Reading Practice

Making Copier
At first, nobody bought Chester Carlson’s strange idea. But trillions of documents later, his
invention is the biggest thing in printing since Gutenberg

Copying is the engine of civilization: culture is behavior duplicated. The oldest copier
invented by people is language, by which an idea of yours becomes an idea of mine. The
second great copying machine was writing. When the Sumerians transposed spoken words
into stylus marks on clay tablets more than 5,000 years ago, the hugely extended the
human network that language had created. Writing freed copying from the chain of living
contact. It made ideas permanent, portable and endlessly reproducible.

Until Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in the mid-1400s, producing a book in
an edition of more than one generally meant writing it out again. Printing with moveable
type was not copying, however. Gutenberg couldn’t take a document that already existed,
feed it into his printing press and run off facsimiles. The first true mechanical copier was
manufactured in 1780, when James Watt, who is better known as the inventor of the
modern steam engine, created the copying press. Few people today know what a copying
press was, but you may have seen one in an antique store, where it was perhaps called a
book press. A user took a document freshly written in special ink, placed a moistened sheet
of translucent paper against the inked surface and squeezed the two sheets together in the
press, causing some of the ink from the original to penetrate the second sheet, which could
then be read by turning it over and looking through its back. The high cost prohibits the
widespread use of this copier.

Among the first modem copying machines, introduced in 1950 by 3M, was the Thermo-Fax,
and it made a copy by shining infrared light through an original document and a sheet of
paper that had been coated with heat-sensitive chemicals. Competing manufacturers soon
introduced other copying technologies and marketed machines called Dupliton, Dial-A-
Matic Autostat, Verifax, Copease and Copymation. These machines and their successors
were welcomed by secretaries, who had no other means of reproducing documents in
hand, but each had serious drawbacks. All required expensive chemically treated papers.
And all made copies that smelled bad, were hard to read, didn’t last long and tended to curl
up into tubes. The machines were displaced, beginning in the late 1800s, by a combination
of two 19th century inventions: the typewriter and carbon paper. For those reasons,
copying presses were standard equipment in offices for nearly a century and a half.

None of those machines is still manufactured today. They were all made obsolete by a
radically different machine, which had been developed by an obscure photographic-supply
company. That company had been founded in 1906 as the Haloid Company and is known
today as the Xerox Corporation. In 1959, it introduced an office copier called the Haloid
Xerox 914, a machine that, unlike its numerous competitors, made sharp, permanent
copies on ordinary paper-a huge breakthrough. The process, which Haloid called

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xerography (based on Greek words meaning “dry” and “writing”), was so unusual and
nonnutritive that physicists who visited the drafty warehouses where the first machines
were built sometimes expressed doubt that it was even theoretically feasible.

Remarkably, xerography was conceived by one person- Chester Carlson, a shy, soft-
spoken patent attorney, who grew up in almost unspeakable poverty and worked his way
through junior college and the California Institute of Technology. Chester Carlson was born
in Seattle in 1906. His parents-Olof Adolph Carlson and Ellen Josephine Hawkins—had
grown up on neighboring farms in Grove City, Minnesota, a tiny Swedish farming
community about 75 miles west of Minneapolis. Compare with competitors, Carlson was
not a normal inventor in 20-century. He made his discovery in solitude in 1937 and offered
it to more than 20 major corporations, among them IBM, General Electric, Eastman Kodak
and RCA. All of them turned him down, expressing what he later called “an enthusiastic
lack of interest” and thereby passing up the opportunity to manufacture what Fortune
magazine would describe as “the most successful product ever marketed in America.”

Carlson’s invention was indeed a commercial triumph. Essentially overnight, people began
making copies at a rate that was orders of magnitude higher than anyone had believed
possible. And the rate is still growing. In fact, most documents handled by a typical
American office worker today are produced xerographically, either on copiers manufactured
by Xerox and its competitors or on laser printers, which employ the same process (and
were invented, in the 1970s, by a Xerox researcher). This year, the world will produce more
than three trillion xerographic copies and laser-printed pages—about 500 for every human
on earth.

