GT IELTS Collection 1 Reading Test 7

Sleeping bags

A. Outwell Conqueror

Enjoy the comfort of your bedroom outdoors with the Outwell Conqueror and its integrated down duvet. Its roomy interior gives you plenty of space to stretch out, while the lightweight construction packs down compactly and slips back into its storage bag with minimal effort. It is an excellent choice for car camping and family holidays, although its packed dimensions make it too bulky for carrying inside a rucksack.

B. Coleman DuoNest Compact

Share a comfortable night outdoors with this spacious double sleeping bag, designed for spring, summer and autumn trips. The soft, cosy lining keeps two campers comfortable, while an internal pocket near the top provides a convenient place for phones and other essentials. Despite its generous dimensions, the DuoNest folds down remarkably small, making storage and transport surprisingly easy.

C. The North Face AllTrail Hybrid 1500

Meet the dependable sleeping bag built for all-year-round adventures. Its hybrid insulation combines natural duck down with advanced synthetic fibres, delivering excellent warmth at a manageable weight of just 1.5 kg. A water-resistant outer finish helps keep moisture at bay, so you can sleep comfortably even when conditions turn damp.

D. Quechua CampEasy 3-Season

The CampEasy offers reliable comfort at a price that leaves more money for the rest of your adventure. Designed for spring, summer and autumn use, it is soft, easy to wash and durable enough to accompany you on camping trips for years. It may take a little patience to squeeze back into its storage bag, but its excellent value makes that extra effort worthwhile.

E. Vango AeroTrek 350

Weighing only 350 g, the AeroTrek is made for summer hikers who count every gram in their rucksack. Its easy-care synthetic filling dries quickly and requires very little maintenance after a demanding trip. Packed into a compact 13 × 20 cm bundle, it is an ideal companion for lightweight backpacking and warm-weather trekking.

F. Deuter Little Wildling

The Little Wildling is an innovative premium sleeping bag that makes bedtime part of the adventure. Simply unzip it to transform the bag into a playful animal-themed coat, then zip it back together when your child is ready to sleep. Designed for temperatures between 8°C and 20°C, it is perfect for sleepovers, family camping trips and mild-weather holidays.

G. Rab HeatGuard Contour

The extra insulation in this sleeping bag is around the areas that tend to feel the cold (head, chest and feet). This intelligent design reduces heat loss from the areas most vulnerable to the cold, helping you remain comfortable throughout the night. The generously padded hood is so soft and supportive that it can even double as a pillow.

The Northern Voices Short Fiction Award

We are delighted to announce the Northern Voices Short Fiction Award, presented in association with the Manchester Literary Trust.

Competition Rules

Entries must be original works of short fiction between 1,500 and 4,000 words. All word counts will be verified, and entries exceeding the 4,000-word limit will be disqualified.

For the purposes of the Award, short fiction is defined as a complete, self-contained work of imaginative prose. Poetry, scripts and non-fiction essays are not eligible.

Each writer may submit one entry only. If an author submits more than one entry, only the first will be considered, and all subsequent entries will be disqualified. Previous first-prize winners of the Northern Voices Short Fiction Award are not eligible to enter. However, previously shortlisted writers and other past entrants are welcome to submit new work.

All submissions must be the entrant’s own work and must not have been published previously. Illustrated or hybrid entries incorporating drawings or photographs alongside the text are welcome. Submissions may take the form of either a complete standalone story or a self-contained extract from a longer work or collection.

The Award is open to writers who:

are aged 16 or over;

live in the UK or Ireland;

are not represented by a literary agent; and

have not previously published a full-length book.

For the purposes of eligibility, a full-length book is defined as a single complete work of fiction containing more than 40,000 words.

Simultaneous submissions to other publications or competitions are permitted. However, entrants must inform us as soon as possible if their work is accepted for publication elsewhere or wins another award so that it can be withdrawn from consideration for the Northern Voices Short Fiction Award.

The winner will receive:

£2,000;

publication in the annual Northern Voices anthology;

one year’s membership of the Society of Authors; and

a one-to-one consultation with a commissioning editor and a literary agent.

Two runners-up will each receive:

£750;

two craft mentoring sessions;

an editorial feedback meeting with an editor and a literary agent; and

publication in the Northern Voices anthology.

