1” Population Viability Analysis 1. YES, 2. NO,3. NO,4. NOT GIVEN,5. Vi,6. Iii, 7. I, 8. Ii,9. will(may) not survive, or, will ( may could) become extinct,10. locality distribution,11. logging takes place logging occurs,12. B 2 Visual Symbols and the Blind 27. C 28. C 29. A 30. E 31. C 32. A 33. pairs 34. shapes 35. sighted 36. sighted 37. deep 38. blind 39. similar 40. B 3 Zoo Conservation Programmes 16. Y 17. Y 18. NG 19. N 20. N 21. NG 22. Y 23. B 24. C 25. A 26. A 27. D 28. E (26, 27, 28 In any order) 4 A Workaholic Economy 27. No 28. Not Given 29. Yes 30. No 31. Yes 32. Not Given 33. C 34. A 35. B. (Extra work is offered to existing employees.) 36. D. (Benefits and hours spent on the job are not linked) 37. F. (Longer hours indicate greater commitment to the firm.) 38. G. (Managers estimate staff productivity in terms of hours worked.) Answer 35 38, in any order 6 A Remarkable Beetle Answer: 1. NOT GIVEN 2. NO 3. YES 4. YES 5. NO 6. South African 7. French 8. Spanish 9. temperate 10. early spring 11. two to five 25 12. subtropical 13. South African tunnelingtunnelling 7 Alarming Rate of Loss of Tropical Rainforests 1. FALSE 2. FALSE 3. TRUE 4. TRUE 5. FALSE 6. NOT GIVEN 7. TRUE 8. NOT GIVEN 9. M 10. E 11. G 12. P 13. J 14. B 8 Changing Our Understanding of Health Answer: 14. viii 15. ii 16. iv 17. ix 18. vii 19. 1946 20. (the) wealthy (members) (of) (society) 21. social, economic, environmental 22. (the) 1970s 23. NOT GIVEN 24. YES 25. NO 26. NO 27. NOT GIVEN 9 Paper Recycling 30. sustamable 31. biodegradable 32. virgin fibre pulp 33. governments the government 34. advances 35. quality 36. contaminants 37. offices 38. sorted 39. (re)pulped 40. deink remove ink make white 41. refined 10 Absenteeism In Nursing 1. NO 2. NO 3. NO 4. YES 5. NOTGIVEN 6. NO 7. YES 8. (local) busunesses 9.(workworking) schedule rostering roster(s) 10. excessive 11. voluntary absence absenteeism 12. twenty 20 13. communication 11 The Rocket From East To West 1. iv 2. i 3. v 4. vii 5. B 6. D 7. A 8. A 9. B 10. E 11. B 12. E 13. F 14. G 12 The Scientific Method 29.Iv 30.Vii 31.Iii 32.V 33.Vi 34. B 35. F 36. YES 37. No, 38. NOT GIVEN,39. YES, 40. D 13 A.D.D. Missing Out on Learning 27. a 28. d 29. c 30. organised 31. hyperactivity 32. completion 33. side effects 34. remedial action 35. switch 36. children 37. successfully 38. F 39. C 40. A 14 The Beam Operated Traffic System 1. electrified 2. computer 3. BeamOperated Traffic 4. roads 5. C 6. I 7. B 8. H 9. A 10. NS 11. S 12. S 15 Beneath The Canopy 16. E 17. A 18. C 19. D 20. F 21. 3 22. time (and) money 23. pharmaceutical companies developed countries 24. b 25. d 26. a 16 Destinations For International English Students 1. British 2. not given 3. (equal ) 3 4. G 5. C 6. A 7. D 8. F 9. B 10. F 11. N 12. T 13. T 14. N 15. T 17 The Danger Of Ecstasy 32. c 33. d 34. c 35. b 36. alcohol 37. (the chemical) serotonin 38. return to normal 39. free the personality liberate someusers remove ones defenses 40. addictive 18 The Discovery of Uranus 27. 1772 28. 1781 29. 1787 30. 1977 31. 1986 32. YES 33. NO 34. NOT GIVEN 35. YES 36. NOT GIVEN 37.georgium sidus 38. Herschel 39. James L. Elliot 40. Miranda 19 Creating Artificial Reefs 1, 2 3: B, D, E (In any order) 4 rigs andor tanks 5 fish stocks 6 physical obstacles 7 concrete (cubes) 8 commercial 9 Japan 10 sea grass) bedsfloorbottom 11 bamboo and coconuts 12 management (control) 13 С 20 The Pursuit of Happiness 28 С 29 D 30 В 31 В 32 A 33 D 34 E 35 doubled 36 dropped 37 less 38 no 39 slightly 40 reversed 21 Looking for a Market among Adolescents 28 F 29 A 30 G 31 E 32 B 33 C 34 NOT GIVEN 35 YES 36 YES 37 YES 38 NO 39 NOT GIVEN 40 NO 23 Air Pollution 1 Los Angeles 2 London 3 Singapore 4 London 5 Los Angeles 6 YES 7 YES 8 NO 9 NO 10 NO 11 A 12 D 13 C 24 Measuring Organizational Performance 28. A 29. C 30. C 31. supervision leadership management 32. productivity 33. reduced cut decreased 34. (group methods of) leadership 35. overstaffed 36. reduced cut decreased 37. C 38. D 39. G 40. Sample 25 Tracking Hurricanes Answer: 1. GPSdropwindsondes 2. (weather) balloons 3. (the custom of) naming hurricanes began in the (early) 1950s 4. Camille 5. Hurricanes 6. heat (of water) warm water 7. (the) Atlantic Conveyor 8. previously used sensors 9. data analysts 10. (a) computer (simulation) hurricane researchers 11. (a) storm surge 12. 13. d 14. b 15. a 26 The Department Of Ethnography 1 FALSE 2 FALSE 3 FALSE 4 NOT GIVEN 5 TRUE 6 TRUE 7 TS 8 AT 9 FA 10 AT 11 FA 12 27 Secrets of The Forests 13. v 14. i 15. vi 16. NO 17. YES 18. NOT GIVEN 19. NO 20. YES 21. YES 22. C 23. A 24. B 25. C 28 Cleaning up the Thames. 1. C 2. G 3. F 4. A 5. E 6. B 7. YES 8. NOT GIVEN 9. NO 10. YES 11. YES 12. NO 13. YES 14. NO 29 Deer Farming in Australia 28. v 29. viii 30. i 31. iii 32. vi 33. TRUE 34. NOT GIVEN 35. FALSE 36. TRUE 37. NOT GIVEN 38. quality assurance program 39. breeding females 40. Venison Market Project 30 Hard Disk Drive Technology 29. second head 30. platter 31. special protective coating 32. b 33. d 34. d 35. a 36. d 37. B 3 8. E 39. A 40. G 31 Going Bananas 1. ten thousand 2. SouthEast Asia 3. hard seeds 4. F 5. A 6. D 7. C 8. E 9. B 10. C 11. NOT GIVEN 12. FALSE 13. TRUE 32 A spark, a flint: How fire leapt to life 1 preserve 2 unaware 3 chance 4 friction 5 rotating 6 percussion 7 Eskimos 8 despite 9 F 10 D 11 E 12 C 13 G 14 A 15 C 33 Architecture Reaching For The Sky 29 timber and stone 30 Modernism 31 International style 32 badly designed buildings multistorey housmg massproduced, lowcost highrises 33 preservation 34 HighTech 35 coexisting of styles different styles together styles mixed 36 G 37 F 38 H 39 C 40 D 34 Right and left handedness in humans 1 B 2 D 3 C 4 B 5 A 6 C 7 E 8 1520% 9 40% 10 6% 11 D 12 B 35 Tourism 28 iii 29 v 30 iv 31 vii 32 viii 33 NO 34 YES 35 NOT GIVEN 36 YES 37 NOT GIVEN 38 D 39 B 40 F 41 H 36 Moles happy as homes go underground 13 xi 14 ix 15 viii 16 v 17 i 18 vii 19 iii 20 iv 21 sell (more) quickly 22 (South Limberg) planners 23 (road noise) embarkments 24 (Olivetti) employees 25 adapt to 26 his bakery busmess a cool room 37 Glass Capturing the Dance of Light 1 viii 2 i 3 ix 4 iii 5 vi 6 molten glass ribbon of glass molten glass ribbon 7 belt of steel steel belt moving belt 8 (lightbulb) moulds 9 A 10 B 11 A 12 C 13 A 38 Implementing the Cycle of Success 1. C 2. A 3. C 4. B 5. B 6. benchmarking 7. (a range of) service delivery 8. (performance) measures 9. productivity 10. Take Charge 11. feedback 12. employee(s) staff 13. 30 days 39 The Motor Car 14. C 15. F 16. E 17. H 18. A 19. D 20. NOTGIVEN 21. NO 22. NOTGIVEN 23. YES 24. YES 25. YES 26. NO 40 Green Wave Washes Over Mainstream Shopping 1. YES 2. NO 3. YES 4. NOT GIVEN 5. NO 6. NOT GIVEN 7. B 8. B 9. C 10. honesty and openness 11. consumers 12. armchair ethicals 13. social record 41 Tornadoes 1) D, 2) B, 3) C 42 Childrens Thinking 28. CH 29. MC 30. MC 31. SH 32. SH 33. MC 34. HTK 35. SH 36. NOT GIVEN 37. YES 38. YES 39. YES 40. NO 43 Arctic Haze 22. Accepted 23. Originating 24. Ice cores 25. Darkness 26. Sea 27. Unknown 44 Wind Power in the US 1. B 2. C 3. A 4. A 5. D 6. C 7. E 8. A 9. B 10. YES 11. NO 12. NO 13. NOT GIVEN 45 Giving The Brain A Workout 1A, 2C, 3Taxi drivers, 4detailed map, 5 grey matter, 6 statistical, 7 puzzles, 8test results, 9E, 10G, 11C, 12F, 13B .. 46 A Revolution in Knowledge Sharing 1. diffusing 2. deployed 3. disruptions 4. grappling with 5. NO 6. YES 7. YES 8. YES 9. YES 47 Fierce, fabulous and fantastic .27: c, 28: a, 29: c, 30: a, 31: a, 32: d, 33: c, 34: a, 35: e, 36: No, 37: No, 38: NG, 39: NG, 40: Yes. 48 William Henry Perkin 1. FALSE 2. NOT GIVEN 3. FALSE 4. TRUE 5. NOT GIVEN 6. TRUE 7. NOT GIVEN 8. (theonly)rich 9. commercial(possibilities) 10. mauve (wasis) 11. (Robert)Pullar 12. (in) France 13. malaria (is) 49 Is There Anybody Out There 14. iv 15. vii 16. i 17. ii 18. Billion years 19. Radio (wavessignals) 20. 