Part 1
Deep Sea Discovery
Deep Sea Discovery
A Nico Michiels is an ecologist from the University of Tübingen in Germany who spends part of each year in Egypt, where he dives in the Red Sea, observing fish life and gathering data on its coral reefs. In September 2007 he decided to find out how far red light could penetrate the ocean depths. Seawater absorbs different colours at different depths, and as an experienced diver, Michiels was aware that red light is extinguished not far below the surface whereas blue-green light penetrates deeper. To find out the depth at which red disappeared in this particular ocean, however, he attached a special plastic filter to his dive mask which was designed to block out all colours except red. Then he began to descend. In theory, once he reached about 15 metres, he should have been plunged into darkness. Instead, something totally unexpected happened. Sure enough, 20 metres down it was as dark as night. "All the fish disappeared. With no light from the surface, they were effectively black and had become invisible," he says. "But it didn’t stay black for long. Then I saw a group of goby fish with bright red eyes lit up against the background. After that red spots began to show up all over the reef."
B Even with the red filter removed, Michiels could pick them out without much trouble once his eyes grew accustomed to the gloom. It seems strange that no diver or researcher had spotted all this red before, but as Michiels points out, no one saw it because no one expected to see it. On that one dive Michiels discovered three fish species with prominent red markings, and has found many others since.
C But how can fish appear red where there’s no red light? Ordinary red pigments look red because they reflect red light while absorbing all other wavelengths. At 20 metres down, there had to be some other explanation for the red Michiels was seeing. He suspected fluorescence. Fluorescent pigments behave differently from ordinary ones: they receive incoming light of one wavelength, for example blue, and emit light of a longer wavelength, in this case red. On the reef in the Red Sea during daytime, the most likely explanation was that the predominantly blue and green wavelengths at depth triggered the emission of fluorescent red in the fish.
D With only a week left in Egypt, and lacking the equipment to confirm that the fish were fluorescent, Michiels photographed as many of them as he could. Then once back in Germany, he bought an assortment of tropical fish and installed them in his lab. Here he confirmed that the fish did indeed fluoresce. In most of the fish he looked at, the fluorescence could be traced to specialised pigment cells that lie in the skin beneath the scales. These cells contain "guanine crystals", which scatter light to give fish their silvery sheen. However, Michiels says they are still not sure exactly what is fluorescing. "It’s not the crystals themselves. It’s probably a fluorescent protein built into the crystals, and we have a suspicion that it might be made by bacteria."
E Intrigued, Michiels began a systematic search for red fluorescence in reef fish. He and his colleagues, Nils Anthes and Dennis Sprenger, have identified some 50 species with red fluorescence. The most common markings tend to be on the body towards the head and to a lesser extent around the eyes, and then the fins. To Michiels, the distribution of these markings is one of the strongest indications that red fluorescence has a very particular function: communication with other members of the species. According to several recent studies, a whole range of animals employ fluorescence as a natural highlighter to boost the visibility of body parts they use to signal, for example to ward off enemies. In reef fish, the red tends to be confined to parts of the body used to signal, suggesting these markings serve a similar function. But instead of highlighting an existing colour, the fluorescence gives the fish a colour that otherwise wouldn’t exist. For example, fish commonly use eye rings to signal that they are present and their direction of gaze, and Michiels suspects that red-eyed gobies use signals to indicate their location and keep their group together.
F Red light, whatever its source, doesn’t travel far through water, which suggests signals are intended to be private, seen only by nearby fish of the right species. There are several lines of evidence to support this, says Michiels. And closely related species do not have completely identical markings, which suggests they might be important in species recognition.
G Michiels suspects red fluorescence has another important role for some reef fish: helping them blend in. During his first dive with the red filter, he noticed corals glow a dark but faint red too. Against this irregular red background, a fish that glows red all over would be hard to distinguish. More compelling for Michiels is the case of the scorpionfish, which lies perfectly still until food swims past which it then sucks in.
