Cambridge IELTS 16 · Academic · Test 1 · Passage 2
The Step Pyramid Of Djoser — IELTS Reading Answers
All 12 answers for The Step Pyramid Of Djoser, Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic Reading Test 1 Passage 2, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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The Step Pyramid Of Djoser answer key at a glance
Questions 14–25. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with Matching Headings (Q14–20), Note Completion (Q21–24), Two Choices (Q25–26). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 14–20: Matching Headings
Strategy: Read the paragraph first and summarise its main idea in five words. Choose the heading that matches the whole paragraph, not a repeated keyword.
Paragraph A
“The evolution of the pyramid form has been written and argued about for centuries. However, there is no question that, as far as Egypt is concerned, it began with one monument to one king designed by one brilliant architect: the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara.”
Paragraph A identifies where Egypt's pyramid form began: 'it began with one monument to one king designed by one brilliant architect', the Step Pyramid, so iv.
Paragraph B
“For reasons which remain unclear, Djoser’s main official, whose name was Imhotep, conceived of building a taller, more impressive tomb for his king by stacking stone slabs on top of one another, progressively making them smaller, to form the shape now known as the Step Pyramid.”
Paragraph B explains Imhotep's innovation, stacking stone slabs and 'progressively making them smaller, to form the shape now known as the Step Pyramid', so vii.
Paragraph C
“The weight of the enormous mass was a challenge for the builders, who placed the stones at an inward incline in order to prevent the monument breaking up.”
Paragraph C is about engineering: stones were 'placed ... at an inward incline in order to prevent the monument breaking up' under the weight, so ii.
Paragraph D
“It covered a region of 16 hectares and was surrounded by a wall 10.5 meters high. The wall had 13 false doors cut into it with only one true entrance cut into the south-east corner”
Paragraph D describes the complex's scale: 'It covered a region of 16 hectares and was surrounded by a wall 10.5 meters high', so v.
Paragraph E
“One of the most mysterious discoveries found inside the pyramid was a large number of stone vessels.”
Paragraph E reports 'one of the most mysterious discoveries': 'a large number of stone vessels' inside the pyramid, so i.
Paragraph F
“There was enough left throughout the pyramid and its complex, however, to astonish and amaze the archaeologists who excavated it.”
Paragraph F says enough survived 'to astonish and amaze the archaeologists who excavated it', the site's impact on its excavators, so viii.
Paragraph G
“The Step Pyramid was a revolutionary advance in architecture and became the archetype which all the other great pyramid builders of Egypt would follow.”
Paragraph G calls the Step Pyramid 'a revolutionary advance in architecture' and 'the archetype' later pyramid builders followed, so vi.
Questions 21–24: Note Completion
Strategy: Predict the word class from the note, find the paraphrase of the note's keyword in the passage, then copy the answer exactly within the word limit.
“The complex in which it was built was the size of a city in ancient Egypt”
The gap needs what the complex's size was compared to; 'the size of a city in ancient Egypt' supplies 'city'.
“included a temple, courtyards, shrines, and living quarters for the priests”
The gap needs who had living quarters in the complex; 'living quarters for the priests' gives 'priests'.
“the entire wall was then ringed by a trench 750 meters long and 40 meters wide”
The gap needs what ringed the wall; 'ringed by a trench 750 meters long and 40 meters wide' supplies 'trench'.
“If someone wished to enter, he or she would have needed to know in advance how to find the location of the true opening in the wall.”
The gap needs what a visitor had to know about the true opening; 'know in advance how to find the location of the true opening' gives 'location'.
Questions 25–26: Two Choices
Strategy: Both answers must be supported by the passage. Check each option independently; order does not usually matter.
“Djoser is thought to have reigned for 19 years, but some historians and scholars attribute a much longer time for his rule, owing to the number and size of the monuments he built.”
Historians dispute whether Djoser reigned 19 years or much longer, given his monuments (B), and his grave goods and body were stolen, leaving overlooked valuables (D).
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the The Step Pyramid Of Djoser passage come from?
It is Passage 2 of Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic Reading Test 1, and it covers Questions 14–25.
What question types appear in The Step Pyramid Of Djoser?
The passage is tested with Matching Headings, Note Completion, Two Choices. 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.