Cambridge ielts 1-15 series reading answers explained

CAMBRIDGE IELTS 7 – TEST 1 – PASSAGE 3
EDUCATING PSYCHE 

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CAMBRIDGE IELTS 7 READING – TEST 2 – 
ANSWERS 
WHY PAGODAS DON‟T FALL DOWN 
QUESTIONS 1-4 YES, NO, NOT GIVEN 
1. ONLY TWO JAPANESE PAGODAS HAVE COLLAPSED IN 1400 YEARS. 
Keywords: only , two, collapsed, 1400 years 
In the first paragraph, the writer says: ” Records show that only two have collapsed during the past 
1400 years.” 
=> ANSWER: YES 
2. THE HANSHIN EARTHQUAKE OF 1995 DESTROYED THE PAGODA AT 
THE TOJI TEMPLE 
Keywords: Hanshin earthquake, 1995, destroyed, Toji temple 
In the first paragraph, the writer states: ” The disastrous Hanshin earthquake in 1995 killed 6400 
people…. Yet it left the magnificent five-storey pagoda at the Toji temple in nearby Kyoto 
unscathed….” This means the Hanshin earthquake did not destroy the pagoda at the Toji temple as it 
left the pagoda unscathed. 
+ unscathed = not damaged 
=> ANSWER: NO 
3. THE OTHER BUILDINGS NEAR THE TOJI PAGODA HAD BEEN BUILT 
IN THE LAST 30 YEARS. 
Keywords: other buildings, near, Toji pagoda, 30 years 
Information about buildings near the Toji pagoda can only be found in paragraph 1, in which the writer 
reports: “Yet it left the magnificent five-storey pagoda at the Toji temple in nearby Kyoto unscathed, 
though it levelled a number of buildings in the neighbourhood.” The writer only indicates that the 
buildings near the Toji temple were levelled – they fell to the ground -as a result of the earthquake. No 
information relating to the date of these buildings is mentioned. 
+ near=in the neighbourhood 
=> ANSWER: NOT GIVEN 
4 .THE BUILDERS OF PAGODAS KNEW HOWTO ABSORB SOME OF THE 
POWER PRODUCED BY SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS. 
Keywords: builders of pagodas, knew, absorb, power, weather conditions 
In paragraph 4, the writer says: “When the pagoda reached Japan, however, its architecture was freely 
adapted to local conditions – they were built less high…made mainly of wood…Because of the 
typhoons that batter Japan in the summer, Japanese builders learned to extend the eaves of buildings 

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further beyond the walls. This prevents rain water gushing down the walls. 
+ severe weather conditions=typhoons [storms with powerful rain and winds] 
+ batter=hit powerfully 
=> ANSWER: YES 
QUESTIONS 5-10 CLASSIFY THE FOLLOWING AS TYPICAL OF 
A. Both Chinese and Japanese pagodas 
B. Only Chinese pagodas 
C. Only Japanese pagodas 
Information about Japanese pagodas is mainly found in paragraph 4. 
5. EASY INTERIOR ACCESS TO TOP 
In paragraph 4, the writer says: ” The Chinese built their pagodas in brick or stone, with inner 
staircases… When the pagoda reached Japan…(it was) made mainly of wood and the staircase was 
dispensed with because the Japanese pagoda did not have any particular use but became more of an art 
object.” This indicates that only Chinese pagodas have staircases, which allow easy interior access to 
the top, so that it was easy to reach the top and use the pagoda as a watchtower. In Japanese pagodas, 
no staircases were built. 
+ Dispense with (st) = stop using something because it‟s no longer needed = do away with it It should 
be noticed here that we don‟t necessarily need to know the meaning of “dispense ” to learn that 
Japanese pagodas don‟t have stairs. The writer states that the main use of Japanese pagodas is as an 
art object, so we can guess that they don‟t need staircases. 
+ interior access=inner staircases 
=> ANSWER: B 
6. TILES ON EAVES 
In the last sentence of paragraph 5, the writer says: ” For the same reason, the builders of Japanese 
pagodas seem to have further increased their weight by choosing to cover these extended eaves not 
with the porcelain tiles of many Chinese pagodas but with much heavier earthenware tiles” So, 
although they have different types of tiles, both Chinese and Japanese pagodas have tiles on eaves. 
=> ANSWER: A 
7. USE AS OBSERVATION POST 
In paragraph 4, the writer says: ” The Chinese built their pagodas… and used them in later centuries as 
watch towers.” On the other hand, as mentioned above, we see that Japanese pagodas served only as 
an art object. 
+ observation post = watchtower 
+ observe = watch 
=> ANSWER: B 
8. SIZE OF EAVES UP TO HALF THE WIDTH OF THE BUILDING 
In paragraph 5, the writer says: “The roof of a Japanese temple building can be made to overhang the 
sides of the structure by fifty percentor more of the building‟s overall width”, and doesn‟t mention 
Chinese pagodas. 
+ pagoda=temple building 
+ eaves = roof 

