Wheel Of Fortune - IELTS Reading Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Practice Test Plus 1 Academic Reading Test 2 · Part 2 · Questions 14–27
Reading Passage
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–27 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
Wheel of Fortune
A Since moving pictures were invented a century ago, a new way of distributing entertainment to consumers has emerged about once every generation. Each such innovation has changed the industry irreversibly; each has been accompanied by a period of fear mixed with exhilaration. The arrival of digital technology, which translates music, pictures and text into the zeros and ones of computer language, marks one of those periods.
B This may sound familiar, because the digital revolution, and the explosion of choice that would go with it, has been heralded for some time. In 1992, John Malone, chief executive of TCI, an American cable giant, welcomed the '500-channel universe'. Digital television was about to deliver everything except pizzas to people's living rooms. When the entertainment companies tried out the technology, it worked fine – but not at a price that people were prepared to pay.
C Those 500 channels eventually arrived but via the Internet and the PC rather than through television. The digital revolution was starting to affect the entertainment business in unexpected ways. Eventually it will change every aspect of it, from the way cartoons are made to the way films are screened to the way people buy music. That much is clear. What nobody is sure of is how it will affect the economics of the business.
D New technologies always contain within them both threats and opportunities. They have the potential both to make the companies in the business a great deal richer, and to sweep them away. Old companies always fear new technology. Hollywood was hostile to television, television terrified by the VCR. Go back far enough, points out Hal Varian, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley, and you find publishers complaining that 'circulating libraries' would cannibalise their sales. Yet whenever a new technology has come in, it has made more money for existing entertainment companies. The proliferation of the means of distribution results, gratifyingly, in the proliferation of dollars, pounds, pesetas and the rest to pay for it.
E All the same, there is something in the old companies' fears. New technologies may not threaten their lives, but they usually change their role. Once television became widespread, film and radio stopped being the staple form of entertainment. Cable television has undermined the power of the broadcasters. And as power has shifted the movie studios, the radio companies and the television broadcasters have been swallowed up. These days, the grand old names of entertainment have more resonance than power. Paramount is part of Viacom, a cable company; Universal, part of Seagram, a drinks-and-entertainment company; MGM, once the roaring lion of Hollywood, has been reduced to a whisper because it is not part of one of the giants. And RCA, once the most important broadcasting company in the world, is now a recording label belonging to Bertelsmann, a large German entertainment company.
F Part of the reason why incumbents got pushed aside was that they did not see what was coming. But they also faced a tighter regulatory environment than the present one. In America, laws preventing television broadcasters from owning programme companies were repealed earlier this decade, allowing the creation of vertically integrated businesses. Greater freedom, combined with a sense of history, prompted the smarter companies in the entertainment business to re-invent themselves. They saw what happened to those of their predecessors who were stuck with one form of distribution. So, these days, the powers in the entertainment business are no longer movie studios, or television broadcasters, or publishers; all those businesses have become part of bigger businesses still, companies that can both create content and distribute it in a range of different ways.
G Out of all this, seven huge entertainment companies have emerged – Time Warner, Walt Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, News Corp, Seagram and Sony. They cover pretty well every bit of the entertainment business except pornography. Three are American, one is Australian, one Canadian, one German and one Japanese. 'What you are seeing', says Christopher Dixon, managing director of media research at PaineWebber, a stockbroker, 'is the creation of a global oligopoly. It happened to the oil and automotive businesses earlier this century; now it is happening to the entertainment business.' It remains to be seen whether the latest technology will weaken those great companies, or make them stronger than ever.
Questions
Questions 14–21 Matching Information
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs A-G.
Which paragraph mentions the following?
Write the appropriate letters (A-G).
NB Some of the paragraphs will be used more than once.
Questions 22–25 Matching Features
The writer refers to various individuals and companies in the reading passage. Match the people or companies (A-E) with the points made about the introduction of new technology.
Write the appropriate letter (A-E).
