Multi-Level Record Abror Rahmatullayev

Test 1
Marie Curie is probably the most famous woman scientist who has ever lived. Born
Maria Sklodowska in Poland in 1867, she is famous for her work on radioactivity,
and was twice a winner of the Nobel Prize. With her husband, Pierre Curie, and
Henri Becquerel, she was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics, and was then
sole winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. She was the first woman to win a
Nobel Prize.
From childhood, Marie was remarkable for her prodigious memory, and at the age of
16 won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education. Because her father
lost his savings through bad investment, she then had to take work as a teacher.
From her earnings she was able to finance her sister Bronia's medical studies in
Paris, on the understanding that Bronia would, in turn, later help her to get an
education.
In 1891 this promise was fulfilled and Marie went to Paris and began to study at the
Sorbonne (the University of Paris). She often worked far into the night and lived on
little more than bread and butter and tea. She came first in the examination in the
physical sciences in 1893, and in 1894 was placed second in the examination in
mathematical sciences. It was not until the spring of that year that she was
introduced to Pierre Curie.
Their marriage in 1895 marked the start of a partnership that was soon to achieve
results of world significance. Following Henri Becquerel's discovery in 1896 of a new
phenomenon, which Marie later called 'radioactivity', Marie Curie decided to find out
if the radioactivity discovered in uranium was to be found in other elements. She
discovered that this was true for thorium. Turning her attention to minerals, she
found her interest drawn to pitchblende, a mineral whose radioactivity, superior to
that of pure uranium, could be explained only by the presence in the ore of small
quantities of an unknown substance of very high activity. Pierre Curic joined her in
the work that she had undertaken to resolve this problem, and that led to the
discovery of the new elements, polonium and radium. While Pierre Curie devoted
himself chiefly to the physical study of the new radiations, Marie Curie struggled to
obtain pure radium in the metallic state. This was achieved with the help of the
chemist André-Louis Debierne, one of Pierre Curie's pupils. Based on the results of
this research, Marie Curie received her Doctorate of Science, and in 1903 Marie and
Pierre shared with Becquerel the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of
radioactivity.
The births of Marie's two daughters, Irène and Eve, in 1897 and 1904 failed to
interrupt her scientific work. She was appointed lecturer in physics at the École
Normale Supérieure for girls in Sèvres, France (1900), and introduced a method of
teaching based on experimental demonstrations. In December 1904 she was
appointed chief assistant in the laboratory directed by Pierre Curie.
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The sudden death of her husband in 1906 was a bitter blow to Marie Curie, but was
also a turning point in her career: henceforth she was to devote all her energy to
completing alone the scientific work that they had undertaken. On May 13, 1906,
she was appointed to the professorship that had been left vacant on her husband's
death, becoming the first woman to teach at the Sorbonne. In 1911 she was
awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the isolation of a pure form of radium.
During World War I, Marie Curie, with the help of her daughter Irène, devoted
herself to the development of the use of X-radiography, including the mobile units
which came to be known as 'Little Curies', used for the treatment of wounded
soldiers. In 1918 the Radium Institute, whose staff Irène had joined, began to
operate in earnest, and became a centre for nuclear physics and chemistry. Marie
Curie, now at the highest point of her fame and, from 1922, a member of the
Academy of Medicine, researched the chemistry of radioactive substances and their
medical applications.
In 1921, accompanied by her two daughters, Marie Curie made a triumphant journey
to the United States to raise funds for research on radium. Women there presented
her with a gram of radium for her campaign. Marie also gave lectures in Belgium,
Brazil, Spain and Czechoslovakia and, in addition, had the satisfaction of seeing the
development of the Curie Foundation in Paris, and the inauguration in 1932 in
Warsaw of the Radium Institute, where her sister Bronia became director.
One of Marie Curie's outstanding achievements was to have understood the need to
accumulate intense radioactive sources, not only to treat illness but also to maintain
an abundant supply for research. The existence in Paris at the Radium Institute of a
stock of 1.5 grams of radium made a decisive contribution to the success of the
experiments undertaken in the years around 1930. This work prepared the way for
the discovery of the neutron by Sir James Chadwick and, above all, for the
discovery in 1934 by Irène and Frédéric Joliot- Curie of artificial radioactivity. A few
months after this discovery, Marie Curie died as a result of leukaemia caused by
exposure to radiation. She had often carried test tubes containing radioactive
isotopes in her pocket, remarking on the pretty blue-green light they gave off.
Her contribution to physics had been immense, not only in her own work, the
importance of which had been demonstrated by her two Nobel Prizes, but because
of her influence on subsequent generations of nuclear physicists and chemists.
Multi-Level Record Abror Rahmatullayev

Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1 Marie Curie's husband was a joint winner of both Marie's Nobel Prizes.
2 Marie became interested in science when she was a child.
3 Marie was able to attend the Sorbonne because of her sister's financial
contribution.
4 Marie stopped doing research for several years when her children were born.
5 Marie took over the teaching position her husband had held.
6 Marie's sister Bronia studied the medical uses of radioactivity.

Questions 7-13
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet.

