TASK 1 Read the following text about tracking animals and answer the 15 questions.
Paragraph 1 Effective monitoring of endangered species is key to their survival. Studying the movement, range and habits of wild wild animals is essential in order to ensure their habitat remains free from poachers and development. Traditional methods of monitoring wild animals, especially large ones, include radio-tagging. To do this, individual animals must at first be captured or sedated so that collars or tags can be fitted. Paragraph 2 One organisation that adopted this technique was WildTrack. In the late 1990s, the team was using radio-collars to monitor black rhino in Namibia. However, the team soon realised that the chemicals used to immobilize the rhino in order to fit the collars had a negative impact on female fertility. Not only that but a large proportion of the radio-collars failed within the first 6 months and had to be replaced. Moreover, as animals grew, the collars would tighten, irritating or even hurting the animal. The method was not only expensive, but it was also counterproductive, as it altered the rhino’s behaviour, thus invalidating the data collected. Paragraph 3 At the same time, the team was worked alongside local trackers. Animal tracking is one of the oldest human skills, and these experts had years of experience in identifying individual animals by their footprints. They could effectively create a true picture of individual rhinos’ a ctivities without the use of any invasive techniques. Consequently, the team were interested to know whether the trackers’ knowledge could be successfully translated into an effective, computerised technique for monitoring animal movement. Paragraph 4 Within each species, each individual has its own o wn unique foot characteristics, in the same way that humans have fingerprints. Thus, if an animal is sighted and identified just once, and the characteristics of its footprints properly photographed and measured, its footprint can be recognised whenever it is sighted again. If done repeatedly, conservationists can draw up a database of all, or at least a significant proportion of the individuals within the population. After that conservationists can use it to identify an animal and its movements by its print. The data gathered can be used for a range of purposes, for example to monitor biodiversity. WildTrack is currently using footprint identification technology in Greece to study the potential effect of a large highway construction through brown bear habitat. Paragraph 5 Identifying an animal from its footprint is not without its challenges, however, as each time the individual places its foot on the ground, it leaves a slightly different track, according to the type of ground it is walking on, moisture levels and the way it is moving. In order to account for these variations, it is necessary to collect several tracks from each individual, including impressions from all four feet, on a range of surfaces.
TASK 1 Choose the best title for each paragraph below. There is one title you don’t need.
1. Paragraph
A
The disadvantages of traditional techniques
2. Paragraph
B
How footprint identification technology works
C
The negative impact of development on wild animal
D
Problems involved with footprint identification
3. Paragraph 4. Paragraph
technology 5. Paragraph E
A traditional and effective monitoring technique
F
The importance of wildlife monitoring
C hoos e the five s tatements below that are TR UE according to the information g iven in the text.
6. _____ 7. _____ 8. _____
A
WildTrack managed to radio-tag rhinos without sedating them.
B
WildTrack found that the female rhinos which had been sedated had fewer babies.
C
The information Wildtrack collected about rhinos using radio-controllers was useless.
D
The trackers had the idea of combining their knowledge with a computer system.
E
Footprint Identification Technology involves taking a photo of a footprint, taking its measurements and storing the information on a database.
F
For Footprint Identification Technology to work, it is necessary to see the animal which made the footprint at least once.
G
Footprint Identification Technology is best suited to the study of large, heavy animals.
H
An animal’s footprints look the same whatever ground they are walking on.
9. _____ 10._____
C omplete the s entences with a word, phr ase or number from the text (maximum three words ). 11. These days most people choose to run because of the __________________________________but monitoring them can help reduce this risk. 12. Workers at Wildtrack were horrified to realise that the collars they were fitting on the rhinos were ___________________________________. 13. In many cases, workers at Wildtrack had to replace radio-collars within 6 months because ___________________________________. 14. Footprint Identification Technology can be used to ___________________________________and assess the impact of large-scale construction. 15. To counter the problems experienced in Footprint identification Technology, users must remember to ___________________________________.
TASK 2 Multi-text reading . R ead the four texts and ans wer the ques tions below. Which text: 1.
notes that, if students do too many things at once, they don’t do them so well.
1. _______
2.
believes that laptops are just one of many things that prevent students from concentrating.
2. _______
3.
says that injudicious use of laptops in class affects non-users as well as users.
3. _______
4.
states that students who do not use laptops have to decide what notes to record.
4. _______
5.
demonstrates that teachers incorporate laptops into their lessons in a variety of ways.
