IELTS Reading Practice Test 33

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

Eco-Resort Management Practices

A

Ecotourism is often regarded as a form of nature-based tourism and has become an important alternative source of tourists. In addition to providing the traditional resort-leisure product, it has been argued that ecotourism resort management, an educational and interpretive component, and direct and indirect contributions to the conservation of the natural and cultural environment (Ayala, 1996).

B

Couran Cove Island Resort is a large integrated ecotourism-based resort located south of Brisbane on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. As the world’s population becomes increasingly urbanized, the demand for tourist attractions which are environmentally friendly, serene and offer amenities of a unique nature, has grown rapidly. Couran Cove Resort, which is one such tourist attractions, is located on South Stradbroke Island, occupying approximately 150 hectares of the island. South Stradbroke Island is separated from the mainland by the Broadwater, a stretch of sea 3 kilometers wide more than a century ago, there was only one Stradbroke Island, and there were at least four aboriginal tribes living and hunting on the island. Regrettably, most of the original island dwellers were eventually killed by diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox and influenza by the end of the 19th century. The second shipwreck on the island in 1894, and subsequent destruction of the ship (the Cambus Wallace) because it contained dynamite, caused a large crater in the sandhills on Stradbroke Island. Eventually, the ocean broke through the weakened landform and Stradbroke became two islands. Couran Cove Island Resort is built on one of the world’s few naturally-occurring sand lands, which is home to a wide range of plant communities and one of the largest remaining remnants of the rare Livistona rainforest left on the Gold Coast. Many mangrove and rainforest areas and Melaleuca Wetlands on South Stradbroke Island (and in Queensland) have been cleared, drained or filled for residential, industrial, agricultural or urban development in the first half of the 20th century. Farmers and graziers finally abandoned South Stradbroke Island in 1939 because the vegetation and the soil conditions there were not suitable for agricultural activities.

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES OF COURANT COVE RESORT

 Being located on an offshore island, the resort is only accessible by means of water transportation. The resort provides hourly ferry service from the marina on the mainland to and from the island. Within the resort, transport modes include walking trails, bicycle tracks and the beach train. The reception area is the counter of the shop which has not changed in 8 years at least. The accommodation is an octagonal “Bure”. These are large rooms that are clean but! The equipment is tired and in some cases just working. Our ceiling fan only worked on high speed for example. Beds are hard but clean, there are a television, radio, an old air conditioner and a small fridge. These “Bures” are right on top of each other and night noises do carry so be careful what you say and do. The only thing is the mosquitos but if you forget to bring mosquito repellant they sell some on the island.

As an ecotourism-based resort, most of the planning and development of the attraction has been concentrated on the need to co-exist with the fragile natural environment of South Stradbroke Island to achieve sustainable development.

WATER AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT

C

South Stradbroke Island has groundwater at the centre of the island, which has a maximum height of 3 metres above sea level. The water supply is recharged by rainfall and is commonly known as an unconfined freshwater aquifer. Couran Cove Island Resort obtains its water supply by tapping into this aquifer and extracting it via a bore system. Some of the problems which have threatened the island’s freshwater supply include pollution, contamination and over-consumption. In order to minimise some of these problems, all laundry activities are carried out on the mainland. The resort considers washing machines as onerous to the island’s freshwater supply, and that the detergents contain a high level of phosphates which are a major source of water pollution. The resort uses LPG-power generation rather than a diesel-powered plant for its energy supply, supplemented by a wind turbine, which has reduced greenhouse emissions by 70% of diesel-equivalent generation methods. Excess heat recovered from the generator is used to heat the swimming pool. Hot water in the eco-cabins and for some of the resort’s vehicles are solar-powered. Water-efficient fittings are also installed in showers and toilets. However, not all the appliances used by the resort are energy efficient, such as refrigerators. Visitors who stay at the resort are encouraged to monitor their water and energy usage via the in-house television systems and are rewarded with prizes (such as a free return trip to the resort) accordingly if their usage level is low.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

