Seed Vault Guards Resources For The Future - IELTS Reading Sample with Explanation
The IELTS Reading Section Module Evaluates the English Language Proficiency of the students by testing them by giving passage & questions based on it. The students are supposed to answer 40 varied IELTS reading question types.
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This section marks the students on their ability to understand concepts through differing types of tasks. This IELTS reading practice papers- Seed vault guards resources for the future passage contains two types of questions:
- No more than two words
- True/False/Not Given
Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
Seed Vault Guards Resources For The Future IELTS Reading Sample
Fiona Harvey paid a visit to a building whose contents are very precious.
About 1,000 km from the North Pole, Svalbard is one of the most remote places on earth. For this reason, it is the site of a vault that will safeguard a priceless component of our common heritage – the seeds of our staple crops. Here, seeds from the world’s most vital food crops will be locked away for hundreds or even thousands of years. If something goes wrong in the world, the vault will provide the means to restore farming. We, or our descendants, will not have to retread thousands of years of agriculture from scratch.
Deep in the vault at the end of a long tunnel, are three storage vaults which are lined with insulated panels to help maintain the cold temperatures. Electronic transmitters linked to a satellite system monitor temperature, etc. and pass the information back to the appropriate authorities at Longyearbyen and the Nordic Gene Bank which provide the technical information for managing the seed vaults. The seeds are placed in scaled boxes and stored on shelves in the vaults. The minimal moisture level and low temperature ensure low metabolic activity. The remote location, as well as the rugged structure, provide unparalleled security for the world’s agricultural heritage.
three vaults are buried deep in the hillside. To reach them, it is necessary to proceed down a long and surprisingly large corridor. At 93.3 metres in length, it connects the 26-metre long entrance building to the three vaults, each of which extends a further 27 metres into the mountain. Towards the end of this tunnel, after about 80 metres, there are several small rooms on the right-hand side. One is a transformer room to which only the power company officials have access – this houses the equipment needed to transform the incoming electrical current down to 220 volts. A second is an electrical room housing controls for the compressor and other equipment. The oilier room is an office which can be heated to provide comfortable working conditions for those who will make an inventory of the samples in and out of the vault.
Anyone seeking access to the seeds has to pass through four locked doors: the heavy steel entrance doors, a second door approximately 90 metres down the tunnel and finally the two keyed doors separated by an airlock, from which it is possible to proceed directly into the seed vaults. Keys are coded to allow access to different levels of the facility. A work of art will make the vault visible for miles with reflective sheets of steel and mirrors which form an installation acting as a beacon. It reflects polar light in the summer months, while in the winter, a network of 200 fibre-optic cables will give the piece a muted greenish-turquoise and white light. Cary Fowler, the mastermind behind the vault, stands inside the echoing cavern. For him, this is the culmination of nearly 30 years of work. ‘It’s an insurance policy,’ he explains, ‘a very cheap insurance policy when you consider what we’re ensuring – the earth’s biological diversity.’
Seeds are being brought here from all over the world, from seed banks created by governments, universities and private institutions. Soon, there will be seed varieties from at least 100 crops in the Svalbard vault – extending to examples of all of the 1.5 million known crop seed varieties in the world. If any more are unearthed. either in the wild or found in obscure collections, they can be added, too – the vault has room for at least 4.5 million samples. Inside the entrance area it is more than 10® C below freezing, but in the chambers where the seeds are kept, refrigerators push down the temperature even further, to -18oC. At this temperature, which will be kept constant to stop the seeds germinating or rotting, the wheat seeds will remain viable for an estimated 1.700 vears. the years.
Svalbard’s Arctic conditions will keep the seeds cold. In order to maintain the temperature at a constant -10° C to -20® C, the cold Arctic air will be drawn into the vault during the winter, automatically and without human intervention. The surrounding rock will maintain the temperature requirements during the extremely cold season and, during warmer periods, refrigeration equipment will engage. Looking out across the snow-covered mountains of Svalbard, it is hard not to feel respect for the 2,300 or so people who live here, mainly in Longyearbyen, a village a few miles away. There are three months without light in winter.
Svalbard is intended 3s the seed bank of last resort. Each sample is made up of a few hundred seeds, sealed inside a watertight package which will never be tampered with while it is in the vault. The packages of seeds remain the property of the collections they have come from. Svalbard will disburse samples ‘only if all the other seeds in other collections around the world are gone,’ explains Fowler. If seeds do have to be given out, those who receive them are expected to germinate them and generate new samples, to be returned to the vault.
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Section 2
Solution With Explanation
Question 1-6
Label the diagram given below. Candidate is supposed to Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
Q1) The Installation in the entrance consists of ________ & Metal panels which maximize natural light.
Answer: Mirrors
Supporting Sentence: A work of art will make the vault visible for miles with reflective sheets of steel and mirrors which form an installation acting as a beacon.
Explanation: It is stated in the passage that the work of art will make the vault visible for miles with Reflective sheets of steel & mirrors which form an installation acting as a beacon.
Keyword: Steel sheets, vault, installation
Keyword Location: 4th paragraph, 2nd line.
