Table of Contents
Passage
A As a title for a supposedly unprejudiced debate on scientific progress, “Panic attack: interrogating our obsession with risk” did not bode well. Held last week at the Royal Institution in London, the event brought together scientists from across the world to ask why society is so obsessed with risk and to call for a “more rational” approach. “We seem to be organising society around the grandmotherly maxim of ’better safe than sorry’,” exclaimed Spiked, the online publication that organised the event. “What are the consequences of this overbearing concern with risks?”
B The debate was preceded by a survey of 40 scientists who were invited to describe how awful our lives would be if the “precautionary principle” had been allowed to prevail in the past. Their response was: no heart surgery or antibiotics, and hardly any drugs at all; no aeroplanes, bicycles or high-voltage power grids; no pasteurisation, pesticides or biotechnology; no quantum of America. In short, their message was:
C They have absolutely missed the point. The precautionary principle is a subtle idea. It has various forms, but all of them generally include some notion of cost-effectiveness. Thus the point is not simply to ban things that are not known to be absolutely safe. Rather, it says: “Of course you can make no progress without risk. But if there is no obvious gain from taking the risk, then don’t take it.”
D Clearly, all the technologies listed by the 40 wellchosen savants were innately risky at their inception, as all technologies are. But all of them would have received the green light under the precautionary principle because they all had the potential to offer tremendous benefits-the solutions to very big problems-if only the snags could be overcome.
E If the precautionary principle had been in place, the scientists tell us, we would not have antibiotics. But of course we would-if the version of the principle that sensible people now understand had been applied. When penicillin was discovered in the 1920s, infective bacteria were laying waste to the world. Children died from diphtheria and whooping cough, every open drain brought the threat of typhoid, and any wound could lead to septicaemia and even gangrene.
F Penicillin was turned into a practical drug during the Second World War, when the many pestilences that result from war threatened to kill more people than the bombs. Of course antibiotics were a priority. Of course the risks, such as they could be perceived, were worth taking..
G And so with the other items on the scientists’ list: electric light bulbs, blood transfusions, CAT scans, knives, the measles vaccine—the precautionary principle would have prevented all of them, they tell us. But this is just plain wrong. If the precautionary principle had been applied properly, all these creations would have passed muster, because all offered incomparable advantages compared to the risks perceived at the time.
H Another issue is at stake here. Statistics are not the only concept people use when weighing up risk. Human beings, subtle and evolved creatures that we are, do not survive to three-score years and ten simply by thinking like pocket calculators. A crucial issue is choice. In deciding whether to pursue the development of a new technology, the consumer’s right to choose should be considered alongside considerations of risk and benefit. Clearly, skiing is more dangerous than genetically modified tomatoes. But people who ski choose to do so; they do not have skiing thrust upon them by portentous experts of the kind who now feel they have the right to reconstruct our crops. Even with skiing there is the matter of cost effectiveness to consider: skiing, I am told, is exhilarating. Where is the exhilaration in GM soya?
I Indeed, in contrast to all the other items on Spiked’s list, GM crops stand out as an example of a technology whose benefits are far from clear. Some of the risks can at least be defined. But in the present economic climate, the benefits that might accrue from them seem dubious. Promoters of GM crops believe that the future population of the world cannot be fed without them. That is untrue. The crops that really matter are wheat and rice, and there is no GM research in the pipeline that will seriously affect the yield of either. GM is used to make production cheaper and hence more profitable, which is an extremely questionable ambition.
J The precautionary principle provides the world with a very important safeguard. If it had been in place in the past it might, for example, have prevented insouciant miners from polluting major rivers with mercury. We have come to a sorry pass when scientists, who should above all be dispassionate scholars, feel they should misrepresent such a principle for the purposes of commercial and political propaganda. People at large continue to mistrust science and the high technologies it produces partly because they doubt the wisdom of scientists. On such evidence as this, these doubts are fully justified.
Questions
Questions 27-32 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the sataement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
27 Title of the debate is not unbiased.
28 All scientist invited to the debate were from the field of medicine.
29 Those scientists who conducted the survey were people who shouldn’t take risks.
30 All listed technologies are riskier than other technologies.
31 It is worth taking the risks to invent antibiotics.
32 All other inventions on the list were also judged by the precautionary principle.
Questions 33-39 Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than three words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 33-39 on your answer sheet.
When the applied precautionary principle in deciding whether to invent a new technology, people should also consider the 33 ……………….. , along with the usual consideration of 34 ……………….. For example, although risky and dangerous enough, people still enjoy 35 ……………….. for the excitement that it provides. On the other hand, experts believe that future population desperately needs 36 ……………….. in spite of their undefined risks. However researches conducted have not been directed towards increasing the yield of 37 ……………….. so far, to reduce the cost of 38 ……………….. and to bring more profits out of it. In the end,such selfish use of precautionary principle for business and political gain has often led people to 39 ……………….. science because they believe that scientists can not be trusted.
