剑桥雅思10阅读A.docx

剑桥雅思10阅读A.docx

《剑桥雅思10阅读A.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《剑桥雅思10阅读A.docx（55页珍藏版）》请在冰点文库上搜索。

剑桥雅思10阅读A

TEST1

READINGPASSAGE1

Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions1-13，whicharebasedonReadingPassage1below.

Stepwells

Amillenniumago，stepwellswerefundamentaltolifeinthedriest

partsofIndia.RichardCoxtravelledtonorth-westernIndiato

documentthesespectacularmonumentsfromabygoneera

Duringthesixthandseventhcenturies，theinhabitantsofthemodern-daystatesofGujaratandRajasthaninnorth-westernIndiadevelopedamethodofgainingaccesstoclean，freshgroundwaterduringthedryseasonfordrinking，bathing，wateringanimalsandirrigation.However，thesignificanceofthisinvention-thestepwell-goesbeyonditsutilitarianapplication.

Uniquetothisregion，stepwellsareoftenarchitecturallycomplexandvarywidelyinsizeandshape.Duringtheirheyday，theywereplacesofgathering，ofleisureandrelaxationandofworshipforvillagersofallbutthelowestclasses.MoststepwellsarefounddottedroundthedesertareasofGujarat（wheretheyarecalledvav）andRajasthan（wheretheyarecalledbaori），whileafewalsosurviveinDelhi.Somewerelocatedinornearvillagesaspublicspacesforthecommunity；otherswerepositionedbesideroadsasrestingplacesfortravellers.

Astheirnamesuggests，stepwellscompriseaseriesofstonestepsdescendingfromgroundleveltothewatersource（normallyanundergroundaquifer）asitrecedesfollowingtherains.Whenthewaterlevelwashigh，theuserneededonlytodescendafewstepstoreachit；whenitwaslow，severallevelswouldhavetobenegotiated.

Somewellsarevast，opencraterswithhundredsofstepspavingeachslopingside，oftenintiers.Othersaremoreelaborate，withlongsteppedpassagesleadingtothewaterviaseveralstoreys.Builtfromstoneandsupportedbypillars，theyalsoincludedpavilionsthatshelteredvisitorsfromtherelentlessheat.Butperhapsthemostimpressivefeaturesaretheintricatedecorativesculpturesthatembellishmanystepwells，showingactivitiesfromfightinganddancingtoeverydayactssuchaswomencombingtheirhairorchurningbutter.

Downthecenturies，thousandsofwellswereconstructedthroughoutnorthwesternIndia，butthemajorityhavenowfallenintodisuse；manyarederelictanddry，asgroundwaterhasbeendivertedforindustrialuseandthewellsnolongerreachthewatertable.Theirconditionhasn’tbeenhelpedbyrecentdryspells：

southernRajasthansufferedaneight-yeardroughtbetween1996and.

However，someimportantsitesinGujarathaverecentlyundergonemajorrestoration，andthestategovernmentannouncedinJunelastyearthatitplanstorestorethestepwellsthroughoutthestate.

InPatan，thestate’sancientcapital，thestepwellofRaniKiVav（Queen’sStepwell）isperhapsthefinestcurrentexample.ItwasbuiltbyQueenUdayamatiduringthelatethecentury，butbecamesiltedupfollowingafloodduringthe13thcentury.ButtheArchaeologicalSurveyofIndiabeganrestoringitinthe1960s，andtodayitisinpristinecondition.At65metreslong，20metreswideand27metresdeep，RaniKiVavfeatures500sculpturescarvedintonichesthroughoutthemonument.Incredibly，inJanuary，thisancientstructuresurvivedanearthquakethatmeasured7.6ontheRichterscale.

AnotherexampleistheSuryaKundinModhera，northernGujarat，nexttotheSunTemple，builtbyKingBhimaIin1026tohonourthesungodSurya.Itactuallyresemblesatank（kundmeansreservoirorpond）ratherthanawell，butdisplaysthehallmarksofstepwellarchitecture，includingfoursidesofstepsthatdescendtothebottominastunninggeometricalformation.Theterraceshouse108small，intricatelycarvedshrinesbetweenthesetsofsteps.

Rajasthanalsohasawealthofwells.TheancientcityofBundi，200kilometressouthofJaipur，isrenownedforitsarchitecture，includingitsstepwells.

OneofthelargerexamplesisRanijiKiBaori，whichwasbuiltbythequeenoftheregion，Nathavatji，in1699.At46metresdeep，20metreswideand40metreslong，theintricatelycarvedmonumentisoneof21baoriscommissionedintheBundiareabyNathavatji.

IntheoldruinedtownofAbhaneri，about95kilometreseastofJaipur，isChandBaori，oneofIndia’soldestanddeepestwells；aestheticallyit’sperhapsoneofthemostdramatic.Builtinaround850ADnexttothetempleofHarshatMata，thebaoricompriseshundredsofzigzaggingstepsthatrunalongthreeofitssides，steeplydescending11storeys，resultinginastrikingpatternwhenseenfromafar.Onthefourthside，verandaswhicharesupportedbyornatepillarsoverlookthesteps.

StillinpublicuseisNeemranaKiBaori，locatedjustofftheJaipur-Delhihighway.Constructedinaround1700，itisninestoreysdeep，withthelasttwobeingunderwater.Atgroundlevel，thereare86colonnadedopeningsfromwherethevisitordescends170stepstothedeepestwatersource.

