The story of an early southern African kingdom. It got rich on cattle and trade, put its king on a hilltop, made pottery and gold work good enough to need specialists, and faded in the 13th century, probably from overpopulation, drought and shifting trade routes.
The paragraph matching (14-19) jumps around A to G. The choose-two question (20-21) is all paragraph F. The summary (22-26) is all paragraph E, in order.
Matching information (paragraphs A-G)
Questions 14-19
How to attack this block: Six statements, seven paragraphs, not in order. Each statement describes a type of information, like an estimate, a doubt or a cause, rather than a topic. Look for the signal words: 'around' and 'at its peak' for an estimate, 'not known' for uncertainty, 'probably' and 'may' for causes.
Question 14
Answer: EParagraph E, fifth sentence
Which paragraph says nobody is sure what some objects were for?
The figures may have been used in ceremonies as offerings to ancestors, but their precise function is not known.
Question says → Passage says
uncertaintymay have been / is not known
the purpose of certain objectstheir precise function
Why: 'Function' is 'purpose', and 'is not known' is the uncertainty. The objects are the small human figures, and paragraph E admits we can only guess at their use.
The trap: Paragraph F also has a guess ('may have been a sceptre'), but that's about what one object was, not doubt about the purpose of a set of objects, and the next sentences state facts confidently.
Question 15
Answer: GParagraph G, first sentence
Which paragraph says the weather probably made things worse for Mapungubwe?
overpopulation placed too much stress on local resources, a situation that may have been brought to a crisis point by a series of droughts
Question says → Passage says
the likelihoodprobably / may have been
a climatic factora series of droughts
increased the problemsbrought to a crisis point
Why: Drought is a climatic factor. The existing problem was overpopulation, and the droughts may have pushed it to 'a crisis point', which is increasing the problems.
The trap: Paragraph A mentions a 'sandstone plateau' and farming, which are about the land, but nothing there is about climate causing trouble.
Question 16
Answer: CParagraph C, third sentence
Which paragraph says where the king's relatives probably lived?
There were some grander residences dotted around the outskirts of Babandyanalo, and these probably belonged to male relatives of the king.
Question says → Passage says
members of the king's familymale relatives of the king
are thought to have livedresidences… probably belonged to
Why: Relatives are family members, and 'probably belonged to' matches 'are thought to'. The location is the outskirts of Babandyanalo.
The trap: Paragraph B says where the king himself lived, on the hill with his advisers. The question is about his family, and they are in C.
Question 17
Answer: DParagraph D, second sentence
Which paragraph mentions people who carried goods by sea?
other states on the coast who, in turn, traded with merchants travelling from India by sea
Question says → Passage says
people who brought goodsmerchants
by shiptravelling… by sea
Why: Merchants are people who bring goods to trade, and travelling 'by sea' means by ship. The glass beads from India came this way.
The trap: The Limpopo River in the first sentence of D is also water transport, but no people or boats are mentioned there. The sea merchants are the match, and they are in the same paragraph anyway.
Question 18
Answer: BParagraph B, first sentence
Which paragraph estimates how big the community became?
The total population of Mapungubwe at its peak in the mid-13th century was around 5,000 people.
Question says → Passage says
an estimatearound
the size to which the community grewThe total population… at its peak
Why: 'Around 5,000' is an estimate, and 'at its peak' is the biggest the community grew. Size here means population.
The trap: Later in B and in C you get physical sizes too: a hill 30 metres high, 5 hectares, sites 15 to 100 kilometres away. Those measure places, not the community.
Question 19
Answer: AParagraph A, third sentence
Which paragraph mentions farm produce being traded for other things?
cattle herding and other types of farming brought plenty of food and a surplus that could be traded for needed goods
Question says → Passage says
agricultural producecattle herding and other types of farming… a surplus
exchanged for other itemstraded for needed goods
Why: Farming produced a surplus, and that surplus could be 'traded for needed goods'. Traded is exchanged, goods are items.
The trap: Paragraph D is the big trade paragraph, but what's traded there is animal skins, ivory, beads and gold, not farm produce.
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 20-21
How to attack this block: Everything sits in paragraph F. Three options take something real from F and push it too far. A sceptre is mentioned, but only as something an object 'may have been', and nothing is ranked most valuable. The two right answers are plain restatements.
Question 20-21
Answer: B and D (in either order)Paragraph F
Which two facts about Mapungubwe's gold does the writer actually mention?
