Our Vanishing Night - IELTS Reading Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Trainer 1 Academic Reading Test 2 · Part 1 · Questions 1–13
Reading Passage
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Our Vanishing Night
For most of human history, the phrase 'light pollution' would have made no sense. Imagine walking toward London on a moonlit night around 1800, when it was one of Earth's most populous cities. Nearly a million people lived there, making do, as they always had, with candles and lanterns. There would be no gaslights in the streets or squares for another seven years.
Now most of humanity lives under reflected, refracted light from overlit cities and suburbs, from light-flooded roads and factories. Nearly all of night-time Europe is a bright patch of light, as is most of the United States and much of Japan. In the South Atlantic the glow from a single fishing fleet - squid fishermen luring their prey with metal halide lamps - can be seen from space, burning brighter on occasions than Buenos Aires.
In most cities the sky looks as though it has been emptied of stars and taking their place is a constant orange glow. We've become so used to this that the glory of an unlit night - dark enough for the planet Venus to throw shadows on Earth - is wholly beyond our experience, beyond memory almost. And yet above the city's pale ceiling lies the rest of the universe, utterly undiminished by the light we waste.
We've lit up the night as if it were an unoccupied country, when nothing could be further from the truth. Among mammals alone, the number of nocturnal species is astonishing. Light is a powerful biological force, and on many species it acts as a magnet. The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being 'captured' by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms, circling and circling in the thousands until they drop. Migrating at night, birds are apt to collide with brightly lit buildings; immature birds suffer in much higher numbers than adults.
Insects, of course, cluster around streetlights, and feeding on those insects is a crucial means of survival for many bat species. In some Swiss valleys the European lesser horseshoe bat began to vanish after streetlights were installed, perhaps because those valleys were suddenly filled with light-feeding pipistrelle bats. Other nocturnal mammals, like desert rodents and badgers, are more cautious about searching for food under the permanent full moon of light pollution because they've become easier targets for the predators who are hunting them.
Some birds - blackbirds and nightingales, among others - sing at unnatural hours in the presence of artificial light. Scientists have determined that long artificial days - and artificially short nights - induce early breeding in a wide range of birds. And because a longer day allows for longer feeding, it can also affect migration schedules. The problem, of course, is that migration, like most other aspects of bird behavior, is a precisely timed biological behavior. Leaving prematurely may mean reaching a destination too soon for nesting conditions to be right.
Nesting sea turtles, which seek out dark beaches, find fewer and fewer of them to bury their eggs on. When the baby sea turtles emerge from the eggs, they gravitate toward the brighter, more reflective sea horizon but find themselves confused by artificial lighting behind the beach. In Florida alone, hatchling losses number in the hundreds of thousands every year. Frogs and toads living on the side of major highways suffer nocturnal light levels that are as much as a million times brighter than normal, disturbing nearly every aspect of their behavior, including their night-time breeding choruses.
It was once thought that light pollution only affected astronomers, who need to see the night sky in all its glorious clarity. And, in fact, some of the earliest civic efforts to control light pollution were made half a century ago to protect the view from Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. In 2001 Flagstaff was declared the first International Dark Sky City. By now the effort to control light pollution has spread around the globe. More and more cities and even entire countries have committed themselves to reducing unwanted glare.
