(Update 2024) Cambridge IELTS 14 Reading Test 1 Answers – Free Lesson

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Passage 1: The Importance of Children’s Play

Questions 1-8: Complete the notes below.

1. Answer: creativity

Explain building a “magical kingdom” may help develop …

– Key words: magical kingdom, develop

– The phrase “magical kingdom” is put in the double quotes, implying it is emphasized as a phrase used in the text. As we can easily locate the phrase in the first sentence of the passage, we should pay attention to the first paragraph. What we need to focus on now is what the fantasy of building a magical kingdom can help develop, referring to its benefits in the future. The answer should be mentioned in the next sentences, after describing what building a magical kingdom is like. In those sentences, “take first steps towards her capacity” can be understood as “develop”, and it refers to “creativity”. Therefore, creativity is the answer.

2. Answer: rules

Explain board games involve … and turn-taking

– Key words: board games, turn-taking

– We have to find information referring to board games. It is in the last sentence of paragraph 2 (we use scanning skills to find the word “board game” in the passage): “When they tire of this and settle down with a board game, she‟s learning how to follow the rules and take turns with a partner”. So with board games, a child can learn to “follow the rules” and “take turns” (it means “turntaking”, which is mentioned already as one of the two things involved). As the word needed should be a noun (after “involve”) and the task asks for one word only, it must be “rules”.

3. Answer: cities

Explain populations of … have grown

– Key words: populations, grown

– Remember that question 3 belongs to the section “Recent changes affecting children‟s play”, so we should focus on the part of the passage where the author mentions “changes”, which is paragraph 5. Here, the author refers to “changing times”. “Population” means “the number of people or a species living in a certain area”. The word needed here should be a noun referring to a place or a species. In paragraph 5, the writer confirms that “over half of people in the world now live in cities”, implying the number of people living in cities has increased/ grown compared to the past. Therefore, The answer is “cities”.

4. Answer: traffic

Explain fear of …

– Key words: free play, limited, fear, increased, schools

– The author mentions “Opportunities for free play” by saying that they “are becoming increasingly scarce” and “outdoor play is curtailed” in the second and third sentence in paragraph 5. “Curtail” means to reduce something with the result that we can no longer continue to do it. So we can assume it is replaced by the word “limited” here. Therefore, we should focus on those sentences to find the reasons for that. Reasons which are listed include “perception of risk to do with traffic”, “parents wish to protect their children from being victims of crime” and “greater competition in academic learning and schools”. “Perception of risk” and “wish to protect their children from something” should be considered as fears. Therefore, “traffic” and “crime” are the answers for Question 4 and 5 (One word only and it should be a noun – after preposition “of”). The third reason mentioned is “greater competition” in schools and “greater” can be understood as “increased”, so the answer for Question 6 is “competition”‟.

5. Answer: crime

Explain fear of …

– Key words: free play, limited, fear, increased, schools

– The author mentions “Opportunities for free play” by saying that they “are becoming increasingly scarce” and “outdoor play is curtailed” in the second and third sentence in paragraph 5. “Curtail” means to reduce something with the result that we can no longer continue to do it. So we can assume it is replaced by the word “limited” here. Therefore, we should focus on those sentences to find the reasons for that. Reasons which are listed include “perception of risk to do with traffic”, “parents wish to protect their children from being victims of crime” and “greater competition in academic learning and schools”. “Perception of risk” and “wish to protect their children from something” should be considered as fears. Therefore, “traffic” and “crime” are the answers for Question 4 and 5 (One word only and it should be a noun – after preposition “of”). The third reason mentioned is “greater competition” in schools and “greater” can be understood as “increased”, so the answer for Question 6 is “competition”‟.

6. Answer: competition

Explain increased … in schools

– Key words: free play, limited, fear, increased, schools

– The author mentions “Opportunities for free play” by saying that they “are becoming increasingly scarce” and “outdoor play is curtailed” in the second and third sentence in paragraph 5. “Curtail” means to reduce something with the result that we can no longer continue to do it. So we can assume it is replaced by the word “limited” here. Therefore, we should focus on those sentences to find the reasons for that. Reasons which are listed include “perception of risk to do with traffic”, “parents wish to protect their children from being victims of crime” and “greater competition in academic learning and schools”. “Perception of risk” and “wish to protect their children from something” should be considered as fears. Therefore, “traffic” and “crime” are the answers for Question 4 and 5 (One word only and it should be a noun – after preposition “of”). The third reason mentioned is “greater competition” in schools and “greater” can be understood as “increased”, so the answer for Question 6 is “competition”‟.

