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The Truth About the Environment Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

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Updated on Jul 02, 2024, 11:57

The IELTS Reading section is a big part of the test, showing how well you understand written English. It's not just about passing a test; it's about improving your language skills for real life. 

 

You'll read stuff from real sources like newspapers and books, then answer questions about them. You've got 60 minutes to do it, and there are three parts, starting easy and getting harder. It's a bit stressful, but getting good at it can help you in school or at work. 

 

Being able to understand what you read is super important, whether it's for studying or making decisions. So, by practising for this part of the test, you're not just preparing for the exam; you're also getting better at something that can help you in lots of areas of life.

 

Key highlights of the Reading section:

 

  • You'll encounter a range of texts, including descriptive, factual, and analytical passages, ensuring exposure to different writing styles and topics.
  • Efficient skimming and scanning techniques are essential to locate specific information quickly, helping you manage time effectively.
  • This section evaluates the skills of identifying main ideas, supporting details, and the writer's opinions.
  • Enhance your vocabulary and inference skills as you decipher the meaning of unfamiliar words and deduce implied information from the text.
  • Questions may include multiple choice, matching headings, identifying information, and true/false/not given, challenging you to apply various reading strategies.

 

Mastering the IELTS Reading section requires practice, focus, and strategic reading..Now, let's look into a passage that explores 'The Truth About the Environment' and uncover its insights.

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1. The Truth About the Environment Reading Passage

You should spend approximately 20 minutes answering Questions 1 - 14 based on the Reading Passage below. This approach can help manage time effectively during a reading comprehension activity or exam. 

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2. The Truth About the Environment Reading Question & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about The Truth About the Environment

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1.

The Truth About the Environment Reading Passage

General Information

  • Read Instructions: Understand each question before answering.
  • Manage Time: Spend about 20 minutes per passage.
  • Skim and Scan: Quickly get the main idea and find specific information.
  • Highlight Key Info: Underline essential words or phrases.
  • Answer All Questions: Attempt every question; no penalty for wrong answers.
  • Stay Focused: Avoid distractions and keep your attention on the task.
  • Check Spelling: Ensure correct spelling and grammar.
  • Transfer Answers Clearly: Write answers neatly on the answer sheet.
  • Don’t Dwell: Move on if stuck and return later.
  • Review: If time allows, review your answers.

 

 

 

 

 The Truth About the Environment Reading Passage


 

 

Paragraph A: For many environmentalists, the world seems to be getting worse. They have developed a hit-list of our main fears: that natural resources are running out; that the population is ever growing, leaving less and less to eat; that species are becoming extinct in vast numbers, and that the planet's air and water are becoming ever more polluted.

 

Paragraph B: But a quick look at the facts shows a different picture. First, energy and other natural resources have become more abundant, not less so, since the book 'The Limits to Growth' was published in 1972 by a group of scientists. Second, more food is now produced per head of the world's population than at any time in history. Fewer people are starving. Third, although species are indeed becoming extinct, only about 0.7% of them are expected to disappear in the next 50 years, not 25-50%, as has so often been predicted. And finally, most forms of environmental pollution either appear to have been exaggerated, or are transient - associated with the early phases of industrialisation and therefore best cured not by restricting economic growth, but by accelerating it. One form of pollution - the release of greenhouse gases that causes global warming - does appear to be a phenomenon that is going to extend well into our future, but its total impact is unlikely to pose a devastating problem. A bigger problem may well turn out to be an inappropriate response to it.

 

Paragraph C: Yet opinion polls suggest that many people nurture the belief that environmental standards are declining and four factors seem to cause this disjunction between perception and reality. One is the lopsidedness built into scientific research. Scientific funding goes mainly to areas with many problems. That may be wise policy, but it will also create an impression that many more potential problems exist than is the case.

 

Paragraph D: Secondly, environmental groups need to be noticed by the mass media. They also need to keep the money rolling in. Understandably, perhaps,they sometimes overstate their arguments. In 1997, for example, the World Wide Fund for Nature issued a press release entitled: 'Two thirds of the world's forests lost forever'. The truth turns out to be nearer 20%.