H Yet if red plays any part in a fish’s life then it must be able to see it. Fish that live in a world dominated by blue-green light are assumed to have eyes tuned to those wavelengths, and most marine fish that have been studied are thought incapable of seeing red. One exception is the seahorse, whose eyes are sensitive to red. As for the other fish, it remains to be seen.
* Pigments: a pigment is a substance that gives something a particular colour.
Questions 1--6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
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. During his 2007 dive, Michiels expected to encounter total darkness at about 15 metres.
2. Michiels could see the red markings on fish without the aid of the red filter.
3. Other divers had assumed they would see fish with red markings.
4. All the fish with red markings that Michiels found during his diving expeditions came from the Red Sea.
5. Michiels first thought of the possibility that fish could fluoresce while he was in Germany.
6. Michiels remains uncertain as to what creates fluorescence in fish.
Questions 7--13
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Michiels’s Findings
Michiels has observed:
- 50 types of fish with red fluorescence in total
- Markings mainly near the 7
Some of Michiels’s beliefs are that:
- Red fluorescence is used specifically for 8 purposes.
- Fish, like some animals, use fluorescence to keep 9 away.
- Gobies depend on red fluorescence to show their 10.
- There are variations in the markings of fish among those 11 which are very similar.
Other benefits of red fluorescence:
- Fish cannot easily be seen near backgrounds of 12 which give off a red light.
- Helps some fish catch their prey.
The ability to see red amongst fish:
- The only fish proven to have this ability is the 13.
Part 2
Roller Coaster: The Great Fairground Attraction
Roller Coaster: The Great Fairground Attraction
How They Move
Like a passenger train, a roller coaster consists of a series of connected cars that move on a track. But unlike a passenger train, it has no engine or power source of its own. For most of the ride, it is moved only by the forces of inertia and gravity. The only exertion of energy occurs at the very beginning of the ride when the coaster train is pulled up the lift hill.
The traditional lifting mechanism is a long length of chain running up the hill under the track. The chain is fastened in a loop, which is wound around a gear at the top of the hill and another one at the bottom of the hill. The gear at the bottom of the hill is turned by a motor. This turns the chain so that it continually moves up the hill like a long conveyor belt. The coaster cars grip onto the chain, which simply pulls them to the top of the hill. At the summit, the train is released and starts its descent.
The purpose of this initial ascent is to build up a sort of reservoir of potential energy, which simply means that as the coaster gets higher in the air, there is a greater distance gravity can pull it down.
As the train starts coasting down the hill, this potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, or energy of motion, and the train speeds up. At the bottom of the hill, this has reached its maximum, and this propels the train up the second hill, again building up the potential energy level.
In this way, the course of the track is constantly converting energy from kinetic to potential and back again. This fluctuation in acceleration is what makes roller coasters so much fun. At its most basic level, this is all a roller coaster is -- a machine that uses gravity and inertia to send a train along a winding track.
Coasting Through History
Roller coasters have a long, fascinating history. Their direct ancestors were ice slides, popular in Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries. They consisted of a long, steep, wooden slide covered in ice. Riders walked up a ladder or set of stairs to the top of the slide, as high as 21 metres up. At the top, they climbed into sleds made out of wood or blocks of ice and shot down the slope. At the base of the slide, the sleds would crash-land in a sand pile.
It seems that the idea was then imported into France. For most of the year, the warmer climate would melt the ice, so the French started building waxed slides instead. To help the sleds move down these slides, they added wheels, and in 1817, for the first time, a train was attached to the track. The French continued to expand on this idea, coming up with more complex track layouts, with multiple cars and all sorts of twists and turns.
The first American roller coaster was built in the mountains of Pennsylvania in the mid-1800s, originally to provide an easy way to send coal to the railway 29 kilometres down the mountain. When the track was first built, a crew at the bottom of the mountain would attach the cart to a team of mules after emptying the load, and the mules would drag it back up to the top. They were eventually replaced with steam engines, to make the system more efficient.
