雅思阅读真题（Part 1）
Part 1 · 最近考试：2025.8.30
本篇为雅思阅读真题（Part 1）《Living walls – a successful environmental project》，共 13 题，2025.8.30雅思考试真题回忆，页面提供完整原文、题目、答案与解析，并支持在线机考模式免费练习。本页同时提供 Markdown 版本 供 AI 助手与搜索引擎直接读取。
Gardens planted on vertical walls are useful as well as decorative
A
Canadian entrepreneur Alan Darlington, president of Nedlaw Living Walls and holder of a PhD in plant sciences, admits that people may have a point when they say that academics don't necessarily make good businessmen. While good ideas come up in university labs and classrooms all the time, he acknowledges that bringing them to the marketplace requires a different skill set. Yet Dr Darlington's combination of two exciting green technologies into a single breakthrough innovation is not only a laboratory success story, but the heart of what is today a multi-million-dollar business. And, he says, 'I've been a part of the whole sequence, from working in the lab to making it work as a business.'
B
In fact, Dr Darlington's invention was originally designed with space exploration projects in mind. His work at the University of Guelph's Controlled Environment Systems research facility in Ontario, Canada, involved finding methods to recycle the air which astronauts breathe inside a lunar module or space station. He and his team hit upon the idea of integrating two ideas: the use of natural microbes to deal with polluted air, and the use of plants to restore a contaminated environment.
C
'I guess the big moment was when we saw how we could take those two general ideas … and just tweak them slightly, so the system would work indoors,' Dr Darlington explains. 'There were all kinds of mathematics and engineering, but it was really just "If we did this and this – wow". At the same time, once we started working on the system, we said, "Well, they're not really making many lunar bases". So for his idea to work in business terms, he needed to find a better market for it than space was likely to offer. He therefore began to think about using the same technology to remove harmful substances from the air people breathe inside buildings right here on Earth. 'Developing the project required another three years,' says Dr Darlington. 'It took that long to take an idea that was working really well in a laboratory, and translate it into something that would be effective on an industrial scale,' he recalls.
D
For this phase, the funding he obtained from the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) was key. This organisation provides support to help industries get research done at academic institutions in Ontario. But it may also help recent graduates who have a business idea that originated with the university, by supporting them for up to two years while they get it off the ground.
E
As a result of this support, Dr Darlington was able to set up a company, Nedlaw Living Walls, in 2001. The first living wall, set up in the University of Guelph's new Humbert campus facility in 2004, was followed by another in Toronto the same year. Currently, some 150 living walls are flourishing inside buildings across North America, and they have led to Nedlaw receiving a number of prestigious awards.
F
The projects advertise themselves better than anything else could, according to Dr Darlington. For example, since they installed their largest-ever living wall at Drexel University's Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building in Philadelphia, the company has been contacted by many local people impressed by what they have seen.
G
Soaring as high as five storeys in some cases, brilliant with the cascading greenery of foliage, ferns and flowering plants, the living walls provide an environment which can make being indoors seem like a walk through the rainforest – and they also save companies a lot of expense. The walls include a system which actively moves air over the plants' leaves, roots and growth medium, eliminating at least 90 per cent of the dust present in the air. So business owners don't have to worry about using ventilation systems to bring in fresh air from outside – they can simply let the living wall clean the air for them. There is some evidence that they may cut down sickness among staff who work in the environment, and businesses which have installed them have also found that they improve productivity by making employees feel more cheerful and motivated. As well as ten employees based in their Ontario headquarters, Nedlaw employs teams of subcontractors to look after the walls in distant cities. The plants get monthly maintenance visits as part of the package.
H
"There is a potential for reduced capital and operating expenses," says Dr Darlington. "We have the numbers to support what we're doing, so we can actually substantiate our claims about the improvement in air quality and productivity in a building. In fact, as building firms look for new and better ways to construct the spaces where people work and live, a living wall may well be the most obvious sign of such progressive thinking, acting as a marker of dedication to the green movement and green design."
