Australia’s Platypus, Creature Sleeps, The Search For Freshwater – IELTS Reading Answers

Paragraph B states, ‘The first experiments in recorded scientific history on the effects of people not getting enough sleep took place in the late 1800s…’, ‘…three volunteers were deprived of sleep for a total of 90 hours…’, ‘…in 1920 more experiments in sleep deprivation were conducted – the topic of research into sleep deprivation is established.

Several examples of the effects of sleep deprivation upon the body, ՛… people who are sleep deprived for periods of more than 60 hours try to fall asleep in any environment and show signs of mental disturbances, visions, and hallucinations. As the length of sleep deprivation increases, so too does the mental decline in an individual. ‘All these examples have been recorded after monitoring the effects of sleep deprivation.

Paragraph C is primarily reporting on sleep experiments in isolated areas. The first sentence talks about, ‘Studies of sleep patterns in…remote areas of the world…’ The passage describes the process of the experiments, ‘All participants were required to get rid of all clocks, watches…’ and talks about the outcome of the experiments, ‘…most people slept around 10 hours per day and all participants reported feeling completely invigorated and refreshed.

Note: although there is a reference to the Antarctic, it is not even the location of the experiments.

Paragraph D discusses ‘sleep interruptions’ such as ‘traffic and aircraft noise’ in urban areas. It points to the results of a study in which the participants were exposed to the loud noise ‘of a major urban road’ namely, ‘participants had depression and mood scores similar to people with clinical depression., .a reduction in certain performance tasks was also noted’.

Paragraph E discusses in sentences 1 & 2 people ‘who reportedly’, ‘who claim’ and who ‘may’ be short sleepers. These words indicate that it’s a challenge to define who are ‘short sleepers’ (i.e. those who have reduced sleeping hours)

Paragraph F deals with a study in Norway that monitored the states of being awake in bus drivers. It reveals that ‘the drivers were having a series of micro-sleeps – short periods of time… where they are classified as being asleep.

In Paragraph A, Limpton states: ‘…the average amount of sleep most people get per night – is not enough.’

In Paragraph B, Oswald states: ‘…chronic sleep deprivation often leads to drastic consequences.’

In Paragraph E, Joske states that ‘…genetically short sleepers may have some natural resistance to the effects of sleep deprivation but it is not entirely certain why some people seem to require more and others less’, (i.e. although he does not know why exactly, he believes that some need more and others less sleep).

In Paragraph D, Tom Grimstead used ‘…an actimeter – a device which measures the amount of movement in sleep – was used to gauge the quality of the participant’s sleep.’

In Paragraph, E Joske says, ‘When we brought long and short sleepers into controlled environments… we found that all participants slept between nine and ten hours…’

In paragraph D, Grimstead reported that participants emerged in a ‘depressed-like state’ after four days of sleep interruptions.

In paragraph B, Kleitman reported, ‘…signs of mental disturbances, visions, and hallucinations.’

The majority of the passage cites examples of studies – the first experiments, sleep patterns, sleep interruptions.

A and C are wrong because not all of the studies deal with the importance of sleep nor how much sleep we need.

D is wrong because of only one paragraph deals with sleep patterns – a small part of the passage…

E is not correct because while there are some up-to-date perspectives, some are dating back to the 1920s.

A is wrong because the final paragraph states fog cannot form in dry’ conditions. B. is wrong because the last paragraph clearly states the opposite: “Dew… appears far more frequently (than fog)…՞. C is wrong as the 3rd paragraph states that it is desalination that is being tried in Senegal.

A is wrong because the 3rd paragraph states that small-scale desalination is ‘surprisingly energy-efficient’. B. is wrong – there is no mention of this in the text. D is wrong, large-scale desalination burns a lot of fossil fuel.

A and D are wrong because the 2nd paragraph points out that ‘Artesian wells, rivers, and lakes only account for about 0.1 and 0.5 million km³ respectively’. B. is wrong – rain and snow are included in rivers and lakes.

The 3rd paragraph states: In parts of Senegal, for example, the greenhouse effect has been one way to desalinate seawater whereby the salt in the water is separated from the water through a process of evaporation.

In relation to energy efficiency in the process of desalination, the 3rd paragraph states: ‘In larger-scale production, however, the energy efficiency plummets.’

Paragraph 4 states: ‘The atmosphere, for example, contains vast amounts of freshwater composed of 2% condensed water in the form of clouds and 98% water vapour.’

The final paragraph states: Dew, however, appears far more frequently and is less subject to the constraints of climate (temperature) and geography (location).

The final paragraph states: ‘When the temperature is lowered over a short space of time by ten degrees or so, the water-harvesting possibilities from the air yield an amazing ten grams of water from each cubic meter of air – significant drops in air temperature make for greater yields.’

There is nothing in the passage about this!

The 2nd paragraph lists all the various sources of freshwater among them: ‘Glaciers and snow. ..Groundwater…Artesian wells, rivers and lakes and rain and snow.’ 

Regarding the amount of fresh water extracted from the sea, the 3rd paragraph states: ‘…some estimates put the annual quantity of desalinated water at only around ten cubic kilometres – a tiny amount given the amount of seawater available. ‘

There is nothing in the passage about this!

The final paragraph states: ‘In order for dew to form there needs to be humidity in the air and a reasonably clear sky.’

There is nothing in the passage about this!