1000 (stars) 21. TRUE 22. TRUE 23. NOT GIVEN 24. FALSE 25. NOT GIVEN 26. FALSE 50 A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently 27. C 28. B 29. D 30. C 31. B 32. YES 33. YES 34. NOT GIVEN 35. NO 36. NOT GIVEN 37. NO 38. A 39. B 40. C 51 The History of the Tortoise 27. plant 28. breathing reproduction (In Either Order) 29. gills 30. dolphin 31. NOT GIVEN 32. FALSE 33. TRUE 34. 3 measurements 35. (triangular) graph 36. cluster 37. amphibious 38. half way 39. dryland tortoises 40. D READING PASSAGE SAMPLE 52 A Hearing impairment or other auditory function deficit in young children can have a major impact on their development of speech and communication, resulting in a detrimental effect on their ability to learn at school. This is likely B A preliminary study in New Zealand has shown that classroom noise presents a major concern for teachers and pupils. Modern teaching practices, the organization of desks in the classroom, poor classroom acoustics, and mechanical means of ventilation such as airconditioning units all contribute to the number of children unable to comprehend the teachers voice C Children with auditory function deficit are potentially failing to learn to their maximum potential because of noise levels generated in classrooms. noise generated by machinery painful and distressing. This is difficult to scientifically quantify as such extrasensory stimuli vary greatly from one autistic individual to another. But a child who finds any type of noise in their classroom or learning space intrusive is likely to be adversely affected in their ability to process information. F The attention deficit disorders are indicative of neurological and genetic disorders and are characterized by difficulties with sustaining attention, effort and persistence, organization skills and disinhibition. Children experiencing these disorders find it difficult to screen out unimportant information, and focus on everything in the environment rather than attending to a single activity. Background noise in the classroom becomes a major distraction, which can affect their ability to concentrate. G Children experiencing an auditory function deficit can often End speech and communication very difficult to isolate and process when set against high levels of background noise. These levels come from outside activities that penetrate the classroom structure, Questions 16 Reading Passage 52 has nine sections, AI. Which section contains the following information? Write the correct letter Al, in boxes 16 on your answer sheet. 1. an account of a national policy initiative 2. a description of a global team effort 3. a hypothesis as to one reason behind the growth in classroom noise Questions 710 Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS ANDOR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 710 on your answer sheet. 7. For what period of time has hearing loss in schoolchildren been studied in New Zealand? 8. In addition to machinery noise, what other type of noise can upset children with autism? 9. What term is used to describe the hearing problems of schoolchildren which have not been diagnosed? 10. What part of the New Zealand Disability Strategy aims to give schoolchildren equal opportunity? Questions 1112 Choose TWO letters, AE Write the correct letters in boxes 11 and 12 on your answer sheet. The list below includes factors contributing to classroom noise. Which TWO are mentioned by the writer of the passage? A. current teaching methods B. echoing corridors C. cooling systems D. large class sizes E. loudvoiced teachers F. playground games Questions 13 Choose the correct letter A, B. C or D. Write the correct letter in box 13 on your answer sheet. What is the writer‘s overall purpose in writing this article? A. to compare different methods oi dealing with auditory problems B. to provide solutions for overly noisy learning environments C. to increase awareness of the situation oi children with auditory problems D. to promote New Zealand as a model for other countries to follow Answer: 1. H 2. C 3. B 4. I 5. D 6. A 7. two decades 8. crowd (noise) 9. invisible (disability disabilities) 10. Objective 11, 12 A, C (in Either Order) 13. C 53 Venus in Transit 14. F 15. D 16. G 17. E 18. D 19. A 20. B 21. C 22. FALSE 23. FALSE 24. TRUE 25. NOT GIVEN 26. TRUE 54 Attitudes to Language 1. YES 2. NO 3. YES 4. NOT GIVEN 5. YES 6. YES 7. NO 8. YES 9. H 10. F 11. A 12. C 13. B 55 Tidal Power 14.C 15. E 16. A 17. C 18. A 19. D 20. E 21. F 22. J 23. maintenance 24. slow (turning) 25. low pressure 26. cavitation 56 Information Theory the Big Data 27.D 28.F 29.B 30.E 31.A 32.C 33.Jupiter Saturn 34.Solar System 35. sensors circuits 36. spares 37. radio dish 38. TRUE 39. TRUE 40. FALSE 57 The Life Work of Marie Curie 1. FALSE 2. NOT GIVEN 3. TRUE 4. FALSE 5. TRUE 6. NOT GIVEN 7 thorium 8. pitchblende 9. radium 10. soldiers 11. illness 12. neutron 13. leukaemialeukemia 58 Young Childrens Sense of Identity 14. G 15. C 16. G 17. D 18. H 19. E 20. D 21. B 22. E 23. C 24. mirror 25. communication 26. ownership 59 The Development of Museums 27. ii 28. vi 29. i 30. iii 31. B 32. A 33. D 34. D 35. C 36. B 37. FALSE 38. NOT GIVEN 39. FALSE 40. TRUE 60 Let’s Go Bats 1 B 2 A 3 A 4 E 5 D 6 phantom 7 echoesobstacles 8 depth 9 submarines 10 natural selection 11 radio wavesechoes 12 mathematical theories 13 zoologist 61 The coral reefs of Agatti Island 1...v 2...viii 3...xi 4...ii 5...iv 6...ix 7...i 8...xii 9...vii 62 Numeration 27. B 28. E 29. A 30. C 31. G 32. TRUE 33. FALSE 34. TRUE 35. FALSE 36. NOT GIVEN 37. TRUE 38. FALSE 39. TRUE 40. NOT GIVEN 63 Question 2733 Reading Passage 63 has nine paragraphs, labelled A–I. Which paragraphs contain the following information? 27. an example of a food which particularly benefits from the addition of spices. 28. a range of methods for making food safer to eat. 29. a comparison between countries with different climate types. 30. an explanation of how people first learned to select appropriate spices. Question 3439 Answer the questions below with words taken from Reading Passage 63. Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer 34. According to the writers, what might the use of spices in cooking help people to avoid? 35. What proportion of bacteria in food do four of the spices tested destroy? 36. Which food often contains a spice known as ‘quatre epices’? 37. Which type of
SAMPLE You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-12 which are based on Reading Passage below: Population Viability Analysis Part A To make political decisions about the extent and type of forestry in a region it is important to understand the consequences of those decisions One tool for assessing the impact of forestry on the ecosystem is population viability analysis (PVA) This is a tool for predicting the probability that a species will become extinct in a particular region over a specific period It has been successfully used in the United States to provide input into resource exploitation decisions and assist wildlife managers and there is now an enormous potential for using population viability to assist wildlife management in Australia’s forests A species becomes extinct when the last individual dies This observation is a useful starting point for any discussion of extinction as it highlights the role of luck and chance in the extinction process To make a prediction about extinction we need to understand the processes that can contribute to it and these fall into four broad categories which are discussed below Part B A) Early attempts to predict population viability were based on demographic uncertainty whether an individual survives from one year to the next will largely be a matter of chance Some pairs may produce several young in a single year while others may produce none in that same year Small populations will fluctuate enormously because of the random nature of birth and death and these chance fluctuations can cause species extinctions even if, on average, the population size should increase Taking only this uncertainty of ability to reproduce into account, extinction is unlikely if the number of individuals in a population is above about 50 