Part 7

You are going to read an extract from a magazine article. Six paragraphs have been removed from
the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A – G the one which fits each gap (41 – 46). There is one
extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Scottish Wildcat
On my living-room wall I have a painting of a western Scotland. This is a cause for real
wildcat by John Holmes of which I am concern, given that the animals in these areas
extremely fond. It depicts a snarling, spitting have less contact with domestic cats and are
animal, teeth bared and back arched: a taut therefore purer.
coiled spring ready to unleash some unknown
fury. 44

41 Part of the problem stems from the fact that the

accepted physical description of the species
However, the physical differences are tangible. originates from the selective nature of the
The wildcat is a much larger animal, weighing examination process by the British Natural
in some cases up to seven kilos, the same History Museum at the start of the century, and
as a typical male fox. The coat pattern is this has been used as the type-definition for
superficially similar to a domestic tabby cat but the animal ever since. Animals that did not
it is all stripes and no spots. The tail is thicker conform to that large blunt-tailed ‘tabby’
and blunter, with three to five black rings. The description were discarded as not being
animal has an altogether heavier look. wildcats. In other words, an artificial collection
of specimens was built up, exhibiting the
The Scottish wildcat was originally features considered typical of the wildcat.
distinguished as a separate subspecies in
1912, but it is now generally recognised that The current research aims to resolve this
there is little difference between the Scottish potential problem. It is attempting to find out
and other European populations. According to whether there are any physical features which
an excellent report on the wildcat printed in characterise the so-called wild-living cats.
1991, the animals originally occurred in a
variety of habitats throughout Europe. 45

42 But what of his lifestyle? Wildcat kittens are

usually born in May/June in a secluded den,
It was during the nineteenth century, with the secreted in a gap amongst boulders. Another
establishment of many estates used by favourite location is in the roots of a tree.
landowners for hunting, that the wildcat
became a nuisance and its rapid decline really 46
began; 198 wildcats were killed in three years
in the area of Glengarry, for example.
However, things were later to improve for the Rabbits are a favourite prey, and some of the
species. best areas to see wildcats are at rabbit
warrens close to the forest and moorland edge.
Mice, small birds and even insects also form a
43 large part of the diet, and the animal may
occasionally take young deer.
The future is by no means secure, though, and
recent evidence suggests that the wildcat is The wildcat is one of the Scottish Highlands’
particularly vulnerable to local eradication, most exciting animals. Catch a glimpse of one
especially in the remoter parts of northern and and the memory will linger forever.
A The recruitment of men to the D They probably used deciduous and
armed forces during the conflict coniferous woodland for shelter,
in Europe from 1914 to 1918 meant particularly in winter, and hunted over
there was very little persecution, since more open areas such as forest edge,
gamekeepers went off to fight. As the open woodland, thickets and scrub,
number of gamekeepers decreased, grassy areas and marsh. The wildcat
the wildcat began to increase its range, was probably driven into more
recolonising many of its former haunts. mountainous areas by a combination of
Extinction was narrowly averted. deforestation and persecution.

B The wildcat waits for a while in rapt E As the animals emerge, their curiosity
concentration, ears twitching and eyes is aroused by every movement and
watching, seeing everything and rustle in the vegetation. Later they will
hearing everything, trying to detect the accompany their mother on hunting
tell-tale movement of a vole or a trips, learning quickly, and soon
mouse. But there is nothing, and in become adept hunters themselves.
another leap he disappears into the
gloom. F This is what makes many people think
that the wildcat is a species in its own
C The results, which are expected shortly, right. Research currently being
will be fascinating. But anyone who undertaken by Scottish Natural
has seen a wildcat will be in little doubt Heritage is investigating whether the
that there is indeed a unique and wildcat really is distinct from its home-
distinctive animal living in the Scottish living cousin, or whether it is nothing
Highlands, whatever his background. more than a wild-living form of the
domestic cat.

G It is a typical image most folk have of

the beast, but it is very much a false
one, for the wildcat is little more than a
bigger version of the domestic cat, and
probably shows his anger as often.
 Part 7

You are going to read an extract from a magazine article about Macquarie Island. Six paragraphs
have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A – G the one which fits each gap
(41 – 46). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Macquarie Island
Journalist Matthew Denholm joins a group of scientists, attempting to save Macquarie Island, which
lies halfway between Australia and Antarctica.

