CAE Reading and Use of English Part 8
You are going to read an article about the Royal Society, a British scientific institution. For questions 47-56, choose from the sections of the article (A-E). The sections may be chosen more than once.
In which section of the article are the following mentioned?
47 a belief that a certain development has been of particular use to scientists
48 the variety of ways in which the Royal Society encourages people who are not scientists to consider scientific issues
49 a rapid reaction to research being made public
50 a particular development that requires urgent action to improve it
51 a resource for information on past scientific discoveries
52 a lack of understanding of scientific matters among people in general
53 a system that the Royal Society introduced
54 the fact that scientists do not always reach firm conclusions
55 a problem that is not limited to the world of science
56 the belief that certain things that are possible are not desirable
The unstoppable spirit of inquiry
The president of the Royal Society, Martin Rees, celebrates the long history of one of Britain’s greatest institutions.
A
The Royal Society began in 1660. From the beginning, the wide dissemination of scientific ideas was deemed important. The Society started to publish Philosophical Transaction, the first scientific journal, which continues to this day. The Society’s journals pioneered what is still the accepted procedure whereby scientific ideas are subject to peer review – criticised, refined and codified into ‘public knowledge’. Over the centuries, they published Isaac Newton’s researches on light, Benjamin Franklin’s experiments on lightning, Volta’s first battery and many of the triumphs of twentieth century science. Those who want to celebrate this glorious history should visit the Royal Society’s archives via our Trailblazing website.
В
The founders of the Society enjoyed speculation, but they were also intensely engaged with the problems of their era, such as improvements to timekeeping and navigation. After 350 years, our horizons have expanded, but the same engagement is imperative in the 21st century. Knowledge has advanced hugely, but it must be deployed for the benefit of the ever-growing population of our planet, all empowered by ever more powerful technology. The silicon chip was perhaps the most transformative single invention of the past century; it has allowed miniaturisation and spawned the worldwide reach of mobile phones and the internet. It was physicists who developed the World Wide Web and, though it impacts us all, scientists have benefited especially.
C
Traditional journals survive as guarantors of quality, but they are supplemented by a blogosphere of widely varying quality. The latter cries out for an informal system of quality control. The internet levels the playing fields between researchers in major centres and those in relative isolation. It has transformed the way science is communicated and debated. In 2002, three young Indian mathematicians invented a faster scheme for factoring large numbers -something that would be crucial for code-breaking. They posted their results on the web. Within a day, 20,000 people had downloaded the work, which was the topic of hastily convened discussions in many centres of mathematical research around the world. The internet also allows new styles of research. For example, in the old days, astronomical research was stored on delicate photographic plates; these were not easily accessible and tiresome to analyse. Now such data (and large datasets in genetics and particle physics) can be accessed and downloaded anywhere. Experiments and natural events can be followed in real-time.
D
We recently asked our members what they saw as the most important questions facing us in the years ahead and we are holding discussion meetings on the ‘Top Ten’. Whatever breakthroughs are in store, we can be sure of one thing: the widening gulf between what science enables us to do and what it’s prudent or ethical actually to do. In respect of certain developments, regulation will be called for, on ethical as well as prudential grounds. The way science is applied is a matter not just for scientists. All citizens need to address these questions. Public decisions should be made, after the widest possible discussion, in the light of the best scientific evidence available. That is one of the key roles of the Society. Whether it is the work of our Science Policy Centre, our journals, our discussion meetings, our work in education or our public events, we must be at the heart of helping policy-makers and citizens make informed decisions.
E
Our science isn’t dogma. Its assertions are sometimes tentative, sometimes compelling; noisy controversy doesn’t always connote balanced arguments; risks are never absolutely zero, even if they are hugely outweighed by potential benefits. In promoting an informed debate, the media are crucial. When reporting a scientific controversy, the aim should be neither to exaggerate risks and uncertainties, nor to gloss over them. This is indeed a challenge, particularly when institutional, political or commercial pressures distort the debate. Scientists often bemoan the public’s weak grasp of science — without some ‘feel’ for the issues, public debate can’t get beyond sloganising. But they protest too much: there are other issues where public debate is, to an equally disquieting degree, inhibited by ignorance. The Royal Society aims to sustain Britain’s traditional strength in science, but also to ensure that wherever science impacts on people’s lives, it is openly debated.
