All answers on this page include the question number, correct answer and a brief explanation of where to find it in the passage or audio. Use these alongside the original Cambridge IELTS books for the best practice experience.
Test 4 Academic Reading Answers with Clear Explanations
Review all 40 Cambridge IELTS 17 Academic Reading Test 4 answers. Find the supporting passage evidence, understand misleading options and check the word limits before your next timed attempt.
Cambridge IELTS 17 Test 4 Academic Reading Answer Key
Use the key for quick marking, then read the explanations below. A slash separates accepted alternative forms. Where two letters are required, enter both letters across the two question numbers, in either order.
Passage 1: Bats to the rescue
Questions 1 to 13Passage 2: Does education fuel economic growth?
Questions 14 to 26Passage 3: Timur Gareyev - blindfold chess champion
Questions 27 to 40Passage 1: Bats to the rescue
Questions 1-13. Use the evidence locations below to return to the relevant text and review each answer.
1Many Madagascan forests are being destroyed by attacks from insects.FALSE
Where to Look: Passage 1, opening explanation of forest loss
Why: Insects destroy crops, which encourages farmers to clear forests for new fields. The forests are cleared by people, not directly destroyed by insect attacks. The statement confuses cause and consequence.
2Loss of habitat has badly affected insectivorous bats in Madagascar.FALSE
Where to Look: Passage 1, response of insect-eating bats
Why: The opening says some insectivorous bats are thriving, and later explains how they benefit from altered habitats. This contradicts the broad claim that the change has badly affected them.
3Ricardo Rocha has carried out studies of bats in different parts of the world.NOT GIVEN
Where to Look: Passage 1, introduction of Ricardo Rocha
Why: Rocha's interests and Madagascar research are described, but his personal research history elsewhere is not. References to studies in other countries do not establish that he carried them out.
4Habitat modification has resulted in indigenous bats in Madagascar becoming useful to farmers.TRUE
Where to Look: Passage 1, bats over rice fields
Why: Indigenous bats exploit modified habitats by hunting insects over rice fields. Eating crop pests gives farmers useful biological pest control, confirming the statement.
5The Malagasy mouse-eared bat is more common than other indigenous bat species in Madagascar.NOT GIVEN
Where to Look: Passage 1, named bat species
Why: The Malagasy mouse-eared bat appears in a list of species using rice fields. No population comparison establishes that it is more common than the others.
6Bats may feed on paddy swarming caterpillars and grass webworms.TRUE
Where to Look: Passage 1, identified rice pests
Why: Rocha explicitly names paddy swarming caterpillars and grass webworms among pests eaten by the bats. The statement agrees with this feeding evidence.
7Method: DNA analysis of bat ____.droppings
Where to Look: Passage 1, research methods
Why: Researchers used DNA barcoding on droppings collected from bats. Sound recordings identified feeding locations, while the droppings provided evidence of diet.
8Findings: The bats ate pests of rice, ____, sugarcane, nuts and fruit.coffee
Where to Look: Passage 1, pests of other crops
Why: The black twig borer is identified as a pest of coffee plants. Coffee is the crop needed in the table, whereas black twig borer would name the insect and exceed the limit.
9They prevent the spread of disease by eating ____ and blackflies.mosquitoes
Where to Look: Passage 1, disease-carrying insects
Why: The bats also eat mosquitoes and blackflies, which can carry diseases. Mosquitoes is the missing insect group. This is evidence about their diet, not a guarantee that disease transmission stops.
10Local attitudes to bats are mixed: they provide food rich in ____.protein
Where to Look: Passage 1, bats as food
Why: When other food is scarce, local people obtain protein from bats. The gap asks for the nutrient, not for the circumstances in which people hunt them.
11The buildings where they roost become ____.unclean
Where to Look: Passage 1, roosting in buildings
Why: Bats are unwelcome in buildings because they make them unclean. The adjective describes the effect on the buildings rather than the bats' cultural significance.
12They play an important role in local ____.culture
Where to Look: Passage 1, caves and ancestors
Why: Associations with sacred caves and ancestors make bats significant in local culture. Culture is the broad concept linking those beliefs.
13Recommendation: farmers should provide special ____ to support the bat population.houses
Where to Look: Passage 1, proposed support for bats
Why: Rocha suggests installing bat houses to replace or supplement lost roosting places. The gap needs houses, not fields, because the recommendation concerns shelter.
Passage 2: Does education fuel economic growth?
Questions 14-26. Use the evidence locations below to return to the relevant text and review each answer.
14an explanation of the need for research to focus on individuals with a fairly consistent incomeE
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section E
Why: The proposed analysis holds wealth constant to examine education separately. Comparing people at similar wealth levels helps distinguish education's contribution from the effects of existing resources.
15examples of the sources the database has been compiled fromA
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section A
Why: The database draws on court records, guild ledgers, parish registers, censuses, tax lists and inventories. This section provides the requested examples of source documents.
16an account of one individual’s refusal to obey an orderD
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section D
Why: Juliana continued weaving and combing wool after the guild reprimanded her. Her continued work despite the order is the individual act of defiance described.
17a reference to a region being particularly suited to research into the link between education and economic growthF
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section F
Why: Ogilvie describes German-speaking central Europe as a useful setting for testing growth theories. High literacy alongside persistent poverty and strong guilds makes the region relevant to the research.
18examples of the items included in a list of personal possessionsC
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section C
Why: Badger skins, Bibles, sewing machines and clothing are examples of possessions listed in inventories. These are objects recorded, rather than types of archival records.
19The database sheds light on a range of individuals, as well as those of their ____, over a 300-year period.descendants
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section D, demographic reconstruction
Why: The database follows individuals and their descendants across three centuries. Descendants extends the analysis beyond one person's lifetime to later generations.