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答案：astronauts
原文定位：His work at the University of Guelph's Controlled Environment Systems research facility in Ontario, Canada, involved finding methods to recycle the air which astronauts breathe inside a lunar module or space station
同义替换：「research」↔「work」，「could be used again」↔「recycle」
答案：TRUE
原文定位：Canadian entrepreneur Alan Darlington;admits that people may have a point when they say that academics don't necessarily make good businessmen. While good ideas come up in university labs and classrooms all the time, he acknowledges that bringing them to the marketplace requires a different skill set
同义替换：「believes」↔「acknowledges」，「some academics may lack the ability」↔「academics don't necessarily make good businessmen」，「turn their ideas into commercially successful ventures」↔「bringing them to the marketplace」
答案：FALSE
原文定位：At the same time, once we started working on the system, we said, "Well, they're not really making many lunar bases". So for his idea to work in business terms, he needed to find a better market for it than space was likely to offer. He therefore began to think about using the same technology to remove harmful substances from the air people breathe inside buildings right here on Earth
答案：NOT GIVEN
原文定位：Developing the project required another three years,' says Dr Darlington. 'It took that long to take an idea that was working really well in a laboratory, and translate it into something that would be effective on an industrial scale,' he recalls
同义替换：「spend another three years developing the project」↔「Developing the project required another three years」，「It was difficult for Dr Darlington to persuade his team」↔「」
答案：FALSE
原文定位：As well as ten employees based in their Ontario headquarters;Nedlaw employs teams of subcontractors to look after the walls in distant cities;The plants get monthly maintenance visits as part of the package
同义替换：「without any further care」↔「look after the walls」
答案：microbes
原文定位：He and his team hit upon the idea of integrating two ideas: the use of natural microbes to deal with polluted air, and the use of plants to restore a contaminated environment
同义替换：「team」↔「team」，「discovered a method」↔「hit upon the idea」，「plants」↔「plants」
答案：funding
原文定位：For this phase, the funding he obtained from the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) was key
同义替换：「received」↔「obtained」，「from Ontario Centres of Excellence」↔「from the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE)」
答案：awards
原文定位：Currently, some 150 living walls are flourishing inside buildings across North America, and they have led to Nedlaw receiving a number of prestigious awards
同义替换：「resulted in」↔「have led to」，「several」↔「a number of」，「Nedlaw」↔「Nedlaw」
答案：rainforest
原文定位：Soaring as high as five storeys in some cases, brilliant with the cascading greenery of foliage, ferns and flowering plants, the living walls provide an environment which can make being indoors seem like a walk through the rainforest – and they also save companies a lot of expense
同义替换：「create a pleasant environment」↔「provide an environment」，「similar to」↔「seem like」
答案：dust
原文定位：The walls include a system which actively moves air over the plants' leaves, roots and growth medium, eliminating at least 90 per cent of the dust present in the air
同义替换：「remove」↔「eliminating」，「almost all」↔「at least 90 per cent」，「from the air」↔「present in the air」
答案：ventilation
原文定位：So business owners don't have to worry about using ventilation systems to bring in fresh air from outside – they can simply let the living wall clean the air for them
同义替换：「make it unnecessary」↔「don't have to worry about using」，「equipment」↔「systems」
答案：sickness
原文定位：There is some evidence that they may cut down sickness among staff who work in the environment, and businesses which have installed them have also found that they improve productivity by making employees feel more cheerful and motivated
同义替换：「reduce」↔「cut down」，「employee」↔「staff」
答案：productivity
原文定位：There is some evidence that they may cut down sickness among staff who work in the environment, and businesses which have installed them have also found that they improve productivity by making employees feel more cheerful and motivated
同义替换：「encourage positive feelings」↔「making employees feel more cheerful and motivated」，「increase」↔「improve」