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+ up to half = by fifty per cent 
=> ANSWER: C 
9. ORIGINAL RELIGIOUS PURPOSE 
In paragraph 4, the writer states: ” The multi-storey pagoda came to Japan from China in the sixth 
century. As in China, they were first introduced with Buddhism and were attached to important 
temples.” This means that multi-storey pagodas accompanied the spread of Buddhism from China to 
Japan, and were attached to existing important temples . Thus, the pagodas in Japan and China were 
built with a religious purpose, associated with Buddhism. 
+ original=first introduced 
=> ANSWER: A 
10. FLOORS FITTING LOOSELY OVER EACH OTHER. 
In paragraph 7, the writer says about Japanese pagodas: “What those early craftsmen had found by trial 
and error was that under pressure a pagoda‟s loose stack of floors could be made to slither to and 
fro….”This means that only in Japanese pagodas, can we find floors not actually connected, but placed 
on top of each other/stacked. 
=> ANSWER: C 
11. IN A JAPANESE PAGODA, THE SHINBASHIRA 
Keywords: Japanese, shinbashira 
In paragraph 6, the writer says: ” Is the answer that , like a tall pine tree, the Japanese pagoda – with 
its massive trunk-like central pillar known as shinbashira -simply flexes and sways during a typhoon or 
earthquake? …But the answer is not so simple because the startling thing is that the shinbashira 
actually carries no load at all.” So it can be concluded that A and B are not correct. 
+ bend corresponds to flex and sway 
+ bear =carry 
+ weight = load 
The writer continues : ” In fact, in some pagoda designs, it does not even rest on the ground, but is 
suspended from the top of the pagoda…..” This means that it will not connect the floor with the 
foundations, as it does not even rest on the ground. 
+ foundation: a construction below the ground distributing the load of a building. So C is not correct. 
In paragraph 7, the writer says : ” The shinbashira, running up through a hole in the centre of the 
building, constrained individual storeys from moving too far….” 
+ stop = constrain = hold back, restrict 
+ floor = storey 
So the answer is D: stops the floors moving too far. 
=> ANSWER: D 
12. SHUZO ISHIDA PERFORMS EXPERIMENTS IN ORDER TO 
Keywords: Shuzo Ishida, experiments 
In paragraph 7, the writer indicates: ” Mr Ishida, known to his students as “Professor Pagoda” because 
of his passion to understand the pagoda, has built a series of models and tested them on a “shaketable” 
in his laboratory.” So the purpose of the experiment is to understand the pagoda. The possible answers 
are C.Learn about the dynamics of pagodas D. understand ancient mathematics. 
However, in the following sentences, the writer says: “The ancient craftsmen, apparently without the 
assistance of very advanced mathematics…” This means that there were no “ancient mathematics” to 
understand here. So D is not correct. The correct answer is C: learn about the dynamics of pagodas. 
=> ANSWER: C 

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13. THE STOREYS OF A JAPANESE PAGODA ARE 
Keywords: storeys, Japanese 
From Question 10, we can easily find that answer C is correct: fitted loosely on top of each other. Now 
we look at other answers to check for sure 
In paragraph 6, the last sentence, the writer states: “The shinbashira, running up through a hole in the 
central of the building,constrained individual storeys from moving too far because, after moving a 
certain distance, they banged into it, transmitting energy away along the column.” This means the 
floors could move away from the shinbashira, known as the central pillar, then banged into it. So it can 
be inferred that the storeys couldn‟t be fastened to the central pillar as otherwise, they wouldn‟t have 
moved away a certain distance then banged into it. So B is not correct. In paragraph 8, the writer says: 
” Another strange feature of the Japanese pagoda is that, because of the building tapers,with each 
successive floor plan being smaller than the one below, none of the vertical pillars that carry the 
weight of the building is connected to its corresponding pillar above.” 
This means floors are not connected to each other through weight, because none of the pillars carrying 
the weight is connected to its corresponding pillar. So D is not correct . No information relating to A 
can be found. However, in paragraph 8 we learn that: “…the individual storeys of a Japanese 
pagoda…are not actually connected to each other. They are simply stacked one on top of another like 
a pile of hats”. 
=> ANSWER: C