The Deep Sea Reading Answers

Dec 6, 2022

The Deep Sea Reading Answers contain 13 questions that need to be answered in 20 minutes. The Deep Sea IELTS Reading Answers consists of two types of questions including- identifying true statements, and summary completion. Candidates need to skim the passage for keywords, understand the concept, and answer based on the given instructions. For summary completion, candidates must read the IELTS reading passage, identify keywords, and recognize synonyms to answer the question. Candidates can follow IELTS Reading tips to understand how to answer the questions related to the passage. More such passages and questions are available in IELTS Reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Deep Sea IELTS Reading Sample

At a time when most think of outer space as the final frontier, we must remember that a great deal of unfinished business remains here on earth. Robots crawl on the surface of Mars, and spacecraft exit our solar system, but most of our planet has still never been seen by human eyes. It seems ironic that we know more about impact craters on the far side of the moon than about the longest and largest mountain range on earth. It is incredible that human beings crossed a quarter of a million miles of space to visit our nearest celestial neighbour before penetrating just two miles deep into the earth own waters to explore the Midocean Ridge. And it would be hard to imagine a more significant part of our planet to investigate – a chain of volcanic mountains 42,000 miles long where most of the earth’s solid surface was born, and where vast volcanoes continue to create new submarine landscapes.
The figure we so often see quoted 71% of the earth’s surface – understates the oceans’ importance. If you consider three-dimensional volumes instead, the land dwellers’ share of the planet shrinks even more toward insignificance: less than 1% of the total. Most of dying oceans’ enormous volume lies deep below the familiar surface. The upper sunlit layer, by one estimate, contains only 2 or 3% of the total space available to life. The other 97% of the earth’s biosphere lies deep beneath the water’s surface, where sunlight never penetrates. Until recently, it was impossible to study the deep ocean directly. By the sixteenth century, diving bells allowed people to stay underwater for a short time: they could swim to the hell to breathe air trapped underneath it rather than return to the surface. Later, other devices, including pressurized or armoured suits, heavy metal helmets, and compressed air supplied through hoses from dying surfaces, allowed at least one diver to reach 500 feet or so. It was 1930 when a biologist named William Beebe and his engineering colleague Otis Barton sealed themselves into a new kind of diving craft, an invention that finally allowed humans to penetrate beyond the shallow sunlit layer of the sea and the history of deep-sea exploration began. Science then was largely incidental – something that happened along the way. In terms of technical ingenuity and human bravery, this part of the story is every bit as amazing as the history of early aviation. Yet many of these individuals, and the deep-diving vehicles that they built and tested, arc not well known.
It was not until the 1970s that deep-diving manned submersibles were able to reach the Midocean Ridge and begin making major contributions to a wide range of scientific questions. A burst of discoveries followed in short order. Several of these profoundly changed the whole field of science and their implications are still not fully understood. For example, biologists may now be seeing – in the strange communities of microbes and animals that live around deep volcanic vents – clues to the origin of life on earth. No one even knew that these communities existed before explorers began diving to the bottom in a submersible. Entering the deep, black abyss presents unique challenges for which humans must carefully prepare if they wish to survive. It is an unforgiving environment, both harsh and strangely beautiful, that few who have not experienced it firsthand can fully appreciate. Even the most powerful searchlights penetrate the only lens of feet. Suspended particles scatter tile light and water itself is less transparent than air; it absorbs and scatters light. The ocean also swallows other types of electromagnetic radiation, including radio signals. That is why many deep-sea vehicles dangle from tethers. Inside those tethers, copper wires or fibre optic strands transmit signals that would dissipate and die if broadcast into open water.
Another challenge is that the temperature near the bottom in very deep water typically hovers just four degrees above freezing, and submersibles rarely have much insulation. Since water absorbs heat more quickly than air, the cold down below seems to penetrate a diving capsule far more quickly than it would penetrate, say, a control van up above, on the deck of the mother ship. And finally, the abyss clamps down with crushing pressure on anything that enters it. ‘This force is like air pressure on land, except that water is much heavier than air. At sea level on land, we don’t even notice 1 atmosphere of pressure, about 15 pounds per square inch, the weight of the earth’s blanket of air. In the deepest part of die ocean, nearly seven miles down, it’s about 1,200 atmospheres, 18,000 pounds per square inch. A square-inch column of lead would crush down on your body with equal force if it were 3,600 feet tall.
Fish that live in the deep don’t feel the pressure, because they are filled with water from their environment. It has already been compressed by abyssal pressure as much as water can be (which is not much). A diving craft, however, is a hollow chamber, rudely displacing the water around it. That chamber must withstand the full brunt of deep-sea pressure – thousands of pounds per square inch. If seawater with that much pressure behind it ever finds a way to break inside, it explodes through the hole with laserlike intensity. It was into such a terrifying environment that the first twentieth-century explorers ventured.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 27-30

