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The Power of Earthquakes IELTS Reading Answers

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The Power of Earthquakes IELTS Reading Answers comprises a total of 13 questions. This IELTS reading passage has been referenced from the book Cambridge IELTS 7, Test 2. This is an Academic IELTS reading topic; The Power of Earthquakes IELTS Reading Answers requires candidates to answer the mentioned number of questions within a time limit of 20 minutes. This IELTS reading topic; The Power of Earthquakes IELTS Reading Answers requires candidates to read the passage carefully and understand the scenarios presented. To practice more such reading passage candidates can refer to the IELTS reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Power of Earthquakes IELTS Reading Answers

Earthquakes have inspired both fear and curiosity in people throughout history. While ancient peoples used myths to explain earthquakes, modern scientists have developed the theory of plate tectonics. According to this theory, the Earth's surface is broken into many pieces that can move against each other, causing tremors at the Earth's surface. To better understand these events, scientists have developed sophisticated equipment to measure, record, and even begin to predict future earthquakes. While the scientists of today may understand a great deal more than our ancestors did, they also recognize that there is still much to learn about the destructive powers held deep within the Earth.

Before scientific explanations were established, many cultures explained earthquakes by attributing them to the movements of mythical creatures, such as frogs, turtles, and even flea-infested dogs. Japanese mythology tells of a great catfish guarded by the deity Kashima. When Kashima let his guard down, the catfish thrashed about, causing the Earth to tremble. In India, myths tell of the Earth being held upon the shoulders of an elephant that shook its head when tired. The Greeks believed that the shaking of the Earth was the rumbling of the god Poseidon's horses traveling through the skies or across the Earth. Or it was caused by Poseidon pounding his trident on the ground. The number and variety of these mythological explanations for earthquakes show how important it has always been to people everywhere to understand what causes the mysterious shakings of the Earth. A Beginning in the early 1960s, many in the scientific community began espousing the theory of plate tectonics, which explains that the surface of the Earth, the crust, is broken into many pieces called tectonic plates. Some of these plates are extremely large, such as the Eurasian Plate, on which sits most of Europe and Asia. Others are smaller, such as the Caribbean Plate, which is mostly underwater in the Caribbean Sea. These plates float on the Earth's mantle, a bed of molten rock called magma. Deeper forces inside the Earth's core heat this magma and cause it to flow underneath the plates, pushing the plates. The tension created at the boundaries of opposing plates can often become strong enough to snap them past each other, sometimes with the violent force that we know as an earthquake.

Scientists describe the movement of the plates in relation to each other in three principal ways. First, when two plates are forced into each other, one plate slides below the other. This is known as a convergent boundary. As the lower plate goes down, the upper plate often rises, forming mountains. The Himalayas, for example, were formed by the Indian Rate crashing into the Eurasian Plate. The second type of boundary is where two plates move apart from each other. This is known as a divergent boundary. An example of this is the Mid-Atlantic Rift, found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. At this boundary, the North American Plate and the Eurasian plate are being forced apart, at an average rate of 2.5 centimeters1 per year. The third type is a transform boundary, where the edges of two plates slide in opposite directions parallel to each other. When the pressure between these plates is great enough, they snap violently past each other. This type of interaction between plates is the cause of many of the earthquakes felt in California.

Seismologists, the scientists who study earthquakes, use a device called a seismograph to measure the force of earthquakes and tremors. The most sophisticated of these are capable of measuring even the slightest tremor and locating its origin. The measuring system most commonly used is called the Richter Scale. It was invented in 1935 by a seismologist named Charles F. Richter., Because the difference in power between small and large earthquakes is so great, he developed a logarithmic scale in which an increase of one on the scale represents a tenfold increase in power. This means that an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.o, which would be easily felt at the Earth's surface, is ten times more powerful than a magnitude 3.0 quake and 100 times more powerful than a magnitude 2.0 quake, which often goes unnoticed. The data the scientists collect allow them not only to document past earthquakes, but to learn to predict future events.

While scientists today know much more about earthquakes than ever, there is still much to be learned. Seismologists have helped us understand more about how earthquakes happen and why they occur in some parts of the world but not others. All of this knowledge informs us about our Earth and protects us from some of the potential dangers. There are still, however, many forces in the Earth that we do not understand, with the potential to move, shake, and reshape the world.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 28-33:
Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C.

  1. Modern scientists are
  1. uncertain about the cause of earthquakes.
  2. able to forecast some earthquakes.
  3. more curious about earthquakes than their ancestors were.

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: To better understand these events, scientists have developed sophisticated equipment to measure, record, and even begin to predict future earthquakes.
Keywords: events, scientists, sophisticated equipment, future earthquakes
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, lines 4-6
Explanation: As mentioned in the above mentioned reading passage, that scientists have developed equipment with respect to earthquakes. This equipment serves the purpose of measuring, recording, and prediction of earthquakes.

  1. In ancient times, people explained earthquakes by
  1. telling stories.
  2. developing scientific theories.
  3. watching the reactions of animals.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: While ancient peoples used myths to explain earthquakes, modern scientists have developed the theory of plate tectonics.
Keywords: ancient peoples, myths, earthquakes,
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, lines 1-3
Explanation: it is evident from the above-mentioned supporting sentence that in ancient times, people used mythical stories to explain earthquakes.

