Original article

“Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries” — Jennifer Chu, MIT News, October 8, 2024.

Original article: https://news.mit.edu/2024/solar-powered-desalination-system-requires-no-extra-batteries-1008

Access checked: October 26, 2026 (UTC+8). Free to read in full without payment or login. This is a selected older article, not news published today. Read the full English text at the source; the exercises below are original.

Reading plan

Suggested level: B2–C1 (editorial estimate, not an official IELTS rating). Time: About 15 minutes to read, plus 5 minutes for the questions.

Introduction

今天练习对照新旧方案、定位数字、识别过度推断。先读原文，再答题；遇到技术词不必逐个查字典，优先抓住因果关系。

Vocabulary

  • desalination — 脱盐；淡化。
  • brackish — 微咸的。
  • groundwater — 地下水。
  • prototype — 原型。
  • harness — 利用。
  • membrane — 膜。
  • fluctuation — 波动。
  • scale up — 扩大规模。

Reading comprehension

These are original practice questions, not official IELTS questions. For questions 1, 4, and 5, choose TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN.

1. The new system keeps its water-production rate constant.

Reference answer

FALSE. Its production adjusts as available solar power changes.

定位：开头的新系统介绍。

2. Short answer — NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS: What force removes salt ions during electrodialysis?

Reference answer

electric field

定位：Pump and flow。勿与反渗透使用的压力混淆。

3. Sentence completion — ONE NUMBER: The earlier design recalculated its operating settings every ___ minutes.

Reference answer

3

定位：Pump and flow 的旧方案说明。注意题目问旧方案。

4. During the trial, the new prototype directly used more than 94% of the panels’ electrical output on average.

Reference answer

TRUE.

定位：Solar commands。这是电能利用比例，不是脱盐率。

5. The article gives an exact retail price for a commercial unit.

Reference answer

NOT GIVEN. No exact retail price is supplied.

定位：文末的后续开发计划。

Reading strategy

给每个数字标注“对象、单位、新方案或旧方案”。不要把运行指标当作水质指标，也不要把未来开发计划当作已经上市。

Expression practice

以下例句为自拟，并非原文引文。

in response to — 响应；作为对……的反应。

Example: I changed my study plan in response to feedback.

rather than — 而不是。

Example: Check the relevant paragraph rather than relying on memory.

Review

标出每题定位段落，解释 FALSE 是证据相反，NOT GIVEN 是证据不足。