GT Reading Test 3 Section 3 - Robots at work

GT Reading Mock Test 3:

Reading Part 1  |  Reading Part 2   |  Reading Part 3  | 

Section 3: Questions 27-40


General Training Reading Sample: Robots at work


You are advised to spend 20 minutes on Questions 27-40.

Questions 27-32:

The following Reading Passage has seven paragraphs (A-G). Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs A-B and D-G from the list of headings below.

Write the appropriate numbers (i-ix) in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.

NB There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.

List of Headings

i   Robots working together
ii   Preparing LGVs for take-over
iii   Looking ahead
iv  The LGVs' main functions
v   Split location for newspaper production
vi  Newspapers superseded by technology
vii  Getting the newspaper to the printing centre
viii  Controlling the robots
ix  Beware of robots!

Example                               Answer
Paragraph C                              ix

27. Paragraph  A
28. Paragraph  B
29. Paragraph  D
30. Paragraph  E
31. Paragraph  F
32. Paragraph  G

ROBOTS AT WORK

A
The newspaper production process has come a long way from the old days when the paper was written, edited, typeset and ultimately printed in one building with the journalists working on the upper floors and the printing presses going on the ground floor. These days the editor, subeditors and journalists who put the paper together are likely to find themselves in a totally different building or maybe even in a different city. This is the situation which now prevails in Sydney. The daily paper is compiled at the editorial headquarters, known as the prepress centre, in the heart of the city, but printed far away in the suburbs at the printing centre. Here human beings are in the minority as much of the work is done by automated machines controlled by computers.

B
Once the finished newspaper has been created for the next morning’s edition, all the pages are transmitted electronically from the prepress centre to the printing centre. The system of transmission is an update on the sophisticated page facsimile system already in use in many other newspapers. An imagesetter at the printing centre delivers the pages as films. Each page takes less than a minute to produce, although for colour pages four versions, once each for black, cyan, magenta and yellow are sent. The pages are then  processed into photographic negatives and the film is used to produce aluminium printing plates ready for the presses.

C
A procession of automated vehicles is busy at the new printing centre where the Sydney Morning Herald is printed each day. With lights flashing and warning horns honking, the robots (to give them their correct name, the LGVs or laser guided vehicles) look for all the world like enthusiastic machines from a science fiction movie, as they follow their own random paths around the plant busily getting on with their jobs. Automation of this kind is now standard in all modern newspaper plants. The robots can detect unauthorised personnel and alert security staff immediately if they find an “intruder”; not surprisingly, tall tales are already being told about the machines starting to take on personalities of their own.

D
The robots’ principal job, however, is to shift the newsprint (the printing paper) that arrives at the plant in huge reels and emerges at the other end sometime later as newspapers. Once the size of the day’s paper and the publishing order are determined at head office, the information is punched into the computer and the LGVs are programmed to go about their work. The LGVs collect the appropriate size paper reels and take them where they have to go. When the press needs another reel its computer alerts the LGV system. The Sydney LGVs move busily around the press room fulfilling their two key functions to collect reels of newsprint either from the reel stripping stations or from the racked supplies in the newsprint storage area. At the stripping station, the tough wrapping that helps to protect a reel of paper from rough handling is removed. Any damaged paper is peeled off and the reel is then weighed.

E
Then one of the four paster-robots moves in. Specifically designed for the job, it trims the paper neatly and prepares the reel for the press. If required the reel can be loaded directly onto the press; if not needed immediately, an LGV takes it to the storage area. When the press computer calls for a reel, an LGV takes it to the reel loading area of the presses. It lifts the reel into the loading position and places it in the correct spot with complete accuracy. As each reel is used up, the press drops the heavy cardboard core into a waste bin. When the bin is full, another LGV collects it and deposits the cores into a shredder for recycling.

F
The LGVs move at walking speed. Should anyone step in front of one or get too close, sensors stop the vehicle until the path is clear. The company has chosen a laser guide function system for the vehicles because, as the project development manager says “The beauty of it is that if you want to change the routes, you can work out a new route on your computer and lay it down for them to follow”. When an LGV’s batteries run low, it will take itself offline and go to the nearest battery maintenance point for replacement batteries. And all this is achieved with absolute minimum human input and a much reduced risk of injury to people working in the printing centres.

G
The question newspaper workers must now ask, however, is, “how long will it be before the robots are writing the newspapers as well as running the printing centre, churning out the latest edition every morning?”

 

Questions 33 - 40

Using the information in the passage, complete the flow-chart below.
Write your answers in boxes 33-40 on your answer sheet.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

 

The Production Process

GT Reading Test 3 Section 3 - Robots at work

Click the button to Show/ Hide Answers.

