This IELTS Academic Reading post focuses on all the solutions for IELTS Cambridge 10 Reading Test 3 Passage 3 which is entitled ‘Beyond the blue horizon‘. This is a solution post for candidates who have big difficulties in finding Reading Answers. This post can guide you perfectly to understand every Reading answer easily. Finding IELTS Reading answers is a gradual process and I hope this post can help you in this respect.

IELTS ACADEMIC READING: CAMBRIDGE 10 TEST 3

Reading Passage 3:

The headline of the passage: Beyond the blue horizon  

Questions 27-31 (Summary completion using list of 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 the words from given list of words for each answer. The words are given with letters and candidates must fill in the blanks with the correct letter, not the word/words. 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.)

The title of the summary: The Efate burial site

Question 27 and 28: A 3,000-year-old burial ground of a seafaring people called the Lapita has been found on an abandoned 27 _________ on the Pacific island of Efate. The cemetery, which is a significant 28 _______, was uncovered accidentally by an agricultural worker.

Question 27:

Keywords for this question: 3000 years old burial ground, Lapita, abandoned,  

The answer is found in lines 5-9, where the author mentions the discovery of a 3000-year-old burial site. “… .. . An  agricultural  worker,  digging in  the grounds of  a derelict  plantation,  scraped  open  a  grave  –  the  first  of  dozens  in  a  burial  ground  some  3,000  years old.”

Here, the word ‘derelict’ means ‘abandoned’.

So, the answer is: B (plantation)

Question 28:

Keywords for this question: cemetery, significant,

IMPORTANT TIPS: Generally all the answers in ‘fill in the blanks’ type of questions maintain sequence. In this question, however, the answer is found way before question no. 1. This can happen in Reading Passage 3 and candidates need to be aware of this.

So, we need to look for keywords which match the keyword ‘significant’. The very first line says, “An important archaeological discovery on the island of Efate in the Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu has revealed traces . .. . .”  And then, in the next few lines we find the mention of the discovery of the cemetery (burial ground) by an agricultural worker.

So, the answer is: F (archaeological discovery)

Questions 29: The Lapita explored and colonised many Pacific islands over several centuries. They took many things with them on their voyages including __________ and tools.

Keywords for this question: The Lapita, voyages, tools,

We find about the voyages made by the Lapita in the following paragraph. Lines 1-6 of paragraph no. 2 say, “They were daring blue-water adventurers (voyagers) who used basic canoes to rove across the ocean. But they were not just explorers.  They were also pioneers who carried with them everything they would need to build new lives – their livestock, taro seedlings and stone tools.”.

Here, the line inform us of the Lapita taking some important things with them on their voyages or sea/ ocean journeys; livestock, taro seedlings and stone tools. The word ‘livestock’ means ‘animals’, ‘taro seedlings’ mean saplings of some sort of root-type plants and stone tools mean tools made of stone. The word ‘tools’ is mentioned at the end of the question. Therefore, our answer should be either ‘livestock/animals’ or ‘taro seedlings’. In the options given with question, we do not find any synonyms for ‘taro seedlings’.

So, the answer is: I (animals) the word is synonymous to ‘livestock’.

Question 30 and 31: The burial ground increases the amount of information about the Lapita available to scientists. A team of researchers, led by Matthew Spriggs from the Australian National University, are helping with the excavation of the site. Spriggs believes the 30 _______  which was found at the site is very important since it confirms that the 31 ________ found inside are Lapita.

Keywords for these questions: team of researchers, Matthew Spriggs, very important, confirms, found inside

Here, we need to look for thoughts/comments/remarks made by researcher Matthew Spriggs about a discovered material and its importance. Look at lines 6-11 in paragraph no. 3. “Other items included a Lapita burial urn with modeled birds arranged on the rim as though peering down at the human remains sealed inside. . .. . “It’s an important discovery,” says Matthew Spriggs, … . .. .‟ for it conclusively identifies the remains as Lapita.

Here, the lines mean that the team of researchers led by Matthew Spriggs, professor of archaeology at the Australian National University, says that the burial urn found in the discovery is important because it carried human remains inside which proved to the remains of Lapita people.

• Human remains = bones

So, the answers are:

30. G (burial urn)
31. D (bones)

Questions 32-35 (Multiple choice questions)

[‘Multiple choice questions’ is a common type of question set in IELTS Reading test. It is also found in Listening test.  Most of the time, they come with four options but sometimes there are three options. Candidates need to work hard for this type of questions because this may confuse them easily in passage 2 or passage 3. There will be long answers for each question, so they may kill valuable time. So, quick reading or skimming technique might come handy here.  Remember that answers in 3 options out of 4 will be very close. So, vocabulary power will help a lot to choose the best answer.

TIPS: Skimming is the best reading technique. You need not understand every word here. Just try to gather the gist of the sentences. That’s all. Read quickly and don’t stop until you finish each sentence.]

