Exam practice

• a.They are the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, the American inventors who built and flew the first successful airplane.
• b.They are testing a glider, flying it like a kite on ropes, on the windy sand hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to learn how it behaves in the air before anyone rides on it.

a. accessories b. descent c. aeronautical d. steady e. experiment (experiments in the text) f. plague (plagued in the text)

Picture 1 (the tail): c. elevator. Picture 2: a. propeller. Picture 3 (the wheel): b. spokes. Picture 4 (the bird): d. buzzard.
On an airliner the elevators are the flaps at the back of the small horizontal tail wing; on the Wright Flyer the elevator was in front.

Use the years: 1889, 1892, 1899, 1900, 1903, 1905. Two events come before any year is given.

d → f → h → b → g → e → a → c

1. d. Milton Wright brought home a toy helicopter. (their childhood)
2. f. The children made copies of the toy helicopter.
3. h. They started a printing business. (1889)
4. b. They opened a cycle shop. (1892)
5. g. They began their aeronautical research. (1899)
6. e. They built their first machine designed to carry a pilot. (1900)
7. a. Their first Flyer took off under its own power with a pilot. (1903)
8. c. They developed a machine overcoming complex technical problems. (the practical airplane, 1905)

They sold and repaired bicycles: they replaced spokes, fixed broken chains and sold accessories. From 1896 they also built and sold bicycles of their own brand.

They used what they had learned in the shop: bicycle parts and skills such as chains, sprockets, spoke wires, ball bearings and wheel hubs went into their airplanes. And their ideas about balancing and controlling an aircraft came from their experience as cyclists: a rider balances a bicycle all the time, and a pilot must control an airplane in the same way.

They watched birds: buzzards kept their balance by twisting their wings and sometimes curving one wing more than the other. From this they developed wing warping, and added an elevator and a rudder, so that the pilot could control the machine in all three directions. Their experience as cyclists also shaped their ideas.

It was a small kite with a 5-foot (about 1.5 m) wingspan, used to test their ideas about how to control an aircraft.

They built a wind tunnel: a box with a fan at one end that blew a steady stream of air over small model wings mounted on a special balance inside. In it they could simulate flight on the ground and test which wing shape was best.

Wing warping is the Wrights’ way of making an aircraft roll: twisting the ends of the wings in opposite directions, so that one side lifts more than the other. The pilot did it by shifting his hips from side to side in a cradle on the lower wing, which pulled wires that twisted the wings left or right, or back to level.

At 10:35 a.m. on 17 December 1903, at Kill Devil Hills, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, with Orville as pilot.

By 1904 they were flying their second powered airplane at Huffman Prairie, near Dayton, and on 20 September 1904 they made the first circular flight of an airplane: 1 minute 36 seconds, 1,244 meters. Their machine still had stability problems, which their changes that year reduced but did not solve.

It was the Wrights’ 1905 Flyer. It could be controlled fully: in more than 40 flights at Huffman Prairie it was banked, turned, circled and flown in figures of eight, and twice it flew for more than half an hour.

• Materials: wood, cloth and wire gave way to aluminum and now carbon-fiber composites: stronger, lighter and safer.
• Engines: the Flyer’s 12-horsepower engine became powerful piston engines and then, from the 1940s, jet engines, so planes fly at 800–900 km/h and cross oceans without stopping.
• Size: from one pilot lying on a wing to airliners that carry four or five hundred passengers.
• Comfort and height: pressurized cabins let planes fly about 10 km high, above most bad weather.
• Navigation and safety: radio, radar, autopilot, GPS and weather radar; pilots train in flight simulators first, the great-grandchildren of the Wrights’ wind tunnel. Flying has become one of the safest ways to travel.
• Other aircraft: helicopters, which reach Nepal’s mountain villages and rescue trekkers, and drones, which carry medicine and map landslides.

In Nepal, airplanes link towns that roads reach only after days, such as Simikot and Lukla.

• a.A: Which animal is the most aggressive: a bear, a tiger or a snail? B: I think the tiger is the most aggressive of the three. The snail is certainly the least aggressive!
• b.A: Which is taller, an elephant or a giraffe? B: The giraffe is taller. In fact it is the tallest animal in the world: a male giraffe can be over 5 meters tall.
• c.A: Which is the most intelligent: a monkey, a dolphin or a tortoise? B: I think the dolphin is the most intelligent of the three, though monkeys are very clever too.
• d.A: Which is heavier, a rhino or an elephant? B: The elephant is heavier. A big Asian elephant weighs about twice as much as a one-horned rhino.
• e.A: Which is stronger, a bear or a lion? B: A big brown bear is heavier and probably stronger than a lion; it can weigh more than twice as much.
• f.A: Which animal is the dirtiest: a hen, a pig or a dog? B: Most people say the pig is the dirtiest. But pigs roll in mud to keep cool, because they can hardly sweat: given a choice, they keep their sleeping place cleaner than you’d think.
• g.A: Which is more dangerous, a rattlesnake or a cobra? B: In Nepal, the cobra is more dangerous: rattlesnakes live only in the Americas, but cobras bite people in the Tarai every year.
• h.A: Which is slower, a snail or a tortoise? B: The snail is slower than the tortoise.
• i.A: Which snake is the most poisonous: a cobra, a python or an anaconda? B: The cobra, by far. Pythons and anacondas have no venom at all: they kill by squeezing.
• j.A: Which is faster, a donkey or a zebra? B: The zebra is faster than the donkey: it has to outrun lions.

