Cambridge IELTS 15 Academic reading test 1 answers with explanation
Reading passage 1
Nutmeg- a valuable spice
Complete the notes below
The nutmeg tree and fruit
- The leaves of the tree are ……………………………in shape
oval – First paragraph , from third line. The tree is thickly branched with dense foliage of tough, dark green oval leaves, and produce small….
- The…………………………………..surrounds the fruit and breaks open when the fruit is ripe
husk – First paragraph, fifth line. The fruit is encased in a fleshy husk. Encased– enclose or cover in a case or close-fitting surround.
- The……………………….is used to produce the spice nutmeg
seed – First paragraph, from sixth line. Inside is a purple-brown shiny seed, 2-3 cm long by about 2cm across, surrounded by a lacy red or crimson covering called an ‘aril’. These are the source of the two spices nutmeg and mace, the former (spices nutmeg) being produced from the dried seed and the latter from the aril.
- the covering known as the aril is used to produce……………………………..
mace – First paragraph, from sixth line. Inside is a purple-brown shiny seed, 2-3 cm long by about 2cm across, surrounded by a lacy red or crimson covering called an ‘aril’. These are the source of the two spices nutmeg and mace, the former being produced from the dried seed and the latter (mace) from the aril.
True/False/ Not Given
5. In the Middle Ages, most Europeans know where nutmeg was grown.
False – Second Paragraph, first line to third line. Nutmeg was highly prized and costly ingredient in European cuisine in the Middle Ages, and was used as a flavouring, medicinal, and preservative agent. Throughout this period, the Arabs were the exclusive (only) importers of the spice to Europe.
6. The VOC was the world’s first major trading company.
Not Given – Fourth Paragraph’s first three line. In 1602, Dutch merchants founded the VOC, a trading corporation better known as the Dutch East India Company. By 1617, the VOC was the richest commercial operation in the world. The company had 50,000 employees worldwide, with a private army of 30,000 men and a fleet of 200 ships. These lines explain that the company was big. But there is no information about whether the company was first or second.
7. Following the Treaty of Breda, the Dutch had control of all the islands where nutmeg grew.
True – Fifth Paragraph, from ninth line to fifteenth line. There was only one obstacle to Dutch Domination. One of the Banda Islands, a sliver of land called Run,………. Dutch and British arrived at a compromise settlement, the Treaty of Breda, in 1667. Intent on securing their hold over every nutmeg-producing island, ………………… The British agreed. Explanation:- After treaty Dutch got the Island of Run(the island under the control of British) in exchange of an island in North America. It made Dutch to control all nutmeg producing island.
Complete the table below
8. Nutmeg was brought to Europe by the………………………………….
Arabs – Second Paragraph, second line. Throughout this period, the Arabs were the exclusive (Only) importers of the spice to Europe.
9. Demand for nutmeg grew, as it was believed to be effective against the disease known as the………………..
plague – Fourth paragraph, fourth line to seventh line. At the same time, thousands of people across Europe were dying of the plague, a highly contagious and deadly disease……………………………….Everybody wanted nutmeg, and many were willing to spare no expense to have it.
10. put ………… on nutmeg to avoid it being cultivated outside the island.
lime – Fifth Paragraph, eighth & ninth line. All exported nutmeg was covered with lime to make sure there was no chance a fertile seed which could be grown elsewhere would leave the islands.
11. finally obtained the island of …………… from the British
Run – Fifth Paragraph, last fifth line. Intent on securing their hold over every nutmeg-producing island, the Dutch offered a trade: if the British would give them the island of Run, they would in turn give Britain a distant and much less valuable island in North America. The British agreed.
12. 1770 – nutmeg plants were secretly taken to ………………
Mauritius – Sixth paragraph, first line. Then, in 1770, a Frenchman named Pierre Poivre successfully smuggled nutmeg plants to safety in Mauritius, an island off the coast of Africa.
13. 1778 – half the Banda Islands’ nutmeg plantation were destroyed by a ………………
tsunami – Sixth paragraph, third line. Next, in 1778, a volcanic eruption in the Banda region caused a tsunami that wiped out half the nutmeg groves.
Reading Passage 2
Driverless cars
Which section contains the following information?
