Cambridge 3 Reading Test 3 - Answers With Explanation

1. The passage says the twentieth-century focus of the Department "has been on small-scale societies", not on mainstream cultures like the US and Europe, so FALSE.

2. The Department's emphasis is on small-scale, traditional societies rather than "modern societies" — the passage never claims a focus on the contemporary/mainstream world, so FALSE.

3. The passage states the opposite: collecting emphasis has "often been less on individual objects than on groups of material", so FALSE.

4. The passage never compares the size of the textile collection with other museums' collections, so NOT GIVEN.

5. The text says traditional practices "draw on a continuing wealth of technological ingenuity", directly supporting the statement, so TRUE.

6. Although it was assumed small-scale societies would disappear after 1945, the passage notes such communities "can survive and adapt in spite of partial integration into a notoriously fickle world economy", so TRUE.

7. Bolivian textiles are named as part of the "great technical series" the Museum collected, matching Technical Series (TS).

8. Indian coracles are listed among the "artefact types such as boats", matching Artefact Types (AT).

9. Airport art is mentioned as part of the field assemblages, which "might cover the necessities of life... ritual objects, or even on occasion airport art", matching Field Assemblages (FA).

10. Arctic kayaks appear in the same list of boat artefact types as the Indian coracles, matching Artefact Types (AT).

11. The "necessities of life of an African herdsman or an Arabian farmer" is given as an example within the field assemblages paragraph, matching Field Assemblages (FA).

12. Tents from Middle Eastern countries are mentioned alongside clothing and jewellery as evidence of a decade's fieldwork "documenting social experience", matching Social Experience (SE).

13. Section A describes Holmberg's 1942 fieldwork among the Siriono, matching heading v, "Early research among the Indian Amazons".

14. Section B sets out the popular idea that Amazonia's forests are "a habitat totally hostile to human civilization" that "cannot sustain a more complex society", matching heading i.

15. Section D explains that the "natural history of Amazonia is to a surprising extent tied to the activities of its prehistoric inhabitants", matching heading vi.

16. The writer rejects this idea as myth, citing evidence of complex societies with populations "as large as 100,000" that thrived for over 1,000 years, so NO.

17. The writer explicitly says the popular view of Amazonia "betrays that view as myth", confirming a crucial misconception exists, so YES.

18. The passage never discusses other ecosystems elsewhere in the world for comparison, so NOT GIVEN.

19. The passage says ecologists "assumed that tropical ecosystems were shaped entirely by natural forces" and sought habitats they believed had "escaped human influence" — the opposite of being aware, so NO.

20. The writer states the Indians' "presence is in fact crucial to the survival of the forest", so YES.

21. The passage concludes that "with judicious management selected parts of the region could support more people than anyone thought before", so YES.

22. Holmberg judged the Siriono's existence "strikingly backward" and among "the most handicapped peoples of the world", matching C, an extremely primitive society.

23. The remains show the region "supported a series of indigenous cultures for eleven thousand years" before Europeans arrived, matching A, evidence of early indigenous communities.

24. Section D shows archaeological evidence overturned the ecologists' assumption, since natural history is "tied to the activities of its prehistoric inhabitants", matching B.

25. The passage's closing point is that the new understanding "offers hope for the future" for how the region is managed, matching C, changing development policy.

26. The passage says the cold "did not slow down mental functioning directly, but the feeling of cold distracted the divers from their tasks", matching A, less able to concentrate.

27. Melatonin, linked to daylight hours, is shown to affect stag feeding patterns, with food consumption "reaching a peak in February/March", matching B, animal feeding habits.

28. Irritability during storms is linked to positively charged air raising serotonin levels, a reaction to a weather phenomenon, matching B.

29. The passage mentions Russian research on children learning under UV light and separately mentions SAD in Britain, but never claims SAD is disrupting Russian children's education, so NOT GIVEN.

30. Serotonin is said to "possibly" make people more aggressive — a tentative link, not an established essential cause, so FALSE.

31. The "happy associations" idea is presented as a sceptic's alternative, but the restaurant tipping study (same temperature, only sunshine differing) points to a direct mood effect instead, so FALSE.

32. The naming of "Seasonal Affective Disorder" for the depression caused by dull winter weather establishes a link between mood and time of year, so TRUE.

33. Melatonin is described as rising and falling with the changing length of nights across the year, driving stag feeding cycles and hamster weight gain, so TRUE.

34. Positively charged ions are linked to irritability and aggression, but eating habits are linked instead to melatonin, not ions, so NOT GIVEN.

35-37. The Belgian counselling study (rain), the restaurant tipping study (sunshine) and the thunderstorm/serotonin research are the three effects the text presents as scientifically demonstrated, matching B, D and E.

38. Riot frequency in the US "rises dramatically as the weather gets warmer, hitting a peak around 27–30°C", matching B, hot weather.

39. Hamsters "put on more weight when the nights are getting shorter", i.e. as daylight increases, matching A.

40. Changing day and night lengths act as "time cues" that trigger animals' seasonal behaviour changes, matching F.