COURSE: IELTS Fighter Target 6.

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Reading 4: THE WORLD IN OUR HANDS - MATCHING INFORMATION
LECTURE

I. Vocabulary
1. solar energy /ˈsəʊlə(r) ˈenədʒi/ (n): energy that uses the power of the sun to produce electricity
năng lượng mặt trời
2. power plant /ˈpaʊə plɑːnt/ (n) a building or group of buildings where electricity is produced
nhà máy điện
3. irrigation /ˌɪrɪˈɡeɪʃn/ (n): the practice of supplying water to an area of land through pipes or channels so that
crops will grow.
Sự tưới tiêu
4. infrastructure /ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃə(r)/ (n): the basic systems and services that are necessary for a country or an
organization to run smoothly, for example buildings, transport and water and power supplies
cơ sở hạ tầng
5. consortium /kənˈsɔːtiəm (n): a group of people, countries, companies, etc. who are working together on a
particular project
tổ chức

EXAMPLES
● 1. We installed solar panels on the roofs so that we can use solar energy to make electricity.
● 2. In theory, a 90,600 square kilometer chunk of the Sahara could yield the same amount of electricity as all
the world's power plants combined.
● 3. Irrigation has increased the area of cultivable land.
● 4. The war has badly damaged the country's infrastructure.
● 5. Our company forms part of a consortium of local businesses working for environmental change

II. Content

STRATEGIES

1. Read the questions first. Underline key words. Think about synonyms and how you could paraphrase the
statements.
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2. Skim the reading text to understand the general meaning of the text.

3. Read the question statements again and predict which paragraph contains the answer.

4. Scan the text paragraphs you think might contain the answer for synonyms.

5. Check back with the question statement and mark answer if correct.

III. Practice
Out of Africa: solar energy from the Sahara

Vivienne Walt reports on how the Sahara Desert could offer a truly green solution to Europe's energy problems  

A. For years, the Sahara has been regarded by many Europeans as a terra incognita* of little economic value or
importance. But this idea may soon change completely. Politicians and scientists on both sides of the
Mediterranean are beginning to focus on the Sahara's potential to provide power for Europe in the future. They
believe the desert's true value comes from the fact that it is dry and empty. Some areas of the Sahara reach 45
degrees centigrade on many afternoons. It is, in other words, a gigantic natural storehouse of solar energy.  
B. A few years ago, scientists began to calculate just how much energy the Sahara holds. They were astonished at
the answer. In theory, a 90,600 square kilometer chunk of the Sahara- smaller than Portugal and a little over 1% of
its total area - could yield the same amount of electricity as all the world's power plants combined. A smaller square
of 15,500 square kilometers - about the size of Connecticut - could provide electricity for Europe's 500 million
people. 'I admit I was skeptical until I did the calculations myself,' says Michael Pawlyn, director of Exploration
Architecture, one of three British environmental companies comprising the Sahara Forest Project, which is testing
solar plants in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Pawlyn calls the Sahara's potential 'staggering'.  
C. At the moment, no one is proposing the creation of a solar power station the size of a small country. But a
relatively well-developed technology exists, which proponents say could turn the Sahara's heat and sunlight into a
major source of electricity - Concentrating Solar Power [CSP]. Unlike solar panels, which convert sunlight directly
into electricity, CSP utilizes mirrors which focus light on water pipes or boilers to produce very hot steam to operate
the turbines of generators. Small CSP plants have produced power in California's Mojave Desert since the 1980s.
The Sahara Forest Project proposes building CSP plants in areas below sea level (the Sahara has several such
depressions) so that seawater can flow into them. This water would then be purified and used for powering turbines
and washing dust off the mirrors. Waste water would then supply irrigation to areas around the stations, creating
lush oases - hence the 'forest' in the group's name.  
D. But producing significant quantities of electricity means building huge arrays of mirrors and pipes across
hundreds of miles of remote desert, which is expensive. Gerry Wolff, an engineer who heads DESERTEC, an
international consortium of solar-power scientists, says they have estimated it will cost about $59 billion to begin
transmitting power from the Sahara by 2020.

