General Reading 6.1

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-14, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

Section 1 (Questions 1 - 7)

Roads For People! Help Create A

National Cycle Network

The figures speak for themselves. Q2Over 20 million cars are registered in Britain and road traffic is projected to at least double by the year 2025.

Twice as much traffic on your roads… Imagine it!

Yet many more people would choose to make their shorter journeys by cycle—if only the road conditions felt safe.

Now, an answer to this problem is being created.

The 5000-mile National Cycle Network

For fifteen years, Q1Sustrans—it stands for ‘sustainable transport’—has been building traffic-free routes for cyclists and Q6walkers, often through the heart of towns and cities. [Crack IELTS with Rob] Q3Several hundred miles are now completed, using disused railway lines, canal towpaths, riversides and unused land.

As a civil engineering charity, we work in partnership with local authorities and landowners.

We are now promoting a true national network, composed of traffic-free paths, quiet country roads, on-road cycle lanes and protected crossings.

Safe cycling networks already exist in many parts of Europe—including Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. [Crack IELTS with Rob] Q4Europeans are often astonished at tire road dangers we put up with here.

A Danish cyclist is ten times less likely to be killed or seriously injured— per mile cycled—than a cyclist in Britain. Extensive national and local cycle routes there are supported by Q5slower traffic systems on surrounding roads.

A national cycle network for Britain can help transform local transport for the twenty-first century. With your help, it really is achievable! Q7Make a donation now!

Section 2 (Questions 8 - 14)

Roads—The Facts

In 1994 the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution described ‘the unrelenting growth of transport’ as ‘possibly the greatest environmental threat facing the UK’.

The Department of Transport predicts a doubling of traffic on 1988 levels by the year 2025. [Crack IELTS with Rob] The Countryside Commission has warned that traffic through country areas may treble by then.

Vehicle exhaust is the major cause of urban air pollution. World Health Organization limits are regularly exceeded in most UK cities.

1 in 7 children suffers from asthma, thought to be exacerbated by traffic fumes.

Over 1500 wildlife sites including ancient woodlands and sites of special scientific interest are still threatened by road building.

Four times as many junior-age children are driven to school in Britain as in Germany, because of road dangers. [Crack IELTS with Rob] In Holland 60 percent of children cycle to school—compared with only 2 per cent here.

The National Cycle Network will:

- Cater for all users—commuters, school-children, shoppers, family groups.
- Run right through the middle of most major towns and cities, enabling over 20 million people to ride to their nearest town centre within 10 minutes!
- Cost the equivalent of just a few weeks of the current national roads program.
- Be professionally designed and engineered, in cooperation with local authorities and landowners, to create high-quality routes.

With your help we can build a network of commuter and leisure paths for a safer, healthier future.

Questions 1 - 2

Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.

Write your answers on boxes, 1-2, on your answers sheet.

1. Sustrans is

a civil engineering charity
a cycle network
a local authority
a construction company

q2-hide

2. How many cars are expected to be on Britain’s roads in 2025?

twice as much traffic
one million
more than 40 million
exactly 40 million

Questions 3 - 7

Answer the questions below.

Chose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Section 1 for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 3-7 on your answer sheet.

3. How many miles of the network have already been completed?
SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES
4. What are other European cyclists surprised that British cyclists accept?
THE ROAD DANGERS
5. In addition to cycle networks, what does Denmark have to protect cyclists?
SLOWER TRAFFIC SYSTEMS
6. How can people help create a national cycle network in Britain?
MAKE A DONATION
7. Apart from cyclists, who benefits from the work of Sustrans?
WALKERS

Questions 8 - 14

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Section 2?

In boxes 8-14 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

8. There might be three times as many cars in rural areas in 2025.
TRUE
9. The levels of air pollution in British cities are often higher than the standards set by the WorldHealth Organization.
TRUE
10. More German children go to school by car than British children.
FALSE
11. It is believed that pollution from vehicles can make some children’s illnesses worse.
TRUE
12. Most of the national cycle network will be in country areas.
NOT GIVEN
13. Most towns and cities will be only 10 minutes ride away from the national cycle network.
NOT GIVEN
14. The national cycle network will cost the same as the national roads program.
NOT GIVEN