Factory Health, Safety, and Sanitation Guidelines

Maintaining strict health and safety standards in a manufacturing environment is crucial for safeguarding workers, ensuring product integrity, and preventing workplace accidents. While you are entitled to certain workplace rights, you also share the duty of keeping the facility secure and sanitary for everyone.

Your Workplace Rights

As a worker in this facility, you are entitled to:

a workplace where health and safety hazards are actively managed and minimized

receive all necessary personal protective equipment (PPE)—including safety footwear, eyewear, masks, hairnets, and gloves—provided entirely free

undergo thorough training and receive clear guidance regarding all facility safety and sanitation protocols

halt your tasks and evacuate a specific area if you genuinely believe there is an immediate danger to your safety

raise concerns about dangerous machinery, unsanitary conditions, or potential contamination with the employer

readily available clean drinking water, adequate restroom facilities, and proper handwashing stations

scheduled rest periods throughout your shift

full disclosure concerning any hazardous materials, equipment, or manufacturing methods that could potentially impact your well-being.

Your Workplace Responsibilities

As a team member, you are expected to:

strictly adhere to all company-issued health and safety policies

continuously wear the appropriate protective gear whenever you are on the production floor

thoroughly clean or sanitize your hands before your shift begins, after restroom breaks, and as otherwise mandated

tie back long hair or head coverings, take off all jewelry, and refrain from wearing baggy clothing to prevent entanglement in machinery or product contamination

maintain a tidy work area and ensure all trash is thrown away in the correct bins

restrict eating, drinking, and smoking entirely to approved break areas

promptly notify management of any accidents, illnesses, hazardous spills, malfunctioning tools, or risks of product contamination

participate fully in all required safety programs and work collaboratively with leadership

leave all safety barriers, warning signs, cleaning supplies, and protective gear in place, using them only for their intended purposes.

Anyone operating machinery or specialized equipment must inform their supervisor if they are on medication that affects concentration or causes drowsiness. In such cases, management will temporarily reassign you to lower-risk tasks if needed.

Internal bulletins

A. Extra hands needed

A key client has placed a large order that needs to be completed quickly. As a result, the assembly area will operate for two extra hours each evening during the week beginning 8 April. Assembly employees who are willing to take on these additional paid hours should contact the Operations Supervisor as soon as possible.

B. Advance warning

Renovation work in the East Wing will begin on Tuesday 4 June and should be completed by mid-July. Employees who normally work in that area will receive separate instructions about where they’ll work for that time. On Friday 31 May, the premises team will move essential items to the alternative workspace. Before then, please prepare one list of items to be moved and another of items to be stored.

C. Fancy some extra paid work?

Owen Brooks will step down as part-time editor of the employee portal at the end of May, as his new position in Customer Relations will not leave him enough time for the task. We are looking for two colleagues to share the role. Anyone interested, and able to work an extra three to five paid hours per week, should contact Hannah Reed on extension 2290.

D. New accounts system

The review of our accounting software has now been completed, and several updates will soon be introduced. Laura Chen from Accounts will explain the new procedures, how they will affect daily tasks, and answer any questions from 11 am to noon on 18 April in Meeting Room 3.

E. Badminton is back!

We are hoping to bring back the annual badminton tournament, which has not taken place for the past two years. To register your interest, speak to Daniel Moore on extension 2455. Beginners are very welcome.

F. Help us improve quality

Following recent feedback about product standards, we are forming a working group to explore practical ways to raise quality and suggest possible changes. Colleagues from all departments may have useful ideas, so anyone is welcome to take part. Please call Elena Ruiz on extension 1184. The role will involve monthly meetings and some background research over a four-month period.

G. Come and say hello

Many of you will already know that Martin Hayes is leaving the company on 28 April after eight years as Supply Chain Coordinator. His replacement, Priya Nair, will join us on Monday 22 April. Priya will be in Suite 42 from 1 to 3 pm on 2 May, so feel free to drop by and introduce yourself during your lunch break.

Learning from the Romans

A. Paragraph A

In a quest to make concrete more durable and sustainable, an international team of geologists and engineers has found inspiration in the concrete used by the ancient Romans. The chemical secrets of Roman concrete have been uncovered in samples taken from a concrete Roman breakwater. A breakwater is a barrier that is built out into the sea to protect coasts and harbors from the force of waves. This particular breakwater has spent the last 2,000 years submerged in seawater. The international team of researchers that collected the samples was led by Paulo Monteiro, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. An analysis of samples from the ancient underwater site in Pozzuoli Bay, near Naples, Italy, pinpointed why the best Roman concrete was superior to most modern concrete.

