LECTURE 1_ You are going to hear a lecture on genetically modified food twice. Answer the questions and complete the notes below while you’re listening to the lecture. There are 15 questions to be answered. You have 2 minutes to look at the questions.
1. What is the speaker’s attitude about genetically modified food? a) He thinks it is a good idea. b) He doesn’t have an opinion about it. c) He wants to stop it. d) He thinks scientists should be more careful.
2. Why was the FlavrSavr Tomato developed? a) To have a better flavor b) To have a redder color c) To kill insects that eat tomato plants d) To stay fresh longer
3. The FlavrSavr Tomato was the first genetically modified food sold in U.S. supermarkets.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
4. The FlavrSavr Tomato is sold in supermarkets today.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
5. Bt Corn kills ………………………………………. that eat corn crops.
6. Bt Corn is used instead of pesticides.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
7. According to the lecturer, the problem with pesticides to kill insects is that … a) they are difficult to use. c) t hey don’t work well. b) they are dangerous and expensive.
8. Bt gene comes from … d) they kill the corn crop. a) a chemical pesticide b) an insect that eats corn c) a bacteria that lives in the dirt d) the inside of a corn plant
9. Bt corn is used mainly as food for people.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
10. Vitamin A is available in orange foods such as ……………………….. and sweet potatoes.
11. Lack of vitamin A causes …………………………………………such as death or blindness.
12. Scientists aimed to help millions of people eat better if they could grow rice with extra vitamin A in it.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
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13. Golden Rice has a vitamin A gene from a ……………….………... called daffodil.
14. Golden Rice gets its color from … a) a bacteria b) carrots c) the way it is cooked d) vitamin A
15. Golden Rice is being studied to make it less expensive.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
LECTURE 2- You are going to hear a lecture on abstract art twice. Answer the questions and complete the notes below while you’re listening to the lecture. There are 15 questions to be answered. You have 2 minutes to look at the questions.
1.
Modern art is art that was made during the 19 th century.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
2. What kind of art was made before 1900? a. traditional art b. modern art c. Cubism d. pure abstraction
3. Traditional art is both _______________ and _________________.
4. According to the lecturer, a representational painting … a. shows an image from the real world b. has bright colors c. shows something from different viewpoints d. does not look realistic
5. Picasso painted his mother in ________________ when he was ______________ years old.
6. The lecturer mentions about the portrait of Picasso’s mother to give an example of a traditional painting TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
7. What event in the early 1900s influenced the development of abstract art? a. New types of paint were being invented. c. Many artists were moving to Europe to paint. b. Artists were earning a lot of money selling abstract paintings. d. The world was changing and many new ideas were emerging.
8. “ Maria Picasso Lopez, the Artist's Mother”, by Picasso is an example of cubism.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
9. Picasso painted two noses in “the Portrait of Dora Maar” because Dora was an ugly woman.
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TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
10. What do artists try to express in “pure” abstraction? a. the way things really look b. bright colors c. ideas and feelings d. people and objects from the real world
Questions 11-10 (3 pts)
11. Wassily Kandinsky was the first painter to create “pure abstract art”
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
12. Kandinsky was a musician and was impressed by music in his paintings.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
13. How did Kandinsky show his ideas in his paintings? a. by listening to music b. by adding letters and words c. by showing how things really look d. by using lines, colors, and shapes
14. In the lecture you have heard the following statements:
“… At the time, some people reacted negatively to this art. But, after Kandinsky died in 1944, his work continued to have a major influence on other abstract artists who followed him
…”
So, what can you infer about Kandinsky and his art? a. He sold a lot of paintings during his lifetime. d. Kandinsky couldn’t manage to build good relations with other artists.
b. He was influenced by Picasso’s style of painting. c. Other artists got ideas from his paintings.
15. In this lecture, the speaker’s main purpose is … a. to define modern art and compare it with traditional art b. to give an opinion about the best kind of art c. to give examples of successful artists d. to tell the story of Pablo Picasso's life
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TEXT I
What do Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill
Clinton, and Barack Obama all have in common? Of course they have all been president of the United States. But there is something else. They are all left-handed.
