How we Manage the Land on Earth Reading Answers

May 7, 2025

How We Manage the Land on Earth Reading Answers contains 12 questions, and it is a topic belonging to the assessment system of IELTS general reading test. How We Manage the Land on Earth Reading Answers have to be answered within 20 minutes. In this IELTS reading section, there are questions like Write no more than one to two words, Choose the correct letter, and Does the statement agrees with the passage? Also, How We Manage the Land on Earth Reading Answers talks about how humans manage land on Earth, from agriculture to conservation, and its impact on sustainability. To practice reading papers like that, the candidates can refer to IELTS Reading Practice test.

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Topic:

How we Manage the Land on Earth

Overpopulation, climate change, mass migration, farming issues and the use of natural resources are all affecting our relationship with terra firma, and it has never been more complicated. It is increasingly looking like Earth's land is being overlooked rather than valued as precious resource. For those living in Malé, the overcrowded capital of the Maldives, there is no choice but to build upwards. Caged by the sea, they have no more land to spread onto, yet the city's population has soared by nearly 52% since 2006. The last census in 2014 counted 158,000 people crammed into the city's 5.7 sq km of space, and officials say the figure has since grown further.

Space is such a premium in Male that pavements are often less than one metre wide, forcing pedestrians to walks in single file, while many streets have no sidewalk at all. Male, capital of the Maldives, emblematic of modern-day land issues: A small, increasingly urbanising space with a skyrocketing population. Rents have risen exorbitantly and, in some of the poorest areas, up to 40 people can be squeezed into buildings with just 23.2 sq metres of space - about the same size as a small studio flat. With so many people living under each other's feet, crime, drugs and domestic violence have risen alarmingly while the city frequently runs out of water. An entirely new island has risen next door out of the sea itself simply from the city's garbage.

In the early 1990s the tallest buildings in the city were only two storeys high, whereas now the average height is eight storeys and some are as high as 25 storeys high. People are coming here because this is where the health, education and jobs are, but overpopulation is leading to many socioeconomic problems. Although extreme, Malé is an example in miniature of something that is happening on a far larger scale around the world. With 83 million more people appearing on the planet every year, rising populations are placing increasing pressure on the land. The UN's latest estimates state that there are 7.6 billion people jostling for space on Earth at present and that number will rise to 9.8 billion by 2050. By the end of the century, their projections say there could be 11.2 billion people on our planet.

With 83 million more people appearing on the planet every year, rising populations are placing increasing pressure on the land. Each of those people will need somewhere to live, a place to work and fertile land to provide them with food. They will need water and energy to stay warm or to light their way at night. They will want roads to drive on and places to park. For the lucky ones, there will be space for their pastimes and leisure activities. At first, it can be easy to dismiss fears that mankind may one day run out of space as ridiculous. Physically, the land can easily accommodate 11 billion people - there are around 51.7million sq miles of ice-free land on the planet. But large tracts of land remain virtually uninhabitable due to their climate or their remote location: Enormous tracts of Siberia are too inhospitable to be lived upon, and the huge landmass at the centre of Australia is too arid to support many people, meaning the majority of its population is clustered along its coastline.

The cities and towns we live in account for less than 3% of the Earth's total land area, but between 35% and 40% is used for agriculture. As populations grow, many fear that more h land will be used up to grow more food. And land management has a lot to do with resource management - what eat, how we grow it, and how we eat it. To feed the world's growing population, a study by researchers at Stanford University estimated that between 10,400-18,900 sq miles of additional land will be required, and that there is a reserve of 1.7 million sq miles thought to be suitable for growing crops left in the world. The researchers predicted that increasing demand for food, biofuels, industrial forestry and the spread of urbanisation will result in this reserve of land being completely used up by 2050.

The bad news is that the demand for new cropland and pastures for animals is already thought to have caused 80% of the deforestation taking place around the world today, wiping out large areas of rich biodiversity and trees that act as natural sinks for greenhouse gases.

The way we use land right now is extremely inefficient, so much of our land is being used to grow food for livestock - 75% of the world's agricultural land is used for feeding animals that we then eat ourselves. About 40% of the food grown in the world is also never eaten by anybody - it is thrown away.

Questions 1-4

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. The height of most city buildings are now measured to be at a general level of

A. 25-storeys

B. 2-storeys

C. 8-storeys

D. 40-storeys

Answer: C - 8-storeys

Supporting statement: "In the early 1990s the tallest buildings in the city were only two storeys high, whereas now the average height is eight storeys and some are as high as 25 storeys high."

Keywords: average height, 8-storeys

Keyword Location: Third paragraph, 1-2 lines

Explanation: The passage states that the average height of buildings in Malé is now eight storeys, with some reaching 25 storeys, confirming that 8-storeys is the general level.

2. The estimated spare land available that is considered to be good for agricultural use, such as the growing of vegetables is

A. 51.7m sq miles

B. 1.7m sq miles

C. 10,000 sq miles

D. 18,900 sq miles

Answer: B - 1.7m sq miles

Supporting statement: "There is a reserve of 1.7 million sq miles thought to be suitable for growing crops left in the world."

