6 A description of how baby otters grow

7 The conflicted opinions on how to preserve

8 A reference to legislative act
9 An explanation of how otters compensate for heat loss
Questions 10-13
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the
passage for each answer
10. What affects the outer fur of otters?
11. What skill is not necessary for Asian short-clawed otters?
12. Which type of otters has the shortest range?
13. Which type of animals do otters hunt occasionally?

Section 2

BIRD MIGRATION 2

A. Birds have many unique design features that enable them to

perform such amazing feats of endurance. They are equipped with lightweight,
hollow bones, intricately designed feathers providing both lift and thrust for
rapid flight, navigation systems superior to any that man has developed, and an
ingenious heat conserving design that, among other things, concentrates all
blood circulation beneath layers of warm, waterproof plumage, leaving them fit
to face life in the harshest of climates. Theft respiratory systems have to perform
efficiently during sustained flights at altitude, so they have a system of extracting
oxygen from their lungs that for exceeds that of any other animal. During the
later stages of the summer breeding season, when food is plentiful, their bodies
are able to accumulate considerable layers of fat, in order to provide sufficient
energy for theft long migratory flights.
B. The fundamental reason that birds migrate is to find adequate food during the
winter months when it is in short supply. This particularly applies to birds
that breed in the temperate and Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere,
where food is abundant during the short growing season. Many species can
tolerate cold temperatures if food is plentiful, but when food is not available they
must migrate. However, intriguing questions remain.
C. One puzzling fact is that many birds journey much further than would be
necessary just to find food and good weather. Nobody knows, for instance,
why British swallows, which could presumably survive equally well if they
spent the winter in equatorial Africa, instead fly several thousands of miles
further to theft preferred winter home in South Africa Cape Province. Another
mystery involves the huge migrations performed by arctic terns and mudflat-
feeding shorebirds that breed close to Polar Regions. In general, the further north
a migrant species breeds, the further south it spends the winter. For arctic terns
this necessitates an annual round trip of 25,000 miles. Yet, en route to then final
destination in far-flung southern latitudes, all these individuals overfly other
areas of seemingly suitable habitat spanning two hemispheres. While we may
not fully understand bird’s reasons for going to particular places, we can marvel
at then feats.
D. One of the greatest mysteries is how young birds know how
to find the traditional wintering areas without parental guidance. Very few adults
migrate with juveniles in tow, and youngsters may even have little or
no inkling of then parents’ appearance. A familiar example Is that of the cuckoo,
which lays its eggs in another species' nest and never encounters its young again.
It is mind boggling to consider that, once raised by its host species, the young
cuckoo makes it own way to ancestral wintering grounds in the tropics before
returning single-handedly to northern Europe the next season to seek out a mate
among its own kind. The obvious implication is that it inherits from its parents
an inbuilt route m ạ p and direction-finding capability, as well as a mental image
of what another cuckoo looks like. Yet nobody has the slightest idea as to how
this is possible.
E. Mounting evidence has confirmed that birds use the positions of the sun and
stars to obtain compass directions. They seem also to be able to detect the
earth’s magnetic field, probably due to having minute crystals of magnetite in
the region of then brains. However, true navigation also requires an awareness of
position and time, especially when lost. Experiments have shown that after being
taken thousands of miles over an unfamiliar land-mass, birds are still capable
of returning rapidly to nest sites. Such phenomenal powers are the product
of computing a number of sophisticated cues, including an inborn map of the
night sky and the pull of the earth’s magnetic field. How the buds use
then ‘instruments’ remains unknown, but one thing is clear: they see the world
with a superior sensory perception to ours. Most small birds migrate at night and
take then direction from the position of the setting sun. However, as well as
seeing the sun go down, they also seem to see the plane of polarized light caused
by it, which calibrates then compass. Traveling at night provides other
benefits. Daytime predators are avoided and the danger of dehydration due to
flying for long periods in warm, sunlit skies is reduced. Furthermore, at night the
air is generally cool and less turbulent and so conducive to sustained, stable
flight.
F. Nevertheless, all journeys involve considerable risk, and part of the skill in
arriving safely is setting off at the right time. This means accurate weather
forecasting, and utilizing favorable winds. Birds are adept at both, and, in
laboratory tests, some have been shown to detect the minute difference in
barometric pressure between the floor and ceiling of a room. Often birds react to
weather changes before there is any visible sign of them. Lapwings, which feed
on grassland, flee west from the Netherlands to the British Isles, France and
Spain at the onset of a cold snap. When the ground surface freezes the birds
could starve. Yet they return to Holland ahead of a thaw, their arrival linked to a
pressure change presaging an improvement in the weather.
G. In one instance a Welsh Manx shearwater carried to America and released
was back in its burrow on Skokholm Island, off the Pembrokeshire coast, one
day before a letter announcing its release! Conversely, each autumn a small
number of North American birds are blown across the Atlantic by fast-moving
westerly tail winds. Not only do they arrive safely in Europe, but, based on
ringing evidence, some make it back to North America the following spring,
after probably spending the winter with European migrants in sunny African
climes.
Questions 14-20
Reading passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of headings
i The best moment to migrate
ii The unexplained rejection of closer feeding ground
iii The influence of weather on the migration route
iv Physical characteristics that allow birds to migrate V The main reason why
birds migrate
vi The best wintering grounds for birds
vii Research findings on how birds migrate
viii Successful migration despite trouble of wind
ix Contrast between long-distance migration and short-distance migration
x Mysterious migration despite lack of teaching
------------------------
14 Paragraph A
15 Paragraph B
16 Paragraph c
17 Paragraph D
18 Paragraph E

