Academic Reading # 65 - Making Every Drop Count

IELTS Academic Reading Passage - Making Every Drop Count

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on the Reading Passage below.

Question 14-20
The Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A-H.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A and C-H from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-xi, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i      Scientists' call for revision of policy
ii     An explanation for reduced water use
iii    How a global challenge was met
iv    Irrigation systems fall into disuse
 v    Environmental effects
vi    The financial cost of recent technological improvements
vii   The relevance to health
viii  Addressing the concern over increasing populations
ix   A surprising downward trend in demand for water
 x   The need to raise standards
xi   A description of ancient water supplies

14.  Paragraph A

Example: Paragraph  B     Answer: iii 

15.  Paragraph C
16.
  Paragraph D
17.
  Paragraph E
18.
  Paragraph F
19.
  Paragraph G
20.
  Paragraph H

MAKING EVERY DROP COUNT

A  The history of human civilization is entwined with the history of ways we have learned to manipulate water resources. As towns gradually expanded, water was brought from increasingly remote sources, leading to sophisticated engineering efforts such as dams and aqueducts. At the height of the Roman Empire, nine major systems, with an innovative layout of pipes and well-built sewers, supplied the occupants of Rome with as much water per person as is provided in many parts of the industrial world today.

B  During the industrial revolution and population explosion of the 19th and 20th centuries, the demand for water rose dramatically. Unprecedented construction of tens of thousands of monumental engineering projects designed to control floods, protect clean water supplies, and provide water for irrigation and hydropower brought great benefits to hundreds of millions of people. Food production has kept pace with soaring populations mainly because of the expansion of artificial irrigation system that makes possible the growth of 40% of the world's food. Nearly one-fifth of all the electricity generated worldwide is produced by turbines spun by the power of falling water.

C  Yet there is a dark side to this picture: despite our progress, half of the world's population till suffers, with water services inferior to those available to the ancient Greeks and Romans. As the United Nations report on access to water reiterated in November 2001, more than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water: some two and half billion do not have adequate sanitation services. Preventable water-related diseases kill an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 children every day, and the latest evidence suggests that we are falling behind in efforts to solve their problems.

D  The consequences of our water policies extend beyond jeopardizing human health. Tens of millions of people have been forced to move from their homes - often with little warning or compensation - to make way for the reservoirs behind dams. More than 20% of all freshwater fish species are now threatened or endangered because dams and water withdrawals have destroyed the free-flowing river ecosystems where they thrive. Certain irrigation practices degrade soil quality and reduce agricultural productivity. Groundwater aquifers* are being pumped down faster than they are naturally replenished in part of India, China, the USA and elsewhere. And disputes over shared water resources have led to violence and continue to raise local, national and even international tensions.
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aquifers = underground stores of water

E  At the outset of the new millennium, however, the way resource planners think about water is beginning to change. The focus is slowly shifting back to the provision of basic human and environmental needs as a top priority - ensuring 'some for all,' instead of 'more for some'. Some water experts are now demanding that existing infrastructure be used in smarter ways rather than building new facilities, which is increasingly considered the option of last, not first, resort. This shift in philosophy has not been universally accepted, and it comes with strong opposition from some established water organizations. Nevertheless, it may be the only way to address successfully the pressing problems of providing everyone with clean water to drink, adequate water to grow food and a life free from preventable water-related illness.

F  Fortunately - and unexpectedly - the demand for water is not rising as rapidly as some predicted. As a result, the pressure to build now water infrastructures has diminished over the past two decades. Although population, industrial output and economic productivity have continued to soar in developed nations, the rate at which people withdraw water from aquifers, rivers and lacks has slowed. And in a few parts of the world, demand has actually fallen.

G  What explains this remarkable turn of events? Two factors: people have figured out how to use water more efficiently, and communities are rethinking their priorities for water use. Throughout the first three-quarters of the 20th century, the quantity of freshwater consumed per person doubled on average; in the USA, water withdrawals increased tenfold while the population quadrupled. But since 1980, the amount of water consumed per person has actually decreased, thanks to a range of new technologies that help to conserve water in homes and industry. In 1965, for instance, Japan used approximately 13 million gallons* of water to produce $1 million of commercial output; by 1989 this had dropped to 3.5 million gallons (even accounting for inflation) - almost a quadrupling of water productivity. In the USA, water withdrawals have fallen by more than 20% from their peak in 1980.

