READING TEST #5
Directions: In this section of the test, you will read FOUR different passages, each followed by 10 questions about it. For questions 1-40, you are to choose the best answer A, B, C or D, to each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen. Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.
You have 60 minutes to answer all the questions, including the time to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
PASSAGE 1
Questions 1-10
Though we have sent unmanned spacecraft to Mars and other parts of our solar system for decades, humans haven’t ventured more than 650 kilometers (400 miles) from Earth since 1973. However, there is increasing interest in sending new missions – both robotic and manned – into space. But unlike in the past, this renewed interest is not primarily being driven by government agencies. Instead, private companies are leading today’s new age of space exploration.
Take, for example, SpaceX, a private company based near Los Angeles. In early 2012, it sent an unmanned rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). Until now, astronauts and supplies from the U.S have been transported by space shuttle to the ISS. SpaceX and other companies are competing to replace the U.S. government shuttle and become the ISS’s supply ship.
Another company called Planetary Resources – which is backed by billionaires from Google – plans to use robotic spacecraft to mine asteroids for precious metals. One that the company hopes to find is platinum, a metal so rare on Earth that an ounce (about 28 grams) costs $1,600. Robots will have to travel millions of kilometers to locate and mine asteroids, and this requires technology that doesn’t exist yet. This isn’t stopping companies like Planetary Resources and others from trying, though. They are investing millions into research, hoping to create tools that will make space mining possible. “This is the beginning of the new space age,” says Mason Peck, who works for NASA, the U.S. space organization. “The energy we see now – the economic motivation to go into space – we haven’t seen that before.”
For centuries, economics has driven exploration. A thousand years ago, merchants risked the dangers of the Silk Road to reach the markets of China. In the 15th century, European ships traveled to new worlds, searching less for knowledge than for gold and spices. “Historically, the driver has always been the search for resources.” explains investor Peter Diamandis. If you want people to explore space, he says, create an economic incentive.
Entrepreneur Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and other companies, is spending a large part of his fortune on his own space program. SpaceX, as mentioned earlier, is developing a new rocket that can transport supplies to the ISS. It will be capable of carrying twice the cargo of the U.S. government’s space shuttle, Musk says, for about one-fifth the price. He wants to reduce costs by creating reusable rockets – in the same way that we reuse a plane after a flight. “Creating reusable rockets will be extremely difficult, and most people think it’s impossible, but I do not.” Musk says. “If we threw away airplanes after every flight, no one would fly.”
For Musk, creating reusable rockets is part of a much bigger plan: He wants to establish a human colony on Mars. NASA has had enormous success on Mars with unmanned spacecraft, but it has yet to launch a manned mission. Musk says SpaceX could put astronauts on Mars within 20 years, and then keep sending them for decades after that. “We can’t send one little group to Mars,” he says. “We have to take millions of people and lots of equipment to Mars to make it a self-sustaining civilization.” It will be the hardest thing that humanity has ever done, but Musk thinks his company can do it and he’s eager to see it happen. “It’s about making life multi-planetary,” he says. “It’s about getting out there and exploring the stars.”
Câu 1: Which statement about space exploration is NOT true?
- A. In 2012, a private company sent an unmanned rocket to the ISS.
- B. Humans have recently traveled more than 650 kilometers from Earth.
- C. There is newfound interest in manned and unmanned missions to space.
- D. More and more private companies are beginning to explore space.
- A. It is a government agency.
- B. It has sent manned missions into space.
- C. It has sent robotic missions into space to search for rare metals.
- D. It is supported by some people working for Google.
- A. one asteroid
- B. one metal
- C. one spacecraft
- D. one reason
- A. fuel
- B. enthusiasm
- C. investments
- D. capacity
- A. Spacecraft transport people to mine precious metals.
- B. Robots locate and mine asteroids millions of kilometers faraway.
- C. Space mining is not available at present.
- D. The government has invested a lot of money into space mining.
- A. Making money has always encouraged exploration, and space exploration is not different.
- B. It will take many more resources to convince people to travel to space.
- C. The development of space travel has been slow due to economic reasons.
- D. The search for knowledge is what should drive space exploration rather than economics.
- A. build a space station that can replace the ISS
- B. get the government’s approval to transport astronauts to the ISS
- C. partner with Planetary Resources to mine asteroids for platinum
- D. develop a reusable rocket that can take supplies to the ISS
- A. It can carry the same number of people as planes.
- B. It can carry the same number of supplies as the government’s shuttle.
