READING PASSAGE 1:

Museum Blockbuster
A
Since the 1980s, the term “blockbuster” has become the fashionable word for the special
spectacular museum, art gallery or science centre exhibitions. These exhibitions have the ability
to attract large crowds and often large corporate sponsors. Here is one of some existing
definitions of a blockbuster: Put by Elsen (1984), a blockbuster is a “… large scale loan
exhibition that people who normally don’t go to museums will stand in line for hours to see …”
James Rosenfield, writing in Direct Marketing in 1993, has described a successful blockbuster
exhibition as a “… triumph of both curatorial and marketing skills …” My own definition for a
blockbuster is “a popular, high profile exhibition on display for a limited period, that attracts the
general public, who are prepared to both stand in line and pay a fee in order to partake in the
exhibition.” What both Elsen and Rosenfield omit in their descriptions of a blockbuster, is that
people are prepared to pay a fee to see a blockbuster and that the term blockbuster can just as
easily apply to a movie or a museum exhibition.
B
Merely naming an exhibition or movie a blockbuster, however, does not make it a blockbuster.
The term can only apply when the item in question has had an overwhelmingly successful
response from the public. However, in literature from both the UK and USA the other words that
also start to appear in descriptions of a blockbuster are “less scholarly”, “non-elitist” and
“popularist”. Detractors argue that blockbusters are designed to appeal to the lowest common
denominator, while others extol the virtues of encouraging scholars to cooperate on projects and
to provide exhibitions that cater for a broad selection of the community rather than an elite
sector.
C
Maintaining and increasing visitor levels is paramount in the new museology. This requires
continued product development. Not only the creation or hiring of blockbuster exhibitions but
regular exhibition changes and innovations. In addition, the visiting public has become
customers rather than visitors, and the skills that are valued in museums, science centres and
galleries to keep the new customers coming through the door have changed. High on the list of
requirements are commercial, business, marketing and entrepreneurial skills. Curators are now
administrators. Being a director of an art gallery no longer requires an Arts Degree. As
succinctly summarised in the Economist in 1994 “business nous and public relation skills” were
essential requirements for a director, and the ability to compete with other museums to stage
travelling exhibitions which draw huge crowds.
D
The new museology has resulted in the convergence of museums, the heritage industry, and
tourism, profit-making and pleasure-giving. This has given rise to much debate about the

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appropriateness of adopting the activities of institutions so that they more closely reflect the
priorities of the market place and whether it is appropriate to see museums primarily as tourist
attractions. At many institutions, you can now hold office functions in the display areas, or have
dinner with the dinosaurs. Whatever commentators may think, managers of museums, art
galleries and science centres worldwide are looking for artful ways to blend culture and
commerce, and blockbuster exhibitions are at the top of the list. But while blockbusters are all
part of the new museology, there is proof that you don’t need a museum, science centre or art
gallery to benefit from the drawing power of a blockbuster or to stage a blockbuster.
Online movie streaming services
E
But do blockbusters held in public institutions really create a surplus to fund other activities? If
the bottom line is profit, then according to the accounting records of many major museums and
galleries, blockbusters do make money. For some museums overseas, it may be the money that
they need to update parts of their collections or to repair buildings that are in need of attention.
For others in Australia, it may be the opportunity to illustrate that they are attempting to pay their
way, by recovering part of their operating costs or funding other operating activities with off-
budget revenue. This makes the economic rationalists cheerful. However, not all exhibitions that
are hailed to be blockbusters will be blockbusters, and some will not make money. It is also
unlikely that the accounting systems of most institutions will recognise the real cost of either
creating or hiring a blockbuster.
F
Blockbusters require large capital expenditure, and draw on resources across all branches of an
organisation; however, the costs don’t end there. There is a Human Resource Management cost
in addition to a measurable ‘real’ dollar cost. Receiving a touring exhibition involves large
expenditure as well, and draws resources from across functional management structures in
project management style. everyone from a general labourer to a building servicing unit, the
front of the house, technical, promotion, education and administration staff, are required to
perform additional tasks. Furthermore, as an increasing number of institutions in Australia try
their hand at increasing visitor numbers, memberships (and therefore revenue), by staging
blockbuster exhibitions, it may be less likely that blockbusters will continue to provide a surplus
to subsidise other activities due to the competitive nature of the market. There are only so many
consumer dollars to go around, and visitors will need to choose between blockbuster products.
G
Unfortunately, when the bottom-line is the most important objective to the mounting of
blockbuster exhibitions, this same objective can be hard to maintain. Creating, mounting or
hiring blockbusters is exhausting for staff, with the real costs throughout an institution difficult
to calculate. Although the direct aims may be financial, creating or hiring a blockbuster has
many positive spin-offs; by raising their profile through a popular blockbuster exhibition, a
museum will be seen in a more favorable light at budget time. Blockbusters mean crowds, and
crowds are good for the local economy, providing increased employment for shops, hotels,
restaurants, the transport industry and retailers. Blockbusters expose staff to the vagaries and
pressures of the market place and may lead to creative excellence. Either the success or failure of
a blockbuster may highlight the need for managers and policymakers to rethink their strategies.

