Noise does real damage to health, and cities from London to New York are starting to turn the volume down. The second half follows the research: flotation tanks, what silence does to the brain, and why a few quiet minutes a day may beat a long silent retreat.
Questions 14-17 jump around sections A to G. The summary (18-21) sits entirely in sections D and E, in order. For 22-26 each expert owns a block of text: Antonio in B-C, Feinstein in D-E, Ben-Soussan in F, Pfeifer in G.
Matching information (sections A-G)
Questions 14-17
How to attack this block: These are not in order and three sections go unused. Leave this block until last. By then you have read every section for the other two blocks, and each statement matches one kind of content: body changes, statistics, city policies, a comparison of two settings.
Question 14
Answer: CSection C
Which section gives examples of ways to cut the noise people live with?
By providing recommendations for quieter buses, reducing noise from roads and also controlling noise from aircraft, they were able to make the city quieter
Question says → Passage says
strategies to decrease the noisequieter buses / noise-reducing road coatings / ban on petrol-powered leaf blowers
examplesOne of the first to do so was London… Other cities… Some solutions are more specific
Why: Section C is basically a list of fixes: London's quieter buses and roads, road coatings, greenery that muffles sound, Washington's leaf-blower ban, New York's fines for noisy cars. 'Examples of strategies' means a list of actions, and C is the only section that is one.
The trap: Section B is about noise and the public too, but it measures the problem. It doesn't fix anything.
Question 15
Answer: BSection B
Which section has numbers showing how big the noise problem is?
noise was an ongoing and widespread issue in Europe, with at least 1 in 5 people consistently exposed to levels considered harmful to health
Question says → Passage says
data40 decibels / at least 1 in 5 people
the extent of the probleman ongoing and widespread issue
Why: 'Data' is your signal to scan for numbers. Section B has the WHO's 40-decibel limit and the European figure of 1 in 5 people exposed to harmful levels. Both tell you how widespread the problem is.
The trap: Section A lists health problems caused by noise, but it gives no figures, so it shows the damage, not the extent.
Question 16
Answer: ASection A
Which section describes what happens inside the body when we hear a sudden noise?
Our blood pressure goes up, muscles tense and glands release hormones that prepare us for fight or flight
Why: 'Physiological' means to do with how the body works. Section A walks through the body's reaction step by step: blood pressure, muscles, hormones. 'Unexpected' is the passage's word for 'sudden'.
The trap: Section D describes odd sensations in the flotation tank, but those are changes in perception, and they're caused by silence, not by a sudden noise.
Question 17
Answer: GSection G
Which section shows that somewhere fairly quiet can beat somewhere completely silent?
participants reported more relaxation and less boredom when they sat quietly in an outdoor garden compared with a completely silent room
Question says → Passage says
evidenceIn a recent study, he found
a relatively quiet environmentan outdoor garden
a totally silent onea completely silent room
more beneficialmore relaxation and less boredom
Why: The statement is a comparison of two places, and Pfeifer's garden study is exactly that comparison. The line just before it, 'complete silence isn't necessary', is the same idea in plain words.
The trap: Section D's tank is completely silent too, but nobody compares it with a quieter-but-not-silent place. No comparison, no match.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 18-21
How to attack this block: Every gap is a single word lifted straight from D and E, in order. Watch the grammar around each gap: 18 needs something you can focus on, 19 something you complete, 21 a condition.
Question 18
Answer: breathSection D, last sentence
What do flotation tanks let people concentrate on?
But it is the ability to focus on the breath that helps people reach a relaxed or meditative state.
Question says → Passage says
concentrate on their ownfocus on the
helps them relax and enables them to meditatehelps people reach a relaxed or meditative state
Why: 'Concentrate on' is a straight swap for 'focus on', and the rest of the summary sentence repeats 'relaxed or meditative state'. The word after 'focus on the' is your answer.
The trap: Some people write 'eyes' or 'blinking' from the sentence before. That's something people hear in the tank, not something they focus on to relax.
Question 19
Answer: questionnaireSection E, first sentence
What were the 50 participants given to complete before and after floating?
had them answer a questionnaire prior to and following a flotation session
Question says → Passage says
to completeanswer
before and afterprior to and following
suffering from stress and related issuesa variety of conditions related to stress
Why: You complete a form, a test or a questionnaire. 'Prior to and following' is formal English for 'before and after', which pins the sentence down. The gap needs a noun after 'a', and 'questionnaire' is the only thing the participants filled in.
The trap: 'Session' sits right next to it, but the session is the float itself, not something you complete on paper.
Question 20
Answer: wellbeingSection E, second sentence
Besides relaxation, what improved in general after one hour in the tank?
alongside an increase in feelings of relaxation and overall wellbeing
Question says → Passage says
together withalongside
improved generalan increase in… overall
Why: 'Improved general ___' mirrors 'increase in… overall ___', so the word after 'overall' fills the gap. Copy the passage's spelling: 'wellbeing' as one word.
