IELTS MID-TERM TEST

READING PASSAGE 1
The history of cakes at weddings
In Western cultures, since antiquity, weddings customarily have been celebrated with a special
cake. Ancient Roman wedding ceremonies were finalized by breaking a cake of wheat or barley
over the bride's head as a symbol of good fortune. The newly married couple then ate some
of the crumbs together. Afterwards the wedding guests gathered up the remaining crumbs as
tokens of good luck. Wedding guests were also supplied with sweetmeats called confetti, a
sweet mixture of nuts, dried fruit and honeyed almonds. Handfuls of confetti were showered
over the bride and groom; indeed, it seems to have been the custom to throw confetti about
enthusiastically. Eventually, confetti in the form of sweets and nuts was replaced with rice,
flower petals, or colored paper, and these new types of confetti continue to be thrown over
newly married couples in many countries around the world.
When the Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD, many of their customs and traditions became part
of British life. These customs included their wedding customs, and when the Normans invaded
Britain in 1066 they brought many French traditions. Other changes came about due to
increased trade and contact with Europe, but present-day British wedding traditions remain
firmly rooted in the past. In medieval Britain, small spiced buns, which were common everyday
fare, were often eaten at weddings. These were stacked in a towering pile, as high as possible.
If the bride and groom were able to kiss over the tall stack, it augured a lifetime of riches. The
earliest British recipe exclusively for eating at weddings is Bride Pie, which was recorded in
1685. This was a large round pie with an elaborately decorated pastry crust that concealed a
filling of oysters, pine nuts lamb and spices. Each guest had to eat a small piece of the pier not
to do so was considered extremely impolite. A ring was traditionally placed in the pie, and the
lady who found it would be next to marry.
In the 17th century. Bride Pie was changed into Bride Cake, the predecessor of the modern
British wedding cake. Cakes containing dried fruit and sugar, symbols of prosperity, gradually
became the centerpieces for weddings. Some people made Bride Cake in the cheaper form
of two large rounds of pastry sandwiched together with currants and sprinkled with sugar. Very
few homes at the time could boast of having ovens, but this type of pastry cake could be
cooked on a baking stone on the hearth.
Later in the 17th century, there was a new development when wedding cakes began to be
made in pairs, one for the bride and another for the groom. Both cakes were dark, heavy
fruitcakes; the groom's cake was smaller than the bride's cake, and was cut up into little squares
that were then placed in boxes for the guests to take home as a wedding memento. Groom's
cakes gradually died out and are no longer part of British weddings. However, the tradition has
undergone a revival in the United States, where for many years the groom's cake has served as
a wedding gift for guests. Modern groom's cakes are often formed and decorated to depict
the groom's hobby, for example a golf bag, a camera, a chess board.
Groom's cakes were never covered with icing, but Bride Cake covered with white icing first
appeared sometime in the 17th century. After the cake was baked, it was covered with a pure
white, smooth icing made with double refined sugar, egg whites, and orange-flower water.
The mixture was beaten for two hours, then spread over the cake and dried in the oven until
hard. A pure white color was much sought after for wedding cake icing because white icing
meant that only the finest refined sugar had been used. Thus a pure white cake was a status
symbol, as it displayed the family's wealth.
The late 1800s in Britain saw the introduction of a new tradition, with the first multi-tiered
wedding cakes. These were impressive cakes: they were heavy because they were made with
so much dried fruit, and highly decorated with icing and embellished with sugar flowers, doves,
horseshoes and bells. The first multi- tiered cakes comprised iced cakes stacked on top of each
other rather like a succession of boxes gradually decreasing in size. The cakes from the upper
tiers did not sink into the lower tiers because they were not put on top of each other until the
icing between each cake had had time to harden. It was not until the beginning of the 20th
century that the cake tiers were separated and supported by columns.
Twenty-first century weddings are big business for Britain's wedding industry. Over 300,000
people get married each year and a wedding can cost thousands of pounds. The cost of the
all-important wedding cake can be hundreds of pounds, depending on the dimension and
design. It will be interesting to see whether wedding cakes continue to be popular at
weddings.
Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes
1-6 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1. Breaking a cake over the bride's head was the last part of an ancient Roman wedding
ceremony.
2. Confetti is still made of nuts, dried fruit and honeyed almonds.
3. The groom's family used to supply the confetti.
4. It was considered lucky for a newly married couple to be able to kiss over a tower of spiced
buns.
5. Only brides were allowed to eat Bride Pie.
6. The wedding cakes eaten in Britain today developed from Bride Cake of the 17th century.
Questions 7-9
Complete the notes below
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer
Write your answers inboxes 7-9 on your answer sheet
Wedding cakes
17th century - Britain Bride Cake
Bride Cake
- expensive ingredients were a sign of wealth
- less expensive round cakes were made of 7………………. with currants in between
and sugar on top
- they were baked on a hearth stone, because not all homes had 8……………….
Now - United States
Groom's cake
- guests receive pieces of the groom's cake
- cakes may represent the 9………………. of the groom.
READING PASSAGE 2
Skyscraper Farming
With a global food crisis predicted, a group of scientists is advocating an innovative alternative
to conventional farming that could radically transform the way that food is produced .

