High Speed, High Rise Reading Answers

Dec 19, 2022

High Speed, High Rise Reading Answers has 13 questions that need to be answered in 20 minutes. High Speed, High Rise Reading Answers is about Zhang Yue, a chinese entrepreneur who founded a broad sustainable building. High Speed, High Rise Reading Answers comprises three types of questions- choose the correct heading, label the diagram and choose no more than two words to answer the question. IELTS reading passage has five paragraphs, candidates are required to choose the heading for each paragraph. Candidates are required to label the diagram using one word after reading the IELTS Reading passage. Candidates are required to answer each question with the help of one or two words from the passage. Candidates can undertake IELTS Reading practice papers to practise more on different topics.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

High Speed, High Rise Reading Answers

A Chinese entrepreneur has figured out a way to manufacture 30-story, earthquake- proof skyscrapers that snap together in just 15 days.

Zhang Yue is founder and chairman of Broad Sustainable Building (otherwise known as ‘Broad’) who, on 1 January, 2012, released a time-lapse video of its 30-story achievement. It shows construction workers buzzing around like gnats while a clock in the corner of the screen marks the time. In just 360 hours, a 100-metre-tall tower called the T30 rises from an empty site to overlook Hunan’s Xiang River. At the end of the video, the camera spirals around the building overhead as the Broad logo appears on the screen: a lowercase that wraps around itself in an imitation of the @ symbol. The company is in the process of franchising its technology to partners in India, Brazil, and Russia. What it is selling is the world’s first standardized skyscraper and with it, Zhang aims to turn Broad into the McDonald’s of the sustainable building industry. When asked why he decided to start a construction company, Zhang replies, ‘It’s not a construction company. It’s a structural revolution.
So far, Broad has built 16 structures in China, plus another in Cancun. They are fabricated at two factories in Hunan, roughly an hour’s drive from Broad Town, the sprawling headquarters. The floors and ceilings of the skyscrapers are built in sections, each measuring 15.6 by 3.9 meters with a depth of 45 centimeters. Pipes and ducts for electricity, water and waste are threaded through each floor module while it is still in the factory. The client’s choice of flooring is also pre-installed on top. Standardized truckloads carry two modules each to the site with the necessary columns, bolts and tools to connect them stacked on top of each other. Once they arrive at the location, each section is lifted by crane directly to the top of the building, which is assembled like toy Lego bricks. Workers use the materials on the module to quickly connect the pipes and wires. The unique column design has diagonal bracing at each end and tabs that bolt into the floors above and below. In the final step, heavily insulated exterior walls and windows are slotted in by crane. The result is far from pretty but the method is surprisingly safe – and phenomenally fast.
Zhang attributes his success to his creativity and to his outsider perspective on technology. He started out as an art student in the 1980s, but in 1988, Zhang left the art world to found Broad. The company started out as a maker of non-pressurized boilers. His senior vice-president, Juliet Jiang, says, ‘He made his fortune on boilers. He could have kept doing this business, but … he saw the need for nonelectric air-conditioning.’ Towards the end of the decade, China’s economy was expanding past the capacity of the nation’s electricity grid, she explains. power shortages were becoming a serious obstacle to growth. Large air-conditioning (AC) units fueled by natural gas could help companies ease their electricity load, reduce overheads, and enjoy more reliable climate control. Today, Broad has units operating in more than 70 countries, in some of the largest buildings and airports on the planet.
For two decades, Zhang’s AC business boomed. But a couple of events conspired to change his course. The first was that Zhang became an environmentalist. The second was the earthquake that hit China’s Sichuan Province in 2008, causing the collapse of poorly constructed buildings. Initially, he says, he tried to convince developers to refit existing buildings to make them both more stable and more sustainable, but he had little success. Q4 So Zhang drafted his own engineers and started researching how to build cheap, environmentally friendly structures that could also withstand an earthquake. Within six months of starting his research, Zhang had given up on traditional methods. He was frustrated by the cost of hiring designers and specialists for each new structure. The best way to cut costs, he decided, was to take the building to the factory. But to create a factory-built skyscraper, Broad had to abandon the principles by which skyscrapers are typically designed. The whole load-bearing structure had to be different. To reduce the overall weight of the building, it used less Q9 concrete in the floors; that in turn enabled it to cut down on structural steel.
Around the world, prefabricated and modular buildings are gaining in popularity. But modular and prefabricated buildings elsewhere are, for the most part, low- rise. Broad is alone in applying these methods to skyscrapers. For Zhang, the environmental savings alone justify the effort. Q5 According to Broad’s numbers, a traditional high-rise will produce about 3,000 tons of construction waste, while a Broad building will produce only 25 tons. Traditional buildings also require 5,000 tons of water onsite to build, while Broad buildings use none. The building process is also less dangerous. Elevator systems – the base, rails, and machine room – can be installed at the factory, eliminating the risk of injury. And instead of shipping an elevator car to the site in pieces, Broad orders a finished car and drops it into the shaft by crane. In the future, elevator manufacturers are hoping to preinstall the doors, completely eliminating any chance that a worker might fall. ‘Traditional construction is chaotic,’ he says. ``We took construction and moved it into the factory.’ According to Zhang, his buildings will help solve the many problems of the construction industry and what’s more, they will be quicker and cheaper to build.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Question 14 to 18
In the question, you will find a list of headings provided from I to VIII. Each heading will put forward the main idea of the paragraph in the text.
List of headings:

A joint business project
Other engineering achievements
Examining the overall benefits
A building like no other
Some benefits of traditional methods
A change of direction
Examples of similar global brands
From factory to building site

Question 14: Paragraph A

Answer: IV - A building like no other
Supporting Sentence: What it is selling is the world's first standardized skyscraper and with it, Zhang aims to turn Broad into the McDonald’s of the sustainable building industry.
Keywords: standardized skyscraper, world's first
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, 9th line
Explanation: The unique idea behind the building, which is eventually unheard of, is described in the ninth sentence of paragraph A. Thus, the building that is unique is the answer.