Marie Curie's research on radioactivity

 When uranium was discovered to be radioactive, Marie Curie found that the
element called 7……............ had the same property.
 Marie and Pierre Curie's research into the radioactivity of the mineral known as
8..................... to the discovery of two new elements.
 In 1911, Marie Curie received recognition for her work on the element
9……….……
 Marie and Irène Curie developed X-radiography which was used as a medical
technique for 10…..…………….
 Marie Curie saw the importance of collecting radioactive material both for
research and for cases of 11…………..……..
 The radioactive material stocked in Paris contributed to the discoveries in the
1930s of the 12.................... and of what was known as artificial radioactivity.
 During her research, Marie Curie was exposed to radiation and as a result she
suffered from 13……………….
Multi-Level Record Abror Rahmatullayev

Test 2

Wildfires are becoming an increasing menace in the western United States, with
Southern California being the hardest hit area. There's a reason fire squads battling
more frequent blazes in Southern California are having such difficulty containing the
flames, despite better preparedness than ever and decades of experience fighting
fires fanned by the 'Santa Ana Winds'. The wildfires themselves, experts say, are
generally hotter, faster, and spread more erratically than in the past.

Megafires, also called 'siege fires', are the increasingly frequent blazes that burn
500,000 acres or more - 10 times the size of the average forest fire of 20 years ago.
Some recent wildfires are among the biggest ever in California in terms of acreage
burned, according to state figures and news reports.

One explanation for the trend to more superhot fires is that the region, which usually
has dry summers, has had significantly below normal precipitation in many recent
years. Another reason, experts say, is related to the century- long policy of the US
Forest Service to stop wildfires as quickly as possible. The unintentional
consequence has been to halt the natural eradication of underbrush, now the
primary fuel for megafires.

Three other factors contribute to the trend, they add. First is climate change, marked
by a 1-degree Fahrenheit rise in average yearly temperature across the western
states. Second is fire seasons that on average are 78 days longer than they were 20
years ago. Third is increased construction of homes in wooded areas.

'We are increasingly building our homes in fire-prone ecosystems,' says Dominik
Kulakowski, adjunct professor of biology at Clark University Graduate School of
Geography in Worcester, Massachusetts. 'Doing that in many of the forests of the
western US is like building homes on the side of an active volcano.'

In California, where population growth has averaged more than 600,000 a year for
at least a decade, more residential housing is being built. 'What once was open
space is now residential homes providing fuel to make fires burn with greater
intensity,' says Terry McHale of the California Department of Forestry firefighters'
union. 'With so much dryness, so many communities to catch fire, so many fronts to
fight, it becomes an almost incredible job.'

That said, many experts give California high marks for making progress on
preparedness in recent years, after some of the largest fires in state history
scorched thousands of acres, burned thousands of homes, and killed numerous
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people. Stung in the past by criticism of bungling that allowed fires to spread when
they might have been contained, personnel are meeting the peculiar challenges of
neighborhood and canyon- hopping fires better than previously, observers say.

State promises to provide more up-to-date engines, planes, and helicopters to fight
fires have been fulfilled. Firefighters' unions that in the past complained of
dilapidated equipment, old fire engines, and insufficient blueprints for fire safety are
now praising the state's commitment, noting that funding for firefighting has
increased, despite huge cuts in many other programs. 'We are pleased that the
current state administration has been very proactive in its support of us, and [has]
come through with budgetary support of the infrastructure needs we have long
sought,' says Mr. McHale of the firefighters' union.

Besides providing money to upgrade the fire engines that must traverse the
mammoth state and wind along serpentine canyon roads, the state has
invested in better command-and-control facilities as well as in the strategies
to run them. 'In the fire sieges of earlier years, we found that other jurisdictions and
states were willing to offer mutual-aid help, but we were not able to communicate
adequately with them,' says Kim Zagaris, chief of the state's Office of Emergency
Services Fire and Rescue Branch. After a commission examined and revamped
communications procedures, the statewide response 'has become far more
professional and responsive,' he says. There is a sense among both government
officials and residents that the speed, dedication, and coordination of firefighters
from several states and jurisdictions are resulting in greater efficiency than in past
'siege fire' situations.

In recent years, the Southern California region has improved building codes,
evacuation procedures, and procurement of new technology. 'I am extraordinarily
impressed by the improvements we have witnessed,' says Randy Jacobs, a
Southern California- based lawyer who has had to evacuate both his home and
business to escape wildfires. 'Notwithstanding all the damage that will continue to be
caused by wildfires, we will no longer suffer the loss of life endured in the past
because of the fire prevention and firefighting measures that have been put in
place,' he says.
Multi-Level Record Abror Rahmatullayev

Questions 1-6
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

Wildfires
 Characteristics of wildfires and wildfire conditions today compared to the past:
- occurrence: more frequent
- temperature: hotter
- speed: faster
- movement: 1…………………… more unpredictably
- size of fires: 2…………………... greater on average than two decades ago

 Reasons wildfires cause more damage today compared to the past:

- rainfall: 3…………………… average
- more brush to act as 4…………………..
- increase in yearly temperature
- extended fire 5……………………
- more building of 6........................ in vulnerable places
Multi-Level Record Abror Rahmatullayev

Questions 7-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

7 The amount of open space in California has diminished over the last ten years.
8 Many experts believe California has made little progress in readying itself to
fight fires.
9 Personnel in the past have been criticised for mishandling fire containment.
10 California has replaced a range of firefighting tools.
11 More firefighters have been hired to improve fire-fighting capacity.
12 Citizens and government groups disapprove of the efforts of different states and
agencies working together.
13 Randy Jacobs believes that loss of life from fires will continue at the same
levels, despite changes made.