Alternative Medicine in Australia: reading answers and analysis
Australian doctors were slow to accept alternative therapies, but public disappointment with conventional medicine made therapies like acupuncture and herbalism more popular from the 1970s onwards. Surveys showed that patients liked therapists' warmth and holistic approach, and doctors began training in these methods. The writer ends by suggesting the therapies are complementary rather than an alternative.
Everything runs in passage order. The multiple choice (14-15) is in the first main paragraph, the YES / NO / NOT GIVEN statements (16-23) run through the next three, and the chart labels (24-26) all come from the percentages paragraph near the end.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: Both answers sit in one paragraph that contrasts Australia with other Western countries. The wrong options describe Europe or Germany, or turn a spending figure into a comparison the passage never makes.
Question 14
Answer: CParagraph 1 (after the italic introduction), first two sentences
How have Australian doctors traditionally been different from doctors in many other Western countries?
Australia has been unusual in the Western world in having a very conservative attitude to natural or alternative therapies… I guess they are pretty loath to allow any pretenders to their position to come into it.
Question says → Passage says
differed from doctors in many Western countriesunusual in the Western world
reluctant to accept alternative therapistsa very conservative attitude to natural or alternative therapies / pretty loath to allow any pretenders
Why: 'Loath' means unwilling, and the 'pretenders' are the alternative therapists trying to share doctors' position. Australian doctors have resisted them, so C.
The trap: B describes the other countries, not Australia: there, orthodox and alternative medicine have worked 'hand in glove'. D is also about Europe, where doctors prescribe herbal medicine.
Question 15
Answer: BParagraph 1, last sentence
What did Americans do in 1990?
Americans made more visits to alternative therapists than to orthodox doctors in 1990
Question says → Passage says
consulted alternative therapists more often than doctorsmade more visits to alternative therapists than to orthodox doctors
Why: 'Made more visits to' is 'consulted more often'. The sentence compares alternative therapists with orthodox doctors, which is B.
The trap: C is built from the same sentence's '$US12 billion', but the passage gives no figure for orthodox medicines, so there's no comparison of spending. A and D aren't mentioned.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 16-23
How to attack this block: This block is full of numbers, so check the figures rather than the trend. One statement needs a quick subtraction between two survey years. The NOT GIVEN is about pay, which the passage touches on only as doctors' business motive.
Question 16
Answer: YESParagraph 2, first sentence
Have more and more Australians used alternative therapies over the last 20 years?
Disenchantment with orthodox medicine has seen the popularity of alternative therapies in Australia climb steadily during the past 20 years.
Question says → Passage says
turning to alternative therapies in increasing numbersthe popularity of alternative therapies… climb steadily
over the past 20 yearsduring the past 20 years
Why: Popularity climbing steadily over 20 years means more people turning to these therapies over that time. YES.
Question 17
Answer: NOParagraph 2, second and third sentences
Did visits to alternative therapists rise by a further 8% of the population between 1983 and 1990?
1.9% of people said they had contacted a chiropractor, naturopath, osteopath, acupuncturist or herbalist… By 1990, this figure had risen to 2.6% of the population.
Question says → Passage says
Between 1983 and 1990In a 1983 national health survey… By 1990
rosehad risen to 2.6%
Why: Going from 1.9% to 2.6% is a rise of 0.7% of the population, not 8%. The writer's figures contradict the statement, so NO.
The trap: Quick readers see a rise and choose YES without doing the maths. 'An eighth' appears in the next sentence, which may be where the 8 comes from, but that's a ratio to doctors' consultations.
Question 18
Answer: YESParagraph 2, fourth sentence
Did the 1990 survey cover 550,000 consultations with alternative therapists?
The 550,000 consultations with alternative therapists reported in the 1990 survey
Question says → Passage says
related to 550,000 consultationsThe 550,000 consultations… reported in
Why: The figure, the type of consultation and the year all match. YES.
The trap: The same sentence says these were 'about an eighth' of doctors' consultations. That extra detail doesn't change what the survey reported.
Question 19
Answer: YESParagraph 2, last sentence
Did Australians once think more highly of doctors than they do now?
'The high standing of professionals, including doctors, has been eroded as a consequence.'
Question says → Passage says
a higher opinion of doctorsThe high standing of professionals, including doctors
than they do todayhas been eroded
Why: 'Eroded' means gradually worn away. If doctors' high standing has been eroded, people used to respect them more. YES.
The trap: This is a quote from Dr Laver's team rather than the writer's own sentence. The writer reports it without disagreeing, so it still supports YES.
