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Prepare For IELTS - Page 3 - Forum
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Prepare For IELTS
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:19 AM | Message # 31 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
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| Part 2. Stricken Sea Needs Long-Term Solution
Read the passage below and answer Questions 6 -16 on pages 32 to 33.
Twenty years ago, anglers might have stood on the Aral seabed, up to their hips in water, and fished for carp under the blazing sun of north-west Uzbekistan. Today they would have to drive 48 kilometres north across flat, grey, salt-scabbed earth to find the disappearingsea, and they would see a briny pool, receding toward a lifeless equilibrium.
This is — or was — the Aral Sea, once the fourth-largest inland body of water. Although it is far less severe in its immediate consequences than the catastrophic earthquake in Armenia, it is the Soviet Union's most mourned and debated ecological calamity. By siphoning off water to irrigate the cotton fields of Uzbekistan and neighbouring Turkmenia, Soviet developers have made sluggish sewers of the two rivers that feed the Aral Sea, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya.
Since 1960, the surface area of the sea has shrunk 40 per cent, leaving behind
26,000 square kilometres of salty, man-
made desert, with unhappy conse-
quences for the health, the economy,
and even the climate in the vast Aral
Sea basin. All this was obvious on a
recent visit, said to be the first allowed
into this closed region.
The high concentration of salt and farm
chemicals in the rivers and under-
ground water is blamed for high rates of
stomach and liver disease, throat cancer
and birth defects.
'A catastrophe of no lesser magnitude
than Chernobyl,' wrote Sergei Zalygin,
editor of the magazine Nouy Mir, in
Pravda in June.
The Aral Sea has become a test of the Soviet Union's newly stated commitment to balancing short-term economic growth against the demands of the environment. Prominent writers and scientists who formthe Committee
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:20 AM | Message # 32 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
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| part 2 continued
to Save the Aral Sea say the sea can be salvaged only by strict measures to curtail the use of water, even if this means cutting back production of water-intensive crops such as cotton and rice. Others, including the officials responsible for water development, want to replenish the sea by reviving a controversial engineering scheme: tapping two Siberian rivers and diverting their water to Central Asia.
The area faces many problems, such as salt storms. From time to time, the northerly wind blows so violently, it whips up vast clouds of salty dust from the desiccated seabed, depositing grit on farms hundreds of kilometres away. Traces of Aral sand have been found as far away as Georgia and on the Soviet coast of the Arctic Sea. Without the moderating influence of the huge lake the summers have become hotter — by two or three degrees Celsius — and drier.
Another Aral Sea oddity has a peculiarly Soviet quality: the fish cannery at Muinak, built on what was then the southern shore to process the catch of the Aral Sea fishing fleet, is now landlocked. It is 48 kilometres from the water, and the commercial fishing catch has fallen to zero because of the high concentration of salt, fertilisers and pesticides. But to avoid closing the plant, the authorities fly in frozen fish at high cost from the Baltic Sea, 2,720 kilometres away.
The ruling Communist Party Politburo approved guidelines in September to reduce the depletion of the sea, mostly involving stricter conservation of water that irrigates cotton crops in Uzbekistan and Turkmenia. The measures are to include a reconstruction of the irrigation system, now consisting largely of leaky, unlined ditches. New collector canals are being built to recycle used irrigation water back to the sea.
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:20 AM | Message # 33 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| Part 2. Stricken Sea Needs Long-Term Solution
Questions 6-10
Read the passage headed 'Stricken Sea Needs Long-Term Solution'. Answer the following questions by choosing the correct answer and writing the appropriate letter in the box on the Answer Sheet. The first one has been done as an example.
Example: The Aral Sea in the south-east of the Soviet Union has:
(a) disappeared
(b) diminished by 40 per cent
© been contaminated by industrial pollution
Ex b
6. The problems in the Aral Sea have been caused by:
(a) natural environmental changes
(b) man-made changes
© the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
(d) the Armenian earthquake
7. The Sea has shrunk because:
(a) high temperatures have caused increased evaporation
(b) the salt content has increased
© the sources of its water have been diverted
8. The rivers that formerly filled the Aral Sea have been:
(a) used to grow cotton
(b) diverted to Siberia
© polluted by industrial chemicals
9. The high rates of illnesses in the region have been blamed on:
(a) the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
(b) salt and farm chemicals in the rivers
© pollutants in the local fishing industry
10. Temperatures in the area have:
(a) risen by 2 or 3 degrees
(b) decreased by 2 or 3 degrees
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:20 AM | Message # 34 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| Part 2 continued
Questions 11 -16
From the same reading passage, answer the following questions by writing Correct in the box on the Answer Sheet if the following statements are supported by information in the reading passage. Write Incorrect if the statements are not supported by the reading passage. The first one has been done as an example.