Xerography eventually made Carlson a very wealthy man. (His royalties amounted to
something like a 16th of a cent for every Xerox copy made, worldwide, through 1965.)
Nevertheless, he lived simply. He never owned a second home or a second car, and his
wife had to urge him not to buy third-class train tickets when he traveled in Europe. People
who knew him casually seldom suspected that he was rich or even well-to-do; when
Carlson told an acquaintance he worked at Xerox, the man assumed he was a factory
worker and asked if he belonged to a union. “His possessions seemed to be composed of
the number of things he could easily do without,” his second wife said. He spent the last
years of his life quietly giving most of his fortune to charities. When he died in 1968, among
the eulogizers was the secretary-general of the United Nations.

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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..................... The earliest languages were recorded on papyrus.

2..................... when applying Johann Gutenberg’s printing machine, it requires lots of

training.

3..................... James Watt invented a modem steam engine before he made his first
mechanical copier.

4..................... using the Dupliton copiers and follower versions are very costly.

5..................... The typewriters with carbon papers were taken place of very soon because
they were not sold well

6..................... The Haloid Xerox 914 model also required specially treated paper for
making copies.

Questions 7-13
Reading Passage.

Write your answers in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet.

Calson, unlike a 20-century 7....................., like to work on his own. In 1937, he

unsuccessfully invited 20 major 8..................... to make his discovery. However, this action
was not welcome among shareholders at the beginning, all of them
9...................... Eventually, Calson’s creation was undeniably a 10...................... Thanks for
the discovery of Xerography, Calson became a very 11..................... person. Even so, his
life remains as simple as before. It looks as if he can live without his 12..................... At the
same time, he gave lots of his money to 13......................

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Solution:
1. FALSE 8. corporations
2. NOT GIVEN 9. turned him down
3. NOT GIVEN 10. commercial triumph
4. TRUE 11. wealthy
5. FALSE 12. possessions
6. FALSE 13. charities
7. inventor

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Reading Practice

Making Every Drop Count

A

The history of human civilisation is entwined with the history of the ways we have learned
to manipulate water resources. As towns gradually expanded, water was brought from
increasingly remote sources, leading to sophisticated engineering efforts such as dams and
aqueducts. At the height of the Roman Empire, nine major systems, with an innovative
layout of pipes and well-built sewers, supplied the occupants of Rome with as much water
per person as is provided in many parts of the industrial world today.

During the industrial revolution and population explosion of the 19th and 20th centuries, the
demand for water rose dramatically. Unprecedented construction of tens of thousands of
monumental engineering projects designed to control floods, protect clean water supplies,
and provide water for irrigation and hydropower brought great benefits to hundreds of
millions of people. Food production has kept pace with soaring populations mainly because
of the expansion of artificial irrigation systems that make possible the growth of 40 % of the
world’s food. Nearly one fifth of all the electricity generated worldwide is produced by
turbines spun by the power of falling water.

Yet there is a dark side to this picture: despite our progress, half of the world’s population
still suffers, with water services inferior to those available to the ancient Greeks and
Romans. As the United Nations report on access to water reiterated in November 2001,
more than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water; some two and a half
billion do not have adequate sanitation services. Preventable water-related diseases kill an
estimated 10,000 to 20,000 children every day, and the latest evidence suggests that we
are falling behind in efforts to solve these problems.

The consequences of our water policies extend beyond jeopardising human health. Tens of
millions of people have been forced to move from their homes - often with little warning or
compensation - to make way for the reservoirs behind dams. More than 20 % of all
freshwater fish species are now threatened or endangered because dams and water
withdrawals have destroyed the free-flowing river ecosystems where they thrive. Certain
irrigation practices degrade soil quality and reduce agricultural productivity. Groundwater
aquifers* are being pumped down faster than they are naturally replenished in parts of
India, China, the USA and elsewhere. And disputes over shared water resources have led
to violence and continue to raise local, national and even international tensions.

*underground stores of water

At the outset of the new millennium, however, the way resource planners think about water
is beginning to change. The focus is slowly shifting back to the provision of basic human
and environmental needs as top priority - ensuring ‘some for all,’ instead of ‘more for

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some’. Some water experts are now demanding that existing infrastructure be used in
smarter ways rather than building new facilities, which is increasingly considered the option
of last, not first, resort. This shift in philosophy has not been universally accepted, and it
comes with strong opposition from some established water organisations. Nevertheless, it
may be the only way to address successfully the pressing problems of providing everyone
with clean water to drink, adequate water to grow food and a life free from preventable
water-related illness.

