Đáp án
Part 1: Question 4 - 13
- 1-4 A,C,D,E
- 5 D
- 6 B
- 7 I
- 8 E
- 9 A
- 10 C
- 11 a war artist
- 12 self-taught
- 13 more abstract
Answer Keys
- 1-4 A,C,D,E
- 5 D
- 6 B
- 7 I
- 8 E
- 9 A
- 10 C
- 11 a war artist
- 12 self-taught
- 13 more abstract
Part 2: Question 15 - 26
- 14 15 B,E
- 16 C
- 17 D
- 18 F
- 19 C
- 20 A
- 21 B
- 22 D
- 23 B
- 24 lengthy preparation time
- 25 in 1436
- 26 modern fountain pens
Answer Keys
- 14 15 B,E
- 16 C
- 17 D
- 18 F
- 19 C
- 20 A
- 21 B
- 22 D
- 23 B
- 24 lengthy preparation time
- 25 in 1436
- 26 modern fountain pens
Part 3: Question 27 - 40
- 27 FALSE
- 28 NOT GIVEN
- 29 TRUE
- 30 TRUE
- 31 FALSE
- 32 TRUE
- 33 FALSE
- 34 FALSE
- 35 FALSE
- 36 medicines
- 37 puffer fish
- 38 glands, apparatuses
- 39 diet
- 40 rival males
Answer Keys
- 27 FALSE
- 28 NOT GIVEN
- 29 TRUE
- 30 TRUE
- 31 FALSE
- 32 TRUE
- 33 FALSE
- 34 FALSE
- 35 FALSE
- 36 medicines
- 37 puffer fish
- 38 glands, apparatuses
- 39 diet
- 40 rival males
Questions 1-4
Choose the correct letter, A-G?
Write your answers in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
What four statements are correct concerning Nash’s story?
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- 1-4 Answer: A,C,D,E
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
A: He did not make an effort after becoming a high-ranking official in the army.
In March 1917, he was sent to the Western Front Nash, who took part in the offensive at Ypres, had reached the rank of lieutenant in the Hampshire Regiment by 1916. Whenever possible, Nash made sketches of life in the trenches. In May 1917 he was invalided home after a non-military accident. While recuperating in London, Nash worked from his sketches to produce a series of war paintings.
Note:
“Reached the rank of lieutenant” means being a “high-ranking official in the army”, which marks the milestone in this question.
In addition, “did not make an effort” can be understood as “did not try to get higher rank”. In contrast, he only “made sketches” “whenerver possible”. Moreover, he was sent to home, which means he did not get any promotions.
Therefore, A is correct.
Caution:
Be aware of paragraph G, somebody will think that “as a member of the War Propaganda Bureau” could be “high-ranking official in the army”, and the later information could depict that he makes an effort to painting.
B: He had a dream since his childhood.
Note:
In paragraph A, the author mentions that Nash was born in 1889. Let’s assume that being less than 18 years old is the period of childhood, which means the period before 1907 is Nash’s childhood. From paragraph B, the time is from 1910, hence, paragraph A must contain this information. But there is nothing about it. Therefore, B is not correct.
C: He once temporarily ceased his painting career for some reason.
I have joined the Artists’ London Regiment of Territorials, the old Corps which started with Rossetti, Leighton, and Millais as members in 1860. Every man must do his bit in this horrible business so I have given up painting. There are many nice creatures in my company and I enjoy the burst of exercise – marching, drilling all day in the open air about the pleasant parts of Regents Park and Hampstead Heath
Note:
“have joined the Territorials” means he changed from an artist to a soldier.
He said that “every man must do …”, which means the reason for why he had to give up painting.
“Given up” means “ceased”.
Later, in paragraph F, it mentions that “Whenever possible, Nash made sketches of life in the trenches”, which means he started painting again. Hence, “Give up painting” only last shortly, equivalent to “temporary”.
Therefore, C is correct.
D: He was not affected by certain shows attractive to his other peers.
Nash was educated at St. Paul’s School and the Slade School of Art, where he met Dora Carrington. Unlike some of his contemporaries at the Slade School, Nash remained untouched by the two post-impressionist exhibitions organized by Roger Fry in 1910 and 1912. Instead, he was influenced by the work of William Blake. He also became a close friend of Gordon Bottomley, who took a keen interest in his career.
Note:
“Remained untouched by the two post-impressionist exhibitions” means “not affected by certain shows”.
In addition, “some of his contemporaries” is “his other peers”.
Therefore D is correct.
E: He had cooperation in art with his relative.
Nash had his first one-man show, of ink and wash drawings, at the Carfax Gallery in 1912. The following year he shared an exhibition at the Dorian Leigh Gallery with his brother, John Nash.
Note:
The action of “shared an exhibition at the Dorian Leigh Gallery” is “cooperation in art”.
The person who was shared with is his brother, one of his relatives.
Therefore, E is correct.
F: Some of his paintings were presented in a chaotic way.
Nash had a noteworthy sense of order and of the niceties of presentation…
Note:
Sense of order is contradictory to chaotic. The later information supports the “sense of order and of the niceties” as well.
Therefore, F is not correct.
G: His achievement after being enlisted in the army did not get as much attention as his previous works.
Note:
Skimming from paragraph E because he started being a soldier from here.
There are three information:
In paragraph F: “This work was well-received when exhibited later that year”
In paragraph G: “in which he was self-taught and quickly successful”
In paragraph H: “In 1924 and 1928 he had successful exhibitions at the Leicester Galleries”
These information illustrate that he has achievements, which are very successful (much attention)
Therefore G is not correct.
Questions 5-10
The reading Passage has eleven paragraphs A-I.
Write the correct letter A-I, in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
NB You may use any letter more than once.
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
- 5 Answer: D
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
5: a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
Paul Nash was strongly attracted to Dora Carrington: He later recalled: “Carrington… was the dominating personality, I got an introduction to her and eventually won her regard by lending her my braces for a fancy-dress party. We were on the top of a bus and she wanted them then and there.”
Note:
There is only 1 lady, who was mentioned – Dora Carrington.
There are 2 paragraph mentioning about Dora Carrington – B and D. The paragraph B has only her name (eliminated). Therefore we can conclude the answer is D.
In detail, “attracted” and “domination personality” tell about how “charming”
Answer: D
- 6 Answer: B
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
6: Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
Nash was educated at St. Paul’s School and the Slade School of Art, where he met Dora Carrington. Unlike some of his contemporaries at the Slade School, Nash remained untouched by the two post-impressionist exhibitions organized by Roger Fry in 1910 and 1912. Instead, he was influenced by the work of William Blake. He also became a close friend of Gordon Bottomley, who took a keen interest in his career.
Note:
The B paragraph talks about the artists who influenced Nash. We can assume that all the artists listed here are the appreciated ones. The other paragraphs do not contain relevant information (eliminated).
Answer: B
- 7 Answer: I
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
7: Nash’s works with contrast elements
His late paintings, both oils, and watercolors are alternately brilliant and somber in color with the light of setting suns and rising moons spreading over wooded and hilly landscapes.
Note:
This question, we have to find the paragraph that has two things which are contrast (maybe the idea, content, context, and color).
In paragraph I, we have “brilliant and and somber in color”
Answer: I
- 8 Answer: E
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
8: the true cause for Nash to join the military service
but besides all that I believe both Jack and I might be more useful as ambulance and red cross men, and to that end we are training.
Note:
There are only paragraph E talks about the possibility of joining the British Army of Nash. The later paragraph talks about what he did in and after joining the army (eliminated)
In addition, “might be more useful as ambulance and red cross men” is the reason that Nash wanted to join the army.
Answer: E
- 9 Answer: A
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
9: the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
In 1901 the family returned to its native Buckinghamshire, where the garden of Wood Lane House at Iver Heath, and the countryside of the Chiltern Hills, with its sculptural beeches and chalky contours, were early influences on the development of the three children. Their lives were overshadowed by their mother’s mental illness and Nash himself was greatly helped by his nurse who, with some elderly neighbors, introduced him to the universe of plants.”
Note:
There is only paragraph A (maybe B also but B tells about education) talks about his growth/childhood.
