READING PLACEMENT TEST

Note: Please write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. Do NOT write your answers on
this paper test.
Passage 1
What’s the Purpose of Gaining Knowledge?
A ‘I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any subject.’ That
was the founder’s motto for Cornell University, and it seems an apt characterization of the
different university, also in the USA, where I currently teach philosophy. A student can
prepare for a career in resort management, engineering, interior design, accounting, music,
law enforcement, you name it. But what would the founders of these two institutions have
thought of a course called ‘Arson for Profit’? I kid you not: we have it on the books. Any
undergraduates who have met the academic requirements can sign up for the course in our
program in ‘fire science’.

B Naturally, the course is intended for prospective arson investigators, who can learn all the
tricks of the trade for detecting whether a fire was deliberately set, discovering who did it,
and establishing a chain of evidence for an effective prosecution in a court of law. But
wouldn’t this also be the perfect course for prospective arsonists to sign up for? My point is
not to criticize academic programs in fire science: they are highly welcome as part of the
increasing professionalization of this and many other occupations. However, it’s not
unknown for a firefighter to torch a building. This example suggests how dishonest and
illegal behavior, with the help of higher education, can creep into every aspect of public and
business life.

C I realized this anew when I was invited to speak before a class in marketing, which is another
of our degree programs. The regular instructor is a colleague who appreciates the kind of
ethical perspective I can bring as a philosopher. There are endless ways I could have
approached this assignment, but I took my cue from the title of the course: ‘Principles of
Marketing’ It made me think to ask the students, ‘Is marketing principled?’ After all, a
subject matter can have principles in the sense of being codified, having rules, as with
football or chess, without being principled in the sense of being ethical. Many of the students
immediately assumed that the answer to my question about marketing principles was
obvious: no. Just look at the ways in which everything under the sun has been marketed;
obviously it need not be done in a principled (=ethical) fashion. Is that obvious? I made the
suggestion, which may sound downright crazy in light of the evidence, that perhaps
marketing is by definition principled. My inspiration for this judgement is the philosopher
Immanuel Kant, who argued that any body of knowledge consists of an end (or purpose)
and a means.

D Let us apply both the terms ‘means’ and ‘end’ to marketing. The students have signed up
for a course in order to learn how to market effectively. But to what end? There seem to be
two main attitudes toward that question. One is that the answer is obvious: the purpose of
marketing is to sell things and to make money. The other attitude is that the purpose of
marketing is irrelevant: Each person comes to the program and course with his or her own
plans, and these need not even concern the acquisition of marketing expertise as such. My
proposal, which I believe would also be Kant’s, is that neither of these attitudes captures the
significance of the end to the means for marketing. A field of knowledge or a professional
endeavor is defined by both the means and the end; hence both deserve scrutiny. Students
need to study both how to achieve X, and also what X is.
E It is at this point that ‘Arson for Profit’ becomes supremely relevant. That course is assumed
that the end is presumably all about means: how to detect and prosecute criminal activity. It
is therefore good in an ethical sense. When I ask fire science students to articulate the end,
or purpose, of their field, they eventually generalize to something like, ‘The safety and
welfare of society’ which seems right. As we have seen, someone could use the very same
knowledge of means to achieve a much less noble end, such as personal profit via
destructive, dangerous, reckless activity. But we would not call that firefighting. We have a
separate word for it: arson. Similarly, if you employed the ‘principles of marketing’ in an
unprincipled way, you would not be doing marketing. We have another term for it: fraud.
Kant gives the example of a doctor and a poisoner, who use the identical knowledge to
achieve their divergent ends. We would say that one is practicing medicine, the other,
murder.

Questions 1-6
Read and choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Write your answer in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
1. How does the author react to the name of the course ‘Arson for Profit’?
A. The author is surprised that such a course exists.
B. The author believes the course is helpful for firefighters.
C. The author thinks the course should be removed from the curriculum.

2. What does the author think about the fire science course?
A. It is helpful, but some people might use it in the wrong way.
B. It should not be taught at the university.
C. Only firefighters should take the course.

3. Who inspires the author to think that marketing is principled?

4. What does the author propose about the relationship between the 'means' and 'end' in
marketing?
A. Marketing is solely about making money through selling things.
B. Both the means and the end of marketing need to be considered.
C. Marketing has no clear purpose and should be studied without considering outcomes.