14. reference to the amount of time when a car is not in use
C – Paragraph ‘C’, third line. At present, the average car spends more than 90 percent of its life parked.
15. mention of several advantages of driverless vehicles for individual road-users
B – Paragraph ‘B’, sixth line. If the vehicle can do some or all of the driving, it may be possible to be productive, to socialise or simply to relax while automation systems have responsibility for safe control ………………………….such as older or disabled travellers – may be able to enjoy significantly greater travel autonomy.
16. reference to the opportunity of choosing the most appropriate vehicle for each trip.
E – Paragraph ‘E’, from first line to the end of this para. If we move to a model where consumers are tending not to own a single vehicle but to purchase access to a range of vehicle through a mobility provide ……………………. rather than making a compromise across all their requirements.
17. an estimate of how long it will take to overcome a number of problems
G – Paragraph ‘G’, first line. It’s clear that there are many challenges that need to be addressed but, through robust and targeted research, these can most probably be conquered within the next 10 years.
18. a suggestion that the use of driverless cars may have no effect on the number of vehicles manufactured
D – Paragraph ‘D’, last fourth line. As a consequence, each vehicle would be used more intensively, and might need replacing sooner. This faster rate of turnover may mean that vehicle production will not necessarily decrease.
Complete the summary below
The impact of driverless cars
19. Figures from the Transport Research Laboratory indicate that most motor accidents are partly due to ……………………., so the introduction of driverless vehicles will result in greater safety.
human error – Paragraph ‘B’, second line. research at the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory has demonstrated that more than 90 percent of road collisions involve human error as a contributory factor,
20. For example, schemes for ……………. will be more workable, especially in towns and cities, resulting in fewer cars on the road.
car- sharing – Paragraph ‘C’, fourth line. Automation means that initiatives for car-sharing become much more viable, particularly in urban areas with significant travel demand.
21. According to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, there could be a 43 percent drop in …………….. of cars.
ownership – Paragraph ‘D’, seventh line. Modelling work by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute suggests automated vehicles might reduce vehicle ownership by 43 percent,
22. However, this would mean that the yearly ……………….. of each car would, on average, be twice as high as it currently is. This would lead to a higher turnover of vehicles, and therefore no reduction in automotive manufacturing.
mileage – Paragraph ‘D’, eighth line. But that vehicles’ average annual mileage double as a result.
Question 23 and 24
Which TWO benefits of automated vehicles does the writer mention?
A Car travellers could enjoy considerable cost savings.
B It would be easier to find parking spaces in urban areas.
C Travellers could spend journeys doing something other than driving.
D People who find driving physically difficult could travel independently.
E A reduction in the number of cars would mean a reduction in pollution.
Explanation:-
C – Paragraph ‘B’, sixth line. If the vehicle can do some or all of the driving, it may be possible to be productive, to socialise or simply to relax while automation systems have responsibility for safe control of the vehicle.
D – Paragraph ‘B’, last three lines of second part. those who are challenged by existing mobility models – such as older or disabled travellers – may be able to enjoy significantly greater travel autonomy.
Question 25 and 26
Which TWO challenges to automated vehicle development does the writer mention?
A making sure the general public has confidence in automated vehicles
B managing the pace of transition from conventional to automated vehicles
C deciding how to compensate professional drivers who become redundant
D setting up the infrastructure to make roads suitable for automated vehicles
E getting automated vehicles to adapt to various different driving conditions
Explanation:-
A – Paragraph ‘F’, last two lines. the societal changes that may be required for communities to trust and accept automated vehicles as being a valuable part of the mobility landscape.
E – Paragraph ‘F’, second to 4th line. These include the technical difficulties in ensuring that the vehicle works reliably in the infinite range of traffic, weather and road situations it might encounter;
Reading Passage 3
What is exploration?
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.
- The writer refers to visitors to New York to illustrate the point that
A (Exploration is an intrinsic element of being human) – First paragraph, last three lines. This questing (exploration) nature of ours undoubtedly helped our species spread around the globe, just as it nowadays no doubt helps the last nomadic Penan maintain their existence in the depleted forests of Borneo, and a visitor negotiate the subways of New York.
- According to the second paragraph, what is the writer’s view of explorers?
