UNIT 1 TEST

Why We Like to Gather Together: Groups and Human Development

1 Undeniably, people like to gather together. An analysis of the way we live now
demonstrates this in several ways. Of the seven billion people who make up the
world’s population, more than half now live in cities, and the majority of these people
share housing with others. Of course, there are practical reasons for group living,
but the reasons are not only practical. There are clear psychological benefits from
living together. According to research from the U.S., some of the common factors
shared by people who live to 100 years of age have to do with living arrangements.
Nearly two-thirds of people who are 100 or older live with other people, and more
than 80% live in cities. People obviously do well when they gather together.

2 This is not a modern tendency – gathering together to live in groups has been one
of the distinguishing features of human society for many thousands of years – but it
is increasingly of interest to scientists. Researchers are starting to examine how
group living has affected the development of human knowledge and learning since
the beginning of our societies.

3 Discoveries of evidence of human learning 40,000 years ago have led some
scientists to believe that this was when humans started creating things like tools and
jewelry. However, other scientists point to examples of more complex tools from
earlier in history, which then disappeared. These tools, they say, show that human
knowledge has not steadily increased over history. Instead, human knowledge has
grown and declined, and then grown again, with this pattern repeating over
thousands of years. The key influence, they argue, is how many people we live with.

4 Human knowledge develops more quickly and remains strong when we live in
larger groups. Boyd and Kline (2010) researched the islands in Oceania, having
chosen these because their traditional populations have been isolated from the rest
of the world until recently. The study showed that at the time of first European
contact, those islands with larger populations had a greater number of different types
of tools for carrying out their daily work on the island. The islands with small
populations had a limited number. The conclusion? Humans naturally and effectively

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share knowledge in groups, and the bigger the group, the more knowledge there is
to share, and in this case, the greater the number of tools developed.

5 An example of how isolation from the group can result in a decline in human
knowledge and development comes from Tasmania, the island off the south of
Australia. Tasmania became separated from mainland Australia around 10,000
years ago. Research into the area suggests that after the separation, knowledge of
tools and tool making declined in the human population remaining on the island.

6 So, what is the best organization for the development of human knowledge? The
evidence presented seems to indicate the answer is living in larger groups. By doing
this, we have a greater opportunity to learn, share, and develop our knowledge.

Global reading

Identifying an argument

Read the five statements (a-e) below. Number the statements with the
paragraph that contains the same idea. (Look at the example)

_4__ a Living in larger populations boosts the development of _II__

knowledge.

__3_ b Human knowledge has developed, then declined, and then _I__

developed again.

__1_ c The majority of people in cities live with other people. _IV__

__5_ d. When groups become separated from larger populations, _VII__

development reverses.

__6_ e. It is good for humans to live together. _VI__

Then match the statements (a-e) to the evidence / reasons (I – VII) below.
Three of the evidence / reasons are not used.

I There are different types of tools from different periods of history.

II Larger islands in this area have a wider range of tools.

III People do not enjoy living in shared housing in cities.

IV The longest-living people usually live with other people.

V Most households have more than one person in them.

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VI Boyd and Kline (2010) are researchers in the area of human development.

VII The population of one particular island lost its knowledge of tool making.

VIII Humans no longer need to make different types of tools.

Close reading

Reading for detail

Choose the correct answer.

1. Which of the two common factors shared by people living to 100 given in the
text?

a. living in the U.S. and in cities

b. living in cities and with other people

c. living with other people and having benefits

d. having benefits and living in the city

2. Scientists’ interest in humans’ tendency to gather together is ___________ .

a. affecting

b. distinguishing

c. declining

d. growing

3. Forty thousand years ago, ___________ .

a. people started living in isolated groups on islands

b. humans may have started making tools to do their work

c. humans probably stopped using complex tools.

d. humans produced jewelry

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4. What made the islands of Oceania suitable for the study?

a. Historically, they haven’t had much connection with the world.

b. They all have very small populations.

c. They used very simple tools.

d. People there still live in a traditional lifestyle.

5. The writer concludes that humans should ___________ .

a. share work among themselves

b. continue education to develop their knowledge

c. answer questions about where they live

d. live in bigger rather than smaller populations

Language development 1

Synonyms

The words (1 - 10) in the first column are from the text. The paragraph number

is in parentheses. Match these words with their synonyms (a - j).

1 analysis (1) H a Decrease 9

2 make up (1) b advantages 3
3 benefits (1) B c influenced 5
4 tendency (2) d separate 7
5 affected (2) C e successfully 8
6 distinguishing (2) f show
7 limited (4) D g small
8 effectively (4) E h examination 1
9 decline (5) A i trend
10 indicate (6) j constitute

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Language development 2

Simple and progressive verb forms

For 1 – 5, choose the most appropriate form of the verb.

1. The researchers have studied / have been studying the island population for
five years.

2. By 2025, the population of our cities will have grown / will be growing more.

3. Humans had begun making / had been beginning to make tools earlier than
40,000 years ago.

4. Humans have gathered / have been gathering together to live in groups for
many thousands of years.

5. The researchers had been working / had worked on the study for three years
before they started seeing meaningful results.

For 6 – 10, complete the sentence with the most appropriate form of the verb in

parentheses.

6. Prior to the recent breakthrough research, most scientists believed a 50-year-

old theory. (believe)

7. It’s likely that academics debated this issue for many years to come.

(debate)

8. Human knowledge declined and grown again at various points in history.

(decline)

9. The islanders lived in isolation for thousands of years before the arrival of
Europeans. (live)

10. In 20 years’ time, we learned a great deal more about the impact of social
networking on our societies. (learn)

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Writing skill

Formality

Match the email extracts (1 – 5) to the most appropriate reader (a – e).

a. a parent of an old friend

b. a new college professor

c. an old friend

d. a college professor you know well

e a friend of a friend you have never met

1. I’m starting that class next month, and Tomas told me that you’re going to be
in the same class. Would you like to meet up sometime when I get there?

2. Hey, Tomas, here are my study notes. By the way, do you want to get
together after class tomorrow?

3. Thanks for all your comments on the last assignment. I’ll discuss them with
Tomas and then get back to you.

4. Thank you for the feedback. My study partner, Tomas, and I will make sure
we read it through and revise the assignment.

5. I’m writing to see you if you know of anything in particular Tomas would like
as a graduation gift.

Copied and quoted from Macmillan Skillful Reading&Writing 4 2016

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