Adam’s Wine IELTS Reading Answers

After reading the entire passage carefully, it is advised to spend around 20 minutes completely answering all the questions from 1 to 13.

Paragraph 1

Water is a life-giver as well as a life-taker. It spans the majority of our planet’s surface and has had a significant role in human evolution. According to current projections, it is a factor that will become even more important.

Paragraph 2

Water has played a vital role in our lives throughout history. Water has always had a thorny relationship with humanity; on the one hand, providing immense benefits not only as a supply of drinking water but also as a source of food, a means of transportation, and a means of trade. However, because people have been obliged to live near water in order to survive and thrive, the relationship has not always been pleasant or productive. Contrary to popular belief, it has been the exact opposite. What started out as a survival necessity has turned out to have a highly destructive and life-threatening side in many cases.

Paragraph 3

People and their environment have been hit by big floods and long droughts throughout history, making it harder for them to fight for their lives. The dramatic changes in the environment that we hear about in the news every day are not new. Fields that used to be green and full of life are now empty. Lakes and rivers that used to be full of life are now empty. Savannas have become deserts. What might be new is our childlike amazement at the forces of nature.

Paragraph 4

Today, we know more about how climates change around the world. Floods in faraway places have an immediate effect on the whole world. Maybe these things make us feel better when floods and other natural disasters are destroying our own property.

Paragraph 5

In 2002, floods in several parts of Europe caused a lot of damage that cost billions of euros to fix. Properties all over the continent fell into the sea as waves thumped the coast and destroyed sea defenses. But it was not just the sea. Rivers that were deformed by heavy rains and the loss of trees carried large amounts of water that ruined many communities.

Paragraph 6

The costly short-term solution is to build better and more sophisticated flood defences along rivers. There are less complicated options. Tree planting in highland areas, not just in Europe, but also in locations like the Himalayas, to safeguard people living in low-lying areas like the Ganges Delta, is a less expensive and more appealing alternative. Countries are already being persuaded that the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is affecting significant environmental damage. In this area, however, further work is needed.

Paragraph 7

What about the future? According to projections, two-thirds of the world’s population would be without fresh water by 2025. However, the future has arrived in a rising number of parts of the planet. While floods have wreaked havoc in certain areas, water scarcity is generating strife in others. The Rio Grande failed to reach the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in 50 years in the spring of 2002, pitting the region against the region as they compete for water supplies. Due to drought and growing water usage in many regions of the world, there is currently discussion of water becoming the new oil.

Paragraph 8

Other doom-laden predictions claim that, as the polar ice caps melt, coastal regions and some low-lying islands will almost certainly be drowned by the water. Popular exotic sites, which are today frequented by tens of thousands of tourists, will become no-go zones. Today’s vacation attractions in southern Europe and others will literally become hotspots, making them too hot to live in or visit. It’s impossible not to despair in light of the current weather’s irregular behaviour.

Paragraph 9

Some may argue that this pessimism is unfounded, but there has been plenty of evidence that something is wrong with the climate. Flooding has been destructive in many regions of the globe. The catastrophe shifts from one continent to the next as the seasons change. The cost of living is sad, and the environmental impact is worrying. We’ll have to get used to it.

This reading passage has eight paragraphs labelled A – I.

Choose the most appropriate headings for paragraphs B – I from the list of headings below. 

On your answer sheet, write the appropriate numbers (i – xiii) in boxes 1 – 8. 

Note: There are more headings than paragraphs, so do not use all of them. 

List of Headings 

• Change in the environment has always been a part of our lives.

• Water shortages

• Rivers and waves wreak havoc.

• Is it reasonable to be pessimistic? Or is it more realistic?

• Climate disasters make us feel better.

• Water, the source of nourishment

• How to deal with a flood

• Widespread floods

• Relationship between humans and water

• Water’s devastation in the past

• Future flooding

• A negative outlook on the future

• Paragraph B

• Paragraph C

• Paragraph D

• Paragraph E

• Paragraph F

• Paragraph G

• Paragraph H 

• Paragraph I

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Adam’s Wine Reading Answers with explanations (1-8)

X

Taken From

From paragraph B, ‘Water has played a vital role in our lives throughout history. Water has always had a thorny relationship with humanity, on the one hand providing immense benefits not only as a supply of drinking water, but also as a source of food, a means of transportation, and a means of trade.’

Explanation: The text claims that people have had a complicated connection with water throughout history. Although water has been vital to human existence and evolution, our relationship with it has not always been simple or harmonious. 