Answer Keys
Part 1
1 C — While. The word here is used in the meaning of ‘in contrast with something’. The book is not as good as a visit, but it is still worth reading.
2 B — done. ‘To do a job’ is a common collocation in English.
3 A — getting. Another collocation, ‘to get up close and personal’ means to get to know something well and thoroughly.
4 B — come. ‘To come close’ — almost to reach something or to become very similar to.
Japanese cars nowadays come very close to German ones in terms of build quality.
5 B — point. A plus point is an advantage, a good or positive aspect of something. Another plus point of learning abroad is experiencing life away from your parents.
6 B — succeeds. ‘Succeed’ is the only verb here that collocates with the ‘in’ preposition.
7 C — merely. ‘Merely’ is used as a synonym for ‘simply’ or ‘just’.
8 D — source. A commonly used set phrase is ‘a source of inspiration’.
Part 2
9 which/that. It should be clear that ‘Ping-Ping and Whiff-Whaff’ are the names that imitated the sound. So we use which/that preposition to refer to them.
10 made. A passive voice is used, so the verb has to be used in its third form.
11 became. The word here means that ping-pong has made people crazy about the game.
12 being. Another passive construction.
13 By. ‘Had already acquired…’ helps to understand that this sentence is about a certain point in time.
14 though/although. Despite the game’s development, many people still saw it as a simple game for entertainment. Though/although are used in the meaning of ‘in spite of/despite’.
15 rather. ‘Than’ that immediately follows the gap is the clue that we should use ‘rather’. ‘Rather than’ is used to show preference.
I normally prefer to go outside rather than sit home.
16 against. ‘Warn against something’ means to inform that it shouldn’t be done.
Part 3
17 behaviour. A noun is needed here. Make sure you spell the word with the letter ‘u’ as it is the correct British spelling.
18 significant. The following noun clearly implies that an adjective should be used here.
19 ridiculous. Another word that is easy to spell wrong. Adverb+adjective pair.
20 numerous/innumerable. The context implies that many studies confirmed the idea that dancing is good for your mood and happiness in general. Note that ‘many’ is incorrect as it is not directly a word-form of ‘number’. ‘Innumerable’ doesn’t fit either because it doesn’t sound scientific, and the whole text is exactly that.
21 effective. Note that ‘efficient’ isn’t right, as this word means ‘performing at the best possible way with the least amount of energy consumed’ and dancing definitely takes more energy in comparison with mimicking or gesticulating, the more widely accepted forms of non-verbal communication.
22 depression. The word ‘cure’ is a cue to the negative meaning of the word, most likely some sort of illness or state.
23 relationships. The reason we use plural form here is because ‘relationship’ in singular normally takes an indefinite article.
24 enabling. ‘To enable’ means to make something possible, to give right to do something.
Part 4
25 has taken over the management. ‘To take over’ means to take control of something owned or controlled by another person.
26 no account must this door ever. ‘On no account’ is another way to say ‘never’. Also note the use of inversion.
27 on the recommendation of. To make more sense of this sentence, image there’s an omitted verb, e.g. ‘based on the recommendation… ‘.
28 occurred to us that. ‘To occur to smb’ means ‘to dawn on smb’, ‘to come to realisation’.
29 it made no difference to Kevin. You can’t say ‘it did not make any difference to Kevin’ only because of the word limit, otherwise it would have been a more obvious choice.
30 I might/would be able to make. It is important to understand the right collocating verb for ‘visit’. ‘Pay a visit’ is used when talking about people rather than places.
Part 5
31 C. Last sentence of the first paragraph mentions that the article on the same subject was read by 30 million people. The article and the book share the same topic, and therefore many people are interested in it. Answer A is not mentioned — it is the article, not the book that had been read by 30 million people. Answer B is not mentioned either — the series is dedicated to the idea of different approaches to business, not solely to animal behaviour. There is no mention of Answer D at all.
