BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 469

Table of Contents

BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 469

IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST

IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 469

READING PASSAGE – 2

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

A multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia is, the Sydney Opera House. Situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the facility is adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens, between Sydney and Farm Coves.

Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, the facility formally opened on 20 October 1973 after a gestation beginning with Utzon’s 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The NSW Government, led by Premier Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958, with Utzon directing construction. The government’s decision to build Utzon’s design is often. overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect’s ultimate resignation.

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Though its name suggests a single venue, the project comprises multiple performance venues which together are among the busiest performing arts centres in the world-hosting over 1,500 performances each year attended by some 1.2 million people. Identified as one of the 20th century’s most distinctive buildings and one of the most famous performing arts centres in the world, the facility is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust, under the auspices of the New South Wales Ministry of the Arts. The Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007.

The facility features a modern expressionist design, with a series of large precast concrete “shells”, each composed of sections of a sphere of 75.2 metres (246 ft 8.6 in) radius, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental podium. The building covers 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres) of land and is 183 m (600 ft) long and 120 m (394 ft) wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 m (82 ft) below sea level.

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Although the roof structures are commonly referred to as “shells” (as in this article), they are precast concrete panels supported by precast concrete ribs, not shells in a strictly structural sense. Though the shells appear uniformly white from a distance, they actually feature a subtle chevron pattern composed of 1,056,006 tiles in two colours: glossy white as well as matte cream. The tiles were manufactured by the Swedish company, Höganäs AB, which generally produced stoneware tiles for the paper-mill industry.

Apart from the tile of the shells and the glass curtain walls of the foyer spaces, the building’s exterior is largely clad with aggregate panels composed of pink granite quarried at Tarana. Significant interior surface treatments also include off-form concrete, Australian white birch plywood supplied from Wauchope in northern New South Wales, and brush box glulam.

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Of the two larger spaces, the Concert Hall is in the western group of shells, the Joan Sutherland Theatre in the eastern group. The scale of the shells was chosen to reflect the internal height requirements, with low entrance spaces, rising over the seating areas up to the high stage towers. The smaller venues (the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse, and The Studio) are within the podium, beneath the Concert Hall. A smaller group of shells set to the western side of the Monumental Steps houses the Bennelong Restaurant. The podium is surrounded by substantial open public spaces, and the large stone-paved forecourt area with the adjacent monumental steps is regularly used as a performance space.

Theatre in the eastern group. The scale of the shells was chosen to reflect the internal height requirements, with low entrance spaces, rising over the seating areas up to the high stage towers. The smaller venues (the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse, and The Studio) are within the podium, beneath the Concert Hall. A smaller group of shells set to the western side of the Monumental Steps houses the Bennelong Restaurant. The podium is surrounded by substantial open public spaces, and the large stone- paved forecourt area with the adjacent monumental steps is regularly used as a performance space.

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It houses the following performance venues: The Concert Hall, with 2,679 seats, the home of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and used by a large number of other concert presenters. It contains the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ, the largest mechanical tracker action organ in the world, with over 10,000 pipes. The Joan Sutherland Theatre, a proscenium theatre with 1,507 seats, the Sydney home of Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet. Until 16 October 2012 it was known as the Opera Theatre.

The Drama Theatre, a proscenium theatre with 544 seats, used by the Sydney Theatre Company and other dance and theatrical presenters. The Playhouse, an end-stage theatre with 398 seats. The Studio, a flexible space with a maximum capacity of 400, depending on configuration. The Utzon Room, a small multi-purpose venue, seating up to 210. The Forecourt, a flexible open-air venue with a wide range of configuration options, including the possibility of utilising the Monumental Steps as audience seating, used for a range of community events and major outdoor performances. The Forecourt will be closed to visitors and performances in 2011-2014 to construct a new entrance tunnel to a rebuilt loading dock for the Joan Sutherland Theatre.

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The building also houses a recording studio, cafes, restaurants and bars and retail outlets. Guided tours are available, including a frequent tour of the front-of-house spaces, and a daily backstage tour that takes visitors backstage to see areas normally reserved for performers and crew members.

The Opera House backed by the Sydney Harbour Bridge, from the eastern Botanic Gardens. Sydney Opera House opened the way for the immensely complex geometries of some modern architecture. The design was one of the first examples of the use of computer-aided design to design complex shapes. The Opera House was formally opened by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on 20 October 1973.

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Questions 15-18

Write YES, NO OR NOT GIVEN for the following statements in boxes 15-19 on your answer sheet,

YES – if the statement agrees with the information

NO – if the statement contradicts the given information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this at all

15. Sydney opera house is one of the demanding performing art centres in the midst of all the countries.

16. Sydney opera house is the most idiosyncratic building and most eminent performing art centre in Australia.

17. Planned by Danish architect Torn Utzon, it opened in 20^th century and became UNESCO world legacy site in 21^th century.

18. Throughout the work the edifice was under the direction of UTZON.

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Questions 19-25

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS to complete the table.

VENU	PURPOSE
Concert Hall 20…………………..	Used by 19………………….. presenters The Australian Ballet
The Drama Theatre	Dance and 21………………….. presenter
22…………………..	A versatile venue
23.…………………..	Community events and outdoor shows
24.…………………..	An end stage theater
25.…………………..	A flexible space for with capacity of 400 people