In the introduction to his biography, Mott T Greene explains that Wegener, famous for continental drift (the ancestor of plate tectonics), was actually an astronomer and atmospheric physicist, a record-breaking balloonist and a Greenland explorer. Wegener left few letters and no diaries, which makes him hard to write about, and Greene argues that his life, like most lives, mostly 'happened to him'.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (27-30) covers the first two paragraphs. The summary (31-36) is all in the third. The multiple choice (37-40) goes through the fifth paragraph to the last.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 27-30
How to attack this block: His theory caused an international controversy in his lifetime (YES). Wegener used evidence from many sciences, not a few, and plate tectonics is 'quite different' from his proposal, so those two are NO. Publications defending fixed continents are never mentioned.
Question 27
Answer: YESParagraph 1 (Introduction), last sentence
Were Wegener's continental drift ideas widely argued about during his lifetime?
His book on the subject, The Origin of Continents and Oceans, went through four editions and was the focus of an international controversy in his lifetime
Question says → Passage says
widely disputedthe focus of an international controversy
while he was alivein his lifetime
Why: 'Controversy' means public disagreement, and 'international' shows how wide it was. 'In his lifetime' = 'while he was alive'. YES.
The trap: Paragraph 4 says his drift ideas were 'much more controversial than his other work'. That supports the answer too, so don't let a second piece of evidence make you doubt it.
Question 28
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 2, first sentence
Was the fixed-continents view defended in respected scientific publications?
if one supposed that the continents moved laterally, rather than supposing that they remained fixed in place
Question says → Passage says
The idea that the continents remained fixed in placesupposing that they remained fixed in place
Why: The passage mentions the fixed-continents idea only as the alternative Wegener rejected. It says nothing about who defended it or in which publications. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: The 'international controversy' in paragraph 1 suggests someone argued against Wegener, maybe in print. But the passage never says so, and you can't add publications that aren't there.
Question 29
Answer: NOParagraph 2, second sentence
Did Wegener use only a few sciences to support his theory?
using evidence from a large number of sciences including geology, geophysics, paleontology, and climatology
Question says → Passage says
a limited range of scientific fieldsa large number of sciences
to support his theoryshowed in great detail how such continental movements were plausible
Why: 'A large number of sciences' is the opposite of 'a limited range', and four are named as examples. NO.
The trap: Paragraph 3 says Wegener wasn't a geologist and worked in atmospheric physics, which may make his range sound narrow. That's his career, not the evidence he used.
Question 30
Answer: NOParagraph 2, fourth sentence
Are Wegener's theory and modern plate tectonics extremely similar?
Plate tectonics is in many respects quite different from Wegener's proposal
Question says → Passage says
The similarities… are enormousin many respects quite different
modern-day plate tectonicsthe theory that guides Earth sciences today: namely plate tectonics
Why: The writer says plate tectonics is 'quite different' in many respects, and compares it with how far modern evolutionary theory has moved from Darwin. Enormous similarities contradicts that. NO.
The trap: The paragraph also says Wegener's idea is 'at the heart of' plate tectonics and that it's a 'descendant' of his theory. Shared roots don't mean enormous similarities; the writer stresses the differences.
Summary completion (phrase list A-J)
Questions 31-36
How to attack this block: The paragraph is told from the biographer's point of view. His professional interests were atmospheric physics, and he wasn't unknown, so he had modest fame. The balloon record was a record-breaking achievement, the Greenland trip a hazardous exploration, and his textbook made him known to a select group of meteorologists. 'Vast range' and 'narrow investigation' are the leftover traps.
Question 31
Answer: IParagraph 3, first sentence
From whose point of view is Wegener remarkable for not being a geologist?
When I started writing about Wegener's life and work, one of the most intriguing things about him for me was that, although he came up with a theory on continental drift, he was not a geologist.
Question says → Passage says
One of the remarkable thingsone of the most intriguing things
from a ___When I started writing about Wegener's life and work… for me
Why: 'For me', said by the person writing about Wegener's life, means from the biographer's point of view. 'From a biographer's perspective' (I) is the only option that is a point of view.
The trap: G 'scientific debate' fits the topic of continental drift, but 'from a scientific debate' isn't a viewpoint, and the passage is clearly the writer speaking personally.
Question 32
Answer: FParagraph 3, second sentence
What was limited to atmospheric physics?
He trained as an astronomer and pursued a career in atmospheric physics.
Question says → Passage says
His ___ were limited to atmospheric physicspursued a career in atmospheric physics
Why: 'Pursued a career in' is about his job, and the phrase for work interests is 'professional interests' (F). The gap needs a plural noun to go with 'were'.
The trap: J 'narrow investigation' matches the idea of 'limited' but is singular, so it doesn't fit 'were'. B 'vast range' is the opposite of limited. D 'research methods' is never discussed.
Question 33
Answer: AParagraph 3, fourth sentence
How well known was Wegener when he proposed his theory?
However, he was not an 'unknown'.
Question says → Passage says
already a person ofhe was not an 'unknown'
at the time he proposed his theoryWhen he proposed the theory of continental displacements in 1912
Why: 'Not an unknown' means he had some reputation, but the examples that follow show it was among a 'small circle'. So he had some fame, but not much: 'modest fame' (A).
The trap: E 'select group' is also about his reputation, but 'a person of select group' isn't grammatical, and it belongs in the last gap. G 'scientific debate' is wrong too: the controversy came after he proposed the theory, not before.