- C. Its transportation cost is 20 percent of the government’s shuttle.
- D. It will be used for space mining.
- A. putting a few astronauts on Mars
- B. sending several unmanned spacecraft to Mars
- C. making a self-sustaining civilization on Mars
- D. transporting supplies to the ISS
- A. society
- B. group
- C. government
- D. life
PASSAGE 2
Questions 11-20
Why do we spend so much of our time not doing the work we should be doing, or putting off minor tasks that have since piled up to create one enormous, insurmountable obstacle? Procrastinating, as putting things off like this is called, is in our genetic make-up; we avoid dull or difficult jobs, opting to browse the internet instead, until it’s too late to do anything else.
‘We often put things off despite knowing that it will make life harder and more stressful,’ says Dr Piers Steel, the author of a book on procrastination and an authority on the science of motivation. ‘If these tasks were fun, we’d just do them now, but we put off what is difficult or unpleasant.’ Such as the paperwork that needs doing before leaving the office or cleaning the bits of your home that people can’t see.
However, getting on and doing things bring people many benefits. The fact is, the less people procrastinate, the better relationships they have, and the healthier they are. This is obvious when you look at the couples who don’t argue about whether anyone has cleaned the kitchen yet, then they can have more time to do physical exercise together, thus helping them keep fit and becoming closer. Some others, on the other hand, have endlessly rescheduling in their own heads and feel the chores piling up around them daily.
‘We’ve evolved to respond to the moment, and not to set our sights too far in an uncertain world,’ Dr Steel adds. ‘We are not set up to appreciate long-term rewards, whether it’s the benefit of a four-year degree, doing exercise or dieting. You feel the cost now and the reward comes much later. But humans value the short term.’ Procrastination is often associated with unhappiness, so now is the time to unlearn your time-wasting techniques and work-avoidance tactics. ‘You have two decision-making systems in your brain,’ Dr Steel says, ‘the limbic - which is responsible for the short term, and the prefrontal cortex, which deals with the future - it’s responsible for civilisation. We bounce between long-term goals and short-term temptations, so we need goals that will translate our plans for the limbic system.’
For example, take students writing dissertations; they set themselves targets and word counts per day. These are thus turned from seemingly endless tasks into something concrete with easily measured progress. Dr Steel recommends such techniques, or ‘pre-commitments’, adding that engaging yourself and others a month or so before the ‘deadline’ makes it more likely a task will be completed.
Overcoming procrastination ultimately comes down to planning, which, if you’re not careful, becomes procrastination in itself. But it’s worth making sure you have everything in place to change your strategies for the better - a separate computer log-on screen for work and for play, the former with a plain background, fewer applications and limited internet access. If you wish to check your personal emails, make sure they’re a log-out, rather than a click, away and remember every time you disengage, that it takes 15 minutes fully to re-immerse yourself in the task at hand.
Câu 11: What is true about procrastinating?
- A. It is something people use as an excuse.
- B. It is something many people can’t help.
- C. It is caused by the technology in people’s lives.
- D. It is more common when people have small jobs to do.
- A. to give an example of something people often put off
- B. to show a task people feel pleasant to do.
- C. to compare it with housework
- D. to talk about a subject of the book by Dr Piers Steel.
- A. People can improve their relationships and health when they do not procrastinate.
- B. The more people procrastinate; the more relationships they can have.
- C. Relationships can be badly affected when people put things off.
- D. The less people procrastinate, the more relationships they have and the stronger they become.
- A. find out more about the way they make decisions.
- B. be aware that their problem is relatively small.
- C. attempt to overcome their natural tendencies.
- D. take the advice of others in the same situation.
- A. targets
- B. goals
- C. wishes
- D. values
- A. students
- B. dissertations
- C. targets
- D. word counts
- A. They are an alternative to impossible goals.
- B. They are an effective way of impressing others.
- C. They allow people to achieve their aims sooner.
- D. They make challenges feel more manageable.
- A. reminds the reader to take the time to focus properly on a task
- B. warns the reader against spending too long planning.
- C. advises the reader to deal with non-work tasks quickly
- D. encourages the reader to use breaks effectively
- A. Family members or friends can help avoid procrastination.
- B. People should do minor tasks before challenging ones.
- C. People should stay focused on important tasks only.
- D. People should get on with things however difficult they are.
- A. causes of procrastination
- B. benefits of not putting things off
- C. effects of procrastination
- D. causes, effects and solutions of procrastination
