Matching Paragraph Information: IELTS Reading Exercise

Matching paragraph information question in IELTS reading requires you to match the sentences given with information that is contained in different paragraphs. You must have strong skills of paraphrasing for this type of question. See if you can complete this practise lesson which I have written for you.

You will need to prepare lots of paraphrases for the statements in order to locate the right paragraph which contains that information. Answers do not come in order in the passage.

Tips for IELTS Paragraph Matching

  • read though the questions
  • think of ways to paraphrase key words
  • try to locate the key words or the paraphrases in the paragraphs
  • the answers do not come in order
  • your answer should be a letter not words
  • start with the easiest questions first

IELTS Matching Paragraph Information Practice

Amundsen’s Expedition to the South Pole

A ) The first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition. Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base, and later learned that Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey.

B ) Amundsen’s plans had focused on the Arctic and the conquest of the North Pole by means of an extended drift in an icebound ship. He obtained the use of Fridtjof Nansen’s polar exploration ship Fram, and undertook extensive fundraising. Preparations for this expedition were disrupted when, in 1909, the rival American explorers Frederick Cook and Robert E. Peary each claimed to have reached the North Pole. Amundsen then changed his plan and began to prepare for a conquest of the South Pole; uncertain of the extent to which the public and his backers would support him, he kept this revised objective secret. When he set out in June 1910, even most of his crew believed they were embarking on an Arctic drift.

C ) The expedition’s success was widely applauded. The story of Scott’s heroic failure overshadowed its achievement in the United Kingdom, unable to accept that a Norwegian had been the first person to set foot in the South Pole, but not in the rest of the world. Amundsen’s decision to keep his true plans secret until the last moment was criticised by some. Recent polar historians have more fully recognised the skill and courage of Amundsen’s party; the permanent scientific base at the pole bears his name, together with that of Scott. (passage from wiki)

Questions 1-5

In which paragraph (A-C) is the following information found.

  1. The success of Roald Amundsen was celebrated worldwide, except in one country.
  2. Amundsen only heard about the death of Scott after he had reached the South Pole.
  3. The base at the South Pole bears both Amundsen’s name and Scott’s.
  4. Amundsen had originally planned an expedition to the North Pole.
  5. When Amundsen decided to aim for the South Pole he did not reveal his intentions.
  6. The British did not celebrate Amundsen’s success as did other countries due to the death of Scott.

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers
  1. C
  2. A
  3. C
  4. B
  5. B
  6. C

All reading exercises on ieltsliz.com have been written by myself to help you prepare for your IELTS test. Β Β 

Liz

Recommended

More IELTS Matching Paragraph Information Practice

Comments

  1. Thank you Liz,
    I got 6/6 in this but in the Cambridge Test Series, there are some question models needed to match the heading for each paragraph and I lost the total mark in these sessions, could you please help me?

  2. Irma Magdalena says

    I got it all correct. Thank you Liz for the tips !

  3. Tony Casey says

    A student of mine couldn’t understand how you got the answer C for question 6. I agree with her. There is no mention of Scott’s death in paragraph C. The answer should be based on the actual text presented, not on the student’s general knowledge.
    Thanks, Tony

    • There is no general knowledge needed at all for this question. The passage has already told you that Scott’s team failed to arrive first and also that they all died (see paragraph A “Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey.”). In question number 6, it refers to “Scott’s heroic failure” – this is about Scott’s expedition and death. So, paragraph C contains all information necessary for number 6. Try not to match words. Just because the word “death” doesn’t appear in paragraph C doesn’t mean there is no reference to it. You must take context into consideration for reading passages.

  4. MOHIT says

    HELPFUL πŸ™‚

  5. I got 6/6. Thanks.I need more efforts. I drift a lot while reading.

  6. Thank you Liz,got 6/6,but I spent 11 minutes on it,just worried about the time spent
    Kisses,you are really doing a nice job.

    • At this point in your training, time isn’t an issue. Start developing skills and gain awareness of question types, keywords, paraphrasing etc. Then once you feel confident, do real tests at home and develop speed.

  7. Yogika says

    Hi Liz,

    Is the 4th question supposed to be ‘expedition’ ? I cannot find the word exhibition in the paragraph B.

