Academic Reading Passage 1



Academic Reading Passage 1The people of ancient Egypt emerged as one of the first Western civilisations. Sustained by the River Nile and protected by vast deserts, the Egyptians lived in comparative security, prosperity and peace for thousands of years. When such conditions exist, the civilisation and its arts usually flourish. To this day, many of the Egyptian artistic creations display the wealth, splendour and talent of this great civilisation.Ancient Egypt has been called a land of temples and tombs. For centuries people have been filled with wonder at the ingenuity of the Egyptians, whose impressive works have withstood the ravages of time so well. Had it not been for the long-lasting nature of their monuments and carved inscriptions in the form of hieroglyphics', much evidence of their activities would have vanished from all historical records. In about 3000 BC, Upper and Lower Egypt were united under the first pharaoh, and generally from that time until the invasion by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, Egypt prospered as a nation of skilful craftsmen and artists.The Egyptians were an industrious, highly civilised and deeply religious people, who obediently accepted the supreme authority of their pharaohs. The people were content to serve and work for the state in return for a secure livelihood. They considered this earthly life to be a segment in a great cycle, at the end of which everything would be returned to its original form. The richer and more important the person, the more careful and elaborate would be his or her burial, and the stronger and safer the tomb in which they would be buried.The burial of the dead in the ground was not considered sufficiently safe for kings, queens and court officials, so sunken, sealed tombs were ingeniously constructed to protect personal treasures, food and instructions for the safe conduct of the soul after death. The design of these tombs developed into the stepped pyramid, and finally into the square pyramid that we know today.There are about 80 ancient pyramids in Egypt. The Great Pyramid at Giza, which King Cheops built as his tomb 5000 years ago, holds most interest. It stands with two other pyramids on a slight rise overlooking the River Nile. At the centre of the pyramid is the King's Chamber and leading down from there is a long narrow area known as the Grand Gallery. The pyramid covers 13 acres and contains 2,300,000 blocks of limestone, each weighing an average of 1.5 tons. Its pyramidal form has a perfectly square base with sides of 756 feet and a height of 481 feet. Situated directly below the King's Chamber is the Queen's Chamber and there are two air channels leading upwards from the centre of the pyramid to the outside.Originally the exterior was covered in highly polished limestone slabs, all of which have been stolen over the years. It is estimated that a total of 100,000 men laboured for 20 years to build this gigantic structure, and although architecturally unimportant in design, it has aroused the curiosity of millions of people because of the uncanny accuracy of its measurements and proportions. It reveals the remarkable ingenuity and the great organising ability of the ancient Egyptians.Near these pyramids stands the Great Sphinx, the origin and purpose of which constitutes one of the world's most famous puzzles. Shaped from an outcrop of stone in the form of a humanheaded lion, the face is possibly a portrait of King Khafra, the son of Cheops, who was buried in the second largest pyramid. The Sphinx is one of the biggest statues ever made.The Egyptian people showed reverence towards natural objects such as the lotus flower, the scarab beetle, the falcon, the lion, the sun and the River Nile. All these subjects and many more were used symbolically and conventionally as motifs in low-relief carving and painting. It was the custom of the Egyptians to depict the various parts of the human figure, usually in the most characteristic positions. The head was shown in profile except for the eye, which was represented from the front, the shoulders and a portion of the arms were portrayed from the front, while the hips and legs were side views. Wall decoration showed little or no attempt to indicate depth or perspective, except by placing distant objects above near things. It was essentially two-dimensional, and relative size indicated the status of the person, so the pharaoh was the largest figure in the composition.Egyptian art is characterised by a passion for permanence, a desire to impress by size, and a determination to make each item serve its function without much regard for the whole. It is obvious that art among these people reached a very high level and the strong influence of Egyptian art can be seen in the work of nearby civilisations.The fortunate discovery and subsequent deciphering in 1822 of the Rosetta Stone, which showed the same laws inscribed both in Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Egyptian demotic, or popular version of their language, as well as the Greek language, eventually gave the key to the meaning of Egyptian inscriptions, and therefore the significance of much Egyptian art.Questions 1-3You should spend about 20 minutes on questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage plete the sentences below.Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.1) Security and peace are two .................... that are necessary for a civilisation to be successful.2) Ancient Egyptians worked as both?.....................3) Ordinary Egyptians expected to receive .................... for their hard work.Questions 4-7Label the diagram below.Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR NUMBERS from the passage for each answer.Write your answers in boxes 4-7 on your answer sheet.(4) ........................................(5) ........................................(6) ........................................(7) ........................................Questions 8-12Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage 1.In boxes 8-12 on your answer sheet, writeTRUEif the statement is true according to the passageFALSEif the statement is false according to the passageNOT GIVENif the information is not given in the passage8) The surface of the Great Pyramid is covered in polished limestone slabs.??9) King Khafra died before King Cheops.??10) Egyptian carvings were often based on things found in nature.??11) Important characters in Egyptian carvings were bigger than less important characters.??12) Egyptian art was greatly influenced by the art of neighbouring cultures.?Question 13Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.Write the correct letter in box 13 on your answer sheet.The writer's aim in this passage is toA??? describe the construction methods of the pyramids.B??? explain the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians.?C??? offer an interpretation of Egyptian art and sculpture.D??? provide an overview of early Egyptian society.Academic Reading Passage 2Australian Aborigines Demand Return of RemainsAs a former British colony, Australia has close cultural and historical links with the United Kingdom, due to the British and Irish settlers who arrived in droves in the 19th and 20th centuries. One aspect of this contact is the role of Britain, and British archaeologists and collectors, in taking Aboriginal bones, relics and artefacts from Australia to museums and collections in the UK. Now leaders of the indigenous people of Australia, the Aborigines, are demanding that any Aboriginal remains in the UK are returned to Australia.In 19th century Britain, there was a mania for collecting all kinds of objects from other countries. These were sent home, where they were kept in museums such as the British Museum and the Natural History Museum. Museums in the UK have a huge number of such objects - objects which, say protesters, were basically stolen during Britain's long colonial history, with little or no regard for the feelings or rights of the people to whom the objects originally belonged.Now the Australian Prime Minister is supporting Aboriginal calls for the objects and remains to be returned to their original home. A spokesman for the Aboriginal Council of New South Wales, Stevie McCoy, said: "The bones do not belong abroad. They belong here. This is about beliefs, and a traditional Aboriginal belief is that our ancestors can only find peace if their remains are buried in the homeland."There are certainly lots of Aboriginal remains in the UK, although their exact locations are not entirely clear. What is known is that, between them, the British Museum and the Natural History Museum have some 2,000 - 2,5000 artefacts composed of human remains, although the museums point out that only about 500 of these are of Aboriginal origin. Dr William Cowell Bell, for the London Museum Association, adds that "A lot of the objects are not human remains in their original form, but are made out of human remains. These include decorated skulls and bones from which charms and amulets have been created." A smaller number of similar artefacts are known to be held in collections in Oxford and Cambridge.There is some sensitivity to Aboriginal demands in the archaeological world. Lady Amanda Spurway, life president of the Glover Museum in London, says that the museum has had its small collection of Aboriginal remains packed ready for return for a decade, and is only waiting for information about where they must go.The National College of Surgeons says it will return the remains of any individual who can be named (although it is obviously difficult to put names to them after such a long time). This growing sensitivity to the hitherto ignored rights of indigenous peoples around the world has caused some relics to be restored to their original country, particularly in Scotland, where a group of Aboriginal remains has already been returned. Edinburgh University has returned skulls and bones to Tasmania and New Zealand.One problem, according to legal expert Ewan Mather, is that the law allowing museums to decide what to do with these objects is more relaxed in Scotland. English museums, on the other hand, are not allowed (either by law or by the groups of trustees who run them) to just hand back remains of their own accord. However, British supporters of the Aborigines claim that such restrictive laws are inhumane in the modern world, and that it would be a simple enough matter to change them in order to allow the items to be returned.A further objection to handing back relics is because of their scientific value, claim some museum directors. Dr Bell believes that the size of the collection in the Natural History Museum in Lincoln made it a very valuable resource in the analysis of the way of life of Aborigines, and could be used to study the origin and development of the people. Breaking up the collection might mean that such knowledge could be lost forever.Aboriginal groups, however, respond by pointing out that the scientific