Cambridge ielts 1-15 series reading answers explained

CAMBRIDGE IELTS 9 – TEST 1 – PASSAGE 2
IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?
HISTORY OF THE TORTOISE 
QUESTIONS 27-30
: 
CHOOSE NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS 
FROM THE PASSAGE FOR EACH ANSWER
27.WHAT HAD TO TRANSFER FROM SEA TO LAND BEFORE ANY 
ANIMALS COULD MIGRATE? 

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Keywords: transfer, animals migrate 
In the first paragraph, the writer indicates that “If you go far back enough, everything lived in the sea. 
At various points in evolutionary history, enterprising individuals within many different animal groups 
moved out onto the land…And we mustn‟t forget the plants, without whose prior invasion of the land 
none of the other migrations could happen. 
– Transfer (from sea to land)=move out onto (the land) 
– before=prior 
=>ANSWER: plants 
28.WHICH TWO PROCESSES ARE MENTIONED AS THOSE IN WHICH 
ANIMALS HAD TO MAKE BIG CHANGES AS THEY MOVED ONTO 
LAND? 
Keywords: two processes, big changes, moved onto land 
In paragraph 2, the writer indicates that “Moving from water to land involved a major redesign of 
every aspect of life, including breathing and reproduction” 
– Big changes=a major redesign of every aspect of life. 
=>ANSWER: breathing-reproduction 
29.WHICH PHYSICAL FEATURE, POSSESSED BY THEIR ANCESTORS, 
DO WHALES LACK? 
Keywords: physical feature, whales lack? 
In paragraph 2, the write argues that “Whales (including 
the small whales we call dolphins) and dugongs, with their close cousins the manatees, ceased to 
be land creatures altogether and reverted to 
the full marine habits of their remote ancestors. They don‟t even come ashore to breed. They 
do, however, still breathe air, having never developed anything equivalent to the gills of their earlier 
marine incarnation.” 
– ancestors=earlier marine incarnation 
– lack=never developed 
=>ANSWER: gills 
30.WHICH ANIMALS MIGHT ICHTHYOSAURS HAVE RESEMBLED? 
Keywords: ichthyosaurs, resembled 
In paragraph 3, “Ichthyosaurs were reptilian contemporaries of the dinosaurs, with fins and 
streamlined bodies. The fossils look like dolphins and they surely lived like dolphins, in the water.” 

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– resemble=look like 
=>ANSWER: dolphins 
QUESTIONS 31-33: DO THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS AGREE 
WITH THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN READING PASSAGE? 
31.TURTLES WERE AMONG THE FIRST GROUP OF ANIMALS TO 
MIGRATE BACK TO THE SEA. 
Keywords: turtles, first animals, back, sea 
In paragraph 2, “Nevertheless, a good number of thorough going land animals later turned 
around, abandoned their hard-earned terrestrial re-
tooling, and returned to the water again.” 
Whether turtles were among the first group of animals to migrate back to the sea or not is N
OT mentioned. We only know, from this paragraph, that “Turtles went back to the sea a very long 
time ago…” So, the statement is NOT GIVEN 
– migrate back=return 
=>ANSWER: NOT GIVEN 
32.IT IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE WHERE AN ANIM
AL LIVED WHEN ITS FOSSILISED REMAINS ARE INCOMPLETE. 
Keywords: always difficult, animal lived, remains, incomplete 
In paragraph 3, the writer argues that “You might wonder how we can tell whether fossil animals 
lived on land or in water, especially if only fragments are found. Sometimes it‟s obvi
ous. 
Ichthyosaurs were reptilian contemporaries of the dinosaurs, with fins and streamlined bodies.
The fossils look like dolphins and they surely lived like dolphins, in the water. With turtles, it is a little 
less 
obvious. One way to tell is by measuring the bones of their forelimbs.” This means that altho
ugh some fossilised remains of animals are incomplete, sometimes it is still obvious to determine 
where an animal lived; the case of dolphin fossils is an example. So, the statement is FALSE. 
– incomplete fossilised remains=fragments 
=>ANSWER: FALSE 
33.THE HABITAT OF ICHTHYOSAURS CAN BE DETERMINED BY THE 
APPEARANCE OF THEIR FOSSILISED REMAINS. 
Keywords: ichthyosaurs, habitat, appearance, fossilised remains 
In paragraph 3, the writer says that “Ichthyosaurs were reptilian contemporaries of the dinosaurs, with 
fins and streamlined bodies. The fossils look like dolphins and they surely lived like dolphins, 

