The Keyless Society Reading Answers
The Keyless Society Reading Answers is an important topic taken from IELTS Cambridge Test 3. This IELTS reading passage comes with 14 questions. Two different question types can be seen in this passage:
- Choose the correct heading for given paragraphs
- Match the systems with the people associated with
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The Keyless Society Reading Answers is taken from The Body As Password and This is a passage about the application of biometric in our daily lives. The Keyless Society Reading Answers sample papers provide the answer to all the questions with a detailed explanation. For an excellent IELTS reading score, also practice from IELTS reading practice papers.
Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
The Keyless Society Reading Answers
- Students who want to enter the University of Montreal's Athletic Complex need more than just a conventional ID card - their identities must be authenticated by an electronic hand scanner. In some California housing estates, a key alone is insufficient to get someone in the door; his or her voice print must also be verified. And soon, customers at some Japanese banks will have to present their faces for scanning before they can enter the building and withdraw their money.
- All of these are applications of biometrics, a little-known but fast-growing technology that involves the use of physical or biological characteristics to identify individuals. In use for more than a decade at some high- security government institutions in the United States and Canada, biometrics is now rapidly popping up in the everyday world. Already, more than 10,000 facilities, from prisons to day-care centers, monitor people's fingerprints or other physical parts to ensure that they are who they claim to be. Some 60 biometric companies around the world pulled in at least $22 million last year and that grand total is expected to mushroom to at least $50 million by 1999.
- Biometric security systems operate by storing a digitized record of some unique human feature. When an authorized user wishes to enter or use the facility, the system scans the person's corresponding characteristics and attempts to match them against those on record. Systems using fingerprints, hands, voices, irises, retinas and faces are already on the market. Others using typing patterns and even body odours are in various stages of development.
- Fingerprint scanners are currently the most widely deployed type of biometric application, thanks to their growing use over the last 20 years by law-enforcement agencies. Sixteen American states now use biometric fingerprint verification systems to check that people claiming welfare payments are genuine. In June, politicians in Toronto voted to do the same, with a pilot project beginning next year.
- To date, the most widely used commercial biometric system is the handkey, a type of hand scanner which reads the unique shape, size and irregularities of people's hands. Originally developed for nuclear power plants, the handkey received its big break when it was used to control access to the Olympic Village in Atlanta by more than 65,000 athletes, trainers and support staff. Now there are scores of other applications.
- Around the world, the market is growing rapidly. Malaysia, for example, is preparing to equip all of its airports with biometric face scanners to match passengers with luggage. And Japan's largest maker of cash dispensers is developing new machines that incorporate iris scanners. The first commercial biometric, a hand reader used by an American firm to monitor employee attendance, was introduced in 1974. But only in the past few years has the technology improved enough for the prices to drop sufficiently to make them commercially viable. 'When we started four years ago, I had to explain to everyone what a biometric is,' says one marketing expert. Now, there's much more awareness out there.'
- Not surprisingly, biometrics raises thorny questions about privacy and the potential for abuse. Some worry that governments and industry will be tempted to use the technology to monitor individual behavior. If someone used your fingerprints to match your health-insurance records with a credit-card record showing you regularly bought lots of cigarettes and fatty foods,' says one policy analyst, 'you would see your insurance payments go through the roof.' In Toronto, critics of the welfare fingerprint plan complained that it would stigmatize recipients by forcing them to submit to a procedure widely identified with criminals.
- Nonetheless, support for biometrics is growing in Toronto as it is in many other communities. In an increasingly crowded and complicated world, biometrics may well be a technology whose time has come.
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Section 2
Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-7
The above Reading Passage has eight paragraphs (A-H). Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B-H from the list of headings below. In boxes 1-7 in your answer sheet, write the appropriate numbers (i-x)
NOTE: There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.
