England's hill figures are cut by removing turf to expose white chalk, and most vanish unless they are regularly scoured. The Uffington White Horse, near the Ridgeway and Bronze Age burial mounds, was dated by OSL testing of soil to 1400-600 BCE, much older than the coin-based guess. Theories of its meaning range from tribal emblem to the goddess Epona or Rhiannon.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (1-8) covers the first three paragraphs. The notes (9-13) run from the Horse's location through its dating to the goddess theories, in passage order.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
Questions 1-8
How to attack this block: Two FALSEs are easy to misjudge: historians still disagree about the Long Man, and figures were made by removing grass to reveal chalk, not by adding chalk. The NOT GIVENs ask whether horses are the most common shape and why the Uffington Horse is famous. The passage lists shapes without counting them and never gives its size as the reason.
Question 1
Answer: TRUEParagraph 1, second sentence
Are most English geoglyphs found in one part of the country?
There are 56 hill figures scattered around England, with the vast majority on the chalk downlands of the country's southern counties.
Question says → Passage says
Most geoglyphsthe vast majority
a particular area of the countrythe chalk downlands of the country's southern counties
Why: 'The vast majority' = 'most', and 'the southern counties' is one particular area. TRUE.
The trap: 'Scattered around England' makes some people think they're spread everywhere and answer FALSE. Read on: the same sentence says most of them are concentrated in the south.
Question 2
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 1, third sentence
Is the horse the most common shape among the figures?
The figures include giants, horses, crosses and regimental badges.
Question says → Passage says
in the shape of a horsehorses
any other creaturegiants
Why: The passage lists the kinds of figures but never counts them. There's no way to tell whether horses outnumber giants or anything else, so it's NOT GIVEN.
The trap: The whole passage is about a horse, and the most famous figure is a horse, so it feels likely. Fame isn't numbers, and the passage gives no numbers by shape.
Question 3
Answer: TRUEParagraph 2, second sentence
Did the new dating show the Horse's old age estimate was wrong?
The White Horse has recently been re-dated and shown to be even older than its previously assigned ancient pre-Roman Iron Age date.
Question says → Passage says
A recent datingrecently been re-dated
people were mistaken about its ageshown to be even older than its previously assigned… date
Why: If the Horse is older than the date people previously gave it, that earlier date was wrong. 'Mistaken' is a fair paraphrase, so it's TRUE.
The trap: The passage never uses a word like 'wrong' or 'error', so some students choose NOT GIVEN. You don't need the word: 'shown to be even older than' already proves the old estimate was off.
Question 4
Answer: FALSEParagraph 2, last two sentences
Do historians now agree on where the Long Man came from?
More controversial is the date of the enigmatic Long Man of Wilmington in Sussex. While many historians are convinced the figure is prehistoric, others believe that it was the work of an artistic monk
Question says → Passage says
Historiansmany historians… others
have come to an agreementMore controversial / While… others believe
Why: 'Controversial' and the split between 'many historians' and 'others' show they still disagree: prehistoric versus a medieval monk. That contradicts 'agreement', so it's FALSE.
The trap: 'Many historians are convinced' sounds like a settled view if you stop there. 'While… others believe' gives the opposite camp, so there's no agreement.
Question 5
Answer: FALSEParagraph 3, first sentence
Were the figures made by putting chalk onto the hill?
The method of cutting these huge figures was simply to remove the overlying grass to reveal the gleaming white chalk below.
Question says → Passage says
were created byThe method of cutting these huge figures
placing white chalk on the hillsideremove the overlying grass to reveal the gleaming white chalk below
Why: The chalk was already there under the grass. People took grass away to expose it, they didn't add chalk. The method is reversed, so it's FALSE.
The trap: Both texts mention white chalk and the hillside, so it looks like a match. Focus on the verb: 'remove… to reveal' versus 'placing'.
Question 6
Answer: TRUEParagraph 3, third sentence
Have many English geoglyphs disappeared from view?
One reason that the vast majority of hill figures have disappeared is that when the traditions associated with the figures faded, people no longer bothered or remembered to clear away the grass
Question says → Passage says
Many geoglyphsthe vast majority of hill figures
no longer visiblehave disappeared
Why: 'Have disappeared' means you can't see them any more, and 'the vast majority' is more than 'many'. TRUE.
The trap: Paragraph 1 says there are 56 hill figures in England, which might make you think they're all still there. Paragraph 3 explains that most have vanished under the grass.
Question 7
Answer: TRUEParagraph 3, fourth sentence
Have some figures changed shape over the years?
over hundreds of years the outlines would sometimes change due to people not always cutting in exactly the same place, thus creating a different shape to the original geoglyph
Question says → Passage says
The shape of some geoglyphsthe outlines would sometimes change
altered over timeover hundreds of years… creating a different shape
Why: Re-cutting in slightly different places changed the outlines, which gave a 'different shape to the original'. 'Sometimes' matches 'some'. TRUE.