“were early influences on the development of the three children” means the “noticeable impact on Nash’s growth”. The things listed before are the rearing environment.
Answer: A
- 10 Answer: C
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
10: high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
Nash had a noteworthy sense of order and of the niceties of presentation; his pictures were beautifully framed, drawings mounted, his studio precisely and decoratively tidy, and oddments which he collected were worked up into compositions
Note:
“noteworthy sense of order and of niceties”, “beautifully framed, drawings mounted”, “precisely and decoratively tidy” are the praise given to Nash.
The “oddments” could be “unique taste”.
Answer: C
Questions 11-13
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Because of a popular display of Nash’s works created in the army, what did his leader designate him as?
11
How did Nash learn oil painting?
12
What change took place for Nash’s painting style in the late second decade of the twentieth century?
13
- 11 Answer: a war artist
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
11: Because of a popular display of Nash’s works created in the army, what did his leader designate him as?
Whenever possible, Nash made sketches of life in the trenches. In May 1917 he was invalided home after a non-military accident. While recuperating in London, Nash worked from his sketches to produce a series of war paintings. This work was well-received when exhibited later that year. As a result of this exhibition, Charles Masterman, head of the government’s War Propaganda Bureau (WPB), and the advice of Edward Marsh and William Rothenstein, it was decided to recruit Nash as a war artist.
Note:
In this question, we have to solve three terms:
“Popular display”: which could be exhibition.
“Created in the army”: we notice that in paragraph F, “Whenever possible, Nash made sketches”. This means these sketches were created when he was a soldier.
“Designate”: this means Nash could get a title.
Starting from the second clue, we could see that “was well-received when exhibited” and then “as a result of this exhibition” (term 1) and “decided to recruit Nash as a war artist” (term 3).
Hence, we have term 3 containing “as a war artist”
Answer: a war artist.
- 12 Answer: self-taught
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
12: How did Nash learn oil painting?
They were shown at the Leicester Galleries in 1918 together with his first efforts at oil painting, in which he was self-taught and quickly successful, though his drawings made in the field had a more immediate public impact.
Note:
There are two paragraphs mentioning oil: G and I. The I paragraph tells nothing about how he learnt it (eliminated). Obviously, the following information about oil painting in paragraph G is “in which he was self-taught”. “Self-taught” means he learned it by himself.
Answer: self-taught
- 13 Answer: more abstract
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
13. What change took place for Nash’s painting style in the late second decade of the twentieth century?
Despite this popular acclaim in 1929, his work became more abstract
Note:
Paying attention to the time, we can point out that only paragraph H mentions this period. From this paragraph, there is only “his work became more abstract” that talks about the change because of the word “became”.
Answer: more abstract.
Caution: why not using only “abstract”. Because if using only “abstract”, we have to point out what painting style changing to abstract (in fact, there is no initial style). But the “more abstract” means from “less” to “more”
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Questions 1-4
Choose the correct letter, A-G?
Write your answers in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
What four statements are correct concerning Nash’s story?
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- 1-4 Answer: A,C,D,E
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
A: He did not make an effort after becoming a high-ranking official in the army.
In March 1917, he was sent to the Western Front Nash, who took part in the offensive at Ypres, had reached the rank of lieutenant in the Hampshire Regiment by 1916. Whenever possible, Nash made sketches of life in the trenches. In May 1917 he was invalided home after a non-military accident. While recuperating in London, Nash worked from his sketches to produce a series of war paintings.
Note:
“Reached the rank of lieutenant” means being a “high-ranking official in the army”, which marks the milestone in this question.
In addition, “did not make an effort” can be understood as “did not try to get higher rank”. In contrast, he only “made sketches” “whenerver possible”. Moreover, he was sent to home, which means he did not get any promotions.
Therefore, A is correct.
Caution:
Be aware of paragraph G, somebody will think that “as a member of the War Propaganda Bureau” could be “high-ranking official in the army”, and the later information could depict that he makes an effort to painting.
B: He had a dream since his childhood.
Note:
In paragraph A, the author mentions that Nash was born in 1889. Let’s assume that being less than 18 years old is the period of childhood, which means the period before 1907 is Nash’s childhood. From paragraph B, the time is from 1910, hence, paragraph A must contain this information. But there is nothing about it. Therefore, B is not correct.
C: He once temporarily ceased his painting career for some reason.
I have joined the Artists’ London Regiment of Territorials, the old Corps which started with Rossetti, Leighton, and Millais as members in 1860. Every man must do his bit in this horrible business so I have given up painting. There are many nice creatures in my company and I enjoy the burst of exercise – marching, drilling all day in the open air about the pleasant parts of Regents Park and Hampstead Heath
Note:
“have joined the Territorials” means he changed from an artist to a soldier.
He said that “every man must do …”, which means the reason for why he had to give up painting.
“Given up” means “ceased”.
Later, in paragraph F, it mentions that “Whenever possible, Nash made sketches of life in the trenches”, which means he started painting again. Hence, “Give up painting” only last shortly, equivalent to “temporary”.
Therefore, C is correct.
D: He was not affected by certain shows attractive to his other peers.
Nash was educated at St. Paul’s School and the Slade School of Art, where he met Dora Carrington. Unlike some of his contemporaries at the Slade School, Nash remained untouched by the two post-impressionist exhibitions organized by Roger Fry in 1910 and 1912. Instead, he was influenced by the work of William Blake. He also became a close friend of Gordon Bottomley, who took a keen interest in his career.
Note:
“Remained untouched by the two post-impressionist exhibitions” means “not affected by certain shows”.
In addition, “some of his contemporaries” is “his other peers”.
Therefore D is correct.
E: He had cooperation in art with his relative.
Nash had his first one-man show, of ink and wash drawings, at the Carfax Gallery in 1912. The following year he shared an exhibition at the Dorian Leigh Gallery with his brother, John Nash.
Note:
The action of “shared an exhibition at the Dorian Leigh Gallery” is “cooperation in art”.
The person who was shared with is his brother, one of his relatives.
Therefore, E is correct.
F: Some of his paintings were presented in a chaotic way.
Nash had a noteworthy sense of order and of the niceties of presentation…
Note:
Sense of order is contradictory to chaotic. The later information supports the “sense of order and of the niceties” as well.
Therefore, F is not correct.
G: His achievement after being enlisted in the army did not get as much attention as his previous works.
Note:
Skimming from paragraph E because he started being a soldier from here.
There are three information:
In paragraph F: “This work was well-received when exhibited later that year”
In paragraph G: “in which he was self-taught and quickly successful”
In paragraph H: “In 1924 and 1928 he had successful exhibitions at the Leicester Galleries”
These information illustrate that he has achievements, which are very successful (much attention)
Therefore G is not correct.
Questions 5-10
The reading Passage has eleven paragraphs A-I.
Write the correct letter A-I, in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
NB You may use any letter more than once.
5 a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
6 Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
7 Nash’s works with contrast elements
8 the true cause for Nash to join the military service
9 the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
10 high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
- 5 Answer: D
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
5: a charming lady in Nash’s eyes
Paul Nash was strongly attracted to Dora Carrington: He later recalled: “Carrington… was the dominating personality, I got an introduction to her and eventually won her regard by lending her my braces for a fancy-dress party. We were on the top of a bus and she wanted them then and there.”
Note:
There is only 1 lady, who was mentioned – Dora Carrington.
There are 2 paragraph mentioning about Dora Carrington – B and D. The paragraph B has only her name (eliminated). Therefore we can conclude the answer is D.
In detail, “attracted” and “domination personality” tell about how “charming”
Answer: D
- 6 Answer: B
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
6: Nash’s passion for following particularly appreciated artists
Nash was educated at St. Paul’s School and the Slade School of Art, where he met Dora Carrington. Unlike some of his contemporaries at the Slade School, Nash remained untouched by the two post-impressionist exhibitions organized by Roger Fry in 1910 and 1912. Instead, he was influenced by the work of William Blake. He also became a close friend of Gordon Bottomley, who took a keen interest in his career.
Note:
The B paragraph talks about the artists who influenced Nash. We can assume that all the artists listed here are the appreciated ones. The other paragraphs do not contain relevant information (eliminated).
