Ielts part 3 Reading test continued … Filling in the answer sheet

making a contrast on the other hand however but and yet	adding information moreover as well as this in addition furthermore
indicating time since that time previously a year later
giving an example for example such as like	listing opinions and arguments firstly finally in the first place	describing a result that's why therefore so	introducing paraphrasing in other words

Identifying information: Approaching the task

An effective way to approach this type of question is to follow the following stages:

• Identify the key words and phrases in the question.

  
  

• Try and think of synonyms or ways to paraphrase these key words and phrases.

  
  

• Search for the key words and phrases and their synonyms in the text.

  
  

• Read intensively around the key words and phrases in the text to try to find the answer to the question.

  
  

Let's try using the strategy to answer the following questions. Read the instructions and choose the correct answer to each question.
... write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN  if there is no information on this


8 The last of the wild horses lived around 10,000 years ago.

• 
  
  TRUE
  
• 
  
  FALSE
  
• 
  
  NOT GIVEN
  

9 Initially people probably used domesticated horses to supplement their diet.

• 
  
  TRUE
  
• 
  
  FALSE
  
• 
  
  NOT GIVEN
  

10 Methods of artificial selection have changed over the centuries.

• 
  
  TRUE
  
• 
  
  FALSE
  
• 
  
  NOT GIVEN
  

You will notice that sometimes the key words in the questions will appear in the text (e.g. wild horses, 10,000 years ago) and other times synonyms have been used (e.g. initially – first, diet – food).

Explaining the answers

It is important to be able to explain the answers. One way to do this is to show the relevant part of the text with the phrases highlighted.

Let’s look at each of the questions in turn.
8 The last of the wild horses lived around 10,000 years ago.
This was FALSE. Here is the reading text. The highlighted words show you why FALSE is the correct answer.

1
Horses have been racing across the landscape for around 55 million years – much longer than our own species has existed. However, prehistoric remains show that at the end of the Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago, wild horses died out in the Americas and dwindled in western Europe, for reasons that are not clear. But they continued to thrive on the steppes of eastern Europe and Central Asia, where short grasses and shrubs grow on vast, dry stretches of land. Most scholars believe it was here that people domesticated the horse. However, the DNA of domestic horses is very diverse. This suggests they may be descended from a number of different wild horse populations, in several locations.