TEST ON HEADINGS 8

Teacher: Hong Hung @ CTB

Student: Nguyen Hong Phuc

Passage 1: Should space be explored by robots or by humans?

A. The advisability of humans participating directly in space travel continues to cause many debates. There is no
doubt that the presence of people on board a space vehicle makes its design much more complex and challenging,
and produces a large increase in costs, since safety requirements are greatly increased, and the technology
providing necessities for human passengers such as oxygen, food water must be guaranteed. Moreover, the systems
required are bulky and costly, and their complexity increases for long-duration missions. Meanwhile, advances in
electronics and computer science allow increasingly complex tasks to be entrusted to robots, and unmanned space
probes are becoming lighter, smaller and more convenient.
B. However, experience has shown that the idea of humans in space is popular with the public. Humans can also be
useful; there are many cases when only direct intervention by an astronaut or cosmonaut can correct the
malfunction of an automatic device. Astronauts and cosmonauts have proved that they can adapt to conditions of
weightlessness and work in space without encountering too many problems, as was seen in the operations to repair
and to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. One human characteristic which is particularly precious in space
missions, and which so far is lacking in robots, is the ability to perform a great variety of tasks. In addition, robots
are not good at reacting to situations they have not been specifically prepared for. This is especially important in
the case of deep space missions. While, in the case of the Moon, it is possible for someone on Earth to 'tele-operate'
a robotic device such as a probe, as the two-way link time is only a couple of seconds, on Mars the two- way link
time is several minutes, so sending instructions from Earth is more difficult.
C. Many of the promises of artificial intelligence are still far from being fulfilled. The construction of machines
simulating human logical reasoning moves towards ever more distant dates. The more the performance of
computers improves, the more we realize how difficult it is to build machines which display logical abilities. In the
past it was confidently predicted that we would soon have fully automated factories in which all operations were
performed without any human intervention, and forecasts of the complete substitution of workers by robots in
many production areas were made. Today, these perspectives are being revised. It seems that all machines, even
the smartest ones, must cooperate with humans. Rather than replacing humans, the present need appears to be for
an intelligent machine capable of helping a human operator without replacing him or her. The word 'cobot', from
'collaborative robot', has been invented to designate this type.
D. A similar trend is also apparent in the field of space exploration. Tasks which were in the past entrusted only to
machines are now performed by human beings, sometimes with the aim of using simpler and less costly devices,
sometimes to obtain better performance. In many cases, to involve a person in the control loop is a welcome
simplification which may lower the cost of a mission without compromising safety. Many operations originally
designed to be performed under completely automatic control can be performed more efficiently by astronauts,
perhaps helped by their 'cobots'. The human-machine relationship must evolve towards a closer collaboration.
E. One way this could happen is by adopting the Mars Outposts approach, proposed by the Planetary Society. This
would involve sending a number of robotic research stations to Mars, equipped with permanent communications
and navigational systems. They would perform research, and establish the infrastructure needed to prepare future
landing sites for the exploration of Mars by humans. It has also been suggested that in the most difficult
environments, as on Venus or Jupiter, robots could be controlled by human beings located in spaceships which
remain in orbit around the planet. In this case the link time for communication between humans and robots would
be far less than it would be from Earth.
F. But if space is to be more than a place to build automatic laboratories or set up industrial enterprises in the
vicinity of our planet, the presence of humans is essential. They must learn how to voyage through space towards
destinations which will be not only scientific bases but also places to live. If space is a frontier, that frontier must
see the presence of people. So the aim for humankind in the future will be not just the exploration of space, but its
colonization. The result of exploring and living in space may be a deep change in the views which humankind has
of itself. And this process is already under way. The images of Earth taken from the Moon in the Apollo
programme have given humankind a new consciousness of its fragility, its smallness, and its unity. These
impressions have triggered a realization of the need to protect and preserve it, for it is the place in the solar system
most suitable for US and above all it is the only place we have, at least for now.

List of Headings

i. Robots on Earth - a re-evaluation

ii. The barriers to cooperation in space exploration
 iii. Some limitations of robots in space
iv. Reduced expectations for space exploration
v. A general reconsideration of human/robot responsibilities in space
vi. Problems in using humans for space exploration
vii. The danger to humans of intelligent machines
viii. Space settlement and the development of greater self-awareness
ix. Possible examples of cooperation in space
1. Paragraph A-viii
2. Paragraph B-iii
3. Paragraph C-i
4. Paragraph D-iv
5. Paragraph E-ix
6. Paragraph F-vi