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However, the new museology and the apparent trend towards blockbusters make it likely that
museums, art galleries and particularly science centres will be seen as part of the entertainment
and tourism industry, rather than as cultural icons deserving of government and philanthropic
support.
H
Perhaps the best pathway to take is one that balances both blockbusters and regular exhibitions.
However, this easy middle ground may only work if you have enough space, and have alternate
sources of funding to continue to support the regular less exciting fare. Perhaps the advice should
be to make sure that your regular activities and exhibitions are more enticing, and find out what
your local community wants from you. The question (trend) now at most museums
and science centres, is “What blockbusters can we tour to overseas venues and will it be cost-
effective?”

Questions 1-4
The Reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-H
Which paragraphs contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.

1 A reason for changing the exhibition programs.

2 The time people have to wait in a queue in order to enjoy exhibitions.

3 Terms people used when referring to the blockbuster

4 There was some controversy over confining target groups of a blockbuster.

Questions 5-8
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 5-8 on your answer sheet.

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Instead of being visitors, people turned out to be 5 , who require the creation or
hiring of blockbuster exhibitions as well as regular exhibition changes and innovations. Business
nous and 6 simply summarized in a magazine are not only important factors for
directors but also an ability to attract a crowd of audiences. 7 has contributed to
the linking of museums, the heritage industry, tourism, profit-making and pleasure-giving. There
occurs some controversy over whether it is proper to consider museums mainly
as 8

Questions 9-10
Choose TWO letters A-E.
Write your answer in boxes 9-10 on your answer sheet.
The list below gives some advantages of a blockbuster.

Which TWO advantages are mentioned by the writer of the text?

A To offer sufficient money to repair architectures.

B To maintain and increase visitor levels.

C Presenting the mixture in the culture and commerce of art galleries and science centres
worldwide.

D Being beneficial for the development of local business.

E Being beneficial for the directors.

Questions 11-13
Choose THREE letters A-F.
Write your answer in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.
The list below gives some disadvantages of a blockbuster.
Which THREE disadvantages are mentioned by the writer of the text?

A People left hesitated to choose exhibitions.

B Workers has become tired of workloads.

C The content has become more entertaining rather than cultural.

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D General labourers are required to perform additional tasks

E Huge amounts of capital invested in specialists.

F Exposing staff to the fantasies and pressures of the market place.

1. C 8. tourist attractions

2. A 9. A

3. B 10. D

4. B 11. B

5. customers 12. C

6. public relation skills 13. E

7. museology

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READING PASSAGE 2

How do we find our way?

A. Most modern navigation, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), relies primarily on
positions determined electronically by receivers collecting information from satellites. Yet if the
satellite service’s digital maps become even slightly outdated, we can become lost. Then we have
to rely on the ancient human skill of navigating in three dimensional space. Luckily, our
biological finder has an important advantage over GPS: we can ask questions of people on the
sidewalk, or follow a street that looks familiar, or rely on a navigational rubric. The human
positioning system is flexible and capable of learning. Anyone who knows the way from point A
to point B-and from A to C-can probably figure out how to get from B to C, too.
B. But how does this complex cognitive system really work? Researchers are looking at several
strategies people use to orient themselves in space: guidance, path integration and route
following. We may use all three or combinations thereof, and as experts learn more about these
navigational skills, they are making the case that our abilities may underlie our powers of
memory and logical thinking. For example, you come to New York City for the first time and
you get off the train at Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan. You have a few hours to
see popular spots you have been told about: Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. You meander in and out of shops along the way. Suddenly, it is
time to get back to the station. But how?