Answer: B
- 7 Answer: I
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
7: Nash’s works with contrast elements
His late paintings, both oils, and watercolors are alternately brilliant and somber in color with the light of setting suns and rising moons spreading over wooded and hilly landscapes.
Note:
This question, we have to find the paragraph that has two things which are contrast (maybe the idea, content, context, and color).
In paragraph I, we have “brilliant and and somber in color”
Answer: I
- 8 Answer: E
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
8: the true cause for Nash to join the military service
but besides all that I believe both Jack and I might be more useful as ambulance and red cross men, and to that end we are training.
Note:
There are only paragraph E talks about the possibility of joining the British Army of Nash. The later paragraph talks about what he did in and after joining the army (eliminated)
In addition, “might be more useful as ambulance and red cross men” is the reason that Nash wanted to join the army.
Answer: E
- 9 Answer: A
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
9: the noticeable impact on Nash’s growth exerted from the rearing environment
In 1901 the family returned to its native Buckinghamshire, where the garden of Wood Lane House at Iver Heath, and the countryside of the Chiltern Hills, with its sculptural beeches and chalky contours, were early influences on the development of the three children. Their lives were overshadowed by their mother’s mental illness and Nash himself was greatly helped by his nurse who, with some elderly neighbors, introduced him to the universe of plants.”
Note:
There is only paragraph A (maybe B also but B tells about education) talks about his growth/childhood.
“were early influences on the development of the three children” means the “noticeable impact on Nash’s growth”. The things listed before are the rearing environment.
Answer: A
- 10 Answer: C
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
10: high praise for Nash’s unique taste of presenting his works
Nash had a noteworthy sense of order and of the niceties of presentation; his pictures were beautifully framed, drawings mounted, his studio precisely and decoratively tidy, and oddments which he collected were worked up into compositions
Note:
“noteworthy sense of order and of niceties”, “beautifully framed, drawings mounted”, “precisely and decoratively tidy” are the praise given to Nash.
The “oddments” could be “unique taste”.
Answer: C
Questions 11-13
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Because of a popular display of Nash’s works created in the army, what did his leader designate him as?
11
How did Nash learn oil painting?
12
What change took place for Nash’s painting style in the late second decade of the twentieth century?
13
- 11 Answer: a war artist
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
11: Because of a popular display of Nash’s works created in the army, what did his leader designate him as?
Whenever possible, Nash made sketches of life in the trenches. In May 1917 he was invalided home after a non-military accident. While recuperating in London, Nash worked from his sketches to produce a series of war paintings. This work was well-received when exhibited later that year. As a result of this exhibition, Charles Masterman, head of the government’s War Propaganda Bureau (WPB), and the advice of Edward Marsh and William Rothenstein, it was decided to recruit Nash as a war artist.
Note:
In this question, we have to solve three terms:
“Popular display”: which could be exhibition.
“Created in the army”: we notice that in paragraph F, “Whenever possible, Nash made sketches”. This means these sketches were created when he was a soldier.
“Designate”: this means Nash could get a title.
Starting from the second clue, we could see that “was well-received when exhibited” and then “as a result of this exhibition” (term 1) and “decided to recruit Nash as a war artist” (term 3).
Hence, we have term 3 containing “as a war artist”
Answer: a war artist.
- 12 Answer: self-taught
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
12: How did Nash learn oil painting?
They were shown at the Leicester Galleries in 1918 together with his first efforts at oil painting, in which he was self-taught and quickly successful, though his drawings made in the field had a more immediate public impact.
Note:
There are two paragraphs mentioning oil: G and I. The I paragraph tells nothing about how he learnt it (eliminated). Obviously, the following information about oil painting in paragraph G is “in which he was self-taught”. “Self-taught” means he learned it by himself.
Answer: self-taught
- 13 Answer: more abstract
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
13. What change took place for Nash’s painting style in the late second decade of the twentieth century?
Despite this popular acclaim in 1929, his work became more abstract
Note:
Paying attention to the time, we can point out that only paragraph H mentions this period. From this paragraph, there is only “his work became more abstract” that talks about the change because of the word “became”.
Answer: more abstract.
Caution: why not using only “abstract”. Because if using only “abstract”, we have to point out what painting style changing to abstract (in fact, there is no initial style). But the “more abstract” means from “less” to “more”
Questions 14-15
What two features do record retention possess in nature?
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- 14-15 Answer: B,E
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q14-15: What two features do record retention possess in nature?
A Easier and faster
B Capaciousness
C portable
D convenient
E Iterance
{A} With the high volume and the repetition inherent in record keeping
Note:
The keywords of the question are "two features" and "record retention".
After scanning, it is clear that the information appears in paragraph A. Based on the keyword "record retention", we can find that "record keeping" is its synonym, which leads to "high volume" and "repetition inherent" being the answer.
However, we may be confused if we do not know the options with the same meanings, so we could use the exclusion method (cross out 3 wrong choices, and the other is the answers).
Although option A "easier and faster" and option C "portable" are also mentioned in this paragraph, they are not referred to as "record retention", so they are not the answers.
For option D "convenient", there is no sentence related to something convenient in the paragraph, so D is not the answer as well.
For this reason, we can conclude B and E are the two answers.
Question 16
What hurts the technique of producing wooden paper from popularity for a long time?
- A
- B
- C
- D
Keywords in Questions | Similar words in Passage |
Q16: What hurts the technique of producing wooden paper from popularity for a long time? A Scarcity B Complexity C Confidentiality by the inventors D High cost | {E} Wood-fiber paper was invented in China in 105 A.D. but it only became known about (due to Chinese secrecy) in Japan around 700 A.D. |
Note: The keyword is "wooden paper". After scanning, it is clear that "wood-fiber paper" in the text is a synonym of the keyword. We should read carefully the paragraph or the sentence which contains the synonym, then the word "secrecy" is the answer we are looking for. As "secrecy" has the same meaning as "confidentiality", C is the answer. | |
Questions 17-23
The reading Passage has eleven paragraphs A-I.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-I, in boxes 17-23 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
17 the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
18 a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
19 liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
20 majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
21 the original invention of today’s correspondences
22 the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
23 a design to safeguard the written content
- 17 Answer: D
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q17: the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems
{D} They converted bamboo stems into a primitive form of a fountain pen ... A writing fluid or ink filled the stem, squeezing the reed forced fluid to the nib
Note:
The keyword is "plant stems".
After using the scanning technique, we can find that only paragraph D mentions the word "stems" and "primitive" which also includes in the question.
Hence, D is the answer.
- 18 Answer: F
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q18: a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time
{F} The writing instrument that dominated for the longest period in history (over one thousand years) was the quill pen.
Note:
We will search for the keyword "the longest time" in the text.
It is clear that only paragraph F contains the keyword's synonym. Additionally, the verb "dominated for" has a similar meaning to the keyword "implemented for".
Thus, the answer is F.
- 19 Answer: C
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q19: liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese
{C} The Chinese invented and perfected ‘Indian Ink’.
Note:
We know that "liquid for writing" is ink.
Based on the question, this ink is devised by the Chinese; therefore, we can easily find both "Chinese" and "ink" in paragraph C.
So C is the answer.
- 20 Answer: A
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q20: majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally
{A} Greek was the first script written from left to right ... In the beginning, all writing systems had only uppercase letters
Note:
We may not know the meaning of "majuscule", but we can search for the word "scripts" and "originally".
(Note: "majuscule" is French, it means "uppercase letters")
After scanning, we can find that the keywords appear in the first paragraph.
For this reason, A is the answer.
- 21 Answer: B
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q8: the original invention of today’s correspondences
{B} The earliest means of writing that approached pen and paper as we know them today was developed by the Greeks
Note:
The keyword is "today's correspondences".
Paragraph B states that the earliest inventions which were developed by the Greeks are pen and paper as we know them today.
Thus, the answer is B.
- 22 Answer: D
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q22: the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately
{D} The invention of inks paralleled the introduction of the paper.
Note:
The keywords are "two basic writing instruments" and "coordinately".
