Cambridge IELTS 9 · Academic · Test 2 · Passage 1
Hearing Impairment — IELTS Reading Answers
All 12 answers for Hearing Impairment, Cambridge IELTS 9 Academic Reading Test 2 Passage 1, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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Hearing Impairment 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), Short Answers (Q7–10), Two Choices (Q11–12), One Choice (Q13–13). 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.
an account of a national policy initiative
“The New Zealand Government has developed a New Zealand Disability Strategy and has embarked on a wide-ranging consultation process”
Paragraph H reports the New Zealand Government's 'New Zealand Disability Strategy' and wide-ranging consultation, a national policy initiative.
a description of a global team effort
“The International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE), on the advice of the World Health Organization, has established an international working party, which includes New Zealand, to evaluate noise and reverberation control for school rooms”
Paragraph C describes an 'international working party' set up by I-INCE on WHO advice, which is a global team effort.
a hypothesis as to one reason behind the growth in classroom noise
“Education researchers Nelson and Soli have also suggested that recent trends in learning often involve collaborative interaction of multiple minds and tools as much as individual possession of information.”
Paragraph B offers Nelson and Soli's suggestion that collaborative learning trends raise noise levels — a hypothesis about the growth.
a demand for suitable worldwide regulations
“It is imperative that the needs of these children are taken into account in the setting of appropriate international standards to be promulgated in future”
Paragraph I calls for 'appropriate international standards', a demand for worldwide regulation.
a list of medical conditions which place some children more at risk from noise than others
“The auditory function deficits in question include hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit disorders (ADD/ADHD)”
Paragraph D lists hearing impairment, ASD and ADD/ADHD as conditions increasing risk, exactly the medical list required.
the estimated proportion of children in New Zealand with auditory problems
“The New Zealand Ministry of Health has found from research carried out over two decades that 6–10% of children in that country are affected by hearing loss”
Paragraph A gives the estimate that '6–10% of children' in New Zealand have hearing loss.
Questions 7–10: Short Answers
Strategy: Use the question word to predict the answer type, locate the relevant sentence, and copy no more words than the limit allows.
For what period of time has hearing loss in schoolchildren been studied in New Zealand?
“The New Zealand Ministry of Health has found from research carried out over two decades that 6–10% of children in that country are affected by hearing loss”
The Ministry of Health's findings come from research 'carried out over two decades', the period asked for.
In addition to machinery noise, what other type of noise can upset children with autism?
“Those experiencing these disorders often find sounds such as crowd noise and the noise generated by machinery painful and distressing”
Besides machinery, children with these disorders find 'crowd noise' painful and distressing.
What term is used to describe the hearing problems of schoolchildren which have not been diagnosed?
“It is probable that many undiagnosed children exist in the education system with 'invisible' disabilities”
Undiagnosed children are described as having 'invisible' disabilities, which is the term the question asks for.
What part of the New Zealand Disability Strategy aims to give schoolchildren equal opportunity?
“Objective 3 of the New Zealand Disability Strategy is to 'Provide the Best Education for Disabled People' by improving education so that all children, youth learners and adult learners will have equal opportunities to learn and develop within their already existing local school”
Objective 3 aims to give 'equal opportunities to learn and develop' in local schools, so that is the part named.
Questions 11–12: Two Choices
Strategy: Both answers must be supported by the passage. Check each option independently; order does not usually matter.
“Modern teaching practices, the organisation of desks in the classroom, poor classroom acoustics, and mechanical means of ventilation such as air-conditioning units all contribute to the number of children unable to comprehend the teacher's voice”
A and C both appear in the list: 'modern teaching practices' and 'the organisation of desks in the classroom' are cited among causes of children failing to hear the teacher.
Questions 13–13: One Choice
Strategy: Read the question stem and predict the answer before looking at the options. Wrong options often repeat passage words while the correct one paraphrases them.
What is the writer's overall purpose in writing this article?
- Ato compare different methods of dealing with auditory problems
- Bto provide solutions for overly noisy learning environments
- Cto increase awareness of the situation of children with auditory problemscorrect
- Dto promote New Zealand as a model for other countries to follow
“In particular, the effects of noisy classrooms and activities on those experiencing disabilities in the form of auditory function deficit need thorough investigation It is imperative that the needs of these children are taken into account in the setting of appropriate international standards to be promulgated in future”
The article details the scale of auditory problems and calls for investigation and international standards, so its purpose is raising awareness — option C.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Hearing Impairment passage come from?
It is Passage 1 of Cambridge IELTS 9 Academic Reading Test 2, and it covers Questions 1–13.
What question types appear in Hearing Impairment?
The passage is tested with Matching Information, Short Answers, Two Choices, One Choice. 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.