I am stumbling, blinded by tiny missiles of ice and

snow driven horizontally into my face by a howling 44
gale. One minute I’m blown backwards. The next
This extreme isolation means no activity is easy on
I’m leaping skyward in undignified panic as a foot
the island. Our first challenge was getting ashore as
narrowly misses an outraged elephant seal.
there is no safe anchorage. But when we eventually
Squinting painfully through torchlight, I’ve little
reached the beach, I could instantly see that the
hope of seeing the beasts.
island’s reputation as ‘the Galápagos of the south’ is
justified. Over the next few days, seals, penguins
41
and a host of seabirds are a constant presence. As in
Later, inside a cosy hut, sporting a patch over the the Galápagos Islands, some species are abundant –
sorer of my eyes, I have to admit that it probably is. there are an estimated 100,000 seals and four million
This is, after all, the sub-Antarctic. Or to be precise, penguins. Though hunted in the past, these days the
Macquarie Island: a sliver of land conjured abruptly main threat to the island’s fauna comes not from
from the vast wilderness of the Southern Ocean. The man but from our legacy.
darkest, coldest months are generally the quietest
time of year for human activity here, but this year is 45
different. I’m with a team of scientists who are
Unaccustomed to the herbivores’ teeth, the island
undertaking a seemingly impossible task: to rid the
flora has been overgrazed and reduced to stubble.
entire island of every rabbit, rat and mouse.
The hills and plateaus are pock-marked with holes
and soft surfaces are undermined by their burrows.
42
On this treeless island, the overgrazing has also left
Next morning, I abruptly change my mind, however, the homes of native birds exposed. Petrel and
when I awake to a view that justifies the three-day albatross chicks are thus more vulnerable to
voyage to this remote outpost of Australia. After predation and the harsh elements. The devastation
overnight snowfalls the island is painted white, reached such a point that in 2007 the World Heritage
from highland plateaus, with frozen lakes, to rocky Convention discussed whether the island should lose
black sand and pebble shore. All glistens in rare its World Heritage status.
sub-Antarctic sunshine. Besides, the previous
46
afternoon’s discomforts were entirely our own fault.
However, the status was also conferred because of
43
its ‘outstanding natural beauty and aesthetic
The delay while we doubled back made it importance’. Given that the wild hillsides that
impossible to reach the hut before dusk. I had also should be lushly covered are bare, and are animated
blundered, deciding snow goggles were unnecessary. not by the movement of wind in tussock but by
We had been taught a valuable lesson. While rabbits running amok, it is not surprising that the
officially part of Australia, this island is a different world was beginning to ask whether the description
world. Different rules apply. Every move must be still applied.
planned and precautions taken because of the
dangers posed by climate and terrain.
A This is mainly in the form of rabbits. E The resultant landslips have devastating
Introduced in 1877 as a food source, they consequences. They have harmed hundreds
took to the island with gusto. Recent of penguins as well as destroying nesting
estimates of the rabbit population, before the sites leaving local wildlife at risk. I begin to
eradication program began, ranged from realise just how damaged this wilderness is.
100,000 to 150,000.
F At night, they are indistinguishable from the
B It’s a realisation that makes all the more rocks that cover the ground; only their
impressive the endeavours of the first gurgling barks tell me when to jump. As I
explorers to come here. Here at Brothers lose feeling in my fingers, numbed by glacial
Point, perched on a headland off the island’s temperatures, I ask myself: Is this what I
east coast, we could be the last humans on sailed to the bottom of the world for?
Earth. In a geographical sense, we very
nearly are. G Macquarie achieved the listing 10 years
earlier, partly in recognition of the fact that it
C The walk – just under 10km from the is a geological freak. The island is ocean
research station to the cabin – wasn’t meant floor forced to the surface by the
to be in darkness. Some time after setting convergence of two tectonic plates – an
out, however, my photographer realised he ongoing process.
had left a piece of camera equipment behind.

