Student name: …………………………………………

Reading passage 1
Alternative Energy Sources
A. Alternative energy sources are being pursued for a variety of reasons. Many countries have
signed the Kyoto Protocol, making measures to reduce pollutants and greenhouse gases a top
priority in today's culture. Alternative, or renewable, energy sources hold a lot of promise for
reducing the quantity of pollutants produced as a result of energy use. Alternative energy not
only protects against unwanted by-products, but it also helps to maintain many of the natural
resources that we now utilise as energy sources. It's crucial to know what sorts of alternative
energy are available in order to comprehend how they can assist protect the planet's delicate
ecological balance and conserve non-renewable energy sources like fossil fuels.
B. Alternative energy sources are constantly replaced, non-polluting resources. They are not
caused by fossil fuel combustion or atom splitting. Utilisation of renewable energy helps
supplement our energy supply. Alternative energy sources include biomass energy, geothermal
energy, hydroelectric power, solar power, wind power, fuel cells, ocean thermal energy
conversion, tidal energy, and wave energy.
C. Biomass is a type of renewable energy derived from organic matter. Wood, forest and mill
leftovers, animal waste, cereals, agricultural crops, and aquatic plants are all examples of
biomass fuels. These materials are used as fuel to heat water for steam generation or are
processed into liquids and gases that can be burned to achieve the same result. By 2020, the
United States could generate up to four-and-a-half times more biopower thanks to increased
biomass use, cheaper production costs, and improved technology. It is predicted that biomass
would grow at the fastest rate among renewable energy sources, increasing by 80 percent to
65.7 billion KW by 2020.
D. Geothermal energy extracts heat from the earth's interior. To deliver the hot water or steam to
the surface, wells are bored into geothermal reservoirs. In geothermal facilities, the steam drives
a turbine-generator, which generates energy. This heat is used to heat homes and greenhouses in
some regions, as well as to supply processed heat for businesses and industries. Iceland's
capital, Reykjavik, is heated by geothermal energy. The majority of geothermal resources are
found in the western United States. Geothermal heat pumps heat and cool homes by tapping
into shallow earth energy, and they may be used practically anyplace. Much more power could
be generated from hydrothermal resources with technical advancements. Scientists have been
experimenting with geothermal power plants by pumping water into the hot, dry rock 3-6 miles
beneath the earth's surface.
E. Hydroelectric (hydropower) energy is produced by driving turbine-generators with the force of
falling water. Hydroelectricity generates more electricity than any other renewable energy
source. Estimates indicate that hydroelectric power in the United States will decrease from 389
billion KW in 1999 to 298 billion KW in 2020. The majority of the best hydropower sites have
already been developed, and there are concerns about the environmental impact of large-scale
hydroelectric installations, therefore this decline is anticipated.
F. Solar power is produced without the use of a turbine or an electromagnet. Photovoltaic cells on
special panels catch sunlight and convert it directly into electricity. A battery is used to store the
electricity. Solar energy can also be utilised to heat domestic water directly (solar thermal
technology). The domestic photovoltaic (PV) industry might supply up to 15% of the new peak
electricity capacity required in the United States by 2020.
G. Electricity can be generated using wind energy. The blades of a windmill spin when wind blows
past them. The shaft connected to the blades rotates, powering a pump or turning a generator to

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 generate electricity. After that, electricity is stored in batteries. The amount of energy that can
be produced is determined by the wind speed and the size of the blades. In windier areas of the
country, wind energy is more efficient. The majority of wind energy is generated by wind
farms, which are enormous clusters of turbines positioned in reliably windy areas. Wind as a
source of energy is both free and non-polluting, with no emissions or chemical waste. Wind-
generated electricity is becoming more prevalent.
H. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that use a chemical reaction to generate power. Fuel cells
are rechargeable, have no moving parts, are quiet, and have no moving parts. Scientists are
investigating how they could be utilised as a power source for almost-emission-free autos and
as electricity-generating plants. The exorbitant cost of producing fuel cells has kept this
important energy source from becoming widely used.
I. Ocean sources; Oceans, which span more than 70% of the earth's surface, contain both thermal
and mechanical energy from the sun's heat and tides and waves. Solar radiation is converted to
electricity by ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). To create electricity, OTEC power
plants employ the temperature difference between warm surface waters heated by the sun and
colder waters found at ocean depths. The energy of the tides can also be used to generate
electricity. The power of changing tides is harnessed via tidal energy, but considerable tidal
variances are required. The tidal process makes use of the tides' natural motion to fill reservoirs,
which are then progressively emptied through electricity-generating turbines. Wave energy
conversion takes energy from surface waves, pressure variations beneath the water's surface, or
the entire wave. The interaction of winds with the ocean surface is also used in wave energy. In
the United States, this technology is still in the early stages of development.
Questions 1-2
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A - K, as your answer to each question.
1. Geothermal Energy is produced by
A. Warming the air beneath the ground surface
B. Utilising the kinetic energy of falling water
C. The extraction of water steam from the earth’s subsurface
D. Utilising the earth’s inherent energy
2. The most significant barrier of creating one of these energy sources is
A. Expense
B. Amount of energy dissipated
C. Electricity
D. Fuel cell energy

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Questions 3-7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
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 in the passage
3. Alternative Energy sources have multiple applications.
Answer:
4. At Least one of these alternative energy sources needs fossil fuels.
Answer:
5. The disbursement is the minor factor that is an obstacle to developing one of these forms of
energy.
Answer:
6. Alternative energy with the highest efficiency is Wind Power.
Answer:
7. There are numerous sources to generate Wave Energy.
Answer:
Questions 8-13
Complete the sentences.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/ OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
8. By utilising Alternative energy sources, we can reduce the __________ generated by
conventional energy sources.
9. We currently use __________ as part of our power source, in addition to fossil fuels and atom-
splitting.
10. Biomass is a type of renewable energy that comes from __________.
11. The renewable energy that originates from the earth's interior is known as __________.
12. The __________ of manufacturing is one of the reasons why fuel cells aren't extensively used.
13. __________ alternative energy source does not utilise turbines.