Example: Paragraph A-vi
LIST OF HEADINGS:
- Common Objections
- Who’s planning what
- This type sells best in the shops
- The figures say it all
- Early trials
- They can’t get in without these
- How does it work?
- Fighting fraud
- Systems to avoid
- Accepting the inevitable
(Guide: Read and understand the paragraph contents to choose the correct heading.
Tip: Look for the keywords given in the answer options)
- Paragraph B
Answer: iv. The figures say it all
Explanation: Heading ‘iv’ which is ‘the figures say it all’ is the most appropriate headings out of all mentioned in the question. As in Paragraph B, there is so much emphasis on the number of Biometrics units and companies providing this facility in both Canada and USA. For example, more than 10,000 systems of biometrics in various prison and daycare centers are provided. Moreover, around 60 companies had already added a $22 million biometrics system which would increase in near future.
Supporting sentence: Already, more than 10,000 facilities, from prisons to day-care centers, monitor people's fingerprints or other physical parts to ensure that they are who they claim to be. Some 60 biometric companies around the world pulled in at least $22 million last year and that grand total is expected to mushroom to at least $50 million by 1999.
Keywords: more than 10,000 facilities, 60 biometric companies, $50 million, $22 million
Location in the passage: Paragraph B
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2.Paragraph C
Answer: vii. How does it work?
Explanation: Paragraph C is all about the description and function of the system - It has been described how the biometrics system works by recognizing human characteristics like retinas, fingers, irises, etc., and match these features with already stored data in the system. Therefore, the heading ‘How does it work?’ is suits Paragraph C accurately.
Supporting sentence: When an authorized user wishes to enter or use the facility, the system scans the person's corresponding characteristics and attempts to match them against those on record. Systems using fingerprints, hands, voices, irises, retinas and faces are already on the market. Others using typing patterns and even body odors are in various stages of development.
Keywords: system scans the person's corresponding characteristics, match them, record
Location in the passage: Paragraph C
3.Paragraph D
Answer: viii. Fighting fraud
Explanation: Paragraph D describes that fingerprinting biometrics system is quite popular and a number of law enforcement agencies use this for verification purposes. Not just for verification, but also to prevent any fraudulent activities, these biometrics systems are quite helpful. The use of smart technologies makes biometric systems very smart and fraudulent activities are easily detected by this. So, according to this information heading viii which is ‘Fighting Fraud’ is suitable for Paragraph D.
Supporting sentence: Fingerprint scanners are currently the most widely deployed type of biometric application, thanks to their growing use over the last 20 years by law-enforcement agencies. Sixteen American states now use biometric fingerprint verification systems to check that people claiming welfare payments are genuine.
Keywords: claiming welfare payments are genuine
Location in the passage: Paragraph D
4.Paragraph E
Answer: iii. This type sells best in the shops
Explanation: Heading ‘This type sells best in the shops’ explains the commercial importance of the hand key system of biometrics. This system is very well adopted and scans people’s hands thoroughly by reading various hand features. Paragraph E is all about the commercial use of this technology. The business agencies and the shops had different types of needs and they use the biometric as per the needs. So, this title accurately fits the paragraph.
Supporting sentence: To date, the most widely used commercial biometric system is the handkey, a type of hand scanner which reads the unique shape, size and irregularities of people's hands. Originally developed for nuclear power plants, the handkey received its big break when it was used to control access to the Olympic Village in Atlanta by more than 65,000 athletes, trainers and support staff. Now there are scores of other applications.
Keywords: athletes, trainers and support staff, handkey
Location in the passage: Paragraph E
5.Paragraph F
Answer: ii. Who’s planning what
Explanation: The use of the Biometric system is different in different companies and countries - paragraph F comes with a brief description of the uses. Malaysia is all ready to start using Face Scanner at the airports to scan the face of passengers and then analyze which luggage belongs to that person. Japan’s use of iris scanners and America’s hand readers are examples of this matter. So the heading of planning accurately matches with the content of Paragraph F.