Keywords: spare land, agricultural use, 1.7m sq miles

Keyword Location: Fifth paragraph, 6-7 lines

Explanation: The passage explicitly states that 1.7 million sq miles of land remain suitable for growing crops.

3. The current population figure produced by the United Nations for our planet is an estimated

A. 11.2 billion

B. 11 billion

C. 7.6 billion

D. 9.8 billion

Answer: C - 7.6 billion

Supporting statement: "The UN's latest estimates state that there are 7.6 billion people jostling for space on Earth at present."

Keywords: current population, UN estimate, 7.6 billion

Keyword Location: Fourth paragraph, 7-8 lines

Explanation: The passage confirms that the current population estimate provided by the UN is 7.6 billion.

4. The percentage figure for the food we humans grow on Earth that is discarded as waste is approximately

A. 75%

B. 3%

C. 52%

D. 40%

Answer: D - 40%

Supporting statement: "About 40% of the food grown in the world is also never eaten by anybody - it is thrown away."

Keywords: food waste, discarded, 40%

Keyword Location: Last paragraph, 6-7 lines

Explanation: The passage states that 40% of food grown globally is wasted, making 40% the correct answer.

Questions 5 and 6

Do the following statements agree

with the information given in the passage?

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this

5. From 2006 onwards, the rate of city dwellers in the Maldivian capital has grown at just under 50%.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "The city's population has soared by nearly 52% since 2006."

Keywords: population growth, since 2006, 52%

Keyword Location: First paragraph, 5-6 line

Explanation: The passage states that the population grew by nearly 52%, which is above 50%, contradicting the statement that it grew at just under 50%.

6. Walking single file is common on the pavement due to the crowding.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "Space is such a premium in Malé that pavements are often less than one metre wide, forcing pedestrians to walk in single file, while many streets have no sidewalk at all."

Keywords: walking, single file, crowding

Keyword Location: Second paragraph, 1-2 lines

Explanation: The passage explicitly states that narrow pavements force people to walk in single file, confirming the statement as true.

Questions 7 and 8

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this

7. Water shortages are an almost every day occurrence in the city mentioned.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "With so many people living under each other's feet, crime, drugs and domestic violence have risen alarmingly while the city frequently runs out of water."

Keywords: water shortages, frequently runs out of water

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, Line 9

Explanation: The passage explicitly states that the city "frequently runs out of water," indicating that water shortages are a common occurrence, which supports the statement.

8. Large portions of the land on Earth are completely unsuited for human occupation.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "But large tracts of land remain virtually uninhabitable due to their climate or their remote location: Enormous tracts of Siberia are too inhospitable to be lived upon, and the huge landmass at the centre of Australia is too arid to support many people."

Keywords: uninhabitable, remote location, inhospitable, arid

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 6

Explanation: The passage states that certain regions, such as Siberia and central Australia, are unsuitable for human occupation due to extreme climate and remoteness, confirming the statement.

Questions 9-12

Write ONE OR TWO WORDS ONLY for each answer.

Almost 52 million sq km of land is available to handle the more than 11 billion projected populations as it is classified as being (9).... .

Answer: ice-free

Supporting statement: "Physically, the land can easily accommodate 11 billion people - there are around 51.7 million sq miles of ice-free land on the planet."

Keywords: 52 million sq km, available land, classified as

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 3

Explanation: The passage mentions that 51.7 million sq miles (which is about 52 million sq km) of land is "ice-free," meaning it is available for human use.

Whereas cities account for less than 5% of land usage, just over a third of the land available on Earth is used for (10)..... .

Answer: agriculture

Supporting statement: "The cities and towns we live in account for less than 3% of the Earth's total land area, but between 35% and 40% is used for agriculture."

Keywords: less than 5%, a third of the land, used for

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Line 1

Explanation: The passage states that between 35-40% of the Earth's land is used for agriculture, which is just over a third, confirming the correct answer.

The loss of vast expanses of healthy forests that act naturally to absorb (11).... .

Answer: greenhouse gases

Supporting statement: "The bad news is that the demand for new cropland and pastures for animals is already thought to have caused 80% of the deforestation taking place around the world today, wiping out large areas of rich biodiversity and trees that act as natural sinks for greenhouse gases."

Keywords: loss of forests, act naturally to absorb

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, Line 2

Explanation: The passage states that trees act as "natural sinks for greenhouse gases," meaning they absorb them, making this the correct answer.

A brand new piece of man-made land has been formed besides the current city, jumping out from the sea itself, made solely by using unwanted (12)...

Answer: garbage

Supporting statement: "An entirely new island has risen next door out of the sea itself simply from the city's garbage."

Keywords: new land, man-made, from the sea, unwanted

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, Last Line

Explanation: The passage clearly states that a new island was created from "the city's garbage," making "garbage" the correct answer.

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