Answers and Explanations for Cam 11 Reading Test 1

Question: Vertical farms would be located in……………, meaning that there would be less need to take them long distances to customers

Key words: vertical farm, located, distances

Based on the question and particularly the key words, we know that we need to find the information about vertical farms in terms of location and transportation in the passage. Paragraph 2 says “Situated in the heart of urban centres, they (vertical farms) would drastically reduce the amount of transportation required to bring food to customers”.

–  located=situated

– distance=transportation

Question: Vertical farms could use methane from plants and animals to produce……………..

Key words: methane, produce

Based on the question and particularly the key words, we need to find the information about how methane is used. “Methane” is mentioned in paragraph 4. So we focus on this paragraph. The paragraph says “Although the system would consume energy, it would return energy to the grid via methane generation from composting non-edible parts of plants”

–  produce=return

Question: The consumption of…………….. would be cut because agricultural vehicles would be unnecessary.

Key words: consumption, cut, vehicles

Based on the question and particularly the key words, we need to find the information about the reduced consumption of something. At the end of paragraph 4, the author indicates “It would also dramatically reduce fossil fuel use, by cutting out the need for tractors, ploughs and shipping”

–  consumption=use

–  Cut=reduce

–  Vehicles=tractors

Question: The fact that vertical farms would need………….. light is a disadvantage

Key words: need, light, disadvantage

Based on the question and particularly the key words, we need to find the information about a type of light that vertical farms need. At the beginning of paragraph 5, the author says “A major drawback of vertical farming, however, is that the plants would require artificial light”

–  need=require

–  Disadvantage=drawback

Question: One form of vertical farming involves planting in……………. which are not fixed.

Key words: One form, planting, not fixed.

Based on the question and particularly the key words, we need to find the information about a type of vertical farming and where it is planted. At the beginning of paragraph 6, the author says “One variation on vertical farming that has been developed is to grow plants in stacked trays that move on rails”

–  One form = One variation

–  Plant= grow

–  not fixed= move on rails

Question: The most probable development is that food will be grown on……………. in towns and cities

Key words: most probable, grown on, towns and cities

Based on the question and particularly the key words, we need to find the information about place(s) where food can be best grown on. At the end of the passage, the author mentions “Most experts currently believe it is far more likely that we will simply use the space available on urban rooftops”

–  most probable = far more likely

–  towns and cities=urban

Question: Methods for predicting the Earth’s population have recently changed

Key words: have recently changed

In the first paragraph, the author just mentions that “applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends” to predict the future population. No information about recent changes in population predicting methods is given. So the answer is NOT GIVEN.

–  estimate = predict

–  population change = demographic trends

Question: Human beings are responsible for some of the destruction to food-producing land.

Key words: responsible, destruction.

In paragraph 3, “We despoiled most of the land we work, often turning verdant, natural ecozones into semi-arid deserts”. It means that human action is the cause of the damage to agricultural land. We destroyed most of the land we work, causing natural ecozones to be turned into semi-arid deserts. So the statement given is TRUE.

–  ecozones = areas where there is a natural community of plants and animals

–  semi-arid = with little water

Question: According to research, 26% of visitor satisfaction is related to their accommodation

Key words: research, 26%, satisfaction, accommodation

Percentages are only given in paragraphs 5 and 6, so it is not difficult to find the information in paragraph 6: “…research shows that activities are the key driver of visitor satisfaction, contributing 74% to visitor satisfaction, while transport and accommodation account for the
remaining 26%”.

The figure of 26% refers to those visitors who say they are satisfied with the transport or with
their accommodation. This percentage does NOT refer to accommodation alone, so we cannot
say that 26% of visitor satisfaction is related only to their accommodation – some of this
proportion will relate to transport.

For this reason, the statement is FALSE.

Question: Some damage to food crops is caused by climate change.

Key words: climate change

Paragraph 3 says “However, more often than not now, due to a rapidly changing climate, this is not what happens. Massive floods, long droughts, hurricanes and severe monsoons take their toll each year, destroying millions of tons of valuable crops”. So, due to climate change, adverse natural disasters result in destruction to numerous valuable crops. The statement is TRUE.

–  crops = plants which are grown for food

Question: Fertilisers will be needed for certain crops in vertical farms.

Key words: fertilisers needed

In the middle of paragraph 4, “All the food could be grown organically, eliminating the need for herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers”. So, there is no need for fertilisers to grow crops in vertical farms. The statement contradicts the information in the passage, so the statement is FALSE.

–  fertilisers = artificial chemicals added to the land to make crops grow bigger or more quickly

Question: Vertical farming will make plants less likely to be affected by infectious diseases.