It is clear that paragraphs B, D, and E mention two means of writing. However, only paragraph D states that ink and paper are invented together.
To conclude, D is the answer.
- 23 Answer: B
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q23: a design to safeguard the written content
{B} The tablets are made in hinged pairs, closed to protect the scribe’s notes
Note:
Based on the keyword "safeguard", we can know that there is a design invented to protect the written content.
Paragraph B mentions that the hinged pairs of tablets are designed to protect the written content.
So the answer is B.
Questions 24-26
Answer the s below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
What makes it not so convenient to use the quill pens?
24
When did one more breakthrough occur following the popularity of paper of plant fibres?
25
What inventions were the results of human’s creative instinct of developing writing tools?
26
- 24 Answer: lengthy preparation time
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q24: What makes it not so convenient to use the quill pens?
{G} There were also disadvantages associated with the use of quill pens, including a lengthy preparation time.
Note:
We can look for the keyword "quill pens" which appears in paragraphs F and G.
Based on the keyword "not so convenient", we can find its synonym "disadvantage" in the first sentence of paragraph G. Following this, it leads to the answer "lengthy preparation time".
- 25 Answer: in 1436
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q25: When did one more breakthrough occur following the popularity of paper of plant fibres?
{H} Plant-fiber paper became the primary medium for writing after another dramatic invention took place: Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable wooden or metal letters in 1436
Note:
The answer must be a year or a time period because of the "when" question.
Based on the keyword "paper of plant fibres", we can see that the information is mentioned in paragraph H.
Following plant-fibre paper, the printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1436.
Hence, the answer is "in 1436".
- 26 Answer: modern fountain pens
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q26: What inventions were the results of human’s creative instinct of developing writing tools?
{I} man’s inventive nature once again turned to improving the writing instrument, leading to the development of the modern fountain pens
Note:
The keyword is "human's creative instinct".
After scanning, the phrase "man's inventive nature" has the same meaning as the keyword. Following this, we can conclude that "modern fountain pens" is the answer to this question.
Questions 27-35
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage？
In boxes 27-35 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 |
27 Michael was unluckily hit by electric shocks and nearly lost his life during his vacation.
28 The disease Michael had suffered from for eight years was caused by an accident
29 Michael is grateful for the bark scorpion bite because it helped him recover from the ankylosing spondylitis.
30 No venom is just responsible for one job.
31 There is no difference between venom and poison.
32 Venom can kill while it can also be used as medicine to save.
33 New treatments for cancer are now available in the market.
34 So far 20 million venom toxins have been checked for medical use.
35 The majority of mammals carry venom inside their bodies.
- 27 Answer: FALSE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q27: Michael was unluckily hit by electric shocks and nearly lost his life during his vacation.
Instead of cool relief, a burning pain ripped through the back of his thigh. … where doctors immediately identified his attacker: a bark scorpion,... The fierce pain from a sting is typically followed by what feels like electric shocks racking the body. Occasionally victims die. Luckily for Michael (who asked me not to give his Ml name), the bark scorpion is common in the area, and antivenom was readily available. He had an injection and was released a few hours later. In about 30 hours the pain was gone.
Note
We can see that Michael was attacked by a scorpion not an electric shock and that pain feels like electric shocks. Then, he was cured after a few hours instead of losing his life.
The information in this statement contradicts with information in paragraphs A and B.
Answer: False
- 28 Answer: NOT GIVEN
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q28: The disease Michael had suffered from for eight years was caused by an accident
For eight years Michael had endured a condition called ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic autoimmune disease of the skeleton, a sort of spinal arthritis. No one knows what triggers it.
Note:
Paragraph B mentions a disease that he had endured for eight years, which called ankylosing spondylitis, and no one knows its cause. It means that there is no information about his disease’s reason, which is synonymous with Not Given., not False.
Matching keywords:
“suffered from” - “endured”
“disease” - “condition called ankylosing spondylitis…”
Answer: Not Given
- 29 Answer: TRUE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q29: Michael is grateful for the bark scorpion bite because it helped him recover from the ankylosing spondylitis.
But days after the scorpion sting, the pain went away, and now, two years later, he remains essentially pain free and off most of his medications. … Still, he says, “if my pain came back, I’d let that scorpion sting me again.”
Note:
We can realize that thanks to the scorpion bite, Michael had recovered and only bore little pain, then he will be thankful for it.
This statement can confuse you and you may wonder whether he is grateful (True) or not (Not Given). The author didn’t mention it directly but we can draw conclusions from his sayings: “if my pain came back, I’d let that scorpion sting me again.” It means that he may be grateful and will continue to do so if the pain comes back.
Answer: True
- 30 Answer: TRUE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q30: No venom is just responsible for one job.
Venom is exquisitely honed to stop a body in its tracks. … The molecules may have different targets and effects, but they work synergistically for the mightiest punch. … Venom can kill by clotting blood and stopping the heart or by preventing clotting and triggering a killer bleed. All venom is multifaceted and multitasking.
Note:
The keyword that helps us realize the answer is “multitasking”.
Moreover, some sentences above also confirm the answer True that venom can kill in lots of ways or its molecules have different effects.
Answer: True
- 31 Answer: FALSE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q31: There is no difference between venom and poison.
The difference between venom and poison is that venom is injected, or dibbled, into victims by way of specialized body parts, and poison is ingested.
Note:
In paragraph D, the author mentions the difference between them clearly that venom comes from the external wound while poison comes from the food you consume.
Answer: False
- 32 Answer: TRUE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q32: Venom can kill while it can also be used as medicine to save.
Ironically, the properties that make venom deadly are also what make it so valuable for medicine. Many venom toxins target the same molecules that need to be controlled to treat diseases. …
Note:
The word that you have to focus on finding is “medicine”. Venom can be used as medicine despite its deadly toxic patterns.
It is easy for you to find this information because it is so familiar that you can even know it in real life.
Answer: True
- 33 Answer: FALSE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q33: New treatments for cancer are now available in the market.
New treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer, and pain could be available within a decade.
Note:
You should focus on the information of the time that the passage said new treatments could be available in the future while the statement said they are sold at present.
Answer: False
- 34 Answer: FALSE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q34: So far 20 million venom toxins have been checked for medical use.
“There could be upwards of 20 million venom toxins out there waiting to be screened,”
Note:
We can find information about “20 million venom toxins” easily because it only appears in paragraph F. The statement said that they have been checked, which contradicts the information in the passage that they are waiting to check.
Matching keywords:
“so far” - “upwards”
“checked” - “screened”
Answer: False
- 35 Answer: FALSE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q35: The majority of mammals carry venom inside their bodies.
The male duck-billed platypus, which carries venom inside ankle spurs, is one of the few venomous mammals.
Note:
In the passage, the author mentions a particular instance of mammals that is one of the few cases carrying venom, not the majority. It is an antonym that helps you easily confirm your answer.
Answer: False
Questions 36-40
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.
the way how venom works can be utilised to create...
36
A venom source such as has helped to present complex facts about how nerve cells convey information to each other.
37
Tens of thousands of animals have developed and which are respectively responsible for storing and letting out venom.
38
The makeup of venom of a snake may change with places, ages and .
39
Some animal uses venom to warn of its exclusive power during the mating season.
40
- 36 Answer: medicines
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q36: The way how venom works is compared to that of…
Ironically, the properties that make venom deadly are also what make it so valuable for medicine.
Note:
You need to find a noun to fill in this sentence.
You should focus on the paragraph where the multi-functions of venom were first mentioned. It may make you feel difficulty in the first scan, so you can leave later, when you can determine other answers and infer the general location of this answer.
Matching keywords:
“way” - “properties”
“venom works” - “make venom deadly”
Answer: medicines
- 37 Answer: puffer fish
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q37: A venom source such as … has helped to present complex facts about how nerve cells convey information to each other.
Studies of the deadly poison tetrodotoxin (TTX) from puffer fish, for instance, have revealed intricate details about the way nerve cells communicate.
Note:
The answer should be a noun and may be a kind of animal because paragraph F mentions animals.
Then, you can base on the phrase “how nerve cells convey information to each other” and find its synonym, that is “the way nerve cells communicate”.
