HCM

CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION MID-TERM TEST

HISTORY DEPARTMENT ENGLISH FOR SEPCIFIC PURPOSES MODULE 3
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (READING-WRITING)
DATE: 27th October, 2021
TIME: 90 MINUTES

PART 1: READING 25 QUESTIONS – 5 MARKS

Make That Wine!
Australia is a nation of beer drinkers. Actually, make that wine. Yes, wine has now just about
supplanted beer as the alcoholic drink of choice, probably because of the extensive range of
choices available and the rich culture behind them. This all adds a certain depth and intimacy
to the drinking process which beer just cannot match. In addition, although wine drinkers
seldom think about it, moderate consumption seems to be beneficial for the health, lowering
the incidence of heart disease and various other ailments.
Wine is the product of the fermentation of grape juice, in which yeast (a fungus) consumes
the natural sugars within, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide as waste. Yeast grows
naturally on many varieties of grapes, often visible as a white powder, and causing
fermentation directly on the plant. Thus, the discovery of wine-making was inevitable at
some stage in human history. The evidence shows that this was at least 8,000 years ago in
the Near East. From there, wine-making spread around the ancient Mediterranean
civilisations, where the liquid was extensively produced, drunk, and traded. To this day, the
biggest drinkers of wine remain the Mediterranean countries, with France leading the way.
This leads to the classification of wines, which is quite complex. It often begins with the
colour: red or white. Most people do not know that the colour of wine is not due to the grapes
used (whose skins are either green or purple), but to the wine-making process itself. All grape
juice is clear. Red wines are produced by leaving the grape skin in contact with the juice during
fermentation; white wines by not doing so. Thus, white wine can be made from dark-coloured
grapes, provided that the skin is separated early, although the resultant wine may have a
pinkish tinge.
A similar wine classification is based more specially on the grape species used, giving such
well-known names as Pinot Noir and Merlot. Chardonnay grapes remain one of the most
widely planted, producing an array of white wines, rivaling the cabernet sauvignon grape, a
key ingredient in the world’s most widely recognised, and similarly named, red wines. When
one grape species is used, or is predominant, the wine produced is called varietal, as opposed
to mixing the juices of various identified grapes, which results in blended wines. The latter
process is often done when wine-makers, and the people who drink their product, want a
consistent taste, year after year. Far from being looked down upon, it often results in some
of the world’s most expensive bottles, such as the Cote Rotie wines in France.

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Increasingly, however, market recognition is based on the location of the wine production,
resulting in labels such as Bordeaux in France, Napa Valley in California, and the Barossa
Valley in Australia. Traditional wines made in these places carry trademarks, respected by
serious wine drinkers. However, an example of the blurred lines is the term ‘champagne’.
This was once expected to be made from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France,
with all the expertise and traditions of that area, but, despite legal attempts to trademark the
term, it has become ‘semi-generic’, allowing it to be used for any wine of this type made
anywhere in the world.
Finally, we come to the vinification method as a means of classification. One example is, in
fact, champagne, known as a ‘sparkling’ wine. By allowing a secondary fermentation in a
sealed container, it retains some of the waste carbon dioxide. Another variation is to stop the
fermentation before all the natural sugars are consumed, creating dessert wines, ranging
from slight to extreme sweetness. Yet again, grapes can be harvested well beyond their
maximum ripeness, creating 'late harvest wines’, or allowed to become partially dried (or
‘raisoned’), creating ‘dried grape wines’. Clearly, there are many possibilities, all producing
uniquely flavoured products.
One of the best-known terms relating to wine is ‘vintage’. This signifies that the product was
made from grapes that were grown in a single labeled year. If that year is eventually
acknowledged to have produced exceptionally ne grapes and resultant wines (‘a good
vintage’), bottles from that period are often saved for future consumption. Of course, the
appreciation and assessment of wine is an inexact science, meaning that the significance of a
particular vintage often promotes much speculation and disagreement. A non-vintage wine
is usually a blend from the produce of two or more years, which is done, as mentioned before,
for consistency and quality control.
This leads to the rich and varied world of wine assessment, and its descriptive terminology.
Wine has such a variety of aromas, flavours, textures, and aftertastes that serious wine
drinkers demand an agreed vocabulary so that the drinking sensations can be reliably
described in writing. From bouquet to biscuity, mellow to musky, vivid to vegetal, the
conceited connoisseur can perplex the listener with some really purple prose. Perhaps the
opportunity to posture pretentiously with all this jargon is the main reason why wine
enthusiasts are so taken with this product. Cheers!

Questions 1-4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet, write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN If there is no information on this
1. Wine is popular in Australia because it is healthy.
2. Yeast is white-coloured.
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 3. Wine is popular in the Near East.
4. Blended wines are usually cheaper.

Questions 5-10
Complete the table.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.
Classification based on Associated Fact Related Example

colour Red wines use 5. _________________ 6. _________________
in fermentation.
grape species can be 7. _________________ or Cote Rotie wines
blended
location Drinkers of wine 8. Barossa Valley
_________________ this.
9. _________________ can allow 10. _________________ to dessert wine
remain

Questions 11-13
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.
11. Vintage wines are
A. mostly better.
B. often preferred.
C. often discussed.
D. more costly.
12. The author thinks that wine terminology is
A. unnecessary.
B. serious.
C. good.
D. bad.
13. Wine
A. is more popular than beer, in Australia.
B. is most popular in France.
C. can be simply classified.
D. is often ‘raisoned’.

