The Power of Light Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

The Power of Light Reading Passage

Paragraph A: Dark spots exist during the daytime too, in the form of shadows. Before I had spoken to astronomer and shadow specialist David Lynch in Topanga Canyon, California, along the coast from Santa Monica, I was unaware of the wide diversity of shadows that exists. Lynch notes that a shadow contains light reflected from the sky; else, it would be totally dark. The Apollo astronauts described the shadows on the moon as being black since there is no atmosphere or sky on the moon to reflect light into the dark valleys of the lunar surface.

Paragraph B: Light has existed since the beginning. There's going to be light at the end, though faintly. It surrounds the universe in all of its forms, both visible and invisible. Light eludes our perception in more aspects than just one. The basic elements of nature have been split into smaller and more peculiar attributes by modern physics, yet the light won't fade. Light is light; it is pure, yet it is complex. Nobody knows how to express it in words. Is it a wave or a particle? Yes, as per scientists, it is both.

Paragraph C: Light's significance in our daily lives is demonstrated by the fact that we pay minimal attention to it. Air and light are very similar. That much is obvious. A person would consider the idea of light as much as a fish would consider the concept of water. There are exceptions, brief glimpses of amazement when a special form of light, a transient splendor, appears: a rainbow, a sunset, a lightning flash in a dark sky, the glistening surface of the ocean at twilight, the mottled light in a forest, the small red dot from a faculty member's laser pen. A romantic ambiance is produced by just a candle's flicker. After the electricity went out, the torch was used to search for the circuit breakers.

Paragraph D: Recent news reports have mentioned scientists' attempts to accelerate light beyond the speed of light. For decades, this was the fantasy of science fiction authors as well as some overly creative minds. They imagined that if you were able to build a spacecraft that wasn't confined by Einstein's speed limit, you could travel through the universe far more rapidly.

Paragraph E: The world is exposed to us through light. Our biological clocks are established by it. It stimulates the sense of colour in our brains. We are fed by light, which also gives plants energy for growth. It inspires us with stunning phenomena such as rainbows and sunsets. From incandescent lights to lasers and fibre optics, light provides us with instruments that may transform our lives.

Paragraph F: What does the future hold for light? What new software will we discover? What orthodoxy-busting cosmic facts will our telescopes receive from stars? Will the spinning disco ball ever reappear on the dance floor? Most importantly, you have to ponder if humans will ever actually understand light.

Paragraph G: What we call light is identical to the radiation which we name as radio waves, gamma rays, and x-rays, although with different wavelengths. However, visible light is distinct from any other fundamental component of the world in that it interacts with our senses directly, frequently, and profoundly. Long distances can be covered by high-resolution information given by light. The Jupiterian moons and the Crab Nebula cannot be heard or smelled. Visible light conveys so much information that practically every living creature, from a fly to an octopus, has an instrument that can collect it, usually an eye or pair of eyes.

Paragraph H: Nowadays, everything including telephone technology to laser eye surgery uses light. It could become the primary source of energy for long-distance space travel. The spacecraft would be equipped with a thin sail to capture the laser light that was being transmitted from Earth. Theoretically, a ship of this type may travel without fuel at speeds approaching a significant percentage of the speed of light.

Paragraph I: I questioned Wang why the speed of light is 186,282 miles per second as opposed to another value. He stated that this is how nature works. Many scientists detest these "why" questions. The light's speed is indeed constant. This is their opinion. Whether light could travel at a different speed in another world is currently beyond the range of experimental research. Even the theorists find it a little far-fetched.

Paragraph J: It's vital to remember that our eyes are built to identify the specific type of light that is emitted in large quantities by the star that drives our planet's life: the sun. Visible light is a strong material that travels at fairly short wavelengths, which makes it suitable for biological purposes. We'd need large eyes the size of satellite dishes to view the vast, elongated radio waves. It's not worth the hassle! It would also be absurd for human eyes to be able to see infrared light (however, certain deep-sea shrimp near hot springs do interpret things in this way). That would include practically everything in our surroundings. Any heat-emitting device shines in these wavelengths, which would keep us preoccupied all the time.

Paragraph K: Lynch is a person who can see features in a rainbow that most people overlook. For instance, he is aware that all rainbows are twins, therefore he always seeks out the second rainbow, which is a pale parallel rainbow with the colours arranged inversely. The area in between is darker. This region has a name, Alexander's black band, in case you were not aware. As I gazed across the breathtaking canyon, Lynch added further: "there's sky between here and the mountains over there, which is why those mountains over there appear a little blue," he explained, pointing to the range that hides the Pacific. It is known as Fairlight.

Paragraph L: A flash of light that exceeded the predetermined speed limit was generated by Princeton researcher Lijun Wang. He said that although this is not at odds with Einstein, they produced an artificial mode of cesium gas within which the speed of the pulse of light surpasses the speed of light in a vacuum. Unlike matter, light may be modified to travel faster than light. Information can not do that. There is no potential for time travel.

Paragraph M: Certainty implies that light will continue to be incredibly valuable for industry, science, art, and our monotonous daily activities. On every level of reality, light pervades everything. It is a marvellous instrument, a bearer of beauty, and a source of life. I cannot resist stating that its future is bright.

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