Concrete is cheap, abundant, easy to shape and pairs perfectly with steel, but its sheer scale makes it a major source of emissions. The passage weighs the alternatives: cross-laminated timber towers (strong, fast and quiet to build, but not yet proven at scale), and fly ash or iron slag in place of some cement (useful, but only if they aren't shipped long distances).
Section matching (1-4) uses C, D, F and G. The summary (5-8) is all in D and E. The people matching (9-13) spans B to H, and Cheeseman is the answer twice.
Matching information (sections A-H)
Questions 1-4
How to attack this block: The industrial processes that create fly ash and slag (coal power stations, iron smelting) are in G. The list of cities with tall wooden buildings is D. Cheap, abundant ingredients are in C. The view that wood needs more proven projects closes F.
Question 1
Answer: GSection G, second and third sentences
Which section explains the industrial processes that produce possible ingredients for concrete?
Fly ash, a byproduct of coal-burning power plants, can be incorporated into concrete mixes… Iron-ore slag, a byproduct of the iron-ore smelting process, can be used in a similar way.
Question says → Passage says
industrial processescoal-burning power plants / the iron-ore smelting process
create potential raw materialsa byproduct of
for concretecan be incorporated into concrete mixes
Why: G names where fly ash and slag come from: coal-burning power plants and iron-ore smelting. Both are industrial processes, and their byproducts can go into concrete mixes, which makes them potential raw materials.
The trap: A describes the chemical process that makes cement, but that process is there because it produces carbon dioxide, not new raw materials for concrete.
Question 2
Answer: DSection D, last sentence
Which section mentions places where you can find tall wooden buildings?
Vancouver, Vienna and Brumunddal in Norway are all home to constructed tall, wooden buildings.
Question says → Passage says
the various locationsVancouver, Vienna and Brumunddal in Norway
high-rise wooden buildingstall, wooden buildings / tall buildings constructed almost entirely from timber
Why: D lists three cities that are 'home to' tall wooden buildings. A list of place names is exactly 'various locations'.
The trap: F mentions Finland and Asia, but those are places where demand for timber is growing, not places with tall wooden buildings.
Question 3
Answer: CSection C, first sentence
Which section says how easy it is to find concrete's ingredients?
Not only are the ingredients of concrete relatively cheap and found in abundance in most places around the globe
Question says → Passage says
how widely availablefound in abundance in most places around the globe
the raw materials of concretethe ingredients of concrete
Why: 'Ingredients' = 'raw materials', and 'found in abundance in most places' tells you how widely available they are.
The trap: H says alternatives are based on 'materials that are not abundant'. Same idea of availability, but about the new materials, not concrete's.
Question 4
Answer: FSection F, last sentence
Which section says wood needs to be proven in more tall buildings before it's a real option?
only when a wider range of construction projects has been proven in practice will it be possible to see wood as a real alternative to concrete in constructing tall buildings
Question says → Passage says
more high-rise wooden buildings are neededonly when a wider range of construction projects has been proven in practice
regarded as a viable construction materialsee wood as a real alternative to concrete
Why: 'Only when… will it be possible' sets a condition: more projects first, then wood can count as a real alternative. 'Viable' = 'real alternative'.
The trap: H says the new technologies are 'unproven', which sounds close. But H is about novel cements and other technologies, and it doesn't say what's needed for wood to be accepted.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 5-8
How to attack this block: The summary paraphrases D and E closely. Who is turning to wood, what the air carries into wood to make it swell, what gets glued crosswise, and the building quality paired with low noise. All four answers are nouns.
Question 5
Answer: architectsSection D, second sentence
Who is environmental concern pushing towards wood?
climate change is driving architects to turn to treated timber as a possible resource
Question says → Passage says
current environmental concernsclimate change
are encouragingis driving
to use woodto turn to treated timber
Why: The sentence structure maps straight across: 'climate change is driving ___ to turn to timber' becomes 'environmental concerns are encouraging ___ to use wood'. The people are architects. Keep the plural.
The trap: 'Experts' (E) and 'company' (F) also appear in the wood sections, but neither is the group that climate change drives to use wood.
Question 6
Answer: moistureSection E, second sentence
What makes wood swell when it comes in from the air?
Wood expands as it absorbs moisture from the air and is susceptible to pests, not to mention fire.
Question says → Passage says
from the atmospherefrom the air
enters woodit absorbs
increases in sizeexpands
Why: 'Expands' = 'increases in size', and 'from the air' = 'from the atmosphere'. What wood absorbs is moisture, a single uncountable noun that fits 'as ___ … enters wood'.
The trap: 'Water' is the meaning, but it isn't the passage's word. In a ONE WORD ONLY summary, copy what's in the text: moisture.
Question 7
Answer: layersSection E, fifth sentence
What pieces of solid wood are glued together to make blocks?
An adhesive is used to stick layers of solid-sawn timber together, crosswise, to form building blocks.
Question says → Passage says
glued togetherAn adhesive is used to stick… together
solid woodsolid-sawn timber
to create building blocksto form building blocks
Why: 'An adhesive is used to stick' = 'glued', and what gets stuck is layers of timber. The summary's 'are glued' needs a plural noun, which 'layers' is.
