Part 1 READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

THE SMART CARD

The invention of the microchip in the 1960s revolutionised the computer industry. Microchips are also used in thousands of other products, including smart cards. These look and function like the familiar magnetic-stripe credit cards, but they have a microchip embedded inside them that can store information. The smart card was the brainchild of two French inventors, Roland Moreno and Michel Ugon, who developed the technology in the mid-1970s. The first cards were tested in several French cities in the early 1980s and the technology was subsequently adopted by banks throughout Europe. Smart cards are now a part of everyday life in Europe, where they are used for a wide range of purposes, including paying for public transport, making small purchases over the counter, and banking by telephone. The European Union has adopted the technology as the standard for all its future credit cards.

Smart cards are only just beginning to be introduced in the United States, where the older magnetic-stripe technology is still the norm. The new technology is considered to be much more secure than the magnetic-stripe card, which is vulnerable to fraud. The microchip embedded in the smart card can be programmed to allow the cardholder to access many different systems. One card can be used for various types of banking transactions, for example, and as a phone card. It can also serve as an electronic purse, storing a cash balance for small purchases and recording phone and ATM transactions. It can also be used as a security pass to give the cardholder access to restricted areas.

The smart card may well replace keys, money, and identity cards in the future. In the United States, the Department of Defense has provided smart cards to its 4.3 million employees, and the Department of Energy is planning to do the same. Many of the nation’s hospitals and health-care facilities are also adopting the technology.

One of the most significant uses of the smart card is in providing people with access to their own health records. In France, for example, everyone now has a smart card containing a complete medical history, which can be accessed immediately by a doctor or pharmacist. The card, which is the size of a credit card, has a microchip embedded in it that contains the patient’s medical history, including allergies, blood type, and details of any current medical conditions. The card also contains information about the patient’s health-insurance provider. The card can be used to store medical records, prescriptions, and details of medical appointments.

In the United States, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is driving the demand for smart cards. The Act requires health-care providers to protect the privacy of patients’ medical information and to take measures to protect the security of sensitive information. Smart cards are considered one of the best ways of meeting these requirements.

The technology is also being used to improve the security of the US passport card. The card is a wallet-sized document that can be used instead of the traditional passport booklet when US citizens cross the border by land or sea between the United States and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, or Bermuda. The card has a microchip embedded in it that contains a unique number linking the card to a government database containing the cardholder’s personal information.

Smart cards are also used in public-transport systems around the world. In Hong Kong, for example, the Octopus card is used by millions of commuters every day. The card is a plastic smart card containing a microchip that can be loaded with cash and used to pay for travel on the city’s underground railway system. The card can also be used on buses, ferries, and trams, and even in car parks and convenience stores.

Questions 1-7

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 1-7 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

. The smart card was developed by two French inventors in the 1960s.

. The microchips in smart cards can store information.

. The European Union wants all its citizens to use smart cards.

. The US Department of Defense has provided smart cards to its employees.

. The US Department of Energy has developed a smart card for its employees.

. In France, people’s medical records are stored on a smart card.