This IELTS Reading post covers a total solution package for IELTS Cambridge 10 Reading Test B. This is a targeted post for General Training candidates who have major difficulties in finding and understanding Reading Answers. This post can guide you the best to understand every Reading answer easily and without much difficulty. Finding IELTS Reading answers is a step-by-step process and I hope this post can help you in this respect.

IELTS Cambridge 10 Test B: GT Reading Module

Section 1:

Questions 1-7

The headline of the passage: Passport Application

Questions 1-7 (TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN):

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

The statement in the question matches with the account in the text- TRUE
The statement in the question contradicts with the account in the text- FALSE
The statement in the question has no clear connection with the account in the text- 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 1: A husband can fill in an application form for his wife.

Keywords for this question: fill in, application form,

The answer is found at the end of the first paragraph. The writer says here, “Your application form must be completed in your own handwriting.” So, the lines clearly indicate that no one can fill in the application form of others.

So, the answer is: FALSE

Question 2: Photocopies of documents are acceptable in some circumstances.

Keywords for this question: photocopies, acceptable, some circumstances,

The answer is found in lines 3-4 of the second paragraph. The writer says here, “All documents must be originals;…” So, the lines clearly mean that all documents have to be originals; so no photocopies are allowed.

So, the answer is: FALSE                 

Question 3: An incomplete application will affect processing time.

Keywords for this question: incomplete application, affect, processing time,  

Paragraph no. 3 talks about incomplete applications. Here, in lines 5-7 the author says, “Applicants should expect delays if the Passport Office receives a form with missing information.” So, incomplete application will make delays in delivery of the passport.

So, the answer is: TRUE                   

Question 4: The passport photos included with your application must be in colour.

Keywords for this question: passport photos, in colour,  

Paragraph no. 4 talks about photographs. But there is NO MENTION of colour of photos in this paragraph.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN                   

Question 5: A witness can be a relative of the applicant.

Keywords for this question: witness, can be, relative,

The final paragraph (the big paragraph) deals with ‘the witness’. However, in this paragraph, we find NO MENTION of relatives or any relationships.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN       

Question 6: Anyone acting as a witness must have a passport.

Keywords for this question:  witness, must have, passport,   

We can find the answer in paragraph no. 5 (the final paragraph). Here, in lines 8-9, the writer states, “. . ..  .and be the holder of a valid passport.”

So, the answer is: TRUE

Question 7: The passport applicant must sign their name on the back of both photos.

Keywords for this question:  applicant, must, sign, back of, photos,    

The answer is in the last lines of the final paragraph. The writer says here, “Photos with this identifying information written in the applicant’s own handwriting will not be accepted.” This means that the applicant cannot write on the back of the photos.

So, the answer is: FALSE

Questions 8-14:

The headline of the passage: Auckland International Airport Services

Questions 8-14 (List of headings)

Follow the same rules of finding answers for the List of Headings and check the first and last few lines of each paragraph. Most of the time, the answer is there for you containing some synonymous words, which match with the lists of headings. If you cannot find the answers in the first and last few lines, you may need to check the middle of the paragraphs. (This we did in other tests too.)

Question 8: Section A

The first line gives us the answer. It says, “The second floor of the International terminal offers a view of the airfield and all incoming and outgoing flights.” This line indicates that it is an observation area.

So, the answer is: ii

Question 9: Section B

Section B details the services provided for tourists who seek help with travel affairs. Look at the lines, “.. .. and provide a comprehensive service for visitors to the city.” Also, “…. Shuttle buses into the city centre are provided at a competitive price.”

So, the answer is: x

Question 10: Section C

Section C talks about medical/healthcare facilities provided at the airport. Look at the following lines, “…Passengers who require urgent medical attention should dial… .”. Also, “ .. . The airport pharmacy is located. . .. .”

So, the answer is: v

Question 11: Section D  

Section D deals with luggage/baggage service, collection and storage. Look at the 2^nd and 4^th lines. “Departing passengers can completely seal their luggage or packages .. .. ..” Also, “.. . .. Luggage storage, charged at $10… .. .”

So, the answer is: iii

Question 12: Section E 

The last part of Section E gives us the answer. “….. is required to make a payment of $25 when leaving the country.” Here, when leaving the country = departure.

