Mở Bài
Chủ đề Impact Of Urban Sprawl On Transportation Systems (Tác động của sự mở rộng đô thị đến hệ thống giao thông) là một trong những chủ đề phổ biến trong IELTS Reading, thường xuyên xuất hiện dưới nhiều dạng bài đọc khác nhau. Đây là một chủ đề có tính thời sự cao, liên quan trực tiếp đến xu hướng đô thị hóa toàn cầu và những thách thức về giao thông mà các thành phố lớn đang phải đối mặt.
Trong bài viết này, bạn sẽ được trải nghiệm một bài thi IELTS Reading hoàn chỉnh với 3 passages có độ khó tăng dần từ Easy đến Hard. Bài thi bao gồm đầy đủ 40 câu hỏi với các dạng câu hỏi đa dạng giống như trong kỳ thi thật, kèm theo đáp án chi tiết và giải thích rõ ràng. Bạn cũng sẽ học được hàng chục từ vựng quan trọng liên quan đến chủ đề đô thị hóa và giao thông vận tải, cùng với các kỹ thuật làm bài hiệu quả.
Bài thi này phù hợp cho học viên có trình độ từ band 5.0 trở lên, giúp bạn làm quen với format thi thật và xây dựng kỹ năng đọc hiểu học thuật một cách bài bản. Hãy dành 60 phút để hoàn thành bài thi và sau đó đối chiếu với đáp án để đánh giá trình độ của mình.
1. Hướng Dẫn Làm Bài IELTS Reading
Tổng Quan Về IELTS Reading Test
IELTS Reading Test là một phần thi quan trọng trong kỳ thi IELTS Academic, yêu cầu thí sinh hoàn thành 40 câu hỏi trong vòng 60 phút. Bài thi bao gồm 3 passages với độ dài và độ khó tăng dần, tổng cộng khoảng 2,000-2,750 từ.
Phân bổ thời gian khuyến nghị:
- Passage 1: 15-17 phút (độ khó Easy – Band 5.0-6.5)
- Passage 2: 18-20 phút (độ khó Medium – Band 6.0-7.5)
- Passage 3: 23-25 phút (độ khó Hard – Band 7.0-9.0)
Lưu ý rằng không có thời gian riêng để chép đáp án sang phiếu trả lời, vì vậy bạn cần quản lý thời gian hiệu quả và ghi đáp án trực tiếp vào answer sheet trong quá trình làm bài.
Các Dạng Câu Hỏi Trong Đề Này
Đề thi mẫu này bao gồm đầy đủ các dạng câu hỏi phổ biến trong IELTS Reading:
- Multiple Choice – Câu hỏi trắc nghiệm nhiều lựa chọn
- True/False/Not Given – Xác định thông tin đúng, sai hay không được đề cập
- Yes/No/Not Given – Xác định quan điểm của tác giả
- Matching Headings – Nối tiêu đề với đoạn văn
- Sentence Completion – Hoàn thành câu
- Summary Completion – Hoàn thành đoạn tóm tắt
- Matching Features – Nối thông tin với đặc điểm
- Short-answer Questions – Câu hỏi trả lời ngắn
2. IELTS Reading Practice Test
PASSAGE 1 – The Suburban Expansion Challenge
Độ khó: Easy (Band 5.0-6.5)
Thời gian đề xuất: 15-17 phút
Over the past few decades, cities around the world have experienced unprecedented growth, leading to a phenomenon known as urban sprawl. This term describes the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas into the surrounding countryside, characterized by low-density residential housing, shopping centres, and office parks that spread across large areas of land. While this expansion has provided many people with opportunities to own larger homes with gardens in quieter neighbourhoods, it has also created significant challenges for transportation infrastructure.
Urban sprawl typically occurs when people move away from city centres to suburban areas, seeking more affordable housing and a better quality of life. However, this migration pattern has profound effects on how people travel. In traditional compact cities, many residents can walk, cycle, or use public transport to reach their workplaces, schools, and shops. Suburban developments, on the other hand, are often designed with automobile dependence in mind, featuring wide streets, large parking lots, and limited sidewalks or bicycle paths.
The impact on transportation systems is multifaceted. First, as people move further from city centres, average commuting distances increase dramatically. Studies have shown that residents of sprawling suburbs often travel two to three times further than those living in compact urban areas. This increased distance translates directly into more time spent in vehicles and higher fuel consumption. A worker living in a distant suburb might spend up to two hours each day commuting, compared to just 30 minutes for someone living closer to the city centre.
Second, the dispersed nature of suburban development makes it economically challenging to provide efficient public transportation. Bus routes and train lines work best when there are many passengers concentrated along specific corridors. In sprawling suburbs, where homes and businesses are spread thinly across large areas, it becomes difficult to justify the cost of frequent public transport services. This creates a vicious cycle: poor public transport forces people to rely on private cars, which in turn reduces the potential ridership that would make better public transport viable.
