Cambridge IELTS Academic 17
TEST 20
Questions 7-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes
7-13
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
7
Other countries had built underground railways before the Metropolitan line opened.
8
More people than predicted travelled on the Metropolitan line on the first day.
9
The use of ventilation shafts failed to prevent pollution in the tunnels.
10
A different approach from the ‘cut and cover’ technique was required in London’s
central area.
11
The windows on City & South London trains were at eye level.
12
The City & South London Railway was a financial success.
13
Trains on the ‘Tuppenny Tube’ nearly always ran on time.
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MATCHING PARAGRAPH INFORMATION
TEST 39 READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on
Questions 14-17
which are based on
Reading Passage 2 below.
Stadiums: past, present and future
* amphitheatre: (especially in Greek and Roman architecture) an open circular or oval building with a central
space surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators, for the presentation of dramatic or sporting events
A
Stadiums are among the oldest forms
of urban architecture: vast stadiums
where the public could watch sporting
events were at the centre of western
city life as far back as the ancient Greek
and Roman Empires, well before the
construction of the great medieval
cathedrals and the grand 19th- and
20th-century railway stations which
dominated urban skylines in later eras.
Today, however, stadiums are
regarded with growing scepticism.
Construction costs can soar above £1
billion, and stadiums finished for major
events such as the Olympic Games
or the FIFA World Cup have notably
fallen into disuse and disrepair.
But this need not be the cause. History
shows that stadiums can drive urban
development and adapt to the culture
of every age. Even today, architects
and planners are finding new ways
to adapt the mono-functional sports
arenas which became emblematic of
modernisation during the 20th century.
B
The amphitheatre* of Arles in
southwest France, with a capacity of
25,000 spectators, is perhaps the best
example of just how versatile stadiums
can be. Built by the Romans in 90 AD,
it became a fortress with four towers
after the fifth century, and was then
transformed into a village containing
more than 200 houses. With the
growing interest in conservation during
the 19th century, it was converted
back into an arena for the staging
of bullfights, thereby returning the
structure to its original use as a venue
for public spectacles.
Another example is the imposing
arena of Verona in northern Italy,
with space for 30,000 spectators,
which was built 60 years before the
Arles amphitheatre and 40 years
before Rome’s famous Colosseum.
It has endured the centuries and is
currently considered one of the world’s
prime sites for opera, thanks to its
outstanding acoustics.
C
The area in the centre of the Italian town
of Lucca, known as the Piazza dell’
Anfiteatro, is yet another impressive
example of an amphitheatre becoming
absorbed into the fabric of the city.
The site evolved in a similar way to
Arles and was progressively filled
with buildings from the Middle Ages
until the 19th century, variously
used as houses, a salt depot and a
prison. But rather than reverting to an
arena, it became a market square,
designed by Romanticist architect
Lorenzo Nottolini. Today, the ruins of
the amphitheatre remain embedded
83
in the various shops and residences
surrounding the public square.
D
There are many similarities between
modern stadiums and the ancient
amphitheatres intended for games.
But some of the flexibility was lost at
the beginning of the 20th century, as
stadiums were developed using new
products such as steel and reinforced
concrete, and made use of bright lights
for night-time matches.
Many such stadiums are situated in
suburban areas, designed for sporting
use only and surrounded by parking
lots. These factors mean that they may
not be as accessible to the general
public, require more energy to run and
contribute to urban heat.
E
But many of today’s most innovative
architects see scope for the stadium
to help improve the city. Among the
current strategies, two seem to be
having particular success: the stadium
as an urban hub, and as a power plant.
There’s a growing trend for stadiums
to be equipped with public spaces and
services that serve a function beyond
sport, such as hotels, retail outlets,
conference centres, restaurants and
bars, children’s playgrounds and
green space. Creating mixed-use
developments such as this reinforces
compactness and multi-functionality,
making more efficient use of land and
helping to regenerate urban spaces.
This opens the space up to families
and a wider cross-section of society,
instead of catering only to sportspeople
and supporters. There have been
many examples of this in the UK: the
mixed-use facilities at Wembley and
Old Trafford have become a blueprint
for many other stadiums in the world.
F
The phenomenon of stadium as power
stations has arisen from the idea that
energy problems can be overcome by
integrating interconnected buildings
by means of a smart grid, which is an
electricity supply network that uses
digital communications technology
to detect and react to local changes
in usage, without significant energy
losses. Stadiums are ideal for these
purposes, because their canopies
have a large surface area for fitting
photovoltaic panels and rise high
enough (more than 40 metres) to
make use of micro wind turbines.
Freiburg Mage Solar Stadium in
Germany is the first of a new wave
of stadiums as power plants, which
also includes the Amsterdam Arena
and the Kaohsiung Stadium. The
latter, inaugurated in 2009, has 8,844
photovoltaic panels producing up to
1.14 GWh of electricity annually. This
reduces the annual output of carbon
dioxide by 660 tons and supplies up
to 80 percent of the surrounding area
when the stadium is not in use. This
is proof that a stadium can serve its
city, and have a decidedly positive
impact in terms of reduction of CO2
emissions.
G
Sporting arenas have always been
central to the life and culture of cities.
In every era, the stadium has acquired
new value and uses: from military
fortress to residential village, public
space to theatre and most recently a
field for experimentation in advanced
engineering. The stadium of today now
brings together multiple functions, thus
helping cities to create a sustainable
future.
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