Questions
Questions 1–7 True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
Questions 8–13 Table Completion
Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
| CREATURE | EFFECTS OF LIGHT |
| Songbirds and seabirds | The worst-affected birds are those which are 8. They bump into 9 which stand out at night. |
| Desert rodents and badgers | They are more at risk from 10. |
| Migrating birds | Early migration may mean the 11 are not suitable on arrival. |
| Sea turtles | They suffer from the decreasing number of 12. |
| Frogs and toads | If they are near 13 , their routines will be upset. |
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | TRUE | We've become so used to this that the glory of an unlit night - dark enough for the planet Venus to throw shadows on Earth - is wholly beyond our experience, beyond memory almost | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that people are so comfortable with artificial light that they have forgotten what a natural dark night is like, meaning they no longer recognize how humans lived before electricity. Answer Explanation: The answer means that most people today do not realize that human bodies are naturally built to work best during the day using sunlight rather than artificial lights. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is TRUE because the passage states that people have become so accustomed to bright city lights that the experience of a truly dark night is 'wholly beyond our experience' and even 'beyond memory almost.' Since the text notes that 'for most of human history' people lived without streetlights and used only candles, the loss of this 'memory' shows that few people today recognize or understand our natural biological connection to daylight and the natural cycles of the night. |
| Q2 | TRUE | Now most of humanity lives under reflected, refracted light from overlit cities and suburbs, from light-flooded roads and factories | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that most people on Earth live in places where the light at night is light that has bounced (reflected) or bent (refracted). This shows that the direction the light goes is a major cause of the light pollution we see. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the way light is pointed or aimed (its direction) is a bigger reason for light pollution than how strong or bright the light is (its intensity). Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is TRUE because the passage says that most people live under light that is "reflected" and "refracted." These two words specifically describe the path and direction of light as it bounces off the ground or bends in the air. While the text does mention that cities are "overlit" (intensity), it focuses on the fact that the pollution we see is the light that is "wasted" because it is pointed in the wrong direction. |
| Q3 | FALSE | For most of human history, the phrase 'light pollution' would have made no sense. Imagine walking toward London on a moonlit night around 1800, when it was one of Earth's most populous cities. Nearly a million people lived there, making do, as they always had, with candles and lanterns. There would be no gaslights in the streets or squares for another seven years | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that in the year 1800, London was a city with many people. However, they only used candles and lanterns to see in the dark, and there were no bright street lights in the city yet. Because of this, the term light pollution was not used back then. Answer Explanation: The answer is FALSE because London in the year 1800 did not have light pollution, even though it was a city with many people. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is FALSE because the text says that around the year 1800, the idea of light pollution did not exist ('would have made no sense'). While London was a very large city ('most populous'), residents only used 'candles and lanterns' for light. Because they did not have bright 'gaslights' yet, the city was not bright enough to cause light pollution at that time. |
| Q4 | NOT GIVEN | In the South Atlantic the glow from a single fishing fleet - squid fishermen luring their prey with metal halide lamps - can be seen from space, burning brighter on occasions than Buenos Aires | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that these fishermen use very bright lights to catch squid, and these lights are so strong they can even be seen from space. However, the text does not say if the fishermen realize these lights cause pollution or not. Answer Explanation: The answer is 'NOT GIVEN' because the reading does not tell us if the fishermen know that their lights are causing light pollution. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'NOT GIVEN' because while the text mentions that the fishing fleet in the South Atlantic uses very bright lights that can be seen from space, it says nothing about the fishermen's thoughts or knowledge. We cannot find information to confirm if they are 'unaware' or if they are actually aware of the light pollution they produce. |
| Q5 | NOT GIVEN | We've become so used to this that the glory of an unlit night — dark enough for the planet Venus to throw shadows on Earth — is wholly beyond our experience, beyond memory almost | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that in a dark night without artificial lights, the planet Venus can cast shadows on the ground. However, it never mentions whether this effect changes based on the time of year. Answer Explanation: The answer NOT GIVEN means that the reading passage does not contain enough information to decide if Venus's shadows are harder to see during specific parts of the year. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is NOT GIVEN because while the passage mentions that Venus is bright enough to create shadows on Earth during a truly dark night, it says nothing about these shadows changing depending on the month or season. The text focuses on how light pollution hides the stars and the brightness of Venus, but it does not discuss 'certain times of year' at all. |
| Q6 | FALSE | In some Swiss valleys the European lesser horseshoe bat began to vanish after streetlights were installed, perhaps because those valleys were suddenly filled with light-feeding pipistrelle bats | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage tells us that after lights were put in the valleys, one kind of bat went away, but another kind of bat that likes light came in and filled up the space. Answer Explanation: The answer is FALSE because the passage does not say that the total number of bats became lower. Instead, it says one type of bat left while another type of bat took its place. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is FALSE because the passage explains that although one specific group of bats—the 'European lesser horseshoe bat'—started to 'vanish' (disappear), the valleys were actually 'filled' with a different kind called 'pipistrelle bats'. Because the valleys became full of this new type of bat, it is incorrect to say that the 'total' number of bats went down. |
