Cambridge IELTS Academic 19 Reading Test 1 Answers with Explanation / IELTS Reading: How tennis rackets have changed,The pirates of the ancient Mediterranean,The persistence & peril of misinformation

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 .

How tennis rackets have changed

Question Number	Question	Keywords	Answer	Location with Line Number	Explanation
1	People had expected Andy Murray to become the world’s top tennis player for at least five years before 2016.	expected, Andy Murray, top tennis player	FALSE	Paragraph 1, Lines 2-4	The text mentions that Murray was considered a talented outsider before 2011, not someone expected to be the top player for five years.
2	The change that Andy Murray made to his rackets attracted a lot of attention.	change, Andy Murray, rackets, attention	FALSE	Paragraph 2, Lines 3-5	The text says the change was "subtle" and "passed more or less unnoticed."
3	Most of the world’s top players take a professional racket stringer on tour with them.	top players, professional racket stringer, on tour	NOT GIVEN	Not directly mentioned	There is no specific mention of most top players taking a professional racket stringer on tour.
4	Mike and Bob Bryan use rackets that are light in comparison to the majority of rackets.	Mike and Bob Bryan, rackets, light, majority	FALSE	Paragraph 4, Lines 3-4	The text mentions that their rackets weigh more than the average model.
5	Werner Fischer played with a spaghetti-strung racket that he designed himself.	Werner Fischer, spaghetti-strung racket, designed himself	NOT GIVEN	Not directly mentioned	It’s not stated that Fischer designed the racket himself, only that he played with it.
6	The weather can affect how professional players adjust the strings on their rackets.	weather, affect, adjust strings, professional players	TRUE	Paragraph 6, Line 5	The text mentions that professional players change strings depending on various factors, including climatic conditions.
7	It was believed that the change Pete Sampras made to his rackets contributed to his strong serve.	Pete Sampras, change, rackets, strong serve	TRUE	Paragraph 7, Lines 1-2	It’s stated that Pete Sampras’s added lead weights contributed to his serving power.
8	Mike and Bob Bryan made changes to the types of _____ used on their racket frames.	Mike and Bob Bryan, racket frames, changes	paint	Paragraph 4, Lines 2-3	They made changes to the types of paint used on their racket frames.
9	Players were not allowed to use the spaghetti-strung racket because of the amount of _____ it created.	spaghetti-strung racket, allowed, amount	topspin	Paragraph 5, Lines 1-2	The spaghetti-strung racket generated so much topspin that it was banned.
10	Changes to rackets can be regarded as being as important as players’ diets or the _____ they do.	changes, rackets, important, diets, _____	training	Paragraph 5, Lines 3-4	The text compares racket modifications to nutrition or training in importance.
11	All rackets used to have natural strings made from the _____ of animals.	rackets, natural strings, animals	intestines/gut	Paragraph 6, Line 2	The text mentions natural gut strings made from the outer layer of sheep or cow intestines.
12	Pete Sampras had metal _____ put into the frames of his rackets.	Pete Sampras, metal, frames, rackets	weights	Paragraph 7, Line 1	It mentions that Pete Sampras added metal lead weights to his rackets.
13	Gonçalo Oliveira changed the _____ on his racket handles.	Gonçalo Oliveira, changed, racket handles	grips	Paragraph 7, Line 3	It mentions that Gonçalo Oliveira replaced the original grips of his rackets.

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 .