importance of the remains has to be seen against a backdrop of human rights. "I doubt whether the British government would allow several thousand bones of British soldiers to be used for 'scientific purposes' in any other country," said Stevie McCoy, with a hint of irony. "Would the families allow it? I think there would be a public outcry, no matter how old the remains were. This practice [of taking bones and human remains] went on from the first moment the white man came to Australia right up to the early part of the 20th century. It is a scandal."The British government, meanwhile, has announced that it will set up a working party to discuss the possibility of changes to the law. This might allow museums to negotiate on their own with Aboriginal and other groups around the world.Questions 14-16Choose the TWO best answers according to the text, and write the letters A - E in boxes 14-16 on your answer sheet.14) The Aboriginal demand that bones be returned to Australia is based on which TWO ideas??A The rightful place for the remains is Australia.?B Britain had no right to take the remains.?C The remains have religious significance for Aborigines.?D Some remains have already been returned.?E Aboriginal ancestors cannot find peace unless their remains are laid to rest there.15) Which TWO factors might cause problems when it comes to returning the remains??A Scottish and English law does not allow museums to return objects.?B It is not clear what will happen to the remains once they have been returned.?C The remains are scientifically important and need to be studied.?D Not all the Australian artefacts are human remains.?E Some museums do not have the right to return objects to their countries of origin.16) Which TWO points may help to speed up the process of returning the remains??A The British government is going to discuss the return of Aboriginal items.?B Some items have already been returned to their countries of origin.?C There is already some sympathy to the Aborigines' claims in the world of archaeology.?D Not all the Australian artefacts are human remains.?E The remains have religious significance for Aborigines.Questions 17-22Classify the following opinions as referring toA The National college of SurgeonsB Stevie McCoyC Dr William Cowell BellD Lady Amanda SpurwayE Ewan MatherWrite the correct letter A, B, C, D or E in boxes 17-22 on your answer sheet.17) No country would allow the bones of its citizens to be used for scientific purposes in another country.??18) The Glover Museum is ready to return its Aboriginal bones.??19) Australian remains are a useful resource for scientific study.??20) It would be a problem to accurately identify the human remains.??21) Many Aboriginal remains in Britain have been made into artefacts.??22) Discrepancies in the laws of different countries can hinder the return of relics.Questions 23-26Complete the following paragraph based on information in Reading Passage using TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.Aborigines believe that the remains should be returned for a number of reasons. First is the fact that the relics were taken during the period when Australia was a (23) ..................... The Aborigine belief that their ancestors can only (24) .................... if their bones are returned is a further factor. Thirdly, the restitution of the remains is an issue of human rights. However, objectors who oppose the return of the artefacts point out that not only is there a (25) .................... problem, but also that the remains constitute an important (26) .................... in studying the lifestyle of the Aborigines. Academic Reading Passage 3You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below. Love stories“Love stories” are often associated – at least in the popular imagination – with fairy tales, adolescent day dreams, Disney movies and other frivolous pastimes. For psychologists developing taxonomies of affection and attachment, however, this is an area of rigorous academic pursuit. Beginning in the early 1970s with the groundbreaking contributions of John Alan Lee, researchers have developed classifications that they believe better characterise our romantic predispositions. This involves examining not a single, universal, emotional expression (“love”), but rather a series of divergent behaviours and narratives that each has an individualised purpose, desired outcome and state of mind. Lee’s gritty methodology painstakingly involved participants matching 170 typical romantic encounters (e.g., “The night after I met X...”) with nearly 1500 possible reactions (“I could hardly get to sleep” or “I wrote X a letter”). The patterns unknowingly expressed by respondents culminated in a taxonomy of six distinct love “styles” that continue to inform research in the area forty years later.The first of these styles – eros– is closely tied in with images of romantic love that are promulgated in Western popular culture. Characteristic of this style is a passionate emotional intensity, a strong physical magnetism – as if the two partners were literally being “pulled” together – and a sense of inevitability about the relationship. A related but more frantic style of love called mania involves an obsessive, compulsive attitude toward one’s partner. Vast swings in mood from ecstasy to agony – dependent on the level of attention a person is receiving from his or her partner – are typical of manic love. Two styles were much more subdued, however. Storge is a quiet, companionate type