A. John Malone
B. Hal Varian
C. MGM
D. Walt Disney
E. Christopher Dixon
Questions 26–27 Multiple Choice (One Answer)
Choose the appropriate letters A-D.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q14 | D | New technologies always contain within them both threats and opportunities. They have the potential both to make the companies in the business a great deal richer, and to sweep them away | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that new ways of doing things (new technologies) always bring both dangers and chances for success. It also says these technologies can make companies much richer or can destroy them completely. Answer Explanation: The answer is D, which means Paragraph D of the text. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is Paragraph D because it clearly talks about how new technology can have two opposite effects on businesses that already exist. It says that technology can be both a 'threat' and an 'opportunity', meaning it can hurt businesses or help them become much richer. Keywords like 'threats and opportunities' and 'make the companies in the business a great deal richer, and to sweep them away' directly show these contrasting effects. |
| Q15 | C | Eventually it will change every aspect of it, from the way cartoons are made to the way films are screened to the way people buy music | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that in the future, digital technology will completely change everything about entertainment. It gives examples like how cartoons are made, how movies are shown, and how people buy music. Answer Explanation: The answer is paragraph C. This paragraph talks about how entertainment will change completely in the future. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because this paragraph directly states that the digital revolution 'will change every aspect of it, from the way cartoons are made to the way films are screened to the way people buy music.' The phrase 'every aspect of it' means a 'total transformation,' and the specific examples like 'cartoons,' 'films,' and 'music' cover 'all forms of entertainment.' The passage also uses the phrase 'Eventually it will change every aspect of it,' which points to a future transformation. |
| Q16 | A | Each such innovation has changed the industry irreversibly; each has been accompanied by a period of fear mixed with exhilaration | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that every new way to deliver fun entertainment, called an 'innovation,' has come with a time when people felt both 'fear' (scared) and 'exhilaration' (very happy and excited). These mixed feelings are what the question means by 'confused feelings' about new technology. Answer Explanation: The answer is paragraph A. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is paragraph 'A' because it describes the feelings people experience when new technology, or 'innovation,' appears. The passage states that each new 'innovation' in entertainment has brought 'fear mixed with exhilaration,' which exactly matches the idea of 'confused feelings.' 'Fear' and 'exhilaration' are opposite feelings, and experiencing them together shows a 'confused' emotional state in response to something new. |
| Q17 | F | Greater freedom, combined with a sense of history, prompted the smarter companies in the entertainment business to re-invent themselves. They saw what happened to those of their predecessors who were stuck with one form of distribution | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that some smart companies used their past knowledge, or 'sense of history,' to change and make themselves new. It means they looked at what happened to older companies, called 'predecessors,' who failed because they only offered entertainment in one way. By seeing these past mistakes, the current smart companies learned not to do the same. Answer Explanation: The answer is paragraph F. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is paragraph F because it explains that some clever companies in the entertainment business learned from past companies' mistakes. These clever companies understood what happened to older companies that only focused on one way to share entertainment. Because they learned from this 'history,' they changed their own business to be more flexible and strong. The passage uses the phrase 'smarter companies' to show which companies learned and 'predecessors' to refer to the companies whose mistakes they learned from. |
| Q18 | B | When the entertainment companies tried out the technology, it worked fine – but not at a price that people were prepared to pay | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that when new entertainment technology was tried, it worked well. But, it was too expensive, and ordinary people (consumers) did not want to pay that much money (high cost). Answer Explanation: The answer is paragraph B. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because this paragraph directly talks about how new digital entertainment technology was too expensive for regular people. It states that even though the technology worked, people were not ready to pay the high 'price' for it, meaning the 'cost to the consumer' was too high. |
| Q19 | C | What nobody is sure of is how it will affect the economics of the business | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that no one knows how the new digital changes will impact the money side of the entertainment business. This means people are not certain about the financial outcomes. Answer Explanation: The answer is paragraph C. This paragraph talks about not being sure how money will be affected as more people can get entertainment from many places. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is paragraph C because it directly states that people are unsure about the financial effects of the digital revolution on the entertainment industry. The question asks about 'uncertainty regarding the financial impact of wider media access'. Paragraph C mentions that the '500 channels' (which represent wider media access) arrived through the Internet and PC, and then explicitly states, 'What nobody is sure of is how it will affect the economics of the business.' This sentence perfectly matches the 'uncertainty' and 'financial impact' aspects of the question. |
| Q20 | F | Part of the reason why incumbents got pushed aside was that they did not see what was coming. But they also faced a tighter regulatory environment than the present one | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that some old companies were pushed aside, meaning they lost their strong position. One reason for this was that they experienced a 'tighter regulatory environment'. This means the government had very strict rules and laws that made it difficult for them to do business, like being controlled by strict policies. Answer Explanation: The answer is Paragraph F. This paragraph talks about the topic of the question. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is Paragraph F because it explains that some older companies had problems due to strict government rules. It mentions that 'incumbents got pushed aside' and that 'they also faced a tighter regulatory environment'. This means that laws and rules made by the government were very strict and made it hard for these companies to succeed or grow, effectively making them victims of these policies. |
| Q21 | G | It remains to be seen whether the latest technology will weaken those great companies, or make them stronger than ever | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that we do not know if the new technology will make the big companies less strong or more strong. Answer Explanation: The answer means that paragraph G talks about how new technology, like the digital revolution, might make the very big entertainment companies less powerful. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is G because this paragraph specifically discusses the future impact of the 'latest technology' (which refers to the digital revolution mentioned earlier in the passage) on the 'great companies' that have emerged. It directly addresses the possibility of this technology making them weaker, or 'undermining' them, by stating, 'It remains to be seen whether the latest technology will weaken those great companies, or make them stronger than ever.' |