Soon after these improvements were made, the railway company built a new tunnel that brought the freight trains much closer to the coal mine. Now no longer required for its original purpose, the roller coaster was configured as a "scenic tour". For one dollar, tourists got a leisurely ride up to the top of the mountain, followed by a wild, bumpy ride straight down. This was soon a resounding success, attracting thousands of tourists every year.
Scenic rides like this continued to thrive and were joined by wooden roller coasters similar to the ones we know today. These coasters were the main attraction at popular amusement parks throughout the United States, such as the many parks of Coney Island in New York. By the 1920s, roller coasters were in full swing, with some 2,000 rides in operation around the country.
Following the Great Depression, a decline in roller coaster production began in the early 1930s, but a second roller-coaster boom in the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s revitalised the amusement park industry, and introduced a slew of innovative tubular steel coasters.
This was followed by a decline in interest for the rest of the decade, but since the early 1990s, the amusement-park industry has experienced another coaster boom of sorts. New launching techniques and other technological developments have opened up a world of options for designers, so in some rides you feel as if you are flying. In the next few years we can expect to see many faster, taller and more twisted rides popping up in amusement parks around the world.
Questions 14--16
Complete the labels below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Lifting Mechanism of a Roller Coaster
14. Long loop running up the hill, gripped by the coaster cars: 14
15. Toothed wheel at the bottom of the hill: 15
16. Machine that turns the wheel at the bottom of the hill: 16
Questions 17--21
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
History of Roller Coasters
Modern roller coasters are descended from 16th-century Russian slides with a surface of 17. People climbed to the top and travelled down in sleds. In France, because of the higher temperatures, the wooden surface on the slides was 18 and 19 were attached to the cars to ease the descent.
The first US roller coaster was used for transporting 20 down a mountainside in carts. Initially, these were pulled by mules, but in time power was produced by 21.
Questions 22--26
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
22. The earliest modifications to the basic slide were made in France.
23. Roller coasters continued to increase in popularity throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
24. New roller coaster technology was introduced in the 1970s in response to public demand.
25. Roller coasters were less popular for most of the 1980s than in the 1970s and 1990s.
26. The design of roller-coaster rides became more varied in the 1990s.
Part 3
Rebranding Art Museums
Rebranding Art Museums
A As anyone with even a passing interest in cultural institutions will know, art museums are adapting to keep up with changes in society. Do any of these newly developed spaces indicate a fundamental shift in the ways we engage with art at the beginning of the twenty-first century? The answer is a qualified Yes and also, it must be said, No. A clear sense of this can be gained by considering the 2003 redevelopment of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, in the light of the aspirations embodied in the original building that served as its template.
B The first building was considered a thoroughly modern museum when it opened to the public in 1968. We should not forget that it was also bold, entrepreneurial and innovative in ways that have done great credit to the vision and foresight of the architect, Roy Grounds. For one thing, the 1968 building signalled a strong sense of engagement with Asian and Pacific cultures, both in its architecture and through the layout of its collections. Its entrance lobby was designed to facilitate the rapid and efficient circulation of visitors. It also contained a series of greatly expanded temporary exhibition galleries and a vast Great Hall, which represented an unprecedented emphasis on the ancillary roles of corporate functions and public performances in the contemporary museum.
C This last feature might have seemed excessive to some, yet how wise it has proven over the years as museums have come to place increasing emphasis on corporate sponsorship, and on the need to generate additional funds via room hire. Furthermore, the Great Hall has for forty years provided an area for children to roam at large before being escorted through the much less spatially accommodating galleries themselves. As an unintimidating introduction to the lifelong rigours of visiting art museums, its impact on attendance cannot be overestimated.
