Stonehenge took about 1,500 years to build, in three main stages: a ditch and bank, then Welsh bluestones hauled (or perhaps carried by glaciers) nearly 300 km, then the great sandstone trilithons. The druid theory fell when radiocarbon dating showed the monument was far older than the Celts. Its purpose is still debated: burial ground certainly, but also calendar or place of healing.
The notes (1-8) run from B to J under three headings: construction, builders and purpose. TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (9-13) goes back through F, G, H and J.
Note completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
Questions 1-8
How to attack this block: The note headings follow the passage's structure, so work stage by stage. Several answers are two-word phrases (the tool material, what stood in the pits, what the sledges were made from), and the shorter one-word version is accepted for two of them. The purpose notes use adjective forms: a burial site, and a kind of calendar.
Question 1
Answer: deer antlersParagraph B, second sentence
Also accepted: antlers
What might the tools used to dig the ditch have been made from?
Neolithic Britons used primitive tools, which may have been fashioned out of deer antlers, to dig a massive circular ditch and bank, or henge
Question says → Passage says
possiblymay have been
tools made fromtools… fashioned out of
the ditch and henge were dugto dig a massive circular ditch and bank, or henge
Why: 'Fashioned out of' means 'made from', and what follows is 'deer antlers'. Two words fit the limit, and 'antlers' alone is also accepted.
The trap: Don't write 'primitive tools'. That's the tools themselves, and the note already says 'tools made from ___'.
Question 2
Answer: timber postsParagraph B, last sentence
Also accepted: posts
What may once have stood in the deep pits inside the circle?
Deep pits dating back to that era and located within the circle may have once held a ring of timber posts
Question says → Passage says
in deep pits inside the circleDeep pits… located within the circle
may have been arrangedmay have once held a ring of
Why: The pits 'may have once held a ring of timber posts'. 'Arranged' in the note matches 'a ring of', and the thing arranged is the timber posts. 'Posts' on its own is also accepted.
The trap: 'A ring' is the arrangement, not the objects. Writing 'a ring' or 'ring of timber posts' either misses the answer or goes over two words.
Question 3
Answer: tree trunksParagraph D, first sentence
In the archaeologists' theory, what were the sledges and rollers made from?
Stonehenge's builders fashioned sledges and rollers out of tree trunks to lug the bluestones from the Preseli Hills
Question says → Passage says
builders used ___ to make sledges and rollersbuilders fashioned sledges and rollers out of
archaeologicalone long-standing theory among archaeologists
Why: The note flips the sentence: the passage says sledges were made 'out of tree trunks', the note says builders 'used ___ to make' them. The material is 'tree trunks', which is exactly two words.
The trap: 'Rafts' comes in the next sentence, but rafts carried the boulders on water. They weren't what the sledges were made from.
Question 4
Answer: oxenParagraph D, last sentence
In the newer theory, what pulled the giant baskets?
transporting the bluestones with supersized wicker baskets on a combination of ball bearings and long grooved planks, hauled by oxen
Question says → Passage says
giant basketssupersized wicker baskets
pulledhauled by
Why: 'Hauled by oxen' turns into '___ pulled them', so the animals doing the pulling go in the gap. 'Supersized' = 'giant' confirms you're in the right sentence.
The trap: 'Ball bearings' and 'grooved planks' are in the same sentence, but they're what the baskets ran on. They didn't pull anything.
Question 5
Answer: glaciersParagraph E, second sentence
In the geologists' theory, what carried the bluestones from Wales?
some scientists have suggested that it was glaciers, not humans, that carried the bluestones to Salisbury Plain
Question says → Passage says
geologicalgeologists have been adding their voices
brought from Walescarried the bluestones to Salisbury Plain
Why: E is where the geologists come in, and their idea is that glaciers, not people, did the carrying. 'Brought by' = 'carried'.
The trap: 'The forces of nature' in the next sentence means the same thing but is three words and too vague. The note wants the specific word: glaciers.
Question 6
Answer: druidsParagraph G, second sentence
Who did a 17th-century theory say built Stonehenge?
In the 17th century, archaeologist John Aubrey made the claim that Stonehenge was the work of druids, who had important religious, judicial and political roles in Celtic society.
Question says → Passage says
a theory arose in the 17th centuryIn the 17th century… made the claim
its builders wereStonehenge was the work of
Celticin Celtic society
Why: 'The work of druids' means the druids built it. The note puts 'Celtic' before the gap, and the passage confirms the druids belonged to Celtic society. Plural, because they were a group.
The trap: 'Celts' sounds right, but the note already has 'Celtic', and the claim was about druids specifically, not the Celts in general.
Question 7
Answer: burialParagraph I, second sentence
What kind of site do most experts agree Stonehenge was?
there is consensus among the majority of modern scholars that Stonehenge once served the function of burial ground
Question says → Passage says
many experts agreethere is consensus among the majority of modern scholars
it has been used asonce served the function of
Why: 'Consensus' is agreement, and the agreed function is a burial ground. The note already has 'site', so you need the word before it: 'burial', used as an adjective.
The trap: 'Healing' (K) is another suggested purpose, but only 'a group' of archaeologists speculated about it. The note says many experts agree, which points to burial.