5. In paragraph E, what does the word arson imply?

6. Why does the author mention Kant’s example of a doctor and a poisoner?
A. To clarify how knowledge can be applied in a principled way.
B. To compare doctors' and poisoners’ ways of using medicines.
C. To illustrate how the same knowledge can be used for both good and bad purposes.
Question 7-11
Read and decide whether the statements below are TRUE or FALSE according to the
information in passage 1.
Write your answer in boxes 7-11 on your answer sheet:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
7. The author believes that future arsonists can take advantages from the course for arson
investigators.
8. The author believes that marketing, like football or chess, can have codified rules but is
not necessarily ethical.
9. Many students of the author think that marketing is ethical.
10. The author suggests that students should study both how to achieve their goals in marketing
and also what those goals are.
11. Although the purpose of ‘Arson for Profit’ is ethical, some people may still use the
knowledge from it to commit crimes.

Question 12-15
Complete the passage below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answer in boxes 12-15 on your answer sheet.
The ‘Arson for Profit’ Course
This course is designed for undergraduate students who are enrolled in the study of (12) ………. It is
anticipated that they will become (13)...... who specialize in arson. Upon completion of the course,
they will be able to detect instances of arson and identify (14).... of criminal intent, which will result
in successful (15)..... in the court.
Passage 2
Young Children's Sense of Identity
A A sense of self develops in young children by degrees. The process can usefully be thought
of in terms of the gradual emergence of two somewhat separate features: the self as a subject,
and the self as an object. William James introduced the distinction in 1892, and
contemporaries of his, such as Charles Cooley, added to the developing debate. Ever since
then psychologists have continued building on the theory.

B According to James, a child's first step on the road to self-understanding can be seen as the
recognition that he or she exists. This is an aspect of the self that he labelled ‘self-as-subject’,
and he gave it various elements. These included an awareness of one's own agency (i.e.
one’s power to act), and an awareness of one’s distinctiveness from other people. These
features gradually emerge as infants explore their world and interact with caregivers. Cooley
(1902) suggested that a sense of the self-as-subject was primarily concerned with being able
to exercise power. He proposed that the earliest examples of this are an infant's attempts to
control physical objects, such as toys or his or her own limbs. This is followed by attempts
to affect the behaviour of other people. For example, infants learn that when they cry or
smile someone responds to them.

C Another powerful source of information for infants about the effects they can have on the
world around them is provided when others mimic them. Many parents spend a lot of time,
particularly in the early months, copying their infant's vocalizations and expressions. In
addition, young children enjoy looking in mirrors, where the movements they can see are
dependent upon their own movements. This is not to say that infants recognize the reflection
as their own image (a later development). However, Lewis and Brooks-Gunn (1979) suggest
that infants’ developing understanding that the movements they see in the mirror are
contingent on their own, leads to a growing awareness that they are distinct from other
people. This is because they, and only they, can change the reflection in the mirror.

D This understanding that children gain of themselves as active agents continues to develop in
their attempts to cooperate with others in play. Dunn (1988) points out that it is in such day-
to-day relationships and interactions that the child’s understanding of his- or herself
emerges. Empirical investigations of the self-as- subject in young children are, however,
rather scarce because of difficulties of communication: even if young infants can reflect on
their experience, they certainly cannot express this aspect of the self directly.

E Once children have acquired a certain level of self-awareness, they begin to place
themselves in a whole series of categories, which together play such an important part in
defining them uniquely as ‘themselves’. This second step in the development of a full sense
of self is what James called the ‘self-as-object’. This has been seen by many to be the aspect
of the self which is most influenced by social elements, since it is made up of social roles
(such as student, brother, colleague) and characteristics which derive their meaning from
comparison or interaction with other people (such as trustworthiness, shyness, sporting
ability).

F Cooley and other researchers suggested a close connection between a person’s own
understanding of their identity and other people's understanding of it. Cooley believed that
people build up their sense of identity from the reactions of others to them, and from the
view they believe others have of them. He called the self-as-object the ‘looking-glass self’,
since people come to see themselves as they are reflected in others. Mead (1934) went even
 further, and saw the self and the social world as inextricably bound together: ‘The self is
essentially a social structure, and it arises in social experience …. it is impossible to conceive
of a self arising outside of social experience.’

