Candidate

Number

Candidate Name

INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING

SYSTEM

Academic Reading
PRACTICE TEST

Time 1 hour

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
Do not open this question paper until you are told to do so.
Write your name and candidate number in the spaces at the top of this page.
Read the instructions for each part of the paper carefully.
Answer all the questions.
Write your answers on the answer sheet. Use a pencil.
You must complete the answer sheet within the time limit.
At the end of the test, hand in both this question paper and your answer sheet.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

There are 40 questions on this question paper.
Each question carries one mark.
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1–13

GOING BANANAS

The banana is among the world's oldest crops. Agricultural scientists believe that the first edible
banana was discovered around ten thousand years ago. It has been at an evolutionary standstill
ever since it was first propagated in the jungles of South-East Asia at the end of the last ice age.
Normally the wild banana, a giant jungle herb called Musa acuminata, contains a mass of hard
seeds that make the fruit virtually inedible. But now and then, hunter- gatherers must have
discovered rare mutant plants that produced seedless, edible fruits. Geneticists now know that the
vast majority of these soft-fruited I plants resulted from genetic accidents that gave their cells three
copies of each chromosome instead of the usual two. This imbalance prevents seeds and pollen
from developing normally, rendering the mutant plants sterile. And that is why some scientists
believe the world’s most popular fruit could be doomed. It lacks the genetic diversity to fight off
pests and diseases that are invading the banana plantations of Central America and the
smallholdings of Africa and Asia alike.

In some ways, the banana today resembles the potato before blight brought famine to Ireland a
century and a half ago. But “it holds a lesson for other crops, too,” says Emile Frison, top banana
at the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain in Montpellier, France.
“The state of the banana,” Frison warns, “can teach a broader lesson: the increasing
standardisation of food crops round the world is threatening their ability to adapt and survive.”

The first Stone Age plant breeders cultivated these sterile freaks by replanting cuttings from their
stems. And the descendants of those original cuttings are the bananas we still eat today. Each is a
virtual clone, almost devoid of genetic diversity. And that uniformity makes it ripe for diseases like
no other crop on Earth. Traditional varieties of sexually reproducing crops have always had a
much broader genetic base, and the genes will recombine in new arrangements in each
generation. This gives them much greater flexibility in evolving responses to disease - and far
more genetic resources to draw on in the face of an attack. But that advantage is fading fast, as
growers increasingly plant the same few, high-yielding varieties. Plant breeders work feverishly to
maintain resistance in these standardised crops. Should these efforts falter, yields of even the
most productive crop could swiftly crash. “When some pest or disease comes along, severe
epidemics can occur,” says Geoff Hawtin, director of the Rome-based International Plant Genetic
Resources Institute.

The banana is an excellent case in point. Until the 1950s, one variety, the Gros Michel, dominated
the world’s commercial banana business. Found by French botanists in Asia in the 1820s, the
Gros Michel was by all accounts a fine banana, richer and sweeter than today’s standard banana
and without the latter’s bitter aftertaste when green. But it was vulnerable to a soil fungus that
produced a wilt known as Panama disease. “Once the fungus gets into the soil, it remains there for
many years. There is nothing farmers can do. Even chemical spraying won’t get rid of it,” says
Rodomiro Ortiz, director of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria. So
plantation owners played a running game, abandoning infested fields and moving to “clean” land -
until they ran out of clean land in the 1950s and had to abandon the Gros Michel. Its successor,
and still the reigning commercial king, is the Cavendish banana, a 19th-century British discovery
from southern China. The Cavendish is resistant to Panama disease and, as a result, it literally
saved the international banana industry. During the 1960s, it replaced the Gros Michel on
supermarket shelves. If you buy a banana today, it is almost certainly a Cavendish. But even so, it
is a minority in the world’s banana crop.

Half a billion people in Asia and Africa depend on bananas. Bananas provide the largest source of
calories and are eaten daily. Its name is synonymous with food. But the day of reckoning may be
coming for the Cavendish and its indigenous kin. Another fungal disease, black Sigatoka, has
become a global epidemic since its first appearance in Fiji in 1963. Left to itself, black Sigatoka -
which causes brown wounds on leaves and premature fruit ripening - cuts fruit yields by 50 to 70
per cent and reduces the productive lifetime of banana plants from 30 years to as little as 2 or 3.
Commercial growers keep black Sigatoka at bay by a massive chemical assault. Forty sprayings
of fungicide a year is typical. But despite the fungicides, diseases such as black Sigatoka are
getting more and more difficult to control. “As soon as you bring in a new fungicide, they develop
resistance,” says Frison. “One thing we can be sure of is that black Sigatoka won't lose in this
battle.” Poor farmers, who cannot afford chemicals, have it even worse. They can do little more
than watching their plants die. “Most of the banana fields in Amazonia have already been
destroyed by the disease,” says Luadir Gasparotto, Brazil’s leading banana pathologist with the
government research agency EMBRAPA. Production is likely to fall by 70 per cent as the disease
spreads, he predicts. The only option will be to find a new variety.

