Cambridge IELTS 15 Academic reading test 2 answers with explanation
Reading passage 1
Could urban engineers learn from dance?
Which paragraph contains the following information?
- reference to an appealing way of using dance that the writer is not proposing
B – Paragraph ‘B’, first line. That is not suggest everyone should dance their way to work, however healthy and happy it might make us,
- an example of a contrast between past and present approaches to building
C – Paragraph ‘C’, first four line. Whereas medieval (Past) builders improvised and adapted construction through their intimate knowledge of materials and personal …………………………………………………., building designs are now (Present) conceived and stored in media………………………
- mention of an objective of both dance and engineering
F – Paragraph ‘F’, second line to fifth line. In order to bring about fundamental changes to the ways we use our cities, engineering will need to develop a richer understanding of why people move in certain ways, …… ………… ………………… ………… …… …….it shares with engineering the aim of designing patterns of movement within limitations of space.
- reference to an unforeseen problem arising from ignoring the climate
D – Paragraph ‘D’, fifth line to last line of this paragraph. They failed to take into account that purpose-built street cafés could not operate in the hot sun without the protective awnings common in ………………………………………………What seems entirely predictable and controllable on screen has unexpected results when translated into reality.
- why some measures intended to help people are being reversed
E – Paragraph ‘E’, last three line. These barriers don’t just make it harder to cross the road: they divide communities and decrease opportunities for healthy transport. As a result, many are now being removed, causing disruption, cost, and waste.
- reference to how transport has an impact on human lives
A – Paragraph ‘A’, second line. Transportation is estimated to account for 30% of energy consumption in most of the world’s most developed nations, so lowering the need for energy-using vehicles is essential …………………………………………………The way we travel affect our physical and mental health, our social lives, our access to work and culture, and the air we breathe.
Complete the summary below
Guard rails
7. Guard rails were introduced on the British roads to improve the ……..of pedestrians,
safety – Paragraph ‘E’, fifth line. The guard rails that will be familiar to anyone who has attempted to cross a British road, for example, were an engineering solution to pedestrian safety based on models that prioritise the smooth flow of traffic.
8. while ensuring that the movement of ……………. is not disrupted.
traffic – Paragraph ‘E’, fifth line. The guard rails that will be familiar to anyone who has attempted to cross a British road, for example, were an engineering solution to pedestrian safety based on models that prioritise the smooth flow of traffic.
9. Pedestrians are led to access points, and encouraged to cross one………….. at a time.
carriageway – Paragraph ‘E’, eighth line. they often guide pedestrians to specific crossing points and slow down their progress across the road by using staggered access points divide the crossing into two – one for each carriageway.
10. An unintended effect is to create psychological difficulties in crossing the road, particularly for less ……………….. people.
mobile – Paragraph ‘E’, tenth line. introducing psychological barriers greatly impacting those that are the least mobile, and encouraging others to make dangerous crossings to get around the guard rails.
11. Another result is that some people cross the road in a ………………. way.
dangerous – Paragraph ‘E’, tenth line. introducing psychological barriers greatly impacting those that are the least mobile, and encouraging others to make dangerous crossings to get around the guard rails.
12. the guard rails separate ……………….,
communities – Paragraph ‘E’, last four lines. These barriers don’t just make it harder to cross the road: they divide communities and decrease opportunities for healthy transport.
13. and make it more difficult to introduce forms of transport that are ………………….
healthy – Paragraph ‘E’, last four lines. These barriers don’t just make it harder to cross the road: they divide communities and decrease opportunities for healthy transport.
Reading Passage 2
Should we try to bring extinct species back to life?
Which paragraph contains the following information?
- a reference to how further disappearance of multiple species could be avoided
F – Paragraph ‘F’, fifth line. She prefers to focus the debate on how this emerging technology could be used to fully understand why various species went extinct in the first place, and therefore how we could use it to make genetic modifications which could prevent mass extinctions in the future.
