TASK 1
You are going to read a text called The origin of language.
Read the title and get a general idea of the topic .
What do you think the text is going to be about?
For questions 1–8 read the text below and use the correct word from the table which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0)
Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS
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OTHER |
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SUCH |
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BECAUSE |
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COULD/MAY/MIGHT |
| IN |
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IF/WHEN/WHENEVER |
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NOTHING/LITTLE |
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DESPITE |
The origin of Language
The truth (0)……IS….. nobody really knows how language first began. Did we all start talking at around
the same time (1)……….. of the manner in which our brains had begun to develop?
Although there is a lack of clear evidence, people have come up with various theories about the origins of language. One recent theory is that human beings have evolved in (2)…………….. a way that we are
programmed for language from the moment of birth. In (3).………. words, language came about as a
result of an evolutionary change in our brains at some stage.
Language (4) …….. well be programmed into the brain but, (5)……….. this, people still need stimulus
from others around them. From studies, we know that (6)………… children are isolated from human
contact and have not learnt to construct sentences before they are ten, it is doubtful they will ever do so. This research shows, if
(7)…………….. else, that language is a social activity, not something invented (8)
………. isolation.
Read the TASK 1 instructions carefully, then decide which of the Reading and Use of English TIPS you think are useful.
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Reading and use of English TIPS o Use the words before and after the gap to help you. o Use your understanding of the whole sentence or paragraph to help you. o Read the whole text quickly to get a general idea of the topic. o Think about whether or not the missing word is part of a fixed expression, such as ‘as well as’ |
o Write two words if necessary. o Think about the type of word the answers might be e.g. a linking word, a preposition etc. o Write in lower case in the text. o Guess if you aren’t sure. |
TASK 2
- Read the text again. Try to find the answers to following question.
- Is the origin of language clear?
- Describe one theory about its origin.
- What do we know from research and studies?
TASK 3
Put the reading strategy in the correct order.
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READING STRATEGY o Read the text again carefully and use the words before and after the gap to help you think of the answer. o Read the whole text quickly to get a general idea of the topic. |
o Check the whole text makes sense with your answers o Read the title of the text. o Think about the type of word the answers might be or if they are part of a fixed expression. |
COMPREHENSION
You are going to read an article about a craftsman called Ben Edmonds who makes kitchen knives. For questions 1–5, choose from the sections (A–B). The sections may be chosen more than once
The knife maker
Xanthe Clay meets a man who makes high quality kitchen knives by hand.
Steps
A Ask any chef what their most important bit of kitchen kit is, and the answer is the same: their knife. Pans, chopping boards, even spoons can all be improvised, whizzy gadgets like blenders and waterbaths are optional, but a sharp blade is non- negotiable. And,
stick on a car. Ben Edmonds is a 31-year-old knife maker who is gaining a great reputation and securing lucrative contracts with the catering industry. The process of making a knife by hand is a lengthy one, and Edmonds can make only four or five a week. First, the blades are laser cut from a sheet of steel at a local firm, following Edmonds’s design. ‘For all my knives,’ he says, ‘the blade needs to be deep enough so that when chopping, your knuckles don’t hit the work surface, flat- edged at the handle end so that a good length comes into contact with the chopping surface, and curved towards the tip to allow for an efficient rocking action.’
B
Next is the ‘tempering’: the metal is heated to 1,200ºC then ‘quenched’ – cooled rapidly in a tub of cold oil – before being heated again to 180?C and allowed to cool naturally. This sets the structure of the metal, so that the blade will be strong and flexible. Back at Edmonds’s workshop, the blades are retempered, then ground down by hand on moving belts of sandpaper on a small table-top grinding tool, with Edmonds continually changing the tension of the belts to get exactly the right angles on the blade. Slightly concave blades, curving inwards, are very slender and good for fish filleting, but also fragile. Chisel-shaped blades, albeit with the straight edge microscopically fine, are favoured by Japanese makers, and are specific to left- or right-handers. Edmonds prefers to make a V-shaped blade – but a thin one. ‘You don’t want to push the food out as you cut. The knife needs to glide through, but I give the edge a tiny outward curve for strength.’
In which section does the writer mention
- The different applications for different blades?
- A number of requirements for the blades of kitchen knives ?
- The use of a kitchen knife becoming instructive ?
- Regular adjustments that Edmonds makes to one piece of equipment?
- A fundamental necessity demanded by those who by those who use kitchen knives .