 

Paragraph E: Though these groups are run overwhelmingly by selfless folk, they nevertheless share many of the characteristics of other lobby groups. That would matter less if people applied the same degree of scepticism to environmental lobbying as they do to lobby groups In other fields. A trade organisation arguing for, say, weaker pollution controls is instantly seen as self-interested. Yet a green organisation opposing such a weakening is seen as altruistic, even if an impartial view of the controls in question might suggest they are doing more harm than good.

 

Paragraph F: A third source of confusion is the attitude of the media. People are clearly more curious about bad news than good. Newspapers and broadcasters are there to provide what the public wants. That, however, can lead to significant distortions of perception. An example was America's encounter with El Nino in 1997 and 1998. This climatic phenomenon was accused of wrecking tourism, causing allergies, melting the ski-slopes and causing 22 deaths. However, according to an article in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, the damage it did was estimated at US$4 billion but the benefits amounted to some US$19 billion. These came from higher winter temperatures (which saved an estimated 850 lives, reduced heating costs and diminished spring floods caused by meltwaters).

 

Paragraph G: The fourth factor is poor individual perception. People worry that the endless rise in the amount of stuff everyone throws away will cause the world to run out of places to dispose of waste. Yet, even if America's trash output continues to rise as it has done in the past, and even if the American population doubles by 2100, all the rubbish America produces through the entire 21st century will still take up only one-12.000th of the area of the entire United States.

 

Paragraph H: So what of global warming? As we know, carbon dioxide emissions are causing the planet to warm. The best estimates are that the temperatures will rise by 2-3°C in this century, causing considerable problems, at a total cost of US$5,000 billion. Despite the intuition that something drastic needs to be done about such a costly problem, economic analyses clearly show it will be far more expensive to cut carbon dioxide emissions radically than to pay the costs of adaptation to the increased temperatures. A model by one of the main authors of the United Nations Climate Change Panel shows how an expected temperature increase of 2.1 degrees in 2100 would only be diminished to an increase of 1.9 degrees. Or to put it another way, the temperature increase that the planet would have experienced in 2094 would be postponed to 2100.

 

Paragraph I: So this does not prevent global warming, but merely buys the world six years. Yet the cost of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, for the United States alone, will be higher than the cost of solving the world's single, most pressing health problem: providing universal access to clean drinking water and sanitation. Such measures would avoid 2 million deaths every year, and prevent half a billion people from becoming seriously ill. It is crucial that we look at the facts if we want to make the best possible decisions for the future. It may be costly to be overly optimistic - but more costly still to be too pessimistic. 

2.

The Truth About the Environment Reading Question & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about The Truth About the Environment

Questions and Answers 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet, write

  • YES if the statement agrees with the information given
  • NO if the statement contradicts the information given
  • NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this

 

 

1. Environmentalists take a pessimistic view of the world for a number of reasons.
 

2. Data on the Earth’s natural resources has only been collected since 1972.
 

3. The number of starving people in the world has increased in recent years.
 

4. Extinct species are being replaced by new species. Some pollution
 

5. problems have been correctly linked to industrialisation.
 

6. It would be best to attempt to slow down economic growth.


 

The Truth About the Environment Reading Answers with Explanations (1-6)


 

Type of Question: Yes/No/Not Given
 

These types of questions involve finding whether the given statement is Yes/No/Not Given based on the given paragraph. 

 

How to best answer: 
 

  • Ensure you fully understand the statement before looking at the text. Pay attention to any keywords or phrases.
  • Skim the text to find the section related to the statement. Focus on details that directly address the statement.
  • "Yes" and "No" answers should be based on explicit information in the text. If the information is not mentioned or cannot be inferred, the answer is "Not Given."
  • Base your answer solely on the text provided. Do not use outside knowledge or assumptions.
  • Re-read the relevant section of the text to ensure your interpretation aligns with the statement. Misinterpreting context can lead to incorrect answers.

 

 

1. Yes

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph A, "For many environmentalists, the world seems to be getting worse. They have developed a hit-list of our main fears: that natural resources are running out;" 
 

Explanation: This line explains that environmentalists are pessimistic about the world due to various concerns.