I

Taken From

From paragraph C, ‘The dramatic changes in the environment that we hear about in the news every day are not new. ‘

Explanation: The paragraph notes that significant environmental changes, or "environmental changes," are "not quite new" and have existed for a while. It describes how the once-fertile savannah has turned into a desert, once-thriving lakes and rivers have vanished, and once-fertile meadows have become bleak.

V

Taken From

From paragraph D, ‘Maybe these things make us feel better when floods and other natural disasters are destroying our own property.’

Explanation: The paragraph clarifies that certain climate phenomena, like distant floods, comfort us when we are confronted with the loss of our belongings due to climate-related calamities.

III

Taken From

From paragraph E, ‘Properties all over the continent fell into the sea as waves thumped the coast and destroyed sea defences. But it was not just the sea. Rivers that were deformed by heavy rains and the loss of trees carried large amounts of water that ruined many communities.’

Explanation: The paragraph refers to the damaging consequences of water-induced droughts and floods. Floods in Europe caused destruction and devastation, with houses washed into the sea by the waves and rivers flooding entire towns.

Viii

Taken From

From paragraph F, ‘The costly short-term solution is to build better and more sophisticated flood defences along rivers.’

Explanation: The paragraph clarifies that improving flood barriers is an expensive temporary fix and suggests some low-tech alternatives, like planting trees in highland areas, protecting low-lying areas and pressuring nations to limit their emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

II

Taken From

From paragraph G, ‘According to projections, two-thirds of the world’s population would be without fresh water by 2025. However, the future has arrived in a rising number of parts of the planet.’

Explanation: According to the text, two-thirds of the world's population will lack access to safe water by 2025. The depressing reality is that although water constraint causes strife in certain areas, floods may wreak havoc in others. The situation demands immediate action and international attention to guarantee that everyone has access to this essential human need. 

Xii

Taken From

From paragraph H, ‘Other doom-laden predictions claim that, as the polar ice caps melt, coastal regions and some low-lying islands will almost certainly be drowned by the water.’

Explanation: The paragraph states that some scientists believe tropical regions would grow drier and more hostile, inundating low-lying islands and coastal communities. This may make well-liked exotic locations unsafe and popular vacation spots too hot to live in or visit. 

IV

Taken From

From paragraph I, ‘Some may argue that this pessimism is unfounded, but there has been plenty of evidence that something is wrong with the climate.’

Explanation: According to the paragraph, the author admits that much information indicates an environmental problem, even though others may contend that the pessimism about the climate is baseless. This problem is confirmed by natural disasters like floods that occur in many places of the world. 

Adam’s Wine Reading Answers with explanations (9-10)

9. D

Taken From

From paragraph C, ‘The dramatic changes in the environment that we hear about in the news every day are not new. Fields that used to be green and full of life are now empty. ‘

Explanation: According to the previous sentence, the environmental changes we frequently read about in the media are not a recent development. But what's new is our naive amazement at how the forces of nature can change our surroundings so profoundly.

10. B

Taken From

From paragraph I, ‘Some may argue that this pessimism is unfounded, but there has been plenty of evidence that something is wrong with the climate.’

Explanation: The paragraph claims that climate change's repercussions on the environment are frightening and expensive and that we need to act to lessen its effects. But it's equally critical to recognise that the changes that have already taken place require adaptation on our part.

Adam’s Wine Reading Answers with explanations (11-13)

11. TRUE

Taken From

From paragraph B, ‘Water has always had a thorny relationship with humanity, on the one hand providing immense benefits not only as a supply of drinking water, but also as a source of food, a means of transportation, and a means of trade.’

Explanation: The response is accurate, as water has always been a source of both destruction and life for humans. Water has always been an intricate and often dangerous part of human existence, serving as anything from an agricultural irrigation system and source of hydration to catastrophic floods and tsunamis.

12. FALSE

Taken From

From paragraph G, ‘According to projections, two-thirds of the world’s population would be without fresh water by 2025. However, the future has arrived in a rising number of parts of the planet.’

Explanation: The text claims that finding long-term solutions to protect and manage our water supplies is crucial. We may endeavour to guarantee that everyone has access to fresh water by practising water conservation, investing in water infrastructure, and using water effectively in agriculture. As such, the response is untrue.

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13. TRUE

Taken From

From paragraph I, ‘The catastrophe shifts from one continent to the next as the seasons change. ‘

Explanation: The response is accurate, as flooding is a severe natural calamity that affects several areas of the planet. Due to shifting weather patterns and seasons, the site of these disasters might vary from continent to continent.

In conclusion, by regularly practicing different reading passage types, you may enhance your understanding of the text as well as your reading speed and replies, all of which will help you obtain a solid bandscore.

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