Since 2015 there has been an increase in the number of people who mistrust what they read on social networking websites. More people trust the information they see on social networking sites than in 2015. Fewer users are suspicious of the details they find on social networks than in 2015. A smaller number of social network users trust the information they see online than in 2015.

Try to skim the text below in 30 seconds and decide which of the following describes the main idea of the text. A It is important to speak English if you want to be successful in business. B Most of the world’s mail is written in English. C English is the most widely used language in the world. English is the second most commonly spoken, and by far the most widespread world’s languages. It is estimated that there are 350 million native speakers, 300 million who use English as a second language and a further billion using it as a foreign language. English is spoken by scientists, pilots, computer experts, diplomats and tourists; it is the language of the world! Do you know that over 50% of all business deals are conducted in English? And over 70% of all mail is written and addressed in English? It is the official or co-official language of over 45 countries and furthermore, it is spoken extensively in other countries where it has no official status. It is perhaps, therefore, not surprising that in recent years we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of students opting to study abroad. In the future this will cement the role that English plays in the cultural, political or economic life of many countries around the world from Australia to Zambia.

About 60% of people who use online networking sites are concerned that their personal details may be accessible to people they do not know. Most online social network users do not worry that strangers might be able to see details of their private lives. Only a minority of users of social networking sites are anxious about sharing personal information with people they have not met. Over half the people who use social networking sites are worried that strangers might have access to details of their personal lives.

The majority of online social network users control the privacy settings on their profiles to prevent strangers from seeing their details. Most users of social networking sites do not allow people they do not know to access their personal information. Older users of online social networking sites are more likely to share personal details with strangers. Not many people who use online networking sites know how to control who sees their private information.

More online users of social networking sites over the age of 45 allow strangers to see their photos than other groups. People over the age of 45 only give access to their photos to people they do not know. Adults in the over-45 age group are more likely to show their photos online to people they have not met in person. Younger users of social networking sites are more likely than older age groups to share their pictures with strangers.

The uses people make of social networking websites are unlikely to increase in the future. In the future, people will probably use social networks on the Internet in a wider variety of ways. It is probable that the different ways people use online social networks will not increase any further. A future increase in the ways people use online social networking is very possible.

Since 2015 there has been an increase in the number of people who mistrust what they read on social networking websites. More people trust the information they see on social networking sites than in 2015. Fewer users are suspicious of the details they find on social networks than in 2015. A smaller number of social network users trust the information they see online than in 2015.

The first stages in the actual restoration will involve delicate surface cleaning, using a small vacuum suction device. Once the level of reconstruction has been determined, the original crocheted overdress will be stitched onto a dyed net support before repairs begin. ’It’s going to be extraordinarily difficult, because the original cloth is quite stretchy, so we’ve deliberately chosen net because that has a certain amount of flexibility in it too,’ says Zenzie. When the dress is displayed, none of our work will be noticeable, but we’ll retain all the evidence on the reverse so that future experts will be able to see exactly what we’ve done — and I’ll produce a detailed report.’ Questions 1-3 Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-E, below. A to show how the team did the repairs on the dress. B to reduce the time taken to repair the dress. C to remove the dirt from the top layer of the dress. D to demonstrate the quality of the team’s work on the dress. E to match a quality of the original fabric used in the dress.

Matching information and feature. Out of Africa: solar energy from Sahara Vivienne Walt reports on how the Sahara Desert could offer a truly green solution to Europe’s energy problems A For years, the Sahara has been regarded by many Europeans as an unknown land of little economic value or importance. But this idea may soon change completely. Politicians and scientists on both sides of the Mediterranean are beginning to focus on the Sahara’s potential to provide power for Europe in the future. They believe the desert’s true value comes from the fact that it is dry and empty. Some areas of the Sahara reach 45 degrees centigrade on many afternoons. It is, in other words, a gigantic natural storehouse of solar energy. B A few years ago, scientists began to calculate just how much energy the Sahara holds. They were astonished at the answer. In theory, a 90,600-square-kilometre chunk of the Sahara — smaller than Portugal and a little over 1% of its total area — could yield the same amount of electricity as all the world’s power plants combined. A smaller square of 15,500 square kilometres — about the size of Connecticut — could provide electricity for Europe’s 500 million people. ’I admit I was sceptical until I did the calculations myself,’ says Michael Pawlyn, director of Exploration Architecture, one of three British environmental companies comprising the Sahara Forest Project, which is testing solar plants in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Pawlyn calls the Sahara’s potential ’staggering’. C At the moment, no one is proposing the creation of a solar power station the size of a small country. But a relatively well-developed technology exists, which proponents say could turn the Sahara’s heat and sunlight into a major source of electricity — Concentrating Solar Power (CSP). Unlike solar panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, CSP utilises mirrors which focus light on water pipes or boilers to produce very hot steam to operate the turbines of generators. Small CSP plants have produced power in California’s Mojave Desert since the 1980s. The Sahara Forest Project proposes building CSP plants in areas below sea level (the Sahara has several such depressions) so that sea water can flow into them. This water would then be purified and used for powering turbines and washing dust off the mirrors, Waste water would then supply irrigation to areas around the stations, creating lush oases — hence the ’forest’ in the group’s name. D But producing significant quantities of electricity means building huge arrays of mirrors and pipes across hundreds of miles of remote desert, which is expensive. Gerry Wolff, an engineer who heads DESERTEC, an international consortium of solar-power scientists, says they have estimated it will cost about $59 billion to begin transmitting power from the Sahara by 2020. E Building plants is just part of the challenge. One of the drawbacks to CSP technology is that it works at maximum efficiency only in sunny, hot climates — and deserts tend to be distant from population centres. To supply Europe with 20% of its electricity needs, more than 19,300 kilometres of cables would need to be laid under the Mediterranean, says Gunnar Asplund, head of HVDC research at ABB Power Technologies in Ludvika, Sweden. Indeed, to use renewable sources of power, including solar, wind and tidal, Europe will need to build completely new electrical grids. That’s because existing infrastructures, built largely for the coal-fired plants that supply 80% of Europe’s power, would not be suitable for carrying the amount of electricity generated by the Sahara. Germany’s government-run Aerospace Centre, which researches energy, estimates that replacing those lines could raise the cost of building solar plants in the Sahara and sending significant amounts of power to Europe to about $465 billion over the next 40 years. Generous government subsidies will be needed. ’Of course it costs a lot of money,’ says Asplund. ’It’s a lot cheaper to burn coal than to make solar power in the Sahara.’ F Meanwhile, some companies are getting started. Seville engineering company Abengoa is building one solar-thermal plant in Algeria and another in Morocco, while a third is being built in Egypt by a Spanish-Japanese joint venture. The next step will be to get cables in place. Although the European Parliament has passed a law that aids investors who help the continent reach its goal of getting 20% of it power from renewable energy by 2020, it could take years to create the necessary infrastructure. G Nicholas Dunlop, secretary-general of the London-based NGO e-Parliament, thinks companies should begin transmitting small amounts of solar power as soon as the North African plants begin operating, by linking a few cable lines under the Mediterranean. ’I call it the Lego method,’ he says. ’Build it piece by piece.’ If it can be shown that power from the Sahara can be produced profitably, he says, companies and governments will soon jump in. If they do, perhaps airplane passengers flying across the Sahara will one day count the mirrors and patches of green instead of staring at sand. Questions 1-5 The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A-G. NB You may use any letter more than once.