The Sun - IELTS Reading Sample with Explanation
The IELTS reading section examines a candidate’s comprehending skills within the stipulated amount of time. The reading section comprises passages followed with different kinds of questions to holistically judge a student’s grasping abilities while reading. This particular IELTS Reading Practice Test has a passage on- “The Sun” which consists of the following types of questions:
- Fill in the blanks
The IELTS Reading Practice Tests contain a variety of sample passages with different kinds of questions which will equip a student with all the possible dimensions of this section. These practice tests should be taken with utmost seriousness to perform brilliantly on D-Day.
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Section 1
Read the passage below to answer the following questions
The Sun IELTS Reading Sample
Imagine a world where the sun never sets. Children can laugh and play in the streets all through the night. Fishermen enjoy 24 hours of daylight on the open sea. To get any sleep, people must block all the light from their windows.
Now imagine a world with only darkness. Even in the middle of the day, the sun does not shine. The only light comes from the moon and the stars in the black sky. Cars must drive with their lights on all the time. When people awake in the morning, it looks like the middle of the night.
This is the situation for people who live above the Arctic Circle. The sun clearly influences their lives. This includes people in northern Russia, Canada, Alaska and Greenland. For part of the year they cannot see the sun. And part of the year the sun never disappears.
But do you ever think about the sun? All life depends on the power of the sun. Year after year, the sun warms the earth, gives us light, builds life on our planet, and even keeps us healthy.
Whatever early people thought about the sun, they did not know much about it. But as people began to use science they learned more about the sun. In 1543, Nicholas Copernicus demonstrated that the earth travels around the sun. One hundred years later, scientists estimated the distance to the sun. And as recently as 1904, a man named Ernest Rutherford showed how the sun produced such large amounts of heat. These people discovered that the sun is a star like all the other stars in the sky. However, for our planet, it is a very special star.
The earth is 150 million kilometers from the sun. Here is one way to imagine this great distance. Imagine that you are standing on the sun. Your friends are on the earth. If they turned on a light, it would take eight minutes for you to see it! But this is the perfect distance for the earth to use the sun's heat.
The temperature of the sun is around 6,000 degrees Celsius at its surface, and 15 million degrees at its centre! If the earth were any closer, we would burn. But if the earth were any further away, we would freeze. And yet, the sun is more than a big heater.
The sun also helps provide us with fresh air. The sun heats the oceans. Then the water heats the air. The changing air temperatures create most of the world's wind. Wind moves air to different places so plants can remove carbon dioxide from the air and create oxygen.
But the sun also affects plants directly. The sun makes plants grow through the process of photosynthesis. Plants can change light from the sun into energy. They use the energy to grow bigger and stronger. All life on earth depends on plants. Without the sun, we could not grow food for ourselves or for our animals.
Plants are not the only things who capture the power of the sun. Human can turn sunlight into electricity with solar cells. A solar cell collects the power of the sun and stores it. Then, this power can be used to run anything that uses electricity: cars, computers, or homes.
Besides all these amazing things, the sun also helps us to do something very simple, but needed. Without the sun, we would not be able to see anything!
The sun also helps people to be healthy and strong. It acts as a natural cleaner for our skin. The sun can help kill harmful bacteria that live on our skin. And the sun helps our bodies produce vitamin D. People need vitamin D to have strong bones.
The sun can also improve our mental health. In places where the sun does not shine, people can suffer from seasonal affective disorder. This is a kind of depression. People with season affective disorder do not have energy and feel sad. They are treated by sitting near a special light. But nothing is as good as being in real sunlight. Sunlight can help prevent depression and keep people happy. When the sun is shining, people have more hope about the future.
The sun does many other things as well. It helps us tell time. It controls the where and when animals travel. The sun's gravity keeps the planet in orbit. It even lets us see at night. This is because the sun shines on the moon and the moon sends the light down to the earth. The sun makes the colors of a rainbow after it rains. And it paints the sky during a sunset.
There are many things we still do not know about the sun. But the more we learn about the sun, the more we can thank God for giving us this wonderful gift.
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Section 2
Solutions and Explanation
Question No. 1-9
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Q1. For part of the year people who live above the ________________ cannot see the sun.
