Alfred Wegener: science, exploration and the theory of continental drift: reading answers and analysis
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'.
Questions 27-40 · 14 marks · 3 question blocks
Where the answers sit
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.
Questions 27-30
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 | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | YES | — |
| 28 | NOT GIVEN | — |
| 29 | NO | — |
| 30 | NO | — |
Questions 31-36
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 | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | I | — |
| 32 | F | — |
| 33 | A | — |
| 34 | C | — |
| 35 | H | — |
| 36 | E | — |
Questions 37-40
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 | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | B | — |
| 38 | A | — |
| 39 | D | — |
| 40 | C | — |
The questions most people get wrong
NO. Plate tectonics is 'in many respects quite different' from Wegener's idea. It descends from it, but the similarities aren't enormous.
A. He avoided scientific societies and didn't seek influence through contacts or politics. 'Not particularly ambitious' is the paraphrase.
A (modest fame). He was 'not an unknown', but only within a small circle, so 'modest' fame, not great fame.
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Cambridge IELTS 18, Test 4, Reading Passage 3. The passage name belongs to Cambridge University Press. No passage text or question wording is reproduced on this page. The answers are published for self-marking, and the analysis is our own.