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Cambridge ACADEMIC READING IELTS 13 Test 3

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PASSAGE 1: THE COCONUT PALM

QUESTIONS 1-8: COMPLETE THE TABLE BELOW.

Question 1. TRUNK – TIMBER FOR HOUSES AND THE MAKING OF……….

Keywords: trunk, timber, houses, making Now, looking for the key words, we find the reference to the trunk and its uses in paragraph 2. The writer says that: “This is an important source of timber for building houses, and is increasingly being used as a replacement for endangered hardwoods in the furniture construction industry”. Thus, the trunk is used to build houses and also to make furniture.

Here, making = construction

Answer: furniture.

Question 2. FLOWERS – STEMS PROVIDE SAP, USED AS A DRINK OR A SOURCE OF ……….

Keywords:  flowers, sap, drink, source Now, coconut flowers are also mentioned in paragraph 2: “The flower stems may be tapped for their sap to produce a drink, and the sap can also be reduced by boiling to produce a type of sugar used for cooking”. Thus, the sap from the flower stems can be used as a drink or to boil and make a kind of sugar.

Answer: sugar.

Question 3. FRUITS – MIDDLE LAYER (COIR FIBRES) USED FOR ………. , ETC

Keywords: fruits, middle, coir fibres Now, look for the information relating to fruits, and we find this in paragraph 3: “The thick fibrous middle layer produces coconut fibre, coir, which has numerous uses and is particularly important in manufacturing ropes”. So, the fibre from the middle layer, coir, is used to make ropes.,

Answer: ropes.

Question 4. FRUITS – INNER LAYER (SHELL): A SOURCE OF ……….

Keywords: inner, shell, source Now, at the end of paragraph 3, the uses of the ‘woody inner layer’ of coconut shells are described: “An important product obtained from the shell is charcoal, which is widely used in various industries…” The inner layer of the shell, therefore, provides charcoal for industries and also for cooking.

Answer: charcoal.

Question 5. FRUITS – INNER LAYER (SHELL): WHEN HALVED USED FOR ……….

Keywords: inner, shell, halved Now, as we continue reading paragraph 3, the other use of the inner layer – the shell – is mentioned: “When broken in half, the shells are also used as bowls in many parts of Asia”. Halves of shells are used as bowls.

Here, halved = broken in half

Answer: bowls.

Question 6. FRUITS – COCONUT WATER: A SOURCE OF ………. FOR OTHER PLANTS

Keywords: coconut water, source, other plants Now, in paragraph 4, we find the uses of coconut water: “…coconut water, which is enjoyed as a drink but also provides the hormones which encourage other plants to grow more rapidly and produced higher yields”. The coconut water provides hormones for other plants, therefore it is a source of hormones for those plants.

Answer: hormones.

Question 7. FRUITS – COCONUT FLESH: OIL AND MILK FOR COOKING AND ……….

Keywords: coconut flesh, oil, milk, cooking The author continues in paragraph 4: “Dried coconut flesh, copra, is made into coconut oil and coconut milk, which are widely used in cooking in different parts of the world, as well as in cosmetics”. Thus, coconut oil and milk are used for cooking and for making cosmetics. Answer: cosmetics.

Question 8. FRUITS –COCONUT FLESH: GLYCERINE (AN INGREDIENT IN) ……….

Keywords: coconut flesh, glycerine, ingredient It is also stated in paragraph 4 that: “A derivative of coconut fat, glycerine, acquired strategic importance in a quite different sphere, as Alfred Nobel introduced the world to his nitroglycerine-based invention: dynamite”. ‘Nitroglycerine-based means that glycerine was one of the basic ingredients. Nobel’s invention was dynamite.

Answer: dynamite.

QUESTIONS 9-13: DO THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS AGREE WITH THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN READING PASSAGE 1?

Question 9. COCONUT SEEDS NEED SHADE IN ORDER TO GERMINATE

Keywords:  seeds, shade, germinate Now, these key words can be found in paragraph 5. There, the writer tells us how coconut seeds germinate: “Literally cast onto desert island shores, with little more than sand to grow in and exposed to the full glare of the tropical sun, coconut seeds are able togerminate and root”. ‘Glare’ means to shine with a very bright and unpleasant light – we often wear sunglasses to protect against the glare of the sun. It is the opposite of the shade. So, coconut seeds do not need shade in order to germinate, they can germinate in the sun.

Answer: FALSE.

Question 10. COCONUTS WERE PROBABLY TRANSPORTED TO ASIA FROM AMERICA IN THE 16TH CENTURY

Keywords:  transported, Asia, America, 16th century Now, in the last paragraph, the writer tells us about the origins of coconuts. “16th century trade and human migration patterns reveal that Arab traders and European sailors are likely to have moved coconuts from South and Southeast Asia to Africa and then acrossthe Atlantic to the east coast of America”. This sentence tells us that coconuts were probably moved from Asia to America – via Africa. This route is the opposite of the statement.

Here,probably = likely.  transported = moved.

Answer: FALSE.

Question 11. COCONUTS FOUND ON THE WEST COAST OF AMERICA WERE A DIFFERENT TYPE FROM THOSE FOUND ON THE EAST COAST

Keywords:.west coast, America, different, east coast Now, in the last paragraph, the writer simply tells us that: “In America, there are close coconut relatives, but no evidence that coconuts are indigenous”. Thus, we do not know if the coconuts on the west and east coasts of America are different.

Answer:  NOT GIVEN.

Question 12.  ALL THE COCONUTS FOUND IN ASIA ARE CULTIVATED VARIETIES.

Keywords: all, Asia, cultivated Now, this information is also given in the last paragraph: “In Asia there is a large degree of coconut diversity and evidence of millennia of human use – but there are no relatives growing in the wild”. As there are no wild coconuts growing in Asia, all the varieties must be cultivated.

Here, varieties = relatives,

Answer: TRUE.

Question 13. COCONUTS ARE CULTIVATED IN DIFFERENT WAYS IN AMERICA AND THE PACIFIC.

Keywords: cultivated, different, America, Pacific

Now, in the last paragraph. Here, it is stated that: “In America there are close coconut relatives, but no evidence that coconuts are indigenous. These problems have led to the intriguing suggestion that coconuts originated on coral islands in the Pacific and were dispersed from there”.

Thus, the only information given here is that the origins of coconuts are not known for certain, but nothing is stated about the methods of cultivation, either in America or the Pacific.

Answer: NOT GIVEN.

IELTS Cambridge 13, Test 3, Academic Reading Module, Reading Passage 2

PASSAGE 2: How Baby Talk Gives Infant Brains A Boost

Questions 14-17. Look at the following ideas (Questions 14-17) and the list of researchers below. Match each idea with the correct researcher.

Question 14. THE IMPORTANCE OF ADULTS GIVING BABIES INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION WHEN TALKING TO THEM

Keywords: adults, babies, individual attention, talking Now, in paragraph D, the author writes about the study of Nairan Ramirez-Esparza. She says: “We also found that it really matters whether you use baby talk in a one-on-one context…The more parents use baby talk one-on-one, the more babies babble, and the more they babble, the more words they produce later in life”. A ‘one-on-one context’ means a situation in which the parent is alone with the baby, talking to the baby and giving it individual attention.

Here,  importance = it really matters;  individual = one-on-one.

Answer: B.

Question 15. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN WHAT BABIES HEAR AND THEIR OWN EFFORTS TO CREATE SPEECH

Keywords: connection, hear, efforts, speech

Now, in paragraph F, the author refers to a study in which Patricia Kuhl took part: “The results suggest that listening to baby talk prompts infant brains to start practicing their language skills”. Thus, when babies listen to (= hear) baby talk, this stimulates their brains to try to practice their own language skills. The passage continues: “Finding activation in the motor areas of the brain when infants are simply listening is significant, because it means the baby brain is engaged in trying to talk back right from the start, and suggests that seven-month-olds’ brains are already trying to figure out how to make the right movements that will produce words”.

