++++++++IELTS Reading : True/False/Not Given or Yes/No/Not Given

‘True, False, Not Given’ questions requires you to identify if information in a text is true or not.
You will be given a number of factual statements and you have to check the text to see if they are true or not.
This is probably the most difficult question on the reading paper. ‘Statements’ here mean the questions, not the
text in the main reading article.

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

As you can see above, you will be given a number of factual statements and asked to look at the text and decide
if the statement is true, false or not given.
Common Problems

 The biggest problem here is the ‘not given’ option. Most students are not used to answering questions
like this and it causes them lots of problems because they are not sure what to look for. They also spend
too much time making sure that it is ‘not given’ and this affects the rest of their test.
 Students also fail to understand exactly what each statement means and therefore cannot identify if it is
true or false. Many focus on keywords instead of understanding what the statement as a whole means.
 Another common mistake is identifying keywords in the statements and then trying to find words that
exactly match them in the text. You can do this, but more often the words will be synonyms.
  Finally, some students fail to understand exactly what true, false and not given actually mean and get
confused.
Now let’s look at solving these common problems.
What do TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN mean? 
The most important thing to remember is what the words ‘true’, ‘false’ and ‘not given’ actually mean and
therefore what IELTS wants you to write.

 If the text agrees with or confirms the information in the statement, the answer is TRUE

 If the text contradicts or is the opposite to the information in the statement, the answer is FALSE

 If there is no information or it is impossible to know, the answer is NOT GIVEN

True means that the meaning is the same. It is just similar then it is FALSE. Remember that we are dealing
with factual information so there is no room to say it is similar or nearly the same. 
Lots of students have argued with me during practice and said the statement is true because it ‘kind of’ means
the same. There is no ‘kind of’ with these questions, only facts.
Very important- Just because an answer is NOT GIVEN does not mean there are no words in the statements
that match words in the text. This is something that confuses people, if words match then it must
be TRUE or FALSE, right? Not really. This is not a good way to think about these questions because there
probably will be matching words for NOT GIVEN answers, they just don’t have enough information to answer
the question as a whole.
Top 10 Tips
1. Ignore anything you already know about the topic and don’t make assumptions. Base your answers on
the text only.
2. Identify any words that qualify the statement, for example, some, all, mainly, often, always and
occasionally. These words are there to test if you have read the whole statement because they can
change the meaning. For example, ‘Coca-Cola has always made its drinks in the U.S.A.’ has a different
meaning from ‘Coca-Cola has mainly made its drinks in the U.S.A.’
3. Be careful when you see verbs that qualify statements, such as suggest, claim, believe and know. For
example, ‘The man claimed he was a British citizen,’ and ‘The man is a British citizen’ mean two
different things.
4. There will be at least one of all three answers. If you don’t have at least one ‘true’, ‘false’ or ‘not given’
you have at least one answer wrong.
5. Don’t skim and scan the text to find the final answer. You will have to read the appropriate part of the
text very carefully in order to understand what the author means.
 6. Don’t look for words that exactly match those in the statements. You should also look for synonyms.
Remember that you are matching meaning, not words.
7. If you can’t find the information you are looking for, then it is probably ‘not given’. Don’t waste time
looking for something that is not there.
8. If you have no idea what the answer is put ‘not given’. You probably have no idea because the answer is
not there.
9. Answers are in the same order they appear in the text. Do not waste time going back. Keep on reading.
10. YES/NO/NOT GIVEN questions are slightly different because they deal with opinion.
TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN questions deal with facts.
True, False, Not Given Strategy 
This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use the one you feel
comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.
1. Always read the instructions carefully and make sure you know if it is a TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN or
YES/NO/NOT GIVEN question.
2. Read all the statements carefully, trying to understand what the whole sentence means rather than simply
highlighting keywords. Watch out for qualifying words such as some or always. 
3. Try to think of what synonyms might be in the text. This will help you identify the matching part of the
text.
4. Match the statement with the correct part of the text.
5. Focus on the statement again and then carefully read the matching part of the text to establish if it is true
or false. Remember the meaning should exactly match that of the statement if it is true.
6. Underline the words that give you the answer, this will help you focus and you can check back later.
Again, be careful there are no qualifying words in the text.
7. If you can’t find the answer, mark it as ‘not given’ and move on to the next question.
8. If you are really unsure or can’t find the answer, mark it as ‘not given’.

