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 General Training Reading Answers with Clear Explanations
Review all 40 Cambridge IELTS 17 General Training 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 General Training 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.
Section 1: Outdoor activities for all the family and Hinchingbrooke School Sixth Form
Questions 1 to 14Section 2: Tree cutters at work and Plumbing skills
Questions 15 to 27Section 3: Why it is important to save species like the dormouse
Questions 28 to 40Section 1: Outdoor activities for all the family and Hinchingbrooke School Sixth Form
Questions 1-14. Use the evidence locations below to return to the relevant text and review each answer.
1running in the eveningE - Advertisement E
Where to Look: Section 1, Shelford Family Wild Outing
Why: The outing includes a gentle jog by moonlight after activities at dusk. Jogging is running, and the sequence places it in the evening.
2seeing newborn animalsB - Advertisement B
Where to Look: Section 1, Pugsley Beach Nature Reserve
Why: Grey seals arrive in autumn to have their young. This provides the chance to see newborn animals rather than just wildlife generally.
3parents and children doing different activities at the same timeD - Advertisement D
Where to Look: Section 1, Craven Discovery Centre
Why: Children visit the petting zoo and take a woodland walk while adults do separate woodland activities. Meanwhile signals that the different programmes happen at the same time.
4choosing from alternative routesA - Advertisement A
Where to Look: Section 1, Perry Forest
Why: Visitors can choose a short level stroll or a more demanding hill walk. These alternatives cater for different fitness levels and establish a choice of routes.
5learning about how other people help animalsC - Advertisement C
Where to Look: Section 1, Marston Hall
Why: Rangers demonstrate habitat management, including feeding boxes and ponds. Visitors learn how people support wildlife rather than only observing animals.
6an event occurring only at a certain time of the yearB - Advertisement B
Where to Look: Section 1, Pugsley Beach Nature Reserve
Why: Although wildlife is present all year, the arrival of seals to give birth is specifically in autumn. This is the seasonal event requested.
7identifying where animals have beenC - Advertisement C
Where to Look: Section 1, Marston Hall
Why: The woodland walk looks for animal tracks and signs. These provide evidence of where animals have been, even when the animals themselves are not visible.
8Some sixth-form students intend to start work immediately after leaving school.TRUE
Where to Look: Section 1, sixth-form guidance
Why: The school supports students planning university, training or immediate employment. The final pathway confirms that some intend to work directly after school.
9An increasing number of students are accepted at medical school.TRUE
Where to Look: Section 1, medical school applications
Why: The passage reports growing success for medical school applicants in recent years. This supports increasing acceptance rather than a claim about every applicant succeeding.
10Most sixth-form students come from other schools.FALSE
Where to Look: Section 1, origins of students
Why: Most sixth-form students come from the school's lower section. More external applicants explain recent growth, but do not make external students the majority.
11External applicants have an interview before they can be accepted.NOT GIVEN
Where to Look: Section 1, external admissions
Why: Minimum entry requirements are mentioned, but an interview is not. The passage therefore does not establish whether interviews are required before acceptance.
12Applications to the sixth form can only be made through the MyChoice16 website.FALSE
Where to Look: Section 1, application routes
Why: Some external applicants use a form on the school's website if their current school does not use MyChoice16. That alternative contradicts the claim that only one route exists.
13External applicants can talk to current students at the Open Evening.NOT GIVEN
Where to Look: Section 1, Open Evening
Why: Visitors may view facilities and ask questions, but the text does not say current students will be available. An opportunity to ask questions does not identify who answers them.
14Students meet their tutor whenever one of them requests a meeting.FALSE
Where to Look: Section 1, tutor meetings
Why: Meetings occur at a fixed time every fortnight. This scheduled arrangement conflicts with the statement that meetings happen whenever either person requests them.
Section 2: Tree cutters at work and Plumbing skills
Questions 15-27. Use the evidence locations below to return to the relevant text and review each answer.
15Chainsaws, clothing and all ____ are then loaded onto the lorry.tools
Where to Look: Section 2, loading equipment
Why: The team loads chainsaws, protective clothing, spades, rakes and other tools before departure. Tools completes the broader equipment category in the flowchart.
16The team talk briefly at the site about the overall ____ before the work begins.procedure
Where to Look: Section 2, arrival on site
Why: On arrival, the team briefly discusses the day's procedure. This is the overall method of working before the climber selects an anchor point.
17The climber’s anchor point must have the necessary height and ____ for the job.strength
Where to Look: Section 2, anchor point
Why: The anchor must be high enough for access and strong enough to support the climber. Strength supplies the second requirement alongside height.
18A pulley and some ____ assist in the removal of the top branches.rope
Where to Look: Section 2, upper branches
Why: A pulley and thick rope are used to bring down the smaller upper branches. The gap asks for the material used with the pulley.
19At this point, signs are placed on the ____.footpath
Where to Look: Section 2, warning signs
Why: The supervisor places signs on the footpath beyond the yard boundary. The grass verge is nearby, but the footpath is where the signs are described.
20For safety, the actions of both the tree cutter and ____ must be regularly checked.pedestrians
Where to Look: Section 2, monitoring movement
Why: The supervisor watches both Gary's cutting and the movement of pedestrians. Monitoring the public helps manage the risk from branches falling beyond the fence.
