Cambridge IELTS 5 · Academic · Test 3 · Passage 3
The Return Of Artificial Intelligence — IELTS Reading Answers
All 14 answers for The Return Of Artificial Intelligence, Cambridge IELTS 5 Academic Reading Test 3 Passage 3, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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The Return Of Artificial Intelligence answer key at a glance
Questions 27–40. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with Matching Information (Q27–31), True / False / Not Given (Q32–37), One Choice (Q38–40). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 27–31: 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.
how AI might have a military impact
“HNC claim that their system, based on a cluster of 30 processors, could be used to spot camouflaged vehicles on a battlefield or extract a voice signal from a noisy background - tasks humans can do well, but computers cannot”
Paragraph E describes HNC's system spotting 'camouflaged vehicles on a battlefield' and extracting voice signals — a military application.
the fact that AI brings together a range of separate research areas
“The expression provided an attractive but informative name for a research programme that encompassed such previously disparate fields as operations research, cybernetics, logic and computer science”
Paragraph B says the term named a programme encompassing 'previously disparate fields as operations research, cybernetics, logic and computer science'.
the reason why AI has become a common topic of conversation again
“It re-entered public consciousness with the release of AI, a movie about a robot boy. This has ignited public debate about AI, but the term is also being used once more within the computer industry”
Paragraph A says AI 're-entered public consciousness with the release of AI, a movie about a robot boy', which ignited public debate.
how AI could help deal with difficulties related to the amount of information available electronically
“In particular, the problem of information overload, exacerbated by the growth of e-mail and the explosion in the number of web pages, means there are plenty of opportunities for new technologies to help filter and categorise information - classic AI problems”
Paragraph F discusses 'information overload' from e-mail and web pages, creating opportunities for AI to 'filter and categorise information'.
where the expression AI was first used
“The field was launched, and the term 'artificial intelligence' coined, at a conference in 1956 by a group of researchers that included Marvin Minsky, John McCarthy, Herbert Simon and Alan Newell, all of whom went on to become leading figures in the field”
Paragraph B states the field was launched and the term coined 'at a conference in 1956' by Minsky, McCarthy, Simon and Newell.
Questions 32–37: True / False / Not Given
Strategy: Judge the whole statement against the text. FALSE contradicts the passage; NOT GIVEN means the passage never addresses that specific claim.
The researchers who launched the field of AI had worked together on other projects in the past.
“The field was launched, and the term 'artificial intelligence' coined, at a conference in 1956 by a group of researchers that included Marvin Minsky, John McCarthy, Herbert Simon and Alan Newell, all of whom went on to become leading figures in the field”
The passage names the 1956 conference participants but never says they had worked together on earlier projects.
In 1985, AI was at its lowest point.
“Most researchers agree that AI peaked around 1985”
AI 'peaked around 1985', so 1985 was its high point, not its lowest — the statement reverses the timeline.
Research into agent technology was more costly than research into neural networks.
“By the late 1980s, the term AI was being avoided by many researchers, who opted instead to align themselves with specific sub-disciplines such as neural networks, agent technology, case-based reasoning, and so on”
Neural networks and agent technology are listed as sub-disciplines, but no cost comparison between them is made.
Applications of AI have already had a degree of success.
“Meanwhile, the technologies that made it onto the market, such as speech recognition, language translation and decision-support software, were no longer regarded as AI”
Technologies that 'made it onto the market, such as speech recognition, language translation and decision-support software', show applications already succeeded.
The problems waiting to be solved by AI have not changed since 1967.
“In particular, the problem of information overload, exacerbated by the growth of e-mail and the explosion in the number of web pages, means there are plenty of opportunities for new technologies to help filter and categorise information - classic AI problems”
The passage describes new problems like 'information overload' from e-mail and web pages, so the problems have changed since 1967.
The film 2001: A Space Odyssey reflected contemporary ideas about the potential of AI computers.
“The 1969 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, featured an intelligent computer called HAL 9000. As well as understanding and speaking English, HAL could play chess and even learned to lipread. HAL thus encapsulated the optimism of the 1960s that intelligent computers would be widespread by 2001”
HAL 9000 'encapsulated the optimism of the 1960s that intelligent computers would be widespread by 2001', reflecting contemporary ideas.
Questions 38–40: 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.
According to researchers, in the late 1980s there was a feeling that
- Aa general theory of AI would never be developed.
- Boriginal expectations of AI may not have been justified.correct
- Ca wide range of applications was close to fruition.
- Dmore powerful computers were the key to further progress.
“'There was undue optimism in the early 1980s,' says David Leake, a researcher at Indiana University. 'Then when people realised these were hard problems, there was retrenchment”
Leake recalls 'undue optimism in the early 1980s', then retrenchment once 'people realised these were hard problems' — original expectations were unjustified.
In Dr Leake's opinion, the reputation of AI suffered as a result of
- Achanging perceptions.correct
- Bpremature implementation.
- Cpoorly planned projects.
- Dcommercial pressures.
“Whenever an apparently mundane problem was solved, such as building a system that could land an aircraft unattended, the problem was deemed not to have been AI in the first place. 'If it works, it can't be AI,' as Dr Leake characterises it.”
Leake says whenever AI solved something, 'the problem was deemed not to have been AI', shifting perceptions and damaging its reputation — option A.
The prospects for AI may benefit from
- Aexisting AI applications.
- Bnew business models.
- Corders from internet-only companies.
- Dnew investment priorities.correct
“Another factor that may boost the prospects for AI in the near future is that investors are now looking for firms using clever technology, rather than just a clever business model, to differentiate themselves”
Prospects may improve because 'investors are now looking for firms using clever technology' rather than clever business models — new investment priorities.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the The Return Of Artificial Intelligence passage come from?
It is Passage 3 of Cambridge IELTS 5 Academic Reading Test 3, and it covers Questions 27–40.
What question types appear in The Return Of Artificial Intelligence?
The passage is tested with Matching Information, True / False / Not Given, 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.