READING

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READING
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1–13, which are based on the reading passage
on pages 2 and 3.
Listening to the Ocean
The results of some recent research answer some long-standing questions
A The oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the planet's surface, yet until quite recently we
knew less about their depths than about the surface of the Moon. The Moon has been far more
accessible to study because astronomers have long been able to look at its surface, first with
the naked eye and then with the telescope, both instruments that focus light. Until the twentieth
century, however, no instruments were available for the study of Earth's oceans: light, which
can travel trillions of kilometers through the vast vacuum of space, cannot penetrate very far in
seawater.
B It turns out that for penetrating water the best instrument is sound. Curious investigators have
long been fascinated by sound and the way it travels in water. As early as 1490, the artist and
scientist Leonardo da Vinci observed: If you cause your ship to stop and place the head of a
long tube in the water and place the outer extremity to your ear, you will hear ships at a great
distance from you.' It was not until 1826 that two scientists, Colladon and Sturm, accurately
measured the speed of sound in water. Using a long tube to listen under water (as da Vinci had
suggested), they recorded how fast the sound of a submerged bell traveled across Lake
Geneva in Switzerland. What these investigators demonstrated was that water is an excellent
medium for sound, transmitting it almost five times faster than its speed in air.
C A number of factors influence how far sound travels under water and how long it lasts, including
particles, salinity, temperature and pressure. Particles in seawater can reflect, scatter and
absorb certain frequencies of sound, just as certain wavelengths of light may be reflected,
scattered and absorbed by specific types of particles in the atmosphere. In 1943, Maurice
Ewing and J L Worzel conducted an experiment to test the theory that low frequency waves,
which are less vulnerable than higher frequencies to scattering and absorption, should be able
to travel great distances, if the sound source is placed correctly. The researchers set off an
underwater explosion and learned that it was detected easily by receivers 3,200 kilometers
away. In analyzing the results of this test, they discovered a kind of sound pipeline, known as
the deep sound channel. Sound introduced into this channel of water could travel thousands of
kilometers with minimal loss of signal.
D The US Navy was quick to appreciate the usefulness of low-frequency sound and the deep
sound channel. They developed the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS), which involved
underwater microphones, called hydrophones, that were placed on the ocean bottom and
connected by cables to onshore processing centers. It was Christopher Clark of Cornell
University who soon realised that SOSUS could be used to listen to whales. Using a SOSUS
receiver in the West Indies, he could hear whales that were 1,770 kilometers away.
E Whales are the biggest of Earth's creatures, yet these animals are r also remarkably elusive.
Scientists wishing to observe blue whales must simply wait in their ships for the whales to
surface. A few whales have been tracked briefly in the wild in this way but not for very great
distances, and much about them remains unknown. But by using SOSUS, scientists can track
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the whales and position them on a map. Moreover, they can track not just one whale at a lime,
but many creatures simultaneously. They can also learn to distinguish whale calls; researchers
have detected changes in the calls of finback whales as the seasons change, and have found
that blue whales in different regions of the Pacific Ocean have different calls.
F SOSUS has also proved instrumental in obtaining information crucial to our understanding of
climate. The system has enabled researchers to begin making ocean temperature
measurements on a global scale, measurements that are key to understanding the workings of
heat transfer between the ocean and the atmosphere. The ocean plays an enormous role in
determining air temperature - the heat capacity in only the upper few meters of ocean is
thought to be equal to all of the heat in the entire atmosphere. For sound waves traveling
horizontally in the ocean, speed is largely a function of temperature. Thus, the travel time of a
wave of sound between two points is a sensitive indicator of the average temperature along its
path. Transmitting sound in numerous directions through the deep sound channel can give
scientists measurements spanning vast areas of the globe. Thousands of sound paths in the
ocean can be pieced together into a map of global ocean temperatures, and by repeating
measurements along the same paths over time, scientists can track changes in temperature
over months or years.
G Researchers are also using other acoustic techniques to monitor climate. Oceanographer Jeff
Nystuen, for example, has explored the use of sound to measure rainfall over the ocean.
Monitoring changing global rainfall patterns will contribute to understanding major climate
change as well as the weather phenomenon known as El Nino. Since 1985, Nystuen has used
hydrophones to listen to rain over the ocean, acoustically measuring not only the rainfall rate
but also the rainfall type, ranging from drizzle to thunderstorms. By using the sound of rain
under water as a 'natural' rain gauge, the measurement of rainfall over the oceans will become
available to climatologists. In this way, modern society continues to benefit from the
investigations of those who, like Leonardo da Vinci, pursued the answers to some basic
questions of nature.
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Questions 1–4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
In boxes 1–4 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 In the past, it was easier for scientists to study the Moon than the oceans.
2 Techniques for investigating the Moon are the same as techniques for researching the ocean.
3 Measuring temperature changes in the ocean using sound is more time-consuming than other
methods.
4 Hydrophones can distinguish different kinds of rain.
Questions 5–8
The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A–G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–G, in boxes 5–8 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
5 examples of things that affect the distance sound can travel in water
6 details of the connection between ocean temperatures and climate
7 details of ways in which light and sound are similar
8 reference to a long-term study of different types of weather
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Questions 9–13
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 9–13 on your answer sheet.
9 According to the passage, who conducted research into the rate at which sound travels in
water?
A Leonardo da Vinci
B Colladon and Sturm
C Ewing and Worzel
D Jeff Nystuen
10 According to the passage, who conducted research into the distances certain types of sound
waves travel in water?
A Leonardo da Vinci
B Colladon and Sturm
C Ewing and Worzel
D Christopher Clark
11 SOSUS allows whale researchers to

A follow a number of whales at the same time.
B protect whales as they migrate.
C imitate whale calls of different species.
D change the whales' direction of travel.
12 Finback whale calls change

A when scientists track them.
B at different times of year.
C when whales communicate with other species.
D when whales come to the surface.
13 SOSUS allows scientists to

A make accurate maps of the ocean floor.
B measure water level changes.
C investigate ocean currents.
D measure variations in temperature.

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2

Listening to the Ocean

The results of some recent research answer some long-standing questions

In boxes 1–4 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A–G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

NB You may use any letter more than once.

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes 9–13 on your answer sheet.

11 SOSUS allows whale researchers to

12 Finback whale calls change

13 SOSUS allows scientists to

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