and the population is growing B) Small populations cannot avoid a certain amount of inbreeding This is particularly true if there is a very small number of one sex For example, if there are only 20 individuals of a species and only one is a male, all future individuals in the species must be descended from that one male For most animal species such individuals are less likely to survive and reproduce Inbreeding increases the chance of extinction C) Variation within a species is the raw material upon which natural selection acts Without genetic variability, a species lacks the capacity to evolve and cannot adapt to changes in its environment or to new predators and new diseases The loss of genetic diversity associated with reductions in population size will contribute to the likelihood of extinction D) Recent research has shown that other factors need to be considered Australia’s environment fluctuates enormously from year to year These fluctuations add yet another degree of uncertainty to the survival of many species Catastrophes such as fire, flood, drought or epidemic may reduce population sizes to a small fraction of their average level When allowance is made for these two additional elements of uncertainty the population size necessary to be confident of persistence for a few hundred years may increase to several thousand Part C Besides these processes, we need to bear in mind the distribution of a population A species that occurs in five isolated places each containing 20 individuals will not have the same probability of extinction as a species with a single population of 100 individuals in a single locality Where logging occurs (that is, the cutting down of forests for timber) forest-dependent creatures in that area will be forced to leave Ground-dwelling herbivores may return within a decade However, arboreal marsupials (that is animals which live in trees) may not recover to pre-logging densities for over a century As more forests are logged, animal population sizes will be reduced further Regardless of the theory or model that we choose, a reduction in population size decreases the genetic diversity of a population and increases the probability of extinction because of any or all of the processes listed above It is, therefore, a scientific fact that increasing the area that is loaded in any region will increase the probability that forest-dependent animals will become extinct Questions 1-4: Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Part A of Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet write: YES if the statement agrees with the writer NO if the statement contradicts the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this Example: A link exists between the consequences of decisions and the decision-making process itself Answer: YES Scientists are interested in the effect of forestry on native animals PVA has been used in Australia for many years A species is said to be extinct when only one individual exists Extinction is a naturally occurring phenomenon Questions 5-8: These questions are based on Part B of Reading Passage In paragraphs A to D the author describes four processes which may contribute to the extinction of a species Match the list of processes (i-vi) to the paragraphs Write the appropriate number (i-vi) in boxes 5-8 on your answer sheet NB There are more processes than paragraphs so you will not use all of them Paragraphs Processes Paragraph A i Loss of ability to adapt Paragraph B ii Natural disasters Paragraph C iii An imbalance of the sexes Paragraph D iv Human disasters v Evolution vi The haphazard nature of reproduction Questions 9-11: Based on your reading of Part C, complete the sentences below Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer Write your answers in boxes 9-11 on your answer sheet While the population of a species may be on the increase, there is always a chance that small isolated groups (9) Survival of a species depends on a balance between the size of a population and its (10) The likelihood that animals which live in forests will become extinct is increased when (11) Question 12: Choose the appropriate letter A-D and write it in box 12 on your answer sheet 12 An alternative heading for the passage could be: A The protection of native flora and fauna B Influential factors in assessing survival probability C An economic rationale for the logging of forests D Preventive measures for the extinction of a species Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers Answer: YES NO NO NOT GIVEN vi iii i ii will(/may) not survive, [or, will (/ may/ could) become extinct] 10 locality/ distribution 11 logging takes place/ logging occurs 12 B IELTS Academic Reading Sample - Visual Symbols and the Blind You should spend no more than 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage below Visual Symbols and the Blind Part From a number of recent studies, it has become clear that blind people can appreciate the use of outlines and perspectives to describe the arrangement of objects and other surfaces in space But pictures are more than literal representations This fact was drawn to my attention dramatically when a blind woman in one of my investigations decided on her own initiative to draw a wheel as it was spinning To show this motion, she traced a curve inside the circle (Fig 1) I was taken aback, lines of motion, such as the one she used, are a very recent invention in the history of illustration Indeed, as art scholar David Kunzle notes, Wilhelm Busch, a trendsetting nineteenth-century cartoonist, used virtually no motion lines in his popular figure until about 1877 When I asked several other blind study subjects to draw a spinning wheel, one particularly clever rendition appeared repeatedly: several subjects showed the wheel's spokes as curves lines When asked about these curves, they all described them as metaphorical ways of suggesting motion Majority rule would argue that this device somehow indicated motion very well But was it a better indicator than, say, broken or wavy lines or any other kind of line, for that matter? The answer was not clear So I decided to test whether various lines of motion were apt ways of showing movement or if they were merely idiosyncratic marks Moreover, I wanted to discover whether there were differences in how the blind and the sighted interpreted lines of motion To search out these answers, I created raised-line drawings of five different wheels, depicting spokes with lines that curved, bent, waved, dashed and extended beyond the perimeters of the wheel I then asked eighteen blind volunteers to feel the wheels and assign one of the following motions to each wheel: wobbling, spinning fast, spinning steadily, jerking or braking My control group consisted of eighteen sighted undergraduates from the University of Toronto All but one of the blind subjects assigned distinctive motions to each wheel Most guessed that the curved spokes indicated that the wheel was spinning steadily; the wavy spokes, they thought; suggested that the wheel was wobbling, and the bent spokes were taken as a sign that the wheel was jerking Subjects assumed that spokes extending beyond the wheel's perimeter signified that the wheel had its brakes on and that dashed spokes indicated the wheel was spinning quickly In addition, the favoured description for the sighted was favoured description for the blind in every instance What is more, the consensus among the sighted was barely higher than that among the blind Because motion devices are unfamiliar to the blind, the task I gave them involved some problem solving Evidently, however, the blind not only figured out the meaning for each of the motion, but as a group they generally came up with the same meaning at least as frequently as did sighted subjects Part We have found that the blind understand other kinds of visual metaphors as well One blind woman drew a picture of a child inside a heart-choosing that symbol, she said, to show that love surrounded the child With Chang Hong Liu, a