IELTS Reading Test 5

Section 1

Instructions to follow

• You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-14 which are based on Reading Passage 1

Keep a Watchful Eye on the Bridges

A. Most road and rail bridges are only inspected visually, if at all. Every few months, engineers have to
clamber over the structure in an attempt to find problems before the bridge shows obvious signs
of damage. Technologies developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, and Texas
A&M University may replace these surveys with microwave sensors that constantly monitor the
condition of bridges.

B. “The device uses microwaves to measure the distance between the sensor and the bridge, much
like radar does,” says Albert Migliori, a Los Alamos physicist “Any load on the bridge – such as
traffic induces displacements, which change that distance as the bridge moves up and down.” By
monitoring these movements over several minutes, the researchers can find out how the bridge
resonates. Changes in its behaviour can give an early warning of damage.

C. The Interstate 40 bridge over the Rio Grande river in Albuquerque provided the researchers with a
rare opportunity to test their ideas. Chuck Farrar, an engineer at Los Alamos, explains: “The New
Mexico authorities decided to raze this bridge and replace it. We were able to mount instruments
on it, test it under various load conditions and even inflict damage just before it was demolished.”
In the 1960s and 1970s, 2500 similar bridges were built in the US. They have two steel girders
supporting the load in each section. Highway experts know that this design is “fracture critical”
because a failure in either girder would cause the bridge to fail.

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D. After setting up the microwave dish on the ground below the bridge, the Los Alamos team installed
conventional accelerometers at several points along the span to measure its motion. They then
tested the bridge while traffic roared across it and while subjecting it to pounding from a “shaker”,
which delivered precise punches to a specific point on the road.

E. “We then created damage that we hoped would simulate fatigue cracks that can occur in steel
girders,” says Farrar. They first cut a slot about 60 centimetres long in the middle of one girder.
They then extended the cut until it reached the bottom of the girder and finally they cut across the
flange – the bottom of the girder’s “I” shape.

F. The initial, crude analysis of the bridge’s behaviour, based on the frequency at which the bridge
resonates, did not indicate that anything was wrong until the flange was damaged. But later the
data were reanalysed with algorithms that took into account changes in the mode shapes of the
structure – shapes that the structure takes on when excited at a particular frequency. These more
sophisticated algorithms, which were developed by Norris Stubbs at Texas A&M University,
successfully identified and located the damage caused by the initial cut.

G. “When any structure vibrates, the energy is distributed throughout with some points not moving,
while others vibrate strongly at various frequencies,” says Stubbs. “My algorithms use pattern
recognition to detect changes in the distribution of this energy.” NASA already uses Stubbs’
method to check the behaviour of the body flap that slows space shuttles down after they land.

H. A commercial system based on the Los Alamos hardware is now available, complete with the
Stubbs algorithms, from the Quatro Corporation in Albuquerque for about $100,000. Tim Darling,
another Los Alamos physicist working on the microwave interferometer with Migliori, says that as
the electronics become cheaper, a microwave inspection system will eventually be applied to most
large bridges in the US. “In a decade I would like to see a battery or solar-powered package
mounted under each bridge, scanning it every day to detect changes,” he says.

Questions 1-4

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Instructions to follow

• Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D and write your answer next to 1 -4 on your answer
sheet.

• How did the traditional way to prevent damage to the bridges before the invention of the
new monitoring sys tem?

Bridges have to be tested in every movement on two points.

Bridges have to be closely monitored by microwave devices.

Bridges have already been monitored by sensors.

Bridges have to be frequently inspected by professional workers with naked

eyes.

• How does the new microwave monitors find out the problems of bridges?

by changeling the distance between the positions of devices

by controlling the traffic flow on the bridges

by monitoring the distance caused by traffic between two points

by displacement of the several critical parts in the bridges

• Why did the expert believe there is a problem for the design called “fracture
critical”?

Engineers failed to apply the newly developed construction materials.

There was not enough finance to repair the bridges.
The supporting parts of the bridges may crack and cause the bridge to fail.
There were bigger traffic load conditions than the designers had
anticipated.

The defect was not recognized by a basic method in the beginning?

until the mid of faces of bridges has fractured.

until the damage appears along and down to the flanges.

until the points on the road have been punched.
until the frequency of resonates appears disordered.