B. Paragraph B

Concrete was the Roman Empire’s construction material of choice. It was used in land monuments such as the Pantheon in Rome, as well as in underwater and partially underwater coastal and harbor structures. Monteiro and his team were particularly interested in how the coastal and harbor structures endured the unforgiving saltwater environment. Chemical analysis of Roman concrete showed that it differs from the modern kind in several ways. One is the content of the cement that binds the material in the concrete. The most commonly used cement in recent decades has been Portland cement. Portland cement is a compound of calcium, silicates, and hydrates (C-S-H). However, analysis of Roman concrete shows that it contains a significantly different cement. Roman cement contains aluminum, which is not found in Portland cement, and less silicon than is found in Portland cement. The resulting calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H) is an exceptionally stable cement.

C. Paragraph C

The recipe for the contents of Roman concrete was first described around 30 BC by Vitruvius, an engineer for the Roman Emperor Augustus. Volcanic ash was one of the ingredients, and it is now understood that this is crucial, as it is volcanic ash that contains the aluminum that ultimately gives Roman concrete its great durability. The Romans devised an efficient method of making concrete for coastal structures. They combined volcanic ash with lime, which added the calcium to the mix. This was then packed, together with stones and chunks of rock, into wooden molds, which were then immersed in seawater. The seawater instantly triggered a hot chemical reaction. The lime was hydrated by the seawater, which means that it incorporated water molecules into its structure, and reacted with the volcanic ash to cement the whole mixture together. This reaction formed the concrete that was used to build some of the most enduring structures in Western civilization.

D. Paragraph D

According to Marie Jackson, a member of the research team, Roman concrete is one of the most durable construction materials on the planet, and that was no accident. Shipping was the lifeline of political, economic, and military stability for the Roman Empire, so constructing harbors that would last was critical. ‘Over time, the Romans used less and less concrete.’ ‘As the Roman Empire declined, and shipping declined, the need for the seawater concrete declined,’ said Jackson. ‘You could also argue that the original structures were built so well that, once they were in place, they didn’t need to be replaced,’ she added.

E. Paragraph E

Producing Roman concrete also left a smaller carbon footprint than its modern counterpart. ‘It’s not that modern concrete isn’t good—it’s so good we use 19 billion tons of it a year,’ says Monteiro. ‘The problem is that manufacturing Portland cement accounts for seven percent of the carbon dioxide that industry puts into the air.’ Portland cement holds most modern concrete together. However, making Portland cement releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from burning fuel in order to heat a mix of limestone and clays to 1,450 degrees Celsius. The production of Roman concrete, however, was much cleaner, as less heat was needed. A temperature that was a third lower than that required for making Portland cement was sufficient for making Roman concrete.

F. Paragraph F

Some modern concrete no longer contains Portland cement; instead, fly ash is used, which causes fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Fly ash is a waste product from burning coal, and the researchers are investigating whether volcanic ash would be a good, large-volume replacement in countries that cannot access fly ash easily. ‘There is not enough fly ash in this world to replace half of the Portland cement being used,’ said Monteiro. ‘Many countries don’t have fly ash, so the idea is to find alternative local materials that will work, including the kind of volcanic ash that the Romans used. Using these alternatives could replace 40 percent of the world’s demand for Portland cement.’

G. Paragraph G

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is one powerful incentive for finding a better way to provide the concrete the world needs; another is the need for stronger, longer-lasting buildings, bridges, and other structures. ‘In the middle 20th century, concrete structures were designed to last 50 years, and a lot of them are on borrowed time,’ Monteiro says. ‘Now we design buildings to last 100 to 120 years.’ Yet Roman harbor installations have survived 2,000 years of chemical attack from seawater and wave action. Stronger, longer-lasting modern concrete may be the legacy of a deeper understanding of how the Romans made their incomparable concrete.

