Micro-Enterprise Credit for Street Youth: reading answers and analysis
A charity, Street Kids International, describes its work helping street children in Africa, Latin America and India to earn a living. It explains why children end up on the streets, describes three business projects funded by small loans, and lists lessons learned. Its main conclusion is that loans only work when they come with training and other support.
Everything follows the passage from top to bottom. The multiple choice (1-4) covers the opening quotes, the introduction and the background. The table (5-8) is the three project bullets, and the YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (9-12) goes through the lessons. Question 13 is the conclusion.
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: The options take details from the passage and change what they're for: schools are a cause, not S.K.I.'s work, and crime is a danger on the street, not a reason children go there. One answer needs you to match a general word (poverty) to a description that never uses it.
Question 1
Answer: AOpening quotations (Doreen Soko and Fan Kaoma)
What job do the two quotations at the top of the article do?
Ever since I joined the Street Kids International program I have been able to buy my family sugar and buns for breakfast.
Question says → Passage says
exemplify the effects of S.K.I.Ever since I joined the Street Kids International program I have been able to / Now I'm confident to expand what we've been doing
Why: Both speakers describe what changed for them after joining: food for the family, clothes, business skills, savings and new friends. They are examples of the program's effects, so A.
The trap: D is close, but the benefits described are personal: one family's breakfast, one group's business. Nothing is said about benefits to society as a whole. C fails too, because the poverty Doreen mentions is background, not the point of the quotes.
Question 2
Answer: DIntroduction, second paragraph, and Street Business Partnerships
What is S.K.I. mainly for?
Street youths are supported to start their own small business through business training, life skills training and access to credit.
Question says → Passage says
give business training and loansbusiness training… and access to credit
The main purpose of S.K.I.to support the economic lives of street children
Why: Everything S.K.I. does in the article is small-business support: bicycles to pay off, shoe-shine loans, training and credit. 'Access to credit' means loans, so D.
The trap: B picks up 'schools' from the Background section, but a lack of funded schools is one reason children end up on the street. S.K.I. doesn't provide schools. A and C aren't mentioned.
Question 3
Answer: CBackground, first paragraph, first sentence
Which reason for children ending up on the streets does the writer mention?
a combination of factors: a dearth of adequately funded schools, the demand for income at home, family breakdown and violence
Question says → Passage says
povertythe demand for income at home
Why: The word 'poverty' isn't used, but 'the demand for income at home' means the family needs money, which is poverty. That's C.
The trap: D (crime) appears two sentences later, but 'urban crime' is one of the dangers children meet once they're on the street, not a reason they go there. 'Violence' isn't war, and unemployment isn't mentioned.
Question 4
Answer: CBackground, second paragraph, last sentence
What may street children do to become more independent?
Many children may choose entrepreneurship because it allows them a degree of independence
Question says → Passage says
set up their own businesseschoose entrepreneurship
In order to become more independentallows them a degree of independence
Why: An entrepreneur runs their own business, and the passage says children choose this because it gives them independence. C.
The trap: A is built from the same sentence, which says entrepreneurship is 'less exploitative than many forms of paid employment'. Preferring one thing is not the same as rejecting paid work completely.
Table completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)
Questions 5-8
How to attack this block: Each row is one project bullet. Read the whole bullet, because the first row's country needs two names, one of them in the bullet's last sentence. Don't repeat words already printed in the table, like 'training'.
Question 5
Answer: Sudan and IndiaStreet Business Partnerships, first bullet
Also accepted: the Sudan and India / Sudan, India / India and Sudan
Which countries ran the courier service?
The S.K.I. Bicycle Courier Service first started in the Sudan… A similar program was taken up in Bangalore, India.
Question says → Passage says
courier serviceBicycle Courier Service / A similar program
Why: The service started in Sudan and a similar version ran in India. The table's Country box needs both, which fits in three words: 'Sudan and India'.
The trap: Most students write only 'Sudan' and stop reading. The last sentence of the bullet adds the second country. 'Bangalore' is a city, not a country.
Question 6
Answer: bicyclesStreet Business Partnerships, first bullet, second sentence
What were courier service participants given?
Participants in this enterprise were supplied with bicycles, which they used to deliver parcels and messages
Question says → Passage says
provision ofwere supplied with
Why: 'Provision of' and 'supplied with' are the same idea. The thing supplied was 'bicycles', a plural noun.
The trap: 'Parcels and messages' are what they delivered, not what they were given.
Question 7
Answer: Shoe Shine CollectiveStreet Business Partnerships, second bullet
Also accepted: The Shoe Shine Collective / shoe shine
What was the Dominican Republic project?