Here, create speech = produce words

Answer: C.

Question 16.THE ADVANTAGE FOR THE BABY OF HAVING TWO PARENTS EACH SPEAKING IN A DIFFERENT WAY

Keywords: advantage, two parents, different way Now, in paragraph C, the author tells us about the study of Mark VanDam. He found that mothers and fathers (the two parents) each spoke to children in a different way: “The idea is that a kid gets to practice a certain kind of speech with mom and another kind of speech with dad, so the kid then has a wider repertoire of kinds of speech to practice”. The advantage for the baby when parent speak in these different ways, is that it grows up having a wider range (= repertoire) of kinds of speech, which it can then practice.

Here, a different way = another kind

Answer: A.

Question 17. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE AMOUNT OF BABY TALK BABIES HEAR AND HOW MUCH VOCALISING THEY DO THEMSELVES

Keywords:connection, amount of baby talk, vocalising Now, in the middle of paragraph D, the author writes about a study which found that “…the more baby talk parents used, the more their youngsters began to babble”. Nairan Ramirez-Esparza adds: “Those children who listened to a lot of baby talk were talking more than the babies that listened to more adult talk or standard speech”. She found, therefore, that there is a connection between the amount of baby talk which babies listened to, and how much talking the babies did.

Here, vocalising = babble/ talking.

Answer:  B.

QUESTIONS 18-23: COMPLETE THE SUMMARY.

Question 18. RESEARCHERS AT WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY USED ………………….. , TOGETHER WITH SPECIALISED COMPUTER PROGRAMS, TO ANALYSE HOW PARENTS INTERACTED WITH THEIR BABIES DURING A NORMAL DAY.

Keywords: Washington State University, computer programs, interacted, normal day We find a reference to Washington State University in paragraph C. “Mark VanDam of Washington State University at Spokane and colleagues equipped parents with recording devices and speech-recognition software to study the way they interacted with their youngsters during a normal day”.

Here, specialised computer programs = speech-recognition software;  analyse = study.

Answer: recording devices.

Question 19. THE STUDY REVEALED THAT ……………….. TENDED NOT TO MODIFY THEIR ORDINARY SPEECH PATTERNS WHEN INTERACTING WITH THEIR BABIES.

Keywords: not modify, speech patterns, interacting Now, in paragraph C, VanDam explains: “Dads didn’t raise their pitch or fundamental frequency when they talked to kids”.

In other words, fathers spoke to their babies in a similar way that they would speak normally. Their ‘pitch and fundamental frequency’ refers to the ‘ordinary speech patterns’ which fathers use to talk to their babies.

Here,  interacting with = talked to;  babies = kids.

Answer: dads/fathers.

Question 20. ACCORDING TO AN IDEA KNOWN AS THE ……………….. , THEY MAY USE A MORE ADULT TYPE OF SPEECH TO PREPARE INFANTS FOR THE LANGUAGE THEY WILL HEAR OUTSIDE THE FAMILY HOME.

Keywords: idea, adult, speech, prepare, language, outside Now, continuing with the findings of the study in paragraph C, the author says of fathers: “Their role may be rooted in what is called the bridge hypothesis, which dates back to 1975. It suggests that fathers use less familiar language to provide their children with a bridge to the kind of speech they’ll hear in public”.

So, the author suggests that fathers may use ‘less familiar’ (= more adult) language to talk to their babies, which helps to prepare these infants for what they will hear when they are not in the family home.

Here, idea = hypothesis;  language = speech; outside the family home = in public;

Answer: bridge hypothesis.

Question 21. ACCORDING TO THE RESEARCHERS, HEARING BABY TALK FROM ONE PARENT AND ‘NORMAL’ LANGUAGE FROM THE OTHER EXPANDS THE BABY’S ………………. OF TYPES OF SPEECH WHICH THEY CAN PRACTICE.

