Striking Back at Lightning With Lasers: reading answers and analysis
Researchers in the US and Japan want to use lasers to discharge thunderclouds before lightning strikes. Rockets trailing wires already trigger lightning for research but are costly, unreliable and unsafe, so Jean-Claude Diels is developing a laser that guides lightning down a path of ionised air, though it is still too big and needs funding.
The multiple choice (1-3) covers the passage overall and paragraphs 1, 3 and 5. The sentences (4-6) and the summary (7-10) follow paragraphs 3 to 7 in order. The YES / NO / NOT GIVEN statements (11-13) are in paragraphs 8 and 9.
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: Q1 asks for the main topic, so think about the whole passage, not the rockets section. Q2's distractors twist the numbers in paragraph 1: check where the 500 people are and what the $100 million measures. Q3 asks what links two universities, so look for who backs each one.
Question 1
Answer: DWhole passage, especially Paragraphs 5-10
What is the passage mainly about?
Diels is leading a project, which is backed by EPRI, to try to use lasers to discharge lightning safely
Question says → Passage says
a laser techniqueuse lasers to discharge lightning safely
trying to control lightning strikesdischarge thunderclouds before lightning can strike
Why: The title already says 'with lasers', and from paragraph 5 to the end everything is about Diels's laser system: how it works, its size problem, its funding and its future uses. That's D.
The trap: C, 'a variety of methods', is the strongest distractor because rockets are described too. But rockets appear mainly to show why they aren't good enough, so the passage is about one method, not several.
Question 2
Answer: AParagraph 1
What does lightning do every year, according to the passage?
Their electrical fury inflicts death or serious injury on around 500 people each year in the United States alone… And there is damage to property too.
Question says → Passage says
considerable damage to buildingsdamage to property / Lightning damage costs American power companies more than $100 million a year
Why: Paragraph 1 lists harm to people and then 'damage to property too', with a $100 million bill for power companies alone. Property includes buildings, so A is the safe answer.
The trap: C and D each twist a number. The 500 people are in the United States alone, not worldwide. And $100 million is money, not 100 power companies. B is wrong because golfers are only one example, not the main victims.
Question 3
Answer: AParagraphs 3 and 5
What do the Florida and New Mexico researchers have in common?
a test site in Florida run by the University of Florida, with support from the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI)… Diels is leading a project, which is backed by EPRI
Question says → Passage says
receive funds from the same sourcewith support from the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) / which is backed by EPRI
Why: The Florida rocket site has 'support from' EPRI, and Diels's New Mexico project is 'backed by EPRI'. Same backer, so A.
The trap: B is wrong because Florida uses rockets and New Mexico uses lasers. C is tempting because EPRI is funded by power companies, but the researchers work for universities, not for commercial companies.
Sentence completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
Questions 4-6
How to attack this block: Each gap has a grammar clue. The second sentence needs an adverb after 'used', so the noun 'safety' won't fit. The third points you to the subheading about the stumbling block, not to the later funding problem.
Question 4
Answer: power companiesParagraph 3, fourth sentence
Who funds EPRI?
EPRI, which is funded by power companies, is looking at ways to protect the United States' power grid
Question says → Passage says
receives financial support fromis funded by
Why: 'Financial support' is 'funding'. EPRI is funded by power companies, which is exactly two words.
The trap: 'American power companies' in paragraph 1 is three words, over the limit. 'Power grid' is what EPRI protects, not who funds it.
Question 5
Answer: safelyParagraph 5, third sentence
What is the advantage of Diels's technique?
to try to use lasers to discharge lightning safely and safety is a basic requirement
Question says → Passage says
The advantage of the techniquesafety is a basic requirement
can be useduse lasers to discharge lightning safely
Why: After 'can be used' you need an adverb, and the passage gives one: safely. Unlike rockets, which have to come back down, the laser doesn't put people or equipment at risk.
The trap: 'Safety' is a noun and doesn't fit after 'used'. Check the grammar of the sentence before you copy the word.
Question 6
Answer: sizeParagraph 7
What is the main problem with the laser equipment?
The laser is no nifty portable: it's a monster that takes up a whole room. Diels is trying to cut down the size
Question says → Passage says
main difficultya big stumbling block
related to itstakes up a whole room… cut down the size
Why: The subheading 'A stumbling block' leads you here. The laser fills a whole room, and Diels is working to cut down its size. One noun fills the gap: size.
The trap: Cost is a problem too (paragraph 8 needs $5 million), so some write 'cost' or 'price'. But the paragraph that names the stumbling block is about the laser's size.
Summary completion (word list A-I)
Questions 7-10
How to attack this block: Most of the summary comes from one paragraph about how the laser works. Several words in the box (ions, conductors, cloud-zappers) are in the same sentences but play a different role, so check what each gap is doing: a source of electrons, a target, a comparison or a first stop for the beam.
