Keeping the water away
Read Keeping the water away and check the IELTS Reading answers. Recently, winter floods on the rivers of central Europe have been among the worst for 600 to 700 years, and dams and dykes (protective sea walls) have failed to solve the problem. Traditionally, river engineers have tried to get rid o…
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Recently, winter floods on the rivers of central Europe have been among the worst for 600 to 700 years, and dams and dykes (protective sea walls) have failed to solve the problem. Traditionally, river engineers have tried to get rid of the water quickly, draining it off the land and down to the sea in rivers reengineered as high-performance drains. But however high they build the artificial riverbanks, the floods keep coming back. And when they come, they seem to be worse than ever.
Vocabulary from this passage
8 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- a matter of survival noun phrase
Something that is essential for staying alive or continuing to exist.
In the passage:
"The Dutch, for whom preventing floods is a matter of survival, have gone furthest" (paragraph E).
Synonyms: a question of life and death, vital
Opposites: a luxury
- curb verb
To limit or control something harmful so that it does not grow.
In the passage:
Q20 says "slow the movement of water"; the passage says engineers revive bends and marshes "to curb the flow" (paragraph B).
Synonyms: slow, restrict
Opposites: encourage
- development noun
A new group of buildings constructed on a piece of land.
In the passage:
"Tough new rules for new developments" (paragraph F): new building projects, not growth or progress.
Synonyms: housing project, building scheme
- it may sound verb phrase
Used to admit that an idea seems unreasonable before arguing that it is not.
In the passage:
"It may sound expensive, until we realise how much is spent ...": the writer concedes a point before rejecting it (paragraph G).
Synonyms: it might seem, admittedly it appears
- porous adjective
Having tiny holes that let water or air pass through.
In the passage:
Q25 says water should "pass more freely through city surfaces"; paragraph F says cities should "be porous".
Synonyms: pass more freely, permeable
Opposites: impermeable
- sap verb
To weaken something gradually by using up its strength or energy.
In the passage:
Engineers want "to sap the water's destructive strength by dispersing it" (paragraph B).
Synonyms: weaken, drain
Opposites: strengthen
- stereotype noun
A fixed, oversimplified idea about a type of person, group or country.
In the passage:
Q18 says "one of its most typical features"; paragraph E says "one of their most enduring national stereotypes".
Synonyms: typical feature, cliche
- waterlogged adjective
Completely soaked with water so that the ground cannot absorb more.
In the passage:
Q21's option mentions "loss of some areas of land"; paragraph E returns land "to its former waterlogged state".
Synonyms: flooded, saturated
Opposites: parched
Answers with explanations
- 14. F
Look for rules about buildings. Paragraph F says **tough new rules for new developments** keep drains from overloading, and **architects of new urban buildings** now reuse rainwater. 'Legislation' paraphrases **rules** and 'building designers' paraphrases **architects**, so the paragraph is F.
- 15. C
The question asks for **two reasons** a river was cut off from its flood plain. Paragraph C is about the Rhine, and it gives two aims: **partly to improve navigation, and partly to speed floodwaters** to the North Sea. The 'partly ... partly' pair is the two reasons, so C.
- 16. B
Look for the past: **back in the days when**. Paragraph B says rivers took a **winding path to the sea**, so floodwaters **lost force and volume** while **meandering** across flood plains. 'Natural watercourses' are the rivers, and 'assisted flood control' is the loss of force, so B.
- 17. D
The question needs one river and **three countries**. Paragraph D describes the Drava River, whose restored flood plain protects towns in **Austria** and as far downstream as **Slovenia and Croatia**. Count those three names and you have D; no other river in the passage is linked to three countries.
- 18. E
The question's **one of its most typical features** is the text's **one of their most enduring national stereotypes**. The country is the Netherlands, and 'destroyed' becomes **punch holes in dykes**, which is how they control water. 'Partly' fits the plan to flood only a sixth of the country, so E.
- 19. G
Look for the writer's own comment about money. In the last paragraph the writer admits the new scheme **may sound expensive**, then points out **how much is spent** on draining cities and **how little this method achieves**. That compares cost-effectiveness of the old method with the new one, so G.
- 20-21: AD
For the first answer, 'slow the movement of water to the sea' paraphrases engineers **reviving river bends and marshes to curb the flow**. For the second, 'loss of some areas of land' matches the Dutch plan to **return up to a sixth of the country to its former waterlogged state**. Channelling water directly into rivers is the old method, and Austria and the UK also test the new one.
- 22. central Europe
Look at the start of the passage. The time clue **600 to 700 years** matches the sentence's 'many centuries', and the same sentence names where it happened: **the rivers of central Europe**. The gap after 'parts of' needs the region, **central Europe**.
- 23. Mississippi
The sentence names the Rhine, so look in paragraph C, which discusses it. The writer says **the same thing has happened in the US on the Mississippi River**. 'Similar problems' paraphrases **the same thing**, so the river is the **Mississippi**.
- 24. London
Look for **Oxford**. The agency is reflooding the flood plain **outside Oxford**, and the sentence says why: **to help keep London's feet dry**. 'Protect the city' paraphrases that, so the city is **London**.
- 25. soft engineers
Look for planners and cities letting water through. The question's **pass more freely through city surfaces** is the text's cities being **porous**. The people who want this are **a new breed of 'soft engineers'**, so the answer is **soft engineers**.
- 26. Los Angeles
Look for a **proposal** that might be applied to a whole city. The writer asks whether the idea could protect **a whole city** and answers **the test case could be Los Angeles**. The Sun Valley scheme is only one part of it, so the gap is **Los Angeles**.