But how? Almost all edible varieties are susceptible to the diseases, so growers cannot simply
change to a different banana. With most crops, such a threat would unleash an army of breeders,
scouring the world for resistant relatives whose traits they can breed into commercial varieties. Not
so with the banana. Because all edible varieties are sterile, bringing in new genetic traits to help
cope with pests and diseases is nearly impossible. Nearly, but not totally. Very rarely, a sterile
banana will experience a genetic accident that allows an almost normal seed to develop, giving
breeders a tiny window for improvement. Breeders at the Honduran Foundation of Agricultural
Research have tried to exploit this to create disease-resistant varieties. Further back-crossing with
wild bananas yielded a new seedless banana resistant to both black Sigatoka and Panama
disease.

Neither Western supermarket consumers nor peasant growers like the new hybrid. Some accuse it
of tasting more like an apple than a banana. Not surprisingly, the majority of plant breeders have
till now turned their backs on the banana and got to work on easier plants. And commercial
banana companies are now washing their hands of the whole breeding effort, preferring to fund a
search for new fungicides instead. “We supported a breeding programme for 40 years, but it
wasn't able to develop an alternative to the Cavendish. It was very expensive and we got nothing
back,” says Ronald Romero, head of research at Chiquita, one of the Big Three companies that
dominate the international banana trade.

Last year, a global consortium of scientists led by Frison announced plans to sequence the
banana genome within five years. It would be the first edible fruit to be sequenced. Well, almost
edible. The group will actually be sequencing inedible wild bananas from East Asia because many
of these are resistant to black Sigatoka. If they can pinpoint the genes that help these wild
varieties to resist black Sigatoka, the protective genes could be introduced into laboratory tissue
cultures of cells from edible varieties. These could then be propagated into new disease-resistant
plants and passed on to farmers.

It sounds promising, but the big banana companies have, until now, refused to get involved in GM
research for fear of alienating their customers. “Biotechnology is extremely expensive and there
are serious questions about consumer acceptance,” says David McLaughlin, Chiquita’s senior
director for environ- mental affairs. With scant funding from the companies, the banana genome
researchers are focusing on the other end of the spectrum. Even if they can identify the crucial
genes, they will be a long way from developing new varieties that smallholders will find suitable
and affordable. But whatever biotechnology’s academic interest, it is the only hope for the banana.
Without it, banana production worldwide will head into a tailspin. We may even see the extinction
of the banana as both a lifesaver for hungry and impoverished Africans and the most popular
product on the world’s supermarket shelves.

Questions 1-3

Complete the sentences below with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each
answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.

1. Banana was first eaten as a fruit by humans almost ........................... years ago.
2. Banana was first planted in ...........................
3. Wild banana’s taste is adversely affected by its ...........................

Questions 4-10

Look at the statements (Questions 4-10) and the list of people. Match each statement with the
correct person A-F. Write the correct letter A-F in boxes 4-10 on your answer sheet. You may use
any letter more than once.

4. A pest invasion may seriously damage banana industry.

5. The effect of fungal infection in soil is often long-lasting.
6. A commercial manufacturer gave up on breeding bananas for disease-resistant
7. Banana disease may develop resistance to chemical sprays.
8. A banana disease has destroyed a large number of banana plantations.
9. Consumers would not accept genetically altered crops.
10. Lessons can be learned from bananas for other crops.
List of People

A. Rodomiro Ortiz
B. David McLaughlin
C. Emile Frison
D. Ronald Romero
E. Luadir Gasparotto
F. Geoff Hawtin

Questions 11-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 31?
In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet 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

11. Banana is the oldest known fruit.

12. Gros Michel is still being used as a commercial product.
13. Banana is the main food in some countries.
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26

CREATING ARTIFICIAL REEFS

In the coastal waters of the US, a nation's leftovers have been discarded. Derelict ships, concrete
blocks, scrapped cars, army tanks, tyres filled with concrete and redundant planes litter the sea
floor. However, this is not waste disposal, but part of a coordinated, state-run programme. To
recently arrived fish, plants and other sea organisms, these artificial reefs are an ideal home,
offering food and shelter.

IELTS Reading sample creating artificial reefsSea-dumping incites widespread condemnation.

Little surprise when oceans are seen as 'convenient' dumping grounds for the rubbish we have
created but would rather forget. However, scientific evidence suggests that if we dump the right
things, sea life can actually be enhanced. And more recently, purpose-built structures of steel or
concrete have been employed - some the size of small apartment blocks -principally to increase
fish harvests.