C. If you ask passersby for help, most likely you will receive information in many different
forms. A person who orients herself by a prominent landmark would gesture southward: “Look
down there. See the tall, broad MetLife Building? Head for that- the station is right below it.”
Neurologists call this navigational approach “guidance”, meaning that a landmark visible from a
distance serves as the marker for one’s destination.
D. Another city dweller might say: “What places do you remember passing? … Okay. Go toward
the end of Central Park, then walk down to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. A few more blocks, and
Grand Central will be off to your left.” In this case, you are pointed toward the most recent place
you recall, and you aim for it. Once there you head for the next notable place and so on, retracing
your path. Your brain is adding together the individual legs of your trek into a cumulative
progress report. Researchers call this strategy “path integration.” Many animals rely primarily on
path integration to get around, including insects, spiders, crabs and rodents. The desert ants of
the genus Cataglyphis employ this method to return from foraging as far as 100 yards away.
They note the general direction they came from and retrace their steps, using the polarization of
sunlight to orient themselves even under overcast skies. On their way back they are faithful to
this inner homing vector. Even when a scientist picks up an ant and puts it in a totally different
spot, the insect stubbornly proceeds in the originally determined direction until it has gone
“back” all of the distance it wandered from its nest. Only then does the ant realize it has not
succeeded, and it begins to walk in successively larger loops to find its way home.

E. Whether it is trying to get back to the anthill or the train station, any animal using path
integration must keep track of its own movements so it knows, while returning, which segments

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it has already completed. As you move, your brain gathers data from your environment-sights,
sounds, smells, lighting, muscle contractions, a sense of time passing-to determine which way
your body has gone. The church spire, the sizzling sausages on that vendor’s grill, the open
courtyard, and the train station-all represent snapshots of memorable junctures during your
journey.
F. In addition to guidance and path integration, we use a third method for finding our way. An
office worker you approach for help on a Manhattan street comer might say: “Walk straight
down Fifth, turn left on 47th, turn right on Park, go through the walkway under the Helmsley
Building, then cross the street to the MetLife Building into Grand Central.” This strategy, called
route following, uses landmarks such as buildings and street names, plus directions straight, turn,
go through—for reaching intermediate points. Route following is more precise than guidance or
path integration, but if you forget the details and take a wrong turn, the only way to recover is to
backtrack until you reach a familiar spot, because you do not know the general direction or have
a reference landmark for your goal. The route following navigation strategy truly challenges the
brain. We have to keep all the landmarks and intermediate directions in our head. It is the most
detailed and therefore most reliable method, but it can be undone by routine memory lapses.
With path integration, our cognitive memory is less burdened; it has to deal with only a few
general instructions and the homing vector. Path integration works because it relies most
fundamentally on our knowledge of our body’s general direction of movement, and we always
have access to these inputs. Nevertheless, people often choose to give route-following directions,
in part because saying “Go straight that way!” just does not work in our complex, man made
surroundings.

G. Road Map or Metaphor? On your next visit to Manhattan you will rely on your memory to get
present geographic information for convenient visual obviously seductive: maps around. Most
likely you will use guidance, path integration and route following in various combinations. But
how exactly do these constructs deliver concrete directions? Do we humans have, as an image of
the real world, a kind of road map in our heads? Neurobiologists and cognitive psychologists do
call the portion of our memory that controls navigation a “cognitive map”. The map metaphor is
are the easiest way to inspection. Yet the notion of a literal map in our heads may be misleading;
a growing body of research implies that the cognitive map is mostly a metaphor. It may be more
like a hierarchical structure of relationships.

Questions 14-18
Use the information in the passage to match the category of each navigation method
(listed A-C) with correct statement.
Write the appropriate letters A-C in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
A. guidance method
B. path integration method

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C. route following method

14 Split the route up into several smaller parts.

15 When mistakes are made, a person needs to go back.
16 Find a building that can be seen from far away.
17 Recall all the details along the way.
18 Memorize the buildings that you have passed by.

