• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

IELTS with Fiona

IELTS preparation made easier

Members Academy
Log in

  • Home
  • Courses
  • Study Program
  • About me
  • Shop
You are here: Home / IELTS Reading / IELTS Reading Matching Headings: The Water Crisis

IELTS Reading Matching Headings: The Water Crisis

By ieltsetc on February 4, 2019 2

This lesson focuses on Matching Headings. For this lesson you can:

  • Watch the video explanations below
  • Listen to the Podcast
  • Get a list of essential IELTS words
  • Scroll down to play the Quizlet Vocab Review
  • Watch the Vocab review video

Get more advice

  • How to match headings in IELTS Reading (The Lost City text with video)
  • How to match headings (Tourism text with video)

Remember:

  • the information will NOT be in the same order in the text
  • some headings will NOT be used (here there are 7 paragraphs and 10 statements, so 3 will not be used).
  • On the answer sheet, you usually need to write a ROMAN NUMERAL (i, ii, iii) so take great care when you transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
  • The answers can be found in the synonyms (see the answers in bold).

Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Choose the correct heading for each paragraphs from the list of headings below.

i. American water withdrawal

ii. Economic pricing

iii. What the future holds

iv. Successful measures taken by some

v. The role of research

vi. The thirsty sectors

vii. Ways of reducing waste

viii. Interdependence of natural resources

ix. The demands of development

x. The consequences for agriculture

The Water Crisis

Greater efficiency in water use is needed to meet the growing demands of a changing world

28 Per capita water usage has been on an upward trend for many years. As countries industrialise and their citizens become more prosperous, their individual water usage increases rapidly. Annual per capita water withdrawals in the USA, for example, are about 1,700 cubic metres, four times the level in China and fifty times the level in Ethiopia. In the 21st century, the world’s limited supply of renewable fresh water is having to meet demands of both larger total population and increased per capita consumption. The only practicable ways to resolve this problem in the longer term are economic pricing in conjunction with conservation measures.

29 Agriculture consumes about 70% of the world’s fresh water, so improvements in irrigation can make the greatest impact. At present, average efficiency in the use of irrigated water in agriculture may be as low as 50%. Simple changes could improve the rate substantially, though it is unrealistic to expect very high levels of water-use efficiency in many developing countries, faced as they are with a chronic lack of capital and a largely untrained rural workforce. After agriculture, industry is the second biggest user of water and, in terms of value added per litre used, is sixty times more productive than agriculture. However, some industrial processes use vast amounts of water. For example, production of 1 kg of aluminium might require 1,500 litres of water. Paper production too is often very water-intensive. Though new processes have greatly reduced consumption, there is still plenty of room for big savings in industrial uses of water.

30 In rich countries, water consumption has gradually been slowed down by price increases and the use of modern technology and recycling. In the USA, industrial production has risen fourfold since 1950, while water consumption has fallen by more than a third. Japan and Germany have similarly improved their use of water in manufacturing processes. Japanese industry, for example, now recycles more than 75% of process water. However, industrial water consumption is continuing to increase sharply in developing countries. With domestic and agricultural demands also increasing, the capacity of water supply systems is under growing strain.

31 Many experts believe that the best way to counter this trend is to impose water charges based on the real cost of supplies. This would provide a powerful incentive for consumers to introduce water-saving processes and recycling. Few governments charge realistic prices for water, especially to farmers. Even in rich California, farmers get water for less than a tenth of the cost of supply. In many developing countries there is virtually no charge for irrigation water, while energy prices are heavily subsidised too (which means that farmers can afford to run water pumps day and night). Water, which was once regarded as a free gift from heaven, is becoming a commodity which must be bought and sold on the open market just like oil. In the oil industry, the price increases which hit the market in the 1970s, coupled with concerns that supplies were running low, led to new energy conservation measures all over the world. It was realised that investing in new sources was a far more costly option than improving efficiency of use. A similar emphasis on conservation will be the best and cheapest option for bridging the gap between water supply and demand.

