Pulling strings to build pyramids: reading answers and analysis
Maureen Clemmons spotted an Egyptian picture that looked like men using a kite, and wondered if kites helped build the pyramids. Professor Gharib and his student used a kite and pulleys to raise a heavy stone column in a gentle wind. The theory remains unproven, but kites might be useful for construction today.
The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements (1-7) run in passage order from the opening to Gharib's conclusion. The summary (8-13) is entirely in the paragraph that gives the extra evidence for the theory.
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: Two FALSE answers depend on small details: where Clemmons saw the picture, and how strong the wind actually was. Two are NOT GIVEN: Gharib's past research and what happened to the force as the kite rose. The passage only describes the jerk when the kite first opened.
Question 1
Answer: TRUEParagraph 1, second sentence
Is the usual view that the pyramids needed huge numbers of workers?
The conventional picture is that tens of thousands of slaves dragged stones on sledges.
Question says → Passage says
It is generally believedThe conventional picture is
large numbers of peopletens of thousands of slaves
Why: 'Conventional picture' = what is generally believed, and 'tens of thousands' = large numbers. TRUE.
The trap: The next sentence says there's no evidence for this. That doesn't change the fact that it's the common belief, which is all the statement claims.
Question 2
Answer: FALSEParagraph 1, fourth sentence
Did Clemmons see the hieroglyph on a monument wall?
While perusing a book on the monuments of Egypt, she noticed a hieroglyph that showed a row of men standing in odd postures.
Question says → Passage says
found a strange hieroglyphnoticed a hieroglyph… in odd postures
on the wall of an Egyptian monumenta book on the monuments of Egypt
Why: She found it in a book about the monuments, not on a monument itself. The place contradicts the statement, so FALSE.
The trap: The word 'monuments' is in both, which makes TRUE tempting. Read what she was actually looking at: a book.
Question 3
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 2
Had Gharib done bird-flight experiments before?
'Coming from Iran, I have a keen interest in Middle Eastern science,' he says. He too was puzzled by the picture
Question says → Passage says
GharibMorteza Gharib, aeronautics professor
Why: We learn Gharib is an aeronautics professor with an interest in Middle Eastern science. Nothing is said about earlier experiments on birds. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: He notices the 'bird' has wings too short and wide, which sounds like expert knowledge of bird flight. That's an observation, not past research.
Question 4
Answer: TRUEParagraph 3, second sentence
Did Gharib and Graff test their idea before the real attempt?
Their initial calculations and scale-model wind-tunnel experiments convinced them they wouldn't need a strong wind to lift the 33.5-tonne column.
Question says → Passage says
tested their theoryscale-model wind-tunnel experiments
before applying itinitial
Why: 'Initial' calculations and scale-model experiments came before the full-size test described in the next paragraph. TRUE.
Question 5
Answer: FALSEParagraph 5, first sentence
Did the experiment work because the wind was strong?
The wind was blowing at a gentle 16 to 20 kilometres an hour, little more than half what they thought would be needed.
Question says → Passage says
the high speed of the winda gentle 16 to 20 kilometres an hour
Why: The wind was gentle, only about half what they expected to need. The success came from the huge initial jerk when the kite opened. FALSE.
The trap: 'A huge force was generated' in Paragraph 4 might suggest a strong wind. The force came from the sail opening, not from wind speed.
Question 6
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 5, third sentence
Did the wind force get stronger as the kite went higher?
'There was a huge initial force - five times larger than the steady state force,' Gharib says.
Question says → Passage says
the wind forcea huge initial force
Why: The passage only compares the force when the kite opened with the steady force afterwards. It never says how the force changed with height. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: The force did change, so FALSE or TRUE both look possible. But the change described is about timing (initial vs steady), not height.
Question 7
Answer: TRUEParagraph 5, middle
Did the team conclude kites could lift very heavy stones?
This jerk meant that kites could lift huge weights, Gharib realised. Even a 300-tonne column could have been lifted to the vertical
Question says → Passage says
decided that it was possibleGharib realised / could have been lifted
very heavy stoneshuge weights / a 300-tonne column
Why: Gharib concluded kites could lift huge weights, even a 300-tonne column. TRUE.
