# PTE Reading MCS #5: Scientific Feasibility of...

Reading: Multiple Choice, Single Answer #5 - Level 1 - Feeds Reading

> Read the text and answer the question by choosing one option. Only one answer is correct.

The premise of the Hollywood film The Core (2003) is impossible. Pressures deep in the Earth would crush any proof that we could imagine carrying humans. But Prof. David Stevenson of Caltech has an idea, albeit unlikely, for getting instruments to the core of the Earth. It involves starting with a deep crack in the crust and pouring into it 100 000 tonnes of molten iron. He believes that the dense liquid would force its way down through the mantle over a week or two, and if it were to carry small, heat resistant instruments the size of grapefruit, they could continue to send readings back to the surface using seismic waves, all the way to the outer core where they would eventually melt.

Why is the premise of the Hollywood film The Core (2003) impossible?

- Because pressures deep in the Earth are too large.
- Because Prof. David Stevenson's idea is unlikely.
- Because it involves pouring molten iron into the crust.
- Because heat resistant instruments would eventually melt.

## Answer

Because pressures deep in the Earth are too large.

## Explanation

The passage explicitly states that the film's premise is impossible because of the extreme conditions found deep within the planet, which would destroy any human-carrying vessel.

## Hints

- Focus on the very first two sentences of the text.
- Look for the reason provided immediately after the mention of the film's impossibility.

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