Supporting sentence: Malaysia, for example, is preparing to equip all of its airports with biometric face scanners to match passengers with luggage. And Japan's largest maker of cash dispensers is developing new machines that incorporate iris scanners. The first commercial biometric, a hand reader used by an American firm to monitor employee attendance, was introduced in 1974. But only in the past few years has the technology improved enough for the prices to drop sufficiently to make them commercially viable. hand reader
Keywords: face scanners, iris scanners,
Location in the passage: Paragraph F
6.Paragraph G
Answer: i. Common Objections
Explanation: Apart from the various benefits of Biometrics systems, some people have raised objections and are reluctant about securing the privacy of an individual. In spite of being a very smart technology, biometric received a lot of objection. Actually, no matter how smart the technology is, some people will always find ways of misusing it. For example, anybody can misuse the fingerprints of other individuals and it leads to greater consequences to the person whose fingerprints have been criminally used without his/her consent. Due to this reason, only heading ‘Common objections’ is well suited for Paragraph G.
Supporting sentence: If someone used your fingerprints to match your health-insurance records with a credit-card record showing you regularly bought lots of cigarettes and fatty foods,' says one policy analyst, 'you would see your insurance payments go through the roof.' In Toronto, critics of the welfare fingerprint plan complained that it would stigmatize recipients by forcing them to submit to a procedure widely identified with criminals.
Keywords: someone used your fingerprints, forcing them
Location in the passage: Paragraph G
7.Paragraph H
Answer: x. Accepting the inevitable
Explanation: The option ‘Accepting the inevitable’ goes correctly with this paragraph because paragraph H is about the growing population of the world. Now, this is a fact that over-crowdedness is a problem of today’s world and it is a much-complicated process to check the identity of everyone manually. Indeed, it is high time to use the technology of scanning people with excellent technologies.
Supporting sentence: Nonetheless, support for biometrics is growing in Toronto as it is in many other communities. In an increasingly crowded and complicated world, biometrics may well be a technology whose time has come.
Keywords: time has come
Location in the passage: Paragraph H
Questions 8-14
Look at the list of biometric systems (A-F) below and match them with the following groups of people (Questions 8-14).
NOTE: You may use any biometrics system more than once.
LIST OF BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS
A.Fingerprint Scanner
B.Hand Scanner
C.Body Odour
D.Voiceprint
E.Face Scanner
F.Typing Pattern
(Guide: Thoroughly check the passage and differentiate them to find the answer
Tip: Look for users in the passage and find out the type of systems they used)
8.Sports Students
Answer: B. Hand Scanner
Explanation: As per the information of paragraph E, it can be claimed that the hand scanner can be matched with the sports students. Hand Scanner is quite popular and played an important role in order to regulate the number of sportspersons entering the Olympic village, Atlanta. Around 65,000 athletes and their trainers are scanned properly using the Hand Scanner. Therefore, ‘Sports Students’ is a good match for ‘Hand Scanner’ as it clearly indicates the interlinking between them.
Supporting sentence: To date, the most widely used commercial biometric system is the handkey, a type of hand scanner which reads the unique shape, size and irregularities of people's hands. Originally developed for nuclear power plants, the handkey received its big break when it was used to control access to the Olympic Village in Atlanta by more than 65,000 athletes, trainers and support staff. Now there are scores of other applications.
Keywords: hand scanner, control access to the Olympic Village, athletes, trainers and support staff
Location in the passage: Paragraph E
9.Olympic Athletes
Answer: B. Hand Scanner
Explanation: In Paragraph E, there is a special mention of the usage of Hand Scanner by Olympic Athletes. This paragraph depicts how Hand Scanner helped in controlling a large number of Olympic athletes including their trainers by scanning the hands of each and every athlete thoroughly. It is also mentioned that the handkeys are almost replaced with the use of hand scanners at that time. Though it was developed for the nuclear power plants, these were widely popular among Olympic athletes.
