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IELTS matching information

IELTS matching information questions ask which paragraph contains a specific detail, such as a reason, an example or a comparison; answers are not in passage order, a paragraph can be used twice, and you scan for paraphrases.

Matching information method

  1. Detail, not topic

    You are looking for one specific piece of information, not the paragraph's main idea.

  2. Name the type

    Underline what kind of detail is asked for: a reason, an example, a comparison, a number, a description.

  3. Paraphrase

    The passage will say it in different words.

  4. Any order

    Answers are not in passage order.

  5. Reuse allowed

    A paragraph can hold more than one answer, and some hold none.

  6. Do it last

    Answer this passage's other questions first: you will know where things are.

The return of the city beehive

A. Twenty years ago, few city councils allowed residents to keep honeybees. Fears about stings, swarms and complaints from neighbours led many to ban hives outright. Today, rooftops in many large cities host thousands of colonies, and some hotels advertise honey from their own roofs to guests.

B. The change began with concern about bee decline. Reports of colonies dying in the countryside persuaded many people that cities could act as refuges, where, it was argued, gardens and parks offer a long flowering season and fewer sprayed crops than intensively farmed land.

C. Not everyone welcomes the trend. Ecologists point out that honeybees are managed animals, much like livestock, and that a dense population of hives can compete with wild bees for the same flowers. Where hives are crowded together, there may simply not be enough nectar to go round.

D. Beekeepers respond that the problem is not hives but a shortage of flowers. Several beekeeping clubs now ask new members to plant bee-friendly species before they set up a hive, and some councils have discussed limiting the number of colonies in each district.

E. For the honey itself, the city has an advantage, if a modest one. Hives in cities can produce more honey than those in the countryside because of the variety of plants in gardens. However, the cost of equipment and the time that inspections take mean that few hobby beekeepers make money from selling it.

Step 1 of 5

Which paragraph contains a reason why honeybees may harm other insects?

Question 1 of 2

Pick an answer

Your result

Questions people ask

What is the difference between matching information and matching headings?

Matching headings asks for each paragraph's main idea. Matching information asks where one specific detail is, which may be a single sentence in a paragraph about something else.

Can a paragraph be the answer more than once?

Yes, if the instructions say you may use any letter more than once. Some paragraphs may not be used at all.

Should I do matching information first?

Usually last for that passage. It needs the whole passage, so answering the in-order questions first means you already know where things are.

How we work this out

What it does

Find the paragraph that holds each specific detail. The right paragraph is often not the one whose main idea sounds closest.

IELTS Academic Reading: matching information to paragraphs.

Method

  1. Each statement names a kind of detail: a reason, an example, a condition, a number or a comparison.
  2. The trap in each question is the paragraph whose topic sounds close but which does not contain that detail.

Sources

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