| Q7 | TRUE | And, in fact, some of the earliest civic efforts to control light pollution were made half a century ago to protect the view from Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that about fifty years ago, people in Flagstaff, Arizona, began trying to stop too much city light so that the Lowell Observatory could have a clear view of the stars. Answer Explanation: The answer is TRUE because the first local actions to reduce nighttime light were started specifically to help people who study the stars (astronomers) see the sky better. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is TRUE because the passage mentions that some of the earliest city-wide actions to limit light pollution happened 50 years ago specifically to aid the Lowell Observatory. In this context, "earliest civic efforts" matches the idea of the "first attempts," and protecting the view of an "observatory" means helping people who study stars and space. |
| Q8 | immature | Migrating at night, birds are apt to collide with brightly lit buildings; immature birds suffer in much higher numbers than adults | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that when birds move from one place to another at night, they often hit tall buildings that have many lights. It mentions that young (immature) birds have these accidents much more often than grown (adult) birds. Answer Explanation: The answer "immature" refers to birds that are young and not yet fully grown up. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "immature" because the text explains that young birds have more trouble with lights than older birds do. The passage uses the phrase "suffer in much higher numbers" to show that these birds are the worst-affected group when they travel at night near bright lights. |
| Q9 | brightly lit buildings | Migrating at night, birds are apt to collide with brightly lit buildings | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that when birds travel during the night, they often crash into buildings that are full of bright lights. Answer Explanation: The answer means buildings that have many bright lights turned on at night. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is correct because the passage explains that birds traveling at night often crash into these structures. The question uses the phrase 'bump into', which is another way of saying 'collide with' as written in the text. The text identifies 'brightly lit buildings' as the things these birds hit while flying. |
| Q10 | predators | Other nocturnal mammals, like desert rodents and badgers, are more cautious about searching for food under the permanent full moon of light pollution because they've become easier targets for the predators who are hunting them | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that because of light pollution, desert rodents and badgers are easy to see. Because they are easier to see, the animals that want to eat them can catch them more easily. Answer Explanation: The answer refers to animals that hunt and eat other animals for food. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is predators because the passage explains that animals like desert rodents and badgers are in more danger when cities are too bright at night. This light pollution makes them 'easier targets' because they can be seen more clearly. The text says they are at risk from the animals that are 'hunting' them. |
| Q11 | nesting conditions | Leaving prematurely may mean reaching a destination too soon for nesting conditions to be right | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that starting their journey too early might result in the birds arriving at their home before the environment is ready for them to build nests and live safely. Answer Explanation: The answer refers to the state of the environment or the place where birds build their homes and have babies. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is correct because the passage explains that birds have a natural internal clock for migration. If artificial light makes the days feel longer, they might start moving to their new home earlier than they should. If they arrive there too early, the environment (the nesting conditions) might not be ready or safe for them to lay eggs and raise their young. Pay attention to the synonym 'prematurely', which means 'too early', and 'destination', which means the place where they are going. |
| Q12 | dark beaches | Nesting sea turtles, which seek out dark beaches, find fewer and fewer of them to bury their eggs on | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that sea turtles laying eggs look for beaches without lights, but they are having a hard time finding enough of these places now. Answer Explanation: The answer means sandy areas along the ocean that do not have any artificial lamps or streetlights shining on them at night. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'dark beaches' because the passage states that nesting sea turtles specifically look for these quiet, unlit areas to lay their eggs. As light pollution increases, the amount of these appropriately dark locations is going down. The phrase 'fewer and fewer' in the text directly corresponds to the phrase 'decreasing number' used in the question. |
| Q13 | major highways / highways | Frogs and toads living on the side of major highways suffer nocturnal light levels that are as much as a million times brighter than normal, disturbing nearly every aspect of their behavior, including their night-time breeding choruses | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that when frogs and toads live next to big roads, the night becomes too bright for them. This brightness changes and ruins their normal daily and nightly habits. Answer Explanation: The answer refers to large, busy roads that connect cities and carry many vehicles. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is found in the section of the text discussing how artificial light affects frogs and toads. The passage states that these animals living near 'major highways' face light levels that are much higher than natural conditions. This light is said to 'disturb' almost every part of their 'behavior,' which matches the idea of their 'routines' being 'upset.' |