Contact Lenses Reading Answers

Oct 9, 2025

Contact Lenses Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Contact Lenses Reading Answers contains a total of 13 IELTS questions. In the question set given, you have to state whether the statement is true, false, or not given with the information given in the text. In the next question set, candidates have to answer the questions in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. In the last question set, you have to fill in the blank in NO MORE THAN ONE WORD.

The IELTS Reading section is an essential part of the test that evaluates a candidate's comprehension and analysis of various passage types. You will work through several IELTS reading practice problems in this section that resemble actual test situations. These questions are designed to help you improve your ability to recognise essential concepts, extract particular facts, and make inferences. Practising these IELTS reading problems can help you get comfortable with the structure and increase your confidence for the exam, regardless of whether you are studying for the Academic or General Training module.

Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

CONTACT LENSES

When did people start using them?

It's probably no surprise that among the sketches of Leonardo da Vinci lies a little diagram of what looks like a modern contact lens on an eye. There seems to be no area that this inventive mind did not venture at some stage, and investigating the anatomy of the eye was one of them. In his Codex of the Eye, written in 1508, he was actually experimenting with the idea that by immersing the eye (and in this case the whole face) in a bowl of water, he could demonstrate how light could be refracted differently onto the eye. The myth that he invented the contact lens started in the 1950s, probably due to the fact that the image of the spherical bowl could be confused with a drawing of an eye itself.

Philosopher René Descartes was actually the first to come up with the idea, though still only as a concept. In 1637, he described a water-filled tube with a lens at one end, and the other pressed against the eye. The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the pupil and iris. It was not very practical as such tubes would need some kind of external support, and it would have been impossible to blink. The concept was not to correct a refractive error (which is when the shape of the eye does not bend light correctly, resulting in a blurred image), which is what contact lenses are used for these days. It was merely to enlarge an image, much like a telescope, though the concept of placing an object on the surface of the eye was certainly new. It took another 200 years before English astronomer John Herschel took the next step. Herschel understood that astigmatism was caused by an irregularly shaped cornea and of suggested applying a gelatin-filled capsule of glass to the cornea in an article he wrote in 1828. To do this, he proposed making a mould the interior curve in the glass. When anaesthesia was developed in 1884, it made it possible to create a mould of the shape of the eye, as Herschel had proposed. By then, there had been advances in precision lens grinding and glass blowing, which made it possible to accurately duplicate the shape of the eye using glass. The first usable lenses were not used to correct refraction error, but more serious eye diseases, as they were large and heavy and only tolerable for brief periods.

A German doctor named A.E. Fick created the first effective contact lens in 1887 that could correct refraction error. Fick developed corneal lenses and also scleral lenses. Corneal lenses only cover the cornea, while scleral lenses extend over the sclera, or whites of the eyes. His lenses were effective, but there was still the problem with weight. In 1889, German glass-blower F.A. Müller improved upon the glass lens by making it thinner and lighter.

Advances in lens making meant that contact lenses started to be manufactured in Germany, Switzerland, and France. These early versions were, however, too uncomfortable to wear for any length of time. They were used for therapeutic purposes, such as extreme distortion of the cornea, which could not be corrected with eyeglasses, or when the cornea needed protection from eye infections.

By the end of the nineteenth century, there had been no further advances in contact lenses. They were available but not widely used. The weight of glass meant that it was difficult to get a small lens to stay in the eye, and larger ones irritated the cornea. Glass is also impermeable, so the flow of oxygen to the cornea was blocked, causing further visual impairment. The larger scleral lenses were uncomfortable, irritating, caused swelling, and also made the wearer susceptible to eye infections. They were only able to be worn for short periods, with long resting

periods in between. Then there was the added danger of wearing fragile glass in the eye. Using contact lenses simply for vision correction was just not feasible at the time. It would take another 50 years and the arrival of plastics before any more advances could be made. American optometrist William Feinbloom designed a glass-plastic contact lens in 1936, which was lighter and more comfortable than the glass version. Things moved quickly from there. In 1938, Americans Obrig and Mullen created the first completely plastic contact lens from Poly (methyl methacrylate), which was extremely light and could be made very thin. Kevin Tuohy, a Californian optician, introduced the first corneal contact lenses in 1948. In 1960, Wichterle and Lima created a plastic lens which was mostly made of water. This new material was hard when dry, yet soft when wet. The lenses made from it were approved for use in 1971, and these are the contact lenses that we wear today.

Questions 1-5

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet, 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. In 150,8 Leonardo da Vinci was interested in how the eye was constructed.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: investigating the anatomy of the eye was one of them. In his Codex of the Eye, written in 1508, he was actually experimenting with the idea that by immersing the eye (and in this case the whole face) in a bowl of water

Keywords: anatomy of the eye, Codex of the Eye, 1508

Keyword Location: Para 1, Lines 3-4

Explanation: The text states that Da Vinci was "investigating the anatomy of the eye," which means he was interested in how the eye was constructed. This interest is confirmed by his Codex of the Eye, written in 1508.

2. Leonardo da Vinci came up with the idea of the contact lens.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: The myth that he invented the contact lens started in the 1950s... Philosopher René Descartes was actually the first to come up with the idea

Keywords: myth, invented, René Descartes, first

Keyword Location: Para 1, Line 6; Para 2, Line 1

Explanation: The text directly contradicts the statement, labelling the idea that Da Vinci invented the contact lens as a "myth" and stating that René Descartes was "actually the first to come up with the idea."