32 A. One but last sentence of paragraph two goes: “… his book is the first time anyone has laid out the science behind a management theory…”. The ‘science’ mentioned here is the evidence from Answer A. Answer B is wrong — even though the book is one from the series, the series is dedicated to business strategies, and only one book of the series focuses on animal behaviour.
33 C. Paragraph 3 stresses the promptness with which bees make decisions and contrasts it with managers of big companies that take a lot of time to come up with a decision, often not the optimal one. Even though some of the aspects of other answers are mentioned, they are only used here as details rather than the main purpose of the paragraph.
34 C. ‘Collaborate’ means ‘to work together’. Decision-making as a collaborative process is described in the middle of the paragraph — having a ballot (or a secret vote). Other answers are not mentioned in the paragraph.
35 D. The example of self-organising ants goes to show how freedom of decision-making is beneficial to a company. Answers B and C are not mentioned. The opposite of Answer A is stated — hierarchy ‘gets in the way’.
36 C. The only possible difficulty here is knowing the word ‘retain’, which means ‘keep, leave as’. The answer is easily found within the last but one paragraph.
Part 6
37 D. Sentence 2 of Paragraph A goes ” … with hardly a thought as to what might endure to impress subsequent generations.”; Sentence 4, Paragraph D states the opposite: ” … people have bought and passed on to future generations, those works of art that seemed to embody the spirit of their age and would have lasting value.”
38 A. In the first sentences of both Paragraph A and C their authors agree that it is very difficult to predict and identify the potential value of a work of art.
39 D. Last sentence of Paragraph B states that the works of art can distort the perception of history, giving events of the past more importance than they actually deserve. The second half of Paragraph D is dedicated to the importance of art in preserving the history and helping to understand the period it was made in.
40 C. Only the author of Paragraph C doubts the lasting artistic value of the works of the past.
Part 7
41 E. This paragraph gives more detail of what is mentioned in the previous paragraph — how Kieron is engaged in drawing. ‘Each one’ can refer to either sketches or his own ‘touches’ — or alterations to the original pictures.
42 G. Last sentence of the preceding paragraph helps us here. The authors mentions, that seven-year-old boys don’t give advice to adults on terminology very often, and then Paragraph G explains the situation — “But then Kieron Williamson is not your average boy”. Last sentence of this paragraph goes “my seven-year-old could do better than that” and the following paragraph starts with “Kieron actually can …”.
4З B. “Standard seven-year-old boy stuff there” refers to playing football and going to school. This is the easiest anchor that could be used here.
44 D. World ‘melee’ is essential here to understand the connection between the paragraphs. It means ‘a noisy fight, a brawl’ and is used figuratively to describe the situation of immense attention directed towards him.
45 F. “Kieron takes it back off me” helps to connect this paragraph with the previous one, where he hands the book to the narrator.
46 C. “Michelle Williamson is aware of this” helps to establish connection with the previous paragraph. She then goes on to suggest how boy’s interests can change and develop as he gets older.
Part 8
47 В. The development in question is World Wide Web, which is stated in the last sentence of the paragraph.
48 D. Science Policy Centre work, journals and discussion meetings are the ways that are meant to make the public more informed on the matters of science.
49 C. An example of young mathematicians from India that had posted the result of their research and the rapid reaction to it are both mentioned in the middle of this paragraph.
50 C. Sentence two of this paragraph: “The latter cries out for an informal system of quality control”. This sentence refers to the urgent need to regulate the blogosphere, as it can be a source of all kinds of unconfirmed and even harmful data.
51 A. Last sentence of the paragraph mentions the Trailblazing website which can be used to access data on scientific discoveries of the past.
52 E. Middle of this paragraph: “Scientists often bemoan the public’s weak grasp of science”
53 A. Middle of the paragraph describes a “procedure whereby scientific ideas are subject to peer review” that is still used.
54 E. First few sentences of this paragraph confirm that scientific knowledge and discoveries are not always conclusive, and there are certain controversies connected to them.
