Reading: True, False, Not Given Practice 2

One common task in the IELTS Reading test is the True, False, Not Given exercise. In this task, you must read a passage of text and respond to a set of statements to say whether they are True, False or Not Given based on the information you have read in the passage.

It is essential to remember, in this type of exercise, that you shouldn’t be using your general knowledge or opinions. Instead, all of your answers should be based on the information in the passage.

To help you to prepare for this type of exercise, try out the practise exercise below. Read the passage, decide whether each statement is True (T), False (F), or Not Given (NG) and then check your answers. Simple explanations to answers have been given to help your understanding.

If you are preparing for the IELTS reading test, we recommend that you try this exercise out to improve your reading skills.

One top tip for this exercise is to remember that you only give the response False if the statement is actually incorrect. If the information is just not included, remember to answer with Not Given.

Exercise 2: The Great Wall of China

Reading Passage

The Great Wall of China is an ancient series of walls and fortifications, totalling more than 13,000 miles in length, located in northern China. Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of China and its long and vivid history, the Great Wall was originally conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the third century B.C. as a means of preventing incursions from barbarian nomads. The best-known and best-preserved section of the Great Wall was built in the 14^th through 17^th centuries A.D., during the Ming dynasty. Though the Great Wall never effectively prevented invaders from entering China, it came to function as a powerful symbol of Chinese civilization’s enduring strength.

Though the beginning of the Great Wall of China can be traced to the fifth century B.C., many of the fortifications included in the wall date from hundreds of years earlier, when China was divided into a number of individual kingdoms during the so-called Warring States Period.

Around 220 B.C., Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China under the Qin Dynasty, ordered that earlier fortification between states be removed and a number of existing walls along the northern border are joined into a single system that would extend for more than 10,000 li (a li is about one-third of a mile) and protect China against attacks from the north

Questions

Decide if these statements are True (T), False (F), or Not Given (NG):

1. One single part of the Great Wall of China is over 13,000 miles long.
2. The best-known and best-preserved section of the Great Wall took approximately 300 years to erect.
3. The emperors of the Ming Dynasty, in the 14^th to the 17^th centuries, ordered the wall to be built.
4. Emperor Qin Shi Huang wanted to build the wall so that ‘outsiders’ could not enter China.
5. Much of the wall ordered to be built by Emperor Qin Shi Huang still stands today.
6. Emperor Qin Shi Huang removed earlier fortifications and used the stone to create the single wall.
7. Before the Qin Dynasty, wars in China caused the land to be split into separate kingdoms.

Answers

1. False – the text states that, altogether, the various sections of the wall together total more than 13,000 miles in length.
2. True – The text claims that “The best-known and best-preserved section of the Great Wall was built in the 14^th through 17^th centuries A.D.” This is 3 centuries, which is 300 years.
3. False – the text says “the beginning of the Great Wall of China can be traced to the fifth century B.C”.
4. True – the texts say that the emperor was “preventing incursions from barbarian nomads”. Incursion is a synonym of invasion and nomads is a synonym for an outsider.
5. Not Given – we are told that the wall built between the 14^th and 17^th centuries is the best preserved, but we are not told about the condition today of the earlier wall that was built.
6. Not Given – we are told that the emperor “ordered that earlier fortification between states be removed and a number of existing walls along the northern border are joined into a single system” but it does not state what he did with the rock/stone of the walls that were pulled down.
7. True – we are told that, in the Warring States Period, China was divided into a number of individual kingdoms.