of loving – “love by evolution” rather than “love by revolution”, according to some theorists. Relationships built on a foundation of platonic affection and caring are archetypal of storge. When care is extended to a sacrificial level of doting, however, it becomes another style – agape. In an agape relationship one partner becomes a “caretaker”, exalting the welfare of the other above his or her own needs. The final two styles of love seem to lack aspects of emotion and reciprocity altogether. The ludus style envisions relationships primarily as a game in which it is best to “play the field” or experience a diverse set of partners over time. Mutually-gratifying outcomes in relationships are not considered necessary, and deception of a partner and lack of disclosure about one’s activities are also typical. While Lee found that college students in his study overwhelmingly disagreed with the tenets of this style, substantial numbers of them acted in a typically ludic style while dating, a finding that proves correct the deceit inherent in ludus. Pragma lovers also downplayed emotive aspects of relationships but favoured practical, sensible connections. Successful arranged marriages are a great example of pragma, in that the couple decides to make the relationship work; but anyone who seeks an ideal partner with a shopping list of necessary attributes (high salary, same religion, etc.) fits the classification. Robert J. Sternberg’s contemporary research on love stories has elaborated on how these narratives determine the shape of our relationships and our lives. Sternberg and others have proposed and tested the theory of love as a story, “whereby the interaction of our personal attributes with the environment – which we in part create – leads to the development of stories about love that we then seek to fulfill, to the extent possible, in our lives.” Sternberg’s taxonomy of love stories numbers far more, at twenty-six, than Lee’s taxonomy of love styles, but as Sternberg himself admits there is plenty of overlap. The seventh story, Game, coincides with ludus, for example, while the nineteenth story, Sacrifice, fits neatly on top of agape. Sternberg’s research demonstrates that we may have predilections toward multiple love stories, each represented in a mental hierarchy and varying in weight in terms of their personal significance. This explains the frustration many of us experience when comparing potential partners. One person often fulfils some expected narratives - such as a need for mystery and fantasy– while lacking the ability to meet the demands of others (which may lie in direct contradiction). It is also the case that stories have varying abilities to adapt to a given cultural milieu and its respective demands. Love stories are, therefore, interactive and adaptive phenomena in our lives rather than rigid prescriptions. Steinberg also explores how our love stories interact with the love stories of our partners. What happens when someone who sees love as art collides with someone who sees love as business? Can a Sewing story (love is what you make it) co-exist with a Theatre story (love is a script with predictable acts, scenes and lines)? Certainly, it is clear that we look for partners with love stories that complement and are compatible with our own narratives. But they do not have to be an identical match. Someone who sees love as mystery and art, for example, might locate that mystery better in a partner who views love through a lens of business and humour. Not all love stories, however, are equally well predisposed to relationship longevity; stories that view love as a game, as a kind of surveillance or as an addiction are all unlikely to prove durable. Research on love stories continues apace. Defying the myth that rigorous science and the romantic persuasions of ordinary people are incompatible, this research demonstrates that good psychology can clarify and comment on the way we give affection and form attachments. Questions 27–34 Look at the following statements (Questions 27–34) and the list of styles in the box below. Match each statement with the correct term, A–F. Write the correct letter, A–F, in boxes 27–34 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once. 27 My most important concern is that my partner is happy. 28 I enjoy having many romantic partners. 29 I feel that my partner and I were always going to end up together. 30 I want to be friends first and then let romance develop later. 31 I always feel either very excited or absolutely miserable about my relationship. 32 I prefer to keep many aspects of my love life to myself. 33 When I am in love, that is all I can think about. 34 I know before I meet someone what qualities I need in a partner. List of Love Styles AEros BMania CStorge DAgape ELudus FPragma Questions 35–40 Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 35–40 on your answer sheet, writeYES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writerNO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 35 People’s notions of love affect their relationships, rather than vice versa. 36 Some of our love stories are more important to us than others. 37 Our love stories can change to meet the needs of particular social environments. 38 We look for romantic partners with a love story just like our own. 39 The most successful partners have matching love stories. 40 No love story is more suited to a long relationship than any other. ................
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