Answer Keys
IELTS Reading Passage 1
1. VI — Types of Glaciers. A comprehensive description of various glaciers is given. I — Glacial Continents does not fit — Greenland is not a continent and it is not the main idea of this paragraph.
2. II — Formation and Growth of Glaciers. The process of how glaciers appear is described in detail. Paragraph III — Glacial Movement shouldn’t be used here as the movement of glaciers is not the main topic here. Moreover, it will become useful later on.
3. III — Glacial Movement. This paragraph gives an in-depth view of how glaciers move. No other paragraph can fit here.
4. VII — Glacial Effects on Landscapes. Various alterations of terrain are described here. This paragraph probably contains a lot of vocabulary you are not familiar with. Concentrate on the main idea here — the fact that glaciers have a huge impact on landscape they affect. You do not have to understand every word to choose the right heading.
5. V — Glaciers Through the Years. The paragraph tells us about glaciers in various periods of time, not just the Ice Age. This is why IV — Glaciers in the Last Ice Age wouldn’t be the right answer.
6. FALSE. The opposite is stated in first sentence of Paragraph B.
7. TRUE. Sentence two of Paragraph B describes the process. Statement of Question 7 gives a simplified description, similar to one in that sentence.
8. TRUE. Correct. Last but one sentence of Paragraph B confirms this statement, giving both figures.
9. FALSE. Middle of Paragraph C states that middle part of a glacier travels faster that other parts because there is nothing to cause friction and slow it down.
10. NOT GIVEN. Even though Paragraph E says that during the Last Ice Age glaciers used to cover larger territories, it does not state that the temperatures were lower. Remember, you shouldn’t complete the ideas given in the text. Make sure you know the basic rules and tips for IELTS Reading.
11. B — alpine glacier. Paragraph A mentions glaciers that are formed at “higher elevations” — a paraphrase for “mountain”. “Horn” is not correct as it is formed by multiple alpine glaciers, according to Paragraph D.
12. D — polar glacier. Last sentence of Paragraph A clearly gives the answer.
13. H — surging glacier. Last two sentences of Paragraph B describe surging glaciers as having unusually high speed, fastest among all types of glaciers.
14. A — fjord. Paragraph D states that fjords are formed by ocean water that fill the coastal valleys.
15. G — cirque. Bowl is the keyword that helps find the answer at the end of Paragraph D.
IELTS Reading Passage 2
16. F. This paragraph mentions the attitude of British officials towards the situation in Ireland. It also mentions how a certain individual attempted to help the Irish people, but unfortunately failed because of the government and the people opposing his views. Paragraph E is wrong as it only lists certain laws introduced by the officials. No detailed description of attitude is given.
17. D. The system of dividing land into plots is described in this paragraph. Paragraph E is wrong answer — it only mentions that the Irish were not allowed to have land in their ownership. Instead, they had to pay money to use it for a limited amount of time — to rent it.
18. B. The people of Europe were sceptical about potato. It is only a certain event took place that they decided to use it for food.
19. E. Sentence 3 of Paragraph E lists what rights Irish peasants didn’t have in comparison to other people, namely the Englishmen.
20. C. First sentence of this paragraph states that potato became the cornerstone of Irish diet. The following sentences continue and expand this idea.
21. I. Paragraph B, second sentence.
22. K. Paragraph B, last sentence.
23. C. Paragraph C, sentence four.
24. E. Paragraph C, last sentence.
25. G. Paragraph D, last two sentences.
26. A. Paragraph E, last two sentences.
27. H. Paragraph F, sentences two to four.
28. F. Paragraph F, last sentence.
IELTS Reading Passage 3
29. FALSE. The opposite is correct — according to the second sentence of Paragraph One the book had been in use for sixteen centuries, long after the mentioned 60 A.D. This number refers to the date when Dioscorides’ travels came to an end.
30. TRUE. Second sentence of Paragraph Two confirms this statement.
31. TRUE. Third paragraph, sentence two states that the gas can cause laughter and crying among other effects.
32. NOT GIVEN. Only one dentist is mentioned to be using anaesthesia. Nothing is said about ‘most dentists’ using it, so we can neither confirm nor deny this statement.
33. TRUE. Last but one paragraph talks about eight years of schooling and four years of residency being required to work as an anaesthesiologist. So a combined time of twelve years is required.
34. FALSE. The opposite is true according to the last paragraph — the number of specialists ‘more than doubled since 1970’.
35. D — chloroform. Paragraph Four states that chloroform is administered by sprinkling it on a handkerchief to let a patient inhale it.
36. B — local anaesthetic. Last but one paragraph describes the process, sentence starting with “Local anaesthetic is used… “. It is in the middle of the paragraph. Not to be confused with regional anaesthetic — it is used for larger parts of body. Local anaesthetic is for smaller parts of body.
37. H — mandrake. Bottom half of the second paragraph describes the process of boiling mandrake root with wine to alleviate patient’s pain.
38. F — nitrous oxide. Third sentence of Paragraph Three describes the first anaesthetic used in dental procedure. Nitrous oxide was the first one.
39. C — regional anaesthetic. Last but one paragraph states that it is used for larger parts of body.
40. E — ether. Third paragraph describes a globe with a sponge soaked in ether.