2.

SHORT ANSWERS
You should answer questions with words taken directly from the text. And you’re given a
word limit (for example: write no more than two words).

The difference is that in sentence completion you obviously have to complete sentences. And in
short-answer questions you may have either to complete sentences or answer questions, for
example:

Eg: Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 5–10 on your answer sheet.

5. Which animal has the most fat? ..................

Useful information about short-answer questions on IELTS Reading:

 You should complete statements or answer questions with words taken from the text.
 You're given a word limit.
 Questions follow the order of the text.

Questions or statements are not simply copied from the text. But they keep the initial
meaning and contain some key words, so you could find the answers in the text.

Note that if you are asked to complete sentence with no more than two words, you can write
one or two words, a three-word answer will be automatically wrong.

Answering strategy:

1. Skim over the text.

2. Read the question and find the paragraph, which is likely to contain the answer. Use key
words to navigate.
3. Read attentively the paragraph you’ve found, searching for the answer.
4. Once you've found the answer, check if it doesn't exceed the word limit.
5. Repeat this strategy with other questions.

If you prefer, you can read the text by passages.

Tips:

 Make sure that your answer doesn't exceed the word limit. It’s super-important.
 The order of questions can help you. Answer for question 4 will be between answers for
questions 3 and 5 in the text.
 If text introduces new terms, some answers are likely to be among them.
Example:

The fattest animals

As the largest animal in the world, the blue whale also has the most fat. In a 1968 study
involving 49 different species of mammal from across the US and Brazil, researchers deduced
that the blue whale had the highest percentage of body fat – more than 35%. With the whales
weighing in at up to 180 tonnes, that’s easily a record-breaking amount of fat for one animal.

But if we look at things proportionally, you might be surprised by some of the world’s full-fat
species. We’ll begin with blubber, the fat rich tissue belonging to marine mammals that has
myriad benefits for streamlining, buoyancy, defence, insulation and energy storage.

In waters further north live bowhead whales. To survive in these frosty, remote waters they
have a layer of blubber almost half a metre thick. In his studies, Dr Craig George found blubber
mass ranged from 43% to 50% of the body mass of yearling whales.

Answer the questions with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS:

1. Which animal has the most fat? Blue whale

2. How is called tissue of marine mammals that is rich with fat? Blubber
3. Which marine animals need a thick layer of fat to survive in cold waters? Bowhead whales

PRACTICE TEST
Exercise 1
Read the text and answer the questions below.
Peanut allergy theory backed up by new research
The effects of eating peanut products as a baby to avoid the risk of allergy have
been backed up by new research. In 2015, a study claimed early exposure to
peanut products could cut the risk of allergy by 80%. Now researchers say "long-
lasting" allergy protection can be sustained - even when the snacks are later
avoided for a year. The New England Journal of Medicine study looked at 550
children deemed prone to developing a peanut allergy. The latest paper builds on
the results of the 2015 research, which was also carried out by King's College
London and marked the first time scientists were able to suggest that exposing
children to small amounts of peanut snacks could stave off an allergy.
The new study suggests that if a child has consumed peanut snacks within the
first 11 months of life, then at the age of five they can afford to stop eating the
food entirely for a year, and maintain no allergy. Lead author Prof Gideon Lack
said: "[The research] clearly demonstrates that the majority of infants did in fact
remain protected and that the protection was long-lasting." He said that part of
the problem was that people lived in a "culture of food fear". "I believe that this
fear of food allergy has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, because the food is
excluded from the diet and, as a result, the child fails to develop tolerance," he
told the BBC News website. The researchers used the same children who took
part in the 2015 study - half of whom had been given peanut snacks as a baby
while the remainder had been fed on a diet of breast milk alone.
"The study found that at six years of age, there was no statistically significant
increase in allergy after 12 months of avoidance, in those who had consumed
peanut during the [2015] trial," the authors said. The children taking part in the
study were considered prone to peanut allergy, because they had already
developed eczema as a baby - an early warning sign of allergies. Prof Lack said
that further studies were needed to see if the resistance lasts for considerably
longer than the 12-month abstinence period. He said that in the UK and US
combined, 20,000 babies a year are being diagnosed with peanut allergies. He
also said that between 1995 and 2005, the number of people being diagnosed
had trebled, and this was not because detection methods had become any more
advanced as they had remained the same. Prof Barry Kay, from Imperial College
London, said the study's results "point the way to completely fresh thinking on
the mechanisms of tolerance to allergenic foods in 'at risk' infants". Speaking
about both pieces of research, Michael Walker, a consultant analyst and medical
adviser to the government, said: "Taken together these are reassuring findings
that pave the way to stem the epidemic of peanut allergy."
Answer the questions below.
Write EXACTLY TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER from the passage for each
answer.
1. What is the number of children that the New England Journal of Medicine
studied? _550____________
2. At what age can the child stop eating peanuts for a year if it has consumed
peanut snacks within the first 11 months of life? __5 year old_________
3. What part of the infants remained protected for a long-lasting period? ___
The majority_____
4. What's the illness that 20,000 babies in the UK and US combined are
diagnosed with each year? Peanut allergies__________