Cambridge 18 Reading Test 3 - Answers With Explanation

1. Section G: "fly ash, a byproduct of coal-burning power plants... iron-ore slag, a byproduct of the iron-ore smelting process" — describes how each raw material is produced.

2. Section D: "Vancouver, Vienna and Brumunddal in Norway are all home to constructed tall, wooden buildings."

3. Section C: "the ingredients of concrete [are] relatively cheap and found in abundance in most places around the globe."

4. Section F: "only when a wider range of construction projects has been proven in practice will it be possible to see wood as a real alternative to concrete."

5. "Climate change is driving architects to turn to treated timber as a possible resource."

6. "Wood expands as it absorbs moisture from the air."

7. "An adhesive is used to stick layers of solid-sawn timber together, crosswise, to form building blocks."

8. "Wooden buildings can be constructed at a greater speed than ones of concrete and steel."

9. Anna Surgenor warns that shipping alternative materials "over long distances, using fossil fuels" could mean "the use of alternative materials might not make sense from an overall carbon reduction perspective."

10. Chris Cheeseman: "'Concrete is amazing stuff. Making anything with similar properties is going to be very difficult.'"

11. Markus Mannström reports "increasing demand globally for building in wood, with climate change concerns the key driver."

12. Preston and Lehne note new cements "are rarely as cost-effective as conventional cement, and they face raw-material shortages and resistance from customers."

13. Cheeseman says "it is the scale on which it is used that makes it high carbon. The sheer scale of manufacture is so huge, that is the issue."

14. Paragraph A shows steam cars kept both the strengths and the weaknesses of railway steam power — the boilers "had to be lit by hand" and needed twenty minutes to build pressure, yet still offered "quick transportation."

15. Paragraph B: the Internal Combustion Engine appeared and "steam power was gradually phased out" once GM's electric starter arrived.

16. Paragraph C: the Model B drew praise for its near-silent ride and "remarkable acceleration," as described by Automobile magazine in 1914.

17. Paragraph D: after seeking investment, the company "had received 5,390 deposits for Doble Detroits" — genuine commercial orders.

18. Paragraph E: buyers "complained that the vehicles were sluggish and erratic," a disappointing result for those who had ordered them.

19. Paragraph F: the Model E "sat overnight in freezing temperatures" and was "left to sit for over an hour in the frosty morning air" before being assessed.

20. Paragraph G ends by wondering "how efficient a steam car might be with the benefit of modern materials and computers" — a possible answer to today's emissions problem.

21. "The glory days of steam cars were few" — its dominance didn't last.

22. The Doble brothers "built their first steam car" which "did not run well," then "went on to build a second and third prototype" before the Model B succeeded.

23. Abner Doble drove to Detroit "in order to seek investment in his automobile design, which he used to open the General Engineering Company."

24. "Its maximum speed was pushed to over a hundred miles per hour" in later testing.

25. "Fewer than fifty of the amazing Model E steam cars had been produced" before the company folded.

26. A surviving Model E "runs clean enough to pass the emissions laws in California today, and they are pretty strict."

27. The teacher gives different students in the same class very different tasks, from basic character identification to abstract questions about Shakespeare's themes — showing how one teacher manages a wide spread of learning needs.

28. "The practice is intuitively appealing to almost every stakeholder" — a very broad appeal.

29. "The brightest ones will never summit Mount Qomolangma" — the peak stands for potential they never reach.

30. "Scaffolding" is introduced right after the ZPD is described as "the gap between what they can achieve only with support — teachers, textbooks, worked examples, parents" — the assistance given early in learning.

31. Hattie "notes that 'tracking has minimal effects on learning outcomes'" — little indication of higher achievement.

32. "Streaming appears to significantly — and negatively — affect those students assigned to the lowest sets."

33. "These students tend to have much higher representation of low socioeconomic class" — disadvantaged backgrounds.

34. "Less significant is the small benefit for those lucky clever students in the higher sets" — the brightest pupils.

35. "Streaming students by diagnosed achievement automatically limits what the teacher feels the student is capable of" — lower expectations.

36. "If we accept this model, it follows that streaming students with similar ZPDs would be an efficient and effective solution" — Vygotsky's model actually supports streaming, not mixed-ability classes — NO.

37. The passage discusses the value of peer-to-peer learning and the MKO role, but never mentions teachers being uncertain about it — NOT GIVEN.

38. "There is also something exciting about passing on skills and knowledge that you yourself have just mastered — a certain pride and zeal" — YES.

39. "We need the many to flourish — not suffer at the expense of a few bright stars" — the opposite priority — NO.

40. The class hike is described as challenging and collaborative, but the writer never claims it improves academic outcomes back in the classroom — NOT GIVEN.