C (They act on an urge that is common to everyone) – Second paragraph, last three line. That, however, doesn’t take away from the fact that we all have this enquiring instinct, even today; and that in all sorts of professions – whether artist, marine biologist or astronomer – borders of the unknown are being tested each day.
- The writer refers to a description of Egdon Health to suggest that
C (Hardy’s aim was to investigate people’s emotional state) – Third paragraph, first line. Thomas Hardy set some of his novels in Egdon Heath, a fictional area of uncultivated land, and used the landscape to suggest the desires and fears of his characters. He is delving into matters we all recognise because they are common to humanity.
- In the fourth paragraph, the writer refers to ‘ a golden age’ to suggest that
D (We are wrong to think that exploration is no longer necessary) – Fourth paragraph, third line to end of this paragraph. We think back to a golden age, as if exploration peaked somehow in the 19th century – as if the process of discovery is now on the decline……………………………………………………..and know even less about ourselves; we fully understand the workings of only 10 per cent of our brains. Explanation:- These lines suggest that how limited we know about everything, so exploration is needed, and we are wrong if we think more exploration is not required.
- In the sixth paragraph, when discussing the definition of exploration, the writer argues that
A (people tend to relate exploration to their own professional interests) – Sixth paragraph, from third line to the last line of this paragraph. They each set their own particular criteria; the common factor in their approach being that they all had, unlike many of us who simply enjoy travel or discovering new things, both a very definite objective from the outset and also a desire to record their findings. Explanation:- Read the whole 6th paragraph and you will read the writer talks about a historian and a scientist whose view about exploration is different.
- In the last paragraph, the writer explains that he is interested in
B (the human ability to cast new light on places that may be familiar) – last paragraph, last fourth line. Aside from the deep sea and deep underground, it’s the era of specialists. However, this is to disregard the role the human mind …………………………………….. how a fresh interpretation, even of a well-travelled route, can give its readers new insights.
Match the statement with the correct explorer, A- E.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
33. He referred to the relevance of the form of transport used.
E (Wilfred Thesiger) – Fifth Paragraph, from 7th line to 9th line. Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed Arabia’s Empty Quarter in 1946, and belongs to an era of unmechanised travel now lost to the rest of us, told me, ‘If I’d gone across by camel when I could have gone by car, it would have been a stunt.’
34. He described feelings on coming back home after a long journey.
A (Peter Fleming) – Third Paragraph, from fourth line to end of this paragraph. Explorer and travel writer Peter Fleming talks of the moment when the explorer returns to the existence he has left behind with his loved ones ……… …… … ……… ……… …………………… …… … …. suddenly encounters his other self, a relatively solid figure, with a place in the minds of certain people’.
35. He worked for the benefit of specific groups of people.
D (Robin Hanbury-Tenison) – Fifth Paragraph, from fifth line to 7th line. Then Robin Hanbury-Tenison, a campaigner on behalf of remote so-called ‘tribal’ peoples, said, ‘A traveler simply records information about some far-off world, and reports back; but an explorer changes the world.’ Explanation:- Group of people: Tribal.
36. He did not consider learning about oneself an essential part of exploration.
E (Wilfred Thesiger)- Fifth Paragraph, from 7th line to the end of this paragraph. Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed Arabia’s Empty Quarter in 1946, and belongs to an era …………………………….. To him, exploration meant bringing back information from a remote place regardless of any great self-discovery.
37. He defined exploration as being both unique and of value to others.
B (Ran Fiennes) – Fifth Paragraph, 1st line to 3rd line. Ran Fiennes, dubbed the ‘greatest living explorer’, said, ‘An explorer is someone who has done something that no human has done before – and also done something scientifically useful.
Complete the summary below
The writer’s own bias
- The writer has experience of a large number of ………………., and
(unique) expeditions – Last paragraph, first line. As a writer, I’m interested in the exploration of ideas. I’ve done a great many expeditions and each one was unique.
- was the first stranger that certain previously…………… people had encountered.
uncontacted / isolated – Last paragraph, second line. I’ve lived for months alone with isolated groups of people all around the world, even two ‘uncontacted tribes’.
- He believes there is no need for further exploration of Earth’s …………………., except to answer specific questions such as how buffalo eat.
(land) surface – Last paragraph, sixth line. We know how the land surface of our planet lies; exploration of it is now down to the details –
