IELTS General Reading Test 99

Section 1
Read the text below and answer questions 1-7.

Roads for people – Help create a National Cycle Network

The figures speak for themselves. Over 20 million cars are registered in Britain and road traffic is projected to at least double by the year 2025. Twice as much traffic on your roads… Imagine it! Yet many more people would choose to make their shorter journeys by cycle-if only the road conditions felt safe. Now, an answer to this problem is being created.

THE 5000-MILE NATIONAL CYCLE NETWORK
For fifteen years, Sustrans-it stands for ‘sustainable transport’-has been building traffic-free routes for cyclists and walkers, often through the heart of towns and cities. Several hundred miles are now completed, using disused railway lines, canal towpaths, riversides and unused land.

As a civil engineering charity, we work in partnership with local authorities and landowners. We are now promoting a true national network, composed of traffic-free paths, quiet country roads, on-road cycle lanes and protected crossings.

Safe cycling networks already exist in many parts of Europe-including Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Europeans are often astonished at tire road dangers we put up with here.

A Danish cyclist is ten times less likely to be killed or seriously injured-per mile cycled-than a cyclist in Britain. Extensive national and local cycle routes there are supported by slower traffic systems on surrounding roads.

A national cycle network for Britain can help transform local transport for the twenty-first century. With your help, it really is achievable! Make a donation now!

Questions 1 and 2
Answer the questions by choosing the appropriate letters A-D and writing them in boxes 1-2 on your answer sheet.

1. Sustrans is
A a local authority
B a construction company
C a civil engineering charity
D a cycle network

2. How many cars are expected to be on Britain’s roads in 2025?
A one million
B more than 40 million
C exactly 40 million
D twice as much traffic

Questions 3-7

Answer the questions using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 3-7.

3. How many miles of the network have already been completed?
4. At what are other European cyclists surprised that British cyclists accept?
5. In addition to cycle networks, what does Denmark have to protect cyclists?
6. How can people help create a national cycle network in Britain?
7. Apart from cyclists, who benefits from the work of Sustrans?

Read the text below and answer questions 8-14.

Roads – The Facts

In 1994 the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution described ‘the unrelenting growth of transport’ as ‘possibly the greatest environmental threat facing the UK’.

The Department of Transport predicts a doubling of traffic on 1988 levels by the year 2025. The Countryside Commission has warned that traffic through country areas may treble by then.

Vehicle exhaust is the major cause of urban air pollution. World Health Organization limits are regularly exceeded in most UK cities.

1 in 7 children suffers from asthma, thought to be exacerbated by traffic fumes.

Over 1500 wildlife sites including ancient woodlands and sites of special scientific interest are still threatened by road building.

Four times as many junior-age children are driven to school in Britain as in Germany, because of road dangers. In Holland 60 per cent of children cycle to school-compared with only 2 per cent here.

The National Cycle Network will:
• Cater for all users-commuters, school children, shoppers, family groups.
• Run right through the middle of most major towns and cities, enabling over 20 million people to ride to their nearest town centre within 10 minutes!
• Cost the equivalent of just a few weeks of the current national roads program.
• Be professionally designed and engineered, in cooperation with local authorities and landowners, to create high quality routes.

With your help we can build a network of commuter and leisure paths for a safer, healthier future.

Questions 8-14
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? In the boxes 8-14 on your answer sheet write:

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

8. There might be three times as many cars in rural areas in 2025.
9. The levels of air pollution in British cities are often higher than the standards set by the World Health Organization.
10. More German children go to school by car than British children.
11. It is believed that pollution from vehicles can make some children’s illnesses worse.
12. Most of the national cycle network will be in country areas.
13. Most towns and cities will be only 10 minutes ride away from the national cycle network.
14. The national cycle network will cost the same as the national roads program.

Section 2
Read the text below and answer questions 15-20.

St. Trinlan’s College

What applicants usually want to know-the questions we are most commonly asked.

А You can either phone for an interview or complete the attached form indicating which course you would like to take and return it to us by post, enclosing the registration fee.

B If you have difficulty in deciding which program would most effectively meet your needs, our academic counsellors can help you.

C Our tuition fees are listed on the back of the enrollment form.