D It’s one of the most ambitious programs of its

type ever attempted. A worthy project
indeed, but as the intense winds rage outside,
I can empathise with Captain Douglass, an
early visitor to the island. Arriving in 1822,
Douglass called Macquarie ‘the most
wretched place’.
 12

Part 7

Read an extract from a magazine article below. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract.
For questions 41-46, choose the correct paragraph and move it into the gap.
There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Money-making Mantas
Manta rays have the potential to generate substantial long-term income for many coastal
communities around the world, provided that stocks remain healthy.

Manta rays are always on the move. Unlike the of being with manta rays is the very attraction
other 500 or so species in the ray and skate that sells the package, bringing millions of
family, for mantas, lying on the bottom of the dollars into the local economy. Manta ray dives
ocean, blending in with the environment or on Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia have
conserving energy, isn’t an option. From the overtaken whale shark tours as the big-draw
moment they’re born – released free and money maker for local companies, while Bali’s
autonomous – to the moment they die, three to Manta Point at Nusa Penida brings in $3 million
four decades later if they’re lucky, they must a year.
remain constantly, ceaselessly on the move.
44
41
Reef manta rays in this habitat have been
Movement, however, is in one direction only – studied for more than a decade. Each
forward: they have no means to reverse course. individual within the resident population has
Although they can ascend or descend, turn left been identified by its characteristic markings
or right, it’s always with, and as a result of, and colouration, and the population is known to
forward propulsion achieved by waving their number around 146. The area’s dive and
pectoral fins in the same way that a bird snorkel operators earn a combined $3.4 million
achieves flight by flapping its wings. A manta in a year directly from their manta encounters.
motion, it has to be said, cuts a pretty Hence, each of the identified mantas currently
impressive figure. brings in $23,288 a year.

42 45

For those fortunate enough to come upon a This doesn’t reflect the manta’s additional value
manta doing this in its natural setting, the to Hawaii’s local tourism infrastructure by
impression is almost universal: they are creating a revenue stream for airlines, hotels,
perceived as majestic animals, graceful, car-rental firms, taxis, restaurants and so on
benign, sometimes curious with the sparkle of which provide employment. Nature tourists
intelligence in their unblinking eyes. Indeed, flock to the area and while they are there, do
mantas are considered to be the most not spare any expense in the name of comfort
intelligent fish in the sea, with the highest brain- and enjoyment.
to-body mass ratio of any member of the ray
family. So, how feasible is it that you’ll 46
encounter one of these magnificent fish – given
that their numbers have declined significantly Not for nothing has it acquired this label.
over the last decade? However, if the mantas were ever to become
extinct, all that the operators would have left to
43 sell is ‘coral gardens’ and vacant seawater –
and that doesn’t add up to much of a business
Some places, such as the tiny Micronesian plan.
island of Yap, go further still. There, the allure
 13

A To realise tourists’ dreams, the most E The draw of the manta ray is an
popular live-aboard dive boats tailor their inestimable windfall for scuba diving and
cruise itineraries to locations where there snorkelling businesses. And there’s no
is a good likelihood of seeing a manta. better example of the financial value of
Similarly, land-based operators exploit manta encounters to a local economy than
known local haunts on day trips, getting the success of the Kona district of Hawaii.
as many divers to the mantas as they
can fit aboard their boats.

B Clearly then, from the financial F Scuba diving and snorkelling enthusiasts
perspective, the manta isn’t just another the world over actively seek out
fish in Hawaiian waters; the ray is an encounters with manta rays. Destinations
economic benefactor that can such as Hawaii, the Maldives and Mexico
legitimately, and accurately, be described are popular sites to observe this large
as ‘The Million Dollar Manta’. creature as it glides through the water.

C This is necessary as it allows them to G With a lifespan of 40-plus years, these

breathe and also find food. As filter- individuals will, over the course of a
feeding specialists, they need to swim to lifetime, generate a seven-figure sum for
capture and engulf the small fish and the local economy from tourist excursions
microscopic plankton upon which they alone.
feed.

D Indeed, a few years ago, the oceanic

manta ray became the first ray to be
officially listed as a protected species.
This means their habitats must be
conserved and restored. But mantas can
migrate across large distances, so
they’re still vulnerable to being fished as
they roam. And the reef manta is still
unprotected.

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Test 1 Test 2 Test 3