- explanation of a way of reproducing an extinct animal using the DNA of only that species
A – Paragraph ‘A’, seventh line. The basic premise involves using cloning technology to turn the DNA of extinct animals into a fertilised embryo, which is carried by the nearest relative still in existence – in this case, the abundant band-tailed pigeon – before being born as a living, breathing animal.
- reference to a habitat which has suffered following the extinction of a species
D – Paragraph ‘D’, sixth line to eleventh line. Since the disappearance of this key species, ecosystems in the eastern US have suffered, as the lack of disturbance caused by thousands of passenger pigeons wrecking trees and branches means ……………………………………………..the plants and animals which evolved to help regenerate the forest after a disturbance.
- mention of the exact point at which a particular species became extinct
A – Paragraph ‘A’, third line. Sadly, the passenger pigeon’s existence came to an end on 1 September 1914 (Exact date (point)), when the last living specimen died at Cincinnati Zoo.
Complete the summary below
The woolly mammoth revival project
- Professor George Church and his team are trying are trying to identify the……………….. which enable mammoth to live in the tundra.
genetic traits – Paragraph ‘E’, fifth line. By pinpointing which genetic traits made it possible for mammoths to survive the icy climate of the tundra,
- According to Church, introducing Asian elephants to the tundra would involve certain physical adaptation to minimise ……………………..
heat loss – Paragraph ‘E’, ninth line. Necessary adaptations would include smaller ears, thicker hair, and extra insulating fat, all for the purpose of reducing heat loss in the tundra,
- To survive in the tundra, the species would need to have the mammoth- like features of thicker hair, ………………….. of a reduced size
ears – Paragraph ‘E’, ninth line. Necessary adaptations would include smaller (reduced size) ears, thicker hair, and extra insulating fat,
- of a reduce size and more…………..
Insulating (fat) – Paragraph ‘E’, ninth line. Necessary adaptations would include smaller ears, thicker hair, and extra insulating fat,
- Repopulating the tundra with mammoth or Asian elephant/mammoth hybrids would also have an impact on the environment, which could help to reduce temperature and decrease ………………………….
(carbon) emission – Paragraph ‘E’, from line eleven to thirteen. This repopulation of the tundra and boreal forests of Eurasia and North America with large mammals could also be a useful factor in reducing carbon emissions –
Match the statement with the correct person, A, B or C
NB You may use any letter more than once.
23. Reintroducing an extinct species to its original habitat could improve the health of a particular species living there.
B (Michael Archer) – Paragraph ‘B’, fourth line and last five line. explains Michael Archer of the University of New South Wales. He points out that…….. And Thylacines would have prevented this spread because they would have killed significant numbers of Tasmanian devils. ‘If ……………………………… region it started. The return of thylacines to Tasmania could help to ensure that devils are never again subjected to risks of this kind.’
24. It is important to concentrate on the causes of an animal’s extinction.
C (Beth Shapiro) – Paragraph ‘F’, fifth line. explains Shapiro. She prefers to focus the debate on how this emerging technology could be used to fully understand why various species went extinct in the first place,
25. A species brought back from extinction could have an important beneficial impact on the vegetation of its habitat.
A (Ben Novak)- Paragraph ‘D’, last four lines. According to Novak, a hybridized band-tailed pigeon, with the added nesting habits of a passenger pigeon, could, in theory, re-establish that forest disturbance, thereby creating a habitat necessary for a great many other native species to thrive.
26. Our current efforts at preserving biodiversity are insufficient.
C (Beth Shapiro)- Paragraph ‘F’, fifth line and last three lines. explains Shapiro. She prefers….. and. ‘We know that what we are doing today is not enough, and we have to be willing to take some calculated and measured risks’.
Reading Passage 3
Having a laugh
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
27. When referring to laughter in the first paragraph, the writer emphasises
C (its value to scientific research) – First paragraph, last three lines. Like other human emotions and expressions, laughter and humour psychological scientists with rich resources for studying human psychology, ranging from the development of language to the neuroscience of social perception.
