Running Dry - IELTS Reading Practice Test

The running dry reading passage is given below. Read the passage carefully and attend the questions.

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                     Running Dry

We have always had problems with water shortages. Worldwide water consumption doubles every 20 years, a solution is urgently needed.

1. Maps from the State Water Commission in Mexico show 96 overexploited aquifers. Seawater has polluted another 17 through excessive pumping, while toxic seepage is rapidly spreading, Mexican children develop digestive diseases due to poor water storage Mexico City, built on huge lagoons eight centuries ago, may its 22 million inhabitants do not have enough water, cycling in many cities around the world, less half of the city's waste is treated, the rest sinks into underground lakes or rivers in the gulf. of Mexico, turning rivers into sewers. This represents an extremely difficult outlook for Mexico's future. Mexico's National Water Commission lists around 35 cities that will have to be drastically reduced if more water is not found. It suggests it will happen next week, but it's a ghost haunting Mexico's future.
    
2. Most of the water that Mexico depends on is the same as that urgently needed in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. One prediction is that Corpus Christi, Texas (residents: 277,454 residents) will run out of water around 2018. Now the problem is getting more and more serious. Cantu Suarez, Deputy Director of Mexico’s National Water Agency, said: “In Oaxaca, south of Mexico City, women line up at dawn to fill plastic containers with a passing water wheel. In the north, old aquifers are pumped. The speed is five times the speed limit."
    
3. Mexico is just one example of the world’s extreme water shortage; parts of the country are dying, salt-poisoned fields and villages’ wells are drying up; and lawsuits are coming. When he reached the fertile farmland of Baja California, his own water crisis turned into a muddy trickle. Under a complex water agreement with the United States, Mexico can draw water from the Rio Grande, but it must be returned. The repayment is sufficient to flood Delaware’s debt, but since Mexico is already short of water, it is unrealistic to think this might happen.
    
4. Most people think that Canada has thousands of lakes and rivers, which are inexhaustible sources of water. Compared with Africa and other arid regions, most of Canada's waters are clear. The cities of Victoria on the west coast and Halifax on the east are still discharging billions of litres of untreated sewage into the ocean. Some experts believe that they contain toxic chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides and sewage. Too many rivers and streams in Canada are seriously polluted by industrial activities.
    
5. Humans can live for about a month without food, but they can only live for a few days without drinking water. Since 70% of the human body is made up of water, the weight loss of some rapid diets due to water loss is very high. Only about 2.5% of the world's total water is freshwater, two-thirds of which are enclosed by glaciers and ice sheets. No one knows how much water is in the ground or permafrost2. All life on earth is supported by one percent of the world's water. (About 1.3 gallons) is the world's water, and there is not enough fresh water available for a teaspoon.
    
6. Generally speaking, most areas on the earth have enough water to meet human needs; however, a big problem is the rapid population growth in places with insufficient water resources and the abuse of available resources. The world's population accounts for 5.6% of the available fresh water. China has 22% of the world's population, but available fresh water only accounts for 5.7% of the world. We cannot simply send fresh water to the places where it is most needed, such as the Sahara Desert in Ethiopia. , Somalia or India.
    
7. In January 2000, the Newfoundland government identified potentially dangerous levels of THM (trihalomethane) in the water sources of more than a dozen communities. In order to solve this problem, scientists have proposed a basic solution-water sterilization. This method can also cause problems. Drinking water for a long time can cause bladder cancer and colon cancer, but health experts believe that the benefits far outweigh these risks. Therefore, the bottled water business is booming. In just ten years, sales in the United States alone rose from $2.6 billion to $7.7 billion. This is equivalent to an increase of 10% in the past 10 years. But is it safe? The testing standards for bottled water in Canada are lower than municipal water supplies. There is no guarantee that bottled water is better than tap water.
    
8. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 1.65 billion people; one hundred years later, there will be more than 6 billion, and the United Nations estimates that it will reach 9 billion by 2050. However, the annual supply of renewable fresh water will remain the same, so the amount of water available for each person is decreasing and The population continues to grow, increasing the possibility of water shortages. Ensuring future water safety is an important challenge that future managers must face.

Aquifer: underground soil that produces groundwater for wells and springs
Ground that is permanently frozen

Running Dry Reading Questions

Questions 1 - 4

Reading Passage 1 has eight paragraphs A-H.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
 
Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
 
1)   where most fresh water is located in the world
 
2)   a way Mexican women obtain water
 
3)   the effect of waste upon Mexican rivers
 
4)   Mexico’s financial commitment for its water

Questions 5 - 8

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 5-8 on your answer sheet write
 
YES                            if the statement reflects 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
 
5)   Unhealthy water is causing illness amongst Mexican children.
 
6)   Mexicans are moving to other cities because of water shortages.
 
7)   Mexican food crops will fail without water from America.
 
8)   Drinking water in Canada has been polluted by industry.

Question 9 - 13

Complete the summary of paragraphs F - H below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answer in boxes 9 - 13 on your answer sheet.

The main issue that confronts cities with poor water supplies is their growing 9) ___________ Canada, which contains 10) ____________ of the world’s fresh water, has dealt with water pollution in some cities through a process of 11) ____________ . Although treated for dangerous pollution, some health experts believe city water to be a cause of 12) ______________ . Not all people are content to drink town water and this has added to a demand for 13) _______________ .

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