19 Paragraph F

20 Paragraph G

Questions 21-22
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 21 and 22 on your answer sheet. Which TWO
of the following statements are true of bird migration?
A. Birds often fly further than they need to.
B. Birds traveling in family groups are safe, c Birds flying at night need less
water.
D. Birds have much sharper eye-sight than humans,
E. Only share birds are resistant to strong winds.
Question 23-26
Complete the sentences below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the
passage. Write your answers in boxes 25-26 on your answer sheet
23 It is a great mystery that young birds like cuckoos can find their wintering
grounds without……………
24 Evidence shows birds can tell directions nice a…………
by observing the sun and theaters.
25 One advantage for birds flying at night is that they can avoid contact
with………….
26 Laboratory tests show that birds can detect weather without…………..signs.
Section 3
Talc Powder

A. Peter Brigg discovers how talc from Luzenac’s Trimouns

in France find its way into food and agricultural products -from chewing gum to
olive oil. High in the French Pyrenees, some 1,700m above see level, lies
Trimouns, a huge deposit of hydrated magnesium silicate - talc to you and me.
Talc from Trimouns, and from ten other Luzenac mines across the globe, is used
in the manufacture of a vast array of everyday products extending from paper,
paint and plaster to cosmetics, plastics and car tyres. And of course there is
always talc’s best known end use: talcum powder for babies’ bottoms. But the
true versatility of this remarkable mineral is nowhere better displayed than in its
sometimes surprising use in certain niche markets in the food and agriculture
industries.

B. Take, for example, the chewing gum

business. Every year. Talc de Luzenac France - which owns and operates the
Trimouns mine and is a member of the international Luzenac Group (art of Rio
Tinto minerals) - supplies about 6,000 tones of talc to chewing gum
manufacturers in Europe. “We’ve been selling to this sector of the market since
the 1960s,” says Laurent Fournier, sales manager in Luzenac’s Specialties
business unit in Toulouse. “Admittedly, in terms of our total annual sales of talc,
the amount we supply to chewing gum manufacturers is relatively small, but we
see it as a valuable niche market: one where customers place a premium on