ĐÁP ÁN VÀ GIẢI CHI TIẾT CAMBRIDGE IELTS 18 – TEST 1 – PASSAGE 1 – URBAN FARMING

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Urban farming

In Paris, urban farmers are trying a soil-free approach to agriculture that uses less space and fewer resources. Could it help cities face the threats to our food supplies? On top of a striking new exhibition hall in southern Paris, the world’s largest urban rooftop farm has started to bear fruit. Strawberries that are small, intensely flavoured and resplendently red sprout abundantly from large plastic tubes. Peer inside and you see the tubes are completely hollow, the roots of dozens of strawberry plants dangling down inside them. From identical vertical tubes nearby burst row upon row of lettuces (Q1); near those are aromatic herbs, such as basil, sage and peppermint. Opposite, in narrow, horizontal trays packed not with soil but with coconut fibre, grow cherry tomatoes, shiny aubergines and brightly coloured chards.

Pascal Hardy, an engineer and sustainable development consultant, began experimenting with vertical farming and aeroponic growing towers- as the soil-free plastic tubes are known – on his Paris apartment block roof five years ago. The urban rooftop space above the exhibition hall is somewhat bigger: 14,000 square metres and almost exactly the size of a couple of football pitches. Already, the team of young urban farmers who tend it have picked, in one day, 3,000 lettuces and 150 punnets of strawberries. When the remaining two thirds of the vast open area are in production, 20 staff will harvest up to 1,000 kg (Q2) of perhaps 35 different varieties of fruit and vegetables, every day. ‘We’re not ever, obviously, going to feed the whole city this way,’ cautions Hardy. ‘In the urban environment you’re working with very significant practical constraints, clearly, on what you can do and where. But if enough unused space can be developed like this, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t eventually target maybe between 5% and 10% of consumption (Q3).’

Perhaps most significantly, however, this is a real-life showcase for the work of Hardy’s flourishing urban agriculture consultancy, Agripolis, which is currently fielding enquiries from around the world to design, build and equip a new breed of soil-free inner-city farm. ‘The method’s advantages are many,’ he says. ‘First, I don’t much like the fact that most of the fruit and vegetables we eat have been treated with something like 17 different pesticides (Q4), or that the intensive farming techniques that produced them are such huge generators of greenhouse gases. I don’t much like the fact, either, that they’ve travelled an average of 2,000 refrigerated kilometres to my plate, that their quality is so poor, because the varieties are selected for their capacity to withstand such substantial journeys (Q5), or that 80% of the price I pay goes to wholesalers and transport companies, not the producers (Q6).’

Produce grown using this soil–free method, on the other hand – which relies solely on a small quantity of water, enriched with organic nutrients, pumped around a closed circuit of pipes, towers and trays – is ‘produced up here, and sold locally, just down there. It barely travels at all,’ Hardy says. ‘You can select crop varieties for their flavour (Q7), not their resistance to the transport and storage chain, and you can pick them when they’re really at their best, and not before.’ No soil is exhausted, and the water that gently showers the plants’ roots every 12 minutes is recycled, so the method uses 90% less water than a classic intensive farm for the same yield.

Urban farming is not, of course, a new phenomenon. Inner–city agriculture is booming from Shanghai to Detroit and Tokyo to Bangkok. Strawberries are being grown in disused shipping containers, mushrooms in underground carparks (Q8). Aeroponic farming, he says, is ‘virtuous’. The equipment weighs little, can be installed on almost any flat surface and is cheap to buy: roughly €100 to €150 per square metre (Q9). It is cheap to run, too, consuming a tiny fraction of the electricity used by some techniques (Q10). 

Produce grown this way typically sells at prices that, while generally higher than those of classic intensive agriculture, are lower than soil–based organic growers (Q11). There are limits to what farmers can grow this way, of course, and much of the produce is suited to the summer months (Q12). ‘Root vegetables we cannot do, at least not yet,’ he says. ‘Radishes are OK, but carrots, potatoes, that kind of thing– the roots are simply too long. Fruit trees are obviously not an option. And beans tend to take up a lot of space for not much return.’ (Q13) Nevertheless, urban farming of the kind being practised in Paris is one part of a bigger and fast–changing picture that is bringing food production closer to our lives.

Questions 1-3

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS ANDIOR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.

Urban farming in Paris

1 Vertical tubes are used to grow strawberries, _______________ and herbs.

2 There will eventually be a daily harvest of as much as _______________ in weight of fruit and vegetables.

3 It may be possible that the farm’s produce will account for as much as 10% of the city’s _______________ overall.

Questions 4-7

Complete the table below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 4-7 on your answer sheet.

Questions 8-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 8-13 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 Urban farming can take place above or below ground.

9 Some of the equipment used in aeroponic farming can be made by hand.

10 Urban farming relies more on electricity than some other types of farming.

11 Fruit and vegetables grown on an aeroponic urban farm are cheaper than traditionally grown organic produce.

12 Most produce can be grown on an aeroponic urban farm at any time of the year.

13 Beans take longer to grow on an urban farm than other vegetables.

EXPLANATIONS

Q1:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: Vertical tubes, grow strawberries, _____________ and herbs.

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: Peer inside and you see the tubes are completely hollow, the roots of dozens of strawberry plants dangling down inside them. From identical vertical tubes nearby burst row upon row of lettuces; near those are aromatic herbs, such as basil, sage and peppermint.

Giải thích: Trong các ống theo chiều dọc, ngoài dâu tây và các loại thảo dược thì người ta còn trồng lettuces (bắp cải).