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E. Building plants is just part of the challenge. One of the drawbacks to CSP technology is that it works at
maximum efficiency only in sunny, hot climates- and deserts tend to be distant from population centres. To supply
Europe with 20% of its electricity needs, more than 19,300 kilometres of cables would need to be laid under the
Mediterranean, says Gunnar Asplund, head of HVDC research at ABB Power Technologies in Ludvika, Sweden.
Indeed, to use renewable sources of power, including solar, wind and tidal, Europe will need to build completely
new electrical grids. That's because existing infrastructures, built largely for the coal-fired plants that supply 80% of
Europe's power, would not be suitable for carrying the amount of electricity generated by the Sahara. Germany's
government-run Aerospace Centre, which researches energy, estimates that replacing those lines could raise the
cost of building solar plants in the Sahara and sending significant amounts of power to Europe to about $465 billion
over the next 40 years. Generous government subsidies will be needed. 'Of course it costs a lot of money,' says
Asplund. 'It's a lot cheaper to burn coal than to make solar power in the Sahara.'  
F. Meanwhile, some companies are getting started. Seville engineering company Abengoa is building one solar
thermal plant in Algeria and another in Morocco, while a third is being built in Egypt by a Spanish-Japanese joint
venture. The next step will be to get cables in place. Although the European Parliament has passed a law that aids
investors who help the continent reach its goal of getting 20% of its power from renewable energy by 2020, it could
take years to create the necessary infrastructure.  

G. Nicholas Dunlop, secretary-general of the London-based NGO e-Parliament, thinks companies should begin
transmitting small amounts of solar power as soon as the North African plants begin operating, by linking a few
cable lines under the Med. 'I call it the Lego method,' he says. 'Build it piece by piece.' If it can be shown that power
from the Sahara can be produced profitably, he says, companies and governments will soon jump in. If they do,
perhaps airplane passengers flying across the Sahara will one day count the mirrors and patches of green instead
of staring at sand.

adapted from Time Magazine

*terra incognito - Latin, meaning 'an unknown land'

Questions 1- 5

The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-G.

NB You may use any letter more than once.  

1. a mention of systems which could not be used

2. estimates of the quantity of power the Sahara could produce
3. a suggestion for how to convince organizations about the Sahara's potential
4. a short description of the Sahara at present

5. a comparison of the costs of two different energy sources

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ANSWER KEY

1. E
2. B
3. G
4. A

5. E

EXPLANATION
In paragraph E, a lot of negative words are used to describe the systems – CSP technology, as you can see them
highlighted on the screen. Therefore, the answer for question 1 is E.
For question 2, instead of using the word estimates and produce, paragraph B uses their synonym calculate and
holds. Afterwards, the estimated quantity of power is given In theory, a 90,600 square kilometer chunk of the
Sahara- smaller than Portugal and a little over 1% of its total area- could yield the same amount of electricity as all
the world's power plants combined. A smaller square of 15,500 square kilometers - about the size of Connecticut
could provide electricity for Europe's 500 million people. Therefore, Paragraph B is definitely the answer for
question 2.
Question 3 asks about a suggestion for how to convince organizations about the Sahara's potential. In order to find
this suggestion, scan for such words that we normally use for making suggestions like SHOULD, if…
“Nicholas Dunlop, secretary-general of the London-based NGO e-Parliament, thinks companies should begin
transmitting small amounts of solar power as soon as the North African plants begin operating, by linking a few
cable lines under the Med. 'I call it the Lego method,' he says. 'Build it piece by piece.' If it can be shown that power
from the Sahara can be produced profitably, he says, companies and governments will soon jump in. If they do,
perhaps airplane passengers flying across the Sahara will one day count the mirrors and patches of green instead
of staring at sand” All the sentences highlighted can make sure the answer for question 3 is paragraph G.

For question 4, in paragraph A. “the Sahara has been regarded by many Europeans as a terra incognita of little
economic value or importance; Sahara's potential to provide power for Europe in the future. Some areas of the
Sahara reach 45 degrees centigrade on many afternoons. It is, in other words, a gigantic natural storehouse of
solar energy”.  These are facts about Sahara at the moment. So paragraph A is the answer.

