Daylight Saving Time – IELTS Reading Answers

Daylight Saving Time – IELTS Reading Answers is from an academic reading passage that consists of 13 questions which have to be answered in 20 minutes. The Reading section of the IELTS exam can be your highest-scoring section, but only if you practise diligently. To get the best results, you need to understand how to approach and answer the different types of questions.

To prepare for the IELTS reading test, it is helpful to solve and review sample reading questions from past IELTS papers. This will help you become familiar with the different question formats and test your reading skills.

Let’s try to see how easy you find the academic passage “Daylight Saving Time” and if you can complete it in 20 minutes. If not, you can try more IELTS reading practice tests from IELTSMaterial.com.

The question types found in Daylight Saving Time – IELTS reading answers passage are as follows:

• True/False/Not Given (Q. 1-6)

• Table Completion (Q. 7 – 13)

Reading Passage

Daylight Saving Time 

Each year in many countries around the world, clocks are set forward in spring and then back again in autumn in an effort to ‘save’ daylight hours. Like many modern practices, Daylight Savings Time (DST) dates back to ancient civilisations. The Romans would adjust their routines to the sun’s schedule by using different scales in their water clocks for different months of the year.

This practice fell out of favour, however, and the concept was renewed only when, in 1784, the American inventor Benjamin Franklin wrote a jocular article for The Journal of Paris exhorting the city’s residents to make more use of daylight hours in order to reduce candle use. In 1895, in a more serious effort, New Zealand entomologist George Vernon Hudson proposed a biannual two-hour shift closely resembling current forms of DST. His cause was not taken up, however, until Germany first pushed their clocks forward in April 1916 as part of a drive to save fuel in World War I.

Over the next several decades, global use of DST was sporadic and inconsistent. Countries such as the UK and USA adopted DST in World Wars I and II, but reverted to standard time after the wars ended. In the USA, the decision to use DST was determined by states and municipalities between 1945 and 1966, causing widespread confusion for transport and broadcasting schedules until Congress implemented the Uniform Time Act in 1966.

Today, DST is used in some form by over 70 countries worldwide, affecting around one sixth of the world’s population. There is still no uniform standard, however. Countries such as Egypt and Russia have adjusted their policies on multiple occasions in recent years, in some instances leading to considerable turmoil. Muslim countries often suspend DST for the month of Ramadan. The European Union finally standardised DST in 2000, while the USA’s most recent adjustments were introduced with the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

In general, the benefits of DST are considerable and well documented. Perhaps the most significant factor in terms of popular support is the chance to make better use of daylight in the evening. With extended daylight hours, office workers coming off a 9 to 5 shift can often take part in outdoor recreational activities for an hour or two. This has other positive effects, such as reducing domestic electricity consumption as more opportunities become available to use sunlight instead of artificial lighting. A further benefit is a reduction in the overall rate of automobile accidents, as DST ensures that streets are well lit at peak hours.

Many industries are supportive of DST due to the opportunities it provides for increased revenue. Extended daylight hours mean people are more likely to stay out later in the evening and spend more money in bars and restaurants, for example, so tourism and hospitality are two sectors that stand to gain a lot from more daylight. In Queensland, Australia, which elected not to implement DST due to complaints from dairy farmers over disruption to milking schedules, the annual drain on the state’s economy is estimated to be as high as $4 billion.

Some research casts doubt on the advantages of DST, however. Although the overall incidence of traffic accidents is lower, for pedestrians the risk of being hit by a car in the evening increases by as much as 186 per cent in the weeks after clocks are set back in autumn, possibly because drivers have not yet adjusted to earlier sunsets. Although this shift does in turn make streets safer in early mornings, the risk to pedestrians is not offset simply because fewer pedestrians use the streets at that time.

A further health concern involves the disruption of our body clock. Setting clocks one hour forward at night can cause many people to lose sleep, resulting in tiredness and all its well-documented effects, such as mood swings, reduced productivity and problems with overall physical well-being. In 2008, a Swedish study found that heart attack rates spike in the few days following the switch to DST for summer. Tiredness may also be a factor behind the increase in road accidents in the week after DST begins.

Finally, safety issues have arisen in parts of Latin America relating to a suspected relationship between DST and higher incidences of street crime. In 2008, Guatemala chose not to use DST because it forced office workers to leave their homes while it was still dark outside in the morning. This natural cover for criminals was thought to increase incidents of crime at this hour.

