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 3 answers with clear explanations
These Cambridge IELTS 21 Test 3 Reading answers explain all 40 questions. Review the evidence for Saving the saiga, Dar es Salaam transport, and Rethinking the Past.
Cambridge IELTS 21 Test 3 Reading answer key
Use these cards for quick marking. Read the passage sections below when an answer needs more review.
1. Saving the saiga
Questions 1 to 132. The problems of getting around the city of Dar es Salaam
Questions 14 to 263. Rethinking the Past
Questions 27 to 40Passage 1: Saving the saiga
This passage explains how the saiga survives Central Asia's harsh climate. It covers poaching, habitat loss, disease and climate change. It also reviews conservation work and the recent population recovery.
Question types: Note completion and True, False, Not Given.
Why: The passage says the swollen nostrils filter out dust.
Why: The nose cools the saiga's blood during hot summers.
Why: The saiga grows a heavy winter coat and sheds it when temperatures rise.
Why: Male saiga are targeted because their horns are prized in traditional medicine.
Why: Agricultural expansion and settlements cause habitat loss.
Why: Railways, pipelines and fences can block seasonal migration routes.
Why: The passage says smaller streams have dried up and vanished.
Why: More than 90% live in Kazakhstan. The population is not evenly distributed.
Why: Numbers recovered steadily throughout most of the 20th century.
Why: Conservationists promoted saiga horn as an alternative to rhino horn. This increased pressure on male saiga.
Why: The passage describes climate risks in Central Asia. It gives no comparison with other world regions.
Why: The initiative protects whole ecosystems and the many species they support.
Why: The United Nations recognition is stated. Extra international funding is not mentioned.
Passage 2: The problems of getting around the city of Dar es Salaam
This passage examines rapid growth and transport problems in Dar es Salaam. It explains the city's bus rapid transit system, its benefits and its current operating problems.
Question types: True, False, Not Given and Note completion.
Why: The passage gives present growth figures and future forecasts. It does not compare them with an earlier prediction.
Why: Four out of five residents live in single-storey informal settlements, not high-rise blocks.
Why: The suburban rail line is described. No consultation with residents is mentioned.
Why: The passage says nearly all current expansion happens informally without an agreed strategy.
Why: Unlike many African cities, Dar es Salaam chose a bus system instead of a metro.
Why: The buses run on separated bus lanes to reduce stoppages.
Why: Passengers buy and control tickets at stations before boarding.
Why: The step-free route is accessible to people using wheelchairs.
Why: Drivers may leave the air conditioning off to save fuel.
Why: A serious flood at the main depot caused the bus shortage.
Why: Passengers cannot use smartcards because the mechanical readers do not work.
Why: Staff stand by the gates and tear tickets by hand.
Why: Considerable queues form at peak times.
Passage 3: Rethinking the Past
This passage reviews discoveries that change our view of prehistory. It covers early architecture, extinct hominin art and outdated ideas about gender roles.
Question types: Multiple choice and Matching features and Yes, No, Not Given.
Why: The paragraph identifies 2 major changes. Advanced behaviour began earlier, and gender roles were misunderstood.
Why: The mobile phone example supports gradual development through incremental steps.
Why: Researchers are reexamining work shaped by old patriarchal beliefs.
Why: The final paragraph says inequality and patriarchy are choices. Past societies show that people can choose differently.
Why: The Kalambo Falls structure predates Homo sapiens. It shows sophisticated workmanship by an earlier hominin species.
Why: Extinct hominins lived in harsh high-altitude regions long before modern humans arrived.
Why: The June 2023 analysis found that women hunted in 80% of the societies studied.
Why: The Iberian leader was female, not male as researchers had assumed.
Why: The passage says even earlier species, such as Homo erectus, may have made art.
Why: Shell engravings are mentioned. The passage does not say whether such finds are rare.
Why: The unusual publication process is described. The research methods used inside the cave are not discussed.
Why: The passage says the Rising Star etchings have not yet been firmly dated.
Why: The non-traditional release method heightened the dispute around the findings.
Why: The writer calls brain size a distraction. Internal brain wiring may also enable complex behaviour.
Your Test 3 review plan
Mark all 40 answers. Group your mistakes by question type. Retake this test after reviewing the matching passage evidence.