IELTS Trainer 2 General Training Reading Test 4

[[READ: 1–7]]

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING: THE M32 DEVELOPMENT

The Fortescue Neighbourhood Action Group is urging residents to attend a public meeting to hear the concerns of local residents and families of pupils from Fortescue Primary School about the approval of the final stage of the M32 motorway.

On 17 April, the Government approved Stage 3 of the M32 motorway development, which will affect the Fortescue area. It was not until ten days later that this approval was finally announced.

Date: May 5 Time: 6:30 p.m. Location: Jarrah Community Hall, corner of Fortescue Road and Huxley Parade, Fortescue. Speakers: Ann Banks (Local council) Marcin Kowalski (Parents Association, Fortescue Primary) Louise Chang (President, Conservation Volunteers) 45 minutes will be reserved for questions and public comment.

Community organisations successfully lobbied for more dedicated parks and for noise restrictions in Zone 1. The developers, BD Construction, acted on this due to objections from the community. We have to keep up the pressure!

Points of concern

- In the first stage of the development, the majority of wildlife and birds in the area moved (or were moved by conservation groups) from Zone 1 to Zone 2. Now that Zone 2 is to be developed, no policy exists to assist these animals; they have little chance of finding an appropriate habitat nearby. - It is unclear how the motorway will improve traffic on Packers Road. - There has been no announcement about how to manage the traffic bottleneck in Bradford Street that will result from roadworks. - Traffic jams / gridlock are anticipated on the arterial roads surrounding the entry point to the new section of motorway. - The Environmental Impact Statement put out by BD Construction for Stage 3 does not specifically address the issue of noise and pollution in Hyde's Reserve. - With Fortescue Primary School just 50 metres from the main construction site, school students will be subjected to years of dust and noise, and then by unfiltered emissions from vehicle exhaust pipes.

Come along and have your say!

[[READ: 8–14]]

CONCORDE FESTIVAL

Concorde Festival has always been a family affair and this year is no exception!

[A] 10:00–17:00 (all day)

Beats and bites

Hamperdown Avenue will be transformed into an outdoor eatery. Come and sample delicacies from nearby restaurants including Georgio's Pizza, Al Basha Kebab House and Texas Fry-Up. Lively bands, including international act Firehouse will entertain throughout the day.

Pedestrian zone, Hamperdown Ave

[B] 10:00–11:30

Little farmers Home Gardening for Kids Presented by East City Farms Located in the Eco Village (south-west corner of Hamperdown Park)

7th Heaven hip-hop troupe Come and see students from East Concorde Middle School show you their moves! Main Stage

[C] 10:30–16:00

Hamperdown brew zone If the excitement of the festival becomes too much, have a break in the chill-out zone. We have set up bean-bags, picnic blankets and a drinks stand run by local coffee house, Hamperdown Brew, under the trees along the eastern side of Hamperdown Park. Vocal acts, such as Joss and Bill, along with other graduates from the Concorde School of Music, will entertain throughout the day. Pets welcome.

[D] 11:00–12:00

Poster making Celebrating the things we love about Concorde! Unleash your creativity and maybe win book vouchers, (ages 5-10) Located in the Kids Workshop Area Presented by Hamperdown Library

[E] 12:00–13:00

Make it yourself Alex Mastroianni & Sabine Deleflie, Authors of Make it yourself, present Salads & Pickles Talk and Demonstration. Learn to make your own pickles with what's in your fridge or garden. Sanderson Stage

[F] 13:00–14:00

Hamperdown hounds The annual dog parade and 'dress-up-the-dog' contest has become a much-awaited event. Doggie treats will be awarded to winners. Northern perimeter of Hamperdown Park.

[G] 14:00–15:30

Cartooning and colouring-in activities for kids Located in the Kids Workshop Area Presented and guided by cartoonist and illustrator Charlotte Mantel

Questions 1–7

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?