Depending on where you get your information, lefthanded people make up only about 10 to 20 per cent of the population. However, recent studies show that a higher percentage of people with IQs over 140 are left-handed.
Four of the five original Macintosh computer designers were lefties. Musical geniuses Kurt
Cobain and Jimmy Hendricks were both left-handed. Speaking of geniuses, Albert Einstein,
Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, and the artist Michelangelo were also all left-handed. And the list goes on and on.
Throughout history, left-handers have achieved greatness in many areas. Lefties seem to be particularly outstanding in creative, sporting, and artistic fields, possibly because lefties appear to have a greater natural talent for lateral thinking and creativity. The reason for this might be that the right side of the brain, which controls the left side of the body, is dominant, and thus more developed than that of right-handed people.
Being lefthanded, however, isn’t always a gift. Left-handed people have to suffer through countless daily problems simply because they are left-handed. So much in our world assumes that everyone is right-handed. That can be frustrating for left-handed people. The design of such mundane items as school desks, scissors, computer mice and keyboards, and even power tools can be a real challenge to use for lefties, since they are normally designed with the right-handed user in mind.
In addition to the obstacles left-handed people face in daily life, for some reason lefthandedness has been looked down upon for years. In fact, many cultures have forced their children to become right-handed, even if they were naturally left-handed. Luckily, this has changed in recent times.
Though being left-handed can be difficult at times, there is no denying that there is something mysterious and fascinating about left-handed people. Despite the hardships many left-handed people face, it is clear that left-handedness can be a benefit, and not a disadvantage, as some might believe. Many of the greatest people to have ever lived were lefthanded. So if you're left-handed, be happy because it might lead you to your own greatness.
I. Answer the questions according to the passage.
1. The reading is primarily about _____ . a. why being left-handed is better than being right handed b. famous people who are left-handed c. why being left-handed is a problem for many d. both advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed
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2. According to the article, left-handed people make up the majority of the population.
TRUE / FALSE / NO INFORMATION
3. Left-handed people mostly have IQs over 140.
TRUE / FALSE / NO INFORMATION
4. Which of the following people was NOT mentioned as left-handed? a. Bill Clinton c. Abraham Lincoln b. Isaac Newton d. Michelangelo
5. We can infer from the passage that left-handed people are dominant in history
TRUE / FALSE / NO INFORMATION
6. According to the passage, lefties might be more creative than right-handed people due to the dominance of _____ . a. the right side of the brain a. lefties b. ordinary, everyday items c. lateral thinking b. the left-hand side of the body d. their creativity
7. In paragraph 5, the pronou n “they” refers to _____ . c. right-handed people d. problems
8. The design of the items below is mentioned as problematic for lefties except _____ .
A. cell phones C. scissors
B. power tools D. keyboards
9. According to the article, the world assumes that _____ .
A. left-handed people are more creative C. most people are right-handed
D. left-handed people are frustrated
B. being left-handed is a gift
10. In the last paragraph, we can infer that _____ .
A. the author feels being left-handed can be an advantage
B. the situation is getting better for left-handed people nowadays
C. most left-handed people are proud of being left-handed
D. most lefthanded people don’t realize how mysterious and fascinating they are
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I
TEXT II
Boosting Brain Power
The human brain is surprisingly flexible. The adult brain has amazing ability to change and reshape itself, even to the point of growing new cells. Our behavior and environment can have an an amazing effect on the functions of our brains. For example, it has been observed that surgeons who spend at least a few hours a week playing video games tend to make nearly one-third fewer errors in the operating room than non-gaming doctors do. In fact, research shows that video games can improve mental skills, while boosting hand-eye coordination, depth perception, and pattern recognition. Attention spans and information-processing skills are far higher in regular gamers than the normal guy on the street.
II Experts suggest that there are six basic factors that can contribute to good mental function.
The following habits can help us all fine-tune our minds.
III Exercise : The mood-boosting effects of exercise have been widely known for many years.
However, recent studies also show that exercise can significantly increase the brain’s executive functions —things such as planning, organizing, and multi-tasking. In addition, people who exercise retain better executive functions and seem less likely to get dementia as they get older.
