Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 478
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 478 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 478
READING PASSAGE – 2
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish orange colour. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewellery, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement.
Copper is one of the few metals that can occur in nature in a directly usable metallic form native metal. This led to very early human use in several regions, from c. 8000 BC. Thousands of years later, it was the first metal to be smelted from sulphide ores, c. 5000 BC; the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mould, c. 4000 BC; and the first metal to be purposely alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, c. 3500 BC.
IELTS General Reading Test
In the Roman era, copper was mined principally in Cyprus, the origin of the name of the metal, from aes cyprium later corrupted to cuprum. Coper and copper were derived from this, the later spelling first used around 1530.
Commonly encountered compounds are copper salts, which often impart blue or green colours to such minerals as azurite, malachite, and turquoise, and have been used widely and historically as pigments. Copper used in buildings, usually for roofing, oxidizes to form a green Verdigris or patina. Copper is sometimes used in decorative art, both in its elemental metal form and in compounds as pigments. Copper compounds are used as bacteriostatic agents, fungicides, and wood preservatives.
IELTS General Reading Test
Copper is essential to all living organisms as a trace dietary mineral because it is a key constituent of the respiratory enzyme complex cytochrome c oxidase. In molluscs and crustaceans, copper is a constituent of the blood pigment hemocyanin, replaced by the iron-complexed haemoglobin in fish and other vertebrates. In humans, copper is found mainly in the liver, muscle, and bone. The adult body contains between 1.4 and 2.1 mg of copper per kilogram of body weight.
Copper does not react with water, but it does slowly react with atmospheric oxygen to form a layer of brown-black copper oxide which, unlike the rust that forms on iron in moist air, shields the underlying metal from further corrosion passivation. A green layer of Verdigris copper carbonate can often be seen on old copper structures, such as the roofing of many older buildings and the Statue of Liberty. Copper tarnishes when exposed to some sulphur compounds, with which it reacts to form various copper sulphides.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 15-21
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
YES – If the statement agrees with the claims of the writer.
NO – If the statement contradicts the claims of the writer.
NOT GIVEN – If it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.
IELTS General Reading Test
15. Copper is highly flexible and conductive material.
16. Copper is formed by mixing many different metal alloys.
17. Tin is mixed with bronze to produce copper.
18. Copper was the first metal to be moulded to form a currency.
19. Copper is indispensable in all living organisms as a nutritional mineral, including humans.
20. The copper oxide layer of copper deteriorates the metal further.
21. Copper reacts more to nitrogen than water.
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the text below and answer questions 22-27.
Anchovies
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 17 genera; they are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Anchovies are usually classified as oily fish. Anchovies are small, green fish with blue reflections due to a silver- coloured longitudinal stripe that runs from the base of the caudal or tail fin. They range from 2 to 40 centimetres in adult length, and their body shapes are variable with more slender fish in northern populations.
The snout is blunt with tiny, sharp teeth in both jaws. The snout contains a unique rostral organ, believed to be electro-sensory in nature, although its exact function is unknown. The mouth is larger than that of herrings and silversides, two fish which anchovies closely resemble in other respects. The anchovy noshes plankton and recently hatched fish. Anchovies are found in scattered areas throughout the world’s oceans, but are concentrated in temperate waters, and are rare or absent in very cold or very warm seas.
IELTS General Reading Test
They are generally very accepting of a wide range of temperatures and salinity. Large schools can be found in shallow, brackish areas with muddy bottoms, as in estuaries and bays. The European anchovy is abundant in the Mediterranean. A traditional method of processing and preserving anchovies is to gut and salt them in brine, allow them to cure, and then pack them in oil or salt.
Pickled in vinegar, as with Spanish boquerones, anchovies are milder, and the flesh retains a white colour. In Roman times, anchovies were the base for the fermented fish sauce garum. Garum had a sufficiently long shelf life for long-distance commerce and was produced in industrial quantities. Anchovies were also eaten raw as an aphrodisiac.
IELTS General Reading Test
Today, they are used in small quantities to flavour many dishes. Because of the strong flavour, they are also an ingredient in several pottages and condiments, including Worcestershire sauce, Caesar salad dressing, remoulade, Gentleman’s Relish, many fish sauces, and in some versions of Café de Paris butter. For domestic use, anchovy fillets are packed in oil or salt in small tins or jars, sometimes rolled around capers. Anchovy paste is also available. Fishermen also use anchovies as bait for larger fish, such as tuna and sea bass.
The strong taste people associate with anchovies is due to the curing process. Fresh anchovies, known in Italy as alici, have a much milder flavour. The anchovies from Barcola in the local dialect: “Sardoni barcolani” are particularly popular. These white fleshy fish, which are only found at Sirocco in the Gulf of Trieste, achieve the highest prices.
In Sweden and Finland, the name anchovies are related strongly to a traditional seasoning, hence the product “anchovies” is normally made of sprats and herring can be sold as “anchovy-spiced”. Fish from the family Engraulidae are instead known as sardell in Sweden and sardelli in Finland, leading to confusion when translating recipes. In Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, they are deep-fried and eaten as a snack or a side dish. They are known as Ikan Bilis in Malay and Ikan Teri in Indonesian.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 22-27
Write no more than THREE WORDS and/or numbers for each answer.
22. The nose is rounded with piercing …………………. in mouth.
23. The Anchovies feed on …………………. and young fish.
24. The European anchovy is profuse in the ………………….
25. The Anchovies are conserved by taking out their organs and dipping them in ………………….
26. Anchovies have a …………………. taste for the reason that they are used in sauces.
27. In some countries, anchovies are …………………. and eaten as a nosh.
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
15. YES
16. NOT GIVEN
17. NOT GIVEN
18. NOT GIVEN
19. YES
20. NO
21. NOT GIVEN
22. TEETH
23. PLANKTON
24. MEDITERRANEAN
25. BRINE
26. STRONG
27. DEEP-FRIED
IELTS General Reading Test