Questions 8–14

Look at the seven descriptions of events A–G. For which events are the following statements true? NB You may use any letter more than once.

[[READ: 15–21]]

MEMO: TO ALL KEY HOLDERS AND PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOCKING UP

Head office is streamlining procedures for the safety and security of employees, cash and stock. Below is the procedure for closing the Vern's Clothing Warehouse. Please follow these steps in all branches.

Vern's Clothing Warehouse: Procedure for closing the shop

Tasks:

One hour before the store closes - Restock shelves, making a note of anything that needs to be ordered. - Assign cleaning duties to staff members. - Take defective returned merchandise to the back room to be processed / sent to warehouse. - Put all non-defective returned merchandise back on shelves. - Check window display and wheel the external sale table back inside.

Closing the shop - Walk the floor, double-checking for any remaining customers. Be sure to check the fitting rooms, pulling back curtains as you go. - Lock the side door with the key and bolt it at both top and bottom. - Lock the automatic door (main entry) by pushing the red button to the left of the door. - Observe departing employees, ensuring that all merchandise being taken has been paid for. - No friends are allowed on the premises at closing time. Please have them wait outside.

Handling registers and money - Close the cash register and lock the till. - Count cash away from registers so that it will not be visible to people who might be able to view the activity from outside the store through windows. The back office is the best place for counting money. - Place the till tape, daily report and all money in the safe there. - Two people must always be present when the safe is open and money is being counted, so always do this in the presence of a co-worker. - Leave register drawers open to better protect point of sale terminals in the event of a break-in because burglars are likely to damage a register if trying to gain access. - Leave the appropriate lighting on – a sign near the main switch panel indicates which lights are not to be turned off. - Activate the burglar alarm to the left of the front entrance by typing the code into the pad followed by the # key. This will give you 90 seconds to lock up and leave. - Leave the key with security if you are not rostered on the following day.

[[READ: 22–27]]

THE HERITAGE HOTEL

Uniform policy

The Heritage Hotel is committed to dress standards that will enhance its corporate image, and it is essential that grooming and presentation be of the highest standard at all times.

Employees are required to maintain a neat, clean, well-groomed appearance. The discretion of what constitutes acceptable grooming rests with the company.

Uniform specifications

- Staff who have contact with customers (e.g. reception and management) are to wear either a white or black shirt with a pocket that displays the Heritage Hotel insignia (employees are issued one shirt in each colour). These staff members will be issued with a burgundy Heritage Hotel jacket, to be worn with the regulation black skirt or trousers, also provided by the Hotel.

- Those working back-of-house in maintenance and housekeeping roles will be provided with two white Bob Charles shirts with the Hotel insignia on the front. Trousers or a skirt in navy blue will also be issued by the Hotel.

- Shoes are to be comfortable and clean. They should be black and with a heel of less than 3cm. For safety reasons, no open-toed shoes are permitted.

- Anyone employed by the Heritage Hotel is to ensure their name badge is visible at all times during their shift.

Care of uniform

- The hotel issues complete uniforms to all staff, which are signed for on commencement of employment and must be returned when leaving the company.

- The hotel uniform, whether for management / reception or maintenance / housekeeping should always be freshly pressed with no stains, loose threads or missing buttons.

- Those working as managers or at reception may store their uniform in the locker in the office to the rear of reception and keep the jacket there during the shift if it is not being worn. It can be laundered when necessary in the hotel laundry.

- Those working in maintenance and housekeeping may also have their uniform laundered. Uniforms can be placed in the laundry basket in the ground-floor staffroom and picked up from the shelf in the same room for the next shift. It must be recorded on the wall chart when an item is dropped off or collected.

- If the management / reception uniform is torn, please take it directly to Ms Nichols in the laundry. Maintenance / housekeeping staff should notify their team leader if their uniform needs mending or replacing.