Keywords: normal language, expands, types of speech Now, we find the answer at the end of paragraph C. We know from the previous question that fathers speak to babies using less ‘baby talk’ and more normal speech, using adult language. “The idea is that a kid gets to practice a certain kind of speech with mom and another kind of speech with dad, so the kid then has a wider repertoire of kinds of speech to practice’, says VanDam”. A repertoire refers to all the things that a person – in this case, a baby – is able to do. So, the baby is able to practice different kinds of speech with each parent.

Answer: repertoire.

Question 22. MEANWHILE ANOTHER STUDY CARRIED OUT BY SCIENTISTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT RECORDED SPEECH AND SOUND USING SPECIAL …………. THAT THE BABIES WERE EQUIPPED WITH.

Keywords: Washington, Connecticut, recorded, equipped

Now, in paragraph D, we find a reference to the University of Washington and the University of Connecticut. This enables us to know where to look for the answer: “Scientists from the University of Washington and the University of Connecticut collected thousands of 30-second conversations between parents and their babies, fitting 26 children with audio-recording vests that captured language and sound….”Thus, these scientists recorded the language and sounds, using audio-recording vests fitted to the babies.

Here, recorded = captured.

Answer: (audio-recording) vests.

Question 23. WHEN THEY STUDIED THE BABIES AGAIN AT AGE TWO, THEY FOUND THAT THOSE WHO HAD HEARD A LOT OF BABY TALK IN INFANCY HAD A MUCH LARGER …………… THAN THOSE WHO HAD NOT.

Keywords: age two, babies again, larger Now, we now have to find more information on the study conducted by the scientists mentioned in the previous question. Again, the answer is in paragraph D: “And when researchers saw the same babies at age two, they found that frequent baby talk had dramatically boosted vocabulary….”

At the age of two, babies who had heard a lot of baby talk, had more vocabulary than those who had not heard much baby talk.

Here, a lot of = frequent;  had a much larger vocabulary = dramatically boosted vocabulary.

Answer:  vocabulary.

QUESTIONS 24-26: READING PASSAGE 2 HAS SIX PARAGRAPHS, A-F.

Question 24. A REFERENCE TO A CHANGE WHICH OCCURS IN BABIES’ BRAIN ACTIVITY BEFORE THE END OF THEIR FIRST YEAR

Keywords: change, brain activity, end of first year Now, in paragraph F. The author writes about a publication called Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In this publication, a study was reported which was carried out with babies of 7 months and 11.5 months – in other words, before the end of their first year. “The infants were placed in a brain-activation scanner that recorded activity in a brain region known to guide the motor movements that produce speech. The results suggest that listening to baby talk prompts infant brains to start practicing their language skills”.

So, listening to baby talk leads to changes in the activity of ‘infant brains’.

Answer: F.

Question 25. AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT SOME PARENTS DO FOR THEIR BABY’S BENEFIT BEFORE BIRTH

.Keywords:. example, baby’s benefit, before birth The answer can be found in paragraph A. “Most babies start developing their hearing while still in the womb, prompting some hopeful parents to play classical music to their pregnant bellies”. Most babies, therefore, start to hear when they are still inside the body of the mother. So, some parents start to play music for these unborn babies to stimulate their hearing.

Here,  before birth = still in the womb.

Answer: A.

Question 26. A MENTION OF BABIES’ PREFERENCE FOR THE SOUNDS THAT OTHER BABIES MAKE

Keywords: preference, sounds, other babies Now, at the beginning of paragraph E. “Another study suggests that parents might want to pair their youngsters up so they can babble more with their own kind. Researchers from McGill University and Universite du Quebec a Montreal found that babies seem to like listening to each other rather than adults…” More details of this study are given in the paragraph, and these refer specifically to the sounds made by babies: “…the ‘infant’ sounds held babies’ attention nearly 40 percent longer” than the sounds made by adults.

Here, preference = seem to like.

Answer: E.

QUESTIONS 27-31: READING PASSAGE 3 HAS EIGHT PARAGRAPHS, A-H.