7. Answer: evidence

Explain it is difficult to find … to support new policies

– Key words: difficult, find, support, new policies

– New policies are mentioned in paragraph 6, so we should pay attention here. As the word “difficult” is mentioned, we need to look for difficulties or disadvantages of supporting new policies. At first, the author mentions all the advantages, then he uses “but”, implying an added statement, usually something different from what he said before, so we can assume the next statement will be a disadvantage so we should focus here. “But what we often lack is the evidence to base policies on”. The phrase “to base policies on” can be considered as “to support new policies”, and “what they lack” means “it is difficult to find”, so the answer is “evidence”.

8. Answer: life

Explain research needs to study the impact of play on the rest of the child’s …

– Key words: research, study, impact, play, the rest, the child’s

– As the word needed is put behind a possessive adjective (child‟s), we need to look for a noun referring to the child. Paragraph 7 talks about the long – term impact of play. In the last sentence, the author explains that “long-term impact of play” means “the impact of play on the child‟s later life” while “later” refers to “the rest”. Therefore, what is needed to fill in the blank here is “life”.

Questions 9-13: Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

9. Answer: TRUE

Explain Children with good self-control are known to be likely to do well at school later on  Key words: children, self-control, well, school, later

– Find the paragraph beginning: “In a study carried out by Baker….” This was a study of very young pre-school children. The study found that “children with greater self-control solved problems more quickly..” According to the next paragraph, play is therefore very significant for education, “because the ability to self-regulate (= to control oneself) has been shown to be a key predictor of academic performance”. So, developing good self-control through play means that children are likely to do well academically in school later on

10. Answer: TRUE

Explain The way a child plays may provide information about possible medical problems  Key words: plays, information, medical problems

– Find the paragraph beginning: “Gibson adds…” This is about the way that children play or, in other words, “playful behaviour”. We are told that this can indicate the healthy social and emotional development of children. Observing how children play “can give us important clues (= provide information) about their well-being and can even be useful in the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism”. Autism is an example of a medical problem. Therefore, a child‟s behaviour during play may give information to help identify medical problems.

11. Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explain Playing with dolls was found to benefit girls’ writing more than boys’ writing

– Key words: dolls, benefit, writing

– Find the paragraph beginning: “Whitebread‟s recent research…” This is about using play to support children‟s writing, because “Children wrote longer and better-structured stories when they first played with dolls representing characters in the story”. So, playing with dolls benefits the writing of children in general, but we are not told if this benefits girls more than boys.

12. Answer: FALSE

Explain Children have problems thinking up ideas when they first created the story with Lego

– Key words: problems, ideas, create story, Lego

– In the same paragraph, we find the key words: “In the latest study, children first created their story with Lego with similar results. Many teachers commented that they had always previously had children saying they didn‟t know what to write about. With the Lego building, however, not a single child said this….” So, using Lego to think up ideas (= create their story), children then had no problems with ideas for their stories.

13. Answer: TRUE

Explain People nowadays regard children’s play as less significant than they did in the past

– Key words: play, regard, less significant, past

– We find the answer in the last paragraph: “Somehow the importance of play has been lost in recent decades. It‟s regarded as something trivial, or even as something negative that contrasts with „work‟ “. In recent decades, attitudes to play have, therefore, changed. It is now considered to be something unimportant or even negative. In contrast, people in the past thought that it was more important.

The Importance of Children’s Play
cambridge ielts 14 reading-test 1-passage 1 answers

Passage 2: The growth of bike-sharing schemes around the world

Questions 14-18: Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.

14. Answer: E

Explain a description of how people misused a bike-sharing scheme

– Key words: people, misused, bike-sharing, scheme

– Paragraph E states that: “The system was prone to vandalism and theft”. This means that people damaged and stole bikes from the scheme, thus both can be called actions of misusing the scheme. Therefore, the answer is E.

