Students who are planning to study abroad need to clear the IELTS language proficiency test. It has 4 four segments- writing, listening, speaking, and reading. Each of these again has different questions and all of these impact your IELTS band. In this blog, you'll specifically look into the IELTS reading matching sentence endings. This is a type of question where you have to answer the questions based on the passage provided. They are usually sentences with missing ends and you've to pick the right one from the given options. So, let's read more about it here!
Table of Contents
The IELTS reading matching sentence endings is a type of task where you will be provided with a passage to read. There will be questions related to the topic covered in the passage. You will get incomplete answers to those questions and need to complete them with the right endings from the given options. This task as the name suggests, needs you to answer by matching sentence endings and finding out the right option that is grammatically, logically, and passage-wise right. Now, let's understand this better with some common question types.
There are five different IELTS reading matching sentence endings questions. They are different based on the information they provide or the meaning the sentence reflects after the completion. The five types are as follows:
In this type of IELTS reading questions, the sentences usually begin with a situation, and the ending is supposed to provide a reason or result of that situation. These are dependent sentences.
The fact-based information matching sentence is where you need to complete it with facts from the passage. So, it's important to read the passage and then answer the questions to ensure the result is accurate.
This is another type of matching sentence endings the IELTS reading question. In this type, the sentence is about comparing two things and the ending needs to be about the differences or similarities between those two.
The next in the IELTS reading matching sentence endings question is the definition or explanation. Here, the sentence is about any specific concept and the ending explains it in detail.
There is another type of matching sentence question - processes or sequences. Here, the sentence is about the steps of a process and the ending completes it logically.
These are the five different IELTS reading matching sentence endings questions. Now, let’s understand this better with a few samples.
This section includes a sample of the IELTS reading matching sentence endings. So, let's check it out!
Here is an example of the matching sentence endings IELTS reading task. This will help you understand the task better and score well.
IELTS Reading Passage: Film Noir
Paragraph- A: After the Second World War, a curious change came over the outlook of Hollywood films, rather than the positive, happy-ending stories that dominated the silver screen before the war, pessimism, and negativity had entered American cinema. This post-war disillusionment was evident in Hollywood and the movement became known as film noir.
Paragraph- B: One would be mistaken to call film noir a genre. Unlike Westerns or romantic comedies, film noir cannot be defined by conventional uses of setting or conflict in a way that is common to genre films. Film noir is more of a movement pinned to one specific point in time in much the same way as Soviet Montage or German Expressionism was. Instead, the defining quality of film noir was linked to tone, lighting, and an often sombre mood.
Paragraph- C: True film noir refers to Hollywood films of the 1940s and early 1950s that dealt with dark themes such as crime and corruption. These films were essentially critiquing certain aspects of American society in a way film had never done before. Since that time there have occasionally been other great noir films made, such as Chinatown, but the mood and tone are often different from the original film noir movies.
Paragraph- D: One possible reason for this is the time in which the films were made. A common perception of art is that it reflects the society and time in which it is made. That makes film noir of the Forties and Fifties quite inimitable because, luckily, the world has not had to endure a war of the scale and destruction of the Second World War again.
Paragraph- E: Paul Schrader, a writer of films like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, sees film noir as one of Hollywood’s best and least-known periods. In his essay Notes on Film Nair, he admits that classifying film noir is almost impossible because many films considered as film noir vary greatly in style. He observed that there were four main traditions in film noir. First were the films specifically about war and post-war disillusionment. Schrader believes these films were not only a reflection of the war but also a delayed reaction to the great economic depression of the 1930s.
Paragraph- F: The trend in Hollywood throughout this period and into the war was to produce films aimed at keeping people’s spirits up, hence the positivity. As soon as the war ended, crime fiction started to become popular, which mirrored growing disillusionment in America. Films such as The Blue Dahlia and Dead Reckoning picked up on a trend started during the war with The Maltese Falcon in 1941, which is seen as the first example of film noir.
Paragraph- G: Another film noir tradition was post-war realism. This style of the film was similar to some European films of the same era, such as Italy’s neorealist films like Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves and Roberto Rossellini’s Open City. Part of this style was created by filming in real locations and away from constructed sets. The honesty of this style of film suited the post-war mood in America and is demonstrated well in Jules Dassin’s Night and the City, much of which was filmed in and around London.
Paragraph- H: The third tradition of film noir according to Paul Schrader involves what he characterizes as 'The German Influence'. Especially during the 1920s German Expressionism was one of the most unique and creative forms of cinema. Many German, Austrian, and Polish directors immigrated to America before or during the rise of Hitler in part due to the increasing control and prevention of artistic freedom. Many of them, such as Fritz Lang and Billy Wilder, would find their way into the Hollywood system and to this day remain some of the most celebrated directors of all time.