Question 7
Answer: BParagraph 6, first sentence
What does the laser take electrons out of?
high-powered lasers were revealing their ability to extract electrons out of atoms and create ions
Question says → Passage says
removing electrons fromextract electrons out of
Why: 'Removing' paraphrases 'extract', so the word after 'out of' is the answer: atoms (B).
The trap: F, ions, is in the same sentence. Ions are what you get after the electrons are removed, not where the electrons come from.
Question 8
Answer: CParagraph 6, second sentence
Where is the laser pointed in order to control electric charges?
If a laser could generate a line of ionisation in the air all the way up to a storm cloud, this conducting path could be used to guide lightning to Earth
Question says → Passage says
directed atall the way up to a storm cloud
control electrical chargesguide lightning to Earth
Why: The line of ionisation reaches up to the storm cloud and lets the lightning travel down safely. The laser's target is the storm clouds, C.
The trap: D, mirrors, is also something the laser is directed at, but that's the last gap. In this sentence the summary is about the final target in the sky.
Question 9
Answer: GParagraphs 4-5
Which method is the laser safer than?
who would want to fire streams of rockets in a populated area? 'What goes up must come down,'
Question says → Passage says
less dangerous than usingwho would want to fire streams of rockets in a populated area
Why: Rockets are the other method in the passage, and their danger is spelled out: they fall back down in populated areas. Lasers are presented as the safe alternative, so G.
The trap: A, cloud-zappers, is just another name for the laser gun itself, so it can't be what the laser is safer than.
Question 10
Answer: DParagraph 6, middle
What do the beams hit first to protect the laser?
To stop the laser itself being struck, it would not be pointed straight at the clouds. Instead it would be directed at a mirror, and from there into the sky.
Question says → Passage says
As a protection for the lasersTo stop the laser itself being struck
aimed firstly atdirected at a mirror, and from there into the sky
Why: The laser is aimed at a mirror first, and the mirror sends the beam into the sky. That keeps the lightning from striking the laser. D.
The trap: H, conductors, is in the next sentence, but the lightning conductors protect the mirror. The beam isn't aimed at them.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 11-13
How to attack this block: All three are about money and interest. Read who is interested and who has paid. The power companies are keen but haven't provided the full amount, and forecasters are never asked their opinion.
Question 11
Answer: NOParagraph 8, second and third sentences
Have the power companies already given Diels enough money?
But they have not yet come up with the $5 million that EPRI says will be needed to develop a commercial system
Question says → Passage says
have given Diels enough moneyhave not yet come up with the $5 million
Why: The power companies are interested but haven't yet provided the $5 million needed. Bernstein confirms it: 'I cannot say I have money yet'. The statement says the opposite, so NO.
The trap: '$500,000 invested so far' in paragraph 5 makes some think the money is there. That's what's been spent on the lab system, not the amount needed to develop it.
Question 12
Answer: YESParagraph 8, fourth and fifth sentences
Does getting money for better lasers depend on the tests in real storms?
He reckons that the forthcoming field tests will be the turning point… Bernstein predicts 'an avalanche of interest and support' if all goes well.
Question says → Passage says
tests in real stormsthe forthcoming field tests / test this more manageable system on live thunderclouds
obtaining moneyan avalanche of interest and support
will depend onwill be the turning point… if all goes well
Why: The field tests on live thunderclouds are the 'turning point', and support will pour in 'if all goes well'. Funding depends on the tests going well. YES.
Question 13
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 9
Are weather forecasters very interested in Diels's system?
Diels also hopes to see the birth of 'interactive meteorology' - not just forecasting the weather but controlling it.
Question says → Passage says
weather forecastersforecasting the weather
Why: The passage says the power companies are very interested. Forecasting is mentioned only in Diels's own hope for 'interactive meteorology'. Nothing says what forecasters think, so NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'Lots of interest' does appear in paragraph 8, so people answer YES. Read who's interested: the power companies, not weather forecasters.
Rockets take up a lot of space, so C ('a variety of methods') is tempting. They're there to show why lasers are needed; the passage is about the laser technique (D).
'Lots of interest' is from the power companies. Forecasting appears only in Diels's hopes, so forecasters' views are NOT GIVEN.
Words from this passage worth keeping
inflicts(Paragraph 1)
causes something harmful to happen to someone
armoury(Paragraph 2)
a collection of weapons or tools
neutralising(Paragraph 2)
stopping something from having an effect
bears up(Paragraph 3)
copes under pressure
stumbling block(Paragraph 7)
a problem that stops progress
in the offing(Paragraph 7)
likely to happen soon
forthcoming(Paragraph 8)
about to happen
torrential(Paragraph 10)
very heavy (of rain)
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 8 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 8, 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 8 Test 3
Passage 1 · Questions 1-13 · You're hereStriking Back at Lightning With Lasers