55 E. Second part of the paragraph talks about the involvement of media, politicians and institutions in certain scientific matters, so the issue is no longer purely scientific.
56 D. First part of the paragraph: “… the widening gulf between what science enables us to do and what it’s prudent or ethical actually to do”.
Vocabulary
The vocabulary below is meant to help you with the more difficult words. If the word isn’t on the list then you are either supposed to know it or it is too specific to be worth learning and you don’t have to know it to answer the question. Symbols in brackets mean part of speech(see bottom of the list). Sentences in italics give examples of usage for some more complex words and phrases.
And remember — you are not given a vocabulary list(or a dictionary) at your real exam.
PART 1
Substitute(n) — a replacement of equal worth or quality. There is no adequate substitute for the employee you are about to fire.
Superb (adj) — extremely good, excellent. The way you handled yourself in front of the press was superb.
Witness (v) — to see something happening in person. I wasn’t there to witness the events of that evening.
Apparent (adj) — evident, clear or obvious. It is apparent that there is a mistake in the document.
Punctuated by (phr) — alternating at frequent intervals. The next year was punctuated by frequent visits from his mother.
Inspiration (n) — something that stimulates your body or mind, esp. to do something creative. She often found her inspiration in taking early morning strolls down the shore.
Stunning (adj) — very attractive or impressive. The girl living next door has stunning looks.
PART 2
Diversion (n) — (here) something that helps you distract yourself from business as a form of leisure; an amusing activity. A game of pool proved to be the perfect diversion for the tired executives.
Craze (n) — wild, exaggerated enthusiasm; a short-lived fashion. This summer’s craze is bright, loose outfits.
Contemporary (adj) — living or existing in the same period of time. Hemingway and Fitzgerald were contemporary writers.
Reference (n) — a mention or an allusion. Modern TV shows are full of references to older shows and movies.
Domestic (adj) — referring to home (including your home country) or family. Domestic abuse is a serious issue — it shouldn’t be overlooked.
Complexity (n) — the state of being complex or intricate, complicated. Most readers will fail to appreciate the brilliant complexity of her new book.
PART 3
Dawn (n) — the time of the day when the sun rises. It is also used figuratively as a synonym for ‘beginning’. Since the dawn of human race people have sought to be leaders rather than followers.
Evidence (n) — Proof of something. The police have no evidence to prove his guilt.
Intrinsic (adj) — characteristic or inherent, essential. Desire to learn is an intrinsic quality of any good student.
Utterly (adv) — an intensifier: extremely, to an extreme degree. Normally used to convey negative meaning. The new player in the team turned out to be utterly useless.
Cure (n) — something that helps overcome an illness. At the present moment, there is no cure for his disease.
Alleviate (v) — to make something unpleasant, such as pain or sorrow, more bearable. The insurance payments didn’t alleviate their grief.
PART 4
Resign (from) (v) — to quit (e. g. a job). Due to the circumstances, he had no choice but to resign.
Mind (v) — here: to be opposed to something, to be against it. I don’t mind if you help her with the school project.
PART 5
Obliquity (n) — the state of being oblique (not straight). In the given text it’s a book title, don’t bother memorising this word.
Collaboration (n) — a state or process of working together. The results of their collaboration were very fruitful — two new major contracts were signed.
Beehive (n) — a structure where a bee colony resides. If you see a beehive in your neighbourhood it is better not to disturb it.
Vie (v) — to compete for something. They would vie for her attention for days on end.
Evaluate (v) — to try and assess or estimate the value of something. It would take a very experienced collector to evaluate the painting.
Ballot (n) — a vote, usually a secret one, done by writing one’s opinion on a piece of paper and placing it in a container. Having a ballot would be the best way to go about our disagreement.
Diversity (n) — the state of being heterogeneous, or being composed of different parts; not of the same kind. Ethnical diversity at the workplace seems to be top priority nowadays.
Scrap (v) — throw away, decline, turn down. The initial plans to expand their venture had to be scrapped because of money issues.
Resilience (n) — endurance, willingness to continue despite hardships or difficulties. It takes great resilience to start a business from the ground up.