Question 5 is about a comparison of the costs of two different energy sources. You find the information in
paragraph E .It is not easy to identity the 2 energy sources, they are renewable and coal fired.The old coal-fired
plants are no longer suitable for carrying the amount of electricity generated by the Sahara, so it is essential to use
renewable sources such as solar, wind and tidal “ Indeed, to use renewable sources of power, including solar, wind
and tidal, Europe will need to build completely new electrical grids. That's because existing infrastructures, built
largely for the coal-fired plants that supply 80% of Europe's power, would not be suitable for carrying the amount of
electricity generated by the Sahara.”
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HOMEWORK

Exercise 1

The lost giants of Australian fauna

(A) Australia's wildlife is unique. The vast majority of the animals that live there are not found anywhere else – and
things were no different 1 million years ago during the Pleistocene: the age of the super-sized mammal. Before
humanity became Earth's undisputed superpower, giant beasts of all shapes and sizes dominated every continent,

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but the Pleistocene mammals of Australia were different. Some of them could grow to the size of small cars, or
possessed teeth longer than knife blades.

(B) None of these animals survive today – although exactly why that's the case is a mystery. Humans, with their
advanced hunting techniques and use of fire to modify the landscape, may have played a central role in the
megafauna's disappearance, but this idea is still a matter of heated debate.

(C) Even if we cannot be sure that the arrival of Australian Aboriginals on the continent had catastrophic effects on
its native animals, it seems that the animals had a rather spiritual effect on the humans. The Aboriginal
mythological "Dreamtime" includes a cast of monstrous creatures, many of which bear a close resemblance to
some of the real-life monsters that once stalked Australia's plains. Are the myths based in fact? Perhaps: after all,
these creatures are far stranger than anything dreamed up by humans.

(D) For instance, the two-tonnes weighting Diprotodon comfortably holds the title of largest marsupial ever. In size
and appearance it looked superficially like a modern rhinoceros, but the Diprotodon seems to have had a social
lifestyle more like that of an elephant, another mammal with which it shares anatomical similarities. What the
Diprotodon most resembles, however, is exactly what it is: an enormous wombat.

(E) Another record breaker, this time a world champion; Varanuspriscus, commonly known by its antiquated genus
name Megalania – was the largest terrestrial lizard the world has ever known. Megalania was a goanna lizard, a
relative of today's infamous Komodo dragon, and conservative estimates have predicted that it was at least 5.5m
long.

(F) These monster marsupials were not the only giants. Their numbers were swelled by half-tonne birds and
dinosaur-like tortoises. Although this biological assemblage was truly nightmarish for humans, it greatly enriched
the Australia’s fauna and contributed to the world’s biological diversity. Unfortunately, all of these species are
extinct nowadays. This fact shows us that even strong, monstrous creatures can easily die out. So we need to care
about animals that surround us today and don’t let them disappear as it happened to their distant ancestors.

Matching paragraphs questions:

Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A-F

1. Extinction of monstrous creatures 

2. The largest mammal 
3. Myths and reality 
4. Incredible creatures of Pleistocene Australia 
5. Importance of animal protection 
6. Giant lizards 
7. Arrival of Australian Aboriginals 
8. Mystery the giants' disappearance

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Exercise 2

Read the text and answer the questions below.

Simplicity reigns at London's biggest design festival.

(A) With upwards of 300 product launches, installations and exhibitions, London's annual nine-day design festival
is a showcase of head-spinning choice. In many ways that's the beauty of the extravaganza, everyone has a
different experience and takes something unique away from it. There were however some intriguing themes and
trends in this year's edition that spoke to larger social or cultural preoccupations.

(B) One was the launch of two consumer electronics products designed to simplify and beautify our technology-
addled lives. Both chose the new London Design Festival venue of Somerset House to show their wares. The first
was a mobile phone launched by Swiss company Punkt and designed by Jasper Morrison that allows users to
make calls and texts only (well, it has an alarm clock and an address book too). Punkt founder PetterNeby doesn't
believe it will replace your smartphone but suggests users fit it with the same SIM card as your main phone and
use it in the evenings, weekends and on holiday.

