Noise in the Ocean: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 13 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “To a human observer, the sea appears to be a place of silence. Yet beneath the surface the ocean is filled with sound, and for the animals that live there hearing is often far more important than sight.”
- Passage length: about 750 words
- Questions: 13
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“Noise in the Ocean” is an original IELTS-style practice passage written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
Noise in the Ocean answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information.
- 1
Sound travels faster in water than it does in air.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “Sound has a great advantage in water: it travels much faster and much farther than it does in air”
- 2
All of the sounds in the ocean come from living animals.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “Waves, rain and the cracking of ice all add to the background, as do the animals themselves.”
- 3
Shipping is the most widespread source of human-made noise in the sea.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “Into this ancient soundscape, humans have introduced a great deal of new noise. The most widespread source is shipping.”
- 4
Scientists have found it easy to prove exactly how noise affects marine animals over the long term.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “…establishing a clear chain of cause and effect in the open ocean is extremely difficult, and much about the long-term consequences of noise remains uncertain.”
- 5
Underwater noise pollution stops quickly once its source is removed.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “…noise has one hopeful feature: it does not linger. When a noisy ship passes or a survey ends, the added sound stops almost at once”
- 6
Whales are the loudest of all the animals in the ocean.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims that whales are the loudest animals in the ocean, but the passage does not confirm or deny this, only mentioning that whales produce low, powerful calls that travel far.
Closest related text · Paragraph 2 “Some fish grunt, click or drum; shrimps snap their claws in vast, crackling choruses; and the largest whales produce low, powerful calls that can travel across entire ocean basins.”
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Because they have no eyes
- B. Because light fades quickly and it is hard to see far underwater
- C. Because sound is more colourful than light
- D. Because they hunt only at the surface
- 7
Why do many marine animals depend so heavily on sound rather than sight?
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Answer: B — Because light fades quickly and it is hard to see far underwater
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — Because light fades quickly and it is hard to see far underwater.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “Light fades quickly with depth, and even in clear water it is impossible to see very far, so many marine creatures rely on sound”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Bright underwater lights
- B. Powerful blasts of compressed air
- C. Nets dragged along the bottom
- D. Recordings of whale songs
- 8
What does the passage say surveys for oil and gas beneath the seabed often use?
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Answer: B — Powerful blasts of compressed air
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — Powerful blasts of compressed air.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “Surveys that search for oil and gas beneath the seabed often use powerful blasts of compressed air, repeated for hours or days at a time”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Animals disguising themselves from predators
- B. Quieter signals being drowned out by louder background noise
- C. Ships hiding from detection
- D. The natural silence of the deep ocean
- 9
What does the term 'masking' refer to in the passage?
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Answer: B — Quieter signals being drowned out by louder background noise
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — Quieter signals being drowned out by louder background noise.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “When background noise rises, quieter signals can be drowned out, a problem scientists call masking.”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. By following whales in small boats
- B. By using underwater microphones moored in place for months
- C. By measuring the temperature of the water
- D. By counting passing ships from the shore
- 10
How do scientists study the ocean's changing soundscape?
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Answer: B — By using underwater microphones moored in place for months
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — By using underwater microphones moored in place for months.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “Scientists use underwater microphones, moored in place for months at a time, to record the changing soundscape”
Questions 11–13: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
What do shrimps do with their claws to add to the ocean's natural sound?(max 3 words)
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Answer: snap (also accepted: snap their claws / they snap)
Why: The answer “snap” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “…shrimps snap their claws in vast, crackling choruses”
- 12
As the ocean grows louder, what shrinks for an animal that is trying to communicate?(max 3 words)
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Answer: the useful range (also accepted: useful range / range)
Why: The answer “the useful range” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “…the useful range of an animal's calls shrinks as the ocean grows louder”
- 13
What are engineers designing to make ships quieter, besides better hull shapes?(max 2 words)
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Answer: quieter propellers (also accepted: propellers)
Why: The answer “quieter propellers” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “Engineers are designing quieter propellers and hull shapes”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 13 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (Academic) conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single passage is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 13 / 13 | 9.0 |
| 12 / 13 | 8.5 |
| 11 / 13 | 7.5 |
| 10 / 13 | 7.0 |
| 9 / 13 | 6.5 |
| 8 / 13 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 13 | 5.5 |
| 5–6 / 13 | 5.0 |
| 4 / 13 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 13 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 13 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 13 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 13 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
True / False / Not Given
- Read the statement first and underline the key idea, especially any qualifiers like "all", "only", "never", "always", "more than" or dates and numbers.
- Because the questions follow the order of the passage, scan for the paragraph that deals with the same topic rather than re-reading everything.
Common trap: Confusing "False" with "Not Given": choose False only when the passage actively contradicts the statement; if the passage is silent, it is Not Given.
Full True / False / Not Given strategyMultiple Choice
- Read the question stem carefully before the options so you know exactly what is being asked.
- Because multiple-choice questions follow passage order, locate the relevant section and read it in full — the answer usually depends on more than one sentence.
Common trap: Distractors that use exact words from the passage but distort the meaning.
Full Multiple Choice strategyShort Answer
- Read the instructions and note the exact word limit; going over it means zero marks even if the meaning is right.
- Turn each question into a set of keywords and predict what kind of answer it needs (a person, a date, a place, a noun).
Common trap: Exceeding the word limit (writing four words when only three are allowed).
Full Short Answer strategyPractise “Noise in the Ocean” under exam conditions
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