Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 493
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 493 – PASSAGE – 3
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 493
READING PASSAGE – 3
The Everlasting Storm
Lake Maracaibo and its lightning
The area in north-west Venezuela where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo is not simply noteworthy for its natural beauty, but also for one of nature’s most spectacular phenomena: the Beacon of Maracaibo.
Lake Maracaibo has the highest incidence rate of lightning strikes on Earth. The area where the Catatumbo River meets the lake attracts an average of 28 lightning strikes per minute, which is about 1.2 million lightning flashes in a year. “The Never-Ending Storm of Catatumbo’, as the lighting in the area is sometimes called, was once used by explorers in the Caribbean as a reference point to help them navigate during the night, due to frequency of the lightning.
The area has recently been declared by NASA to be the lightning capitol of the world, and has even earned a place in the 2005 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest concentration of lightning, with an average of 250 lightning bolts per square metre each year.
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A study conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmosphereic Administration calculates that the odds of being struck by lightning once in your lifetime for people living in the United States are 1 in 12,000. In the areas surrounding Lake Maracaibo, 1 to 3 people are struck by lightning every year.
How exactly is this phenomenon produced? For hundreds of years, travellers have been captivated by these incredible light shows from ‘Maracaibo’s Lighthouse’, which can last as long as 10 hours through a period of, on average, 297 days each year. Indigenous tribes once believed that the lightning storms were triggered by encounters between fireflies and ancestral evil spirits that were believed to have inhabited the area-the lights produced by the lightning showed the efforts of a fight between good and evil. Such tales are still popular today, commonly fed by the low, seemingly absent thunder which accompanies the lightning and the spectacular colours produced in the sky by the illuminating effects of the lightning.
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In addition to the numerous indigenous folk tales, however, many modern theories have also attempted to explain the reason behind the everlasting storm. One of the most popular of these is that vast uranium deposits present in the bedrock surrounding the lake are responsible for attracting the lightning. Another popular idea is that the large number of oil fields in the region release methane in the atmosphere increasing the conductivity of the air above the lake. There is also the theory that humidity plays an important role in the lightning activity since the longest hiatus between events happened during Venezuela’s severe drought in 2010.
Dr Cybil from Caracas University, however, has asserted that none of these theories are correct. To counter them, she has put forth a theory of her own to explain the large amount of lightning present in the area. “The area is surrounded by the Andes with its high mountains trapping the warm winds coming from the Caribbean Sea. When this hot moist air meets with the cooler air from the Andes, it is forced upwards. This is when large amounts of vapour begin to condense, forming clouds that discharge electricity in the form of lightning bolts. The old tales of fireflies fighting ancient evil spirits is a much appreciated aspect of the local folklore, but they’re just stories.”
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The myth of silent lightning storms in Lake Maracaibo is also easily discredited by scientists and some of the local sceptics. Dr Cybil explains that people believe the storms are silent due to the sluggish speed of sound compared to the speed of light. The scientist says that the lightning storms do not happen near the shore of South America’s largest lake, but about 40-70 miles far from the observers, and this is why thunder cannot be heard-“It is practically impossible to hear thunder if you are 15 miles or more from the spot where lightning is striking.”
The flashes appear in a wide variety of colours, ranging from blues and purples to reds and oranges. Dr Cybil attributes the colour change to the presence of dust particles-“As white light passes through varying amounts of dust particles and moisture, it gets absorbed or diffracted making it appear as different colours.”
Though the colourful lightning shows are not caused by magical battles between fireflies and mythical sprites, the Maracaibo lightning storms remain one of the most remarkable, and remarkably beautiful, natural phenomenon on the planet.
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Questions 27-36
Do the following statements agree with information given in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 27-36 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
27. Lake Maracaibo is situated on the north coast of Venezuela.
28. More than one million lightning bolts strike the area every year.
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29. Venezuelans are proud of their inclusion in the 2005 edition of Guinness World Book of Records.
30. The odds of being struck by lightning in the areas surrounding Lake Maracaibo are 1 in 3.
31. Many people find the lightning storms fascinating.
32. The disproved stories of native people remain prevalent.
33. The number of storms in 2010 was below average.
34. Dr Cybil believes that the varying temperatures in the surrounding atmosphere impact the amount of lightning produced around Lake Maracaibo.
35. The lightning storms occur close to the edge of Lake Maracaibo.
36 Some believe that dust particles are responsible for the high number of lightning flashes in the area.
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Questions 37-40
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
37. Every …………………….. Lake Maracaibo gets hit by about 28 lightning bolts.
38. A scientist from …………………….. believes that topography and wind patterns are the main causes of the phenomenon.
39. Thunder is very unlikely to be heard from distances above …………………….. .
40. A process of …………………….. diffraction makes lighting flashes appear in different colours.
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ANSWERS
27. NOT GIVEN
28. TRUE
29. NOT GIVEN
30. FALSE
31. TRUE
32. TRUE
33. FALSE
34. TRUE
35. FALSE
36. NOT GIVEN
37. MINUTE
38. CARACAS UNIVERSITY
39. 15 / FIFTEEN MILES
40. WHITE LIGHT
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