Questions 19-21
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 19-21 on your answer sheet.
19. According to the passage, how does the Cataglyphis ant respond if it is taken to a
different location?
A changes its orientation sensors to adapt
B releases biological scent for help from others
C continues to move according to the original orientation
D gets completely lost once disturbed

20. What did the author say about the route following method?
A dependent on directions to move on
B dependent on memory and reasoning

C dependent on man-made settings

D dependent on the homing vector

21. Which of the following is true about the “cognitive map” in this passage?
A There is no obvious difference between it and a real map.
B It exists in our heads and is always correct.

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C It only exists in some cultures.
D It is managed by a portion of our memory.

Questions 22-26
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 22-26 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

22. Biological navigation is flexible.

23. Insects have many ways to navigate that are in common with many other animals.
24. When someone follows a route, he or she collects comprehensive perceptual
information in the mind along the way.
25. The path integration method has a higher requirement of memory compared with
the route following method.
26. When people find their way, they have an exact map in their mind.

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READING PASSAGE 3

How a prehistoric predator took to the skies

Is that a bird in the sky? A plane? No, it's a pterosaur. Kate Thomas meets Professor Matthew
Wilkinson, who built a life-size model to find out how this prehistoric predator ever got off the
ground.
Pterosaurs existed from the Triassic period, 220 million years ago, to the end of the Cretaceous
period, 65 million years ago, when South America pulled away from Africa and the South
Atlantic was formed. They are among the least understood of all the extinct reptiles that once
spent their lives in the skies while the dinosaurs dominated the land. Pterosaurs had no feathers,
but at least part of their bodies was covered in hair, not unlike bats. Some believe this is an
indication they were warm-blooded. Researchers also debate whether pterosaurs travelled on the
ground by walking on their hind legs, like birds, or by using all fours, relying on their threetoed
front feet as well as their four-toed rear feet.
Pterosaurs were vertebrates, meaning they were the first species possessing backbones to become
airborne, but scientists have never quite understood their flight technique. How, they wondered,
did such a heavy creature ever manage to take off? How could a wing that appears to have been
supported by fine, hollow bones have carried one into the sky? Then came the discovery of a site
in Brazil's Araripe basin. Here, not only were hundreds of fossils of amphibians and other
reptiles found, but archaeologists unearthed a number of very well- preserved pterosaurs. The
anhanguera a fisheating sub-species of pterosaur that ruled the skies in the Cretaceous period -
was among them. With a wingspan of up to 12 metres, they would have made an amazing sight
in the sky had any human been there to witness it. 'I've been studying pterosaurs for about eight
years now,' says Dr Matthew Wilkinson, a professor of zoology at Cambridge University. With
an anhanguera fossil as his model, Wilkinson began gradually reconstructing its skeletal
structure in his Cambridge studio. The probability of finding three-dimensional pterosaur fossils
anywhere is slim. That was quite a find,' he says. Their bones are usually crushed to dust.' Once
the structure was complete, it inspired him to make a robot version as a way to understand the
animal's locomotion. With a team of model- makers, he has built a remote-controlled pterosaur
in his studio.
'Fossils show just how large these creatures were. I've always been interested in how they
managed to launch themselves, so I thought the real test would be to actually build one and fly
it.' Wilkinson hasn't been alone in his desire to recreate a prehistoric beast. Swiss scientists
recently announced they had built an amphibious robot that could walk on land and swim in
water using the sort of backbone movements that must have been employed by the first creatures
to crawl from the sea. But Wilkinson had the added complication of working out his beast's flight
technique. Unlike those of bats or flying squirrels, pterosaur wings - soft, stretchy membranes of
skin tissue- are thought to have reached from the chest right to the ankle, reinforced by fibres that
stiffened the wing and prevented tearing. Smaller subspecies flapped their wings during takeoff.

