Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete – IELTS Reading

The ‘Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete’ is an academic reading passage that has appeared in an IELTS test and since questions get repeated, these kinds of reading passages are ideal for practice.

Usually, IELTS Reading is considered the second easiest module of the exam after Listening. Try to solve and review the passage, ‘Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete’ of Cambridge IELTS 18 Academic Reading Test 3. and similar passages to ensure that your reading skills are up to the mark.

There are 13 questions in total in the reading passage, ‘Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete.’ You must comprehend the subject, identify important terms in the IELTS reading passages, and then respond to the instructions.

The question types found in – Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete passage are:

• Matching information (Q. 1-4)
• Summary Completion (Q. 5-8)
• Matching Features (9-13)

Reading Passage 

You should spend about 20 minutes on questions 1-13, which are based on reading passages below.

Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete

Concrete is everywhere, but it’s bad for the planet, generating large amounts of carbon dioxide – alternatives are being developed

1. Concrete is the second most used substance in the global economy, after water – and one of the world’s biggest single sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The chemical process by which cement, the key ingredient of concrete, is created results in large quantities of carbon dioxide. The UN estimates that there will be 9.8 billion people living on the planet by mid-century. They will need somewhere to live. If concrete is the only answer to the construction of new cities, then carbon emissions will soar, aggravating global warming. And so scientists have started innovating with other materials, in a scramble for alternatives to a universal commodity that has underpinned our modern life for many years.
2. The problem with replacing concrete is that it is so very good at what it does. Chris Cheeseman, an engineering professor at Imperial College London, says the key thing to consider is the extent to which concrete is used around the world and is likely to continue to be used. ‘Concrete is not a high-carbon product. Cement is high in carbon, but concrete is not. But it is the scale on which it is used that makes it high carbon. The sheer scale of manufacture is so huge, that is the issue.’
3. Not only are the ingredients of concrete relatively cheap and found in abundance in most places around the globe, but the stuff itself has marvellous properties: Portland cement, the vital component of concrete, is mouldable and pourable, but quickly sets hard. Cheeseman also notes another advantage: concrete and steel have similar thermal expansion properties, so the steel can be used to reinforce concrete, making it far stronger and more flexible as a building material than it could be on its own. According to Cheeseman, all these factors together make concrete hard to beat. ‘Concrete is amazing stuff. Making anything with similar properties is going to be very difficult.’
4. A possible alternative to concrete is wood. Making buildings from wood may seem like a rather medieval idea, but climate change is driving architects to turn to treated timber as a possible resource. Recent years have seen the emergence of tall buildings constructed almost entirely from timber. Vancouver, Vienna and Brumunddal in Norway are all home to constructed tall, wooden buildings.
5. Using wood to construct buildings, however, is not straightforward. Wood expands as it absorbs moisture from the air and is susceptible to pests, not to mention fire. But treating wood and combining it with other materials can improve its properties. Cross-laminated timber is engineered wood. An adhesive is used to stick layers of solid-sawn timber together, crosswise, to form building blocks. This material is light but has the strength of concrete and steel. Construction experts say that wooden buildings can be constructed at a greater speed than ones of concrete and steel and the process, it seems, is quieter.
6. Stora Enso is Europe’s biggest supplier of cross-laminated timber, and its vice-president Markus Mannstrom reports that the company is seeing increasing demand globally for building in wood, with climate change concerns the key driver. Finland, with its large forests, where Stora Enso is based, has been leading the way, but the company is seeing a rise in demand for its timber products across the world, including in Asia. Of course, using timber in a building also locks away the carbon that it absorbed as it grew. But even treated wood has its limitations and only when a wider range of construction projects has been proven in practice will it be possible to see wood as a real alternative to concrete in constructing tall buildings.
7. Fly ash and slag from iron ore are possible alternatives to cement in a concrete mix. Fly ash, a byproduct of coal-burning power plants, can be incorporated into concrete mixes to make up as much as 15 to 30% of the cement, without harming the strength or durability of the resulting mix. Iron-ore slag, a byproduct of the iron-ore smelting process, can be used in a similar way. Their incorporation into concrete mixes has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But Anna Surgenor, of the UK’s Green Building Council, notes that although these waste products can save carbon in the concrete mix, their use is not always straightforward. ‘It’s possible to replace the cement content in concrete with waste products to lower the overall carbon impact. However, several calculations need to be considered across the entire life cycle of the building – these include factoring in where these materials are being shipped from. If they are transported over long distances, using fossil fuels, the use of alternative materials might not make sense from an overall carbon reduction perspective.’
8. While these technologies are all promising ideas, they are either unproven or based on materials that are not abundant. In their overview of innovation in the concrete industry, Felix Preston and Johanna Lehne of the UK’s Royal Institute of International Affairs reached the conclusion that ‘Some novel cements have been discussed for more than a decade within the research community, without breaking through. At present, these alternatives are rarely as cost-effective as conventional cement, and they face raw-material shortages and resistance from customers.’

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Questions 1-4

1. An explanation of the industrial processes that create potential raw materials for concrete
2. A reference to the various locations where high-rise wooden buildings can be found
3. An indication of how widely available the raw materials of concrete are
4. The belief that more high-rise wooden buildings are needed before wood can be regarded as a viable construction material.

Questions 5-8

Making buildings with wood

Wood is a traditional building material, but current environmental concerns are encouraging (5)………………..to use wood in modern construction projects. Using wood, however, has its challenges. For example, as (6)……………….. in the atmosphere enters wood, it increases in size. In addition, wood is prone to pests and the risk of fire is greater. However, wood can be turned into a better construction material if it is treated and combined with other materials. In one process, (7)………………of solid wood are glued together to create building blocks. These blocks are lighter than concrete and steel but equal in strength. Experts say that wooden buildings are an improvement on those made of concrete and steel in terms of the (8)…………………..with which they can be constructed and how much noise is generated by the process.

