PRACTICE IELTS READING TEST 13 WITH ANSWERS
READING PASSAGE 1
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 ,
which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Animal Minds: Parrot Alex
B When Pepperberg
began her dialogue with Alex, who died last September at the age of 31, many
scientists believed animals were incapable of any thought. They were simply
machines, robots programmed to react to stimuli but lacking the
ability to think or feel.Any pet owner would disagree. We see the love in our
dogs’ eyes and know that, of course, they has thoughts and emotions. But such
claims remain highly controversial. Gut instinct is not science, and
it is all too easy to project human thoughts and feelings onto
another creature. How, then, does a scientist prove that an animal
is capable of thinking – that it is able to acquire information
about the world and act on it? “That’s why I started my studies withAlex,”
Pepperberg said. They were seated – she at her desk, he on top of his cage – in
her lab, a windowless room about the size of a boxcar, at Brandeis University.
Newspapers lined the floor; baskets of bright toys were stacked on the shelves.
They were clearly a team – and because of their work, the notion that
animals can think is no longer so fanciful.
C Certain skills
are considered key signs of higher mental abilities: good memory,
a grasp of grammar and symbols, self-awareness, understanding others’
motives, imitating others, and being creative. Bit by bit,
in ingenious experiments, researchers have documented these talents
in other species, gradually chipping away at what we thought made
human beings distinctive while offering a glimpse of where our own
abilities came from. Scrub jays know that other jays are thieves and that
stashed food can spoil; sheep can recognize faces; chimpanzees use
a variety of tools to probe termite mounds and even use weapons to
hunt small mammals; dolphins can imitate human postures; the
archerfish, which stuns insects with a sudden blast of water, can learn how to
aim its squirt simply by watching an experienced fish perform the task.AndAlex
the parrot turned out to be a surprisingly good talker.
D Thirty years
after the Alex studies began; Pepperberg and a changing collection of
assistants were still giving him English lessons. The humans, along with two
younger parrots, also served as Alex’s flock, providing the social input all
parrots crave. Like any flock, this one – as small as it was – had its share
of drama. Alex dominated his fellow parrots, acted huffy at times
around Pepperberg, tolerated the other female humans, and fell to pieces over a
male assistant who dropped by for a visit. Pepperberg bought Alex in a Chicago
pet store where she let the store’s assistant pick him out because she didn’t
want other scientists saying later that she’d particularly chosen an especially
smart bird for her work. Given that Alex’s brain was the size of a shelled
walnut, most researchers thought Pepperberg’s interspecies communication study
would be futile.
E “Some people
actually called me crazy for trying this,” she said. “Scientists thought that
chimpanzees were better subjects, although, of course, chimps can’t speak.”
Chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas have been taught to use sign language and
symbols to communicatewith us, often with impressive results. The bonobo
Kanzi, for instance, carries his symbol-communication board
with him so he can “talk” to his human researchers, and he has invented
combinations of symbols to express his thoughts. Nevertheless, this
is not the same thing as having an animal look up at you, open his mouth, and
speak. Under Pepperberg’s patient tutelage, Alex learned how to use his vocal
tract to imitate almost one hundred English words, including the
sounds for various foods, although he calls an apple a “beanery.” “Apples taste
a little bit like bananas to him, and they look a little bit like cherries, Alex
made up that word for them,” Pepperberg said.
F It sounded a
bit mad, the idea of a bird having lessons to practice, and willingly doing it.
But after listening to and observing Alex, it was difficult to argue
with Pepperberg’s explanation for his behaviors. She wasn’t handing him treats
for the repetitious work or rapping him on the claws to make him say the
sounds. “He has to hear the words over and over before he can
correctly imitate them,” Pepperberg said, after pronouncing “seven”
for Alex a good dozen times in a row. “I’m not trying to see if Alex can learn
a human language,” she added. “That’s never been the point. My plan always was
to use his imitative skills to get a better understanding of avian cognition.”
G In other words,
because Alex was able to produce a close approximation of the sounds of some
English words, Pepperberg could ask him questions about a bird’s basic
understanding of the world. She couldn’t ask him what he was thinking about,
but she could ask him about his knowledge of numbers, shapes, and colors.
To demonstrate, Pepperberg carried Alex on her arm to a tall wooden
perch in the middle of the room. She then retrieved a green key and a small
green cup from a basket on a shelf. She held up the two items to Alex’s eye.
“What’s same?” she asked. Without hesitation, Alex’s beak opened: “Co-lor.”
“What’s different?” Pepperberg asked. “Shape,” Alex said. His voice had the
digitized sound of a cartoon character. Since parrots lack lips (another reason
it was difficult for Alex to pronounce some sounds, such as ba), the words
seemed to come from the air around him, as if a ventriloquist were speaking.
But the words – and what can only be called the thoughts – were entirely his.
