Collecting as a Hobby Reading Answers
Collecting as a Hobby Reading Answers tests the proficiency of candidates through a passage and 40 questions. IELTS reading tests the understanding abilities of the candidate. This IELTS reading sample has passages and questions related to the passage. Collecting as a Hobby Reading Answers consists of two question types:
- Choosing one word from the passage
- True, False, Not Given
Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
Collecting as a Hobby Reading Answers
- Many forms of collecting have been dignified with a technical name: an archtophilist collects teddy bears, a philatelist collects postage stamps, and a deltiologist collects postcards. Amassing hundreds or even thousands of postcards, chocolate wrappers or whatever, takes time, energy and money that could surely to much more productive use. And yet there are millions of collectors around the world. Why do they do it?
- There are the people who collect because they want to make money - this could be called an instrumental reason for collecting; that is, collecting as a means to an end. They'll look for, say, antiques that they can buy cheaply and expect to be able to sell at a profit. But there may well be a psychological element, too - buying cheap and selling dear can give the collector a sense of triumph. And as selling online is so easy, more and more people are joining in.
- Many collectors collect to develop their social life, attending meetings of a group of collectors and exchanging information on items. This is a variant on joining a bridge club or a gym, and similarly brings them into contact with like-minded people. Another motive for collecting is the desire to find something special, or a particular example of the collected item, such as a rare early recording by a particular singer.
- Some may spend their whole lives in a hunt for this. Psychologically, this can give a purpose to a life that otherwise feels aimless. There is a danger, though, that if the individual is ever lucky enough to find what they're looking for, rather than celebrating their success, they may feel empty, now that the goal that drove them on has gone.
- If you think about collecting postage stamps another potential reason for it - Or, perhaps, a result of collecting is its educational value. Stamp collecting opens a window to other countries, and to the plants, animals, or famous people shown on their stamps.
- Similarly, in the 19th century, many collectors amassed fossils, animals and plants from around the globe, and their collections provided a vast amount of information about the natural world. Without those collections, our understanding would be greatly inferior to what it is.
- In the past - and nowadays, too, though to a lesser extent - a popular form of collecting, particularly among boys and men, was trainspotting. This might involve trying to see every locomotive of a particular type, using published data that identifies each one, and ticking off each engine as it is seen. Trainspotters exchange information, these days often by mobile phone, so they can work out where to go to, to see a particular engine. As a by-product, many practitioners of the hobby become very knowledgeable about railway operations, or the technical specifications of different engine types.
- Similarly, people who collect dolls may go beyond simply enlarging their collection, and develop an interest in the way that dolls are made, or the materials that are used. These have changed over the centuries from the wood that was standard in 16th century Europe, through the wax and porcelain of later centuries, to the plastics of today's dolls. Or collectors might be inspired to study how dolls reflect notions of what children like, or ought to like.
- Not all collectors are interested in learning from their hobby, though, so what we might call a psychological reason for collecting is the need for a sense of control, perhaps as a way of dealing with insecurity. Stamp collectors, for instance, arrange their stamps in albums, usually very neatly, organising their collection according to certain commonplace principles-perhaps by country in alphabetical order, or grouping stamps by what they depict -people, birds, maps, and so on.
- One reason, conscious or not, for what someone chooses to collect is to show the collector's individualism. Someone who decides to collect something as unexpected as dog collars, for instance, may be conveying their belief that they must be interesting themselves. And believe it or not, there is at least one dog collar museum in existence, and it grew out of a personal collection.
- Of course, all hobbies give pleasure, but the common factor in collecting is usually passion: pleasure is putting it far too mildly. More than most other hobbies, collecting can be totally engrossing, and can give a strong sense of personal fulfilment. To non-collectors it may appear an eccentric, if harmless, way of spending time, but potentially, collecting has a lot going for it.
Section 2
Solution with Explanation
Questions 1-8:
Complete the sentences below
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer
Write your answers in boxes 1-8 on your Answer sheet.
- The writer mentions collecting ………. as an example of collecting in order to make money.
Answer: antiques
Supporting Sentence: There are the people who collect because they want to make money - this could be called an instrumental reason for collecting; that is, collecting as a means to an end. They'll look for, say, antiques that they can buy cheaply and expect to be able to sell at a profit.
Keywords: collect, money, profit
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, 1st & 4th Line.
Explanation: the passage mentions that collectors look for antiques that they expect to buy cheaply and sell for a profit. Selling something for profit is essentially the equivalent of making money which means collecting antiques can help collectors make money.
Read More IELTS Reading Related Articles
- Collectors may get a feeling of ………. from buying and selling items.
Answer: triumph
Supporting Sentence: But there may well be a psychological element, too - buying cheap and selling dear can give the collector a sense of triumph
Keywords: buying, selling
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, 5th Line
Explanation: in the passage it is written that a sense of triumph can come from buying cheap and selling dear which means collectors who buy and sell items can derive a feeling of triumph.
- Collectors’ Club provide opportunities to share ……….
