Cambridge IELTS 18 Test 3 Reading Passage 1 là một bài tập không quá khó nhưng vẫn đủ thử thách để luyện tập cho phần thi IELTS Reading. Để cùng vận dụng hết những từ vựng mà bài có thì hãy cùng ISE giải đề và phân tích đáp án nhé!

1. Phần thi  là gì?

 1.1. Thông tin bộ sách Cambridge IELTS 18

Cambridge IELTS là một bộ sách được xuất bản bởi Cambridge với mục đích luyện đề thi IELTS và được ra mắt vào tháng 5 hàng năm.

Các đề từ Cambridge IELTS nhìn chung bám khá sát với đề thi thực tế và đã được thí sinh trên toàn thế giới thêm vào danh sách các bộ đề luyện thi IELTS uy tín.

Nội dung sách bao gồm các phần thi của cả 4 kỹ năng trong bài thi IELTS Academic bao gồm: Reading, Listening, Speaking và Writing.

1.2. Tổng quan Cambridge IELTS 18 Test 3 Reading Passage 1

Bài đọc Cambridge IELTS 18 Test 3 Reading Passage 1 là một bài đọc nói về những cố gắng để tìm ra một vật liệu có thể thay thế cho xi măng và bê tông. Bài viết cho thấy bê tông và xi măng đang gây ra ảnh hưởng xấu cho môi trường, và mọi người đang tìm phương pháp xây dựng khác như tìm vật liệu thân thiện môi trường hoặc quay lại vật liệu là gỗ. Tuy nhiên, các nhà nghiên cứu cho biết được gần như chưa có một loại vật liệu nào có thể thay thế được vì bê tông và xi măng phổ biến, rẻ và còn rất hữu dụng.

Phần Passage 1 sẽ bao gồm 13 câu hỏi từ câu 1 – 13 của phần Reading Test 3.

2. Bài đọc Cambridge IELTS 18 Test 3 Reading Passage 1

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

Materials to take us beyond concrete

Concrete is everywhere, but it’s bad for the planet, generating large amounts of carbon dioxide — alternatives are being developed

A. Concrete is the second most used substance in the global economy, after water — and one of the world’s biggest single sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The chemical process by which cement, the key ingredient of concrete, is created results in large quantities of carbon dioxide. The UN estimates that there will be 9.8 billion people living on the planet by mid-century. They will need somewhere to live. If concrete is the only answer to the construction of new cities, then carbon emissions will soar, aggravating global warming. And so scientists have started innovating with other materials, in a scramble for alternatives to a universal commodity that has underpinned our modern life for many years.

B. The problem with replacing concrete is that it is so very good at what it does.

Chris Cheeseman, an engineering professor at Imperial College London, says the key thing to consider is the extent to which concrete is used around the world, and is likely to continue to be used. (Q13) ‘Concrete is not a high-carbon product. Cement is high carbon, but concrete is not. But it is the scale on which it is used that makes it high carbon. The sheer scale of manufacture is so huge, that is the issue.’

C. (Q3) Not only are the ingredients of concrete relatively cheap and found in abundance in most places around the globe, the stuff itself has marvellous properties: Portland cement, the vital component of concrete, is mouldable and pourable, but quickly sets hard. Cheeseman also notes another advantage: concrete and steel have similar thermal expansion properties, so steel can be used to reinforce concrete, making it far stronger and more flexible as a building material than it could be on its own. (Q10) According to Cheeseman, all these factors together make concrete hard to beat. ‘Concrete is amazing stuff. Making anything with similar properties is going to be very difficult.’

D. A possible alternative to concrete is wood. (Q5) Making buildings from wood may seem like a rather medieval idea, but climate change is driving architects to turn to treated timber as a possible resource. Recent years have seen the emergence of tall buildings constructed almost entirely from timber. (Q2) Vancouver, Vienna and Brumunddal in Norway are all home to constructed tall, wooden buildings.

E. Using wood to construct buildings, however, is not straightforward. (Q6) Wood expands as it absorbs moisture from the air and is susceptible to pests, not to mention fire. But treating wood and combining it with other materials can improve its properties. Cross-laminated timber is engineered wood. (Q7) An adhesive is used to stick layers of solid-sawn timber together, crosswise, to form building blocks. This material is light but has the strength of concrete and steel. (Q8) Construction experts say that wooden buildings can be constructed at a greater speed than ones of concrete and steel and the process, it seems, is quieter.

F. (Q11) Stora Enso is Europe’s biggest supplier of cross-laminated timber, and its vice-president Markus Mannstrom reports that the company is seeing increasing demand globally for building in wood, with climate change concerns the key driver. Finland, with its large forests, where Stora Enso is based, has been leading the way, but the company is seeing a rise in demand for its timber products across the world, lneluding in Asia. Of course, using timber in a building also locks away the carbon that it absorbed as it grew. (Q4) But even treated wood has its limitations and only when a wider range of construction projects has been proven in practice will it be possible to see wood as a real alternative to concrete in constructing tall buildings.