doctoral student from china, I have begun exploring how well blind people understand the symbolism behind shapes such as hearts that not directly represent their meaning We gave a list of twenty pairs of words to sighted subjects and asked them to pick from each pair the term that best related to a circle and the term that best related to assure For example, we asked: what goes with soft? A circle or a square? Which shape goes with hard? Fig 2- Subjects were asked which word in each pair fits with a circle and which with a square These percentages show the level of consensus among sighted subjects All our subjects deemed the circle soft and the square hard A full 94% ascribed happy to the circle, instead of sad But other pairs revealed less agreement: 79% matched fast to slow and weak to strong, respectively And only 51% linked deep to circle and shallow to square (see Fig 2) When we tested four totally blind volunteers using the same list, we found that their choices closely resembled those made by the sighted subjects One man, who had been blind since birth, scored extremely well He made only one match differing from the consensus, assigning 'far' to square and 'near' to circle In fact, only a small majority of sighted subjects, 53%, had paired far and near to the opposite partners Thus we concluded that the blind interprets abstract shapes as sighted people Questions : Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D Write your answers in boxes 27 –29 on your answer sheet 27 In the first paragraph, the writer makes the point that blind people A may be interested in studying art B can draw outlines of different objects and surfaces C can recognise conventions such as perspective D can draw accurately 28 The writer was surprised because the blind woman A drew a circle on her own initiative B did not understand what a wheel looked like C included a symbol representing movement D was the first person to use lines of motion 29 From the experiment described in Part 1, the writer found that the blind subjects A had good understanding of symbols representing movement B could control the movement of wheels very accurately C worked together well as a group in solving problems D got better results than the sighted undergraduates Questions 30 –32 Look at the following diagrams (Questions 30 –32), and the list of types of movement below Match each diagram to the type of movement A–E generally assigned to it in the experiment Choose the correct letter A–E and write them in boxes 30–32 on your answer sheet A steady spinning B jerky movement C rapid spinning D wobbling movement E use of brakes Questions 33 –39 Complete the summary below using words from the box Write your answers in boxes 33 –39 on your answer sheet NB You may use any word more than once In the experiment described in Part 2, a set of word 33 .…… was used to investigate whether blind and sighted people perceived the symbolism in abstract 34 … … in the same way Subjects were asked which word fitted best with a circle and which with a square From the 35 … … volunteers, everyone thought a circle fitted ‘soft ’while a square fitted ‘hard’ However, only 51% of the 36 .…… volunteers assigned a circle to 37 …… When the test was later repeated with 38 … … volunteers, it was found that they made 39 … … choices associations blind deep hard hundred identical pairs shapes sighted similar shallow soft words Question 40 Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D Write your answer in box 40 on your answer sheet Which of the following statements best summarises the writer ’s general conclusion? A The blind represent some aspects of reality differently from sighted people B The blind comprehend visual metaphors in similar ways to sighted people C The blind may create unusual and effective symbols to represent reality D The blind may be successful artists if given the right training Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers Answer: 27 C 28 C 29 A 30 E 31 C 32 A 33 pairs 34 shapes 35 sighted 36 sighted 37 deep 38 blind 39 similar 40 B IELTS Academic Reading Sample - Zoo Conservation Programmes You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 16-28 which are based on Reading Passage below Zoo Conservation Programmes One of London Zoo’s recent advertisements caused me some irritation, so patently did it distort reality Headlined “Without zoos, you might as well tell these animals to get stuffed”, it was bordered with illustrations of several endangered species and went on to extol the myth that without zoos like London Zoo these animals “will almost certainly disappear forever” With the zoo world’s rather mediocre record on conservation, one might be forgiven for being slightly sceptical about such an advertisement Zoos were originally created as places of entertainment, and their suggested involvement with conservation didn’t seriously arise until about 30 years ago, when the Zoological Society of London held the first formal international meeting on the subject Eight years later, a series of world conferences took place, entitled “The Breeding of Endangered Species”, and from this point onwards conservation became the zoo community’s buzzword This commitment has now been clear defined in The World Zoo Conservation Strategy (WZCS, September 1993), which although an important and welcome document does seem to be based on an unrealistic optimism about the nature of the zoo industry The WZCS estimates that there are about 10,000 zoos in the world, of which around 1,000 represent a core of quality collections capable of participating in coordinated conservation programmes This is probably the document’s first failing, as I believe that 10,000 is a serious underestimate of the total number of places masquerading as zoological establishments Of course, it is difficult to get accurate data but, to put the issue into perspective, I have found that, in a year of working in Eastern Europe, I discover fresh zoos on almost a weekly basis The second flaw in the reasoning of the WZCS document is the naive faith it places in its 1,000 core zoos One would assume that the calibre of these institutions would have been carefully examined, but it appears that the criterion for inclusion on this select list might merely be that the zoo is a member of a zoo federation or association This might be a good starting point, working on the premise that members must meet certain standards, but again the facts don’t support the theory The greatly respected American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA) has had extremely dubious members, and in the UK the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland has Occasionally had members that have been roundly censured in the national press These include Robin Hill Adventure Park on the Isle of Wight, which many considered the most notorious collection of animals in the country This establishment, which for years was protected by the Isle’s local council (which viewed it as a tourist amenity), was finally closed down following a damning report by a veterinary inspector appointed under the terms of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 As it was always a collection of dubious repute, one is obliged to reflect upon the standards that the Zoo Federation sets when granting membership The situation is even worse in developing countries where little money is available for redevelopment and it is hard to see a way of incorporating collections into the overall scheme of the WZCS Even assuming that the WZCS’s 1,000 core zoos are all of a high standard complete with scientific staff and research facilities, trained and dedicated keepers, accommodation that permits normal or natural behaviour, and a policy of co-operating fully with one another what might be the potential for conservation? Colin Tudge, author of Last Animals at the Zoo (Oxford University Press, 1992), argues that “if the world”s zoos worked together in co-operative breeding programmes, then even without further expansion they could