1 Salt is so simple and plentiful that we almost take it for granted. In chemical terms, salt is the combination of a sodium ion with a chloride ion, making it one of the most basic molecules on earth. It is also one of the most plentiful: it has been estimated that salt deposits under the …
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Section AThe world has changed dramatically since Thomas Malthus’s work An Essay on the Principle of Population, first published in 1798, argued that by the mid 1800s the unrestricted expansion of the human population would outgrow the agricultural land available to supply humanity with food. Over 150 years have passed since this theoretical milestone, but …
A In 1789 began the celebrated French Revolution, an event which shook the old certainties of European states and European monarchies to the core. It also raised debate on the desired structure of the state throughout whole populations to an unprecedented degree. In October the following year, Edmund Burke brought out his Reflections on the Revolution …
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Malaria is the world’s second most common disease causing over 500 million infections and one million deaths every year. Worryingly it is one of those diseases which is beginning to increase as it develops resistance to treatments. Even in the UK, where malaria has been effectively eradicated, more than 2,000 people are infected as they …
A New Menace from an Old Enemy – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
Human intelligence is an elusive quality. We all think we know it when we see it but try to pin down that quality to a firm, testable definition and suddenly, even for the most experienced researchers, the concept disappears. But now a team of British and German scientists believe they have firmly nailed down at …
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Sir Thomas More was the most brilliant Englishman of his age in an age, the early Renaissance, which is thought to be particularly brilliant. He scaled the heights in law, in philosophy and literature, and attained high political rank as Chancellor. But the most challenging thing about this man is nothing that he achieved in …
A Man Of Principle Of Needless Martyr? – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
The Australian government is set to announce some of the biggest ever spending increases in education, welfare, the foreign office and defence at lunchtime tomorrow. After a decade of strong industrial growth, record low unemployment and a booming economy, the government feels confident enough to reinvest some of the funds it has been hoarding since …
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A As you sit in your home or office and look at the rain running relentlessly down the window pane, you will almost certainly be thinking, “This is more like February, when will summer arrive?” This summer seems to have been colder and wetter than ever. So here is some good news. The Meteorological Office computer …
Britain Set For Heat Wave In 2050 – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
Some of the ways in which Britain gets its energy are often dangerous and dirty. They are also unsustainable. Water power from the tides and the waves is one way to reduce pollution and create energy safely and cleanly. More than 70% of the earth’s surface is water. It is impossible to know exactly how …
1 The earliest stage of writing is called pre-writing or proto-literary, and depends on direct representation of objects, rather than representing them with letters or other symbols. Evidence for this stage, in the form of rock and cave paintings, dates back to about 15,000 years ago, although the exact dates are debatable. This kind of proto-literate …
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