🔥 Growing more for less - Làm bài online format computer-based, kèm giải thích từ vựng

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 on pages 6 and 7.

Growing more for less

Satellite technology is helping farmers boost crop yields

A. For farmers, working out the optimal amount of seed, fertiliser, pesticide and water to scatter on a field can be a matter of luck, despite several harvests. Regular laboratory analyses of soil and plant samples from various sections of a field can help — but such expertise is costly, and often unavailable. However, a new and cheaper method of doing this analysis is now on offer. Precise prescriptions for growing crops can be obtained quickly, and less expensively, by calculating the amount of electromagnetic radiation reflected from agricultural land. The data is collected by orbiting satellites.

B. Examining the wavelength of radiation that is reflected can reveal, with surprising precision, the properties of the soil, the quality of crop being grown, and the levels in those crops of chlorophyll, various minerals, moisture and other indicators of their quality. If recent and forecast weather data is added, detailed maps can be produced indicating exactly how, where and when crops should be grown. The service usually costs less than US $15 per hectare for a handful of readings a year, and can increase yields by as much as 10%.>> Form đăng kí giải đề thi thật IELTS 4 kĩ năng kèm bài giải bộ đề 100 đề PART 2 IELTS SPEAKING quý đang thi (update hàng tuần) từ IELTS TUTOR

C. Such precision farming using satellite-based intelligence is a relatively new technique. Even so, it is catching on quickly. Five years ago, for example, a French cereal-growers' co-operative called Sevepi purchased a satellite and makes it available to its members in the form of maps of their fields, divided into three or four colour-coded zones per hectare. For each zone, the exact and best fertiliser formula is recommended. On top of this, if the amount of rain in the field has already grown quite high early in the season, and heavy showers are expected, an appropriate dose of growth regulator is recommended for each zone (as fragile stems break more easily in downpours). Then, farm vehicles equipped with global-positioning system locators automatically mix and apply the prescribed dose to each area.

D. France is the pioneer in this sort of surveillance. More farmland is analysed by satellite there than in any other country, according to Infoterra (a subsidiary of EADS Astrium), the firm that is France’s largest provider of such information, supplying data to companies such as Sevepi. Moreover, Henri Douche, head of Infoterra's agriculture sales in Toulouse, reckons the amount of monitored farmland will increase as weather patterns change and farmers can no longer rely on the past as a guide to the future. When confounded by the yield variations that these new weather patterns will bring, even farmers who are afraid of new technology will sign up, he says.

E. Inexpensive data on the productivity of land is advantageous to governments too. Areas where fertilisers and pesticides are being applied excessively can be pinpointed, enabling a reduction in environmental and land-use damage. Says Guy Lafond, an agronomist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, a government agency, says the satellite data it purchases is proving useful for the study of fields with declining productivity in the province of Saskatchewan. Over-application of nitrate fertilisers (which are also a source of greenhouse gases) appears partly responsible. And according to RapidEye, a German satellite operator, some companies are also studying satellite data with a view to selling insurance policies to governments of famine-prone countries that might be threatened by crop failure.

F. In March, RapidEye began selling data that helps forecast harvests. "Too often, farmers limit productivity by managing fields wrongly," says Fredrick Jung-Rothenhäuser, head of product development at the firm's headquarters in Brandenburg an der Havel. "Our satellites are the first commercial satellites to include the Red-Edge band of the light spectrum, which is sensitive to changes in chlorophyll content. More research will be necessary to realise the full benefits of the Red-Edge band. However, this band can assist in monitoring vegetation health, improving species separation and also help in measuring protein and nitrogen content in biomass." The company's data, which comes from both Europe and the Americas, breaks field productivity down into patches just five metres square.

G. The advantages that satellite technology provides in terms of precision farming do not have to be restricted to rich countries. In Africa, where many areas have become badly depleted of nutrients, better fertiliser management would help reverse this situation. As a consequence, the charitable trust World Agroforestry Centre, in the city of Nairobi, in Kenya, has begun to build up a collection of radiation patterns derived from around 100,000 samples of African soils. The aim of this work is to help by understanding the potential of these soils to be more agriculturally productive. Once passed on to the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, based in Colombia, South America, it is intended that the information be used to build a database called the 'Digital Soil Map'. When complete, this will provide farmers with free forecasts, developed with regularly updated satellite imagery, across farmland in the poorest countries in Africa. This is information which will almost certainly assist in improving crop yields. For a hunger-ravaged continent, that is good news indeed.

Questions 14–20

Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A–G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A–G, in boxes 14–20 on your answer sheet.

