On La Gomera, shepherds whistle Spanish across ravines up to 10 km apart. Brain scans show that whistlers process Silbo in the same left-hemisphere language areas as speech, while non-whistlers' whole brains light up. Silbo predates the Spanish conquest. It is threatened by modern technology, so it's now taught in schools and the island is seeking UNESCO recognition.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (14-19) runs from the first paragraph to the last. The notes (20-26) go back to how Silbo is produced and run forward again in the same order.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
Questions 14-19
How to attack this block: Three FALSEs: any Spanish sentence can be whistled (not just short messages), the islanders already whistled before the Spanish arrived, and only 12 of about 70 whistled languages have been studied. La Gomera is described as mountainous but not compared with other islands (NOT GIVEN).
Question 14
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 1, second sentence
Is La Gomera more mountainous than any other Canary Island?
This small volcanic island is mountainous, with steep rocky slopes and deep, wooded ravines, rising to 1,487 metres at its highest peak.
Question says → Passage says
La GomeraThis small volcanic island
mountainousis mountainous
Why: You learn that La Gomera is mountainous, with steep slopes and a 1,487-metre peak. But no other Canary Island is described, so there's no comparison. 'The most… of all' needs one. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'Extreme terrain' in the next sentence sounds like a superlative, but it describes La Gomera on its own. Without a comparison with the other islands, you can't say TRUE.
Question 15
Answer: FALSEParagraph 5, Carreiras' quote
Can Silbo only be used for short, simple messages?
'In daily life they use whistles to communicate short commands, but any Spanish sentence could be whistled.'
Question says → Passage says
short and simple messagesshort commands
only appropriate forbut any Spanish sentence could be whistled
Why: Short commands are the everyday use, but 'any Spanish sentence could be whistled'. So Silbo isn't limited to short messages. The word 'only' makes the statement FALSE.
The trap: The first half of the quote matches the statement well, which tempts TRUE. Always read past 'but': that's where the contradiction is. 'A surprising amount of information' in the sentence before points the same way.
Question 16
Answer: TRUEParagraph 6, last sentence
Did whistlers and non-whistlers show different brain activity?
When the experiments were repeated with non-whistlers, however, activation was observed in all areas of the brain.
Question says → Passage says
silbadores and non-whistlersthe brain activity of silbadores… non-whistlers
produced different resultshowever, activation was observed in all areas of the brain
Why: In silbadores, Silbo activated the language areas, especially the left temporal lobe. In non-whistlers, 'however', every area lit up. 'However' signals the contrast. TRUE.
Question 17
Answer: FALSEParagraph 8, first sentence
Did the Spanish bring Silbo to the islands in the 15th century?
indigenous Canary Islanders, who were of North African origin, already had a whistled language when Spain conquered the volcanic islands in the 15th century
Question says → Passage says
The SpanishSpain
introduced Silbo to the islandsindigenous Canary Islanders… already had a whistled language
Why: 'Already had' means the islanders were whistling before the Spanish arrived, so the Spanish didn't introduce it. FALSE.
The trap: Silbo is 'a substitute for Spanish' today, so it seems logical that the Spanish brought it. But the passage separates the whistling (older) from the language it now carries (Spanish).
Question 18
Answer: FALSEParagraph 8, third sentence
Is there precise data on every whistled language in use today?
There are thought to be as many as 70 whistled languages still in use, though only 12 have been described and studied scientifically.
Question says → Passage says
all of the whistle languages in existence todayas many as 70 whistled languages still in use
precise data availableonly 12 have been described and studied scientifically
Why: Only 12 out of about 70 have been studied, so most have no precise data. Even the total is uncertain: 'thought to be as many as'. FALSE.
The trap: The long list of countries in the sentence before can make it look as though everything is well documented. The 'only 12' figure contradicts that directly.
Question 19
Answer: TRUEParagraph 9, third sentence
Do Gomera's children now learn Silbo?
Since 1999, Silbo Gomero has been taught in all of the island's elementary schools.
Question says → Passage says
The children of Gomeraall of the island's elementary schools
now learn SilboSince 1999, Silbo Gomero has been taught
Why: Elementary schools teach children, and 'since 1999' with the present perfect means it's still happening now. TRUE.
The trap: 'Dwindling numbers' of fluent speakers might make you doubt it, but that's the problem the school teaching is meant to solve.
Note completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 20-26
How to attack this block: The note headings follow the passage: how whistles are made (what tones recode, what the finger raises the pitch of, what the cupped hand adjusts), how Silbo is used (short commands, fire warnings), and its future (a threat from technology, hope from a UNESCO award). One answer in the production notes is a body part, singular.