15. Answer: C

Explain an explanation of why a proposed bike-sharing scheme was turned down Key words: explanation, proposed, bike-sharing scheme, turned down

– Paragraph C states that: “the council unanimously rejected the plan”. o Turn down = reject o Scheme = plan

– The author further explains that the council turned down the plan because they believed bikes were a thing of the past. Thus, paragraph C gives explanation of why a proposed bike-sharing scheme was turned down.

16. Answer: F

Explain a reference of a person being unable to profit from their work

– Key words: reference, person, unable, profit, work

– We can find information relating to profit in both paragraphs E and F. In paragraph E, we know that the chip card wasn‟t profitable, but it is irrelevant to „a person being unable to profit from their work‟. In paragraph F, however, we know that Schimmelpennink financially “didn‟t really benefit from it” („it‟ refers to his bike-sharing programme). Thus, Schimmelpennink didn‟t profit from his work. o Profit = benefit

17. Answer: C

Explain an explanation of the potential savings a bike-sharing scheme would bring

– Key words: explanation, potential, savings, bike-sharing scheme,

– Schimmelpennink stated in paragraph C that his bike-sharing scheme “would cost the municipality only 10% of what it contributed to public transport per person per kilometre”. This suggests that the benefits of the scheme were much greater than the cost, hence it would save a lot of resources. This can be considered „the potential savings‟ of this scheme. Therefore, the answer is C.

18. Answer: A

Explain a reference to the problems a bike-sharing scheme was intended to solve

– Key words: reference, problems, bike-sharing scheme, intended, solve

– The purposes of a bike-sharing scheme are mentioned in paragraph A: “the scheme…was an answer to the perceived threats of air pollution and consumerism”. Hence, air pollution and consumerism are two problems that the scheme was intended to solve. o Problems = threats

Questions 19 and 20: Choose TWO letters, A-E.

19-20. Answer: B It failed when a partner in the scheme with drew support. D It was made possible by a change in people’s attitudes.

Explain Which TWO of the following statements are made in the text about the Amsterdam bike-sharing scheme of 1999?

– Key words: two, statements, Amsterdam, bike-sharing, scheme, 1999

– While there are a few mentions of the Amsterdam bike-sharing scheme in the text, we need to find information about the 1999 scheme, not the initial one. We can find this in paragraph D onwards.

– Schimmelpennink and his scheme “succeeded in arousing the interest of the Dutch Ministry of Transport”, so A is incorrect.

– Schimmelpennink said “times had changed”, referring to people‟s change in attitudes towards the environment. This, combined with the success of the Danish bike-sharing scheme, led to the introduction of the new Amsterdam scheme in 1999. In other words, it was made possible by a change in people‟s attitudes. Thus, D is one correct answer.

– Paragraph E mentions several problems faced by the scheme: vandalism, theft, and most importantly, Postbank‟s withdrawal from the scheme. We know this because: “Postbank decided to abolish the chip card” and “the business partner had lost interest”. This was “the biggest blow” to the scheme, and the scheme could not continue. Therefore, B is correct.

Questions 21 and 22: Choose TWO letters, A-E.

21/22. Answer: D- A bike-sharing scheme would benefit residents who use public transport, E -The city has a reputation as a place that welcomes cyclists

Explain Which TWO of the following statements are made in the text about the Amsterdam today?

– Key words: two, statements, Amsterdam, today

– We can easily find the phrase “Amsterdam today” at the beginning of paragraph G.

– “38% of all trips are made by bike”, but we cannot be sure that more trips in the city are made by bike than by any other form of transport, so C is incorrect.

– “it is regarded as one of the two most cycle-friendly capitals in the world”, which means Amsterdam is known as a place that welcomes cyclists. Thus, E is correct.

– Schimmelpennick also mentions the need for a bike-sharing scheme in Amsterdam today because “people who travel on the underground don‟t carry their bike around. But often they need additional transport to reach their final destination”. People using the underground are “residents who use public transport”, and they would benefit from the scheme. Thus, D is correct.

Questions 23-26: Complete the summary below.