Example: The Soviet Union has no stated commitment to protecting the environment.
ex Incorrect
11. Despite the problems of the region, there are no suggestions to reduce the use of water from the rivers feeding the Aral Sea.
12. One proposed solution to the problem would mean less production of cotton and rice in the region.
13. A fish cannery has had to be moved 48 kilometres in order to continue in operation.
14. Violent salty storms sometimes carry salt from the dry seabed to places many hundreds of kilometres away.
15. Government plans to solve the problems include rebuilding fimsflicient irrigation canals.
16. Government plans also include redirecting irrigation water to the Aral Sea so it is not depleted.
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:20 AM | Message # 35 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| Part 2. Stricken Sea Needs Long-Term Solution
Questions 6-10
Read the passage headed 'Stricken Sea Needs Long-Term Solution'. Answer the following questions by choosing the correct answer and writing the appropriate letter in the box on the Answer Sheet. The first one has been done as an example.
Example: The Aral Sea in the south-east of the Soviet Union has:
(a) disappeared
(b) diminished by 40 per cent
© been contaminated by industrial pollution
Ex b
The problems in the Aral Sea have been caused by:
(a) natural environmental changes
(b) man-made changes
© the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
(d) the Armenian earthquake
7. The Sea has shrunk because:
(a) high temperatures have caused increased evaporation
(b) the salt content has increased
© the sources of its water have been diverted
8. The rivers that formerly filled the Aral Sea have been:
(a) used to grow cotton
(b) diverted to Siberia
© polluted by industrial chemicals
9. The high rates of illnesses in the region have been blamed on:
(a) the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
(b) salt and farm chemicals in the rivers
© pollutants in the local fishing industry
10. Temperatures in the area have:
(a) risen by 2 or 3 degrees
(b) decreased by 2 or 3 degrees
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:21 AM | Message # 36 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| part 2 continued
Questions 11-16
From the same read ing passage, answer the following questions by writing Correct in the box on the Answer Sheet if the following statements are supported by information in the reading passage. Write Incorrect if the statements are not supported by the reading passage. The first one has been done as an example.
Example: The Soviet Union has no stated commitment to protecting the environment.
ex Incorrect
11. Despite the problems of the region, there are no suggestions to reduce the use of water from the rivers feeding the Aral Sea.
12. One proposed solution to the problem would mean less production of cotton and rice in the region.
13. A fish cannery has had to be moved 48 kilometres in order to continue in operation.
14. Violent salty storms sometimes carry salt from the dry seabed to places many hundreds of kilometres away.
15. Government plans to solve the problems include rebuilding (inefficient irrigation canals.
16. Government plans also include redirecting irrigation water to the Aral Sea so it is not depleted.
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:21 AM | Message # 37 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| Part3. The Heat Is On
Questions 17 - 20
Read the passage headed 'The Heat Is On' and the accompanying'Calendar of Catastrophe'. Match the examples of global climatic change below to the five 'greenhouse predictions' in the passage by writing the number of the prediction in the box on the Answer Sheet. The first one has been done as an example.
Example: An iceberg more than twice the size of the Australian Capital Territory broke off Antarctica in 1987. It floated away, broke into three sections and is slowly melting. Prediction Number ?
ex 5
17. The grain belts of the US and the Soviet Union suffered some of the worst droughts ever recorded during the last northern summer. Prediction Number ?
18. The four warmest years on record seem to have been in the 1980s (1980, 1981,1983 and 1987). The globe appears to have warmed up an average of 0.5'C over the past century. Prediction Number ?
19. Drought has lingered over Africa's Sahel region for most of the past twenty years, and over India's vast central plateau for most of this decade. But the models suggest that monsoons may become more intense in the wet tropics. Prediction Number ?
20. The centre of 1988's Hurricane Gilbert, one of the most powerful storms in the Western hemisphere this century, was agreed to be of abnormally low pressure. Its most powerful gusts reached 320km/h as it hit Jamaica, Haiti, Venezuela, the Cayman Islands and Mexico. Prediction Number ?
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:21 AM | Message # 38 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| part 3 continued
Questions 21-25
From the information in the 'Calendar of Catastrophe', complete the following table of climatic disasters. Write your answers in the boxes on the Answer Sheet. The first one has been done as an example.
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:21 AM | Message # 39 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| Part 4. Towards Global Protection of the Atmosphere
Read the passage below and answer Questions 26 - 34 on page 40.