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in the water.”So, it is true that the habitat of ichthyosaurs can be determined by 
the appearance of their fossilised remains. 
=>ANSWER: TRUE 
QUESTIONS 34-39: COMPLETE THE FLOW-CHART BELOW. 
34-39. METHOD OF DETERMINING WHERE THE ANCESTORS OF 
TURTLES AND TORTOISES COME FROM 
34. 
71 SPECIES OF LIVING TURTLES AND TORTOISES WERE EXAMINE
D AND A TOTAL OF…WERE TAKEN FROM THE BONES OF THEIR 
FORELIMBS. 
Keywords: 71,taken, total of, bones, forelimbs 
At the beginning of paragraph 4, the writer argues that “Walter Joyce and Jacques Gauthier, a
t 
Yale University, obtained three measurements in these particular bones of 71 species of living 
turtles and tortoises.” 
=>ANSWER: 3 measurements/three measurements 
35. THE DATA WAS RECORDED ON A… (NECESSARY FOR 
COMPARING THE INFORMATION) 
Keywords: recorded on a 
In paragraph 4, the writer indicates that “They used a kind of triangular graph paper to plot the three 
measurements against one another.” 
– comparing the information ~ plot the three measurements against one another 
– recorded=plot 
=>ANSWER: (triangular) graph 
36. OUTCOME: LAND TORTOISES WERE REPRESENTED BY A 
DENSE…OF POINTS TOWARDS THE TOP. 
Keywords: land tortoises, represented, dense, points 
Also, in paragraph 4, the write indicates that “All the land tortoise species formed a tight cluster of 
points in the upper part of the triangle.” 
– dense=tight 
– towards the top=in the upper part of the triangle 

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=>ANSWER: cluster 
37. THE SAME DATA WAS COLLECTED FROM SOME LIVING….SPECIES 
AND ADDED TO THE OTHER RESULTS. 
Keywords: same data, living species, the other results 
In paragraph 4, The results from the land tortoises were all in the upper part of the graph, and in 
the lower part of the graph were the results from the water turtles. “There was no overlap, e
xcept 
when they added some species that spend time both in water and on land. Sure enough, these 
amphibious species show up on the triangular graph approximately half way between the „wet cluster‟ 
of sea turtles and the „dry cluster‟ of land tortoises.” 
38. OUTCOME: THE POINTS FOR THESE SPECIES TURNED OUT TO BE 
POSITIONED ABOUT….UP THE TRIANGLE BETWEEN THE LAND 
TORTOISES AND THE SEA TURTLES. 
Keywords: points, positioned about, up the triangle 
In paragraph 4, “Sure enough, these amphibious species show up on the triangular graph 
approximately half way between the „wet cluster‟ of sea turtles and the „dry cluster‟
of land tortoises.” 
– added to the other results=half way between the „wet cluster‟ of sea turtles and the „dry cluster‟ 
of land tortoises 
=>ANSWER: halfway 
39. BONESOF P.QUENSTEDTI AND P.TALAMPAYENSIS WERE 
EXAMINED IN A SIMILAR WAY AND THE RESULTS ADDED. 
Outcome: The position of the points indicated that both these ancient creatures were…. 
Keywords: position, points,creatures 
At the end of paragraph 4, the writer says that “The bones of P.quenstedti and P.talampayensi
s leave us in no doubt. Their points on the graph are right in the thick of the dry cluster. Both these 
fossils were dry-land tortoises.” 
– Ancient creatures=fossils 
=>ANSWER: dry-land tortoises 
40. ACCORDING TO THE WRITER, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT 
THING ABOUT TORTOISES IS THAT 
A. They are able to adapt to extremely dry environments. 
B. Their original life form was a kind of primeval bacteria. 

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C. They have so much in common with sea turtles. 
D. They have made the transition from sea to land more than once. 
In the last paragraph, the writer indicates that “Tortoises therefore represent a remarkable double 
return. In common with all mammals…their remote ancestors were marine fish and before that 
various more or less worm-
like creatures stretching back, still in the sea, to the primeval bacteria. 
Later ancestors lived on land and stayed there for a very large number of generations. Later ancestors 
still evolved back into the water and become sea turtles. And finally they returned yet again to the land 
as tortoises, some of which now live in the driest of deserts.” So this means that tortoises have made 
the transition from sea to land more than once. 
=>ANSWER: D