Cambridge IELTS 16 academic reading test 3 answers with explanation
Reading Passage 1
Roman shipbuilding and navigation
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
1. The Romans’ shipbuilding skills were passed on to the Greeks and the Egyptians.
FALSE – First paragraph, third line. “The Romans were not traditionally sailors but mostly land-based people, who learned to build ships from the people that they conquered, namely the Greeks and the Egyptians.” Here, the writer said that the Romans learned to build ships from the Greeks and the Egyptians. The question statement contradicts the information given in the passage. Hence, the answer is FALSE.
2. Skilled craftsmen were needed for the mortise and tenon method of fixing planks.
NOT GIVEN – There is no such information given in the passage. Some information is given in the second paragraph related to fixing mortise and tenon, in fifth line. However, there is no information on whether skilled craftsmen were needed for this work or not. So, NOT GIVEN.
3. The later practice used by Mediterranean shipbuilders involved building the hull before the frame.
FALSE – Second paragraph, seventh line. “Mediterranean shipbuilders shifted to another shipbuilding method, still in use today, which consisted of building the frame first and then proceeding with the hull ….” Here, the writer said that Mediterranean shipbuilders build the frame first and then the hull. The question statement contradicts the information given in the passage. Hence, the answer is FALSE.
4. The Romans called the Mediterranean Sea Mare Nostrum because they dominated its use.
TRUE – Third paragraph, second-last line. “Eventually, Rome’s navy became the largest and most powerful in the Mediterranean, and the Romans had control over what they therefore called Mare Nostrum meaning ‘our sea’.” Here, ‘dominated‘ means ‘had control’. Hence, the answer is TRUE.
5. Most rowers on ships were people from the Roman army.
TRUE – Fourth paragraph, fourth line from end. “It is worth noting that contrary to popular perception, rowers were not slaves but mostly Roman citizens enrolled in the military.” Here, the writer said that rowers were Roman people who were in the military (army). The question statement matches the information given in the passage. Hence, the answer is TRUE.
Complete the summary below.
Warships and merchant ships
6. Warships were designed so that they were ………. and moved quickly.
Lightweight – Third paragraph, first line. “Warships were built to be lightweight and very speedy.” ‘Speedy’ means warships can ‘move quickly’. ‘Designed’ is similar to ‘built’. Hence, the answer is lightweight.
7. A battering ram made of ………. was included in the design for attacking and damaging the timber and oars of enemy ships.
Bronze – Third paragraph, fourth line. “They had a bronze battering ram, which was used to pierce the timber hulls or break the oars of enemy vessels.” Here, bronze battering ram means that battering ram is made of bronze.
8. Warships, such as the ‘trireme’, had rowers on three different ………. .
Levels – Fourth paragraph, first line. “The ‘trireme’ was the dominant warship from the 7th to 4th century BCE. It had rowers in the top, middle and lower levels,…” Here, it is given that trireme is a warship, and it had rowers on three (top, middle and lower) different levels.
9. Unlike warships, merchant ships had a broad ………. that lay far below the surface of the sea.
Hull – Fifth paragraph, second line. “They had a wider hull, …… Unlike warships, their V-shaped hull was deep underwater, …..” Here, ‘they’ referred to ‘merchant ships’ (read the first line of this paragraph). ‘Wider’ is a synonym for ‘broad’. ‘Deep’ gives a hint that it is ‘far’. ‘Underwater’ means it is ‘below the surface of the sea’. Hence, the answer is hull.
10. They had both square and ………. sails.
Triangular – Fifth paragraph, fifth line. “They had from one to three masts with large square sails and a small triangular sail at the bow.” Here, it is clear that the two shapes of sail are square and triangular. Hence, the answer is triangular.
11. On merchant ships and warships, ………. was used to ensure rowers moved their oars in and out of the water at the same time.
Music – Fifth paragraph, second-last line. “In order to assist them, music would be played on an instrument, and oars would then keep time with this.” Here, it is given that oars keep time (move in and out at the same time) with the music.
12. Quantities of agricultural goods such as ………. were transported by merchant ships to two main ports in Italy.
Grain – Sixth paragraph, first line. “The cargo on merchant ships included raw materials …… and agricultural products (e.g. grain from Egypt’s Nile valley).” Here, ‘goods’ are similar to ‘products’. Hence, the answer is grain.
13. The ships were pulled to the shore by ………. .
Towboats – Sixth paragraph, third-last line. “Large merchant ships would approach the destination port and just like today, be intercepted by a number of towboats that would drag them to the quay.” Here, ‘quay’ means ‘shore’. ‘Drag’ means ‘pull’. Hence, towboats are used to pull the ships to the shore.
