Magy's English Edu. Club
Cambridge 15 Academic Reading Test Two Passage One
Could urban engineers learn from dance?
Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs, A–G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
1. reference to an appealing way of using dance that the writer is not proposing
The answer is B.
In paragraph two, dance might hold some of the answers. That is not to suggest everyone should dance their way to work, however healthy and happy it might make us, but rather that the techniques used by choreographers to experiment with and design movement in dance could provide engineers with tools to stimulate new ideas in city-making.
2. an example of a contrast between past and present approaches to building
The answer is C.
In paragraph three, whereas medieval builders improvised and adapted construction through their intimate knowledge of materials and personal experience of the conditions on a site, building designs are now conceived and stored in media technologies that detach the designer from the physical and social realities they are creating.
3. mention of an objective of both dance and engineering
The answer is F.
In paragraph six, yet it shares with engineering the aim of designing patterns of movement within limitations of space.
4. reference to an unforeseen problem arising from ignoring the climate
The answer is D.
In paragraph four, according to Sennett, this failed because its designers had invested too much faith in computer-aided design to tell them how it would operate. They failed to take into account that purpose-built street cafés could not operate in the hot sun without the protective awnings common in older buildings, and would need energy-consuming air conditioning instead, or that its giant car park would feel so unwelcoming that it would put people off getting out of their cars.
5. why some measures intended to help people are being reversed
The answer is E.
In paragraph five, designs that seem logical in models appear counter-intuitive in the actual experience of their users.
6. reference to how transport has an impact on human lives.
The answer is A.
In paragraph one, the ways we travel affect our physical and mental health, our social lives, our access to work and culture, and the air we breathe.
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
7 and 8. Guard rails were introduced on British roads to improve the ….. of pedestrians, while ensuring that the movement of …. is not disrupted.
7. The answer is SAFETY.
8. The answer is TRAFFIC.
In paragraph five, the guard rails that will be familiar to anyone who has attempted to cross a British road, for example, were an engineering solution to pedestrians safety based on models that prioritize the smooth flow of traffic.
9. Pedestrians are led to access points, and encouraged to cross one …… at a time
The answer is CARRIAGEWAY.
In paragraph five, on wide major roads, they often guide pedestrians to specific crossing points and slow down their progress across the road by using staggered access points to divide the crossing into two – one for each carriageway.
10. An unintended effect is to create psychological difficulties in crossing the road, particularly for less ………. people.
The answer is MOBILE.
In paragraph five, in doing so they make crossings feel longer, introducing psychological barriers greatly impacting those that are least mobile, and encouraging others to make dangerous crossings to get around the guard rails.
11. Another result is that some people cross the road in a ………… way.
The answer is DANGEROUS.
In paragraph five, in doing so they make crossings feel longer, introducing psychological barriers greatly impacting those that are least mobile, and encouraging others to make dangerous crossings to get around the guard rails.
12 and 13. The guard rails separate ………, and make it more difficult to introduce forms of transport that are ………
12. The answer is COMMUNITIES.
13. The answer is HEALTHY.
In paragraph five, these barriers don’t just make it harder to cross the road: they divide communities and decrease opportunities for healthy transport.