Fortunately - and unexpectedly - the demand for water is not rising as rapidly as some
predicted. As a result, the pressure to build new water infrastructures has diminished over
the past two decades. Although population, industrial output and economic productivity
have continued to soar in developed nations, the rate at which people withdraw water from
aquifers, rivers and lakes has slowed. And in a few parts of the world, demand has actually
fallen.

What explains this remarkable turn of events? Two factors: people have figured out how to
use water more efficiently, and communities are rethinking their priorities for water use.
Throughout the first three-quarters of the 20th century, the quantity of freshwater
consumed per person doubled on average; in the USA, water withdrawals increased
tenfold while the population quadrupled. But since 1980, the amount of water consumed
per person has actually decreased, thanks to a range of new technologies that help to
conserve water in homes and industry. In 1965, for instance, Japan used approximately 13
million gallons* of water to produce $1 million of commercial output; by 1989 this had
dropped to 3.5 million gallons (even accounting for inflation) - almost a quadrupling of water
productivity. In the USA, water withdrawals have fallen by more than 20 % from their peak
in 1980.

On the other hand, dams, aqueducts and other kinds of infrastructure will still have to be
built, particularly in developing countries where basic human needs have not been met. But
such projects must be built to higher specifications and with more accountability to local
people and their environment than in the past. And even in regions where new projects
seem warranted, we must find ways to meet demands with fewer resources, respecting
ecological criteria and to a smaller budget.

* 1 gallon: 4.546 litres

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Questions 1-7
Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A-H.

Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A and C-H from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-xi, in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i Scientists’ call for a revision of policy

ii An explanation for reduced water use

iii How a global challenge was met

iv Irrigation systems fall into disuse

v Environmental effects

vi The financial cost of recent technological improvements

vii The relevance to health

viii Addressing the concern over increasing populations

ix A surprising downward trend in demand for water

x The need to raise standards

xi A description of ancient water supplies

14 Paragraph A 1.....................
Example Answer
Paragraph B iii

15 Paragraph C 2.....................

16 Paragraph D 3.....................

17 Paragraph E 4.....................

18 Paragraph F 5.....................

19 Paragraph G 6.....................

20 Paragraph H 7.....................

Questions 8-13

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Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?

In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

8..................... Water use per person is higher in the industrial world than it was in
Ancient Rome.

9..................... Feeding increasing populations is possible due primarily to improved

irrigation systems.

10..................... Modern water systems imitate those of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

11..................... Industrial growth is increasing the overall demand for water.

12..................... Modern technologies have led to a reduction in domestic water

consumption.

13..................... In the future, governments should maintain ownership of water

infrastructures.

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Solution:
1. xi 8. NO
2. vii 9. YES
3. v 10. NOT GIVEN
4. i 11. NO
5. ix 12. YES
6. ii 13. NOT GIVEN
7. x

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Reading Practice

MAKING TIME FOR SCIENCE

Chronobiology might sound a little futuristic - like something from a science fiction novel,
perhaps - but it’s actually a field of study that concerns one of the oldest processes life on
this planet has ever known: short-term rhythms of time and their effect on flora and fauna.

This can take many forms. Marine life, for example, is influenced by tidal patterns. Animals
tend to be active or inactive depending on the position of the sun or moon. Numerous
creatures, humans included, are largely diurnal - that is, they like to come out during the
hours of sunlight. Nocturnal animals, such as bats and possums, prefer to forage by night.
A third group are known as crepuscular: they thrive in the low- light of dawn and dusk and
remain inactive at other hours.

When it comes to humans, chronobiologists are interested in what is known as the

circadian rhythm. This is the complete cycle our bodies are naturally geared to undergo
within the passage of a twenty-four hour day. Aside from sleeping at night and waking
during the day, each cycle involves many other factors such as changes in blood pressure
and body temperature. Not everyone has an identical circadian rhythm. ‘Night people’, for
example, often describe how they find it very hard to operate during the morning, but
become alert and focused by evening. This is a benign variation within circadian rhythms
known as a chronotype.

