Gapped reading 3

Read the article about the effects of climate change in the UK. Five sentences have been removed. Which sentence A-F fits each gap (1-5)? There is one extra sentence you do not need to use.

Unexpected challenges from environmental change

Climate change is a long-term change in weather patterns over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It is one of the greatest environmental issues of our time.

The effect of changes in our climate has been a hot topic for many years. (----- 1 -----)  As weather patterns become more serious, railways, roads, and power water supplies also need to be protected.

Scientists say that higher temperatures and rainstorms could affect wi-fi communications. In addition, wetter winters and drier summers might lead to subsidence – the sinking of the ground – damaging underground cables. So, what does that mean for people who need to use these communications? If climate change affects the quality of the signal, or there is no signal due to extreme changes in temperature, people will clearly be disadvantaged. It would be very serious if communication systems were not working in the height of an emergency. (----- 2 -----)

The Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, recently explained the government’s plans to take action. (----- 3 -----) However, if these facilities cannot deal with the increase in floods and storms likely to accompany rising temperatures, the money will have been wasted, she warned. Speaking at Blackfriars Railway Station in London, which a UK rail company says is being redeveloped with the long-term effects of climate change in mind, Ms Spelman said the UK economy would not be able to grow if infrastructure – transport and communications networks and reliable energy and water supplies – failed.

Ms Spelman explained that our economy is built on this infrastructure. But it could not grow if there are repeated power failures, or goods cannot be transported because roads are flooded and railways have been damaged, or if heavy rainfall or high temperatures negatively affect wi-fi signals. She also asked for help from British businesses. (----- 4 -----)

A government report published recently outlines how planning and design of new systems needs to consider the effect of climate change. This is especially important as many projects will still be there in 50 to 100 years from now. (----- 5 -----) It also highlights the role of the government in protecting the UK from the effects of climate change. Rail Minister Theresa Villiers explained that although the UK government needs to manage money very carefully, it is committed to spending considerable sums on transport through vital projects such as the Thameslink upgrade, Crossrail, the proposed High Speed rail network and more electrification of the rail network.

The new Blackfriars Railway station in London is being fitted with technology including sun pipes, rainwater harvesting systems, insulation and solar panels to make it less reliant on water and electricity networks. Perhaps this station will lead the way for others all over the country to become more environmentally friendly.

A  The study gives details of what action needs to be taken by the owners of transport networks, for example.

B  And now government ministers in the UK have warned that the internet could be badly affected due to climate change.

C  Over the next five years, it intends to spend around £200billion on UK transport and power supplies.

D  According to Ms Spelman, they could develop new technologies to help our current systems better deal with climate change.

E   She was sure that it was essential for the work to be done immediately.

F   This is why the issue must be dealt with.