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Aswan High Dam Reading Answers

Bhaskar Das

Jul 25, 2025

Aswan High Dam Reading Answers contain 13 questions and belong to the assessment system of the IELTS General Reading test. Aswan High Dam Reading Answers must be answered within 20 minutes. In this IELTS reading section, question types include: Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER for each answer and Do the following statements agree with the information.

Aswan High Dam Reading Answers offers a comprehensive overview of the Aswan High Dam, built to control Nile flooding and boost Egypt’s power and agriculture, which has brought both benefits and significant environmental and social challenges. To practice similar reading tests, candidates can refer to the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.

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Topic:

Just north of the border between Egypt and Sudan lies the Aswan High Dam, a huge rockfill dam which captures the world’s longest river, the Nile, in one of the world’s third largest reservoirs, Lake Nasser. The dam, known as Saad el Aali in Arabic, was completed in 1970 after 18 years of work.

Egypt has always depended on the water of the Nile River. The two main tributaries of the Nile River are the White Nile and the Blue Nile. Lake Victoria is the source of the White Nile and the Blue Nile begin in the Ethiopian Highlands. The two tributaries converge in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan where they form the Nile River. The Nile River has a total length of 4,160 miles (6,695 kilometres) from source to the Mediterranean Sea.

Before the building of a dam at Aswan, Egypt experienced annual floods from the Nile River which deposited 4 million tons of nutrient-rich sediment which enabled agricultural production. This process began millions of years before Egyptian civilization began in the Nile valley and continued until the first dam at Aswan was built in 1889. This dam was insufficient to hold back the water of the Nile and was subsequently raised in 1912 and 1933. In 1946, the true danger was revealed when the water in the reservoir peaked near the top of the dam.

In 1952, the interim Revolutionary Council government of Egypt decided to build a High Dam at Aswan, about four miles upstream of the old dam. In 1954, Egypt requested loans from the World Bank to help pay for the cost of the dam (which eventually added up to US $1 billion). Initially, the United States agreed to loan Egypt money but then withdrew their offer for unknown reasons. Some speculate that it may have been due to Egyptian and Israeli conflict. The United Kingdom, France, and Israel had invaded Egypt in 1956, soon after Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal to help pay for the dam.

The former Soviet Union offered to help and Egypt accepted. The support was not unconditional, however. Along with the money, they also sent military advisers and other workers to help enhance Egypt-Soviet ties and relations. In order to build the dam both people and artifacts had to be moved. Over 90,000 Nubians had to be relocated. Those who had been living in Egypt were moved about 28 miles (45 km) away but the Sudanese Nubians were relocated 370 miles (600 km) from their homes. The government was also forced to develop one of the largest Abu Simel temples and dig for artifacts before the future lake would drown the land of the Nubians.

After years of construction (the material in the dam is equivalent to 17 of the great pyramids at Giza), the resulting reservoir was named for the former president of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, who died in 1970. The lake holds 137 million acre-feet of water (169 billion cubic metres). About 17 percent of the lake is in Sudan and the two countries have an agreement for distribution of the water.

The dam benefits Egypt by controlling the annual flooding of the Nile River and prevents the damage which used to occur along the floodplain. The Aswan High Dam provides about a half of Egypt’s power supply and has improved navigation along the river by keeping the water flow consistent. There are several problems associated with the dam itself. Seepage and evaporation accounts for a loss of about 12%-14% of the annual input into the reservoir. The sediments of the Nile River, as with all river and dam systems, has been filling the reservoir and thus decreasing its storage capacity. This has also led to problems downstream.

Farmers have been forced to use about a million tons of artificial fertilizer as a substitute for the nutrients which no longer fill the flood plain. Further downstream, the Nile delta is having problems of sediment as well since there is no additional agglomeration of sediment to keep erosion of the delta at bay so it is shrinking. The shrimp catch in the Mediterranean Sea has decreased due to the change in water flow. Poor drainage of the newly irrigated fields has led to saturation and increased salinity. Over one half of Egypt’s farmland in now rated medium to poor soils.

