# Dawn of the robots: answers and explanations

The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Test 2, Reading Passage 2

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Test 2, Reading Passage 2. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 14 | v | No one got out of the cars for the simple reason that they had no humans inside them |
| 15 | ii | Yet only three years earlier, at DARPA's previous driverless car race, every robot competitor |
| 16 | viii | The robotics industry is developing in much the same way the computer business did 30 years ago |
| 17 | vii | This has, until recently, reduced robots to fairly static and cumbersome roles. |
| 18 | i | So scientists have turned to simpler alternatives |
| 19 | iv | opened with a couple of sensor-laden humanoid machines directing customers to their seats |
| 20 | C | how to make robots act in a way that does not scare or offend individuals |
| 21 | B | We are no longer trying to re-create human functions. |
| 22 | A | we still have a way to go before real robots catch up with their science fiction counterparts |
| 23 | C | Robots first learn basic competence - how to move around a house without bumping into things. |
| 24 | on-board computer | each car had its on-board computer loaded with a digital map and route plans |
| 25 | ultrasound signals | The Trilobite scuttles around homes emitting ultrasound signals to create maps of rooms |
| 26 | touch-screen | Each possesses a touch-screen on which orders can be keyed in. |

## Why these answers are right

**14. v.** Paragraph A describes what first looks like a typical suburban road accident, then reveals that nobody got out because there were no humans inside and computers were driving. Heading v, not what it seemed to be, captures this twist.

**15. ii.** Paragraph B notes that this collision was the only scrape in the whole competition, while three years earlier every robot in the previous race crashed or seized up. That comparison with the earlier race matches heading ii, a significant improvement on last time.

**16. viii.** In Paragraph C, Bill Gates says the robotics industry is developing in much the same way the computer business did 30 years ago. Comparing robotics with an older industry's growth is what heading viii, following the pattern of an earlier development, means.

The why and the trap for questions 17 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/dawn-of-the-robots/answers).

[Practice Dawn of the robots](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/dawn-of-the-robots)