1. A car is faster than a bicycle, whereas a bicycle is easier to ride and to park.
2. A car is more comfortable on a long trip, whereas a bicycle can get you through a traffic jam.
3. A car is much more expensive to buy and to run, whereas a bicycle costs almost nothing once you own it.
4. A bicycle is cheaper and more eco-friendly, whereas a car burns petrol and fills the air with smoke.
5. A car is safer in a crash, whereas a cyclist has nothing around them but a helmet.
6. Cycling is better for your health, whereas sitting in a car gives you no exercise at all.

You don’t need every one: a dozen of each is plenty. Check each: does it describe a noun, or a verb, an adjective or an adverb? Overhead is an adverb in suspended overhead (it says where), though in an overhead light it is an adjective; and slow is an adjective in Progress was slow (after the linking verb was).

• a.seriously (describes the adjective injured)
• b.serious (describes the noun injuries)
• c.selfishly (describes the verb behaved: how you behaved)
• d.terribly (describes the adjective upset)
• e.sudden (describes the noun change)
• f.colorful (describes the noun dresses)
• g.colorfully (describes dressed: how she was dressed)
• h.badly (describes the verb hurt)
• i.hard (try hard = make a great effort; hardly would mean “almost not”)
• j.safe (after the linking verb look: the tree isn’t safe)
• k.angry (describes the noun look: here look is a noun)
• l.dangerous (after the linking verb seems)

Paragraph plan: (1) what the chart shows; (2) the overall trend; (3) the details year by year, with numbers and comparisons; (4) a conclusion. Use the past tense: these years are over.

The bar chart illustrates the number of electric vehicles in use around the world from 2015 to 2019, in millions.

Overall, the number rose steadily every year, and the growth sped up over the period.

In 2015 there were only about 0.72 million electric vehicles in use. A year later the figure had climbed to 1.18 million, and in 2017 it reached 1.93 million: in each of these years the number grew by nearly two-thirds. The sharpest rise in percentage came in 2018, when the number jumped by about 69% to 3.27 million. In 2019 it rose by 1.52 million, the biggest increase of the period, to 4.79 million, the highest figure on the chart.

In short, there were more than six times as many electric vehicles in use in 2019 as in 2015. The chart shows how quickly people around the world were turning from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles.

• a.He looks old, thin and tired. He is bald, his body is bony, and he is bent forward as he pulls the heavy rickshaw with all his strength.
• b.He seems happy, or at least comfortable: he is sitting back at his ease and enjoying the view of the sea. (Read the poem to find out whether he really enjoys the ride.)

• a.harbor: iii. a protected area on the coast
• b.folded: viii. having slight folds; wrinkled
• c.sandbar: vii. a long mass of sand, especially at the mouth of the river
• d.snake: i. to move in long twisting curves
• e.sake: ii. for the purpose of; in the interest of
• f.clatter: vi. loud noise from hard objects knocking together
• g.cathedral: iv. the main church
• h.tram: v. a vehicle driven by electricity

Most trams run on electricity; the Peak Tram is the exception that is pulled up by a cable.

• a.harbor
• b.folded (wrinkled)
• c.dollar
• d.the Peak Tram (the ride goes up to Victoria, on up the hill, past the cathedral, and ends at the Peak Tram)
• e.veins
• f.fun

Not Victoria: the ride goes on past Victoria, up the hill and past the cathedral. As far as asks where it ends, and it ends at the Peak Tram.

The poem gives no number: he is very old, “as old as China”, an exaggeration (a simile) to show how old and worn he looks.

It means his skin is like old leather: dark, dry, tough and wrinkled from years of sun and hard work. It also suggests he is tough, hardened by a hard life.

The old man’s straining muscles at his neck, calves and shoulders, and his dark veins that snake under his skin as he pulls: they catch the rider’s eye, not the sights they pass.

Because he feels guilty and worried: the old man is straining so hard up the hill that he might break something, hurt himself, and it would be for the rider’s sake, for the sake of one dollar that means nothing to the rider.

No. When people ask whether it was fun, he answers, No, it was not much fun. He could not enjoy the sights, because all he could see was the old man’s suffering, his muscles and veins straining, and he felt guilty that a weak old man had to work so hard for his dollar.

Round Rickshaw puller in the middle: old, thin, wrinkled, weak, poor, tough (made of leather), hard-working, tired, silent (he won’t thank you), proud (he doesn’t pretend to be grateful).
Any adjective you can support from the poem is right: wrinkled (his folded face), tough (made of leather), hard-working (he leans into the pull).