Question 20
Answer: YESParagraph 3, first sentence
Are some Australian doctors training in alternative therapies?
increasing numbers of Australian doctors, particularly younger ones, are forming group practices with alternative therapists or taking courses themselves, particularly in acupuncture and herbalism
Question says → Passage says
Some Australian doctorsincreasing numbers of Australian doctors
retraining in alternative therapiestaking courses themselves, particularly in acupuncture and herbalism
Why: Doctors 'taking courses' in acupuncture and herbalism are retraining in alternative therapies. YES.
Question 21
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 3, second and third sentences
Do alternative therapists earn more than doctors?
Part of the incentive was financial, Dr Laver said. 'The bottom line is that most general practitioners are business people.
Question says → Passage says
earn higher salariesPart of the incentive was financial
Why: Money is mentioned, but only as one reason doctors don't want to lose patients. Nobody compares what therapists and doctors earn. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'Financial incentive' makes people guess that therapists must earn more and choose YES. The passage only says doctors don't want clients going elsewhere.
Question 22
Answer: NOParagraph 4, first two sentences
Did all 289 people in the 1993 Sydney survey go for acupuncture?
These practices offered a wide range of alternative therapies from 25 therapists.
Question says → Passage says
289 patients who visited alternative therapistsa survey of 289 Sydney people who attended eight alternative therapists' practices
for acupuncture treatmenta wide range of alternative therapies
Why: The number of people is right, but the practices offered 'a wide range' of therapies, not just acupuncture. The statement narrows it to one treatment, which contradicts the writer, so NO.
The trap: Acupuncture is mentioned a lot in the passage (the university course, doctors' training), so it feels as if it belongs here. It isn't in this paragraph.
Question 23
Answer: YESParagraph 4, third sentence
Did everyone in the 1993 survey have long-term medical problems?
Those surveyed had experienced chronic illnesses, for which orthodox medicine had been able to provide little relief.
Question says → Passage says
All the patientsThose surveyed
long-term medical complaintschronic illnesses
Why: 'Chronic' means lasting a long time, and the sentence is about everyone surveyed. YES.
The trap: Some students hesitate because the passage doesn't say 'all'. 'Those surveyed' with no limit means the whole group, so it isn't NOT GIVEN.
Chart completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)
Questions 24-26
How to attack this block: Match each bar's percentage to the complaint in the passage. One figure isn't given directly (it's '1% more than' another), and 'respectively' tells you which of two groups gets 6% and which 5%.
Question 24
Answer: emotional problemsParagraph 5, first sentence
Also accepted: emotional
Which complaint accounts for 11% of patients on the chart?
12% suffer from digestive problems, which is only 1% more than those suffering from emotional problems
Question says → Passage says
11%only 1% more than
Why: The bar comes just below digestive problems (12%), so you need the group that is 1% lower: emotional problems at 11%. Note the figure isn't stated directly, so you have to work it out.
The trap: Digestive problems is the label people copy by mistake, because it's the number that's actually printed. Respiratory complaints and candida are both 7%, lower down the chart.
Question 25
Answer: headachesParagraph 5, third sentence
Also accepted: headache / headache sufferers
Which complaint accounts for 6% of patients?
Headache sufferers and those complaining of general ill health represent 6% and 5% of patients respectively
Question says → Passage says
6%6%
Why: 'Respectively' matches the figures to the groups in order: headache sufferers 6%, general ill health 5%. The label is 'headaches' (or 'headache sufferers').
The trap: If you miss 'respectively', you might swap 25 and 26. The first group named gets the first figure.
Question 26
Answer: general ill healthParagraph 5, third sentence
Which complaint accounts for 5% of patients?
those complaining of general ill health represent 6% and 5% of patients respectively
Question says → Passage says
5%5%
Why: The second group in the 'respectively' sentence gets 5%: general ill health. Three words, exactly the limit.
The trap: 'General health maintenance' (4%) sounds almost the same and comes right after. Check the percentage, and remember maintenance isn't a complaint.
The survey covered a wide range of therapies, not just acupuncture, so the statement is NO even though the number 289 is right.
Words from this passage worth keeping
loath(Paragraph 1)
unwilling
hand in glove(Paragraph 1)
working very closely together
disenchantment(Paragraph 2)
a feeling of disappointment after losing faith in something
sceptical(Paragraph 2)
doubting that something is true or useful
eroded(Paragraph 2)
gradually reduced or worn away
chronic(Paragraph 4)
lasting a long time or keeping coming back
concur(Paragraph 4)
agree
adjunct(Paragraph 6)
something added to support the main thing
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The full Cambridge 4 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 4, 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.