Fly ash

A. Fly ash results in less damage to the environment than Portland cement.

Some modern concrete no longer contains Portland cement; instead, fly ash is used, which causes fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

B. Fly ash is already used in the production of some concrete.

Some modern concrete no longer contains Portland cement; instead, fly ash is used, which causes fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Learning from the Romans

Paragraph A

In a quest to make concrete more durable and sustainable, an international team of geologists and engineers has found inspiration in the concrete used by the ancient Romans. The chemical secrets of Roman concrete have been uncovered in samples taken from a concrete Roman breakwater. A breakwater is a barrier that is built out into the sea to protect coasts and harbors from the force of waves. This particular breakwater has spent the last 2,000 years submerged in seawater. The international team of researchers that collected the samples was led by Paulo Monteiro, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. An analysis of samples from the ancient underwater site in Pozzuoli Bay, near Naples, Italy, pinpointed why the best Roman concrete was superior to most modern concrete.

Paragraph B

Concrete was the Roman Empire’s construction material of choice. It was used in land monuments such as the Pantheon in Rome, as well as in underwater and partially underwater coastal and harbor structures. Monteiro and his team were particularly interested in how the coastal and harbor structures endured the unforgiving saltwater environment. Chemical analysis of Roman concrete showed that it differs from the modern kind in several ways. One is the content of the cement that binds the material in the concrete. The most commonly used cement in recent decades has been Portland cement. Portland cement is a compound of calcium, silicates, and hydrates (C-S-H). However, analysis of Roman concrete shows that it contains a significantly different cement. Roman cement contains aluminum, which is not found in Portland cement, and less silicon than is found in Portland cement. The resulting calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H) is an exceptionally stable cement.

Paragraph C

The recipe for the contents of Roman concrete was first described around 30 BC by Vitruvius, an engineer for the Roman Emperor Augustus. Volcanic ash was one of the ingredients, and it is now understood that this is crucial, as it is volcanic ash that contains the aluminum that ultimately gives Roman concrete its great durability. The Romans devised an efficient method of making concrete for coastal structures. They combined volcanic ash with lime, which added the calcium to the mix. This was then packed, together with stones and chunks of rock, into wooden molds, which were then immersed in seawater. The seawater instantly triggered a hot chemical reaction. The lime was hydrated by the seawater, which means that it incorporated water molecules into its structure, and reacted with the volcanic ash to cement the whole mixture together. This reaction formed the concrete that was used to build some of the most enduring structures in Western civilization.

Paragraph D

According to Marie Jackson, a member of the research team, Roman concrete is one of the most durable construction materials on the planet, and that was no accident. Shipping was the lifeline of political, economic, and military stability for the Roman Empire, so constructing harbors that would last was critical. ‘Over time, the Romans used less and less concrete.’ ‘As the Roman Empire declined, and shipping declined, the need for the seawater concrete declined,’ said Jackson. ‘You could also argue that the original structures were built so well that, once they were in place, they didn’t need to be replaced,’ she added.

Paragraph E

Producing Roman concrete also left a smaller carbon footprint than its modern counterpart. ‘It’s not that modern concrete isn’t good—it’s so good we use 19 billion tons of it a year,’ says Monteiro. ‘The problem is that manufacturing Portland cement accounts for seven percent of the carbon dioxide that industry puts into the air.’ Portland cement holds most modern concrete together. However, making Portland cement releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from burning fuel in order to heat a mix of limestone and clays to 1,450 degrees Celsius. The production of Roman concrete, however, was much cleaner, as less heat was needed. A temperature that was a third lower than that required for making Portland cement was sufficient for making Roman concrete.

Paragraph F

Some modern concrete no longer contains Portland cement; instead, fly ash is used, which causes fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Fly ash is a waste product from burning coal, and the researchers are investigating whether volcanic ash would be a good, large-volume replacement in countries that cannot access fly ash easily. ‘There is not enough fly ash in this world to replace half of the Portland cement being used,’ said Monteiro. ‘Many countries don’t have fly ash, so the idea is to find alternative local materials that will work, including the kind of volcanic ash that the Romans used. Using these alternatives could replace 40 percent of the world’s demand for Portland cement.’

Paragraph G

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is one powerful incentive for finding a better way to provide the concrete the world needs; another is the need for stronger, longer-lasting buildings, bridges, and other structures. ‘In the middle 20th century, concrete structures were designed to last 50 years, and a lot of them are on borrowed time,’ Monteiro says. ‘Now we design buildings to last 100 to 120 years.’ Yet Roman harbor installations have survived 2,000 years of chemical attack from seawater and wave action. Stronger, longer-lasting modern concrete may be the legacy of a deeper understanding of how the Romans made their incomparable concrete.