The Intersection of Health Sciences and Geography: reading answers and analysis
Where you live shapes the diseases you're likely to get, from malaria in warm, damp regions to asthma in smoggy cities. The passage introduces health geography, a hybrid of geography and health science, and its two branches: one maps the spread of disease, the other studies who can and can't reach healthcare.
How to attack this block: D is the definition paragraph and holds two answers: the idea that some illness will always exist and the description of health geography as a mix of fields. For the rest, translate the item first: 'human behaviour' points to cars and coal, 'how far they extend' to local and global scales.
Question 14
Answer: DSection D, second half
Which section admits that some diseases will never be wiped out completely?
While people will always be prone to illness, the study of how geography affects our health could lead to the eradication of certain illnesses
Question says → Passage says
an acceptanceWhile people will always be prone to illness
not all diseases can be totally eliminatedthe eradication of certain illnesses, and the prevention of others
Why: 'While people will always be prone to illness' concedes that illness can't disappear entirely, and 'certain illnesses' limits what can be eradicated. That's the acceptance the item describes.
The trap: A says many diseases 'have been eradicated', which uses the same word. But A is celebrating success, not accepting a limit.
Question 15
Answer: CSection C, second and third sentences
Which section gives examples of health problems caused by what people do?
smog and pollution that cause asthma, lung problems, eyesight issues and more… the massive number of cars being driven, in addition to factories that run on coal power
caused by human behaviourthe massive number of cars being driven / factories that run on coal power / the cutting down of forests
Why: C lists the conditions (asthma, lung and eye problems) and blames them on human activity: driving, coal-powered factories and cutting down forests.
The trap: F mentions 'asthma in places with high levels of pollution' too, but only as a quick example of what researchers study. C is the section that gives the human causes.
Question 16
Answer: FSection F, first sentence
Which section talks about sorting diseases by how widely they spread geographically?
work to create a clear way of categorising illnesses, diseases and epidemics into local and global scales
Question says → Passage says
classifying diseasescategorising illnesses, diseases and epidemics
on the basis of how far they extend geographicallyinto local and global scales
Why: 'Classifying' paraphrases 'categorising', and 'local and global scales' is how far a disease reaches. Only F mentions sorting diseases this way.
The trap: E is about how often diseases appear in different places, which is related. But E compares frequency, it doesn't classify by scale.
Question 17
Answer: GSection G, third and fourth sentences
Which section explains why some people in a country get healthcare more easily than others?
there is often a very large discrepancy between the options available to people in different social classes, income brackets, and levels of education
Question says → Passage says
the level of access to healthcare can varya very large discrepancy between the options available
reasons whydifferent social classes, income brackets, and levels of education / there is a mountain between their village and the nearest hospital
Why: G is about healthcare provision. It names class, income and education as reasons for the gap, and adds a physical one: a mountain between a village and the hospital.
The trap: H says geography affects health 'no matter where in the world we are', which sounds broad and relevant, but gives no reasons for unequal access.
Question 18
Answer: DSection D, middle
Which section describes health geography as a mix of academic subjects?
Health geography is the combination of, on the one hand, knowledge regarding geography… and on the other, the study of health, diseases and healthcare practices around the world
Question says → Passage says
a mixturethe combination of / this hybrid science
different academic fieldsknowledge regarding geography… the study of health
Why: D defines health geography as a combination of geography and health study, then calls it 'this hybrid science'. 'Mixture' matches both words.
The trap: H says the field matters to 'the fields of geography and healthcare', which names both subjects. But H is about need, not about what the field is made of. D is used twice in this block.
Question 19
Answer: BSection B, last sentence
Which section describes a place where a certain disease is uncommon?
Malaria is much less of a problem in high-altitude deserts, for instance.
Question says → Passage says
a particular illness is rareMalaria is much less of a problem
the type of areahigh-altitude deserts
Why: B contrasts warm, damp malaria zones with high-altitude deserts, where malaria is much less of a problem. That's an area where the illness is rare.
The trap: Most of B describes where malaria is common. Read to the last sentence for the opposite.
Sentence completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 20-26
How to attack this block: The sentences follow the text, so each answer sits a little further down. Most gaps need a plural noun, so check endings. The mosquito spelling is accepted both ways, but the safest choice is to copy the passage exactly.