The trap: 'Relaxation' is in the same phrase, but the summary has already used it ('signs of relaxation'). The gap needs the other thing that went up.
Question 21
Answer: depressionSection E, second paragraph
Which condition are the brain regions that quietened down linked to?
Float sessions uniquely decreased activity in the default mode network (DMN), a collection of brain regions commonly linked with depression
Question says → Passage says
decreased activity in parts of the braindecreased activity in… a collection of brain regions
associated withcommonly linked with
Why: The summary follows the sentence almost word for word: decreased activity, brain regions, then 'associated with' = 'linked with'. The gap wants a condition, and the passage names one: depression.
The trap: 'Stress' appears earlier in Section E, but that was the first study's 50 participants. The brain-scan study is the second one, and its condition is depression.
Matching features (people A-D, letters can repeat)
Questions 22-26
How to attack this block: Draw a box around each expert's section before you start. The statements paraphrase hard, so match the claim, not a keyword. One expert is used twice and one statement sits close to two people. Check who says what, not who talks about the topic.
Question 22
Answer: CSection F, second paragraph
Who says silence is distressing for people who don't want it?
When people do not want silence, it can be very distressing.
Question says → Passage says
against their willdo not want silence / volition and intentionality
unpleasant and upsettingvery distressing
Why: Ben-Soussan's key point is choice: the person must want the experience ('volition and intentionality'). Without that choice, silence is 'very distressing', which is 'unpleasant and upsetting'.
The trap: Pfeifer (D) also says silence doesn't suit everyone, but his reason is people already under heavy stress. Being stressed is not the same as being made to do it.
Question 23
Answer: ASection C, last two sentences
Who predicts more cities will get quieter?
People are seeing the benefits of these more quiet environments in their cities… I expect we will see much more of this in the future.
Question says → Passage says
quieter urban locationsmore quiet environments in their cities
likely to increaseI expect we will see much more of this
in the coming yearsin the future
Why: A prediction needs future language, and 'I expect… in the future' is Antonio's. He's the only expert talking about cities at all.
Question 24
Answer: BSection D
Who says the brain invents sights and sounds when it gets no input?
When you don't have external sensory stimuli coming in, the brain tries to fill the void to make sense of this dark and silent world
Question says → Passage says
completely deprived of inputdon't have external sensory stimuli coming in
compensate for thisfill the void
the illusion of images and soundssubtle humming sounds and visual effects / hear the sound of their eyes blinking
Why: Feinstein explains the 'altered perception' people get in the tank: with nothing coming in, the brain fills the gap itself. The humming and visual effects are the 'images and sounds'.
The trap: Ben-Soussan (C) talks about inner quiet and awareness, which sounds brainy, but she never mentions the mind making things up.
Question 25
Answer: DSection G, end
Who says even a little silence helps?
It is likely better to have more frequency of silence for a few minutes at a time than a longer period of silence only once a week.
Question says → Passage says
a short amount of silent timea few minutes at a time / You don't need to spend hours in silence
a positive impactbenefits / can make a big difference
Why: Pfeifer's second point is that you don't need a lot of silence: a few minutes, often, beats one long stretch. That's the statement exactly.
The trap: Feinstein (B) reports good results after a single 1-hour float, but an hour isn't 'a short amount', and he never argues that less is enough.
Question 26
Answer: CSection F, first paragraph
Who says outer and inner quiet make us more aware and help us respond well?
This allows us to be more aware of what is happening around us and what the situation may require from us so we can provide a more adequate response.
Question says → Passage says
external and internal quietnessquiet in our environment, but quiet in our inner selves
more conscious of events occurring in our surroundingsmore aware of what is happening around us
react appropriatelyprovide a more adequate response
Why: Every part of the statement has a partner in Ben-Soussan's quote: outside and inside quiet, awareness, then the right response. That's the second time she's the answer, which is fine, since letters can repeat.
Two experts say silence doesn't suit everyone. Only Ben-Soussan (F) says it's distressing when people don't want it, and 'against their will' is exactly that. Pfeifer's point in G is about people already under heavy stress.
The garden study in G compares a quiet garden with a completely silent room. That comparison is the whole statement, so G is the answer, not D with its soundproof tank.
The brain network is 'commonly linked with depression'. The gap wants the condition, so 'depression', not 'stress' from earlier in the paragraph.
Words from this passage worth keeping
attuned to(A)
naturally sensitive to and quick to notice something
designate(B)
officially name or label something as a particular thing
muffle(C)
make a sound quieter and less clear
benign(D)
harmless
detract from(D)
make something seem less good or valuable
volition(F)
choosing to do something yourself
concede(G)
admit something is true, often reluctantly
attainable(G)
possible to get or achieve
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 21 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 21, 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.
FAQ
Why we need silence: quick answers
"Why we need silence" is Reading Passage 2 of Cambridge IELTS 21, Test 1. It covers questions 14-26 (13 marks).