D

We examined a case study of good management practice and a pro-active sustainable tourism stance of an eco-resort. In three years of operation, Couran Cove Island Resort has won 23 international and national awards, including the 2001 Australian Tourism Award in the 4-Star Accommodation category. The resort has embraced and has effectively implemented contemporary environmental management practices. It has been argued that the successful implementation of the principles of sustainability should promote long-term social, economic and environmental benefits while ensuring and enhancing the prospects of continued viability for the tourism enterprise. Couran Cove Island Resort does not conform to the characteristics of the Resort Development Spectrum, as proposed by Prideaux (2000). According to Prideaux, the resort should be at least at Phase 3 of the model (the National tourism phase), which describes an integrated resort providing 3-4 star hotel-type accommodation. The primary tourist market in Phase 3 of the model consists mainly of interstate visitors. However, the number of interstate and international tourists visiting the resort is small, with the principal visitor markets comprising locals and residents from nearby towns and the Gold Coast region. The carrying capacity of Couran Cove does not seem to be of any concern to the Resort management. Given that it is a private, regulating the number of visitors to the resort to minimize the damage done to the natural environment on South Stradbroke Island is not a binding constraint. However, the Resort’s growth will eventually be constrained by its carrying capacity, and quantity control should be incorporated into the management strategy of the resort.

Questions 1-5

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

Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

1   the Stradbroke became two islands

A   by intended destruction of the ship of the Cambus Wallace

B   by an explosion of dynamite on a ship and following nature erosion

C   by the movement sandhills on Stradbroke Island

D   by the volcanic eruption on the island

2   Why are laundry activities for the resort carried out on the mainland?

A   In order to obtain its water supply via a bore system

B   In order to preserve the water and anti-pollution

C   In order to save the cost of installing onerous washing machines

D   In order to reduce the level of phosphates in the water around

3   What is the major water supplier in South Stradbroke Island is by

A  desalinating the seawater

B   collecting the rainfall

C   transporting from the mainland

D   boring groundwater

4   What is applied for heating water on Couran Cove Island Resort

A   the LPG-power

B   a diesel-powered plant

C   the wind power

D   the solar-power

5   What does, as the managers of resorts believe, the prospective future focus on

A   more awards for resort’s accommodation

B   sustainable administration and development in the long run

C   Economic and environmental benefits for the tourism enterprise

D   successful implementation of the Resort Development Spectrum

Questions 6-10

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage.

Using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet.

Being located away from the mainland, tourists can attain the resort only by 6……………………….. in a regular service. Within the resort, transports include trails for walking or tracks for both 7………………………. and the beach train. The on-island equipment is old-fashioned which is barely working such as the 8………………………… overhead. There is television, radio, an old 9……………………….. and a small fridge. And you can buy the repellant for 10……………………… if you forget to bring some.

Questions 11-13

Choose THREE correct letters among A-E

Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.

What is true as to the contemporary situation of Couran Cove Island Resort in the last paragraph?

A   Couran Cove Island Resort goes for more eco-friendly practices

B   the accommodation standard only conforms to the Resort Development Spectrum of Phase 3

C   Couran Cove Island Resort should raise the accommodation standard and build more facilities

D   the principal group visiting the resort is international tourists

E   its carrying capacity will restrict the future business’ expansion

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-27 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. 

The reconstruction of community in Talbot Park, Auckland

A

An architecture of disguise is almost complete at Talbot Park in the heart of Auckland’s Glen Innes. The place was once described as a state housing ghetto, rife with crime, vandalism and other social problems. But today after a $48 million urban renewal makeover, the site is home to 700 residents – 200 more than before – and has people regularly inquiring whether they can buy or rent there. “It doesn’t look like social housing,” Housing New Zealand housing services manager Dene Busby says of the tidy brick and weatherboard apartments and townhouses which would look just as much at home in “there is no reason why public housing should look cheap in my view,” says Design Group architect Neil of the eight three-bedroom terrace houses his firm designed.

B

Talbot Park is a triangle of government-owned land bounded by Apirana Ave, Pilkington Rd and Point England Rd. in the early 1960s, it was developed for state housing built around a linear park that ran through the middle. Initially, there was a strong sense of a family-friendly community. Former residents recall how the Talbot Park reserve played a big part in their childhoods – a place where the kids in the block came together to play softball, cricket, tiggy, leapfrog and bullrush. Sometimes they’d play “Maoris against Pakehas” but without any animosity. “It was all just good fun”, says Georgie Thompson in Ben Schrader’s We Call it Home: A History of State Housing in New Zealand. “We had respect for our neighbours and addressed them by title Mr. and Mrs. so-and-so,” she recalls.