Key words: less, infectious diseases

In paragraph 4, “The system would greatly reduce the incidence of many infectious diseases that are acquired at the agricultural interface”. The system (vertical farming) would reduce infectious diseases, which makes plants less likely to be affected. So, the statement is TRUE.

–  infectious diseases = diseases that can pass from one plant to another by the wind or by insects

Question: There was some opposition to the design of the Falkirk Wheel at first.

Keywords: opposition, design

Based on the question and particularly the key words, we need to find the information about the opposition to the design. Obviously, this information is not mentioned in the text. According to paragraph 3, numerous ideas were submitted for the project but the author does not point out whether anyone opposed the plan that was adopted. So, this statement is NOT GIVEN.

Question: The Falkirk Wheel was initially put together at the location where its components were manufactured.

Key words: put together, location, components, manufactured

Based on the question and particularly the key words, we need to find the information about the Wheel’s location. According to paragraph 5, “The various parts of the Falkirk Wheel were all constructed and assembled at Butterley Engineering’s Steelworks in Derbyshire…”. So the statement and the information in the text have the same meaning.

–  put together = assembled

–  components = parts

–  manufactured = constructed

So, the statement is TRUE.

Question: The Falkirk Wheel is the only boat lift in the world which has steel sections bolted together by hand.

Key words: only, by hand

Actually, the author did mention how steel sections of the Falkirk Wheel were bolted (at the end of paragraph 4: “…to make the structure more robust, the steel sections were bolted rather than welded together. Over 45,000 bolt holes were matched with their bolts and each bolt was hand-tightened”). However, he did not indicate whether this is unique or not. So, the statement is NOT GIVEN.

Question: The weight of the gondolas varies according to the size of boat being carried

Key words: weight, varies.

Based on the question and particularly the key words, we need to identify whether the gondolas’ weight is influenced by the size of boat being carried. According to paragraph 5, “These gondolas always weigh the same, whether or not they are carrying boats”. So the statement is FALSE.

Question: The construction of the Falkirk Wheel site took into account the presence of a nearby ancient monument

Key words: construction, monument

According to the last paragraph, “the Wheel could not be constructed to elevate boats over the full 35-metre difference between the two canals, owing to the presence of historically important Antonine Wall” So the construction of the Wheel is influenced by the presence of an ancient monument. So the statement is TRUE.

–  ancient= historically important

Question: A pair of…………….. are lifted in order to shut out water from canal basin.

Key words: a pair, lifted, shut out water

According to the second sentence of paragraph 6, “Two hydraulic steel gates are raised, so as to seal the gondola off from the water in the canal basin”

–  a pair of=two

–  lifted=raised

–  shut out water=seal off from water

Question: A……………. is taken out, enabling Wheel to rotate

Key words: taken out, rotate

According to the fourth sentence of paragraph 6 , “A hydraulic clamp…, is removed, allowing the Wheel to turn”

–  taken out = removed

–  rotate = turn

Question: Hydraulic motors drive……………..

Key words: drive

According to paragraph 6, “In the central machine room an array of ten hydraulic motors then begins to rotate the central axle”. So, the hydraulic motors drive, or control the axle by rotating it.

Question: A range of different-sized…………….. ensures boat keeps upright.

Key words: different-sized, upright

According to paragraph 6, “As the wheel rotates, the gondolas are kept in the upright position by a simple gearing system.” Then, the author describes the gearing system which includes many cogs of different sizes. So, the word in the blank is cogs.

Question: Boat reaches top Wheel, then moves directly onto………………

Key words: moves directly onto

At the end of paragraph 6, the author indicates “when the gondola reaches the top, the boat passes straight onto the aqueduct situated 24 metres above the canal basin”. So “aqueduct” is the answer (“the aqueduct” is WRONG because only ONE word is needed)

–  move onto=pass onto

–  directly=straight

Question: Boat travels through tunnel beneath Roman……………..

Key words: beneath, Roman

At the end of the text, “Boats travel under this wall via a tunnel…”. “This wall” means the wall built by the Romans in the second century AD. So, the word needed is “wall”

–  beneath=under

Question: …………….. raise boat 11m to level of Union Canal

Key words: raise, reach

The final paragraph begins: “The remaining 11 metres of lift needed to reach the Union Canal is achieved by a pair of locks”. So, the answer is “locks”.

Question: an example of a successful use of geo-engineering.