The trap: Gharib also says whether the Egyptians actually did it is 'another matter'. The statement is only about whether it's possible, not whether it happened.
Summary completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
Questions 8-13
How to attack this block: Every gap is in the paragraph starting with 'Others feel', and the summary follows its order. Copy nouns exactly: the material of the blocks, the Egyptians' sailing skill, the object found at Saqqara, the idea they were developing and what the Chinese sent with kites. Check you haven't gone over two words.
Question 8
Answer: wooden pulleysParagraph 7, third sentence
Also accepted: pulleys
What lifting equipment did the Egyptians have?
And they are known to have used wooden pulleys, which could have been made strong enough to bear the weight of massive blocks of stone.
Question says → Passage says
The Egyptians hadthey are known to have used
which could lift large pieceswhich could have been made strong enough to bear the weight
Why: The gap is followed by 'which could lift', so it's a noun for equipment. 'Wooden pulleys' fits within two words; 'pulleys' alone is also accepted.
Question 9
Answer: stoneParagraph 7, third sentence
What material were the large pieces made of?
strong enough to bear the weight of massive blocks of stone
Question says → Passage says
large pieces ofmassive blocks of
Why: 'Large pieces of' replaces 'massive blocks of', so the gap is the word after it: stone. Keep it singular, as in the passage.
The trap: Writing 'blocks' repeats the idea the summary already gives with 'pieces'. The gap wants the material.
Question 10
Answer: accomplished sailorsParagraph 7, second sentence
Also accepted: sailors
What skill gave the Egyptians knowledge of wind power?
Harnessing the wind would not have been a problem for accomplished sailors like the Egyptians.
Question says → Passage says
use the energy of the windHarnessing the wind
from their skill asaccomplished sailors
Why: 'Skill as ___' needs a plural noun for people. 'Accomplished sailors' is exactly two words; 'sailors' is also accepted.
Question 11
Answer: modern gliderParagraph 7, fifth sentence
Also accepted: glider
What did the object found on the pyramid look like?
A wooden artefact found on the step pyramid at Saqqara looks uncannily like a modern glider.
Question says → Passage says
an object which resembled aA wooden artefact… looks uncannily like a
discovery on one pyramidfound on the step pyramid at Saqqara
Why: 'Resembled' = 'looks like'. The object looks like a modern glider, which is two words; 'glider' alone is accepted too.
The trap: 'Kite' is the topic of the passage, but the artefact is compared to a glider, not a kite.
Question 12
Answer: flightParagraph 7, sixth sentence
What might the Egyptians have been experimenting with?
its sophistication suggests that the Egyptians might have been developing ideas of flight for a long time
Question says → Passage says
may have experimented withmight have been developing ideas of
Why: The gap follows 'experimented with', and the passage says 'developing ideas of flight'. The noun is flight.
The trap: 'Kites' fits the grammar but isn't what this sentence says. The glider suggests ideas of flight in general.
Question 13
Answer: messagesParagraph 7, last sentence
Besides attacking enemies, what did the Chinese use kites to send?
as early as 1250 BC, the Chinese were using them to deliver messages and dump flaming debris on their foes
Question says → Passage says
over two thousand years agoas early as 1250 BC
sendingdeliver
as weaponsdump flaming debris on their foes
Why: 'Sending' = 'deliver', and what was delivered was messages. The weapon use is the flaming debris, already covered in the summary.
The trap: 'Debris' is the other thing in the sentence, but that's the weapon part, which the summary has already used.
The gap is a material after 'large pieces of', so the answer is 'stone', not 'blocks' or 'massive blocks'.
Words from this passage worth keeping
perusing(Paragraph 1)
reading or looking through
intrigued(Paragraph 2)
very interested and curious
magnify(Paragraph 3)
make bigger or stronger
rigged up(Paragraph 3)
set up quickly using available materials
reckon with(Paragraph 5)
take into account, expect
harnessing(Paragraph 7)
controlling and using a natural force
uncannily(Paragraph 7)
strangely, surprisingly
artefact(Paragraph 7)
an object made by people long ago
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 7 Test 4 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 7, Test 4, 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.
