Illegal Downloads Reading Answers

Dec 16, 2022

Illegal Downloads Reading Answers contains a write up that explains about the increased number of illegal downloads of music. Illegal Downloads Reading Answers comprises 12 different types of questions. Candidates in this IELTS Section will be shown various question types with clear instructions. Illegal Downloads Reading Answers comprises three types of questions: Matching heading, sentence completion, and Choose the correct option. For Matching heading in IELTS Reading passage, candidates need to thoroughly go through each passage. For sentence completion, candidates need to skim the passage for keywords and understand the concept. To choose the correct option, candidates must read the IELTS Reading passage and understand the statement provided. To gain proficiency, candidates can practice from IELTS reading practice test.

Matching paragraphs
Fill in the blanks
Identifying information

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Illegal Downloads Reading Answers

Downloading music from the internet has become a simple, fast and easy thing to do. The corrector legal way of going about it seems to be ignored by those who find it too costly. Illegal music downloads have reached an all-time high, and a recent survey of high school students revealed an estimated 3.6 billion songs being downloaded per month. There are now endless possibilities available to the public where music can be downloaded for free and people are choosing to take this route even though it is illegal. iTunes Is one of the most well-known sites where music can be bought legally for just over 51 per track. So when it is this cheap why are people still going to alternative unauthorized sites? Or is the legal route still considered a costly way to go about it?
If you think that copying music results in simply a slap on the wrist, think twice. Under government law, record companies are entitled to $750 to $30,000 per infringement but the law allows the jury to increase that to as much as $150,000 per song if it finds the infringements were deliberate. The music industry has threatened about 35,000 people with charges of copyright infringement over the past decade. In recent months there have been more cases of music piracy heading to the courts. The industry estimates that more than a hundred of these cases remain unsettled in court, with fewer than 10 offenders actively arguing the case against them. The penalties for breaching the copyright act differ slightly depending upon whether the infringing is for commercial or private financial gain, with the latter punishment being far milder.
Nonetheless, the potential gain from illegal downloading versus the punitive measures that can be taken is. In cases, poles apart. Recently, an American woman shared 27 illegally downloaded songs with her friends and was ordered to pay $1.92 million to the record company for deliberate infringement of the companies’ copyrights. More recently in America, a 12-year-old girl was sued for downloading music illegally and could face a penalty of 1150,000 per song. The order of payment from the courts to the American woman who shared the 27 tracks with her friends has spurred controversy as the public disagrees with the ordered Infringement. The woman shared 27 songs at $1.99 per song, so should she be liable to pay such a large and impossible amount?
It has also been noted that of all measures that can be taken, fining is actually the least likely method of preventing further abuse. With driving, for example, statistics have shown that those that repeatedly drive over the speed limit are not discouraged by the loss of a sum of money, but this attitude quickly changed when the penalty was possibly losing their driving license or even spending time in prison.
Being a difficult thing to police, the music industry has decided that it would be much easier to go after the internet service provider than to try and track down each individual case. The music industry feels internet piracy has decreased their artists’ sales dramatically and is a danger to their business, although, on the other hand, online music sales promote individual tracks to be sold rather than albums, therefore increasing the amount spent by the purchaser.
If there are so many issues around the downloading of music, you might wonder why sales of MP3 players and CD burners are increasing rapidly The answer is simple – these devices do have a legitimate purpose defined as ‘fair use’. You can choose to make your personal back-up copy to use in an MP3 player, or you may visit one of many web sites, like iTunes, which offers music that you pay for as you download. While some may wonder why you would pay for something that can be had for free, those who do prefer to obey the copyright protection laws have purchased over 150 million songs from the iTunes site alone.
Online music sales are a business just like any other and music companies are fighting to salvage their industry. Cary Sherman, the President of RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), stated that when your product is being regularly stolen, there comes a time when you have to take appropriate action. At the same time, the RIAA has offered amnesty to the illegal downloaded who decide to come forward and agree to stop illegally downloading music over the Internet. People who have already been sued are obviously not eligible for amnesty.
When high school students were asked how they felt about the business of downloading illegally from the net they appeared to be divided on the issue. Some seemed to think there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. Others felt that it should be thought of as a serious crime like any other form of theft.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1- 5

The reading passage has eight paragraphs, A-H.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Type the correct letter A-H in boxes 1 - 5

The disparity between fines and costs.
The potential costs of piracy to the defendant.
The number of songs illegally obtained from the internet.
Ambivalence towards the problem.
A reprieve for illegal downloaders.

(Guide: Candidates need to match the mentioned statements with the questions in 12 to 16)

The disparity between fines and costs.

Answer: C

Supporting sentence: “Recently, an American woman shared 27 illegally downloaded songs with her friends and was ordered to pay $1.92 million to the record company for deliberate infringement of the companies’ copyrights. More recently in America, a 12-year-old girl was sued for downloading music illegally and could face a penalty of 1150,000 per song. The order of payment from the courts to the American woman who shared the 27 tracks with her friends has spurred controversy as the public disagrees with the ordered Infringement. The woman shared 27 songs at $1.99 per song, so should she be liable to pay such a large and impossible amount?”
Keyword: large, impossible amount
Keyword location: section C, 8th line
Explanation: There is a great difference between the amount of the fee that must be made as well as the money that the copyright violators can arrange since the fine that the illegal downloaders must pay is extremely large and impossible for them to organize.

The potential costs of piracy to the defendant.

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: “If you think that copying music results in simply a slap on the wrist, think twice. Under government law, record companies are entitled to $750 to $30,000 per infringement but the law allows the jury to increase that to as much as $150,000 per song if it finds the infringements were deliberate. The music industry has threatened about 35,000 people with charges of copyright infringement over the past decade.”
Keyword: infringements, threatened, $ 150000
Keyword location: Section B, 3rd line\
Explanation: Piracy and copywriting are punishable by fines ranging from $750 to $300,000. If the conduct was intentionally committed, the punishment might rise to $150,000. Over the past ten years, the music industry has been strict in accusing 35000 people of violating copyright.