 

 
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 2.98 (53 Votes)

Ezekiel
This is ok.
Ezekiel
Ok.
Praveen Kumar
Show all the answers in my questions.
Marilyne Ross
Why is the answer to question number 40 "storage area" and not "loading area"?
Sendy
The first line of paragraph 'E' details what paster robots does and then where the reel is taken to. If you still don't get answer its in the next line that what happens to the reel after that. In this case I can tell your 39 answer was also not surely clear to you.
Njoku Godwin
Questions 33 to 40 didn't appear!
Shahzad
39/40. Which means 8.5, not bad though. :)
Vishwa
Why am I not able to see question 33 to 40?
Roshmi
Why the answer to Q. 40 is 'Storage area' & not 'reel loading area'?
Z
Question 40 in the flowchart gives the 2 options for the reel in the end - one is taken to press (reel loading area), and the other one is taken to the storage area. So the "storage area" is CORRECT.
Bharath
10/13.
Amr Wady
Hi, there was no question number 10 on this task, I believe that you meant question 8, Fadybwadie. ;-)
Amr Wady
Hi there! Why did not we chose the letter D for answering question 1? Thanks in advance. Greetings from Egypt. ;-)
Fadybwadie
Can the answer to Q. 10 be "becoming furred up"??? Thanks in advance.
Nithinss
Please add me to a WhatsApp group.
Manoj
Do you have any WhatsApp group for IELTS preparation? If yes, please add me to that Group. My number is +91 9493448395.
Gurjant Singh Malhi
Please add me on WhatsApp. My number is 9527000036.
Hardeep
For Question 7, can I write "Raise The Temperature" ?
IELTS Mentor
Hi Vijay, The part in the parentheses () is optional, which means the correct answer would be either 'The fabric' or 'The fabric type'. Your answer would, however, be correct as well.
Vijay
For question 6, if we write 'type of fabric' instead of "the (type of) fabric". Is it wrong?
Ray
The answer of Q7 is correct, but not according to the IELTS test. In IELTS test, all the words you answer should be found in the paragraphs.
Jaspal
For question 2, the correct answer is "A", not "F" because in "F" reservoir is emptied using steam where in "A", it is by water. In the picture, the reservoir is getting emptied using water, not steam.
Mukul
I too wrote it as F (holding over the sink), but I think A would make more sense since it shows emptying of a reservoir.
Sabin
I would like you all to be informed that if the paragraph contains similar but many information its always better to choose that holds less and to the point. For example, 'A) Filling the reservoir'. Your iron is designed to function using tap water. However, it will last longer if you use distilled water. Always unplug the iron before filling the reservoir. -- Always empty the reservoir after use. In my opinion, here you have got information about making the reservoir vacant after use and filling before use. However, it is advised that once a month it's better if you clean it, in paragraph 'F'.
Beth
What makes me think that 'A' is the correct answer for Picture 2 and not 'F' is that there is nothing mentioned in the 2nd picture that how to:
-- Turn the steam control to the off position.
-- Fill the reservoir and turn the thermostat control to maximum.
-- As soon as the indicator light goes out, unplug the iron and, holding it over the sink, turn the steam control to auto-clean.

Only the thing which I can see in the Picture is "holding it over the sink". On the other hand, it clearly fits for the statement which mentioned in Heading A "Always empty the reservoir after use." Hope my imagination is correct. :)

Beth
For Q. 2: I will go with 'F' as it better suits with the overall description of paragraph 'F', like; "holding it over the sink", which we can clearly found in 2nd Picture. But, unfortunately, I was wrong :(, as this task actually took it from the 1st Cambridge IELTS Practice test book and in that the answers are: Answer: D, A, C, E, distilled (water), The (type of) fabric, turn up/increase temperature, calcium deposits//furring up.
Cws
"As soon as the indicator light goes out, unplug the iron and, hold it over the sink, turn the steam control to auto-clean. Any calcium deposits will be washed out by the steam. Continue the procedure until the reservoir is empty." I believe the answer to question 2 is 'F'. It clearly shows hold it over the sink and there is no mention of pressing any button while cleaning the calcium deposits. All is needed is to turn the control to auto-clean.
Thani
Jo; You are correct! The answer to the question 2 is 'A'. The picture illustrates removing of water from the iron. 'F' is incorrect because to clean the iron you need to press the button and hold it until the reservoir is empty.
Ngautam
I think the answer to the question 2 is "F". Thanks. Ngautam.
Jomon Thomas
Answer to the question 2 is "A". Kindly correct if I am wrong. Thanks. Jo.
Ranbir Singh
Hi.