G. (Q1) Fly ash and slag from iron ore are possible alternatives to cement in a concrete mix. Fly ash, a byproduct of coal-burning power plants, can be incorporated into concrete mixes to make up as much as 15 to 30% of the cement, without harming the strength or durability of the resulting mix. Iron-ore slag, a byproduct of the iron-ore smelting process, can be used in a similar way. Their incorporation into concrete mixes has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But Anna Surgenor, of the UK’s Green Building Council, notes that although these waste products can save carbon in the concrete mix, their use is not always straightforward.  ‘It’s possible to replace the cement content in concrete with waste products to lower the overall carbon impact. But there are several calculations that need to be considered across the entire life cycle of the building — these include factoring in where these materials are being shipped from. (Q9) If they are transported over long distances, using fossil fuels, the use of alternative materials might not make sense from an overall carbon reduction perspective.’

H. While these technologies are all promising ideas, they are either unproven or based on materials that are not abundant. In their overview of innovation in the concrete industry, Felix Preston and Johanna Lehne of the UK’s Royal Institute of International Affairs reached the conclusion that, ‘Some novel cements have been discussed for more than a decade within the research community, without breaking through. (Q12) At present, these alternatives are rarely as cost-effective as conventional cement, and they face raw-material shortages and resistance from customers.’

Questions 1—4

Reading Passage 1 has eight sections, A—H. Which section contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A—H, in boxes 1—4 on your answer sheet.

1. an explanation of the industrial processes that create potential raw materials for concrete
2. a reference to the various locations where high-rise wooden buildings can be found
3. an indication of how widely available the raw materials of concrete are
4. the belief that more high-rise wooden buildings are needed before wood can be regarded as a viable construction material

Questions 5—8

Complete the summary below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 5—8 on your answer sheet.

Questions 9—13

Look at the following statements (Questions 9—13) and the list of people below.

Match each statement with the correct person, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 9—13 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

9. The environmental advantage of cement alternatives may not be as great as initially assumed.
10. It would be hard to create a construction alternative to concrete that offers so many comparable benefits.
11. Worries about the environment have led to increased interest in wood as a construction material.
12. Expense has been a factor in the negative response to the development of new cements.
13. The environmental damage caused by concrete is due to it being produced in large quantities.

3. Đáp án và giải thích chi tiết

3.1. Câu 1 – 4 – Matching Information.

Trong câu 1 – 4, thí sinh cần nắm được thông tin, keywords trong phần thông tin của câu hỏi, sau đó tìm những thông tin đó trong các đoạn của bài đọc, cần để ý kỹ paraphrase, số liệu để không bị nhầm lẫn.

3.2. Câu 5 – 8 – Summary Completion.

Trong câu 5 – 8, thí sinh cần nắm được đoạn thông tin phù hợp trong bài tóm tắt, cần để ý các keywords trong bài, sau khi đã tìm được đoạn chứa thông tin thì ứng dụng kỹ năng scanning để tìm từ phù hợp.

3.3. Câu 9 – 13 – Multiple Choice. 

Trong câu 9 – 13, thí sinh cần nắm được thông tin, keywords trong phần thông tin của câu hỏi, sau đó tìm những thông tin đó trong các đoạn của bài đọc, cần để ý kỹ paraphrase, số liệu để không bị nhầm lẫn.

TỔNG KẾT VỀ CAMBRIDGE IELTS 18 TEST 3 READING PASSAGE 1

Vậy là chúng ta đã cùng nhau đi qua những câu hỏi tuy không quá khó nhưng cũng có thể dễ dàng đánh lừa thí sinh. Bài đọc này được ISE đánh giá là vừa sức với các bạn thi IELTS do chủ đề không quá hàn lâm và từ vựng cũng không quá cao cấp. Vì vậy, việc đạt được điểm tối đa ở bài đọc Cambridge IELTS 18 Test 3 Reading Passage 1 là hoàn toàn có thể nếu bạn có một chiến thuật làm bài hợp lý. Các thí sinh cũng có thể mua sách Cambridge IELTS 18 để tham khảo và tự thực hành các bài tại nhà nhé.

Bạn có thể liên hệ ISE để đăng ký tư vấn lộ trình học IELTS phù hợp tại:

Chi nhánh 1: 02 Nguyễn Huy Lượng, Phường 14, Quận Bình Thạnh, TP.HCM

Chi nhánh 2: 393 Điện Biên Phủ, Phường 4, Quận 3, TP.HCM

Chi Nhánh 3: 15 Hoàng Trọng Mậu, Phường Tân Hưng, quận 7, TP.HCM

Hotline:

(+84) 898 898 646

Facebook: facebook.com/iseistudyenglish

Website: https://ise.edu.vn/lien-he/#content-kh