Piracy in the Mediterranean is thousands of years older than the Caribbean pirates everyone pictures. The passage explains why the coastline suited it, how early states sometimes hired pirates, what Egyptian letters and Greek writers said about them, and how Rome finally cleared the sea under Pompey, turning many pirates into farmers.
Paragraph matching (14-19) jumps around, and G is used twice. The two choose-TWO blocks follow the passage: 20-21 sit in B, 22-23 in E. The summary (24-26) is all in F.
Matching information (paragraphs A-G)
Questions 14-19
How to attack this block: Do this block last, after the other questions have walked you through the text. G answers two of the six items (the campaign itself and what happened to the pirates afterwards), so don't cross it off once used. The 'how people today picture pirates' item is the opening image in A, easy to skip because it looks like scene-setting.
Question 14
Answer: DParagraph D, second half
Which paragraph has someone saying they had nothing to do with piracy?
the king of Alashiya (modern Cyprus) rejected Akhenaten's claims of a connection with the Lukka
Question says → Passage says
a denialrejected… claims
of involvement in piracya connection with the Lukka
Why: The Lukka were a pirate group. Akhenaten claimed Alashiya was linked to them, and its king rejected the claim. Rejecting a claim of connection is a denial of involvement.
The trap: Paragraph E has officials who did take part in piracy (the Athenian ambassadors). That's admitted involvement, the opposite of a denial.
Question 15
Answer: GParagraph G
Which paragraph explains step by step how piracy was wiped out?
Pompey divided the entire Mediterranean into 13 districts, assigning a fleet and commander to each. After cleansing one district of pirates, the fleet would join another in the next district.
Question says → Passage says
a campaign to eradicate piracyconcerted action… to combat the Mediterranean menace
details of how… was carried outdivided… into 13 districts, assigning a fleet and commander to each
Why: 'Details of how' means a method, and G gives one: 13 districts, a fleet and commander each, clearing one district then moving to the next until the whole sea was free.
The trap: Paragraph A also says Pompey eradicated piracy, and even uses 'eradicated'. But A only mentions the result in one line. The details of the process are in G.
Question 16
Answer: CParagraph C
Which paragraph says when ancient states would hire pirates?
it was not unknown in the first and second millennia BCE for governments to resort to pirates' services, especially during wartime
Question says → Passage says
states in the ancient worldin the first and second millennia BCE for governments
make use of piratesresort to pirates' services
the circumstancesespecially during wartime
Why: 'Resort to pirates' services' is 'make use of pirates', and 'especially during wartime' gives the circumstances. C then adds how they were used: in the first wave of attack.
The trap: Paragraph F shows Rome benefiting from pirates through the slave supply. But Rome didn't employ them; it profited indirectly. C is about governments actively using them.
Question 17
Answer: AParagraph A, first sentence
Which paragraph describes the picture of pirates most people have now?
When one mentions pirates, an image springs to most people's minds of a crew of misfits, daredevils and adventurers
Question says → Passage says
how people today commonly view piratesan image springs to most people's minds
Why: The opening sentence is about the image that pops into most people's heads: Caribbean misfits on a tall ship. 'Commonly view' = 'most people's minds'.
The trap: Paragraph E is about how the ancient Greeks viewed pirates. That's a view from thousands of years ago, not today's.
Question 18
Answer: GParagraph G, last two sentences
Which paragraph explains how some pirates were persuaded to give up piracy for good?
many more were offered land in fertile areas located far from the sea. Instead of a maritime menace, Rome got productive farmers
Question says → Passage says
encouragedwere offered land
not to return to piracyfar from the sea… Instead of a maritime menace… productive farmers
Why: Giving pirates farmland far from the sea was the 'long-term solution': it gave them a new living and took them away from the coast. That's an incentive not to go back to piracy.
The trap: Paragraph D has the king of Alashiya promising to punish pirates. Punishment is a threat, not encouragement, and it isn't about stopping people returning to piracy.
Question 19
Answer: BParagraph B, second half
Which paragraph says many ships had to keep near the coast?
ships could not easily cross long distances over open water. Thus, in the ancient world most were restricted to a few well-known navigable routes that followed the coastline.
Question says → Passage says
the need for many sailing vesselsmost were restricted to
to stay relatively close to landroutes that followed the coastline
Why: Before caravels, ships couldn't cross open water easily, so most had to follow routes along the coast. 'Restricted to' gives you the 'need', and 'followed the coastline' is 'close to land'.
The trap: The note at the end defines a caravel as a manoeuvrable ship, but it says nothing about staying near land. The point about the coastline is in B.