IV Diet : Your brain is part of your body. So it only makes sense that your body requires a good diet to function at optimum levels. So just what should we feed our brains? And more importantly, what should we avoid? As with our bodies, it seems that the brain does not cope well with saturated fats. However, not all fat is bad. In particular, the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, nuts, and seeds seem to be vital to a brain’s well-being. In addition, fruits and vegetables appear to be brain ‘super foods.’
V Caffeine : This is the most commonly used stimulant in the world. Stimulants are substances that give the nervous system a ‘kick-start’ by increasing heart rate, blood pressure, energy, breathing, and more. Don ’t overdo it. In high doses , caffeine causes some unwanted side effects. However, in moderate doses, caffeine boosts arousal and alertness, and may increase mental function in the long term.
VI Video Games: As mentioned before, the stimulation that comes with playing video games seems to increase mental capacity and improve visual perception skills. However, as with caffeine, limit time spent on video games. Too much can have the opposite effect, and might just turn you into a social outcast.
VII Music :
It seems that when we hear a piece of music that appeals to our senses, our brain’s reward centers are activated, and fear and negative emotions are reduced. Reduced stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure, and a slowing in the progression of age-related dementia are all associated with listening to music. There is still no agreement as to whether music actually makes you smarter, but it certainly appears that it can’t hurt.
VIII Relaxation : If you believe what you read, then believe this: Meditation
—taking time to turn your mind inward and contemplate
—and relaxation can reward us with tremendous benefits to both our minds and our bodies. Brain-imaging machines show that people who meditate actually show changes in the brain. Regular meditators say they feel more at ease and creative, in addition to experiencing less anxiety, pain, high blood pressure, asthma, insomnia, depression, and a vast array of other disorders than non-meditators.
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IX Following these simple tips may not turn you into a genius, but they may make you perform better and live a longer and happier life.
A. Answer the questions according to the passage.
1. According to the text, behavior and environment play a significant role in how the brain functions.
TRUE / FALSE / NO INFORMATION
2. People who exercise often are less likely to develop dementia.
TRUE / FALSE / NO INFORMATION
3. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 4? a) Eating unhealthy food can have a negative effect on the brain’s functions. b) Eat ing fats has a bad effect on the brain’s ability to function properly. c) Vegetarians have higher-functioning brains than meat-eaters. d) The brain should have a special diet, unlike the rest of the body.
4. Caffeine doesn’t help brain functions in the long term.
TRUE / FALSE / NO INFORMATION
5. Playing video games can have positive effects on mental skills.
TRUE / FALSE / NO INFORMATION
6. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 7? a) Listening to music makes people smarter. b) The brain’s reward centers are not activated except when listening to music. c) Only slow music has positive effects on the brain’s functions. d) Listening to unappealing music may not decrease anxiety.
7. Meditation is most effective when accompanied by music.
TRUE / FALSE / NO INFORMATION
8. In paragraph 7, “it” refers to … a) agreement b) music c) reductions
9. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 8? d) dementia a) Meditators tend not to drink anything with caffeine. b) Non-meditators are much more likely to get dementia than meditators. c) The effects of meditation on the brain can be viewed physically. d) Meditators are measurably smarter than non-meditators.
10. The author’s purpose in writing this article is primarily to … a) talk about the latest trends in brain research. b) discuss why dementia is increasing among older people. c) give information about simple techniques that can improve brain power. d) indicate common practices among geniuses.
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B. The Reading Passage describes several cause and effect relationships. Match each Cause in List A (1
–5) with an Effect in List B (A–G). Write the correct letter A–G in boxes 1–5 on your answer sheet. There are more Effects than you will need, so you will not use all of them.
Causes: List A
11.
Playing video games a few hours a week ____
12.
Listening to music you like ____
13.
Having too many saturated fats in your diet ____
14.
Playing video games too often _____
15.
Meditating regularly _____
Effects: List B
A. can make you feel less stressed and more creative
B. can turn you into a social outcast
C. boosts arousal and alertness
D. impacts brain functions negatively
E. increases your heart rate and blood pressure
F. improves hand-eye coordination
G. activates the brain’s reward centers
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