Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1 ? In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, writeTRUE if the statement agrees with the informationFALSE if the statement contradicts the informationNOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.The "Returning Students Advisor" Consultation

Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions14-26,whicharebasedonReadingPassage2below.Therobotsarecoming-orarethey?WhatisthecurrentstateofplayinArtificialIntelligence?ACanrobotsadvancesofarthattheybecometheultimatethreattoourexistence?Somescientistssayno,anddismisstheveryideaofArtificialIntelligence.Thehumanbrain,theyargue,isthemostcomplicatedsystemevercreated,andanymachinedesignedtoreproducehumanthoughtisboundtofail.PhysicistRogerPenroseofOxfordUniversityandothersbelievethatmachinesarephysicallyincapableofhumanthought.ColinMcGinnofRutgersUniversitybacksthisupwhenhesaysthatArtificialIntelligence'islikesheeptryingtodocomplicatedpsychoanalysis.Theyjustdon'thavetheconceptualequipmenttheyneedintheirlimitedbrains'.BArtificialIntelligence,orAl,isdifferentfrommosttechnologiesinthatscientistsstillunderstandverylittleabouthowintelligenceworks.PhysicistshaveagoodunderstandingofNewtonianmechanicsandthequantumtheoryofatomsandmolecules,whereasthebasiclawsofintelligenceremainamystery.Butasizeablenumberofmathematiciansandcomputerscientists,whoarespecialistsinthearea,areoptimisticaboutthepossibilities.Tothemitisonlyamatteroftimebeforeathinkingmachinewalksoutofthelaboratory.Overtheyears,variousproblemshaveimpededalleffortstocreaterobots.Toattackthesedifficulties,researcherstriedtousethe'top-downapproach',usingacomputerinanattempttoprogramalltheessentialrulesontoasingledisc.Byinsertingthisintoamachine,itwouldthenbecomeself-awareandattainhuman-likeintelligence.CInthe1950sand1960sgreatprogresswasmade,buttheshortcomingsoftheseprototyperobotssoonbecameclear.Theywerehugeandtookhourstonavigateacrossaroom.Meanwhile,afruitfly,withabraincontainingonlyafractionofthecomputingpower,caneffortlesslynavigateinthreedimensions.Ourbrains,likethefruitfly's,unconsciouslyrecognisewhatweseebyperformingcountlesscalculations.Thisunconsciousawarenessofpatternsisexactlywhatcomputersaremissing.Thesecondproblemisrobots'lackofcommonsense.Humansknowthatwateriswetandthatmothersareolderthantheirdaughters.Butthereisnomathematicsthatcanexpressthesetruths.Childrenlearntheintuitivelawsofbiologyandphysicsbyinteractingwiththerealworld.Robotsknowonlywhathasbeenprogrammedintothem.DBecauseofthelimitationsofthetop-downapproachtoArtificialIntelligence,attemptshavebeenmadetousea'bottom-up'approachinstead-thatis,totrytoimitateevolutionandthewayababylearns.RodneyBrookswasthedirectorofMIT'sArtificialIntelligencelaboratory,famousforitslumbering'top-down'walkingrobots.Hechangedthecourseofresearchwhenheexploredtheunorthodoxideaoftiny'insectoid'robotsthatlearnedtowalkbybumpingintothingsinsteadofcomputingmathematicallytheprecisepositionoftheirfeet.TodaymanyofthedescendantsofBrooks'insectoidrobotsareonMarsgatheringdataforNASA(TheNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration),runningacrossthedustylandscapeoftheplanet.Foralltheirsuccessesinmimickingthebehaviourofinsects,however,robotsusingneuralnetworkshaveperformedmiserablywhentheirprogrammershavetriedtoduplicateinthemthebehaviourofhigherorganismssuchasmammals.MIT'sMarvinMinskysummarisestheproblemsofAl:'ThehistoryofAlissortoffunnybecausethefirstrealaccomplishmentswerebeautifulthings,likeamachinethatcoulddowellinamathscourse.Butthenwestartedtotrytomakemachinesthatcouldanswerquestionsaboutsimplechildren'sstories.There'snomachinetodaythatcandothat.'ETherearepeoplewhobelievethateventuallytherewillbeacombinationbetweenthetop-downandbottom-up,whichmayprovidethekeytoArtificialIntelligence.Asadults,weblendthetwoapproaches.Ithasbeensuggestedthatouremotionsrepresentthequalitythatmostdistinguishesusashuman,thatitisimpossibleformachinesevertohaveemotions.ComputerexpertHansMoravecthinksthatinthefuturerobotswillbeprogrammedwithemotionssuchasfeartoprotectthemselvessothattheycansignaltohumanswhentheirbatteriesarerunninglow,forexample.Emotionsarevitalindecision-making.Peoplewhohavesufferedacertainkindofbraininjurylosetheabilitytoexperienceemotionsandbecomeunabletomakedecisions.Withoutemotionstoguidethem,theydebateendlesslyovertheiroptions.Moravecpointsoutthatasrobotsbecomemoreintelligentandareabletomakechoices,theycouldlikewisebecomeparalysedwithindecision.Toaidthem,robotsofthefuturemightneedtohaveemotionshardwiredintotheirbrains.FThereisnouniversalconsensusastowhethermachinescanbeconscious,oreven,inhumanterms,whatconsciousnessmeans.Minskysuggeststhethinkingprocessinourbrainisnotlocalisedbutspreadout,withdifferentcentrescompetingwithoneanotheratanygiventime.Consciousnessmaythenbeviewedasasequenceofthoughtsandimagesissuingfromthesedifferent,smaller'minds',eachonecompetingforourattention.Robotsmighteventuallyattaina'siliconconsciousness'.Robots,infact,mightonedayembodyanarchitectureforthinkingandprocessinginformationthatisdifferentfromours-butalsoindistinguishable.Ifthathappens,thequestionofwhethertheyreally'understand'becomeslargelyirrelevant.Arobotthathasperfectmasteryofsyntax,forallpracticalpurposes,understandswhatisbeingsaid.Questions14-20ReadingPassage2hassixparagraphs,A-F.Whichparagraphcontainsthefollowinginformation?Writethecorrectletter,A-F,inboxes14-20onyouranswersheetNBYoumayuseanylettermorethanonce.