Question 20
Answer: vaccinationsSection A, first sentence
What improvement, along with healthcare, has made some diseases disappear?
many diseases that affect humans have been eradicated due to improvements in vaccinations and the availability of healthcare
Question says → Passage says
Certain diseases have disappearedmany diseases… have been eradicated
thanks to betterdue to improvements in
Why: 'Thanks to better ___ and healthcare' mirrors 'due to improvements in ___ and the availability of healthcare'. The gap is 'vaccinations', plural as in the passage.
The trap: 'Availability' is the other half of the phrase, but it goes with healthcare, which the sentence already has.
Question 21
Answer: antibioticsSection A, last two sentences
What is becoming less useful because people are in closer contact?
As a result, super-viruses and other infections resistant to antibiotics are becoming more and more common.
Question says → Passage says
Because there is more contact between peoplepeople come into contact with one another… As a result
are losing their usefulnessinfections resistant to
Why: If infections are resistant to antibiotics, the antibiotics stop working. The gap is the thing losing usefulness, so 'antibiotics', plural.
The trap: 'Super-viruses' is the subject of the passage's sentence, so people copy it. But super-viruses are spreading, not losing usefulness.
Question 22
Answer: mosquitoesSection B, third sentence
Also accepted: mosquitos
What carriers of disease thrive in hot, damp places?
tropical regions that foster a warm and damp environment in which the mosquitos that can give people this disease can grow
Question says → Passage says
hot, damp regionstropical regions that foster a warm and damp environment
Disease-causingthat can give people this disease
Why: Malaria zones are warm and damp, and that's where the mosquitoes that give people the disease grow. The gap needs a plural noun. Both spellings, 'mosquitoes' and 'mosquitos', are accepted.
The trap: 'Malaria' is a disease, not something that causes disease, so it doesn't fit 'disease-causing ___'.
Question 23
Answer: factoriesSection C, third sentence
What burns a particular fuel and causes pollution?
Part of the problem is, of course, the massive number of cars being driven, in addition to factories that run on coal power.
Question says → Passage says
One cause of pollutionPart of the problem
that burn a particular fuelthat run on coal power
Why: The fuel is coal, and what runs on it is factories. 'Burn a particular fuel' paraphrases 'run on coal power', so write 'factories'.
The trap: 'Cars' are also a cause, but the passage doesn't name their fuel. The 'particular fuel' detail points to the factories.
Question 24
Answer: forestsSection C, last sentence
What near cities is often affected by their growth?
has also led to the cutting down of forests to allow for the expansion of big cities
Question says → Passage says
The growth of citiesthe expansion of big cities
has an impact onthe cutting down of
Why: As cities expand, forests are cut down to make room. 'Growth' matches 'expansion', and the thing affected is 'forests', plural.
The trap: 'Plants' appears at the end of the sentence, but that's about the fresh air plants produce, not what the cities grow into.
Question 25
Answer: polioSection D, second sentence
Which disease is coming back after being eradicated?
in a world where diseases like polio are re-emerging
Question says → Passage says
is one diseasediseases like polio
growing after having been eradicatedre-emerging
Why: 'Re-emerging' means coming back, and the disease named is polio. It's the only disease the passage describes as returning.
The trap: 'Malaria' appears in the same sentence, but malaria areas are 'still fighting to find a better cure'. It was never eradicated.
Question 26
Answer: mountainSection G, fourth sentence
What physical barrier can stop people reaching a hospital?
it may be very difficult for people to get medical attention because there is a mountain between their village and the nearest hospital
Question says → Passage says
prevent people from reaching a hospitalvery difficult for people to get medical attention
A physical barriera mountain between their village and the nearest hospital
Why: The example in brackets names one barrier: a mountain. The sentence has 'a ___', so write the singular noun.
The trap: 'Village' is in the same phrase, but it's where people live, not what blocks them.
The gap is what is losing its usefulness. The passage says infections are resistant to 'antibiotics', so that's the answer, not 'super-viruses'.
Words from this passage worth keeping
eradicated(A)
completely destroyed or got rid of
prevalent(A)
common in a particular place or group
foster(B)
encourage something to develop
comes into its own(D)
becomes really useful or valued
hybrid(D)
made by combining two different things
correlation(E)
a connection between two things that change together
discrepancy(G)
a difference between things that should be similar
on the frontline(G)
at the most active and important position
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The full Cambridge 12 Test 7 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 7, 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.