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That may have explained the creatures' flexibility, but it did not answer the most pressing
question: how did such heavy animals manage to launch themselves into the sky?
Working with researchers in London and Berlin, Wilkinson began to piece together the puzzle.
It emerged that the anhanguera had an elongated limb called the pteroid. It had previously been
thought the pteroid pointed towards the shoulder of the creature and supported a soft forewing in
front of the arm. But if that were the case, the forewing would have been too small and
ineffectual for flight. However, to the surprise of many scientists, fossils from the Araripe basin
showed the pteroid possibly faced the opposite way, creating a much greater forewing that would
have caught the air, working in the same way as the flaps on the wings of on aeroplane. So, with
both feet on the ground, the anhanguera might have simply faced into the wind, spread its wings
and risen up into the sky. Initial trials in wind tunnels proved the point - models of pterosaurs
with forward-facing pteroids were not only adept at gliding, but were agile flyers in spite of their
size. 'This high-lift capability would have significantly reduced the minimum flight speed,
allowing even the largest forms to take off without difficulty,' Wilkinson says. 'It would have
enabled them to glide very slowly and may have been instrumental in the evolution of large size
by the pterosaurs.'
Resting in the grass at the test site near Cambridge, the robot-model's wings ripple in the wind.
In flight, the flexible membrane, while much stiffer than the real thing, allows for a smooth
takeoff and landing. But the model has been troubled by other mechanical problems. 'Unlike an
aircraft, which is stabilised by the tail wing at the back, the model is stabilised by its head, which
means it can start spinning around. That's the most problematic bit as far as we're concerned,'
Wilkinson says. "We've had to take it flying without the head so far.' When it flies with its head
attached, Wilkinson will finally have proved his point.
So what's next for the zoologist - perhaps a full-size Tyrannosaurus rex? 'No,' he tells me: 'We're
desperate to build really big pterosaurs. I'm talking creatures with even greater wingspans,
weighing a quarter of a ton. But,' he adds, just as one begins to fear for the safety and stress
levels of pilots landing nearby at Cambridge City Airport, 'it's more likely we'll start off with one
of the smaller, flapping pterosaurs.' This is certainly more reassuring. Let's hope he is content to
leave it at that.

Question 27-32
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-L, below.
Write the correct letter, A-L, in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.
Pterosaurs are believed to have existed until the end of the Cretaceous period. They are classed
as 27..................which were capable of flight, although, unlike modern species, they had some
28..............which is evidence of their having had warm blood. There are two theories as to how
they moved on land: perhaps with all their feet or by using their 29....................only. Another
mystery has concerned the ability of the pterosaur to fly despite its immense 30......................and
the fact that the bones making up the wing did not have great 31 .....................Thanks to reptile

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fossils found in Brazil, we now know that the subspecies known as anhanguera had wings that
were 12 metres across and that it mainly survived on 32..…….
A front feet G amphibians
B fish H birds
C dinosaurs I strength
D reptiles J weight
E flexibility K tail
F hind legs L hair

Question 33-36
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage? In boxes 33-
36 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
33. It is rare to find a fossil of a pterosaur that clearly shows its skeleton.
34. The reason for building the model was to prove pterosaurs flew for long distances.
35. It is possible that pterosaur species achieved their wing size as a result of the pteroid.
36. Wilkinson has made several unsuccessful replicas of the pterosaur's head.

Question 37-40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.
37. What was Professor Wilkinson's main problem, according to the third paragraph?
A Early amphibians had a more complex structure than pterosaurs
B Pterosaur wings could easily be damaged while on the ground.
C Flying squirrels and bats were better adapted to flying than pterosaurs.
D Large pterosaurs were not able to take off like other flying animals.
38. What did Professor Wilkinson discover about a bone in pterosaurs called a pteroid? A It was
in an unexpected position.
B It existed only in large species of pterosaurs.

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C it allowed pterosaurs to glide rather than fly.
D It increased the speed pterosaurs could reach in the air.
39. According to the writer, the main problem with the remote-controlled 'pterosaur is that
A it has been unable to leave the ground so far.
B it cannot be controlled when its head is attached.
C its wing material is not flexible enough.
D the force of the wind may affect its test results.
40. What does 'it' in the last sentence refer to?
A the information the tests have revealed
B Wilkinson's sense of achievement
C Wilkinson's desire to build models
D the comparison between types of models

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