H For the next 20
minutes, Alex ran through his tests, distinguishing colors, shapes, sizes, and
materials (wool versus wood versus metal). He did some simple arithmetic, such
as counting the yellow toy blocks among a pile of mixed hues. And, then, as if
to offer final proof of the mind inside his bird’s brain, Alex spoke
up. “Talk clearly!” he commanded, when one of the younger birds Pepperberg was
also teaching talked with wrong pronunciation. “Talk clearly!” “Don’t be a
smart aleck,” Pepperberg said, shaking her head at him. “He knows all this, and
he gets bored, so he interrupts the others, or he gives the wrong answer just
to be obstinate. At this stage, he’s like a teenager; he’s moody, and I’m never
sure what he’ll do.”
Questions 1-6
Do the following
statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 1-6 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
Firstly, Alex has grasped quite a lot of vocabulary.
2
At the beginning of study, Alex felt frightened in the
presence of humans.
3
Previously, many scientists realized that animals possess the ability of
thinking.
4 It
has taken a long time before people get to know cognition existing in animals.
5
As Alex could approximately imitate the sounds of English words, he was capable
of roughly answering Irene’s questions regarding the world.
6
By breaking in other parrots as well as producing the incorrect answers, he
tried to be focused.
Questions 7-10
Complete the following summary of the
paragraphs of Reading Passage, using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from
the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7-10 on
your answer sheet.
After the training of Irene, Parrot Alex
can use his vocal tract to pronounce more than 7 ,
while other scientists believe that animals have no this advanced ability of
thinking, they would rather teach 8 .
Pepperberg clarified that she wanted to
conduct a study concerning 9 but not to
teach him to talk. The store’s assistant picked out a bird at random for her
for the sake of avoiding other scientists saying that the bird is 10 afterwards.
Questions 11-13
Answer the questions 11-13 below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
11 What did Alex reply regarding the
similarity of the subjects showed to him?
12 What is the problem of the
young parrots except Alex?
13 To some extent, through the way he
behaved what we can call him
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on
Questions 14-27 , which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
Developing Courtiers
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 is undoubtedly an obvious site
for ecotourism, with its picturesque beaches, underwater beauty, countryside
landscapes, and ecological reserves. An educated population and improved infrastructure of roads and communications adds to the
mix. In the Caribbean region, Cuba is now the
second most popular tourist destination. Ecotourism is also seen as an
environmental education opportunity to heighten both visitors’ and residents’
awareness of environmental and conservation issues, and even to inspire
conservation action. Ecotourism has also been credited with promoting peace, by
providing opportunities for educational and cultural exchange. Tourists’ safety
and health are guaranteed. Raul Castro, brother of the Cuban president, started
this initiative to rescue the Cuban tradition of
herbal medicine and provide natural medicines for its healthcare system. The
school at Las Terrazas Eco-Tourism Community teaches
herbal healthcare and children learn not only how to use medicinal herbs, but
also to grow them in the school garden for teas, tinctures, ointments and
creams. In Cuba, ecotourism has the potential to
alleviate poverty by bringing money into the economy and
creating jobs. In addition to the environmental impacts of these efforts, the
area works on developing community employment
opportunities for locals, in conjunction with ecotourism.
C In terms of South America, it might be the place which shows the
shortcoming of ecotourism. Histoplasma capsulatum, a dimorphic fungus, is the
most common endemic mycosis in the United States, and is associated with
exposure to bat or bird droppings. Most recently, outbreaks have been reported
in healthy travelers who returned from Central and South America after engaging
in recreational activities associated with spelunking, adventure tourism, and
ecotourism. It is quite often to see tourists neglected sanitation
while travelling. After engaging in high-risk activities, boots should be hosed
off and clothing placed in airtight plastic bags for laundering. HIV-infected
travelers should avoid risky behaviors or environments, such as exploring
caves, particularly those that contain bat droppings.
D Nowhere is the keen eye and
intimate knowledge of ecotourism is more amidst this fantastic biodiversity, as
we explore remote realms rich in wildlife rather than a nature adventure.
A sustainable tour is significant for
ecotourism, one in which we can grow hand in hand with nature and our community, respecting everything that makes us
privileged. Travelers get great joy from every step that take forward on this
endless but exciting journey towardssustainability.
The primary threats to South America’s
tropical forests are deforestation caused by
agricultural expansion, cattle ranching, fagging, oil extraction and spills,
mining, illegal coca farming, and colonization initiatives. Deforestation has shrunk territories belonging to
indigenous peoples and wiped out more than 90% of the population. Many are
taking leading roles in sustainable tourism
even as they introduce protected regions to more travelers.
