Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 527
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 527 – PASSAGE – 3
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IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 527
READING PASSAGE – 3
Climate change: its causes and consequences
Climate change is not a new phenomenon. Our planet has been experiencing climate changes for billions of years, and over the last 450,000 years, it has moved through several ice ages, followed by warmer periods. Most of these climate changes occur due to slight alterations in our planet’s orbit, which in turn affect the amount of solar energy that reaches the earth. These changes have been important in the development of our ecosystems and organisms and are part of a natural process. As climate changes occur, ecosystems and organisms are forced to adapt themselves or face extinction.
Animals and plants we know today have evolved over a long period of time under the pressure of a changing environment. While climates and habitats have inevitably changed in the past, the difference today is that these changes are happening faster than ever before. The evolution of organisms is normally a very slow process. However, the rate at which our environment is changing today allows organisms little or no time to adapt. While in the past climate change has occurred naturally and gradually, today it is largely due to human activity and is moving at an unprecedented speed.
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Human activity across the world has destroyed the natural balance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Over the last two centuries, deforestation, urbanization, industrialization, large-scale agriculture and huge changes in people’s lifestyles have contributed to a dangerous increase in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The rising population’s hunger for energy has resulted in the burning of more and more fossil fuels, like natural gas, coal and oil. These fossil fuels, which provide us with electricity and power our industries as well as our vehicles, produce CO2.
In fact the world’s population releases more carbon dioxide than any other greenhouse gas. Another consequence of the world’s growing population is the expansion of large-scale farming which is required to provide the ever-increasing demand for food. Cattle and sheep produce CH4, the next largest form of greenhouse gases emitted across the world. Methane is released when livestock digest their food and their manure also releases amounts of CH4. Although emissions of CH4 may be less than CO2, it has around 23 times the global warming potential of CO2.
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In order to understand the idea of climate change more clearly, we need to look at the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps the planet warm. Without it, the earth would be a lifeless planet. The greenhouse effect is caused by certain gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour. The effect works just like a greenhouse, as the name suggests. Energy from the sun travels through the atmosphere and directly heats the earth. Some of this heat is absorbed by the earth and oceans, but a lot of it returns into the atmosphere.
The greenhouse gases prevent some of the heat escaping back into space and this keeps the earth warm. This natural process has sustained life on earth for millions of years. However, the increase in greenhouse gases due to human activity has now created a thick blanket over the atmosphere. This blanket traps more heat than the planet needs, thus raising the temperature of the earth. It is this rise in temperature that is now having a huge impact on our climate and environment.
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Today we are continually coming into contact with the devastating effects of climate change in our world. A total of 950 natural disasters were recorded in 2010, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing many others. The earthquake in Haiti, floods in Pakistan and storms in Mexico were among these disasters. Since then we have seen heavy floods in Brazil and Australia and terrible earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan. As the oceans become warmer and glaciers melt, the sea level is rapidly rising.
It rose by 15 to 20 centimetres during the last century and could rise by more than a metre by 2100. If the sea continues to rise at this rate, countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and many Pacific islands could lose land on the coast, making large numbers of people homeless.
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Climate change is destroying our ecosystems and endangering our wildlife. As the sea becomes warmer, fish are disappearing, making it hard for seals, larger fish and polar bears to find food. In the future, many animals will not survive the rapid change in climate. A warm and wet climate will increase diseases carried by mosquitoes and these could easily spread to western countries. Supplies of drinking water may be contaminated by rain and floods, and this is another way in which more diseases could be passed on. Hotter summers in many countries could cause more people to die of heat stroke or heart attacks. From all angles, the consequences of climate change do not look positive.
Questions 28 – 33
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
28. As the environment changes, many organisms change to cope with these new challenges.
29. Our modern environment continues to change in the same ways it has done in the past.
30. The increased emissions of CO2 and CH4 have changed people’s behaviour and the way they live.
31. Fossil fuels provide the population with many essential forms of energy.
32. In order to feed a growing population, there has been an increase in methane emissions from livestock.
33 CH4 is more damaging to the environment than CO2.
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Questions 34 – 40
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
34. Life on earth would not exist without __________.
35. Some heat from the sun’s rays is soaked up by the ___________.
36. The increase in greenhouse gases has created __________ which prevents heat escaping.
37. A total of 950 ___________ were recorded in 2010
38. The _________ in Haiti, floods in Pakistan and storms in Mexico were among these disasters.
39. As the seas get warmer, it will be difficult for animals to ___________.
40. Diseases may spread through drinking water which is contaminated by rain and ___________.
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ANSWERS
28. TRUE
29. FALSE
30. NOT GIVEN
31. TRUE
32. TRUE
33. TRUE
34. THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
35. EARTH AND OCEANS
36. A THICK BLANKET
37. NATURAL DISASTERS
38. EARTHQUAKE
39. SURVIVE
40. FLOOD
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