save around 2,000 species of endangered land vertebrates’ This seems an extremely optimistic proposition from a man who must be aware of the failings and weaknesses of the zoo industry the man who, when a member of the council of London Zoo, had to persuade the zoo to devote more of its activities to conservation Moreover, where are the facts to support such optimism? Today approximately 16 species might be said to have been “saved” by captive breeding programmes, although a number of these can hardly be looked upon as resounding successes Beyond that, about a further 20 species are being seriously considered for zoo conservation programmes Given that the international conference at London Zoo was held 30 years ago, this is pretty slow progress, and a long way off Tudge’s target of 2,000 Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 16-22 write : Y if the statement agrees with the writer N if the statement contradicts the writer NG if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 16 London Zoo’s advertisements are dishonest 17 Zoos made an insignificant contribution to conservation up until 30 years ago 18 The WZCS document is not known in Eastern Europe 19 Zoos in the WZCS select list were carefully inspected 20 No-one knew how the animals were being treated at Robin Hill Adventure Park 21 Colin Tudge was dissatisfied with the treatment of animals at London Zoo 22 The number of successful zoo conservation programmes is unsatisfactory Questions 23-25 Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 23-25 on your answer sheet 23 What were the objectives of the WZCS document? A to improve the calibre of zoos worldwide B to identify zoos suitable for conservation practice C to provide funds for zoos in underdeveloped countries D to list the endangered species of the world 24 Why does the writer refer to Robin Hill Adventure Park? A to support the Isle of Wight local council B to criticise the 1981 Zoo Licensing Act C to illustrate a weakness in the WZCS document D to exemplify the standards in AAZPA zoos 25 What word best describes the writer’s response to Colin Tudges’ prediction on captive breeding programmes? A disbelieving B impartial C prejudiced D accepting Questions 26-28 The writer mentions a number of factors which lead him to doubt the value of the WZCS document Which THREE of the following factors are mentioned? Write your answers (A-F) in boxes 26-28 on your answer sheet List of Factors: A the number of unregistered zoos in the world B the lack of money in developing countries C the actions of the Isle of Wight local council D the failure of the WZCS to examine the standards of the “core zoos” E the unrealistic aim of the WZCS in view of the number of species “saved” to date F the policies of WZCS zoo managers Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers Answer: 16 Y 17 Y 18 NG 19 N 20 N 21 NG any order) 22 Y 23 B 24 C 25 A 26 A 27 D 28 E (26, 27, 28 In IELTS Academic Reading Sample - A Workaholic Economy Last Updated: Wednesday, 09 August 2017 14:55 Written by IELTS Mentor Hits: 130001 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-38 which are based on Reading Passage below A Workaholic Economy For the first century or so of the industrial revolution, increased productivity led to decreases in working hours Employees who had been putting in 12-hour days, six days a week, found their time on the job shrinking to 10 hours daily, then finally to eight hours, five days a week Only a generation ago social planners worried about what people would with all this new-found free time In the US, at least it seems they need not have bothered Although the output per hour of work has more than doubled since 1945, leisure seems reserved largely for the unemployed and underemployed Those who work full-time spend as much time on the job as they did at the end of World War II In fact, working hours have increased noticeably since 1970 — perhaps because real wages have stagnated since that year Bookstores now abound with manuals describing how to manage time and cope with stress There are several reasons for lost leisure Since 1979, companies have responded to improvements in the business climate by having employees work overtime rather than by hiring extra personnel, says economist Juliet B Schor of Harvard University Indeed, the current economic recovery has gained a certain amount of notoriety for its “jobless” nature: increased production has been almost entirely decoupled from employment Some firms are even downsizing as their profits climb “All things being equal, we'd be better off spreading around the work," observes labour economist Ronald G Ehrenberg of Cornell University Yet a host of factors pushes employers to hire fewer workers for more hours and at the same time compels workers to spend more time on the job Most of those incentives involve what Ehrenberg calls the structure of compensation: quirks in the way salaries and benefits are organised that make it more profitable to ask 40 employees to labour an extra hour each than to hire one more worker to the same 40-hour job Professional and managerial employees supply the most obvious lesson along these lines Once people are on salary, their cost to a firm is the same whether they spend 35 hours a week in the office or 70 Diminishing returns may eventually set in as overworked employees lose efficiency or leave for more arable pastures But in the short run, the employer’s incentive is clear Even hourly employees receive benefits - such as pension contributions and medical insurance - that are not tied to the number of hours they work Therefore, it is more profitable for employers to work their existing employees harder For all that employees complain about long hours, they too have reasons not to trade money for leisure “People who work reduced hours pay a huge penalty in career terms,” Schor maintains “It's taken as a negative signal’ about their commitment to the firm.’ [Lotte] Bailyn [of Massachusetts Institute of Technology] adds that many corporate managers find it difficult to measure the contribution of their underlings to a firm’s well-being, so they use the number of hours worked as a proxy for output “Employees know this,” she says, and they adjust their behaviour accordingly “Although the image of the good worker is the one whose life belongs to the company,” Bailyn says, “it doesn't fit the facts.’ She cites both quantitative and qualitative studies that show increased productivity for part-time workers: they make better use of the time they have and they are less likely to succumb to fatigue in stressful jobs Companies that employ more workers for less time also gain from the resulting redundancy, she asserts "The extra people can cover the contingencies that you know are going to happen, such as when crises take people away from the workplace." Positive experiences with reduced hours have begun to change the more-is-better culture at some companies, Schor reports Larger firms, in particular, appear to be more willing to experiment with flexible working arrangements It may take even more than changes in the financial and cultural structures of employment for workers successfully to trade increased productivity and money for leisure time, Schor contends She says the U.S market for goods has become skewed by the assumption of full-time, two-career households Automobile makers no longer manufacture cheap models, and developers not build the tiny bungalows that served the first postwar generation of home buyers Not even the humblest household object is made without a microprocessor As Schor notes, the situation is a curious inversion of the “appropriate technology” vision that designers have had for developing countries: U.S goods are appropriate only for high incomes and long hours - Paul Walluh Questions 27-31 Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-G, below Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet 27 A developed system of numbering 28 An additional hand signal 29 In seventh-century