Cambridge IELTS 15 Reading Test 2- AC

Guard rails were introduced on British roads to improve the 7 Fill in the blank 1 of 7 of pedestrians, while ensuring that the movement of 8 Fill in the blank 2 of 7 is not disrupted. Pedestrians are led to access points, and encouraged to cross one 9 Fill in the blank 3 of 7 at a time.

An unintended effect is to create psychological difficulties in crossing the road, particularly for less 10 Fill in the blank 4 of 7 people. Another result is that some people cross the road in a 11 Fill in the blank 5 of 7 way. The guard rails separate 12 Fill in the blank 6 of 7 , and make it more difficult to introduce forms of transport that are 13 Fill in the blank 7 of 7 .

Professor George Church and his team are trying to identify the 18 Fill in the blank 1 of 5 which enabled mammoths to live in the tundra. The findings could help preserve the mammoth’s close relative, the endangered Asian elephant.

According to Church, introducing Asian elephants to the tundra would involve certain physical adaptations to minimise 19 Fill in the blank 2 of 5 . To survive in the tundra, the species would need to have the mammoth-like features of thicker hair, 20 Fill in the blank 3 of 5 of a reduced size and more 21 Fill in the blank 4 of 5

Repopulating the tundra with mammoths or Asian elephant/mammoth hybrids would also have an impact on the environment, which could help to reduce temperatures and decrease 22 Fill in the blank 5 of 5

23 Reintroducing an extinct species to its original habitat could improve the health of a particular species living there. Fill in the blank 1 of 4

24 It is important to concentrate on the causes of an animal’s extinction. Fill in the blank 2 of 4

25 A species brought back from extinction could have an important beneficial impact on the vegetation of its habitat. Fill in the blank 3 of 4

26 Our current efforts at preserving biodiversity are insufficient. Fill in the blank 4 of 4

The benefits of humour

In one study at Australian National University, randomly chosen groups of participants were shown one of three videos, each designed to generate a different kind of 32 Fill in the blank 1 of 5 . When all participants were then given a deliberately frustrating task to do, it was found that those who had watched the 33 Fill in the blank 2 of 5 video persisted with the task for longer and tried harder to accomplish the task than either of the other two groups.

A second study in which participants were asked to perform a particularly 34 Fill in the blank 3 of 5 task produced similar results. According to researchers David Cheng and Lu Wang, these findings suggest that humour not only reduces 35 Fill in the blank 4 of 5 and helps build social connections but it may also have a 36 Fill in the blank 5 of 5 Effect on the body and mind.