The Future of Work IELTS Reading Answers with Explanation

“The Future of Work” is Passage 3 of Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic Reading Test 1. This page gives the answers for Questions 27–40 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: Multiple Choice, Summary Completion, Matching Features.

Quick answers: Questions 27–40

Question	Answer
27	B
28	D
29	C
30	D
31	G
32	E
33	C
34	F
35	B
36	A
37	C
38	A
39	B
40	C

Questions 27–30: Multiple Choice

Q	Question	Answer	Why
27	The first paragraph tells us about	B	Option B is the one the passage supports.
28	According to the second paragraph, what is Stella Pachidi’s view of the ‘knowledge economy’?	D	Option D is the one the passage supports.
29	What did Pachidi observe at the telecommunications company?	C	Option C is the one the passage supports.
30	In his recently published research, Ewan McGaughey	D	Option D is the one the passage supports.

Questions 31–34: Summary Completion

Q	Question	Answer	Why
31	Stella Pachidi of Cambridge Judge Business School has been focusing on the ‘algorithmication’ of jobs which rely not on production but on ___	G	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
32	While monitoring a telecommunications company, Pachidi observed a growing ___ on the recommendations made by AI, as workers begin to learn through the ‘algorithm’s eyes’.	E	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
33	Meanwhile, staff are deterred from experimenting and using their own ___, and are therefore prevented from achieving innovation.	C	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
34	To avoid the kind of situations which Pachidi observed, researchers are trying to make AI’s decision-making process easier to comprehend, and to increase users’ ___ with regard to the technology.	F	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.

Questions 35–40: Matching Features

Q	Question	Answer	Why
35	Greater levels of automation will not result in lower employment.	B	The passage links this point to: B.
36	There are several reasons why AI is appealing to businesses.	A	The passage links this point to: A.
37	AI's potential to transform people's lives has parallels with major cultural shifts which occurred in previous eras.	C	The passage links this point to: C.
38	It is important to be aware of the range of problems that AI causes.	A	The passage links this point to: A.
39	People are going to follow a less conventional career path than in the past.	B	The passage links this point to: B.
40	Authorities should take measures to ensure that there will be adequately paid work for everyone	C	The passage links this point to: C.

Tips for these question types

• Multiple choice: eliminate options that are only partly right, and watch for words like only, always and never.
• Completion tasks: check the word limit and the grammar of the gap before you write the answer exactly as it appears in the passage.
• Matching features: underline the names or terms first, then scan for them 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? The Future of Work covers Questions 27–40, which is 14 questions.

Where is this passage from? It is Reading Passage 3 in Cambridge IELTS 16, Academic Test 1.

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 16 Reading Test 1: all passages
Part 1: Why We Need to Protect Polar Bears  |  Part 2: The Step Pyramid of Djoser  |  Part 3: The Future of Work (you are here)

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