This Academic IELTS Reading post focuses on solutions to IELTS Cambridge 5 Reading Test 4 Reading Passage 2 entitled ‘Flawed Beauty: the problem with toughened glass’. This is a targeted post for IELTS candidates who have big problems finding out and understanding Reading Answers in the AC module. This post can guide you the best to understand every Reading answer without much trouble. Finding out IELTS Reading answers is a steady process, and this post will assist you in this respect.

IELTS Cambridge 5 Test 4: AC Reading Module

Reading Passage 2: Questions 14-26

The headline of the passage: Flawed Beauty: the problem with toughened glass

Questions 14-17: Matching statements with a list of people

[In this type of question, candidates need to relate statements that are given by or link to people in the passage. The rules for finding answers to this sort of question are simple. Just find the name of the person and read around it carefully. Then, give a quick look to check whether there is another statement or idea provided by the same person in the text. If there is, check the reference carefully and decide your answer. Remember, the questions may not follow any sequential order.]

Question no. 14: Brian Waldron

Keywords for the question: Brian Waldron

At the very first paragraph, the nickel sulphide failure of a glass pane in the town of Cirencester in the UK is mentioned.

Then, in the next paragraph (paragraph no. 2) we can see a comment made by Brian Waldron. “The glass industry is aware of the issue,’ says Brian Waldron, .. .. .. .. But he insists that cases are few and far between. ‘It’s a very rare phenomenon.’ he says.”

Here, very rare phenomenon = very unusual,

So, the answer is: G (claims that nickel sulphide failure is very unusual)

Question no. 15: Trevor Ford

Keywords for the question: Trevor Ford

The answer can be found in paragraph no. 3, in lines 10-14, “ .. . .  ‘What you hear is only the tip of the iceberg,’ says Trevor Ford, a glass expert at Resolve Engineering in Brisbane. Queensland. He believes the reason is simple: ‘No-one wants bad press.’”

Here, No-one wants bad press = publicity about nickel sulphide has been suppressed,

So, the answer is: A (suggests that publicity about nickel sulphide failure has been suppressed)

Question no. 16: Graham Dodd

 Keywords for the question: Graham Dodd

The answer to this question can be found in paragraph no. 8, in lines 6-15, “ .. . . It could happen just months after manufacture, or decades later, although if the glass is heated – by sunlight, for example – the process is speeded up. Ironically, says Graham Dodd, of consulting engineers Arup in London, the oldest pane of toughened glass known to have failed due to nickel sulphide inclusions was in Pilkington’s glass research building in Lathom, Lancashire. The pane was 27 years old.”

Here, decades later & 27 years old = most extreme case of delayed failure,

So, the answer is: H (refers to the most extreme case of delayed failure)

Questions no. 17: John Barry

Keywords for the question: John Barry

In the final paragraph (paragraph no. 10), the writer mentions the work of John Berry in lines 7-12, “ .. .. . John Barry, an expert in nickel sulphide contamination at the University of Queensland, analysed every glass pane in the building. Using a studio camera, a photographer went up in a cradle to take photos of every pane. … .”

Here, analysed every glass pane in the building = closely examined all the glass in one building,

So, the answer is: C (closely examined all the glass in one building)

Questions 18-24: Completing summary with list of words

[In this type of question, candidates are asked to complete a summary with a list of words taken from the passage. Candidates must write the correct letter (not the words) as the answers. Keywords and synonyms are important to find answers correctly. Generally, this type of question maintains a sequence. Find the keywords in the passage and you are most likely to find the answers.]

The title of the summary: Toughened Glass

Question no. 18: Toughened glass is favoured by architects because it is much stronger than ordinary glass, and the fragments are not as ________ when it breaks.

Keywords for the question: toughened glass, favoured by architects, because, much stronger than, ordinary glass, fragments, not, when it breaks,

In paragraph no. 4, the writer mentions the reason why architects favour toughened glass in lines 4-11, “ .. . .. This glass has five times the strength of standard glass, and when it does break it shatters into tiny cubes rather than large, razor-sharp shards. Architects love it because large panels can be bolted together to make transparent walls, and turning it into ceilings and floors is almost as easy.”

Here, five times the strength of standard glass = much stronger than ordinary glass, Architects love it = Toughened glass is favoured by architects, rather than large, razor-sharp shards = the fragments are not as sharp when it breaks,

So, the answer is: F (sharp)

Question no. 19: However, it has one disadvantage: it can shatter _________.

Keywords for the question: however, one disadvantage, can shatter,

In paragraph no. 8 the writer says in lines 4-5, “ . .. .  the stresses this unleashes can shatter the whole sheet. The time that elapses before failure occurs is unpredictable.

Here, The time that elapses before failure occurs is unpredictable = it can shatter unexpectedly,

So, the answer is: I (unexpectedly)

Question no. 20: This fault is a result of the manufacturing process. Ordinary glass is first heated, then cooled very ________.

