Collecting as a hobby: reading answers and analysis
A psychologist runs through the reasons people collect things: money, a social life, the hunt for one special item, learning, a sense of control and a way of showing their individuality. Trainspotting, doll collecting and stamp albums serve as examples. The writer ends by saying collecting stirs a passion most hobbies don't.
Both blocks follow passage order. The sentences (14-21) run from the second paragraph to the trainspotting paragraph. The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements (22-26) pick up at the doll paragraph and finish in the last one.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
Q
Your answer
Answer
Questions 14-21 · Sentence completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
How to attack this block: Each sentence paraphrases one paragraph in order, so move down the text one reason at a time. The key accepts a few alternatives because some sentences fit two words, but you still need the right part of speech: a noun after 'a feeling of', an adjective after 'completely'. Copy spellings exactly.
Question 14
Answer: antiquesParagraph 2, second sentence
What does the writer give as an example of things people collect to make money?
They'll look for, say, antiques that they can buy cheaply and expect to be able to sell at a profit.
Question says → Passage says
in order to make moneybecause they want to make money / sell at a profit
as an examplesay
Why: Paragraph 2 is about collecting for money, and 'say' introduces the example: antiques bought cheaply and sold for profit. The gap needs a plural noun after 'collecting'.
The trap: Paragraph 1 lists teddy bears, stamps and postcards, but those are examples of collecting in general, not of collecting for profit.
Question 15
Answer: triumphParagraph 2, third sentence
What feeling can buying and selling give collectors?
buying cheap and selling dear can give the collector a sense of triumph
Question says → Passage says
a feeling ofa sense of
buying and selling itemsbuying cheap and selling dear
Why: 'Feeling' paraphrases 'sense', and the phrase is 'a sense of triumph'. The gap needs a noun after 'of', so 'triumph' fits.
The trap: 'Profit' sits in the sentence before, but profit is money, not a feeling.
Question 16
Answer: informationParagraph 3, first sentence
What do collectors swap at club meetings?
attending meetings of a group of collectors and exchanging information on items
Question says → Passage says
Collectors' clubsmeetings of a group of collectors
shareexchanging
Why: 'Share' is a straight paraphrase of 'exchanging', and what they exchange is information. Write the noun only.
The trap: 'Items' follows straight after, but the collectors exchange information about items, not the items themselves.
Question 17
Answer: contactParagraph 3, second sentence
Also accepted: meetings
What do clubs give collectors with like-minded people?
similarly brings them into contact with like-minded people
Question says → Passage says
people who have similar interestslike-minded people
offer ___ withbrings them into contact with
Why: The sentence ends 'with people who have similar interests', which is 'with like-minded people'. The word before that phrase in the passage is 'contact'. The key also accepts 'meetings'.
The trap: 'Social life' is mentioned in the paragraph, but it's two words and doesn't fit before 'with'.
Question 18
Answer: huntParagraph 4, middle
Also accepted: desire
What can collecting for a special item turn into over a lifetime?
Some may spend their whole lives in a hunt for this.
Question says → Passage says
life-longtheir whole lives
for a special itemsomething special, or a particular example
Why: 'Life-long' matches 'their whole lives', and what they spend their lives in is a hunt. The gap needs a noun after 'a life-long'. The key also accepts 'desire', from the first sentence of the paragraph.
The trap: 'Purpose' appears in the next sentence, but that's what the hunt gives them, not the activity itself.
Question 19
Answer: aimlessParagraph 4, middle
Also accepted: empty
Without the search, how might someone's life feel?
this can give a purpose to a life that otherwise feels aimless
Question says → Passage says
prevent people from feelinggive a purpose to a life that otherwise feels
completely ___aimless
Why: The search gives purpose to a life that would otherwise feel aimless. 'Prevent… from feeling' mirrors 'otherwise feels', so the gap takes 'aimless'. The key also accepts 'empty'.
The trap: 'Purpose' is the opposite idea. The sentence needs the feeling that the search stops, so it must be negative.
Question 20
Answer: educationalParagraph 5, first two sentences
Why might stamp collecting be worthwhile, given what it teaches about other countries?
is its educational value. Stamp collecting opens a window to other countries
Question says → Passage says
provides facts about different countriesopens a window to other countries
may be ___its educational value
Why: The paragraph names educational value as a reason for collecting stamps. The sentence needs an adjective after 'may be', and 'educational' is the adjective in the passage.