Vậy đáp án là lettuces.

Q2:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: There will eventually be a daily harvest of as much as _______________ in weight of fruit and vegetables.

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: When the remaining two thirds of the vast open area are in production, 20 staff will harvest up to 1,000 kg of perhaps 35 different varieties of fruit and vegetables, every day.

Giải thích: Đứng ngay sau từ cần điền là cụm “in weight”, tức là “theo cân nặng”. Vậy cần điền một con số cụ thể.

Khi hai phần ba diện tích đất còn lại được khai thác, 20 nhân viên sẽ thu hoạch sản lượng rau củ quả lên tới 1,000 kg mỗi ngày.

Vậy đáp án là 1,000 kg.

Q3:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: It may be possible that the farm’s produce will account for as much as 10% of the city’s _______________ overall.

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: But if enough unused space can be developed like this, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t eventually target maybe between 5% and 10% of consumption.’

Giải thích: Nếu đất dư thừa được sử dụng theo cách này, hoàn toàn có thể đặt mục tiêu chu cấp 5% đến 10% tổng lượng lương thực mà thành phố tiêu thụ.

Vậy đáp án là consumption.

Q4:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: Wide range of _______________ used

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: ‘First, I don’t much like the fact that most of the fruit and vegetables we eat have been treated with something like 17 different pesticides, or that the intensive farming techniques that produced them are such huge generators of greenhouse gases.

Giải thích: Đối với nông nghiệp tập trung, có tới 17 loại pesticides (thuốc trừ sâu) khác nhau được phun lên cây trồng.

Vậy đáp án là pesticides.

Q5:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: Varieties of fruit and vegetables chosen that can survive long _______________

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: I don’t much like the fact, either, that they’ve travelled an average of 2,000 refrigerated kilometres to my plate, that their quality is so poor, because the varieties are selected for their capacity to withstand such substantial journeys,

Giải thích: Chất lượng rau củ rất tệ bởi vì người dân chủ yếu chọn trồng các loại nông sản mà chịu đựng được quãng đường di chuyển dài mà không bị hư hỏng.

Vậy đáp án là journeys.

Q6:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: _______________ receive very little of overall income

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: Or that 80% of the price I pay goes to wholesalers and transport companies, not the producers.’

Giải thích: 80% số tiền người mua trả đi đến tay nhà buôn và các công ty vận chuyển, tức là chỉ còn 20% đến tay người nông dân.

Vậy đáp án là producers.

Q7:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: Produce chosen because of its _______________

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: ‘You can select crop varieties for their flavour, not their resistance to the transport and storage chain,

Giải thích: Có thể lựa chọn loại nông sản có hương vị thơm ngon chứ không còn phải chọn những loại có khả năng chống chịu nữa.

Vậy đáp án là flavour / flavor.

Q8:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: Urban farming can take place above or below ground.

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: Strawberries are being grown in disused shipping containers, mushrooms in underground car parks.

Giải thích: Dâu tây đang được trồng ở trong các công-te-nơ bỏ hoang (trên mặt đất), nấm thì được trồng ở các bãi gửi xe dưới lòng đất.

Vậy đáp án là TRUE.

Q9:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: Some of the equipment used in aeroponic farming can be made by hand.

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: The equipment weighs little, can be installed on almost any flat surface and is cheap to buy: roughly €100 to €150 per square metre.

Giải thích: Chỉ tìm được thông tin về cân nặng, vị trí lắp đặt và giá của thiết bị chứ không có thông tin về việc liệu có thể tạo ra chúng bằng tay hay không.

Vậy đáp án là NOT GIVEN.

Q10:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: Urban farming relies more on electricity than some other types of farming.

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: It is cheap to run, too, consuming a tiny fraction of the electricity used by some techniques.

Giải thích: Cách làm này chỉ tiêu thụ một lượng điện nhỏ hơn rất nhiều so với các phương pháp khác.

Vậy đáp án là FALSE.

Q11:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: Fruit and vegetables grown on an aeroponic urban farm are cheaper than traditionally grown organic produce.

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: Produce grown this way typically sells at prices that, while generally higher than those of classic intensive agriculture, are lower than soil-based organic growers.

Giải thích: Nông sản được trồng theo phương pháp này tuy có giá bán cao hơn so với nông sản của phương pháp tập trung, nhưng lại thấp hơn so với nông sản hữu cơ.

Vậy đáp án là TRUE.

Q12:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: Most produce can be grown on an aeroponic urban farm at any time of the year.

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: There are limits to what farmers can grow this way, of course, and much of the produce is suited to the summer months.

Giải thích: Người nông dân cũng gặp trở ngại, bởi vì phần lớn nông sản trồng theo phương pháp này chỉ phù hợp với thời tiết của mùa hè.

Vậy đáp án là FALSE.

Q13:

Từ khóa câu hỏi: Beans take longer to grow on an urban farm than other vegetables.

Từ đồng nghĩa trong bài: And beans tend to take up a lot of space for not much return.’

Giải thích: Ta chỉ tìm được thông tin cây đậu chiếm nhiều không gian nhưng không đem lại nhiều giá trị. Không có thông tin về khoảng thời gian cây đậu phát triển.

Vậy đáp án là NOT GIVEN.

Hy vọng rằng bài viết này đã giúp bạn hiểu và làm được bài URBAN FARMING (CAMBRIDGE 18 – TEST 1 – PASSAGE 1). Chúc các bạn học tốt!

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