Keywords for the question: this fault, result, manufacturing process, ordinary glass, first heated, then cooled, very,

The answer can be found in paragraph no. 5. At the beginning, the writer says, “It is made by heating a sheet of ordinary glass to about 620°C to soften it slightly, allowing its structure to expand, and then cooling it rapidly with jets of cold air. . . . .”

Here, rapidly = quickly,  

So, the answer is: C (quickly)

Question no. 21: The outer layer ________ before the inner layer, and the tension between the two layers which is created because of this makes the glass stronger.

Keywords for the question: outer layer, before, inner layer, tension between the two layers,  created, because of this, makes, glass, stronger,   

In paragraph no. 5, look closely at lines 5-11, “ .. . . This causes the outer layer of the pane to contract and solidify before the interior. When the interior finally solidifies and shrinks, it exerts a pull on the outer layer that leaves it in permanent compression and produces a tensile force inside the glass. .. .”

Here, before the interior = before the inner layer,

So, the answer is: K (contracts)

Question no. 22: However, if the glass contains nickel sulphide impurities, crystals of nickel sulphide are formed. These are unstable and can expand suddenly, particularly if the weather is ________. If this happens, the pane of glass may break.

Keywords for the question: however, if, glass contains, nickel sulphide impurities, crystals of nickel sulphide, formed, unstable, can expand, suddenly, particularly, if, weather, if this happens, pane of glass, may break,   

The answer can be found in two places. First, in paragraph no. 6, the writer provides a hint of heat that can cause damage to glass, “ .. . As the glass is heated, these atoms react to form tiny crystals of nickel sulphide. Just a tenth of a gram of nickel in the furnace can create up to 50,000 crystals.”

Then, in paragraph no. 8, in lines 5-10, the writer says, “ . .. .  The time that elapses before failure occurs is unpredictable. It could happen just months after manufacture, or decades later, although if the glass is heated – by sunlight, for example – the process is speeded up. .. ..”

Here, sunlight, for example = warm weather, the process is speeded up = can expand suddenly,

So, the answer is: E (warm)

Question no. 23: The frequency with which such problems occur is _________ by glass experts. Furthermore, the crystals cannot be detected without sophisticated equipment.

Keywords for the question: frequency, such problems occur, by glass experts, furthermore, crystals, cannot be, detected, without, sophisticated equipment,  

The last part of paragraph no. 8 and the complete paragraph no. 9 indicates that there is a big dispute over the issue of the frequency with which such problems occur.

The writer says in paragraph no. 8, “ .. … Ironically, says Graham Dodd, of consulting engineers Arup in London, the oldest pane of toughened glass known to have failed due to nickel sulphide inclusions was in Pilkington’s glass research building in Lathom, Lancashire. The pane was 27 years old.” So, here, one expert (Graham Dodd) is saying that such problems happen after a long time.

Now, in the next paragraph (paragraph no. 9), the writer also says, “Data showing the scale of the nickel sulphide problem is almost impossible to find. The picture is made more complicated by the fact that these crystals occur in batches. So even if on average, there is only one inclusion in 7 tonnes of glass, if you experience one nickel sulphide failure in your building, that probably means you’ve got a problem in more than one pane. Josie says that in the last decade he has worked on over 15 buildings with the number of failures into double figures.” Here, another expert (Barrie Josie) is saying that over the last 10 years he found such problems 2 times more than previous times.

This suggests that the frequency with which such problems (failure due to nickel sulphide inclusions) occur is disputed among glass experts.

So, the answer is: L (disputed)

Questions 25-26: TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN

[In this type of question, candidates are asked to find out whether:

The statement in the question agrees with the information in the passage – TRUE
The statement in the question contradicts with the information in the passage – FALSE
If there is no information on this – NOT GIVEN

For this type of question, you can divide each statement into three independent pieces and make your way through with the answer.]

Question no. 24: Little doubt was expressed about the reason for the Bishops Walk accident.

Keywords for the question: little doubt, expressed about, reason, the Bishops Walk accident,  

In the last line of paragraph no.1, the writer comments on the Bishops Walk accident. “  .. . . they found that minute crystals of nickel sulphide trapped inside the glass had almost certainly caused the failure.”

Here, almost certainly caused the failure = little doubt about the reason,

So, the answer is: TRUE

Question no. 25: Toughened glass has the same appearance as ordinary glass.

Keywords for the question: toughened glass, same appearance, as, ordinary glass,   

In this passage, we find how ordinary glass is processed into toughened glass. However, there is no comparison of the appearance between toughened glass and ordinary glass.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN

Question no. 26: There is plenty of documented evidence available about the incidence of nickel sulphide failure.

Keywords for the question: plenty of documented evidence, available, about, incidence of nickel sulphide failure,   

In the first lines of paragraph no. 9 the writer states, “Data showing the scale of the nickel sulphide problem is almost impossible to find. … .”

Here, almost impossible to find = there is not enough documented evidence about the incidence of nickel sulphide failure,

So, the answer is: FALSE

Click here for solutions to Cambridge 5 AC Test 4 Reading Passage 1

Click here for solutions to Cambridge 5 AC Test 4 Reading Passage 3