READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 1-13,which are based on

leading Passage 1 on page 2 and 3 .

The Blockbuster Phenomenon: a new museum trend

Museums in Australia, like other pleasure-giving public organizations, ore

odopting their activities so that they more closely reflect the marketplace

A since the 1980s, the term "blockbuster’ has become the fashionable word
for spectacular, high-profile museum exhibitions that have the ability to
attract large crowds. A blockbuster is a ”large-scale loan exhibition that
people who normally don't go to museums will stand in line for hours to
see" (Elsen 1984). Once the museum that created the exhibition has
shown it to their local market, it can be offered to other organizations for a
fee. This means that you can boost your own door takings and make
money from boosting someone else's door takings.

B While partaking of the excitement of the blockbuster, visitors thus lured

are likelv to stay longer at the museum. Betty Churcher, when Director of
the Australian National Gallery, Summed up the new blockbuster creed as
follows: The bonus of the blockbuster exhibitions is that people come to
see the blockbuster and they stay to lock at the permanent collection, so
you are getting broader exposure for your collection.

C Museums across the UK, USA, Canada and Australia currently operate
under a system of plural funding: revenue raised through contributions by
federal, state and/ or local governments, combined with revenue raised
through admission charges and other activities , Maintaining and
increasing visitor levels is this paramount and involves not only creating or
hiring blockbuster exhibitions, but providing regular exhibition changes
and innovations. In addition, the visiting public have become known as
customers rather than visitors, and the skills that are valued in museums
to keep the new customers coming through the door have changed.
Curators are now administrators and being a museum director no longer
requires an Arts degree-but public relations skills are essential if the
museum is going to compete with other museums to stage traveling
exhibition which draw huge crowds.

D The convergence of museums, they heritage industrv , tourism, profit —

making and pleasure-giving has resulted in the new "museology". This has
given rise to much debate about whether it is appropriate to see museums
primarily as tourist attractions. In literature from both UK and USA , the
words that are starting to appear in some descriptions of blockbusters are
"less scholarly", "non-elitist" and "popularist", while others extol the
virtues encouraging scholars to co-operate on projects, and to provide
exhibitions that cater for a broad selection of community rather than an
elite sector, whatever commentators may think, manager of museums
worldwide are looking for artful w vs to blend culture and commerce, and
blockbuster exhibitions are at the top of the list.
E But do blockbusters held io public institutions really create a surplus to
fund other activities? If the bottom line is profit, then according to the
records of many major museums blockbusters do make money For
museums in some countries , it may be the monev that they require to
replace parts of their collections or to fix buildings that are in need of
attention. For some museums in Australia, it may be the opportunitv t•
illustrate that they are attempting to pay their way by recovering part of
their operating costs. Also , creating or hiring a b(ockbuster has many
positive spin-offs: blockbusters mean crowds, and crowds are good for the
local economy, provide increased trade for shops, hotels, restaurants, the
transport industry and retailers. The arrangement that the arts provide
sustained economic benefits has been well illustrated in impact studies in
the USA and UK.

F However, blockbusters require large capital expenditure, and draw on

resources across all branches of an organization , and the costs don't end
there. There is a Human Resource Management cost in addition to a
measurable “real” dollar cost. Receiving a touring exhibition draws
resources from across functional management structures in project
management style. Everyone, from general labourers to building services ,
front of house, technical, promotional, educational and administrative
staff, is required to perform additional tasks. Furthermore, as an increasing
number of institutions try their hand at increasing visitor numbers and
memberships(and therefore revenue) by staging blockbuster exhibitions, it
mcv be less likely that blockbusters will continue to provide a surplus to
subsidize other activities due to the competitive nature of the market.

G It has been illustrated in both the UK and USA that the blockbuster
ideology has resulted in the false expectation that the momentum
required to stage blockbusters can be maintained continually. Creating ,
mounting or hiring blockbusters is exhausting, with the real costs
throughout an institution difficult to calculate. Secondlv , as some analvsts
have argued, the "shop keeping "mentality and cost benefit analysis and a
pure concentration on the bottom line, can squeeze substance out of an
exhibition. Taking out substance can be a recipe for blockbuster failure and
therefore financial failure.
H Perhaps the best pathway to take is one that balances both blockbusters
and regular exhibitions. However, this easy middle ground may only work
if you have enough space, and have alternate sources of funding to
continue to support the regular, less exciting fare.