So the answer is: ix

Question 13: Section F 

Again, the last part of section F provides us with the answer. “… .. Details of all arrivals and departures are displayed on the monitors located in the terminal halls and lounge areas.” This means passengers can get flight information from here.

So the answer is: vi

Question 14: Section G 

The middle part of section G gives the answer. “… .. . has several rooms available for seminars or business gatherings. These are located adjacent . .. . .”  So, we can gather from this information that there are meeting facilities at the airport.

So the answer is: iv

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Section 2:

The headline of the passage: Planning a gap year

Questions 15-20: (TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN):

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

The statement in the question matches with the account in the text- TRUE
The statement in the question contradicts with the account in the text- FALSE
The statement in the question has no clear connection with the account in the text- 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 15: For some young British people, the purpose of a gap year is to improve their academic qualification.

Keywords for this question: young British, purpose, gap year,

The answer is in the first few lines of the first paragraph. Here, the author says, “The best reason to take a gap year between school and work or higher education is to improve your CV with experience overseas. This is why some school leavers in Britain now consider a year out to be essential.” So, the lines mean that the main reason is to improve CV, not to improve academic qualifications.

So, the answer is: FALSE

Question 16: Shooting Star finds employment for young people in the catering industry.

Keywords for this question: Shooting Star, finds, employment, young people, catering

The answer is in the second paragraph. Lines 2-5 say, “.. .. . Magazines are full of ‘Wanted’ adverts for washing up in a restaurant. Well, we don’t do that – it’s not our idea of excitement. We offer school leavers the chance for outdoor adventure, to teach things like sailing and snowboarding. .. ”

So, this company doesn’t deal with restaurant jobs, rather they offer outdoor adventure, to teach things like sailing and snowboarding.

So, the answer is: FALSE

Question 17: Training with Shooting Star can be expensive.

Keywords for this question: training, expensive

In paragraph no. 2 line no. 5, we find the word ‘train’. In paragraph no. 3 line no. 4, we find the word ‘training’. But we cannot find any reference as to whether the training is expensive or cheap.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN

Question 18: New trainees find it easy to get the sort of work they want.

Keywords for this question: new trainees, easy to get, work they want,   

The answer remains in the second paragraph, where the writer talks about how the new trainees can reap the rewards from Shooting Star’s services. Look carefully, “No choice, really! In your year out you train, travel and work; you can combine work with pleasure and reap the rewards.” This line means that young students can train and get work easily.

So, the answer is: TRUE

Question 19: New trainees who want work experience should check out vacancies before they depart.

Keywords for this question: new trainees, work experience, check out, vacancies, before depart 

In the bullet point section, look at bullet no. 2. Here, the writer gives tips and says, “What’s more important to you – travel or work experience? You can be flexible with travel plans but you must research job opportunities in advance.”  So, the line means that work seekers need to do some checking of job vacancies in advance or before they depart.

So, the answer is: TRUE

Question 20: Shooting Star helps with travel arrangements.

Keywords for this question: helps with, travel arrangements   

Again, in the bullet point section, look at bullet no. 4. Here, the writer gives tips and says, “Sort out the admin in plenty of time – air tickets, visas, insurance and medical matters such as vaccinations for some destinations. These are your responsibility.” So, gap year takers are not helped by Shooting Star in regards travel arrangements like air tickets, visas, insurance and medical matters such as vaccinations.

So, the answer is: FALSE

Questions 21-27:

The headline of the passage: Succeeding at Interviews

Questions 21-27: (Identifying information)

[This question asks you to find information from the passage and write the number of the paragraph (A, B, C or D … .. ) in the answer sheet. This question will not follow any sequence, and so it will surely kill your time if you are not very good in speed reading. You should always quickly read the first two lines or the last two lines of the expected paragraph initially. If you find the answers, you need not read the middle part. If you don’t find answers yet, you can skim the middle part of the paragraph.]

Question 21: the importance of good manners

Keywords for this question: good manners  

In section F, the writer talks about how to present oneself with a good manner, “Whatever the circumstances, you will give yourself an advantage by being friendly and polite… . .”