Today，followingyearsofneglect，manyofthesemonumentstomedievalengineeringhavebeensavedbytheArchaeologicalSurveyofIndia，whichhasrecognisedtheimportanceofpreservingthemaspartofthecountry’srichhistory.Touristsflocktowellsinfar-flungcornersofnorthwesternIndiatogazeinwonderatthesearchitecturalmarvelsfromhundredsofyearsago，whichserveasareminderofboththeingenuityandartistryofancientcivilisationsandofthevalueofwatertohumanexistence.

Questions1-5

DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage1?

Inboxes1-5onyouranswersheet，write

TRUEifthestatementagreeswiththeinformation

FALSEifthestatementcontradictstheinformation

NOTGIVENifthereisnoinformationonthis

1Examplesofancientstepwellscanbefoundallovertheworld.

2Stepwellshadarangeoffunctions，inadditiontothoserelatedtowatercollection.

3ThefewexistingstepwellsinDelhiaremoreattractivethanthosefoundelsewhere.

4Ittookworkersmanyyearstobuildthestonestepscharacteristicofstepwells.

5Thenumberofstepsabovethewaterlevelinastepwellalteredduringthecourseofayear.

Questions6-8

Answerthequestionsbelow.

ChooseONEWORDONLYfromthepassageforeachanswer.

Writeyouranswersinboxes6-8onyouranswersheet.

6Whichpartofsomestepwellsprovidedshadeforpeople?

7Whattypeofseriousclimaticevent，whichtookplaceinsouthernRajasthan，ismentionedinthearticle?

8Whoarefrequentvisitorstostepwellsnowadays?

Questions9-13

Completethetablebelow.

ChooseONEWORDAND/ORANUMBERfromthepassageforeachanswer.

Writeyouranswersinboxes9-13onyouranswersheet.

Stepwell

Date

Features

Othernotes

RaniKiVav

late11thcentury

Asmanyas500

sculpturesdecoratethe

monument

Restoredinthe1960s

Excellentcondition，despitethe

9__________of

SuryaKund

1026

Stepsonthe

10__________producea

geometricalpattern

Carvedshrines

Looksmorelikea

11__________thanawell

RanijiKi

Baori

1699

Intricatelycarved

monument

Oneof21baorisinthearea

commissionedbyQueen

Nathavatji

ChandBaori

850AD

stepstakeyoudown11

storeystothebottom

Old，deepandverydramatic

Has12__________whichprovideaviewofthesteps

Neemrana

KiBaori

1700

Hastwo13__________

levels

Usedbypublictoday

READINGPASSAGE2

Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions14-26，whicharebasedonReadingPassage2onthefollowingpages.

Questions14-21

ReadingPassage2hasnineparagraphs，A-I.

ChoosethecorrectheadingforparagraphsA-EandG-Ifromthelistofheadingsbelow.

Writethecorrectnumber，i-xi，inboxes14-21onyouranswersheet.

14ParagraphA

15ParagraphB

16ParagraphC

17ParagraphD

18ParagraphE

19ParagraphG

20ParagraphH

21ParagraphI

EUROPEANTRANSPORTSYSTEMS

1990-

Whathavebeenthetrendsandwhataretheprospectsfor

Europeantransportsystems?

AItisdifficulttoconceiveofvigorouseconomicgrowthwithoutanefficienttransportsystem.Althoughmoderninformationtechnologiescanreducethedemandforphysicaltransportbyfacilitatingteleworkingandteleservices，therequirementfortransportcontinuestoincrease.Therearetwokeyfactorsbehindthistrend.Forpassengertransport，thedeterminingfactoristhespectaculargrowthincaruse.ThenumberofcarsonEuropeanUnion[EU]roadssawanincreaseofthreemillioncarseachyearfrom1990to，andinthenextdecadetheEUwillseeafurthersubstantialincreaseinitsfleet.

BAsfarasgoodstransportisconcerned，growthisduetoalargeextenttochangesintheEuropeaneconomyanditssystemofproduction.Inthelast20years，asinternalfrontiershavebeenabolished，theEUhasmovedfroma‘stock’economytoa‘flow’economy.Thisphenomenonhasbeenemphasisedbytherelocationofsomeindustries，particularlythosewhicharelabourintensive，toreduceproductioncosts，eventhoughtheproductionsiteishundredsoreventhousandsofkilometresawayfromthefinalassemblyplantorawayfromusers.

CThestrongeconomicgrowthexpectedincountrieswhicharecandidatesforentrytotheEUwillalsoincreasetransportflows，inparticularroadhaulagetraffic.In1998，someofthesecountriesalreadyexportedmorethantwicetheir1990volumesandimportedmorethanfivetimestheir1990volumes.Andalthoughmanycandidatecountriesinheritedatransportsystemwhichencouragesrail，thedistributionbetweenmodeshastippedsharplyinfavourofroadtransportsincethe1990s.Between1990and1998，roadhaulageincreasedby19.4%，whileduringthesameperiodrailhaulagedecreasedby43.5%，although-andthiscouldbenefittheenlargedEU-itisstillonaverageatamuchhigherlevelthaninexistingmemberstates.

DHowever，anewimperative-sustainabledevelopment-offersanopp