Question 20
Answer: wordsParagraph 4, first sentence
What in Spanish do the high and low whistled tones stand for?
Silbo is a substitute for Spanish, with individual words recoded into whistles which have high-and low-frequency tones.
Question says → Passage says
representrecoded into
different sounds in Spanishindividual words
Why: Spanish words are 'recoded into' whistles with high and low tones, so the tones represent words. The gap needs a plural noun after 'Spanish': 'words'.
The trap: 'Whistles' is in the same sentence, but whistles are what the words turn into, not what they represent. 'Sentence' appears later and is singular.
Question 21
Answer: fingerParagraph 4, second sentence
What does the silbador use to control the pitch?
A whistler - or silbador - puts a finger in his or her mouth to increase the whistle's pitch
Question says → Passage says
pitch of whistle is controlledto increase the whistle's pitch
silbador'sA whistler - or silbador - puts a
Why: The silbador puts 'a finger' in the mouth to raise the pitch. The passage says 'a finger', so write the singular.
The trap: 'Mouth' is tempting because that's where the whistle comes from, but the finger is what changes the pitch. 'Hand' is the next note's tool, for direction.
Question 22
Answer: directionParagraph 4, second sentence
What does the cupped hand change?
while the other hand can be cupped to adjust the direction of the sound
Question says → Passage says
is changedto adjust
with a cupped handthe other hand can be cupped
Why: 'Adjust' = 'change', and what the cupped hand adjusts is 'the direction of the sound'. The gap starts the line, so you need the noun alone: 'direction'.
The trap: 'Sound' is the last word of the sentence, but 'sound is changed with a cupped hand' is too general. It's the direction of the sound that changes.
Question 23
Answer: commandsParagraph 5, Carreiras' quote
What short messages is Silbo used for every day?
'In daily life they use whistles to communicate short commands
Question says → Passage says
in everyday useIn daily life
the transmission of briefto communicate short
Why: 'Everyday' = 'daily', 'transmission' = 'communicate', 'brief' = 'short'. The noun left over is 'commands', plural.
The trap: 'Sentence' is in the same quote, but that's about what's possible, not what's done every day. 'Information' comes from the sentence before, which isn't about daily use.
Question 24
Answer: firesParagraph 5, last sentence
What emergency has Silbo been used to warn people about?
Silbo has proved particularly useful when fires have occurred on the island and rapid communication across large areas has been vital
Question says → Passage says
relay essential information quicklyrapid communication… has been vital
to inform people aboutparticularly useful when fires have occurred
Why: 'Rapid' = 'quickly', 'vital' = 'essential'. The situation is when 'fires' have occurred. 'Inform people about' takes a noun, and the plural matches the passage.
The trap: Don't be pulled back to 'distances' from earlier in the paragraph. That's about range, not something people are warned about.
Question 25
Answer: technologyParagraph 9, first sentence
What new thing threatens Silbo's future?
But with modern communication technology now widely available, researchers say whistled languages like Silbo are threatened with extinction.
Question says → Passage says
future under threatthreatened with extinction
newmodern
Why: 'Modern' = 'new', and the threat is 'communication technology'. With ONE WORD ONLY, write 'technology', the head noun.
The trap: 'Communication' alone is wrong: 'new communication' isn't the threat, the technology is. And 'communication technology' is two words.
Question 26
Answer: awardParagraph 9, last sentence
What do the authorities hope to get from UNESCO?
The local authorities are trying to get an award from the organisation to declare… as something that should be preserved for humanity
Question says → Passage says
hoping to receivetrying to get
to help preserve itsomething that should be preserved for humanity
Why: 'Trying to get' = 'hoping to receive', and 'the organisation' is UNESCO. The noun is 'award'.
The trap: 'Assistance' is in the sentence before ('seeking assistance from… UNESCO'), and it fits the grammar too. But 'assistance' is uncountable, so 'a UNESCO assistance' is wrong, and the specific thing they want to receive is the award.
The silbador puts a finger in the mouth to raise the pitch. It's 'finger', singular, because the other hand does something else.
Words from this passage worth keeping
ravines(Paragraph 1)
deep, narrow valleys with steep sides
terrain(Paragraph 1)
an area of land and its physical features
shedding light on(Paragraph 2)
helping to explain something
ambiguity(Paragraph 4)
the possibility of more than one meaning
novel(Paragraph 5)
new and unusual
modality(Paragraph 7)
the form or channel something is expressed in
obscure(Paragraph 8)
not clearly known
dwindling(Paragraph 9)
becoming gradually smaller
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 15 Test 4 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 4, 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.