Perhaps the advice should be to make sure that you find out what your
local communitv, wants from you and make sure that your regular
activities and exhibitions are more ending
Questions 1 4

Reading Passage I has eight paragraphs. A-H

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once

1 the reason why museum directors need to constantly alter and

update their exhibits

2 Mention of the length of time people will queue up to see a

blockbuster

3 terms that people have used when referring to blockbusters

4 the various revs that institutions like museums get financial support

Questions S-8

Complete the sentences below

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
While your answers in boxes S-8 an your answer sheet

5 These days. museums tend to be referred to as......................

6 Museum curators now need…….. rather than academic

qualifications

7 The linking of a range of public institutions that entertain the public

is

known as.....................

8 There is discussion about whether museums can be regarded in the

same way as other .......................

Questions 9 and 10

Choose TWO letters, A-E

Write the correct letters in boxes 9 and 10 on your answer sheet.

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Which Two of the following are mentioned by the writer as advantages of
blockbusters?

A Some of the money they raise can be used for structural repairs.

B They can provide funds to help support amateur artists.

C Local services benefit from the extra business they bring about.

D They encourage overseas workers into the local area.

E They raise employee performance levels.

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Question 11-13

Chooses THREE letters, A-G

Write the correct letters in boxes 1-13 on vou answer sheet,

Which THREE of the following are mentioned by the writer as

disadvantages of blockbusters?

A they do not suit museum management styles

B Specialist business advice has to be paid for

C Thev involve an increased workload for personnel

D They do not increase overall annual visitor numbers

E They are very tiring to put on

F What is popular in one country may not be popular in another

G The content can be weakened through financial pressure.

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 Saving the Bittern

A The bittern , A British waterbird, does not have a good record as far as
survival is concerned . By 1886, habitat destruction and other pressures
had pushed it close to extinction. Fortunately, it recovered a few decades
later, and in 1950 the numbers of nature male bitterns rose to a peak of
about 70. By the 1980s, however, it was clear that the bird was in trouble
again. The bittern needs extensive wet reedbeds to survive, and long
periods of drainage, pollution and lack of management had destroyed
most of its habitat. By 1997, it again faced imminent extinction. To prevent
this , the British government set up a plan for the bittern, aiming to
establish a population of 50 males by 2010. However, this target was
reached six years early, a rate of recovery faster than anyone had dared
hope for. We at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds(RSPB) now
claim the bittern as one of Britain's greatest wildlife success stories ,since
figures reveal that the number of these rare birds has increased fivefold in
just seven years.

B Bitterns have feathers that help them to conceal themselves and a shy
nature; they usually remain hidden within the cover of reedbed
vegetation. Our first challenge was to develop standard methods to
monitor their numbers. The booming call of the male bittern is its most
distinctive of feature during the breeding season, and we developed a
method to count them using the sound patterns unique to each individual.
This not only allowed us to be much more certain of the number of
booming males in the UK, but also enabled us to estimate local survival of
males from one year to the next.

C Our first direct understanding of what breeding bitterns require in their

ideal habitat came from comparisons of reedbed sits that had lost their
male birds with those that retained them. This research showed that
bitterns had been retained in reedbeds where the natural process of
drying out had been slowed through management. Based on this work,
broad recommendations on how to manage and rehabilitate rehabilitate
reedbeds for bitterns were made, and funding was provided through a
European Union(EU) wildlife fund to manage 13 sites within the core
breeding range.

D To refine these recommendations and provide fine-scale, quantitative

habitat prescriptions on the bitterns' preferred feeding habitat, we started
radio-tracking male bitterns on the ftSPB's Minsmere and Leighton Moss
reserves. This showed clear preferences for feeding in the wetter reedbed
areas, particularly within reedbed next to larger open pools. The average
home range sizes of the male bitterns we followed (about 20 hectares)
provided a good indication of the area of reedbed necessary when
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managing or creating habitat indication of the area of reedbed necessary
when managing or creating habitat for this species. Female bitterns
undertake al( the incubation and care of the young, so it was important to
understand their requirements as well. Over the course of your research ,
we located 87 bittern nests and found that female bitterns preferred to
nest in areas of continuous vegetation, well into the reedbed, but where
was still present during the driest part of the breeding season

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E The success of the habitat prescriptions developed from this research has
been spectacular. For instance, at minsmere, male bittern numbers
gradually increased from one to ten following reedbed lowering, a
management technique designed to halt the drying out process. After a
low point of 11 mature males in 1997, bittern numbers in Britain
responded to all the habitat management work and started to increase for
the first time since 1950.