The trap: 'Timber' comes right after 'layers of', but the summary already says 'of solid wood', so writing 'timber' would repeat it.
Question 8
Answer: speedSection E, last sentence
Besides noise, how are wooden buildings better to build?
wooden buildings can be constructed at a greater speed than ones of concrete and steel and the process, it seems, is quieter
Question says → Passage says
Experts sayConstruction experts say
an improvement on those made of concrete and steelat a greater speed than ones of concrete and steel
how much noise is generatedis quieter
Why: The summary's 'the ___ with which they can be constructed' needs a noun, and the passage has 'constructed at a greater speed'. The noise half matches 'quieter'.
The trap: 'Strength' is mentioned in the sentence before, but the summary has already used it ('equal them in strength'). This gap is about building them, not what they're like.
Matching statements to people
Questions 9-13
How to attack this block: Cheeseman makes two points: concrete is high-carbon only because of its scale, and anything with similar properties will be very hard to make. Surgenor warns that shipping waste materials long distances can cancel out the carbon saving. Mannström links demand for timber to climate concerns. Preston and Lehne cite cost and customer resistance.
Question 9
Answer: CSection G, Surgenor's quote
Who says the green benefit of cement alternatives could be smaller than it seems?
If they are transported over long distances, using fossil fuels, the use of alternative materials might not make sense from an overall carbon reduction perspective.
Question says → Passage says
cement alternativesreplace the cement content in concrete with waste products
may not be as greatmight not make sense from an overall carbon reduction perspective
as initially assumedalthough these waste products can save carbon in the concrete mix
Why: Surgenor agrees the waste materials save carbon in the mix, but warns that shipping them long distances can cancel the gain. So the advantage may be smaller than it looked at first.
The trap: Preston and Lehne (D) are also negative about cement alternatives, but their points are cost, shortages and customer resistance, not the environmental gain.
Question 10
Answer: ASection C, last two sentences
Who says it would be very hard to make something as good as concrete?
According to Cheeseman, all these factors together make concrete hard to beat. 'Concrete is amazing stuff. Making anything with similar properties is going to be very difficult.'
Question says → Passage says
It would be hard to createMaking anything… is going to be very difficult
so many comparable benefitssimilar properties / all these factors together
Why: C lists concrete's advantages (cheap, mouldable, pairs with steel), and Cheeseman sums up: anything with similar properties will be very hard to make. That's the statement.
The trap: Mannström (F) also says wood isn't yet a real alternative, but his reason is that it hasn't been proven in enough projects, not that concrete's benefits are hard to match.
Question 11
Answer: BSection F, first sentence
Who says environmental worries have increased interest in wood?
the company is seeing increasing demand globally for building in wood, with climate change concerns the key driver
Question says → Passage says
Worries about the environmentclimate change concerns
have led tothe key driver
increased interest in woodincreasing demand globally for building in wood
Why: Mannström reports rising demand for wood, and he names climate change concerns as 'the key driver'. Driver = cause, so concerns have led to interest.
The trap: D says 'climate change is driving architects' towards timber, which is the same idea, but it's the writer speaking, not one of the four people.
Question 12
Answer: DSection H, last sentence
Who says cost has helped cause a negative reaction to new cements?
At present, these alternatives are rarely as cost-effective as conventional cement, and they face raw-material shortages and resistance from customers.
Question says → Passage says
Expense has been a factorrarely as cost-effective as conventional cement
the negative responseresistance from customers
the development of new cementsSome novel cements have been discussed for more than a decade
Why: Preston and Lehne say novel cements haven't broken through: they cost more than normal cement and customers resist them. Cost plus resistance is the statement.
The trap: Surgenor (C) also talks about things that make alternatives less attractive, but she is talking about transport and carbon, not price.
Question 13
Answer: ASection B, Cheeseman's quote
Who says concrete is harmful only because so much of it is made?
But it is the scale on which it is used that makes it high carbon. The sheer scale of manufacture is so huge, that is the issue.
Question says → Passage says
The environmental damage caused by concretemakes it high carbon
produced in large quantitiesThe sheer scale of manufacture is so huge
Why: Cheeseman says concrete itself isn't high-carbon; the sheer amount produced is what makes it so. That's 'due to it being produced in large quantities'. He's the answer to 10 as well.
The trap: A also says concrete is a major source of emissions, but that's the writer, and A blames cement's chemistry and population growth, not the scale of production.
F. Mannström's section ends by saying wood will only be a real alternative once more construction projects have proven it. It's easy to look in D, where the buildings are listed.
C (Surgenor). The cement alternatives save carbon in the mix, but transport may wipe out the gain, so the environmental advantage is smaller than it first looks.
It's architects who are turning to treated timber, according to D. 'Experts' and 'companies' don't fit the text.
Words from this passage worth keeping
aggravating(A)
making a bad situation worse
commodity(A)
a basic material that is bought and sold
underpinned(A)
supported or formed the base of
in abundance(C)
in large quantities
susceptible to(E)
easily affected or harmed by
byproduct(G)
something produced as a side effect of making something else
durability(G)
the ability to last a long time without damage
novel(H)
new and different
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The full Cambridge 18 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 18, Test 3, 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 18 Test 3
Passage 1 · Questions 1-13 · You're hereMaterials to take us beyond concrete
