Cambridge 20 Reading Test 4 Passage 1 – Georgia O’Keeffe Answers with Explanations

I’m Chen Wei, an IELTS Reading expert with ten years of experience teaching Cambridge passages, including Cambridge 20 Reading Test 4 Passage 1 – Georgia O’Keeffe. At IELTS Zone, I help learners understand factual reading passages, chronological sequencing, and paraphrased detail recognition — all vital skills for achieving Band 7 and above in IELTS Reading.

Tin this Cambridge 20 Reading Test 4 Passage 1 describes the life and art of one of America’s most influential painters, known for her independence from art trends and her unique modernist vision. This passage includes Notes Completion and True / False / Not Given questions, testing comprehension accuracy and keyword tracking.

Cambridge 20 Reading Test 4 Passage 1

Questions 1–7 | Notes Completion

This Notes Completion question type follows the passage order. To master strategies for recognising synonyms and avoiding traps, explore our detailed guide on Notes Completion in IELTS Reading.

1. studied art, then worked as a _____ in various places in the USA

Keywords: studied art, worked, various places, USA
Location: *Paragraph 2 — Lines 6–10 (“…she became an art teacher and taught in elementary schools, high schools, and colleges in Virginia, Texas, and South Carolina…”) *
Explanation: After formal art studies, O’Keeffe worked as an art teacher across several states, clearly matching the phrase “worked as a … in various places.”
Answer: teacher

2. created drawings using _____ which were exhibited in New York City

Keywords: drawings, material, exhibited, New York
Location: Paragraph 3 — Lines 2–5 (“…experiment with creating abstract compositions in charcoal, and produced a series of innovative drawings that led her art in a new direction.”)
Explanation: O’Keeffe’s charcoal drawings were later shown at Alfred Stieglitz’s New York gallery, linking the material to the exhibition.
Answer: charcoal

3. moved to New York and became famous for her paintings of the city’s _____

Keywords: New York, paintings, famous for, city’s
Location: Paragraph 5 — Lines 1–3 (“By the mid-1920s, O’Keeffe was recognised… for the architectural pictures that dramatically depict the soaring skyscrapers of New York.”)
Explanation: The specific urban subject “skyscrapers” made her well-known, fitting the blank perfectly.
Answer: skyscrapers

4. produced a series of innovative close-up paintings of _____

Keywords: close-up, paintings, innovative
Location: Paragraph 5 — Lines 5–8 (“In her magnified images depicting flowers… O’Keeffe brings the viewer right into the picture.”)
Explanation: She enlarged flowers to fill the canvas, focusing on shape and abstraction.
Answer: flowers

5. went to New Mexico and was initially inspired to paint the many _____ that could be found there

Keywords: New Mexico, inspired, paint
Location: Paragraph 7 — Lines 1–5 (“…sun-bleached bones she came across in the state’s rugged terrain that sparked her imagination.”)
Explanation: The bones she discovered became her first New Mexico subjects and symbols.
Answer: bones

6. continued to paint various features that together formed the dramatic _____ of New Mexico for over forty years

Keywords: continued, paint, New Mexico, features
Location: Paragraph 7 — Lines 8–12 (“…painted the rocks, cliffs, and mountains in striking close-up… for more than four decades.”)
Explanation: Her long-term dedication to the New Mexico landscape defined her late career.
Answer: landscape

7. travelled widely by plane in later years, and painted pictures of clouds and _____ seen from above

Keywords: travelled, plane, clouds, above
Location: Paragraph 9 — Lines 3–6 (“…aerial views of rivers and expansive paintings of the sky viewed from just above clouds.”)
Explanation: Her final large canvases were inspired by rivers seen during flight.
Answer: rivers

If you want to learn how we scan and skim information quickly in IELTS Reading, explore our step-by-step guides on Scanning for Details and Summary Completion to build speed, accuracy, and confidence.

Questions 8–13 | TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN

This True / False / Not Given question type follows the passage order, with each statement appearing sequentially. Focus on the meaning, not just matching words, IELTS often uses the same vocabulary to create opposite ideas. To learn how to recognise these traps and analyse factual statements effectively, explore our full guide on True / False / Not Given.

