IELTS Reading lesson 3: Sentence Completion

There are questions on IELTS Reading that ask you to fill in the gaps in the sentences. Those gaps
should be filled with words taken directly from the reading text. And you are given a word limit, for
example: "Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS ..."

Useful information about sentence completion questions:

 You should complete statements that paraphrase sentences from the text.
 You're given a word limit.
 Questions follow the order of the text.

So you are given sentences, which you have to complete. Those sentences are not exactly taken from
the text: they are paraphrased. But they keep the initial meaning.

Key words from questions may be your pointers: they'll help you to find the passage that contains the
answer. But to find the answer, you should understand the meaning of the question and find the
sentence with the same meaning in the text. So you should look for meaning, not separate words.

Note that if you are asked to complete sentence with no more than two words, you can write one or
two words.

To understand the theory better, see an example below.

Answering strategy:

1. Read the text.

2. Use key words to find the needed paragraph.
3. Make sure you understand the question statement and search for sentence with similar
meaning.
4. Once you've found the answer, check if it fits into the statement grammatically and 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.
 Make sure that your answer fits into the sentence grammatically.
 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:

How atoms were discovered

Hundreds of years ago in 1785 Dutch scientist Jan Ingenhousz was studying a strange
phenomenon that he couldn’t quite make sense of. Minute particles of coal dust were darting
about on the surface of some alcohol in his lab.
About 50 years later, in 1827, the Scottish botanist Robert Brown described something curiously
similar. He had his microscope trained on some pollen grains. Brown noticed that some of the
grains released tiny particles – which would then move away from the pollen grain in a random
jittery dance.
At first, Brown wondered if the particles were really some sort of unknown organism. He
repeated the experiment with other substances like rock dust, which he knew wasn’t alive, and
saw the same strange motion again.

It would take almost another century for science to offer an explanation. Einstein came along and
developed a mathematical formula that would predict this very particular type of movement – by
then called Brownian motion, after Robert Brown.

Einstein’s theory was that that the particles from the pollen grains were being moved around
because they were constantly crashing into millions of tinier molecules of water – molecules that
were made of atoms.

By 1908, observations backed with calculations had confirmed that atoms were real. Within
about a decade, physicists would be able to go further. By pulling apart individual atoms they
began to get a sense of their internal structure.

It might come as a surprise that atoms can be broken down – particularly since the very name
atom derives from a Greek term “atomos”, which means “indivisible”. But physicists now know
that atoms are not solid little balls. It’s better to think of them as tiny electrical, “planetary”
systems. They’re typically made up of three main parts: protons, neutrons and electrons. Think
of the protons and neutrons as together forming a “sun”, or nucleus, at the centre of the system.
The electrons orbit this nucleus, like planets.

Sentence completion questions:

1. The type of random jittery movement of tiny particles is called .......................... .

The key words here are type of movement, and they direst us to the third paragraph. There,
we can see a phrase with the same meaning:

this very particular type of movement – by then called Brownian motion

It refers to the movement of tiny particles described in the first two paragraphs.

So the answer is Brownian motion.

Note how the new term from the text is used for sentence completion. This is quite common
for sentence completion questions in IELTS Reading.

2. Einstein explained the phenomenon of particles' strange motion by the fact that they were
collapsing with .......................... .

The key words here are Einstein explained. The fourth paragraph tells us that

Einstein's theory was that that the particles from the pollen grains were being moved
around because they were constantly crashing into millions of tinier molecules of
water

Look how the synonyms are used:

 o Einstein's theory = Einstein explained
o crashing into = collapsing with

Now we see that the correct answer is water molecules.

But why not "molecules of water" as it was stated in the text? Because the question asked to
complete the sentences with NO MORE THAN TWO words, so three-word answer is
automatically incorrect. That's why here we had to rephrase the correct answer to make it fit
into the word number boundaries. You should always pay attention to this!

3. Nowadays, scientists consider atoms' structures similar to tiny .......................... .

Atoms' structures are discussed in the last paragraph, where we can find a paraphrase of our
question statement:

But physicists now know that atoms are not solid little balls. It's better to think of
them as tiny electrical, "planetary" systems.

o Scientists = physicists
o Nowadays = now
o Consider = think of them as

Correct answer: planetary systems.

4. .......................... are parts that are circling around the nucleus.

Again, nucleus was introduced only in the last paragraph, so we should search for the answer
there. The last sentence of the last paragraph states that

The electrons orbit this nucleus, like planets.

Knowing that circle around = orbit, the correct answer is obvious: electrons.

