Cambridge 6 Reading Test 2 - Answers With Explanation

1. Paragraph A describes Portland's referendum, where local pressure groups won public money for light rail instead of a road, and "the railway worked spectacularly well" — a successful exercise in people power, heading ii.

2. Paragraph B notes travel times were stable "for at least six centuries" but infrastructure hasn't kept pace with sprawl, "causing massive congestion problems which now make commuting times far higher" — heading vii.

3. Paragraph C refutes the belief that wealth means more cars, noting wealthier European cities "have not generated the same level of car use" as poorer American ones — heading iv.

4. Paragraph D describes The Urban Village report's finding that "pushing everyone into the city centre was not the best approach", proposing urban villages around stations instead — heading i.

5. Paragraph E ends on population density rising because "creativity flourishes where people come together face-to-face" — the benefits of working together in cities, heading iii.

6. The study compared "thirty-seven cities around the world", not every city on Earth — FALSE.

7. Newman notes efficient cities put transport savings "into attracting industry and jobs or creating a better place to live" — TRUE.

8. The passage never discusses tram networks being dangerous for drivers — NOT GIVEN.

9. The passage says Melbourne has seen "an explosion in demand for accommodation in the inner suburbs", the opposite of a preference for the outer suburbs — FALSE.

10. Amsterdam and Copenhagen were "very efficient, even though their public transport systems were 'reasonable but not special'" — TRUE.

11. Perth is described as having "minimal public transport", with 17% of its wealth going to transport costs — inefficient due to a limited system, F.

12. Newman "accepts it would be hard for a city as hilly as Auckland to develop a really good rail network" — D.

13. Portland diverted road funding to light rail via referendum, and "the rail proposal won and the railway worked spectacularly well" — a profitable switch from road to rail, C.

14. Age-related diseases are "troubling a smaller proportion every year" — falling (B).

15. The passage confirms "the rate at which these diseases are declining continues to accelerate" — increasing (I).

16. Problems doctors once accepted at 65 are "often not appearing until people are 70 or 75" — later in life (F).

17. The improvement follows "medical advances" beating certain diseases back — medicine (M).

18. "Improvements in childhood nutrition in the first quarter of the twentieth century" gave today's elderly a better start — nutrition (J).

19. Rising cancer and bronchitis rates may reflect "changing smoking habits and poorer air quality" — pollution (N).

20. Better-educated 65-year-old women live several years longer on average — education (K).

21. Home medical aids and independence produced "a significant drop in the number of disabled old people" — disabled (G).

22. Slowing the trend "saved the United States government's Medicare system more than $200 billion" — the cost of supporting this group (A).

23. Raised toilet seats and bath seats let elderly people manage daily tasks unaided — home medical aids allow old people to be more independent (G).

24. Cotman's exercising rats had raised levels of a hormone that "may prevent the brains of active humans from deteriorating" — exercise may help prevent mental decline (E).

25. Seeman found people who "felt in control of their lives pumped out lower levels of stress hormones" during challenging simulations — feelings of control reduce stress in difficult situations (H).

26. Emotionally isolated elderly people "maintained higher levels of stress hormones even when asleep" — loneliness may cause rises in stress hormones (C).

27. "As they began to settle, grow plants and herd animals, the need for a sophisticated number system became paramount" — necessary when people began farming (B).

28. In the "one, two, many" type system, speakers add gestures like "look at my hands and see how many fingers I am showing you" — used when the range of number words was restricted (E).

29. "In fact, to qualify as a witness in a court of law a man had to be able to count to nine" — necessary to fulfil a civic role (A).

30. Registering a number "independent of the object being referenced" is described as the first step toward "a notational system for numbers and, from there, to arithmetic" — necessary for the development of arithmetic (C).

31. The Tsimshian language uses different word-sets depending on the class of item counted — a characteristic of early numeration systems (G).

32. Early tribes' considerations were "more of the kind Is this enough? rather than How many?" — TRUE.

33. Tasmanians could count "one, two, many" — three terms, not four — FALSE.

34. Speakers using simple systems clarify meaning with gestures, e.g. showing fingers to indicate an exact count — TRUE.

35. The passage says some cultures' languages "are very poor in number words and expressions" when dealing with large numbers — not all cultures could express them clearly — FALSE.

36. The passage discusses the Gothic and Anglo-Saxon words for ten and a hundred, but never mentions the word "thousand" — NOT GIVEN.

37. "The average person in the seventh century in Europe was not as familiar with numbers as we are today" — TRUE.

38. Tsimshian has one word-set "for long objects and trees" and a separate one "for canoes" — different words, not the same — FALSE.

39. The last of the seven word-sets "is a later development while the first six groups show the relics of an older system" — TRUE.

40. The passage lists pebbles, grains of corn, and fingers as equally valid counting aids without comparing how easy each is — NOT GIVEN.