Cambridge IELTS Academic 17 Reading Test 1 Answers with Explanation / IELTS Academic Reading: The development of the London underground railway, Stadiums: past, present and future,To catch a king

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1.

The development of the London underground railway

Q	Answer	Keywords	Location	Text
1	population	1800s, London's, population, astonishing rate	Paragraph 1, Line 1	"In the first half of the 1800s, London’s population grew at an astonishing rate."
2	suburbs	idea, relocate, slums, suburbs	Paragraph 2, Lines 4-5	"His idea was to relocate the poor workers who lived in the inner-city slums to newly constructed suburbs."
3	businessmen	Pearson's, ideas, support, businessmen	Paragraph 2, Line 6	"Pearson’s ideas gained support amongst some businessmen."
4	funding	organisation, difficulty, raising, funding	Paragraph 3, Lines 4-5	"The organization had difficulty in raising the funding for such a radical and expensive scheme."
5	press	least, critical articles, printed, press	Paragraph 3, Line 5	"not least because of the critical articles printed by the press."
6	soil	two-metre-deep, soil, tunnel, rebuilt	Paragraph 4, Lines 8-9	"A two-metre-deep layer of soil was laid on top of the tunnel and the road above rebuilt."
7	FALSE	Metropolitan, line, opened, first underground railway	Paragraph 5, Lines 1-2	"The Metropolitan line, which opened on 10 January 1863, was the world’s first underground railway."
8	NOT GIVEN	-	-	-
9	TRUE	smoke and fumes, problem, ventilation shafts, tunnels	Paragraph 6, Lines 6-7	"However, smoke and fumes remained a problem, even though ventilation shafts were added to the tunnels."
10	TRUE	cut and cover, construction, option, capital	Paragraph 7, Line 4	"The 'cut and cover' method of construction was not an option in this part of the capital."
11	FALSE	carriages, narrow, tiny windows, roof	Paragraph 8, Lines 6-7	"The carriages were narrow and had tiny windows just below the roof."
12	FALSE	City & South London Railway, technical, achievement, profit	Paragraph 8, Lines 9-10	"Although the City & South London Railway was a great technical achievement, it did not make a profit."
13	NOT GIVEN	-	-	-

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 .

Stadiums: past, present and future

Number of Question	Question	Keywords of the Question	Answer	Location with Line Number in the Paragraph	Explanation
14	A mention of negative attitudes towards stadium building projects	negative attitudes, stadium building	A	Section A (Lines 4-6)	"Today, however, stadiums are regarded with growing scepticism. Construction costs can soar above £1 billion, and stadiums finished for major events such as the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup have notably fallen into disuse and disrepair." This highlights the concerns regarding the costs and sustainability of modern stadiums.
15	Figures demonstrating the environmental benefits of a certain stadium	environmental benefits, figures	F	Section F (Lines 9-12)	"Kaohsiung Stadium... has 8,844 photovoltaic panels producing up to 1.14 GWh of electricity annually. This reduces the annual output of carbon dioxide by 660 tons and supplies up to 80 percent of the surrounding area when the stadium is not in use." These figures show how the stadium contributes to sustainability.
16	Examples of the wide range of facilities available at some new stadiums	facilities, new stadiums	E	Section E (Lines 4-8)	"There’s a growing trend for stadiums to be equipped with public spaces and services that serve a function beyond sport, such as hotels, retail outlets, conference centres, restaurants and bars, children’s playgrounds and green space." This illustrates the multi-purpose use of modern stadiums.
17	Reference to the disadvantages of the stadiums built during a certain era	disadvantages, certain era	D	Section D (Lines 4-6)	"Many such stadiums are situated in suburban areas, designed for sporting use only and surrounded by parking lots. These factors mean that they may not be as accessible to the general public, require more energy to run and contribute to urban heat." This explains why 20th-century stadiums were less sustainable and less integrated into urban environments.