At the beginning of paragraph B, the author emphasizes that “Geo-engineering has been shown to work, at least on a small localised scale”. This means geo-engineering has been somewhat effective so far. Then, he provides a successful project as an example. It is “For Decades, May Day parades in Moscow have taken place under clear blue skies, aircraft having deposited dry ice, silver iodide and cement powder to disperse clouds”

–  be successful = work

Question: a common definition of geo-engineering

In paragraph A, “Consequently, an increasing number of scientists are beginning to explore the alternative of geo-engineering – a term which generally refers to the international large-scale manipulation of the environment. “Refer to” is usually used to define a term, so we need to pay attention to the passage containing it.

–  common=generally

–  refer to (v)=define (definition)

Question: to create a ……… that would reduce the amount of light reaching Earth.

At the end of paragraph B, “His scheme would employ up to 16 trillion minute spacecraft, each weighing about one gram, to form a transparent, sunlight-refracting sunshade in an orbit 1.5 million km above the Earth. This could, argues Angel, reduce the amount of light reaching the Earth by two per cent.

–  tiny=minute

–  create=form

–  far above Earth=1.5 million km above the Earth

Question: place………in the sea

We need to find out a project which relates to “the sea”. In paragraph C, the author says “The majority of geo-engineering project so far carried out-which include planting forests in deserts and depositing iron in the ocean to stimulate the growth of algae – have focused on achieving a general cooling of the Earth.”

–  place=deposit

–  sea=ocean

–  encourage=stimulate

Question: to encourage ……..to form

We need to find out a project which relates to “the sea”. In paragraph C, the author says “The majority of geo-engineering project so far carried out-which include planting forests in deserts and depositing iron in the ocean to stimulate the growth of algae – have focused on achieving a general cooling of the Earth.”

–  place=deposit

–  sea=ocean

–  encourage=stimulate

Question: to create ……….that would reduce the amount of light reaching Earth.

First, we need to find out the paragraph which contains the information about aerosol sprays (paragraph D). In this paragraph, the author indicates that “The concept of releasing aerosol sprays into the stratosphere above the Arctic has been proposed by several scientists. This would involve using sulphur or hydrogen sulphide aerosols so that sulphur dioxide would form clouds, which would, in turn, lead to a global dimming.”

–  create=form

–  reduce the amount of light reaching Earth= a global dimming

Question: fix strong……to Greenland ice sheets

The key word in this sentence is “Greenland”, so we should focus on paragraph D. In this paragraph, the author argues “Scientists have also scrutinised whether it’s possible to preserve the ice sheets of Greenland with reinforced high-tension cables, preventing icebergs from moving into the sea”.

–  strong= reinforced

Question: to allow the……..to reflect radiation

According to the table, we need to find out the information about planting trees in Russian Arctic. At the end of paragraph D, the author argues “Meanwhile in the Russian Arctic, geo-engineering plans include the planting of millions of birch trees. Whereas the region’s native evergreen pines shade the snow and absorb radiation, birches would shed their leaves in winter, thus enabling radiation to be reflected by the snow.”

–  lose=shed

–  allow=enable

Question: change the direction of ……….. to bring more cold water into ice-forming areas.

The key word is ice-forming areas, so we need to find out the information about ice-forming areas. At the end of paragraph D, the author indicates that “Re-routing Russian rivers to increase cold water flow to ice-forming areas could also be used to slow down warming, say some climate scientists.”

–  change the direction of =re-route

–  bring more=increase

Question: The effects of geo-engineering may not be long-lasting.

Key words: effects, not long-lasting.

In the paragraph E, “I think all of us agree that if we were to end geo-engineering on a given day, then the planet would return to its pre-engineered condition very rapidly…” This means that once we end geo-engineering, the effects of it on the planet may end, too. In other words, “the effects of geo-engineering may not be long-lasting”

Question: Geo-engineering is a topic worth exploring

Key words: worth exploring

In the last paragraph, Dr Martin Sommerkorn emphasizes that “Human-induced climate change has brought humanity to a position where we shouldn’t exclude thinking thoroughly about this topic and its possibilities.”

–  worth exploring=shouldn’t exclude thinking thoroughly

Question: It may be necessary to limit the effectiveness of geo-engineering projects.

Key words: limit

In the paragraph G, “To avoid such a scenario, Lunt says Angel’s project would have to operate at half strength; all of which reinforces his view that the best option is to avoid the need for geo-engineering altogether.”

–  limit the effectiveness=operate at half strength

Question: Research into non-fossil-based fuels cannot be replaced by geo-engineering.

In the paragraph E, Angel says that his plan is “no substitute for developing renewable energy”, renewable energy is the only “permanent solution”.

–  non-fossil-based fuels=renewable energy

–  cannot be replaced=no substitute for