# Striking Back at Lightning With Lasers: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 8, Test 3, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 8, Test 3, 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 | D | equipped with an armoury of lasers that they will be pointing towards the heavens ... Diels is leading a project, which is backed by EPRI, to try to use lasers to discharge lightning safely |
| 2 | A | And there is damage to property too. |
| 3 | A | with support from the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) ... Diels is leading a project, which is backed by EPRI |
| 4 | power companies | EPRI, which is funded by power companies |
| 5 | safely | to try to use lasers to discharge lightning safely |
| 6 | size | The laser is no nifty portable: it's a monster that takes up a whole room. ... Diels is trying to cut down the size |
| 7 | B | high-powered lasers were revealing their ability to extract electrons out of atoms and create ions |
| 8 | C | If a laser could generate a line of ionisation in the air all the way up to a storm cloud |
| 9 | G | who would want to fire streams of rockets in a populated area? |
| 10 | D | Instead it would be directed at a mirror, and from there into the sky. |
| 11 | NO | But they have not yet come up with the $5 million that EPRI says will be needed to develop a commercial system |
| 12 | YES | He reckons that the forthcoming field tests will be the turning point ... Bernstein predicts 'an avalanche of interest and support' if all goes well. |
| 13 | NOT GIVEN | Bernstein says that Diels's system is attracting lots of interest from the power companies. |

## Why these answers are right

**1. D.** The question asks for the main topic of the whole text. After a short introduction, most paragraphs describe a laser system for discharging thunderclouds, its cost, size and future uses, so a laser technique for controlling lightning, option D, sums it up.

**2. A.** The question asks what lightning does every year. Paragraph A lists deaths and injuries and then says there is damage to property too, so damage to buildings in option A paraphrases that point about property.

**3. A.** You need what links the Florida and New Mexico researchers. The Florida rocket site runs with support from EPRI, and Diels's New Mexico laser project is also backed by EPRI, so both get money from the same source, option A.

The why and the trap for questions 4 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/striking-back-at-lightning-with-lasers/answers).

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