Ease (n) — noun formed from ‘easy’. He passed his final exams with surprising ease.
Pinpoint (v) — to precisely locate or identify. You will need a real professional to pinpoint the issue.
Retain (v) — to keep; not to loose. Despite the defender’s attempts, the attacker retained possession of the ball.
PART 6
Maintain (n) — to keep something in working order; to keep in the same state. The company has to hire somebody to maintain all the computers in the building.
Decade (n) — Ten years. Two decades ago this town was flourishing, now it’s practically empty.
In retrospect (phr) — Looking back at something. In retrospect, all the decisions he had taken turned out to be the right ones.
Predict (v) — to tell something before it happens. Nowadays it has become quite easy to predict weather for days to come.
Disillusioned (adj) — state of being disappointed or having lost faith in something you previously believed. It is typical for people of your age to get disillusioned about life in general.
Distort (v) — To represent wrongly, to twist or pull out of shape. Alcohol often distorts your perception of life.
Output (n) — result or product of something. This factory has an output of 10 thousand vehicles a month.
Relentless (adj) — Knowing no mercy; tireless and sustained . It has been growing increasingly hard to repel relentless enemy attacks.
Transitory (adj) — temporary, passing, having short duration. This new fashion trend is only transitory.
Mediocrity (n) — state of being of average quality (usually has negative meaning). The drama class teacher said that he will not tolerate mediocrity on the stage.
Timing (n) — process of regulating action to happen in a certain succession or at one time. The timing was perfect — as soon as the teacher asked me to come to the board, the class came to an end.
Consensus (n) — state of agreement, unison. The sides were unable to reach a consensus despite having spend over ten hours negotiating.
Prevail (v) — to win or dominate. Our school team prevailed in the finals.
Prophecy (n) — a message that is believed to tell the future. The events we saw had been described in an old prophecy.
PART 7
Hail as (phr) — to acknowledge. Our school band is hailed as the best in the state.
Squeezed (adj) — packed tightly. Ten people squeezed into one small apartment was not the best of ideas.
Precocious (adj) — developed ahead of time. His precocious success was a pleasant surprise for all of us.
Prompt (v) — here: to provoke or trigger. Peter’s unusual views prompted a heated debate in class.
Pastel (adj) — calm and restrained; pale, delicate. Pastel paintings are not going to brighten up your flat’s bleak interior.
Early-blooming (adj) — developing quickly and at an early stage.
Relish (v) — to enjoy something. I relished the rare opportunity to go away from my colleagues.
Huddle (v) — to gather into a crowd. People huddled at a bus stop.
PART 8
Inquiry (n) — a formal request for information; a question. .
Dissemination (n) — distribution. Dissemination of this knowledge is important if we want to reach our objectives.
Deem (v) — to believe or consider. The defendant’s arguments were deemed sufficient by the judge.
Peer (v) — person of the same age group. Children at school often feel that it is important to seek approval of their peers.
Codify v) — to turn into a code or cypher.
Speculation (n) — a process of making assumptions not based on any confirmed facts or information. There’s a lot of speculation on whether the criminal is in fact guilty.
Imperative (adj) — necessary or important. It is imperative that you go to him immediately.
Empowered (adj) — given ability or right. Women of today feel more empowered because of the feminism trends.
Level (v) — make even or equal.
Gulf (n) — here: gap, empty space. The gulf between the rich and the poor is as wide as ever.
Tentative (adj) — experimental, careful. My tentative attempts at private teaching proved to be very fruitful.
Compelling (adj) — arousing strong interest. The reasons to start your own business can be quite compelling.
Controversy (n) — argument or debate, usually about something there is a strong disagreement about.
Gloss smth. over (phr) — If you gloss something over, you try to make it look better than it really is. The government is trying to gloss over the current retirement fund shortage issues.
Bemoan (v) — to grieve over something, to mourn.
Disquieting (adj) — causing anxiety or uneasiness. Disquieting news of a war in the bordering country.
Intimidated by (v) — discouraged or frightened by something. You shouldn’t feel intimidated by the graduation exams.
Click to download this CAE Reading and Use of English worksheet in PDF