A Today's environment scientists are in no doubt that the world's resources of fertile soil
are rapidly deteriorating, and that new land for agriculture is becoming ever more sparse.
Intensive farming urbanisation, desertification and sea-level rises are all putting growing
pressure on the planers agricultural land and therefore on food supplies. Currently, 24 per cent
of the worlds 11.5 billion hectares of cultivated land has already undergone human-induced
soil degradation particularly through erosion, according to a recent study by the UK
Government Office for Science.

B The global population is expected to exceed nine billion by 2050 - up a third from
today's level and studies suggest that food production will have to go up by 70 per cent if we
are to feed all of those new mouths. This means that scientists will have to develop new ways
of growing crops if we are to avoid a humanitarian crisis. Indeed, UN Food and Agriculture
Organization figures suggest that the number of undernourished people is already growing.
And with escalating climate change, crop yields in many areas have been projected to decline.

C With this in mind, some scientists and agricultural experts are advocating an innovative
alternative to traditional farming whereby skyscrapers packed with shelf-based systems for
growing vegetables on each storey - known as 'vertical farms' - could hold the key to
revolutionising agriculture. Columbia University professor Dickson Despommier claims that
vertical farming could boost crop yields many times over. A single 20-storey vertical farm could
theoretically feed 50 000 people, according to Despommier. And if the theory translates into
realty as proposed. 160 skyscraper-sized vertical farms could feed the entire population of New
York City, while 180 would be needed to feed London, 289 to feed Cairo and 302 to feed
Kolkata a.

D It's a compelling vision, and one that has already been put into practice in Asia, albeit
on a smaller scale. But there are problems such as initial investment and operating costs that
are too great' says a spokesman for Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Nevertheless, Tokyo-based mushroom producer Hokuto Corporation is a model example of
how a vertical farm can be profitable. With 28 vertical mushroom farms operating across the
country, it produces some 68,000 tonnes of mushrooms annually. Vertical mushroom farms
have more advantages than ground-level farms,' says Hokuto's Ted Yamanoko. Yamanoko
goes on to highlight the relative cost-effectiveness of his organisation's farming practices
together with reduced emissions of greenhouse gases.
E And the impact of vertical farms could extend beyond feeding established urban
populations. Despommier sees them as being capable of helping centres of displaced persons
- such as refugee camps - in much the same way that Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH)
units are deployed in emergency situations. "Developing an emergency-response system for
crop production inside specially constructed modular and highly transportable greenhouses
would allow for humanitarian interventions, at least for refuges that are forced out of their
countries by political tumor, he says. If you have three or four storeys of food already growing
some place, they could become mobile units that could be picked up by helicopters and
dropped into the middle of a crisis zone. The food would be ready to pick and eat. It could be
designed to supply people with all the nutrition they need to make it through the crisis."