(C) The other electronics launch came from the unlikely French sibling duo of the Bouroullec brothers. Though tech
companies like Samsung are usually prescriptive about their products the Bouroullecs (who admitted they found
most TVs sad and ugly) seem to have been given free rein. Their new television for the mega Korean brand looks
more like an item of furniture than an ultra-large and ultra-slim piece of tech. More importantly, it comes with
simplified on-screen interaction and a 'curtain mode' that turns your screen into a shimmering pattern during ads or
half-time. Again, their focus was on dialing down digital insanity.

(D) Customizable online furniture was also very much in vogue at this year's festival. But rest assured, weird and
unreliable software or off-the-wall designs sent to a 3D printer somewhere and arriving months later, seem to be a
thing of the past. Customization may finally have come of age. Two examples were Scandi-brand Hem that
combined good design by the likes of Luca Nichetto, Form Us With Love and Sylvain Willenz with affordable price
points. The fact that the brand opened a pop-up store in Covent Garden during the festival is a recognition of the
importance of both physical and online spaces that work seamlessly together.

(E) Another online configurable brand to make its debut after years in development was Warsaw-based Tylko. Like
Hem, Tylko has spent time and money on very powerful and easy-to-use software, but with only three designs - a
table, a shelf and salt and pepper mills - it has a way to go. Its augmented reality app is simple to use however and
its table has been developed with a nano-coating option that really does appear to keep pesky stains at bay. Craft
and 'making' in all its forms was once again a big hit and nowhere more so than at TENT, the East London design
event that gets better every year.

(F) A definite highlight was the massive space taken over by the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland and filled with
weavers and potters doing their thing and showing their wares. Irish Design had another delectable stand over at
the Rochelle School in East London too. The Souvenir Project was a series of nine non-cliché 'souvenirs' made in

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Ireland and included a rainbow plate by Nicholas Mosse Pottery that featured rows of animals, flowers and watering
cans and commemorated the legalization of same-sex marriage in Ireland in May 2015.

(G) If there was one material that could be said to define the festival it might just be Jesmonite, the wonder man-
made building composite. Lighter and more sustainable than concrete, its dramatic capabilities were brought to life
by London-based design studio PINCH and their tour-de-force limited edition Nim table and Swedish artist Hilda
Hellström's giant colorful volcano made for the restaurant in London's Ace Hotel. A show called Matter of Stuff near
Covent Garden was in on the jesmonite act too, but even more intriguingly was presenting vases made out of
Propolis, a resinous material collected by bees and used to seal gaps in hives that, according to their designer
Marlene Huissoud, behaves like glass.

(H) Finally, this was the year that Chinese Design finally displayed a well-edited and inspired showcase of
products. Despite the mouthful of a title, Icon Presents: Hi Design Shanghai stand at 100% Design was a
meaningful selection of designers exploring materials and ideas. Young design duo Yuue's offerings were the most
representative of a new conceptual approach to design that seems to be emerging. Their lamps were functional but
also thought-provoking and humorous. What more could one want from the stuff that surrounds us?

Questions 1-8

The text has eight paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information?

1. Examples of customization 

2. Unusual keepsakes 

3. A new approach 

4. A simple cell phone 

5. Unbelievable material 

6. A strange TV 

7. Number of products shown on the festival 

8. Three designs of a software 

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 ANSWER KEYS
Exercise 1

KEYS

1. Extinction of monstrous creatures 

2. The largest mammal - D
3. Myths and reality - C
4. Incredible creatures of Pleistocene Australia - A
5. Importance of animal protection - F
6. Giant lizards - E
7. Arrival of Australian Aboriginals 
8. Mystery the giants' disappearance – B

EXPLANATION

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 Paragraph A
After reading this paragraph we can clearly see that its main idea is to describe the wildlife in Australia
during Pleistocene. This idea is briefly written in the first sentence:
Australia's wildlife is unique.
So we can immediately cross out the irrelevant headings:
Extinction of monstrous creatures (there is nothing written about animals' extinction in the first paragraph)
The largest mammal
Myths and reality (the text just gives information about the animals, it says nothing about whether it is real)
Incredible creatures of Pleistocene Australia
Importance of animal protection (animal protection is not mentioned)
Giant lizards (nothing about lizards)
Arrival of Australian Aboriginals (nothing about Aboriginals)
Mystery the giants' disappearance (we're not given any information about animals' disappearance)
So we're left with two headings. But despite that super-sized mammal is mentioned in the text, the main
focus of this paragraph is Australia's wildlife during Pleistocene. So the correct answer is Incredible creatures of
Pleistocene Australia.