F The final phase of research involved understanding the diet, survival and
dispersal of bittern chicks. To do this we fitted small radio tags to young
bittern chicks in the nest, to determine their fate through to fledging,
when they begin to fly ,and beyond. Many chicks did not survive to this
stage, and starvation was found to be the most likely reason for their
demise. The fish prey fed to chicks was mainly those species penetrating
into the reed edge. So, an important element of recent studies has been
development of recommendations on habitat and water conditions to
promote native fish populations. Once independent, radio- tagged young
bitterns were found to seek out new sites during their first winter, a
proportion of these would remain on new sites to breed if the conditions
were suitable. A second EU-funded project aims to provide these suitable
sites in new areas. A network of 19 sites developed through this
partnership project will secure a more sustainable UK bittern population
with successful breeding outside of the core area, less vulnerable to
chance events and sea level rise.

G By 2004, the number of booming male bitterns in the UK had increased to

S5. Almost all of the increase occurred on those sites undertaking
management based on advice derived from our research. What rescuing
the bittern, the work has helped a range of other spectacular wetland
species such as otters. Although science has been at the core of the
bittern story, success has only been achieved through the trust, hard work
and dedication of all the managers, owners and wardens of sites that have
implemented , in some cases very drastic, management to secure the
future of this wetland species in the UK.

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Reading Passage 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-2S, which are

based on Reading Passage 2 on page 7 and 8

Question 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, in boxes 14-20 on you answer sheet.

List of Headings
I Fluctuations in bittern numbers over time
II Research findings on habitat needs of adult
bitterns
III Predators in the natural world
IV The importance in the natural world
V Initial habitat investigation and decisions
VI The need for co-operation to ensure nature
preservation
VII Impressive results of initial intervention
VIII determining how many bitterns there are
IX Education as the key to
preserving wildlife

14 Paragraph A

15 Paragraph B

16 Paragraph C

17 Paragraph D

18 Paragraph E

19 Paragraph F

20 Paragraph G

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Question 21-25

Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each
answer.

Write vour answers in boxes 21-2S on your answer sheet.

21 When was the bittern population largest?

22 What word is used in the passage to describe the bittern's

character?

23 What is probably the main cause of death of bittern chicks?

24 What food supply do bittern chicks depend on ?

25 What other creature mentioned in the passage have also benefited

from improvement made to the bittern's habitat?

Question 26

Choose the correct letter , A, B , C or D

Write the correct letter in box on your answer sheet.

26 What is the main theme of Reading Passage 2?

A how one species may be helped at the expense of another

B disagreement among environmentalists on methods to protect

species from extinction

C fighting the destruction of wetland reedbeds

D how research and good management can save an endangered

species

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Reading Passage 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are

based on reading passage 3 on page 10 and 11.

The Placebo Effect

With the right encourogement, your mind can convince the body to heal
itself. What is the mysterious force that can do this ?

Want to devise a new form of alternative medical treatment? No problem.

Here's the recipe. As a practitioner, be warm, sympathetic, reassuring and
enthusiastic. Your treatment should involve phvsical contact, and each
session with your patients should take at least half an hour. Encourage
your patients to take an active part in their treatment and understand how
their disorders relate to the rest of their lives. Tell them that their own
bodies possess the true power to heal. Get them to pay you well. Describe
your treatment in fami(iar words, but embroidered with a hint of
mysticism: energy fields, energy flows, energv blocks, meridians, forces,
auras, rhythms and the like. Refer to the knowledge of an early age:
wisdom carelesslv *wept aside by the rise of blind mechanistric science.
Oh, come off it, vou're saying. Something like that couldn't possibly work,
could it ?

Well yes, it could —and often well enough to earn you a living. And a very
good living if you are sufficiently convincing or, better still , really believe
in you therapy. Many illness get better on their own, so if you are lucky and
administer vour treatment at just the right time you'll get the credit. But
that's only part of it. Some of the improvement really would be down to
you. Not necessarily because you'd recommended ginseng rather than
chamomile tea o used this crystal as opposed to that pressure point.
Nothing so specific.

Your healing power would be the outcome of a paradoxical force that

conventional medicine recognizes but remains oddly ambivalent about :
the placebo effect.

Placebos are treatments that have no direct effect on the body, yet still
work because the patient has faith in their power to heal. Most often the
term refers to a dummy pill, but it applies just as much to any device or
procedure, from a sticking plaster to a crystal. The existence of the
placebo effect implies that even a complete fraud could make a difference
to someone's health, which is why some practitioners of alternative
medicine are sensitive about any mention of the subject. In fact, the
placebo is a powerful part of all medical care, orthodox or otherwise,
though its role is often neglected and misunderstood.