The pirates of the ancient Mediterranean

Question Number	Keywords	Answer	Location with Line Number in the Paragraph	Explanation
14	Denial, involvement, piracy	D	Paragraph D, Line 19-21	The king of Alashiya denies any involvement with the Lukka pirates and assures the Pharaoh of punishment for any pirates involved.
15	Campaign, eradicate, piracy	G	Paragraph G, Line 28-35	Pompey’s campaign to eliminate piracy is explained, including the division of the Mediterranean into 13 districts.
16	States, make use, pirates	C	Paragraph C, Line 16-19	States used pirates' services in wartime, employing them to serve in the first wave of attack.
17	Today’s view, pirates	A	Paragraph A, Line 3-5	The common image of pirates today is of adventurers in the Caribbean, as opposed to ancient Mediterranean pirates.
18	Encourage, return, piracy	G	Paragraph G, Line 32-35	Pirates were offered land as an incentive to stop piracy and settle as farmers instead.
19	Sailing vessels, close to land	B	Paragraph B, Line 7-9	In ancient times, sailing vessels had to stay near the coast due to the lack of technology for long-distance travel.
20 & 21	Inhabitants, Mediterranean, piracy	B, D	Paragraph B, Line 10-14, Paragraph D, Line 19-21	B: Locals knew the area so well that they could avoid capture. D: They depended on the sea for their livelihood more than on farming.
22 & 23	Piracy, ancient Greece, officials	C, E	Paragraph E, Line 22-27	C: Important Greek officials were known to occasionally engage in piracy. E: Ancient Greek texts such as the Iliad and Odyssey show a favorable view of piracy.
24	Grain, piracy, Rome	grain	Paragraph F, Line 21-23	The pirates' attacks on grain ships were critical because grain was essential for the Roman population.
25	Action, calls, pirates	punishment	Paragraph F, Line 23-25	Calls for punishment of pirates arose after attacks on Roman grain ships, which were vital for the empire.
26	Pirates, ransom	ransom	Paragraph F, Line 26-28	Pirates demanded ransom for prominent Roman dignitaries, including Julius Caesar, whom they captured.

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 .

The persistence and peril of misinformation

Question Number	Question	Keywords	Answer	Location	Explanation
27	What point does the writer make about misinformation in the first paragraph?	Misinformation, spread	D	Paragraph 1	The writer explains that misinformation may spread for various reasons, such as gaining advantage, motivating others, or accidentally sharing false information.
28	What does the writer say about the role of technology?	Technology, solution	A	Paragraph 2	The writer states that technology might, over time, offer a solution to misinformation, utilizing the same patterns of mass communication that spread it.
29	What is the writer doing in the fourth paragraph?	Misinformation, contemporary issues	C	Paragraph 4	The writer outlines key issues with misinformation today, such as people's tendency to believe it initially, lack of preemptive blocking in media, and the resource-intensive effort needed to correct it.
30	What point does the writer make about regulation in the USA?	Regulation, misinformation	D	Paragraph 5	The writer explains that regulation does not prevent misinformation from appearing in the media, as agencies like the FDA focus on post hoc detection rather than preemptive censorship.
31	Complete the summary: people encounter misinformation	Misinformation, encounter	G	Paragraph 6	The writer mentions "frequent exposure" as a key aspect of encountering misinformation.
32	Complete the summary: Descartes and Spinoza's views	Descartes, Spinoza	J	Paragraph 6	The writer contrasts Descartes’ and Spinoza’s theories on how people engage with information, presenting their "different ideas."
33	Complete the summary: verification and acceptance of misinformation	Verification, acceptance	H	Paragraph 6	The writer explains that a "distinct mental operation" is involved in verifying or rejecting information after initially accepting it.
34	Complete the summary: research supporting Spinoza's theory	Spinoza, research	B	Paragraph 6	The writer notes that recent research provides "additional evidence" for Spinoza’s theory, showing that people accept information as true initially before later labeling it.
35	Complete the summary: time before labeling misinformation as true or false	Misinformation, labeling	E	Paragraph 6	The writer mentions that people accept misinformation as true, even if only for a "short period," before labeling it true or false.
36	Complete the summary: where resources for skepticism are located	Skepticism, resources	C	Paragraph 6	The writer states that skepticism resources and encoding resources are in "different locations" in the brain.
37	Campaigns designed to correct misinformation will fail if people cannot understand them.	Campaigns, understanding	YES	Paragraph 7	The writer asserts that for corrective campaigns to be effective, people must understand the messages.
38	Attempts to teach elementary school students about misinformation have been opposed.	Elementary school, opposition	NOT GIVEN	No reference	No mention of opposition to teaching elementary school students about misinformation is made in the passage.
39	It may be possible to overcome the problem of misinformation in a relatively short period.	Misinformation, solution	NO	Last paragraph	The writer explains that overcoming misinformation will require long-term, coordinated efforts, not a quick solution.
40	The need to keep up with new information is hugely exaggerated in today’s world.	New information, exaggeration	NOT GIVEN	No reference	The passage does not discuss whether the need to keep up with new information is exaggerated.