F But it isn't only about increasing food production. Despommier is concerned about the
harm which farming has done to the world's landscape over a relatively short time span,
particularly the elimination of hardwood forests. Farming is only 12,000 years old, 'he points
out. We have been a species for over 200,000 years. Producing food in tall buildings will allow
us for the first time to feed everyone on earth and still return land to its original ecological
function.' Natalie Jeremijenko, associate professor at New York University, agrees. The
challenge that we have now is how we can design urban agriculture systems that not only
reduce food miles, but also improve the world's ecosystems,' she says. By significantly
reducing the amount of land required for food production, vertical farms could help to enrich
biodiversity. And according to Jeremijenko, this can, in tum, help to improve the productivity
of conventional farms, as the health of agricultural land is often tied to the health of the
surrounding ecosystems. Furthermore, vertical farming could dramatically cut the utilisation of
fossil fuels and also reduce geopolitical tensions in countries where poor farming conditions
cause conflict and malnutrition.
Questions 14-19
Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs - A-F
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i Potential production capabilities of vertical farms
ii Opposition to new ideas about food production
iii A successful application of vertical farming technology
iv The potential to provide urgent relief
v The original inspiration for vertical farming
vi Various environmental benefits of vertical farming
vii An increasing problem for farmers worldwide
vii A return to traditional farming methods
ix A rising demand for food

14 Paragraph A

15 Paragraph B

16 Paragraph C

17 Paragraph D

18 Paragraph E

19 Paragraph F
Questions 20- 22
Complete the sentences below
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your
answers in boxes 20-22 on your answer sheet.
20 A UK Government study found that.................. is a significant factor contributing to
worldwide levels of soil degradation
21 Disadvantages of vertical taming projects include the expense of setting them up, as well
as their high ..................
22 .................. could potentially be used to take vertical farming facilities to areas where there
is a critical food shortage

Questions 23-26
Look at the following statements (Questions 23-26) and the list of people below Match each
statement with the correct person, A.B or C Write the correct letter A, B or c, in boxes 23-26 on
your answer sheet
NB You may use any letter more than once

23 Vertical farming can have financial benefits

24 Traditional farming has had a negative effect on the natural world

25 Vertical farming could dramatically increase world food production.

26 Traditional farms may benefit from wider use of vertical farming

List of people
A Dickson Despommier
B. Ted Yamanoko
C. Natalie Jeremijenko
READING PASSAGE 3
Marketing And Mind Control
How marketing and advertising appeal to the associative nature of the brain
While there had been a long tradition of giving rings as a commitment to marry, the custom of
giving diamond engagement rings was in large part manufactured by one of the most effective
marketing campaigns in history . In the early 1900s, diamond sales were declining, posing a
serious problem for the company that essentially had control over the diamond market. In
1938, this company hired an advertising agency, which proposed reshaping social attitudes
toward diamonds. As well as magazines showing film stars draped in diamonds, the agency
arranged for movies to incorporate diamond engagement rings into their plots. The campaign
culminated with the slogan: ' A diamond is forever.
At the time, the approach was unique. Rather than pushing a brand, the objective was to
promote diamonds as the symbol of everlasting love. This was achieved by exploiting the
associative nature of the brain: associating neurons! Activated by the concept of ' love ' with
neurons that encoded the concept of “diamonds. By 1941, diamond sales had increased by
55%.
Advertising comes in many forms, from blatant neon signs to subtly embedded products in
movies. In each case, the goal is to mould our habits, desires and opinions. Our visual system
is targeted by an avalanche of information on the internet, street posters, and billboards and
in movie theatres. Our auditory system submits to catchy radio jingles and telemarketers. More
surreptitiously, our olfactory system is targeted by variations of vanilla and citrus perfumes
aimed at enticing us to linger in a retail outlet.
It is difficult to measure how effective these campaigns are, but as in the ' A diamond is forever
' campaign, they can be so successful that they change the fabric of our culture. In the case of
bottled water, we are swayed by advertising into paying for something that we can obtain for
free. Most people cannot distinguish bottled from tap water, much less between brands of
bottled water, which is why you rarely hear of a bottled water company proposing a blind taste
test.
So why is marketing such an effective mind - control technique? It is interesting to consider
whether other animals exhibit anything analogous to humans ' susceptibility to advertising. If
we provide a lab rat with two types of cereal, it will consume approximately the same amount
of each. However, if we put that rat with another rat that spent its day eating just one type, when
faced with a choice, our rat will now show a preference for the same type as the other rat was
eating. Psychologists call this ' socially transmitted food preference ‘.
What many regard as the first documented examples of cultural learning in primates started
with a clever monkey that lived in a colony of Japanese monkeys on the island of Koshima. She
began taking her dirt - covered sweet potatoes to the river to wash them before eating them.
Upon seeing this, a few 11 other open - minded monkeys picked up on the idea. Potato
washing then spread from monkey to monkey and, over the course of a few years, most
monkeys were eating clean potatoes. Humans are clearly not the only animals to engage in
imitation and social learning.
Learning by observation can be an extraordinarily valuable brain feature, this is how we learn
to communicate and perform motor skills as well as deal with many everyday problems. For
example, a newcomer struggling to purchase tickets and navigate the subway system in a
foreign city may step back to learn from the people nearby. Humans and other primates exhibit
multiple forms of imitative learning and this is called cultural transmission.
A component of advertising relies on the marketer's ability to tap into the brain's propensity
for imitation. Anybody who has watched TV knows advertisements are disproportionately
populated with attractive, successful looking individuals. If we are going to imitate someone,
we are more inclined to imitate those who appear to be popular and appealing.
Although not all researchers are convinced by the findings, a number of studies indicate that
some animals also imitate dominant members of their group. Primatologist Frans de Waal
provides anecdotal evidence of preferential imitation among chimpanzees. He noted that in
one particular group the dominant male was hurt and was limping as a result. Soon juvenile
males of the group started imitating his limp, a form of flattery that would have been unlikely if
a non-dominant male had been injured.
Imitation is undoubtedly an invaluable ability, but often our propensity to imitate generalises
indiscriminately, leading to poor decisions. When athlete Dick Fosbury revolutionised the high
jump by jumping over the bar backward in 1968, imitators obviously copied his jumping style,
not his brand of sports shoes. However, today, sports people appear in advertisements asking
us to buy the laptops or sports drinks that they promote. Rationally, we know these people's
success did not depend on these products, so it seems our propensity to purchase products
relates more to neural programs that evolved to encourage imitation of those further up the
social ladder.
Today , companies engage in stealth marketing campaigns in which people are paid to
frequent bars or websites to covertly promote certain products. Companies also perform
studies in which they track the eye movements of people viewing displays , and carefully craft
names , packages and jingles associated with their products.
While we may like to believe that manipulation on a grand scale would not be possible, that's
not to say that advertising is innately harmful. To the contrary, the marketing of products or
ideas is essential to human culture. The point is that we should ensure our choices reflect our
actual goals and desires, and we must distinguish between the dissemination of information
which is for our own good, and our manipulation for the benefit of companies.
Questions 27 - 31
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
27. According to the writer, which marketing technique attempts to make consumers
stay in a shop for longer?
A. playing appealing music
B. emitting pleasant scents
C. displaying attractive posters
D. making in - store announcements