Matching keywords:
“present” - “revealed”
“complex fact” - “intricate details”
Answer: puffer fish
- 38 Answer: glands, apparatuses
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q38: Tens of thousands of animals have developed and which are respectively responsible for storing and letting out venom.
More than 100,000 animals have evolved to produce venom, along with the glands to house it and the apparatuses to expel it: snakes, scorpions, spiders, a few lizards, bees, sea creatures such as octopuses, numerous species of fish, and cone snails.
Note:
The word form of the missing word is a noun.
The phrase that helps you to figure out the answer easily is “100,000 animals” because it only appears in the paragraph one time and is outstanding.
Then you can realize that there are many similar words between question and passage: “developed” - “evolved”, “storing” - “house”, “letting out” - “expel”.
One thing you have to notice is that the answer has no more than two words, so you should you “,” to connect two words.
Answer: glands, apparatuses
- 39 Answer: diet
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q39: The makeup of venom of a snake may change with places, ages and ...
The composition of the venom of a single snake species varies from place to place and between adults and their young. An individual snake’s venom may even change with its diet.
Note:
The answer should be a noun.
Many phrases are paraphrased from the information from paragraph H, such as: “makeup” - “composition”, “change with places” - “varies from place to place”, “ages” - “between adults and their young”. And one signal that helps you determine the answer is the word “even change”, which means the noun “diet” after it will be appropriate with the question.
Answer: diet
- 40 Answer: rival males
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q40: Some animal uses venom to warn … of its exclusive power during the mating season.
Not all venom kills, of course—bees have it as a nonlethal defense, and the male platypus uses it to show rival males who’s boss during mating season.
Note:
The passage mentions one kind of animal to confirm that there are still some animals having venom in use of warning.
The keyword that helps you locate the answer is “mating season” because it only appears one time and it is also easy to recognize. Then you will realize some other similar words like “ exclusive power” - “who’d boss”.
Moreover, the missing word should be a noun about someone to complete the grammar “warn somebody of something”.
Answer: rival males
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1.
Paul Nash
A
Paul Nash, the elder son of William Nash and his first wife, Caroline Jackson, was born in London on 11th May 1889. His father was a successful lawyer who became the Recorder of Abingdon. According to Ronald Blythe: “In 1901 the family returned to its native Buckinghamshire, where the garden of Wood Lane House at Iver Heath, and the countryside of the Chiltern Hills, with its sculptural beeches and chalky contours, were early influences on the development of the three children. Their lives were overshadowed by their mother’s mental illness and Nash himself was greatly helped by his nurse who, with some elderly neighbors, introduced him to the universe of plants.”
B
Nash was educated at St. Paul’s School and the Slade School of Art, where he met Dora Carrington. Unlike some of his contemporaries at the Slade School, Nash remained untouched by the two post-impressionist exhibitions organized by Roger Fry in 1910 and 1912. Instead, he was influenced by the work of William Blake. He also became a close friend of Gordon Bottomley, who took a keen interest in his career.
C
Nash had his first one-man show, of ink and wash drawings, at the Carfax Gallery in 1912. The following year he shared an exhibition at the Dorian Leigh Gallery with his brother, John Nash. Myfanwy Piper has added: “Nash had a noteworthy sense of order and of the niceties of presentation; his pictures were beautifully framed, drawings mounted, his studio precisely and decoratively tidy, and oddments which he collected were worked up into compositions.”
D
Paul Nash was strongly attracted to Dora Carrington: He later recalled: “Carrington… was the dominating personality, I got an introduction to her and eventually won her regard by lending her my braces for a fancy-dress party. We were on the top of a bus and she wanted them then and there.”
E
On the outbreak Nash considered the possibility of joining the British Army. He told a friend: “I am not keen to rush off and be a soldier. The whole damnable war is too horrible of course and I am all against killing anybody, speaking off-hand, but besides all that I believe both Jack and I might be more useful as ambulance and red cross men, and to that end we are training. Nash enlisted in the Artists’ Rifles. He told Gordon Bottomley: “I have joined the Artists’ London Regiment of Territorials, the old Corps which started with Rossetti, Leighton, and Millais as members in 1860. Every man must do his bit in this horrible business so I have given up painting. There are many nice creatures in my company and I enjoy the burst of exercise – marching, drilling all day in the open air about the pleasant parts of Regents Park and Hampstead Heath.”
F
In March 1917 he was sent to the Western Front Nash, who took part in the offensive at Ypres, had reached the rank of lieutenant in the Hampshire Regiment by 1916. Whenever possible, Nash made sketches of life in the trenches. In May 1917 he was invalided home after a non-military accident. While recuperating in London, Nash worked from his sketches to produce a series of war paintings. This work was well-received when exhibited later that year. As a result of this exhibition, Charles Masterman, head of the government’s War Propaganda Bureau (WPB), and the advice of Edward Marsh and William Rothenstein, it was decided to recruit Nash as a war artist. In November 1917 in the immediate aftermath of the battle of Passchendaele Nash returned to France.
G
Nash was unhappy with his work as a member of the War Propaganda Bureau. He wrote at the time: “I am no longer an artist. I am a messenger who will bring back word from the men who are fighting to those who want the war to go on forever. Feeble, inarticulate will be my message, but it will have a bitter truth and may burn their lousy souls.” However, as Myfanwy Piper has pointed out: “The drawings he made then, of shorn trees in ruined and flooded landscapes, were the works that made Nash’s reputation. They were shown at the Leicester Galleries in 1918 together with his first efforts at oil painting, in which he was self-taught and quickly successful, though his drawings made in the field had a more immediate public impact.
H
In 1919 Nash moved to Dymchurch in Kent, beginning his well-known series of pictures of the sea, the breakwaters, and the long wall that prevents the sea from flooding Romney Marsh. This included the Winter Sea and Dymchurch Steps. Nash also painted the landscapes of the Chiltern Hills. In 1924 and 1928 he had successful exhibitions at the Leicester Galleries. Despite this popular acclaim in 1929, his work became more abstract. In 1933 Nash founded Unit One, the group of experimental painters, sculptors, and architects.
I
During the Second World War Nash was employed by the Ministry of Information and the Air Ministry and paintings produced by him during this period include the Battle of Britain and Totes Meer. His biographer, Myfanwy Piper, has argued: “This war disturbed Nash but did not change his art as the last one had. His style and his habits were formed, and in the new war, he treated his new subjects as he had treated those he had been thinking about for so long. His late paintings, both oils, and watercolors are alternately brilliant and somber in color with the light of setting suns and rising moons spreading over wooded and hilly landscapes. “Paul Nash died at 35 Boscombe Spa Road, Bournemouth, on 11th July 1946.
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2.
Tool for ancient writing
A
With time, the record-keepers developed systematized symbols from their drawings. These symbols represented words and sentences but were easier and faster to draw and universally recognized for meaning. The discovery of clay made portable records possible (you can’t carry a cave wall around with you). Early merchants used clay tokens with pictographs to record the quantities of materials traded or shipped. These tokens date back to about 8,500 B.C. With the high volume and the repetition inherent in record keeping, pictographs evolved and slowly lost their picture detail. They became abstract figures representing sounds in spoken communication. The alphabet replaced pictographs between 1700 and 1500 B.C. in the Sinaitic world. The current Hebrew alphabet and writing became popular around 600 B.C. About 400 B.C. the Greek alphabet was developed. Greek was the first script written from left to right. From Greek followed the Byzantine and the Roman (later Latin) writings. In the beginning, all writing systems had only uppercase letters, when the writing instruments were refined enough for detailed faces, lowercase was used as well (around 600 A.D.)
B
The earliest means of writing that approached pen and paper as we know them today was developed by the Greeks. They employed a writing stylus, made of metal, bone, or ivory, to placemarks upon wax-coated tablets. The tablets are made in hinged pairs, closed to protect the scribe’s notes. The first examples of handwriting (purely text messages made by hand) originated in Greece. The Grecian scholar, Cadmus invented the written letter – text messages on paper sent from one individual to another.
