Adam’s Wine IELTS Reading Answers 2024

Adam’s Wine - IELTS Reading Passage

You should spend approximately 20 minutes answering Questions 1 – 13 based on the Reading Passage below.

Adam’s Wine

1. Water is a life-giver as well as a life-taker. It spans the majority of our planet’s surface and has had a significant role in human evolution. According to current projections, it is a factor that will become even more important.

2. Water has played a vital role in our lives throughout history. Water has always had a thorny relationship with humanity; on the one hand providing immense benefits not only as a supply of drinking water but also as a source of food, a means of transportation, and a means of trade. However, because people have been obliged to live near water in order to survive and thrive, the relationship has not always been pleasant or productive. Contrary to popular belief, it has been the exact opposite. What started out as a survival necessity has turned out to have a highly destructive and life-threatening side in many cases.

3. People and their environment have been hit by big floods and long droughts throughout history, making it harder for them to fight for their lives. The dramatic changes in the environment that we hear about in the news every day are not new. Fields that used to be green and full of life are now empty. Lakes and rivers that used to be full of life are now empty. Savannas have become deserts. What might be new is our childlike amazement at the forces of nature.

4. Today, we know more about how climates change around the world. Floods in faraway places have an immediate effect on the whole world. Maybe these things make us feel better when floods and other natural disasters are destroying our own property.

5. In 2002, floods in several parts of Europe caused a lot of damage that cost billions of euros to fix. Properties all over the continent fell into the sea as waves thumped the coast and destroyed sea defenses. But it was not just the sea. Rivers that were deformed by heavy rains and the loss of trees carried large amounts of water that ruined many communities.

6. The costly short-term solution is to build better and more sophisticated flood defences along rivers. There are less complicated options. Tree planting in highland areas, not just in Europe, but also in locations like the Himalayas, to safeguard people living in low-lying areas like the Ganges Delta, is a less expensive and more appealing alternative. Countries are already being persuaded that the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is affecting significant environmental damage. In this area, however, further work is needed.

7. What about the future? According to projections, two-thirds of the world’s population would be without fresh water by 2025. However, the future has arrived in a rising number of parts of the planet. While floods have wreaked havoc in certain areas, water scarcity is generating strife in others. The Rio Grande failed to reach the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in 50 years in the spring of 2002, pitting the region against the region as they compete for water supplies. Due to drought and growing water usage in many regions of the world, there is currently discussion of water becoming the new oil.

8. Other doom-laden predictions claim that, as the polar ice caps melt, coastal regions and some low-lying islands will almost certainly be drowned by the water. Popular exotic sites, which are today frequented by tens of thousands of tourists, will become no-go zones. Today’s vacation attractions in southern Europe and others will literally become hotspots, making them too hot to live in or visit. It’s impossible not to despair in light of the current weather’s irregular behaviour.

9. Some may argue that this pessimism is unfounded, but there has been plenty of evidence that something is wrong with the climate. Flooding has been destructive in many regions of the globe. The catastrophe shifts from one continent to the next as the seasons change. The cost of living is sad, and the environmental impact is worrying. We’ll have to get used to it.

Also read: Secret of swarm - IELTS Reading Answers

Adam’s Wine - Questions and Answers

Question (1-8)

This reading passage has eight paragraphs labelled A – I.

Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B – I from the list of headings below.

Write the appropriate numbers (i – xiii) in boxes 1 – 8 on your answer sheet.

Note: There are more headings than paragraphs, so do not use all of them.

List of Headings

1. Change in the environment has always been a part of our lives.

2. Water shortages

3. Rivers and waves wreak havoc.

4. Is it reasonable to be pessimistic? Or is it more realistic?

5. Climate disasters make us feel better.

6. Water, the source of nourishment

7. How to deal with a flood

8. Widespread floods

9. Relationship between humans and water

10. Water’s devastation in the past

11. Future flooding

12. A negative outlook on the future

1. Paragraph B

2. Paragraph C

3. Paragraph D

4. Paragraph E

5. Paragraph F

6. Paragraph G

7. Paragraph H 

8. Paragraph I

Answers with explanations (1-8)

1. X

Reference:

From paragraph B, ‘Water has played a vital role in our lives throughout history. Water has always had a thorny relationship with humanity, on the one hand providing immense benefits not only as a supply of drinking water, but also as a source of food, a means of transportation, and a means of trade.’

Explanation: The passage says that people have had a complicated connection with water throughout history. Although water has been vital to human existence and evolution, our relationship with it has not always been simple or harmonious.

2. I

Reference:

From paragraph C, ‘The dramatic changes in the environment that we hear about in the news every day are not new. ‘

Explanation: The paragraph makes note of the fact that significant environmental changes, or "environmental changes," are "not quite new" and have existed for a while. It then describes how the once-fertile savannah has turned into a desert, once-thriving lakes and rivers have vanished, and once-fertile pastures have become miserable.

3. V

Reference:

From paragraph D, ‘Maybe these things make us feel better when floods and other natural disasters are destroying our own property.’

Explanation: The paragraph explains that certain climate phenomena, like distant floods, comfort us when we have to deal with losing our belongings due to climate-related disasters.

4. III

Reference:

From paragraph E, ‘Properties all over the continent fell into the sea as waves thumped the coast and destroyed sea defences. But it was not just the sea. Rivers that were deformed by heavy rains and the loss of trees carried large amounts of water that ruined many communities.’

