Ready for the Call: How a Volunteer Lifeboat Service Works: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsGeneral Traininghard
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About this passage
The passage opens: “On almost any stretch of coast, within a few miles of wherever you happen to be standing, there is a shed by the water containing a boat that exists for one purpose only: to go out when everyone else is coming in. What seems remarkable, at first glance, is that a service on which lives depend should still be run…”
- Passage length: about 722 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: Matching Information, Yes / No / Not Given, Table Completion
“Ready for the Call: How a Volunteer Lifeboat Service Works” 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
Ready for the Call: How a Volunteer Lifeboat Service Works answers with explanations
Questions 1–5: Matching Information
The passage has six paragraphs, A–F. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A–F.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- 1
examples of the everyday jobs done by crew members
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Answer: Paragraph C
Why: Paragraph C lists teachers, plumbers, accountants, nurses, a chef and a delivery driver as the day jobs of a modern crew.
Where to find it · Paragraph C “A modern crew list reads like a slice of any high street: teachers, plumbers, accountants, nurses, a chef, a delivery driver.”
- 2
a description of two different types of lifeboat
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Answer: Paragraph D
Why: Paragraph D contrasts the two broad families of boat: large all-weather lifeboats and small inshore inflatables.
Where to find it · Paragraph D “The boats themselves fall into two broad families.”
- 3
how the earliest rescue services were paid for
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Answer: Paragraph B
Why: Paragraph B explains that local committees raised money by public subscription, collecting donations from merchants, churches and households.
Where to find it · Paragraph B “Local committees began to raise money by public subscription — collecting donations from merchants, churches and ordinary households — to buy a purpose-built boat and pay for its upkeep.”
- 4
the kinds of incident that account for most launches
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Answer: Paragraph E
Why: Paragraph E says the majority of launches are for smaller emergencies such as engine failure, misjudged weather and paddleboarders swept out to sea.
Where to find it · Paragraph E “The popular image of lifeboat work is the sinking ship in a storm, but the majority of launches are for smaller emergencies: pleasure craft with engine failure, sailors who have misjudged the weather, paddleboarders swept out by an offshore breeze.”
- 5
the writer's opinion on who should fund the service
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Answer: Paragraph F
Why: Paragraph F gives the writer's own view that the voluntary ethos is the service's greatest strength and that state takeover would be a mistake.
Where to find it · Paragraph F “In my view, that argument misunderstands what makes the service work: the voluntary ethos is not a weakness to be corrected but the institution's greatest strength, binding each station to the community it protects in a way no salaried agency could match.”
Questions 6–10: Yes / No / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer?
Write YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer, NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer, or NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.
- 6
It is surprising that a life-saving service still depends on volunteers and donations.
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Answer: YES
Why: In paragraph A the writer calls it 'remarkable, at first glance' that a service on which lives depend is run by unpaid volunteers and funded by donations.
Where to find it · Paragraph A “What seems remarkable, at first glance, is that a service on which lives depend should still be run largely by unpaid volunteers, and funded almost entirely by charitable donations rather than by government.”
- 7
Most of today's crew members come from fishing families.
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Answer: NO
Why: Paragraph C says fishing families once dominated crews but that today such people are a small minority.
Where to find it · Paragraph C “A century ago, crews were drawn overwhelmingly from fishing families, who knew the local waters because they worked on them every day.”
- 8
Lifeboat volunteers are braver than paid emergency workers.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The writer praises the volunteers' commitment but never compares their courage with that of paid emergency workers.
- 9
The voluntary spirit is central to the service's success.
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Answer: YES
Why: In paragraph F the writer states that the voluntary ethos is 'the institution's greatest strength', binding each station to its community.
Where to find it · Paragraph F “In my view, that argument misunderstands what makes the service work: the voluntary ethos is not a weakness to be corrected but the institution's greatest strength, binding each station to the community it protects in a way no salaried agency could match.”
- 10
The government should take over the running of the lifeboat service.
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Answer: NO
Why: Paragraph F says the argument for state takeover 'misunderstands what makes the service work', so the writer disagrees with it.
Where to find it · Paragraph F “In my view, that argument misunderstands what makes the service work: the voluntary ethos is not a weakness to be corrected but the institution's greatest strength, binding each station to the community it protects in a way no salaried agency could match.”
Questions 11–14: Table Completion
Complete the table below.
Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer. Type of boat Features Typical work All-weather lifeboat covered; operates in any conditions; hull is (11) ______ launched down a (12) ______ , towed on a carriage, or kept afloat at moorings Inshore inflatable small, fast and open; usually crewed by (13) ______ helps swimmers, kayakers and (14) ______ cut off by the tide
- 11
Gap 11(max 1 word)
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Answer: self-righting (also accepted: self righting / selfrighting)
Why: Paragraph D says the hulls of all-weather lifeboats are self-righting, so a capsized boat returns upright within seconds.
Where to find it · Paragraph D “All-weather lifeboats are large covered vessels designed to operate in any sea conditions; their hulls are self-righting, so that a boat rolled completely over by a wave returns upright within seconds, engines still running.”
- 12
Gap 12(max 1 word)
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Answer: slipway
Why: Paragraph D says an all-weather boat may be launched down a slipway, towed on a carriage, or kept afloat at moorings.
Where to find it · Paragraph D “Depending on the layout of the coast, an all-weather boat may be launched down a slipway, towed across a beach on a carriage, or kept permanently afloat at moorings in a harbour.”
- 13
Gap 13(max 1 word)
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Answer: three (also accepted: 3)
Why: Paragraph D describes the inshore inflatable as 'usually crewed by three'.
Where to find it · Paragraph D “Closer to shore, the workhorse is the inshore inflatable — small, fast and open, usually crewed by three — which deals with swimmers in difficulty, kayakers blown offshore and walkers cut off by the tide.”
- 14
Gap 14(max 1 word)
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Answer: walkers
Why: Paragraph D says the inshore inflatable deals with swimmers in difficulty, kayakers blown offshore and walkers cut off by the tide.
Where to find it · Paragraph D “Closer to shore, the workhorse is the inshore inflatable — small, fast and open, usually crewed by three — which deals with swimmers in difficulty, kayakers blown offshore and walkers cut off by the tide.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (General Training) 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 |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.0 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 11 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 3–4 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 2 / 14 | 2.5 |
| 1 / 14 | 1.5 |
| 0 / 14 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
Matching Information
- Read each statement and identify exactly what kind of information you are looking for — a reason, a result, an example, a definition, a contrast.
- Note that the statements do NOT follow paragraph order, so treat each one as an independent search.
Common trap: Assuming the questions run in order — they do not, which makes linear reading inefficient.
Full Matching Information strategyYes / No / Not Given
- Identify the claim in the statement and, crucially, whose opinion it represents — these passages often quote several people, so track who is speaking.
- Scan the passage for opinion signals: verbs like "argues", "believes", "suggests", "claims", and phrases such as "in the author’s view".
Common trap: Treating a reported opinion (someone else’s view mentioned by the writer) as the writer’s own conclusion.
Full Yes / No / Not Given strategyTable Completion
- Read the table title, row labels and column headings aloud as a combined question.
- Predict the data type and note any units already printed outside the blank.
Common trap: Reading only the row label and ignoring the column.
Full Table Completion strategyPractise “Ready for the Call: How a Volunteer Lifeboat Service Works” under exam conditions
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