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 20-21
How to attack this block: Everything you need is in paragraph B. The right pair is local knowledge that let pirates avoid retaliation, and a living that came from the sea (fish, salt, boats) because the land was too rugged to farm. Coves are in the passage, but as hiding places for boats, not storage for stolen goods.
Question 20-21
Answer: B and D (in either order)Paragraph B
Which two things does the writer say about people living around the ancient Mediterranean?
the inhabitants of these areas relied heavily on marine resources, including fish and salt… knowledge of the local area helped the pirates to avoid retaliation once a state fleet arrived
Question says → Passage says
depended more on the searelied heavily on marine resources
than on farmingsome parts are rugged and hilly, even mountainous
escape captureavoid retaliation once a state fleet arrived
knew the area so wellknowledge of the local area
Why: D: the inhabitants of the rugged, hilly areas, where farming was hard, relied heavily on fish and salt. B: their local knowledge let pirates get away when a state fleet came after them.
The trap: E is the most tempting: coves are mentioned, but as places to hide boats and attack unseen, not to store goods. A (stolen vessels) is wrong because most had their own boats, and C (paying for information) never appears.
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 22-23
How to attack this block: Paragraph E. Homer and Thucydides praise pirates, and Demosthenes' story shows ambassadors robbing a ship on an official trip. The distractors twist the text: Greek opinion stayed the same after Homer, and the problem was too many pirates, not too few.
Question 22-23
Answer: C and E (in either order)Paragraph E
Which two things does the writer say about piracy in ancient Greece?
Homer not only condones, but praises the lifestyle and actions of pirates… Even high-ranking members of the state were not beyond engaging in such activities.
Question says → Passage says
important officialshigh-ranking members of the state / Athenian ambassadors
occasionally take part in piracynot beyond engaging in such activities
a favourable view of piracypraises the lifestyle / glorified pirates' daring attacks
ancient Greek textshis works the Iliad and the Odyssey
Why: C: high-ranking people sometimes joined in, and the Athenian ambassadors who seized a ship are the example. E: Homer praises pirates, and Thucydides glorifies their attacks.
The trap: B twists the text: the opinion 'remained unchanged in the following centuries', so attitudes didn't change. A is the reverse of the passage, which blames 'the large number of pirates'. D is wrong because Thucydides glorified attacks on cities.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 24-26
How to attack this block: The summary follows paragraph F sentence by sentence. Each gap is a noun: what the attacked ships carried, what the Senate demanded, and what kidnappers asked for their hostages.
Question 24
Answer: grainParagraph F, middle
What were the attacked ships carrying to Rome?
Pirate attacks on grain ships, which were essential to Roman citizens
Question says → Passage says
vessels transporting ___ to Romegrain ships
Why: The summary turns 'grain ships' into 'vessels transporting ___', so the cargo is the answer: 'grain'.
The trap: 'Slaves' appears in the sentence before, but those were supplied by pirates, not carried on the ships the pirates attacked.
Question 25
Answer: punishmentParagraph F, middle
What did people call for after the attacks on grain ships?
led to angry voices in the Senate, demanding punishment of the culprits
Question says → Passage says
resulted in calls forled to angry voices… demanding
the pirates responsiblethe culprits
Why: 'Calls for' needs a noun, and 'demanding punishment' gives it. 'The culprits' is the summary's 'the pirates responsible'.
The trap: 'Punish' appears in paragraph D, but it's a verb and belongs to the king of Alashiya. Write the noun 'punishment'.
Question 26
Answer: ransomParagraph F, near the end
What did pirates demand in exchange for kidnapped Roman officials?
emboldened pirates kidnapped prominent Roman dignitaries, asking for a large ransom to be paid
Question says → Passage says
demandingasking for
the Roman officials they capturedkidnapped prominent Roman dignitaries
Why: 'Demanding a ___' matches 'asking for a large ___', and a ransom is money paid to free a hostage, which fits 'for the return of' the officials.
The trap: Don't write 'large ransom': the article 'a' is already there and you only have one word. 'Hostage' is nearby but it's the person, not what was demanded.
Write 'punishment', the noun. 'Punish' appears in paragraph D about the king of Alashiya, which pulls some people to the wrong paragraph and the wrong form.
Words from this passage worth keeping
prowled(A)
moved around looking for victims
eradicated(A)
got rid of completely
laden with(B)
heavily loaded with
retaliation(B)
an attack made in return
condones(E)
accepts something that is usually seen as wrong
curtail(E)
reduce or limit
emboldened(F)
made braver or more daring
concerted(G)
planned and done together with determination
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The full Cambridge 19 Test 1 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 1, 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.
