Cambridge 17 | Test 4 | Passage 3

Timur Gareyev – blindfold chess champion

Next month, a chess player named Timur Gareyev will take on nearly 50 opponents at once. But that is not the hard part. While his challengers will play the game as normal, Gareyev himself will be blindfolded. Even by world record standards, it sets a high bar for human performance. The 28-year-old alreadystands out in the rarefied world of blindfold chess. He has a fondness for bright clothes and unusual hairstyles, and he get his kicks from the adventure sport of BASE jumping. He has already proved himself a strong chess player, too. In a 10-hour chess marathon in 2013, Gareyev played 33 games in his headsimultaneously. He won 29 and lost none. The skill has become his brand: he calls himself the Blindfold King.

opponent (noun) [countable]

/əˈpoʊ.nənt/

a person who someone is competing against in a sports event

He has knocked out 15 opponents in 20 fights.

blindfold (verb) [transitive]

/ˈblaɪnd.foʊld/

to cover someone's eyes with a blindfold

She was blindfolded and taken somewhere in the back of a van.

get your kicks (from) (idiom)

to get enjoyment or pleasure

He gets his kicks from embarrassing his teammates.

Cambridge 17 | Test 4 | Passage 2

Does education fuel economic growth?

Early findings suggest that the potential benefits of education for the economy can be held back by other barriers, and this has implications for today. Huge amounts are spent improving education in developing countries, but this spending can fail to deliver economic growth if restrictions block people—especially women and the poor—from using their education in economically productive ways. If economic institutions are poorly set up, for instance, education can’t lead to growth.

hold someone/something back (phrasal verb)

/hoʊld/

to stop someone or something developing or doing as well as they should

She felt that having children would hold her back.

barrier (noun) [countable]

/ˈberiər/

anything used or acting to block someone from going somewhere or from doing something, or to block something from happening

Cultural barriers have made it hard for women to enter many professions.

restriction (noun) [countable]

/rɪˈstrɪk.ʃən/

something that limits someone's actions or movement, or limits the amount, size, etc., of something

They placed restrictions on smoking indoors.

Cambridge 17 | Test 3 | Passage 2

Palm Oil

Palm oil is an edible oil derived from the fruit of the

edible (adjective)

/ˈed.ə.bəl/

suitable or safe for eating

I like to decorate my salads with edible flowers.

derive from (phrasal verb)

/dɪˈraɪv/

to obtain a substance from something

The new drug is derived from fish oil.

consume (verb) [transitive]

/kənˈsuːm/

to eat or drink something

Red meat should be consumed in moderation.

Cambridge 17 | Test 2 | Passage 3

Insight or evolution? 

Scientific discovery is popularly believed to result from the sheer genius of such intellectual stars as naturalist Charles Darwin and theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. Our view of such unique contributions to science often disregards the person’s prior experience and the efforts of their lesser-known predecessors. Conventional wisdom also places great weight on insight in promoting breakthrough scientific achievements, as if ideas spontaneously pop into someone’s head—fully formed and functional.

disregard (verb) [transitive]

/ˌdɪs.rɪˈɡɑːrd/

to ignore something

He told us to disregard everything we'd learned so

prior (adjective) [before noun]

existing or happening before something else, or before a particular time

The course required no prior knowledge of Spanish.

conventional wisdom (noun)

the generally accepted belief, opinion, judgment, or prediction about a particular matter

Conventional wisdom in Hollywood says that a movie can't succeed unless it stars a famous actor or actress.

Cambridge 17 | Test 1 | Passage 1

The development of the London underground railway

In the first half of the 1800s, London’s population grew at an astonishing rate, and the central area became increasingly congested. In addition, the expansion of the overground railway network resulted in more and more passengers arriving in the capital. However, in 1846, a Royal Commission decided that the railways should not be allowed to enter the City, the capital’s historic and business center. The result was that the overground railway stations formed a ring around the City. The area within consisted of poorly built, overcrowded slums and the streets were full of horse-drawn traffic. Crossing the City became a nightmare. It could take an hour and a half to travel 8 km by horse-drawn carriage or bus. Numerous schemes were proposed to resolve these problems, but few succeeded.

astonishing (adjective)

/əˈstɑː.nɪ.ʃɪŋ/

very surprising

Her writing shows astonishing depth.

congested (adjective)

/kənˈdʒes.tɪd/

too blocked or crowded and causing difficulties

slum (noun) [countable]

a very poor and crowded area, especially of a city

She was brought up in the slums of Lima.