Passage 2: Asian Space 2- Satellite Technology

The space-age began with the launch of the Russian artificial satellite Sputnik in 1957 and developed further with
the race to the moon between the United States and Russia. This rivalry was characterized by advanced technology
and huge budgets. In this process, there were spectacular successes, some failures, but also many spin-offs.
Europe, Japan, China, and India quickly joined this space club of the superpowers. With the advent of relatively
low-cost high-performance mini-satellites and launchers, the acquisition of indigenous space capabilities by
smaller nations in Asia has become possible. How, in what manner, and for what purpose will these capabilities be
realized?
A -Rocket technology has progressed considerably since the days of ‘fire arrows’ (bamboo poles filled with
gunpowder) first used in China around 500 BC, and, during the Sung Dynasty, to repel Mongol invaders at the
battle of Kaifeng (Kai-fung fu) in AD 1232. These ancient rockets stand in stark contrast to the present-day
Chinese rocket launch vehicles, called the ‘Long March’, intended to place a Chinese astronaut in space by 2005
and, perhaps, to achieve a Chinese moon-landing by the end of the decade.
B -In the last decade, there has been a dramatic growth in space activities in Asia both in the utilization of space-
based services and the production of satellites and launchers. This rapid expansion has led many commentators and
analysts to predict that Asia will become a world space power. The space-age has had dramatic effects worldwide
with direct developments in space technology influencing telecommunications, meteorological forecasting, earth
resource and environmental monitoring, and disaster mitigation (flood, forest fires, and oil spills). Asian nations
have been particularly eager to embrace these developments.
C -New and innovative uses for satellites are constantly being explored with potential revolutionary effects, such
as in the field of health and telemedicine, distance education, crime prevention (piracy on the high seas), food and
agricultural planning and production (rice crop monitoring). Space in Asia is very much influenced by the
competitive commercial space sector, the emergence of low-cost mini-satellites, and the globalization of industrial
and financial markets. It is not evident how Asian space will develop in the coming decades in the face of these
trends. It is, however, important to understand and assess the factors and forces that shape Asian space activities
and development in determining its possible consequences for the region.
D -At present, three Asian nations, Japan, China, and India, have comprehensive end-to-end space capabilities and
possess a complete space infrastructure: space technology, satellite manufacturing, rockets, and spaceports.
Already self-sufficient in terms of satellite design and manufacturing, South Korea is currently attempting to join
their ranks with its plans to develop a launch site and spaceport. Additionally, nations in Southeast Asia as well as
those bordering the Indian subcontinent (Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh), have, or are starting to develop
indigenous space programmes. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has, in varying degrees,
embraced space applications using foreign technology and over the past five years or so its space activities have
been expanding. Southeast Asia is predicted to become the largest and fastest-growing market for commercial
space products and applications, driven by telecommunications (mobile and fixed services), the Internet, and
remote sensing applications. In the development of this technology, many non-technical factors, such as
economics, politics, culture, and history, interact and play important roles, which in turn affect Asian technology.
E -Asia and Southeast Asia, in particular, suffers from a long list of recurrent large-scale environmental problems
including storms and flooding, forest fires and deforestation, and crop failures. Thus the space application that has
attracted the most attention in this region is remote sensing. Remote sensing satellites equipped with instruments to
take photographs of the ground at different wavelengths provide essential information for natural resource
accounting, environmental management, disaster prevention and monitoring, land-use mapping, and sustainable
development planning. Progress in these applications has been rapid and impressive. ASEAN members, unlike
Japan, China, and India, do not have their own remote sensing satellites, however, most of its member nations have
facilities to receive, process, and interpret such data from American and European satellites. In particular,
Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore have world-class remote sensing processing facilities and research programmes.
ASEAN has plans to develop (and launch) its own satellites and in particular remote sensing satellites. Japan is
regarded as the dominant space power in Asia and its record of successes and quality of technologies are equal to
those of the West. In view of the technological challenges and high risks involved in space activities, a very long,
and expensive, the learning curve has been followed to obtain those successes achieved. Japan, s satellite
manufacturing was based on the old and traditional defense and military procurement methodologies as practiced
in the US and Europe.
F -In recent years there have been fundamental changes in the way satellites are designed and built to drastically
reduce costs. The emergence of ‘small satellites’ and their quick adoption by Asian countries as a way to develop
low-cost satellite technology and rapidly establish a space capability has given these countries the possibility to
shorten their learning curve by a decade or more. The global increase of technology transfer mechanisms and use
of readily available commercial technology to replace costly space and military-standard components may very
well result in a highly competitive Asian satellite manufacturing industry.
List of Headings
i Western countries provide essential assistance
ii Unbalanced development for an essential space technology
iii Innovative application compelled by competition
iv An ancient invention which is related to the future
v Military purpose of the satellite
vi Rockets for application in ancient China
vii Space development in Asia in the past
viii Non-technology factors counts
ix competitive edge gained by more economically feasible satellite
1. Paragraph A ____iv___
2. Paragraph B ___vii____
3. Paragraph C ___iii____
Paragraph D Example: Current space technology development in Asia
4. Paragraph E ___ii____
5. Paragraph F ___ix____