So, the answer is: F

Question 22: using your contacts

Keywords for this question: contacts  

In section B, the answer is found in lines 3-5, “… .. ask for an information pack or speak to people you know who work for the company.” Here, speak to people you know = contacts

So, the answer is: B

Question 23: giving adequate responses

Keywords for this question: adequate responses

The answer can be found in section G. Lines 6-8 say, “.. .. Don’t simply give ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers, but answer questions as fully as you can.” This means an interviewee should give proper response.

So, the answer is: G

Question 24: getting on well with colleagues

Keywords for this question: getting on well, colleagues 

The answer can be found in lines 1-4 of section H, “. .. . : it is important to show good team spirit, that you possess good people skills and that you are friendly and approachable.” This means the interviewee must show that he/she gets well with colleagues.

So, the answer is: H

Question 25: the information you may need to provide

Keywords for this question: information, need to provide,  

The answer can be found in section C. Look at the first lines, “Prepare for questions you might be asked.” Then a number of questions are also provided that interviewee may need to provide.

So, the answer is: C

Question 26: being honest with the interviewer

Keywords for this answer: being honest

This answer can also be found in section G. In lines 3-5 the writer says, “First of all, don’t exaggerate. For example, if you don’t have the exact experience the employer is looking for, say so and explain you are willing to learn.” This means the interviewee needs to be honest.

So, the answer is: G

Question 27: being punctual

Keywords for this answer: punctual   

This answer can be found in section D in the first lines. “Another important point is never to run the risk of arriving late.” Here, never to run the risk of arriving late = being punctual.

So, the answer is: D

……………………………………………………..…………………………………..

Section 3:

The headline of the passage: Serendipity – accidental discoveries in science

Questions 28-31: (Completing sentences/sentence completion/sentence endings)

[Here, candidates have to complete sentences by matching one part of the sentence with the other. Candidates need to check the keywords from the question parts and try to match those keywords with the information given in the passage.]

Question 28: Nobel found that adding chemicals

Keywords for this answer: Nobel found, adding, chemical

The answer is in paragraph no. 6 where we find reference to Nobel’s experiment on nitroglycerine. In lines 4-6, the writer says, “.. . .Firstly, he experimented with adding chemicals to nitroglycerine, but because the chemicals required huge amounts of resources and energy to wash out, this process was considered to be impractical.”

Here, this process was considered to be impractical = unworkable.

So, the answer is: C (made the process unworkable)

Question 29: Nobel found that adding sawdust and paper

Keywords for this answer: adding sawdust and paper,  

Again, the answer is in paragraph no. 6. Look closely at lines 6-8. “He then tried to use fibrous material such as sawdust, charcoal or paper to stabilize the explosive, but these combustible materials tended to catch fire when placed near nitroglycerine.” Here, combustible = flammable. So, the process actually did no work.

So, the answer is: F (increased the flammability of the mixture)

Question 30: Nobel found that adding brick dust

Keywords for this answer: adding, brick dust,

Once more, the answer is in paragraph no. 6. Look carefully at the last lines. “As an alternative, he added powdered brick dust to tame the explosive, as he knew that brick dust would not catch fire. However, the brick dust reduced the explosive power of the product, and so was also found to be unsatisfactory.” Here, the brick dust reduced the explosive power of the product = decreased the energy or power of the explosion.

So, the answer is: A (decreased the energy of the explosion)

Question 31: Nobel found that mixing nitroglycerine with packaging  

Keywords for this answer: mixing, nitroglycerine, packaging

We can find the answer in lines 4-8 of paragraph no. 7. The author says here, “. . . . and found that when the packaging material was mixed with nitroglycerine it could be pressed into a compact solid. This solid retained the explosive power of the liquid, but was entirely safe and reliable . . .” So, the process was made safer by mixing packaging materials with nitroglycerine.

So, the answer is: E (made the process safer)

Questions 32-37 (Matching list of options with statements)

(The rules for finding answers to this sort of question are simple. Just find the keywords and read around it carefully. Then, give a quick look to check whether there is another statement provided in the text. If there is, check the reference carefully and decide your answer. Remember, the questions may not follow any sequential order. )

Question 32: He recognized the significance of an unexpected result.   

