Tips and Best Solutions for ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ in 2024

The IELTS Reading exam can be challenging for those seeking to study or work abroad.

One particular section that often poses difficulties is the ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ reading passage.

However, with the right strategies and solutions, success in the ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ exam section is within reach.

In this guide, we will explore the best tips and methods for acing the ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ section of the IELTS Reading exam in 2023.

Question Types in ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ Reading Passage

The following are some commonly asked questions about the ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ Reading passage:

Matching Headings

The first question type of the ‘Is there anybody out there’ passage is matching headings.

This question type is all about finding the perfect match between a list of headings and a paragraph in the passage.

How to Answer?

To improve your chances of correctly answering the matching headings question type, start by scanning the headings to get an idea of the passage’s main themes.

Then, read the passage carefully and identify keywords or phrases related to the headings. These may need to be rephrased to fit the options provided.

Once you have identified these words, read the paragraph again, paying close attention to the headings, and choose the one that best matches the keywords in the text.

Ensure the heading accurately reflects the paragraph’s main idea and isn’t too broad or general.

Remember, the key to success is finding the perfect match between the important keywords and the headings.

Short Answer Questions

Short answer questions are regarded as the simplest to answer.

You must study a particular text and provide a one to three-word response to a series of questions.

How to Answer?

The first step is to read the questions carefully and identify the keywords.

Think about synonyms or paraphrases for these keywords. Then, skim-read the text, but don’t read it in detail.

Now read the first lines of each paragraph to get the main idea.

Go back and re-read the question. With the help of keywords, scan the paragraphs in detail to find the exact answers.

True/False/Not Given Questions

In this question type, in the ‘Is there anybody out there’, the examiner will provide statements – If the statement agrees with the writer’s views, mark it as true. If the statement contradicts the writer’s views, mark it as false.

If you cannot conclude anything, mark it as not given.

The main agenda of this question type is to assess a candidate’s ability to comprehend and analyze written information quickly and accurately.

How to Answer?

To succeed in the True/False/Not Given question type:

1. Begin by carefully reading the statement and identifying keywords or phrases.
2. Try to paraphrase or find synonyms for these words.
3. Read the passage attentively, looking for similar words or phrases that match your identified keywords.

Remember negative words and prefixes (like un, non etc.) that can alter the statement’s meaning when matching the keywords to the passage. 

Double negatives (like not unlikely) can be especially tricky, as they can make a statement seem false when it’s actually true. If an event is “not unlikely,” it means it is a fact and true.

Qualifying modifiers, like “sometimes” or “usually,” are often found in true statements, while extreme modifiers, like “never” or “no one,” can make a statement false, even if it initially appears true.

By paying close attention to these nuances and using strong reading skills to locate and match keywords, you can improve your accuracy in the True/False/Not Given question type.

Is There Anybody Out There: What is the passage about?

‘Is There Anybody Out There’ is an IELTS Reading passage about human curiosity and the quest for extraterrestrial lives beyond Earth. 

Here are some important thoughts about ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ Reading passage for your understanding:

• The topic of the passage, the search for extraterrestrial life, is a current and relevant topic that interests many people.
• The passage includes a range of vocabulary related to science and space. explorations. By solving this passage, you can improve your academic vocabulary.
• Solving this passage enhances your ability to read and comprehend academic texts deeply.
• The passage helps develop critical thinking skills, as the author encourages you to consider complex theories.

Now that you have a brief idea about ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ passage, we recommend you to read the passage carefully, analyze the answer key and follow the exclusive tips we have shortlisted.

Is There Anybody Out There? – The Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence

1. Our basic curiosity is the fundamental reason for human search. This same curiosity about the natural world drives all pure science. We are curious about whether we are alone in the universe. We have the drive to know if the right conditions are enough to bring out life or if there is anything special about Earth which fosters a variety of life forms that we are seeing around us. The simple detection of radio signals is enough to satisfy our curiosity. In this way, we can say that SETI is part of the pure science machinery which is continually expanding the horizons of knowledge. There are other reasons why we are inquiring whether life exists elsewhere. For example, Civilization on Earth started only about a few thousand years ago only. Still, our survival is disturbed because of pollution and the nuclear war that has happened over the last few decades. Can we survive for a few more years, or we’ll be dead? The lifetime of a planet is about several billion years. If any other civilization survived in our galaxy, then their ages will range from zero to several billion years. We’ll have a positive note just by knowing the existence of such civilizations as proof that long-term survival is possible. We might also gain some lessons on how to tackle the threats like nuclear war or global pollution and the threat that we have not encountered as of now from the experience of an older civilisation.
2. Most SETI scientists have two ground rules in the discussion of whether we are alone in the universe. First, most scientists ignore UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) as they don’t have strong evidence which can be considered serious. It is still important to have an open mind since any convincing evidence could emerge in future. Second, we have a conservative belief that we are looking for a life form which is similar to ours, so it is difficult to recognize the life form as a life form if it does not resemble us. To put it another way, the life form we are looking for might have blue heads and five legs, still, it nevertheless has similarities to us in that it must communicate with its fellows. It could be interested in the universe, living on a planet orbiting a star like our Sun, and likely it has chemistry based on carbon and water.
3. Though we are making these sorts of assumptions, we have a limited understanding of other life forms. For example, we are lacking knowledge about how many stars have planets or how likely life arises naturally, given the appropriate conditions. When we look at the 100 billion stars in our galaxy and 100 billion galaxies, it is impossible to believe that at least one of the planets does not have a life form on it. Guessing based on our limited knowledge about the conditions for carbon-based life, we can estimate that probably one in 100,000 stars might have a life-bearing planet orbiting it. Perhaps, our nearest neighbour could be a thousand light-years away. It is almost like a next door in astronomical terms.
4. An alien civilization could send information by using a variety of ways across the galaxy. But, either it requires too much energy to send the information, or it could be disturbed while travelling through the vast distances across the galaxy. In the frequency range of 1000 to 3000 MHz, radio waves travel the greatest distance. To date, All searches have focused on looking for radio waves in this frequency range. For now, there have been a number of searches done by various groups, like Australian searches using the radio telescope at Parkes, New South Wales. Still, now, nothing is detected from the few hundred stars which have been searched. Since 1992, the scale of searches has increased tremendously, as the US Congress voted NASA $10 million per year for ten years to perform a thorough search for extraterrestrial life. For this project, a lot of money is being spent on developing the special hardware required to search multiple frequencies at the same time. The project constitutes two parts. The first part is a targeted search by means of the world’s largest radio telescopes. The American-operated telescope in Arecibo and the French telescope in France. This part of the project is searching for the signals in the frequency range of 1000 to 3000 MHz, in the nearest 1000 stars. The second part of the project is an undirected search which monitors all of space with a lower one using the NASA Deep Space Network’s smaller antennas.
5. There is a substantial amount of debate happening based on how we must react if we detect a signal from an alien civilisation. Everyone agrees that we must not respond immediately. Even if it is not possible to send a reply for a long distance at short notice, there are ethical questions emerging that should be addressed by the global community before sending the reply. Is it that we face a cultural shock if we encounter a superior and much older civilisation? Fortunately, there is no urgency about this. We are searching for stars which are hundreds of light-years away. So, it takes hundreds of years for their signal to reach us.  And, it will take a further few hundred years for our reply to reach them. Therefore, it is not important whether there is a delay of a few years or decades while the human race debates about whether to reply to them or perhaps draft a reply carefully.

Based on the ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ Reading passage above, you should spend about 20 minutes on questions 1-14.  The instructions for each question type are given below.

Questions 1 – 5

‘Is There Anybody Out There’ whose passage has five paragraphs, A-E. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-vii, as your answer to each question:

1. Limitations in human understanding
2. Great Astronomers
3. What should humans do if they got the signal from an alien civilisation
4. Project for searching for the aliens’ signals
5. How telescope contributes to finding the signals of an alien civilisation
6. How finding alien civilisation can help humans.
7. Ground rules of SETI scientists

• Paragraph A
• Paragraph B
• Paragraph C
• Paragraph D
• Paragraph E

Questions 6 – 10

Do the following statements agree with the information given in ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ Reading the passage?

Write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

FALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

6. We need more than radio signals to satisfy our curiosity

7.  We can gain from the experience of older civilisations to survive better

8. Most scientists believe in UFOs.

9. We can easily detect alien signals as we have a great understanding of space.

10. ISRO trying to detect the signals of aliens for 20 years

Questions 11 – 14 

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

11. Which signals can satisfy our curiosity?
12. Which machinery’s part is the SETI?
13. How many ground rules does SETI have?
14. How much does the US Congress vote for NASA per year to conduct a thorough search for extra-terrestrial life?