Traffic congestion represents another major consequence of urban sprawl. As more people drive into city centres from distant suburbs during peak hours, roads become overwhelmed. Many cities have responded by building more highways and widening existing roads, but research has shown that this often provides only temporary relief. This phenomenon, known as induced demand, occurs because new road capacity encourages more people to drive, ultimately leading to congestion levels similar to or worse than before the expansion.
The environmental impact of sprawl-related transportation is considerable. Private vehicles produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants. When millions of commuters drive long distances daily, the cumulative effect on air quality and climate change becomes substantial. Urban sprawl has been identified as a major contributor to increased greenhouse gas emissions in many developed countries, with transportation from suburban areas accounting for a growing share of total emissions.
Infrastructure maintenance costs also rise with urban sprawl. Roads, bridges, water pipes, and electrical lines must extend over much greater distances to serve spread-out communities. Per capita, the cost of maintaining infrastructure in sprawling areas is significantly higher than in compact cities. Some municipalities have found that the tax revenue generated from low-density suburban development fails to cover the long-term costs of maintaining the infrastructure required to serve these areas.
Despite these challenges, some planners argue that smart design can mitigate the negative transportation impacts of suburban growth. Transit-oriented development, which creates denser, mixed-use communities around public transport stations, offers one solution. By concentrating homes, shops, and offices near train or bus stations, these developments reduce automobile dependence while still allowing people to live in suburban settings. Several cities have successfully implemented such schemes, demonstrating that suburban expansion does not inevitably lead to transportation problems.
Questions 1-5
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Passage 1?
Write:
- TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
- FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
- NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
- Urban sprawl always results in people having a lower quality of life than in city centres.
- Suburban residents typically travel longer distances than people living in compact urban areas.
- Building more highways permanently solves traffic congestion problems.
- The cost of maintaining infrastructure per person is higher in sprawling areas than in compact cities.
- All urban planners believe that suburban expansion necessarily causes transportation difficulties.
Questions 6-9
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- Urban sprawl is characterized by __ that spread across large land areas.
- Suburban developments are often designed with __ in mind.
- The phenomenon where new roads lead to more driving is called __.
- Some cities have implemented __ to reduce automobile dependence in suburban areas.
Questions 10-13
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
-
According to the passage, urban sprawl occurs mainly because:
- A. Cities force people to move to suburbs
- B. People want cheaper housing and better living conditions
- C. Governments require suburban development
- D. Public transport is too expensive in cities
-
Why is public transportation difficult to provide in sprawling suburbs?
- A. People prefer to drive cars
- B. The population density is too low
- C. It costs too much to build train stations
- D. Suburban residents refuse to use buses
-
What does the passage say about the environmental impact of urban sprawl?
- A. It is minimal and not worth considering
- B. It mainly affects local air quality only
- C. It contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions
- D. It can be completely eliminated by new technology
-
The passage suggests that transit-oriented development:
- A. Is impossible to implement in practice
- B. Forces people to give up suburban living
- C. Can reduce car dependence in suburban areas
- D. Only works in small cities
PASSAGE 2 – Rethinking Urban Mobility in an Age of Sprawl
Độ khó: Medium (Band 6.0-7.5)
Thời gian đề xuất: 18-20 phút
The relationship between urban form and transportation has become one of the most pressing concerns for urban planners, policymakers, and environmental scientists alike. As metropolitan areas continue their outward expansion, the traditional models of transportation planning are being fundamentally challenged. The question is no longer simply how to accommodate growth, but how to create sustainable transportation systems that can function effectively within the spatial constraints imposed by sprawling development patterns.
Historical analysis reveals that the current transportation challenges facing sprawling cities are, in many ways, self-perpetuating. Throughout the twentieth century, particularly in North America and Australia, urban planning policies actively encouraged low-density suburban development. Zoning regulations separated residential areas from commercial and industrial zones, while government subsidies for highway construction and homeownership made suburban living increasingly attractive. These policies were often predicated on the assumption that private automobile ownership would continue to expand, and that building more roads would adequately address transportation needs.
However, this automobile-centric approach has proven increasingly problematic. Research by urban economists has demonstrated that cities with more sprawling development patterns experience significantly higher transportation costs as a percentage of household income. A comprehensive study across fifty major metropolitan areas found that families in sprawling regions spend, on average, 25% of their income on transportation, compared to just 15% for those in more compact cities. This economic burden falls disproportionately on lower-income households, which often have no choice but to live in distant suburbs where housing is more affordable, yet must bear the cost of owning and operating vehicles to access employment opportunities.