One IELTS Reading True False Not Given Exercise

Now you can practice this with these IELTS Reading True False Not Given Exercises.
It's not quite the same as a real reading test from IELTS because you are given the question under each
paragraph. This means that the skimming element is missing from this IELTS Reading True False Not Given
Exercise. 
In the real test of course, the reading is separate from the questions. The point of it is so you can focus instead
on analysing the statement and text and decide on the correct answer.
The reading is about how women in Sudan are taking weight gaining pills in order to make themselves more
attractive. 

The Quest for Beauty

Question 1
While skin bleaching is a long-standing cosmetic staple across Sudan, a newer craze is sweeping the nation.
Many young women are turning to prescription pills in order to gain weight, and hopefully gain the curvaceous
figures they see as the standard of beauty. Away from the regulation of trained pharmacists, fattening pills are
illegally dispensed by the same small shops which sell topical bleaching creams and other popular beauty fixes.
Sold individually, in small bags and emptied sweet containers, they are completely devoid of any information
about medical risks.
1. People do not get any information about the dangers to their health when they purchase unregulated
weight gain pills.

  True
  False
  Not Given

Question 2
It is difficult to estimate how many women in Sudan use these products to gain weight, because many are
reluctant to admit to it. "Pills are handed out in the village like penny sweets," says Imitithal Ahmed, a student
at the University of Khartoum. "I've always been scared to use them because I've seen family members fall ill
and close friends become dependent on appetite stimulants. My aunt is on the brink of kidney failure and has
blocked arteries from taking too many fattening pills, trying to get a bigger bum. Everyone in the family knows
why she's sick, but she won't own up to it. She's had to stop taking the pills on doctor's orders."
2. Since a large number of women in Sudan are not willing to reveal that they take the pills, the exact
number of women using them is not known.

  True
  False
  Not Given

Question 3
Pills are often rebranded and given catchy street names which allude to their effects. From The Neighbours'
Shock to Chicken Thighs and My Mama Suspects, the clinical name of pills are forgotten and replaced by
promises of a bigger bottom, shapely thighs and a belly that will have your mother concerned that you might be
pregnant. Tablets range from standard appetite stimulants to allergy medicines containing the steroid hormone,
cortisone. The side-effects of taking cortisone are now a cash cow for pill peddlers. It is known to slow the
metabolism, increase appetite, trigger water retention and create extra deposits of fat around the abdomen and
face.
3. Promoting the clinical name of the pills helps the sellers to focus on the weight gaining aspects
associated with them.
   True
  False
  Not Given

Question 4
(This question is again from paragraph three, so take a look at it again above)
4. Those selling the pills are making more money on them than other types of pills.

  True
  False
  Not Given
 

Question 5
Using unregulated steroids without supervision can damage the heart, liver, kidneys and thyroid, says Dr Salah
Ibrahim, Head of the Pharmacists' Union in Sudan. He explains that cortisone is a naturally occurring hormone
in the body, helping to regulate vital bodily functions. But when a man-made, concentrated version enters the
body in the form of pills or topical bleaching creams, the brain gives the body a signal to stop production. If a
user suddenly stops taking the substance, their major organs can spiral into dysfunction.
5. The body's cortisone production will eventually return to normal once a person stops taking the pills.