Answer: information
Supporting Sentence: Many collectors collect to develop their social life, attending meetings of a group of collectors and exchanging information on items.
Keywords: Collectors, group, exchanging
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, 2nd Line
Explanation: sharing is same as exchanging and a group of collectors is equivalent to Collectors’ Club as this group promotes social life. And the passage suggests that in these groups clubs exchange of information takes place.
- Collectors’ Clubs offer ……… with people who have similar interests
Answer: contact
Supporting Sentence: This is a variant on joining a bridge club or a gym, and similarly brings them into contact with like-minded people
Keywords: club, like-minded
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, 3rd & 4th Line
Explanation: the passage draws a parallel with other types of associations and directly mentions that a Collectors’ Club can bring one into contact with like-minded people who think the same as you i.e., have similar interests.
- Collecting sometimes involves a lifetime ………. for a certain item.
Answer: desire/hunt
Supporting Sentence: Another motive for collecting is the desire to find something special, or a particular example of the collected item, such as a rare early recording by a particular singer. Some may spend their whole lives in a hunt for this.
Keywords: item, collecting, whole lives
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, 4th & 6th Line and Paragraph 4, 1st Line
Explanation: the passage says that one of the motives for collecting could be the desire to find something special and in this hunt, people spend their whole lives. So, this hunt/desire to find a certain item that is special can last as long as life itself i.e., lifelong.
- Searching for something particular may prevent people from feeling their life is completely ……….
Answer: aimless/empty
Supporting Sentence: Psychologically, this can give a purpose to a life that otherwise feels aimless. There is a danger, though, that if the individual is ever lucky enough to find what they're looking for, rather than celebrating their success, they may feel empty now that the goal that drove them on has gone.
Keywords: feel, purpose, otherwise
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, 2nd & 4th Line
Explanation: collecting can give purpose to life and without this purpose people feel that their life is aimless because collecting things remains their aim as long as they are collecting. The passage also says that once their search is over, they may feel empty which means as long as their collection reaction search is ongoing it can prevent the feeling of emptiness.
- Stamp collecting may be ……… because it provides facts about different countries.
Answer: educational
Supporting Sentence: If you think about collecting postage stamps another potential reason for it - Or, perhaps, a result of collecting is its educational value. Stamp collecting opens a window to other countries, and to the plants, animals, or famous people shown on their stamps.
Keywords: stamps, collecting, countries
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, 2nd & 3rd Line
Explanation: stamp collecting exposes us to different countries and facts associated with them because countries publish postage stamps always in honour of an event or to draw attention to something special, they have. Collectors of stamps come to know of these things as its drawn on the stamp itself and its part of stamp collection to know the background. Such knowledge is definitely educational because the facts have their basis in reality.
- ……….. turns to be mostly a male hobby
Answer: trainspotting
Supporting Sentence: In the past - and nowadays, too, though to a lesser extent - a popular form of collecting, particularly among boys and men, was trainspotting.
Keywords: popular, boys and men
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, 1st & 2nd Line
Explanation: Trainspotting was hugely popular in the past and remains popular albeit to a lesser extent with men and boys – which means males. Its popularity among males makes it a male hobby for most part.
Questions 9-13:
Do the following Statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
In boxes 9-13 in your answer sheet, write
TRUE, if the statement agrees with information provided
FALSE, if the information provided is contradictory to the statement.
NOT GIVEN, if there is no information to corroborate with the statement
- The number of people buying dolls has grown over the centuries
Answer: NOT GIVEN
- Sixteenth century European dolls were normally made of wax and porcelain
Answer: FALSE
Supporting Sentence: These have changed over the centuries from the wood that was standard in 16th century Europe, through the wax and porcelain of later centuries, to the plastics of today's dolls.
Keywords: sixteenth century, Europe, dolls
Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, 4th & 5th Line
Explanation: as the passage says the standard for doll making in the 16th century Europe was wood and wax & porcelain followed as doll making material in later centuries. So, sixteenth century European dolls were made of wood and not of wax and porcelain.
- Arranging a stamp collection by the size of the stamps is less common than other methods.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
- Someone who collects unusual objects may want others to think he or she is also unusual.
Answer: TRUE
Supporting Sentence: One reason, conscious or not, for what someone chooses to collect is to show the collector's individualism.
Keywords: collect, individualism, collector’s
Keyword Location: Paragraph 10, 1st & 2nd Line
Explanation: the passage says a collector collects to show his individualism i.e., the collector believes their collection to be a show of their own self and by that logic one who collects unusual things does so because he believes himself to be unusual as well which he expresses through his collection.
- Collecting gives a feeling that other hobbies are unlikely to inspire
Answer: TRUE
Supporting Sentence: More than most other hobbies, collecting can be totally engrossing, and can give a strong sense of personal fulfilment.
Keywords: other hobbies, sense of personal fulfilment
Keyword Location: Paragraph 11, 3rd & 4th Line
Explanation: the passage claims that collecting can give a strong sense of personal fulfilment more than most other hobbies which means that other hobbies cannot generate the feelings be it personal fulfilment that collecting inspires in a person.
Comments