Question 15: Paragraph B

Answer: VIII - From factory to building site
Supporting Sentence: while it is still in the factory. The client’s choice of flooring is also pre-installed on top. Standardized truckloads carry two modules each to the site with the necessary columns, bolts, and tools to connect them stacked on top of each other.
Keywords: in the factory, top of the building
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 5th and 9th line
Explanation: A description of events taking place in factories and construction sites is provided in paragraph B. It is stated that the flooring of the client's choice is pre-installed on top. Two modules are delivered to the site in standard truckloads, piled on top of each other with the necessary columns, bolts, and tools.

Question 16: Paragraph C

Answer: II- Other engineering achievements
Supporting Sentence: He made his fortune on boilers. He could have kept doing this business, but he saw the need for non-electric air-conditioning.
Keywords: fortune on boilers, nonelectric air-conditioning
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, 5th line
Explanation: The information linked to engineering accomplishment is evident in the fifth line of paragraph C. It is mentioned that boilers were the foundation of his financial success. He could have continued operating this business, but he saw the importance of non-electric cooling.

Question 17: Paragraph D

Answer: VI- A change of direction
Supporting Sentence: For two decades, Zhang’s AC business boomed. But a couple of events conspired to change his course.
Keywords: change his course
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, 1st line
Explanation: The very beginning makes Zhang's change in direction clear, according to the first line of paragraph D. It is given that The AC company of Zhang prospered for two decades. However, a number of things came together to alter his path.

Question 18: Paragraph E

Answer: III-Examining the overall benefits
Supporting Sentence: According to Zhang, his buildings will help solve the many problems of the construction industry and what’s more, they will be quicker and cheaper to build.
Keywords: solve the many problems, cheaper to build
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, last line
Explanation: The final sentence of paragraph E states that, in Zhang's opinion, his buildings will contribute to the resolution of the numerous issues facing the construction sector. Additionally, they will be easier and less expensive to construct.

Question 19 to 22
Label the diagram You can use ONLY ONE WORD, to fill in the answer.

Pipes and ducts installed while in ___________.

Answer: factory
Supporting Sentence: Pipes and ducts for electricity, water, and waste are threaded through each floor module while it is still in the factory.
Keywords: pipes, ducts, factory
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 4th line
Explanation: It is evident from the fourth line of paragraph D that each floor module is threaded with pipes and ducts for power, water, and trash while it is still in the factory.

Chosen by customer ___________

Answer: flooring or floor
Supporting Sentence: The client’s choice of flooring is also pre-installed on top.
Keywords: floor, customer
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 6th line
Explanation: The client's preferred flooring is evidently pre-installed on top in the third sentence of paragraph B.

Diagonal bracing at top and bottom of ___________

Answer: column (s)
Supporting Sentence: The unique column design has diagonal bracing at each end and tabs that bolt into the floors above and below.
Keywords: top and bottom, column, diagonal
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 11th line
Explanation: According to the 11th line of paragraph B, the special column design incorporates tabs that bolt into the floors above and below and diagonal bracing at either end.

Section contains less __________ than a conventional building.

Answer: concrete
Supporting Sentence: To reduce the overall weight of the building, it used less concrete in the floors; which in turn enabled it to cut down on structural steel.
Keywords: less concrete, floor, structural steel
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, last line
Explanation: The final sentence of paragraph D notes that less concrete was utilised in the floors to lessen the building's overall weight. It then made it possible to use less structural steel.

Question 23 to 26
Choose No More than two words can be used to answer the question.
In the answer box, you need to fill the answer with the help of one or two words.

Zhang refers to his business as a __________.

Answer: structural revolution
Supporting Sentence: When asked why he decided to start a construction company, Zhang replies, ‘It’s not a construction company. It’s a structural revolution.
Keywords: construction company, structural revolution
Keyword Location: Paragraph A
Explanation: As stated in paragraph A, Zhang said, "It's not a construction company," when asked why he chose to launch a business in the construction industry. The change in structure is significant.

The first products Broad manufactured were __________.

Answer: (non-pressurized) boilers
Supporting Sentence: The company started as a maker of non-pressurized boilers.
Keywords: non-pressurized, boilers
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, 3rd line
Explanation: It is said in the third line of paragraph C that the business originally produced non-pressurized boilers.

In the late eighties ________ were holding back industrial progress in China.

Answer: power shortage
Supporting Sentence: China’s economy was expanding past the capacity of the nation’s electricity grid, she explains power shortages were becoming a serious obstacle to growth.
Keywords: electricity grid, serious obstacle, power shortage
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line 6
Explanation: The Chinese economy was growing faster than the country's electricity grid could handle, as stated in the sixth line of paragraph C. This explains why there was a severe expansion barrier caused by power shortages.

In addition to power and cost benefits, Broad's AC units improve _______

Answer: climate control
Supporting Sentence: Large air-conditioning (AC) units fueled by natural gas could help companies ease their electricity load, reduce overheads, and enjoy more reliable climate control.
Keywords: reduce overheads, climate control
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, 8th line
Explanation: According to the eighth line of paragraph C, large air-conditioning (AC) equipment powered by natural gas could assist businesses in reducing their electricity usage. It could lower costs and provide more dependable climate management.

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