Welcome to the Aptis Reading Test.

The test has four parts.

You have 30 minutes to complete the test.

Order the sentences below to make a story. The first one is done for you.

My First Day At Work

________My first day at work didn’t go according to plan.

________While walking up them I fell over and hurt my knee.

________I didn’t even get to see my new desk before I left.

________By the time I got to the office I couldn’t walk anymore.

________I arrived early to make a good impression, but when I got there the lift was out of order.

________The office is on the 22nd floor but I decided to use the stairs.

________My new boss told me to go to the hospital to make sure the problem wasn’t serious.

Read the text and complete each gap with a word from the list at the bottom of the page.

Galileo Galilei
Often referred to as ‘the father of modern physics’, Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy, in 1564, the son of a
mathematician and musician. He attended university in Pisa but had to leave due to a _____________ of funds,
and later taught sciences at the University of Padua. It was _________ his time there that Galileo did a large
number of __________, the most famous involving dropping balls of different sizes
from _____________ heights to determine the law of acceleration of falling bodies. Indeed, he is credited with
several important scientific ___________________ , and is still considered a great genius. Unfortunately,
however, he died in prison in 1642, whilst _______________ a life sentence for publishing works suggesting
that the earth moved ______________ the sun – something that went against accepted thinking at the time.
Various
Discoveries
Taking
Lot
Around
During
Lack
At
Serving
experiments
Mission To Mars

1. On 3rd June 2010 an international crew of six astronauts entered a space ship and prepared themselves for a
520 day voyage to the planet Mars and back. The module that was to be their home for the next year and a half
contained their sleeping quarters, a kitchen/dining room, a living room, a control room and a toilet. There was
also space for food storage, a small greenhouse, a bathroom, a sauna and even a gym. The Mars landing was
scheduled for 12th February 2011, following a 255-day flight, and would involve a full two days of exploration
of the planet surface. An equally long return journey would see the astronauts return to earth on 4th
November 2011.

2. Emerging from the spaceship after an exhausting 520 days, Russian commander Alexei Sitev declared the
mission finally over. “The programme has been fully carried out,” he announced at a press conference. “All the
crew members are in good health. We are now ready for further tests.” Indeed, the general consensus in the
scientific community was that the Mars 500 project had achieved its aims, and, what is more, the crew had
managed to complete their mission without ever having to leave the Earth’s atmosphere.

3. Mars 500 was, in fact, a simulation exercise. The astronauts never even left the ground and their space ship
was a specially constructed working model situated in a warehouse in the suburbs of Moscow. The aims of the
mission were to see how well humans could cope with the confinement and stress involved in extended
interplanetary travel. The astronauts – three Russians, a Frenchman, an Italian and a Chinese national – were
volunteers for the project, and, although all of them had the option of leaving their 550 cubic meter living
space at any time, none of them chose to do so.

4. All communications between the crew and mission control were subject to a twenty minute delay to
simulate the time it would take signals to reach the earth from outer space. Although not all the elements of
space flight - such as the effects of zero gravity - could be reproduced, the conditions on board were made as
realistic as possible. The astronauts breathed recycled air, showered only once every ten days and lived mostly
on a diet of tinned food. Even the surface of Mars had been recreated to allow the crew the simulated
experience of walking on the red planet.

5. In addition to the discomforts of living in a confined space, the astronauts also had to endure the
psychological stresses brought about by isolation and boredom. Scientific studies have already shown that
extended periods of social isolation can disrupt the normal mechanisms of the body. This can lead to increased
levels of stress and higher blood pressure, which, in turn, can create feelings of anxiety and aggression. The
astronauts were subject to regular medical tests throughout the experiment and they were under constant
observation via a twenty-four hour closed-circuit television system. The tests continued even after the men
had completed their mission as the scientists were interested to see how the astronauts would cope with a
return to normal life.

6. The data collected by the experiment is further evidence that human beings are capable of overcoming the
pressures of long space flight that will be necessary if future exploration of planets is to be feasible. Although
there is resistance in some quarters to investment in space exploration, some scientists believe that our future
lies in the stars. With the world's population exceeding seven billion and showing no sign of slowing down,
future generations may be forced to seek out new worlds beyond our own increasingly overcrowded planet.

