Cambridge 10 Reading Test 2 - Answers With Explanation

1. Paragraph A poses the puzzle directly: "Why did this particular Big Bang... happen in Britain? And why did it strike at the end of the 18th century?" — the time and place of the Industrial Revolution.

2. Paragraph B lists what's needed: "there needs to be the technology and power to drive factories, large urban populations... an affluent middle-class... a market-driven economy" — conditions required for industrialisation.

3. Paragraph C: "The missing factors, he proposes, are to be found in almost every kitchen cupboard. Tea and beer" — the two keys to Britain's revolution.

4. Paragraph D: historians wondered why the "infant mortality rate halved," then rules out virus, medicine, and environment as causes — the search for reasons behind a population increase.

5. Paragraph E: "We drank beer... a tax was introduced on malt... The poor turned to water and gin" — changes in drinking habits in Britain.

6. Paragraph F: "Macfarlane looked to Japan... Could it be the prevalence of tea in their culture?" — the Japan comparison leads him to the tea answer.

7. Paragraph G discusses Japan's large 17th-century cities and how it "abandoned the wheel" — the development of cities in Japan.

8. The passage never discusses China's transport system specifically — NOT GIVEN.

9. "The antiseptic properties of tannin... and of hops in beer... allowed urban communities to flourish at close quarters without succumbing to water-borne diseases such as dysentery" — TRUE.

10. "Roy Porter, the distinguished medical historian, recently wrote a favourable appraisal of his research" — he supports, not disagrees with, Macfarlane — FALSE.

11. "There was a burst in population growth" after 1740, not a reduction — FALSE.

12. The passage never says whether people brewed beer at home — NOT GIVEN.

13. "A tax was introduced on malt... The poor turned to water and gin and in the 1720s the mortality rate began to rise again" — TRUE.

14. Paragraph A: "a very close positive relationship was found when children's IQ scores were compared with their home educational provision" — the influence of domestic background.

15. Paragraph D: "Too much dependence on the teacher risks loss of autonomy and motivation to discover" — what is lost when learners get too much guidance.

16. Paragraph F: "Fear, for example, can limit the development of curiosity, which is a strong force in scientific advance" — the damaging effects of anxiety.

17. Paragraph D: methods like "child-initiated learning, ability-peer tutoring... have been found to be particularly useful for bright children from deprived areas" — techniques favouring disadvantaged children.

18. Shore and Kanevsky: "If they [the gifted] merely make fewer errors, then we can shorten the practice" — less time is needed on exercises with accurate gifted pupils.

19. Simonton concluded "characteristics such as independence seemed to contribute more to reaching the highest levels of expertise than intellectual skills" — self-reliance helping gifted students reach their goals.

20. Boekaerts found gifted children showed "emotional forces in harness," with "a strong desire to control their environment, improve their learning efficiency" — channelling feelings to assist learning.

21. Freeman (2010) found "a very close positive relationship... between children's IQ scores... and their home educational provision" — support from close relatives.

22. Elshout (1995) found "individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those who do not" — subject knowledge driving success.

23. "The higher the children's IQ scores... the better the quality of their educational backup, measured in terms of... number of books and activities in their home."

24. Average-ability pupils are those "for whom external regulation by the teacher often compensates for lack of internal regulation."

25. "Emotional awareness is also part of metacognition, so children should be helped to be aware of their feelings."

26. "Although 'spoon-feeding' can produce extremely high examination results, these are not always followed by equally impressive life successes."

27. "The novel has evolved precisely because of technological developments that made it possible to print out huge numbers of texts" — mass production.

28. "With novels, the reader attends mainly to the meaning of words rather than the way they are printed on the page" — the underlying ideas matter most.

29. "Artists seemed perfectly content to assign the reproduction of their creations to their workshop apprentices" — assistants produced the copies.

30. "Reprographic techniques that allow the production of high-quality prints made exactly to the original scale" — the same size as the original.

31. The closing paragraph argues the museum public "experience art more rewardingly when given the confidence to express their views" — the public's interests.

32. London's National Gallery example shows visitors judging their "own relative 'worthlessness'" next to priceless works — the negative effect on visitors' self-image.

33. "Nothing the viewer thinks about the work is going to alter that value" — viewers feel their personal reaction is of no significance.

34. The displacement effect comes from seeing "such diverse paintings, drawings and sculptures brought together" plus "the sheer volume of exhibits" — the variety and arrangement of works.

35. "There is no prescribed time over which a painting is viewed," unlike opera, plays, novels and poems — a painting has no fixed beginning or end.

36. Art history's focus on "discovering the meaning of art within the cultural context of its time" is discussed, but using "a range of media" is never mentioned — NOT GIVEN.

37. "This is in perfect harmony with the museum's function" — art history and museums align rather than conflict — NO.

38. "The museum public... experience art more rewardingly when given the confidence to express their views" — YES.

39. The passage never sets a quality threshold for selling reproductions to the public — NOT GIVEN.

40. "That may be too much to ask from those who seek to maintain and control the art establishment" — the writer doubts change is coming — NO.