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Questions 5-8

Instructions to follow
• Filling the blanks in the diagram labels.
• Write the correct answer in the blank space next to 5-8 on your answer sheet

Questions 9-13

Instructions to follow
• The reading passage has eight paragraphs, A-H.
• Which paragraph contains the following information?
• Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes on your answer sheet.

how is the pressure that they have many a great chance to test bridges. ______
A ten-year positive change for microwave device. ______
the chance they get an honourable contract. ______
explanation of the mechanism for the new microwave monitoring to work. _____
how is the damage deliberately created by the researchers. _____

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 Section 2

Instructions to follow
• You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading
Passage 2 below.

Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral
reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most
coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups.
A. Coral reefs are estimated to cover 284,300 km2 just under 0.1% of the oceans‘ surface area, about
half the area of France. The Indo-Pacific region accounts for 91.9% of this total area. Southeast
Asia accounts for 32.3% of that figure, while the Pacific including Australia accounts for 40.8%.
Atlantic and Caribbean coral reefs account for 7.6%. Yet often called ―rainforests of the sea‖,
coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. They provide a home for 25% of
all marine species, including fish, mollusks worms, crustaceans, echinoderms, sponges, tunicates
and other cnidarians. Paradoxically, coral reefs flourish even though they are surrounded by ocean
waters that provide few nutrients. They are most commonly found at shallow depths in tropical
waters, but deep water and cold water corals also exist on smaller scales in other areas. Although
corals exist both in temperate and tropical waters, shallow-water reefs form only in a zone
extending from 30°N to 30°S of the equator. Deepwater coral can exist at greater depths and
colder temperatures at much higher latitudes, as far north as Norway. Coral reefs are rare along
the American and African west coasts. This is due primarily to upwelling and strong cold coastal
currents that reduce water temperatures in these areas (respectively the Peru, Benguela and
Canary streams). Corals are seldom found along the coastline of South Asia from the eastern tip of
India (Madras) to the Bangladesh and Myanmar borders. They are also rare along the coast around
northeastern South America and Bangladesh due to the freshwater released from the Amazon and
Ganges Rivers, respectively.

B. Coral reefs deliver ecosystem services to tourism, fisheries and coastline protection. The
global economic value of coral reefs has been estimated at as much as $US375 billion per

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 year. Coral reefs protect shorelines by absorbing wave energy, and many small islands would
not exist without their reef to protect them.
C. The value of reefs in biodiverse regions can be even higher. In parts of Indonesia and the Caribbean
where tourism is the main use, reefs are estimated to be worth US$1 million per square kilometer,
based on the cost of maintaining sandy beaches and the value of attracting snorkelers and scuba
divers. Meanwhile, a recent study of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia found that the reef is
worth more to the country as an intact ecosystem than an extractive reserve for fishing. Each year
more than 1.8 million tourists visit the reef, spending an estimated AU$4.3 billion (Australian
dollars) on reef-related industries from diving to boat rental to posh island resort stays. In the
Caribbean, says UNEP, the net annual benefits from diver tourism were US$2 billion in 2000 with
US$625 million spent directly on diving on reefs. Further, reef tourism is an important source of
employment, especially for some of the world‘s poorest people. UNEP says that of the estimated
30 million small-scale fishers in the developing world, most are dependent to a greater or lesser
extent on coral reefs. In the Philippines, for example, more than one million small-scale fishers
depend directly on coral reefs for their livelihoods. The report estimates that reef fisheries were
worth between $15,000 and $150,000 per square kilometer a year, while fish caught for
aquariums were worth $500 a kilogram against $6
for fish caught as food. The aquarium fish export industry supports around 50,000 people
and generates some US$5.5 million a year in Sri Lanka along.
D. Unfortunately, coral reefs are dying around the world. In particular, coral mining, agricultural and
urban runoff, pollution (organic and inorganic), disease, and the digging of canals and access into
islands and bays are localized threats to coral ecosystems. Broader threats are sea temperature
rise, sea-level rise and pH changes from ocean acidification, all associated with greenhouse gas
emissions. Some current fishing practices are destructive and unsustainable. These include cyanide
fishing, overfishing and blast fishing. Although cyanide fishing supplies live reef fish for the tropical
aquarium market, most fish caught using this method are sold in restaurants, primarily in Asia,
where live fish are prized for their freshness. To catch fish with cyanide, fishers dive down to the
reef and squirt cyanide in coral crevices and on the fast-moving fish, to stun the fish making them
easy to catch. Overfishing is another leading cause for coral reef degradation. Often, too many fish
are taken from one reef to sustain a population in that area. Poor fishing practices, such as banging
on the reef with sticks (muro-ami), destroy coral formations that normally function as fish habitat.
In some instances, people fish with explosives (blast fishing), which blast apart the surrounding
coral.

