“Accentuate the Negative” is Part 3 of IELTS Reading Test 8. This page gives the answers for Questions 27-40, with a short explanation wherever the reasoning is clear, so you can check your work and learn from every mistake. The task types are: One Choice, Matching Features, Sentence Completion.
Quick answers: Questions 27-40
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 27 | D |
| 28 | B |
| 29 | C |
| 30 | J (Southeast Asia) |
| 31 | I (South America) |
| 32 | A (Africa) |
| 33 | C (Europe) |
| 34 | H (South Africa) |
| 35 | G (Sahel) |
| 36 | stressed |
| 37 | vulnerabilities and damage |
| 38 | less authorial judgment |
| 39 | systematic bias |
| 40 | B |
Questions 27–29: One Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
| Q | Statement | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | How did the IPCC chair respond to the glacier error criticism? | D | He first attacked the critics, then admitted the mistake and formed a panel to improve the IPCC. |
| 28 | Which error did the Dutch newspaper find in the sea-level figure? | B | The sea-flood zone was confused with river-flood zones, which inflated the figure. |
| 29 | How many issues did PBL classify as major altogether? | C | — |
Questions 30–35: Matching Features
Look at the following locations and the issues that were put forward by PBL in their investigating report. Match each issue with ONE correct location. There are more locations than issues, so you will not use all of them.
| Q | Statement | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Freshwater availability will decrease. | J (Southeast Asia) | The authors claim freshwater will fall in these Asian regions without convincing support. |
| 31 | Livestock productivity is estimated to decrease. | I (South America) | Cattle research from one country was wrongly generalized to all livestock across South America. |
| 32 | Rain-fed farm output may fall by up to 50%. | A (Africa) | The 50% figure only covers drought years and applies to Morocco, not Africa as a whole. |
| 33 | Health risks are likely to increase. | C (Europe) | The authors offer no strong reason for predicting negative health effects in Europe. |
| 34 | Turbulence in fish spawning grounds will reduce productivity. | H (South Africa) | An error turned a turbulence finding into a claim about fishery productivity in South Africa. |
| 35 | Warmer, drier conditions are harming crops. | G (Sahel) | — |
Questions 36–39: Sentence Completion
Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
| Q | Statement | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | Negative impacts are ___ more than positive ones. | stressed | PBL found that bad effects receive more emphasis than good ones. |
| 37 | Researchers focus on ___ to attract funding. | vulnerabilities and damage | These topics seem more urgent and are easier to fund. |
| 38 | PBL wanted more precise referencing, narrower interpretation, and ___. | less authorial judgment | PBL wanted fewer of the authors' own opinions shaping the evidence. |
| 39 | PBL found no evidence of ___ in the IPCC's work. | systematic bias | Without evidence of systematic bias, the parliament has no grounds to reject the findings. |
| 40 | The writer's attitude toward the IPCC and PBL? | B | The writer weighs both sides evenly, noting faults and strengths without taking sides. |
Tips for these question types
- Read the question first. Underline keywords, then scan the passage for the same idea in different words.
- Check the instructions. Note the word limit and whether letters or words are needed before you write.
- Review every mistake. Find the sentence that proves the answer so you can spot the same trap next time.
FAQ
How many questions does Part 3 have? Part 3 of this test covers Questions 27-40, which is 14 questions.
Why do some answers have no explanation? We add an explanation only where the reasoning is clear. Always confirm doubtful answers against the passage.
Part 1: A Harvard Myrmecologist is not Just the Darwin of the Ant World, but Its Homer Too | Part 3: Accentuate the Negative (you are here)
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