AI usually predicts better than people, yet we trust human experts more. IBM's Watson for Oncology was ignored when it agreed with doctors and doubted when it didn't. Opaque algorithms, invisible successes and headline failures feed distrust, and sci-fi films push optimists and sceptics further apart. Experience, transparency reports and letting users tweak algorithms all build trust.
The headings (27-32) take one section each, A to F. The multiple choice (33-35) is in A and C. YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (36-40) covers D to F.
Matching headings (i-viii)
Questions 27-32
How to attack this block: A opens with how much better AI is at forecasting. B is doctors' distrust of Watson, and C explains why we trust people more. D shows attitudes splitting further apart. E proposes transparency about algorithms, and F proposes giving users some control. Two headings are left over, including a tempting one about a successful application.
Question 27
Answer: iiiSection A, first five sentences
Which heading fits Section A, which stresses how well AI predicts?
Artificial intelligence (AI) can already predict the future… Many decisions in our lives require a good forecast, and AI is almost always better at forecasting than we are.
Question says → Passage says
The superiority of AI projectionsAI is almost always better at forecasting
over those made by humansthan we are
Why: A opens with examples of AI predicting crime, heart attacks and strokes, and then says outright that it's 'almost always better at forecasting than we are'. Projections = forecasts, and 'better than we are' = superiority over humans. That's iii.
The trap: The second half of A is about our lack of trust in AI, which pulls you towards ii or vi. But A only raises that problem; the reasons come in C and the Watson case in B. Heading iii is what A establishes.
Question 28
Answer: viSection B, second and last sentences
Which heading fits Section B, the Watson for Oncology story?
Their attempt to promote this program to cancer doctors was a PR disaster… leading many doctors to ignore the seemingly outlandish AI recommendations and stick to their own expertise.
Question says → Passage says
Widespread distrustsuspicion and disbelief / many doctors to ignore
an AI innovationWatson for Oncology, one of technology giant IBM's supercomputer programs
Why: B is one case study: a new AI program that doctors didn't trust, whether it agreed with them or not. 'Suspicion and disbelief' among 'many doctors' = widespread distrust, and Watson is the innovation. That's vi.
The trap: Heading viii, 'a surprisingly successful AI application', fits Watson's promise to cover 80% of cases, but the launch was 'a PR disaster'. Heading ii fails because B tells a story; the general reasons for distrust are in C.
Question 29
Answer: iiSection C, second to fifth sentences
Which heading fits Section C, which explains why we trust people more?
Trust in other people is often based on our understanding of how others think and having experience of their reliability… AI, on the other hand, is still fairly new and unfamiliar to most people.
Question says → Passage says
more faith in human judgementTrust in other people
than in AIAI, on the other hand
Reasons whyis often based on / too difficult for most people to comprehend / acutely aware of instances where AI goes wrong
Why: C contrasts trust in people (we understand them, we've seen them be reliable) with AI (unfamiliar, hard to understand, its failures in the news). It's a list of reasons, which is heading ii.
The trap: C begins 'This is just one example of people's lack of confidence in AI', which links back to vi. That sentence is a bridge from B; the rest of C explains the causes.
Question 30
Answer: iSection D, third and fourth sentences
Which heading fits Section D, where films push opinions further apart?
simply watching a cinematic vision of our technological future polarised the participants' attitudes. Optimists became more extreme in their enthusiasm for AI and sceptics became even more guarded.
Question says → Passage says
An increasing divergence of attitudespolarised the participants' attitudes / a society split between those who benefit from AI and those who reject it
increasingmore extreme / even more
Why: 'Polarised' means pushed to opposite extremes. Optimists got more positive and sceptics more negative, and the writer warns of a split society. Attitudes moving further apart = increasing divergence, heading i.
The trap: Heading ii is tempting because confirmation bias is a reason people distrust AI. But D shows both sides getting more extreme, not just distrust growing.
Question 31
Answer: viiSection E, fourth to last sentences
Which heading fits Section E, about being more open about algorithms?
Another solution may be to reveal more about the algorithms which AI uses and the purposes they serve.
Question says → Passage says
Encouraging opennessreveal more about / transparency reports
how AI functionsthe algorithms which AI uses and the purposes they serve / the way algorithmic decisions are made
Why: Most of E is about transparency: revealing the algorithms, following the example of companies' transparency reports, helping people understand how decisions are made. Openness about how AI works is heading vii.
The trap: E starts with previous experience improving trust, which can look like heading v about involving users. But using AI isn't the same as being involved in how it works, and the bulk of E is about transparency.
Question 32
Answer: vSection F, first sentence
Which heading fits Section F, about giving users some control?
Research suggests that allowing people some control over AI decision-making could also improve trust and enable AI to learn from human experience.
Question says → Passage says
involving users in AI processesallowing people some control over AI decision-making / given a degree of responsibility
The advantagesimprove trust and enable AI to learn / more satisfied with its decisions
Why: F proposes letting people control or modify AI and lists the benefits: more trust, more satisfaction, more willingness to use it. Involving users plus advantages = heading v.
The trap: Heading vii is the one people mix up here, but F actually says 'We don't need to understand the intricate inner workings of AI systems'. It's about control, not openness.
Multiple choice
Questions 33-35
How to attack this block: Section A establishes a problem (our lack of trust) before any solutions appear. In C, AI's complexity creates anxiety and a sense of losing control. The media's focus on AI failures sends the message that we can't rely on it.
Question 33
Answer: CSection A, sixth to last sentences
What is the writer doing in Section A?
Yet for all these technological advances, we still seem to deeply lack confidence in AI predictions… If we want AI to really benefit people, we need to find a way to get people to trust it.
