The Lost City – IELTS Reading Answers
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The Reading Module of the IELTS can be the top-scoring category, with diligent practice. To achieve the best results in this section, you must understand how to approach and answer the different Question types in the Reading Module. By solving and reviewing Sample Reading Questions from past IELTS papers, you can ensure that your Reading skills are up to the mark.
The Academic passage ‘The Lost City’ is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test.
It contains some of the IELTS reading question types. If you are interested in familiarising yourself with all the question types, don’t hesitate to take an IELTS reading practice test.
The question types found in this passage are:
Matching Headings
In Matching Headings question, a list of headings will be given and you are asked to match these headings with a paragraph in the passage. You should read the headings before you begin reading the text. To get the correct answer, you have to read the complete paragraph and not just stop with the first few lines of the paragraph. There will also be many other headings that are not related to any of the paragraphs given in the passage, in such cases, try to identify those types of headings too.
True/False/Not Given Questions
These True/False/Not Given questions are very tricky. This question consists of several statements – If the statement is present in the article as it is then you need to mark it as true. If the statement is found to be the opposite of the sentence which is there then it should be marked as false. If the statement given in the question is not at all present in the article then it should be marked as not given. Do not spend a lot of time finding the sentence which is not there.
Sentence completion
In sentence completion, you’ll be asked to fill in the blank spaces using the words given in the text. It is important to pay close attention to the instructions that are given in the question because in some instructions there will be a word limit mentioned and you may lose marks if you don’t follow it.
Answer questions 14-26 based on the given passage.
The Lost City
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The answers to questions 14-26 are given below along with their explanations.
14 Answer: iv
Question type: Matching Headings
Answer location: Paragraph A, line 4
Answer explanation: In the said paragraph, the writer states that, “His goal was to locate the remains of a city called Vitcos” and, in line 6, it is given that “Bingham’s plan was to descend from this plateau”. Both of these lines consist of words like ‘goal’ and ‘plan’ which refer to the aim of the trip, which was to locate the remains of Vitcos and to descend from the plateau. Hence, the answer is IV (The aim of the trip).
15 Answer: vi
Question type: Matching Headings
Answer location: Paragraph B, line 1
Answer explanation: In paragraph B, the writer mentions, “…a track had recently been blasted down the valley canyon…” and “Almost all previous travelers had left the river at Ollantaytambo and taken a high pass……… area around Machu Picchu”. These lines emphasize on how previous travelers never had an idea about the presence of a new route until Bingham’s expedition which explored the current track. Thus, the answer is VI (A new route).
16 Answer: viii
Question type: Matching Headings
Answer location: Paragraph C, line 4
Answer explanation: In paragraph C, it is given that Bingham also seemed to have been less than keen (lacked interest) on the prospect of climbing the hill. Later, in his book Lost City of the Incas, he relates that he made the ascent without having the least expectation that he would find anything at the top. Therefore, we can conclude that Bingham lacked enthusiasm on his way to the top. So, the answer is VIII (Bingham’s lack of enthusiasm).
17 Answer: v
Question type: Matching Headings
Answer location: Paragraph D, line 1
Answer explanation: In paragraph D, the author notes, “Bingham writes about the approach in vivid style in his book”. In the beginning there is a description of the ever-present possibility of deadly snakes that are capable of making considerable springs when in pursuit of their prey as he climbs up the hill but he does not see any. Then there’s a sense of mounting discovery as he comes across great sweeps of terraces, then a mausoleum, followed by monumental staircases and, finally, the grand ceremonial buildings of Machu Picchu. These descriptions of his journey seemed like an unbelievable dream and were dramatic enough to make him spellbound. Therefore, the answer is V (A dramatic description).
18 Answer: i
Question type: Matching Headings
Answer location: Paragraph E, line 3
Answer explanation: In paragraph E, the writer explains in line 3, “His journal entries of the time reveal a much more gradual appreciation of his achievement.” This means that he had written his experiences in a more descriptive way but we also come to know that he did not share the whole experience with his companions which we come to know from line 6: “…rejoined his companions, to whom he seems to have said little about his discovery”. As a result, different retellings of the same journey were done. Hence, the answer is I (Different accounts of the same journey).
