IELTS Academic Reading ‘Glass capturing the Dance of Light’ Answers

Courtney Miller

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Updated On Aug 14, 2024

Glass capturing the Dance of Light
Answers

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The IELTS Academic Reading: Cambridge Reading Sample; ‘Glass capturing the Dance of Light’ with answers. The post will discuss the answers to questions 1-13. The headline of the passage is ‘Glass capturing the Dance of Light’

Glass capturing the Dance of Light

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Question Number	Answers	Explanation
1.	viii	Paragraph B points out that in present times, ‘fibre optics’ are used to obtain a clearer image of smaller and smaller objects than ever before – even bacterial viruses. A ‘new generation of optical instruments’ (innovated fibre optics) ‘is emerging’ that can ‘provide detailed imaging of the inner workings of cells’ which can lead to exciting discoveries. Hence, the answer is viii (Exciting innovations in fibre optics).
2.	i	Paragraph C mentions that the ‘use of glass as art’, that is, glass crafts, a tradition spins back at least to Roman times, ‘is also booming’ (there is a growth in the demand of glass crafts). Nearly everywhere, it seems, men and women are blowing glass and creating works of art. Hence, the answer is i (Growth in the market for glass crafts).
3.	ix	Paragraph D reveals that not all the glass technology that touches our lives is ultra-modern. For example, the ‘simple light bulb’. At the ‘turn of the century’ (at the end of the previous century, or in former days), most ‘light bulbs were hand blown’, and the cost of one was equivalent to half a day’s pay for the average worker. Hence, the answer is ix (A former glass technology).

4.	iii	Paragraph E discloses that the secret of the ‘versatility’ (adaptability) of glass lies ‘in its interior structure’ (the part/feature that makes glass so adaptable). Although it is rigid, and thus like a solid, the atoms are arranged in a random disordered fashion, characteristic of a liquid. Hence, the answer is iii (What makes glass so adaptable).
5.	vi	Paragraph F divulges that today, scientists continue to ‘experiment with new glass mixtures’ and ‘building designers test their imaginations with applications of special types of glass’ (experiments with glass). A London ‘architect’, Mike Davies, thinks of ‘more dramatic buildings’ made of glass ‘using molecular chemistry’ (more experiments in architecture). Hence, the answer is vi (Architectural experiments with glass).
6.	molten glass//ribbon of glass//molten glass ribbon	Paragraph D illustrates the diagram in the question and is explaining how ‘a narrow ribbon of molten glass’ travels over a moving belt of steel in which there are holes. Hence, the answer is ‘molten glass//ribbon of glass//molten glass ribbon’.
7.	belt of steel/steel belt/moving belt	Paragraph D explains how a narrow ribbon of molten glass travels over a ‘moving belt of steel’ in which there are holes that can be seen in the diagram in the question. Hence, the answer is ‘belt of steel/steel belt/moving belt’.
8.	(lightbulb) moulds	Paragraph D gives the details of how the glass sags through the holes and into ‘waiting moulds’ as we can see in the diagram. Puffs of compressed air then shape the glass. In this way, the envelope of a light bulb is made. Hence, the answer is ‘(lightbulb) moulds’.
9.	A	Paragraph A lists the uses of glass that have been broadened dramatically by new technologies glass fibre optics — more than eight million miles — carrying telephone and television signals across nations, glass ceramics serving as the nose cones of missiles and as ‘crowns for teeth’, which refers to dental fittings. As it is still used, the answer is A (if the uses exist today).
10.	B	Paragraph B begins with the statement that ‘optical computers’ are ‘on the horizon’, that is they are the advanced step of today’s electronic computers. They could store programs and process information by means of light – pulses from tiny lasers – rather than electrons. ‘These machines could function hundreds of times faster than today’s electronic computers’ and hold vastly more information. Therefore, with the development of fibre optics, present day computers will also advance into optical computers which will continue to be used in the near future. Hence, the answer is B (if the uses will exist in the future).
11.	A	Paragraph C states that Dale Chihuly ‘now’ (at present time/today) has a new commission – a ‘glass sculpture’ for the headquarters building of a pizza company – for which his fee is half a million dollars. Hence, the answer is A (if the uses exist today).
12.	C	In the passage, the author has described how the uses of glass have changed over time. Various uses and advancements in items like bulbs, computers, fiber optics, glass crafts are mentioned. But there is no mention of how glass has been or will be used in fashions. Hence, the answer is C (if the uses are not mentioned by the writer).
13.	A	Paragraph F describes how glass that has been treated to react to electric currents going through it, glass that will change from clear to opaque at the push of a button, that gives you instant curtains. ‘Glass as instant curtains is available now’, but the cost is exorbitant. Hence, the answer is A (if the uses exist today).

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