Question 27. PROPOSED EXPLANATIONS FOR THE DECLINE OF THE HARAPPAN CIVILISATION

Keywords: explanations, decline Now, causes for the decline of the Harappan civilisation are found in paragraph C. There are different suggestions or explanations: changes affecting water supply and agriculture, population growth, a breakdown of trade, invasion and even environmental changes related to climate. “It is unlikely that there was a single cause for the decline of the civilisation”.

Here, explanation = cause.

Answer:  C.

Question 28. REFERENCE TO A PRESENT-DAY APPLICATION OF SOME ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH FINDINGS

Keywords: present-day application, archaeological, findings Now, the final paragraph relates what we can learn from the archaeological research into the Harappan civilisation to tackle some issues today.

“By investigating responses to environmental pressures and threats, we can learn from the past to engage with the public, and the relevant governmental and administrative bodies, to be more proactive in issues such as the management and administration of water supply, the balance of urban and rural development, and the importance of preserving cultural heritage in the future”.

Answer: H.

Question 29. A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HARAPPAN CIVILISATION AND ANOTHER CULTURE OF THE SAME PERIOD

Keywords: difference, another culture, same period The question asks us to look for a comparison between the Harappan civilisation and another particular culture at that same time. The answer is in paragraph A. The people of the Harappan culture did not leave pictures of themselves, “But their lack of self-imagery – at at time when the Eyptians were carving and painting representations of themselves all over their temples – is only part of the mystery”. Thus, a contrast is made between the Harappan civilisation and Egyptian culture at the same period.

Answer:  A.

Question 30. A DESCRIPTION OF SOME FEATURES OF HARAPPAN URBAN DESIGN

Keywords:  features, urban design Now, in paragraph B, Dr Cameron Petrie describes Harappan cities. They had: “…great baths, craft workshops, palaces and halls laid out in distinct sectors. Houses were arranged in blocks, with wide main streets and narrow alleyways, and many had their own wells and drainage systems”. All of these are features of urban design – things that we find in the sites of Harappan cities.

Answer:  B.

Question 31. REFERENCE TO THE DISCOVERY OF ERRORS MADE BY PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGISTS

Keywords: errors, previous archaeologists Now, in paragraph D, we find several references to the mistakes made by previous archaeologists: “…many of the archaeological sites were not where they were supposed to be, completely altering understanding of the way that this region was inhabited in the past. The new research team “…found inaccuracies in the published geographic locations of ancient settlements ranging from several hundred metres to many kilometres”. The result was that “…any attempts to use the existing data were likely to be fundamentally flawed”. All of these are errors of previous archaeologists, discovered by the research team of Dr Petrie and Dr Singh.

Answer:  D.

QUESTIONS 32-36: COMPLETE THE SUMMARY BELOW.

Question 32. BY COLLECTING THE …………… OF SNAILS AND ANALYSING THEM, THEY DISCOVERED…..

Keywords: collecting, snails, analysing In paragraph E, we find a reference to the research of Yama Dixit and David Hodell. “The researchers gathered shells of Melanoides tuberculata snails from the sediment of an ancient lake and used geochemical analysis as a means of tracing the climate history of the region”. Therefore, the researchers collected and analysed the shells of snails.

Here, collect = gather

Answer: shells.

Question 33. THEY DISCOVERED EVIDENCE OF A CHANGE IN WATER LEVELS IN A ………….. IN THE REGION

Keywords: change, water levels Now, in paragraph E, the author continues: “As today, the major source of water into the lake is likely to have been the summer monsoon’, says Dixit. ‘But we have observed that there was an abrupt change about 4,100 years ago, when the amount of evaporation from the lake exceeded the rainfall – indicative of a drought”. About 4,100 years ago, there was a sudden change, when the water level in the lake fell.

Answer: lake.

Question 34. THIS OCCURRED WHEN THERE WAS LESS ……………. THAN EVAPORATION, AND SUGGESTS THAT THERE WAS AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF DROUGHT

Key words: less, evaporation, drought Now, in the same sentence in paragraph E, we find the answer. This is the same period “…when the amount of evaporation exceeded the rainfall – indicative of a drought”.