The parasitic disease schistosomiasis has been increasing due to the presence of fields and the reservoir. Some studies indicate that the number of individuals affected has increased significantly since the building of the Aswan High Dam. The Nile River and now the Aswan High Dam are Egypt’s lifeline. About 95% of Egypt’s population lives within a few miles of the Nile River. Were it not for the river and its sediment, the grand civilization of ancient Egypt probably would not have existed.

Questions 1-4

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? Write

YES - if the statement agrees with the writer

NO - if the statement contradicts the writer

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information about this in the passage.

1. The Nile River runs from Khartoum to the Mediterranean Sea.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: "The two tributaries converge in Khartoum... where they form the Nile River... from source to the Mediterranean Sea."

Keywords: Khartoum, Nile River, Mediterranean Sea

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 3–4

Explanation: The passage clearly states the Nile River begins at Khartoum and flows to the Mediterranean Sea.

2. The annual floods devastate agricultural production.

Answer: NO

Supporting statement: "Egypt experienced annual floods... which deposited 4 million tons of nutrient-rich sediment which enabled agricultural production."

Keywords: annual floods, nutrient-rich, enabled agriculture

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, lines 1–2

Explanation: The floods were actually beneficial to agriculture, not devastating.

3. The Aswan Dam was rebuilt twice.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: "...the first dam... built in 1889... raised in 1912 and 1933."

Keywords: raised, 1912, 1933

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, lines 4–5

Explanation: The original dam was raised (i.e., reconstructed) twice after 1889.

4. The former Soviet Union helped Egypt during the 1956 war.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The Soviet Union provided support for the dam but there's no specific mention of their role in the 1956 war.

Questions 5-8

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER for each answer.

5) Answer: 4,160

Supporting statement: "The Nile River has a total length of 4,160 miles..."

Keywords: length, Nile River

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 4

Explanation: The passage clearly mentions the full length of the Nile in miles.

6) Answer: 370 miles

Supporting statement: "...the Sudanese Nubians were relocated 370 miles (600 km) from their homes."

Keywords: relocated, Sudanese Nubians

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 5

Explanation: Sudanese Nubians were moved 370 miles due to the dam project.

7) Answer: Lake Nasser

Supporting statement: "...in one of the world’s third largest reservoirs, Lake Nasser."

Keywords: reservoir, Lake Nasser

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 2

Explanation: The reservoir created by the dam is named Lake Nasser.

8) Answer: great pyramids

Supporting statement: "...the material in the dam is equivalent to 17 of the great pyramids at Giza..."

Keywords: equivalent, pyramids

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, line 1

Explanation: The dam’s volume is compared to 17 great pyramids.

Questions 9-13

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Benefits of the dam include less flooding and providing about 50% of 9………..

Answer: Egypt’s power supply

Supporting statement: "The Aswan High Dam provides about a half of Egypt’s power supply..."

Keywords: power supply, 50%

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 2

Explanation: The dam generates around half of Egypt's electricity.

But there are many problems such as water leakage and 10………….

Answer: evaporation

Supporting statement: "Seepage and evaporation accounts for a loss..."

Keywords: seepage, evaporation

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 3

Explanation: Evaporation is a major cause of water loss from the reservoir.

The Nile River has been filling up with 11 ……………..

Answer: sediments

Supporting statement: "The sediments of the Nile River... has been filling the reservoir..."

Keywords: sediments, filling reservoir

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 4

Explanation: Sediment accumulation is a key issue in the dam's reservoir.

and so reducing its 12…………..

Answer: storage capacity

Supporting statement: "...thus decreasing its storage capacity."

Keywords: decreasing, storage capacity

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 4

Explanation: Sediment buildup is reducing the reservoir’s water-holding capacity.

The Nile delta is slowly disappearing because of the lack of 13…………….. of sediments.

Answer: agglomeration

Supporting statement: "...no additional agglomeration of sediment to keep erosion... at bay..."

Keywords: agglomeration, sediment

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 6

Explanation: The delta is shrinking because sediment no longer accumulates to resist erosion.

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