The Endless Journey of the Water Cycle: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademiceasy
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About this passage
The passage opens: “The water that fills a glass on the table may seem to have a very ordinary history, but it does not. The same water has fallen as rain, flowed in rivers, floated as cloud and lain frozen in ice countless times over, for the Earth makes no new water and loses almost none.”
- Passage length: about 674 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Short Answer, Multiple Choice — Multiple Answers
“The Endless Journey of the Water Cycle” 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
The Endless Journey of the Water Cycle 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
The Sun provides the energy that drives the water cycle.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “The engine that drives the entire cycle is the Sun.”
- 2
Water vapour is a gas.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “…water at the surface to change from a liquid into an invisible gas called water vapour.”
- 3
Condensation is the change of water from a liquid into a gas.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “…it changes back from a gas into tiny droplets of liquid water, a process known as condensation.”
- 4
All rain that falls flows immediately back to the sea.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “Some soaks down into the soil and collects deep underground, where it is stored as what is called groundwater”
- 5
Rainwater is cleaner than the water found in rivers.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims rainwater is cleaner than river water, but the passage does not confirm or deny this, as it focuses on the water cycle and how water moves through different stages.
Closest related text · Paragraph 1 “Understanding this cycle explains where rain comes from, why rivers keep flowing and how the whole living world is kept supplied with the water it needs.”
- 6
The total amount of water on Earth stays roughly the same as it is recycled.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “…the total amount of water on the planet stays very nearly the same from one age to the next”
Questions 7–12: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 7
What is the process by which liquid water becomes a gas and rises into the air?(max 2 words)
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Answer: evaporation
Why: The answer “evaporation” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “This process, in which liquid water becomes a gas and rises into the air, is known as evaporation.”
- 8
What is the invisible gas that water becomes when it evaporates called?(max 2 words)
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Answer: water vapour (also accepted: vapour)
Why: The answer “water vapour” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “…change from a liquid into an invisible gas called water vapour.”
- 9
What is the process by which vapour cools and turns back into liquid droplets?(max 2 words)
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Answer: condensation
Why: The answer “condensation” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “…it changes back from a gas into tiny droplets of liquid water, a process known as condensation.”
- 10
What forms when huge numbers of tiny water droplets gather together in the sky?(max 2 words)
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Answer: clouds (also accepted: a cloud)
Why: The answer “clouds” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “…when countless millions of them gather together they form the clouds we see drifting overhead.”
- 11
What is water that soaks into the soil and collects underground called?(max 2 words)
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Answer: groundwater
Why: The answer “groundwater” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “…collects deep underground, where it is stored as what is called groundwater”
- 12
What force pulls fallen water downhill into streams and rivers?(max 2 words)
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Answer: gravity
Why: The answer “gravity” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “Some of it is pulled downhill by gravity, gathering into streams and rivers”
Questions 13–14: Multiple Choice — Multiple Answers
Questions 13 and 14. Choose TWO letters, A-F for each question.
- A. evaporation
- B. condensation
- C. rain
- D. snow
- E. gravity
- F. groundwater
- 13
Which TWO of the following does the passage name as processes in the water cycle?
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Answer: A — evaporation; B — condensation
Why: The passage explicitly calls each of these "a process": "a process ... known as evaporation" and "a process known as condensation".
Where to find it · Paragraph 2 “This process, in which liquid water becomes a gas and rises into the air, is known as evaporation.”
- 14
Which TWO of the following does the passage name as forms of precipitation?
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Answer: C — rain; D — snow
Why: "precipitation, a single word that covers rain, snow, sleet and hail alike" — rain and snow are the forms offered here.
Where to find it · Paragraph 4 “This falling water is called precipitation, a single word that covers rain, snow, sleet and hail alike, the form it takes depending chiefly on how cold the air is on the way down.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 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 |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.5 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.5 |
| 11 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 6.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 4 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 14 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 14 | 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 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 strategyMultiple Choice — Multiple Answers
- Underline exactly how many answers are required.
- Locate the relevant passage section and read its full scope.
Common trap: Choosing too many or too few answers.
Full Multiple Choice — Multiple Answers strategyPractise “The Endless Journey of the Water Cycle” under exam conditions
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