19 Answer: vii
Question type: Matching Headings
Answer location: Paragraph F, line 2
Answer explanation: Paragraph F states that when Bingham came to write the National Geographic magazine article that broke the story to the world in April 1913, he knew he had to produce a big idea. This means that he had written and published his experience and theory in a magazine. Thus, the answer is VII (Bingham publishes his theory).
20 Answer: iii
Question type: Matching Headings
Answer location: Paragraph G, line 3
Answer explanation: As for paragraph G, it is written, “An idea which has gained wide acceptance over the past few years is that Machu Picchu was a moya, a country estate built by an Inca emperor to escape the cold winters of Cusco, where the elite could enjoy monumental architecture and spectacular views”. This meant that the idea about Machu Picchu was accepted by almost everyone and it became a common belief. So, the answer is III (A common belief).
21 Answer: TRUE
Question type: True/False/Not Given Questions
Answer location: Paragraph A, line 1
Answer explanation: In paragraph A, it is said that the US explorer and academic Hiram Bingham arrived (went to) in South America in 1911 to explore the remote hinterland to the west of Cusco, the old capital of the Inca empire in the Andes mountains of Peru. His aim was to locate (in search of) the remains of a city called Vitcos, the last capital of the Inca civilisation. This proves that the answer is TRUE.
22 Answer: FALSE
Question type: True/False/Not Given Questions
Answer location: Paragraph B, line 2
Answer explanation: In paragraph B, the author states in line 2 and 3, “…a track had recently been blasted down the valley canyon…” Also in line 4, the writer says “Almost all previous travelers had left the river at Ollantaytambo and taken a high pass across the mountains………but also therefore never passing through the area around Machu Picchu.” These lines prove that previous travelers did not have any idea about the new route until Bingham’s expedition which explored the track. Thus, the answer is FALSE.
23 Answer: FALSE
Question type: True/False/Not Given Questions
Answer location: Paragraph E, line 3
Answer explanation: In paragraph E, the writer mentions that Bingham’s journal entries reveal a gradual appreciation of his achievement. While noting down his experience and the dimensions of some of the buildings, he didn’t realise the extent or the importance of the site, nor did he realise what use he could make of the discovery. It was when he wrote the National Geographic magazine article that he realised the importance (mentioned in paragraph F). As the statement contradicts the information, the answer is FALSE.
24 Answer: NOT GIVEN
Question type: True/False/Not Given Questions
Answer location: Paragraph F, line 3
Answer explanation: In paragraph F, it is related that Bingham wondered whether Machu Picchu could have been the birthplace of the very first Inca, Manco the Great and whether it could also have been what chroniclers described as ‘the last city of the Incas’. He made desperate attempts to prove this belief for nearly 40 years. Sadly, his vision of the site as both the beginning and end of the Inca civilisation is inaccurate. So, it proves that he did not return to Machu Picchu to find evidence to support his theory as it was left inaccurate. Thus, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
25 Answer: rubber
Question type: Sentence Completion
Answer location: Paragraph B, line 1
Answer explanation: In paragraph B, it is given that when Bingham and his team set off down the Urubamba in late July, they had an advantage that a track had recently been blasted down the valley canyon to enable rubber to be brought up by mules from the jungle. So, this new route was created to carry rubber by using mules and was unknown to others. Therefore, the answer is rubber.
26 Answer: farmer
Question type: Sentence Completion
Answer location: Paragraph C, line 3
Answer explanation: In paragraph C, it is pointed out that on 24 July Bingham and his team were a few days into their descent of the Urubamba valley. But his companions showed no interest in accompanying him up the nearby hill to see some ruins that a local farmer, Melchor Arteaga, had told them about the night before. From this, we can conclude that Bingham and his team came to know about the ruins of Machu Picchu from a farmer named Melchor Arteaga, who lived in the Urubamba valley. Hence, the answer is farmer.
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