Europe, the ability to count to a certain number 30 Thinking about numbers as concepts separate from physical objects 31 Expressing number differently according to class of item A was necessary in order to fulfil a civic role B was necessary when people began farming C was necessary for the development of arithmetic D persists in all societies E was used when the range of number words was restricted F can be traced back to early European languages G was a characteristic of early numeration systems Questions 32-40 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 62? In boxes 32-40 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 32 For the earliest tribes, the concept of sufficiency was more important than the concept of quantity 33 Indigenous Tasmanians used only four terms to indicate numbers of objects 34 Some peoples with simple number systems use body language to prevent misunderstanding of expressions of the number 35 All cultures have been able to express large numbers clearly 36 The word 'thousand' has Anglo-Saxon origins 37 In general, people in seventh-century Europe had poor counting ability 38 In the Tsimshian language, the number for long objects and canoes is expressed with the same word 39 The Tsimshian language contains both older and newer systems of counting 40 Early peoples found it easier to count by using their fingers rather than a group of pebbles Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers Answer: 27 B 28 E 29 A 30 C 31 G 32 TRUE 33 FALSE 34 TRUE 37 TRUE 38 FALSE 39 TRUE 40 NOT GIVEN 35 FALSE 36 NOT GIVEN IELTS Academic Reading Sample 63 Last Updated: Friday, 07 July 2017 22:55 Written by IELTS Mentor Hits: 63341 Question 27-33 Reading Passage 63 has nine paragraphs, labelled A–I Which paragraphs contain the following information? 27 an example of a food which particularly benefits from the addition of spices 28 a range of methods for making food safer to eat 29 a comparison between countries with different climate types 30 an explanation of how people first learned to select appropriate spices 31 a method of enhancing the effectiveness of individual spices 32 the relative effectiveness of certain spices against harmful organisms 33 the possible origins of a dislike for unspiced foods Question 34-39 Answer the questions below with words taken from Reading Passage 63 Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer 34 According to the writers, what might the use of spices in cooking help people to avoid? 35 What proportion of bacteria in food four of the spices tested destroy? 36 Which food often contains a spice known as ‘quatre epices’? 37 Which type of country use the fewest number of spices in cooking? 38 What might food aversions often be associated with? 39 Apart from spices, which substance is used in all countries to preserve food? Question 40 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D 40 Which is the best title for Reading Passage 63? A The function of spices in food preparation B A history of food preservation techniques C Traditional recipes from around the world D An analysis of the chemical properties of spice plants Spice plants, such as coriander, cardamom or ginger, contain compounds which, when added to food, give it a distinctive flavour Spices have been used for centuries in the preparation of both meat dishes for consumption and meat dishes for long-term storage However, an initial analysis of traditional meatbased recipes indicated that spices are not used equally in different countries and regions, so we set about investigating global patterns of spice use A We hypothesized initially that the benefit of spices might lie in their antimicrobial properties Those compounds in spice plants which give them their distinctive flavours probably first evolved to fight enemies such as plant-eating insects, fungi, and bacteria Many of the organisms which afflict spice plants attack humans too, in particular, the bacteria and fungi that live on and in dead plant and animal matter So if spices kill these organisms, or inhibit their production of toxins1, spice use in food might reduce our own chances of contracting food poisoning B The results of our investigation supported this hypothesis In common with other researchers, we found that all spices for which we could locate appropriate information have some antibacterial effects- half inhibit more than 75% of bacteria, and four (garlic, onion, allspice and oregano) inhibit 100% of those bacteria tested In addition, many spices are powerful fungicides C Studies also show that when combined, spices exhibit even greater antibacterial properties than when each is used alone This is interesting because the food recipes we used in our sample specify an average of four different spices Some spices are so frequently combined that the blends have acquired special names, such as ‘chili powder’ (typically a mixture of red pepper, onion, paprika, D garlic, cumin and oregano) and ‘oriental five spice’ (pepper, cinnamon, anise, fennel and cloves) One intriguing example is the French ‘quatre epices’ (pepper, cloves, ginger and nutmeg) which is often used in making sausages Sausages are a rich medium for bacterial growth, and have frequently been implicated as the source of death from the botulism toxin, so the value of the anti-bacterial compounds in spices used for sausage preparation is obvious A second hypothesis we made was that spice use would be heaviest in areas where foods spoil most quickly Studies indicate that rates of bacterial growth increase dramatically with air temperature Meat dishes that are prepared in advance and stored at room temperatures for more than a few hours, especially in tropical climates, typically show massive increases in bacterial counts Of course temperatures within houses, particularly in areas where food is prepared and stored, may differ from those of the outside air, but usually, it is even hotter in the kitchen E Our survey of recipes from around the world confirmed this hypothesis: we found that countries with higher than average temperatures used more spices Indeed, in hot countries nearly every meat-based recipe calls for at least one spice, and most include many spices, whereas in cooler ones, substantial proportions of dishes are prepared without spices, or with just a few In other words, there is a significant positive correlation between mean temperature and the average quantity of spices used in cooking F But if the main function of spices is to make food safer to eat, how did our ancestors know which ones to use in the first place? It seems likely that people who happened to add spice plants to meat during preparation, especially in hot climates, would have been less likely to suffer from food poisoning than those who did not Spice users may also have been able to store foods for longer before they spoiled, enabling them to tolerate longer periods of scarcity Observation and imitation of the eating habits of these healthier individuals by others could spread spice use rapidly through a society Also, families that used appropriate spices would rear a greater number of more healthy offspring, to whom spice-use traditions had been demonstrated, and who possessed appropriate taste receptors G H Another question which arises is why did people develop a taste for spicy foods? One possibility involves learned taste aversions It is known that when people eat something that makes them ill, they tend to avoid that taste subsequently The adaptive value of such learning is obvious Adding a spice to a food that caused sickness might alter its taste enough to make it palatable again (i.e it tastes like a different food), as well as kill the micro-organisms that caused the illness, thus rendering it safe for consumption By this process, food aversions would more often be associated with unspiced (and therefore unsafe) foods, and food likings would be associated with spicy foods, especially in places where foods spoil rapidly Over time people would have developed a natural preference