IELTS
The Undersea World of Sound
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snorts, clicks, groans – tune in to the long-distance language of the ocean -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A The vast oceans of the world are dark, deep and mysterious places where eyesight counts for little as soon as you venture very far beneath the surface.
B For humans, who live in a world dominated by visual stimuli, to exist in such conditions would be impossible. But for whales and dolphins that live in the ocean or, in the case of a few species, muddy rivers and estuaries, the darkness is unimportant. What is crucial to them is sound.
C Sound is an efficient way to transmit and sense information, especially as it travels five times faster through water than through air. If humans shout to someone, it is unlikely that they will be heard a kilometer away. But if a whale ‘shouts’ in an ocean channel, another whale may hear it tens, if not hundreds, of kilometers away.
D Whales and dolphins use sound in two ways: for communication and for echolocation. Dolphins, porpoises and toothed whales communicate through a wide variety of high-frequency sounds – pure tone whistles, pulsed squeals, screams or barks – generally at frequencies of 500Hz to 20kHz (where a hertz is a cycle per second and a kilohertz a thousand).
E But as well as using sounds to communicate, toothed whales and dolphins also rely on echolocation to learn about their immediate environment, including prey that might be lurking nearby. They produce intense short broad-band pulses of sound in the ultrasonic range of between 0.25 and 220 kHz. These clicks are brief – typically less than one millisecond long- but they are repeated many times each second.
1. Write two sentences that summarise the passage.
2. What is the writer’s main purpose in this passage? A, to explain the function of whale and dolphin sounds B. to account for the development of underwater sounds C. to compare the sounds made by whales and dolphins D. to give the results of his studies on underwater sounds
IELTS Reading test practice ___________ Finding information in paragraphs The Undersea World of Sound passage has five paragraphs A-E. Which paragraph contains the following information? 1 a contrast between the speed of sound in and out of the ocean 2 a reference to hoe whale and dolphin noises can help them find food 3 a description of what it is like under the sea 4 the names of a range of noises whales and dolphins make underwater 5 the various places whales and dolphins can be found IELTS
IELTS Reading test practice ___________ Choosing headings for paragraphs
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of heading below. List of Headings i Increasing customer confidence ii A benefit retailers iii The bigger picture of how internet use changes consumer behaviour iv Introducing a novel approach to purchasing v The dangers for detailers vi Retraining staff vii Changing the face of the shop and the internet site viii A look at the sales figures ix Encouraging online feedback from consumers wily, Wired Consumers
The Internet has empowered shoppers both online and offline.
A The amount of time people spend researching, checking prices, visiting stores and seeking advice from friends tends to rise in proportion to the value of the product they are thinking of buying. A new car is one of the biggest purchases people make, and buyers typically spend four to six weeks mulling over their choices. So why are some people now walking into car showrooms and ordering a vehicle without even asking for a test drive? Or turning up at an electrical store and pointing out the washing machine they want without seeking advice from a sales assistant? Welcome to a new style of shopping shaped by the internet.
B More people are buying products online, especially at peak buying periods. The total value of e-commerce transactions in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2004 reached $18 billon, a 22% increase over the same period in 2003, according to the Department of Commerce in Washington DC. But that just represents 2% of America’s total retail market and excludes services, such as online travel, the value of goods auctioned on the Internet, and the $34 billion-worth of goods that individuals trade on eBay.
C If you consider the Internet’s wider influence over what people spend their money on, then the figures escalate out of sight. Some carmakers in America now find that eight out of ten of their buyers have logged on to the Internet to gather information about not just the exact vehicle they want, but also the price they are going to pay. Similarly with consumer electronics, nowadays if a customer wants to know which flat-screen TV they should buy, they are likely to start their shopping online – even though the vast majority will not complete the transaction there.
D The Internet is moving the world closer to perfect product and price information. The additional knowledge it can provide makes consumers more self-assured and bold enough to go into a car dealership and refuse to bargain. As a result, the process of shopping is increasingly being divorced from the transaction itself. Consumers might surf the web at night and hit the shops during the day. Visiting bricks-and-mortar stores can provide the final confirmation that the item or group of items that they are interested in is right for them.
IELTS
E Far from losing trade to online merchants stores that offer the sorts of goods people find out about online can gain from this new form of consumer behaviour. This is provided they offer attractive facilities, good guarantees and low prices.
F Merchants who charge too much and offer poor service, however, should beware. The same,too, for shaky manufacturers: smarter consumers know which products have a good reputation and which do not, because online they now read not only the sales blurb but also reviews from previous purchasers. And if customers are disappointed, a few clicks of the mouse will take them to places where they can let the world know.
G Some companies are already adjusting their business models to take account of these trends. The stores run by Sony and Apple, for instance, are more like brand showrooms than shops. They are there for people to try out devices and to ask questions of knowledge staff. Whether the products are ultimately bought online or offline is of secondary importance. Online traders must also adjust. Amazon, for one, is rapidly turning from being primarily a bookseller to becoming a mass retailer, by letting other companies sell products on its site, rather like a marketplace. Other transformations in the retail business are bound to follow.
Homework Vocabulary builder Meaning Example Seeking advice getting advice/help (with a decision) a in proportion to b mulling over c turning up d peak periods e influence over f gain from g take account of h try out Use these words to write some sentences e.g.
a. But now, I want to look at what happens when things are not proper proportion.