Passage 2
Climate change reveals ancient artefacts in Norway’s glaciers
Which section contains the following information?
14. an explanation for weapons being left behind in the mountains
D – D paragraph, third line. “Hunters would have easily misplaced arrows and they often discarded broken bows rather than take them all the way home.” So, hunters did not take weapons to their home and left them in the mountains.
15. a reference to the physical difficulties involved in an archaeological expedition
C – C paragraph’s 2nd part’s first line. “The slow but steady movement of glaciers tends to destroy anything at their bases, so the team focused on stationary patches of ice, mostly above 1,400 metres.
C paragraph’s 3rd part’s first line. “Fieldwork is hard work- hiking with all our equipment, often camping on permafrost.”
In the above-given lines, the writer talked about physical difficulties. Hence, these are the physical difficulties faced by archaeologists.
16. an explanation of why less food may have been available
F – F paragraph’s 2nd part’s last three lines. “A colder turn in the Scandinavian climate would likely have meant widespread crop failures, …” Hence, less food may have been available because of crop failure due to cold climate.
17. a reference to the possibility of future archaeological discoveries
H – H paragraph, second-last line. “That means archaeologists could be extracting some of those artefacts from retreating ice in years to come.” Here, the writer said that in the coming years, archaeologists could find some artefacts.
18. examples of items that would have been traded
G – G paragraph, from fifth line. “And growing Norwegian …… would have created a booming demand for hides to fight off the cold, as well as antlers to make useful things like combs.” Here, the writer gives examples of two things that would have been traded. Hide = skin of an animal. Antler = horns of an adult deer.
19. a reference to the pressure archaeologists are under to work quickly
B – B paragraph’s 2nd part’s first 2 lines. “With climate change shrinking ice cover around the world, glacial archaeologists need to race the clock to find newly revealed artefacts, preserve them and study them.” ‘Race the clock’ means they have to do ‘hurry’.
Complete the summary below.
Interesting finds at an archaeological site
20. They have little protection against ………. , which means that they decay relatively quickly.
Microorganisms/ micro-organisms – B paragraph, second line. “This is because unless they’re protected from the microorganisms that cause decay, they tend not to last long.” For more understanding, read the first line of this paragraph also. Hence, the answer is microorganisms.
21. In the past, there were trade routes through these mountains and ………. gathered there in the summer months
Reindeer – C paragraph, fourth line. “Reindeer once congregated on these icy patches in the later summer months …….. In addition, trade routes threaded through the mountain passes ….” Congregated means gathered. Reindeer gathered on icy patches during the summer months. Hence, the answer is reindeer.
22. gathered there in the summer months to avoid being attacked by ………. on lower grounds.
Insects – C paragraph, fourth line. “Reindeer once congregated on these icy patches in the later summer months to escape biting insects, ….” Here, the writer said reindeer gathered there to save themselves from insects. ‘Biting insects’ means ‘insects that bite’. ‘Escape’ means ‘to avoid’. Hence, the answer is insects.
Questions 23 and 24
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make about the discoveries of Barrett’s team?
B – Hunters went into the mountains even during periods of extreme cold. F paragraph, sixth line. “But it turned out that hunters kept regularly venturing into the mountains even when the climate turned cold, …” Hence, hunters regularly went to mountains during cold climate.
C – The number of artefacts from certain time periods was relatively low. E paragraph, forth line. “They found that some periods had produced lots of artefacts, which indicates that people had been pretty active in the mountains during those times. But there were few or no signs of activity during other periods.” Here, the writer said that some periods had produced lots of artefacts which mean people were more active during those periods. However, there were some periods when people were less active means those periods had produced fewer artefacts.
Questions 25 and 26
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make about the Viking Age?
A – Hunters at this time benefitted from an increased demand for goods. G paragraph, fifth line. “And growing Norwegian towns, along with export markets, would have created a booming demand for hides to fight off the cold, as well as antlers to make useful things like combs. Business must have been good for hunters.” The writer said that the booming (increased) demand for goods necessarily (must) benefitted the hunters.
C – Vikings did not rely on ships alone to transport goods. G paragraph, third line. “Although we usually think of ships when we think of Scadinavian expansion, these recent discoveries show that plenty of goods travelled on overland routes, ..” Here, the writer said that the latest discoveries show that a lot of goods were transported on overland (by land) routes. Hence, they did not rely only on ships.