for spicy food I course, spice use is not the only way to avoid food poisoning Cooking, and completely consuming wild game immediately after slaughter reduces opportunities for the growth of micro-organisms However, this is practical only where fresh meat is abundant year-round In areas where fresh meat is not consistently available, preservation may be accomplished by thoroughly cooking, salting, smoking, drying, and spicing meats Indeed, salt has been used worldwide for centuries to preserve food We suggest that all these practices have been adopted for essentially the same reason- to minimize the effects of harmful, food-borne organisms Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers Answer: 27 D 28 I 29 F 30 G 31 D 32 C 33 H 34 food poisoning 35 100% / one hundred percent 36 sausage(s) 37 cooler ones 38 unspiced foods 39 salt 40 A IELTS Academic Reading Sample 64 - Sticking power Last Updated: Friday, 09 December 2016 23:05 Written by IELTS Mentor Hits: 48179 Sticking power Want to walk on the ceiling? All it takes is a bit of fancy footwork A If Keilar Autumn, an expert in Biomechanik at Clark College in Portland, Oregon, has his way, the first footprints on Mars won't be human They'll belong to a gecko Gecko toes have legendary sticking power - and the Clark College scientist would like to see the next generation of Martian robots walking about on gecko-style feet A gecko can whiz up the smoothest wall and hang from the ceiling by one foot, with no fear of falling B Autumn is one of a long line of researchers who have puzzled over the gecko's gravity-defying footwork Earlier this year, he and his colleagues discovered that the gecko's toes don't just stick, they bond to the surface beneath them Engineers are already trying to copy the gecko's technique - but reptilian feet are not the only ones they are interested in C Some of the most persistent 'hanging' creatures are insects They can defy not just gravity, but gusts of wind, raindrops and a predator's attempt to prize them loose Recent discoveries about how they achieve this could lead to the development of quick-release adhesives and miniature grippers, ideal for manipulating microscopic components or holding tiny bits of tissue together during surgery 'There are lots of ways to make two surfaces stick together, but there are very few which provide precise and reversible attachment,' says Stas Gorb, a biologist in Tübingen, Germany, working on the problem D Geckos and insects have both perfected ways of doing this, and engineers and scientists would dearly love to know how Friction certainly plays a part in assisting horizontal movement, but when the animal is running up a slope, climbing vertically or travelling upside down, it needs a more powerful adhesive Just what that adhesive is has been hotly debated for years Some people suggested that insects had micro-suckers Some reckoned they relied on electrostatic forces Others thought that intermolecular forces between pad and leaf might provide a firm foothold E Most of the evidence suggests that insects rely on 'wet adhesion', hanging on with the help of a thin film of fluid on the bottom of the pad Insects often leave tiny trails of oily footprints Some clearly secrete a fluid onto the 'soles' of their feet And they tend to lose their footing when they have their feet cleaned or dried F This year, Walter Federle, an entomologist at the University of Würzburg, showed experimentally that an insect's sticking power depends on a thin film of liquid under its feet He placed an ant on a polished turntable inside the rotor of a centrifuge, and switched it on At slow speeds, the ant carried on walking unperturbed But as the scientist slowly increased the speed, the pulling forces grew stronger and the ant stopped dead, legs spread out and all six feet planted firmly on the ground At higher speeds still, the ant's feet began to slide 'This can only be explained by the presence of a liquid,' says Federle 'If the ant relied on some form of dry adhesion, its feet would pop abruptly off the surface once the pull got too strong.' G But the liquid isn't the whole story What engineers really find exciting about insect feet is the way they make almost perfect contact with the surface beneath 'Sticking to a perfectly smooth surface is no big deal,' says Gorb But in nature, even the smoothest-looking surfaces have microscopic lumps and bumps For a footpad to make good contact, it must follow the contours of the landscape beneath it Flies, beetles and earwigs have solved the problem with hairy footpads, with hairs that bend like the bristles of a toothbrush to accommodate the troughs below H Gorb has tested dozens of species with this sort of pad to see which had the best stick Flies resist a pull of three or four times their body weight - perfectly adequate for crossing the ceiling But beetles can better and the champion is a small, blue beetle with oversized yellow feet, found in the south-eastern parts of the US I Tom Eisner, a chemical ecologist at Cornell University in New York, has been fascinated by this beetle for years Almost 30 years ago, he suggested that the beetle clung an tight to avoid being picked off by predators - ants in particular When Eisher measured the beetle's sticking power earlier this year, he found that it can withstand pulling forces of around 80 times its own weight for about two minutes and an astonishing 200 times its own weight for shorter periods 'The ants give up because the beetle holds on longer than they can be bothered to attack it,' he says J Whatever liquid insects rely on, the gecko seems able to manage without it No one knows quite why the gecko needs so much sticking power 'It seems overbuilt for the job,' says Autumn But whatever the gecko's needs are, its skills are in demand by humans Autumn and his colleagues in Oregon have already helped to create a robot that walks like a gecko Mecho-Gecko, a robot built by iRobot of Massachusetts, walks like a lizard - rolling its toes down and peeling them up again At the moment, though, it has to make with balls of glue to give it stick The next step is to try to reproduce the hairs on a gecko's toes and create a robot with the full set of gecko skills Then we could build robots with feet that stick without glue, clean themselves and work just as well underwater as in the vacuum of space, or crawling over the dusty landscape of Mars Questions 14-18 You should spend about 20 minutes on questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage Look at the following statements (Questions 14-18) and the list of scientists below Match each statement with the correct scientist A, B, C or D Write the correct letter A, B, C or D in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet List of Scientists A Kellar Autumn B Stas Gorb C Walter Federte D Tom Eisher 14 Some insects use their ability to stick to surfaces as a way of defending themselves 15 What makes sticky insect feet special is the fact that they can also detach themselves easily from a surface 16 Gecko feet seem to be stickier than they need to be 17 A robot with gecko-style feet would be ideal for exploring other planets 18 Evidence shows that in order to stick, insect feet have to be wet Questions 19-22 Reading Passage has ten paragraphs A-J Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-J in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet 19 some of the practical things a gecko-style adhesive could be used for 20 a description of a test involving an insect in motion 21 three different theories scientists have had about how insect feet stick 22 examples of remarkable gecko movements Questions 23-26 Complete each sentence with the correct ending A-G below Write the correct Ietters, A-G in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet A stick to surfaces in and out of water B curl up and down C are washed and dried D resist a pull of three times their body weight E start to slip across the surface F leave yellow footprints G have hairy footpads 