C

Quite what went wrong with Talbot Park is not clear. We call it Home Records that the community began to change in the late 1970s as more Pacific Islanders and Europeans moved in. The new arrivals didn’t readily integrate with the community, a “them and us” mentality developed, and residents interact with their neighbours less. What was clear was the buildings were deteriorating and becoming dilapidated, petty crime was on the rise and the reserve – the focus of fond childhood memories – had become a wasteland and was considered unsafe.

D

But it wasn’t until 2002 that Housing New Zealand decided the properties needed upgrading. The master renewal plan didn’t take advantage of the maximum accommodation density allowable (one unit per 100 sq metres) but did increase density to one unit per 180 sq m by refurbishing all 108 star flat units, removing the multis and building 111 new home. The Talbot strategy can be summed up as mix, match and manage. Mix up the housing with various plans from a mix of architects, match house styles to what’s built by the private sector, match tenants to the mix, and manage their occupancy. Inevitably cost comes into the equation. “If you’re going to build low-cost homes, you’ve got to keep them simple and you can’t afford a fancy bit on them.” Says Michael Thompson of Architectus which designed the innovative three-level Atrium apartments lining two sides of a covered courtyard. At $300,000 per two-bedroom unit, the building is more expensive but provides for independent disabled accommodation as well as offering solar hot water heating and rainwater collection for toilet cisterns and outside taps.

E

The renewal project budget at $1.5 million which will provide park pathways, planting, playgrounds, drinking fountains, seating, skateboard rails, a half-size basketball hard court, and a pavilion. But if there was any doubt this is a low socio-economic area, the demographics for the surrounding Tamaki area are sobering. Of the 5000 households there, 55 per cent are statehouses, 28 per cent privately owned (compared to about 65 per cent nationally) and 17 per cent are private rental. The area has a high concentration of households with incomes in the $5000 to $15,000 range and very few with an income of over $70,000. That’s in sharp contrast to the more affluent suburbs like Kohimarama and St John’s that surround the area.

F

“The design is for people with different culture background,” says architect James Lunday of Common Ground which designed the 21 large family homes. “Architecturally we decided to be relatively conservative – a nice house in its own garden with a bit of space and good indoor-outdoor flow.” There’s a slight reflection of the whare and a Pacific fale, but not overplayed “The private sector is way behind in urban design and sustainable futures,” says Bracey. “Redesigning streets and parks is a big deal and very difficult to do. The private sector won’t do it, because it’s so hard.

G

There’s no doubt good urban design and good architecture play a significant part in the scheme. But probably more important is a new standard of social control. Housing New Zealand calls it “intensive tenancy management”. Others view it as social engineering. “It’s a model that we are looking at going forward,” according to Housing New Zealand’s central Auckland regional manager Graham Bodman. “The focus is on frequent inspections, helping tenants to get to know each other and trying to create an environment of respect for neighbours,” says Bodman. That includes some strict rules – no loud parties after 10 pm, no dogs, no cats in the apartments, no washing hung over balcony rails and a requirement to mow lawns and keep the property tidy. Housing New Zealand has also been active in organising morning teas and street barbecues for residents to meet their neighbours. “It’s all based on the intensification,” says Community Renewal project manager Stuart Bracey. “We acknowledge if you are going to put more people living closer together, you have to actually help them to live closer together because it creates tension – especially for people that aren’t used to it.”

Questions 14-20

The Reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G

Choose the correct heading for paragraphs, A-G, from the list below.

Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i           Financial hardship of community

ii          A good tendency of strengthening the supervision

iii         Details of plans for the community’s makeover and upgrade

iv         Architecture suits families of various ethnic origins

v          Problems arise then the mentality of alienation developed later

vi         Introduction of a social housing community with unexpected high standard

vii        A practical design and need assist and cooperate in future

viii       closer relationship among neighbors in the original site

ix         different need from a makeup of a low financial background should be considered

x          How to make the community feel safe

xi         a plan with details for the house structure

14   Paragraph A

15   Paragraph B

16   Paragraph C

17   Paragraph D

18   Paragraph E

19   Paragraph F

20   Paragraph G

Questions 21-23

Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-E) with opinions or deeds below.

Write the appropriate letters, A-E, in boxes 21-23 on your answer sheet.

List of people

A          Michael Thompson

B          Graham Bodman

C          Stuart Bracey

D         James Lunday

E          Dene Busby

21   Design should meet the need of mix-raced cultural background

22   for a better living environment, regulations and social control should be imperative

23   organising more community’s activities helps to strengthen the relationship in the community

Questions 24-27

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage 2

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 24-27 on your answer sheet.

In the year 2002, the Talbot decided to raise housing standard, yet the plan was to build homes go much beyond the accommodation limit and people complain about the high living 24…………………….

And as the various plans were complemented under the designs of many 25…………………….. together, made house styles go with the part designed by individuals, matched tenants from a different culture. As for the finance, reconstruction program’s major concern is to build a house within low 26…………………….; finally, just as expert predicted, residents will agree on building a relatively conventional house in its own 27………………………, which provides considerable space to move around.

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Alzheimer

A

While it may not be possible to completely age-proof our brains, a brave new world of anti-aging research shows that our gray matter may be far more flexible than we thought. So no one, no matter how old, has to lose their mind. The brain has often been called the three-pound universe. It’s our most powerful and mysterious organ, the seat of the self, laced with as many billions of neurons as the galaxy has stars. No wonder the mere notion of an aging, failing brain – and the prospect of memory loss, confusion, and the unraveling of our personality – is so terrifying. As Mark Williams, M.D., author of The American Geriatrics Society’s Complete Guide to Aging and Health, says, “The fear of dementia is stronger than the fear of death itself.” Yet the degeneration of the brain is far from inevitable. “Its design features are such that it should continue to function for a lifetime,” says Zaven Khachaturian, Ph. D., director of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute. “There’s no reason to expect it to deteriorate with age, even though many of us are living longer lives.” In fact, scientists’ view of the brain’s potential is rapidly changing, according to Stanford University neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D. “Thirty-five years ago we thought Alzheimer’s disease was a dramatic version of normal aging. Now we realize it’s a disease with a distinct pathology. In fact, some people simply don’t experience any mental decline, so we’ve begun to study them.” Antonio Damasio, M.D., Ph.D., head of the Department of Neurology at the University of Iowa and author of Descartes’ Error, concurs. “Older people can continue to have extremely rich and healthy mental lives.”

B

The seniors were tested in 1988 and again in 1991. Four factors were found to be related to their mental fitness: levels of education and physical activity, lung function, and feelings of self-efficacy. “Each of these elements alters the way our brain functions,” says Marilyn Albert, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School, and colleagues from Yale, Duke, and Brandeis Universities and the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, who hypothesizes that regular exercise may actually stimulate blood flow to the brain and nerve growth, both of which create more densely branched neurons, rendering the neurons stronger ad better able to resist disease. Moderate aerobic exercise, including long brisk walks and frequently climbing stairs, will accomplish this.

C

Education also seems to enhance brain function. People who have challenged themselves with at least a college education may actually stimulate the neurons in their brains. Moreover, native intelligence may protect our brains. It’s possible that smart people begin life with a greater number of neurons, and therefore have a greater reserve to fall back on if some begin to fail. “If you have a lot of neurons and keep them busy, you may be able to tolerate more damage to your brain before in shows,” says Peter Davies, M.D., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York. Early linguistic ability also seems to help our brains later in life. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at 93 elderly nuns and examined the autobiographies they had written 60 years earlier, just as they were joining a convent. The nuns whose essays were complex and dense with ideas remained sharp into their eighties and nineties.

