One of Africa's fastest-growing cities is stuck with four colonial-era roads and sprawling unplanned suburbs. Its answer is a bus rapid transit system, not a metro. The buses cut journey times but come with teething problems: broken card readers, flood-damaged buses and long queues.
The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN block (14-18) takes one paragraph each, A to E. The notes (19-26) come from F, G and H in order: features in F, problems in G and H.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
Questions 14-18
How to attack this block: One statement per paragraph, in order, so if you can't find one, move to the next paragraph. The two NOT GIVENs invent things the passage never says: a comparison with earlier forecasts, and residents being asked their opinion.
Question 14
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph A
Is the city's population growing faster than earlier forecasts said it would?
United Nations projections anticipate it will become a megacity within seven years as its population passes 10 million, reaching 13.4 million by 2035.
Question says → Passage says
the population is risingIts population has increased eightfold since 1980
predictedprojections anticipate / forecasts
Why: Paragraph A is full of growth figures and forecasts, but every forecast is about the future. Nothing compares today's growth with what anyone predicted in the past, so NOT GIVEN.
The trap: With 'fastest growing', 'eightfold' and a forecast of 73.7 million, the paragraph screams 'faster than expected'. The statement needs a comparison with an earlier prediction, and that comparison isn't there.
Question 15
Answer: FALSEParagraph B, first sentence
Do most residents live in tall blocks on the city's edge?
Today, four out of five of its people live in single-storey informal settlements on the spreading edges of the city
Question says → Passage says
most of the residentsfour out of five of its people
on the edge of the cityon the spreading edges of the city
Why: 'Most' and 'on the edge' both match, but the buildings are 'single-storey', which means one floor. High-rise is the opposite, so FALSE.
The trap: Two of the three parts of the statement match, so it's easy to tick TRUE without checking the building type. One contradicted detail makes the whole statement FALSE.
Question 16
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph C, third sentence
Were residents asked what they think of the suburban rail line?
A single suburban rail line serves residents in a few areas to the south but is tiny in the context of the wider city.
Question says → Passage says
the suburban rail lineA single suburban rail line
Why: The rail line is described (one line, a few southern areas, tiny for the city), but there's nothing about anyone asking residents for their views. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: Paragraph G has a resident's opinion, but it's about the new buses, not the rail line, and it's an interview quote rather than a consultation.
Question 17
Answer: TRUEParagraph D, last sentence
Is most current housing development in the city unplanned?
Nearly all the expansion is happening on the periphery, and nearly all takes place informally without any agreed strategy.
Question says → Passage says
the majority ofnearly all
the present residential developmentthe expansion is happening
unplannedinformally without any agreed strategy
Why: 'Without any agreed strategy' means without a plan, and 'nearly all' is more than a majority. TRUE.
The trap: The colonial government did plan the city, early in paragraph D. That was at the start of the 20th century for 35,000 people. The statement is about present development, and that is unplanned.
Question 18
Answer: FALSEParagraph E, last two sentences
Is the city copying the transport plan that many African cities have chosen?
Unlike many cities on the continent, Dar es Salaam isn't trying to build a metro. It has chosen a less exciting but cheaper and more achievable method: the bus.
Question says → Passage says
follow the plan adopted by a large number of African citiesUnlike many cities on the continent
public transport plantrying to build a metro / the bus
Why: Many African cities are building metros. Dar es Salaam chose buses instead, 'unlike many cities on the continent'. It's doing the opposite of following them, so FALSE.
The trap: Paragraph J mentions Nairobi planning bus rapid transit too, which might suggest others share the plan. But Nairobi is following Dar es Salaam, and the passage says Africa is 'obsessed' with metros.
Note completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 19-26
How to attack this block: Eight gaps and eight nouns, all in order. The problem notes paraphrase the passage's list of failures, so the words around each gap point to a sentence. The easy mistake is taking the wrong item from a pair, like wheelchairs or buggies, gates or scanners.
Question 19
Answer: lanesParagraph F, first sentence
What do the buses run on to reduce delays?
The DART bus rapid transit (BRT) system runs on bus lanes separated from other traffic, mostly in the middle of the road to reduce stoppages.
Question says → Passage says
designatedseparated from other traffic
cut down on delaysreduce stoppages
Why: 'Designated' lanes are ones set aside for a particular use, here buses only. The gap needs a plural noun, and 'lanes' is it.
The trap: 'Road' appears in the same sentence ('the middle of the road'), but the buses don't have a designated road. One word means just 'lanes', not 'bus lanes'.
Question 20
Answer: boardingParagraph F, second sentence
When do passengers pay their fares?