The modal split—the distribution of trips among different transportation modes—varies dramatically between compact and sprawling urban areas. In cities characterized by sprawl, private automobiles account for 85-90% of all trips, with public transportation, walking, and cycling comprising the remainder. By contrast, in denser urban environments with well-developed public transport networks, automobile trips may represent only 40-50% of total travel, with the rest distributed among mass transit, active transportation, and other modes. This difference has cascading effects on everything from infrastructure investment priorities to public health outcomes.
Traffic engineers and transportation planners have long recognized that network efficiency decreases as sprawl intensifies. The dispersed origins and destinations characteristic of sprawling regions create what researchers call “many-to-many” travel patterns, where numerous individuals are trying to reach numerous different locations, rather than the “many-to-one” patterns of traditional cities where most people commute to a central business district. These complex travel patterns make it extremely difficult to provide efficient public transportation, as no single route can serve a significant proportion of travelers.
Contemporary urban theorists have proposed various strategies to address the transportation challenges posed by sprawl. New Urbanism, a planning philosophy that emerged in the 1980s, advocates for creating walkable, mixed-use communities with diverse housing types and good public transport connections. Proponents argue that even within sprawling metropolitan regions, it is possible to create higher-density nodes that function more like traditional urban neighbourhoods. Several such developments have been constructed, with varying degrees of success in achieving their stated goals of reducing automobile dependence.
Smart growth represents another influential framework for managing urban expansion. This approach emphasizes compact development, transit-oriented design, and the preservation of open space. Smart growth policies typically include measures such as urban growth boundaries to prevent unlimited sprawl, density bonuses to encourage developers to build more housing units on smaller parcels, and requirements for mixed-use development that combines residential and commercial functions. Cities including Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia, have implemented smart growth policies with measurable impacts on transportation patterns, though critics argue that these measures can increase housing costs by restricting supply.
The advent of new transportation technologies adds another layer of complexity to the urban sprawl equation. Ride-sharing services, autonomous vehicles, and electric cars are often touted as potential solutions to sprawl-related transportation problems. However, transportation researchers caution that technology alone cannot overcome the fundamental inefficiencies of sprawling urban form. Indeed, some studies suggest that ride-sharing services may actually increase vehicle miles traveled by making car travel more convenient and by serving as a substitute for public transit rather than complementing it.
Data-driven approaches to transportation planning are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Planners now use GPS tracking, mobile phone data, and sophisticated modeling software to understand travel patterns in unprecedented detail. This granular information allows for more targeted interventions, such as demand-responsive transit services that adjust routes and schedules based on real-time passenger needs. Such innovations may help address some of the challenges of providing efficient transportation in sprawling areas, though they remain complementary rather than alternative solutions to fundamental questions of urban form.
The debate over urban sprawl and transportation continues to evolve as new evidence emerges and societal priorities shift. Climate change concerns have elevated the importance of reducing transportation-related emissions, while growing awareness of social equity issues has highlighted how sprawl can limit opportunities for those without access to private vehicles. Meanwhile, changing preferences among younger generations, who show greater interest in urban living and less attachment to automobile ownership, may gradually reshape development patterns. The coming decades will likely see continued experimentation with different approaches to managing the transportation impacts of urban expansion, with outcomes that will significantly influence the sustainability and livability of cities worldwide.
Questions 14-18
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
-
According to the passage, twentieth-century urban planning policies:
- A. Deliberately tried to prevent suburban development
- B. Were based on the expectation of continued car ownership growth
- C. Focused mainly on public transportation expansion
- D. Successfully predicted current transportation challenges
-
The research mentioned in the third paragraph shows that:
- A. All families spend the same proportion of income on transportation
- B. Lower-income families benefit most from suburban living
- C. Sprawling regions impose higher transportation costs on households
- D. Compact cities are always more expensive to live in
-
What does the passage say about “many-to-many” travel patterns?
- A. They are easier to serve with public transport
- B. They only occur in traditional cities
- C. They make efficient public transportation difficult
- D. They reduce traffic congestion
-
According to the passage, New Urbanism aims to:
- A. Eliminate all suburban development
- B. Create walkable, mixed-use communities
- C. Prioritize highway construction
- D. Prevent any new urban development
-
The passage suggests that new transportation technologies:
- A. Will definitely solve all sprawl-related problems
- B. Cannot overcome fundamental inefficiencies of sprawl
- C. Should replace public transportation entirely
- D. Are not being developed quickly enough
Questions 19-23
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Cities with sprawling development show a very different 19. __ compared to compact urban areas. In sprawling cities, private cars account for 85-90% of trips, while 20. __, walking, and cycling make up the rest. Smart growth policies include measures like 21. __ to limit endless expansion, and requirements for 22. __ that combines residential and commercial uses. Modern planners now use 23. __ and mobile phone data to understand how people travel in great detail.
Questions 24-26
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Passage 2?
Write:
- YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
- NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
- NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
- Smart growth policies have been proven to reduce housing costs in all cities where they are implemented.
- Ride-sharing services might increase the total distance traveled by vehicles.
- Younger generations show less interest in owning automobiles than previous generations.
PASSAGE 3 – The Socio-Economic Paradigm of Metropolitan Dispersion and Transportation Infrastructure
Độ khó: Hard (Band 7.0-9.0)
Thời gian đề xuất: 23-25 phút
The phenomenon of urban sprawl represents far more than a mere spatial reconfiguration of metropolitan areas; it embodies a complex interplay of economic forces, social preferences, institutional frameworks, and technological capabilities that collectively shape the built environment and, consequently, the transportation systems that serve it. Contemporary scholarly discourse has increasingly recognized that the relationship between urban morphology and transportation infrastructure is bidirectional and dynamically reinforcing, creating path dependencies that prove remarkably resistant to policy interventions. Understanding this relationship requires a multidimensional analytical framework that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries and incorporates insights from urban economics, transport engineering, environmental science, and social geography.
Theoretical perspectives on urban sprawl have evolved considerably over recent decades. Early conceptualizations, rooted in the monocentric city model developed by urban economists in the 1960s, posited that urban spatial structure could be understood primarily through the lens of rational economic actors making trade-offs between housing costs and commuting costs. According to this model, households locate themselves at varying distances from the central business district based on their willingness to pay for accessibility versus space. While this framework provides useful insights, it has been criticized for its oversimplification of complex urban dynamics and its failure to adequately account for polycentric development patterns, non-work trips, and the role of institutional factors such as zoning regulations and infrastructure investment decisions.
More recent theoretical approaches have emphasized the importance of agglomeration economies and diseconomies in shaping urban form. Agglomeration economies—the benefits that firms and individuals derive from spatial proximity to others—create centripetal forces that encourage concentration. Conversely, congestion, pollution, and high land costs in urban cores generate centrifugal forces promoting dispersion. The equilibrium between these forces, mediated by transportation technology and costs, determines the ultimate spatial configuration of metropolitan areas. Crucially, the transportations systems themselves are not exogenous to this process but are shaped by and, in turn, shape the spatial distribution of activities.
The transportation implications of sprawl extend well beyond the commonly cited issues of congestion and environmental degradation. From a systems perspective, sprawling development patterns create what can be termed “transportation system fragility“—a condition in which the overall system becomes increasingly vulnerable to disruptions due to excessive dependence on a single mode (private automobiles) and a lack of redundancy. When alternative modes are not viable options for most residents, any disruption to the automobile system—whether from fuel price spikes, natural disasters, or infrastructure failures—can have cascading effects throughout the entire metropolitan economy.
Empirical research employing quasi-experimental methods has sought to quantify the causal impact of urban form on transportation outcomes. A particularly influential study utilized a difference-in-differences approach to examine how changes in land use regulations affected travel behavior in metropolitan areas. The findings indicated that statistically significant reductions in vehicle miles traveled and modal shifts toward public transit and active transportation could be achieved through policies promoting compact development, though the magnitude of these effects varied considerably depending on local context and implementation specifics. The study also highlighted the importance of temporal dynamics, demonstrating that the full effects of land use changes on transportation patterns often take decades to fully materialize, as the built environment evolves only gradually.
The fiscal dimensions of sprawl-related transportation challenges merit particular attention. Life-cycle cost analyses reveal that the total public expenditure required to provide and maintain transportation infrastructure in sprawling regions far exceeds that needed in more compact areas on a per capita basis. This fiscal burden encompasses not only the obvious costs of road construction and maintenance but also less visible expenses such as emergency services response times, school bus operations, and the opportunity costs of land devoted to transportation infrastructure rather than productive uses. Several municipalities have commissioned comprehensive fiscal impact studies that demonstrate the long-term financial unsustainability of continued sprawling development, yet political economy considerations often impede the implementation of policies to address these issues.
Social equity considerations add another crucial dimension to the sprawl-transportation nexus. While sprawling suburbs were historically associated with upward mobility and homeownership opportunities for middle-class families, contemporary patterns reveal a more complex picture. The suburbanization of poverty—the phenomenon whereby an increasing proportion of low-income households reside in suburban locations—has created situations where those with the fewest financial resources face the highest transportation costs. These households often experience what researchers term “forced car ownership,” where automobile access becomes necessary for employment and basic activities despite representing an onerous financial burden. This dynamic has profound implications for social mobility and intergenerational poverty, as high transportation costs consume resources that might otherwise be invested in education or other forms of human capital development.
The governance challenges posed by sprawl are particularly acute given the fragmented institutional landscape characteristic of most metropolitan regions. Transportation planning typically involves multiple jurisdictions—municipal, county, regional, and state or provincial authorities—each with its own priorities, funding mechanisms, and regulatory frameworks. This institutional fragmentation complicates efforts to implement coordinated transportation and land use planning. Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) were created in part to address this challenge, yet their effectiveness has been limited by constrained authority, political constraints, and conflicts between regional objectives and local preferences. Some scholars have advocated for metropolitan governance reforms that would grant stronger regional authorities greater power over land use and transportation decisions, though such reforms face substantial political obstacles.
Prospective scenarios for the future evolution of urban sprawl and transportation systems involve considerable uncertainty. Technological optimists envision that autonomous vehicles, on-demand mobility services, and telecommunications advances will fundamentally decouple spatial structure from transportation challenges, potentially enabling continued sprawl without its current negative consequences. Skeptics counter that without changes to fundamental economic and institutional structures, new technologies will simply enable “sprawl 2.0“—an even more dispersed settlement pattern with continued automobile dependence and environmental impacts. The actual trajectory will likely depend on the complex interaction of technological change, policy choices, economic conditions, and evolving social preferences, with substantial variation across different metropolitan contexts.
Normative questions about the desirable direction of urban development remain contentious. While academic research increasingly points to the benefits of more compact, transit-oriented development patterns, debates continue regarding the extent to which policy should actively reshape urban form versus accommodate revealed preferences for lower-density living. These debates inevitably engage fundamental questions about individual liberty, collective welfare, environmental stewardship, and the appropriate role of government in shaping the built environment. The resolution of these questions will significantly influence not only the physical form of future cities but also their social character, economic performance, and environmental sustainability.
Hình ảnh minh họa tác động của sự mở rộng đô thị đến hệ thống giao thông và môi trường
Questions 27-31
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
-
The monocentric city model has been criticized because it:
- A. Is too complicated for practical use
- B. Oversimplifies urban dynamics and ignores important factors
- C. Only applies to European cities
- D. Was developed too recently to be reliable
-
According to the passage, “transportation system fragility” refers to:
- A. The physical weakness of roads and bridges
- B. Vulnerability due to over-reliance on one transport mode
- C. The inability to build new infrastructure
- D. Problems with public transportation systems only
-
The difference-in-differences study mentioned in the passage found that:
- A. Land use changes had no impact on transportation
- B. The effects of land use changes appeared immediately
- C. Compact development policies could reduce vehicle miles traveled
- D. All metropolitan areas responded identically to policy changes
-
What does the passage say about the suburbanization of poverty?
- A. It has made suburban areas more affordable for everyone
- B. It creates situations where poor households face high transportation costs
- C. It only occurs in developing countries
- D. It has been completely solved by public policy
-
The passage suggests that technological optimists believe:
- A. Current sprawl patterns should be maintained
- B. New technologies will separate spatial structure from transportation problems
- C. Autonomous vehicles will make sprawl worse
- D. Technology is irrelevant to urban planning
Questions 32-36
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- Early theoretical models suggested that households make __ between housing costs and commuting costs.
- The balance between forces encouraging concentration and those promoting dispersion determines the __ of metropolitan areas.
- Studies show that the full effects of land use changes on transportation may take __ to fully appear.
- Low-income suburban residents may experience __, where car access becomes necessary despite financial difficulty.
- Most metropolitan regions have a __ with multiple authorities controlling different aspects of planning.
Questions 37-40
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Passage 3?
Write:
- YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
- NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
- NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
- The relationship between urban form and transportation systems operates in both directions.
- All scholars agree that government should actively reshape urban form toward higher density.
- Metropolitan planning organizations have been completely effective in coordinating regional transportation planning.
- The future development of urban sprawl will depend on multiple interacting factors including technology, policy, and social preferences.
3. Answer Keys – Đáp Án
PASSAGE 1: Questions 1-13
- FALSE
- TRUE
- FALSE
- TRUE
- FALSE
- low-density residential (housing)
- automobile dependence
- induced demand
- transit-oriented development
- B
- B
- C
- C
PASSAGE 2: Questions 14-26
- B
- C
- C
- B
- B
- modal split
- mass transit
- urban growth boundaries
- mixed-use development
- GPS tracking
- NO
- YES
- YES
PASSAGE 3: Questions 27-40
- B
- B
- C
- B
- B
- trade-offs
- spatial configuration (hoặc spatial distribution)
- decades
- forced car ownership
- fragmented institutional landscape
4. Giải Thích Đáp Án Chi Tiết
Passage 1 – Giải Thích
Câu 1: FALSE
- Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
- Từ khóa: urban sprawl, always, lower quality of life
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 1, dòng 3-5
- Giải thích: Câu hỏi sử dụng từ “always” (luôn luôn), nhưng bài đọc nói rằng sự mở rộng đô thị “has provided many people with opportunities to own larger homes with gardens in quieter neighbourhoods” – điều này cho thấy nó có thể cải thiện chất lượng sống cho một số người. Do đó, việc khẳng định nó “luôn luôn” dẫn đến chất lượng sống thấp hơn là SAI.
Câu 2: TRUE
- Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
- Từ khóa: suburban residents, travel longer distances, compact urban areas
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 3, dòng 2-4
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói rõ: “residents of sprawling suburbs often travel two to three times further than those living in compact urban areas” – cư dân ngoại ô thường di chuyển xa hơn gấp 2-3 lần so với những người sống ở khu vực đô thị gọn gàng.
Câu 3: FALSE
- Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
- Từ khóa: building highways, permanently solves, traffic congestion
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 5, dòng 3-5
- Giải thích: Bài đọc chỉ ra rằng việc xây thêm đường cao tốc “often provides only temporary relief” (chỉ mang lại sự giảm nhẹ tạm thời). Từ “permanently” (vĩnh viễn) trong câu hỏi mâu thuẫn với “temporary” trong bài.
Câu 6: low-density residential (housing)
- Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
- Từ khóa: urban sprawl, characterized by
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 1, dòng 2-3
- Giải thích: Bài đọc mô tả urban sprawl bằng cụm “characterized by low-density residential housing, shopping centres, and office parks”. Đáp án lấy đúng cụm từ này.
Câu 10: B
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: urban sprawl occurs, mainly because
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 1-2
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói: “Urban sprawl typically occurs when people move away from city centres to suburban areas, seeking more affordable housing and a better quality of life” – mọi người tìm kiếm nhà ở giá cả phải chăng hơn và chất lượng sống tốt hơn, tương ứng với đáp án B.
Passage 2 – Giải Thích
Câu 14: B
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: twentieth-century, urban planning policies
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 5-7
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói rõ: “These policies were often predicated on the assumption that private automobile ownership would continue to expand” – các chính sách này dựa trên giả định rằng quyền sở hữu ô tô tư nhân sẽ tiếp tục mở rộng.
Câu 19: modal split
- Dạng câu hỏi: Summary Completion
- Từ khóa: different, compared to compact urban areas
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 4, dòng 1
- Giải thích: Bài đọc bắt đầu đoạn 4 với: “The modal split—the distribution of trips among different transportation modes—varies dramatically between compact and sprawling urban areas.” Đây chính là khái niệm được hỏi.
Câu 24: NO
- Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
- Từ khóa: smart growth policies, proven, reduce housing costs, all cities
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 7, dòng 6-7
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói: “critics argue that these measures can increase housing costs by restricting supply” – các nhà phê bình cho rằng những biện pháp này có thể làm tăng chi phí nhà ở. Điều này mâu thuẫn với việc khẳng định chúng “đã được chứng minh làm giảm chi phí nhà ở”.
Câu 25: YES
- Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
- Từ khóa: ride-sharing services, increase, total distance traveled
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 8, dòng 4-5
- Giải thích: Bài đọc đề cập: “some studies suggest that ride-sharing services may actually increase vehicle miles traveled” – một số nghiên cứu cho thấy dịch vụ chia sẻ xe có thể thực sự làm tăng số dặm di chuyển của xe.
Passage 3 – Giải Thích
Câu 27: B
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: monocentric city model, criticized
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 6-9
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói rõ: “this framework…has been criticized for its oversimplification of complex urban dynamics and its failure to adequately account for…” – mô hình bị chỉ trích vì đơn giản hóa quá mức và không tính đến các yếu tố quan trọng.
Câu 32: trade-offs
- Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
- Từ khóa: households make, between housing costs and commuting costs
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 3-4
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói: “rational economic actors making trade-offs between housing costs and commuting costs” – các chủ thể kinh tế lý trí đưa ra sự cân đối/đánh đổi giữa chi phí nhà ở và chi phí đi lại.
Câu 37: YES
- Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
- Từ khóa: relationship, urban form, transportation systems, both directions
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 1, dòng 4-5
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói rõ: “the relationship between urban morphology and transportation infrastructure is bidirectional and dynamically reinforcing” – mối quan hệ là hai chiều và củng cố lẫn nhau.
Câu 38: NO
- Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
- Từ khóa: all scholars agree, government should, actively reshape, higher density
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 10, dòng 2-4
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói: “debates continue regarding the extent to which policy should actively reshape urban form versus accommodate revealed preferences” – các cuộc tranh luận vẫn tiếp tục, cho thấy không phải tất cả học giả đều đồng ý.
Câu 40: YES
- Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
- Từ khóa: future development, depend on, multiple interacting factors
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 9, dòng 4-6
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói: “The actual trajectory will likely depend on the complex interaction of technological change, policy choices, economic conditions, and evolving social preferences” – quỹ đạo thực tế sẽ phụ thuộc vào sự tương tác phức tạp của nhiều yếu tố.
5. Từ Vựng Quan Trọng Theo Passage
Passage 1 – Essential Vocabulary
| Từ vựng | Loại từ | Phiên âm | Nghĩa tiếng Việt | Ví dụ từ bài | Collocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unprecedented | adj | /ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd/ | chưa từng có | unprecedented growth | unprecedented scale/level |
| sprawl | n/v | /sprɔːl/ | sự mở rộng, lan rộng | urban sprawl | urban/suburban sprawl |
| infrastructure | n | /ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃə(r)/ | cơ sở hạ tầng | transportation infrastructure | transport/public infrastructure |
| migration | n | /maɪˈɡreɪʃn/ | sự di cư | migration pattern | mass/rural-urban migration |
| automobile dependence | n phrase | /ˈɔːtəməbiːl dɪˈpendəns/ | sự phụ thuộc vào ô tô | designed with automobile dependence in mind | reduce automobile dependence |
| multifaceted | adj | /ˌmʌltɪˈfæsɪtɪd/ | nhiều mặt, đa dạng | multifaceted impact | multifaceted problem/approach |
| commuting | n | /kəˈmjuːtɪŋ/ | việc đi lại (đi làm) | average commuting distances | daily commuting, commuting time |
| dispersed | adj | /dɪˈspɜːst/ | phân tán | dispersed nature | widely/thinly dispersed |
| vicious cycle | n phrase | /ˈvɪʃəs ˈsaɪkl/ | vòng luẩn quẩn | creates a vicious cycle | break/escape a vicious cycle |
| congestion | n | /kənˈdʒestʃən/ | sự tắc nghẽn | traffic congestion | traffic/road congestion |
| induced demand | n phrase | /ɪnˈdjuːst dɪˈmɑːnd/ | cầu được tạo ra | phenomenon known as induced demand | generate induced demand |
| per capita | adv | /pəː ˈkæpɪtə/ | trên đầu người | per capita cost | per capita income/spending |
Passage 2 – Essential Vocabulary
| Từ vựng | Loại từ | Phiên âm | Nghĩa tiếng Việt | Ví dụ từ bài | Collocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pressing concerns | n phrase | /ˈpresɪŋ kənˈsɜːnz/ | mối quan tâm cấp bách | most pressing concerns | address pressing concerns |
| policymakers | n | /ˈpɒləsiˌmeɪkəz/ | nhà hoạch định chính sách | urban planners, policymakers | government policymakers |
| predicated on | v phrase | /ˈpredɪkeɪtɪd ɒn/ | dựa trên | were predicated on the assumption | predicated on the belief |
| automobile-centric | adj | /ˈɔːtəməbiːl ˈsentrɪk/ | lấy ô tô làm trung tâm | automobile-centric approach | automobile-centric planning |
| modal split | n phrase | /ˈməʊdl splɪt/ | sự phân chia các phương thức | the modal split varies | analyze modal split |
| cascading effects | n phrase | /kæsˈkeɪdɪŋ ɪˈfekts/ | hiệu ứng dây chuyền | has cascading effects | create cascading effects |
| dispersed | adj | /dɪˈspɜːst/ | phân tán | dispersed origins and destinations | widely dispersed |
| walkable | adj | /ˈwɔːkəbl/ | có thể đi bộ | walkable, mixed-use communities | walkable neighborhood |
| transit-oriented | adj | /ˈtrænzɪt ˈɔːrientɪd/ | hướng tới giao thông công cộng | transit-oriented design | transit-oriented development |
| urban growth boundaries | n phrase | /ˈɜːbən ɡrəʊθ ˈbaʊndəriz/ | ranh giới tăng trưởng đô thị | urban growth boundaries to prevent sprawl | establish/implement boundaries |
| ride-sharing | n | /raɪd ˈʃeərɪŋ/ | chia sẻ chuyến đi | ride-sharing services | ride-sharing platform/app |
| autonomous vehicles | n phrase | /ɔːˈtɒnəməs ˈviːɪklz/ | xe tự hành | autonomous vehicles are touted | develop autonomous vehicles |
| granular | adj | /ˈɡrænjələ(r)/ | chi tiết, tỉ mỉ | granular information | granular data/detail |
| social equity | n phrase | /ˈsəʊʃl ˈekwəti/ | công bằng xã hội | social equity issues | promote social equity |
| sustainability | n | /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪləti/ | tính bền vững | influence the sustainability | environmental/long-term sustainability |
Passage 3 – Essential Vocabulary
| Từ vựng | Loại từ | Phiên âm | Nghĩa tiếng Việt | Ví dụ từ bài | Collocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| spatial reconfiguration | n phrase | /ˈspeɪʃl riːkənˌfɪɡjəˈreɪʃn/ | sự tái cấu hình không gian | mere spatial reconfiguration | undergo spatial reconfiguration |
| interplay | n | /ˈɪntəpleɪ/ | sự tương tác | complex interplay | dynamic/complex interplay |
| morphology | n | /mɔːˈfɒlədʒi/ | hình thái học | urban morphology | study morphology |
| bidirectional | adj | /ˌbaɪdəˈrekʃənl/ | hai chiều | bidirectional and dynamically reinforcing | bidirectional relationship |
| path dependencies | n phrase | /pɑːθ dɪˈpendənsiz/ | sự phụ thuộc đường đi | creating path dependencies | historical path dependencies |
| monocentric | adj | /ˌmɒnəʊˈsentrɪk/ | đơn trung tâm | monocentric city model | monocentric structure |
| trade-offs | n | /treɪd ɒfs/ | sự đánh đổi | making trade-offs | involve trade-offs |
| agglomeration economies | n phrase | /əˌɡlɒməˈreɪʃn iˈkɒnəmiz/ | lợi ích tập tụ | importance of agglomeration economies | benefit from agglomeration economies |
| centripetal forces | n phrase | /senˈtrɪpɪtl ˈfɔːsɪz/ | lực hướng tâm | create centripetal forces | strong centripetal forces |
| centrifugal forces | n phrase | /senˈtrɪfjʊɡl ˈfɔːsɪz/ | lực ly tâm | generate centrifugal forces | powerful centrifugal forces |
| quasi-experimental | adj | /ˈkweɪzaɪ ɪkˌsperɪˈmentl/ | bán thực nghiệm | quasi-experimental methods | quasi-experimental design |
| life-cycle cost | n phrase | /laɪf ˈsaɪkl kɒst/ | chi phí vòng đời | life-cycle cost analyses | calculate life-cycle cost |
| fiscal burden | n phrase | /ˈfɪskl ˈbɜːdn/ | gánh nặng tài chính | fiscal burden encompasses | impose fiscal burden |
| forced car ownership | n phrase | /fɔːst kɑː ˈəʊnəʃɪp/ | sở hữu xe ô tô bắt buộc | experience forced car ownership | problem of forced car ownership |
| onerous | adj | /ˈəʊnərəs/ | nặng nề, khó khăn | onerous financial burden | onerous task/obligation |
| fragmented | adj | /fræɡˈmentɪd/ | phân mảnh | fragmented institutional landscape | highly fragmented |
| metropolitan planning | n phrase | /ˌmetrəˈpɒlɪtən ˈplænɪŋ/ | quy hoạch đô thị | metropolitan planning organizations | regional metropolitan planning |
| decouple | v | /diːˈkʌpl/ | tách rời | fundamentally decouple | decouple from |
| normative | adj | /ˈnɔːmətɪv/ | mang tính quy phạm | normative questions | normative framework/approach |
Kết Bài
Qua bài thi mẫu này, bạn đã được trải nghiệm một đề thi IELTS Reading hoàn chỉnh về chủ đề Impact of urban sprawl on transportation systems – một chủ đề có tính thời sự và thường xuyên xuất hiện trong các kỳ thi IELTS thực tế. Ba passages với độ khó tăng dần đã cung cấp cho bạn cái nhìn toàn diện về hiện tượng mở rộng đô thị và những tác động sâu rộng của nó đến hệ thống giao thông.
Passage 1 giới thiệu các khái niệm cơ bản về urban sprawl và những vấn đề giao thông cơ bản phát sinh. Passage 2 đi sâu hơn vào các giải pháp quy hoạch và chính sách như New Urbanism và Smart Growth. Passage 3 mang tính học thuật cao, phân tích các khía cạnh lý thuyết, kinh tế xã hội và quản trị của vấn đề.
Đáp án chi tiết kèm giải thích đã giúp bạn hiểu rõ cách xác định thông tin trong bài, kỹ thuật paraphrase, và cách phân biệt giữa True/False/Not Given hay Yes/No/Not Given. Phần từ vựng với hơn 40 từ quan trọng sẽ là tài liệu quý giá cho việc học tiếng Anh học thuật của bạn.
Hãy thực hành thường xuyên với các đề thi mẫu tương tự để nâng cao kỹ năng đọc hiểu và đạt được band điểm mục tiêu của mình trong kỳ thi IELTS. Chúc bạn học tập tốt và thành công!