Question 32: According to the writer, there are difficulties explaining how the Lapita accomplished their journeys because –

Keywords for this question: difficulties, explaining, Lapita, accomplished, journeys, because,

In paragraph no. 5, the author mentions,  “There is one stubborn question for which archaeology has yet to provide any answers: how did the Lapita accomplish the ancient equivalent of a moon landing, many times over?  No-one has found one of their canoes or any rigging, which could reveal how the canoes were sailed. Nor do the oral histories and traditions of later Polynesians offer any insights, for they turn into myths long before they reach as far back in time as the Lapita.”

The lines indicate to the fact that archaeology of the present time could not verify all the information relating to their accomplishments made by Lapita so long ago. Even local Polynesians could not provide any insight regarding this matter.

So, the answer is: C (Little information relating to this period can be relied upon for accuracy)

Question 33: According to the sixth paragraph, what was extraordinary about the Lapita?

Keywords for this question: sixth paragraph, extraordinary about, Lapita,

In lines 9-14 of paragraph no. 6, the writer states, “The real adventure didn’t begin, however, until their Lapita descendants sailed out of sight of land, with empty horizons on every side. This must have been as difficult for them as landing on the moon for us today.”

The lines suggest that the voyages / sailing out of sight of land (beyond the point where land was visible) were really extraordinary for the Lapita as it is compared to landing on the moon.

So, the answer is: A (They sailed beyond the point where land was visible)

Question 34: What does ‘This’ refer to in the seventh paragraph?

Keywords for this question: ‘This’, seventh paragraph,

The answer is in paragraph 7. Here, the writer mentions the comments of Professor Geoff Irwin, “They could sail out for days into the unknown and assess the area, secure in the knowledge that if they didn’t find anything, they could turn about and catch a swift ride back on the trade winds. This is what would have made the whole thing work.”

So, in this context, the word ‘this’ indicates to the Lapita people’s belief that if they failed to find anything in the open, wide ocean and they could turn back, the trade winds would guide them and bring them back home swiftly.

So, the answer is: D (the Lapita’s belief they would be able to return home)

Question 35: According to the eighth paragraph, how was the geography of the region significant?

Keywords for this question: eighth paragraph, how, geography, significant

The answer is both at the beginning and at the end of paragraph no. 8. In the beginning, the writer says, “For returning explorers, successful or not, the geography of their own archipelagoes would have provided a safety net. Without this to go by, overshooting their home ports, getting lost and sailing off into eternity would have been all too easy.” This means that the geography of the area gave them safety from getting lost in the open ocean. Then at the end of the paragraph, “.. . . ..its scores of intervisible islands forming a backstop for mariners riding the trade winds home.” This line suggests that the mariners used the intervisible islands (islands which can be seen from one island to another) to use trade wind accurately to return home, which means the navigation on returning home was made easy by the geography of the area.

So, the answer is: C (It provided a navigational aid for the Lapita)

Questions 36-40 (YES/NO/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- YES
The statement in the question contradicts the account in the text- NO
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 36: It is now clear that the Lapita could sail into a prevailing wind.

Keywords for this question: now clear, sail into, prevailing wind

The answer can be found in paragraph no. 9. Here, the writer mentions the remarks of Professor Atholl Anderson. Look carefully, “All this presupposes one essential detail, says Atholl Anderson, professor of prehistory at the Australian National University: the Lapita had mastered the advanced art of sailing against the wind. ‘And there’s no proof they could do any such thing.’ Anderson says.”

So, the answer is: NO

Question 37: Extreme climate conditions may have played a role in Lapita migration.

Keywords for this question: extreme climate conditions, Lapita migration  

Take a look at paragraph no. 10, where the writer mentions El Nino. “Rather than give all the credit to human skill, Anderson invokes the winds of chance. El Nino, the same climate disruption that affects the Pacific today, may have helped scatter the Lapita,. …”

Here, Professor Anderson is suggesting the climate disruption (extreme climate condition) named El Nino played a significant role to scatter the Lapita (Lapita migration).

So, the answer is: YES

Question 38: The Lapita learnt to predict the duration of El Ninos.

Keywords for this question: predict, duration, El Ninos,  

We find the mention of El Nino only in paragraph no. 10. However, there is no information regarding the Lapita people learned to predict about the duration of El Nino.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN

Question 39: It remains unclear why the Lapita halted their expansion across the Pacific.

Keywords for this question: unclear, halted expansion, the Pacific,

Paragraph no. 11 starts with this line, “However they did it, the Lapita spread themselves a third of the way across the Pacific, then called it quits for reasons known only to them.”

Here, However they did it = It is unclear to us/ the writer, quits for reasons known only to them = only the Lapita knew about the halt (quit) of their expansion

Therefore, the expansion halted by the Lapita for reasons known only to them.

So, the answer is: YES

Question 40: It is likely that the majority of Lapita settled on Fiji.

Keywords for this question: the majority, Fiji,

The last paragraph mentions about Fiji but it doesn’t mention about the number of population settled in Fiji. It only says, “They probably never numbered more than a few thousand in total, . ..” And at the last of the paragraph the number of islands in Fiji is mentioned. “. .. . they encountered hundreds of islands – more than 300 in Fiji alone.”

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN

Click here for solutions to Cambridge 10 Test 3 Reading Passage 1

Click here for solutions to Cambridge 10 Test 3 Reading Passage 2