The Soul of Irish- IELTS Reading Answers

Reading Passage

The Soul of Irish

Questions 1 – 6 

1 Which word did the gas pump attendant use that so impressed the writer?

2 Which TWO words in the second paragraph mean the accent and rhythm of the Irish voices the writer heard on her trip?

3 Which three physical features of the landscape of Ireland does the writer describe as having an unreal quality?

4 According to the writer, which basic elements of life do the Irish appreciate and embrace better than people elsewhere?

5 Which idea did the writer John O’Donohue believe to be preferable to determination and a desire to achieve?

6 What is the Irish word for a person who entertains with stories?

Questions 7-10

• tales were recalled from the storyteller’s 7 …………
• storytellers were 8 ……………. guests at social gatherings
• both 9…………………. were attentive listeners

storytellers sometimes exchanged stories for 10…………………….

Question 11- 12

11 The weather on the day of the writer’s trip to Yeats’ grave was better than on the day she spoke at the gas station.

12 The writer would like to believe that Yeats responded to the request she made at his grave.

Reading Answer 

1 Answer: desperate

Question type: Short Answer Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 1, line 2

Answer explanation: The 2nd line of the first paragraph quotes, ” A red-haired lad with a spattering of freckles across his face pumped our gas. He craned his head upward. ‘Ah, the weather is desperate today,” he said” We can understand from these lines that the red-haired lad was the gas attendant who craned his head upward and exclaimed the weather to be desperate, which impressed the writer. Thus, the word used by the gas attendant was “desperate”. So, the answer is desperate.

2 Answer: Cadence and Lilt

Question type: Short Answer Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 2

Answer explanation: The 2nd line of paragraph 2 illustrates, “Although this trip was many years ago, I still recall that young man, as well as the cadence and lilt of the words that greeted us in the shops and pubs at which we stopped to ask directions. As a writer, I was inspired and intrigued by the Irish and their wonderful facility for language and poetic prose.” These lines suggest that a young man greeted the writer with cadence and lilt of words when the writer asked for directions on her trip. The use of these words intrigued the writer. Thus, cadence and lilt mean the accent and rhythm of the Irish voices the writer heard during her trip. So, the answer is cadence and lilt.

3 Answer: Mountains, Ocean, Cliffs

Question type: Short Answer Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 4

Answer explanation: In paragraph 4, the writer mentions his trip. He states how the green, undulating mountains that opened up to vistas of the ocean, cliffs, and ruined castles seemed to be permeated with a pearl of ancient wisdom and mysterious energy that seeped from the earth into my very spirit. These lines indicate the three physical features, mountains, ocean, and cliffs of Ireland have an unreal quality. So, the answer is Mountain, ocean, and cliff.

4 Answer: Space and time

Question type: Short Answer Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 5

Answer explanation: Paragraph 5 reveals that much like the primeval land that was carved over centuries, the Irish seem to allow for the flow of space and time. These lines indicate that according to the writer, space and time were the two basic elements of life that were appreciated and embraced by the Irish people more than others. So, the answer is space and time.

5 Answer: Mindfulness

Question type: Short Answer Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 6

Answer explanation: The initial lines of paragraph 6 illustrate that It is far more creative to work with the idea of mindfulness rather than with the idea of will. We can understand that it was better to work with the idea of mindfulness than with the idea of will. Thus, John O’Donohue believed that the idea of mindfulness would be preferable to determination and a desire to achieve. Therefore, the answer is mindfulness.

6 Answer: Senanchie

Question type: Short Answer Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 7

Answer explanation: The introductory lines of paragraph 7 states that the Irish are also well-known storytellers. In fact, the Seanachie (pronounced Shawn-a-key) or storyteller is still an honored profession in Ireland as it has been for centuries. These lines indicate that Seanachie is the Irish word for a person who entertains with stories, and the profession of storytelling is still honored in Ireland. Thus, the answer is Seanachie.

7 Answer: Memory

Question type: Note Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 8

Answer explanation: The initial line of paragraph 8 states that a good storyteller, had a large repertoire stored in his memory. These lines indicate that tales were recalled from the storyteller’s memory. Thus, the answer is memory.

8 Answer: Honoured

Question type: Note Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 8

Answer explanation: Paragraph 8 states that the good storyteller, who had a large repertoire stored in his memory, seated at his fireside, in an honored place in the house of a neighbor, or at a wake, was assured of an attentive audience at winter nights. We can understand that the tales were recalled from the storyteller’s memory, who were honored guests at social gatherings. Thus, the answer is honored.

9 Answer: Adults and children

Question type: Note Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 8, line 3

Answer explanation: The 3rd line of paragraph 8 states, “Nor was it only adults who wished to hear tales. My father described to me how he and other children of eight years of age would spend hours, night after night, listening to an old woman storyteller in South Kerry,” These lines suggest how adults and children of eight years of age would spend hours, nights, listening to an old woman storyteller. These lines indicate that both children and adults were very attentive. Thus, the answer is adults and children.

10 Answer: Household chores

Question type: Note Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 8

Answer explanation: In the last line of paragraph 8, the writer states, “an old man in the same area told me that, as a youth, he and his companions used to do all the household chores for an elderly neighbor each winter evening so that he might be free to spend the night telling them long folktales.” We can understand from these lines that storytellers sometimes exchanged stories by doing household chores. Thus, the answer is household chores.

11 Answer: False

Question type: True/False/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 10

Answer explanation: In paragraph 10, it is mentioned that at the end of that trip, we found time to visit the site of Yeats’ grave in County Sligo. The weather that day was more than desperate, as a biting wind whipped leaves around the Drumcliffe cemetery. These lines reveal that when the writer went to visit Yeats’ grave, the weather was more than desperate as a biting wind whipped leaves around the Drumcliffe cemetery. Thus, the statement contradicts the information, so, the answer is False.

12 Answer: True

Question type: True/false/Not given

Answer location: Paragraph 11

Answer explanation: In paragraph 11, the writer thanks Yeats for sharing his gift of words with the world. Weeks later after we had returned home, I had the photos developed (there were no digital cameras back then) and were amazed at what I saw. There, above his grave, floated a form, a shape – a hazy gauze of white that I could not explain. I like to think his Irish soul was wishing me well as a writer. We can understand from these lines that when the writer returned home, he was amazed to see the photo, which he thought that his Irish soul was wishing him well as a writer. These statements agree with the information, so, the answer is True.

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