Paragraph- I: It was the lighting developed in German Expressionism, in particular, that was most influential on film noir. The interplay of light and shadow created by chiaroscuro was highly suggestive of hidden darkness and was largely responsible for creating the mood and feeling of film noir. But it was the coupling of expressionist lighting with realistic settings that gave film noir its authenticity. It is no surprise then that two of the most popular film noir feature films, Sunset Boulevard and Ace in the Hole, were both directed by Billy Wilder.
Paragraph- J: The final tradition of film noir noted by Schrader is what he dubs ‘The Hard-Boiled Tradition. He notes how American literature of the time was the driving force behind much of this style of film noir. Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain were tough, cynical, and uncompromising and their work reflects this type of attitude. If German Expressionism influenced the visual aspect of film noir, it was this hard-boiled writing style that influenced the characters, stories, and scripts depicted on screen. Raymond Chandler adapted the screenplay for the film noir classic Double Indemnity from a James M. Cain story. This writing team, with Billy Wilder, again directing, was the perfect combination for one of Hollywood’s most celebrated films.
Questions for Reading Passage: Film Noir
Questions 1-3
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A.
Write your answers in boxes 12-14 on your answer sheet.
1. After the war, instead of the positive films that existed in Hollywood before
2. The honesty of post-war realism in film noir
3. Double Indemnity, directed by Billy Wilder, is
A. suited the mood in America well.
B. one of Hollywood’s most notable films.
C. there were a lot more romantic comedies released in America.
D. was something most people were not ready for.
E. negativity had entered Hollywood films.
F. A film that very few people know about today.
ANSWER: E
Explanation: You can find the correct answer in the second line of paragraph A. It explains that rather than the positive, happy-ending stories that dominated the silver screen before the war, pessimism, and negativity had entered American cinemas or Hollywood movies. Hence, the correct answer is E.
ANSWER: A
Explanation: In paragraph G, the fourth line supports the answer. It mentions that the honesty of this style of movie suited the post-war mood in America and is demonstrated well in Jules Dassin's Night and the City, much of which was filmed in and around London. Hence, the correct answer is A.
ANSWER: B
Explanation: Read the fifth and sixth lines of paragraph J. It indicates that Raymond Chandler adapted the screenplay for the film noir classic Double Indemnity from a James M. Cain story. This means it is clear that Double Indemnity directed by Billy Wilder was the perfect combination for one of Hollywood's most celebrated films. Hence, B is the correct answer.
Here is another example of the matching sentence endings task. This will help you understand the task better and score well.
IELTS Reading Passage- Optimism and HealthMindset is all. How you start the year will set the template for the rest, and two scientifically backed character traits hold the key: optimism and resilience (if the prospect leaves you feeling pessimistically spineless, the good news is that you can significantly boost both of these qualities).
Paragraph A: Faced with 12 months of plummeting economics and rising human distress, staunchly maintaining a rosy view might seem deludedly Pollyannaish. But here we encounter the optimism paradox. As Brice Pitt, an emeritus professor of the psychiatry of old age at Imperial College, London, told me: "Optimists are unrealistic. Depressive people see things as they are, but that is a disadvantage from an evolutionary point of view. Optimism is a piece of equipment that carried us through millennia of setbacks."
Paragraph B: Optimists have plenty to be happy about. In other words, if you can convince yourself that things will get better, the odds of it happening will improve - because you keep on playing the game. In this light, optimism “is a habitual way of explaining your setbacks to yourself”, reports Martin Seligman, the psychology professor and author of Learned Optimism. The research shows that when times get tough, optimists do better than pessimists - they succeed better at work, respond better to stress, suffer fewer depressive episodes, and achieve more personal goals.
Paragraph C: Studies also show that belief can help with the financial pinch. Chad Wallens, a social forecaster at the Henley Centre who surveyed middle-class Britons' beliefs about income, has found that "the people who feel wealthiest, and those who feel poorest, actually have almost the same amount of money at their disposal. Their attitudes and behavior patterns, however, are different from one another."
Paragraph D: Optimists have something else to be cheerful about - in general, they are more robust. For example, a study of 660 volunteers by Yale University psychologist Dr. Becca Levy found that thinking positively adds an average of seven years to your life. Other American research claims to have identified a physical mechanism behind this. A Harvard Medical School study of 670 men found that the optimists have significantly better lung function. The lead author, Dr. Rosalind Wright, believes that attitude somehow strengthens the immune system. "Preliminary studies on heart patients suggest that, by changing a person's outlook, you can improve their mortality risk," she says.
Paragraph E: Few studies have tried to ascertain the proportion of optimists in the world. But a 1995 nationwide survey conducted by the American magazine Adweek found that about half the population counted themselves as optimists, with women slightly more apt than men (53 percent versus 48 percent) to see the sunny side.
