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You are going to read an article about a computer scientist. For questions 1–8, choose the answer (A, B,
C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
It’s a woman’s
Although Wendy Hall is an internationally-renowned computer scientist, there is nothing geeky about
her. In fact, this gregarious woman with a warm laugh is among the best and brightest. As well as
heading the University of Southampton’s Electronics and Computer Science department, Hall works
closely with Tim Berners-Lee, the ‘father of the Web’. So why did a woman who is indifferent to writing
computer code or discussing processor speed choose a career in IT, a field with a reputation for being
dominated by geeky men?
Hall’s work with computers began in the early 1980s, long before the Web existed and when personal
computers were a novelty. ‘All you could do with PCs in those days was learn programming or play
games,’ she says. Like many women at that time, Hall avoided such activities: she was more interested
in pure mathematics. Her ability to appreciate abstract ideas is what then drew her to explore the
growing field of computer science. She taught herself to program, but it was the thought of how
computing could change people’s lives that fascinated her. ‘I could see what was possible,’ she says.
The primitive graphics on her early computer started her thinking about future possibilities for
education. She built simple software to help her colleagues teach at the college where she worked, but
her imagination was running wild: ‘I was interested in getting text documents and videos onto
computers in large quantities. I thought: “Wouldn’t it be amazing if all this was available
electronically?”’
In 1984 she became a university lecturer specialising in computer science. At first, working among
computer scientists was intimidating. ‘I always felt inadequate because I didn’t talk technical,’ she says.
‘Questions like “How fast does it go?” or “How much storage does it have?” don’t interest me.’ Soon,
however, it was her powerful imagination and her lack of interest in detail which proved to be her asset.
One of Hall’s first ideas was a database of electronic photos, documents and audio recordings that could
be linked together in different ways depending on who was using them. ‘I wanted different people to
be able to ask different questions about a document,’ she says. ‘For example, a schoolchild would ask
different questions from a professor.’ Many researchers dismissed her ideas, claiming they were
irrelevant to mainstream computer science. But Hall persisted and in 1989 launched Microcosm, a
downloadable system that created links between the contents of a document and related information on
the hard drive, while the user read that document. As she had hoped, her system meant that a schoolchild
could be shown different links from a professor looking at the same document.
Coincidentally, 1989 was also the year that Tim Berners-Lee first proposed the World Wide Web. As
it turns out it was Berners-Lee’s vision, which used links that were embedded within a document, that
took off. The World Wide Web worked on a global network, allowing anyone with an Internet
connection to access it, whereas Wendy Hall’s Microcosm only worked in stand-alone hard drives.
Does Wendy Hall ever regret leaving pure mathematics and choosing the world of computers? ‘Not at
all,’ she says. ‘All the wonderful things I am doing are because I am a computer scientist. IT and
computing are the basis of everything.’
1. How is Wendy Hall different from many other computer scientists?
A. She is fascinated by the technical details of computing.
B. She is not as creative as the majority of her colleagues.
C. She is not interested in talking about the technicalities of computers.
D. She is less well qualified than many of her colleagues.
3. What was the purpose of the first software designed by Wendy Hall?
A. It helped upload texts on to computers.
B. It made information available electronically.
C. It enabled teachers to produce educational videos.
D. It helped other teachers she worked with.
4. What were Wendy Hall’s feelings when she first became a university lecturer?
A. She felt out of place as a woman in a man’s world.
B. She couldn’t use the same specialist language as her colleagues.
C. She didn’t know the answers to questions she was asked.
D. She was worried because her colleagues were better qualified than her.
8. How does Wendy Hall now view her career as a computer scientist?
A. She regrets abandoning her interest in mathematics.
B. She wishes she had specialised in computer science earlier.
C. She realises that she is a typical computer scientist.
D. She is satisfied with the direction her career has taken.
Reading PART 2
Read an article about a man who is an autistic savant. Seven sentences have been removed from the
article. Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (9-15). There is one extra sentence
which you do not need to use.
A. Brain scans suggest that the right hemisphere might be compensating for damage in the left hemisphere.
B. He also happens to be autistic, which is why he can’t drive a car, wire a plug, or tell right from left.
C. He likes to do things in his own time, and in his own style, so an office with targets and bureaucracy
just wouldn’t work.
D. He arrives at the answer instantly.
E. These range from reciting all nine volumes of Grove’s Dictionary of Music to measuring exact distances
with the naked eye.
F. Trips to the supermarket are always a chore.
G. Few people on the streets have recognised Tammet since his pi record attempt.
H. A number of scientists now hope that Tammet might help us to understand better.
A GENIUS EXPLAINS
Daniel Tammet is talking. As he talks, he studies my shirt and counts the stitches. Ever since the age of
three, when he suffered an epileptic fit, Tammet has been obsessed with counting. Now he is 26, and a
mathematical genius who can figure out cube roots quicker than a calculator and recall pi to 22,514
decimal places. 9B. He lives with an extraordinary ability and disability.
Tammet is calculating 377 multiplied by 795. Actually, he isn't 'calculating': there is nothing conscious
about what he is doing. 10D. Since his epileptic fit, he has been able to see numbers as shapes, colours
and textures. The number five, for instance, is a clap of thunder. 'When I multiply numbers together, I
see two shapes. The image starts to change and evolve, and a third shape emerges. That's the answer. It's
mental imagery. It's like maths without having to think.'
Tammet is a 'savant', an individual with an astonishing, extraordinary mental ability. An estimated 10%
of the autistic population - and an estimated 1% of the non-autistic population - have savant abilities, but
no one knows exactly why. 11H. Professor Allan Snyder, from the Centre for the Mind at the Australian
National University in Canberra, explains why Tammet is of particular scientific interest. 'Savants can't
usually tell us how they do what they do,' says Snyder. 'Daniel can. He describes what he sees in his
head. That's why he's exciting. He could be the Rosetta Stone.’
Savants have usually had some kind of brain damage and it is this damage which creates the savant.
12A. While many savants struggle with language and comprehension (skills associated primarily with
the left hemisphere), they often have amazing skills in mathematics and memory (primarily right
hemisphere skills).
Tammet lives on the south coast of England, just a five-minute walk from the beach. But he never goes
there - there are too many pebbles to count. 13F. 'There's too much mental stimulus. I have to look at
every shape, texture, price, and arrangement of fruit and vegetables. And instead of thinking, "What
cheese do I want this week?" I just feel really uncomfortable.'
Tammet has never been able to work 9 to 5. It would be too difficult to fit around his daily routine. For
instance, he has to drink his cups of tea at exactly the same time every day. Things have to happen in the
same order: he always brushes his teeth before he has his shower. ‘I have tried to be more flexible, but I
always end up feeling more uncomfortable. Retaining a sense of control is really important.' 14C. Instead,
he has set up a business on his own, at home, writing email courses in language learning, numeracy, and
literacy for private clients. It has had the added benefit of keeping human interaction to a minimum.
Autistic savants have displayed a wide range of talents. 15E. The blind American savant Leslie Lemke
played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 after hearing it for the first time, and he never had a piano
lesson. And the British savant Stephen Wiltshire was able to draw a highly accurate map of the London
skyline from memory after a single helicopter trip over the city. Even so, Tammet could still turn out to
be the most significant of all.
Reading PART 3
Read the article on the next page. Choose the most suitable heading (A–H) for each paragraph (16–
21). There are two extra headings which you do not need to use.
A. Swimming at both ends of the world
B. Down to the basics
C. We can all break barriers
D. A thirst for cold firsts
E. The origins of an ambition
F. A unique survival technique
G. Taking the first plunge
H. Keeping plans close and personal