23. Answer: activists

Explain The people who belonged to this group were …

– Key words: people, belonged, this group,

– “This group” refers to the Dutch group, Provo. We can find information about Provo in paragraph A. Here, it is stated that Provo “was a group of Dutch activists”, so “activists” is the answer.

24. Answer: consumerism

Explain They were concerned about the damage to the environment and about …

– Key words: concerned, about, damage, environment, and

– Provo activists believed that the scheme would help to deal with air pollution and consumerism. This means that they are concerned about these two problems, and suggested a solution. Because air pollution can be understood as „damage to the environment‟, the missing word in the blank is „consumerism‟.

25. Answer: leaflets

Explain As well as painting some bikes white, they handed out … that condemned the use of cars.

– Key words: painting, bikes, white, handed out, condemned, use of cars

– The word „condemn‟ means „disapprove‟. It is stated that Provo activists “distributed leaflets describing the dangers of cars”, meaning these leaflets disapproved (or condemned) the use of cars. o Hand out = distribute

26. Answer: police

Explain However, the scheme was not a great success: almost as quickly as Provo left the bikes around the city, the … took them away.

– Key words: scheme, not, success, Provo, left, bikes, city, took, away

– Paragraph B describes the scheme‟s problems, one of which is that the police removed the bikes “as soon as the white bikes were distributed around the city”. Therefore, it is clear that the answer is “police”. o Take away = remove o As quickly as = as soon as

cambridge ielts 14 reading - test 1 - passage 2
cambridge ielts 14 reading – test 1 – passage 2 answers

Passage 3: Motivational Factors and The Hospitality Industry

Questions 27-31: Look at the following statements (Questions 27-31) and the list of researchers below.

27. Answer: E

Explain Hotel managers need to know what would encourage good staff to remain.

– Key words: hotel, managers, need, know, encourage, good, staff, remain

– Paragraph 8 refers to the practices that hotel management must develop “to inspire and retain competent employees”. The last sentence of paragraph 8 states that “it is beneficial for hotel managers to understand what practices are most favourable to increase employee satisfaction and retention”. To increase employee retention means to encourage employees to remain. This is the statement of Enz and Siguaw (2000), so the answer is E. o Good = competent o Staff = employee

28. Answer: D

Explain The actions of managers may make staff feel they shouldn’t move to a different employer.

– Key words: actions, managers, staff, feel, shouldn’t, move, different, employer

– According to Ng and Sorensen in paragraph 5: “employees feel more obligated to stay with the company” if the manager does certain things, such as: providing recognition, motivating group work, and removing obstacles. These are „actions of managers‟, and these actions make employees feel that they should stay with the company and shouldn‟t move to another employer. So D is the correct answer.

29. Answer: B

Litter is done in the hospitality industry to help workers improve their skills

Keywords for this question : little, done, hospitality, help workers, improve skills

This answer can be traced in Paragraph no.4, at the very begining. “Lucas also points out that “the substance of HRM practices does not appear to be designed foster constructive relations with employees or to represent a management approach that enables developing and drawing out the full potential of people,…

The lines suggest that such HRM practices does very little ( or nothing ) to help the employees hone ( Sharpen or improve ) their full potential (skills)

So, the answer is B (Lucas )

30. Answer: D

Explain Staff are less likely to change jobs if cooperation is encouraged.

– Key words: staff, less likely, change, jobs, cooperation, encouraged

– As we have learned in question 28, Ng and Sorensen suggest in paragraph 5 that motivating employees to work together, as well as other actions, is a way to keep staff from changing jobs. o Cooperation = work together o Encourage = motivate

– Therefore, D is the answer.

31. Answer: C

Explain Dissatisfaction with pay is not the only reason why hospitality workers change jobs.

– Key words: dissatisfaction, pay, reason, hospitality, workers, change, jobs

– In the last sentence of paragraph 4, the author cited Madouras et al. to mention several reasons which result in high employee turnover in hospitality industry. These reasons include “low compensation”, or in other words, low pay. High employee turnover means that a high percentage of workers leave the company and are replaced by new employees. Thus, it can be understood that dissatisfaction with low pay is, along with other reasons, why hospitality workers change jobs frequently. The answer is C.

o Pay = compensation

o Change jobs = employee turnover

Questions 32-35: Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?