Reading Passage 3
Plant ‘thermometer’ triggers springtime growth by measuring night-time heat
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
27. The Cambridge scientists’ discovery of the ‘thermometer molecule’ caused surprise among other scientists.
NOT GIVEN – There is no such information given in the passage. There is some information related to the discovery of the thermometer molecule by Cambridge scientists in paragraph A, but there is no such information whether it caused surprise among other scientists or not. Hence, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
28. The target for agricultural production by 2050 could be missed.
TRUE – D paragraph, fourth line. “It is estimated that agricultural yields will need to double by 2050, but climate change is a major threat to achieving this.” Here, it is given that the target for 2050 could not be achieved due to climate change. It means it could be missed. Hence, the answer is TRUE.
29. Wheat and rice suffer from a rise in temperatures.
TRUE – D paragraph, fifth line. “Key crops such as wheat and rice are sensitive to high temperatures. Thermal stress reduces crop yields by around 10% of every one degree increase in temperature.” Sensitive means wheat and rice are affected by high temperatures. Hence, the answer is TRUE.
30. It may be possible to develop crops that require less water.
NOT GIVEN – There is no such information given in the passage. Hence, the answer is not given.
31. Plants grow faster in sunlight than in shade.
FALSE – E paragraph, second line. “During the day, sunlight activates the molecules, slowing down growth. If a plant finds itself in shade, phytochromes are quickly inactivated – enabling it to grow faster to find sunlight again.” Here, it is given that sunlight slows the growth of a plant, and in the shade, the plant grows faster to find sunlight. The question statement contradicts the information given in the passage. Hence, the answer is FALSE.
32. Phytochromes change their state at the same speed day and night.
FALSE – E paragraph’s 1st part’s second-last line. “’Light-driven changes to phytochrome activity occur very fast, in less than a second,’ says Wigge. At night, however, it’s a different story. Instead of a rapid deactivation following sundown, the molecules gradually change from their active to inactive state.” Here, the writer said that during the day, the state of phytochromes changes very fast. However, at night, it changes gradually (slowly). The question statement contradicts the information given in the passage. Hence, the answer is FALSE.
Which section contains the following information?
33. mention of specialists who can make use of the research findings
H – H paragraph, seventh line. “’Cambridge is uniquely well-positioned………. Into the field” In these lines they talk about outstanding collaborators (specialists) who work on more applied aspects of plant biology. Outstanding collaborators can help this new knowledge (research findings) into the fields. So “H” is the right answer.
34. a reference to a potential benefit of the research findings
D – D paragraph, 8th line. “’Discovering the molecules that allow plants to sense temperature has the potential to accelerate the breeding of crops resilient to thermal stress and climate change.” Here, the writer said that molecules have the potential to speed up the breeding of crops. It is the potential (having the capacity to do something in the future) benefit of the research.
35. scientific support for a traditional saying
G – G paragraph, third line. “In fact, the discovery of the dual role of phytochromes provides the science behind a well-known rhyme long used to predict the coming season: oak before ash we’ll have a splash, ash before oak we’re in for a soak.” Here, ‘well-known’ means ‘famous’, and it is said that this rhyme was used earlier (means it is traditional) to predict the season. The writer said that certain discovery gives the science behind this rhyme. Hence, it provides scientific support to this traditional rhyme.
36. a reference to people traditionally making plans based on plant behavior
C – C paragraph, first line. “Farmers and gardeners have known for hundreds of years how responsive plants are to temperature: warm winters cause many trees and flowers to bud early, something humans have long used to predict weather and harvest times for the coming year.” Here, the writer said that farmers and gardeners know about plants’ behavior to temperature, and they used this knowledge to predict weather and harvest times (plan).
37. a reference to where the research has been reported
A – A paragraph’s 2nd part’s first line. “The new findings, published in the journal Science, show that phytochromes ….” Hence, the research (new findings) has been reported in the journal Science.
Complete the sentences below.
38. Daffodils are likely to flower early in response to ………. weather.
Warm (winter) – G paragraph, first line. “Other species, such as daffodils, have considerable temperature sensitivity, and can flower months in advance during a warm winter.” Here, the writer said that daffodils flower early during a warm winter. Hence, the answer is warm (winter).
39. If ash trees come into leaf before oak trees, the weather in ………. will probably be wet.
Summer – G paragraph, eighth line. “A warmer spring, and consequently a higher likeliness of a hot summer will result in oak leafing before ash. …….. a colder summer is likely to be a rain-soaked one.” The meaning of above lines is that warmer spring > hot summer > oak leafing before ash. The opposite of it: ash leafing before oak > colder spring > colder summer (rain-soaked). ‘Rain-Soaked’ means ‘wet’. Hence, the answer is summer.
40. The research was carried out using a particular species of ………. .
Mustard plant(s) / mustard – H paragraph, second line. “The work was done in a model system, using a mustard plant called Arabidopsis, …” In the first line of this paragraph, the writer started discussing the research, and later in this line, it is said that the work was done using a mustard plant. Hence, the answer is mustard.
