The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “In the spring of 1974, farmers digging a well in the dry countryside of northern China struck fragments of hard-baked clay that turned out to be part of a life-sized human figure. The discovery led archaeologists to one of the most astonishing finds of the twentieth century: an enormous underground army of thousands…”
- Passage length: about 710 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor” 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 Terracotta Army of the First Emperor answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
- 1
The terracotta army was discovered by farmers digging a well.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “In the spring of 1974, farmers digging a well in the dry countryside of northern China struck fragments of hard-baked clay that turned out to be part of a life-sized human figure.”
- 2
Qin Shi Huang introduced standard weights, measures and writing across his empire.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “…responsible for standardising weights, measures and writing across his realm and for early work on what would later become the Great Wall.”
- 3
The clay figures all share exactly the same facial features.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “…no two faces are exactly alike, and the soldiers vary in height, hairstyle and expression, so that the army gives an impression of a real body of men rather than a set of identical copies.”
- 4
The bronze weapons found at the site were of poor quality.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “The quality of the bronze work has impressed modern metallurgists, and some of the blades were found to be still sharp when excavated.”
- 5
The emperor's central burial mound has been fully excavated.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “…much of the wider tomb complex remains unexcavated, including the great burial mound believed to contain the emperor himself.”
- 6
The workshops that made the figures employed thousands of workers.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims thousands of workers were employed, but the passage never confirms or denies this, only explaining that the figures were produced using a combination of standardised components and hand-finishing.
Closest related text · Paragraph 4 “This combination of standardised components and hand-finishing allowed the workshops to achieve both mass production and variety.”
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. to be sold to foreign rulers
- B. to accompany and protect the emperor in the afterlife
- C. to serve as a training model for the real army
- D. to decorate the emperor's palace during his lifetime
- 7
Why were the terracotta soldiers created?
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Answer: B — to accompany and protect the emperor in the afterlife
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — to accompany and protect the emperor in the afterlife.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “…an enormous underground army of thousands of pottery soldiers... created to accompany Qin Shi Huang... a fully armed force meant to protect the emperor beyond death.”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. each was carved individually from a single block of clay
- B. they were cast entirely from bronze moulds
- C. separately moulded parts were assembled and then finished by hand
- D. they were imported ready-made from other regions
- 8
How were the many distinct figures produced?
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Answer: C — separately moulded parts were assembled and then finished by hand
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — separately moulded parts were assembled and then finished by hand.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “…the bodies were made from separately moulded parts, such as legs, torsos and arms, which were then assembled and finished by hand, with individual features added afterwards.”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. high concentrations of mercury in the soil of the mound
- B. the discovery of flowing rivers beneath the pits
- C. paintings of the heavens on the surviving figures
- D. the presence of gold models of seas
- 9
What finding appears to support ancient descriptions of the tomb's interior?
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Answer: A — high concentrations of mercury in the soil of the mound
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports A — high concentrations of mercury in the soil of the mound.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “Archaeologists have detected unusually high concentrations of mercury in the soil of the mound, a finding that appears to lend some support to these old descriptions.”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. because the site is too far from any city
- B. because the exposed paint on the figures can deteriorate rapidly
- C. because the weapons are too dangerous to handle
- D. because the pits are in danger of flooding
- 10
Why have archaeologists been cautious about further excavation?
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Answer: B — because the exposed paint on the figures can deteriorate rapidly
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — because the exposed paint on the figures can deteriorate rapidly.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “When the coloured surfaces of the figures are exposed to air, the paint can deteriorate rapidly, and specialists have been cautious about uncovering further areas until better methods of preservation are available.”
Questions 11–14: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
In which year was the terracotta army discovered?(max 1 word)
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Answer: 1974
Why: The answer “1974” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 1-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “In the spring of 1974, farmers digging a well in the dry countryside of northern China struck fragments of hard-baked clay.”
- 12
What was the name of the first emperor whose tomb the army accompanied?(max 3 words)
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Answer: Qin Shi Huang
Why: The answer “Qin Shi Huang” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “The figures had been created to accompany Qin Shi Huang, the ruler who unified the warring states of China into a single empire in the third century BC.”
- 13
In what formation were the soldiers arranged in the underground pits?(max 2 words)
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Answer: military formation (also accepted: military)
Why: The answer “military formation” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “…arranged in military formation in a series of underground pits a short distance from the burial mound itself.”
- 14
What metal were the soldiers' swords and spearheads made from?(max 1 word)
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Answer: bronze
Why: The answer “bronze” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 1-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “The soldiers were also equipped with real weapons, including bronze swords, spearheads and crossbow mechanisms.”
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 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 “The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor” under exam conditions
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