 

2. Not Given

 

Reference:

 

Not Given
 

Explanation: The passage does not mention when data collection on the Earth's natural resources began.


 

3. No

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph B, "Second, more food is now produced per head of the world's population than at any time in history." 
 

Explanation: This line indicates that the number of starving people has decreased, not increased, as more food is produced per capita now than ever before.


 

4. Not Given

 

Reference:

 

Not Given 
 

Explanation: The passage does not discuss whether extinct species are being replaced by new species.


 

5. Yes

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph B, "And finally, most forms of environmental pollution either appear to have been exaggerated, or are transient - associated with the early phases of industrialisation and therefore best cured not by restricting economic growth, but by accelerating it." 
 

Explanation: This line links some pollution problems directly to industrialisation.


 

6. No

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph B, "A bigger problem may well turn out to be an inappropriate response to it." 

 

Explanation: The passage suggests that restricting economic growth is not the solution but rather an inappropriate response to the problem of pollution.

Questions and Answers 7-11
  • Choose the correct letter: A, B, C, or D.
  • Write your answers in boxes 7-11 on your answer sheet.

 

 

7. What aspect of scientific research does the writer express concern about in paragraph 4?

 

  1. the need to produce results
  2. the lack of financial support
  3. the selection of areas to research A
  4. the desire to solve every research problem


8. The writer quotes from the Worldwide Fund for Nature to illustrate how

 

  1. influential the mass media can be.
  2. effective environmental groups can be.
  3. the mass media can help groups raise funds.
  4. environmental groups can exaggerate their claims.

 

9. What is the writer’s main point about lobby groups in paragraph 6?

 

  1. Some are more active than others.
  2. Some are better organised than others.
  3. Some receive more criticism than others.
  4. Some support more important issues than others.

 

10. The writer suggests that newspapers print items that are intended to

 

  1. educate readers.
  2. meet their readers’ expectations.
  3. encourage feedback from readers.
  4. mislead readers.

 

11. What does the writer say about America’s waste problem?

 

  1. It will increase in line with population growth.
  2. It is not as important as we have been led to believe.
  3. It has been reduced through public awareness of the issues.
  4. It is only significant in certain areas of the country.


 

The Truth About the EnvironmentReading Answers with Explanations (7-11)


 

Type of Question: Multiple Choice Questions
 

These types of questions in IELTS reading involve identifying whether the right choice from the given options using the given paragraph. 

 

How to best answer: 
 

  • Read the question first. Understand what the question is asking before looking at the answer options. Identify keywords and main ideas.
  • Scan for clues. Skim the text to locate the section that addresses the question. Look for specific details or keywords that match the question.
  • Evaluate all options. Carefully read all the answer choices before selecting one. Eliminate incorrect answers to narrow down your options.
  • Match context exactly. Ensure the answer you choose precisely matches the context and details in the text. Avoid selecting answers that are only partially correct or out of context.
  • Double-check your answer. Re-read the relevant text section to confirm your choice. Make sure your selected answer is the best match based on the information given.


 

7. C

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph C, "Scientific funding goes mainly to areas with many problems. That may be wise policy, but it will also create an impression that many more potential problems exist than is the case." 

 

Explanation: This line indicates that the writer is concerned about the selection of research areas, as focusing on problem areas may distort the perception of how many problems exist.


 

8. D

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph D, "In 1997, for example, the World Wide Fund for Nature issued a press release entitled: 'Two thirds of the world's forests lost forever'. The truth turns out to be nearer 20%." 

 

Explanation: This line demonstrates how environmental groups can exaggerate their claims, as the actual loss was significantly less than what was stated.


 

9. C

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph E, "A trade organisation arguing for, say, weaker pollution controls is instantly seen as self-interested. Yet a green organisation opposing such a weakening is seen as altruistic, even if an impartial view of the controls in question might suggest they are doing more harm than good." 

 

Explanation: The writer's main point is that some lobby groups, particularly green organisations, are perceived more positively than others, even when their actions might be harmful.