You may use any letter more than once.

14. an example of how farmers in one country are now using satellite data to determine fertiliser use
15. a reference to climate change and its effects
16. a reference to the effect on the soil of using too much fertiliser
17. an example of information that will be shared between different countries
18. mention of the country which is the leader in agricultural technology
19. a description of an innovation in satellite imaging which requires further study
20. evidence of the cost-effectiveness of using satellite technology in agriculture

Questions 21 and 22

Choose TWO letters, A–E.

Write the correct letters in boxes 21 and 22 on your answer sheet.

Which TWO companies obtain information directly from satellites?
A. Sevepi
B. Infoterra
C. Agriculture and AgriFood Canada
D. RapidEye
E. World Agroforestry Centre>> IELTS TUTOR có hướng dẫn kĩ PHÂN TÍCH ĐỀ THI THẬT TASK 1 (Complaint letter) NGÀY 04/8/2020 IELTS WRITING GENERAL MÁY TÍNH (kèm bài được sửa hs đi thi)

Questions 23–26

Complete the sentences below.

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

Write your answers in boxes 23–26 on your answer sheet.

23. Initially, orbiting satellites are used to measure ............... coming from farmland.

24. Fredrick Jung-Rothenhäuser says that additional irregular weather will raise the ............... of satellite technology.

25. As a result of satellite technology, it may become possible to insure against the threat of ............... in some countries.

26. In Africa, much of the soil suffers from the loss of ............... .

A

1. Optimal

   • Meaning: Tối ưu, tốt nhất.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: For farmers, working out the optimal amount of seed, fertiliser, pesticide and water...
   • Example in Vietnamese: Đối với nông dân, việc tìm ra lượng hạt giống, phân bón, thuốc trừ sâu và nước tối ưu...

2. Electromagnetic radiation

   • Meaning: Bức xạ điện từ.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...by calculating the amount of electromagnetic radiation reflected from agricultural land.
   • Example in Vietnamese: ...bằng cách tính lượng bức xạ điện từ phản xạ từ đất nông nghiệp.

3. Orbiting

   • Meaning: Quay quanh (trái đất, một hành tinh).
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: The data is collected by orbiting satellites.
   • Example in Vietnamese: Dữ liệu được thu thập bởi các vệ tinh quay quanh quỹ đạo.

B

1. Chlorophyll

   • Meaning: Chất diệp lục.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...the levels in those crops of chlorophyll, various minerals, moisture...
   • Example in Vietnamese: Mức độ chất diệp lục, các khoáng chất khác nhau, độ ẩm trong cây trồng.

2. Forecast

   • Meaning: Dự báo.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: If recent and forecast weather data is added...
   • Example in Vietnamese: Nếu dữ liệu thời tiết gần đây và dự báo được thêm vào...

3. Hectare

   • Meaning: Héc-ta (đơn vị diện tích).
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...costs less than US $15 per hectare for a handful of readings...
   • Example in Vietnamese: Tốn ít hơn 15 đô la Mỹ cho mỗi héc-ta để có một số ít các lần đọc.

C

1. Co-operative

   • Meaning: Hợp tác xã.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...a French cereal-growers' co-operative called Sevepi purchased a satellite...
   • Example in Vietnamese: Một hợp tác xã trồng ngũ cốc của Pháp có tên Sevepi đã mua một vệ tinh.

2. Locator

   • Meaning: Thiết bị định vị.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: Farm vehicles equipped with global-positioning system locators...
   • Example in Vietnamese: Các phương tiện nông nghiệp được trang bị thiết bị định vị GPS.

D

1. Pioneer

   • Meaning: Người tiên phong, quốc gia tiên phong.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: France is the pioneer in this sort of surveillance.
   • Example in Vietnamese: Pháp là quốc gia tiên phong trong loại giám sát này.

2. Monitored

   • Meaning: Được giám sát.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...reckons the amount of monitored farmland will increase...
   • Example in Vietnamese: ...cho rằng lượng đất nông nghiệp được giám sát sẽ tăng...

E

1. Advantageous

   • Meaning: Có lợi.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: Inexpensive data on the productivity of land is advantageous to governments too.
   • Example in Vietnamese: Dữ liệu rẻ về năng suất đất cũng có lợi cho chính phủ.

2. Declining productivity

   • Meaning: Năng suất giảm.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...fields with declining productivity in the province of Saskatchewan.
   • Example in Vietnamese: ...các cánh đồng có năng suất giảm ở tỉnh Saskatchewan.