32. Answer: YES

Explain One reason for high staff turnover in the hospitality industry is poor morale.

– Key words: one, reason, high staff turnover, hospitality industry, poor morale

– Paragraph 4 refers to “high employee turnover” in the hospitality industry. As we know from question 31, “compromised employee morale” is given in paragraph 4 as one reason for high employee turnover in the hospitality industry. The word „compromised‟ here suggests that employees are not very motivated to do their work, so we can also call it „poor morale‟. The correct answer is YES.

33. Answer: NO

Explain Research has shown that staff have a tendency to dislike their workplace

– Key words: research, staff, tendency, dislike, workplace

– According to Spector et al in paragraph 6, “no evidence exists to support this hypothesis”. The said hypothesis is that employees have “a predisposition to view their work environment negatively”. In other words, employees have a tendency to dislike their workplace.

– Because there is no evidence, it cannot be said that this hypothesis is shown or proven by research. The answer is, therefore, NO.

o Tendency = predisposition

o Dislike = view negatively

o Workplace = work environment

34. Answer: NO

Explain An improvement in working conditions and job security makes staff satisfied with their jobs

– Key words: improvement, working conditions, job security, makes, staff, satisfied,

– We can find information relating to „working conditions and job security‟ in paragraph 9. According to Herzberg, when these are not good, employees may be dissatisfied. However, fulfilling factors like working conditions and job security alone “does not result in satisfaction” so the statement contradicts the writer‟s claims.

35. Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explain Staff should be allowed to choose when they take breaks during the working day.

– Key words: staff, allowed, choose, breaks, working day

– In the last paragraph, it is stated that “allowing adequate breaks during the working day” is a way to retain good staff. However, this does not mean that staff should be allowed to choose when they take breaks. The statement is therefore NOT GIVEN.

36. Answer: restaurants

Explain Tews, Michel and Stafford carried out research on staff in an American chain of …

– Key words: Tews, Michel, Stafford, research, staff, American chain

– Using the skim and scan skill, we can locate the information about Tews, Michael and Stafford‟s study in paragraph 11. The study (research) focused on “staff from a chain of themed restaurants in the United States”. Thus, the answer is clearly “restaurants”

o Research = study

o American = United States

Questions 36-40: Complete the summary below.

37. Answer: perfomance

Explain They discovered that activities designed for staff to have fun improved their … ,

– Key words: activities, staff, fun, improved, management, involvement, lower

– Continue to read paragraph 11. According to these researchers, “It was found that fun activities had a favourable impact on performace”, meaning that fun activities improved staff performance. The answer for question 37 is “performance”.

– Next, “manager support for fun had a favourable impact in reducing turnover”. In this context, “manager support for fun” can be paraphrased into “manager involvement”.

o Discover = find

o Lower = reduce

– Thus, the answer for question 38 is “turnover”.

38. Answer: turnover

Explain and that management involvement led to lower staff …

– Key words: activities, staff, fun, improved, management, involvement, lower

– Continue to read paragraph 11. According to these researchers, “It was found that fun activities had a favourable impact on performace”, meaning that fun activities improved staff performance. The answer for question 37 is “performance”.

– Next, “manager support for fun had a favourable impact in reducing turnover”. In this context, “manager support for fun” can be paraphrased into “manager involvement”.

o Discover = find

o Lower = reduce

– Thus, the answer for question 38 is “turnover”.

39. Answer: goals

Explain They also found that the activities needed to fit both the company’s …

– Key words: activities, needed, fit, company’s,

– Continuing to read paragraph 11, according to Tews, Michel and Stafford, the “framing of that fun” must be aligned with two things: organizational goals (paraphrased into company‟s goals) and employee characteristics. Thus, it is clear that the correct answers are “goals” and “characteristics”, respectively.

o Fit = align with

40. Answer: characteristics

Explain and the … of the staff

– Key words: activities, needed, fit, company’s,

– Continuing to read paragraph 11, according to Tews, Michel and Stafford, the “framing of that fun” must be aligned with two things: organizational goals (paraphrased into company‟s goals) and employee characteristics. Thus, it is clear that the correct answers are “goals” and “characteristics”, respectively.

o Fit = align with

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