Questions 1-6

1 Daylight savings time has been in continual use since ancient times.

2 Today, DST is very similar to how George Vernon Hudson suggested it.

3 DST was not considered successful during World Wars I and II.

4 The USA finalised its DST policy in 1966.

5 Around the world, there is now general agreement on how DST should be used.

6 Frequent changes to DST over a short time span have caused problems in some countries.

Questions 7-13

Advantages and disadvantages of Daylight Saving Time

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Daylight Saving Time – IELTS Reading Answers with Location and Explanations 

1 Answer: False

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 1

Answer Explanation: Paragraph 1 states, “Daylight Savings Time (DST) dates back to ancient civilisations. The Romans would adjust their routines to the sun’s schedule by using different scales in their water clocks for different months of the year.” These lines suggest that daylight savings time dates back to ancient times . Therefore, the statement contradicts the information, so, the answer is false.

2 Answer: True

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 2

Answer explanation: The 2nd line of Paragraph 2 reveals, “New Zealand entomologist George Vernon Hudson proposed a biannual two-hour shift closely resembling current forms of DST.” Based on this information, it is evident that Today, DST is very similar to how George Vernon Hudson suggested it.Therefore, the answer is True.

3 Answer: Not Given

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: NA

Answer explanation: There’s no information on the passage indicating the fact that the DST was not considered successful during World Wars I and II. Therefore, the answer corresponds to not given.

4 Answer: False

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 3

Answer explanation: Paragraph 3 mentions, “Over the next several decades, global use of DST was sporadic and inconsistent. Countries such as the UK and USA adopted DST in World Wars I and II, but reverted to standard time after the wars ended. In the USA, the decision to use DST was determined by states and municipalities between 1945 and 1966, causing widespread confusion for transport and broadcasting schedules until Congress implemented the Uniform Time Act in 1966.” According to these lines, the DST was inconsistently adopted globally for several decades. The UK and USA used it during World Wars I and II but returned to standard time afterward. In the USA, states and municipalities decided on DST from 1945 to 1966, causing confusion until the Uniform Time Act was passed. Hence, the answer is false as it disagrees with the information in the passage.

5 Answer: False

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 3

Answer explanation: Paragraph 3 states, “In the USA, the decision to use DST was determined by states and municipalities between 1945 and 1966, causing widespread confusion for transport and broadcasting schedules until Congress implemented the Uniform Time Act in 1966.” According to these lines, Between 1945 and 1966, the decision to use Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the USA was determined by states and municipalities, causing confusion for transport and broadcasting schedules. In 1966, Congress implemented the Uniform Time Act to standardize DST nationwide. Thus, the statement contradicts the information, so, the answer is False.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Daylight Saving Time – IELTS Reading Answers 

Now that you know the ‘Daylight Saving Time – IELTS Reading Answers’ with its explanation, let us check out some quick tips to answer the 2 question types in the  Daylight Saving Time – IELTS Reading Answers.

True/ False/ Not Given

True/False/Not Given questions in the IELTS Reading test require you to decide whether a statement is true, false, or not given according to the information in the passage. Here are some tips to ace this type of question:

• Before answering a question, take the time to understand it fully. Don’t make assumptions about the facts given. If you know something about the topic, put it aside and focus on the text. Your assumptions may be wrong and cost you marks.
• Don’t rely only on keywords. Read the text and question carefully. The text may contain many paraphrased versions of the facts given, so you need to be careful and look for them. This means having a good vocabulary and knowing synonyms and antonyms.
• Some words, such as “some,” “never,” “always,” “believe,” and “claim,” can completely change the meaning of a sentence. That’s why it’s important to read the sentence carefully to avoid mistakes.
• The answer is not always based on keywords. Sometimes the keywords are the same, but the meaning of the sentence is completely different.
• At least one answer to each question will be True, False, or Not Given. The answer is False when the text states one meaning and the fact given states another.

Table Completion

Table completion is a type of IELTS Reading question where you are given a table with some of the information missing. Your job is to fill in the missing information using words and phrases from the reading passage.

• Follow a step-by-step strategy to answer table completion questions quickly and easily.
• If you see something unfamiliar on the exam, don’t panic. Instead, try to solve the question using a step-by-step strategy.
• The order of the questions may not be the same as the order of the information in the reading passage.
• Don’t use synonyms. Fill in the blanks with the exact words from the passage, or your answer will be marked incorrect.
• Try to figure out what type of word is missing (adjective, adverb, verb, or noun). This will make it easier to find the correct word.
• Instead of looking for the exact word, look for the same meaning.
• First, find where the answer is in the passage. Then, read the passage carefully to find the answer itself.
• The completed sentence must be grammatically correct. If it’s not, then your answer is incorrect.

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