Explanation: The paragraph draws reference to the damaging consequences of water-induced droughts and floods. The destruction and devastation created by floods in Europe, when houses were washed into the sea by the waves and rivers flooded entire towns.

5. Viii

Reference:

From paragraph F, ‘The costly short-term solution is to build better and more sophisticated flood defences along rivers.’

Explanation: The paragraph explains that improving flood barriers is an expensive temporary fix and suggests some low-tech alternatives, like planting trees in highland areas, protecting low-lying areas and pressuring nations to limit significant emissions of greenhouse gasses and carbon dioxide

6. II

Reference:

From paragraph G, ‘According to projections, two-thirds of the world’s population would be without fresh water by 2025. However, the future has arrived in a rising number of parts of the planet.’

Explanation: According to the text, two-thirds of the world's population will lack access to safe water by 2025. The depressing reality is that although water constraint causes strife in certain areas, floods can cause disaster in others. The situation demands immediate action and international attention to guarantee that everyone has access to this essential human need. 

7. Xii

Reference:

From paragraph H, ‘Other doom-laden predictions claim that, as the polar ice caps melt, coastal regions and some low-lying islands will almost certainly be drowned by the water.’

Explanation: The paragraph states that some experts believe tropical regions would grow drier and more hostile, overflowing with low-lying islands and coastal areas. This might make well-liked exotic locations unsafe to visit and popular vacation spots too hot to live in or visit.

8. IV

Reference:

From paragraph I, ‘Some may argue that this pessimism is unfounded, but there has been plenty of evidence that something is wrong with the climate.’

Explanation: According to the paragraph, the author acknowledges that a lot of information indicates there is a problem with the environment, even though other people might argue that the optimism about the climate is baseless. This problem is confirmed by natural disasters like flooding that occur in many places of the world.

Also, Read: Describe a piece of good news - IELTS speaking cue card

Questions (9-10)

Choose the appropriate letters A – D.

9. The author contends that

1. every day, the news we read and watch on TV amazes us.

2. We’re petrified in the face of environmental changes.

3. Every day, the news we read and watch on TV should not amaze us.

4. Nature has surprised us with its ability to alter the surroundings.

10. According to the writer,

1. People do not need to become habituated to environmental destruction.

2. People will have to adapt to climate change than harm the environment.

3. People are currently more accustomed to environmental devastation than in the past.

4. The widespread pessimism over environmental transformations is unjustified.

Answers with explanations (9-10)

9. D

Reference:

From paragraph C, ‘The dramatic changes in the environment that we hear about in the news every day are not new. Fields that used to be green and full of life are now empty. ‘

Explanation: The statement above indicates that the environmental changes we frequently read about in the news are not recent developments. What's new, nevertheless, is our unsophisticated amazement at the power of nature and how profoundly it may change our surroundings.

10. B

Reference:

From paragraph I, ‘Some may argue that this pessimism is unfounded, but there has been plenty of evidence that something is wrong with the climate.’

Explanation: The paragraph claims that the consequences of climate change on the environment are frightening and expensive and that we need to act to lessen their effects. However, it's equally critical to recognise that the changes that have already taken place require adaptation on our part.

Also, Read: Describe a development in your country - IELTS speaking cue card

Questions (11-13)

Do the following statements agree with the information in Reading Passage?

In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE                      if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE                    if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN           if there is no information on this

11. Humanity’s connection with water has always been fraught.

12. Half of the world’s population will lack access to clean water in the year 2025.

13. As the seasons change, the disaster moves from one continent to another.

Answers with explanations (11-13)

11. TRUE

Reference:

From paragraph B, ‘Water has always had a thorny relationship with humanity, on the one hand providing immense benefits not only as a supply of drinking water, but also as a source of food, a means of transportation, and a means of trade.’

Explanation: The answer is true since water has always been a source of both destruction and life for humans. Water has always been an intricate and sometimes dangerous part of human existence, serving as everything from an agricultural irrigation system and source of hydration to catastrophic floods and tsunamis.

12. FALSE

Reference:

From paragraph G, ‘According to projections, two-thirds of the world’s population would be without fresh water by 2025. However, the future has arrived in a rising number of parts of the planet.’

Explanation: The text claims that finding long-term solutions to protect and manage our water supplies is crucial. We can guarantee that everyone can access fresh water by practising water conservation, investing in water infrastructure, and using water effectively in agriculture. Hence, the answer is false.

13. TRUE

Reference:

From paragraph I, ‘The catastrophe shifts from one continent to the next as the seasons change.‘

Explanation: This response is true since flooding is a severe natural calamity that affects numerous areas of the planet. Due to shifting weather patterns and seasons, the site of these disasters might vary from continent to continent.

Also, Read: Official IELTS Exam Dates Calendar - 2024

Conclusion

To sum up, you can improve your comprehension of the content and your reading speed and responses by consistently practising various reading passage types, which will help you achieve a good bandscore.

If you want to get further details on how to prepare for IELTS or, particularly, the IELTS Reading section, you can contact the Prepare IELTS exam (PI) expert counsellors for additional guidance. Our team of education experts is dedicated to providing you with the best test material and guidance to ace the IELTS exam. You can get a one-on-one counselling session and an IELTS online practice test via our platform. Contact us at info@prepareieltsexam.com or call us at +91 9773398388 for further queries.