Supporting sentence: To date, the most widely used commercial biometric system is the handkey, a type of hand scanner which reads the unique shape, size and irregularities of people's hands. Originally developed for nuclear power plants, the handkey received its big break when it was used to control access to the Olympic Village in Atlanta by more than 65,000 athletes, trainers and support staff. Now there are scores of other applications.
Keywords: control access to the Olympic Village, athletes, trainers and support staff
Location in the passage:
10.Airline Passengers
Answer: E. Face Scanner
Explanation: There is a clear cut mention of airports in Malaysia that will soon employ Face Scanner that will help to prevent the incidents of misplaced luggage. These Face Scanners will scan the face of the passenger and match it with the luggage. So, the option ‘Airline Passengers’ is a good match for ‘Face Scanner’. Paragraph F has a clear mention of the airport so, it will not be wrong to assume that this technology was meant for the airline passengers.
Supporting sentence: Around the world, the market is growing rapidly. Malaysia, for example, is preparing to equip all of its airports with biometric face scanners to match passengers with luggage.
Keywords: airports, biometric face scanners, match passengers with luggage.
Location in the passage: Paragraph F
11.Welfare Claimants
Answer: A. Fingerprint Scanner
Explanation: It has been said that people living in sixteen states of America are helped in terms of Welfare Claimants using the fingerprint scanning of Biometrics systems. Fingerprint scanners are specifically used to check whether the payments for the cause of welfare are genuine or not. This system of verification was extremely popular in America and 16 states used this technology. According to this information ‘Fingerprint Scanner’ is the correct match of Welfare Claimants.
Supporting sentence: Fingerprint scanners are currently the most widely deployed type of biometric application, thanks to their growing use over the last 20 years by law-enforcement agencies. Sixteen American states now use biometric fingerprint verification systems to check that people claiming welfare payments are genuine.
Keywords: Fingerprint scanners, claiming welfare payments are genuine
Location in the passage: Paragraph D
12.Business Employees
Answer: B. Hand Scanner
Explanation: In 1974, the Hand Scanner which is one of the biometrics tools became quite popular and commercialized also. This type of biometrics helped to mark the attendance of the employees of an organization. Therefore, this method of scanning is quite well-adapted in the business workflow. Due to this reason, Business employees can be matched with Hand Scanner. Even today, such technologies are used in multiple organizations for the very same purpose. Maintaining any register for marking the attendance of the employees are almost obsolete now.
Supporting sentence: The first commercial biometric, a hand reader used by an American firm to monitor employee attendance, was introduced in 1974.
Keywords: hand reader, firm, monitor employee attendance
Location in the passage: Paragraph F
13.Home owners
Answer: D. Voiceprint
Explanation: It has been found that in some housing estates of California, just having a legit key won’t suffice. The person’s voice needs to be assessed and after complete verification only then people can enter. This technology ensures additional safety to the houses. Homeowners trust this technology a lot to secure their property. This is because anyone can make a duplicate of the house keys and get in - if voice scanners are installed, the chances of trespassing will be reduced.
Supporting sentence: In some California housing estates, a key alone is insufficient to get someone in the door; his or her voice print must also be verified.
Keywords: housing estates, voice print
Location in the passage: Paragraph A
14.Bank Customers
Answer: E. Face Scanner
Explanation: As in Paragraph A, it has been clearly mentioned that soon enough in Japan, people will need to undergo Face Scanning in order to enter into the banks so that they can withdraw the cash. In these banks, signing a cheque or providing valid documents are not all - the customers need to go through a face scanner to withdraw their money. This is nonetheless a commendable technology.
Supporting sentence: customers at some Japanese banks will have to present their faces for scanning before they can enter the building and withdraw their money.
Keywords: customers, Japanese banks, present their faces for scanning, and withdraw their money
Location in the passage: Paragraph A
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