• a.rising ↗ (a yes/no question)
• b.falling ↘ at the end: a list, rising on rice ↗ and cereals ↗, falling on the last item, vegetables ↘
• c.falling ↘ on the tag: the speaker is fairly sure (you don’t go there) and expects “No, I don’t.” With a rise it becomes a real question.
• d.falling ↘ (a statement)
• e.falling ↘ (an exclamation, then a statement)
• f.rising ↗ on the tag if the speaker really doesn’t know and is asking; falling ↘ if he can see the strategies aren’t working and only wants agreement. Both are possible: in an exam, name the tune and say which meaning it gives.
• g.falling ↘ (a wh-question)
• h.rising ↗ (a yes/no question)
• i.falling ↘ (a wh-question)
• j.falling ↘ (a greeting)

• a.He is hailing a taxi: raising his hand to ask the driver to stop for him.
• b.I usually walk to school, and I travel by bus or microbus when I go farther, to town or to my relatives’ village.
• c.Where I live, in Bhaktapur, the main means of transportation are buses, microbuses and motorbikes; many people also walk and cycle, and tempos and taxis carry people over short distances.

• a.thanks (Thanks for pulling over.)
• b.traffic (that all depends on the traffic)
• c.average driver
• d.closes
• e.first time
• f.Mexican restaurant (he calls it fantastic)
• g.taxis

Two places near my home in Bhaktapur are worth visiting. The first is Bhaktapur Durbar Square, in the middle of the old city. It has the palace of fifty-five windows, the five-roofed Nyatapola temple, and narrow brick streets full of potters and wood carvers. Visitors buy a ticket at the gate; there are guides, small museums, and plenty of guesthouses and cafés serving juju dhau, the famous curd.
The second is Nagarkot, about 20 kilometers to the north-east, on a hilltop at about 2,000 meters. On a clear morning you can see the Himalaya from Dhaulagiri to Everest. Buses run there from Bhaktapur, and the hill has many hotels and lodges, from simple ones to resorts, and short walking trails through the pine forest.

Look for the clue words: one of the, the … in the whole, as … as, than.

• a.biggest (one of the + superlative + plural noun)
• b.most famous (the … in the whole district: one out of many)
• c.deadly (as … as: the plain word)
• d.more attentively (two groups, than; an adverb in -ly)
• e.most humorous (the … in the whole school)
• f.more innocent (than: three syllables, so more)
• g.more expensive
• h.tall (as … as)
• i.better (good is irregular; much makes the difference bigger)
• j.more dangerous
• k.more carefully

Plan your paragraphs first: (1) where, when, who, and why; (2) the journey there; (3) what you did; (4) the journey back, briefly; (5) what you learned. About 150–200 words.

A Day Trip to Manakamana

Last Dashain, I went with my parents and my little brother, Aarav, to visit the Manakamana temple in Gorkha. My grandmother had always wanted to go, so we went together to keep her company.

We left Bhaktapur at six in the morning in a tourist bus. The road followed the Prithvi Highway down to the Trishuli River, and for three hours we watched the rafts in the green water below. At Kurintar we got off and joined the long line for the cable car.

The ride was the most exciting part of the day. Our little red cabin swung out over the river and climbed up the steep hill for about ten minutes, over terraces and treetops. Grandmother said that when she was young, the same climb took three or four hours on foot.

At the top, we offered flowers at the temple, ate sel roti and tea at a small stall, and looked across at the snowy Himalaya. We came down in the afternoon and were home, tired and happy, by nine.

The trip taught me how much easier transport has made life in the hills, and how hard our grandparents’ journeys were. Next time, I want to walk the old path once, to see what it was like.

Written by Aakriti Shrestha, 20 Kartik 2083

• a.They came on foot over the hills from the Tarai; heavy things such as cars were carried by porters on poles.
• b.On Gauchar, a grassy field on the eastern edge of Kathmandu.
• c.After King Tribhuvan.
• d.It is very short, only about 500 meters long, and it slopes steeply uphill.
• e.busiest (Nepal’s busiest airport)

a. smoothly (describes the verb landed) b. good (after the linking verb tasted) c. terribly (describes the adjective late) d. dangerous (after the linking verb looks) e. easily (describes the verb carried)

a. faster b. highest c. more comfortable d. most carefully e. busy f. worse

a. ↘ (a wh-question) b. ↗ (a yes/no question) c. ↗ on apples and bananas, ↘ on oranges (a list) d. ↘ (a tag when you are sure)

• a.A plane is faster than a bus, whereas a bus is cheaper.
• b.A motorbike is noisier than an electric scooter, whereas the scooter is quieter. (Or: A motorbike is noisy, whereas an electric scooter is much quieter.)

The Night Bus to Nepalgunj

Last winter, my uncle and I traveled from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj to attend my cousin’s wedding. We took the night bus from Gongabu at five in the evening.

For the first hours the bus climbed and wound along the Trishuli, and the music was louder than the engine. After dinner at a roadside hotel in Mugling, most passengers fell asleep, but I stayed awake, watching the lights of trucks on the long, straight road across the Tarai.

We reached Nepalgunj at seven the next morning, stiff and dusty. The wedding was the happiest I have been to: three days of food, dancing and relatives I had never met.

The journey taught me that the night bus is the cheapest way to travel far in Nepal, but not the most comfortable. Next time I will take a pillow.

Written by Bibek Tharu, 15 Poush 2083