Look at the following statements (Questions 6-9) and the list of researchers below.Match each statement with the correct researcher, A-C.Write the correct letter, A-C, in boxes 6-9 on your answer sheet.NB You may use any letter more than once.List of Researchers A Bessett & Masuku B Bessett & Choi C Bessett &Ara

Complete the form below.Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.Example AnswerAim: protecting environment through recyclingType of group: non-profitFrequency of newspaper collection: 【L1】______Name: 【L2】______.Address: 【L3】______.E-mail: 【L4】______.Postcode: 【L5】______.

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below. Is there more to video games than people realise?Many people who spend a lot of time playing video games insist that they have helped them in areas like confidence-building, presentation skills and debating. Yet this way of thinking about video games can be found almost nowhere within the mainstream media, which still tend to treat games as an odd mix of the slightly menacing and the alien. This lack of awareness has become increasingly inappropriate, as video games and the culture that surrounds them have become very big business indeed.Recently, the British government released the Byron report into the effects of electronic media on children. Its conclusions set out a clear, rational basis for exploring the regulation of video games. The ensuing debate, however, has descended into the same old squabbling between partisan factions: the preachers of mental and moral decline, and the innovative game designers. In between are the gamers, busily buying and playing while nonsense is talked over their heads.Susan Greenfield, renowned neuroscientist, outlines her concerns in a new book. Every individual's mind is the product of a brain that has been personalised by the sum total of their experiences; with an increasing quantity of our experiences from very early childhood taking place'on screen'rather than in the world, there is potentially a profound shift in the way children's minds work. She suggests that the fast-paced, second-hand experiences created by video games and the Internet may inculcate a worldview that is less empathetic, more risk-taking and less contemplative than what we tend to think of as healthy.Greenfield's prose is full of mixed metaphors and self-contradictions and is perhaps the worst enemy of her attempts to persuade. This is unfortunate, because however much technophiles may snort, she is articulating widely held fears that have a basis in fact. Unlike even their immediate antecedents, the latest electronic media are at once domestic and work-related, their mobility blurring the boundaries between these spaces, and video games are at their forefront. A generational divide has opened that is in many ways more profound than the equivalent shifts associated with radio or television, more alienating for those unfamiliar with new technologies, more absorbing for those who are. So how do our lawmakers regulate something that is too fluid to be fully comprehended or controlled?Adam Martin, a lead programmer for an online games developer, says: 'Computer games teach and people don't even notice they're being taught.' But isn't the kind of learning that goes on in games rather narrow? 'A large part of the addictiveness of games does come from the fact that as you play you are mastering a set of challenges. But humanity's larger understanding of the world comes primarily through communication and experimentation, through answering the question "What if?" Games excel at teaching this too.'Steven Johnson's thesis is not that electronic games constitute a great, popular art, butthatthe mean level of mass culture has been demanding steadily more intellectual engagement from consumers. Games, he points out, generate satisfaction via the complexity of their virtual worlds, not by their robotic predictability. Testing the nature and limits of the laws of such imaginary worlds has more in common with scientific methods than with a pointless addiction, while the complexity of the problems children encounter within games exceeds that of anything they might find at school.Greenfield argues that there are ways of thinking that playing video games simply cannot teach. She has a point. We should never forget, for instance, the unique ability of books to engage and expand the human imagination, and to give us the means of more fully expressing our situations in the world. Intriguingly, the video games industry is now growing in ways that have more in common with an old-fashioned world of companionable pastimes than with a cyber-future of lonely, isolated obsessives. Games in which friends and relations gather round a console to compete at activities are growing in popularity.The agenda is increasingly being set by the concerns of mainstream consumers -what they consider acceptable for their children, what they want to play at parties and across generations.These trends embody a familiar but important truth: games are human products, and lie within our control. This doesn't mean we yet control or understand them fully, but it should remind us that there is nothing inevitable or incomprehensible about them. No matter how deeply it may be felt, instinctive fear is an inappropriate response to technology of any kind.So far, the dire predictions many traditionalists have made about the 'death' of old-fashioned narratives and imaginative thought at the hands of video games cannot be upheld.Television and cinema may be suffering, economically, at the hands of interactive media. But literacy standards have failed to decline. Young people still enjoy sport, going out and listening to music. And most research - including a recent $1.5m study funded by the US government - suggests that even pre-teens are not in the habit of blurring game worlds and real worlds.The sheer pace and scale of the changes we face, however, leave little room for complacency. Richard Bartle, a British writer and game researcher, says Times change: accept it; embrace it.' Just as, today, we have no living memories of a time before radio, we will soon live in a world in which no one living experienced growing up without computers. It is for this reason that we must try to examine what we stand to lose and gain, before it is too late.Questions 27-32Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet, writeYES if the statement agrees with the views of the writerNO if the statement contradicts the views of the writerNOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

Space research is a waste of money. The government should spend money on improving conditions of people living on Earth. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

AccordingtoBetty,whatcanbesaidaboutthesalesofbothcheeseandoilinNewZealandandColombia?

Some people argue that younger people are not suitable for important positions in the government while others think it is a good idea. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic:Some people argue that it is more important to have an enjoyable job than to earn a lot of money. Others disagree and think that a good salary leads to a better life.Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.Write at least 250 words.

Complete the sentences below.Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.The website will sort out【L17】______items to help those who can't decide what to exchange.Do not bother because everyone's【L18】______is different.Users will give【L19】______on the completion of exchanges.Criteriathe quality of the itemthe ease of communicationthe【L20】______of delivering

Many museums and historical sites are mainly visited by tourists, not local people. Why is this the case and what can be done to attract local people? (2015-02-07)

What is similar about West Africa and South America, from the linguist's point of view?

As most people spend a major part of their adult life at work, job satisfaction is an important element of individual wellbeing. What factors contribute to job satisfaction? How realistic is the expectation of job satisfaction for all workers?

