Vocabulary

Choose one variant (a, b, c or d) which could be used in place of the word or phrase underlined without changing the meaning of the sentence

1. I do believe that the problem can be dealt with on three levels.

a) interpreted c) solved

b) divided d) looked at

2. Governments should set limits for engine sizes and production.

a) approach c) balance

b) introduce d) recognize

3. The book summarizes recent developments in this field.

a) concludes c) is full of

b) ends with d) sums up

4. Science provides the means of profiting from knowledge of the laws of nature.

a) keeping up-to-date with c) taking advantage of

b) encouraging d) improving

5. Technology is supplying science with more and more sophisticated instruments.

a) providing c) joining

b) demanding d) competing

6. That factory is producing more and more pollution.

a) products c) harmful effect

b) raw materials d) influence

7. Assessment of a scientific discovery requires personal involvement in the research.

a) structure c) development

b) simulation d) evaluation

8. What conditions must be observed so that you may obtain the desired result?

a) noticed c) measured

b) maintained d) prepared

9. Humankind can only survive by accepting responsibility and acting upon it.

a) exchanging c) taking on

b) giving up d) choosing

10. The intensive study of plasma could give us in the future an inexhaustible source of power.

a) cheap c) exciting

b) non-traditional d) renewable

Reading Comprehension

Read each passage and choose the best answer (a, b, c or d) to each question

Text 1

3M was born early last century as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. Since its establishment, 3M has known that it must continually innovate in order to survive. Indeed, the company has been responsible for the launch of 60,000 products, each of which is protected by a patent.

The successful performance of 3M over the years is due to several factors. Firstly, the company spends a large part of its annual budget on the creation, improvement and testing of products. The company also has a flexible structure which allows employees to change jobs frequently, from research to manufacturing or from manufacturing to marketing. The exchange of ideas and information is also a key aspect of 3M’s strategy of constant innovation. Top technical people attend an annual meeting at the headquarters in St Paul where many 3M laboratories show their latest products. Another interesting fact about 3M is that it encourages staff to spend 15 % of their time on personal projects. It was this unusual policy which enabled 3M employee Arthur Fry to come up with one of the most famous 3M inventions – the Post-it note.

Spencer Silver was a 3M research chemist whose objective was to produce the strongest adhesive on the market. Although he did not succeed in his mission, he did develop another type of adhesive that had two interesting properties: it could be re-used and it left no residue on the material to which it was applied. However, no one at 3M could find a use for this product and it was put aside temporarily.

Ten years later, one of Silver’s colleagues, Art Fry, discovered a new use for the abandoned adhesive. Fry sang in a choir and used strips of paper to mark the pages of his hymn book, which fell out every time he opened the book. He therefore decided to apply Silver's adhesive to the strips and found that they marked the pages and did not fall out when the book was opened. This was the first step in the discovery of the future Post-it note.