Scientists have limited abilities to create durable modifications of chronobiological

demands. Recent therapeutic developments for humans such as artificial light machines
and melatonin administration can reset our circadian rhythms, for example, but our bodies
can tell the difference and health suffers when we breach these natural rhythms for
extended periods of time. Plants appear no more malleable in this respect; studies
demonstrate that vegetables grown in season and ripened on the tree are far higher in
essential nutrients than those grown in greenhouses and ripened by laser.

Knowledge of chronobiological patterns can have many pragmatic implications for our day-
to-day lives. While contemporary living can sometimes appear to subjugate biology - after
all, who needs circadian rhythms when we have caffeine pills, energy drinks, shift work and
cities that never sleep? - keeping in synch with our body clock is important.

The average urban resident, for example, rouses at the eye-blearing time of 6.04 a.m.,
which researchers believe to be far too early. One study found that even rising at 7.00 a.m.
has deleterious effects on health unless exercise is performed for 30 minutes afterward.
The optimum moment has been whittled down to 7.22 a.m.; muscle aches, headaches and
moodiness were reported to be lowest by participants in the study who awoke then.

Once you’re up and ready to go, what then? If you’re trying to shed some extra pounds,
dieticians are adamant: never skip breakfast. This disorients your circadian rhythm and
puts your body in starvation mode. The recommended course of action is to follow an
intense workout with a carbohydrate-rich breakfast; the other way round and weight loss
results are not as pronounced.

Morning is also great for breaking out the vitamins. Supplement absorption by the body is
not temporal-dependent, but naturopath Pam Stone notes that the extra boost at breakfast
helps us get energised for the day ahead. For improved absorption, Stone suggests pairing

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supplements with a food in which they are soluble and steering clear of caffeinated
beverages. Finally, Stone warns to take care with storage; high potency is best for
absorption, and warmth and humidity are known to deplete the potency of a supplement.

After-dinner espressos are becoming more of a tradition - we have the Italians to thank for
that - but to prepare for a good night’s sleep we are better off putting the brakes on caffeine
consumption as early as 3 p.m. With a seven hour half-life, a cup of coffee containing 90
mg of caffeine taken at this hour could still leave 45 mg of caffeine in your nervous system
at ten o’clock that evening. It is essential that, by the time you are ready to sleep, your body
is rid of all traces.

Evenings are important for winding down before sleep; however, dietician Geraldine
Georgeou warns that an after-five carbohydrate-fast is more cultural myth than
chronobiological demand. This will deprive your body of vital energy needs. Overloading
your gut could lead to indigestion, though. Our digestive tracts do not shut down for the
night entirely, but their work slows to a crawl as our bodies prepare for sleep. Consuming a
modest snack should be entirely sufficient.

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Questions 1-7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-7 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..................... Chronobiology is the study of how living things have evolved over time.

2..................... The rise and fall of sea levels affects how sea creatures behave.

3..................... Most animals are active during the daytime.

4..................... Circadian rhythms identify how we do different things on different days.

5..................... A ‘night person’ can still have a healthy circadian rhythm.

6..................... New therapies can permanently change circadian rhythms without causing
harm.

7..................... Naturally-produced vegetables have more nutritional value.

Questions 8-13
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet.

8 What did researchers identify as the ideal time to wake up in the morning?

A 6.04
B 7.00
C 7.22
D 7.3

9 In order to lose weight, we should

A avoid eating breakfast

B eat a low carbohydrate breakfast
C exercise before breakfast
D exercise after breakfast

10 Which is NOT mentioned as a way to improve supplement absorption?

A avoiding drinks containing caffeine while taking supplements

B taking supplements at breakfast
C taking supplements with foods that can dissolve them
D storing supplements in a cool, dry environment

11 The best time to stop drinking coffee is

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 A mid-afternoon
B 10 p.m.
C only when feeling anxious
D after dinner

12 In the evening, we should

A stay away from carbohydrates

B stop exercising
C eat as much as possible
D eat a light meal

13 Which of the following phrases best describes the main aim of Reading Passage 1?

A to suggest healthier ways of eating, sleeping and exercising

B to describe how modern life has made chronobiology largely irrelevant
C to introduce chronobiology and describe some practical applications
D to plan a daily schedule that can alter our natural chronobiological rhythms

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Solution:
1. true 8. A
2. true 9. A
3. true 10. A
4. true 11. A
5. true 12. A
6. true 13. A
7. true

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