Passage 3: The Development of Sanitation Systems

(A) The first sanitation systems were built in the prehistoric Middle East, in the south-east of the modern country
of Iran near Zabol. An inverted siphon system, along with glass covered clay pipes, was used for the first time in
the apalaces of Crete, Greece. It is still in working condition, after about 3000 years.
(B) Higher population densities required more complex sewer collection and conveyance systems to maintain
sanitary conditions in crowded cities. The ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro of the Indus Valley
civilisation constructed complex networks of bricklined sewage drains from around 2600 BC and also had outdoor
flush toilets connected to this network. The urban areas of the Indus Valley civilisation provided public and private
baths, sewage was disposed through underground drains built with precisely laid bricks, and a sophisticated water
management system with numerous reservoirs was established.
(C) Roman towns and garrisons in the United Kingdom between 46 BC and 400 AD had complex sewer networks
sometimes constructed out of hollowed-out elm logs, which were shaped so that they butted together with the
down-stream pipe providing a socket for the upstream pipe.
(D) In some cities, including Rome, Istanbul (Constantinople) and Fustat, networked ancient sewer systems
continue to function today as collection systems for those cities' modernised sewer systems. Instead of flowing to a
river or the sea, the pipes have been re-routed to modern sewer treatment facilities.
(E) Basic sewage systems remained in place with little positive change, until the 16th century, when Sir John
Harington invented the first flush toilet as a device for Queen Elizabeth I (his godmother) that released wastes into
cesspools. Despite this innovation, most cities did not have a functioning sewer system before the Industrial era,
relying instead on nearby rivers or occasional rain showers to wash away the sewage from the streets.
(F) The prevailing system was sufficient for the needs of early cities with few occupants, but the tremendous
growth of cities during the Industrial Revolution quickly led to terribly over-polluted streets, which acted as a
constant source for the outbreak of disease. As recently as the late 19th century sewerage systems in some parts of
the highly industrialised United Kingdom were so inadequate that water-borne diseases such as cholera and
typhoid remained a risk.
(G) The first comprehensive sewer system was built in Hamburg, Germany in the mid-19th century, and the first
such systems in the United States were built in the late 1850s in Chicago and Brooklyn. Initially these systems
discharged sewage directly to surface waters without treatment. But as pollution of water bodies became a concern,
cities attempted to treat the sewage before discharge. During the half-century around 1900, these public health
interventions succeeded in drastically reducing the incidence of waterborne diseases among the urban population,
and were an important cause in the increases of life expectancy experienced at the time.
List of Headings
i. Poor sanitation a cause of health problems
ii. The first flush toilets
iii. Wooden sewage pipes
iv. The birth of sanitation
v. A new invention not widely implemented
vi. Americans use German technology
vii. The impact of waste water treatment
viii. The need for increasingly sophisticated systems
ix. Why populations grew
x. Ancient sewers updated for modern us
1. Paragraph B iv
2. Paragraph C iii
3. Paragraph D x
4. Paragraph E i
5. Paragraph F v
6. Paragraph G vii

Passage 4: The Greenhouse Effect

A.A greenhouse is a house made entirely of glass: both walls and roof are glass. One of the main purposes of a
greenhouse is to grow tomatoes, flowers and other plants that might struggle to grow outside. A greenhouse stays
warm inside, even during winter. Sunlight shines in and warms the plants and air inside. But the heat is trapped by
the glass and cannot escape. So during the daylight hours, it gets warmer and warmer inside a greenhouse, and
stays quite warm at night too.
B. The Earth experiences a similar thing to a greenhouse. Gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide do what
the roof of a greenhouse does. During the day, the Sun shines through the atmosphere. Earth’s surface warms up in
the sunlight. At night, Earth’s surface cools, releasing the heat back into the air. But some of the heat is trapped by
the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That is what keeps our Earth a warm and comfortable 59 degrees
Fahrenheit, on average.
C. However, gas molecules, called greenhouse gases, that absorb thermal infrared radiation, and are in significant
enough quantity, can force and alter the climate system. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases act like
a blanket, absorbing IR radiation and preventing it from escaping into outer space. The greenhouse effect,
combined with increasing levels of greenhouse gases, produces global warming, which is expected to have
profound implications.
D.Many scientists agree that the damage to the Earth’s atmosphere and climate is past the point of no return or that
the damage is near the point of no return. In Josef Werne’s opinion, an associate professor at the department of
geology & planetary science at the University of Pittsburgh told LiveScience, we have three options. Firstly to do
nothing and live with the consequences. Secondly, to adapt to the changing climate (which includes things like
rising sea level and related flooding). Thirdly, mitigate the impact of climate change by aggressively enacting
policies that actually reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.
List of headings
i. Temperatures on earth
ii. The Greenhouse
iii. Creating global warming
iv. Use of a greenhouse
v. Our choices
vi. Greenhouse gases
vii. Earth's Atmosphere
viii. Reversing the Damage
ix Effects of Carbon Dioxide
Paragraph A:………ii……………….
Paragraph B:………i……………….
Paragraph C:………iii……………….
Paragraph D:………vii……………….