Driverless cars: reading answers and analysis
Self-driving cars could make roads safer (most crashes involve human error), free up travel time, and let older and disabled people travel independently. Shared automated cars could replace most private ones, but because each car would be used more, it would wear out faster, so production may not fall. Reliability, liability and public trust are still to be solved.
Questions 14-26 · 13 marks · 4 question blocks
Where the answers sit
Section matching (14-18) uses five of the seven sections, one each. The summary (19-22) runs through B, C and D. Questions 23-24 are in B, and 25-26 in F.
Questions 14-18
C has the car parked for 90% of its life, and B the benefits for individuals (safety, free time, independence). E is about choosing the right vehicle for each trip. G estimates that the problems can be solved within 10 years. D reasons that production might not fall at all.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | C | — |
| 15 | B | — |
| 16 | E | — |
| 17 | G | — |
| 18 | D | — |
Questions 19-22
Two answers use both words: the cause behind most collisions, and the schemes that become workable in cities (hyphenated or not). The Michigan figures give the other two: a 43% drop in ownership, and each car's yearly mileage doubling.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | human error | — |
| 20 | car sharing | car-sharing |
| 21 | ownership | — |
| 22 | mileage | — |
Questions 23-24
B gives the individual benefits: time for work, friends or rest, and independence for older or disabled travellers. Cost savings, parking and pollution sound likely but aren't in the passage.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 23-24 | C and D(in either order) | — |
Questions 25-26
F lists three hurdles. Two are in the options: working reliably in any traffic, weather or road conditions, and getting communities to trust automated vehicles. Road infrastructure, the pace of change and redundant drivers aren't mentioned.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 25-26 | A and E(in either order) | — |
The questions most people get wrong
D. Cars used twice as much may need replacing sooner, so production won't necessarily decrease. The 'no effect' idea is at the end of D.
B, not C. C is about society and car-sharing, while B lists what individual drivers gain.
D tempts because the car must cope with 'road situations', but that's the vehicle adapting (E), not building new infrastructure.
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 15 Test 1 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 15, Test 1, Reading Passage 2. The passage name belongs to Cambridge University Press. No passage text or question wording is reproduced on this page. The answers are published for self-marking, and the analysis is our own.