Nuclear Power Reading Answers

IELTS Reading tests candidates’ abilities to locate specific information, identify the main ideas, and retrieve the relevant details. 

The Nuclear Power Passage is an excellent example of these task types since it describes nuclear energy benefits (low greenhouse gas emissions and cost) and challenges (radioactive waste and high construction costs).

The reading passage can be found in IELTS Reading Practice Test 24. 

Below are the official answers for its nuclear power questions:

Question Number	Nuclear Power Reading Answers
27	Greenhouse gas release
28	Steam
29	Ratio
30	Residential
31	Lifecycle
32	Jobs
33	Timeline
34	Nuclear fusion
35	Topsoil
36	Impermeable backfill
37	Canisters
38	Infinite supply
39	Environmental impact
40	Decommissioning

After checking your answers, you can now attempt the nuclear power IELTS reading questions from our practice test and check your responses against the answer key and explanations on this page.

Nuclear Power Reading Passage for Practice

This passage is about nuclear power. It looks at why many countries are interested in it, and at the problems that come with it. The writer covers the benefits, such as low greenhouse gas output and cheap electricity, as well as the downsides, such as radioactive waste and high building costs.

Before you read, take a quick look at the questions. Knowing what you are looking for makes reading faster. Several numbers in this passage, such as 62 percent, 400 to 700 jobs, and 80 years, are easy to mix up, so check what each number refers to.

Now read the passage and try the IELTS Reading practice test that follows: 

A. One of the biggest advantages of nuclear power is how little greenhouse gas it releases. Compared with coal, gas, and other power plants, nuclear is by far the lowest. Carbon dioxide and similar gases damage the atmosphere and have been a major problem in the climate change debate. Because of this, nuclear energy has been taken seriously again as a way to make power. In the United States, nuclear produces 62 percent of all emission-free electricity. Many people believe that reactors with large cooling towers pour pollution into the air, but that is a common misunderstanding.

B. The large clouds that rise from the smokestacks are just steam. Another good reason to use nuclear is how much power it gets from its fuel. One reactor can meet all of a region’s needs, and more reactors can be added if needed. A fairly small amount of uranium can run a 1,000-megawatt plant, which supplies enough electricity for a city of about half a million people. Solar and wind can only meet household needs. They cannot yet handle large-scale demand, especially in manufacturing.

C. Building a nuclear plant costs a lot at the start, but once it is running, it produces very cheap electricity. Nuclear power is cheaper than gas, coal, or any other fossil fuel plant. Uranium is also a fairly cheap fuel, and only a little of it is needed to make a large amount of power. With a working life of 40 to 60 years, the low running costs easily outweigh the high building costs. Nuclear also helps the local economy, and communities usually support new plants because they bring jobs.

D. On average, a new nuclear plant creates 400 to 700 permanent jobs, plus thousands more during construction. A coal plant creates about 90 jobs, and a natural gas plant creates about 50. Local communities are happy about nuclear mainly because each plant brings in close to $500 million a year in sales of goods and services. More workers mean more people buying lunch and more people with money to spend.

E. Perhaps the most important benefit is that nuclear does not depend on fossil fuels, so it is not hit by the ups and downs of oil and gas prices. It also uses up the world’s resources much more slowly, since it needs far less fuel to produce the same amount of energy. Current uranium supplies are estimated to last at least 80 more years. Other forms of uranium can be used if necessary, which extends that timeline further.

F. That gives us plenty of time to look for other sources, such as nuclear fusion, which many people call the holy grail of energy. Still, nuclear energy does not come from a renewable fuel. Uranium exists in limited amounts, although supplies are currently plentiful. Solar and wind, by comparison, are close to endless. Uranium has to be mined, processed, and activated before it can make energy, and this process is expensive.

G. Nuclear energy has many good points, which is why more and more countries find it appealing. However, like every energy source, it has downsides. Many people are afraid of nuclear power because of a few accidents over the years. Those accidents were rare, but very serious. Nuclear energy produces little pollution, but it still has an environmental impact.

H. The biggest concern among nuclear supporters is the environmental effect of uranium. A typical plant produces about 20 metric tons of used fuel each year. This spent fuel is highly radioactive, so it cannot simply be taken to a landfill and forgotten. It has to be carefully handled and stored, which costs a lot of money and requires special storage space. Spent fuel can take hundreds of years to break down to safe levels.

I. For that reason alone, nuclear faces a problem that other energy sources do not. Plants also produce a significant amount of low-level waste, such as protective clothing, tools, filters, rags, and medical tubes contaminated with radiation. This waste is always stored underground in a reinforced concrete vault and covered with a thick layer of topsoil. A layer of impermeable backfill surrounds the site. The waste is kept in canisters until its radioactivity fades, and then it can be disposed of as ordinary trash.

J. Cost is another major barrier for countries thinking about new plants. Building a new plant can take 5 to 10 years and cost billions of dollars. Most of that money is recovered over the life of the plant, but it is easy to see why some countries hesitate. Decommissioning, or shutting a plant down, is also expensive. Nuclear energy always sparks emotional debate, but it remains a real option for meeting the world’s growing energy needs over the next hundred years.

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Nuclear Power Reading Questions

This section has 11 questions based on the passage. Read the passage first, then find each answer in the text. Check each answer against the paragraph it comes from. Some answers use the same words as the passage, so look closely. 