Paragraph B
This paragraph says that we don't know why these creatures disappeared. And again, the first sentence of this
paragraph summarises its main idea:
None of these animals survive today – although exactly why that's the case is a mystery.
Now we can cross out the irrelevant headings:
Extinction of monstrous creatures
The largest mammal
Myths and reality
Importance of animal protection
Giant lizards
Arrival of Australian Aboriginals
Mystery the giants' disappearance
Both headings that are left look good. But the first one doesn't give enough information, as it is highlighted
in the paragraph that the case is a mystery. So the correct answer is Mystery the giants' disappearance.

Paragraph C
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 These sentences contain the paragraphs main idea:
The Aboriginal mythological "Dreamtime" includes a cast of monstrous creatures, many of which bear a
close resemblance to some of the real-life monsters that once stalked Australia's plains. Are the myths based in fact?
Perhaps: after all, these creatures are far stranger than anything dreamed up by humans.
So the text tells us about myths and reality, which is the correct heading.
Note that arrival of Australian Aboriginals is also mentioned in this paragraph, but it doesn't play a key role.

Paragraph D
This paragraph is clearly about Diprotodon:
the two-tonnes weighting Diprotodon comfortably holds the title of largest marsupial ever. In size and
appearance it looked superficially like a modern rhinoceros, but the Diprotodon seems to have had a social lifestyle
more like that of an elephant, another mammal with which it shares anatomical similarities.
So the main idea of paragraph D is The largest mammal.

Paragraph E
The whole paragraph is dedicated to the giant lizard Megalania:
... Megalania – was the largest terrestrial lizard ...
So, Giant lizards is a correct choice of heading.

Paragraph F
Paragraph F tells a bit more about other extinct species and ends with a conclusion:
Unfortunately, all of these species are extinct nowadays. This fact shows us that even strong, monstrous
creatures can easily die out. So we need to care about animals that surround us today and don't let them disappear
as it happened to their distant ancestors.
This conclusion is the main idea of this paragraph - we need to protect animals. That's why the correct
heading is Importance of animal protection.
You can also see that two paragraphs (1 and 7) were not used at all. This sometimes happens in IELTS
Matching Paragraphs questions.

Exercise 2

1. D

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 The correct answer is D, because in the paragraph D we can see that the author is talking about
customization: "Customizable online furniture... Customization may finally have come of age. Two examples
were..."

2. F

Your answer should be F, because in this paragraph there is a fragment that tells "a series of nine non-cliché
'souvenirs'" which is a synonym to unusual keepsakes

3. H

The correct answer is H, because you can see a line about "a new conceptual approach to design" in the third
sentence of paragraph H.

4. B

The correct answer is B, because in the paragraph B we can read about new cell phone, "that allows users to
make calls and texts only". Therefore, it is simple.

5. G

In the paragraph G we're told about "Jesmonite, the wonder man-made building composite. Lighter and more
sustainable than concrete...". Due to such qualities, this material can be described as unbelievable.

6. C

The correct answer is C. Third sentence confirms it: "...new television for the mega Korean brand looks more
like an item of furniture than an ultra-large and ultra-slim piece of tech...".

7. A

The very first line of the first paragraph says: "With upwards of 300 product launches, installations and
exhibitions, London's annual nine-day design festival is a showcase of head-spinning choice. So the right answer is
A.

8. E

E is the correct answer, because the second sentence of paragraph E says that "...Tylko has spent time and
money on very powerful and easy-to-use software, but with only three designs - a table, a shelf and salt and pepper
mills...".
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