7. Although the dry and dusty landscape of Mars may not be the most suitable spot for future habitation, there
are other planets that could sustain human life. To date about 700 planets with similarities to Earth have been
identified outside our own solar system, and about 15 of these are potentially habitable. The most recent to be
discovered – Kepler 22-b – has a surface temperature of about 22°C and orbits a star not unlike our own sun.
Scientists believe that it may even contain water. However, although it may seem like a good candidate for a
future space colony, it is 600 light years away, and so it is likely to remain beyond human reach for many
generations to come.

HEADINGS

_____Life on mars

_____Is space the future of mankind?

_____The difficulties of living in space

_____A successful outcome

_____A distant new world

_____Imitating life in space

_____A long journey in space

_____Only an experiment

The ‘Cinderella’ Gas

Read the passage and choose a heading for each numbered paragraph 1-7 from the list. There is one more
heading than you need. Make a note of your choices on paper, then check your answers using the link at the
bottom of the page when you've finished:
A. A past problem? B. A double danger

C. It’s not too late D. Expert opinion

E. No hope for the future F. Another negative effect

G. Uses and abuses H. A step in the wrong direction

1. The United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has issued a warning about the dangers posed by
nitrous oxide, the so-called "laughing gas". In a report presented at global climate talks, Unep says the chemical
is now the biggest threat to the ozone layer. It says that thanks to farming and human activities, levels of the
gas could double by 2050. If this happens, it could reverse gains made to slow the thinning of the ozone layer
and exacerbate global warming.

2. Nitrous oxide is one of several greenhouse agents which are dubbed "Cinderella' gases, because their
contribution passes unnoticed. N2O exists naturally in the atmosphere but agriculture is by far the biggest
human source, producing two-thirds of emissions. It is also used in dentistry and surgery as an anaesthetic and
a painkiller. It is sometimes used as a recreational drug, called "nozz", and its abuse has been linked to
permanent neurological damage and deaths.

3. Now, researchers say that it has emerged as the single biggest threat to the ozone layer since
chlorofluorocarbons and other damaging gases were restricted by the Montreal Protocol signed in 1987. The
famous "hole" over Antarctica has started to recover as a result of the phasing out of the hair sprays and
refrigerants that contained these substances.

4. But according to this new report, if no action is taken, levels of nitrous oxide could increase by 83% from
2005 to 2050. "The continued build-up of N2O in the atmosphere will continue to deplete the stratospheric
ozone layer and in so doing will to a degree undermine the achievements of the Montreal Protocol," says the
document.

5. Unep's executive director, Achim Steiner, warned that as well as posing a threat to the ozone layer, nitrous
oxide has a powerful global warming effect. "It's one of those elements in our modern life that we have not
fully understood in terms of its negative impacts. "If we can bring it to the attention of farmers, government
and industry, the importance of managing nitrous oxide more efficiently, and the climate benefits - it is a no-
regret option," he said. The research underlines the fact that nitrous oxide is the world's third most powerful
gas when it comes to global warming potential.
6. Dr Joseph Alcamo is Unep's chief scientist. He told a news conference here in Warsaw that the gas could not
be ignored any longer. "Nitrous oxide makes up only 6% of the greenhouse gases but in terms of CO2, it is the
equivalent to emitting three [billion tonnes] a year. "This is about 50% of the total amount of emissions from
every vehicle in the world."

7. However, the researchers were optimistic that both the warming potential and the danger to the ozone
layer could be swiftly curtailed if action was taken, particularly in agriculture. "In the agricultural sector, it
comes down to using nitrogen fertiliser more efficiently, a very simple idea, to improve the uptake by crops
and livestock," said Dr Alcamo."It has a lot to do with using the right fertiliser, in the right place."

Taken from BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25037861 (accessed 22/11/2013)

ANSWER KEY

1. B. A double danger
2. G. Uses and abuses
3. A. A past problem?
4. H. A step in the wrong direction
5. F. Another negative effect
6. D. Expert opinion
7. C. It's not too late