C
Writing was advancing beyond chiselling pictures into stone or wedging pictographs into wet clay. The Chinese invented and perfected ‘Indian Ink’. Originally designed for blacking the surfaces of raised stone-carved hieroglyphics, the ink was a mixture of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with the gelatin of donkey skin and musk. The ink invented by the Chinese philosopher, Tien-Lcheu (2697 B.C.), became common by the year 1200 B.C. Other cultures developed inks using natural dyes and colours derived from berries, plants, and minerals. In early writings, different coloured inks had ritual meanings attached to each colour.
D
The invention of inks paralleled the introduction of the paper. The early Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and Hebrews, used papyrus and parchment papers. One of the oldest pieces of writing on papyrus known to us today is the Egyptian “Prisse Papyrus” which dates back to 2000 B.C. The Romans created a reed-pen perfect for parchment and ink, from the hollow tubular stems of marsh grasses, especially from the jointed bamboo plant. They converted bamboo stems into a primitive form of a fountain pen. They cut one end into the form of a pen nib or point. A writing fluid or ink filled the stem, squeezing the reed forced fluid to the nib
E
By 400 A.D. a stable form of ink developed, a composite of iron salts, nutgalls, and gum, the basic formula, which was to remain in use for centuries. Its colour when first applied to paper was a bluish-black, rapidly turning into a darker black and then over the years fading to the familiar dull brown colour commonly seen in old documents. Wood-fiber paper was invented in China in 105 A.D. but it only became known about (due to Chinese secrecy) in Japan around 700 A.D. and was brought to Spain by the Arabs in 711 A.D. Paper was not widely used throughout Europe until paper mills were built in the late 14th century
F
The writing instrument that dominated for the longest period in history (over one thousand years) was the quill pen. Introduced around 700 A.D., the quill is a pen made from a bird feather. The strongest quills were those taken from living birds in the spring from the five outer left wing feathers. The left wing was favoured because the feathers curved outward and away when used by a right-handed writer. Goose feathers were most common; swan feathers were of a premium grade being scarcer and more expensive. For making fine lines, crow feathers were the best, and then came the feathers of the eagle, owl, hawk, and turkey.
G
There were also disadvantages associated with the use of quill pens, including a lengthy preparation time. The early European writing parchments made from animal skins required much scraping and cleaning. A lead and a ruler made margins. To sharpen the quill, the writer needed a special knife (origins of the term “pen-knife”.) Beneath the writer’s high-top desk was a coal stove, used to dry the ink as fast as possible.
H
Plant-fiber paper became the primary medium for writing after another dramatic invention took place: Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable wooden or metal letters in 1436. Simpler kinds of printing e.g. stamps with names used much earlier in China, did not find their way to Europe. During the centuries, many newer printing technologies were developed based on Gutenberg’s printing machine e.g. offset printing.
I
Articles written by hand had resembled printed letters until scholars began to change the form of writing, using capitals and small letters, writing with more of a slant and connecting letters. Gradually writing became more suitable to the speed the new writing instruments permitted. The credit of inventing Italian ‘running hand’ or cursive handwriting with its Roman capitals and small letters, goes to Aldus Manutius of Venice, who departed from the old set forms in 1495 A.D. By the end of the 16th century, the old Roman capitals and Greek letterforms transformed into the twenty-six alphabet letters we know today, both for upper and lower-case letters. When writers had both better inks and paper, and handwriting had developed into both an art form and an everyday occurrence, man’s inventive nature once again turned to improving the writing instrument, leading to the development of the modern fountain pens
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3.
The Bite That Heat
Scientists are unlocking the medical potential of venom.
A
Michael decided to go for a swim. He was on vacation with his family in Guerrero, Mexico, and it was hotter than blazes. He grabbed his swimming trunks from where they’d been drying on a chair, slid them on, and jumped into the pool. Instead of cool relief, a burning pain ripped through the back of his thigh. Tearing off his trunks, he leaped naked from the pool, his leg on fire. Behind him a small, ugly, yellow creature was treading water. He scooped it into a Tupperware container, and the caretaker of the house rushed him to the local Red Cross facility, where doctors immediately identified his attacker: a bark scorpion, Centruroides sculpturatus, one of the most venomous species in North America. The fierce pain from a sting is typically followed by what feels like electric shocks racking the body. Occasionally victims die.
B
Luckily for Michael (who asked me not to give his Ml name), the bark scorpion is common in the area, and antivenom was readily available. He had an injection and was released a few hours later. In about 30 hours the pain was gone. What happened next could not have been predicted. For eight years Michael had endured a condition called ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic autoimmune disease of the skeleton, a sort of spinal arthritis. No one knows what triggers it. In the worst cases the spine may fuse, leaving the patient forever stooped and in anguish. “My back hurt every morning, and during bad flare-ups it was so horrible I couldn’t even walk,” he says.
C
But days after the the scorpion sting, the pain went away, and now, two years later, he remains essentially pain free and off most of his medications. As a doctor himself, Michael is cautious about overstating the role of the scorpion’s venom in his remission. Still, he says, “if my pain came back, I’d let that scorpion sting me again.” Venom-the stuff that drips from the fangs and stingers of creatures lurking on the hiking trail or hiding in the cellar or under the woodpile—is nature’s most efficient killer. Venom is exquisitely honed to stop a body in its tracks. The complex soup swirls with toxic proteins and peptides——short strings of amino acids similar to proteins. The molecules may have different targets and effects, but they work synergistically for the mightiest punch. Some go for the nervous system, paralyzing by blocking messages between nerves and muscle. Some eat away at molecules so that cells and tissues collapse. Venom can kill by clotting blood and stopping the heart or by preventing clotting and triggering a killer bleed.
D
All venom is multifaceted and multitasking. (The difference between venom and poison is that venom is injected, or dibbled, into victims by way of specialized body parts, and poison is ingested.) Dozens, even hundreds, of toxins can be delivered in a single bite, some with redundant jobs and others with unique ones. In the evolutionary arms race between predator and prey, weapons and defenses are constantly tweaked. Drastically potent concoctions can result: Imagine administering poison to an adversary, then jabbing him with a knife, then finishing him off with a bullet to the head. That’s venom at work.
E
Ironically, the properties that make venom deadly are also what make it so valuable for medicine. Many venom toxins target the same molecules that need to be controlled to treat diseases. Venom works fast and is highly specific. Its active components—those peptides and proteins, working as toxins diabetes have been derived from venom. New treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer, and pain could be available within a decade.
F
“We aren’t talking just a few novel drugs but entire classes of drugs,” says National Geographic Society Emerging Explorer Zoltan Takacs, a toxinologist and herpetologist. So far, fewer than a thousand toxins have been scrutinized for medicinal value, and a dozen or so major drugs have made it to market. “There could be upwards of 20 million venom toxins out there waiting to be screened,” Takacs says. “It’s huge. Venom has opened up whole new avenues of pharmacology.” Toxins from venom and poison sources are also giving us a clearer picture of how proteins that control many of the body’s crucial cellular functions work. Studies of the deadly poison tetrodotoxin (TTX) from puffer fish, for instance, have revealed intricate details about the way nerve cells communicate.
G
“We ’re motivated to look for new compounds to lessen human suffering,” Angel Yanagihara of the University of Hawaii told me. “But while doing that, you may uncover things you don’t expect.” Driven in part out of revenge for a box jellyfish sting she endured 15 years ago, Yanagihara discovered a potential wound-healing agent within the tubules that contain jellyfish venom. “It had nothing to do with the venom itself,” she said. “By getting intimate with a noxious animal, I’ve been informed way beyond my expectations.”
H
More than 100,000 animals have evolved to produce venom, along with the glands to house it and the apparatuses to expel it: snakes, scorpions, spiders, a few lizards, bees, sea creatures such as octopuses, numerous species of fish, and cone snails. The male duck-billed platypus, which carries venom inside ankle spurs, is one of the few venomous mammals. Venom and its components emerged independently, again and again, in different animal groups. The composition of the venom of a single snake species varies from place to place and between adults and their young. An individual snake’s venom may even change with its diet.