Is There Anybody Out There Reading Passage: Answers & Explanations

Compare your answers with the answers below. The explanations given for each answer will help you understand how to approach each question in ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ Reading passage.

1. Paragraph A = vi

Answer explanation: At the beginning of paragraph A, it is evident that the paragraph is about human curiosity for the universe. Towards the end of the paragraph, the author also addresses how finding alien civilisation can help humans tackle nuclear war and threats that we have not encountered from an older civilisation.

2. Paragraph B = vii

Answer explanation: The paragraph begins with a description of the two ground rules of SETI scientists. The author explains the rules of SETI scientists in detail and gives different interpretations about the lifeforms humans seek.

3. Paragraph C= i

Answer explanation: Paragraph C begins with the statement about the limited understanding of humans about other life forms despite the assumptions. The author also gives an example of how we lack knowledge about how many stars have planets or how likely life arises naturally. With this, we can conclude that the answer is i.

4. Paragraph D = iv

Answer explanation: The answer to Paragraph D is iv because, at the beginning of the paragraph, we can find that NASA was given $10 million per year for ten years to search for extraterrestrial or alien life. This project by NASA is searching for signals of the frequency range of 1000- 3000 MHz. 

5. Paragraph E = v

Answer explanation: At the beginning of paragraph E, we can read about the substantial debate on detecting a signal from an alien civilisation. The author is explaining the quest of humans for alien life and how we are searching for stars hundreds of light-years away to verify that the signals exist. 

So, it takes hundreds of years for their signal to reach us. The telescope contributes by helping humans to research stars and find signals of an alien civilisation.

6. False

Answer explanation: According to the author, detecting radio signals takes hundreds of years, but simply detecting radio signals is enough to satisfy our curiosity.

7. True

Answer Explanation: The statement agrees with the author’s claims that we gain lessons on tackling threats like nuclear war or global pollution from the experience of older civilisations.

8. False 

Answer Explanation: In the passage, the author claims that most scientists ignore UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) as they don’t have strong evidence.

9. False 

Answer Explanation: We have limited knowledge of other forms. And we have a lot of assumptions, but more evidence is needed. There are no radio signals to understand other life forms. 

10. Not Given 

11. Radio 

Answer Explanation: From paragraph A, line 4, we can identify the answer that the simple detection of radio signals is enough to satisfy our curiosity.

12. Pure science 

Answer Explanation: In paragraph A, line 5, the author clearly says that SETI is part of the pure science machinery, which is continually expanding the horizons of knowledge

13. Two

Answer Explanation: Paragraph B, line 1 begins with the statement that most SETI scientists have two ground rules in the discussion of whether we are alone in the universe

14. $10 million 

Answer Explanation: Paragraph D’s 9th line depicts that US Congress voted for NASA for   $10 million annually for ten years to research extraterrestrial life.

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Tips to Solve Is There Anybody Out There Reading Passage Successfully

The experts have streamlined some tips for solving the ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ passage.

These five straightforward techniques listed below can help you solve even the most complex ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ Reading passages:

• Skim and Scan

To solve the above ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ questions effectively, you must master skimming and scanning skills. Before searching for the answer, skim through the passage to get a general idea of the content and the structure. 

Once you have identified the relevant section of the ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ passage, scan it for the specific information you need.

Look for key details that will help you locate the answer.

• Focus on the Ideas and Concepts in the Passage

While Reading the ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ passage, don’t just read the paragraphs, do a mini-analysis that helps you to focus on the ideas, facts and the key message rather than the words.

Also, note any special features such as capital letters, underlining, italics, figures, or numbers in the text.

• Make Educated Guesses

Make an educated guess rather than leaving an answer blank for the ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ passage.

There is no negative marking, so taking a chance is better than missing out on potential points.

• Process of Elimination

The process of elimination works well for solving the ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ IELTS Reading passages.

Cross out incorrect answers.

If you’re unsure about a statement, try eliminating the options that don’t match. This will increase your chances of selecting the correct answer. 

• Active Reading is Essential

 As you read the passage, engage with the context actively. Ask yourself questions about what you’re reading and make connections between different parts of the passage.

For more practical tips to crack the IELTS Reading test. Click Here!

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