# Life at a Mountain-Top Observatory: answers and explanations

Testmigo Practice Test 2, Reading Passage 1

Source: Written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 2,900 | at an Operations Support Facility 2,900 metres up |
| 2 | oxygen | Above 3,000 metres, carrying portable oxygen is compulsory |
| 3 | sleep | no one is permitted to sleep at the high site |
| 4 | 72 | it has living facilities for up to 72 people |
| 5 | Waimea | from special rooms at the observatory's headquarters in Waimea |
| 6 | noise | everyone is asked to avoid making noise in and around the building |
| 7 | TRUE | Water vapour in the atmosphere absorbs much of the faint radiation that reaches us from space |
| 8 | FALSE | the observatory's staff spend most of their time far lower down |
| 9 | TRUE | more often than the Chilean authorities require |
| 10 | NOT GIVEN | attention span and short-term memory |
| 11 | TRUE | spend at least half an hour at a visitor information station |
| 12 | FALSE | it no longer supports observers working at the summit |
| 13 | NOT GIVEN | controls outdoor lighting on La Palma |

## Why these answers are right

**1. 2,900.** Paragraph B says ALMA's staff spend most of their time far lower down, at an Operations Support Facility 2,900 metres up. The table's phrase staff spend most of their time at a support facility repeats this idea, so the height that fills the gap is 2,900.

**2. oxygen.** In paragraph C, the writer states that above 3,000 metres carrying portable oxygen is compulsory. The table paraphrases compulsory as must carry and repeats the 3,000 m threshold, so the missing word after portable is oxygen.

**3. sleep.** Near the end of paragraph C, the list of ALMA's rules includes that no one is permitted to sleep at the high site. The table rewrites no one is permitted as nobody is allowed, and the gap needs a verb, so sleep is correct.

The why and the trap for questions 4 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/life-at-a-mountain-top-observatory/answers).

[Practice Life at a Mountain-Top Observatory](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/life-at-a-mountain-top-observatory)