Cambridge IELTS 17 · Academic · Test 1 · Passage 1
The Development Of The London Underground Railway — IELTS Reading Answers
All 13 answers for The Development Of The London Underground Railway, Cambridge IELTS 17 Academic Reading Test 1 Passage 1, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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The Development Of The London Underground Railway answer key at a glance
Questions 1–13. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with Note Completion (Q1–6), True / False / Not Given (Q7–13). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 1–6: Note Completion
Strategy: Predict the word class from the note, find the paraphrase of the note's keyword in the passage, then copy the answer exactly within the word limit.
“In the first half of the 1800s, London’s population grew at an astonishing rate, and the central area became increasingly congested.”
The gap needs what grew rapidly in London; 'London's population grew at an astonishing rate' supplies 'population'.
“His idea was to relocate the poor workers who lived in the inner-city slums to newly constructed suburbs, and to provide cheap rail travel for them to get to work.”
The gap needs where poor workers would be relocated; 'relocate ... to newly constructed suburbs' gives 'suburbs'.
“Pearson’s ideas gained support amongst some businessmen and in 1851 he submitted a plan to Parliament.”
The gap needs who backed Pearson's ideas; 'Pearson's ideas gained support amongst some businessmen' supplies 'businessmen'.
“The organisation had difficulty in raising the funding for such a radical and expensive scheme”
The gap needs what the company struggled to raise; 'difficulty in raising the funding' gives 'funding'.
“not least because of the critical articles printed by the press.”
The gap needs who printed the critical articles; 'the critical articles printed by the press' supplies 'press'.
“A two-metre-deep layer of soil was laid on top of the tunnel and the road above rebuilt.”
The gap needs the material laid over the tunnel; 'A two-metre-deep layer of soil was laid on top of the tunnel' gives 'soil'.
Questions 7–13: True / False / Not Given
Strategy: Judge the whole statement against the text. FALSE contradicts the passage; NOT GIVEN means the passage never addresses that specific claim.
Other countries had built underground railways before the Metropolitan line opened.
“The Metropolitan line, which opened on 10 January 1863, was the world’s first underground railway.”
The Metropolitan line 'was the world's first underground railway', so no other country had built one before it opened, FALSE.
More people than predicted travelled on the Metropolitan line on the first day.
“On its first day, almost 40,000 passengers were carried between Paddington and Farringdon, the journey taking about 18 minutes.”
The text gives the first-day figure of 'almost 40,000 passengers' but never mentions how many had been predicted, so NOT GIVEN.
The use of ventilation shafts failed to prevent pollution in the tunnels.
“However, smoke and fumes remained a problem, even though ventilation shafts were added to the tunnels.”
'smoke and fumes remained a problem, even though ventilation shafts were added to the tunnels', so the shafts failed to stop pollution, TRUE.
A different approach from the ‘cut and cover’ technique was required in London’s central area.
“The problem was partly that the existing underground lines formed a circuit around the centre of London and extended to the suburbs, but did not cross the capital’s centre. The ‘cut and cover’ method of construction was not an option in this part of the capital. The only alternative was to tunnel deep underground.”
'cut and cover' 'was not an option in this part of the capital'; instead they had to 'tunnel deep underground', a different approach, TRUE.
The windows on City & South London trains were at eye level.
“The carriages were narrow and had tiny windows just below the roof because it was thought that passengers would not want to look out at the tunnel walls.”
Carriages had 'tiny windows just below the roof', not at eye level, because passengers would not want to see tunnel walls, FALSE.
The City & South London Railway was a financial success.
“Although the City & South London Railway was a great technical achievement, it did not make a profit.”
The railway 'was a great technical achievement' but 'it did not make a profit', so it was not a financial success, FALSE.
Trains on the ‘Tuppenny Tube’ nearly always ran on time.
“Then, in 1900, the Central London Railway, known as the ‘Tuppenny Tube’, began operation using new electric locomotives. It was very popular and soon afterwards new railways and extensions were added to the growing tube network.”
The Tuppenny Tube 'was very popular' and prompted new railways, but its punctuality is never discussed, so NOT GIVEN.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the The Development Of The London Underground Railway passage come from?
It is Passage 1 of Cambridge IELTS 17 Academic Reading Test 1, and it covers Questions 1–13.
What question types appear in The Development Of The London Underground Railway?
The passage is tested with Note Completion, True / False / Not Given. Each type is explained on this page, alongside the answers.
Are these reading answers reliable?
Every answer is paired with the sentence that proves it, so you can check each one against the passage yourself. Use the page after a timed attempt, not instead of one.
Cambridge IELTS is published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Band9Prep is not affiliated with Cambridge. This page is an independent study aid: it gives the answer key, the passage evidence and an explanation so you can review an attempt you have already made.