Write the correct letter. A. B. C or D, in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.

Question 27. In the first paragraph, the writer finds it surprising that …

we send robots to Mars rather than to the sea bed.
we choose to explore the least accessible side of the moon.
people reached the moon before they explored the deepest parts of the earth’s oceans.
spaceships are sent beyond our solar system instead of exploring it.

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: At a time when most think of outer space as the final frontier, we must remember that a great deal of unfinished business remains here on earth.
Keywords: Space, Business, Earth
Keyword Location: 1st paragraph, 1st line.
Explanation: The passage states that we always think of outer space before discovering the remains on earth. Here outer space is the moon and the remains on earth are the deepest parts of earth’s ocean. It is important to discover the Earth’s surface.

Question 28. The writer argues that saying 71 % of the earth’s surface is the ocean is not accurate because it …………………

ignores the depth of the world’s oceans.
is based on an estimated volume.
overlooks the significance of landscape features.
refers to the proportion of water in which life is possible.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: If you consider instead three-dimensional volumes, the land dwellers’ share of the planet shrinks even more toward insignificance: less than 1% of the total.
Keywords: Volumes, Land dwellers, Planet.
Keyword Location: 2nd paragraph, 2nd line.
Explanation: As per the passage, we ignore the deepest parts of the ocean considering the three-dimensional volume. It is necessary to include the depth of the world’s oceans. Hence, A is the correct answer.

Question 29. How did the diving bell help divers?

It allowed each diver to carry a supply of air underwater.
It enabled piped air to reach deep below the surface.
It offered access to a reservoir of air below the surface.
It meant that they could dive as deep as 500 feet.

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: By the sixteenth century, diving bells allowed people to stay underwater for a short time: they could swim to the hell to breathe air trapped underneath it rather than return all the way to the surface.
Keywords: Underwater, Swim, Air, Surface
Keyword Location: 2nd paragraph, 7th line.
Explanation: The author states that divers could stay underwater for a short period using air pockets. The diving bells were helpful for people to remain underwater for short period. They could swim to the pockets rather than return to the surface.

Question 30. What point does the writer make about scientific discoveries between 1930 and 1970?

They were rarely the primary purpose of deep-sea exploration.
The people who conducted experiments were not professional scientists.
Many people refused to believe the discoveries that were made.
They involved the use of technologies from other disciplines.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: It was not until the 1970s that deep-diving manned submersibles were able to reach the Midocean Ridge and begin making major contributions to a wide range of scientific questions.
Keywords: Deep-diving, Scientific
Keyword Location: 3rd paragraph, 1st line.
Explanation: From 1930 to 1970, there were no successful scientific discoveries. This means that they were merely simple and served primary purpose.

Questions 31-36:

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 31-36 on your answer sheet, write

YES, if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO, if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN, if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

Question 31. The Midocean Ridge is largely the same as when the continents emerged.

Answer: Not Given
Supporting Sentence: Amazingly, human beings crossed a quarter of a million miles of space to visit our nearest celestial neighbor before penetrating just two miles deep into the earth's own waters to explore the Midocean Ridge.
Keywords: Quarter, Space, Celestial, Earths, Waters, Explore
Keyword Location: 1st paragraph, 4th line.
Explanation: The Midocean Ridge is still left to be explored. There is no information if the Midocean Ridge is largely the same as when the continents emerged.

Question 32. We can make an approximate calculation of the percentage of the ocean in which sunlight penetrates.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Sentence: The upper sunlit layer, by one estimate, contains only 2 or 3% of the total space available to life.
Keywords: Earth, Biosphere, Water, Surface, Sunlight
Keyword Location: 2nd paragraph, 3rd line.
Explanation: The passage directly states that sunlight can penetrate only 2% to 3% of the ocean surface. Hence, we can calculate the percentage of the ocean in which sunlight penetrates.