Questions 15–21

Complete the flow-chart below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

Questions 22–27

Complete the table below. Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

New initiatives are making the widespread farming of fish in cities a real possibility.

It is estimated that the world's population will have reached 8 billion people by the year 2030, which is a matter of concern in terms of the global food supply. It is thought that by then, only 38% of seafood consumed will come from wild sea life, meaning that the rest will be sourced from fish farming. Using a system called aquaponics however, it is possible to cultivate both fish and produce (e.g. vegetables) in a closed-loop system. The fish waste fertilises the plants and the plants purify the water making it habitable for the fish. This idea has been used in fish farming for years; recently, however, there have been some initiatives that are using aquaponics in a city environment.

Many offshore fish farms are experiencing a number of issues. Often, the waters where they are located are becoming less attractive as habitats because the water is getting warmer and, therefore, has higher levels of acidity. In addition to this, this type of farming often relies on antibiotics and pesticides. Leftover fish waste can pollute the area and have a negative effect on other species. These reasons have led researchers and entrepreneurs to investigate alternative ways of farming fish.

New York scientist Martin Schreibman keeps fish in large tanks in his laboratory – a very different set-up from a conventional fish farm or, for that matter, from a natural ecosystem. He has been working on a system that eliminates the use of chemicals in the rearing of the fish. This system filters water from the tap and removes waste created by the fish. No antibiotics or pesticides are added but he is able to control the temperature of the water and has had particular success with tilapia fish, which he says are ideal for research thanks to their resilience. By making his recirculation system sufficiently compact that it can be operated using the city water supply, Schreibman believes tanks like his could be used on city rooftops to provide residents with fish all year round.

The idea behind aquaponics is far from new. As far back as 1,000 BC farmers in China realised they were able to boost the yield from their rice paddies when they let fish swim in the water around the rice and fertilise the plants with their waste. Jason Green explains that his company, Edenworks, wants to adapt that early knowledge, which used an ecosystem that was already there, to the modern situation where the ecosystem can be separate and independent from the land. He notes that the challenge is to create soil that has the same richness and nutrient support as a natural system has.

In trying to recreate the right balance to produce delicious food, Edenworks monitors all conditions on the farms using sensors. The company has enlisted the help of professional chef and now Edenworks' Head of Product, Sam Yoo, to sample the food once it is harvested. Yoo uses his highly-trained palette to help quantify aspects of the food like flavour and texture.

One notable feature of Edenworks farms is that they use a vertical design. This enables them to grow up to six times as much produce in the same sized space as other systems. They do not use LED or fluorescent lights, preferring instead a solar design. Currently they sell produce and fish directly to restaurants, but Green explains Edenworks would like to get to a point where the aquaponic model of food production is integrated into building design from the start. He adds that besides providing food, a rooftop farm serves as a layer of insulation for the building, thus benefitting the occupants in additional ways.

There are undoubted benefits of urban farming for the environment. The average item in an American grocery story currently travels 1500 miles on its way to the shelf. Producing food in cities would not only vastly reduce the energy required for distribution but would also have a positive effect on how fresh and nutritious the fruits and vegetables in local communities are.

Neil Sims of Kampachi Farms has been deeply involved in the fish-farming industry, though off the coast of Hawaii rather than in cities. Sims and his colleagues have found that they have had to overcome the public perception of farmed fish or fish grown in a warehouse as being somehow inferior nutritionally. He acknowledges that some poorly-executed attempts at fish farming in the past may have made people sceptical but notes that the resistance should be countered with the possibility of a sustainable, healthy source of fish. As Sims points out, if the number of people on Earth approaches the expected 11 billion at the end of the century, there will simply not be enough fish to feed everyone. That is, of course, unless a new way of supplying fish is adopted.

Questions 28–32

Look at the following statements and the list of people below. Match each statement with the correct person, A–D. NB You may use any letter more than once.

Questions 33–36

Choose the correct letter.

Questions 37–40

Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.