Magy's English Edu. Club
Cambridge 15 Academic Reading Test One Passage Three
What is exploration?
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
27. The writer refers to visitors to New York to illustrate the point that
The answer is A. > exploration is an intrinsic element of being human.
In paragraph one, this questing nature of ours undoubtedly helped our species spread around the globe, just as it nowadays no doubt helps the last nomadic Penan maintain their existence in the depleted forests of Borneo, and a visitor negotiate the subways of New York.
28. According to the second paragraph, what is the writer’s view of explorers?
The answer is C. > They act on an urge that is common to everyone.
In paragraph two, that, however, doesn’t take away from the fact that we all have this enquiring instinct, even today.
29. The writer refers to a description of Egdon Heath to suggest that
The answer is C. > Hardy’s aim was to investigate people’s emotional states.
In paragraph three, Thomas Hardy set some of his novels in Egdon Heath, a fictional area of uncultivated land, and used the landscape to suggest the desires and fears of his characters. He is delving into matters we all recognize because they are common to humanity.
30. In the fourth paragraph, the writer refers to ‘a golden age’ to suggest that
The answer is D. > we are wrong to think that exploration is no longer necessary.
In paragraph four, we think back to a golden age, as if exploration peaked somehow in the 19th century – as if the process of discovery is now on the decline, though the truth is the we have named only one and a half million of this planet’s species, and there may be more than 10 million – and that’s not including bacteria.
31. In the sixth paragraph, when discussing the definition of exploration, the writer argues that
The answer is A. > people tend to relate exploration to their own professional interests.
In paragraph six, each definition is slightly different and tends to reflect the field of endeavor of each pioneer.
32. In the last paragraph, the writer explains that he is interested in
The answer is B.> the human ability to cast new light on places that may be familiar.
In paragraph seven, and this is what interests me: how a fresh interpretation, even a well-traveled route, can give its readers new insights.
Match each statement with the correct explorer, A–E.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
33. He referred to the relevance of the form of transport used.
The answer is E. > Wilfred Thesiger
In paragraph five, Barr Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed Arabia’s Empty Quarter in 1946, and belongs to an era of unmechanized travel now lost to the rest of us, told me, ‘If I’d gone across by camel when I could have gone by car, it would have been a stunt.’
34. He described feelings on coming back home after a long journey.
The answer is A. > Peter Fleming
In paragraph three, explorer and travel writer Peter Fleming talks of the moment when the explorer returns to the existence he has left behind with his loved ones. The traveler ‘who has for weeks or months seen himself only as a puny and irrelevant alien crawling laboriously over a country in which he has no roots and no background, suddenly encounters his other self, a relatively solid figure, with a place in the minds of certain people’.
35. He worked for the benefit of specific groups of people.
The answer is D. > Robin Hanbury-Tension
In paragraph five, then Robin Hanbury-Tension, a campaigner on behalf of remote so-called ‘tribal’ peoples, said, ‘ A traveler simply records information about some far-off world, and reports back; but an explorer changes the world.
36. He did not consider learning about oneself an essential part of exploration.
The answer is E. > Wilfred Thrsiger
In paragraph five, to him, exploration meant bringing back information from a remote place regardless of any great self-discovery.
37. He defined exploration as being both unique and of value to others
The answer is B. > Ran Fiennes
In paragraph five, here is how some of today’s ‘explorers’ define the word. Ran Fiennes, dubbed the ‘greatest living explorer’, said, ‘An explorer is someone who has done something that no human has done before and also done something scientifically useful.’
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS ONLY from the passage for each answer.
38 and 39. The writer has experience of a large number of …., and was the first stranger that certain previously … people had encountered.
38. The answer is EXPEDITIONS.
39. The answer is UCNONTACTED.
In paragraph eight, I’ve done a great many expeditions and each was unique. I’ve lived for months alone with isolated groups of people all around the world, even two ‘uncontacted tribes’.
40. He believes there is no need for further exploration of Earth’s …., except to answer specific questions such as how buffalo eat.
The answer is SURFACE.
In paragraph eight, we know how the land surface of our planet lies; exploration of it is now down to the details- the habits of microbes, say, or the grazing behavior of buffalo.