READI

NG
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1—16, which are based on Reading
Passage 1 below.

Raining Ice
In May 2012, disaster struck a mountainous
region of
China's Gansu province. 40 pecWe were killed and
29,300 people evacuated when a brief but extremeiy
violent hailstone storm swept across Min County.
Houses collapsed, roads were blocked and crops were
destroyed. The extreme weather also affected the
power supply and communications in the region.
When you consider that hailstones can reach sizeable proportions, the damage they can cause
is understandable. The world's largest hailstone was found after a storm in South Dakota and
measured 20.5 cm in diameter with a 47 cm circumference — this was after melting caused it
to lose 5 cm frorn its original size. Apart from China and the US, other parts of the world that
frequently suffer from hailstorm damage include Russia, India and northern Italy.
Hail is a form of solid precipitation created within cumulonimbus clouds. Cumulonimbus
clouds are caused by heating trom below and cooling from' above. As the eatth is heated
during the day by the sun. air close to the ground becomes warrner. Hot air is less dense than
cold air and therefore lighter so it rises and, as it does so, it becomes cooler. The warm air
reaches a cold point called the condensation level where the water vapor condenses and turns
back to a liquid form. As the warm air rises to the condensation level, it becomes less able to
keep its moisture and condenses into large clouds, which are Often called thunderheads. The
process Of condensation releases heat into the surrounding air making the air rise even faster
and release more moisture. These huge clouds are complex systems in their own right,
containing large amounts 0t energy resulting in updrafts and downdrafts — vertical winds that
can reach speeds over 176 km per hour and help in the formation of hail.
Hail grows in the thunderhead's main updraft where most 01 the cloud is 'supercooled' water:
water that is still liquuj even though its temperature is below OOC. This water will stay in
liquid form until it encounters something on which to freeze. There are other partides within
the cloud — small frozen raindrops or soft ice particles — called graupel. When the
supercooled water hits the graupet, it freezes around it, creating a hailstone. However, this is
just the start Of the hailstone's journey. A hailstone's eventual Size depends upon the intensity
of the storm in which it is born. TO form a golt ball-sized hailstone requires over ten billion
supercooled drops of water and a time span of between five and 10 minutes. This
accumulation of additional ice is a process called accretion and takes place in areas of the
 cloud rich in supercooled water. Accretion takes place in two ways, resulting in two
distinguishable kinds Of hailstone. In the first process, strong updrafts, which lift the top Of
the cloud into part 01 the atmosphere known as the troposphere. take the hailstone through
the supercooled layer where it accretes ice, making it heavy enough to fall back through the
cloud. On falling, it encounters Other strong updrafts, which take it back though the
supercooled layer where it grows and falls again. An updraft Of 35—55 km per hour will
form small hailstones; hailstones that are 5 cm in diameter require updrafts 0t 88 kph and
hailstones that are 12 cm in diameter need updrafts Of 160 kph to grow. The other process
involves the hailstone falling slowly through a layer Of the cloud rich in supercooled water.
The first process results in hailstones with concentric layers usually alternatlng between
clear and cloudy ice. indicating how it was produced. The opaque layer forms when
supercooled water drops freeze quickly onto the growing hailstone and trap tiny air
bubbles inside the ice giving it a milky appearance. The next layer — the transparent
layer — forms when larger drops Of supercoded liquid water hit the hailstone. Here the
freezing process is slower, allowing air bubbles to escape and clear ice to form.
Hailstones showing little Of this layering may have been subject to the second process of
formation. Instead of being pushed up through the cumulonimbus by updrafts and pulled
back through by gravity several times, these hailstones simply fall slowly through the
cloud gathering mass as they drop.
The interior Of a cumulonimbus cloud is a place Of extreme violence. As the hailstones rise
and fall, they collide with each other. The result Of this can be their breaking up or the
formation of large irregular shaped hailstones. Hailstones are categorised according to their
size. The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation classifies hailstorms according to their
destructive power, ranging trom HO — hard hail composed ot hailstones of 5 mm in
diameter, which do not cause damage — through H5 storms, destructive enough to damage
glass, roofs and injure people, to the most severe — HI O or 'super hailstorms', which cause
extensive structural damage and can fatally injure people caught out in the open.
The rate at which they fall varies but can be faster than 160 kph for larger hailstones as
they become too heavy for the updraft to support or if a downdraft catches them and blows
them violently back to earth. It is estimated that between 40 and 70% of hailstones never
reach the earth, rnelting instead inside the cloud, colliding with and smashing into smaller
pieces on their way through the air, or melting in the atmosphere to fall as rain.

