The Smart Card Reading Answers

The Smart Card Reading Answers contain 13 questions and belong to the assessment system of the IELTS General Reading test. The Smart Card Reading Answers must be answered within 20 minutes. In this IELTS reading section, question types include: Do the following statements agree with the information, and choose no more than three words. Also, The Smart Card Reading Answers offers a comprehensive overview of how smart cards powered by microchip technology are transforming banking, healthcare, travel, and security across the world. To practice similar reading tests, candidates can refer to the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.

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Topic:

The invention of the microchip in the 1960s revolutionised the computer industry. Microchips are also used in thousands of other products, including smart cards. These look and function like the familiar magnetic-stripe credit cards, but they have a microchip embedded inside them that can store information. The smart card was the brainchild of two French inventors, Roland Moreno and Michel Ugon, who developed the technology in the mid-1970s. The first cards were tested in several French cities in the early 1980s and the technology was subsequently adopted by banks throughout Europe. Smart cards are now a part of everyday life in Europe, where they are used for a wide range of purposes, including paying for public transport, making small purchases over the counter, and banking by telephone. The European Union has adopted the technology as the standard for all its future credit cards.

Smart cards are only just beginning to be introduced in the United States, where the older magnetic-stripe technology is still the norm. The new technology is considered to be much more secure than the magnetic-stripe card, which is vulnerable to fraud. The microchip embedded in the smart card can be programmed to allow the cardholder to access many different systems. One card can be used for various types of banking transactions, for example, and as a phone card. It can also serve as an electronic purse, storing a cash balance for small purchases and recording phone and ATM transactions. It can also be used as a security pass to give the cardholder access to restricted areas.

The smart card may well replace keys, money, and identity cards in the future. In the United States, the Department of Defense has provided smart cards to its 4.3 million employees, and the Department of Energy is planning to do the same. Many of the nation's hospitals and health-care facilities are also adopting the technology.

One of the most significant uses of the smart card is in providing people with access to their own health records. In France, for example, everyone now has a smart card containing a complete medical history, which can be accessed immediately by a doctor or pharmacist. The card, which is the size of a credit card, has a microchip embedded in it that contains the patient's medical history, including allergies, blood type, and details of any current medical conditions. The card also contains information about the patient's health-insurance provider. The card can be used to store medical records, prescriptions, and details of medical appointments.

In the United States, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is driving the demand for smart cards. The Act requires health-care providers to protect the privacy of patients' medical information and to take measures to protect the security of sensitive information. Smart cards are considered one of the best ways of meeting these requirements.

The technology is also being used to improve the security of the US passport card. The card is a wallet-sized document that can be used instead of the traditional passport booklet when US citizens cross the border by land or sea between the United States and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, or Bermuda. The card has a microchip embedded in it that contains a unique number linking the card to a government database containing the cardholder's personal information.

Smart cards are also used in public-transport systems around the world. In Hong Kong, for example, the Octopus card is used by millions of commuters every day. The card is a plastic smart card containing a microchip that can be loaded with cash and used to pay for travel on the city's underground railway system. The card can also be used on buses, ferries, and trams, and even in car parks and convenience stores.

Questions 1-7

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

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. The smart card was developed by two French inventors in the 1960s.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "…Roland Moreno and Michel Ugon, who developed the technology in the mid-1970s."

Keywords: smart card, French inventors, developed, 1970s

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 3

Explanation: The smart card was developed in the mid-1970s, not in the 1960s as the statement incorrectly suggests.

2. The microchips in smart cards can store information.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "…they have a microchip embedded inside them that can store information."

Keywords: microchip, store information

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 2

Explanation: This clearly states that smart cards contain a microchip that stores information, confirming the statement as true.

3. The European Union wants all its citizens to use smart cards.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "The European Union has adopted the technology as the standard for all its future credit cards."

Keywords: European Union, future credit cards, standard

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, last line

Explanation: The EU has only made smart cards the standard for future credit cards, not for all citizens to use in general.

4. The US Department of Defense has provided smart cards to its employees.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "…the Department of Defense has provided smart cards to its 4.3 million employees…"

Keywords: Department of Defense, provided, smart cards, employees

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 2

Explanation: This confirms that smart cards were indeed issued to all Department of Defense employees.

5. The US Department of Energy has developed a smart card for its employees.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "…the Department of Energy is planning to do the same."

Keywords: Department of Energy, planning

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 3

Explanation: The department has not yet issued smart cards—it is only planning to, so the statement is false.

6. In France, people's medical records are stored on a smart card.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "…everyone now has a smart card containing a complete medical history…"

Keywords: France, smart card, medical history

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, line 1

Explanation: In France, people use smart cards that contain their full medical records, verifying this as true.

7. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act requires health-care providers to protect patients' privacy.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "…requires health-care providers to protect the privacy of patients' medical information…"

Keywords: HIPAA, protect, privacy, medical information

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 2

Explanation: This aligns with the law’s requirement to protect patient data, supporting the statement’s accuracy.

Questions 8-13

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE

WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each.

THE SMART CARD

Functions of smart cards

- store information

- allow the cardholder to access different systems

Different uses of smart cards

- to make small purchases

- to record phone and ATM transactions

- as a security pass

Use of smart cards in France

- to provide people with access to their own health records

- to store medical records and details about 8…………

Answer: health-insurance provider

Supporting statement: "…contains information about the patient's health-insurance provider."

Keywords: store, information, health-insurance provider

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, line 5

Explanation: In France, smart cards store the patient’s insurance information along with medical records and appointment details.

- to store 9……………

Answer: medical appointments

Supporting statement: "The card can be used to store medical records, prescriptions, and details of medical appointments."

Keywords: store, medical appointments

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, last line

Explanation: Smart cards in France also store details of appointments, confirming this specific usage.

Use of smart cards in the United States

- to improve the security of the US passport card

- to provide a 10……………..

Answer: unique number

Supporting statement: "…contains a unique number linking the card to a government database…"

Keywords: unique number, linking, database

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, line 3

Explanation: The US passport smart card includes a unique number to link it securely with a government-held personal information database.

between the

card and a government database

Use of smart cards in Hong Kong

- to pay for travel on the city's underground railway system

- to pay for travel on 11……………….., 12…………………….. and 13……………….

Answer: buses

Supporting statement: "…used to pay for travel on the city's underground railway system… on buses, ferries, and trams…"

Keywords: travel, buses

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 2

Explanation: The Octopus card is used across multiple transport modes, including buses.

Answer: ferries

Supporting statement: Same as above

Keywords: travel, ferries

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 2

Explanation: Ferries are listed as one of the smart card-compatible transport options in Hong Kong.

Answer: trams

Supporting statement: Same as above

Keywords: travel, trams

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 2

Explanation: Trams are also included in the transport system where smart cards like the Octopus are accepted.

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