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Q2) A tunnel, which is __________ long connects the entrance building to the vault
Answer: 93.3 Meters
Supporting Sentence: At 93.3 metres in length, it connects the 26-metre long entrance building to the three vaults
Explanation: The passage mentions that a long corridor at 93.3 meters in length, connects the 26-meter-long entrance building to the three vaults, each of which extends 27 meters into the mountains.
Keyword: Long corridor, mountain, three vaults.
Keyword location: 3rd paragraph. 2nd line.
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Q3) Seeds are processed in the ___________ before they go into the vault.
Answer: Office
Supporting Sentence: The oilier room is an office which can be heated to provide comfortable working conditions for those who will make an inventory of the samples in and out of the vault.
Explanation: The passage clearly mentions that the oiler room is an office which is heated to provide comfortable working conditions who will make an inventory of the samples in & out of the vault.
Keyword: Oiler room, inventory.
Keyword location: 3rd paragraph, last line.
Q4) The __________ is reduced as it enters the vault
Answer: Electrical current
Supporting Sentence: One is a transformer room to which only the power company officials have access – this houses the equipment needed to transform the incoming electrical current down to 220 volts.
Explanation: The passage mentions that there is a transformer room to which only power company officials have access, this room houses the equipment needed to transform the incoming Electrical current down to 220 volts.
Keyword: Transformer room, company officials.
Keyword location: 3rd paragraph, 4th line.
Q5) The Entrance to the seed vault itself is protected with doors with ___________ between them
Answer: An Airlock
Supporting Sentence: Anyone seeking access to the seeds has to pass through four locked doors: the heavy steel entrance doors...
Explanation: The passage mentions that anyone seeking access to the seeds has to pass through four locked doors: the heavy steel entrance doors, a second door approximately 90 metres down the tunnel and finally the two keyed doors separated by an airlock, from which it is possible to proceed directly into the seed vaults
Keyword: Entrance doors, locked doors, seed vaults.
Keyword location: 4th paragraph, 1st line
Q6) The seeds are conserved by the cold and lack of ___________
Answer: Moisture
Supporting Sentence: The seeds are placed in scaled boxes and stored on shelves in the vaults.
Explanation: The passage mentions that the seeds are placed in scaled boxes and stored on shelves in the vaults. The minimal moisture level and low temperature ensure low metabolic activity.
Keyword: shelves, scaled boxes, temperature
Keyword location: 2nd paragraph, 3rd line.
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Questions 7-13
Do the following statements with the information given in Reading Passage. Write answers In boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet, write:
- TRUE -if the statement is true
- FALSE-if the statement is false
- NOT GIVEN- if the information is not given in the passage
Q7) The vault has the capacity to accommodate undiscovered types of seed at a later date.
Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: Soon, there will be seed varieties from at least 100 crops in the Svalbard vault – extending to examples of all of the 1.5 million known crop seed varieties in the world.
Explanation: The passage mentions the varied and extended seed varieties & millions of crops. If any more are unearthed. either in the wild or found in obscure collections, they can be added, too – the vault has room for at least 4.5 million samples.
Keyword: Crops, seed varieties, seed samples
Keyword location: 5th Paragraph, 3rd line
Q8) There are different levels of refrigeration according to the kinds of seeds stored.
Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Inside the entrance area it is more than 10® C below freezing, but in the chambers where the seeds are kept, refrigerators push down the temperature even further, to -18oC.
Explanation: The passage mentions that Inside the entrance area it is more than 10® C below freezing, but in the chambers where the seeds are kept, refrigerators push down the temperature even further, to -18oC. It means that seeds do not require different levels of refrigeration.
Keyword: Refrigerators, freezing temperatures
Keyword location: 5th paragraph, 4th line.
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Q9) During winter, the flow of air entering the vault is regularly monitored by staff.
Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Svalbard’s Arctic conditions will keep the seeds cold. In order to maintain the temperature at a constant -10° C to -20® C, the cold Arctic air will be drawn into the vault during the winter, automatically and without human intervention.
Explanation: The passage talks about the svalbard’s arctic temperature keeps the seeds cold. In order to maintain the temperature at a constant -10° C to -20® C, the cold Arctic air will be drawn into the vault during the winter, automatically and without human intervention.
Keyword: Arctic temperature, cold winter.
Keyword location: 6th Paragraph, 2nd line
Q10) There is a back-up refrigeration system ready to be switched on if the present one fails.
Answer: Not given
Q11) The people who work at Svalbard are mainly locals.
Answer: Not given
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Q12) Once a seed package Is In the vault, it remains unopened.
Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: Svalbard is intended 3s the seed bank of last resort. Each sample is made up of a few hundred seeds, sealed inside a watertight package which will never be tampered with while it is in the vault.
Explanation: Svalbard is intended 3s the seed bank of last resort. Each sample is made up of a few hundred seeds, sealed inside a watertight package which will never be tampered with while it is in the vault.
Keyword: Sealed seeds, no tampering
Keyword location: 7th paragraph, 2nd line
Q13) If seeds are sent from Svalbard to other banks, there is an obligation for the recipient to send replacements back.
Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: If seeds do have to be given out, those who receive them are expected to germinate them and generate new samples, to be returned to the vault.
Explanation: The passage clearly indicates that If seeds do have to be given out, those who receive them are expected to germinate them and generate new samples, to be returned to the vault.
Keyword: germination, new samples
Keyword location: 7th paragraph, last line
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