Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to choose the word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 36 to 45.
In a world where 2 billion people live in homes that don't have light bulbs, technology holds the key (36)______ banishing poverty. Even the simplest technologies can transform lives and save money. Vaccines, crops, computers and sources of solar energy can all reduce poverty in developing countries. For example, cheap oral-rehydration therapy developed in Bangladesh has dramatically cut the death (37)______ from childhood diarrhoea.But even when such technologies exist, the depressing fact is that we can’t make them (38)______ for those who most need them. Solar panels, batteries and light bulbs are still beyond the purse of many, but where they have been installed they change lives. A decent light in the evening gives children more time for homework and extends the productive day for adults.Kenya has a thriving solar industry and six years ago Kenyan pioneers also (39)______ connecting schools to the Internet via radio links. These people were fortunate (40)______ being able to afford solar panels, radios and old computers. How much bigger would the impact be if these things (41)______ and priced specifically for poor people?Multinationals must become part of the solution, because (42)______ they own around 60 per cent of the world's technology, they seldom make products for poor customers. Of 1,223 new drugs marketed worldwide from 1975 to 1996, for example, just 13 were for tropical diseases.People think those enterprises should do more to provide vital products such as medicines (43)______ different prices around the world to suit (44)______ people can afford. Alternatively, they could pay a percentage of their profit towards research and development for (45)______.
Adapted from “The Price is Wrong” in “Focus on IELTS Foundations” by Sue O’Connell, Pearson Longman, 2006
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 46 to 55.
Archimedes' Principle is a law of physics that states that when an object is totally or partially immersed in a fluid, it experiences an upthrust equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. The principle is most frequently applied to the behaviour of objects in water, and helps to explain floating and sinking, and why objects seem lighter in water. It also applies to balloons.
The key word in the principle is “upthrust”, which refers to the force acting upward to reduce the apparent weight of the object when it is under water. If, for example, a metal block with a volume of 100 cm3 is dipped in water, it displaces an equal volume of water, which has a weight of approximately 1 N (3.5 oz). The block therefore seems to weigh about 1 N less.
An object will float if its average density is less than that of water. If it is totally submerged, the weight of the water it displaces (and hence the upthrust on it) is greater than its own weight, and it is forced upward and out of the water, until the weight of the water displaced by the submerged part is exactly equal to the weight of the floating object. Thus a block of wood with a density six tenths that of water will float with six tenths of its volume under water, since at that point the weight of fluid displaced is the same as the block’s own weight. If a dense material is made into a suitable shape, it will float because of Archimedes’ principle. A ship floats, whereas a block of iron of the same mass sinks.
It is also because of Archimedes’ principle that ships float lower in the water when they are heavily loaded (more water must be displaced to give the necessary upthrust). In addition, they cannot be so heavily loaded if they are to sail in fresh water as they can if they are to sail in the sea, since fresh water is less dense than sea water, and so more water must be displaced to give the necessary upthrust. This means the ship is lower in the water, which can be dangerous in rough weather.
From "Archimedes' Principle", Microsoft® Student 2008 [DVD]. Microsoft Corporation, 2007.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 61 to 70.
In 1826, a Frenchman named Niépce needed pictures for his business. He was not a good artist, so he invented a very simple camera. He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his yard. That was the first photograph.
The next important date in the history of photography was 1837. That year, Daguerre, another Frenchman, took a picture of his studio. He used a new kind of camera and a different process. In his pictures, you could see everything clearly, even the smallest details. This kind of photograph was called a daguerreotype.
Soon, other people began to use Daguerre's process. Travelers brought back daguerreotypes from all around the world. People photographed famous buildings, cities, and mountains.
In about 1840, the process was improved. Then photographers could take pictures of people and moving things. The process was not simple and photographers had to carry lots of film and processing equipment. However, this did not stop photographers, especially in the United States. After 1840, daguerreotype artists were popular in most cities.
Matthew Brady was one well-known American photographer. He took many portraits of famous people. The portraits were unusual because they were lifelike and full of personality. Brady was also the first person to take pictures of a war. His 1862 Civil War pictures showed dead soldiers and ruined cities. They made the war seem more real and more terrible.
In the 1880s, new inventions began to change photography. Photographers could buy film ready-made in rolls, instead of having to make the film themselves. Also, they did not have to process the film immediately. They could bring it back to their studios and develop it later. They did not have to carry lots of equipment. And finally, the invention of the small handheld camera made photography less expensive.
With a small camera, anyone could be a photographer. People began to use cameras just for fun. They took pictures of their families, friends, and favorite places. They called these pictures "snapshots".
Documentary photographs became popular in newspapers in the 1890s. Soon magazines and books also used them. These pictures showed true events and people. They were much more real than drawings.
Some people began to think of photography as a form of art. They thought that photography could do more than show the real world. It could also show ideas and feelings, like other art forms.
From “Reading Power” by Beatrice S. Mikulecky and Linda Jeffries