  1. Kashima was a
  1. king.
  2. catfish.
  3. god.

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Japanese mythology tells of a great catfish guarded by the deity Kashima. When Kashima let his guard down, the catfish thrashed about, causing the Earth to tremble
Keywords: Japanese, mythology, great catfish, Kashima
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 3-4
Explanation: It has been stated in the IELTS reading passage that Kashima was a deity. Thus, option C that quotes god is an appropriate answer.

  1. The ancient Greeks believed that earthquakes were caused by a god's
  1. horses.
  2. elephants.
  3. frogs.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: The Greeks believed that the shaking of the Earth was the rumbling of the god Poseidon's horses traveling through the skies or across the Earth.
Keywords: Greeks, shaking, Poseidon's, horses
Keyword Location: paragraph 2, lines 6-7
Explanation: The above-mentioned supporting sentence quotes that the earthquake was caused due to Poseidon's horses traveling through the skies or across the Earth.

  1. The quantity and diversity of explanations for earthquakes from ancient cultures show that
  1. ancient people were not capable of understanding natural forces.
  2. people have always been interested in earthquakes.
  3. earthquakes were more common in ancient times.

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: The number and variety of these mythological explanations for earthquakes show how important it has always been to people everywhere to understand what causes the mysterious shakings of the Earth.
Keywords: mythological, earthquakes, mysterious
Keyword Location: paragraph 2, lines 8-10
Explanation: The excerpt from the paragraph quotes that people have been interested in earthquakes. They made various mythological stories and provided explanations based on that.

  1. The Caribbean Plate
  1. sits next to a convergent boundary.
  2. forms part of the Mid-Atlantic Rift.
  3. lies mostly beneath the ocean.

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Others are smaller, such as the Caribbean Plate, which is mostly underwater in the Caribbean Sea.
Keywords: Caribbean Plate, Caribbean Sea
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 14-15
Explanation: The above mentioned excerpt from the reading passage mentions that Caribbean Plate was submerged under water.

Questions 34-40:
Write the correct letter, A-K, on lines 34-40 on your answer sheet.

  1. a transform boundary.
  2. a seismograph.
  3. an unnoticed tremor.
  4. an earthquake measuring 2.0.
  5. a logarithmic scale.
  6. a divergent boundary.
  7. a magnitude 3.0 earthquake.
  8. a layer of magma.
  9. a collision between two plates.
  10. a piece of the Earth's crust.
  11. a convergent boundary.
  1. A place where two plates slide in opposite directions is called

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: The third type is a transform boundary, where the edges of two plates slide in opposite directions parallel to each other.
Keywords: transform boundary, two plates, parallel
Keyword Location: paragraph 3, lines 8-10
Explanation: As mentioned; the borders of two plates glide parallel to one another in the third type of boundary, known as a transform boundary.

  1. Tectonic plates lie on

Answer: H
Supporting Sentence: These plates float on the Earth's mantle, a bed of molten rock called magma. Deeper forces inside the Earth's core heat this magma and cause it to flow underneath the plates, pushing the plates.
Keywords: Earth's mantle, magma
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 15-17
Explanation: These plates are suspended in the magma-filled mantle of the Earth. This magma is heated by deeper forces in the Earth's core, which causes it to flow beneath the plates and push them.

  1. An earthquake measuring 4.0 is ten times more powerful than

Answer: G
Supporting Sentence: This means that an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0, which would be easily felt at the Earth's surface, is ten times more powerful than a magnitude 3.0 quake and 100 times more powerful than a magnitude 2.0 quake, which often goes unnoticed.
Keywords: earthquake,
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, 7-10
Explanation: This indicates a magnitude 4.0 earthquake. This might be felt easily at the surface of the Earth. Further, it is ten times more strong than a 3.0 earthquake and one hundred times more powerful than a 2.0 earthquake, which frequently passes unreported.

  1. The Himalayas were caused by

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: The Himalayas, for example, were formed by the Indian Rate crashing into the Eurasian Plate. The second type of boundary is where two plates move apart from each other.
Keywords: Indian Rate crashing, Eurasian Plate
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, lines 4-5
Explanation: For instance, when the Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate, the Himalayas were created. When two plates move away from one another, a second form of boundary occurs.

  1. The Mid-Atlantic Rift is an example of

Answer: I
Supporting Sentence: An example of this is the Mid-Atlantic Rift, found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. At this boundary, the North American Plate and the Eurasian plate are being forced apart, at an average rate of 2.5 centimeters per year.
Keywords: Mid-Atlantic Rift, Atlantic Ocean, Eurasian plate
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, 6-8
Explanation: The Atlantic Ocean's deepest rift, the Mid-Atlantic Rift. The North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate are being driven apart at this border at a pace of 2.5 centimeters1 on average every year.

  1. A tectonic plate is

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence: A Beginning in the early 1960s, many in the scientific community began espousing the theory of plate tectonics, which explains that the surface of the Earth, the crust, is broken into many pieces called tectonic plates
Keywords: scientific community, tectonics
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 10-12
Explanation: The scientific community started promoting the plate tectonics theory, which claims that the Earth's crust is divided into several sections termed tectonic plates.

  1. The machine used to measure the strength of earthquakes is known as

Answer: J
Supporting Sentence: A Beginning in the early 1960s, many in the scientific community began espousing the theory of plate tectonics, which explains that the surface of the Earth, the crust, is broken into many pieces called tectonic plates
Keywords: scientific community, tectonics
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 10-12
Explanation: The scientific community started promoting the plate tectonics theory, which claims that the Earth's crust is divided into several sections termed tectonic plates.

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