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Reading passage 2
The Meaning and Power of Smell
A. A survey conducted by Anthony Synott at Montreal’s Concordia University asked participants
to comment on how important smell was to them in their lives. It became apparent that smell
can evoke strong emotional responses. A scent associated with a good experience can bring a
rush of joy, while a foul odour or one associated with a bad memory may make us grimace with
disgust. Respondents to the survey noted that many of their olfactory likes and dislikes were
based on emotional associations. Such associations can be powerful enough so that odours that
we would generally label unpleasant become agreeable, and those that we would generally
consider fragrant become disagreeable for particular individuals. The perception of smell,
therefore, consists not only of the sensation of the odours themselves but of the experiences and
emotions associated with them.
B. Odours are also essential cues in social bonding. One respondent to the survey believed that
there is no true emotional bonding without touching and smelling a loved one. In fact, infants
recognize the odours of their mothers soon after birth and adults can often identify their
children or spouses by scent. In one well-known test, women and men were able to distinguish
by smell-alone clothing worn by their marriage partners from similar clothing worn by other
people. Most of the subjects would probably never have given much thought to odour as a cue
for identifying family members before being involved in the test, but as the experiment
revealed, even when not consciously considered, smells register.
C. In spite of its importance to our emotional and sensory lives, smell is probably the most
undervalued sense in many cultures. The reason often given for the low regard in which smell is
held is that, in comparison with its importance among animals, the human sense of smell is
feeble and undeveloped. While it is true that the olfactory powers of humans are nothing like as
fine as those possessed by certain animals, they are still remarkably acute. Our noses are able to
recognize thousands of smells and to perceive odours that are present only in extremely small
quantities.
D. Smell, however, is a highly elusive phenomenon. Odours, unlike colours, for instance, cannot
be named in many languages because the specific vocabulary simply doesn’t exist. ‘It smells
like . . . ,’ we have to say when describing an odour, struggling to express our olfactory
experience. Nor can odours be recorded: there is no effective way to either capture or store them
over time. In the realm of olfaction, we must make do with descriptions and recollections. This
has implications for olfactory research.
E. Most of the research on smell undertaken to date has been of a physical scientific nature.
Significant advances have been made in the understanding of the biological and chemical nature
of olfaction, but many fundamental questions have yet to be answered. Researchers have still to
decide whether the smell is one sense or two - one responding to odours properly and the other
registering odourless chemicals in the air. Other unanswered questions are whether the nose is
the only part of the body affected by odours, and how smells can be measured objectively given
the nonphysical components. Questions like these mean that interest in the psychology of smell
is inevitably set to play an increasingly important role for researchers.
F. However, the smell is not simply a biological and psychological phenomenon. The smell is
cultural, hence it is a social and historical phenomenon. Odours are invested with cultural
values: smells that are considered to be offensive in some cultures may be perfectly acceptable
in others. Therefore, our sense of smell is a means of, and model for, interacting with the world.

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 Different smells can provide us with intimate and emotionally charged experiences and the
value that we attach to these experiences is interiorised by the members of society in a deeply
personal way. Importantly, our commonly held feelings about smells can help distinguish us
from other cultures. The study of the cultural history of smell is, therefore, in a very real sense,
an investigation into the essence of human culture.
Questions 14-19
The reading passage has three paragraphs, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-vi, as your answer to each question.
List of Headings
i. The difficulties of talking about smells
ii. The role of smell in personal relationships
iii. Future studies into smell
iv. The relationship between the brain and the nose
v. The interpretation of smells as a factor in defining groups
vi. Why our sense of smell is not appreciated
vii. Smell is our superior sense
viii. The relationship between smell and feelings
14. Paragraph A:
15. Paragraph B:
16. Paragraph C:
17. Paragraph D:
18. Paragraph E:
19. Paragraph F:
Questions 20-23
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
20. According to the introduction, we become aware of the importance of smell when
A. we discover a new smell.
B. we experience a powerful smell.
C. our ability to smell is damaged.
D. we are surrounded by odours.
21. The experiment described in paragraph B
A. shows how we make use of smell without realising it.
B. demonstrates that family members have a similar smell.
C. proves that a sense of smell is learnt.

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 D. compares the sense of smell in males and females.
22. What is the writer doing in paragraph C?
A. Supporting other research
B. Making a proposal
C. Rejecting a common belief
D. Describing limitations
23. What does the writer suggest about the study of smell in the atmosphere in paragraph E?
A. The measurement of smell is becoming more accurate.
B. Researchers believe smell is a purely physical reaction.
C. Most smells are inoffensive.
D. Smell is yet to be defined.
Questions 24-26
Complete the sentences using ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer
24. Tests have shown that odours can help people recognise the ___________ belonging to their
husbands and wives.
25. Certain linguistic groups may have difficulty describing smell because they lack the
appropriate __________
26. The sense of smell may involve response to _________ which do not smell, in addition to
obvious odours.