  True
  False
  Not Given

Question 6
Young women in Sudan are dying from kidney and heart failure caused by sudden steroid withdrawal, medical
professionals say. Fatalities are especially common among new brides, who traditionally undergo a month of
intense beautification prior to their wedding day and then abruptly stop using fattening pills and steroidal
bleaching creams. Their deaths are put down to sudden organ failure. 
6. Intense usage in the month after marriage followed by sudden withdrawal is resulting in a high death
rate for newly wed women.

  True
  False
  Not Given

Question 7
Yet these horrifying beauty trends continue to gain traction. Prescription pill abuse is taking off in Sudan's
conservative society, partly because it lacks the social stigma and pungent, giveaway odour of alcohol and
cannabis. University students flock to buy the potent painkiller Tramadol, which is sold for 20 Sudanese pounds
($1; 80 pence) per pill. Some of Khartoum's roadside tea-sellers are even known to drop the painkiller in a cup
of tea, upon a coded request.
7. Sudanise society does not view the absue of prescription pills as negatively as it does other drugs such
as alcohol and cannabis.

  True
  False
  Not Given

Question 8
Awareness campaigns have so far had very little impact. Dr Ibrahim, Head of the Pharmacists Union, has made
numerous appearances on national television to warn of the dangers of prescription pill abuse. At university
level, pharmacists are taught vigilance and trained to act in keeping with ethics and pharmaceutical law. But in a
country where pharmacists and doctors are paid very little, the temptation to sell pills to illegal vendors is
overwhelming for some. "Last time I went to the beauty shop I go to for my creams, the shop owner brought out
a chocolate box full of different fattening pills," says Ms Ahmed, the Khartoum student. "Girls are too scared to
ask pharmacists and doctors about the pills they buy from beauty shops, for fear of being publicly shamed."
8. Awareness campaigns are becoming common on national television.

  True
  False
  Not Given

Question 9
(This question is again from the above paragraph, so take a look at it again)
9. The low pay of doctors and pharmacists contributes to the problem of weight pill abuse.

  True
  False
  Not Given

Question 10
Police may arrest traders and block smuggling routes, but the profits for rogue pharmacists keep growing
regardless. Fattening pills are poured into the black market, deemed to be the lesser evil. Sudan isn't the only
African society where being overweight is a symbol of prosperity and power, boosting the "marriageability" of
young women. But in this country, it embodies an ideal. It defines the ultimate Sudanese woman - full-bodied
and light-skinned - epitomising beauty and coveted as a wife. The iconic status of Nada Algalaa, a Sudanese
singer whose looks are widely praised and emulated, is testament in itself. For some women, it is an ideal to be
acquired by any means necessary.
10. Being overweight is a sign of prosperity and power throughout African countries.

  True
  False
  Not Given
PRACTICE 1
Read the text and answer the questions below.
The largest thing in the universe
More than ten years ago, while taking the temperature of the universe, astronomers found something odd. They
discovered that a patch of sky, spanning the width of 20 moons, was unusually cold. 
The astronomers were measuring the thermal radiation that bathes the entire universe, a glowing relic of the big
bang. To gaze at this cosmic microwave background, or CMB, is to glimpse the primordial 1 universe, a time
when it was less than 400,000 years old.
The CMB blankets the sky, and looks pretty much the same everywhere, existing at a feebly cold temperature
of 2.725 kelvins - just a couple degrees warmer than absolute zero. But armed with the newly launched WMAP
satellite, the astronomers had set out to probe temperature variations as tiny as one part in 100,000. Born from
the quantum froth that was the universe a half-moment after the big bang, those random fluctuations help
scientists understand what the cosmos is made of and how it all came to be. 
And standing out amidst those fluctuations was a cold spot. Over the years, astronomers have come up with all
sorts of ideas to explain it, ranging from instrumental error to parallel universes. But now, they're homing in on
a prime suspect: an enormous cavern of emptiness called a cosmic supervoid, so big that it might be the largest
structure in the universe. 
According to theory, such a vast void, in which nary a star or galaxy exists, can leave a frigid imprint on the
CMB. The answer to the mystery, then, might simply be a whole lot of nothing. Yet puzzles remain, and the
case is far from closed. 

