Space Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

This passage traces humanity's land crisis from Thomas Malthus's 1798 population warnings to modern megacities, underground libraries, and artificial islands before asking where people will live once Earth runs out of room. 

It then presents predictions from Marshall Savage, Arthur C. Clarke, and Freeman Dyson about human settlement across the solar system. 

Source: Practice passage (Cambridge source not confirmed).

Paragraph A 

In his book "An Essay on the Principle of Population," which was published in 1798, Thomas Malthus projected that by the middle of the 1800s, the unregulated rise of the human population would overflow the farming land that was necessary to feed humanity. A great deal has transpired since then. Since this purported turning point that occurred more than 150 years ago, humankind has continued to advance despite being considerably more constrained.

Paragraph B

Unrestrained population increase is obvious. Urbanisation is a more visible worldwide phenomenon than before as more people migrate from rural areas to cities like Tokyo, Mexico City, and Mumbai in search of a better living. Megacities with more than 10 million inhabitants are cropping up on every continent. Now overpopulated, they're eager for land. The expanding human population is fueling a voracious need for real estate despite advances in agricultural technology. Personal, public, corporate, national, human, and flora/fauna space is at a premium in the next century. They are desperate for one resource that is becoming more valuable: land and the human population is now at an all-time high. More land is needed for a variety of infrastructure facilities in addition to housing. While advances in agricultural technology mean humanity may be able to feed the people thronging to these huge metropolises, an unparalleled thirst for real estate is being fueled by the growth of the human race. Green pastures are turned into airports, and virgin forests are cleared for food and firewood. In poorer locations, newly exposed land becomes desert, completing the destruction cycle.

Paragraph C

The most popular way to use pricey space for living and working has been to build upwards; therefore, the desire for ever-taller apartments and commercial buildings in big cities like New York, Shanghai, and Singapore. The British Library, which houses millions of books, was built entirely underground, not only for transportation networks but also for garbage storage, book depositories, etc. in London. The global building industry has become more innovative in recent years. Many countries, including the Netherlands and the UK, have restored marshes and floodplains. Like Venice, Italy, housing complexes and airports have been built offshore. In Japan, Kansai International Airport was built on a man-made island at great expense. In Dubai, a very inventive and expensive palm tree-shaped housing complex is being developed close to the shoreline. Global warming's rising sea levels threaten these and other developments.

Paragraph D

But when Earth is at capacity, where will humanity go? Numerous theories have been put up regarding the expansion of the human population into space. Marshall Savage, for instance, predicted that by the year 3000, there would be five quintillion people living throughout the solar system, with the majority of them residing in the asteroid belt. Savage's ardent admirer, Arthur C. Clarke currently asserts that humanity will be present on the Moon, Mars, Europa, Ganymede, and Titan, and in orbits around Venus, Neptune, and Pluto by the year 2057. According to Freeman Dyson, the Kuiper belt could become the future home of humanity within a few generations.

Paragraph E

Huge space stations with human habitation are now a possibility rather than simply a pipe dream. The planet is currently orbited by a permanent multinational space station. Recently, the first commercial tourist visited space, and additional trips are scheduled for the near future. Although this is just the beginning, space hotels are soon to be built. Where humanity may end up is unknown. Though I'm sure I'm not the only one who fantasises about spending my summer vacations on a floating hotel in the Andromeda nebula or on a distant planet watching the moons rise, the concepts of the off-world settlement are not outlandish.

Questions 1–5: Yes/No/Not Given

Do the following statements agree with the writer's claims in the Reading Passage? In boxes 1–5 on your answer sheet, 

write:

• YES if the statement reflects 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

1. The concept of mankind's habitation of outer space is unimaginable.

2. The destruction of land for food and firewood is linked to desertification.

3. Arthur C Clarke was the only person to predict that mankind would inhabit other parts of the solar system.

4. The shortage of space has also led to the construction of underground buildings.

5. The building of the airport in Japan costs much more than that of the housing complex in Dubai.

Questions 6–9: Matching Headings

Reading passage 1 has five sections: A–E. Choose the correct heading for sections B–E from the list of headings below.

List of Headings

i. How the problem of land scarcity has been overcome in the past ii. Various predictions about future solutions to a lack of space iii. The effects of population growth on land availability iv. The importance of the new British Library v. An expanding population vi. A description of a mega-city vii. A firm belief that human habitation of outer space will occur viii. The importance of having an international space station

6. Section B

7. Section C

8. Section D

9. Section E

Questions 10–13: Sentence Completion

Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

10. The movement of rural people to cities is a _______.

11. The land is now very _______, as a result of the growing demand for space.

12. The feeding of the human race will perhaps be guaranteed by changes in _______.

13. Besides the demands of accommodation, the land is needed for various _______.