IELTS Academic Reading · TFNG Passage 1 · Urban Heat Island Teacher Key — Not for Students

Answer Key: True / False / Not Given · TFNG-1

Passage: The Urban Heat Island Effect  |  Questions 1–7  |  Question type follows text order

Quick Reference

Q Answer Paragraph Key phrase in passage
1 False A amateur meteorologist
2 True B release it slowly as heat after sunset
3 False C self-reinforcing cycle … raises temperatures further still
4 True D Low-income neighbourhoods … less tree cover … than wealthier districts
5 True E lower surface temperatures … by up to 30 degrees Celsius compared with conventional dark roofing
6 Not Given E / F Cost of green roofs is not mentioned; obstacles discussed are for tree planting
7 True G the differential between urban and rural areas may widen

Detailed Explanations

Q1 Luke Howard was a professional scientist who published research on urban temperatures in the early 1800s. False

Evidence in passage

A The passage calls Howard an amateur meteorologist. The statement claims he was a professional scientist — this directly contradicts the text.

Note also that the passage says his findings were largely ignored — not published and accepted — though that detail is not the core contradiction here.

Common wrong answers & why

  • NOT GIVEN — Students may think the passage doesn't say enough about his professional status. But amateur directly contradicts professional scientist.
  • TRUE — Students sometimes confuse "observed and recorded" with "published research." The passage does not say he published; more importantly, his credentials are explicitly amateur.
Q2 Asphalt and concrete surfaces contribute to the UHI effect because they release stored heat at night. True

Evidence in passage

B absorb solar radiation during daylight hours and release it slowly as heat after sunset, preventing the nocturnal cooling — all three elements of the statement are confirmed.

Common wrong answers & why

  • NOT GIVEN — Some students don't read carefully enough to see "after sunset" = "at night." Emphasise paraphrase recognition.
  • This question rewards students who can match paraphrased language: stored heat ↔ absorb … and release; at night ↔ after sunset.
Q3 The use of air-conditioning in cities ultimately helps reduce overall urban temperatures over time. False

Evidence in passage

C The passage describes a self-reinforcing cycle: air-conditioning generates waste heat → raises temperatures → increases demand → more waste heat. It explicitly raises temperatures further still. This directly contradicts "helps reduce."

Common wrong answers & why

  • TRUE — Students may confuse the local cooling effect inside buildings with the broader urban effect. Clarify: the question asks about overall urban temperatures, not indoor comfort.
  • NOT GIVEN — The passage is explicit about the negative cycle; this is not an omission, it is a direct contradiction.
Q4 Wealthier residential areas in cities typically have more tree cover than poorer neighbourhoods. True

Evidence in passage

D Low-income neighbourhoods frequently have less tree cover … than wealthier districts. The logic reverses perfectly: less in poor areas = more in wealthy areas. TRUE.

Common wrong answers & why

  • NOT GIVEN — Students may feel the passage is only about poor areas and doesn't directly state wealthy areas have more trees. Teach the logical inference: "less than X" = "X has more."
  • Good item for practising inference within a single sentence.
Q5 Green roofs have been shown to reduce surface temperatures on buildings by as much as 30°C compared to standard dark roofing. True

Evidence in passage

E can lower surface temperatures on individual buildings by up to 30 degrees Celsius compared with conventional dark roofing. Very close paraphrase: up to = as much as; conventional dark roofing = standard dark roofing.

Common wrong answers & why

  • FALSE — Students occasionally misread the figure or confuse "up to" with an average. The claim is an upper limit, as is "as much as."
  • Good item for practising exact numerical matching.
Q6 The cost of installing green roofs is the primary reason why this strategy has not been more widely adopted in cities. Not Given

Evidence in passage

E / F Green roofs are mentioned positively in paragraph E. Paragraph F discusses obstacles to tree planting (slow growth, underground infrastructure, budget cuts) — not obstacles to green roofs. The cost of green roofs is never mentioned anywhere.

Common wrong answers & why

  • FALSE — Students may think "budget cuts" in para F contradicts the statement, but those cuts refer to tree-planting budgets, not green roofs. Teach students to match the exact subject of a statement.
  • TRUE — Students may apply real-world knowledge about green roof costs. Emphasise: if the passage doesn't say it, it's NOT GIVEN — not TRUE.
  • This is a strong NOT GIVEN trap because it combines a real-world plausible assumption with a nearby but unrelated budget mention.
Q7 Climate change could cause the temperature difference between urban and rural areas to become greater in the future. True

Evidence in passage

G the differential between urban and rural areas may widen. Differential = temperature difference; may widen = could … become greater. Hedged modal language (may / could) is preserved in both.

Common wrong answers & why

  • NOT GIVEN — Students may be thrown by the hedged language ("may widen") and think it's not a definitive claim. Teach that hedged statements in the passage can still be TRUE if the statement uses equally hedged language (could).
  • Good item for practising modal/hedge matching.

Teaching Notes — TFNG-1