Cambridge 16 | Test 4 | Passage 1

Roman tunnels

The Persians, who lived in present-day Iran, were one of the first civilizations to build tunnels that provided a reliable supply of water to human settlements in dry areas. In the early first millennium BCE, they introduced the qanat method of tunnel construction, which consisted of placing posts over a hill in a straight line, to ensure the tunnel kept to its route, and then digging vertical shafts down into the ground at regular intervals. Underground, workers removed the earth from between the ends of the shafts, creating a tunnel. The excavated soil was taken up to the surface using the shafts, which also provided ventilation during the work. Once the tunnel was completed, it allowed the water to flow from the top of a hillside down towards a canal, which supplied water for human use. Remarkably, some qanats built by Persians 2,700 years ago are still in use today.

millennium (noun) [countable]

/mɪˈlen.i.əm/

a period of 1,000 years, or the time when a period of 1,000 years ends

Imagine what the world will be like at the end of the next millennium.

post (noun) [countable]

a vertical stick or pole stuck into the ground, usually to support something or show a position

She tied the dog to a post.

shaft (noun) [countable]

a long, either vertical or sloping, passage through a building or through the ground

a lift/elevator shaft

Cambridge 16 | Test 2 | Passage 3

How to make wise decisions 

One of the most reliable ways to support wisdom in our own day-to-day decisions is to look at scenarios from a third-party perspective, as though giving advice to a friend. Research suggests that when adopting a first-person viewpoint, we focus on “the focal features of the environment” and when we adopt a third-person “observer” viewpoint, we reason more broadly and focus more on interpersonal and moral ideals such as justice and impartiality. Looking at problems from this more expansive viewpoint appears to foster cognitive processes related to wise decisions.

as though (phrase)

as it would be if

You look as though you've been running a marathon!

reason (verb)

/ˈriː.zən/

to think about and make a good judgment about

He reasoned that both statements couldn't be true.

impartiality (noun)

/ɪmˌpɑːr.ʃiˈæl.ə.t̬i/

the fact of not supporting any of the sides involved in an argument an impartial evaluation of the job applicant's qualifications that does not consider age, gender, or race

Cambridge 16 | Test 1 | Passage 3

The future of work

According to a leading business consultancy, 3-14% of the global workforce will need to switch to a different occupation within the next 10-15 years, and all workers will need to adapt as their occupations evolve alongside increasingly capable machines. Automation or “embodied artificial intelligence” (AI)—is one aspect of the disruptive effects of technology on the labor market. “Disembodied AI,” like the algorithms running in our smartphones, is another.

leading (adjective) [ before noun ]

/ˈliː.dɪŋ/

best, most important, or most successful

e.g., Investors can buy shares in many of the world's leading companies in other parts of the world.

evolve (verb)

/ɪˈvɑːlv/

to develop gradually, or to cause something or someone to develop gradually

e.g., The company has evolved over the years into a multi-million-dollar organization.

disruptive (adjective)

/dɪsˈrʌp.t̬ɪv/

changing the traditional way that an industry operates, especially in a new and effective way

e.g., The start-up has always been a disruptive force in the market.

1. self-evident (adjective)

/ˌself ˈevɪdənt/

obvious and needing no further proof or explanation

e.g., It is self-evident that childhood experiences influence our adult behavior.

2. latest (adjective)

/ˈleɪtɪst/

newest or most recent or modern

I’m interested in all the latest fashions.

3. obsession (noun) [C or U]

something or someone that you think about all the time   

e.g., The kids have an obsession with computer games.

4. life expectancy noun [ C usually singular or U ]

/ˈlaɪf ɪkˌspek.tən.si/

the length of time that a living thing, especially a human being, is likely to live

e.g., Life expectancy in Europe increased greatly in the 20th century.

5. former (noun) [S]

/ˈfɔːrmər/

the first of two things or people mentioned

e.g., He had to choose between giving up his job and giving up his principles. He chose the former.

6. latter (noun) [S]

/ˈlætər/

the second of two things or people mentioned

e.g., She offered me more money or a car and I chose the latter.

7. on the horizon (idiom)

likely to happen or exist soon

e.g., There is no new drug on the horizon that will make this disease easier to treat.

8. dispose of someone/something (phrasal verb)

/dɪˈspoʊz/

to get rid of someone or something or deal with something so that the

e.g., He never uses that bike any more, but he's very reluctant to dispose of it.

9. get the better of someone (idiom)

to defeat someone

e.g., It would be hard to get the better of someone as experienced as she is.

e.g., She knew she shouldn't open the package, but her curiosity finally got the better of her and she opened it.

10 .far-reaching (adjective)

/ˌfɑːrˈriː.tʃɪŋ/

Something far-reaching has a great influence on many people or things

e.g., The effect of the speech was far-reaching.

Cambridge 16 | Test 1 | Passage 1

Why we need to protect polar bears 

Polar bears are being increasingly threatened by the effects of

threaten (verb) [transitive]

/ˈθret.ən/

to be likely to cause harm or damage to something or someone

e.g., Overfishing threatens the survival of certain fish species.

far-reaching (adjective)

/ˌfɑːrˈriː.tʃɪŋ/

Something far-reaching has a great influence on many people or things

e.g., The effect of the speech was far-reaching.

underneath (preposition)

under or below something else, especially when it is hidden or covered by the thing on top

e.g., The coin rolled underneath the piano.