D

Finally, personality seems to play an important role in protecting our mental prowess. A sense of self-efficacy may protect our brain, buffeting it from the harmful effects of stress. According to Albert, there’s evidence that elevated levels of stress hormones may harm brain cells and cause the hippocampus – a small seahorse-shaped organ that’s a crucial moderator of memory – to atrophy. A sense that we can effectively chart our own course in the world may retard the release of stress hormones and protect us as we age. “It’s not a matter of whether you experience stress or not,” Albert concludes, “it’s your attitude toward it.” Reducing stress by meditating on a regular basis may buffer the brain as well. It also increases the activity of the brain’s pineal gland, the source of the antioxidant hormone melatonin, which regulates sleep and may retard the aging process. Studies at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and the University of Western Ontario found that people who meditated regularly had higher levels of melatonin than those who took 5-milligram supplements. Another study, conducted jointly by Maharishi International University, Harvard University, and the University of Maryland, found that seniors who meditated for three months experienced dramatic improvements in their psychological well-being, compared to their non-meditative peers.

E

Animal studies confirm that both mental and physical activity boost brain fitness. At the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology in Urbana, Illinois, psychologist William Greenough, Ph.D., let some rats play with a profusion of toys. These rodents developed about 25 percent more connections between their neurons than did rats that didn’t get any mentally stimulating recreation. In addition, rats that exercised on a treadmill developed more capillaries in specific parts of their brains than did their sedentary counterparts. This increased the blood flow to their brains. “Clearly the message is to do as many different flyings as possible,” Greenough says.

F

It’s not just scientists who are catching the anti-aging fever. Walk into any health food store, and you’ll find nutritional formulas – with names like Brainstorm and Smart ALEC – that claim to sharpen the mental ability. The book Smart Drugs & Nutrients, by Ward Dean, M.D., and John Morgenthaler, was self-published in 1990 and has sold over 120,000 copies worldwide. It has also spawned an underground network of people tweaking their own brain chemistry with nutrients and drugs – the latter sometimes obtained from Europe and Mexico. Sales of ginkgo – an extract from the leaves of the 200-million-year-old ginkgo tree, which has been shown in published studies to increase oxygen in the brain and ameliorate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease – are up by 22 percent in the last six months alone, according to Paddy Spence, president of SPINS, a San Francisco-based market research firm. Indeed, products that increase and preserve mental performance are a small but emerging segment of the supplements industry, says Linda Gilbert, president of HealthFocus, a company that researches consumer health trends. While neuroscientists like Khachaturian liken the use of these products to the superstition of tossing salt over your shoulder, the public is nevertheless gobbling up nutrients that promise cognitive enhancement.

Questions 28-31

Choose the FOUR correct letters among A-G

Write your answers in boxes 28-31 on your answer sheet.

Which of the FOUR situations or conditions assisting the Brains’ function?

A   Preventive treatment against Alzheimer’s disease

B   Doing active aerobic exercise and frequently climbing stairs

C   High levels of education

D   Early verbal or language competency training

E   Having more supplements such as ginkgo tree

F   Participate in a more physical activity involving in stimulating tasks

G   Personality and feelings of self-fulfillment

Questions 32-39

Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-G) with opinions or deeds below.

Write the appropriate letters A-G in boxes 32-39 on your answer sheet.

NB  You may use any letter more than once

A          Zaven Khachaturian

B          William Greenough

C          Marilyn Albert

D          Robert Sapolsky

E          Linda Gilbert

F          Peter Davies

G         Paddy Spence

32   Alzheimer’s was probably a kind of disease rather than a normal aging process.

33   Keeping neurons busy, people may be able to endure more harm to your brain

34   Regular exercises boost blood flow to the brain and increase anti-disease disability.

35   Significant increase in Sales of ginkgo has been shown.

36   More links between their neurons are found among stimulated animals.

37   Effectiveness of the use of brains supplements products can be of little scientific proof.

38   Heightened levels of stress may damage brain cells and cause part of the brain to deteriorate.

39   Products that upgrade and preserve mental competence are still a newly developing industry.

Question 40

Choose the correct letters among A-D

Write your answers in box 40 on your answer sheet.

According to the passage, what is the most appropriate title for this passage?

A   Making our minds last a lifetime

B   amazing pills of the ginkgo

C   how to stay healthy in your old hood

D   more able a brain and neurons