I
Although evolution has been fine-tuning these compounds for more than a hundred million years, venom’s molecular architecture has been in place much longer. Nature repurposes key molecules from around the body—the blood, brain, digestive tract, and elsewhere—to serve animals for predation or protection. “It makes sense for nature to steal the scaffolds already in place,” Takacs says. “To make a toxin to wreck the nervous system, it’s most efficient to take a template from the brain that already works in that system, make some tiny changes, and there you have it: Now it’s a toxin.” Not all venom kills, of course—bees have it as a nonlethal defense, and the male platypus uses it to show rival males who’s boss during mating season. But mostly it’s for killing, or at least immobilizing, an animal’s next meal. Humans are often accidental victims. The World Health Organization estimates that every year some five million bites kill 100,000 people, although the actual number is presumed to be much higher. In rural areas of developing countries, where most bites occur, victims may not be able to get treatment or may instead choose traditional therapies and are therefore not counted.
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Tin tức Lý Thất Dạ trở thành thủ tịch đại đệ tử của Tẩy Nhan Cổ phái nhanh chóng truyền ra khắp nơi. Những người trong lớp cao tầng cũng không oán giận gì nhiều, bởi bọn họ vốn không có lựa chọn nào khác khi đối mặt với Tẩy Nhan Cổ lệnh. Một phế vật như Lý Thất Dạ chẳng qua chỉ là gặp may mắn mà thôi.
Nhưng các đệ tử trẻ tuổi đời thứ ba lại không như vậy, vì đơn giản theo quy luật từ xưa đến nay, đại đệ tử của Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái hầu hết đều xuất thân từ trong đám đệ tử. Hơn nữa, người giữ chức thủ tịch nhất định phải lập được công lao hiển hách và trải qua khảo nghiệm nghiêm khắc của các vị trưởng lão mới được công nhận.
Đã thế, thủ tịch đại đệ tử ngoài việc sẽ được chưởng môn tự mình truyền thụ công pháp, còn có cơ hội tiếp xúc với các loại Đế thuật cao cấp. Điểm then chốt cuối cùng chính là từ xưa đến nay thủ tịch đại đệ tử đều có cơ hội rất lớn trở thành chưởng môn đời sau.
Mà theo tình hình hiện tại, chưa có ai trong nhóm đệ tử đời thứ hai trúng tuyển vị trí này, điều đó có nghĩa rằng vị trí thủ tịch chắc chắn sẽ được lựa chọn từ hàng ngũ các đệ tử đời thứ ba.
Những người phản ứng gay gắt nhất chính là những đệ tử ưu tú có tư chất tốt, thiên phú cao và lập được không ít công lao to lớn cho môn phái, nên bọn họ cực kỳ căm giận, bất bình với việc Lý Thất Dạ đoạt được ngôi vị này. Nhất thời toàn bộ Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái xôn xao náo động.
- Một tên phàm phu tục tử với phàm thể, phàm luân, phàm mệnh có tư cách gì làm thủ tịch đại đệ tử chứ?
Vài thiên tài hậm hực nói.
- Người như vậy chính là sự sỉ nhục đối với Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái chúng ta.
Một vài thiên tài lớn tuổi hơn tuy không cam lòng nhưng cũng chỉ thở dài:
- Ai bảo hắn may mắn có được Tẩy Nhan Cổ lệnh, các trưởng lão cũng phải bó tay mà chấp nhận.
Cũng có thiên tài tràn đầy tự tin với bản thân, lạnh lùng cười:
- Cũng chỉ là đại đệ tử mà thôi, kẻ bất tài như hắn không có thực lực cùng ta tranh giành chức chưởng môn. Ai nói thủ tịch đại đệ tử thì chắc chắn sẽ trở thành chưởng môn chứ!
- Nếu hắn không biết điều, ta sẽ không ngại dạy bảo hắn một chút.
Nhưng dù nói thế nào đi nữa, cho dù Lý Thất Dạ thật sự không có tư cách tranh giành chức chưởng môn, nhưng cả đám đệ tử vẫn đều cảm thấy khó chịu trong lòng khi phải gọi một tên bất tài ít tuổi như Lý Thất Dạ bằng đại sư huynh.
- Miếng Tẩy Nhan Cổ lệnh duy nhất chưa được thu hồi không phải đang nằm trong tay Tam Quỷ Gia ư? Sao lại rơi vào tay tiểu tử kia được?
Lại có đệ tử không nén được hiếu kỳ hỏi.
Việc Tam Quỷ Gia sở hữu miếng cổ lệnh cuối cùng cũng không phải là bí mật to lớn gì, Tẩy Nhan Cổ phái vẫn muốn thu hồi lại nó, nhưng chỉ là Tam Quỷ Gia khăng khăng không đồng ý mà thôi. Vì thế hầu như ai ai cũng thấy kỳ quái khi Lý Thất Dạ có được nó.
- Hắc hắc, nghe nói tiểu tử này còn có chút thủ đoạn, chỉ không biết hắn lừa gạt lão quỷ háo sắc kia như thế nào thôi.
Một vị đệ tử khác lạnh lùng cười trả lời:
- Nghe người ta nói, lúc trưởng lão phái người đi xác minh chuyện này, Tam Quỷ Gia đang vui chơi khoái hoạt ở Thúy Hồng Lâu, rất có thể tiểu tử này đã mời Tam Quỷ Gia ăn chơi thoải mái để đổi lấy cổ lệnh không chừng.
Nói đến đây, vị đệ tử này hậm hực hừ một cái, trong lòng còn cảm thấy buồn nôn.
- Thì ra hắn và lão quỷ mê gái kia cùng một giuộc.
Nghe kể như vậy, đám đệ tử khác thốt lên đầy khinh thường.
Tuy đồn đại rằng Tam Quỷ Gia là con riêng của một đại chưởng môn nào đó, nhưng từ trên xuống dưới của Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái đều không chào đón lão quỷ hám gái, hám tiền, chỉ thích phung phí ăn chơi như Tam Quỷ Gia, đặc biệt đám đệ tử trẻ tuổi đời thứ ba càng không tôn kính lão ta một chút nào. Nếu không phải được sự ủy thác của chưởng môn đời trước, chỉ sợ Tam Quỷ Gia đã bị đuổi khỏi Tẩy Nhan Cổ phái rồi.
Nếu Lý Thất Dạ và Tam Quỷ Gia là cùng một ổ với nhau thì đám đệ tử này càng thêm phản cảm với Lý Thất Dạ.
Nhưng ba ngày còn chưa qua hết, Lý Thất Dạ còn chưa kịp bái tổ, Tây Nhan Cổ Phái đã nhận được thư từ Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn.
- Cái gì! Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn muốn khảo hạch ư?
Vừa nhận được tin này, sáu vị trưởng lão ngẩn người.
Một vị trưởng lão cảm thấy rất khó chịu, bực mình nói:
- Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn thu được tin tức cũng quá nhanh đi. Lý Thất Dạ vừa thành thủ tịch đại đệ tử, bọn họ đã lập tức muốn khảo hạch.
Có trưởng lão khác tiếp lời:
- Xem ra Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn muốn thoát khỏi hứa hẹn năm xưa. Một phế vật vừa nhập môn như Lý Thất Dạ không có khả năng thông qua khảo hạch được. Cho nên khi bọn họ nhận được tin này liền nóng nóng thúc ép.
- Chúng ta cũng không còn cách nào.
Đại trưởng lão trầm mặc trong thoáng chốc, cuối cùng bất đắc dĩ lên tiếng:
- Hiện tại Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn đang chấp chưởng cả một cương quốc. Chúng ta đã không thể so sánh với họ thì sao có đủ tư cách đàm phán điều kiện đây.
Lời của Đại trưởng lão khiến cho mọi người lâm vào trầm mặc. Ở thời gian đầu thời đại Chư Đế, Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái của bọn họ uy danh hiển hách, chấp chưởng Cổ quốc, vạn giáo bái phục, từng uy hiếp Cửu Giới, quét ngang Bát Hoang. Không có bất kỳ ai tại Trung Đại Vực bao la rộng lớn có thể uy hiếp, rung chuyển được vị trí của Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái.