3. Greenhouse gases

   • Meaning: Khí nhà kính.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...nitrate fertilisers (which are also a source of greenhouse gases)...
   • Example in Vietnamese: ...phân bón nitrat (cũng là nguồn khí nhà kính)...

F

1. Harvest

   • Meaning: Mùa thu hoạch, thu hoạch.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...RapidEye began selling data that helps forecast harvests.
   • Example in Vietnamese: RapidEye đã bắt đầu bán dữ liệu giúp dự báo các vụ thu hoạch.

2. Chlorophyll content

   • Meaning: Hàm lượng chất diệp lục.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...which is sensitive to changes in chlorophyll content.
   • Example in Vietnamese: ...nhạy cảm với sự thay đổi trong hàm lượng chất diệp lục.

3. Protein and nitrogen content

   • Meaning: Hàm lượng protein và nitơ.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...help in measuring protein and nitrogen content in biomass.
   • Example in Vietnamese: ...giúp đo hàm lượng protein và nitơ trong sinh khối.

G

1. Depleted

   • Meaning: Cạn kiệt, suy kiệt.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: In Africa, where many areas have become badly depleted of nutrients...
   • Example in Vietnamese: Ở châu Phi, nơi nhiều khu vực đã bị suy kiệt chất dinh dưỡng...

2. Charitable trust

   • Meaning: Tổ chức từ thiện.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: The charitable trust World Agroforestry Centre...
   • Example in Vietnamese: Tổ chức từ thiện World Agroforestry Centre...

3. Radiation patterns

   • Meaning: Mẫu bức xạ.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: ...begun to build up a collection of radiation patterns derived from around 100,000 samples...
   • Example in Vietnamese: ...bắt đầu xây dựng bộ sưu tập các mẫu bức xạ từ khoảng 100.000 mẫu...

4. Hunger-ravaged

   • Meaning: Bị tàn phá bởi nạn đói.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: For a hunger-ravaged continent, that is good news indeed.
   • Example in Vietnamese: Đối với một lục địa bị tàn phá bởi nạn đói, đây thực sự là tin tốt.

Questions 14–20

1. An example of how farmers in one country are now using satellite data to determine fertiliser use
   Answer: C
   Location: "Five years ago, for example, a French cereal-growers' co-operative called Sevepi purchased a satellite and makes it available to its members... For each zone, the exact and best fertiliser formula is recommended."

2. A reference to climate change and its effects
   Answer: D
   Location: "Henri Douche... reckons the amount of monitored farmland will increase as weather patterns change and farmers can no longer rely on the past as a guide to the future."

3. A reference to the effect on the soil of using too much fertiliser
   Answer: E
   Location: "Over-application of nitrate fertilisers (which are also a source of greenhouse gases) appears partly responsible."

4. An example of information that will be shared between different countries
   Answer: G
   Location: "Once passed on to the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, based in Colombia, South America, it is intended that the information be used to build a database called the 'Digital Soil Map.'"

5. Mention of the country which is the leader in agricultural technology
   Answer: D
   Location: "France is the pioneer in this sort of surveillance. More farmland is analysed by satellite there than in any other country."

6. A description of an innovation in satellite imaging which requires further study
   Answer: F
   Location: "'Our satellites are the first commercial satellites to include the Red-Edge band of the light spectrum...' More research will be necessary to realise the full benefits of the Red-Edge band."

7. Evidence of the cost-effectiveness of using satellite technology in agriculture
   Answer: B
   Location: "The service usually costs less than US $15 per hectare for a handful of readings a year, and can increase yields by as much as 10%."

Questions 21 and 22

Which TWO companies obtain information directly from satellites?
Answer: B (Infoterra) and D (RapidEye)
Location:

• Infoterra: "Infoterra... is France’s largest provider of such information, supplying data to companies such as Sevepi."
• RapidEye: "In March, RapidEye began selling data that helps forecast harvests."

Questions 23–26

1. Initially, orbiting satellites are used to measure
   Answer: electromagnetic radiation
   Location: "By calculating the amount of electromagnetic radiation reflected from agricultural land."

2. Fredrick Jung-Rothenhäuser says that additional irregular weather will raise the
   Answer: importance
   Location: "Too often, farmers limit productivity by managing fields wrongly."

3. As a result of satellite technology, it may become possible to insure against the threat of
   Answer: crop failure
   Location: "Some companies are also studying satellite data with a view to selling insurance policies to governments of famine-prone countries that might be threatened by crop failure."

4. In Africa, much of the soil suffers from the loss of
   Answer: nutrients
   Location: "In Africa, where many areas have become badly depleted of nutrients, better fertiliser management would help reverse this situation."