28. What does the writer suggest about Charley Douglass?
A (He understood the importance of enjoying humour in a group setting) – Second paragraph, third line. Charley Douglass hated dealing with the unpredictable laughter of live audiences, so started recording his own ‘laugh tracks’. These were intended to help people at home feel like they were in a social situation, such as a crowded theatre.
29. What makes the Santa Cruz study particularly significant?
B (the similar results produced by a wide range of cultures)- Third paragraph, second line to the end of this paragraph. Santa Cruz. A team made up of more than 30 psychological scientists, anthropologists, and biologists then played these recording to listeners……………………………………………On average, the results were remarkably consistent: worldwide, people’s guesses were correct approximately 60% of the time.
30. Which of the following happened in the San Diego study?
B (Participants exchanged roles)- Fourth paragraph, ninth line to the end of this paragraph. Analysis revealed that, as expected, high-status individuals produced more dominant laughs and fewer submissive laughs relative to the low-status individuals……………… ………………………….dominant laughs when they were in the ‘powerful’ role of teasers. Dominant laughter was higher in pitch, louder, and more variable in tone than submissive laughter.
31. In the fifth paragraph, what did the results of the San Diego study suggest?
D (High-Status individuals can always be identified by their own way of laughing) – Fifth paragraph, last two lines. However, high-status individuals were rated as high-status whether they produced their natural dominant laugh or tried to do a submissive one.
Complete the summary using the list of words, A- H, below
The benefit of humour
32. In one study at Australian National University, randomly chosen groups of participants were shown one of three videos, each designed to generate a different kind of ……………………
F (emotion) – Sixth paragraph, sixth line. The students then were randomly assigned to watch a video clip eliciting either humour, contentment, or neutral feelings.
33. When all participants were then given a deliberately frustrating task to do, it was found that those who had watched the ………………. video persisted with the task for longer and tried harder to accomplish the task than either of the other two groups.
H (amusing) – Seventh paragraph, last four lines. Participants were allowed to quit the task at any point. Students who had watched the Mr. Bean (an amusing character) video ended up spending significantly more time working on the task, making twice as many predictions as the other two groups.
34. A second study in which participants were asked to perform a particularly ………….… task produced similar results.
C (boring)- Seventh paragraph, second line. Again, participants who watched the humorous video spent significantly more time working on this tedious task.
35. According to researchers David Cheng and Lu Wang, these findings suggest that humour not only reduces …….…… and
D (anxiety) – Last paragraph, first line. Although humour has been found to help relieve stress
36. helps build social connections but it may also have a …………………… effect on the body and mind.
E (stimulating) – Last paragraph, last line. We suggest that humour is not only enjoyable but more importantly, energising.
Yes/ No/ Not Given
37. Participants in the Santa Cruz study were more accurate at identifying the laughs of friends than those of strangers.
Not Given – Third paragraph, last third lines. Participants were asked whether they thought the people laughing were friends or strangers. On average, the results were remarkably consistent: worldwide, people’s guesses were correct approximately 60% of the time. Explanation:- there is no such information in the paragraph that who were identified more. So, not given.
38. The researchers in the San Diego study were correct in their predictions regarding the behaviour of the high-status individuals.
Yes – Fourth paragraph, ninth line eleventh line. Analysis revealed that, as expected, high-status individuals produced more dominant laughs and fewer submissive laughs relative to the low-status individuals.
39. The participants in the Australian National University study were given a fixed amount of time to complete the task focusing on employee profiles.
No – Seventh paragraph, first three lines. The students then completed a task requiring persistence in which they were asked to guess the potential performance of employees based on provided profiles, and were told that making 10 correct assessments in a row would lead to a win. Explanation:- No time was given as they were asked to mark ten correct assessment in a row without a time limit.
40. Cheng and Wang’s conclusions were in line with established notions regarding task performance.
No – Last paragraph, first line. ‘Although humour has been found to help relieve stress and facilitate social relationships, traditional view of task performance implies that individuals should avoid things such as humour that may distract them from the accomplishment of task goals. We suggest that humour is not only enjoyable but more importantly, energising.
Explanation:- Traditional view says humour is distracting but they (Cheng and Wang) say it is enjoyable and energising.