Questions 1-8
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the
information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the
information
NOT GIVEN it there is no information on this
Hailstone storms last a long time and cause considerable damage. TRUE
2 The world's largest hailstone had lost volume before it was found.TRUE
3 Cumulonimbus clouds hold significant quantities of energy. FALSE (NG)
4 Cumulonimbus clouds are called 'thunderheads' because they are the cause Of thunder and
lightening storms.NG
5 Water always turns to ice when it is under OOC.FALSE
6 A slow freezing rate creates clear icetsTRUE
7 Hailstones are classified according to their destructive power. TRUE
8 Many hailstones stay within the cloud and do not reach the ground. NG
Questions 9-16
Label the diagram below using words from the box.

Write the correct letter, A—H. in spaces 9-16.

The formation Of hailstmes in a cloud

12
 9– H
10 –D
11 –F
12 –A
13 –B
14 –E
15 –C
16 -G

READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Ouestions 17—27, which are based on Reading
Passage 2 below.

Twisted Light
A Why is your mobile phone or wireless signal so slow? If you ask your service provider, they'll tell you
that it's the bandwidth. We're running out Of signal space on the wireless spectrum. All wireless
communications travel through radio or optical frequencies: your TV or radio programmes, your
GPS device th:ü helps you find your way. your mobile and smartphone, laptop and wirelessly
connected PC. The demands from users and industry on a limited resource, the wireless spectrum,
are growing daily and are closely regulated. The reason is that two users cannot use the same
signal: think about radio stations, which have to operate on different frequencies otherwise they
cause interference with each other. Likewise mobile phone operators cannot transit over the same
frequency in the same market at the same time. Government-controlled agencies grant licences to
use the wireless spectrum but ifa wireless company wants to add more spectrum to its service to
boost its capacity, it's likely to be disappointed as there isn't much more available. What is needed
is a way ofpushing more data through the same amount ofbandwidth.

B Now scientists may have found a way of manipulating light waves to carry more information:
potentially enough for users to be able to download a film onto a smartphone in a single second. By
twisting light waves, scientists could possibly transmit data at speeds of 2.56 terrabits per second:
that's 85,000 times faster than the 30 megabits per second currently possible. To put it another
way, this is same as transtnitting 70 DVDs through the air in about a second. Researchers
based in America. China, Israel and Pakistan have built on previous research from Sweden, which
 negates the need for more bandwidth by making better use of the spectrum. The basis of the
research is to manipulate the properties of light.
C One property of light is wavelength: lasers, radio waves, microwaves are simply different
wavelengths of light. Light is made up of photons and photons have two other properties that
define a beam of light: spin angular momentum and orbital angular momentum. A good way of
thinking about how photons travel is to think of the orbit of a planet: it spins around on its axis
(Spin angular momentum), and at the same time the planet is also revolving around the sun (orbital
angular momentum). The latter force means that light can be twisted around its axis of travel to
take the shape Ofa spiral or a corkscrew. At the centre of the spiral the light waves cancel each
other out, leaving darkness in the middle, called an optical vortex. When light travels, it is formed
into a spiral shape and it can be manipulated. There are infinite possibilities for ways in which the
photon can be made to spiral: Clockwise, counterclockwise, tight spirals or loose ones. Each of
these spiral states can be uniquely identified but, more importantly for wireless communication, the
spirals can be wrapped Jp within each other — or multiplexed — into a single beam. The beam can
be transmitted and unwound at the receiving end to get the data Streams back out again,
essentially doubling or trebling or even quadrupling the bandwidth.
D Scientists have been twisting light Since the 1970s, and the spin angular momentum ofwaves is
already manipulated in standard wireless communication. For years, Bo Thide of the Swedish
Institute ofSpace Physics theorised that the orbital angular momentum could be used to create the
spir21 signal or as Thide calls it a 'radio vortex'. Then in an experiment in Venice, his team
transmitted two signals simultaneously on the same frequency over a distance of 442 metres.
Following on from this, researchers in America, China, Israel and Pakistan. led by Alan Wilner,
twisted together eight light data streams, each stream with its own level of orbital angular
momentum twist. One of the streams was transmitted as a thin stream while the o:hers were
transmitted around the outside. The data beam was then sent to a receiver and untwisted to recover
the data.