 

10. B

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph F, "People are clearly more curious about bad news than good. Newspapers and broadcasters are there to provide what the public wants." 

 

Explanation: This line suggests that newspapers print items that meet their readers' expectations, specifically focusing on bad news because it garners more interest.


 

11. B

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph G, "People worry that the endless rise in the amount of stuff everyone throws away will cause the world to run out of places to dispose of waste. Yet, even if America's trash output continues to rise as it has done in the past, and even if the American population doubles by 2100..." 

 

Explanation: The writer explains that America's waste problem is not as severe as people believe, as there will still be sufficient space for waste disposal even with increased production and population growth.

Questions and Answers 12-14
  • Complete the summary with the list of words A-I below.
  • Write the correct letter A-I in boxes 12-14 on your answer sheet.

 

 

GLOBAL WARMING

 

The writer admits that global warming is a 12) ……………………………… challenge, but says that it will not have a catastrophic impact on our future, if we deal with it in the 13) ………………………. way.
If we try to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases, he believes that it would only have a minimal impact on rising temperatures. He feels it would be better to spend money on the more 14) …………………… health problem of providing the world’s population with clean drinking water.

 

A unrealistic
B agreed
C expensive
D right
E long-term
F usual
G surprising
H personal
I urgent

 

 

The Truth About the Environment Reading Answers with Explanations (12-14)

 

Type of Question: Matching Features
 

To answer Matching features questions in IELTS reading, identify specific features or characteristics mentioned in the passage and match them with the corresponding options provided in the question.
 

How to best answer: 
 

  • Understand the features. Read the list of features and descriptions carefully to understand what each one represents.
  • Skim for information. Quickly scan the text to locate sections that mention the features or descriptions you're matching.
  • Match keywords. Look for keywords or phrases in the text that directly correspond to the features or descriptions provided.
  • Cross-check carefully. Ensure that the matches you make are supported by specific details in the text. Avoid relying on general impressions.
  • Eliminate incorrect matches. Use the process of elimination to discard options that clearly do not match, narrowing down the possible correct answers.


 

12. E

 

Reference:

 

 From Paragraph B, "One form of pollution – the release of greenhouse gases that causes global warming – does appear to be a phenomenon that is going to extend well into our future, but its total impact is unlikely to pose a devastating problem." 


 

Explanation: The writer acknowledges that global warming is a long-term challenge by stating it will extend well into the future, though it may not be devastating.


 

13. D

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph B, "A bigger problem may well turn out to be an inappropriate response to it." 

 

Explanation: The writer suggests that dealing with global warming in the right way is crucial, implying that an inappropriate response could be more problematic.


 

14. I

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph I, "Yet the cost of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, for the United States alone, will be higher than the cost of solving the world's single, most pressing health problem: providing universal access to clean drinking water and sanitation." 


Explanation: The writer argues that addressing the urgent health problem of clean drinking water is more critical and cost-effective than reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

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FAQs

Q. How is the IELTS Reading test scored?

Ans. The IELTS Reading test is scored based on the number of correct answers you provide out of 40 questions. Each correct answer earns one point, and the total raw score is then converted to the IELTS 9-band scale. The band scores range from 1 (non-user) to 9 (expert user), with scores reported in whole and half bands. The scoring criteria are consistent across both the Academic and General Training tests.

Q. What are some effective reading strategies for the IELTS Reading test?

Ans. Effective reading strategies for the IELTS Reading test include skimming the passage for a general understanding, scanning for specific details, focusing on keywords, and understanding the question types. Practice reading quickly and efficiently, underline or highlight key points, and manage your time by allocating a set amount for each section. Additionally, practice with sample tests to familiarise yourself with the format and question types.

Q. Can I use a highlighter or take notes during the IELTS Reading test?

Ans. Yes, you can use a highlighter or take notes during the IELTS Reading test, but only on the question paper. These tools can help you mark important information, keywords, and sections relevant to the questions. Highlighting and taking notes can aid in quick reference and better comprehension, but remember to write your final answers clearly on the answer sheet as notes on the question paper are not graded.