Strong currents, for example, the choice of design and materials for an artificial reef depends on
where it is going to be placed. In areas of a solid concrete structure will be more appropriate than
ballasted tyres. It also depends on what species are to be attracted. It is pointless creating high-
rise structures for fish that prefer flat or low-relief habitat. But the most important consideration is
the purpose of the reef.

In the US, where there is a national reef plan using cleaned up rigs and tanks, artificial reefs have
mainly been used to attract fish for recreational fishing or sport-diving. But there are many other
ways in which they can be used to manage the marine habitat. For as well as protecting existing
habitat, providing purpose-built accommodation for commercial species (such as lobsters and
octpi) and acting as sea defences, they can be an effective way of improving fish harvests.

Japan, for example, has created vast areas of artificial habitat - rather than isolated reefs - to
increase its fish stocks. In fact, the cultural and historical importance of seafood in Japan is
reflected by the fact that it is a world leader in reef technology; what's more, those who construct
and deploy reefs have sole rights to the harvest.

In Europe, artificial reefs have been mainly employed to protect habitat. Particularly so in the
Mediterranean where reefs have been sunk as physical obstacles to stop illegal trawling, which is
destroying sea grass beds and the marine life that depends on them. If you want to protect areas
of the seabed, you need something that will stop trawlers dead in their tracks,' says Dr Antony
Jensen of the Southampton Oceanography Centre.

Italy boasts considerable artificial reef activity. It deployed its first scientifically planned reef using
concrete cubes assembled in pyramid forms in 1974 to enhance fisheries and stop trawling. And
Spain has built nearly 50 reefs in its waters, mainly to discourage trawling and enhance the
productivity of fisheries. Meanwhile, Britain established its first quarried rock artificial reef in 1984
off the Scottish coast, to assess its potential for attracting commercial species.
But while the scientific study of these structures is a little over a quarter of a century old, artificial
reefs made out of readily available materials such as bamboo and coconuts have been used by
fishermen for centuries. And the benefits have been enormous. By placing reefs close to home,
fishermen can save time and fuel. But unless they are carefully managed, these areas can
become over- fished. In the Philippines, for example, where artificial reef programmes have been
instigated in response to declining fish populations, catches are often allowed to exceed the
maximum potential new production of the artificial reef because there is no proper management
control.

There is no doubt that artificial reefs have lots to offer. And while purpose-built structures are
effective, the real challenge now is to develop environmentally safe ways of using recycled waste
to increase marine diversity. This will require more scientific research. For example, the leachates
from one of the most commonly used reef materials, tyres, could potentially be harmful to the
creatures and plants that they are supposed to attract. Yet few extensive studies have been
undertaken into the long- term effects of disposing of tyres at sea. And at the moment, there is
little consensus about what is environmentally acceptable to dump at sea, especially when it
comes to oil and gas rigs. Clearly, the challenge is to develop environmentally acceptable ways of
disposing of our rubbish while enhancing marine life too. What we must never be allowed to do is
have an excuse for dumping anything we like at sea.

Questions 14-16
The list below gives some of the factors that must be taken into account when deciding how to
construct an artificial reef. Which THREE of these factors are mentioned by the writer of the
article? Write the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 14-16 on your answer sheet.

A The fishing activity in the area

В The intended location of the reef
С The existing reef structures
D The type of marine life being targeted
E The function of the reef
F The cultural importance of the area

Questions 17-20

Complete the table below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for
each answer. Write your answers in boxes 17-20 on your answer sheet.
Area Type of Reef Purpose

US Made using old ….(17)…. To attract fish for leisure activities

Japan Forms large area of artificial habitat to improve ….(18)….

Europe lies deep down to form …(19)…. to act as a sea defence

Italy Consists of pyramid shapes of ….(20)….. to prevent trawling

Britain made of rock to encourage ….(21)…. Fish species

Questions 22-25

Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS, complete the following sentences. Write your answers
in boxes 22-25 on your answer sheet.

In .....(22)....., people who build reefs are legally entitled to all the fish they attract. Trawling inhibits
the development of marine life because it damages the .....(23)...... In the past, both
......(24)......were used to make reefs. To ensure that reefs are not over-fished, good ......(25)..... is
required.

Question 26

Choose the appropriate letter A-D and write it in box 26 on your answer sheet.

26 According to the writer, the next step in the creation of artificial reefs is

A to produce an international agreement.

В to expand their use in the marine environment.
С to examine their dangers to marine life.
D to improve on purpose-built structures.
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26

THE DISCOVERY OF URANUS

Someone once put forward an attractive though unlikely theory. Throughout the Earth's annual
revolution around the sun, there is one point of space always hidden from our eyes. This point is
the opposite part of the Earth's orbit, which is always hidden by the sun. Could there be another
planet there, essentially similar to our own, but always invisible?