D All long courses follow the academic year, but with short courses this is not possible. Full details of term dates will be mailed to you on request.

E Our overseas student office will assist with immigration procedures and can also give advice on accommodation and other matters. We do everything we can to help overseas students settle in.

F Most of our courses include curriculum vitae writing and interview skills. Through our extensive contacts in the local business community we are often in a position to help graduates find suitable employment.

G The college is a friendly place and has a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere. The few regulations that arc enforced are mainly a matter of common sense, concerned with respecting the rights of fellow students and staff. For students studying practical, job training courses, it is compulsory to wear clothing which is appropriate to their workplace.

Questions 15-20
The text about St. Trinlan’s College gives the answers to questions commonly asked by the college’s applicants. There are seven sections A-G.

Choose the most suitable question-heading for each section from the list below. Write the appropriate numbers (i-x) in the correct boxes on your answer sheet.
Note: There are more question-headings than sections so you will not use all of them.

Example Answer: Section A vi

15. Section B
16. Section C
17. Section D
18. Section E
19. Section F
20. Section G

List of headings
i. Which course should I apply for?
ii. Are the courses full-time or part-time?
iii. Are there a lot of rules?
iv. How much does it cost?
v. What level of education do I need to enter the college?
vi. How can I apply?
vii. Can the college help me to get a job?
viii. When do courses start?
ix. What assistance is given to foreign students?

Read the text below and answer questions 21-27.

Terms and conditions of enrollments

Full-fee paying international students are required to:
• study on a full-time basis
• comply with the visa regulation that at least 90 per cent attendance must be maintained. The college is required to notify the immigration authorities of unsatisfactory attendance which may result in the termination of the visa
• have adequate English language proficiency for the selected mainstream course or undertake to do an ELICOS course first
• have adequate financial means to do the course participate in orientation activities.

Note: You are advised to read and understand the conditions set out in the government acceptance advice form when you sign the declaration because you are required to comply with those conditions as an international student in Australia.

FEES
Application fees
The non-refundable application fee is $100.

Course fees
1. The course fees set for 1997/1998 are:
Certificate Courses AS 10 200 per year
Advanced Certificate Courses A$ 10 200 per year
Associated Diploma Courses AS 10 200 per year
ELICOS A$ 5 950 20 weeks
VCE A$ 5 600 20 weeks

2. The annual course fee includes die full cost of tuition and educational services provided by the college. Textbooks, equipment, tools, stationery and any other individual requirements that you may need in your studies are your responsibility.

3. Fee payment instructions are notified in the letter of provisional acceptance and fees must be paid by the date specified in the letter

4. All tuition fees must be paid by bankdraft and made payable to King George’s College of TAPE.

REFUND POLICY
Application fees
a) The application fee will not be refunded if the application is withdrawn after an offer of place has been made. b) Application fees will be refunded if the application is rejected or the course is cancelled by the college.

Course fees
If a student withdraws after payment of fees, the following will apply:
a) If notice of withdrawal is received by the college less than two (2) weeks before the course commences, no refund is given.
b) If written notice of withdrawal is given to the college less than four (4) weeks but more than two (2) weeks before the commencement of the course, 50 per cent of the course fee will be refunded.
c) If written notice of withdrawal is received by the college at least (4) weeks before the course commences. 80 per cent of the tuition fee will be refunded.

All notices of withdrawal must be in writing and addressed to the Manager, International Student Programs. The notice of withdrawal should state name, course, date of commencement and reason for withdrawal.

TRANSFER TO ANOTHER INSTITUTION
Applications for transfer must be made in writing to International Student Programs stating reasons, and a copy of the acceptance letter from the receiving institution must be attached. Fees to be transferred will be subject to the refund policy,

Note: The college will not be responsible for any monies made payable to any agent.

Questions 21-27
The following form gives information on the terms and conditions of enrollment of a college. Answer these questions in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. Write your answers in boxes 21 – 27.

21. Who does the college inform if a student docs not attend classes?
22. If a student cannot speak English well, what does he or she have to agree to do first?
23. Who provides pens, pencils, books and other equipment?
24. Course fees cannot be paid in cash. How do course fees have to be paid?
25. What happens to an application fee if the course is cancelled?
26. To obtain the maximum refund, what is the shortest notice of withdrawal a student can give?
27. If a student wants to change courses and go to a different college, to whom must Ire or she apply?