Questions 9-13

You may use any letter more than once.

9. The environmental advantage of cement alternatives may not be as great as initially assumed.
10. It would be hard to create a construction alternative to concrete that offers so many comparable benefits.
11. Worries about the environment have led to increased interest in wood as a construction material.
12. Expense has been a factor in the negative response to the development of new cements.
13. The environmental damage caused by concrete is due to it being produced in large quantities.

List of People
A. Chris Cheeseman
B. Markus Mannstrom
C. Anna Surgenor
D. Felix Preston and Johanna Lehne

Answers For Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete IELTS Reading Passage With Location and Explanation 

Read further for the explanations and location of the responses in Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete IELTS reading answers!

1. Answer: G

Question type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph G

Answer explanation: This paragraph discusses fly ash and slag from iron ore as possible alternatives to cement in concrete mixes, which are industrial byproducts used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in concrete production. Hence the answer is G.

2. Answer: D

Question type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph D

Answer explanation: The paragraph mentions various locations where high-rise wooden buildings have emerged, including Vancouver, Vienna, and Brumunddal in Norway. Hence, the answer is D.

3. Answer: C

Question type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph C

Answer explanation: Here it is indicated that the wide availability of raw materials for concrete, stating that the ingredients of concrete are relatively cheap and found in abundance in most places around the globe.

Hence, the answer is C.

4. Answer: F

Question type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph F

Answer explanation: Paragraph F suggests that more high-rise wooden buildings need to be constructed before wood can be considered a viable alternative to concrete in constructing tall buildings. Hence, the answer is F.

5. Answer: Architects

Question type: Multiple-choice questions

Answer Location: Paragraph F

Answer explanation: Markus Mannstrom, mentioned in paragraph F, reports that worries about the environment have led to increased interest in wood as a construction material. Hence the answer is Architects.

6. Answer: Moisture

Question type: Multiple-choice questions

Answer Location: Paragraph E

Answer explanation: This paragraph discusses the challenge of moisture in wood, which causes it to expand. Hence the answer is Moisture.

7. Answer: Layers

Question type: Multiple-choice questions

Answer Location: Paragraph E

Answer explanation: In paragraph E, it is mentioned that layers of solid wood are glued together to create building blocks in the process of making cross-laminated timber. Hence the answer is layers.

8. Answer: Speed

Question type: Multiple-choice questions

Answer Location: Paragraph E

Answer explanation: The mentioned paragraph states that wooden buildings can be constructed at a greater speed than ones of concrete and steel, and the process is quieter. Hence the answer is speed.

9. Answer: C

Question type: Matching Features

Answer Location: Paragraph G

Answer explanation: Anna Surgenor, mentioned in paragraph G, notes that the environmental advantage of cement alternatives may not be as significant as initially assumed due to various factors in the entire life cycle of the building. Hence the answer is C.

10. Answer: A

Question type: Matching Features

Answer Location: Paragraph B

Answer explanation: In paragraph B, Chris Cheeseman, suggests that it would be difficult in order to create a construction alternative to concrete that gives many comparable benefits. Hence, the answer is A.

11. Answer: B

Question type: Matching Features

Answer Location: Paragraph F

Answer explanation: Markus Mannstrom, mentioned in paragraph F, reports that worries about the environment have led to increased interest in wood as a construction material. Hence the answer is B.

12. Answer: D

Question type: Matching Features

Answer Location: Paragraph H

Answer explanation: Felix Preston and Johanna Lehne, mentioned in paragraph H, suggest that expense has been a factor in the negative response to the development of new cements. Hence, the answer is D.

13. Answer: A

Question type: Matching Features

Answer Location: Paragraph B

Answer explanation: Chris Cheeseman, mentioned in paragraph B, highlights that the environmental damage caused by concrete is due to its large-scale manufacture. Hence, the answer is A.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete IELTS Reading Passage

Let us check out some quick tips to answer the types of questions in – Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete Reading passage.

Matching Information: 

Matching Information is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to match a list of information to the correct people, places, or things in a passage.

To answer matching information questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the given information first: This will give you an idea of the types of information that you are looking for in the passage.
• Read the passage quickly: This will give you a general understanding of the content of the passage.
• Match the information to the people, places, or things: As you read the passage, look for the information that matches each feature.
• Check your answers: Once you have matched all of the features, double-check your answers to make sure that they are correct.

Summary Completion:

Summary Completion is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to fill in a gap in a sentence with a word or phrase from the passage.

To answer these questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the sentence carefully: This will give you an idea of the type of word or phrase that is missing.
• Scan the passage for the keywords: The keywords in the sentence can help you to identify the correct word or phrase.
• Read the sentence with the missing word or phrase: This will help you to see how the word or phrase fits into the sentence.
• Check your answer: Once you have filled in the gap, make sure that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence.

Matching Features: 

Matching Features is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to match a list of features to the correct people, places, or things in a passage.

To answer matching features questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the features first hence this will give you an idea of the types of information that you are looking for in the passage.
• Read the passage quickly and this will give you a general understanding of the content of the passage.
• Match the features to the people, places, or things. As you read the passage, look for the information that matches each feature.
• Check your answers and once you have matched all of the features, double-check your answers to make sure that they are correct.

Great work on attempting to solve the ‘Materials to Take Us Beyond Concrete’ IELTS reading passages! To crack your IELTS Reading in the first go, try solving more of the recent IELTS Reading passages.

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