Here are explanations of the Questions of passage: ‘The Development of the London Underground Railway’ which is the from the IELTS Cambridge 17 book. The Questions are ‘Blanks’ and ‘True, False and Not Given’ You will find the Locations of the Reading Answers, Keywords and justifications.
| Question | Answer |
| 1 | POPULATION |
| 2 | SUBURBS |
| 3 | BUSINESSMEN |
| 4 | FUNDING |
| 5 | PRESS |
| 6 | SOIL |
| 7 | FALSE |
| 8 | NOT GIVEN |
| 9 | TRUE |
| 10 | TRUE |
| 11 | FALSE |
| 12 | FALSE |
| 13 | NOT GIVEN |
The Locations of the Questions are in the chronological order. They are come one after another.
Questions 1-6
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
The London underground railway
The problem
- The 1…………………… of London increased rapidly between 1800 and 1850.
Location- 1st Paragraph
Explanation- The Answer to this question is in the first line of the first paragraph. ‘In the First half of the 1800s’ is as ‘between 1800 and 1850’ in the question. Since London a name of the city which can not change. Thus, it remains the same.
Answer: Population (London’s Population = Population of London)
- The streets were full of horse-drawn vehicles
The proposed solution
-
Charles Pearson, a solicitor, suggested building an underground railway
-
Building the railway would make it possible to move people to better housing in the 2……………………
Location- 2nd paragraph
Explanation- The location of this answer is the second paragraph of the passage. Here it must be pointed out that the keywords like ‘Charles Pearson’ and ‘a solicitor’ which comes before the second question are very important to locate the exact answer because the main keyword of the Question which is ‘housing’ has been paraphrased as ‘relocate the poor workers who lived in the inner-city slums to newly constructed Suburbs’.
Answer: Suburbs
- A number of 3…………………… agreed with Pearson’s idea.
Location- 2nd paragraph
Explanation: The Answer is again in the second paragraph and that too in the second last line of it. The Keyword of the Question which is ‘Pearson’s idea’ is exactly written in the passage. ‘Agreed’ has been paraphrased as ‘gained support’. Moreover, the Question says ‘A number of’ which means that the answer has to be in plural form, which makes it easy to understand.
Answer: Businessmen
-
The company initially had problems getting the 4…………………… needed for the project.
Location- 3nd paragraph
Explanation: The keyword of the Question i.e. ‘company’ helps us to locate the answer in the third paragraph of the passage. ‘Metropolitan Railway company’ is in the first line of the paragraph. It has been paraphrased as ‘organization’ in the third line of the paragraph which has the answer to the question. ‘Problems’ have been paraphrased as ‘difficulty in raising….’
Answer: Funding
-
Negative articles about the project appeared in the 5……………………
Location- 3nd paragraph
Explanation: The location of the Answer is in the third paragraph of the passage. ‘Negative article’ is the main keyword of the question which is located in the 3rd last line of the paragraph and it has been written as it is. ‘Appeared in the…..’ has been written as Printed by the…’ Which makes it very clear that the answer is ‘Press’.
Answer: Press
The construction
- The chosen route did not require many buildings to be pulled down
-
The ‘cut and cover’ method was used to construct the tunnels
-
With the completion of the brick arch, the tunnel was covered with 6……………………
Location- 4nd paragraph
Explanation: The main keywords of the Question are ‘Cut and Cover’ and ‘brick arch, the tunnel’ which are very clearly written as the same in the fourth paragraph. The Answer to the Question is in the last line of the paragraph ‘Was covered with…’ has been paraphrased as …..was laid on the top of the tunnel…’
Answer: Soil
The Development of the London Underground Railway
Questions 7-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
7 Other countries had built underground railways before the Metropolitan line opened.
Location- 5nd paragraph
Explanation: The Main Keyword of the Question is ‘Metropolitan line; which is exactly written in the first line of the 5th paragraph. The Question Statement contradicts with the statement of the passage as it is written that ‘Other countries had built underground railways before….. but in the passage it is clearly stated that it was world’s first underground railway’.
Answer: False
8 More people than predicted travelled on the Metropolitan line on the first day.
Location- 5nd paragraph
Explanation: The reference to the number of ‘travelling’ has been written as ‘carried between’ and ‘journey taken’ in the 5th paragraph. Though the stats are only mentioned, but there is no information provided of ‘prediction’ or assumption. Thus the answer is ‘Not Given’.
Answer: Not Given,
9 The use of ventilation shafts failed to prevent pollution in the tunnels.
Location- 6th Paragraph
Explanation: ‘Ventilation shafts’, ‘Pollution’ and ‘Tunnels’ are the three Keywords. The location of the Answer is the last tine of the paragraph. ‘Smoke and fumes remained a problem’ which is written as ‘Failed to prevent Pollution’ in the Question. Thus the answer is ‘True’.
Answer: True
10 A different approach from the ‘cut and cover’ technique was required in London’s central area.
Location-7th paragraph
Explanation: The answer to the Question is in the second last line of the 7th paragraph. ‘Cut and Cover’ has been written as same in the passage as it has not be paraphrased but ‘technique’ has been written as ‘method’. The information in the question and the passage is same ‘…..was not an option in this part of the capital. The only alternative was to tunnel deep underground’. Even, ‘The only alternative’ is written as ‘A different approach’ in the Question.
Answer: True
11 The windows on City & South London trains were at eye level.
Location- 8th paragraph (Last Paragraph)
Explanation: The answer to the Question is in the middle of the paragraph starting from ‘The Carriages were…..’. The main keyword of the Question ‘window’ is exactly the same. But the information in the question is opposite to the passage. Here, in the question it is ‘at eye level’ which is opposite to ‘just below the roof…..that passengers would not want to look out at the tunnel walls’.
Answer: False
12 The City & South London Railway was a financial success.
Location- 8th paragraph (Last Paragraph)
Explanation: The main keyword of the Question which is ‘City & South London Railway’ is same in the passage but the other keyword which is ‘Financial’ has been written as ‘Profit’. Moreover, the information of the question is opposite to the passage as the Question says ‘it was a financial success’ but in the passage it is ‘it did not make a profit’. Thus, the answer is ‘False’.
Answer: False
13 Trains on the ‘Tuppenny Tube’ nearly always ran on time.
Location- 8th paragraph (Last Paragraph)
Explanation: Though the main keyword of the question ‘Tuppenny Tube’ has been written in the second last line of the paragraph but no reference is regarding ‘ran on time’ thus, no information available. Thus the answer is ‘Not Given’.
Answer: Not Given
The Development of the London Underground Railway.
Below is the link to the 2st passage of the Same Test from IELTS Cambridge Book 17
Stadiums: Past, Present and Future
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