# Whatever happened to the Harappan Civilisation?: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 13, Test 3, Reading Passage 3

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 13, Test 3, Reading Passage 3. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 27 | C | Some have claimed that major glacier-fed rivers changed their course |
| 28 | H | to be more proactive in issues such as the management and administration of water supply |
| 29 | A | at a time when the Egyptians were carving and painting representations of themselves all over their temples |
| 30 | B | Houses were arranged in blocks, with wide main streets and narrow alleyways |
| 31 | D | they found inaccuracies in the published geographic locations of ancient settlements |
| 32 | shells | The researchers gathered shells of "Melanoides tuberculata" snails |
| 33 | lake | snails from the sediments of an ancient lake |
| 34 | rainfall | when the amount of evaporation from the lake exceeded the rainfall |
| 35 | grains | They are analysing grains cultivated at the time |
| 36 | pottery | They are also looking at whether the types of pottery used |
| 37 | B | it is essential that we obtain more climate data from areas close to the two great cities |
| 38 | A | we can learn from the past to engage with the public |
| 39 | D | We estimate that the weakening of the Indian summer monsoon climate lasted about 200 years |
| 40 | A | but relatively little about its fall |

## Why these answers are right

**27. C.** You need a paragraph listing suggested reasons for the decline. Paragraph C sets out several theories: rivers changing course, too many people, exhausted resources, a failed trading economy, invasion and climate change. Proposed explanations matches some have claimed, so the answer is C.

**28. H.** The item asks where research is applied to today's world. In paragraph H, Petrie says lessons from the past can help the public and government be more proactive about water supply, urban and rural development and cultural heritage. That present-day use points to H.

**29. A.** The item needs a contrast with another culture of the same time. Paragraph A notes the Harappans left almost no images of themselves, while the Egyptians of the same era were carving and painting self-images on temples. That contrast is in A.

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