Q	Answer	Keywords	Location in Passage	Text Associated with Answer
18	Fortress	Romans, four towers, fifth century	paragraph B, line 3	Built by the Romans in 90 AD, it became a fortress with four towers after the fifth century.
19	Bullfights	19th century, converted, arena, staging	paragraph B, line 5	During the 19th century, it was converted back into an arena for the staging of bullfights.
20	Opera	endured, centuries, considered, prime site	paragraph B, 2nd last line	It has endured the centuries and is currently considered one of the world's prime sites for opera.
21	Salt	building, middle ages, houses, depot, prison	paragraph C, line 3-4	Filled with buildings from the Middle Ages until the 19th century, variously used as houses, a salt depot, and a prison.
22	Shops	ruins, amphitheatre, various, residences, embedded, public square	paragraph C, last 2 lines	Ruins of the amphitheatre remain embedded in the various shops and residences surrounding the public square.
23	C	stadium, suburban, sporting, parking lots	paragraph D, line 4-5	Many such stadiums are situated in suburban areas, designed for sporting use only and surrounded by parking lots.
24	D	flexibility, stadiums, developed	paragraph D, line 2-3	But some of the flexibility was lost at the beginning of the 20th century as stadiums were developed using new products.
25	B	electricity, network, digital, communications	paragraph F, lines 1-3	Electricity supply network that uses digital communications technology.
26	E	stadiums, ideal, large surface, photovoltaic	paragraph F, line 4-5	Stadiums are ideal for these purposes because their canopies have a large surface area for fitting photovoltaic panels.

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 .

To catch a king

Q	Answer	Keywords	Keyword Location	Text
27	H	executed by the Parliamentarians	Paragraph 1, Line 2	After his father was executed by the Parliamentarians in 1649, the young Charles II sacrificed one of the very principles his father had died for and did a deal with the Scots.
28	J	crowned King of Scots	Paragraph 1, Line 3	After his father was slain by Parliamentarians in 1649, the young Charles II made a bargain with the Scots, adopting Presbyterianism* as the national religion in exchange for being proclaimed King of Scots.
29	F	penniless and defeated Charles	Paragraph 1, Last Line	Over the next six weeks, he evaded the Parliamentarians by a series of heart-pounding near escapes until taking shelter in France. For the next nine years, the defeated and bankrupt Charles traveled across Europe with just a small handful of devoted followers.
30	B	personal recollections, six weeks, fugitive	Paragraph 2, Line 1	The king gave him a detailed account of his personal memories. For six weeks he had been on the run across two three-hour sessions.
31	D	personal recollections, six weeks, fugitive	Paragraph 2, Line 1	The king gave him a detailed account of his personal memories. For six weeks he had been on the run across two three-hour sessions.
32	NOT GIVEN	trustworthy	Not Given	A visit with the author and diarist Samuel Pepys was requested by the 50-year-old Charles II many years later, upon his return to the throne. He wanted to be sure that no one would ever forget this most unusual occurrence, so he asked Pepys to write down his narrative.
33	NO	personal recollections, fugitive	Paragraph 2, Line 1	Over two three-hour sittings, the king related to him in great detail his personal recollections of the six weeks he had spent as a fugitive.
34	NO	story to paper, never forgotten	Paragraph 2, Line 2	His intention when asking Pepys to commit his story to paper was to ensure that this most extraordinary episode was never forgotten.
35	YES	story to paper, never forgotten	Paragraph 2, Line 2	His intention when asking Pepys to commit his story to paper was to ensure that this most extraordinary episode was never forgotten.
36	B	To Catch a King, King Charles II	Paragraph 1, Line 1	Charles Spencer’s latest book, To Catch a King, tells us the story of the hunt for King Charles II.
37	C	personal recollections, fugitive	Paragraph 2, Line 1	Over two three-hour sittings, the king related to him in great detail his personal recollections of the six weeks he had spent as a fugitive.
38	A	emotional tension	Paragraph 4, Line 2	Charles’s friend Henry Wilmot to adopt disguise on the grounds that it was beneath his dignity – and the emotional tension when the secret of the king’s presence was cautiously revealed to his supporters.
39	B	perfect person, new generation	Paragraph 6, Line 1	Charles Spencer is the perfect person to pass the story on to a new generation.
40	D	area, doesn’t quite hit the mark	Last paragraph, Line 1	This is the one area where the book **doesn’t quite hit the mark