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. The Extraordinary Watkin TenchAt the end of 18th century, life for the average British citizen was changing. The population grew as health and industrialisation took hold of the country. However, land and resources were limited. Families could not guarantee jobs for all of their children. People who were poor or destitute had little option. To make things worse, the rate of people who turned to crime to make a living increased. In Britain, the prisons were no longer large enough to hold the convicted people of this growing criminal class. Many towns and governments were at a loss as to what to do. However, another phenomenon that was happening in the 18th century was exploration of other continents. There were many ships looking for crew members who would risk a month-long voyage across a vast ocean. This job was risky and dangerous, so few would willingly choose it. However, with so many citizens without jobs or with criminal convictions, they had little choice. One such member of this new lower class of British citizens was named Watkin Tench. Between 1788 and 1868, approximately 161,700 convicts were transported to the Australian colonies of New South Wales, Van Diemen's land and Western Australia. Tench was one of these unlucky convicts to sign onto a dangerous journey. When his ship set out in 1788, he signed a three years' service to the First Fleet.Apart from his years in Australia, people knew little about his life back in Britain. It was said he was born on 6 October 1758 at Chester in the county of Cheshire in England. He came from a decent background. Tench was a son of Fisher Tench, a dancing master who ran a boarding school in the town and Margaritta Tarleton of the Liverpool Tarletons. He grew up around a finer class of British citizens, and his family helped instruct the children of the wealthy in formal dance lessons. Though we don't know for sure how Tench was educated in this small British town, we do know that he is well educated. His diaries from his travels to Australia are written in excellent English, a skill that not everyone was lucky to possess in the 18th century. Aside from this, we know little of Tench's beginnings. We don't know how he ended up convicted of a crime. But after he started his voyage, his life changed dramatically.During the voyage, which was harsh and took many months, Tench described landscape of different places. While sailing to Australia, Tench saw landscapes that were unfamiliar and new to him. Arriving in Australia, the entire crew was uncertain of what was to come in their new life. When they arrived in Australia, they established a British colony. Governor Philip was vested with complete authority over the inhabitants of the colony. Though still a young man, Philip was enlightened for his age. From stories of other British colonies, Philip learnt that conflict with the original peoples of the land was often a source of strife and difficulties. To avoid this, Philip's personal intent was to establish harmonious relations with local Aboriginal people. But Philip's job was even more difficult considering his crew. Other colonies were established with middle-class merchants and craftsmen. His crew were convicts, who had few other skills outside of their criminal histories. Along with making peace with the Aboriginal people, Philip also had to try to reform as well as discipline the convicts of the colony.From the beginning, Tench stood out as different from the other convicts. During his initial time in Australia, he quickly rose in his rank, and was given extra power and responsibility over the convicted crew members. However, he was also still very different from the upper-class rulers who came to rule over the crew. He showed humanity towards the convicted workers. He didn't want to treat them as common criminals, but as trained military men. Under Tench's authority, he released the convicts' chains which were used to control them during the voyage. Tench also showed mercy towards the Aboriginal people. Governor Philip often pursued violent solutions to conflicts with the Aboriginal peoples. Tench disagreed strongly with this method. At one point, he was unable to follow the order given by the Governor Philip to punish the ten Aboriginals.When they first arrived, Tench was fearful and contemptuous towards the Aboriginals, because the two cultures did not understand each other. However, gradually he got to know them individually and became close friends with them. Tench knew that the Aboriginal people would not cause them conflict if they looked for a peaceful solution. Though there continued to be conflict and violence, Tench's efforts helped establish a more peaceful negotiation between the two groups when they settled territory and land-use issues.Meanwhile, many changes were made to the new colony. The Hawkesbury River was named by Governor Philip in June 1789. Many native bird species to the river were hunted by travelling colonists. The colonists were having a great impact on the land and natural resources. Though the colonists had made a lot of progress in the untamed lands of Australia, there were still limits. The convicts were notoriously ill-informed about Australian geography, as was evident in the attempt by twenty absconders to walk from Sydney to China in 1791, believing: "China might be easily reached, being not more than a hundred miles distant, and separated only by a river." In reality, miles of ocean separated the two.Much of Australia was unexplored by the convicts. Even Tench had little understanding of what existed beyond the established lines of their colony. Slowly, but surely, the colonists expanded into the surrounding area. A few days after arrival at Botany Bay, their original location, the fleet moved to the more suitable Port Jackson where a settlement was established at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788. This second location was strange and unfamiliar, and the fleet was on alert for any kind of suspicious behaviors. Though Tench had made friends in Botany Bay with Aboriginal peoples, he could not be sure this new land would be uninhabited. He recalled the first time he stepped into this unfamiliar ground with a boy who helped Tench navigate. In these new lands, he met an old Aboriginal.Questions 1-6Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-6 on you answer sheet, writeTRUE if the statement agrees with the informationFALSE if the statement contradicts with the informationNOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

Since science and technology are becoming more and more important in modern society, schools should spend more time on teaching these subjects rather than on arts and humanities. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. There are plans to make your local airport bigger and increase the number of flights. You live near the airport. Write a letter to your local council. In your letter, say where you live describe the problem say why you do not want the development to take place Write at least 150 words.

What do Lee and Anita agree about their presentation skills with their tutor?Write the correct letter, A, B or C, next to questions 26-30.A excellent B acceptable C poorPresentation skills

Some people say that giving aid to poor countries has more negative effects than positive ones. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Complete the sentences below.Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.