G Lewis and Brooks-Gunn argued that an important developmental milestone is reached when
children become able to recognize themselves visually without the support of seeing
contingent movement. This recognition occurs around their second birthday. In one
experiment, Lewis and Brooks-Gunn (1979) dabbed some red powder on the noses of
children who were playing in front of a mirror, and then observed how often they touched
their noses. The psychologists reasoned that if the children knew what they usually looked
like, they would be surprised by the unusual red mark and would start touching it. On the
other hand, they found that children of 15 to 18 months are generally not able to recognize
themselves unless other cues such as movement are present.

H Finally, perhaps the most graphic expressions of self-awareness in general can be seen in
the displays of rage which are most common from 18 months to 3 years of age. In a
longitudinal study of groups of three or four children, Bronson (1975) found that the
intensity of the frustration and anger in their disagreements increased sharply between the
ages of 1 and 2 years. Often, the children’s disagreements involved a struggle over a toy that
none of them had played with before or after the tug-of-war: the children seemed to be
disputing ownership rather than wanting to play with it. Although it may be less marked in
other societies, the link between the sense of ‘self’ and of ‘ownership’ is a notable feature
of childhood in Western societies.

Questions 16-19
Read and choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Write your answer in boxes 16-19 on your answer sheet.
16. What does the word contingent in Paragraph C most likely mean?
A. Caused by something else.
B. Completely independent.
C. Surprising or unexpected.

17. What is the main point of Paragraph E?

18. What did Lewis and Brooks-Gunn’s experiment with red powder and mirrors reveal about
children’s self-recognition?
A. Infants younger than 15 months cannot distinguish themselves from others.
B. Self-recognition develops only when children observe movement cues.
C. Children around their second birthday begin to recognize themselves visually.

19. Why might Bronson (1975) suggest that children’s disputes over toys indicate a
developing sense of self?
A. The children are showing ownership, which reflects their growing individuality.
B. Disagreements help children understand the concept of sharing with others.
C. Anger and frustration are natural responses to competition at that age.

Questions 20-26
Reading Passage 2 has eight paragraphs, A-H. Which paragraph contains the following
information?
Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet. There is ONE paragraph
you might not use.
20. This paragraph mentions the difference between self-as-subject and self-as-object.
21. In this paragraph, the idea that infants mimic others and observe their actions in mirrors to
understand agency is discussed.
22. This paragraph explains how children recognize their reflection without movement cues.
23. In this paragraph, the role of social roles, such as “brother” or “student”, in defining the
self is discussed.
24. This paragraph indicates the connection between frustration, anger, and the development
of ownership among toddlers.
25. This paragraph explains the earliest development of self-awareness as an infant realizes
they can control objects and influence people.
26. This paragraph highlights that empirical research into self-as-subject in infants is limited
due to communication barriers.

Question 27-30
Look at the following findings (Questions 27-30) and the list of researchers below.
Match each finding with the correct researcher or researchers, A-E.
Write your answer in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet. There is ONE answer you might not
use.
27. Developing a sense of identity requires relationships with others.
28. A child's awareness of oneself is linked to their ability to control objects and people.
29. As children grow, their sense of identity can lead to aggressive behaviors.
30. Seeing their own reflection helps children develop self-awareness.

List of Researchers
A. James
B. Cooley
C. Lewis and Brooks-Gunn
D. Mead
E. Bronson
Passage 3
Why We Need to Protect Polar Bears
A Polar bears are being increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change, but their
disappearance could have far-reaching consequences. They are uniquely adapted to the
extreme conditions of the Arctic Circle, where temperatures can reach -40°C. One reason
for this is that they have up to 11 centimetres of fat underneath their skin. Humans with
comparative levels of adipose tissue would be considered obese and would be likely to suffer
from diabetes and heart disease. Yet the polar bear experiences no such consequences.

B A 2014 study by Shi Ping Liu and colleagues sheds light on this mystery. They compared
the genetic structure of polar bears with that of their closest relatives from a warmer climate,
the brown bears. This allowed them to determine the genes that have allowed polar bears to
survive in one of the toughest environments on Earth. Liu and his colleagues found the polar
bears had a gene known as APoB, which reduces levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs)
- a form of ‘bad’ cholesterol. In humans, mutations of this gene are associated with increased
risk of heart disease. Polar bears may therefore be an important study model to understand
heart disease in humans.