READING PASSAGE 2: QUESTIONS 14-25
Domestic clocks
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The domestic clock was not exactly invented; it was probably a spin-off from the scientific
activities of churchmen, astrologers and mechanics of the Middle Ages interested in
increasing their knowledge of the stars or improving discipline in religious communities.
Perhaps some 13th-century king or bishop first had a clock in his house as a symbol of
prestige or wealth, or perhaps from interest, or to call him to prayer. Certainly, the church
assistant needed to know when to warn the watchman to ring the bell in the watchtower
to warn the local people about some communal activity such as digging a ditch, preparing
to defend themselves against raiders, or gathering to help put a fire out.
So possibly it was the watchman's clock on the wall that became the domestic iron clock
of the medieval household. It was a valuable possession, and when the family moved it
went with them, just as did any glass windows they had. Iron clocks and lantern clocks,
hanging on the wall from a hook, were the first general domestic clocks. The weights that
powered them hung below them and generally had to be pulled up twice a day. In some
countries, it became fashionable to fit ornate wooden cases around them and mount
these clocks on wooden brackets.
Although the weight-driven clock was not originally designed for domestic use, the spring-
driven one undoubtedly was. The use of a coiled spring instead of a weight to provide
power made possible first the portable clock and subsequently the smaller, personal
clock, which was later called a watch. Spring clocks were first made in France in the 1400s,
it seems, but little is known of their origin. The earliest spring-driven clock known is dated
about 1450. It is like the weight-driven clock of the time but with the weights replaced by
coiled springs.
The changeover from weight-driven to spring-driven clocks did not prove so simple,
however, because, unlike the falling weight, the coiled spring did not provide a constant
source of power. When wound up, the spring gave a force that was very strong, but only
for a short time. The force then decreased unevenly for some hours before slowing
rapidly. The middle of the range was most useful for driving the clock, but the reducing
force was a problem. Early coiled springs also suffered from the fact that they could not
be made very evenly or smoothly and did not coil accurately. When this happened, the
power was released in uneven bursts. The means adopted to overcome these
disadvantages, which directly affected timekeeping accuracy, were twofold.
The first step was to limit the use of the spring to the middle of its action to prevent it
from driving the clock when it was too tightly wound up or not wound up tightly enough.
The next step was to provide a form of gearing between the spring and the clock to make
the power output more even. The method was so simple, ingenious and elegant that it
has remained in use, at least in certain types of clock, from the time it was invented until
today.
It is called the fusee, meaning a spindle wound with a thread. A fusee is a trumpet-shaped
object with a toothed or gear wheel at the larger end, which is connected to the driving
wheel of the clock. The trumpet-shaped part has a spiral groove cut in it, and a strong
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thread attached to the groove at the larger end. The rest of the thread is wound around
the barrel of the clock, containing the spring. When the fusee is turned with a key, the
thread is pulled off the barrel, which winds up the spring inside it. The thread is wound on
the fusee groove, which becomes smaller and smaller in diameter, so that in effect it
means the spring drives the clock at a constant speed.
Fusees were used from the 1400s to the early 1900s. This relatively simple device to
improve timekeeping by equalising the uneven pull of the mainspring achieved its purpose
effectively. Granville Baillie, a leading clockmaker and watchmaker in the 1900s, said of the
fusee, 'Perhaps no problem in mechanics has ever been solved so simply and so perfectly.'

Questions 14-17
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
14. The earliest domestic clocks were developed to provide routine for householders.
15. Medieval clocks remained on the property when the owners sold their home.
16. Pulling the weights on wall-mounted clocks required precise skill.
17. It is the spring inside that allows a watch to be moved around.

Questions 18-21
Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 18-21 on your answer sheet

Early domestic clocks

Weight-driven clocks
Ø Made of 18. _________________
Ø Decorated clock cases fixed to the wall with 19. _________________
Spring-driven clocks
Ø Location where first produced: 20. _________________
Ø Problem keeping 21. _________________ even

Questions 22-25
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

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Write your answers in boxes 22-25 on your answer sheet.
22. What does a fusee look like?
23. What is connected to the spiral groove on a fusee?
24. What object is required to wind the spring on the fusee?
25. What does the gradual reduction of the fusee groove ensure?

PART 2: WRITING - 5 MARKS

FORMAL LETTER:
A few days ago, you purchased an item of clothing from a Gap outlet in Vincom shopping
mall, but then found out that it was faulty. Yesterday, you returned it to the shop for
replacement or refund, but the assistant told you that this was against the store's policy.
Write a letter to the store manager,
ü explaining the problems you have had
ü ask for a refund or exchange on the item.

You should write at least 120 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Your answer will be evaluated in terms of Task Fulfillment (2 Marks), Organisation (1 Mark),
Vocabulary (1 Mark) and Grammar (1 Mark).

END-OF TEST

GOOD LUCK!!!

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