Another successful project, The Shoe Shine Collective, was a partnership program with the Y.W.C.A. in the Dominican Republic.
Question says → Passage says
Type of projectAnother successful project
loans, storage facilities, savings planslent money… a safe place to store their equipment… facilities for individual savings plans
Why: The row's support column (loans, storage, savings) matches the shoe shine bullet. The project's name is 'Shoe Shine Collective', which fits the three-word limit if you drop 'The'.
The trap: 'Shoe shine boxes' is what the loans paid for, not the type of project. 'The Shoe Shine Collective' is four words, so leave out 'The'.
Question 8
Answer: life skillsStreet Business Partnerships, third bullet
What other kind of training did the Zambia program give?
through business training, life skills training and access to credit
Question says → Passage says
business training, ___ training, access to creditbusiness training, life skills training and access to credit
Why: The table copies the list in the same order, so the gap is the item between 'business training' and 'access to credit': 'life skills'.
The trap: Don't add 'training' to your answer. It's printed after the gap already.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 9-12
How to attack this block: These statements match the 'Lessons learned' bullets in order. The two NOs contradict absolute words ('any', 'only one'), while the NOT GIVEN is about money for families, which the passage never mentions.
Question 9
Answer: NOLessons learned, first bullet
Can any street child run a small business with enough support?
Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone, nor for every street child.
Question says → Passage says
Any street childnor for every street child
Why: The writer says outright that business isn't for every street child, which contradicts 'any street child'. NO.
The trap: The conclusion is very positive about loans, which can push you towards YES. Positive about the scheme doesn't mean it works for every child.
Question 10
Answer: NOT GIVENLessons learned, fourth bullet
Do some families of street children need money from S.K.I.?
There are tremendous advantages to involving parents or guardians in the program, where such relationships exist.
Question says → Passage says
the families of street childrenparents or guardians
Why: The writer talks about involving parents and visiting homes to understand each child's situation. Nothing is said about S.K.I. giving families money. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: Doreen's quote mentions her poor family, so you might infer families need help. But the claim is about S.K.I. supporting families financially, and the writer never says that.
Question 11
Answer: NOLessons learned, fifth bullet
Should each child only ever get one fixed loan?
As the entrepreneurs gain experience, the enterprises can be gradually expanded and consideration can be given to increasing loan amounts.
Question says → Passage says
Only one fixed loanSmall loans are provided initially… increasing loan amounts
Why: 'Initially' implies more loans later, and the writer says loan amounts can increase as the business grows. That contradicts 'only one fixed loan', so NO.
The trap: The fixed range of US$30-$100 can look like a fixed loan. That's the usual size, not a rule that each child gets one loan.
Question 12
Answer: YESLessons learned, last bullet
Do the children repay a bit more than they borrowed?
All S.K.I. programs have charged interest on the loans… Generally the rates have been modest (lower than bank rates).
Question says → Passage says
pay back… more money than they borrowedcharged interest on the loans
slightly morethe rates have been modest
Why: Interest means paying back more than you borrowed, and 'modest' rates make it only slightly more. YES.
The trap: 'Lower than bank rates' sometimes makes people think the children pay back less. It's lower than a bank, but still more than the loan.
Multiple choice
Question 13
How to attack this block: The answer is the last sentence of the conclusion. Loans must come with other kinds of support, so pick the option that puts lending inside something bigger.
Question 13
Answer: AConclusion, last sentence
When do the writers say money should be lent to street children?
credit must be extended in association with other types of support that help participants develop critical life skills as well as productive businesses
Question says → Passage says
only… as part of a wider program of aidmust be extended in association with other types of support
Why: 'Must… in association with other types of support' means loans only work alongside other help. A wider program of aid says that. A.
The trap: D sounds sensible but isn't said. The writers don't set conditions about how realistic projects are. B and C aren't mentioned either.
'Poverty' isn't in the passage. You have to recognise 'the demand for income at home' as poverty, while 'crime' is a decoy from later in the paragraph.
Parents are involved in the program, but nothing says they get money, so it's NOT GIVEN rather than YES.
Words from this passage worth keeping
dearth(Background)
a lack or shortage
exploitative(Background)
using people unfairly for profit
labour-intensive(Background)
needing a lot of physical work
entrepreneurship(Background)
starting and running your own business
abide by(Lessons learned)
follow or obey a rule
fixed assets(Lessons learned)
equipment a business owns and keeps using, such as tools
impoverished(Conclusion)
very poor
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The full Cambridge 4 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 4, Test 3, Reading Passage 1. 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.
The rest of Cambridge 4 Test 3
Passage 1 · Questions 1-13 · You're hereMicro-Enterprise Credit for Street Youth