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E. Tourist resorts that empty their sewage directly into the water surrounding coral reefs contribute to
coral reef degradation. Wastes kept in poorly maintained septic tanks can also leak into surrounding
groundwater, eventually seeping out to the reefs. Careless boating, diving, snorkeling and fishing can
also damage coral reefs. Whenever people grab, kick, and walk on, or stir up sediment in the reefs,
they contribute to coral reef destruction. Corals are also harmed or killed when people drop anchors
on them or when people collect coral.
F. To find answers for these problems, scientists and researchers study the various factors that impact
reefs. The list includes the ocean‘s role as a carbon dioxide sink, atmospheric changes, ultraviolet
light, ocean acidification, viruses, impacts of dust storms carrying agents to far-flung reefs, pollutants,
algal blooms and others. Reefs are threatened well beyond coastal areas. General estimates show
approximately 10% of the worlds coral reefs are dead. About 60% of the world‘s reefs are at risk due
to destructive, humanrelated activities. The threat to the health of reefs is particularly strong in
Southeast Asia, where 80% of reefs are endangered.
G. In Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and is
the subject of much legislation, including a biodiversity action plan. Inhabitants of Ahus Island, Manus
Province, Papua New Guinea, have followed a generations-old practice of restricting fishing in six
areas of their reef lagoon. Their cultural traditions allow line fishing, but not net or spearfishing. The
result is both the biomass and individual fish sizes are significantly larger in these areas than in places
where fishing is unrestricted.

Questions 14-19

Instructions to follow
• The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G.
• Which paragraph contains the following information?
• Write the correct letter A-G, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.
• NB You may use any letter more than once

Geographical Location of the world‘s coral reef

• How does coral reef benefit economy locally
The statistics of coral reef‘s economic significance
The listed reasons for the declining number of coral reef
• Physical approach to the coral reef by people
• Unsustainable fishing methods are applied in regions of the world

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 Questions 20-25

Instructions to follow

• Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
• Write your answers in boxes 20-25 on your answer sheet.

• TRUE if the statement is true

• FALSE if the statement is false
• NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

Coral reefs provide habitat to a variety of marine life.

Coral reef distributes around the ocean disproportionally.

Coral
reef is increasingly important for scientific purpose.
Coral reefs are greatly exchanged among and exported to other counties.
Reef tourism is of economic essence generally for some poor people.
As with other fishing business, coral fishery is not suitable to women and children

Question 26

Instructions to follow

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

• Write your answers in boxes 26 on your answer sheet.

• What is the main purpose of this passage?

Demonstrate how coral reef growth in the ocean

To tell that coral reef is widely used as a scientific project

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 Prese nt the general benefits and an alarming situation of coral reef

To show the vital efforts made to protect the coral reef in Australia

Section 3

Instructions to follow

• You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage
3 below.

The Future of Fish

A. The face of the ocean has changed completely since the first commercial fishers cast their nets
and hooks over a thousand years ago. Fisheries intensified over the centuries, but even by the
nineteenth century it was still felt, justifiably, that the plentiful resources of the sea were for the
most part beyond the reach of fishing, and so there was little need to restrict fishing or create
protected areas. The twentieth century heralded an escalation in fishing intensity that is
unprecedented in the history of the oceans, and modern fishing technologies leave fish no place
to hide. Today, the only refuges from fishing are those we deliberately create. Unhappily, the sea
trails far behind the land in terms of the area and the quality of protection given. For centuries,
as fishing and commerce have expanded, we have held onto the notion that the sea is different
from the land. We still view it as a place where people and nations should be free to come and
go at will, as well as somewhere that should be free for us to exploit. Perhaps this is why we have
been so reluctant to protect the sea. On land, protected areas have proliferated as human
populations have grown. Here, compared to the sea, we have made greater headway in our
struggle to maintain the richness and variety of wildlife and landscape. Twelve percent of the
world’s land is now contained in protected areas, whereas the corresponding figure for the sea is
but three-fifths of one percent. Worse still, most marine protected areas allow some fishing to
continue. Areas off-limits to all exploitation cover something like one five-thousandth of the total
area of the world’s seas.