E The achievement is very exciting for developers of wireless network technology as the useful
spectrum of frequencies is largely used up. The orbital angular momentum model would allow for an
infinite number of data transmissons without taking up any more of the spectrum. There is a
problem, however: researchers can only transmit the data stream one metre, which is an insignificant
distance for communication purposes. The short transmission range is due to turbulence in the
atmosphere, which disrupts the signal as the light hits air molecules. But the scientists are planning
to be able to send the beam considerabiy further. One idea is create links every kilometre to extend
the network. Another is to build high-speed satellite communication links where the atmospheric
problems would not affect the signal. Another possibility is to adapt the technology for fibre-optic
use, the way data is currently transmitted over the Internet. Unfortunately, at this point standard
hbre.optic cables are not capable of carrying multichannel signals and fibre-optic cables that Can
carry the signal experience problems of interference between channels as they carry data with high
bit-rates.

F Nevertheless, exploiting the orbital angular momentum gives scientists options that could lead to
significant increases in data transfer: even a modest increase in the existing data transfer rate is
worthwhile. Furthermore, very often technology is pulled along by innovative research so a novel
solution to carryvng the data-rich signal may not be far behind.
Questions 17-22
Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs. A—F.
Which paragraphs contain the following information?

Write the correct letter, next to Questions 17-22.

17 changing light waves to increase capacity B

18 a practical demonstration Of the new ttechnology C
19 use of the wireless spectrum needing to be monitored closely A
20 overcoming the problem Of the short range Of the new ssignal E
21 improvements in data transmission possibly leading to technological bbreakthroughs F

22 the prospect of saving people a lot of time. D

Questions 23-27
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-I, below,

Write the correct letter, A-I, in spaces 23-27.

Researchers are looking for a way of using the wireless spectrum more efficiently. One
option is to transmit signals that are twisted into spirals and wrapping them together.
Or Multiplexing them. This is still problematic on earth due to atmospheric
interference but scientists hope

27 – fibre-optic

breakthrough.

READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28—40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 below.
 Sinking Cities
Looking across the Bund towards ecosystems in New York's immediate
Pudong across the Huangpu River in area and damage developments along
Shanghai. you will see an array of the coast. Bangkok too will fall victim
modern worldbeating skyscrapers In to rising sea levels. Also situated on
contrast, behind you are the magnificent swamplands next to a river, the Chao
buildings from the nineteenth century. Phraya, the city is about 50 kilometres
Standing on the high tourist north of the Gulf of Thailand. The city is
promenade that runs the length of the likely to face increasingly severe
watedront, you may also notice that tropical storms crossing from the Bay as
the level of the river is quite a bit well as threats from coastal erosion and
higher than that Of the buildings on shifting clay soil. It seems unlikely that
the Bund. It isn't because the river has Bangkok will save itself from drowning
risen higher than usual due to rainfall; under the waters of the Pacific, which
no — Shanghai is sinking. It is an are predicted to rise by between 19 and
unfortunate problem that Shanghai 29 cm by 2050.
shares with several other major financial Other cities are sinking due to bad
and industrial centres and it is caused by planning rather than bad luck. The
factors most of the cities have in fourth largest city in America is Houston
common. Included in the list are New but it has been built on shaky
York, Bangkok, Houston and Mexico foundations — and these are now giving
City, all either built on shaky way. Houston was literally built on a
foundations or low-lying land that is foundation of sand up to several
now threatened by rising sea levels. kilometres deep and loosely packed day
New York and Bangkok are victims of from river deposits formed from the
bad luck. The effect of global warming erosion of the Rocky Mountains. In
on the sea levels means that these cities addition to poor foundation materials,
may drown in the oceans that brought Houston has an estimated 300 fault lines
them such importance and prosperity. running through it. Using GPS data from
Scientists believe that sea levels in the 24 measuring points throughout the
New York area are expected to rise country between 1995 to 2005 a
about twice as quickly as in the rest of research team were able to monitor the
the world. The position of the city — area of subsidence and found an area of
situated where the Hudson River flows Houston measuring 30 kilometres
into the Atlantic Ocean — already puts squared was sinking very fast — up to 5
America's most densely populated city centimetres per year. The reason for the
at a higher risk of flooding. But the subsidence is quite straightforward: the
impact of tropical storms and rising withdrawal of water from deep beneath
tides poses more dangers than just the surface. Areas of Houston where
flooding. Beaches in the area will be water extraction has been stopped have
swept away followed by the surrounding stopped sinking. Similarly, parts of
wetlands eventually becoming part of Mexico City are subsiding rapidly due
the sea; surrounding river estuaries will to poor foundations — some areas of the
see an increase in the salt levels in the city are sinking up to 20 centimetres a
fresh water. All of this will affect the year. The city is built on a dry lake bed
 in the valley of Mexico, and the council ultra-modem skyline to sink beneath the
has condemned fifty Structures since waterline of the Huang Pu River.
2006 because of leaning, and Originally a small fishing village built
approximately 5,000 homes and on swamplands surrounding
buildings are unstable. Some of the Questions 28-35
heaviest buildings, like the Palace Of Complete the table below.
Fine Arts, have sunk more than three the mouth of the Yangtze River,
metres over the past one hundred years Shanghai's population has swollen to
and its original ground floor is now the around 13 million people. The
basement. Again the reason is the expansion has been sustained by taking
depletion of the water reserve lying water trom wells drilled into the aquifer
under the city. But in this case there is under the city and by constructing
a complicating factor: a vast complex massive skyscrapers. According to
Of drains was built under the city to China Central Television, Shanghai has
protect it from flooding by water sunk up to three metres since the early
running from the surrounding 1990s mainly due to depletion of
mountains. As the city sinks, so do the underground water but also because of
drains and the wastewater they were the weight of high-rise buildings
supposed to carry away is finding its situated on areas with soft soil. As a
way back to the city. And it's not only partial solution to the problem, Shanghai
water mans and drains that have been is trying to reverse the sinking by
affected; as the city sinks the subway pumping 5.2 billion gallons Of water a
network is subsiding with it. year into the water table with some
Back in Shanghai. the same problem is success — So far the city has risen by
causing the city of 13 million people and almost 11.5 cm.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in spaces 28-35.

City Situated Cause of sinking Effect

New York where the Hudson meets the effect of 28 tropical increased chance cf 29
the Atlantic storm and rising tides Salt level

Bangkok swamps near the Gulf Of increasingly damaging storms. a rise in the level of
Thailand 30 coastal erosion and moving the Pacific cf up to
soil 31 29 cm by 2050

Mexico City or,a32 lake bed that has using up the 33 water wastewater drains and
dried out reserve subway affected
be
neath the city
Shanghai on wetlands around the welts drilled into aquifer and sunk up to 3 metres
34 Mount of the Yangtze building 35 which are heavy
River
Questions 36-40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
36 The thing that may strike you when you are standing on Shanghai's tourist promenade is
A the contrasting stytes of the buildings,
B its height.
C that the river is higher than the buildings behind the promenade

D that it runs the length Of the waterfront.

37 Which of the following is NOT a predicted effect on New York?

A wetlands becoming part of the ocean
B beaches being lost
C developments along the coastline
D the increasing saltiness of river mouths

38 Houston has been built on

A shallow sand.
B material from the Rocky Mountains,
C volcanic fault lines.
D accurate GPS measurements.

39 The sinking in Houston

A affects the whole city equally.
B is due to water use and the weight of the buildings.
C has completely stopped.
D was measured using historical data.

40 Which of the following is NOT true of Mexico City's drains?

A They were built to defend the city from flooding.

B They run back to the surrounding mountains.

C They are sinking with the city.

D They are carrying wastewater back to the city instead of away from it.