23 Insect feet lose their sticking power when they 24 If you put ants on a rapidly rotating object, their feet 25 Beetles can stick to uneven surfaces because they 26 The toes on robots like Mecho-Gecko Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers Answer: 14 D 15 B 16 A 17 A 18 C 19 C 20 F 21 D 22 A 23 C 24 E 25 G 26 B IELTS Academic Reading Sample 65 - Making Every Drop Count Last Updated: Friday, 26 May 2017 13:40 Written by IELTS Mentor Hits: 97097 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 65 on the following pages Question 14-20 Reading Passage 65 has seven paragraphs, A-H Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A and C-H from the list of headings below Write the correct number, i-xi, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet List of Headings i Scientists' call for revision of policy ii An explanation for reduced water use iii How a global challenge was met iv Irrigation systems fall into disuse v Environmental effects vi The financial cost of recent technological improvements vii The relevance to health viii Addressing the concern over increasing populations ix A surprising downward trend in demand for water x The need to raise standards xi A description of ancient water supplies 14 Paragraph A 15 Paragraph C 16 Paragraph D 17 Paragraph E 18 Paragraph F 19 Paragraph G 20 Paragraph H MAKING EVERY DROP COUNT A The history of human civilization is entwined with the history of ways we have learned to manipulate water resources As towns gradually expanded, water was brought from increasingly remote sources, leading to sophisticated engineering efforts such as dams and aqueducts At the height of the Roman Empire, nine major systems, with an innovative layout of pipes and well-built sewers, supplied the occupants of Rome with as much water per person as is provided in many parts of the industrial world today B During the industrial revolution and population explosion of the 19th and 20th centuries, the demand for water rose dramatically Unprecedented construction of tens of thousands of monumental engineering projects designed to control floods, protect clean water supplies, and provide water for irrigation and hydropower brought great benefits to hundreds of millions of people Food production has kept pace with soaring populations mainly because of the expansion of artificial irrigation system that makes possible the growth of 40% of the world's food Nearly one-fifth of all the electricity generated worldwide is produced by turbines spun by the power of falling water C Yet there is a dark side to this picture: despite our progress, half of the world's population till suffers, with water services inferior to those available to the ancient Greeks and Romans As the United Nations report on access to water reiterated in November 2001, more than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water: some two and half billion not have adequate sanitation services Preventable water-related diseases kill an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 children every day, and the latest evidence suggests that we are falling behind in efforts to solve their problems D The consequences of our water policies extend beyond jeopardizing human health Tens of millions of people have been forced to move from their homes often with little warning or compensation - to make way for the reservoirs behind dams More than 20% of all freshwater fish species are now threatened or endangered because dams and water withdrawals have destroyed the freeflowing river ecosystems where they thrive Certain irrigation practices degrade soil quality and reduce agricultural productivity Groundwater aquifers* are being pumped down faster than they are naturally replenished in part of India, China, the USA and elsewhere And disputes over shared water resources have led to violence and continue to raise local, national and even international tensions E At the outset of the new millennium, however, the way resource planners think about water is beginning to change The focus is slowly shifting back to the provision of basic human and environmental needs as a top priority - ensuring 'some for all,' instead of 'more for some' Some water experts are now demanding that existing infrastructure be used in smarter ways rather than building new facilities, which is increasingly considered the option of last, not first, resort This shift in philosophy has not been universally accepted, and it comes with strong opposition from some established water organizations Nevertheless, it may be the only way to address successfully the pressing problems of providing everyone with clean water to drink, adequate water to grow food and a life free from preventable water-related illness F Fortunately - and unexpectedly - the demand for water is not rising as rapidly as some predicted As a result, the pressure to build now water infrastructures has diminished over the past two decades Although population, industrial output and economic productivity have continued to soar in developed nations, the rate at which people withdraw water from aquifers, rivers and lacks has slowed And in a few parts of the world, demand has actually fallen G What explains this remarkable turn of events? Two factors: people have figured out how to use water more efficiently, and communities are rethinking their priorities for water use Throughout the first three-quarters of the 20th century, the quantity of freshwater consumed per person doubled on average; in the USA, water withdrawals increased tenfold while the population quadrupled But since 1980, the amount of water consumed per person has actually decreased, thanks to a range of new technologies that help to conserve water in homes and industry In 1965, for instance, Japan used approximately 13 million gallons* of water to produce $1 million of commercial output; by 1989 this had dropped to 3.5 million gallons (even accounting for inflation) - almost a quadrupling of water productivity In the USA, water withdrawals have fallen by more than 20% from their peak in 1980 H On the other hand, dams, aqueducts and other kinds of infrastructure will still have to be built, particularly in developing countries where basic human needs have not been met But such projects must be built to higher specifications and with more accountability to local people and their environment than in the past And even in regions where new projects seem warranted, we must find ways to meet demands with fewer resources, respecting ecological criteria and to smaller budget Question 21-26 Do the following statement agree with the information given in Reading Passage 65: In boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet, write YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 21 Water use per person is higher in the industrial world than it was in Ancient Rome 22 Feeding increasing populations is possible due primarily to improved irrigation systems 23 Modern water systems imitate those of the ancient Greeks and Romans 24 Industrial growth is increasing the overall demand for water 25 Modern technologies have led to reduction in the domestic water consumption 26 In the future, governments should maintain ownership of water infrastructures Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers Answer: 14 xi 15 vii 16 v 17 i 18 ix 19 ii 20 x 21 NO 22 YES 23 NOT GIVEN 24 NO 25 YES 26 NOT GIVEN ... passage, Questions 11 -14 Match each name with one drawing Write the appropriate letters A-H in boxes 11 -14 on your answer sheet Example Answer The Greek ‘pigeon of Archytas’ 11 12 13 14 C The Chinese... in the 19 90s 27 In recent years a number of additional countries have subscribed to the Ottawa Charter Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers Answer: 14 viii 15 ii 16 iv 17 ix 18 vii 19 19 46 20... Tropical Rainforests Last Updated: Sunday, 31 July 2 016 14 : 01 Written by IELTS Mentor Hits: 13 1520 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1? ? ?14 which are based on Reading Passage Sample