Exercise 1

Read the text and answer the questions below.

3D heart printed using multiple imaging techniques

  Congenital heart experts from Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital have
successfully integrated two common imaging techniques to produce a three-dimensional
anatomic model of a patient's heart.

  The 3D model printing of patients' hearts has become more common in recent years as part of
an emerging, experimental field devoted to enhanced visualization of individual cardiac
structures and characteristics. But this is the first time the integration of computed tomography
(CT) and three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3DTEE) has successfully been
used for printing a hybrid 3D model of a patient's heart. A proof-of-concept study authored by
the Spectrum Health experts also opens the way for these techniques to be used in combination
with a third tool - magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

  "Hybrid 3D printing integrates the best aspects of two or more imaging modalities, which can
potentially enhance diagnosis, as well as interventional and surgical planning," said Jordan
Gosnell, Helen DeVos Children's Hospital cardiac sonographer, and lead author of the study.
"Previous methods of 3D printing utilize only one imaging modality, which may not be as
accurate as merging two or more datasets."

  The team used specialized software to register images from the two imaging modalities to
selectively integrate datasets to produce an accurate anatomic model of the heart. The result
creates more detailed and anatomically accurate 3D renderings and printed models, which may
enable physicians to better diagnose and treat heart disease.

Complete the sentences below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

1. A three-dimensional ……………… of a patient's heart was created by integrating two

imaging techniques. 
2. Spectrum Health scientists have found a way to combine and use three techniques:
computed tomography, three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography
and ………………. 
3. The new method of 3D printing is more efficient than previous methods because it
merges two and more ………………. 
4. With more accurate 3D renderings and ………………, physicians will be able to better
diagnose and treat heart disease. 

Exercise 2

Read the text and answer the questions below.

Worms

  About a quarter of the world's population could have worms living in their guts. For many
years experts have recommended treating large groups at risk of infection - but is this mass
approach worthwhile?

  Evidence showing the benefits of large-scale deworming projects has come under scrutiny in
recent weeks - the debate has even been dubbed "worm wars". Parasites, such as roundworm,
hookworm and whipworm could be living inside more than 1.5 billion people according to the
World Health Organization (WHO).

  "People are usually infected through contaminated food but hookworm larvae can also burrow
into feet, get into blood vessels and make their way to the heart and lungs. From there they can
climb up to the oesophagus* and be swallowed, ending up in the gut where they grow.

  Worms are not usually fatal but in serious cases they can cause abdominal pain, diarrhoea,
loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue and anaemia. In children, they can also contribute to
malnutrition, stunted growth, and absences from school. A nurse gives deworming treatment to a
boy in India

*oesophagus - throat

Complete the sentences below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

1. Now scientists doubt whether it is ……………… to treat large groups of possibly

infected people. 
2. The expers called the debate ………………. 
3. Hookworm larvae might make his way to the  ……………… and then be swallowed. 
4. Although dangerous, worms are rarely ……………… . 

Exercise 3

Read the text and answer the questions below.

A giant panda at a zoo in the United States has given birth to twin cubs.

  Keepers at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC only discovered Mei Xiang was
pregnant during an ultrasound scan last week. The zoo said both cubs appeared healthy. Giant
pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world and are notoriously hard to breed in
captivity.

  The National Zoo is one of only four zoos in the US to have pandas, which are on loan from
China. Mei Xiang, who has two other offspring, is one of the zoo's star attractions and a Panda
Cam on her enclosure crashed within seconds of the birth of the first cub being announced
because of the volume of interest.

  Female pandas are able to conceive for only two or three days a year, leading to a very low
reproduction rate. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated with sperm from the zoo's resident
male Tian Tian and a panda named Hui Hui from Wolong, China. It will not be known for a
while which is the father, or what sex the cubs are.

  It has previously taken months before Mei Xiang's cubs have been introduced to the public.
AP news agency reports that her first cub, Tai Shan, was born in 2005 and returned to China in
2010; her second cub, Bao Bao, is two years old on Sunday and still lives at the zoo. The panda
population is threatened by habitat loss as land is increasingly inhabited by humans, with about
1,800 pandas left in the wild in China. However, the number living in the wild in China has gone
up over the last 10 years.

Complete the sentences below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

1. Mei Xiang pregnancy was discovered with an ……………… last week. 

2. Pandas from the USA National Zoo are ……………… from China. 
3. Due to the short conceiving period, pandas have a low ……………… . 
4. Pandas are in danger because their lands are increasingly ……………… .