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IELTS Reading Test 18: Section 1

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47 views2 pages

IELTS Reading Test 18: Section 1

Uploaded by

baoquanbaoquan9088
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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IELTS Reading Test 18

Section 1

Instructions to follow

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

Coastline Danger

A. On July 1, 1998, an unexpected tsunami pounded the northern coastline of Papua New
Guinea. In three massive waves, as high as 15 meters, it washed away entire villages,
drowned over 2500 people and left thousands homeless. Survivors of the Papua New
Guinea disaster described the tsunami as a wall of water hurling toward shore, averaging
10 meters high and extending about 5 kilometres from front to back. The largest wave
swept over the shore at speeds of up to 20 kilometres per hour for more than a minute,
before draining away in preparation for the next.

B. What are tsunamis? Tsunamis are enormous waves initiated by sudden seismic events.
A tsunami is generated when a large mass of water is displaced suddenly, creating a swell
that moves away from its origin. The effect is similar to the ripples that form when a
pebble is dropped into a pond-but a thousand times larger. A tsunami wave can be 100
to 200 kilometres wide and long. It can reach speeds of 725 to 800 km/hour. It can travel
thousands of kilometres across the ocean and maintain a barely not likeable height of
less than a half meter. However, as the tsunami enters the shallow waters of a coastline,
it bunches up into a monstrous wall of seawater that can reach heights of 30 meters and
still be many kilometres in length.

C. The impact of such large waves on a shoreline can be devastating. Buildings, bridges, and
can be devastating. Buildings, bridges, and other structures may be destroyed. Extensive
beach erosion commonly occurs. In addition, water may flood areas hundreds of meters
inland. The amount of damage depends on the geometry of the coastline as well as the
size of the tsunami. Because variations in the shapes of coastal areas can focus or diffuse
the energy in a wave, different parts of a coastline may experience very different degrees
of damage from a given tsunami. The largest waves, hence the greatest amount of
damage, are generally observed in embayment that funnel the waves into a narrow bay.

D. Tsunamis are frequently caused by underwater earthquakes with a magnitude greater


than 7 on the Richter scale. The most dangerous tsunamis are triggered by quakes with
a shallow focus that produce extended vibrations and shift the seafloor vertically.
Tsunamis are sometimes generated by other catastrophic events, such as underwater
volcanic explosions. For example, the disastrous eruption of Krakatau that killed more
than 30,000 people in 1883 produced waves that were 35 meters high and that travelled
thousands of kilometres. Although scientists are not certain exactly how this eruption led
to a tsunami, a recent study of sea-floor deposits suggests that water displaced by
immense ash flows was the cause. Underwater landslides have also been known to
create tsunamis. For instance, the Hawaiian Islands have all experienced enormous
landslides in the past, and coastal sediments record evidence of tsunamis that were
generated from them.

E. The exact trigger of the Papua New Guinea tsunami is not yet known, although an
earthquake was certainly involved. Because the earthquake was relatively small,

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