The trap: Writing 'value' or 'educational value' fails: the first is a noun that doesn't fit, the second breaks the ONE WORD rule.
Question 21
Answer: trainspottingParagraph 6, first sentence
Which hobby is mostly done by males?
a popular form of collecting, particularly among boys and men, was trainspotting
Question says → Passage says
mostly a male hobbyparticularly among boys and men
Why: 'Particularly among boys and men' is the passage's version of 'mostly male'. The hobby named in that sentence is trainspotting, and the gap needs it as the subject.
The trap: The doll paragraph comes next, but nothing there says who collects dolls.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
Questions 22-26
How to attack this block: Two of these are NOT GIVEN because the passage mentions the topic but not the comparison or trend the statement claims. The FALSE one swaps the dates of doll materials around, so read that sentence slowly. The last two are paraphrases of the collector's individualism and the passion point.
Question 22
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 7
Has the number of doll buyers gone up over the centuries?
These have changed over the centuries from the wood that was standard in 16th century Europe
Question says → Passage says
over the centuriesover the centuries
dollspeople who collect dolls
Why: The only thing the passage says changed over the centuries is the materials dolls are made from. It says nothing about how many people buy them, so this is NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'Over the centuries' appears word for word, which pulls people towards TRUE. The phrase refers to materials, not to the number of buyers.
Question 23
Answer: FALSEParagraph 7, second sentence
Were 16th-century European dolls usually made of wax and porcelain?
from the wood that was standard in 16th century Europe, through the wax and porcelain of later centuries
Question says → Passage says
normallystandard
Sixteenth century European dolls16th century Europe
Why: In the 16th century the standard material was wood. Wax and porcelain came in later centuries, so the statement is FALSE.
The trap: Wax and porcelain are in the sentence, right after the 16th century, which makes it easy to link them. Read the order: wood first, then wax and porcelain later.
Question 24
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 8, last sentence
Is sorting stamps by size less common than other ways of arranging them?
perhaps by country in alphabetical order, or grouping stamps by what they depict - people, birds, maps, and so on
Question says → Passage says
other methodsby country in alphabetical order / grouping stamps by what they depict
Why: The passage gives two common ways of arranging stamps, by country and by subject. Size isn't mentioned at all, so there's no basis for comparing it. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: Because size isn't on the list of common methods, some people decide it must be less common and write TRUE. The passage simply doesn't say.
Question 25
Answer: TRUEParagraph 9, second sentence
Might someone collecting odd things want to be seen as odd themselves?
Someone who decides to collect something as unexpected as dog collars, for instance, may be conveying their belief that they must be interesting themselves.
Question says → Passage says
collects unusual objectscollect something as unexpected as dog collars
may want others to thinkmay be conveying their belief
also unusualthey must be interesting themselves
Why: The paragraph is about showing individualism. Someone who collects something as unexpected as dog collars is signalling that they're interesting too, which is what the statement says. TRUE.
The trap: 'Interesting' and 'unusual' aren't identical words, which makes some students nervous. In this context, both mean standing out from other people.
Question 26
Answer: TRUEParagraph 10
Does collecting create a feeling most other hobbies don't?
the common factor in collecting is usually passion: pleasure is putting it far too mildly. More than most other hobbies, collecting can be totally engrossing
Question says → Passage says
other hobbies are unlikely to inspireMore than most other hobbies
a feelingpassion / a strong sense of personal fulfilment
Why: All hobbies give pleasure, but collecting gives passion, and 'more than most other hobbies' it can be engrossing and fulfilling. That's a feeling other hobbies are unlikely to match, so TRUE.
The trap: 'All hobbies give pleasure' can look like the opposite. But the writer says pleasure is too mild a word for collecting, which supports the statement.
The sentence wants the opposite of having a purpose: 'aimless'. 'Empty' is also accepted, but 'purpose' is the wrong idea.
Words from this passage worth keeping
dignified(Paragraph 1)
given an impressive or serious-sounding name
amassing(Paragraph 1)
gathering a large amount of something over time
a means to an end(Paragraph 2)
something done only to achieve something else
like-minded(Paragraph 3)
having similar interests or opinions
aimless(Paragraph 4)
without purpose or direction
by-product(Paragraph 6)
a side effect that happens alongside the main activity
engrossing(Paragraph 10)
so interesting that it takes all your attention
eccentric(Paragraph 10)
strange or unusual, in a harmless way
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 12 Test 5 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 12, Test 5, Reading Passage 2. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