Nhưng theo dòng thời gian trôi qua, Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái dần xuống dốc, uy phong không còn nữa, đừng nói là chấp chưởng Cổ quốc, ngay cả Cương quốc bọn họ cũng không có đủ thực lực cai trị, chứ đừng nói muốn phong người khác làm Hào Hùng hoặc Vương Hầu.
- Làm sao bây giờ?
Có trưởng lão bất ngờ hỏi.
Trong lòng bọn họ đều rõ, một kẻ bất tài mới nhập môn với phàm thể, phàm luân, phàm mệnh như Lý Thất Dạ không có khả năng thông qua khảo hạch của Cửu Thánh Yêu môn.
- Chữa ngựa chết thành ngựa sống chứ còn làm sao nữa!
Một trưởng lão khác trả lời.
- Nếu như hắn thực sự thành công, chúng ta và Cửu Thánh Yêu môn sẽ là thông gia, lúc đó Thiên Thánh Giáo và Bảo Thánh Thượng Quốc cũng không dám xem nhẹ Tẩy Nhan Cổ phái.
Đối với mơ ước khó thành sự thực như vậy, sáu vị trưởng lão cũng chỉ cười khổ, nhưng bất kể thế nào họ cũng vẫn phải thử.
Lý Thất Dạ ở trên ngọn Cô Phong chờ đợi ngày đại điển bái lạy Tổ sư, bỗng nhiên thấy Nam Hoài Nhân tới thăm.
- Sư huynh, trưởng lão gọi ngươi đến tổ điện.
Nam Hoài Nhân vội bẩm báo với Lý Thất Dạ.
- Chuyện lớn phải không?
Lý Thất Dạ nhìn thoáng qua thần thái của Nam Hoài Nhân, thuận miệng hỏi ngắn gọn.
Nam Hoài Nhân tuy cảm thấy kinh ngạc nhưng cũng không giấu diếm, gật đầu trả lời:
- Không dối gạt sư huynh, Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn gửi tin tới.
Nói đến đây hắn khẽ liếc Lý Thất Dạ một cái rồi nói tiếp:
- Nghe nói, vị hôn thê của sư huynh muốn khảo hạch sư huynh.
- Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn!
Lý Thất Dạ chợt nhớ lại một ít ký ức xa xưa khi nghe nhắc tới cái tên này.
Nam Hoài Nhân lại tưởng Lý Thất Dạ không biết Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn, vội vàng giải thích:
- Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn là một môn phái lớn có tiếng tăm lừng lẫy tại Trung Đại Vực, bọn họ chấp chưởng Cổ Ngưu cương quốc, phong hầu phong vương. Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái chúng ta và Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn có quan hệ mật thiết từ xa xưa. Tổ sư của Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn là Cửu Thánh Đại Hiền từng là đệ nhất chiến tướng dưới trướng của Tổ sư Minh Nhân Tiên đế của chúng ta, vị này đã từng theo Tổ sư quét ngang Cửu Giới. Lúc Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái đang chấp chưởng Cổ quốc, Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn còn phải đến triều bái chúng ta.
- Ta cũng nghe nói qua về Cửu Thánh Yêu môn.
Lý Thất Dạ ung dung cười khẽ. Hắn biết rõ về Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn, cũng đã từng gặp Cửu Thánh Đại Hiền.
Vào thời gian đầu của thời đại Chư đế, hắn đã chỉ dẫn cho tiểu tử Minh Nhân tu đạo, cũng vì Minh Nhân mà Lý Thất Dạ hao tốn không biết bao nhiêu mưu mô, tâm huyết, cuối cùng mới hàng phục được lão yêu quái Cửu Thánh Đại Hiền này, bắt lão yêu làm người hộ đạo cho tiểu tử Minh Nhân.
- Làm sao lại dính dáng tới vị hôn thê nào ở đây?
Lý Thất Dạ hỏi Nam Hoài Nhân.
Nam Hoài Nhân trả lời:
- Theo truyền thuyết, khi Tổ sư của chúng ta gánh chịu thiên mệnh trở thành Tiên đế, Cửu Thánh Đại Hiền cùng Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái có một ước định, nếu sau này truyền nhân của bọn họ là một nữ đệ tử còn truyền nhân của chúng ta là nam thì hai môn phái sẽ kết thành thông gia.
Nói đến đây, hắn khẽ thở dài rồi nói tiếp:
- Khi đó có thể nói là bọn họ muốn trèo cao mới phải.
- Hình như lão đầu gà năm đó có một nữ đệ tử thì phải?
Nghe Nam Hoài Nhân nói xong, Lý Thất Dạ chìm vào ký ức lẩm bẩm. Hắn nhớ mang máng rằng Cửu Thánh Đại Hiền có thu nhận một vị nữ đệ tử, nhưng Lý Thất Dạ bị chìm vào giấc ngủ say nên cũng gạt những chuyện nhỏ nhặt ấy qua một bên.
- Sư huynh nói cái gì?
Nghe Lý Thất Dạ thì thào, Nam Hoài Nhân không nghe rõ, bèn hỏi.
Lý Thất Dạ ổn định lại tinh thần, lắc đầu:
- Không có gì. Nói như vậy truyền nhân hiện tại của Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn là một nữ đệ tử ư?
Nam Hoài Nhân trả lời:
- Nghe nói, đã lâu lắm rồi giữa Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái và Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn không có quan hệ thông gia. Ở kiếp này, truyền nhân của bọn họ lại đúng là một nữ đệ tử.
Hắn ngừng trong giây lát liếc nhìn thái độ của Lý Thất Dạ rồi nói tiếp:
- Cũng nghe nói, truyền nhân Lý Sương Nhan của Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn hiện nay chính là Hoàng thể trời sinh.
Nghe Nam Hoài Nhân kể chuyện, Lý Thất Dạ đã hiểu rõ ngọn nguồn, Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn tất nhiên không muốn đem một truyền nhân có tiền đồ và tiềm chất như vậy gả cho đệ tử của một Tẩy Nhan Cổ Phái đã đến hồi xuống dốc.
- Có chút ý tứ.
Lý Thất Dạ thoáng cười.
Nam Hoài Nhân kinh ngạc nhìn Lý Thất Dạ vẫn có thể ung dung như vậy, hắn cảm thấy rất kỳ quái khi một tiểu tử tư chất tầm thường mới mười ba tuổi lại bình tĩnh đối mặt với mọi việc tựa như một vị Vương Hầu đã trải qua vô vàn sóng gió.
Nếu là một người khác, nghe Nam Hoài Nhân nói xong sẽ cảm thấy bất an, hoảng sợ vô cùng, mà Lý Thất Dạ thì hoàn toàn trái ngược, bộ dáng an nhàn không thèm quan tâm tới.
- Hoài Nhân đã nói tình huống cụ thể với ngươi rồi chứ?
Khi Lý Thất Dạ tiến vào tổ điện, Đại trưởng lão lạnh lùng hỏi.
Thực ra mà nói, sáu vị trưởng lão tuyệt không chào đón một phế vật như Lý Thất Dạ, nhưng vì tình huống hiện tại, bọn họ lại cầu mong hắn không hoàn toàn bất tài như thế, hy vọng hắn có thể may mắn thông qua khảo hạch của Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn. Lúc này đây, Tẩy Nhan Cổ phái rất cần những quái vật khổng lồ như Cửu Thánh Yêu Môn làm thông gia. Tuy biết tỷ lệ thành công cực kỳ bé nhỏ, nhưng bọn họ vẫn cứ muốn thử xem sao.
- Bẩm trưởng lão, ta đã hiểu rõ.
Lý Thất Dạ khẽ gật đầu trả lời.
- Tốt! Chỉ cần ngươi có thể thông qua khảo hạch của Cửu Thánh Yêu môn, chúng ta sẽ ban thưởng hậu hĩnh.
Đại trưởng lão vẫn giữ thái độ lạnh lùng.
Lý Thất Dạ cười mỉm, nói từ tốn:
- Ta nguyện ý đi khảo hạch, nhưng ta có ba điều kiện.
- Làm càn!
Một vị trưởng lão đột nhiên quát lên:
- Đứng trước mặt các trưởng lão mà ngươi cũng dám đưa ra điều kiện ư!