Reading Passage 1
Questions 1–13
1 The correct answer is ‘posts’: In the first paragraph, the text describes the ‘qanat method’
of construction, ‘which consisted of placing posts over a hill in a straight line, to ensure that the
tunnel kept to its route’. This means that the posts were placed to direct the tunnelling. ‘Shafts’
is incorrect: The text says that the shafts were dug down into the ground after the posts were
put in position.
2 The correct answer is ‘canal’: In the first paragraph, the text says, ‘Once the tunnel was
completed, it allowed water to flow from the top of a hillside down towards a canal, which
supplied water for human use.’ The words ‘flow’ and run have the same meaning in this context,
and the phrase ‘for human use’ means that the canal supplied water for local people.
3 The correct answer is ‘ventilation’: In the first paragraph, the text says, ‘The excavated soil
was taken up to the surface using the shafts, which also provided ventilation during the work.’
This sentence explains two uses of the shafts: for removing earth and also for ventilation. This
means that workers underground had access to fresh air through the shafts.
4 The correct answer is ‘lid’: In the second paragraph, the text describes Roman qanat
tunnels, saying, ‘The shafts were equipped with handholds and footholds to help those climbing
in and out of them and were covered with a wooden or stone lid.’
5 The correct answer is ‘weight’: In the second paragraph, the text says, ‘Romans hung a
plumb line from a rod placed across the top of each shaft and made sure that the weight at the
end of it hung in the center of the shaft.’ The diagram shows a weight hanging in the centre of
the shaft at the end of the plumb line. ‘Rod’ is incorrect: The text says that the rod was at the
top of the shaft, and the diagram shows this.
6 The correct answer is ‘climbing’: In the second paragraph, the text describes Roman qanat
tunnels, saying, ‘The shafts were equipped with handholds and footholds to help those climbing
in and out of them’. This explains the purpose of the handholds and footholds: it tells us what
they were used for.
7 The correct answer is FALSE: In the third paragraph, the text describes the ‘counterexcavation method’ and then says, ‘It was used to cut through high mountains when the qanat
method was not a practical alternative.’ This means that the counter-excavation method did not
completely replace the qanat method; it was used as an alternative in situations where it would
have been too difficult to use the qanat method.
8 The correct answer is NOT GIVEN: Although the text does describe the tasks of the builders,
it does not describe their levels of experience, nor does the text mention that only builders with
experience were employed.
9 The correct answer is FALSE : In the third paragraph, the text says, ‘An inscription written
on the side of a 428-meter tunnel, built by the Romans as part of the Saldae aqueduct system
in modern-day Algeria, describes how the two teams of builders missed each other in the
mountain and how the later construction of a lateral link between both corridors corrected the
initial error.’ This means that the information about the problem was recorded on an inscription
in the tunnel, not in a book.
10 The correct answer is TRUE : In the third paragraph, the text explains how a ‘tunnel was
constructed from both ends’ and how it ‘had to meet correctly at the center of the mountain’.
It then refers to the inscription in the Saldae aqueduct system tunnel which ‘describes how the
two teams of builders missed each other in the mountain and how the later construction of a
lateral link between both corridors corrected the initial error’. In other words, the two parts of the
tunnel failed to meet.
11 The correct answer is ‘gold’: In the fourth paragraph, the text refers to Roman tunnels ‘built
for mineral extraction’ and then says, ‘Traces of such tunnels used to mine gold can still be
found at the Dolaucothi mines in Wales.’
12 The correct answer is ‘(the) architect(’s) (name)’: Towards the end of the fifth paragraph,
the text says, ‘Most tunnels had inscriptions showing the names of patrons who ordered
construction and sometimes the name of the architect.’ If a name is on an inscription in a tunnel,
this means that this person’s name is carved on the tunnel.
13 The correct answer is ‘(the) harbour’ or ‘(the) harbor’: At the end of the fifth paragraph,
the text says that the Çevlik tunnel was ‘built to divert the floodwater threatening the harbor of
the ancient city of Seleuceia Pieria’. The fact that the harbour was threatened by floodwater
means that the tunnel which diverted this water was built to protect it.
Reading Passage 2
Questions 14–26
14 The correct answer is A : The writer describes a scene in which people of all ages are using
digital devices and then makes the comment, ‘Unbeknown to most of us, an invisible, gamechanging transformation links everyone in this picture’. The writer is making the point that this
use of technology is causing ‘an invisible … transformation’, in other words, a hidden effect. The
phrase ‘Unbeknown to most of us’ means that most people are unaware of the transformation:
this reinforces the idea that the effect is hidden. B is incorrect: The writer does not say anything
about helping young people to read. C is incorrect: The writer does not give an opinion about
whether using technology on planes should be encouraged. D is incorrect: The writer mentions
different uses of technology but does not compare them.
15 The correct answer is B: The text refers to Sherry Turkle’s view that ‘we do not err as a
society when we innovate but when we ignore what we disrupt or diminish while innovating’.