Section 3

The Panda’s Last Chance

Chinese authorities have devised an ambitious plan to save the giant panda from the ravages of deforestation. Martin Williams assesses the creature’s chances of avoiding extinction.

A The giant panda, the creature that has become a symbol of conservation, is facing extinction. The major reason is loss of habitat, which has continued despite the establishment, since 1963, of 14 panda reserves. Deforestation, mainly earned out by farmers clearing land to make way for fields as they move higher into the mountains, has drastically contracted the mammal’s range. The panda has disappeared from much of central and eastern China, and is now restricted to the eastern flank of the Himalayas in Sichuan and Gansu provinces, and the Qinling Mountains in Shanxi province. Fewer than 1400 of the animals are believed to remain in the wild.

B Satellite imagery has shown the seriousness of the situation; almost half of the panda’s habitat has been cut or degraded since 1975. Worse, the surviving panda population has also become fragmented; a combination of satellite imagery and ground surveys reveals panda Islands in patches of forest separated by cleared land. The population of these islands, ranging from fewer than ten to more than 50 pandas, has become isolated because the animals are bath to cross open areas. Just putting a road through panda habitat may be enough to split a population in two

C The minuscule size of the panda populations worries conservationists. The smallest groups have too few animals to be viable, and will inevitably die out. The larger populations may be viable in the short term, but will be susceptible to genetic defects as a result of inbreeding,

D In these circumstances, a more traditional threat to pandas-the cycle of flowering and subsequent withering of the bamboo that is their staple food-can become literally species-threatening. The flowerings prompt pandas to move from one area to another, thus preventing inbreeding in otherwise sedentary populations. In panda Islands, however, bamboo flowering could prove catastrophic because the pandas are unable to emigrate.

E The latest conservation management plan for the panda, prepared by China’s Ministry of Forestry and the World Wide Fund for Nature, aims primarily to maintain panda habitats and to ensure that populations are linked wherever possible. The plan will change some existing reserve boundaries, establish 14 new reserves and protect or replant corridors of forest between panda islands. Other measures include better control of poaching, which remains a problem despite strict laws, as panda skins fetch high prices; reducing the degradation of habitats outside reserves, and reforestation.

F The plan is ambitious. Implementation will be expensive-Yuan 56.6 million (US$ 12.5 million) will be needed for the development of the panda reserves- and will require participation by individuals ranging from villagers to government officials.

Questions 28-31
The passage The Panda’s Last Chance’ has 6 paragraphs labelled A-F. Which paragraphs contain the following information? Write the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 28-31. You only need ONE letter for each answer. Note: You may use each letter more than once.

Example Answer: Where panda habitats are located A

28. The separation of panda groups.
29. The panda’s diet.
30. The illegal killing of pandas.
31. Why pandas’ living areas have been reduced

Questions 32-33
There are several problems affecting the panda. From the list below, choose 2 more problems which are mentioned in the reading passage. Write the appropriate numbers (vi) in boxes 32 and 33.

i pandas prefer to inbreed
ii panda groups are getting too small

Example: iii. panda habitats have shrunk

iv. pandas move to other countries
v. more bamboo is withering
vi. panda groups are isolated

Questions 34-40
Below is a summary of the reading passage ‘The Panda’s Last Chance’. Complete the summary by choosing words from the list following the summary. Write your answers in boxes 34-40. Note: There are more words than spaces so you will not use them all. You may use any word more than once.

The survival of the giant panda is being seriously threatened. Panda numbers have already seriously (34) ……………… This is largely because the overall size of their habitat has been reduced and habitable areas arc now (35) ……………….. from each other. Two results are that pandas are more prone to genetic (36) …….. and are unable to move around freely to follow the (37) ………………….. cycles of the bamboo that they cal. A new plan is aiming to protect the existing panda habitats and to (38) …………………. many of them. This plan also includes reforestation and the creation of new (39) ………………….. To succeed, everyone, including both the government and individuals, will have to (40) …….

List of words
Survival
Disconnected
Dominated
Decreased
Problems
Join
Increased
Growth
Reserves
Food
Cooperate
Disconnect