28. The writer mentions bottled water in order to show that

29. According to the writer, socially transmitted food preference occurs when
A. only dominant members of an animal group influence what others eat.
B. the same types of animals naturally prefer the same types of food.
C. animals are influenced by what any other animals of the same species eat.
D. a food type is more desirable because an animal views that food as scarce.

30. According to the writer, how is learning by observation and imitation a useful feature
of the brain?
A. it helps people overcome challenges.
B. positive models can influence social behaviour.
C. it can give an advantage when communicating with others.
D. cultural norms and relationships can be understood more easily.

31. According to the writer , how does television advertising exploit the human tendency
to imitate others ?
A. It shows buying behaviour that marketers want to encourage in viewers.
B. It features people who have a desirable image.
C. It shows older people whom teenagers admire.
D. It features successful people endorsing products responsible for their success.
Questions 32-36

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage ? In
boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet , write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

32. The diamond campaign worked by making a connection in people's minds between
diamonds and luxury
33. People are more aware of visual marketing than auditory marketing.
34. The campaign advertising diamonds had a positive influence on society.
35. There is still some uncertainty about whether animals copy the behaviour of the most
powerful animals among them.
36. Consumers make a logical connection between celebrities ' achievements and the
products they promote.

Questions 37 - 40.
Complete each sentence with the correct ending , A - G , below
Write the correct letter , A - G , in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet .

37. The behaviour of the monkeys on the island of Koshima showed that
38. Primatologist Frans de Waal found that
39. Dick Fosbury is mentioned in order to show that
40. A feature of some modern marketing campaigns is that

A. people imitated behaviour that was linked with success .

The charts below show the percentage of people using the Internet in three different
areas in Sky city in 1990 and 2000, and the average amount of time people in this city
spent on Facebook every day in 2000.