Answer: Arctic Circle
Supporting Sentence: "Now imagine a world with only darkness. Even in the middle of the day, the sun does not shine. The only light comes from the moon and the stars in the black sky. Cars must drive with their lights on all the time. When people awake in the morning, it looks like the middle of the night. This is the situation for people who live above the Arctic Circle. The sun clearly influences their lives."
Keywords: Arctic Circle, Darkness
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3
Explanation: In paragraph 3, the author gives the readers an insight into the lives of people living in the Arctic Circle. The sun doesn't shine on the arctic circle and the only sources of light available are the moon and stars shining in the black sky. Cars are required to drive with their lights on at all times. It appears to be the middle of the night when the individuals wake up in the morning.
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Q2. In 1543, Nicholas Copernicus demonstrated that the _______________ travels around the sun.
Answer: Earth
Supporting Sentence: "Whatever early people thought about the sun, they did not know much about it. But as people began to use the science they learned more about the sun. In 1543, Nicholas Copernicus demonstrated that the earth travels around the sun."
Keyword: Nicholas Copernicus, Earth
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5
Explanation: In paragraph 5, the author clearly mentions that the sun was discovered by Nicholas Copernicus in 1543. Before the discovery of the sun, the people didn't know much about it and they got to know that the earth travels around the sun after the developments made by Nicholas Copernicus.
Q3. The earth is ______________ kilometers from the sun.
Answer: 150 million
Supporting Sentence: "The earth is 150 million kilometers from the sun."
Keywords: 150 million kilometers, distance
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6
Explanation: In paragraph 6, the author clearly states the fact that the distance between the earth and the sun is 150 million kilometers. Due to this distance, the earth is able to utilize the heat from the sun.
Q4. It takes sunlight an average of ______________ minutes to travel from the Sun to the Earth.
Answer: Eight
Supporting Sentence: "Imagine that you are standing on the sun. Your friends are on the earth. If they turned on a light, it would take eight minutes for you to see it!."
Keywords: Eight, travel
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6
Explanation: In paragraph 6, the author states the fact that the sunlight takes eight minutes to travel from the Sun to the Earth. It takes eight minutes for the people on the earth to see the sunlight.
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Q5. The temperature of the sun is around _____________ million degrees at its centre.
Answer: 15
Supporting Sentences:" The temperature of the sun is around 6,000 degrees Celsius at its surface and 15 million degrees at its center!."
Keywords: 15 million degrees Celsius, temperature
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7
Explanation: In paragraph 7, the author informs the readers that the temperature of the sun at its center is 15 million degrees Celsius. If the earth moves closer to the sun it would burn whereas if it moves away then the temperature on earth would drop drastically down.
Q6. The sun makes plants grow through the process of __________________.
Answer: Photosynthesis
Supporting Sentences: "But the sun also affects plants directly. The sun makes plants grow through the process of photosynthesis."
Keywords: Photosynthesis, process
Keyword Location: Paragraph 9
Explanation: In paragraph 9, the author explains the process of photosynthesis which helps the plants to grow. Using this process, the plants can change the light to energy. The energy produced is used by the plants to grow bigger and stronger. The plants also use this energy to grow food for the animals.
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Q7. Human can turn sunlight into electricity with ________________.
Answer: Solar cells
Supporting Sentences: "Plants are not the only things who capture the power of the sun. Human can turn sunlight into electricity with solar cells."
Keywords: Solar cells, electricity
Keyword Location: Paragraph 10
Explanation: In paragraph 10, the author has given the readers an insight into the fact that humans can transform sunlight into electricity using solar cells. The energy can then be utilized to power anything that requires electricity, such as cars, computers, or homes.
Q8. The sun helps our bodies produce ________________ which is needed for us to have strong bones.
Answer: Vitamin D
Supporting Sentences: "And the sun helps our bodies produce vitamin D. People need vitamin D to have strong bones."
Keywords: Vitamin D, strong bones
Keyword Location: Paragraph 12
Explanation: In paragraph 12, the author has clearly stated the fact that the sun aids in the production of vitamin D, which is required for strong bones. It is important for humans to get their required amount of vitamin D.
Q9. The sun's _________ keeps the planet in orbit.
Answer: Gravity
Supporting Sentences: "The sun's gravity keeps the planet in orbit."
Keywords: Gravity, orbit
Keyword Location: Paragraph 14
Explanation: In paragraph 14, the author gives the readers an insight that the sun's gravity is required to keep the planets in the orbit. The gravitational pull of the sun also enables the planets to rotate around it.
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