E In East Africa, significantly reducing such illegal hunting and
allowing wildlife populations to recover would
allow the generation of significant economic benefits through trophy hunting and
potentially ecotourism. “Illegal hunting is an extremely inefficient
use of wildlife resources because it fails to capture the value of wildlife
achievable through alternative forms of use
such as trophy hunting and ecotourism,” said Peter Lindsey, author of the new study. Most residents believed that
ecotourism could solve this circumstance. They
have passion for local community empowerment,
loves photography and writes to laud current local conservation efforts, create environmental awareness and promote ecotourism.
E In Indonesia, ecotourism started to become an important concept from 1995, in order to strengthen the domestic travelling movement, the local government
targeting the right markets is a prerequisite for successful ecotourism. The
market segment for Indonesian ecotourism consists of: (i) “The silent generation”, 55-64 year-old people who are wealthy
enough, generally well-educated and have no dependent children, and can travel
for four weeks; (ii) “The baby boom generation”, junior
successful executives aged 35-54 years, who are likely to
be travelling with their family and children (spending 2-3 weeks on travel) –
travelling for them is a stress reliever; and
(iii) the “X generation”, aged 18-29 years,
who love to do ecotours as backpackers – they are generally students who can
travel for 3-12 months with monthly expenditure of US$300-500. It is suggested
that promotion of Indonesian ecotourism products should aim to reach these
various cohorts of tourists. The country welcomes diverse levels
of travelers.
F On the other hand, ecotourism provide as many services as
traditional tourism. Nestled between Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean Sea is
the country of Belize. It is the wonderful place for Hamanasi honeymoon, bottle
of champagne upon arrival, three meals daily, a private service on one night of
your stay and a choice of adventures depending on the length of your stay. It
also offers six-night and seven-night honeymoon packages. A variety of specially tailored tours, including the
Brimstone Hill Fortress, and a trip to a neighboring island. Guided tours
include rainforest, volcano and off-road plantation tours. Gregory Pereira,
an extremely knowledgeable and outgoing hiking
and tour guide, says the following about his tours: “All of our tours on St.
Kitts include transportation by specially modified Land Rovers, a picnic of
island pastries and local fruit, fresh tropical juices, CSR, a qualified island
guide and a full liability insurance coverage
for participants.
G Kodai is an ultimate splendor
spot for those who love being close to mother nature. They say every bird must
sing its own throat while we say every traveller should find his own way out of
variegated and unblemished paths of deep valleys and steep mountains. The
cheese factory here exports great quantity of cheese to various countries
across the globe. It is located in the center
of forest. Many travelers are attracted by the delicious cheese. The ecotourism
is very famous of this different eating experience.
Questions 14-18
Use the information in the passage to match the place
(listed A-D) with opinions or deeds below.
Write the appropriate letters, A-D, in boxes 14-18 on
your answer sheet.
NB You may use any
letter more than once.
|
14
a place to improve local education as to help tourists
15
a place suitable for both rich and poor travelers
16 a
place where could be easily get fungus
17 a
place taking a method to stop unlawful poaching
18 a
place where the healthcare system is developed
|
|
Questions 19-22
Use the information in the passage to match the companies
(listed A-C) with or deeds below.
Write the appropriate letters A, B, C or D in
boxes 19-22 answer sheet.
A eating the local fruits at the same time
B find job opportunities in community
C which is situated on the heart of jungle
D with private and comfortable service
19 Visiting
the cheese factory
20 Enjoying
the honeymoon
21 Having
the picnic while
22 The
residents in Cuba could
Questions 23-26
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading
Passage, using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage
for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer
sheet.
Ecotourism is not a nature 23 but
a 24 tour. The reason why South
America promotes ecotourism is due to the destruction of 25 .
In addition, East Africa also encourages this kind of tourism
for cutting the 26 in order to save
wild animals.
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on
Questions 28-40 , which are based on Reading
Passage 3 below.
Ancient Societies Classification
A Although humans have established many types of societies
throughout history sociologists and anthropologists tend to classify different
societies according to the degree to which different groups within a society
have unequal access to advantages such as
resources, prestige or power, and usually refer to four basic types of
societies. From least to most socially complex, they
are: clans, tribes, chiefdoms and states.
Clan
B These are small-scale societies of hunters and gatherers,
generally of fewer than 100 people, who move seasonally to exploit wild (undomesticated) food resources. Most
surviving hunter – gatherer groups are of this kind, such as the Hadza of
Tanzania or the San of southern Africa. Clan members are generally kinsfolk,
related by descent or marriage. Clans lack formal leaders, so there are no
marked economic differences or disparities in status among their members.
C Because clans are composed of mobile groups of hunter-gatherers,
their sites consistmainly of seasonally occupied
camps, and other smaller and more specialised sites. Among the latter are kill
or butchery sites – locations where large mammals are killed and sometimes
butchered – and work sites, where tools are made or other specific activities carried out. The base camp of such a
group may give evidence of rather insubstantial
dwellings or temporaryshelters, along with the
debris of residential occupation.
