Archaeologists discover evidence of prehistoric island settlers: reading answers and analysis
The first dig on Obi, an Indonesian island, shows people living there about 18,000 years ago. They made axes from clam shell and later stone, hunted a possum-like animal, and traded with other islands. The caves were abandoned around 8,000 years ago and reused about 1,000 years ago by people linked to the spice trade.
Questions 1-13 · 13 marks · 2 question blocks
Where the answers sit
Both blocks follow the passage from start to finish. The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements (1-7) run from the first paragraph to the last, and the notes (8-13) go back through the same ground in the same order.
Questions 1-7
Three FALSE answers each contradict a precise word in the text: Shipton's team were the 'first' to explore Obi, clam-shell axes had been found 'previously' elsewhere, and the shelters were empty for thousands of years, not used 'continuously'. The two NOT GIVEN statements add a comparison (other islands) and a feeling (surprise) that the passage never mentions.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FALSE | — |
| 2 | FALSE | — |
| 3 | TRUE | — |
| 4 | NOT GIVEN | — |
| 5 | TRUE | — |
| 6 | NOT GIVEN | — |
| 7 | FALSE | — |
Questions 8-13
The notes list the finds in the order the passage reports them: where the shelters were, the newer axe material, the animal remains, the second travel clue after obsidian, and what the later occupants owned and traded. All six answers are plain nouns lifted from the text.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | caves | — |
| 9 | stone | — |
| 10 | bones | — |
| 11 | beads | — |
| 12 | pottery | — |
| 13 | spices | — |
The questions most people get wrong
FALSE. The Kelo axes are among the oldest found, but the passage says clam-shell axes from roughly the same period had already been found on Gebe and elsewhere, so they weren't the first.
FALSE, not NOT GIVEN. The caves were abandoned about 8,000 years ago and unused until about 1,000 years ago. That directly contradicts 'continuously'.
The last paragraph links the later occupants to the trade in spices, so the answer is 'spices'. Gold and silver are the metal items from question 12's line.
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 19 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 19, Test 3, Reading Passage 1. 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.