D At the same time, other aspects of the 1968 NGV have not withstood the test of time so well. Foremost among these are the huge expanse of the exterior’s windowless wall and the surrounding moat, which creates a rather unwelcoming expression of the museum as a temple of culture set apart from the everyday world. Over time, this idea has been questioned, and has been superseded by the growing impetus towards the alternative model of the museum as a more open-ended and visitor-friendly forum that engages the public more effectively.
E With these considerations in mind, Mario Bellini’s redeveloped NGV opened in 2003 and his design reflects what the new, improved, twenty-first century global museum feels it should be emphasising to its visitors. Here the institution’s energies are focused, not so much on the technical subtleties of how to design the galleries themselves, as on presenting to the public a spectacular image of the museum itself as a welcoming yet efficient facilitator of social interaction, popular entertainment and public knowledge. All of this is certainly impressive, but where has the art gone? We are not allowed to see the exhibitions until we have completed the necessary inductions. We are greeted by a hugely expanded cloakroom screening off our vision to the right, followed by a large visitor information office leading to the ticket booths. Above us is the cafe and to our left we cannot escape the NGV shop set alongside the exit.
F And what of the redesigned galleries themselves? In fact, they represent a wonderfully elegant reframing of the permanent collections in ways that should offer first-time visitors and seasoned members alike many new avenues for engagement in the years to come. But herein lies the conundrum posed by the NGV renovation and by the global sweep of new museum projects more generally. The mainstay elements of a permanent collection can become all too easily lost in the increased prominence that these rebranding exercises tend to place on the more glamorously spectacular aspects of the institution itself. At its most extreme, this results in the construction of new buildings that supplant the artworks inside them to become the major attractions themselves.
G These challenges are most keenly felt in the area of the temporary exhibition. Entrance to the NGV permanent collection is now free, so the NGV needs something to keep the paying public coming back. The answer lies in the international "blockbuster" exhibition. The Impressionists, for example, netted a total of 380,000 visitors, making it one of the most popular exhibitions in Australian history. There has also been, it needs to be said, a commendable attempt to leave the international masterpieces with selected highlights from the permanent collection. Overall, though, the prevalence of these "rental" blockbusters cannot but help introduce a certain "off the rack" feeling to the institution’s exhibition programme. More importantly perhaps, they clearly narrow the options for other worthy but less glamorous projects, and they take energy away from the curators’ potential to do further work on and around the permanent collection itself.
H Yet the show must go on, and shows can’t exist without the public. Even the most adroit organisation, as the NGV assuredly is, needs to be able to juggle numerous, often conflicting priorities: the need to advance scholarship, on the one hand, versus the imperative of access on the other; the need to introduce audiences to new areas, versus the necessity of luring them in with instant brand recognition. Nobody said it was going to be easy, and the effect of too much innovation in museums can be disastrous.
Questions 27--30
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
27. What is the writer doing in paragraph A?
28. The writer criticises the old NGV because
29. What does the writer notice about the new NGV?
30. The writer argues that rental "blockbuster" exhibitions
Questions 31--35
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
31. Roy Grounds’s design failed to recognise the importance of functions and performances in museums.
32. Mario Bellini’s new NGV rejects international museum design trends.
33. Mario Bellini’s work on subsequent museum projects has been less successful than that on the NGV.
34. The NGV monitors the number of first-time visitors to permanent collections.
35. Too much change may have negative impacts on museums.
Questions 36--40
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A--G, below.
List of Endings
A. The museum programme will lose its individuality.
B. The museum will lose credibility.
C. The art loses its importance.
D. It will have to balance opposing demands.
E. This will encourage museum visitors in the future.
F. It will have the capability of increasing revenue.
G. The architect’s reputation might suffer.
36. If a large space is available in the museum,
36
37. If children are allowed to move freely in parts of the gallery,
37
38. If too much emphasis is placed on the museum building itself,
38
39. If there is an over-reliance on "blockbuster" exhibitions,
39
40. If the NGV wants to continue to be successful,
40