Glaciers IELTS Reading Answers

Updated On Aug 30, 2021

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1 Glaciers
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The Academic passage ‘Glaciers’ is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Read the passage below and answer questions 1 – 15. Beyond the questions, you will find the answers along with the location of the answers in the passage and the keywords that help you find out the answers.

Glaciers

Glaciers - 0001 Glaciers - 0002

Glaciers - 0003

Glaciers - 0004

Glaciers - 0005

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Question number	Answer	Explanation
1	D	Paragraph D indicates that people talk abnormally when they know they are being recorded, and sound quality can be poor. This effect of recording the way people talk makes obtaining naturalistic, good-quality data difficult. Hence, the answer is D.
2	E	Paragraph E brings forth the fact that when speech is unclear and ambiguous in audio recordings, video recording is used to supplement the observer’s written comments (notes) on the non-verbal behaviour (body language) of the participants, and about the context in general. For example, a facial expression can dramatically alter the meaning of what is said. Video recordings and transcriptions always benefit from any additional commentary provided by an observer. Therefore, the benefits of taking notes on body language are that they help to decipher unclear speech with the help of facial expression . Hence, the answer is E.
3	C	Paragraph C mentions that age, sex, social background and other aspects of identity (social factors) are important, as these factors are known to influence the kind of language used. The topic of conversation and the characteristics of the social setting (social situation) are also highly relevant as are the personal qualities of the informants. Hence, the answer is C.

4	D	Paragraph D explains that some recordings are made without the speakers being aware of the fact – a procedure that obtains very natural data, though ethical objections must be anticipated. Alternatively, attempts can be made to make the speaker forget about the recording, such as keeping the tape recorder out of sight, or using radio microphones. In this way, the informants can be helped to be less self-conscious while recording. Hence, the answer is D.
5	F	Throughout paragraph F different methods to generate specific data are communicated. The first one is the use of structured sessions by linguists in which they systematically ask their informants for utterances that describe certain actions, objects or behaviours. Secondly, With a bilingual informant, or through use of an interpreter, it is possible to use translation techniques (‘How do you say table in your language?’). The third method is the use of interview worksheets and questionnaires with the help of which a large number of points can be covered in a short time. Fourthly, the researcher wishes to obtain information about just a single variable by using a restricted set of questions, for example, a particular feature of pronunciation can be elicited by asking the informant to say a restricted set of words. Lastly, there are also several direct methods of elicitation, such as asking informants to fill in the blanks in a substitution frame (e.g. I_see a car), or feeding them the wrong stimulus for correction (‘Is it possible to say / no can see?’). Hence, the answer is F.
6	(the) linguist (acts)/ (the) linguists (act)	Paragraph B points out that while studying their mother tongue, linguists act as their own informants, judging the ambiguity, acceptability, or other properties of utterances against their own intuitions. The convenience of this approach makes it widely used (convenient). But a linguist’s personal judgements are often uncertain or disagree with the judgements of other linguists (method of enquiry not objective enough). Hence, the answer is ‘(the) linguist (acts)/ (the) linguists (act)’.
7	foreign languages	Paragraph B states that when a linguist’s personal judgements are often uncertain or disagree with the judgements of other linguists, they recourse to more objective methods of enquiry, using non-linguists as informants. This procedure is unavoidable (necessary) when working on foreign languages or child speech. Hence, the answer is ‘foreign languages’.
8	quality/ the quality/ the poor quality	Paragraph D informs that researchers often tape-record informants. This enables the linguist’s claims about the language to be checked, and provides a way of making those claims more accurate. But people talk abnormally when they know they are being recorded, and sound quality can be poor. Hence, the answer is ‘quality/ the quality/ the poor quality’.
9	non-verbal behaviour	Paragraph E relates that when audio tape recording does not solve the problems like unclear speech, video recording is used to supplement the observer’s written comments on the non-verbal behaviour of the participants. A facial expression, for example, can dramatically alter the meaning of what is said. Hence, the answer is ‘non-verbal behaviour’.
10	camera/ video camera/ recording/ video recording	Paragraph E deals with the fact that video recordings even have limitations as the camera cannot be everywhere. As a result, they might miss certain things. Hence, the answer is ‘camera/ video camera/ recording/ video recording’.
11	frequency of usage/ usage frequency	Paragraph G specifies that a corpus enables the linguist to make unbiased statements (comment objectively) about frequency of usage, and it provides accessible data for the use of different researchers. Hence, the answer is ‘frequency of usage/ usage frequency’.
12	particular linguistic feature	Paragraph G makes it known that some corpora attempt to cover the language as a whole, taking extracts from many kinds of text (a wide range of language); others are extremely selective (focus) and provide a collection of material that deals only with a particular linguistic feature. Hence, the answer is ‘particular linguistic feature’.
13	size	Paragraph G refers to the fact that the size of the corpus depends on (affect) practical factors, such as the time available to collect, process and store the data (length of time the process takes): it can take up to several hours to provide an accurate transcription of a few minutes of speech. Hence, the answer is ‘size’.
14	intuitions	The last sentence of paragraph G tells us that an important principle is that all corpora, whatever their size, are inevitably limited in their coverage (no corpus, irrespective of the size, can ever cover the whole language), and always need to be supplemented by data (relying on the additional information) derived (gained) from the intuitions of native speakers of the language (those who speak the language concerned), through either introspection or experimentation. Hence, the answer is ‘intuitions’.