Cosmic Black Holes - IELTS Reading Answer

The ‘Cosmic Black Holes’ Academic Reading passage is a good resource for anyone who is preparing for the IELTS Reading test. This passage will help you understand what kind of reading passages you will encounter and the questions that you will be asked to solve.

By taking the ‘Cosmic Black Holes’ IELTS Reading Answer, you can acquaint yourself with the types of questions that you will be asked and the level of difficulty that you can expect.

The question types in this Reading Passage include:

• IELTS Matching Sentence Endings (Q. 28-34)
• IELTS Multiple Choice Questions (Q. 35-36)
• IELTS True/False/Not Given (Q. 37-40)

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Reading Passage

Cosmic Black Holes

Questions 28—34

28 Newton’s law of gravitation

29 Einstein’s theory of relativity

30 We define black holes as areas that have

31 Scientists study black holes

32 Gases that are pulled into a black hole

33 Event horizons are

34 Compact black holes occur

A by observing the matter around them.

B suggested the presence of black holes in outer space.

C when a single star collapses.

1. difficult to study.
2. barely visible light.eins
3. an inescapable gravitational pull.
4. did not apply to most astronomical bodies.
5. by direct observation.
6. Could not explain Mercury’s path around the sun.
7. caused doubt about the existence of black holes.
8. lose visibility.
9. become very hot.
10. with large event horizons.
11. at the center of each black hole.

Questions 35 and 36

35 Black holes can be found

1. only in the Milky Way.
2. in most galaxies.
3. close to the sun.

36 Sagittarius A* is

1. a black hole located 26,000 light-years from Earth.
2. one of the thousands of black holes orbiting Earth.
3. a well-known compact black hole.

Questions 37-40

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?

On lines 37—40 on your answer sheet, write:

37 It is not certain when the big bang occurred.

38 According to the “seed” theory, the first black holes eventually became supermassive black holes.

39 The “seed” theory has been proven true by computer simulation.

40 The black holes that existed in the early universe were all compact black holes.

Answer For Cosmic Black Holes IELTS Reading Answers with Location and Explanations

Don’t miss the answer key for the Cosmic Black Holes IELTS Reading passage, complete with detailed explanations, and prepare to score a high IELTS Reading band score.

28 Answer: I

Question type: Matching sentence endings

Answer location: Paragraph 1, lines 3-7

Answer explanation: “Newton’s law of gravitation stated that the gravitational force between two objects, for example, two astronomical bodies, is directly proportional to their masses. Astronomers found that it accurately predicted all the observable data that science at that time was able to collect, with one exception— a very slight variation in the orbit of the planet Mercury around the sun.“ This suggests that Newton’s laws of gravitation couldn’t explain the variation in Mercury’s orbit.

29 Answer: B

Question type: Matching sentence endings

Answer location: Paragraph 2, lines 2-3; Paragraph 3, the introductory line

Answer explanation: “In 1915, Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity was published. Using the equations of general relativity, he calculated the shape of Mercury’s orbit.” and “Among other phenomena, Einstein’s theory predicted the existence of black holes, although initially, he had doubts about their existence.” These lines suggest that Einstein’s theory of Relativity explains the existence of black holes in space.

30 Answer: F

Question type: Matching sentence endings

Answer location: Paragraph 3, lines 2-3

Answer explanation: “Black holes are areas in space where the gravitational field is so strong that nothing can escape them.” This suggests that the black holes have an immensely powerful gravitational force that can’t be eluded from.

31 Answer: A

Question type: Matching sentence endings

Answer location: Paragraph 3, lines 5-7

Answer explanation: “Due to this, they can be studied only by inference based on observations of their effect on the matter—both stars and gases— around them and by computer simulation.” This suggests that the black holes can only be studied by observing the matter around them and the effect the black holes on them.

32 Answer: L

Question type: Matching sentence endings

Answer location: Paragraph 3, lines 7-9

Answer explanation: “ In particular, when gases are being pulled into a black hole, they can reach temperatures up to 1,000 times the heat of the sun and become an intensely glowing source of X rays.” This suggests that the gases that are pulled back into the black holes become extremely hot.

33 Answer: D

Question type: Matching sentence endings

Answer location: Paragraph 4, limes 3-4

Answer explanation: “Because observations of event horizons are difficult due to their relatively small size, even less is known about them than about black holes themselves.” This suggests that event horizons are quite a complex subject matter to study or explore.

34 Answer: C

Question type: Matching sentence endings

Answer location: Paragraph 5, lines 1-2

Answer explanation: “Compact ones, called star-mass black holes and which have been known to exist for some time, are believed to be the result of the death of a single star.” This suggests that compact black holes are formed after the destruction of a single star.

35 Answer: B

Question type: Multiple choice question

Answer location: Paragraph 6, the introductory line

Answer explanation: “Current scientific data suggest that black holes are fairly common and lie at the center of most galaxies.” This suggests that the black holes are quite common and occur at the center of various galaxies.

36 Answer: A

Question type: Multiple choice question

Answer location: Paragraph 6, lines 3-6

Answer explanation: “The black hole at the center of the Milky Way, known as Sagittarius A* (pronounced “A-star”), is a supermassive one, containing roughly four million times the mass of our sun. Astronomers suggest that orbiting around Sagittarius A*, 26,000 light-years from Earth, may be as many as tens of thousands of smaller black holes.” This states the distance between the Earth and the Sagittarius A is 26,000 light-years.

37 Answer: NOT GIVEN

Question type: True/False/Not given

Answer location: N/A

Answer explanation: There is no reference made where the reason behind the big bang is mentioned.

38 Answer: TRUE

Question type: True/False/Not given

Answer location: Paragraph 7, lines 3-6

Answer explanation: “Some theories proposed that the first black holes were essential “seeds,” which then gravitationally attracted and consumed enormous quantities of matter found in adjacent gas clouds and dust. This allowed them to grow into the supermassive black holes that now sit in the centers of galaxies.” This suggests the initial black holes were minute in size that grew up to be an enormous entity after some time by engulfing the matter around them.

39 Answer: FASLE

Question type: True/False/Not given

Answer location: Paragraph 7, lines 6-8

Answer explanation: “However, a new computer simulation proposes that such growth was minimal. When the simulated star collapsed and formed a black hole, there was very little matter anywhere near the black hole’s event horizon.” This suggests that the computer simulation couldn’t prove the theory of the seed theory, hence the given statement is false.

40 Answer: FALSE

Question type: True/False/Not given

Answer location: Paragraph 7, lines 11-14

Answer explanation: “ it is known that black holes a billion times more massive than our sun did exist in the early universe. Researchers have yet to discover how these supermassive black holes were formed in such a short time, and the origin of these giants poses one of the most fundamental questions in astrophysics.” This suggests the black holes have been existing right from the early universe and that their origin is yet to be discovered.

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