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IELTS Reading Passage: The Eisriesenwelt Ice Caves
The Eisriesenwelt Ice Caves
A Due to pure water erosion, the majority of caves are located in coastal areas. Streams of lava from volcanoes and lifting are two additional common cave formations. The longest known system of ice caves in the world, Eisriesenwelt, was not created by any one of these processes alone. In fact, it owes much of its existence to the water-soluble limestone rock that can be found in the limestone mountains of the Austrian Alps near Salzburg.
B The Alps themselves, one of the world’s largest mountain ranges, were formed through a process known as lifting. They span the majority of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and extend into Italy and France as well. The tectonic plates of Africa and Europe were moving toward one another. A broad mountainous ridge that crossed the impact line was created as a result of the eventual collision of the plates. The ridge expanded as the two plates continued to push against one another, eventually causing cracks, rock displacements, and fault lines to form. After the Alps were raised, external forces, particularly water, began to work on the hollow areas created by pressure cracks, and these forces eventually played their part over time.
C The formation of the alpine caves was significantly influenced by the composition of the rock. Since limestone is water soluble, especially when it comes into contact with rainwater that has been enriched with organic material, extensive cave systems like Eisriesenwelt are typically only found in the limestone Alps. Large underground hollow areas developed as the limestone that had come into contact with rainwater over time disintegrated and broke down. The climate of the area was subtropical when the caves first began to form, so the level of solubility was even higher than it is today, which caused the erosion of the limestone to occur at a higher rate.
D The chemical dissolution of rock is known as corrosion. Lime, or CaC03, was being corroded in the case of Eisriesenwelt when rainwater came into contact with the limestone rock.However, rock cannot be corroded by water alone. Since pure water contains fewer H+ ions, lime would not dissolve in it. An aggressive acid known as carbonic acid is not formed naturally; it must be introduced through vegetation and carbon dioxide from the air. Limestone dissolves when this acid seeps into the cracks in the limestone. Wider cracks form in the stone as it dissolves, allowing more water to pass through and accelerating the rock’s erosion. The caves were further eroded and more material washed away as a result of the higher water volume and flow rate combined. As a result, the long gorges, shafts, and canyons that can be found in the Alps and other spectacular geological features were created.
E For the most part, lifting, corrosion, and water erosion were responsible for the formation of the Eisriesenwelt caves. However, similar examples are relatively common in limestone regions all over the world, making the caves themselves not particularly noteworthy. The distinctive ice formations that cover a sizable portion of the cave area are what distinguish Eisriesenwelt. Only a small percentage of the world’s millions of known cave systems are true ice caves, where ice is present all year long. The Eisriesenwelt caves are unique because of this.
F The dynamic ice cave system known as Eisriesenwelt is one of three varieties of ice caves, the other two being static ice caves and glacier caves. As the name implies, static ice caves are relatively uniform in temperature and have a constant amount of ice cover throughout the year. For instance, during the winter, the outside air temperature may drop to below minus 20 degrees Celsius. The air in the cave rises to escape when it gets too cold inside, and the cold air fills the space left behind. The cave maintains a relatively constant temperature below freezing during the summer when the outside temperature is higher than the inside temperature. Because the inside air is heavier than the outside air, it cannot escape and instead condenses into a cold pocket. The explanation for glacier caves is simpler: melt water simply carved a path from the mountain down to the glacier.
G The dynamic ice cave system known as Eisriesenwelt is one of three varieties of ice caves, the other two being static ice caves and glacier caves. As the name implies, static ice caves are relatively uniform in temperature and have a constant amount of ice cover throughout the year. For instance, during the winter, the outside air temperature may drop to below minus 20 degrees Celsius. The air in the cave rises to escape when it gets too cold inside, and the cold air fills the space left behind. However, in the summer, the temperature outside the cave is higher than it is inside, and because the cold air inside the cave is heavier than the hot air outside, it cannot escape and instead condenses into a cold pocket, maintaining the cave’s temperature at or near freezing throughout the summer.The explanation for glacier caves is simpler: melt water simply carved a path from the mountain down to the glacier.
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The Eisriesenwelt Ice Caves Reading Questions
Questions 1-4
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- Which kind of cave formation is shown in the illustration?
A. Static ice cave in winter
B. Static ice cave in summer
C. Dynamic ice cave in winter
D. Dynamic ice cave in summer
2. Which kind of cave formation is shown in the illustration?
A. Static ice cave in winter
B. Static ice cave in summer
C. Dynamic ice cave in winter
D. Dynamic ice cave in summer
3. Which of the subsequent claims is true?
A. Air is escaping from dynamic ice caves all year round, but it only escapes from static ice caves when the temperature is cooler inside the cave than it is outside.
B. Air is escaping from dynamic ice caves all year round, but it only escapes from static ice caves when the temperature is warmer inside the cave than it is outside,
C. Air is escaping from dynamic ice caves all year round, but it never escapes from static ice caves, hence the name ‘static’.
D. Air escapes from dynamic ice caves in winter, whereas wind escapes from static ice caves during the summer months.
4. Which of the ensuing assertions is true?
A. Dynamic ice caves produce upward air currents in summer and winter.
B. Dynamic ice caves will produce drafts throughout the year.
C. Cold air is channelled downwards through dynamic ice caves in winter.
D. Cold air is channelled upwards through dynamic ice caves in summer.
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Questions 5-7
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
5.What substance acting on rock caused the majority of caves to form in coastal regions around the world?
6. The large mountainous ridge, more commonly known as the Alps and spanning much of Europe, was created by what process?
7. What expansive areas were made possible by limestone rock found in some of the Alps?
Questions 8 -13
Reading Passage 1 has seven sections, A-G.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-G. Some letters may be used more than once; others not at all.
8. The scarcity of ice caves and ice cave systems
9. What factors other than cave formation contributed to the severe weathering of limestone rock in the Alps?
10. A justification for why limestone eroded more rapidly in the distant past than it does now.
11. The formation of the mountain range that contains the Eisriesenwelt caves
12. How caves with multiple exits where air can escape all year round can always maintain temperatures that allow for the presence of ice in some places
13. How the formation of ice caves is not always directly related to rock corrosion and water erosion.
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The Eisriesenwelt Ice Caves Reading answers
1. Answer: A
2. Answer: D
3. Answer: B
4. Answer: B
5. Answer: Pure water
6. Answer: Lifting
7. Answer: Cave systems
8. Answer: A
9. Answer: D
10. Answer: C
11. Answer: B
12. Answer: G
13. Answer: E
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