Day reading Passage (Australian culture and culture shock)

A-G.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
i
List of headings
Why a particular piece of information is given
ii
An unsolved problem and a solution to a problem
iii
Reasons that remain a mystery
iv
A source of information for some people
V
Development work leading to a conclusion
vi
Contrasting levels of interest in food
vii
The need to change a system
viii
Information connected with keeping certain kinds of food
ix
How certain advice is decided on
X
Ideas not put into practice
14
Paragraph 
A
15
Paragraph 
В
16
Paragraph С
17
Paragraph 
D
18
Paragraph 
E
19
Paragraph 
F
20
Paragraph 
G

---

Reading Passage 2
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE FOOD YOU EAT?
A 
Most of us tend not to think about what we eat. Sure, we might have our favourite 
recipes, or worry about whether our food has been sprayed with pesticides, but the 
processes and discoveries that have gone into its production remain a closed book. 
Some, however, think differently. Why, they wonder, is frozen milk yellow? Why does 
your mouth burn for longer when you eat chillies than when you eat mustard? And 
what would happen if you threw yourself into a swimming pool full of jelly?
В 
It was for such people that New Scientist developed its ‘Last Word’ column, in which 
readers pose - and answer - questions on all manner of abstruse scientific issues, as 
they relate to everyday life. Many of the issues raised have simple answers. For the 
questions above, they would be: the riboflavin in milk begins to crystallise: it depends 
on your taste - the relevant chemical in mustard is more easily washed away by your 
saliva: and, you’d float, but don’t dive in headfirst!
С 
Other questions allow us to explore issues that are relevant to everyone. For
example, what’s the difference between sell-by dates and use-by dates? You might 
expect the answer to involve overcautious health and safety regulation. But it’s more 
complex than that. The shelf life of food is actually determined by its manufacturers, 
although lab tests and government guidelines also come into play. Food is tested 
periodically, at various temperatures, to check the level of bacterial spoilage over a 
few hours or days — the warmer it is, the more likely your prawn sandwich is to make 
you ill. After the lab tests, producers set a use-by date or a best-before date. Fresh 
shellfish need to be consumed by their use-by date (the date by which you must eat 
them). But tinned beans will probably last long beyond their best-before date (the 
date by which it’s best to eat them), although they might not taste as good as they 
once did.
D 
The same research explains why even bottled mineral water, which had previously 
lain underground for decades, needs a best-before date. The problem isn’t the water, 
but the bottling process: either bacteria can be introduced that multiply and, over 
time, contaminate the water, or unpleasant chemicals, such as antimony, leach into 
the water from the plastic bottles.
E 
Sometimes, this kind of scientific study takes us to some strange places. For
example, we now know that the amount of oxygen in the air inside green peppers is 
higher than in red (by a whopping 1.23 percent), probably due to the different rate at 
which green peppers photosynthesise. The relevance of this research is that green 
peppers will decay faster than red if kept in sunlight: higher oxygen levels provide 
more resources to feed any bacteria that are present. Generally, cooler environments 
preserve food best -apart from tropical fruit. Banana skins, for example, have evolved 
to survive in warm conditions, because that is where they grow best. Anything below 
I3.3°C damages the membranes, releasing enzymes which lead to skin blackening. 
To avoid a mushy banana, keep it away from the chiller.

---

Day 29
F 
It is not just fears for our health that keep food scientists busy. They are also involved 
in other areas. Their precision has, for example, also been applied to bottles - in 
particular, to the discovery that the optimum number of sharp pointy bits on a bottle 
cap is 21. Go on, count them. Years of trial and error led to the internationally 
accepted German standard DIN 6099, which ensures that almost every bottle cap 
is the same. This is because 21 is the ideal number when you take into account the 
circumference of the cap, the likelihood of its metal splitting, and the chances of it 
sticking in the capping machine. So, next time you open a bottle with a cap on it, pay 
homage to those who bothered to find out, starting with William Painter, in 1892.
G 
Of course, some researchers do care about the more serious stuff, driven by fear 
of the future and an ever-increasing population on a warming, land-impoverished 
planet. Sadly, New Scientist’s correspondents concluded that there was no one 
foodstuff that could feed the world on its own. However, they did come up with a 
menu that could feed a family of four for 365 days a year, using only eight square 
metres of land. Rotating crops (so that the soil didn’t lose one nutrient more than any 
other) would be vital, as would ploughing back dead plant matter and maintaining a 
vegetarian diet. After that, you would need to grow crops that take up very little space 
and grow verticallv rather than horizontallv. if oossible.

---

Reading Passage 2
Questions 21 and 22
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which