| Q22 | B | Go back far enough, points out Hal Varian, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley, and you find publishers complaining that 'circulating libraries' would cannibalise their sales | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that Hal Varian said that if you look far into the past, even book publishers were worried that new 'circulating libraries' (like places where people could borrow books) would hurt their sales. This shows that businesses have always been concerned when new ways of sharing entertainment or products appear. Answer Explanation: The answer means that Hal Varian is the person who talked about how new ways of sharing entertainment have made established businesses scared in the past. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is B because the passage explains that old companies often get scared of new technology. To prove this point historically, the writer mentions Hal Varian, an economist. Hal Varian's contribution is that he noted how, in the past, 'publishers complaining' about 'circulating libraries' showed their fear that these new ways of distributing books would 'cannibalise their sales,' meaning hurt their business and take away customers. This directly supports the idea that new forms of distributing entertainment have historically 'alarmed' those who were already established. |
| Q23 | E | 'What you are seeing', says Christopher Dixon, managing director of media research at PaineWebber, a stockbroker, 'is the creation of a global oligopoly. It happened to the oil and automotive businesses earlier this century; now it is happening to the entertainment business.' | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage quotes Christopher Dixon saying that many big entertainment companies are coming together to form a very powerful group, like a few big companies controlling everything. He then explains that this same thing happened to companies in the oil and car industries many years ago, and now it is happening to entertainment companies. Answer Explanation: The answer is E, which refers to Christopher Dixon. This means Christopher Dixon talked about how entertainment companies are merging in a way that is similar to what happened in other industries. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is Christopher Dixon because he directly explains that the way entertainment companies are joining together (creating a 'global oligopoly') is a pattern that has been seen before in other industries. He points out that this kind of change 'happened to the oil and automotive businesses earlier this century,' and now it is happening in the 'entertainment business.' This shows that the merging of entertainment companies follows a similar trend seen in other big industries. |
| Q24 | C | MGM, once the roaring lion of Hollywood, has been reduced to a whisper because it is not part of one of the giants | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that MGM, which was once a very famous and powerful movie company, is now much less important. This happened because MGM did not join one of the other very large entertainment companies; it stayed on its own. Answer Explanation: The answer is C, which refers to MGM. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is MGM because the passage explains that big entertainment companies which stayed independent, meaning they didn't join larger groups, became less powerful. The passage specifically states that MGM, which used to be very strong, became much weaker because it 'is not part of one of the giants.' This directly answers the question about major entertainment bodies losing influence if they remain independent. |
| Q25 | A | In 1992, John Malone, chief executive of TCI, an American cable giant, welcomed the '500-channel universe'. Digital television was about to deliver everything except pizzas to people's living rooms | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that in the year 1992, a person named John Malone, who was in charge of a big company called TCI, was happy about something new called the '500-channel universe'. This was a big new technology that would bring many TV channels into homes. This sentence shows that the news about this recent technology was shared by John Malone many years ago. Answer Explanation: The answer is John Malone. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is John Malone because the passage explains that he announced a big new technology idea years ago. He 'welcomed' the '500-channel universe' from digital television in 1992. This shows that 'news of the most recent technological development' (the digital revolution and many channels) was shared by him 'some years ago' (in 1992). The text specifically links the announcement of this technology to him during that time. |
| Q26 | D | Old companies always fear new technology. Hollywood was hostile to television, television terrified by the VCR. Go back far enough, points out Hal Varian, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley, and you find publishers complaining that 'circulating libraries' would cannibalise their sales | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that old businesses are always scared of new technology. It gives examples: movie companies like "Hollywood" did not like "television," and TV companies were very afraid of the "VCR" (video recording machine). It also mentions that long ago, book companies ("publishers") worried that "circulating libraries" (places to borrow books) would stop people from buying their books. This shows that people have always worried about new technologies, just like with the digital revolution now. Answer Explanation: The answer means the writer explains his ideas about the digital revolution by comparing it to other times in the past when new technologies changed things. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is D because the writer frequently uses examples from previous periods of technological innovation to illustrate his points about the digital revolution. He explains that "old companies always fear new technology" and then provides several historical examples, such as "Hollywood was hostile to television" and "television terrified by the VCR." He even goes further back to mention "publishers complaining that 'circulating libraries' would cannibalise their sales." These comparisons help the reader understand the current situation with the digital revolution by showing a recurring pattern in the entertainment industry's history. |
| Q27 | C | Greater freedom, combined with a sense of history, prompted the smarter companies in the entertainment business to re-invent themselves. They saw what happened to those of their predecessors who were stuck with one form of distribution | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that smart companies in the entertainment world chose to 're-invent themselves' (meaning they changed and updated their business) because they learned from the past. They saw that older companies that didn't change and stayed 'stuck with one form of distribution' (only used old ways to share entertainment) did not succeed. This means that to do well, companies must be willing to change and use new technology. Answer Explanation: The answer means that entertainment companies need to change and update their ways of working when new technology comes along. They should not stay stuck in the past but should learn to use new tools and methods. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the passage repeatedly emphasizes the importance of entertainment companies adapting to new technologies to survive and succeed. Paragraph D explains that new technologies bring both dangers and chances, and old companies often fear them, but adaptation can lead to more money. Paragraph E shows how companies that didn't change (like film and radio) lost their main role, and larger companies swallowed them. Most importantly, Paragraph F clearly states that 'smarter companies in the entertainment business' learned from the past and chose 'to re-invent themselves' by creating and sharing content in many new ways. This shows that the writer's main view is that companies must change with technology. |