Beyond the Blue Horizon IELTS Reading Answers: Tricks to Pass the IELTS Reading Answers

The IELTS reading answers part is where a lot of candidates look to score big. The Academic Reading test in the IELTS exam has three reading passages in three sections for which you get one hour to solve the whole. Each section contains a passage taken from any magazine, newspaper, journal, book, etc. They generally put up passages that non-specialist audiences can understand. If, in case, any passage involves technical terms, then a basic glossary is also provided.

Reading passage 1, reading passage 2, and reading passage 3 will have 13-14 questions each. This means 41 questions approximately. This for each question is of 1 mark with no negative markings.

The passages that come in the IELTS reading test are known to be lengthy. Candidates might lose time if they read every line of each paragraph in one passage. The effective and efficient tactics of skimming, scanning, guessing, and eliminating the wrong answers in a quick time frame are what will help you solve the maximum number of questions in the minimum time possible.

Also Read: IELTS Writing Task 2 Analysis (Travelling – Reasons & Benefits) – Band 6.5

Tips and Tricks to Pass the Reading Answers

#1. Master your skill of scanning. Look for summarised parts in the passage instead of reading the whole text in detail.

#2. Keep your grammar game correct. Check your answer once entered, whether any adjective, adverb, noun, or verb is needed to be fitted in or not. Grammar is a crucial thing you should be concerned about in your answers.

#3. Be very specific with the word limit of the question. If No More than Two Words, make sure your answer doesn’t exceed more than two words.

#4. You would find the answers in the same order as the text in the passage, i.e., from top to end.

#5. If you cannot find any missing word, then just strike out the options you think are not right and then take an educated guess.

Few more Tips

#6. Look to find more paraphrases and synonyms in the passage’s text, rather than searching for the words that directly match.

#7. Don’t make your assumptions based on the topics you might have knowledge of from before. Base your answers based on the text that is there in the passage only.

#8. Don’t ignore or overfocus on words like mainly, always, occasionally, often, some, all, etc. These words are mostly placed to trick the candidates, as these words can completely change a statement’s meaning.

#9. Be aware of careful verbs like suggest, belief, know, and claim. These verbs can sometimes form two different meanings.

#10. Have a good scanning technique of spotting text through keywords. This will save you a lot of time.

#11. If you have checked the whole passage and you think the answer cannot be found in the passage, then simply choose the option of ‘not given’.

What are Beyond the Blue Horizon IELTS Reading Answers?

The ‘Beyond the Blue Horizon’ was one of the passages in the previous year IELTS reading section. The candidates were asked to solve a few multiple-choice questions, sentence completion, short answer, true/false, and matching phrases questions.

Below is one of the paragraphs of Beyond the Blue Horizon that came in the exam, along with a few related questions answered.

Para 6

The Lapita had canoes that were capable of ocean voyages. They had the ability to sail them, says Geoff Irwin, a professor of archaeology at the University of Auckland. Those sailing skills, he says, were developed and passed down over thousands of years by earlier mariners who worked their way through the archipelagoes of the western Pacific, making short crossings to nearby islands. The real adventure didn’t begin, however, until their Lapita descendants sailed out of sight of land, with empty horizons on every side. This must have been as difficult for them as landing on the moon is for us today. Certainly, it distinguished them from their ancestors, but what gave them the courage to launch out on such risky voyages?

IELTS Reading Questions and Answers

Question: What was special about the Lapita?

A  They sailed beyond the point where land was visible.

B  Their cultural heritage discouraged the expression of fear.

C  They could build canoes that withstood ocean voyages.

D  Their navigational skills were passed on from one generation to the next.

Answer 

A – They sailed beyond the point where land was visible

Taken from

This must have been as difficult for them as landing on the moon.

Para 7

The Lapita’s thrust into the Pacific was eastward, against the prevailing trade winds, Irwin notes. Those nagging headwinds, he argues, may have been the key to their success. “They could sail out for days into the unknown and assess the area, secure in the knowledge that if they didn’t find anything, they could turn about and catch a swift ride back on the trade winds. This is what would have made the whole thing work.” Once out there, skilled mariners would have detected abundant leads to follow to land: seabirds, coconuts and twigs carried out to sea by the tides and the afternoon pile-up of clouds on the horizon which often indicates an island in the distance.

Question

What does ‘This’ refer to in this paragraph?

A  Lapita’s seafaring talent

B  Lapita’s ability to detect signs of land

C  Lapita’s extensive knowledge of the region

D  Lapita’s belief they would be able to return home

Answer

D  the Lapita’s belief they would be able to return home

Explanation

The other options also seem to be somewhat true but not completely, which made the whole thing going. So this leaves us with the last option, which appears to be complete and correct.

Also Read: Is IELTS Required for Canada? IELTS Band Guideline to Study in Canada

In Conclusion

The IELTS reading test determines the reading and scanning abilities of candidates to a great extent. It also checks the candidate’s ability to find relatability and searching for the most appropriate sentence and its meaning as per the question that is aligned and asked. The reading test section can be a scoring section for the candidates if done in time and attempted in full.

It is essential to have the most efficient reading answer solving strategy that works efficiently with time management and helps answer the correct answer. The passages like Beyond the Blue Horizon reading passage answers are the best ways to practice the IELTS reading section.

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