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 1–5, chose
TRUE                          if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE                        if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN               if there is no information on this
1. Astronomers often find something odd on the sky.                                
2. The CMB is the thermal radiation across the entire universe.                                
 3. The CMB varies from extremely low to very high temperatures.                                
4. Investigation of fluctuations of temperature in the space help scientists to understand what the cosmos is
made of.                              
5. The cosmic supervoid is the largest structure in the universe.      
                          
PRACTICE 2
Read the text and answer the questions below.
The hottest month
According to the Met Office, the UK had its warmest July day ever on July 1, when temperatures hit 36.7 C
near London. There were record heat waves in many countries including Spain, while the African continent had
the second-warmest July on record. 
While the impact of increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a key driver of rising temperatures,
another important factor is El Nino. This natural phenomenon, which appears as a large swathe of warm water
in the Pacific every few years, is known to push up global temperatures. 
In recent days there have been reports that this year's El Nino will be particularly intense. As a result, many
experts believe that 2015 will be the warmest year on record by some margin. 
The seas have also been soaking up a large amount of heat, the NOAA said, with record warming in large
expanses of the Pacific and Indian Oceans 
Peter Stott, head of climate monitoring and attribution at the UK Met Office, said: "A strong El Nino is under
way in the tropical Pacific and this, combined with the long-term global warming trend, means there is the
potential to see some very warm months throughout this year - as the new figures for July appear to show. 

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage? 
1. Africa had the warmest July day ever on July 1.                                
2. The temperature is rising due to the increased level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
3. 2015 might be the hottest year in the history.                                
4. Record warming was recorded in various seas, such as Black and Azov Sea.                             
5. The year 2015 might very well consist of a number of very warm months.                             

PRACTICE 3
Is there such a thing as Canadian English? If so, what is it?
The standard stereotype among Americans is that Canadians are like Americans, except they say ‘eh’ a lot and
pronounce ‘out and about’ as ‘oot and aboot’. Many Canadians, on the other hand, will tell you that Canadian
English is more like British English, and as proof will hold aloft the spellings colour and centre and the name
zed for the letter Z. 
Canadian does exist as a separate variety of British English, with subtly distinctive features of pronunciation
and vocabulary. It has its own dictionaries; the Canadian Press has its own style guide; the Editors’ Association
of Canada has just released a second edition of Editing Canadian English. But an emblematic feature of Editing
Canadian English is comparison tables of American versus British spellings so the Canadian editor can come to
a reasonable decision on which to use… on each occasion. The core of Canadian English is a pervasive
ambivalence. 
Canadian history helps to explain this. In the beginning there were the indigenous people, with far more
linguistic and cultural variety than Europe. They’re still there, but Canadian English, like Canadian Anglophone
society in general, gives them little more than desultory token nods. Fights between European settlers shaped
Canadian English more. The French, starting in the 1600s, colonised the St Lawrence River region and the
Atlantic coast south of it. In the mid-1700s, England got into a war with France, concluding with the Treaty of
Paris in 1763, which ceded ‘New France’ to England. The English allowed any French to stay who were willing
to become subjects of the English King. 
At the time of the Treaty of Paris, however, there were very few English speakers in Canada. The American
Revolution changed that. The founding English-speaking people of Canada were United Empire Loyalists –
people who fled American independence and were rewarded with land in Canada. Thus Canadian English was,
from its very beginning, both American – because its speakers had come from the American colonies – and not
American, because they rejected the newly independent nation. 
Just as the Americans sought to have a truly distinct, independent American version of English, the loyalists
sought to remain more like England… sort of. These were people whose variety of English was already
diverging from the British and vice versa: when the residents of London and its environs began to drop their r’s
and change some of their vowels people in certain parts of the United States adopted some of these changes, but
Canadians did not. 