Here are the questions:

Questions 1–8: Sentence Completion

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

1. Compared with coal and gas plants, nuclear power gives off the least amount of ________.
2. The white clouds from a nuclear plant’s chimneys are mostly ________.
3. A nuclear plant can make a lot of power from only a little ________.
4. Solar and wind can’t yet meet the ________ needs of big factories.
5. A nuclear plant usually runs for 40 to 60 ________.
6. Each new plant brings in almost $500 million a year from sales of goods and ________.
7. Uranium supplies should last at least another ________ years.
8. Many people hope ________ will become a working energy source one day.

Questions 9–11: Summary Completion

Complete the summary below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Nuclear power has a fuel problem. Uranium is not endless the way wind and sunlight are, so it is not a (9) ________ source. Radioactive material can also harm the area around it, which is called its (10) ________. Shutting a plant down costs money too, and that is known as (11) ________.

Check out: How to Register for the IELTS Exam 2026 in India?

Nuclear Power Reading Answers with Explanation

This section gives the answer to each of the 11 questions, with a clear reason for each one. Read every explanation, even for the answers you got right, because the reasoning is what helps you on the real test. Each explanation names the paragraph to check, so you can find the same idea in the passage yourself.

Answers 1–8: Sentence Completion

These questions ask you to fill a gap in a sentence. Each answer is a word or phrase taken from the passage, and the sentence in the question usually matches one part of a paragraph.

1. greenhouse gas

Paragraph A says nuclear gives off the lowest greenhouse gas release by far, compared with coal, gas, and other plants. The question asks what nuclear gives off the least of, so the gap needs the thing being measured. That is greenhouse gas.

2. Steam

Paragraph B says the large clouds from the smokestacks are nothing more than steam. Many people think these clouds are pollution, so this question checks whether you read what the passage says. The clouds are steam, not smoke.

3. Uranium

Paragraph B says a relatively small amount of uranium can run a 1,000-megawatt plant. The question says “very little,” which means the same thing. The gap asks for the fuel, and the fuel is uranium.

4. large-scale

Paragraph B says solar and wind cannot yet handle large-scale power needs, especially in manufacturing. The question says “big factories,” which means the same idea in simpler words. A hyphenated word counts as one word, so large-scale fits the limit.

5. Years

Paragraph C gives a working life of 40 to 60 years. The question already shows the numbers, so the gap is only the unit. Years is the only word that fits.

6. Services

Paragraph D says each plant brings in close to $500 million a year in sales of goods and services. The question already contains “goods,” so the missing word is “services.”

7. 80

Paragraph E says current uranium supplies could last at least another 80 years. The gap asks how many years, so the answer is the number. You can write 80 or “eighty.”

8. nuclear fusion

Paragraph F mentions nuclear fusion as a possible future source and calls it the holy grail of energy. The question asks which source might become practical one day, and that source is nuclear fusion. Two words are within the limit.

Answers 9–11: Summary Completion

These questions ask you to fill gaps in a summary. The summary repeats ideas from the passage in simpler words, so each gap matches a point the passage makes. Find the paragraph that covers the same idea.

9. Renewable

Paragraph F says nuclear is not powered by a renewable fuel, while solar and wind are close to endless. The gap comes right before “source,” and the word that describes that kind of source is renewable.

10. environmental impact

Paragraph G says nuclear still has an environmental impact, even though it produces little pollution. The summary uses “its” before the gap, so the answer is the singular form, environmental impact.

11. Decommissioning

Paragraph J says decommissioning, which means shutting a plant down, is also expensive. The summary describes that process and asks for its name, so the answer is decommissioning. Check the spelling, because IELTS marks spelling mistakes.

Also Read:
IELTS Syllabus	IELTS Test Format	IELTS Exam Pattern

How to Approach Nuclear Power Reading Questions?

There are 11 questions: Questions 1 to 8 are sentence completion; Questions 9 to 11 are summary completion. 

Every answer comes from the passage, so you don’t need to know anything about nuclear power already; instead, be mindful of how to approach each question. First of all, keep in mind the word limit for each answer: 

Questions	Type	Word limit
1–8	Sentence completion	Up to 3 words
9–11	Summary completion	Up to 2 words

Next, look at the following tips: 

Start with the questions

Read all 11 before you open the passage. Underline one key word in each question, like “uranium,” “factories,” or “decommissioning.” That tells you what to hunt for.

Find the right paragraph

Sentence completion answers are usually close to the sentence in the question, so look for the same idea in the passage. For the summary questions, the summary covers two or three paragraphs, not the whole text. Find that section first.

Watch the wording

The question rarely uses the exact words from the passage. Question 5 says “working life,” but the passage says “life cycle.” Find the idea, then copy the passage’s wording.

Numbers are easy to mix up. The passage has 40 to 60 years, 80 years, 90 jobs, and 400 to 700 jobs. Check the whole sentence before you pick one.

Do check the following before you move on to the next question:

• Does the answer fit the grammar?
• Is it within the word limit?
• Is the spelling right? 

Need more IELTS Reading practice? Try these answer guides to practise different passage topics and question types: Watching Freedonia’s Borders Reading Answers Fatal Attraction IELTS Reading Answers with Explanations Bird Migration Reading Answers with Explanations Online Roommate Finder Toronto IELTS Reading Answers, Explanation Pine Trees IELTS Reading Answers 2026: Questions & Explanations

Conclusion

Nuclear power is a really good topic to practice the IELTS passages because it uses facts, figures, and opinions. Answer the questions one at a time, and make sure that you check each answer to its paragraph. 

Do not feel pressured when completing the summary questions, and if you get an answer wrong, look at why it was incorrect and refer to the passage. This will benefit you more than getting the correct answer.

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