READING - BASIC IELTS - PASSAGE 1

The main elements required for survival are food, fire, shelter and water. Their order of importance will depend upon where you happen to be. In the desert water will head the list; in polar regions shelter and fire will be the main concerns. Ordering your priorities is the first step to survival.

1. What does the word "priorities" mean in this paragraph?

• Problems

• Things you need to do first

• Mistakes

• Dangers

It takes a healthy person quite a long time to die of starvation, for the body can use up its stored resources, but exposure to wind, rain and cold can be fatal even in mild climates and death comes in only minutes in the icy waters of the poles. Food is rarely the first priority. Even in those places where it is difficult to find, there are usually other problems to face first. Shelter will often be the prime necessity in extremes of climate or temperatures such as in the frozen polar regions or in the baking deserts. The need for fire is closely linked.

What does the word "fatal" mean in this paragraph?

• A) Helpful

• B) Deadly

• C) Uncomfortable

• D) Surprising

Water is something that most people in the modern world take for granted. They are so used to turning on a tap that until an extreme drought causes water rationing they seldom think about it. Yet the survivor at sea, or after a flood, though surrounded by water, may be desperate for drinkable water. And there are many places where, unless it rains, no obvious water is available. Although there could be other survival necessities to deal with, water is always universally important.

What does the phrase "take for granted" mean in this paragraph?

• Use carefully

• Forget about

• Not appreciate

• Pay money for
  

Shelter will often be the prime necessity in extremes of climate or temperatures such as in the frozen polar regions or in the baking deserts. The need for fire is closely linked.

What does "prime necessity" mean?

• Something expensive

• Something that is not needed

• The most important thing

• A dangerous thing

Yet the survivor at sea, or after a flood, though surrounded by water, may be desperate for drinkable water.

What does "desperate" mean in this sentence?

• Not interested

• Very tired

• In great need

• Very angry

The main elements required for survival are food, fire, shelter and water. Their order of importance will depend upon where you happen to be. In the desert water will head the list; in polar regions shelter and fire will be the main concerns. Ordering your priorities is the first step to survival.

Write: TRUE/ FALSE/ NOT GIVEN?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

Statement: In the desert, water is the most important element for survival.

It takes a healthy person quite a long time to die of starvation, for the body can use up its stored resources, but exposure to wind, rain and cold can be fatal even in mild climates and death comes in only minutes in the icy waters of the poles. Food is rarely the first priority. Even in those places where it is difficult to find, there are usually other problems to face first. Shelter will often be the prime necessity in extremes of climate or temperatures such as in the frozen polar regions or in the baking deserts. The need for fire is closely linked.

Write: TRUE/ FALSE/ NOT GIVEN?

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

Statement: Food is always the first priority in any survival situation.

It takes a healthy person quite a long time to die of starvation, for the body can use up its stored resources, but exposure to wind, rain and cold can be fatal even in mild climates and death comes in only minutes in the icy waters of the poles.

Write: TRUE/ FALSE/ NOT GIVEN? TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

Statement: Some scientists at the meeting were very young.