8. Georgia O’Keeffe’s style was greatly influenced by changing fashions in art.

Keywords: style, influenced, art trends
Location: *Introductory paragraph — Lines 2–4 (“…she remained independent from shifting art trends…”) *
Explanation: The statement contradicts the text — she was not influenced by trends.
Answer: FALSE

9. When O’Keeffe finished high school, she had already decided on her career.

Keywords: finished high school, decided, career
Location: Paragraph 2 — Lines 2–3 (“By the time she graduated… she had determined to make her way as an artist.”)
Explanation: Confirms she had already chosen her artistic career path.
Answer: TRUE

10. Alfred Stieglitz first discovered O’Keeffe’s work when she sent some drawings to his gallery.

Keywords: discovered, drawings, sent, gallery
Location: *Paragraph 3 — Lines 6–9 (“She sent some drawings to a friend in New York, who showed them to Alfred Stieglitz…”) *
Explanation: Her friend—not O’Keeffe—sent the drawings, contradicting the statement.
Answer: FALSE

11. O’Keeffe was the subject of Stieglitz’s photographic work for many years.

Keywords: photographic work, subject, years
Location: Paragraph 4 — Lines 6–8 (“…recorded in Stieglitz’s celebrated black-and-white portraits… over the course of twenty years.”)
Explanation: The passage confirms this long photographic focus.
Answer: TRUE

12. O’Keeffe’s paintings of the patio of her house in Abiquiú were among the artist’s favourite works.

Keywords: patio, Abiquiú, favourite
Location: *Paragraph 8 — Lines 5–10 (“…she reinvented the patio into an abstract arrangement…”) *
Explanation: The text describes her repeated focus but gives no opinion about preference.
Answer: NOT GIVEN

13. O’Keeffe produced a greater quantity of work during the 1950s to 1970s than at any other time in her life.

Keywords: quantity, 1950s–1970s, production
Location: *Paragraph 9–10 (“From the 1950s into the 1970s, O’Keeffe travelled widely…”) *
Explanation: No comparison of productivity is provided; only travel and subjects are mentioned.
Answer: NOT GIVEN

Practice & Further Resources

Excellent work! You’ve completed Cambridge 20 Reading Test 4 Passage 1 – Georgia O’Keeffe.
Keep improving your comprehension with our 👉 IELTS Reading Practice Tests.
For full coverage, complete the entire Cambridge IELTS 20 series — Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking.

Tips for Success

• Read the title and first sentence of each paragraph to predict topic.
• Underline numbers, species names, and statistics, they often indicate answer locations.
• For TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN, confirm whether the statement’s idea (not just words) matches the passage.
• Manage time wisely see our 👉 Time Management Tips.

New Vocabulary

To grow your IELTS Reading vocabulary, visit our 👉 IELTS Vocabulary page.

• Abstract – representing ideas rather than realistic forms
  • Modernist – relating to innovative early 20th-century art
  • Solitude – peaceful aloneness
  • Convex / Concave – outward / inward curved shapes
  • Geological formations – natural rock structures
  • Nuance – subtle difference in tone or meaning

Final Thoughts

The Cambridge 20 Reading Test 4 Passage 1 – Georgia O’Keeffe passage celebrates a visionary artist who transformed nature into abstraction. It strengthens your ability to recognise chronological detail and interpret factual information — key skills for Band 7+ IELTS Reading success.

Next, continue with Cambridge 20 Reading Test 4 Passage 2 – Adapting to the Effects of Climate Change, which explores global environmental adaptation.

FAQ

Q1. What is the main topic of this passage?
The life and artistic evolution of Georgia O’Keeffe.

Q2. Which question types appear in this passage?
Notes Completion and True / False / Not Given.

Q3. How can I improve accuracy in Notes Completion?
Focus on word type, grammar, and synonyms — only one word is accepted.

Q4. What IELTS skills does this passage improve?
Scanning, recognising paraphrase, and sequencing chronological facts.

References

For authentic IELTS guidance and official updates, visit the British Council, IDP IELTS, and IELTS.org — the three organisations behind the IELTS exam. To complement your preparation with structured online study, explore expert-led programmes on Course Line – IELTS Preparation Courses.