This tells us that Turkle believes it is a serious mistake not to consider the negative effects of
innovation, including ‘what we … diminish’: in other words, what is lost. A is incorrect: The text
does not say anything about a reduction in print reading. C is incorrect: The text does not refer
to young people becoming involved in innovation. D is incorrect: The text does not mention any
comparison between developing products and developing ideas.
16 The correct answer is D: The writer refers to the fact that the brain’s reading circuit ‘needs
an environment to develop’ and says that ‘it will adapt to that environment’s requirements – from
different writing systems to the characteristics of whatever medium is used’. This means that the
circuit will adjust in any way that it is required. A is incorrect: The writer points out that, unlike
vision and language, reading is not an inborn human ability. B is incorrect: The fact that there
are different reading mediums is mentioned, but this is not the point which the writer is making
in the paragraph. C is incorrect: The writer says that the brain is required to adapt to different
writing systems but does not say that these demands are unexpected.
17 The correct answer is B: The text says that Mark Edmundson ‘describes how many
college students actively avoid the classic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries in favour
of something simpler as they no longer have the patience to read longer, denser, more difficult
texts’. He is saying that students’ impatience with more difficult texts (their attitude) means
that they choose to read simple reading matter rather than classic 19th- and 20th-century
literature. A is incorrect: Edmundson does not mention having changed the way he teaches.
C is incorrect: Edmundson does not make a comparison between his own level of concern
and that of other people. D is incorrect: Edmundson makes no reference to the views of the
general public.
18 The correct answer is D : The writer says, ‘Multiple studies show that digital screen use may
be causing a variety of troubling downstream effects’. The word worrying has a similar meaning
to ‘troubling’.
19 The correct answer is H: The writer refers to Anne Mangen’s study and says, ‘Results
indicated that students who read on print were superior in their comprehension to screenreading peers, particularly in their ability to sequence detail’. Having ‘superior … comprehension’
of the details of the plot has a similar meaning to having a more thorough understanding of it.
20 The correct answer is F: The writer refers to Anne Mangen’s study and says, ‘Results
indicated that students who read on print were superior in their comprehension to screenreading peers, particularly in their ability to … reconstruct the plot in chronological order.’ If
the students who read on print were more able to reconstruct the plot in chronological order,
this means that those who read screens found it hard (were less able) to recall the order of
information in the story.
21 The correct answer is B : The writer refers to Ziming Liu’s finding ‘that the “new norm” in
reading is skimming, involving word-spotting and browsing through the text’. The phrase ‘the
new norm’ describes a current tendency. The term ‘word-spotting’ describes the strategy of
picking out single or isolated words and phrases located throughout the text.
22 The correct answer is C: The writer says, ‘When the reading brain skims like this, it
reduces time allocated to deep reading processes. In other words, we don’t have time to grasp
complexity, to understand another’s feelings, to perceive beauty, and to create thoughts of the
reader’s own.’ Not having time to ‘grasp complexity’ and ‘understand another’s feelings’ has a
similar meaning to only gaining a superficial understanding of a text’s emotional content.
23 The correct answer is YES: In the penultimate paragraph (the paragraph before the final
one), the writer refers to ‘how we all have begun to read on various mediums and how that
changes not only what we read, but also the purposes for which we read’. In this sentence, the
word ‘that’ refers back to the fact that we have all begun to read on various mediums. The writer
is suggesting that we choose reading content according to the particular medium that we are
using.
24 The correct answer is NO: In the penultimate paragraph, the writer refers to the loss of
complex reading skills and says, ‘Nor is it only about the young. The subtle atrophy of critical
analysis and empathy affects us all equally.’
25 The correct answer is NOT GIVEN: In the penultimate paragraph, the writer says that our
loss of complex reading skills is ‘leaving us susceptible to false information’ but does not say
whether false information has become more widespread today.
26 The correct answer is YES: In the final paragraph, the writer says, ‘We possess both the
science and the technology to identify and redress the changes in how we read before they
become entrenched.’ When referring to problems, the word ‘redress’ means to rectify, correct
or put right. ‘Before they become entrenched’ means before they become firmly established,
meaning that we still have the chance or opportunity to rectify these problems.
Reading Passage 3
Questions 27–40
27 The correct answer is iii: The text gives examples of AI predictions and says, ‘AI is almost
always better at forecasting than we are’.
28 The correct answer is vi: The text says that ‘if Watson generated a recommendation
that contradicted the experts’ opinion, doctors would typically conclude that Watson wasn’t
competent’. The writer also uses the phrase ‘even more suspicion and disbelief’ to refer to
doctors’ reactions and says that many doctors chose to ‘ignore the seemingly outlandish
AI recommendations and stick to their own expertise’. The word ‘suspicion’ and the fact
that doctors chose to rely on their own expertise rather than AI recommendations indicate
distrust. The phrases ‘even more suspicion’ and ‘many doctors’ indicate that this distrust was
widespread.