C The genome of the polar bear may also provide the solution for another condition, one that
particularly affects our older generation: osteoporosis. This is a disease where bones show
reduced density, usually caused by insufficient exercise, reduced calcium intake or food
starvation. Bone tissue is constantly being remodelled, meaning that bone is added or
removed, depending on nutrient availability and the stress that the bone is under. Female
polar bears, however, undergo extreme conditions during every pregnancy. Once autumn
comes around, these females will dig maternity dens in the snow and will remain there
throughout the winter, both before and after the birth of their cubs. This process results in
about six months of fasting, where the female bears have to keep themselves and their cubs
alive, depleting their own calcium and calorie reserves. Despite this, their bones remain
strong and dense.

D Physiologists Alanda Lennox and Allen Goodship found an explanation for this paradox in
2008. They discovered that pregnant bears were able to increase the density of their bones
before they started to build their dens. In addition, six months later, when they finally
emerged from the den with their cubs, there was no evidence of significant loss of bone
density. Hibernating brown bears do not have this capacity and must therefore resort to
major bone reformation in the following spring. If the mechanism of bone remodelling in
polar bears can be understood, many bedridden humans, and even astronauts, could
potentially benefit.

E The medical benefits of the polar bear for humanity certainly have their importance in our
conservation efforts, but these should not be the only factors taken into consideration. We
tend to want to protect animals we think are intelligent and possess emotions, such as
elephants and primates. Bears, on the other hand, seem to be perceived as stupid and in many
cases violent. And yet anecdotal evidence from the field challenges those assumptions,
suggesting for example that polar bears have good problem-solving abilities. A male bear
called GoGo in Tennoji Zoo, Osaka, has even been observed making use of a tool to
manipulate his environment. The bear used a tree branch on multiple occasions to dislodge
a piece of meat hung out of his reach. Problem-solving ability has also been witnessed in
wild polar bears, although not as obviously as with GoGo. A calculated move by a male
 bear involved running and jumping onto barrels in an attempt to get to a photographer
standing on a platform four metres high.

F In other studies, such as one by Alison Ames in 2008, polar bears showed deliberate and
focussed manipulation. For example, Ames observed bears putting objects in piles and then
knocking them over in what appeared to be a game. The study demonstrates that bears are
capable of agile and thought-out behaviours. These examples suggest bears have greater
creativity and problem-solving abilities than previously thought.

G As for emotions, while the evidence is once again anecdotal, many bears have been seen to
hit out at ice and snow - seemingly out of frustration - when they have just missed out on a
kill. Moreover, polar bears can form unusual relationships with other species, including
playing with the dogs used to pull sleds in the Arctic. Remarkably, one hand-raised polar
bear called Agee has formed a close relationship with her owner Mark Dumas to the point
where they even swim together. This is even more astonishing since polar bears are known
to actively hunt humans in the wild.

H If climate change were to lead to their extinction, this would mean not only the loss of
potential breakthroughs in human medicine, but more importantly, the disappearance of an
intelligent, majestic animal.

Question 31-36
Reading Passage 2 has eight paragraphs, A-H. Which paragraph contains the following
information?
Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 31-36 on your answer sheet. There are TWO paragraphs
you might not use.
31. Polar bears’ genetic adaptation to prevent heart disease.
32. The need for protecting polar bears beyond medical benefits and stereotypes about
intelligence.
33. The impact of climate change on polar bear survival.
34. Polar bears’ emotional capacity and relationships with other species.
35. Scientific evidence supporting polar bear creativity.
36. Physical adaptations of polar bears to extreme environments.

Question 37-40
Complete the passage below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.
Reasons why polar bears should be protected
It is believed that bears are generally unintelligent and (37).......
Nevertheless, several examples have shown that this is untrue::
• A bear has been observed in Tennoji Zoo using a limb as a tool to bring down some (38)
…………
• A wild polar bear figured out a way to reach a ledge where a photographer was situated.
• Polar bears have demonstrated behaviors including intentional object manipulation and
activity that are similar to those of a (39) …………
Bears may also express emotions. For instance:
• They may display behaviors that indicate (40)......when they are disappointed during
hunting.
• They may establish relationships with other species.