  8. Thanks Liz , I got 6/6. Your site is the best site to guide me. I find it very interesting. I owe you

  9. omg thanks for your lessons! you`re great
    I got 6/6 in 4 minutes

  10. Divya Prabhakar says

    Hey Liz, Got 6/6. Thank you so much for helping lot of students for their IELTS Preparation. I am going to write my test on Dec 8th and I am scared. But your practice sections help me a lot. :))

  11. Muhammed Ahmed says

    Thank you very much mam Liz.. first time got full marks in this test…please keep on updating some other question for pratice

  12. Thanks man I got 6/6

  13. I got 6/6
    but in 20 min

  14. Ritu says

    6/6

  15. Aramide says

    6/6. encouraged to practice more

  16. fabunmi olubukola mary says

    6/6.
    wow am motivated to do more.thanks liz
    bukky

  17. 6/6
    I didn’t observe time.

  18. 7 min 6/6

  19. Smithila says

    Scored 6/6 in 5 mins. Thank you so much for such wonderful practice tests

  20. I got 6/6 in 8 mins. This is my thierd try.
    Thank you Liz you are doing a wonderful job.

  21. hi,

    5/6 i got ,but i took more time.

  22. Chakra bohara says

    5/6 in 7 minutes
    but i am practicing ……

  23. Mustafa says

    6/6 πŸ™‚

  24. Omme_hashmi says

    6/ 6 ☺

  25. Muhammad kashif says

    Got 6/6 in 5 minutes.

  26. I’ve got 6/6. Thanks Liz!

  27. I got 4/6. Not bad! Next time i can do better! For now i need more practice. Btw thank you Liz to your example exams:)

  28. SaraOhj says

    6/6 in 9 minutes, I should buckle down to reduce the answering time!

  29. 6/6, Pretty easy passage but i did not understand question 4, can you please help me to find it out in the passage
    Thanks for great help and great material, you are an awesome teacher!

    • You can find it here:

      “Amundsen’s plans had focused on the Arctic and the conquest of the North Pole……………. Preparations for this expedition were disrupted.., in 1909, ……… Amundsen then changed his plan and began to prepare for a conquest of the South Pole ……”

      Don’t always think that the answer will be in one sentence. You need to locate key words and then read around that area – usually three, four of five sentences need to be read – or possibly a whole paragraph.

  30. FRED KAAMINO says

    GOT 6/6 IN 4 MIN, ,THANKS …

  31. 5/6 in 5 mintues

  32. RostenLaws says

    5/6 sad but making progress

  33. Rabia says

    6/6

  34. Emelue Ugo Blessing says

    6/6, am really proud of myself

  35. Ramchandra Sawant says

    Hello Liz…Hope you are doing fine!
    As per passage A, Amundsen reached base and later heard about death of Scott. However Q2 says…”Amundsen reached South pole and later heard about Scott’s death”. This information does not match with what has given in the passage. Can the answer to this Q be “Not Available in any paragraph”…NA?

    • The paragraph states that Amundsen and his team reached the South Pole. After that they “returned to base” when they heard about the death. This means they had been at the Pole and returned to base. It is complete information. Always read the sentences around the key words – the answer is not usually held just in one sentence.

  36. Regina says

    Hi Liz,
    I gave my IELTS recently and got S7 L6 R6.5 W6. Prior to the test I was practicing only sample papers. Not aware of all these strategies. After visiting your blog, I was like, oh my god.. I never knew this .. I am planning to take my test again in August.. will I be able to achieve 7 to 7.5 in all the modules ? Or do I need more time to improve my level from 6 to 7. Please advice me the correct steps to follow to achieve the desired score. Thanks!

    • It is not possible to estimate your potential score. IELTS is also a language test so it depends on your knowledge, range and accuracy in English. However, review all tips and make sure you learn how your speaking and writing are scored. Good luck!

  37. pooja mehrotra says

    Thank u Liz..

    Got 6/6 getting confidence now.

