Melting ice in Norway's Oppland mountains is releasing 6,000 years of arrows, skis and horse tack, and archaeologists must race to save them before they decay. Dating 153 finds showed that hunters kept going up into the mountains even in a mini ice age (perhaps because harvests failed), and that Viking-era demand for hides and antlers made mountain hunting good business.
Section matching (14-19) uses six sections once each, B to H. The summary (20-22) is in B and C. The choose-TWO blocks cover E-F (23-24) and G (25-26).
Matching information (sections A-H)
Questions 14-19
How to attack this block: The race against the clock is in B, and the hard fieldwork (hiking, camping on permafrost) in C. Lost arrows and discarded bows are in D, and failed harvests explaining less food are in F. The trade in hides and antlers is in G, and artefacts still in the ice waiting to be found are in H.
Question 14
Answer: DSection D, third sentence
Which section explains why weapons ended up left in the mountains?
Hunters would have easily misplaced arrows and they often discarded broken bows rather than take them all the way home.
Question says → Passage says
weaponsarrows / broken bows
being left behindmisplaced / discarded… rather than take them all the way home
Why: Arrows and bows are weapons, and D gives two reasons they stayed in the mountains: arrows got lost, and broken bows weren't worth carrying home. That's an explanation, so D.
The trap: Section F also says hunters 'dropped' things in the mountains, but it uses that as evidence of how often they went up there. It doesn't explain why weapons were left behind.
Question 15
Answer: CSection C, last sentence
Which section mentions how physically tough the fieldwork was?
'Fieldwork is hard work - hiking with all our equipment, often camping on permafrost - but very rewarding.
Question says → Passage says
physical difficultieshard work - hiking with all our equipment, often camping on permafrost
an archaeological expeditionFieldwork / surveyed patches of ice in Oppland
Why: Barrett describes carrying all their equipment on foot and camping on frozen ground: that's physical hardship during the expedition. C.
The trap: Section F describes 'daunting terrain' and blocked passes, but that's about ancient hunters travelling, not modern archaeologists. Section B mentions fieldwork too, but only that it must be systematic.
Question 16
Answer: FSection F, last two sentences
Which section explains why there might have been less food?
A colder turn in the Scandinavian climate would likely have meant widespread crop failures, so more people would have depended on hunting to make up for those losses.
Question says → Passage says
less food may have been availablewidespread crop failures / failing agricultural harvests
an explanation of whyA colder turn in the Scandinavian climate would likely have meant
Why: F gives the cause (colder climate) and the result (crops failing). Failed harvests mean less food, and 'would likely' matches the statement's 'may have'. F.
The trap: Section E mentions 'the growth of farming settlements', which is about food production, but it doesn't say anything about food running short.
Question 17
Answer: HSection H, first and last sentences
Which section says more finds may turn up in future?
Norway's mountains are probably still hiding a lot of history… archaeologists could be extracting some of those artefacts from retreating ice in years to come.
Question says → Passage says
the possibilityprobably / could be
future archaeological discoveriesextracting some of those artefacts from retreating ice in years to come
Why: H opens and closes with the same idea: the ice still hides artefacts that could be recovered 'in years to come'. That's the future possibility. H.
The trap: Section B also talks about items being revealed as ice melts, but it's about the present race to save what's already appearing, not what might be found later.
Question 18
Answer: GSection G, fourth sentence
Which section gives examples of goods that would have been traded?
growing Norwegian towns, along with export markets, would have created a booming demand for hides to fight off the cold, as well as antlers to make useful things like combs
Question says → Passage says
examples of itemshides / antlers
would have been tradedexport markets / a booming demand
Why: G sits in the context of expanding trade networks, and names two products with high demand from towns and export markets: hides and antlers. G.
The trap: Section D lists tools, skis and horse tack, but these were things hunters used while crossing the passes, not goods for sale. Section A mentions 'Viking Age traders', but only as the owners of arrows and skis.
Question 19
Answer: BSection B, fourth sentence
Which section says archaeologists must work fast?
With climate change shrinking ice cover around the world, glacial archaeologists need to race the clock to find newly revealed artefacts, preserve them, and study them.
Question says → Passage says
the pressure… to work quicklyneed to race the clock
archaeologistsglacial archaeologists
Why: To 'race the clock' means to hurry before time runs out. B explains why: thawed materials decay 'relatively swiftly'. B.
The trap: Section C has Barrett talking about 'rescuing the archaeology', which also sounds urgent. But C is about how hard the work is, not about time pressure.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 20-22
How to attack this block: B explains that organic materials decay unless protected from one thing, and both spellings are accepted. C gives the animals that gathered on the ice patches and what they were escaping.
