A microbe from a deep-sea sponge may yield a new antibiotic, and scientists fear such finds will be lost in the rush to mine the seabed for nickel, cobalt and rare earths. Mining firms promise better ore with little waste. Lawyers and ecologists warn that the deep sea is barely mapped, rules don't exist yet, and hydrothermal vents in particular must be left alone.
Paragraph matching (14-17) uses C, D, E and F once each. The people matching (18-23) needs the whole passage, with the Blue Ocean Law paper (B) used twice. The summary (24-26) sits in C and the first line of D.
Matching information (paragraphs A-F)
Questions 14-17
How to attack this block: Each item is a single detail. Cobalt for electric car batteries is C. The 'around 70%' of the planet covered by ocean is F. Vents formed where seawater meets magma is E. The missing global rulebook is D.
Question 14
Answer: CParagraph C, second sentence
Which paragraph mentions fast-growing demand for one material used in transport?
demand for resources such as copper, aluminium, cobalt for electric car batteries and other metals to power technology and smartphones, is soaring
Question says → Passage says
the rapidly increasing needdemand… is soaring
one raw material in the transport industrycobalt for electric car batteries
Why: 'Soaring' demand is 'rapidly increasing need', and the one metal tied to transport is cobalt, used in electric car batteries. The other metals are for technology and smartphones.
The trap: Paragraph F mentions 'society's rising needs', which also sounds like increasing demand, but no specific material or transport link is given there.
Question 15
Answer: FParagraph F, first sentence
Which paragraph gives an approximate figure for how much of the Earth is ocean?
The oceans occupy around 70% of the planet and are relatively unexplored
Question says → Passage says
a rough estimatearound 70%
the area of the Earth covered by the oceansThe oceans occupy… of the planet
Why: 'Around' signals a rough estimate, and '70% of the planet' is the area covered. 'Occupy' = 'cover'.
The trap: Paragraph C says the deep sea holds more metals 'than all land reserves combined'. That compares resources, not area, so it isn't the estimate you need.
Question 16
Answer: EParagraph E, first two sentences
Which paragraph explains how an underwater habitat full of both minerals and animals forms?
hydrothermal vents, which are created when seawater meets volcanic magma… The mineral-rich vents and their surrounds are also home to many well-known animals
Question says → Passage says
how… is formedwhich are created when seawater meets volcanic magma
where minerals and organisms co-existThe mineral-rich vents… are also home to many well-known animals
Why: E explains that vents are created when seawater meets magma, then says the mineral-rich vents are home to many animals. That covers formation, minerals and organisms together.
The trap: Paragraph F also talks about vents (Tunnicliffe wants them off-limits), but it never explains how they form.
Question 17
Answer: DParagraph D, first sentence
Which paragraph says the world has no agreed rules yet for seabed exploration?
the global regulatory framework is not yet drafted
Question says → Passage says
the countries of the worldglobal
have yet to agree on rulesregulatory framework is not yet drafted
Why: A regulatory framework is a set of rules, and 'not yet drafted' means they haven't been written or agreed. 'Global' covers all countries.
The trap: Paragraph F has Tunnicliffe calling for 'strict controls', which sounds like rules, but she's saying what should happen, not that the rules don't exist yet.
Matching statements to people
Questions 18-23
How to attack this block: B appears twice, because the paper both accuses miners of ignoring local communities and says Moon, Mars and Venus are better mapped than the deep sea. Johnston is the only pro-mining voice, so the 'move away from land reserves' view is his. Tunnicliffe's 'greatest assault' and Copley's 'no mining on vents' are easy to swap, so check the wording.
Question 18
Answer: DParagraph F, first sentence
Who thinks it's sensible to stop relying on heavily mined land reserves?
instead of continually looking at the fast depleting land resources of the planet to meet society's rising needs
Question says → Passage says
A move away frominstead of continually looking at
heavily mined reserves on landthe fast depleting land resources
is a good ideaIt makes sense
Why: Johnston says it makes sense to explore the oceans instead of land resources that are running out fast. 'Makes sense' = 'a good idea', and 'fast depleting' implies heavy mining.
The trap: Upton (A) also talks about a 'better way' of using the deep sea, but he's comparing medicine with mining at sea, not sea with land.
Question 19
Answer: BParagraph D, second sentence
Who says the harm to local areas and people is being ignored?
a general disregard for environmental and social impacts, and the marginalisation of indigenous peoples and their rights
Question says → Passage says
are being ignoreda general disregard for
negative effects… on local areas and their inhabitantsenvironmental and social impacts… indigenous peoples
Why: The paper by Hunter, Aguon and Singh says deep-sea mining, like past resource rushes, shows 'disregard' for environmental and social impacts and pushes aside indigenous peoples. Disregard = ignoring.
The trap: Tunnicliffe (E) warns of huge damage too, but she talks about ecosystems, not communities, and doesn't say the harm is ignored.