32 One way to cut back on water consumption is simply to prevent leaks. It is estimated that in some of the biggest cities of the Third World, more than half of the water entering the system is lost through leaks in pipes, dripping taps and broken installations. Even in the UK, losses were estimated at 25% in the early 1990s because of the failure to maintain the antiquated water supply infrastructure. In addition, huge quantities of water are consumed because used water from sewage pipes, storm drains and factories is merely flushed away and discharged into rivers or the sea. The modern approach, however, is to see used water as a resource which can be put to good use – either in irrigation or, after careful treatment, as recycled domestic water. Israel, for instance, has spent heavily on used water treatment. Soon, treated, recycled water will account for most farm irrigation there. There are other examples in cities such as St Petersburg, Florida, where all municipal water is recycled back into domestic systems.

33 Another way of conserving water resources involves better management of the environment generally. Interference with the ecosystem can have a severe effect on both local rainfall patterns and water run-off. Forest clearings associated with India’s Kabini dam project reduced local rainfall by 25%, a phenomenon observed in various other parts of the world where large-scale deforestation has taken place. Grass and other vegetation acts as a sponge which absorbs rainfall both in the plants and in the ground. Removal of the vegetation means that rainfall runs off the top of the land, accelerating erosion instead of being gradually fed into the soil to renew ground water.

34 Global warming is bound to affect rainfall patterns, though there is considerable disagreement about its precise effects. But it is likely that, as sea levels rise, countries in low-lying coastal areas will be hit by seawater penetration of groundwater. Other countries will experience changes in rainfall which could have a major impact on agricultural yield – either for better or for worse. In broad terms, it is thought that rainfall zones will shift northwards, adding to the water deficit in Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean – a grim prospect indeed.

Answers

28. ix 29. vi 30. iv 31. ii 32. vii 33. viii 34. iii


Explanations

28 A ix. The demands of development

29 B vi. The thirsty sectors

30 C iv. Successful measures taken by some

31 D ii. Economic pricing

32 E vii. Ways of reducing waste

33 F viii. Interdependence of natural resources

34 G iii. What the future holds

 

KEY IELTS VOCABULARY related to water

Add these words to your Vocabulary List. Check their meanings and test yourself with my Quizlet below.

Find short videos to help you review the vocabulary of water in the Vocabulary Resources section.

Water usage/consumption/-use/withdrawal

conservation measures

to conserve water resources

agriculture

industrial uses

manufacturing processes

irrigation/to irrigate

water intensive

reduce/increase consumption

water supply systems

to counter this trend

to impose water charges

to cut back on/reduce water consumption

to prevent leaks

antiquated water supply infrastructure.

sewage

discharged into rivers and seas

domestic water

water treatment

municipal water

rainfall patterns

water run-off

a dam

large-scale deforestation

vegetation acts as a sponge…

…which absorbs rainfall

to accelerate erosion

to renew ground water

the water deficit

Try my Quizlet vocabulary review game:

Do you need motivation, high-quality materials, a roadmap, feedback, guidance and an IELTS specialist teacher?

Upgrade to the Members Academy today.

Get instant access to all courses, challenges, boot camps, live classes, interactive and engaging classes, 1:1 support, and a friendly tight-knit community of like-minded learners to get you to Band 7+.

IELTS with Fiona review

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. badreddine says

    August 27, 2020 at 8:52 am

    THANK YOU VERY MUCH

    Reply
    • ieltsetc says

      August 30, 2020 at 3:50 pm

      You’re very welcome.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

BLOGS

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube
  • Contact me
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • T&Cs

Copyright © 2023 — IELTS with Fiona • Privacy Policy • Disclaimer • All rights reserved; The information on this site is for information purposes only. IELTS is a registered trademark of the University of Cambridge, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia. This site and its owners are not affiliated, approved or endorsed by the University of Cambridge ESOL, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia.