TOEFL ITP Reading set 021
Reading Comprehension practice — read the passage and choose the best answer.
ป่าชายเลนกับการป้องกันชายฝั่ง
- Line numbers appear every 5 lines.
- Answer all 10 questions, then choose ตรวจคำตอบ to see the Thai translation, score summary, and explanation.
- Use Previous / Next to open the previous or next practice set.
Mangrove forests occupy the muddy fringe where tropical
rivers meet the sea. Their tangled prop roots slow
incoming waves, trap sediment, and build shallow banks
that rise over decades. When storm surges push inland,
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this living barrier absorbs energy before it reaches
homes, roads, and farmland farther inland. Even a narrow
strip can lower flood height during a moderate cyclone.
Mangroves also store large amounts of carbon in
waterlogged soils, linking coastal defense to climate
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goals.
Yet these forests face steady pressure. Shrimp ponds,
road fill, and tourism resorts often replace the trees
with open water or concrete. Once roots are cleared,
waves cut deeper into soft banks, and saltwater advances
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into freshwater wells. Fishers notice fewer juvenile
fish and crabs that once sheltered among the roots.
Restoration projects try to reverse the loss by planting
seedlings at elevations matched to local tides. Success
depends on protecting young trees from boat wakes and
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hungry crabs until canopies close.
Coastal planners increasingly treat mangroves as green
infrastructure rather than unused swamp. Maps of wave
height and storm paths help communities decide where to
restore belts of forest and where hard walls remain
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necessary. In several deltas, mixed designs combine a
seaward mangrove belt with elevated roads behind it.
The approach costs less to maintain than continual
rebuilding of broken seawalls, and it preserves nursery
habitat that supports local catches. Scientists caution
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that rising seas may drown some stands unless inland
migration corridors remain open. Where roads and dikes
block that shift, even healthy forests may shrink.
Planners therefore weigh ecological corridors alongside
building codes when they revise coastal zoning maps.
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Communities that guard remaining mangroves, limit illegal
cutting, and fund careful replanting gain a quieter,
cheaper form of coastal protection—one that grows
stronger as the trees mature. Over time, denser root
mats also stabilize shorelines once eroded after storms.