The Blog post contains the following IELTS Reading Questions:
- IELTS Reading Matching Features.
- IELTS Reading Yes/No/Not Given.
- IELTS Reading Short Answer Questions.
Stay informed and prepared for success – Explore our comprehensive Reading Test Info page to get valuable insights, exam format details, and expert tips for mastering the IELTS Reading section.
IELTS Reading Passage – The Power of Light
The Power of Light
The world is exposed to us through light. Our biological clocks are established by it. It stimulates the sense of color in our brains. We are fed by light, which also gives plants energy for growth. It inspires us with stunning phenomena such as rainbows and sunsets. From incandescent lights to lasers and fiber optics, light provides us with instruments that may transform our lives.
Light has existed since the beginning. There’s going to be light at the end, though faintly. It surrounds the universe in all of its forms, both visible and invisible. Light eludes our perception in more aspects than just one. The basic elements of nature have been split into smaller and more peculiar attributes by modern physics, yet the light won’t fade. Light is light; it is pure, yet it is complex. Nobody knows how to express it in words. Is it a wave or a particle? Yes, as per scientists, it is both.
Light’s significance in our daily lives is demonstrated by the fact that we pay minimal attention to it. Air and light are very similar. That much is obvious. A person would consider the idea of light as much as a fish would consider the concept of water. There are exceptions, brief glimpses of amazement when a special form of light, a transient splendor, appears: a rainbow, a sunset, a lightning flash in a dark sky, the glistening surface of the ocean at twilight, the mottled light in a forest, the small red dot from a faculty member’s laser pen. A romantic ambiance is produced by just a candle’s flicker. After the electricity went out, the torch was used to search for the circuit breakers.
But, most of the time, we don’t see light; we see through it. You can’t savor the beauty of a rose if you think about the way the brain only detects red as a particular light wavelength with crests that are around 700 nanometers apart. A director of theatrical lighting once told me that she performs at her finest when no one even notices the lights. Instead of showcasing the fancy new lenses that produce colors of stunning intensity, her objective is to generate an emotion or mood.
Nowadays, everything including telephone technology to laser eye surgery uses light. It could become the primary source of energy for long-distance space travel. The spacecraft would be equipped with a thin sail to capture the laser light that was being transmitted from Earth. Theoretically, a ship of this type may travel without fuel at speeds approaching a significant percentage of the speed of light.
What we call light is identical to the radiation which we name as radio waves, gamma rays, and x- rays, although with different wavelengths. However, visible light is distinct from any other fundamental component of the world in that it interacts with our senses directly, frequently, and profoundly. Long distances can be covered by high-resolution information given by light. The Jupiterian moons and the Crab Nebula cannot be heard or smelled. Visible light conveys so much information that practically every living creature, from a fly to an octopus, has an instrument that can collect it, usually an eye or pair of eyes.
It’s vital to remember that our eyes are built to identify the specific type of light that is emitted in large quantities by the star that drives our planet’s life: the sun. Visible light is a strong material that travels at fairly short wavelengths, which makes it suitable for biological purposes. We’d need large eyes the size of satellite dishes to view the vast, elongated radio waves. It’s not worth the hassle! It would also be absurd for human eyes to be able to see infrared light (however, certain deep-sea shrimp near hot springs do interpret things in this way). That would include practically everything in our surroundings. Any heat-emitting device shines in these wavelengths, which would keep us preoccupied all the time.
Dark spots exist during the daytime too, in the form of shadows. Before I had spoken to astronomer and shadow specialist David Lynch in Topanga Canyon, California, along the coast from Santa Monica, I was unaware of the wide diversity of shadows that exists. Lynch notes that a shadow contains light reflected from the sky; else, it would be totally dark. The Apollo astronauts described the shadows on the moon as being black since there is no atmosphere or sky on the moon to reflect light into the dark valleys of the lunar surface.
Lynch is a person who can see features in a rainbow that most people overlook. For instance, he is aware that all rainbows are twins, therefore he always seeks out the second rainbow, which is a pale parallel rainbow with the colors arranged inversely. The area in between is darker. This region has a name, Alexander’s black band, in case you were not aware. As I gazed across the breathtaking canyon, Lynch added further: “there’s sky between here and the mountains over there, which is why those mountains over there appear a little blue,” he explained, pointing to the range that hides the Pacific. It is known as Fairlight.