Keywords for this answer: recognized, significance, unexpected result,  

As far as Daguerre was concerned, we find no exact synonyms, but it can be easily understood from the lines in paragraph no. 3,“…. . . and he concluded that the mercury vapour must have improved the photographic result”  that he surely recognised the significance by the amount of time and effort he spent trying to discover which chemical intensified the image.

As far as Nobel is concerned, take a look at this line, “Nobel immediately understood the importance of this discovery.” It is from paragraph no. 8 line 2.

So, the answer is: A (true of both Daguerre and Nobel)

Question 33: He depended on the help of colleagues to solve a problem.   

Keywords for this answer: depended, help, colleagues, solve a problem,  

We do not find any reference for any of the scientists about whether they got help from their colleagues.

So, the answer is: B (true of neither Daguerre nor Nobel)  

Question 34: He used different methods to find a solution to the problem.

Keywords for this answer: used, different methods,  

In paragraph no. 6, we find how Nobel used different methods to find solution to the nitroglycerine process. We do not find it for Daguerre.

So, the answer is: C (true of only one of them)

Question 35: He was encouraged to do this research by his government.

Keywords for this answer: encouraged, by his government,

Again, we do not find any reference for any of the scientists on whether they were encouraged by their governments.

So, the answer is: B (true of neither Daguerre nor Nobel)

Question 36: He received an award in recognition of his scientific work.

Keywords for this answer: received, award,  

The answer lies in paragraph no. 4 in the very first line. “Daguerre’s serendipitous research effort was rewarded a year later with a medal.”

So, the answer is: C (true of only one of them)

Question 37: He worked for a long time to find a way of keeping a process under control.

Keywords for this answer: worked for a long time, keeping process under control,

The answer is in paragraph no. 2. Look at the lines no. 5-8, “Desperate after an investigation lasting several months, Daguerre placed a lightly exposed photographic… . . .. . .  To his amazement, when he removed the plate several days later, Daguerre found a strong image on its surface.”  This suggests that Daguerre worked hard for a long time to keep the process under control.

We cannot find this information for Nobel.

So, the answer is: C (true of only one of them)

Questions 38-40 (Summary completion with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)

[In this kind of questions candidates are given a summary for one, two or three paragraphs with some fill in the blanks questions. As these are fill in the blanks or gaps, there is a condition of writing no more than ONE, TWO or THREE words for each answer and candidates must maintain this condition. Candidates need to find out the related paragraphs by correctly studying the keywords form the questions. Then, they should follow the steps of finding answers for fill in the gaps.]

Headline of the summary: Daguerre’s experiments

Question 38: Daguerre’s work illustrated the comment made by Louis Pasteur that in order to take full advantage of a lucky discovery, scientists need to have a _________.

Keywords for this answer: comment, Louis Pasteur,

The answer lies in the last lines of the first paragraph, where we find a reference to Louis Pasteur’s comment, “. .. . . . However, Louis Pasteur noted the additional requirement involved in serendipity when he said, ‘…chance favours only the prepared mind.” Here, chance = lucky,

So, the answer is: prepared mind

Question 39: He found that exposure to ____________ had the desired effect on a silver-coated photographic plate, but only to a very limited extent. To his great surprise, the image then became much clearer when it was stored in a cupboard.

Keywords for this answer: exposure, silver-coated photographic plate, limited extent, \

39. The answer lies in the last lines of the second paragraph. Look at the lines closely, “In 1838, L.J.M Daguerre was attempting to ‘fix’ images onto a copper photographic plate. After adding a silver coating to the plate and exposing it to iodine vapour, he found that the photographic image was improved but still very weak.”

So, the answer is: iodine vapour

Question 40: By a process of elimination, he discovered that collodion and alcohol were not responsible for this improvement. In fact, the removal of all the ___________ did not affect the quality of the image. It was some spilt mercury that had produced the effect.

Keywords for this answer: collodion, alcohol, not responsible, removal, did not affect, quality, image,

In paragraph no. 2, look at these lines, “Daguerre placed a lightly exposed photographic plate in the cupboard in which laboratory chemicals such as alcohol and collodion were stored. To his amazement, when he removed the plate several days later, Daguerre found a strong image on its surface.” So, he removed the chemicals on the plates.

So, the answer is: chemicals