1. Canadian English is considered more like British English by Canadians

2. According to the second paragraph, Canadian English is pretty similar to British, with some minor
differences.                             
3. The St Lawrence River was colonised by Canadians in 1600.                              
4. Canadian English is considered neither American nor not American
 5. The fifth paragraph states that many English-speaking countries adopted changes in pronunciation.       

PRACTICE 4
Education in Britain
Most children in Britain start primary school at the age of five, although some may attend nursery school or pre-
school playgroup before that.  State schools in this country are free, and education is compulsory for all children
- they must attend between the ages of five and sixteen.  At the age of 11, most will go to a secondary school
known as a comprehensive.  These are usually co-educational, which means that boys and girls are taught
together.
At the age of 16, students take the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations, and they
are then free to leave school if they wish.  If they prefer to continue, they can do so at their secondary school or
they may join a special sixth-form college where they will prepare for 'A' levels.  There are more advanced level
examinations than the GCSE.  'A' levels are necessary for any student who wants to join a university.  For less
academic students, there are colleges of further education where they can learn skills such as hairdressing,
cookery or mechanics.
Students who attend university will study for a degree.  They are accepted from the age of 18, although many
choose to take a 'gap year', postponing the start of university to go travelling.  A first degree - Bachelor of Arts
(BA) or Bachelor of Science (BSc) - normally takes three years of full time study.
Some of these students may go on to take a one-year Master's course, and those who want to reach the highest
level of study will take a doctorate.
Questions 1-8
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? 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
1. Many British families don't have to pay for their child's education.             .....NG.........
2. Most secondary schools are co-educational.                                              .....T.........
3. Most children leave school at 16.                                                                ..NG............
4. Student's prepare for GCSEs at sixth-form colleges                                   ....F..........
5. Students need 'A' levels to attend a university.                                           ....T..........
6. Many students delay the start of their degree to go travelling.                    .....T.........
 7. A master's degree takes longer than a bachelor's degree                          ........F......
8. It takes six years in total to get a doctorate.                                                ....NG..........

PRACTICE 5
The Boys of Summer, the Men of Fall
'Ageing is sports-specific,' says Waneen Spirdusa, a researcher in human movement at the University of Texas,
because excellence in any sport depends on three ingredients - power, endurance, and good nerves - and these
components deteriorate at diffferent rates.
Weightlifting, rowing, and wrestling all require short bursts of great strength, the ability least affected by
ageing.  The muscle cells which make up the tissue responsible for strength die off with the passing years but so
slowly as to make little difference until the age of 50 or beyond.  Forty-year-old rowers can therefore remain
competitive with 25-year-olds.
To fuel muscles for longer events, the body relies on oxygen.  The sooner oxygen reaches muscles, the better
the performance.  But with age, the lungs lose elasticity and take in less oxygen.
Beginning at 30, oxygen capacity decreases 5-10% per decade.  This makes a mahor difference to cyclists,
swimmers, and runners.
The third of the athletic components, good nerves, underlies gymnastics and field events, which require perfect
balance.  Because neurons start to deteriorate in the 20s, you don't see many world class gymnasts over 20. 
Nerves are also crucial in sprints, triple jump, and hurdles.  That's why most track stars are past their prime by
their mid to late 20s.  Ageing takes its biggest toll in the sprints and jumps where you need a quick reaction
time.
Questions 1 - 5
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? 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
1. The muscle cells responsible for strength begin to die off when we are 50.            ..............................
2. A 40 year old rower is just as likely to win a race as a younger rower.                  ...............................
3. According to research, the best anti-ageing tonic is the mind.                                ..............................
4. The oxygen capacity of the lungs is reduced by 5-10 percent every year. ……………………
5. Athletes in the sprints and jumps are worst affected by ageing.                          ................................