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B. Today, we are belatedly coming to realise that ‘natural refuges’ from fishing have played a critical
role in sustaining fisheries, and maintaining healthy and diverse marine ecosystems. This does
not mean that marine reserves can rebuild fisheries on their own - other management measures
are also required for that. However, places that are offlimits to fishing constitute the last and
most important part of our package of reform for fisheries management. They underpin and
enhance all our other efforts. There are limits to protection though.

C. Reserves cannot bring back what has died out. We can never resurrect globally extinct species,
and restoring locally extinct animals may require reintroductions from elsewhere, if natural
dispersal from remaining populations is insufficient. We are also seeing, in cases such as northern
cod in Canada, that fishing can shift marine ecosystems into different states, where different
mixes of species prevail. In many cases, these species are less desirable, since the prime fishing
targets have gone or are much reduced in numbers, and changes may be difficult to reverse,
even with a complete moratorium on fishing. The Mediterranean sailed by Ulysses, the legendary
king of ancient Greece, supported abundant monk seals, loggerhead turtles and porpoises. Their
disappearance through hunting and overfishing has totally restructured food webs, and recovery
is likely to be much harder to achieve than their destruction was. This means that the sooner we
act to protect marine life, the more certain will be our success.

D. To some people, creating marine reserves is an admission of failure. According to their logic,
reserves should not be necessary if we have done our work properly in managing the uses we
make of the sea. Many fisheries managers are still wedded to the idea that one day their models
will work, and politicians will listen to their advice. Just give the approach time, and success will
be theirs. How much time have we got? This approach has been tried and refined for the last 50
years. There have been few successes which to feather the managers’ caps, but a growing litany
of failure. The Common Fisheries Policy, the European Union’s instrument for the management
of fisheries and aquaculture, exemplifies the worst pitfalls: flawed models, flawed advice,
watered-down recommendations from government bureaucrats and then the disregard of much
of this advice by politicians. When it all went wrong, as it inevitably had to, Europe sent its boats
to other countries in order to obtain fish for far less than they were actually worth. We are
squandering the wealth of oceans. If we don’t break out of this cycle of failure, humanity will lose
a key source of protein, and much more besides. Disrupting natural ecosystem processes, such as
water purification, nutrient cycling, and carbon storage, could have ramifications for human life

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itself. We can go a long way to avoiding this catastrophic mistake with simple common sense
management. Marine reserves lie at the heart of the reform. But they will not be sufficient if they
are implemented only here and there to shore up the crumbling edifice of the ‘rational fisheries
management’ envisioned by scientists in the 1940s and 1950s. They have to be placed centre
stage as a fundamental underpinning for everything we do in the oceans. Reserves are a first
resort, not a final resort when all else fails.

Questions 27-31

Instructions to follow

• Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3? 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

It is more than a thousand years since people started to catch fish for commercial use.

In general, open access to the oceans is still regarded as desirable.

Sea fishing is now completely banned in the majority of protected areas.

People should be encouraged to reduce the amount of fish they eat.

The re-introduction of certain mammals to the Mediterranean is a straightforward task.

Questions 32-34

Instructions to follow

• Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D and write them in boxes 32,33,34 on your answer sheet

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 • What does the writer mean with the question, ‘How much time have we got?’ in the fifth
paragraph?

Fisheries policies are currently based on uncertain estimates.

Accurate predictions will allow governments to plan properly.

Fisheries managers should provide clearer information.

Action to protect fish stocks is urgently needed.

• Wha t is the writ er’s comment on the Common Fisheries Policy?

Measures that it advocated were hastily implemented.

Officials exaggerated some of its recommendations.

It was based on predictions which were inaccurate.

The policy makers acquired a good reputation.

• What is the writer’s conclusion concerning the decline of marine resources?

Th e means of avoiding the worst outcomes needs to be prioritised.

Measures already taken to avoid a crisis are probably sufficient.

The situation is now so severe that there is no likely solution.

It is no longer clear which measures would be most effective.

Questions 35-40

Instructions to follow

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

Measures to protect the oceans

Up till the twentieth century the world’s supply of fish was sufficient for its needs.

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It was unnecessary to introduce _______ of any kind, because large areas of the
oceans were inaccessible.
However, as _________improved, this situation changed, and in the middle of the
twentieth century, policies were introduced to regulate ________
These policies have not succeeded. Today, by comparison with ________ the oceans
have very little legal protection.
Despite the doubts that many officials have about the concept of _________ , these
should be at the heart of any action taken.
The consequences of further __________ are very serious, and may even affect our
continuing existence.

action
controls
failure
fish catches
fish processing
fishing techniques
large boats
marine reserves
the land
the past

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