IELTS TUTOR cung cấp Petrol power: an eco-revolution?: Đề thi thật IELTS READING (IELTS Reading Recent Actual Test) - Làm bài online format computer-based, , kèm đáp án, dịch & giải thích từ vựng - cấu trúc ngữ pháp khó & GIẢI ĐÁP ÁN VỚI LOCATION

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READING PASSAGE 3

Petrol power: an eco-revolution?

Laura Ingalls Wilders semi-autobiographical novel The Long Winter describes how the inhabitants of a small town called De Smet in the american mid-west narrowly avoided starvation during the severe winter of 1880-1881. Over three metres of snow fell on the northern plains, immobilising the railways and cutting off the settlers from the rest of the world. Laura and her neighbours were only saved when her fiance and his friend trudged 30 kilometres through the snow to fetch food, risking their lives in the process. The story is a reminder of how lethal geographical isolation and crop failures could be before the advent of modern farming and transportation technologies. Not long ago, subsistence farmers in many countries had to cope with the ‘lean season’ – the period of greatest scarcity before the new crops became available. In England, late spring was once referred to as the ‘hungry gap.’ The situation was made worse by the cost of moving heavy things over muddy dirt roads. Three centuries ago, moving goods 50 kilometres on land between, say, Liverpool and Manchester was as expensive as shipping them across the North Atlantic.

The development of coal-powered railways and steamships in the 19th century revolutionized the lives of farmers. Instead of having to grow everything they needed, they could now specialise in what they did best and rely on other producers for their remaining needs. The result was not only starvation, as the ever-cheaper prices, but the end of widespread famine and food and largely displaced coal because harvests could now be transported to those that had experienced mediocre ones. Since then petroleum-derived fuels have largely from regions with good harvests could now be transported to those that have experienced mediocre ones. Since then petroleum-derived fuels have largely displaced coal because of their higher energy density, cleaner combustion and greater ease of extraction, further improving road and rail transportation systems.>> Form đăng kí giải đề thi thật IELTS 4 kĩ năng kèm bài giải bộ đề 100 đề PART 2 IELTS SPEAKING quý đang thi (update hàng tuần) từ IELTS TUTOR

While the convenience of modern methods of transportation is obvious, few people grasp their historical significance. In 1898, delegates gathered in New York City for the world’s first international urban-planning conference. The topic that dominated discussions was not infrastructure or housing, but horse manure. The problem was that as the populations of cities like New York and London grew, the number of horses there also grew, and in New York these produced nearly two million kilograms of manure each day. If this problem continued it was estimated that by 1950 every street in London would be buried three metres deep in horse manure. Unable to think of any solution, the delegates concluded that urban living was inherently unsustainable.

Paradoxically, The shift to deliver perishable goods, such as meat and dairy products, from locations that benefited from better soil and climate, put many farms located near cities out of business. As this was greatly reduced. As this was greatly reduced and the city workhouses for fertiliser, the demand felt both in the cities and in the countryside. In urban workhouses was felt both in the cities and in the countryside. breeding grounds for house flies, perhaps three billion flies were hatched each day in US cities in the early 20th century. With manure piles in heavy traffic and cholera and dysenteria. The clatter of wagon wheels on cobbled pavement could be deafening, and since a horse and wagon occupied more street space than a modern truck, they also created an traffic congestion while a horse that collapsed on the road significant obstruction that was difficult to remove. The countryside also suffered. To supply the workhouses with oats and hay, additional land had to be cleared of its natural animal and vegetation, and sometimes water had to be diverted to irrigate it, with considerable negative effects on the whole area.

So, while the trains, cars and trucks of the early 20th century were noisy and polluting by today’s standards, they were available, poor soils often meant that a large amount of land was required to sustain households, and much environmental damage, primarily in the form of soil erosion, was caused by trying to farm these soils. It could be argued that modern transportation allowed the development of remote regions like the Canadian prairies and allowed more suitable crops to be grown in the poorer soils in Europe before being sold elsewhere.

Over time, the concentration of food production in the world’s best locations allowed some agricultural land to revert to a wild state. For instance, France benefited from an expansion of its forest area by one third between 1830 and 1960. This so-called ‘forest transition’ occurred in the context of a doubling of the French population and a dramatic increase in standards of living. Improvements in logistics also allowed the production and export of food from locations where water was abundant to regions where it was scarce, thus preventing the depletion of water resources there. It also made possible a drastic increase in the size of our cities. Contrary to what most people believe, the growth in cities is a positive development. In the words of economist Ed Glaeser: “Residing in a forest might seem to be good way of showing one’s love of nature, but living in a concrete jungle is actually far more ecologically friendly.” If you love nature, stay away from it. It could be argued that modern transportation technologies have been a major contributor to a wealthier, cleaner and more sustainable world.

Questions 27 - 30

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.

27 Why were the inhabitants of De Smet in danger of starvation?

A. The trains were unable to operate normally.

B. The harvest had been completely destroyed.

C. Their access to food was limited for certain times.

D. The roads to the town had not yet been built.

28 What problem did subsistence farmers have in the past?

A. They had no effective means of storing food.

B. Food was expensive because of high shipping costs.

C. Their access to food was limited for certain times.

D. Food could not be transported for long distances by road.

29 The writer says that the use of coal to power railways and steamships

A. led to a greater range of fresh vegetables being available in urban areas.

B. was less efficient than the use of petroleum-derived products.

C. allowed farmers to be more self-sufficient than they were previously.

D. was better for the environment than using petroleum-derived products.

30 The writer refers to an urban planning conference held in 1898 in order to

A. illustrate a problem that was later solved by modern technology.

B. give an example of poor decisions made about urban planning.

C. show that urban issues were misunderstood in the past.

D. indicate the disregard at the time for public health concerns.

Questions 31 - 35

Complete the summary using the list of words, A-J, below.

Write the correct letter, A-J, in boxes 31-35 on your answer sheet.

Problems caused by urban workhorses

In cities, the large amounts of horse manure led to certain 31. ……… in the streets and was also linked to the spread of 32. ……… . In certain situations, the horses might even cause 33. ……… to passers-by. There were also the problems of noise and congestion caused by horse-drawn vehicles. In the countryside, there were problems too. The 34. ……… was damaged because of the need to provide 35. ……… for urban workhorses.>> tham khảo CẦN VIẾT & THU ÂM BAO NHIÊU BÀI ĐỂ ĐẠT 8.0 SPEAKING & 7.0 WRITING?

Questions 36 - 40

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet, write

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

36 Farmers whose land was poor failed to benefit from modern forms of transport.

37 Between 1830 and 1960 there were positive effects associated with changing patterns of agriculture in France.

38 A fairer distribution of the world’s water resources is needed.

39 Living in the countryside does less harm to the environment than living in a city.

40 It is possible that modern developments in transportation have had an effect which is

27. A
28. C
29. B
30. A
31. H
32. J
33. B
34. E
35. G
36. NO
37. YES
38. NOT GIVEN
39. NO
40. YES

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