Flying Tortoises IELTS Reading Answers with Explanation

“Flying Tortoises” is Passage 1 of Cambridge IELTS 12 Academic Reading Test 3. This page gives the answers for Questions 1–13 with a short explanation of why each answer is right, so you can check your work and learn from every mistake. The question types are: Matching Headings, Note Completion.

Quick answers: Questions 1–13

Question	Answer
1	v
2	iii
3	viii
4	i
5	iv
6	vi
7	ii
8	pirates
9	food
10	oil
11	settlers
12	species
13	eggs

Questions 1–7: Matching Headings

Q	Question	Answer	Why
1	Paragraph A	v	Heading v best sums up the main idea of this paragraph.
2	Paragraph B	iii	Heading iii best sums up the main idea of this paragraph.
3	Paragraph C	viii	Heading viii best sums up the main idea of this paragraph.
4	Paragraph D	i	Heading i best sums up the main idea of this paragraph.
5	Paragraph E	iv	Heading iv best sums up the main idea of this paragraph.
6	Paragraph F	vi	Heading vi best sums up the main idea of this paragraph.
7	Paragraph G	ii	Heading ii best sums up the main idea of this paragraph.

Questions 8–13: Note Completion

Q	Question	Answer	Why
8	—	pirates	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
9	—	food	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
10	—	oil	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
11	—	settlers	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
12	—	species	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
13	—	eggs	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.

Tips for these question types

• Matching headings: read each paragraph for its main idea, not a single detail, and cross out headings once used.
• Completion tasks: check the word limit and the grammar of the gap before you write the answer exactly as it appears in the passage.
• Review every mistake. Find the exact sentence in the passage that proves the answer so you can spot the same trap next time.

FAQ

How many questions does this passage have? Flying Tortoises covers Questions 1–13, which is 13 questions.

Where is this passage from? It is Reading Passage 1 in Cambridge IELTS 12, Academic Test 3.

How should I use these answers? Attempt the passage under timed conditions first, then check your answers here and read the reason for every mistake.

Cambridge IELTS 12 Reading Test 3: all passages
Part 1: Flying Tortoises (you are here)  |  Part 2: The Intersection of Health Sciences and Geography  |  Part 3: Music and the Emotions

Next: Part 2 answers →

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