The number of songs illegally obtained from the internet.

Answer: A
Supporting sentence: “Illegal music downloads have reached an all-time high, and a recent survey of high school students revealed an estimated 3.6 billion songs being downloaded per month.”
Keyword: estimated 3.6 billion songs, downloaded
Keyword location: section A, 3rd line
Explanation: The line emphasizes how prevalent illicit music downloading has become. It is believed that high school students have downloaded around 3.6 billion songs illegally.

Ambivalence towards the problem.

Answer: H
Supporting sentence: “When high school students were asked how they felt about the business of downloading illegally from the net they appeared to be divided on the issue. Some seemed to think there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. Others felt that it should be thought of as a serious crime like any other form of theft.”
Keyword: felt, some, others, nothing wrong, theft
Keyword location: section H, 1st line
Explanation: Students in high school have differing viewpoints on the issue of illicit music downloading. While some students believed there were no difficulties with illicit song downloading, others saw it as a form of theft.

A reprieve for illegal downloaders

Answer: G
Supporting sentence: “At the same time, the RIAA has offered amnesty to the illegal downloaded who decide to come forward and agree to stop illegally downloading music over the Internet. People who have already been
sued are not eligible for amnesty.”
Keyword: amnesty, illegally downloaded
Keyword location: Section G, 4th line
Explanation: The RIAA has offered relief to anyone who are downloading music illegally and are prepared to promise to stop doing so going forward. People who have been charged with downloading music unlawfully are not eligible for the amnesty.

Questions 6 - 9

Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in the blank spaces next to 6 - 9 on your answer sheet.

The maximum fine that a record company can impose is ________________.
The penalty for breaking copyright laws is harsher when undertaken for _______________ benefit.
The music industry targets each ________________ rather than each specific person downloading illegally.
Appliances used in connection with illegal downloads are sold under the term_______________.

(Guide: Candidates need to fill the blanks with not more than three words or numbers from the passage)

The maximum fine that a record company can impose is ________________.

Answer: $30000
Supporting sentence: “Under government law, record companies are entitled to $750 to $30,000 per infringement but the law allows the jury to increase that to as much as $150,000 per song if it finds the infringements were deliberate.”
Keyword: $30000, record companies, infringement
Keyword location: section B, 2nd line
Explanation: Record labels are allowed to impose fines of up to $30000 for breaches under government legislation.

The penalty for breaking copyright laws is harsher when undertaken for _______________ benefit.

Answer: Commercial
Supporting sentence: “ Under government law, record companies are entitled to $750 to $30,000 per infringement but the law allows the jury to increase that to as much as $150,000 per song if it finds the infringements were deliberate.” “The penalties for breaching the copyright act differ slightly depending upon whether the infringing is for commercial or private financial gain, with the latter punishment being far milder.”
Keywords: commercial, gain, penalties
Keyword location: section B, 8th line
Explanation: The paragraph emphasizes that businesses face fines ranging from $750 to $150000 for violating copyright laws. If the action is taken for commercial gain as opposed to personal gain, the penalty for violating the copyright statute is more severe.

The music industry targets each ________________ rather than each specific person downloading illegally.

Answer: internet service provider
Supporting sentence: “Being a difficult thing to police, the music industry has decided that it would be much easier to go after the internet service provider than to try and track down each case.”
Keyword: go after, internet service provider, each individual
Keyword location: section E, 2nd line
Explanation: The text claims that it would be more effective and easier to target the internet service provider than going after each individual who illegally downloads music.

Appliances used in connection with illegal downloads are sold under the term

Answer: fair use
Supporting sentence: “If there are so many issues around the downloading of music, you might wonder why sales of MP3 players and CD burners are increasing rapidly The answer is simple – these devices do have a legitimate purpose defined as ‘fair use. You can choose to make your backup copy to use in an MP3 player, or you may visit one of many websites, like iTunes, which offers music that you pay for as you download.”
Keywords: devices, fair use
Keyword location: section F, 3rd line
Explanation: The phrase "fair use" refers to both unlawful music downloads and devices used for legitimate purposes.

Questions 10 - 12

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
In boxes 10 - 12 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

Most people sued for illegal downloading actively fight back against the record company.
Illegal downloading can be difficult to monitor and control.
High school students are responsible for illegally downloading the most music.

(Guide: Candidates need to identify the facts and mark them as True or False or Not Given)

Most people sued for illegal downloading actively fight back against the record company.

Answer: false
Supporting sentence: “The industry estimates that more than a hundred of these cases remain unsettled in court, with fewer than 10 offenders actively arguing the case against them.”
Keyword: fewer than 10, actively arguing
Keyword location: section B, 6th line
Explanation: The section claims that the number of offenders who have been charged with unlawfully downloading music and are actively defending their case is less than 10. As a result, the supplied assertion in the question is untrue and contradictory.

Illegal downloading can be difficult to monitor and control.

Answer: true
Supporting sentence: “Being a difficult thing to police, the music industry has decided that it would be much easier to go after the internet service provider than to try and track down each case.”
Keyword: a difficult thing
Keyword location: section E, 1st line
Explanation:The sentence emphasizes how challenging it is for the police to keep an eye on and manage unauthorized music downloads. Thus, the statement is accurate.

High school students are responsible for illegally downloading the most music

Answer: not given
Explanation: The text mentions the monthly illegal song download survey of high school students, however it makes no mention of which kids are in charge of downloading the most music unlawfully. As a result, the information is withheld.

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