29 The correct answer is ii: The text gives three reasons why we have more faith in human
judgement than in AI: our lack of familiarity with AI, our lack of understanding of how AI works
and our perception that AI often goes wrong. First, it explains that ‘Trust in other people is often
based on our understanding of how others think and having experience of their reliability. This
helps create a psychological feeling of safety’, and then contrasts this with our relative lack of
familiarity with AI: ‘AI, on the other hand, is still fairly new and unfamiliar to most people’. Next,
it says that ‘AI’s decision-making process is usually too difficult’ to understand and explains that
‘interacting with something we don’t understand can cause anxiety and give us a sense that
we’re losing control’. Finally, the text mentions the fact that ‘Embarrassing AI failures receive a
disproportionate amount of media attention, emphasising the message that we cannot rely on
technology.’
30 The correct answer is i: The text refers to an experiment focusing on positive and negative
views of AI which found that ‘simply watching a cinematic vision of our technological future
polarised the participants’ attitudes’. If something ‘polarises attitudes’, this means that it divides
them into two opposing groups. The text then goes on to emphasise this increasing divergence
of attitudes, saying, ‘Optimists became more extreme in their enthusiasm for AI and sceptics
became even more guarded.’
31 The correct answer is vii: The text refers to ways of improving trust in AI and then it says
‘Another solution may be to reveal more about the algorithms which AI uses and the purposes
they serve. Several high-profile social media companies and online marketplaces already release
transparency reports about government requests and surveillance disclosures.’ The words
‘reveal’, ‘transparency reports’ and ‘disclosures’ are all connected with the idea of openness.
The text then says, ‘A similar practice for AI could help people have a better understanding of
the way algorithmic decisions are made.’ In this sentence, the writer is suggesting that this kind
of openness should be encouraged.
32 The correct answer is v: The text refers to some research and says, ‘one study showed
that when people were allowed the freedom to slightly modify an algorithm, they felt more
satisfied with its decisions, more likely to believe it was superior and more likely to use it in the
future’. Allowing people to ‘slightly modify an algorithm’ is an example of involving users in AI
processes, and the three positive results of this are examples of advantages. The text then says
that ‘if people are given a degree of responsibility for how [AI systems] are implemented, they
will be more willing to accept AI into their lives’. This is a further example of involving users in AI
processes and a further advantage which results from the involvement.
33 The correct answer is C: The text gives examples of what AI can do and then highlights the
existence of a problem, saying, ‘Yet for all these technological advances, we still seem to deeply
lack confidence in AI predictions.’ A is incorrect: The writer expresses concern about our lack
of confidence in AI but does not provide any solutions in this section. B is incorrect: The writer
gives an opinion but does not justify it. D is incorrect: The writer describes a phenomenon but
does not explain reasons for it.
34 The correct answer is B: The text says, ‘AI’s decision-making process is usually too difficult
for most people to comprehend. And interacting with something we don’t understand can cause
anxiety and give us a sense that we’re losing control.’ ‘Anxiety’ and ‘a sense of losing control’
are examples of feeling at a disadvantage. A is incorrect: The text mentions AI’s decisionmaking processes but does not say anything about AI replacing humans in decision-making
jobs. C is incorrect: The text does not say anything about people wanting to wait for the
technology to be tested. D is incorrect: The text does not say anything about AI seeming more
challenging than it really is.
35 The correct answer is A: The text says, ‘Embarrassing AI failures receive a disproportionate
amount of media attention, emphasising the message that we cannot rely on technology.’ If
media gives people ‘the message that we cannot rely on technology’, it causes them to be
mistrustful of it. B is incorrect: The text says that AI failures receive a disproportionate amount
of media attention compared with AI successes; it does not say that the media devotes an
excessive amount of attention to AI in general. C is incorrect: The text says that the amount of
attention the media gives to AI failures is disproportionate; it does not say that media reports
involving AI are inaccurate. D is incorrect: The text refers to AI failures but does not mention
any causes of these failures.
36 The correct answer is NO: In Section D, the writer refers to an experiment involving
subjective depictions of AI in sci-fi films where ‘Optimists became more extreme in their
enthusiasm for AI and sceptics became even more guarded.’ In other words, positive attitudes
became even more positive and negative attitudes became even more negative. This indicates
that the writer believes these depictions strengthen people’s existing opinions about automation:
they do not make people change their opinions.
37 The correct answer is NOT GIVEN: In Section D, the writer mentions the increasing
representation of AI in the media but does not say whether media portrayals are likely to become
more positive.
38 The correct answer is YES: In Section D, the writer says that ‘refusing to accept the
advantages offered by AI could place a large group of people at a serious disadvantage’. This
means that it may have a negative effect on their lives.
39 The correct answer is NO: In Section E, the writer says, ‘Simply having previous experience
with AI can significantly improve people’s opinions about the technology, as was found in the
study mentioned above. Evidence also suggests the more you use other technologies such as
the internet, the more you trust them.’ This indicates that the writer believes familiarity with AI
can have a large impact on people’s attitudes to technology.
40 The correct answer is YES: In Section F, the writer says that ‘one study showed that when
people were allowed the freedom to slightly modify an algorithm, they felt more satisfied with its
decisions, more likely to believe it was superior and more likely to use it in the future’. This list of
positive results corresponds to the idea of consumer approval. The writer therefore believes that
AI applications which users are able to modify are more likely to gain consumer approval.