Question 8
Answer: calendarParagraph J, first sentence
What did someone in the 1960s suggest Stonehenge worked as?
In the 1960s, the astronomer Gerald Hawkins suggested that the cluster of megalithic stones operated as a form of calendar
Question says → Passage says
it was suggestedGerald Hawkins suggested
worked as a kind ofoperated as a form of
Why: 'Operated as a form of' is the note's 'worked as a kind of', so the word after it is the answer: calendar.
The trap: Solstices, equinoxes and eclipses come next, but they're what the calendar tracked, not what the monument was.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
Questions 9-13
How to attack this block: Both FALSEs contradict a specific detail. The bluestones were moved many times up to 1600 BCE, not left in place, and radiocarbon dating disproved Aubrey's druid claim. The NOT GIVEN asks who criticised Hawkins, and the passage just says 'critics'.
Question 9
Answer: TRUEParagraph F, second sentence
In the third phase, were sandstone slabs put both around the edge and in the centre?
sandstone slabs - known as 'sarsens' - were arranged into an outer crescent or ring; some were assembled into the iconic three-pieced structures called trilithons that stand tall in the centre of Stonehenge
Question says → Passage says
the outer areasan outer crescent or ring
the middlein the centre of Stonehenge
third phaseThe third phase of construction
Why: The sarsens went into an outer ring, and some formed the trilithons in the centre. Both locations are stated, so it's TRUE.
The trap: The Stage 3 line in the notes mentions only the outer ring, so some students think the centre is missing. Read past the semicolon.
Question 10
Answer: FALSEParagraph F, last sentence
Is there proof the bluestones stayed in one place until about 1600 BCE?
Radiocarbon dating has revealed that work continued at Stonehenge until roughly 1600 BCE, with the bluestones in particular being repositioned multiple times.
Question says → Passage says
scientific proofRadiocarbon dating has revealed
approximately 1600 BCEroughly 1600 BCE
stood in the same spotbeing repositioned multiple times
Why: The scientific evidence and the date are both there, but it shows the bluestones were moved many times. 'Repositioned multiple times' is the opposite of staying in the same spot, so it's FALSE.
The trap: Every word of the statement seems to be in the sentence, which pulls people to TRUE. The one detail that matters, what happened to the stones, is reversed.
Question 11
Answer: FALSEParagraph G, last sentence
Did 20th-century evidence back up Aubrey's druid theory?
However, in the mid-20th century, radiocarbon dating demonstrated that Stonehenge stood more than 1,000 years before the Celts inhabited the region.
Question says → Passage says
20th-century findingsin the mid-20th century, radiocarbon dating demonstrated
John Aubrey's claimStonehenge was the work of druids
Why: The druids were part of Celtic society, and the dating showed Stonehenge was there over 1,000 years before the Celts arrived. So the 20th-century findings disproved Aubrey, and the statement is FALSE.
The trap: Stukeley 'popularized' the theory and modern druids still gather there. That's support from people, not from findings, and it comes before the 'However'.
Question 12
Answer: TRUEParagraph H, first two sentences
Do finds at the site suggest several different groups built Stonehenge?
several distinct tribes of people contributed to Stonehenge, each undertaking a different phase of its construction. Bones, tools and other artefacts found on the site seem to support this hypothesis.
Question says → Passage says
Objects discovered at StonehengeBones, tools and other artefacts found on the site
seem to indicateseem to support this hypothesis
a number of different groupsseveral distinct tribes of people
Why: The hypothesis is that several distinct tribes built it, and the artefacts found on site support that. Every part of the statement has a match, so it's TRUE.
The trap: The last sentence of H shows people disagree about where the later builders came from. That's a separate question; nobody disputes that there were several groups.
Question 13
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph J, last sentence
Were Hawkins's critics mostly other astronomers?
critics maintain that Stonehenge's builders probably lacked the knowledge necessary to predict such events or that England's dense cloud cover would have obscured their view of the skies
Question says → Passage says
Criticism of Gerald Hawkins' theoryWhile his theory has received a considerable amount of attention… critics maintain
Why: The passage tells you what the critics said but never who they were. Hawkins is described as an astronomer, but his critics are just 'critics', so it's NOT GIVEN.
The trap: Clouds and the skies make the criticism sound astronomical, which tempts TRUE. A point about astronomy doesn't tell you the job of the person making it.
FALSE. Radiocarbon dating shows work continued until about 1600 BCE, with the bluestones repositioned multiple times, which is the opposite of standing in the same spot.
The giant wicker baskets were hauled by oxen, and the 'or' in the note sets it against the tree-trunk sledges. Don't write 'ball bearings' or 'planks', which are what the baskets ran on.
NOT GIVEN. The critics say the builders lacked the knowledge or that clouds would have blocked the view, but they're never identified as astronomers.
Words from this passage worth keeping
erect(A)
build something upright
fashioned out of(B)
made from, usually by hand
hoisted(C)
lifted something heavy up
lug(D)
carry or drag something heavy with effort
sceptical(E)
doubtful that something is true
consensus(I)
general agreement among a group
obscured(J)
blocked from view
curative(K)
able to cure illness
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The full Cambridge 18 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 18, 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.
