IELTS Reading passage - Adam’s Wine
Adam’s Wine
A. Water is a life-giver as well as a life-taker. It spans the majority of our planet's surface
and has had a significant role in human evolution. According to current projections, it
is a factor that will become even more important.
B. Water has played a vital role in our lives throughout history. Water has always had a
thorny relationship with humanity, on the one hand providing immense benefits not
only as a supply of drinking water, but also as a source of food, a means of
transportation, and a means of trade. However, because people have been obliged to
live near water in order to survive and thrive, the relationship has not always been
pleasant or productive. Contrary to popular belief, it has been the exact opposite.
What started out as a survival necessity has turned out to have a highly destructive
and life-threatening side in many cases.
C. People and their environment have been hit by big floods and long droughts
throughout history, making it harder for them to fight for their lives. The dramatic
changes in the environment that we hear about in the news every day are not new.
Fields that used to be green and full of life are now empty. Lakes and rivers that used
to be full of life are now empty. Savannas have become deserts. What might be new
is our childlike amazement at the forces of nature.
D. Today, we know more about how climates change around the world. Floods in
faraway places have an immediate effect on the whole world. Maybe these things
make us feel better when floods and other natural disasters are destroying our own
property.
E. In 2002, floods in several parts of Europe caused a lot of damage that cost billions of
euros to fix. Properties all over the continent fell into the sea as waves thumped the
coast and destroyed sea defenses. But it was not just the sea. Rivers that were
deformed by heavy rains and the loss of trees carried large amounts of water that
ruined many communities.
F. The costly short-term solution is to build better and more sophisticated flood
defences along rivers. There are less complicated options. Tree planting in highland
areas, not just in Europe, but also in locations like the Himalayas, to safeguard
people living in low-lying areas like the Ganges Delta, is a less expensive and more
appealing alternative. Countries are already being persuaded that the release of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is affecting significant environmental
damage. In this area, however, further work is needed.
G. What about the future? According to projections, two-thirds of the world's population
would be without fresh water by 2025. However, the future has arrived in a rising
number of parts of the planet. While floods have wreaked havoc in certain areas,
water scarcity is generating strife in others. The Rio Grande failed to reach the Gulf
of Mexico for the first time in 50 years in the spring of 2002, pitting the region against
the region as they compete for water supplies. Due to drought and growing water
usage in many regions of the world, there is currently discussion of water becoming
the new oil.
H. Other doom-laden predictions claim that, as the polar ice caps melt, coastal regions
and some low-lying islands will almost certainly be drowned by the water. Popular
exotic sites, which are today frequented by tens of thousands of tourists, will become
no-go zones. Today's vacation attractions in southern Europe and others will literally
become hotspots, making them too hot to live in or visit. It's impossible not to despair
in light of the current weather's irregular behavior.
I. Some may argue that this pessimism is unfounded, but there has been plenty of
evidence that something is wrong with the climate. Flooding has been destructive in
many regions of the globe. The catastrophe shifts from one continent to the next as
the seasons change. The cost of living is sad, and the environmental impact is
worrying. We'll have to get used to it.
Adam’s Wine IELTS Reading Questions
Questions 1-8
This reading passage has eight paragraphs labeled A-I.
Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B-I from the list of headings below.
Write the appropriate numbers (i-xii) in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
Note: There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.
List of Headings
I. Change in the environment has always been a part of our lives.
II.Water shortages
III.Rivers and waves wreak havoc.
IV.Is it reasonable to be pessimistic? Or is it more realistic?
V.Climate disasters make us feel better.
VI.Water, the source of nourishment
VII.How to deal with a flood
VIII.Widespread floods
IX.Relationship between humans and water
X.Water's devastation in the past
XI.Future flooding
XII.A negative outlook on the future
1. Paragraph B
2. Paragraph C
3. Paragraph D
4. Paragraph E
5. Paragraph F
6. Paragraph G
7. Paragraph H
8. Paragraph I
Questions 9-11
Choose the appropriate letters A-D
9. The author contends that
A.every day, the news we read and watch on TV amazes us.
B.We’re petrified in the face of environmental changes.
C.every day, the news we read and watch on TV should not amaze us.
D.Nature has surprised us with its ability to alter the surroundings.
10 According to the writer,
A.People do not need to become habituated to environmental destruction.
B.People will have to adapt to climate changes than harm the environment.
C.People are currently more accustomed to environmental devastation than in the past.
D.The widespread pessimism over environmental transformations is unjustified.
Questions 11-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage
11. Humanity's connection with water has always been fraught.
12. Half of the world's population will lack access to clean water in the year 2025.
13. As the seasons change, the disaster moves from one continent to another.
