# LAND OF THE RISING SUM: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 8, Test 4, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 8, Test 4, Reading Passage 1. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | vii | Lower secondary schools in Japan cover three school years, from the seventh grade (age 13) to the ninth grade (age 15). |
| 2 | i | Besides approving textbooks, Monbusho also decides the highly centralised national curriculum and how it is to be delivered. |
| 3 | v | Lessons all follow the same pattern. |
| 4 | ii | Teachers say that they give individual help at the end of a lesson or after school, setting extra work if necessary. |
| 5 | viii | So what are the major contributing factors in the success of maths teaching? |
| 6 | YES | where, incidentally, the variation in attainment scores was much greater. |
| 7 | NO | The percentage of Gross National Product spent on education is reasonably similar in the two countries |
| 8 | NOT GIVEN | only 3 per cent are in the private sector. Schools are usually modern in design, set well back from the road and spacious inside. |
| 9 | NO | Pupils mark their own homework |
| 10 | B | These textbooks are, on the whole, small, presumably inexpensive to produce, but well set out and logically developed. |
| 11 | C | the teacher explains the topic of the lesson, slowly and with a lot of repetition and elaboration. |
| 12 | A | sending them to 'Juku' (private evening tuition) if extra help is needed |
| 13 | C | the emphasis is on hard work coupled with a focus on accuracy. |

## Why these answers are right

**1. vii.** Section B sets the scene for lower secondary schooling from ages 13 to 15: state schools, building design, class size, lesson length and neighborhood enrollment. This general description of the middle school years fits vii, Background to middle-years education in Japan.

**2. i.** Section C names Monbusho, the central education authority, which supplies a textbook to every pupil, approves textbooks, and decides the national curriculum and how it is taught. Because the section shows how much this body controls, heading i, The influence of Monbusho, fits.

**3. v.** Section D opens by saying lessons all follow the same pattern, then walks through the order: homework solutions on the board, the teacher's explanation, worked examples, then individual practice. That step-by-step outline matches v, The typical format of a maths lesson.

The why and the trap for questions 4 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/land-of-the-rising-sum/answers).

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