IELTS reading

Cambridge 16 · Academic Reading Test 3

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Section 1

Reading Passage 1

Roman Shipbuilding And Navigation

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Shipbuilding today is based on science and ships are built using computers and sophisticated tools. Shipbuilding in ancient Rome, however, was more of an art relying on estimation, inherited techniques and personal experience. 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. There are a few surviving written documents that give descriptions and representations of ancient Roman ships, including the sails and rigging. Excavated vessels also provide some clues about ancient shipbuilding techniques. Studies of these have taught us that ancient Roman shipbuilders built the outer hull first, then proceeded with the frame and the rest of the ship. Planks used to build the outer hull were initially sewn together. Starting from the 6th century BCE, they were fixed using a method called mortise and tenon, whereby one plank locked into another without the need for stitching. Then in the first centuries of the current era, Mediterranean shipbuilders shifted to another shipbuilding method, still in use today, which consisted of building the frame first and then proceeding with the hull and the other components of the ship. This method was more systematic and dramatically shortened ship construction times. The ancient Romans built large merchant ships and warships whose size and technology were unequalled until the 16th century CE. Warships were built to be lightweight and very speedy. They had to be able to sail near the coast, which is why they had no ballast…

Questions 1–5

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?

1.The Romans’ shipbuilding skills were passed on to the Greeks and the Egyptians.

2.Skilled craftsmen were needed for the mortise and tenon method of fixing planks.

Section 2

Reading Passage 2

Climate Change Reveals Ancient Artefacts In Norway’s Glaciers

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A.Well above the treeline in Norway’s highest mountains, ancient fields of ice are shrinking as Earth’s climate warms. As the ice has vanished, it has been giving up the treasures it has preserved in cold storage for the last 6,000 years — items such as ancient arrows and skis from Viking Age* traders. And those artefacts have provided archaeologists with some surprising insights into how ancient Norwegians made their livings. B.Organic materials like textiles and hides are relatively rare finds at archaeological sites. This is because unless they’re protected from the microorganisms that cause decay, they tend not to last long. Extreme cold is one reliable way to keep artefacts relatively fresh for a few thousand years, but once thawed out, these materials experience degradation relatively swiftly. 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. If something fragile dries and is windblown it might very soon be lost to science, or an arrow might be exposed and then covered again by the next snow and remain well-preserved. The unpredictability means that glacial archaeologists have to be systematic in their approach to fieldwork. C.Over a nine-year period, a team of archaeologists, which included Lars Pilo of Oppland County Council, Norway, and James Barrett of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, surveyed patches of ice in Oppland, an area of south-central Norway that is home to some of the country’s highest mountains. Reindeer once…

Questions 14–19

The Reading Passage has eight sections, A-H.

14.an explanation for weapons being left behind in the mountains

Section 3

Reading Passage 3

Plant ‘thermometer’ Triggers Springtime Growth By Measuring Night-time Heat

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A photoreceptor molecule in plant cells has been found to have a second job as a thermometer after dark – allowing plants to read seasonal temperature changes. Scientists say the discovery could help breed crops that are more resilient to the temperatures expected to result from climate change. A.An international team of scientists led by the University of Cambridge has discovered that the ‘thermometer’ molecule in plants enables them to develop according to seasonal temperature changes. Researchers have revealed that molecules called phytochromes — used by plants to detect light during the day actually change their function in darkness to become cellular temperature gauges that measure the heat of the night. The new findings, published in the journal Science, show that phytochromes control genetic switches in response to temperature as well as light to dictate plant development. B.At night, these molecules change states, and the pace at which they change is ‘directly proportional to temperature’, say scientists, who compare phytochromes to mercury in a thermometer. The warmer it is, the faster the molecular change — stimulating plant growth. C.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. The latest research pinpoints for the first time a molecular mechanism in plants that reacts to temperature — often triggering the buds of spring we long to see at the end of winter. D.With…

Questions 27–32

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?

27.The Cambridge scientists’ discovery of the ‘thermometer molecule’ caused surprise among other scientists.

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Answers & explanations

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40 answers3 explanations open
  1. 1

    FALSE

    The correct answer is FALSE because the passage clearly states that it was the Romans who learned shipbuilding from the Greeks and Egyptians, not the other way around.

  2. 2

    NOT GIVEN

    The correct answer 'NOT GIVEN' is accurate because the passage does not mention whether skilled craftsmen were needed for the mortise and tenon method of fixing planks, so it cannot be confirmed as true or false based on the information provided.

  3. 3

    FALSE

    The correct answer is FALSE because the passage clearly states that Mediterranean shipbuilders shifted to building the frame first and then the hull, which contradicts the statement that the later practice involved building the hull before the frame.

  4. 4

    TRUE

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  5. 5

    TRUE

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  6. 6

    lightweight

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  7. 7

    bronze

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  8. 8

    levels

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  9. 9

    hull

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  10. 10

    triangular

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  11. 11

    music

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  12. 12

    grain

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  13. 13

    towboats

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  14. 14

    D

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  15. 15

    C

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  16. 16

    F

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  17. 17

    H

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  18. 18

    G

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  19. 19

    B

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  20. 20

    microorganisms / micro-organisms

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  21. 21

    reindeer

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  22. 22

    insects

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  23. 23

    B

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  24. 24

    C

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  25. 25

    A

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  26. 26

    C

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  27. 27

    NOT GIVEN

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  28. 28

    TRUE

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  29. 29

    TRUE

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  30. 30

    NOT GIVEN

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  31. 31

    FALSE

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  32. 32

    FALSE

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  33. 33

    H

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  34. 34

    D

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  35. 35

    G

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  36. 36

    C

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  37. 37

    A

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  38. 38

    warm / warm winter

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  39. 39

    summer

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  40. 40

    mustard plant / mustard plants / mustard

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Understand why, not only what.

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