in road accidents in the week after DST begins.

Finally, safety issues have arisen in parts of Latin America relating to a suspected relationship between DST and higher incidences of street crime. In 2008, Guatemala chose not to use DST because it forced offce workers to leave their homes while it was still dark outside in the morning. This natural cover for criminals was thought to increase incidents of crime at this hour. Questions 14-19

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage

2? In boxes 14–19 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

14 Daylight savings time has been in continual use since ancient times.

15 Today, DST is very similar to how George Vernon Hudson suggested it.

16 DST was not considered successful during World Wars I and II.

17 The USA fnalised its DST policy in 1966.

18 Around the world, there is now general agreement on how DST should be

used.

19 Frequent changes to DST over a short time span have caused problems in

some countries. Questions 20–26

Complete the table below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 20 –26 on your answer sheet.

Advantages and disadvantages of Daylight Saving Time

Advantages Disadvantages

More opportunities for 20……………….. after Dairy farmers fnd that DST upsets their

work. 23………………..

People use less power in their homes More dangerous for 24………………..

because they don’t need as much following re-setting of clocks in autumn.

lighting. Loss of sleep can lead to 25………………..,

Better lighting during 21……………….. leads inferior performance at work and poorer

to fewer car crashes following the spring general health because of fatigue.

change to DST. Darker mornings may lead to more

Some industries, such as 22……………….., 26……………….

earn more money with DST. Reading 3 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below. What’s the purpose of gaining knowledge? A ‘I would fnd an institution where any person can fnd instruction in any subject.’ That was the founder’s motto for Cornell University, and it seems an apt characterization of the different university, also in the USA, where I currently teach philosophy. A student can prepare for a career in resort management, engineering, interior design, accounting, music, law enforcement, you name it. But what would the founders of these two institutions have thought of a course called ‘Arson for Proft’? I kid you not: we have it on the books. Any undergraduates who have met the academic requirements can sign up for the course in our program in ‘fre science’. B Naturally, the course is intended for prospective arson investigators, who can learn all the tricks of the trade for detecting whether a fre was deliberately set, discovering who did it, and establishing a chain of evidence for effective prosecution in a court of law. But wouldn’t this also be the perfect course for prospective arsonists to sign up for? My point is not to criticize academic programs in fre science: they are highly welcome as part of the increasing professionalization of this and many other occupations. However, it’s not unknown for a frefghter to torch a building. This example suggests how dishonest and illegal behavior, with the help of higher education, can creep into every aspect of public and business life. C I realized this anew when I was invited to speak before a class in marketing, which is another of our degree programs. The regular instructor is a colleague who appreciates the kind of ethical perspective. I can bring as a philosopher. There are endless ways I could have approached this assignment, but I took my cue from the title of the course: ‘Principles of Marketing’. It made me think to ask the students, ‘Is marketing principled?’ After all, a subject matter can have principles in the sense of being codifed, having rules, as with football or chess, without being principled in the sense of being ethical. Many of the students immediately assumed that the answer to my question about marketing principles was obvious: no. Just look at the ways in which everything under the sun has been marketed; obviously it needs to be done in a principled (=ethical) fashion. D Is that obvious? I made the suggestion, which may sound downright crazy in light of the evidence, that perhaps marketing is by defnition principled. My inspiration for this judgement is the philosopher Immanuel Kant, who argued that any body of knowledge consists of an end (or purpose) and a means. E Let us apply both the terms ‘means’ and ‘end’ to marketing. The students have signed up for a course in order to learn how to market effectively. But to what end? There seem to be two main attitudes toward that question. One is that the answer is obvious: the purpose of marketing is to sell things and to make money. The other attitude is that the purpose of marketing is irrelevant: Each person comes to the program and course with his or her own plans, and these need not even concern the acquisition of marketing expertise as such. My proposal, which I believe would also be Kant’s, is that neither of these attitudes captures the signifcance of the end to the means for marketing. A feld of knowledge or a professional endeavor is defned by both the means and the end; hence both deserve scrutiny. Students need to study both how to achieve X, and also what X is. F It is at this point that ‘Arson for Proft’ becomes supremely relevant. That course is presumably all about means: how to detect and prosecute criminal activity. It is therefore assumed that the end is good in an ethical sense. When I ask fre science students to articulate the end, or purpose, of their feld, they eventually generalize to something like, ‘The safety and welfare of society,’ which seems right. As we have seen, someone could use the very same knowledge of means to achieve a much less noble end such as personal proft via destructive, dangerous, reckless activity. But we would not call that frefghting. We have a separate word for it: arson. Similarly, if you employed the ‘principles of marketing’ is an unprincipled way, you would not be doing marketing. We have another term for it: fraud. Kant gives the example of a doctor and a poisoner, who use the identical knowledge to achieve their divergent ends. We would say that one is practicing medicine, the other, murder. Questions 27-32

Reading Passage 3 has six sections, A-F.

Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-viii, in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings i Courses that require a high level of commitment ii A course title with two meanings iii The equal importance of two key issues iv Applying a theory in an unexpected context v The fnancial benefts of studying vi A surprising course little vii Different names for different outcomes viii The possibility of attracting the wrong kind of student

27 Section A

28 Section B

29 Section C

30 Section D

31 Section E

32 Section F Questions 33-36

Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 33-36 on your answer sheet.

The ‘Arson for Proft’ course

This is a university course intended for students who are undergraduates and who are studying 33………………………. The expectation is that they will become 34…………………………. specialising in arson. The course will help them to detect cases of arson and fnd 35………………………. of criminal intent, leading to successful 36………………………… in the courts.

Questions 37-40

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

37 It is diffcult to attract students into courses that do not focus on a career. 38 The ‘Arson for Proft’ course would be useful for people intending to set fre to buildings. 39 Fire science courses are too academic to help people to be good at the job of frefghting. 40 The writer’s fre science students provided a detailed defnition of the purpose of their studies. ● Glossary

Glossary daunting = difficult to deal with; intimidating turnaround = an abrupt or unexpected change, especially one that results in a more favourable situation. dry dock = a dock which can be drained of water to allow the inspection and repair of a ship's hull. jocular = fond of joking; humorous or playful exhort = strongly encourage or urge to do something sporadic = occurring at irregular intervals; scattered municipality = a town or a district with a local government turmoil = a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty. continual = forming a sequence in which the same action or event is repeated frequently prosecution = the institution and conducting of legal proceedings against someone in respect of a criminal charge. anew (adv) = in a new or different and positive way; once more; again means (n) = an action or a method in which a result is achieved; financial resources (income) scrutiny = observation or examination; survey articulate = to be able to clearly express ideas in speech or writing Evaluation Items ● Let’s get feedback from Tutor

IELTS Band Descriptors

BAND SKILL DESCRIPTION SCORE LEVEL

Band 9 Expert user You have a full operational command of the language. Your use of English is appropriate, accurate and fluent, and you show complete understanding

Band 8 Very good You have a fully operational command of the user language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriate usage. You may misunderstand some things in unfamiliar situations. You handle complex detailed argumentation well.

Band 7 Good user You have an operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally you handle complex language well and understand detailed reasoning.

Band 6 Competent Generally you have an effective command of user the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings. You can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations. Band 5 Modest You have a partial command of the language, user and cope with overall meaning in most situations, although you are likely to make many mistakes. You should be able to handle basic communications in your own field.

Band 4 Limited Your basic competence is limited to familiar user situations. You frequently show problems in understanding and expression. You are not able to use complex language.

Band 3 Extremely You convey and understand only general limited user meaning in very familiar situations. There are frequent breakdowns in communication.

Band 2 Intermittent You have great difficulty understanding user spoken and written English.

Band 1 Non-user You have no ability to use the language except a few isolated words

Band 0 Did not You did not answer the questions. attempt the test Answer Key

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

1. FALSE 14. FALSE 27. vi 2. FALSE 15. TRUE 28. viii 3. TRUE 16. NOT GIVEN 29. ii 4. TRUE 17. FALSE 30. iv 5. FALSE 18. FALSE 31. iii 6. TRUE 19. TRUE 32. vii 7. NOT GIVEN 20. (outdoor) recreational 33. fire science 8. TRUE activities 34. investigators 9. wool 21. peak hours 35. evidence 10. navigator 22. tourism (and) 36. prosecution 11. gale hospitality/hospitality (and) 37. NOT GIVEN 12. training tourism 38. YES 13. fire 23. milking schedules 39. NO 24. pedestrians 40. NO 25. mood swings 26. (street) crime/incidents of crime