What does the future hold for light? What new software will we discover? What orthodoxy-busting cosmic facts will our telescopes receive from stars? Will the spinning disco ball ever reappear on the dance floor? Most importantly, you have to ponder if humans will ever actually understand light.
Recent news reports have mentioned scientists’ attempts to accelerate light beyond the speed of light. For decades, this was the fantasy of science fiction authors as well as some overly creative minds. They imagined that if you were able to build a spacecraft that wasn’t confined by Einstein’s speed limit, you could travel through the universe far more rapidly.
A flash of light that exceeded the predetermined speed limit was generated by Princeton researcher Lijun Wang. He said that although this is not at odds with Einstein, they produced an artificial mode of cesium gas within which the speed of the pulse of light surpasses the speed of light in a vacuum. Unlike matter, light may be modified to travel faster than light. Information can not do that. There is no potential for time travel.
I questioned Wang why the speed of light is 186,282 miles per second as opposed to another value. He stated that this is how nature works. Many scientists detest these “why” questions. The light’s speed is indeed constant. This is their opinion. Whether light could travel at a different speed in another world is currently beyond the range of experimental research. Even the theorists find it a little far-fetched.
Certainty implies that light will continue to be incredibly valuable for industry, science, art, and our monotonous daily activities. On every level of reality, light pervades everything. It is a marvelous instrument, a bearer of beauty, and a source of life. I cannot resist stating that its future is bright.
Unlock your full potential in the IELTS Reading section – Visit our IELTS Reading Practice Question Answer page now!
Recommended Questions:
Renewable Energy IELTS Reading Question with Answer
The Power of Light IELTS Reading Questions
Questions 1 – 5
The Reading Passage describes several cause-and-effect relationships. Match each cause (1 – 5) in List A, with its effect (A – H) in List B. There are more effects in List B than you will need, so you will not use all.
List A
- Visible light carries a huge amount of important data.
- Light is not reflected onto hard surfaces in the absence of an atmosphere.
- Sometimes, light may emerge in an unusual way.
- Only light is faster than 186,282 miles per second.
- The majority of the time, visible light surrounds us.
List B
- A spaceship could be fueled by the Earth’s light.
- Infrared light can be sensed by some creatures.
- Almost all life forms are capable of detecting it.
- We become aware of it immediately.
- The shadows are completely dark.
- Between each rainbow, there is a dark space.
- We seldom give it a second thought or recognition.
- We cannot travel back in time.
Improve your performance in Matching Features questions by clicking here to access our comprehensive guide. Learn how to match specific features or characteristics with the options provided in the IELTS Reading section.
Questions 6 – 10
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the Reading passage? In boxes 6 – 10 on your answer sheet write,
YES if the statement agrees with the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.
6. Detecting visible light is more pragmatic as compared to radio waves.
7. The existence of life on other planets is made possible by the sun’s light.
8. David Lynch has a tendency for observing things that are overlooked by others.
9. It is extremely difficult to describe light in a single word.
10. Wondering about how light works can make an object look even more magnificent.
Want to excel in identifying the writer’s views and claims? Click here to explore our in-depth guide on how to accurately determine Yes, No, or Not Given in the IELTS Reading section.
Questions 11 – 13
Answer the following questions using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
11. What was the material in which the speed of light was faster than what it was earlier thought to be possible?
12. When viewed from a distance, what appearance does a land have?
13. What did some individuals anticipate traveling in?
Unlock your full potential in the IELTS Reading section – Visit our IELTS Reading Practice Question Answer page now!
Recommended Questions:
Renewable Energy IELTS Reading Question with Answer
The Power of Light Reading Answers
1. C
2. E
3. D
4. H
5. G
6. Yes
7. Not Given
8. Yes
9. Yes
10. No
11. cesium gas
12. a little blue
13. a spaceship
We hope you found this post useful in helping you to study for the IELTS Test. If you have any questions please let us know in the comments below or on the Facebook page.
The best way to keep up to date with posts like this is to like us on Facebook, then follow us on Instagram and Pinterest. If you need help preparing for the IELTS Test, join the IELTS Achieve Academy and see how we can assist you to achieve your desired band score. We offer an essay correction service, mock exams and online courses.