Ticket purchase and control takes place at stations prior to boarding
Question says → Passage says
pay faresTicket purchase
beforeprior to
Why: 'Prior to' is 'before', so the word after it is the answer. After 'before' you need a noun or an -ing form, and 'boarding' is both.
The trap: 'Stations' is in the same sentence, but 'before stations' makes no sense. Paying 'at stations' is the place, not the time.
Question 21
Answer: wheelchairsParagraph F, second sentence
Which group of passengers can use the whole system?
the buses are step-free, which means the entire route is accessible to people using wheelchairs
Question says → Passage says
can use every part of the systemthe entire route is accessible
passengers in ___people using wheelchairs
Why: 'People using wheelchairs' becomes 'passengers in wheelchairs'. The gap follows 'in', so you need the plural noun: 'wheelchairs'.
The trap: 'Buggies' is also in the sentence, but people travel 'with' baby buggies, not 'in' them. The preposition in the note decides it.
Question 22
Answer: fuelParagraph G, last sentence
What do drivers want to use less of when they leave the air conditioning off?
drivers often refuse to turn on the air conditioning to save fuel
Question says → Passage says
the temperature controlthe air conditioning
is sometimes not activatedoften refuse to turn on
reduce ___ usesave fuel
Why: Air conditioning is temperature control, and refusing to switch it on 'to save fuel' is reducing fuel use. The gap needs a noun before 'use': 'fuel'.
The trap: 'Air' or 'conditioning' won't fit, because the note has already paraphrased the air conditioning as 'temperature control'.
Question 23
Answer: floodParagraph H, second sentence
What caused the shortage of buses?
A shortage of buses after a serious flood at the main depot during the rainy season
Question says → Passage says
insufficient number of vehiclesA shortage of buses
a severe ___a serious flood
Why: 'Severe' is 'serious', and the noun after it is 'flood'. The note says 'a severe', so a singular noun.
The trap: 'Depot' and 'rainy season' are close by, but the depot is where the damage happened and the rainy season is when. The event itself was the flood.
Question 24
Answer: smartcardsParagraph H, third sentence
What can't passengers use because equipment is broken?
Smartcards can't be used as the mechanical readers aren't working either
Question says → Passage says
are unable to usecan't be used
some equipment is out of actionthe mechanical readers aren't working
Why: The readers are the equipment that's 'out of action', and what can't be used as a result is smartcards. Write it as one word, the way the passage does.
The trap: 'Readers' and 'scanners' are both broken or missing equipment, so they look right, but they're the cause. The note asks what passengers can't use: their smartcards.
Question 25
Answer: gatesParagraph H, fifth sentence
Where are tickets checked by hand at the stations?
Staff stand by the gates and tear tickets as people enter.
Question says → Passage says
tickets have to be checked manuallythere are no scanners… Staff… tear tickets
at station ___stand by the gates
Why: With no scanners, staff check tickets by tearing them, which is a manual check. They do it by the gates, so 'station gates'. Plural, as in the passage.
The trap: 'Scanners' is the obvious nearby word, but there aren't any. That's why the checking is manual.
Question 26
Answer: queuesParagraph H, last sentence
What often builds up in rush hour?
As a result, queues are considerable at peak times.
Question says → Passage says
frequently build upare considerable
during rush hoursat peak times
Why: 'Peak times' is 'rush hours', and 'considerable' queues are queues that have built up. The verb 'build up' needs a plural subject: 'queues'.
The trap: 'Traffic' builds up in rush hour too, and paragraph C is all about it, but this note is in the BRT problems list and follows the ticket-checking point.
Staff tear tickets 'by the gates'. There are no working scanners, so 'scanners' can't be where tickets are checked. The answer is gates.
Words from this passage worth keeping
swell(A)
increase in size or number
projection(A)
an estimate of a future figure based on current data
scandalous(C)
shockingly bad
arterial road(D)
a major road that carries a lot of traffic into or across a city
periphery(D)
the outer edge of an area
pin its hopes on(E)
rely on something to succeed
imminently(I)
very soon
stakeholder(J)
a person or group with an interest in a project
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 21 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 21, Test 3, 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.
FAQ
The problems of getting around the city of Dar es Salaam: quick answers
"The problems of getting around the city of Dar es Salaam" is Reading Passage 2 of Cambridge IELTS 21, Test 3. It covers questions 14-26 (13 marks).
Questions 14-18: TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN and questions 19-26: Note completion.
1 TRUE, 2 FALSE and 2 NOT GIVEN.
Our review highlights questions 14, 18 and 25. Each one is explained in "Questions worth a second look" above.