  38. Manoharreddy says

    6/6 thank you Liz. why did not i get good score while doing the whole 3 passges i got just 15/40 how can i improve my reading this is toughest module to me

  39. Thanks for your blog. it very useful .plz am confuse. in reading part 3 how many passage is being given?

  40. Md Shafaet Hossen says

    I would like to appear at IELTS Test very soon.
    May I have a candidate to speak?

  41. HI Liz
    Thank you so much for running a wonder blog. I’m pretty sure it helps lots of people around the globe. I just have started to learn your tips in regards to doing well in reading.

    I’m glad that I’ve scored 6/6 in this passage. Feeling good and got hope to get my desire score.

    Thank you.
    -Arif

  42. 6/6 thank you so much πŸ€“

  43. jagruthi says

    Thank you so much for your assistance,, everytime i visit your blog, the new information i will get to know .. πŸ™‚
    words are really inadequate to express my gratitude ……
    God bless u!!!!!
    jagruthi.

  44. Hi Liz,
    I am from Nepal. Why all of these passage are very short, I think it a very short passage for IELTS exam. Can you please provide me the link of longer Reading passage .

    Thanks!

    • These are practice IELTS reading not full practice test passages. For full tests, see my useful website page. You can find a link in the right hand side column.
      All the best
      Liz

  45. 6/6!
    Improving myself more with this AWESOME blog! Thanks Liz!! πŸ™‚

  46. shahrokh says

    Hi
    What is the best method to find questions which aren’t com in order? Foe example in ielts 5 camberidg book answer questio 1 is in paragraph E, and answer question 2 is in paragraph B.serch for find key word take alot of time.

    • When the answer do not come in order, you can start with any question you want. I also read all the question and then choose the one that is easiest. It is often easiest because there are clear key words which will help me locate the answer in the passage.
      Liz

  47. khalid Hamed says

    6/6

    thanks Liz

    Kind regards

  48. khalid Hamed says

    6/6

    thanks Liz

    Kind regards

  49. Hi Liz,

    Although i have scored 6/6. However, i am still confused for 6th question. Can you please help me to locate it exactly in the paragraph?

    Regards
    Akriti

    • The key is in this sentence: “The story of Scott’s heroic failure overshadowed its achievement in the United Kingdom, unable to accept that a Norwegian had been the first person to set foot in the South Pole, but not in the rest of the world.”. It shows that his failure overshadowed his achievement in the UK.
      All the best
      Liz

  50. Firoj says

    6/6…..

    thanks Liz!

  51. Dr Arshad says

    Respected Teacher,Liz

    I hope that you are well.
    Your efforts to bring innovative and best possible associative learning, in IELTS is highly applouded.
    I did many attempts in it and succeded to get L7,R6.R7.5,S8 but in my all exams my score in R was stagnant, at 6.
    I am appearing on 1st August 2015 but it would be my last attempt after that i would give up.
    I have gone through your all teaching modules but mainly focussing on reading.

    Any suggestion for me in reading to get over it,i would truly appreciate.

    Look forward to hearing form you.

    Kind regards,

    Dr Arshad
    Anaesthetist,Doha

    • Make a list of all the paraphrases you come across in all exercises and practice tests. This way you will start think more automatically of paraphrasing and remember more. Also start reviewing the limitations of words. It is not enough to know just the meaning, you need to know when a word can be used and it’s possible collocations in the reading test.
      All the best
      Liz

      • Dr Arshad says

        Most kind of you for the best tip, which i was not exercising,it would make the difference certainly.Some people do two to three category questions altogether to save time,instead of having skimming and scanning of whole passage.They go on reading in the descending order and complete 13 set of questions.Time management is another big barrier that every one have to overcome in the test.What you recommend in this contxt?

        Regards & best wishes,arshad.

        • The advice was for your training, not during the test. The idea is that you train yourself on particular types of questions one at a time. That is how it is usually taught in schools. You need to develop techniques for each type of question before you enter the test. During the test, you do the questions in order. For time, only you can build your speed though focused practice on scanning.
          All the best
          Liz

  52. Jasvinder singh says

    6 out of 6. This is gud site where we can practise for ielts. Thanks so much liz

Leave a Reply to Liz Cancel reply

*

error: Content is protected !!