IELTS reading

Cambridge 20 · Academic Reading Test 3

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Section 1

Reading Passage 1

Frozen Food

A US perspective on the development of the frozen food industry At some point in history, humans discovered that ice preserved food. There is evidence that winter ice was stored to preserve food in the summer as far back as 10,000 years ago. Two thousand years ago, the inhabitants of South America’s Andean mountains had a unique means of conserving potatoes for later consumption. They froze them overnight, then trampled them to squeeze out the moisture, then dried them in the sun. This preserved their nutritional value – if not their aesthetic appeal. Natural ice remained the main form of refrigeration until late in the 19th century. In the early 1800s, ship owners from Boston, USA, had enormous blocks of Arctic ice towed all over the Atlantic for the purpose of food preservation. In 1851, railroads first began putting blocks of ice in insulated rail cars to send butter from Ogdensburg, New York, to Boston. Finally, in 1870, Australian inventors found a way to make ‘mechanical ice’. They used a compressor to force a gas-ammonia at first and later Freon-through a condenser. The compressed gas gave up some of its heat as it moved through the condenser. Then the gas was released quickly into a low-pressure evaporator coil where it became liquid and cold. Air was blown over the evaporator coil and then this cooled air passed into an insulated compartment, lowering its temperature to freezing point. Initially, this process was invented to keep Australian beer cool even in hot weather. But Australian cattlemen were quick to realize that, if they could put this new invention…

Questions 1–7

Complete the notes below.

ONE WORD ONLY

1.People conserved the nutritional value of ___ , using a method of freezing then drying.

2.___ was kept cool by ice during transportation in specially adapted trains.

Section 2

Reading Passage 2

Can the planet’s coral reefs be saved?

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A. Conservationists have put the final touches to a giant artificial reef they have been assembling at the world-renowned Zoological Society of London (London Zoo). Samples of the planet’s most spectacular corals – vivid green branching coral, yellow scroll, blue ridge and many more species – have been added to the giant tank along with fish that thrive in their presence: blue tang, clownfish and many others. The reef is in the zoo’s new gallery, Tiny Giants, which is dedicated to the minuscule invertebrate creatures that sustain life across the planet. The coral reef tank and its seven-metre-wide window form the core of the exhibition.‘Coral reefs are the most diverse ecosystems on Earth and we want to show people how wonderful they are,’ said Paul Pearce-Kelly, senior curator of invertebrates and fish at the Zoological Society of London. ‘However, we also want to highlight the research and conservation efforts that are now being carried out to try to save them from the threat of global warming.’ They want people to see what is being done to try to save these wonders. B. Corals are composed of tiny animals, known as polyps, with tentacles for capturing small marine creatures in the sea water. These polyps are transparent but get their brilliant tones of pink, orange, blue, green, etc. from algae that live within them, which in turn get protection, while their photosynthesising of the sun’s rays provides nutrients for the polyps. This comfortable symbiotic relationship has led to the growth of coral reefs that cover 0.1% of the planet’s ocean bed while providing homes for…

Questions 14–19

Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.i. Tried and tested solutionsii. Cooperation beneath the wavesiii. Working to lessen the problemsiv. Disagreement about the accuracy of a certain phrasev. Two clear educational goalsvi. Promoting hopevii. A warning of further trouble ahead

14.Paragraph A

Section 3

Reading Passage 3

Robots and us

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Three leaders in their fields answer questions about our relationships with robot When asked ‘Should robots be used to colonise other planets?’, cosmology and astrophysics Professor Martin Rees said he believed the solar system would be mapped by robotic craft by the end of the century. ‘The next step would be mining of asteroids, enabling fabrication of large structures in space without having to bring all the raw materials from Earth…. I think this is more realistic and benign than the … “terraforming”* of planets.’ He maintains that colonised planets ‘should be preserved with a status that is analogous to Antarctica here on Earth.’ On the question of using robots to colonise other planets and exploit mineral resources, engineering Professor Daniel Wolpert replied, ‘I don’t see a pressing need to colonise other planets unless we can bring [these] resources back to Earth. The vast majority of Earth is currently inaccessible to us. Using robots to gather resources nearer to home would seem to be a better use of our robotic tools.’ Meanwhile, for anthropology Professor Kathleen Richardson, the idea of ‘colonisation’ of other planets seemed morally dubious: ‘I think whether we do something on Earth or on Mars we should always do it in the spirit of a genuine interest in “the Other”, not to impose a particular model, but to meet “the Other”.’ In response to the second question, ‘How soon will machine intelligence outstrip human intelligence?’, Rees mentions robots that are advanced enough to beat humans at chess, but then goes on to say, ‘Robots are still limited in their…

Questions 27–33

Match each statement with the correct expert, A, B or C.NB You may use any letter more than once.

27.For our own safety, humans will need to restrict the abilities of robots.

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Answers & explanations

Every answer is available. The first 3 explanations are free; PrepGo Premium unlocks the rest.

40 answers3 explanations open

1
potatoes
The correct answer is 'potatoes' because the passage explains how people in South America, two thousand years ago, froze potatoes to keep their nutritional value. This is a key part of the history of frozen food.
2
butter
The correct answer is 'butter' because in the passage, it explains that in 1851, railroads began using ice in insulated rail cars to keep butter cool while shipping it from one place to another. This shows how butter was an important food that benefited from refrigeration.
3
meat
The correct answer is 'meat' because in the passage, it states that in 1880, a shipment of frozen Australian beef and mutton (which are types of meat) was sent to England. This shows that the first frozen foods that were exported were types of meat.
4
crystals
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5
cellophane
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6
tin
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7
refrigerator
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8
NOT GIVEN
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9
TRUE
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10
FALSE
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11
TRUE
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12
FALSE
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13
NOT GIVEN
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14
v
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15
ii
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16
iv
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17
vii
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18
iii
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19
vi
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20
C
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21
E
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22
B
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23
D
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24
tentacles
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25
protection
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26
colour / color
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27
A
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28
C
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29
B
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30
A
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31
B
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32
A
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33
C
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34
C
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35
B
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36
D
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37
B
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38
C
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39
B
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40
C
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Understand why, not only what.

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