5. _______
Text A My laptop had developed some kind of glitch and so I’d had to send it off to be repaired. That meant that when it came to my psychology class at college, I had to resort to the more traditional approach of note-taking – pen and paper. I was expecting the experience to be a rather frustrating one, but as a matter of fact, I found it quite the opposite. I seemed to get a lot more from the lecture that day, as if writing things down by hand allowed me to process and consider what I was hearing more than typing did. As it happens, I’m not the only one to think so. A recent study has found that people remember lectures better when they’ve taken handwritten notes rather than typed ones. The reason? Well, the students using laptops ten ded to transcribe the speakers’ speech word for word, as many could generally type fast enough to do. By hand, it just wasn’t possible to capture every word. They had to be judicious with regards to what they chose to record, that is, they had to go through a second mental process. That selectivity, it seemed, led to long-term comprehension.
Text B
Text C I interviewed Tom Wheeler, a maths professor at Harfield College, about what he thinks of the college’s new ban on using laptops in class. “Well, actually, I restricted the use of laptops in my lessons long before the ban came in. Because of the subject I teach, which involves lots of graphs and symbols, any advantage that might be gained from having a machine at the ready for taking notes is negligible at best. There isn’t really any basic software out there that aids students to type out these notation-laden sentences. Meanwhile, the temptation for distraction is high. Later on, when I read a study from Cornell University, I knew I had taken the right approach. In this study, half of a class were allowed unfettered access to their computers during a lecture while the other half was not. After the lecture, the students had to take part in a quiz, and the disconnected students did better, across the board. It proved what I’d always suspected anyway - that multitasking decreases task performance.”
Text D
Our school has banned all students from using Smartphones and laptops in class! It’s absolutely ridiculous! What’s so ridiculous about that? Students can concentrate far better without them. I don’t agree. I can type far faster than I can write. And before, I could take a picture of the t eacher’s notes on the board and focus what he was saying. Now I spend all the time scribbling notes down frantically, which later I find are barely legible! Well, loads of the students in my classes spend time playing games or writing messages to each other. It’s very annoying. That’s why my teacher always suggests the people without laptops sit at the front, where we can’t see their screens. The type of students who get distracted by laptops and Smartphones will only get distracted by something else if you take those machines away from them. Some kids just aren’t interested in learning. But the rest of us shouldn’t suffer because of them. I see your point. Maybe teachers should give students more advice on how to use their laptops and phones effectively. Yes, or devise activities in class that incorporate the technology into the lesson to ensure that students are using them appropriately. But just banning this technology is just silly. Everyone else is using it, so why shouldn’t we?
C hoos e the five s tatements below that are TR UE according to the information g iven in the text. A
In general, students who take notes by laptop write down exactly what the speaker says.
B
The psychology student took more notes when she did not have her laptop with her.
C
By choosing what we note down, we begin to understand and remember information.
D
The number of teachers who create assignments that involve the use of messaging, video and photography is increasing.
E
Over half of the teachers in the London survey teach lessons in which the students use laptops in the class.
F
Software that enables students to note down mathematical formula easily is now freely available.
G
In a study, it was found that all the students who had no access to a laptop during a lecture did better in a post-lecture quiz.
H
Mike finds that technology allows him to pay more attention to the teacher.
6. ______ 7. ______ 8. ______ 9. ______ 10. ______
The summary notes below contain information from the texts above. Find a word or phrase from texts A-D to complete the missing information.
11. Although teenagers use the Internet to ____________________________ , it is not actually as effective a method as they believe! Why ban laptops? 12. Cornell University study: students with ____________________________ laptops remembered less information In some subjects e.g. maths – hard to take notes on a laptop Causes a distraction to users and non-users Advantages of taking notes by hand 13. Students go through a ____________________________ that leads to long-term comprehension Consequences of a ban Handwritten notes - often Will easily distracted students get distracted by something else? Alternatives to a ban Advise students on more effective laptop / phone use 14. Encourage non laptop users to ____________________________ to avoid being distracted Devise activities that incorporate technology, e.g. looking up information; recording videos / taking photos / messaging 15. as ____________________________
TASK 3 READING INTO WRITING Us e the information from the four texts above to write an es s ay (150-180 words), presenting the arg uments for and agains t banning laptops i n clas s .
TASK 4 - EXTENDED WRITING Write an article for your c olleg e magazine with the title: ‘My ambition’. Think of something you would like to do in the future and write an article (about 150-180 words ) about how you believe you can achieve your g oal.