Question 20
Answer: AParagraph B, first half
Who thinks the sea has more valuable things to offer than minerals?
to see if there are any more medicines or drugs down there before we destroy it for ever… this could be a better way of exploiting the economic potential of the deep sea
Question says → Passage says
more worthwhile things to extractmore medicines or drugs / a better way of exploiting the economic potential
than mineralsthe rush to exploit the deep sea's equally rich metal and mineral resources
Why: Upton searches the deep sea for medicines and says this 'could be a better way' of using its economic potential than mining. Better than minerals = more worthwhile.
The trap: Tunnicliffe (E) mentions 'biotechnology spin-offs' from vents, which sounds similar, but her point is protecting vents, not comparing the value of what can be extracted.
Question 21
Answer: EParagraph F, near the end
Who says deep-sea mining will damage sea life more than anything humans have done before?
'Mining will be the greatest assault on deep-sea ecosystems ever inflicted by humans,' according to hydrothermal vent expert Verena Tunnicliffe
Question says → Passage says
No other… will have such a destructive impactthe greatest assault… ever inflicted by humans
marine lifedeep-sea ecosystems
Why: 'The greatest assault ever' means nothing else will be as destructive. 'Ecosystems' = 'marine life'.
The trap: The paper in paragraph E says mining 'poses a grave threat', but that's serious, not 'greatest ever'. And it isn't one of the listed people.
Question 22
Answer: BParagraph D, last sentence
Who says we know more about space than the deep ocean?
The surface of the Moon, Mars and even Venus have all been mapped and studied in much greater detail
Question says → Passage says
outer spacethe Moon, Mars and even Venus
More is knownmapped and studied in much greater detail
Why: The same three authors say the Moon, Mars and Venus have been studied in much more detail than the deep seabed. That's more knowledge about space. B is used twice, which is allowed.
The trap: Johnston (D) says the oceans are 'relatively unexplored', which is close, but he makes no comparison with space.
Question 23
Answer: CParagraph E, last sentence
Who says experts agree there's one habitat that shouldn't be mined?
'On deep-sea vents, scientists are clear,' says Dr Jon Copley of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton: 'we don't want mining on them.'
Question says → Passage says
one marine life habitatdeep-sea vents
experts agreescientists are clear
mining should not take placewe don't want mining on them
Why: Copley speaks for scientists in general ('scientists are clear') about one habitat, vents, and says they don't want mining there. That's expert agreement.
The trap: Tunnicliffe (E) also says active vents must be off-limits, but that's her own argument. Only Copley says scientists as a group agree.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 24-26
How to attack this block: The first two gaps come from C: what mining supposedly produces little of, and what gets converted from land mining. The last gap is the first thing environmental and legal groups call for at the start of D.
Question 24
Answer: wasteParagraph C, third sentence
What do mining companies say deep-sea mining would produce little of?
They say that deep-sea mining could yield far superior ore to land mining with little, if any, waste.
Question says → Passage says
superior to those found in the earthfar superior ore to land mining
without producing muchwith little, if any
Why: 'Little, if any' = 'not much'. The noun it goes with is 'waste', which fills the gap after 'producing much'.
The trap: 'Ore' is in the same sentence, but it's what they want to produce. The summary has already covered it with 'mineral resources'.
Question 25
Answer: machineryParagraph C, fourth sentence
What land equipment is adapted to mine the sea floor?
most involve employing some form of converted machinery previously used in terrestrial mining
Question says → Passage says
adaptingconverted
that has already been used to work on landpreviously used in terrestrial mining
Why: 'Converted' = 'adapted', and 'terrestrial' means on land. The gap after 'the' needs an uncountable noun ('has already been used'), so 'machinery', not 'machines'.
The trap: Paragraph F mentions 'giant mining machines', which is plural and would clash with 'has'. Use the word from C: 'machinery'.
Question 26
Answer: cautionParagraph D, first sentence
What do concerned groups think is needed because of possible unknown effects?
environmental and legal groups have urged caution, arguing there are potentially massive and unknown ramifications
Question says → Passage says
concerned groups strongly believeenvironmental and legal groups have urged
unidentified consequencesunknown ramifications
Why: To 'urge caution' is to say strongly that caution is needed. 'Unknown ramifications' = 'unidentified consequences'. The gap needs a noun: 'caution'.
The trap: 'Halt' appears in paragraph B (scientists urging a halt to mining), but that's Upton and other scientists, not the environmental and legal groups, and the summary follows paragraph D.
A (Upton). He argues that looking for medicines is a better use of the deep sea than mining, which is 'more worthwhile things to extract than minerals'.
Write 'machinery', not 'machines'. The passage talks about converted machinery previously used in land mining.
Words from this passage worth keeping
pathogenic(A)
causing disease
prospecting(A)
searching an area for something valuable
weigh up(B)
consider carefully before deciding
terrestrial(C)
on or relating to land
ramifications(D)
consequences, often unexpected ones
marginalisation(D)
pushing a group to the edge of society so it has little power
untapped(F)
not yet used
depleting(F)
running out or being used up
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The full Cambridge 19 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 19, Test 4, Reading Passage 2. 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.