Question says → Passage says
highlighting the existence ofYet for all these technological advances, we still seem to deeply lack confidence
a problempeople don't like relying on AI
Why: A shows how good AI is, then turns with 'Yet' to the problem: people don't trust it. The writer ends by saying we need to understand this, so A sets out the problem. C.
The trap: D is close because A ends with 'we need to understand why people are so reluctant'. But that's a promise; the reasons themselves come in C. A provides no solution (A) and no argument for an opinion (B).
Question 34
Answer: BSection C, sixth sentence
According to Section C, why might people resist AI?
And interacting with something we don't understand can cause anxiety and give us a sense that we're losing control.
Question says → Passage says
Its complexitytoo difficult for most people to comprehend / something we don't understand
they are at a disadvantagea sense that we're losing control / can cause anxiety
Why: AI's decision-making is 'too difficult… to comprehend', and dealing with it makes us anxious and feel we're losing control. Feeling out of control because of complexity is feeling at a disadvantage. B.
The trap: D swaps 'not understanding' for 'misunderstandings'. The passage says people can't understand AI, not that they understand it wrongly. A (jobs) and C (waiting for tests) are never mentioned.
Question 35
Answer: ASection C, second-last sentence
What does the writer say about the media in Section C?
Embarrassing AI failures receive a disproportionate amount of media attention, emphasising the message that we cannot rely on technology.
Question says → Passage says
leads the public to be mistrustful of AIemphasising the message that we cannot rely on technology
Why: By focusing on failures, the media tells people they 'cannot rely on' AI. Not relying = mistrusting. A.
The trap: B borrows 'disproportionate amount of media attention', but that attention goes to AI failures, not to AI in general. D echoes the last sentence about designers, but that's the writer's own comment, not something the media does.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 36-40
How to attack this block: The films didn't change opinions, they strengthened existing ones (NO), and previous experience improves attitudes significantly (NO). Refusing AI could put many people at a serious disadvantage (YES), and users who could modify an algorithm liked it more (YES). The future tone of media portrayals isn't predicted.
Question 36
Answer: NOSection D, third and fourth sentences
Did sci-fi films make people change their views on automation?
simply watching a cinematic vision of our technological future polarised the participants' attitudes. Optimists became more extreme in their enthusiasm for AI and sceptics became even more guarded.
Question says → Passage says
Subjective depictions of AI in sci-fi filmswhether the film they watched depicted AI in a positive or negative light
change their opinionspolarised the participants' attitudes / to support their existing attitudes
Why: Nobody switched sides. Optimists became more optimistic and sceptics more sceptical, because people used the films 'to support their existing attitudes'. The films strengthened opinions rather than changing them, so NO.
The trap: 'Polarised' does mean attitudes moved, so some people say YES. But moving further in the same direction isn't changing your opinion; the writer stresses existing attitudes were confirmed.
Question 37
Answer: NOT GIVENSection D, sixth sentence
Will media portrayals of AI become more positive?
As AI is represented more and more in media and entertainment, it could lead to a society split between those who benefit from AI and those who reject it.
Question says → Passage says
Portrayals of AI in media and entertainmentAI is represented more and more in media and entertainment
Why: The writer predicts AI will appear more often in the media, but says nothing about whether those portrayals will be positive or negative. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'More and more' is about how often, not how favourably. Don't let the word 'more' carry over to 'more positive'.
Question 38
Answer: YESSection D, last sentence
Could rejecting AI harm many people?
More pertinently, refusing to accept the advantages offered by AI could place a large group of people at a serious disadvantage.
Question says → Passage says
Rejection of the possibilities of AIrefusing to accept the advantages offered by AI
may have a negative effectcould place… at a serious disadvantage
many people's livesa large group of people
Why: Each part lines up: rejecting = refusing to accept, may = could, negative effect = serious disadvantage, many people = a large group. YES.
Question 39
Answer: NOSection E, second sentence
Does familiarity with AI hardly affect attitudes?
Simply having previous experience with AI can significantly improve people's opinions about the technology
Question says → Passage says
Familiarity with AIhaving previous experience with AI
very little impact on people's attitudessignificantly improve people's opinions
Why: The writer says experience with AI 'significantly' improves opinions. 'Very little impact' is the opposite, so NO.
The trap: Section C says many people are unfamiliar with AI working, which might make you think familiarity doesn't help. E gives the direct answer: experience makes a significant difference.
Question 40
Answer: YESSection F, second sentence
Are users more likely to approve of AI they can modify?
when people were allowed the freedom to slightly modify an algorithm, they felt more satisfied with its decisions, more likely to believe it was superior and more likely to use it in the future
Question says → Passage says
users are able to modifyallowed the freedom to slightly modify an algorithm
more likely to gain consumer approvalmore satisfied with its decisions / more likely to use it in the future
Why: Being able to tweak the algorithm made people more satisfied, more convinced it was better and more willing to use it again. That's approval. YES.
The trap: 'Slightly' might make you think the effect is small. It's the modification that's slight; the gain in approval is clear on three counts.
B. Not understanding AI's decisions makes people anxious and feel they're losing control, which puts them at a disadvantage. D invents 'misunderstandings'.
Words from this passage worth keeping
reluctant(A)
unwilling to do something
coincided with(B)
matched or agreed with
plausible(B)
reasonable and likely to be true
outlandish(B)
very strange or unusual
disproportionate(C)
too large compared with what's deserved
foolproof(C)
so well designed it can't go wrong
polarised(D)
split into two strongly opposed groups
pertinently(D)
in a way that's directly relevant
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 16 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 16, Test 4, Reading Passage 3. 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.
