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READING PASSAGE 1 Otter A) Otters have long, thin bodies and short legs – ideal for pushing through dense undergrowth or hunting in tunnels. An adult male may be up to 4 feet long and 30lbs. Females are smaller typically. The Eurasian otter’s nose is about the smallest among the otter species and has a characteristic shape described as a shallow ‘W’. An otter’s tail (or rudder, or stern) is stout at the base and tapers towards the tip where it flattens. This forms part of the propulsion unit when swimming fast underwater. Otter fur consists of two types of…

READING PASSAGE 1 New Agriculture in Oregon, US A) Onion growers in eastern Oregon are adopting a system that saves water and keeps topsoil in place while producing the highest quality “super-colossal” onions. Pear growers in southern Oregon have reduced their use of some of the most toxic pesticides by up to two-thirds, and are still producing top-quality pear. Range managers throughout the state have controlled the poisonous weed tansy ragwort with insect predators and saved the Oregon livestock industry up to $4.8 million a year. B) These are some of the results Oregon growers have achieved in collaboration with…

READING PASSAGE 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. Rainwater Harvesting For two years southern Sri Lanka suffered a prolonged drought, described by locals as “the worst in 50 years”. Some areas didn’t see a successful crop for four or five consecutive seasons. Livestock died, water in wells dropped to dangerously low levels, children were increasingly malnourished and school attendance has fallen. An estimated 1.6 million people were affected. A) Muthukandiya is a village in Moneragala district, one of the drought-stricken areas in the “dry zone” of southern Sri Lanka, where half the country’s population…

READING PASSAGE 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. World Ecotourism in the developing countries A) The Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as “a responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people”. It is recognised as being particularly conducive to enriching and enhancing the standing of tourism, on the basis that this form of tourism respects the natural heritage and local populations and are in keeping with the carrying capacity of the sites. B) Cuba Cuba is undoubtedly an obvious site for ecotourism, with its picturesque…

READING PASSAGE 1 Voyage of Going: beyond the blue line 2 A) One feels a certain sympathy for Captain James Cook on the day in 1778 that he “discovered” Hawaii. Then on his third expedition to the Pacific, the British navigator had explored scores of islands across the breadth of the sea, from lush New Zealand to the lonely wastes of Easter Island. This latest voyage had taken him thousands of miles north from the Society Islands to an archipelago so remote that even the old Polynesians back on Tahiti knew nothing about it. Imagine Cook’s surprise, then, when the natives…

READING PASSAGE 1 Bondi Beach A) Bondi Beach, Australia’s most famous beach, is located in the suburb of Bondi, in the Local Government Area of Waverley, seven kilometers from the centre of Sydney. “Bondi” or “Boondi” is an Aboriginal word meaning water breaking over rocks or the sound of breaking waves. The Australian Museum records that Bondi means a place where a flight of nullas took place. There are Aboriginal Rock carving on the northern end of the beach at Ben Buckler and south of Bondi Beach near McKenzies Beach on the coastal walk. B) The indigenous people of the…

READING PASSAGE 1 The Cacao: a Sweet History A Chapter 1 Most people today think of chocolate as something sweet to eat or drink that can be easily found in stores around the world. It might surprise you that chocolate was once highly treasured. The tasty secret of the cacao (Kah Kow) tree was discovered 2,000 years ago in the tropical rainforests of the Americas. The story of how chocolate grew from a local Mesoamerican beverage into a global sweet encompasses many cultures and continents. B Chapter 2 Historians believe the Maya people of Central America first learned to farm cacao plants…

READING PASSAGE 1 Andrea Palladio. Italian architect A new exhibition celebrates Palladio’s architecture 500 years on A) Vicenza is a pleasant, prosperous city in the Veneto, 60km west of Venice. Its grand families settled and farmed the area from the 16th century. But its principal claim to fame is Andrea Palladio, who is such an influential architect that a neoclassical style is known as Palladian. The city is a permanent exhibition of some of his finest buildings, and as he was born – in Padua, to be precise – 500 years ago, the International Centre for the Study of Palladio’s Architecture has an excellent excuse for…

SECTION 1 Questions 1-14 Summer activities at London’s Kew Gardens A) Climb up to the walkway among the trees, 18 metres above the ground, for a spectacular experience. Feel as tall as the trees and enjoy a bird’s-eye view over the gardens. B) The Nash Conservatory displays stunning images from leading wildlife photographer Heather Angel. Each photograph explores the wealth of biodiversity at Kew Gardens, from foxes to birds, tiny insects to towering trees. C) A world of pollination comes to life in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. Find yourself in a tropical environment whilst walking through clouds of colourful…

SECTION 1 Questions 1-14 Sustainable School Travel Strategy Over the last 20 years, the number of children being driven to school in England has doubled. National data suggests that one in five cars on the road at 8.50 am is engaged in the school run. Children are subject to up to 3.9 times more pollution in a car that is standing in traffic than when walking or cycling to school. Reducing cars around schools makes them safer places, and walking and cycling are better for health and the environment. It has been noted by teachers that children engaging in active…