Question 8
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 2, first sentence; Paragraph 5
Is the Uffington Horse famous because of how big it is?
The most famous of these figures is perhaps also the most mysterious - the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire.
Question says → Passage says
The fame of the Uffington White HorseThe most famous of these figures
Why: The passage says the Horse is the most famous, and links it to being mysterious, but it gives no reason for its fame. Its size isn't even stated. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: Paragraph 5 says it can be seen from 30 km away and is best seen from the air, which suggests it's large. That's about visibility, and the passage never connects size with fame.
Note completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 9-13
How to attack this block: The notes follow three headings. For location, you need the name of the old track (with a capital). For dating, you need what the 1070s mention appeared in, and what was tested in 1995. For meaning, you need what Epona was linked to besides horses, and the Welsh goddess's name.
Question 9
Answer: RidgewayParagraph 4, last sentence
What is the name of the ancient track near the Horse?
below the Ridgeway, a long-distance Neolithic track
Question says → Passage says
an ancient roada long-distance Neolithic track
known as thethe Ridgeway
Why: 'Neolithic' (Stone Age) = 'ancient', and 'track' = 'road'. The name is the Ridgeway. Copy the capital R and spell it as one word.
The trap: 'Uffington Castle' is also nearby, but it's a hillfort, not a road, and it's two words, which breaks the limit.
Question 10
Answer: documentsParagraph 6, first sentence
Where did White Horse Hill first appear in the 1070s?
The earliest evidence of a horse at Uffington is from the 1070s CE when 'White Horse Hill' is mentioned in documents from the nearby Abbey of Abingdon
Question says → Passage says
first referenceThe earliest evidence
appears inis mentioned in
Why: 'Appears in' = 'is mentioned in', and what follows is 'documents'. The notes need a plural noun, so keep the 's'.
The trap: 'Abbey' is the next noun, but the reference was in documents from the abbey, not in the abbey itself. Also note 1190 CE is the first reference to the horse, not the hill.
Question 11
Answer: soilParagraph 7, first sentence
What was analysed in 1995 to date the Horse?
Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) testing was carried out by the Oxford Archaeological Unit on soil from two of the lower layers of the horse's body
Question says → Passage says
analysistesting was carried out
the surroundingfrom two of the lower layers of the horse's body, and from another cut near the base
Why: The test was carried out on soil, and the result was the Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age date. 'Analysis of the surrounding ___' needs the material, so 'soil'.
The trap: 'Coins' appears just before, but that was the older method: comparing the Horse's style with coin designs. 'Layers' doesn't fit either, because the layers were where the soil came from.
Question 12
Answer: fertilityParagraph 8, third sentence
Besides protecting horses, what was Epona associated with?
the Celtic horse goddess Epona, who was worshipped as a protector of horses, and for her associations with fertility
Question says → Passage says
associated withfor her associations with
protection of horsesa protector of horses
Why: The notes already give one link (protecting horses), and the passage names the second right after it: fertility.
The trap: 'Gaul' and 'France' come next, but that's where her cult came from, not what she stood for.
Question 13
Answer: RhiannonParagraph 9, last sentence
What is the name of the Welsh goddess?
the carving represents a goddess in native mythology, such as Rhiannon, described in later Welsh mythology
Question says → Passage says
a representation ofrepresents
Welsh goddessa goddess in native mythology… Welsh mythology
Why: The only goddess linked to Welsh mythology is Rhiannon. It's a name, so copy the spelling exactly, with a capital and the double n.
The trap: Epona is the other goddess, but she's Celtic and her cult came from Gaul. The notes have already used her in the line above.
The OSL test used soil from layers of the horse's body, so the answer is 'soil'. 'Coins' was the older method, based on style.
Words from this passage worth keeping
scattered(Paragraph 1)
spread over a wide area, not grouped together
enigmatic(Paragraph 2)
mysterious and hard to understand
scoured(Paragraph 3)
cleaned thoroughly by scraping
testament to(Paragraph 3)
proof or evidence of something
stylised(Paragraph 4)
drawn in a simplified, non-realistic way
from close quarters(Paragraph 5)
from very near
attested by(Paragraph 9)
shown or proved by
glimpse into(Paragraph 10)
a brief look that gives some understanding of something
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The full Cambridge 16 Test 2 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 2, Reading Passage 1. 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.
The rest of Cambridge 16 Test 2
Passage 1 · Questions 1-13 · You're hereThe White Horse of Uffington
