Cambridge IELTS 2 · General Training · Test 1 · Section 3
The Discovery Of Uranus — IELTS Reading Answers
All 14 answers for The Discovery Of Uranus, Cambridge IELTS 2 General Training Reading Test 1 Section 3, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
← All Cambridge 2 GT Test 1 answers
The Discovery Of Uranus answer key at a glance
Questions 27–40. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this section tests
This section is tested with Table Completion (Q27–31), Yes / No / Not Given (Q32–36), Sentence Completion (Q37–40). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 27–31: Table Completion
Strategy: Work row by row. The row label tells you where to look; the column heading tells you what kind of word you need.
“he therefore read widely in science and the arts, but not until 1772 did he come across a book on astronomy. He was then 34, middle-aged by the standards of the time, but without hesitation he embarked on his new career”
Herschel came across a book on astronomy in 1772, the year his study of the subject began.
“Sir William Herschel's discovery of a new planet, Uranus, in 1781”
The passage dates Herschel's discovery of the new planet Uranus to 1781.
“The two largest moons, Titania and Oberon, were discovered by Herschel in 1787”
The table needs the date for Titania and Oberon, the two largest moons that 'were discovered by Herschel in 1787'.
“In 1977, while recording the occultation of a star behind the planet, the American astronomer James L. Elliot discovered the presence of five rings encircling the equator of Uranus”
James L. Elliot detected five rings around Uranus in 1977 while recording a stellar occultation.
“Four more rings were discovered in January 1986 during the exploratory flight of Voyager 2. In addition to its rings, Uranus has 15 satellites ('moons'), the last 10 discovered by Voyager 2 on the same flight; all revolve about its equator and move with the planet in an east-west direction”
Four more rings were found in January 1986 during the exploratory flight of Voyager 2.
Questions 32–36: Yes / No / Not Given
Strategy: These test the writer's opinions, not facts. Look for evaluative language, and treat 'may' or 'could' as weaker than the question's claim.
It is improbable that there is a planet hidden behind the sun.
“Someone once put forward an attractive though unlikely theory. Throughout the Earth's annual revolution around the sun there is one point of space always hidden from our eyes. This point is the opposite part of the Earth's orbit, which is always hidden by the sun.”
The hidden planet idea is called 'an attractive though unlikely theory', so a planet always behind the sun is improbable.
Herschel knew immediately that he had found a new planet.
“I perceived one that appeared visibly larger than the rest; being struck with its uncommon magnitude, I compared it to H Geminorum and the small star in the quartile between Auriga and Gemini, and finding it to be much larger than either of them, suspected it to be a comet”
Herschel 'suspected it to be a comet', so he did not immediately know he had found a planet.
Herschel collaborated with other astronomers of his time.
“But further observation by other astronomers besides Herschel revealed two curious facts”
Other astronomers later observed the object, but the passage never says Herschel worked in collaboration with them.
Herschel's newly-discovered object was considered to be too far from the sun to be a comet.
“furthermore, it was moving so slowly that it was thought to be a great distance from the sun, and comets are only normally visible in the immediate vicinity of the sun”
The object moved so slowly that it seemed 'a great distance from the sun', and comets are normally visible only near the sun.
Herschel's discovery was the most important find of the last three hundred years.
“If a space probe today sent back evidence that such a world existed it would cause not much more sensation than Sir William Herschel's discovery of a new planet, Uranus, in 1781”
The space-probe comparison describes the sensation such a find would cause, but never ranks it as the most important find in 300 years.
Questions 37–40: Sentence Completion
Strategy: Find the stem's keyword in the passage, then complete the sentence with the exact words the grammar requires, within the word limit.
“Herschel wanted to call it georgium sidus (Star of George) in honour of his royal patron King George III of Great Britain”
Herschel proposed 'georgium sidus' (Star of George) to honour his patron King George III.
“The planet was later for a time called Herschel in honour of its discoverer”
For a time the planet itself was called Herschel, named after the man who discovered it.
“In 1977, while recording the occultation of a star behind the planet, the American astronomer James L. Elliot discovered the presence of five rings encircling the equator of Uranus”
The American astronomer James L. Elliot discovered the five rings encircling the planet's equator.
“Miranda, thought before 1986 to be the innermost moon, was discovered in 1948 by the American astronomer Gerard Peter Kuiper”
Miranda, discovered in 1948 by Gerard Peter Kuiper, was thought before 1986 to be the innermost moon.
Learn the question types in this section
Frequently asked questions
Where does the The Discovery Of Uranus passage come from?
It is Section 3 of Cambridge IELTS 2 General Training Reading Test 1, and it covers Questions 27–40.
What question types appear in The Discovery Of Uranus?
The section is tested with Table Completion, Yes / No / Not Given, Sentence 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.