21A special machine creates ____ out of some of the wood.chippings
Where to Look: Section 2, processing branches
Why: The machine dices branches into small pieces called wood chippings. With a one-word limit, chippings identifies the resulting material.
22Residential: Working underfloor in a ____ area.narrow
Where to Look: Section 2, residential plumbing
Why: Underfloor work may be done in a narrow space only about 35 centimetres deep. Narrow is the descriptive word that fits before area.
23Residential: Always use the appropriate ____ for each tool.cutting chart
Where to Look: Section 2, tool instructions
Why: The plumber must read and understand the cutting chart accompanying each tool. Both words identify the specific reference, rather than a general instruction to cut carefully.
24Residential: Consider how different ____ will be affected.tradespeople
Where to Look: Section 2, coordinating work
Why: Before proceeding, the plumber must consider the effect on other tradespeople. Tradespeople identifies the other workers whose systems or tasks may be affected.
25Commercial: Take images of structures to locate important materials like ____.reinforcing steel / steel
Where to Look: Section 2, commercial structures
Why: Floors and walls are X-rayed to avoid key elements such as reinforcing steel. The full phrase fits the limit, and steel is also accepted.
26Service: Providing quick, ____ solutions.cost-effective
Where to Look: Section 2, service repairs
Why: Service plumbers must identify and resolve faults quickly and cost-effectively. Cost-effective supplies the description of a solution that avoids unnecessary expense.
27Service: Deal well with people who have a lot of ____ or disruption as a result of their problems.inconvenience
Where to Look: Section 2, customer difficulties
Why: Customers may experience major inconvenience or disruption from plumbing faults. The first noun is required because disruption is already supplied.
Section 3: Why it is important to save species like the dormouse
Questions 28-40. Use the evidence locations below to return to the relevant text and review each answer.
28Then ____ gave them a thorough check.vets
Where to Look: Section 3, preparation for release
Why: Vets examined the dormice after quarantine and before they entered temporary accommodation. Vets identifies who performed the health check.
29The team divided the animals into ____ before introducing them to their temporary tree homes.pairs
Where to Look: Section 3, temporary accommodation
Why: Dormice were placed in their soft-release homes in pairs. The gap asks for how they were grouped, not the total number released.
30Initially, the dormice could not get out, but the team brought ____ on a regular basis.food
Where to Look: Section 3, first ten days
Why: During the initial enclosed period, the animals were checked and given food daily. Food is the supplied resource rather than the later freedom to explore.
31Before the animals were ready to start their annual ____ in the autumn, the team took their temporary homes away.hibernation
Where to Look: Section 3, removal of accommodation
Why: The boxes and cages were removed in October as the animals prepared for winter hibernation. Hibernation names the annual behaviour, not the season itself.
32Ian White says that one aim of releasing 40 dormice in Wensleydale is toD - get the group to mix with others that live nearby.
Where to Look: Section 3, White's landscape goal
Why: White plans to connect the release with another dormouse population three miles away through land management. The aim is a larger connected population, not simply testing the initial enclosure.
33Coppicing is mentioned in the fourth paragraph as an example ofA - how changes in their natural habitat have affected dormouse numbers.
Where to Look: Section 3, woodland management changes
Why: Coppicing once incidentally provided food and light, but its decline and habitat fragmentation harmed dormice. The example shows how habitat changes affected numbers, rather than a practice originally invented to protect them.
34Why does Ian White support the widespread reintroduction of dormice?B - The steps taken to help them will also benefit many other animals.
Where to Look: Section 3, broader conservation benefits
Why: White says suitable woodland management for dormice also benefits many other species. This wider ecological value is the reason supported, not ease of captive breeding.
35What does Helen Meech hope that the dormice project will lead to?B - a public who are used to sharing their environment with wildlife
Where to Look: Section 3, Helen Meech's hopes
Why: Meech wants people to become familiar with living alongside wildlife again. She proposes starting with lower-impact species rather than immediately introducing large animals.
36What is suggested about wolves returning to the UK?D - Their presence could revive some damaged environments.
Where to Look: Section 3, proposed return of wolves
Why: The passage says wolves could help restore ecosystems overgrazed by deer. This supports environmental recovery. The Highlands are suggested for space, not described as the only accepting community.
37This species has already begun to settle in the UK without human assistance.E - The wild boar
Where to Look: Section 3, wild boar
Why: Wild boar are described as quietly re-establishing themselves in British woodland. This is the species whose return is presented without a formal reintroduction programme.
38This species would be particularly suitable for reintroduction as it is unlikely to try to come into contact with people.A - The lynx
Where to Look: Section 3, lynx
Why: The lynx is shy and tends to remain in woodland, making contact with people or livestock unlikely. These behavioural traits support its suitability in the statement.
39It is possible that reintroducing this species could bring considerable financial benefits to one area.C - The wolf
Where to Look: Section 3, wolves and tourism
Why: A wolf population in the Scottish Highlands could generate substantial tourism income. The statement asks about this potential regional financial benefit.
40Some countries which have already reintroduced this species have systems to repay farmers if it kills any of their animals.D - The sea eagle
Where to Look: Section 3, sea eagles
Why: European sea-eagle schemes have offered compensation for losses of livestock. Repaying affected farmers paraphrases that compensation arrangement.
Using This Reading Answer Key
Is This the Academic or General Training Test?
This page covers Cambridge IELTS 17 General Training 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.