At the International Conference on the vention ready for consideration at the
Changing Atmosphere: Implications intergovernmental Conference on Sus-
for Global Security, held in Toronto from tainable Development jn 1992. These
June 29 to 30, 1988, more than 300 scien- Activities should in no way impede si-
tists and policymakers from 48 countries multaneous national, bilateral and re-
recommended specific actions to reduce the gional actions and agreements to deal
impending crisis caused by pollution of the with specific problems such as acidifica-
atmosphere. Working groups presented tion and greenhouse gas emissions.
the scientific basis for concern about atmos-
pheric changes — including climatic warm- In order to reduce the risks of global
ing, ozone layer depletion, and acidification warming, energy policies must be de-
— and described the implications of these signed to reduce the emissions of carb-
changes for global security, the world econ- on dioxide and other trace gases.
omy and the natural environment. Among Stabilising atmospheric concentrations
the conference statement's 39 observations of carbon dioxide is an imperative goal
and proposals were the following recom- — currently estimated to require re-
mendations: ductions of more than 50 per cent from
present emission levels.
Governments, the United Nations and
its specialised agencies, non-governmen- An initial global goal should be to re-
tal organisations, industry, educational duce carbon dioxide emissions by ap-
institutions and individuals should act proximately 20 per cent of 1988 levels
immediately to counter the ongoing deg- by the year 2005. About one-half of
radation of the atmosphere. this reduction would be sought from
energy-efficient improvements and
The Montreal Protocol on Substances other conservation measures and the
that Deplete the Ozone Layer should be other half from modifications in energy
, ratified immediately and revised in supplies. Clearly, the industrialised na-
1990 to ensure nearly complete elimi- tions have a responsibility to lead the
nation of emissions of fully halogenated way, through both their national energy
CFCs by theyear 2000. Additional meas- policies and their bilateral and multilat-
ures to limit other ozone-destroying hal- eral assistance arrangements. Negotia-
ocarbons should also be considered. tions on ways to achieve this reduction
should be initiated now.
Governments and other international
organisations should initiate the devel- Targets for energy-efficiency and en-
opment of a comprehensive global con- ergy-supply improvements should be
vention as a framework for protocols on made. Challenging targets would be
the protection of the atmosphere, em- a 10 per cent improvement in both
phasising such key elements as the free areas by the year 2005. A detailed
international exchange of information study of the systems implications of
and support of research and monitor- these targets should also be made. Sys-
ing. Preparation for such a convention tems must be initiated to encourage,
should be vigorously pursued at upcom- review and approve major new projects
ing international workshops and policy for energy efficiency.
conferences, with a view to having the
principles and components of the con-
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:21 AM | Message # 40 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| part 4 continued
Contributions towards achieving the related to an overall global change of
energy-efficiency goal will vary from climate and to how the oceans affect
region to region; some countries have global heat transport and the flux of
already demonstrated a capability for greenhouse gases.
increasing efficiency by more than two
per cent a year for over a decade. D Funding for research, development and
tfieTransfer of information on renewable
The desired reduction in carbon diox- energy should be significantly increased,
ide emissions will also require switch- and technology transfer should be ex-
ing to fuels that emit less carbon tended with particular emphasis on the
dioxide; reviewing strategies for the needs of developing countries.
implementation of renewable energy,
especially advanced biomass conver- Funding for more extensive technology
sion technologies; and reviewing nu- transfer and technical co-operation
clear power. If safety, radioactive projects in coastal zone protection and
waste and nuclear weapons prolifera- management should be expanded.
tion problems can be solved, nuclear
power could play a role in lowering Deforestation should be reduced and
emissions of carbon dioxide. afforestation increased through pro-
posals such as the establishment of a
There must be vigorous application of trust fund to provide adequate incen-
existing technologies to reduce emis- tives to enable developing nations to
sions of acidifying substances, other manage their tropical forest resources
substances that are precursors ofi'tropo- sustainably.
spheric ozone, and greenhouse gases
other than carbon dioxide. Technical cooperation projects to allow
developing nations to participate in in-
Products should be labelled to allow ternational mitigation efforts, monitor-
consumers to judge the extent and na- ing, research and analysis related to
ture of atmospheric contamination the changing atmosphere should be de-
arising from the manufacture and use veloped and supported.
of the product.
Funding should be increased to non-gov-
The work of the Intergovernmental ernmental organisations for the estab-
Panel on Climate Change to conduct lishment of environmental education
continuing assessments of scientific re- programmes and public awareness cam-
sults and to initiate government-to- paigns that would aim at changing pub-
government discussions of responses lic values and behaviour with respect to
and strategies should be supported. the environment.