3. René Descartes experimented on himself with a lens on the end of a tube.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The text says Descartes described the concept of the water-filled tube. It provides no information on whether he, or anyone else, ever actually constructed the device and experimented on himself with it.

4. Descartes' invention was meant to correct impaired vision.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: The concept was not to correct a refractive error... which is what contact lenses are used for these days. It was merely to enlarge an image, much like a telescope

Keywords: not to correct a refractive error, enlarge an image

Keyword Location: Para 2, Lines 5-7

Explanation: The text explicitly states that Descartes' concept was not for correcting refractive error (impaired vision) but was "merely to enlarge an image.

5. John Herschel had the idea for contact lenses, but did not make any.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: Herschel... suggested applying a gelatin-filled capsule of glass to the cornea in an article he wrote in 1828. To do this, he proposed making a mould... The first usable lenses were not used to correct refraction error... A German doctor named A.E. Fick created the first effective contact lens in 1887...

Keywords: suggested, proposed making a mould, A.E. Fick, contact 1887

Keyword Location: Para 2, Lines 10-12; Para 3, Line 1

Explanation: Herschel only suggested the idea of using a glass capsule and proposed how to make a mould. The text implies he did not successfully create the lenses himself, as it credits A.E. Fick with creating the first effective contact lens in 1887, almost 60 years after Herschel's suggestion.

Questions 6-9

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

6. What scientific development allowed a mould to be made of the eye?

Answer: ANAESTHESIA

Supporting statement: When anaesthesia was developed in 1884, it made it possible to create a mould of the shape of the eye, as Herschel had proposed.

Keywords: anaesthesia, developed in 1884, create a mould

Keyword Location: Para 2, Lines 12-13

Explanation: The text states that the development of anaesthesia was the reason it became possible to create a mould of the eye's shape.

7. What was A.E. Fick's lens used to improve?

Answer: REFRACTION ERROR

Supporting statement: A German doctor named A.E. Fick created the first effective contact lens in 1887 that could correct refraction error.

Keywords: A.E. Fick, created, effective contact lens

Keyword Location: Para 3, Line 1

Explanation: The text identifies Fick's lens as the first effective one that could correct refraction error, which is the condition it was used to improve.

8. What was F.A. Muller's profession?

Answer: A GLASS-BLOWER

Supporting statement: In 1889, German glass-blower F.A. Müller improved upon the glass lens by making it thinner and lighter.

Keywords: German, glass-blower, F.A. Müller

Keyword Location: Para 3, Lines 4-5

Explanation: The text introduces him as German glass-blower F.A. Müller, providing his profession.

9. What do we call lenses that extend over the complete surface of the eyes?

Answer: SCLERAL [LENSES

Supporting statement: Fick developed corneal lenses and also scleral lenses. Corneal lenses only cover the cornea, while scleral lenses extend over the sclera, or whites of the eyes.

Keywords: scleral lenses, extend over the sclera, whites of the eyes

Keyword Location: Para 3, Lines 2-3

Explanation: The text defines scleral lenses as those that extend over the sclera (the whites of the eyes), which covers a larger portion of the eye than corneal lenses.

Questions 10-13

Choose NO MORE THAN ONE WORD.

10. The first contact lenses made by a number of companies in Europe only had .................... use as they were not practical enough for general purposes.

Answer: THERAPEUTIC

Supporting statement: They were used for therapeutic purposes, such as extreme distortion of the cornea, which could not be corrected with eyeglasses, or when the cornea needed protection from eye infections.

Keywords: therapeutic purposes

Keyword Location: Para 4, Line 3

Explanation: The text states that the early uncomfortable lenses were used for therapeutic purposes, meaning for the medical treatment of eye conditions, not general vision correction.

11. Glass lenses do not allow .............. into the cornea, and this can make eyesight worse.

Answer: OXYGEN

Supporting statement: Glass is also impermeable, so the flow of oxygen to the cornea was blocked, causing further visual impairment

Keywords: Glass, impermeable, flow of oxygen, blocked

Keyword Location: Para 5, Lines 3-4

Explanation: The text identifies that glass is impermeable, blocking the flow of oxygen to the cornea, which is the cause of further visual impairment.

12. Not only was plastic safer than having fragile glass pressed against the eye, but the lenses could be made to be very...................so they were not so heavy.

Answer: THIN

Supporting statement: In 1938, Americans Obrig and Mullen created the first completely plastic contact lens... which was extremely light and could be made very thin.

Keywords: completely plastic, extremely light, very thin

Keyword Location: Para 5, Lines 12-13

Explanation: The text describes the advantage of the first all-plastic lenses: they were light and could be made very thin, addressing the weight problem of the earlier glass lenses.

13. The contact lenses that we use today are made of a type of plastic that becomes.................. when they come into contact with water.

Answer: SOFT

Supporting statement: In 1960, Wichterle and Lima created a plastic lens which was mostly made of water. This new material was hard when dry, yet soft when wet.

Keywords: hard when dry, soft when wet

Keyword Location: Para 5, Lines 15-16

Explanation: The text describes the modern material as being soft when wet, which is the condition of the lens when worn on the eye (in contact with water/tears)

Read More IELTS Reading Related Samples