If a space probe today sent back evidence that such a world existed it would cause not much more
sensation than Sir William Herschel's discovery of a new planet, Uranus, in 1781. Herschel was an
extraordinary man — no other astronomer has ever covered so vast a field of work — and his
career deserves study. He was born in Hanover in Germany in 1738, left the German army in
1757, and arrived in England the same year with no money but quite exceptional music ability. He
played the violin and oboe and at one time was organist in the Octagon Chapel in the city of Bath.
Herschel's was an active mind, and deep inside he was conscious that music was not his destiny;
he therefore, read widely in science and the arts, but not until 1772 did he come across a book on
astronomy. He was then 34, middle-aged by the standards of the time, but without hesitation he
embarked on his new career, financing it by his professional work as a musician. He spent years
mastering the art of telescope construction, and even by present-day standards his instruments
are comparable with the best.

Serious observation began 1774. He set himself the astonishing task of 'reviewing the heavens', in
other words, pointing his telescope to every accessible part of the sky and recording what he saw.
The first review was made in 1775; the second, and most momentous, in 1780-81. It was during
the latter part of this that he discovered Uranus. Afterwards, supported by the royal grant in
recognition of his work, he was able to devote himself entirely to astronomy. His final
achievements spread from the sun and moon to remote galaxies (of which he discovered
hundreds), and papers flooded from his pen until his death in 1822. Among these, there was one
sent to the Royal Society in 1781, entitled An Account of a Comet. In his own words:

On Tuesday the 13th of March, between ten and eleven in the evening, while I was examining the
small stars in the neighbourhood of H Geminorum, I perceived one that appeared visibly larger
than the rest; being struck with its uncommon magnitude, I compared it to H Geminorum and the
small star in the quartile between Auriga and Gemini, and finding it to be much larger than either of
them, suspected it to be a comet.

Herschel's care was the hallmark of a great observer; he was not prepared to jump any
conclusions. Also, to be fair, the discovery of a new planet was the last thought in anybody's mind.
But further observation by other astronomers besides Herschel revealed two curious facts. For the
comet, it showed a remarkably sharp disc; furthermore, it was moving so slowly that it was thought
to be a great distance from the sun, and comets are only normally visible in the immediate vicinity
of the sun. As its orbit came to be worked out the truth dawned that it was a new planet far beyond
Saturn's realm, and that the 'reviewer of the heavens' had stumbled across an unprecedented
prize. Herschel wanted to call it georgium sidus (Star of George) in honour of his royal patron King
George III of Great Britain. The planet was later for a time called Herschel in honour of its
discoverer. The name Uranus, which was first proposed by the German astronomer Johann Elert
Bode, was in use by the late 19th century.
Uranus is a giant in construction, but not so much in size; its diameter compares unfavourably with
that of Jupiter and Saturn, though on the terrestrial scale it is still colossal. Uranus' atmosphere
consists largely of hydrogen and helium, with a trace of methane. Through a telescope the planet
appears as a small bluish-green disc with a faint green periphery. In 1977, while recording the
occultation 1 of a star behind the planet, the American astronomer James L. Elliot discovered the
presence of five rings encircling the equator of Uranus. Four more rings were discovered in
January 1986 during the exploratory flight of Voyager 2 2 , In addition to its rings, Uranus has 15
satellites ('moons'), the last 10 discovered by Voyager 2 on the same flight; all revolve about its
equator and move with the planet in an east—west direction. The two largest moons, Titania and
Oberon, were discovered by Herschel in 1787. The next two, Umbriel and Ariel, were found in
1851 by the British astronomer William Lassell. Miranda, thought before 1986 to be the innermost
moon, was discovered in 1948 by the American astronomer Gerard Peter Kuiper.

Questions 27-31

Complete the table below. Write a date for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 27-31 on
your answer sheet.

Event Date

Example: William Herschel was born Answer: 1738

Herschel began investigating astronomy (27)………….

Discovery of the planet Uranus (28)………….

Discovery of the moons Titania and Oberon (29)………….

First discovery of Uranus' rings (30)………….

Discovery of the last 10 moons of Uranus (31)………….

Questions 32-36

Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer of the Reading Passage?
In boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet write

YES if the statement reflects the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
32 It is improbable that there is a planet hidden behind the sun.
33 Herschel knew immediately that he had found a new planet.
34 Herschel collaborated with other astronomers of his time.
35 Herschel's newly-discovered object was considered to be too far from the sun to be a comet.
36 Herschel's discovery was the most important find of the last three hundred years.

Questions 37-40

Complete each of the following statements (Questions 37-40) with a name from the Reading
Passage. Write your answers in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.

The suggested names of the new planet started with ........ (37) ........, then ........ (38) ......., before
finally settling on Uranus. The first five rings around Uranus were discovered by ........ (39)
......... From 1948 until 1986, the moon ........ (40)........ was believed to be the moon closest to the
surface of Uranus.