Artificial Intelligence: reading answers and analysis
An opinion piece against AI hype. The writer calls it 'AI solutionism': governments assume a neural network will fix any problem. They ignore missing data, missing skills and security risks, and the cancer-treatment and court-sentencing failures show what happens next.
Questions 27-40 · 14 marks · 4 question blocks
Where the answers sit
The first multiple-choice block (27-29) uses paragraphs A, B and D. The summary (30-35) pulls from E, F, K and L. YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (36-39) sits in G to I. Question 40 asks about the passage as a whole.
Questions 27-29
These ask what the writer is doing, not what the paragraph says. Paragraph A lists AI benefits, but only as what the headlines claim. That's why the answer to 27 is about a public perception, not about benefits.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | B | — |
| 28 | A | — |
| 29 | C | — |
Questions 30-35
Three decoys among nine options. 'Confidentiality' sits next to the right idea for 32, because data access and privacy feel related. What the passage says is 'special permissions', and that means approval.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | F | — |
| 31 | G | — |
| 32 | I | — |
| 33 | C | — |
| 34 | A | — |
| 35 | D | — |
Questions 36-39
The writer quotes two critics approvingly and complains that security is overlooked. Once you see whose side the writer is on, the NO answers fall out: the writer praises Russell, and says security is often ignored.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | NO | — |
| 37 | NOT GIVEN | — |
| 38 | NO | — |
| 39 | YES | — |
Question 40
A subtitle question tests the whole argument. The last paragraph says there is no AI solution for everything. The right option says the same thing. The distractors either go too far (don't invest at all) or say the opposite.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | B | — |
The questions most people get wrong
The writer calls Russell's approach sensible and realistic. 'Impractical' contradicts that, so NO. It's not NOT GIVEN.
Option C is tempting because paragraph A lists cures and creativity. They're framed as sensational headlines, so the writer is describing how the public sees AI (B).
Each department needs special permissions before the data can be opened. That's approval (I). 'Confidentiality' is the decoy.
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The full Cambridge 21 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 21, Test 2, Reading Passage 3. 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.