H  On the other hand, dams, aqueducts and other kinds of infrastructure will still have to be built, particularly in developing countries where basic human needs have not been met. But such projects must be built to higher specifications and with more accountability to local people and their environment than in the past. And even in regions where new projects seem warranted, we must find ways to meet demands with fewer resources, respecting ecological criteria and to smaller budget.
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* 1 gallon: 4.546 litres

Question 21-26
Do the following statement agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?

In boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet, 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

21. Water use per person is higher in the industrial world than it was in Ancient Rome.
22. Feeding increasing populations is possible due primarily to improved irrigation systems
23. Modern water systems imitate those of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
24. Industrial growth is increasing the overall demand for water.
25. Modern technologies have led to reduction in the domestic water consumption.
26. In the future, governments should maintain ownership of water infrastructures.

Answer: Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.56 (39 Votes)

Malak Mostafa
Hi.
Aeyaz Ahmed
Answers.
Abdeldaym Elhosany
What is the level of it as I am a beginner in IELTS?
Ramjan Ahmad
Hi, I am Ramjan and it is my contact number 8814877549. If anybody wants to talk with me, please contact.
Christine
Can anyone explain Q. 25?
Sandro
Alex said :
Q. 24- why "NO". Can anyone explain? Thank you in advance.
The first sentence of the paragraph (F): "water is not rising as rapidly as some predicted..."

Hassan
Fortunately - and unexpectedly - the demand for water is not rising as rapidly as some predicted. As a result, the pressure to build new water infrastructures has diminished over the past two decades. Although population, industrial output and economic productivity have continued to soar in developed nations, the rate at which people withdraw water from aquifers, rivers and lacks has slowed. And in a few parts of the world, demand has actually fallen.
Kevin
Hello bro, you can see the third sentence of paragraph B. If I am not wrong!
Diana
I agree with Vrachno. Occupants of Ancient Rome received AS MUCH water as in SOME PARTS of the modern industrial world. So what about those other parts? It is strongly implied that in those other parts, there is MORE water per head than there was in Ancient Rome. In that case, the correct answer should be YES. But since this implication is not directly stated, we could argue that we don't know and the correct answer is NOT GIVEN. NO doesn't seem correct unless we read really carelessly and deliberately miss the finer points. I am an ESL teacher and native speaker who prepares students for IELTS exams. My students were outraged by the suggestion that the correct answer was NO and they have asked me to write this message of complaint.
Carolina
I love your msg! I'm a non-native ESL teacher having a look before sitting IELTS myself and also putting NG, then checked the same and have the same exact opinion as you very clearly explained. Paragraph G is all about an increase in water consumption... What to do... ;)
Dat
Please explain the answer to question 24.
Alex
Q. 24- why "NO". Can anyone explain? Thank you in advance.
Aroko
Q. 22 says, "Feeding increasing populations is possible due to primarily to improved irrigation systems."

I was thinking to answer it as "Yes". However, to me, it was not clear whether artificial irrigation system could be replaced with improved systems as mentioned in Paragraph 'B' or not. Therefore I answered "Not Given", simply because I didn’t find the link between those different words. It means that I clearly understood the text but my answer was wrong.

Vrachno
It says "in many parts". The question generalises, which means that if the answer is NO, it suggests that water use per person in Ancient Rome was higher in the WHOLE industrial world, which is not stated. I did the test yesterday and was really confused about this one.
Kim
At the end of paragraph A, you can find the evidence here. → "nine major systems..., supplied the occupants of Rome with as much water per person as is provided in many parts of the industrial world today."
Dima
Where is the proof that "Water use per person is higher in the industrial world than it was in Ancient Rome"? The answer is 'NO'.
Nazeem
Doesn't this statement contradict with the answer to question number 23? "But since 1980, the amount of water consumed per person has actually decreased, thanks to a range of new technologies that help to conserve water in homes and industry".