Cambridge 16 Reading Test 2 - Answers With Explanation

1. "The vast majority [of geoglyphs are] on the chalk downlands of the country's southern counties" — TRUE.

2. The passage lists "giants, horses, crosses and regimental badges" among the shapes but never says horses are the most numerous — NOT GIVEN.

3. "The White Horse has recently been re-dated and shown to be even older than its previously assigned... date" — the old dating was wrong — TRUE.

4. "While many historians are convinced the figure is prehistoric, others believe" it's medieval — disagreement, not agreement — FALSE.

5. "The method of cutting these huge figures was simply to remove the overlying grass to reveal the gleaming white chalk below" — the chalk was already there, not added — FALSE.

6. "One reason that the vast majority of hill figures have disappeared is that... people no longer bothered... to clear away the grass" — TRUE.

7. "Over hundreds of years the outlines would sometimes change due to people not always cutting in exactly the same place" — TRUE.

8. The Horse is called "the most famous" of the figures, but the passage never links this fame to its size — NOT GIVEN.

9. The horse sits "below the Ridgeway, a long-distance Neolithic track."

10. "'White Horse Hill' is mentioned in documents from the nearby Abbey of Abingdon."

11. OSL testing was done "on soil from two of the lower layers of the horse's body."

12. Epona was "worshipped as a protector of horses, and for her associations with fertility."

13. "Rhiannon, described in later Welsh mythology as a beautiful woman dressed in gold and riding a white horse."

14. "Microbes... have populated this planet since long before animal life developed and they will outlive us" — they'll exist longer than humans.

15. "The number of human cells in the average person is about 30 trillion, the number of microbial ones is higher — about 39 trillion" — a striking fact the writer highlights.

16. The fifth paragraph tells the story of van Leeuwenhoek finding "animalcules" through his microscope — how the discovery of microbes was made.

17. "Fewer than one hundred species of bacteria bring disease" — only a small share cause illness.

18. "We should realise we have a symbiotic relationship, that can be mutually beneficial or mutually destructive" — a partnership, not friend or foe.

19. "Our unhealthy, low-fibre diets are disrupting the bacterial balance" — poor nutrition.

20. "Our obsession with hygiene... [is] disrupting the bacterial balance" — excessive cleanliness.

21. "The excessive use of household detergents and antibacterial products actually destroys the microbes that normally keep the more dangerous germs at bay" — the products backfire — YES.

22. "Keeping a dog as a pet gives children early exposure to a diverse range of bacteria, which may help protect them against allergies" — more exposure helps, not less — NO.

23. The passage describes several case studies but never says there are too many of them — NOT GIVEN.

24. "Readers of Yong's book must be prepared for a decidedly unglamorous world. Among the less appealing case studies is one about... squid" — YES.

25. Mosquitoes are "being loaded with a bacterium to block the disease," but the passage never reports whether the effort has succeeded — NOT GIVEN.

26. "In the future, our ability to manipulate microbes means we could construct buildings with useful microbes built into their walls" — this is a future possibility, not something already done — NO.

27. "Wisdom isn't an exceptional trait possessed by a small handful of bearded philosophers after all" — a common assumption about wisdom is overturned.

28. "Experiential, situational, and cultural factors are even more powerful in shaping wisdom than previously imagined" — their importance had been underestimated.

29. "Wisdom is not solely an 'inner quality' but rather unfolds as a function of situations people happen to be in" — it varies with circumstances.

30. The paragraph recommends "look[ing] at scenarios from a third-party perspective, as though giving advice to a friend" — a concrete strategy for wiser reasoning.

31. "Intellectual humility or recognition of the limits of our own knowledge" — modesty about what we know.

32. "Appreciation of perspectives wider than the issue at hand" — being open to others' opinions.

33. This links to "perspectives wider than the issue at hand" — a broad view of the situation.

34. "Look at scenarios from a third-party perspective" means stepping back — objectivity rather than a personal stake.

35. The observer viewpoint focuses "on interpersonal and moral ideals such as justice and impartiality" — fairness.

36. "Participants in the group assigned to the 'distant observer' role" — they were assigned a perspective, not free to choose one — FALSE.

37. The passage doesn't say whether couples knew the study was about wise reasoning — NOT GIVEN.

38. The couples are described as being in "long-term romantic relationships," but no link is drawn between relationship length and the results — NOT GIVEN.

39. The 'distant observer' students and the 'other's eyes' couples both showed more wisdom-related reasoning than those using a first-person view — TRUE.

40. "Research shows only a small positive relationship between wise thinking and crystallized intelligence" — TRUE.