A type of decoration, found nowhere else except Great Zimbabwe… These objects were all found at the royal burial site
Question says → Passage says
placed close to where kings were buriedfound at the royal burial site
also practised in another kingdomfound nowhere else except Great Zimbabwe
Why: B: the gold objects 'were all found at the royal burial site', which is where the kings were buried. D: the gold-sheet decoration is 'found nowhere else except Great Zimbabwe', and paragraph D tells you Great Zimbabwe was a kingdom. Both are plain restatements.
The trap: C is the big over-reach. One object 'may have been a sceptre', but nothing is called the most valuable item. A twists the last sentence, which is about gold having value of its own rather than as currency, and says nothing about who did or didn't pay with it. E: local gold-working is mentioned, but not how respected it was.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 22-26
How to attack this block: All five answers come from paragraph E, in order. The summary uses synonyms, so 'stretched' points you to the passage's 'elongated'. Take the noun that follows it.
Question 22
Answer: prosperityParagraph E, first sentence
What does the amount of professional pottery show about the community?
pottery was produced on a scale large enough to suggest the presence of professional potters, and is another indicator of the prosperity of Mapungubwe society
Question says → Passage says
is indicated byis another indicator of
the amount of professionally made potteryproduced on a scale large enough to suggest the presence of professional potters
Why: The summary turns 'indicator of the prosperity' into 'prosperity is indicated by'. The gap follows a possessive ('community's'), so it needs a noun: 'prosperity'.
The trap: 'Society' is the word right after it, but 'the community's society' makes no sense. 'Scale' is also nearby, but it's the size of production, not what that production shows.
Question 23
Answer: whistlesParagraph E, third sentence
Besides ceramic discs and animal figures, what else was found?
There are also ceramic discs, and whistles.
Question says → Passage says
round ceramic objectsceramic discs
Why: The summary lists the finds in the passage's order: discs, then whistles, then animal figurines. 'Round ceramic objects' is 'ceramic discs', so the next item is the answer. Keep it plural.
The trap: 'Discs' is the item just before, but the summary has already paraphrased it as 'round ceramic objects'. 'Beakers' and 'bowls' have also been used already.
Question 24
Answer: bodiesParagraph E, fourth sentence
What was stretched on the model people?
small figures of highly stylised humans with elongated bodies and short limbs
Question says → Passage says
models of peoplesmall figures of highly stylised humans
stretchedelongated
Why: 'Elongated' means stretched out or made long, and the noun it describes is 'bodies'. The gap needs a plural noun after 'stretched'.
The trap: 'Limbs' is right next to it, but the limbs are 'short', the opposite of stretched.
Question 25
Answer: ancestorsParagraph E, fifth sentence
Who might the ceremonies using these figures have honoured?
The figures may have been used in ceremonies as offerings to ancestors
Question says → Passage says
it is possible thatmay have been
had a role in ceremonies to honourused in ceremonies as offerings to
Why: An offering is given to show respect, which is the 'honour' in the summary. The people receiving the offerings are the ancestors.
The trap: Kings and their burial site are all over the passage, so 'kings' can feel natural, but this sentence names ancestors.
Question 26
Answer: jewelleryParagraph E, last sentence
Also accepted: jewelry
What items made of a local metal were found?
Other discoveries include small jewellery items made from locally sourced copper.
Question says → Passage says
In additionOther discoveries include
pieces ofsmall… items
a local metallocally sourced copper
Why: The summary has turned 'copper' into 'a local metal', so the gap needs what was made from it: jewellery. Both spellings, 'jewellery' and 'jewelry', are accepted.
The trap: 'Copper' is the obvious grab, but the summary already says 'made from a local metal'. Writing 'pieces of copper made from a local metal' doesn't work.
The king lived on the hill (B), but the question asks about his family. Paragraph C says the grander houses around Babandyanalo probably belonged to the king's male relatives. The answer is C, not B.
C is the classic over-reach. F says one object 'may have been' a sceptre and never calls anything the most valuable. The answers are B (gold found at the royal burial site) and D (the same decoration appears at Great Zimbabwe).
Paragraph A says farming produced a surplus that could be traded for needed goods. That's agricultural produce exchanged for other items, even though no 'market' word appears.
Words from this passage worth keeping
plateau(A)
a large, flat area of high land
surplus(A)
an amount left over after needs are met
dwell(B)
live in a place (formal)
demarcated(C)
with clearly marked limits
monopolise(D)
take full control of something so others can't share it
lucrative(D)
making a lot of money
elongated(E)
longer and thinner than usual
intrinsic value(F)
worth something in itself, not because of what it can be exchanged for
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
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 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
Mapungubwe: quick answers
"Mapungubwe" is Reading Passage 2 of Cambridge IELTS 21, Test 2. It covers questions 14-26 (13 marks).