Question 20
Answer: microorganismsSection B, second sentence
Also accepted: micro-organisms
What do organic materials need protecting from?
unless they're protected from the microorganisms that cause decay, they tend not to last long
Question says → Passage says
little protection againstunless they're protected from
decay relatively quicklycause decay / they tend not to last long
Why: The summary needs the noun after 'against', and the passage says these materials must be protected from microorganisms. Both 'microorganisms' and 'micro-organisms' are accepted, and it counts as one word.
The trap: 'Decay' is the obvious word, but the summary already has 'they decay'. 'Degradation' comes a sentence later and describes what happens, not what they're protected against.
Question 21
Answer: reindeerSection C, second sentence
Which animals gathered in the mountains in summer?
Reindeer once congregated on these icy patches in the later summer months to escape biting insects
Question says → Passage says
gathered therecongregated on these icy patches
in the summer monthsin the later summer months
Why: 'Gathered' paraphrases 'congregated', and the animals doing it were reindeer. The word is the same in singular and plural, so it fits 'gathered' as written.
The trap: 'Hunters' follow straight after, and they did go there too, but they followed the reindeer. They weren't avoiding attack.
Question 22
Answer: insectsSection C, second sentence
What were the reindeer trying to avoid?
to escape biting insects
Question says → Passage says
to avoidto escape
being attacked bybiting
Why: 'Being attacked by' replaces 'biting', so the gap is the noun: insects. Only one word is allowed, so leave 'biting' out.
The trap: Writing 'biting insects' breaks the ONE WORD limit, and the summary has already turned 'biting' into 'attacked'.
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 23-24
How to attack this block: E says some periods show few or no signs of activity, and F says hunters kept going up into the mountains even when it turned cold. The finds weren't just skis, and nothing is said about unreliable dating or other mountain sites.
Question 23-24
Answer: B and C (in either order)Section E, last two sentences; Section F, fourth sentence
Which two things does the writer say about what Barrett's team found?
But there were few or no signs of activity during other periods… it turned out that hunters kept regularly venturing into the mountains even when the climate turned cold
Question says → Passage says
Hunters went into the mountainshunters kept regularly venturing into the mountains
even during periods of extreme coldeven when the climate turned cold / the Late Antique Little Ice Age
The number of artefacts… relatively lowfew or no signs of activity during other periods
Why: B: F says that, contrary to expectations, hunters kept going up even in the cold Little Ice Age. C: E says some periods produced lots of artefacts while others had 'few or no signs of activity', so certain periods had low numbers.
The trap: A is wrong because D lists arrows, bows, tools and horse tack as well as skis, so the finds weren't limited to skiing equipment. D and E are never said: the dating isn't questioned, and Oppland isn't compared with other sites.
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 25-26
How to attack this block: G says business must have been good for hunters, with demand for hides and antlers booming, and that plenty of goods went overland as well as by ship. The Middle East is mentioned as one trading link, not the main one.
Question 25-26
Answer: A and C (in either order)Section G, third to last sentences
Which two things does the writer say about the Viking Age?
plenty of goods travelled on overland routes, like the mountain passes of Oppland… would have created a booming demand for hides… Business must have been good for hunters.
Question says → Passage says
Hunters… benefitedBusiness must have been good for hunters
an increased demand for goodsa booming demand for hides… as well as antlers
did not rely on ships aloneAlthough we usually think of ships… plenty of goods travelled on overland routes
Why: A: rising demand for hides and antlers meant 'business must have been good for hunters'. C: although we picture ships, 'plenty of goods travelled on overland routes', so ships weren't the only transport.
The trap: E is the tempting one, because the Middle East is named. But it's only one of the regions trade connected Scandinavia with, alongside Europe, not the main interest. D twists the towns: they created demand, they weren't said to attract foreign traders. B's 'greatest growth in wealth' isn't mentioned.
F. A colder climate meant crop failures, so there was less food and more hunting. It comes at the end of the section about the Late Antique Little Ice Age.
The reindeer were escaping biting insects. The summary's 'attacked by' is the clue.
Words from this passage worth keeping
degradation(B)
the process of breaking down or getting worse
race the clock(B)
hurry to finish something before time runs out
congregated(C)
gathered together in a group
traversing(D)
travelling across
daunting(F)
difficult enough to make you feel nervous or put off
venturing(F)
going somewhere risky or difficult
supplement(F)
add to something to make up for what's lacking
disintegrated(H)
broken into small pieces and fallen apart
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The full Cambridge 16 Test 3 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 3, 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.
