Cambridge IELTS 15 · Academic · Test 2 · Passage 1
Could Urban Engineers Learn From Dance? — IELTS Reading Answers
All 13 answers for Could Urban Engineers Learn From Dance?, Cambridge IELTS 15 Academic Reading Test 2 Passage 1, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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Could Urban Engineers Learn From Dance? answer key at a glance
Questions 1–13. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with Matching Information (Q1–6), Summary Completion (Q7–13). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 1–6: Matching Information
Strategy: Scan for the idea, not the exact words. The answer is a paragraph letter, and one paragraph may be used more than once unless the instructions say otherwise.
reference to an appealing way of using dance that the writer is not proposing
“That is not to suggest everyone should dance their way to work, however healthy and happy it might make us, but rather that the techniques used by choreographers to experiment with and design movement in dance could provide engineers with tools to stimulate new ideas in city-making”
B: paragraph B says 'that is not to suggest everyone should dance their way to work', an appealing idea the writer is not proposing.
an example of a contrast between past and present approaches to building
“Whereas medieval builders improvised and adapted construction through their intimate knowledge of materials and personal experience of the conditions on a site, building designs are now conceived and stored in media technologies that detach the designer from the physical and social realities they are creating”
C: paragraph C contrasts medieval builders who 'improvised and adapted' with designs now 'conceived and stored in media technologies'.
mention of an objective of both dance and engineering
“Choreography may not seem an obvious choice for tackling this problem. Yet it shares with engineering the aim of designing patterns of movement within limitations of space”
F: paragraph F says choreography 'shares with engineering the aim of designing patterns of movement within limitations of space'.
reference to an unforeseen problem arising from ignoring the climate
“They failed to take into account that purpose-built street cafés could not operate in the hot sun without the protective awnings common in older buildings”
D: paragraph D notes street cafés 'could not operate in the hot sun without the protective awnings', an unforeseen climate problem.
why some measures intended to help people are being reversed
“Designs that seem logical in models appear counter-intuitive in the actual experience of their users”
E: paragraph E observes designs 'that seem logical in models appear counter-intuitive in the actual experience of their users', explaining reversals.
reference to how transport has an impact on human lives
“The way we travel around cities has a major impact on whether they are sustainable”
A: paragraph A says 'the way we travel around cities has a major impact on whether they are sustainable'.
Questions 7–13: Summary Completion
Strategy: Read the summary as a paragraph first to establish the logic, then locate the missing idea in the passage. With a lettered list, confirm the grammar fits.
“The guard rails that will be familiar to anyone who has attempted to cross a British road, for example, were an engineering solution to pedestrian safety”
Guard rails were 'an engineering solution to pedestrian safety', so safety is the aim the summary names.
“based on models that prioritise the smooth flow of traffic”
The models 'prioritise the smooth flow of traffic', the priority the summary identifies.
“On wide major roads, they often guide pedestrians to specific crossing points and slow down their progress across the road by using staggered access points to divide the crossing into two – one for each carriageway”
Staggered access points divide the crossing into two sections, 'one for each carriageway', so carriageway is the word needed.
“In doing so they make crossings feel longer, introducing psychological barriers greatly impacting those that are the least mobile”
Psychological barriers greatly affect 'those that are the least mobile', the group the summary names.
“and encouraging others to make dangerous crossings to get around the guard rails”
Guard rails encourage others 'to make dangerous crossings to get around' them.
“These barriers don’t just make it harder to cross the road: they divide communities”
These barriers 'don't just make it harder to cross the road: they divide communities'.
“and decrease opportunities for healthy transport”
The barriers 'decrease opportunities for healthy transport', so healthy is the adjective needed.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Could Urban Engineers Learn From Dance? passage come from?
It is Passage 1 of Cambridge IELTS 15 Academic Reading Test 2, and it covers Questions 1–13.
What question types appear in Could Urban Engineers Learn From Dance??
The passage is tested with Matching Information, Summary Completion. Each type is explained on this page, alongside the answers.
Are these reading answers reliable?
Every answer is paired with the sentence that proves it, so you can check each one against the passage yourself. Use the page after a timed attempt, not instead of one.
Cambridge IELTS is published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Band9Prep is not affiliated with Cambridge. This page is an independent study aid: it gives the answer key, the passage evidence and an explanation so you can review an attempt you have already made.