If the evaporation exceeded the rainfall, leading to a drought, this means that there was less rainfall than evaporation.

Answer:  rainfall.

Question 35.PETRIE AND SINGH’S TEAM ARE USING ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDS TO LOOK AT ………….. FROM FIVE MILLENNIA AGO, IN ORDER TO KNOW WHETHER PEOPLE HAD ADAPTED THEIR AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES TO CHANGING CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.

Keywords:  Petrie, Singh, records, five millenia ago

Now, at the beginning of paragraph G. “Petrie and Singh’s team is now examining archaeological records and trying to understand details of how people led their lives in the region five millennia ago. They are analysing grains cultivated at the time and trying to work out whether they were grown under extreme conditions of water stress, and whether they were adjusting the combinations of crops they were growing for different weather systems”.

Here, look at = analyse;  adapt = adjust; agricultural practices = combinations of crops;  changing climatic conditions = different weather systems.

Answer: grains.

Question 36. THEY ARE ALSO EXAMINING OBJECTS INCLUDING ……………. , SO AS TO FIND OUT ABOUT LINKS BETWEEN INHABITANTS OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE REGION AND WHETHER THESE CHANGED OVER TIME. 

Keywords: examining objects, links, inhabitants, changed Now, in paragraph G. The researchers “…are also looking at whether the types of pottery used, and other aspects of their material culture, were distinctive to specific regions or were more similar across larger areas. This gives us insight into the types of interactive networks that the population was involved in, and whether those changed”.

Here, look at = examine; links = interactive networks; inhabitants = population.

Answer: pottery.

QUESTIONS 37-40: LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS AND THE LIST OF RESEARCHERS BELOW.

Question 37. FINDING FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT CHANGES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THE REGION IS VITAL

Keywords: changes, environmental conditions, vital Now, at the end of paragraph F: “Considering the vast area of the Harappan Civilisation with its variable weather systems’, explains Singh, ‘it is essential that we obtain more climate data from areas close to the two great cities at Mohenjodaro and Harappa and also from the Indian Punjab”.

Ravindanath Singh is saying that we must find more climate data about the variable weather systems in the area.

Here, information = data; changes to environmental conditions = variable weather systems; vital = essential.

Answer: B.

Question 38. EXAMINING PREVIOUS PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR MAY HAVE LONG-TERM BENEFITS

Keywords: previous, behaviour, long-term benefits Now in the last paragraph, Cameron Petrie’s ideas relate the work of archaeologists to possible benefits today from studying such work. Petrie says that: “By investigating responses to environmental pressures and threats, we can learn from the past to engage with the public, and the relevant governmental and administrative bodies, to be more proactive in issues such as…..” Petrie believes that the work of archaeologists in investigating how past civilisations responded to environmental challenges, can help us to tackle such problems today. These are the potential long-term benefits.

Here, examining = investigating; patterns of behaviour = responses.

Answer:  A.

Question 39. ROUGH CALCULATIONS INDICATE THE APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF A PERIOD OF WATER SHORTAGE

Keywords: calculations, length, water shortage Now in paragraph E, Yama Dixit comments on the effects of drought on the drying of a great lake. However, it is David Hodell who comments on the possible length/duration of this drought: “Hodell adds: ‘We estimate that the weakening of the Indian summer monsoon climate lasted about 200 years before recovering to the previous conditions…”

Here, rough calculations = estimate; approximate = about; a period of water shortage = weakening of the Indian summer monsoon climate.

Therefore, it was David Hodell who made this rough calculation.

Answer: D.

Question 40. INFORMATION ABOUT THE DECLINE OF THE HARAPPAN CIVILISATION HAS BEEN LACKING

Keywords: decline Now, in paragraph B, Cameron Petrie says: “There is plenty of archaeological evidence to tell us about the rise of the Harappan Civilisation, but relatively little about its fall’, explains archaeologist Dr Cameron Petrie…”

Here, information = evidence; decline = fall.

As there is not much evidence about the fall/decline of the Harappan Civilisation, we know that this information is lacking.

Answer: A.

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