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At one level ,it should come as no surprise that our state of mind can
influence our physiology: anger opens the superficial blood vessels of the
face; sadness pumps the tear glands. But exactly how placebos work their
medical magic is still largely unknown. Most of the scant research to date
has focused on the control of pain, because it's one of the commonest
complaints and lend itself to experimental study. Here , attention has
turned to the endorphins, natural substances produced in the brain that
are known to help control pain. Any of the neurochemicals involved in
transmitting pain impulses or modulating them

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might also be involved in generating the placebo response; says Don Price,
an oral surgeon at the University of Florida.

That case has been strengthened by the recent work of Fabrizio Benedetti
of the University of Turin , who showed that

The placebo effect can be abolished by a drug , naloxone, which blocks the
effects of endorphins. Benedetti induced pain in pressure cuff on the
forearm. He did this several times a day for several days, using morphine
each time to control the pain. On the final day, without saying anything, he
replaced the morphine with a saline solution. This still relieved the
subjects' pain: a placebo effect. But when he added naloxone to the saline,
and blocked the endorphins, the pain relief disappeared. Here was direct
proof that the relief of pain by a placebo is carried out, at least in part, by
these natural opiates.

Though scientists don't know exactly how placebos work, they have
accumulated a fair bit of knowledge about how to trigger the effect. A
London rheumatologist found, for example, that red dummy capsules
made more effective painkillers than blue, green or yellow ones. Research
on American students revealed that blue pills make better tranquiliser
than pink, a colour more suitable for stimulants. Even branding can make
a difference: if Aspro or Tylenol are what you like to take for a headache,
their chemically identical generic equivalents mcv be less effective.

It matters too how the treatment is delivered. Decades ago, when the
major tranquilliser chlorpromazine was being introduced, a doctor in
Kansas categorized his colleague according to whether they were keen on
it, openly skeptical of its benefits, or took a let's try and see attitude. His
conclusion: the more enthusiastic the doctor, the better the drug
performed. A recent survey by Ernst on doctor's bedside manners turned
up one consistent finding: Physicians who adopt a warm, friendly ,
reassuring manner are more effective than those whose consultations are
formal and do not offer reassurance.

Warm, friendly and I reassuring are precisely what alternative treatment is

all about , of course . Many of the ingredients of that opening recipe-the
physical contact, the generous swaths of time ,the strong hints of
supernormal healing power-are just the kind of thing likely to impress
patients. It's hardly surprising then, that complementary practitioners are
generally best at moblishing ,the placebo effect, says Arthur Kleinman,
professor of social anthropology at Harvard University .

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Questions 27-31

Complete each sentence with the correct ending. A-H below.

Write the correct letter, A-H , in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.

27 An appointment with an alternative practitoner

28 An alternative practitioners explanation of their treatment

29 If alternative practitioners have faith in their treatment, they

30 Quite often, a patient's illness

31 Conventional doctors are aware of the placebo effect and they

A Should be easy to understand

B can improve without treatment

C can cost the patient less

D ought to last a minimum length of time

E can require a range of different products

F can be described as serious

G should give it greater recognition

H should be able to get a high income

Questions 32-34

Choose the correct letter A,B, C or D

Write the correct letter in boxes 32-34 on your answer sheet.

32 In the third paragraph , the writer says that the placebo effect

A works best in tablet form.

B is a new type of medical treatment.

C is trusted more by some patients than others.

D has a significant role in both alternative and conventional

medicine.

33 A reference is made to anger and sadness in order to show that

A personal feelings can alter our physical condition

B some human behavior has no clear explanation

C pIacebos,Iike emotions ,are experienced by evervone.

D people find some physical reactions hard to control

Questions 3S-40

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading
passage 3 ? In boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer NO if the
statement contracts with the claims of the writer

NO GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

35 Scientists now have enough information to understand how the

placebo effect becomes active in people

36 As a result of experiments , some painkillers have been taken off

the market.

37 Individual preference can have an impact on the effectiveness of

different brands of headache tablet

38 Doctors expressed a range of views on the drug chlorpromazine

when it was first introduced.

39 Ernst's study had a big influence on doctor's behavior with patients

40 Alternative practitioners work in a way that is likely to trigger the

placebo effect

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