Question 33. Many unexpected scientific phenomena came to light when the exploration of the Midocean Ridge began.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Sentence: It was not until the 1970s that deep-diving manned submersibles were able to reach the Midocean Ridge and begin making major contributions to a wide range of scientific questions.
Keywords: Submersibles, Contributions, Scientific
Keyword Location: 3rd paragraph, 1st line.
Explanation: As per the author, exploring Midocean Ridge gave rise to many Scientific discoveries and made major contributions. They were able to make various scientific discoveries.

Question 34. The number of people exploring the abyss has risen sharply in the 21st century.

Answer: Not Given
Supporting Sentence: Entering the deep, black abyss presents unique challenges for which humans must carefully prepare if they wish to survive.
Keywords: Abyss, Challenges, Survive
Keyword Location: 3rd paragraph, 6th line.
Explanation: The passage states that the Black abyss is harmful to man. However, there is no information if this has increased in 21^st century.

Question 35. One danger of the darkness is that deep-sea vehicles become entangled in vegetation.

Answer: Not Given
Supporting Sentence: That is why many deep-sea vehicles dangle from tethers.
Keywords: Deep-sea, vehicles
Keyword Location: 3rd paragraph, 11th line.
Explanation: The passage states that many deep-sea vehicles dangle from tethers. As the ocean swallows electromagnetic radiation, sea vehicles sway away from tethers. However, there is no information if they become entangled in vegetation.

Question 36. The construction of submersibles offers little protection from the cold at great depths.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Sentence: Another challenge is that the temperature near the bottom in very deep water typically hovers just four degrees above freezing, and submersibles rarely have much insulation.
Keywords: Temperature, Deepwater, Freezing, Insulation
Keyword Location: 4th paragraph, 1st line.
Explanation: In deep water, submersibles can’t have insulation. Since the temperature is very low at the bottom, it produces a challenge. This means submersibles offer little protection from the cold at great depths.

Questions 37-40:

Complete the summary using the list of words A-I below.
Write your answers in the boxes next to 37-40 on your answer sheet

Deep diving craft

A diving craft has to be 37 …………………………………enough to cope with the enormous pressure of the abyss, which is capable of crushing almost anything. Unlike creatures that live there, which are not 38……………………………………..…. because they contain compressed water, a submersible is filled with 39…………………………………………….. If it has a weak spot in its construction, there will be a 40…………………………………… explosion of water into the craft.

an ocean
air
deep
hollow
sturdy
atmosphere
energetic
violent
heavy

Question 37.

Answer: Sturdy
Supporting Sentence: That chamber must withstand the full brunt of deep-sea pressure – thousands of pounds per square inch.
Keywords: withstand, pounds
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 4
Explanation: The diving craft is an invention that finally allowed humans to penetrate beyond the shallow sunlit layer of the sea. It has to be sturdy and well-designed to withstand all the water pressure. Hence, sturdy is the correct answer.

Question 38.

Answer: Hollow
Supporting Sentence: A diving craft, however, is a hollow chamber, rudely displacing the water around it.
Keywords: hollow chamber, displacing
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 3rd.
Explanation: The passage states that deep-sea creatures can’t be disturbed by the diving craft because it is merely a hollow chamber, rudely displacing the water around it. Hence, hollow is the correct answer.

Question 39.

Answer: Air
Supporting Sentence: Since water absorbs heat more quickly than air, the cold down below seems to penetrate a diving capsule far more quickly than it would penetrate.
Keywords: Paragraph D, Line 3
Keyword Location: absorbs, penetrate
Explanation: The answer is correct as justified by the supporting statement. Also, deep down in the sea, the temperature hovers just four degrees above freezing. And the submersibles do not have very good insulation.

Question 40.

Answer: Violent
Supporting Sentence: If seawater with that much pressure behind it ever finds a way to break inside, it explodes through the hole with laserlike intensity.
Keywords: seawater, explodes, laserlike
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 5
Explanation: As per the author the diving craft has to be sturdy. If the seawater finds a way to enter the craft with its pressure, the craft won’t survive and explode. The water explodes with huge intensity. This iinvolving physical force intended to damage. This also means violent.

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