Question 34
Answer: CParagraph 3, fifth sentence
What was his 52-hour balloon flight?
In 1906 he had set a world record (with his brother Kurt) for time aloft in a hot-air balloon: 52 hours.
Question says → Passage says
Six years previouslyIn 1906
record-breaking achievementset a world record
Why: Setting a world record is a record-breaking achievement (C). 1906 is six years before 1912, which confirms you're in the right place.
The trap: H 'hazardous exploration' comes next in the paragraph and might feel right for a risky balloon trip, but the passage calls the Greenland expedition dangerous, not the balloon flight.
Question 35
Answer: HParagraph 3, sixth sentence
What was his well-publicised trip to the Greenland coast like?
he had taken part in a highly publicized and extremely dangerous expedition to the coast of northeast Greenland
Why: 'Extremely dangerous' = 'hazardous', and an expedition is an exploration. The 'but' in the summary sets the danger against the publicity: H.
The trap: C 'record-breaking achievement' could seem to fit any famous trip, but no record is mentioned for Greenland. The passage stresses danger.
Question 36
Answer: EParagraph 3, last sentence
Whose attention did his thermodynamics textbook attract?
He had also made a name for himself amongst a small circle of meteorologists and atmospheric physicists in Germany as the author of a textbook
Question says → Passage says
come to the attention ofmade a name for himself amongst
a select groupa small circle
German scientistsmeteorologists and atmospheric physicists in Germany
Why: 'A small circle' of specialists is a select group (E). 'Made a name for himself amongst' = 'come to the attention of'.
The trap: A 'modest fame' carries the same idea of limited fame, but 'a modest fame of German scientists' doesn't make sense. The gap needs a group of people.
Multiple choice
Questions 37-40
How to attack this block: In the fifth paragraph, Greene urges readers to take in the whole life because the parts make less sense alone. The sixth shows a man who stayed at home or in the field and didn't seek influence. Other scientists left mountains of notes, which makes them easier subjects. The last paragraph says our lives mostly happen to us.
Question 37
Answer: BParagraph 5, last two sentences
What is Greene doing in the fifth paragraph?
My own feeling, however, is that the parts do not make as much sense on their own as do all of his activities taken together. In this respect I urge readers to try to experience Wegener's life as he lived it
Question says → Passage says
explaining whythe parts do not make as much sense on their own
desirable to read the whole bookall of his activities taken together / I urge readers
Why: Greene admits the index will do for readers interested in one part, but says the parts make less sense alone and urges reading about the whole life. That's explaining why reading the whole book is better: B.
The trap: C is the strongest distractor: the paragraph is about Wegener's 'rapidly shifting interests'. But Greene describes the shifts and how the chapters mark them; he never says why Wegener changed careers.
Question 38
Answer: AParagraph 6, last sentence
What does the sixth paragraph say about Wegener?
He was not active (with a few exceptions) in scientific societies, and did not seek to find influence or advance his ideas through professional contacts and politics
Question says → Passage says
not a particularly ambitious persondid not seek to find influence or advance his ideas
Why: He avoided societies, didn't use contacts or politics to push his ideas, and spent his time reading, writing and collecting observations. Someone who doesn't seek influence isn't very ambitious: A.
The trap: C tempts, but the passage says his published works followed 'standard practice', so he did follow the practices of the time. B is wrong because he kept no notebooks or diaries, and D is the opposite of avoiding scientific societies.
Question 39
Answer: DParagraph 7, last sentence
What does Greene say about some other famous scientists?
The more such material a scientist leaves behind, the better chance a biographer has of forming an accurate picture of how a scientist's ideas took shape and evolved.
Question says → Passage says
some other famous scientistsNewton, Darwin, and Einstein / Michael Faraday
easier subjects to write aboutthe better chance a biographer has of forming an accurate picture
Why: Newton, Darwin, Einstein and Faraday left huge amounts of letters, notebooks and journals, and more material gives a biographer a better chance. Set against paragraph 6 (Wegener left very little), they're easier to write about: D.
The trap: A tempts because these are very famous names, but Greene compares the amount they left behind, not the impact of their published work. Their doubts (B) and controversy (C) aren't mentioned.
Question 40
Answer: CParagraph 8, first two sentences
What is Greene's main point in the last paragraph?
most of us, Wegener included, are not in any real sense the authors of our own lives… but most of the time our lives 'happen to us'
Question says → Passage says
People have little controlnot in any real sense the authors of our own lives
over many aspects of their livesmost of the time our lives 'happen to us'
Why: If we aren't really the authors of our lives and they mostly 'happen to us', we have little control over much of them: C.
The trap: A picks up 'fulfilled intentions' and the planned versus actual life. But Greene isn't saying good intentions aren't enough; he's saying events, not plans, shape most lives. D twists 'apparent freedom', which he says is often an illusion.
A (modest fame). He was 'not an unknown', but only within a small circle, so 'modest' fame, not great fame.
Words from this passage worth keeping
laterally(Paragraph 2)
sideways
plausible(Paragraph 2)
reasonable and likely to be true
descendant(Paragraph 2)
something that developed from an earlier thing
aloft(Paragraph 3)
up in the air
sideline(Paragraph 4)
an activity done in addition to your main work
at great pains(Paragraph 4)
making a big effort to do something carefully
retrospectively(Paragraph 8)
looking back at something after it has happened
happenstance(Paragraph 8)
chance events
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The full Cambridge 18 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 18, 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.