Tribe
D These are generally larger than mobile hunter – gatherer groups,
but rarely number more than a few thousand, and their diet or subsistence is
based largely on cultivated plants and domesticated animals. Typically, they
are settled farmers, but they may be nomadic with a very different,
mobile economy based on the intensive exploitation of livestock. These are generally
multi-community societies, with the individual communities
integrated into the large society through kinship ties.
Although some tribes have officials and even a “capital” or seat of government,
such officials lack the economic base necessary for effective use of power.
E The typical settlement pattern for tribes is one of settled
agricultural homesteads or villages. Characteristically, no one settlement
dominates any of the others in the region. Instead,
the archaeologist finds evidence for
isolated, permanently occupied houses or for permanent villages. Such villages
may be made up of a collection of free-standing houses, like those of the first
farms of the Danube valley in Europe. Or they may be clusters of buildings
grouped together, for example, the pueblos of the American Southwest, and the
early farming village or small town of Catalhoyuk in modern Turkey.
Chiefdom
F These operate on the principle of
ranking-differences in social status between people. Different lineages (a
lineage is a group claiming descent from a common ancestor) are graded on a scale of prestige, and the senior lineage, and hence the society as a whole, is governed by a chief.
Prestige and rank are determined by how closely related
one is to the chief, and there is no true stratification into classes.
The role of the chief is crucial.
G Often, there is local specialisation in craft products, and
surpluses of these and of foodstuffs are periodically paid as obligation to the
chief. He uses these to maintain his
retainers, and may use them for redistribution to his subjects. The chiefdom
generally has a center of power, often with temples, residences of the chief
and his retainers, and craft specialists. Chiefdoms vary greatly
in size, but the range is generally between
about 5000 and 20,000 persons.
Early State
H These preserve many of the features of chiefdoms, but the ruler
(perhaps a king or sometimes a queen) has explicit authority to establish laws
and also to enforce them by the use of a
standing army. Society no longer depends totally upon kin relationships: it is
now stratified into different classes. Agricultural workers and the poorer
urban dwellers form the lowest classes, with the craft specialists above, and
the priests and kinsfolk of the ruler higher still. The functions of the ruler
are often separated from those of the priest: palace is distinguished from
temple. The society is viewed as a territory owned by the ruling lineage and
populated by tenants who have an obligation to pay taxes. The central capital
houses a bureaucratic administration of officials; one of their principal purposes is to collect revenue(often
in the form of taxes and tolls) and distribute it
to government, army and craft specialists. Many early states developed complex redistribution systems to support these
essential services.
I This rather simple social typology, set out by Elman
Service and elaborated by William Sanders and Joseph Marino, can be criticised,
and it should not be used unthinkingly. Nevertheless, if
we are seeking to talk about early societies, we must use words and henceconcepts to do so. Service’s categories provide a
good framework to help organise our thoughts.
Questions 27-33
Do
the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 27-33 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
|
27 There’s
little economic difference between members of a clan.
28 The
farmers of a tribe grow a wide range of plants.
29 One
settlement is more important than any other settlements in a tribe.
30 A
member’s status in a chiefdom is determined by how much land he owns.
31 There
are people who craft goods in chiefdoms.
32 The
king keeps the order of a state by keeping a military.
33 Bureaucratic
officers receive higher salaries than other members.
Questions 34-39
Answer
the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage
for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 34-39 on your answer
sheet.
34 What are made at the clan work sites?
35 What is the other way of life for tribes besides settled
farming?
36 How are Catalhoyuk’s housing units arranged?
37 What does a chief give to his subjects as rewards besides
crafted goods?
38 What is the largest possible population of a chiefdom?
39 Which group of people is at the bottom of an early state but
higher than the farmers?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
ANSWERS
|
1. NOT GIVEN
|
21. A
|
|
2. NOT GIVEN
|
22. B
|
|
3. FALSE
|
23. adventure
|
|
4. TRUE
|
24. sustainable
|
|
5. TRUE
|
25. tropical forest
|
|
6. FALSE
|
26. illegal killing
|
|
7. 100 English words
|
27. TRUE
|
|
8. chimpanzees
|
28. NOT GIVEN
|
|
9. avian cognition
|
29. FALSE
|
|
10. particularly
|
30. FALSE
|
|
11. color/colour
|
31. TRUE
|
|
12. wrong pronunciation chosen
|
32. TRUE
|
|
13. teenager
|
33. NOT GIVEN
|
|
14. A
|
34. Tools
|
|
15. D
|
35. Nomadic
|
|
16. C
|
36. grouped(together)
|
|
17. B
|
37. foodstuffs
|
|
18. A
|
38. 20,000
|
|
19. C
|
39. craft specialists
|
|
20. D
|
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