Resources for research and monitoring Financial support should be allocated
efforts within the World Climate Pro- for environmental education at all lev-
gramme, the International Geosphere- els, and consideration" should be given
Biosphere Programme, and the Human to establishing special units in univer-
Response to Global Change Pro- sity departments to address the crucial
gramme should be increased. It is par- issues of global change.
ticularly important to understand how
climate changes on a regional scale are
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:22 AM | Message # 41 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| Part 4. Towards Global Protection of the Atmosphere
Questions 26 - 34
Read the passage headed Towards Global Protection of the Atmosphere'. If each statement below is a correct summary of one of the recommendations in the passage, write Correct in the box on the Answer Sheet. Write Incorrect if the statement is not a correct summary. The first one has been done as an example.
Example: Everyone from governments to individuals should act immediately to prevent atmospheric degradation from becoming worse.
Ex Correct
26. The Montreal Protocol should be accepted by all countries by 1992.
27. The Montreal Protocol should be accepted immediately.
28. Governments and other international organisations should begin to develop common policies for the protection of the atmosphere as soon as possible.
29. We should aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through energy-efficiency and energy-supply improvements by 10 per cent by the year 2005.
30. A worldwide goal of two per cent a year in increasing energy efficiency should be established immediately.
31. If the problems of safety, radioactive waste and the spread of nuclear weapons can be solved, nuclear power may in future be used to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide.
32. Products should be labelled so that consumers can judge if the product is damaging to the atmosphere.
33. Money should be paid to developing nations to help them to find ways to reduce the number of trees they cut down and to encourage them to preserve and increase their forests.
34. Money should be paid to community organisations to help them to change people's opinions about the environment.
This is the end of the reading test
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:22 AM | Message # 42 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| Write your answers to the reading practice tests in the boxes below.
You may cut out this page to make it easier lo use.
Answer Sheet
1
21
2
22
3
23
4 24
5 25
6 26
7 27
8 28
9 29
10 30
11 31
12 32
13 33
14 34
I5 35
16 36
17 37
18 38
19 39
20 40
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:22 AM | Message # 43 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
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| This page has been deliberately left blank.
Test Number 2
Writing
Writing Task 1
In some parts of the world where rainfall is close to zero farmers are able to use water from artesian bores (wells). The diagram below shows how water which falls on lands many kilometres away can be utilised in these arid areas.
Use the information in the diagram to describe the manner in
which water accumulates underground and becomes available
for use in arid areas.
*You may use your own knowledge and experience in addition to the diagram.
*Make sure your description is relevant to the task and well organised.
*You should write at least 100 words.
*You should spend no more than 15 minutes on this task.
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:23 AM | Message # 44 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| Writing Task 2
Write an essay for a university teacher on the following topic:
Human beings are rapidly destroying the planet Earth.
*Your essay should be well organised to show your point of view.
*You may use information in the reading passages but do not copy directly from them.
*You should write at least 150 words.
*You should spend about 30 minutes on this task.
Use this space for Notes
Writing Task 1
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| Bakhtiyor | Date: Sunday, 2012-06-10, 11:23 AM | Message # 45 |
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Major general
Group: Administrators
Messages: 426
Status: Offline
| The answers to the reading questions and model essays for the
writing tasks are in Chapter 7, beginning on page 162.
Test Number 3
Reading
Part 1. First National Literacy Report
Read the passage below and answer Questions 1-12 on pages 51 to 52.
Australia's first national survey of adult literacy reveals that the problem of adult .illiteracy is much more serious than previously estimated.
The survey shows that:
• 12 per cent of respondents could not find a simple intersection on a street map
• 31 per cent can't use the yellow pages correctly
57 per cent can't figure out a 10 per cent surcharge on a lunch bill
• 73 per cent can't identify the issues in a newspaper article about technology
• 10 per cent failed to achieve at all on quantitative literacy [numeracy tests].
According to the survey's author, ITATE lecturer Ms Rosie Wickert, the study provides evidence to show the need for a long-term national campaign to overcome adult literacy problems. Ms Wickert is a lecturer at the Institute of Technical and Adult Teacher Education (ITATE) which is amalgamating with UTS as the Faculty of Adult Education.
'Before this first national survey we estimated that 10 per cent of the population were having problems with everyday basic literacy and numerical tasks,' Ms Wickert said. 'Obviously many more than 10 per cent are experiencing problems.
We can therefore assume they are having great difficulty with more complex tasks like fitting in with regrading and upgrading in the restructuring of the workforce.
'The evidence suggests that the majority of the population has significant difficulty reading between the lines, they lack critical thinking skills if you like. We need to follow this up because it is something that employers are emphasising when they ask for broader, more general skills.
(Reading passage continues over page)
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