Basic IELTS Reading
Unit 10 Reading Practice (7)
Unit 10- Reading Practice
Section 4
About 1815, when many Americans from the east coast had already moved toward the west, trade routes from the ports to the central regions of the country began to be a serious problem.
The slow wagons of that time, drawn by horses or oxen, were too expensive for moving heavy freight very far. Americans had long admired Europe's canals. In New York State, a canal seemed the best solution to the transportation problem. Fr~m the eastern end of Lake Erie all the way across the state to the Hudson River, there is a long strip of low land. Here the Erie Canal was constructed. After several years of work, it was completed in 1825.
Section 5
The canal produced an immediate effect. Freight costs were cut to about one tenth of what they had been. New York City, which had been smaller than Philadelphia and Boston, quickly became the leading city of the coast. In the years that followed, transportation routes on the Great Lakes were joined to routes on the Mississippi River. Then New York City became the end point of a great inland shipping system that extended from the Atlantic Ocean far up the western branches of the Mississippi.
Section 6
The coming of the railroads made canal shipping less important, but it tied New York even more closely to the central regions of the country. It was easier for people in the central states to ship their goods to New York for export overseas.
Section 7
Exports from New York were greater than imports. Consequently, shipping companies were eager to fill their ships with passengers on the return trip from Europe. Passengers could come from Europe very cheaply as a result.
Section 8
Thus New York became the greatest port for receiving people from European countries.
Many of these people remained in the city. Others stayed in New York for a few weeks, months, or years, and then moved to other parts of the United States. For these great numbers of new Americans, New York had to provide homes, goods, and services. Their labour helped the city become great.
Exercise 1 Word Use
Decide which of the following choices is closest in meaning to the underlined word in the sentence and write down the corresponding letter.
1. About 1815, when many Americans from the east coast had already moved toward the west, trade routes from the ports to the central regions of the country began to be a ser- ious problem.
A. methods used B. ways planned C. areas travelled
Basic IELTS Reading
2. The slow wagons of that time, drawn by horses or oxen, were too expensive for moving . heavy freight very far.
A. goods B. boxes C. bags
3. From the eastern end of Lake Erie all the way across the state to the Hudson River, there is a long strip of low land.
A. a narrow piece B. a thick piece C. a small piece
4. The coming of the railroads made canal shipping less important, but it tied New York even more closely to the central regions of the country.
A. states B. countries C. areas
5. Exports from New York were greater than imports. Consequently, shipping companies were eager to fill their ships with passengers on the return trip from Europe.
A. In fact B. As a result C. In addition
The reading passage How New York Became America's Largest City has 8 sections num- bered 1-8. Choose the most suitable heading for each section from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate numbers (I-VIII). The heading of section 4 has been given as an example.
6. Section 1 7. Section 2 8. Section 3
Example: Section 4 VII 9. Section 5
10. Section 6 11. Section 7 12. Section 8
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Unit 10- Reading Practice
Read the passage How New York Became America's Largest City and look at the following statements. Write
TRUE if the statement is true;
FALSE ifthe statement is false;
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage.
13. New York is typical of cities that became industrial centres simply because of their geo- graphical locations.
14. In 1815, people moved to the central regions of the country in wagons drawn by horses. 15. All Americans agreed that they should build a canal for transportation.
16. The Erie Canal was constructed between Lake Erie and the Hudson River.
17. The Erie Canal was not successful in bringing the freight costs down immediately.
18. Canal transportation was affected by the coming of the railroads.
19. The labour of people whom shipping companies brought back from Europe helped New York become great.
•••••••••~•~''''''"''''~"ro•••••••••••••••••••••••••••u-•u•~••-•oc•••••••••••••••U""'''~'''''!
labour /'Ieiba/ n. 1
canal /ka'nrel/ n.
coast /kaust/ n.
consequently /'konsikwantli/ adv.
construct /kan'strAkt/ v.
eager /'i:ga/ adj.
economics /,i:ka'nomiks/ n.
ox /oks/ n.
populate /'popjuleit/ v.
port /po:t/ n.
raw /ro:/ adj.
region /'ri:d3an/ n.
route /ru:t/ n.
economist /i'konamist/ n. seaport /'si:po:t/ n.
1
extend /ik'stend/ v. shipping /jipi!J/ n. !
freight /freit/ n. transportation /,trrenspo:'teifan/ n.
l
inland /'inland/ adj. wagon /'wregan/ n. l
:
._.. •• •• • •• •• •• •••oee.-.. ... _..,.,_.,..., ••••••• -. •••• •• •• oo.:• oo..•• •• ••• • • ••:.• •-.-.. ..--•• • •••• • • • • • .,.,_.., • • •• • • • .,,. •• •-• •••ooe .,_..,,. ._., •• ••~• .._._ •• • • •• ••-•• .,,._.. • .,._. • • ••i
Reading Passage Two
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Basic IELTS Reading
A. Have you ever used public libraries?
B. What do you need to borrow books?
C. How are books arranged in libraries?
D. What if you want to keep the books longer?
E. Will you be fined?
3. Look at the different types of questions after the passage to get a general idea about the range of questions and about the kinds of information you need to look for in the passage.
4. In which paragraphs of the passage will you probably find infonnation about A. the number of books libraries have?
B. the arrangement of a library?
C. library holdings?