20Ana Regina and Magdalena Riethmüllerin were reprimanded for reading when they should have been paying attention to a ____.sermon
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section D, church incident
Why: Ana Regina and Magdalena were reading instead of listening to the sermon. The gap asks for what they should have been attending to, not for the books they chose instead.
21Juliana Schweickherdt was later given a ____.fine
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section D, guild punishment
Why: After Juliana continued restricted work, the guild imposed a fine. Its size is described relative to a servant's annual wage, but the required one-word answer is the penalty itself.
22Cases like these illustrate how the guilds could prevent ____ and stop skilled people from working.innovation
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section D, effects of guilds
Why: Guild dominance stopped people using skills and held back industrial innovation. Innovation identifies the second consequence alongside preventing skilled work.
23Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make about literacy rates in Section B?B + E (Either Order)
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section B
Why: Germany had excellent literacy rates during 1600-1900, supporting B. England's rates were only mediocre despite early industrialisation, so D reverses the example's purpose.
24Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make about literacy rates in Section B?B + E (Either Order)
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section B
Why: The text says evidence supports growth increasing education, rather than clearly proving the reverse direction. This supports E alongside B. Enter the two letters in either order.
25Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make in Section F about guilds in German-speaking Central Europe between 1600 and 1900?B + D (Either Order)
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section F
Why: Guilds blocked labour migration, which means resisting people moving for work. That supports B. The other required choice is D.
26Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make in Section F about guilds in German-speaking Central Europe between 1600 and 1900?B + D (Either Order)
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section F
Why: Guilds resisted changes that could weaken their monopolies and influence. This supports D, protecting control over a trade. Questions 25-26 require B and D in either order.
Passage 3: Timur Gareyev - blindfold chess champion
Questions 27-40. Use the evidence locations below to return to the relevant text and review each answer.
27a reference to earlier examples of blindfold chessD
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph D
Why: The paragraph cites a medieval Florentine game and Najdorf's 1947 simultaneous games. These are historical examples showing that blindfold chess predates Gareyev.
28an outline of what blindfold chess involvesE
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph E
Why: The paragraph explains mentally recreating boards, recalling positions, updating moves and storing them for later. This outlines the work involved in playing several blindfold games.
29a claim that Gareyev’s skill is limited to chessF
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph F
Why: Rissman says Gareyev was not exceptional on standard memory tests and that the team found no comparable gift outside chess. This is the claim about the limited domain of his exceptional performance.
30why Gareyev’s skill is of interest to scientistsB
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph B
Why: Scientists want to understand how Gareyev keeps so many games active at once. The number of simultaneous games, rather than simply playing without sight, motivates their interest.
31an outline of Gareyev’s prioritiesH
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph H
Why: Gareyev says the winning percentage worries him less than having something to dedicate himself to fully. The paragraph therefore outlines what matters most to him.
32a reason why the last part of a game may be difficultE
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph E
Why: Exhaustion towards the end can make his recall fragmentary. This explains why late stages are difficult, whereas early moves are hard to remember for a different reason.
33In the forthcoming games, all the participants will be blindfolded.FALSE
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph A
Why: Gareyev will be blindfolded while his opponents play normally. The statement incorrectly extends the blindfold requirement to every participant.
34Gareyev has won competitions in BASE jumping.NOT GIVEN
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph A
Why: The text says Gareyev enjoys BASE jumping, but mentions no competitions or victories in that sport. Enjoying an activity does not establish competitive success.
35UCLA is the first university to carry out research into blindfold chess players.NOT GIVEN
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph B
Why: UCLA's study is described, but the passage does not compare its timing with research at other universities. Their first results are not proof that theirs was the first such study.
36Good chess players are likely to be able to play blindfold chess.TRUE
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraphs B and E
Why: Rissman says blindfold play is within reach for accomplished players, and Paragraph E explains how regular play develops the required mental patterns. This supports the statement about good players.
37The researchers started by testing Gareyev’s ____; for example, he was required to recall a string of numbers in order and also in reverse order.memory
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph F, initial tests
Why: The researchers began with standard memory tests involving numbers, pictures and words. Memory is the ability assessed before the brain scans.
38He was required to recall a string of ____ in order and also in reverse order.numbers
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph F, repetition task
Why: One test required repeating numbers forwards and backwards soon after hearing them. Numbers identifies the material recalled in sequence, not the number of items a typical person remembers.
39Although his performance was normal, scans showed an unusual amount of ____ within the areas of Gareyev’s brain that are concerned with redirecting attention.communication
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph F, brain scans
Why: Scans suggested unusually strong communication within the frontoparietal control network. That network helps allocate attention and maintain rules. The findings are described as tentative.
40The scans raised the possibility of unusual strength in the parts of his brain that deal with ____ input.visual
Where to Look: Passage 3, Paragraph G
Why: The visual network appeared more strongly connected with other brain regions. Visual describes the kind of input processed, including mental images of chessboards, rather than a proven general memory advantage.
Using This Reading Answer Key
Is This the Academic or General Training Test?
This page covers Cambridge IELTS 17 Academic Reading Test 4. Academic and GT Reading use different texts and answer keys, so check the track before marking.
How Should I Review a Wrong Answer?
Return to the evidence location and compare the exact meaning, not just matching words. Check spelling and word limits. For NOT GIVEN, identify the information the text does not supply.
How Do I Estimate My Band?
Count one mark for each correct answer, then consult the Reading Band Score Guide. Academic and GT use different raw-score conversions, and an estimate is not an official IELTS result.
What to Do After Marking
Group your errors by misunderstanding, distractors, spelling and instructions. Review the difficult section, then try another complete test to check whether your accuracy improves.