Cambridge 6 Reading Test 1 - Answers With Explanation

1. Paragraph B describes AIS scientists "applying skills learned in one [sport] – such as building muscle strength in golfers – to others, such as swimming and squash" — matching B.

2. Paragraph C explains Bruce Mason's 3D analysis tool, where "a wire-frame model of a champion swimmer slices through the water" — matching C.

3. Paragraph B quotes the AIS's chief of science: "we can't waste our time looking at ethereal scientific questions that don't help the coach work with an athlete and improve performance" — matching B.

4. Paragraph F notes "there's nothing to stop other countries copying" AIS innovations, giving the coolant-lined jacket and altitude tent as examples now used elsewhere — matching F.

5. Paragraph D describes the saliva test for the protein immunoglobulin A, used to catch illness before it affects performance — matching D.

6. Paragraph A introduces the AIS and ASC, which between them "finance programmes of excellence in a total of 96 sports" — matching A, an overview of funded support.

7. Paragraph E describes building a "competition model" ahead of a championship: "you design the model to make that time" — matching E.

8. The digital-camera-based SWAN system is described as AIS's own tool, already in use "in Australian national competitions", with no mention of rivals using it — A.

9. The sensors being embedded in clothing and shoes are still in development — "they are developing unobtrusive sensors that will be embedded" — future use only, B.

10. The immunoglobulin A saliva test was developed jointly by AIS and the University of Newcastle for AIS athletes, with no indication rivals use it — A.

11. Altitude tents were an AIS innovation that "everyone uses" now — C, used by both Australia and its rivals.

12. Ahead of a championship, sports scientists and coaches build a "competition model", based on the times they expect to win with.

13. The coolant-lined jackets "sliced as much as two per cent off cyclists' and rowers' times" at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

14. Paragraph I closes by arguing that "bringing these barriers down would help the world's economies grow even closer" — a suggestion for the future, matching I.

15. Paragraph F covers software and films "exported" by transmitting them "over telephone lines from one country to another" — the effect of electronic delivery, matching F.

16. Paragraph E notes that manufacturers "in Japan or Texas will not face hugely bigger freight bills" importing disk drives from Singapore versus buying domestically — matching E.

17. Paragraph D describes how manufactured goods have "become lighter and less bulky", so "less transportation is required for every dollar's worth of imports or exports" — matching D.

18. Paragraph A states the world economy grows "a bit over 3% a year" while trade volume rises "at a compound annual rate of about twice that" — TRUE.

19. Paragraph B warns that cheap labour "may make Chinese clothing competitive", but shipment delays can still cause "trade [to] lose its advantages" — cheap labour doesn't guarantee anything, FALSE.

20. Paragraph C gives each country's output share in agriculture/manufacturing but never compares Japan's and France's meat and steel imports directly — NOT GIVEN.

21. Paragraph D states plainly that "countries still trade disproportionately with their geographic neighbours" — TRUE.

22. Paragraph E places disk-drive manufacturing in "South-east Asia", not Germany — Germany's component manufacturing is never mentioned — NOT GIVEN.

23. Cargo-handling improvements have had a significant effect on trade — the summary's opening claim, matching option G.

24. Computer manufacturers can "import" disk-drive components from overseas rather than sourcing locally, matching option B.

25. The invention of the shipping container and the shift to "all-container vessels" let bulk cargo move safely and efficiently — matching option C.

26. Paragraph H notes governments kept "a firmer hand on truck and railroad tariffs" than on ocean freight — reducing these tariffs is the remaining step, matching option A.

27. Paragraph B describes the Inuit's own response — believing "their best hope of survival... lies in combining their ancestral knowledge with the best of modern science" — heading i.

28. Paragraph C paints the Canadian Arctic as "a vast, treeless polar desert" where "farming is out of the question" — heading vi, a difficult landscape.

29. Paragraph D explains that provisions must be flown in or shipped, since imported meat can cost a family "around £7,000 a year" — heading iii, alternative sources of essential supplies.

30. Paragraph E lists health consequences — "obesity, heart disease and diabetes" and "a high incidence of depression" — heading vii, negative effects on well-being.

31. Paragraph F notes Inuit traditional knowledge (IQ) "has had much more credibility and weight" in recent years, and is now required for research approval — heading iv, growing respect for Inuit opinion.

32. Paragraph G admits "there are still huge gaps in our environmental knowledge" and that predictions are "no more than best guesses" — heading ii.

33. Paragraph C states plainly that "farming is out of the question" in the Arctic environment.

34&35. Early settlers survived "by exploiting sea mammals and fish", the only food sources the harsh terrain allowed.

36. Paragraph C names the successful settlers: "these Thule people", who adapted well where earlier groups had failed.

37. Paragraph D describes Nunavut as "1.9 million square kilometres of rock and ice, and a handful of islands".

38. Paragraph D notes that over 40 years "most have abandoned their nomadic ways" and settled in permanent communities.

39. Despite settling, communities "still rely heavily on nature to provide food and clothing".

40. Paragraph D's continuation explains that replacing hunted meat with imported meat costs a family around £7,000 a year — imported produce is particularly expensive.