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You are here: Home / IELTS Reading / IELTS Reading: The Lost City

IELTS Reading: The Lost City

By ieltsetc on November 24, 2019 4

IELTS Reading The Lost City

28-Day Planner Day 2: Text types

This is an example of a text that goes in chronological order (in order of time).

This can help you work out the logic of the paragraphs e.g. goals/aims come at the start of the text

  • look for synonyms e.g. goal/aim

Question types – TFNG:

Look for opposite information for FALSE answers e.g. ‘he understood’ vs ‘he didn’t realise’

I have broken up the text to help you read it more easily.

Look at each question and read the blue text taken from the original passage. Write down your answer, then check the answers below.

Listen to the full podcast explanations here:

Watch the video version of the podcast here.

Matching Headings Practice

Test yourself first and/or watch the video above for explanations.

i Different accounts of the same journey

ii Bingham gains support

iii A common belief

iv The aim of the trip

v A dramatic description

vi A new route

vii Bingham publishes his theory

vii Bingham’s lack of enthusiasm​

Paragraph extracts

A.  When Hirma Bingham arrived in South America in 1911…his goal was to locate the remains of a city called Vitcos, the last capital of the Inca civilisation.

B. When he set off with his team, they had an advantage over travellers who had preceded them: a track had recently been blasted to enable rubber to be brought from the jungle.

C. The morning was dull and damp, and Bingham also seems to have been less than keen on the prospect of climbing the hill. 

D. Bingham writes about the approach in vivid style in his book.

E. We should remember, however, that the Lost City of the Incas was not written until 1948, many years after his journey. His journal entries of the time reveal a much more gradual appreciation of his achievement.

F When he came to write the National Geographic magazine article that broke the story to the world in April 1913, he knew he had to produce a big idea.

G An idea which has gained wide acceptance over the past few years is that Machu Picchu was a moya, a country estate built by an Inca emperor.

Answers to Matching Headings

1 Para A iv The aim of the trip

A His goal was to locate the remains of a city called Vitcos, the last capital of the Inca civilisation.

2 Para B vi A new route

B. a track had recently been blasted

3  Para C viii Bingham’s lack of enthusiasm

C. Bingham also seems to have been less than keen on the prospect of climbing the hill. 

4  Para D v A dramatic description

D. Bingham writes about the approach in vivid style in his book.

5  Para E i Different accounts of the same journey

E. His journal entries of the time reveal a much more gradual appreciation of his achievement.

6  ParaF vii Bingham publishes his theory

F. When he came to write the National Geographic magazine article that broke the story to the world in April 1913, he knew he had to produce a big idea.

7  Para G iii A common belief

Para G. An idea which has gained wide acceptance over the past few years is that Machu Picchu was a moya,…​

True, False, Not Given Practice

Questions 8 – 11

8  Bingham went to South America in search of an Inca city. 

Para A His goal was to locate the remains of a city called Vitcos, the last capital of the Inca civilisation. 

9  Bingham chose a particular route down the Urubamba valley because it was the most common route used by travellers.

Para B When Bingham and his team set off down the Urubamba in late July, they had an advantage over travellers who had preceded them…Almost all previous travellers had left the river at Ollantaytambo and taken a high pass across the mountains to rejoin the river lower down,…

10  Bingham understood the significance of Machu Picchu as soon as he saw it 

Para F At this stage, Bingham didn’t realise the extent or the importance of the site, nor did he realise what use he could make of the discovery.

11  Bingham returned to Machu Picchu in order to find evidence to support his theory. 

Sadly, his vision of the site as both the beginning and end of the Inca civilisation, while a magnificent one, is inaccurate. We now know that Vilcabamba actually lies 65 kilometres away in the depths of the jungle.

Answers to True False Not Given

8  Bingham went to South America in search of an Inca city. TRUE

Para A His goal was to locate the remains of a city called Vitcos, the last capital of the Inca civilisation. 

9  Bingham chose a particular route down the Urubamba valley because it was the most common route used by travellers. FALSE

Para B When Bingham and his team set off down the Urubamba in late July, they had an advantage over travellers who had preceded them…Almost all previous travellers had left the river at Ollantaytambo and taken a high pass across the mountains to rejoin the river lower down,…

10  Bingham understood the significance of Machu Picchu as soon as he saw it. FALSE

Para F At this stage, Bingham didn’t realise the extent or the importance of the site, nor did he realise what use he could make of the discovery.

11  Bingham returned to Machu Picchu in order to find evidence to support his theory. NOT GIVEN

Gap Fill Practice

Questions 12-13

Complete the sentences below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 12-13 on your answer sheet.

12    The track that took Bingham down the Urubamba valley had been created for the transportation of ___________________.

a track had recently been blasted down the valley canyon to enable rubber to be brought up by mules from the jungle.

13    Bingham found out about the ruins of Machu Picchu from a _________________ in the Urubamba valley.

His companions showed no interest in accompanying him up the nearby hill to see some ruins that a local farmer, Melchor Arteaga, had told them about the night before.

Answers to Gap Fill

12. rubber

13. farmer

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How to answer True/False/Not Given questions

How to match headings to paragraphs

How to match statements to people

How to do gapped summaries

How to use text structures – a ‘discursive’ structure

How to use text structures – a ‘chronological’ structure

How to manage your time better in the IELTS Reading Test

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Oluwole says

    April 22, 2020 at 2:44 pm

    I got the whole answers (13) correctly.

    Reply
    • ieltsetc says

      April 23, 2020 at 5:00 pm

      Well done Oluwole! That’s brilliant!

      Reply
  2. Riza says

    August 13, 2020 at 4:22 pm

    Hello, Fiona! Many thanks for the video, explanation and tasks to practice! However I don’t quite understand the question 5, which I made mistake?! That’s completely difficult for me!

    Reply
    • ieltsetc says

      August 16, 2020 at 5:15 pm

      Hi Riza. There were two ‘accounts’ (written versions) of his journey. 1) His book 2) His journal (diary). These accounts were different. The book was more ‘dramatic’ and ‘vivd’. But the journal shows ‘a more gradual appreciation’. The comparison in the last line shows that there are 2 accounts. I hope that helps and thanks for your question.

      Reply

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