Paragraph F: Of course, there is no guarantee that optimism will insulate you from the crunch's worst effects, but the best strategy is still to keep smiling and thank your lucky stars. Because (as every good sports coach knows) adversity is character-forming - so long as you practice the skills of resilience. Research among tycoons and business leaders shows that the path to success is often littered with failure: a record of sackings, bankruptcies, and blistering castigation. But instead of curling into a fetal ball beneath the coffee table, they resiliently pick themselves up, learn from their pitfalls, and march boldly toward the next opportunity.
Paragraph G: The American Psychological Association defines resilience as the ability to adapt in the face of adversity, trauma, or tragedy. A resilient person may go through difficulty and uncertainty, but he or she will doggedly bounce back.
Paragraph H: Optimism is one of the central traits required in building resilience, say Yale University investigators in the. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. They add that resilient people learn to hold on to their sense of humor and this can help them to keep a flexible attitude when big changes in plan are warranted. The ability to accept your lot with equanimity also plays an important role, the study adds.
Paragraph I: One of the best ways to acquire resilience is through experiencing a difficult childhood, the sociologist Steven Stack reports in the Journal of Social Psychology. For example, short men are less likely to commit suicide than tall guys, he says, because shorties develop psychological defence skills to handle the bullies and mickey-taking that their lack of stature attracts. By contrast, those who enjoyed adversity-free youths can get derailed by setbacks later on because they’ve never been inoculated against aggro.
Paragraph J: If you are handicapped by having had a happy childhood, then practising proactive optimism can help you to become more resilient. Studies of resilient people show that they take more risks; 'they court failure and learn not to fear it.
Paragraph K: And despite being thick-skinned, resilient types are also more open than average to other people. Bouncing through knockbacks is all part of the process.
Paragraph L: It’s about optimistic risk-taking - being confident that people will like you. Simply smiling and being warm to people can help. It’s an altruistic path to self-interest - and if it achieves nothing else, it will reinforce an age-old adage: hard times can bring out the best in you.
Questions for Reading Passage- Optimism and Health
Questions 1-5-
Complete each sentence with the correct ending A-H.
5 Brice Pitt believes
6 The research at Henley Centre discovers
7 The study conducted by Adweek finds
8 The Annual Review of Clinical Psychology reports
9 Steven Stack says in his report
Material wealth doesn't necessarily create happiness.
B optimists tend to be unrealistic about human evolution.
C optimism is advantageous for human evolution.
D adversity is the breeding ground of resilience.
E feelings of optimism vary according to gender.
F good humour means good flexibility.
G evenness of mind under stress is important to building resilience.
H having an optimistic outlook is a habit.
ANSWER: C
Explanation: In paragraph A, in lines 4-7, the writer mentions “Optimists are unrealistic. Depressive people see things as they are, but that is a disadvantage from the point of view.” However, the writer also said that optimism is a piece of equipment that carries people through a period of setbacks. Hence, the answer is C.
ANSWER: A
Explanation : In paragraph C, in lines 1-4, the writer explains "Chad Wallens, a social forecaster at the Henley center surveyed the middle-class Britons has found that the people who feel richer, and those who feel poor have always the same amount of money at their disposal." Hence, wealth doesn't create happiness. So the answer is A.
ANSWER: E
Explanation: In paragraph E, in lines 2-4, the writer mentions "In 1995 a survey was conducted by the American magazine Adweek found that about half of the population counted themselves as optimistic, with women slightly more than men." (53 percent versus 48%) Hence, the answer is E.
ANSWER: G
Explanation: In paragraph H, in lines 2-5, the writer explains "The annual review of clinical psychology add that strong people learn to hold on to their sense of humor so this can help them to keep a flexible attitude when the big changes of plan are warranted." Hence, the answer is G.
ANSWER :D
Explanation: In paragraph I, in the starting line the author mentions “The sociologist Steven Stacks says that one of the best ways to acquire resilience is through experiencing a difficult childhood.” Hence, the correct answer is D
Explore 100+ IELTS Reading Practice Tests with Answers to Prepare for Reading Section
Here are a few more examples of the IELTS reading questions on matching sentence endings. These will help you understand the topic and analyze the questions to answer them correctly. So, let's check them out:
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These IELTS reading practice test can help you prepare well for the actual task. Now, let's take a quick look at the effective strategies that can help you solve these IELTS reading matching sentence endings questions super easy.
The matching sentence endings IELTS reading task requires effective strategies to ensure you score well. So, let’s check them out now!
These are a few effective strategies that can help you with your IELTS reading matching sentence endings. However, if you are still facing any issues, feel free to reach out to our experts for help.
This blog gives you a complete idea of the IELTS reading matching sentence endings along with some samples and examples. Thus, understanding them and practicing continuously will help you to have your hands on the same. However, if you need more help, feel free to reach out to our experts. They will not only assist you with this but can help you ace the entire test without any challenges.
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