Questions 40 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write your answers in boxes 40 on your answer sheet.
40 What is the main theme of the passage?
A people have right to doubt science and technologies
B the precautionary principle could have prevented the development of science and technology
C there are not enough people who truly understand the precautionary principle
D the precautionary principle bids us to take risks at all costs
Answers
Below are the answers, key words, synonyms and full explanations for the IELTS Reading passage Assessing the Risk (Passage 3, Questions 27–40).
Questions 27–32: True / False / Not Given
27. The title of the debate is not unbiased.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: supposedly unprejudiced, did not bode well
Synonyms: not unbiased = “As a title for a supposedly unprejudiced debate … ‘Panic attack: interrogating our obsession with risk’ did not bode well”
Explanation: The writer signals the “supposedly unprejudiced” title was actually biased.
28. All scientists invited to the debate were from the field of medicine.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: scientists from across the world
Synonyms: fields not specified = the event “brought together scientists from across the world” — their fields are not stated.
Explanation: No information that they were all medical scientists → NOT GIVEN.
29. Those scientists who conducted the survey were people who shouldn’t take risks.
Answer: FALSE
Key words: no risk, no gain
Synonyms: opposite message = the survey’s message was “no risk, no gain” — i.e. risks are worth taking, not that people shouldn’t take them.
Explanation: Their message favoured taking risks, contradicting the statement.
30. All listed technologies are riskier than other technologies.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: innately risky at their inception
Synonyms: no comparison = the technologies “were innately risky … as all technologies are” — no claim they are riskier than others.
Explanation: The passage never ranks them against other technologies → NOT GIVEN.
31. It was worth taking the risks to invent antibiotics.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: antibiotics were a priority, risks were worth taking
Synonyms: worth the risk = “Of course antibiotics were a priority. Of course the risks … were worth taking”
Explanation: The writer states the antibiotic risks were clearly worthwhile.
32. All the other inventions on the list were also judged by the precautionary principle.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: would have passed muster
Synonyms: hypothetical, not judged = the writer argues they “would have passed muster” if the principle had been applied — they were not actually judged by it.
Explanation: Whether they were actually assessed by the principle is not stated → NOT GIVEN.
Questions 33–39: Summary Completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)
33. People should also consider the ………
Answer: consumer’s right
Key words: right to choose, alongside risk and benefit
Synonyms: consider = “the consumer’s right to choose should be considered alongside considerations of risk and benefit”
Explanation: The consumer’s right to choose must be weighed too.
34. Along with the usual consideration of ………
Answer: risk and benefit
Key words: considerations of risk and benefit
Synonyms: usual consideration = “alongside considerations of risk and benefit”
Explanation: Risk and benefit are the standard factors considered.
35. People still enjoy ……… for the excitement it provides.
Answer: skiing
Key words: skiing is exhilarating, choose to do so
Synonyms: enjoy for excitement = “skiing, I am told, is exhilarating” and people “choose to do so”
Explanation: Skiing is risky but chosen for its thrill.
36. Future population desperately needs ……… in spite of their undefined risks.
Answer: GM crops
Key words: future population cannot be fed without them
Synonyms: population needs = “Promoters of GM crops believe that the future population of the world cannot be fed without them”
Explanation: Promoters claim GM crops are essential to feed the world.
37. Research has not been directed towards increasing the yield of ………
Answer: wheat and rice
Key words: crops that really matter, no GM research in the pipeline
Synonyms: yield not increased = “The crops that really matter are wheat and rice, and there is no GM research … that will seriously affect the yield of either”
Explanation: No GM research targets the yield of the staple crops.
38. To reduce the cost of ……… and to bring more profits.
Answer: production
Key words: make production cheaper, more profitable
Synonyms: reduce cost = “GM is used to make production cheaper and hence more profitable”
Explanation: GM’s real aim is cheaper production for more profit.
39. Selfish use of the principle has led people to ……… science.
Answer: mistrust
Key words: mistrust science, doubt the wisdom of scientists
Synonyms: led people to = “People at large continue to mistrust science … partly because they doubt the wisdom of scientists”
Explanation: Misusing the principle makes the public mistrust science.
Question 40: Multiple Choice
40. What is the main theme of the passage?
Answer: A — people have the right to doubt science and technologies
Key words: doubts are fully justified, mistrust science
Synonyms: right to doubt = “these doubts are fully justified” — the public’s mistrust of scientists who misuse the principle is warranted.
Explanation: The passage concludes that people are justified in doubting scientists who distort the precautionary principle.
Answer Key (Quick Reference)
| Q | Answer | Q | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | TRUE | 34 | risk and benefit |
| 28 | NOT GIVEN | 35 | skiing |
| 29 | FALSE | 36 | GM crops |
| 30 | NOT GIVEN | 37 | wheat and rice |
| 31 | TRUE | 38 | production |
| 32 | NOT GIVEN | 39 | mistrust |
| 33 | consumer’s right | 40 | A |
