The following reading contains examples of the different question types found in the IELTS exam. Once you have answered the questions, check your answers in the Answer Key in Appendix 1 at the back of the book.

More Water for Western Australia

Industry,. Science and Innovation Division of the Western
Australian Government Department of Commerce

A

Supplying quality water for a healthy life and a strong community is a major concern for Australia. A lack of rain, warmer conditions, population, agriculture and industry growth put strain on our existing and traditional supplies, especially in Western Australia.
Fortunately, innovative Western Australians manage this global quality water challenge by encouraging open dialogue and undertaking meaningful research to develop infrastructure and technology.
Desalination is just one of the solutions, and in 2006 Western Australia led the way in delivering more water into Perth's public supply system with the opening of Australia's first large-scale seawater desalination plant in Kwinana.
The Perth Seawater Desalination Plant is the Water Corporation's biggest single water source, providing some 17 per cent of Perth's water needs. The state's second plant in the Shire of Harvey is being constructed.
The National Centre of Excellence in Desalination (NCED) at Murdoch University leads and coordinates Australian research into desalination technology. Through the NCED, Australia is building national capacity and capabilities in desalination with a dual focus on breakthrough fundamental and applied research, with a goal to deliver meaningful improvements at a commercial scale.
NCED is currently partnering a project to develop a suitable and sustainable desalination system for providing drinking water in remote areas.

B

A need to supply more freshwater to the remote Tjuntjunjarra community prompted the research by Academic Chair of Energy Studies at Murdoch University Dr Trevor Pryor.
Located 800 kilometres north-east of Kalgoorlie with a population of 120, the community requires more freshwater of a better quality than can be supplied by the current source.

C

An innovative technology by Singapore company memsys clearwater, the thermal vacuum multi-effect-membrane-distillation (V-MEMD) desalination system, will make the water suitable for use.
V-MEMD combines thermal and membrane technologies, working in a vacuum so that the water boils at much lower temperatures of 50 to 80 degrees Celsius instead of the usual 100 degrees Celsius.
memsys Managing Director Gatz Lange said the company had the first small-scale modular thermal separation process.
'We didn't change the thermal technology itself - you can't change physics - we are just the first to put this advanced technology of thermal separation in a very tiny, cheap and reliable modular concept,' he said.

D

However, the next challenge is finding a power source for the system in such a remote area. Dr Pryor and his team aim to overcome the problem of the intermittency of renewable energy resources by developing a cost-effective hybrid solar/waste thermal system.
Dr Trevor Pryor said the 2-year project would explore the use of solar thermal and waste heat to power the V-MEMD.
This project aims to extract groundwater to supply the Indigenous community's needs through chemical free, sustainable and energy efficient pre-treatment that has been customised to the T juntjunjarra water resource,' Dr Pryor said.
The project partners are Murdoch University, University of Technology Sydney, WA Department of Housing, Parsons Brinkerhoff, memsys clearwater, the Institute of Filtration and Techniques of Separation in France, and the Singapore Membrane Technology Centre.
The Department of Commerce provided the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination $3 million to help design, establish and operate a range of testing facilities.

QUESTIONS 1-4

Complete the summary below by choosing the correct word from the box to complete each gap. There are more words than you need.

activities population problems combat

freshwater pressure achieve process

desalination seawater agriculture

Water supplies in Western Australia are under 1 as a result of climate conditions and human 2 · One of the ways to 3 this problem is through the processing of 4 to make it less salty.

QUESTIONS 5-7

Do the following statements reflect the information in the text?
Write:

TRUE (T) if the statement is true
FALSE (F) if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN (NG) if the statement is not in the text

5. The amount of rain Western Australia receives has decreased.
6. The Kwinana desalination plant does not provide the majority of Perth's water.
7. The Tjuntjunjarra community currently has no source of fresh water.

QUESTIONS 8-11

From the following list of headings choose the most suitable heading for sections A-D. There is one more heading than you need.

HEADINGS i. Using existing technology in a new way ii. The project iii. Getting it off the ground iv. Why desalination? v. Dealing with Western Australia's conditions

8. Section A
9. Section B
10. Section C
11. Section D

QUESTIONS 12-13

Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the reading passage, answer the following questions.

12. Where is the second desalination plant being built?

13. What do Dr Trevor Pryor and his team plan to extract and treat?

QUESTIONS 14-15

Complete the sentences below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the reading passage.
14. The V-MEMD is expected to be powered by a combination of energy from the sun and
15. Because the V-MEMD uses a vacuum, water can be boiled at

QUESTION 16

Choose the appropriate option A-D to answer question 16.
16. What problem associated with renewable energy resources is mentioned in the text?
a They are too expensive.
b They are unproven.
c They provide power irregularly.
d People mistrust them.

QUESTIONS 17-18

Match each person to the information given about them in the text.
GL Gotz Lange
TP Trevor Pryor

17. has made existing technology less expensive
18. works at Murdoch University