Cambridge IELTS 11 · Academic · Test 1 · Passage 2
The Falkirk Wheel — IELTS Reading Answers
All 13 answers for The Falkirk Wheel, Cambridge IELTS 11 Academic Reading Test 1 Passage 2, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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The Falkirk Wheel answer key at a glance
Questions 14–26. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with True / False / Not Given (Q14–19), Diagram Labeling (Q20–26). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 14–19: 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.
The Falkirk Wheel has linked the Forth & Clyde Canal with the Union Canal for the first time in their history.
“Historically, the two canals had been joined near the town of Falkirk by a sequence of 11 locks – enclosed sections of canal in which the water level could be raised or lowered – that stepped down across a distance of 1.5 km.”
The canals had been joined before, by a sequence of 11 locks stepping down 1.5 km, so the Wheel is not their first connection.
There was some opposition to the design of the Falkirk Wheel at first.
“Numerous ideas were submitted for the project, including concepts ranging from rolling eggs to tilting tanks, from giant seesaws to overhead monorails. The eventual winner was a plan for the huge rotating steel boat lift which was to become The Falkirk Wheel.”
The text describes numerous submitted concepts and the eventual winning design, but never reports any opposition to the chosen design.
The Falkirk Wheel was initially put together at the location where its components were manufactured.
“The various parts of The Falkirk Wheel were all constructed and assembled, like one giant toy building set, at Butterley Engineering’s Steelworks in Derbyshire, some 400 km from Falkirk.”
Parts were constructed and assembled at the Derbyshire steelworks, 400 km from Falkirk, so initial assembly happened at the manufacturing site.
The Falkirk Wheel is the only boat lift in the world which has steel sections bolted together by hand.
“The Wheel would need to withstand immense and constantly changing stresses as it rotated, so to make the structure more robust, the steel sections were bolted rather than welded together.”
The text explains sections were bolted rather than welded to withstand stress, but never claims the Wheel is the only boat lift built this way, nor mentions hand work.
The weight of the gondolas varies according to the size of boat being carried.
“These gondolas always weigh the same, whether or not they are carrying boats.”
The gondolas always weigh the same, whether or not they are carrying boats, directly contradicting the idea that weight varies with boat size.
The construction of the Falkirk Wheel site took into account the presence of a nearby ancient monument.
“The Wheel could not be constructed to elevate boats over the full 35-metre difference between the two canals, owing to the presence of the historically important Antonine Wall, which was built by the Romans in the second century AD.”
Construction height was limited by the historically important Antonine Wall, a Roman monument, so the design took its presence into account.
Questions 20–26: Diagram Labeling
Strategy: Locate the labelled part on the diagram, then find the matching description in the passage. Answers are usually concrete nouns.
“Two hydraulic steel gates are raised, so as to seal the gondola off from the water in the canal basin.”
The diagram gap labels the parts that seal the gondola from the canal basin; the passage names two hydraulic steel gates.
“A hydraulic clamp, which prevents the arms of the Wheel moving while the gondola is docked, is removed, allowing the Wheel to turn.”
The gap labels what holds the Wheel's arms still while docked; the text names the hydraulic clamp that is then removed.
“In the central machine room an array of ten hydraulic motors then begins to rotate the central axle.”
The gap is what the motors turn; the passage says an array of ten hydraulic motors begins to rotate the central axle.
“Two eight-metre-wide cogs orbit a fixed inner cog of the same width, connected by two smaller cogs travelling in the opposite direction to the outer cogs – so ensuring that the gondolas always remain level.”
The gap labels the toothed wheels that keep gondolas level; the text describes two eight-metre-wide cogs orbiting a fixed inner cog.
“When the gondola reaches the top, the boat passes straight onto the aqueduct situated 24 metres above the canal basin.”
The gap is the structure boats enter at the top; the passage places the aqueduct 24 metres above the canal basin.
“Boats travel under this wall via a tunnel, then through the locks, and finally on to the Union Canal.”
The gap is the barrier boats pass beneath through a tunnel; the text refers to travelling under this wall before reaching the locks.
“The remaining 11 metres of lift needed to reach the Union Canal is achieved by means of a pair of locks.”
The gap names what supplies the last 11 metres of lift; the passage says a pair of locks achieves it.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the The Falkirk Wheel passage come from?
It is Passage 2 of Cambridge IELTS 11 Academic Reading Test 1, and it covers Questions 14–26.
What question types appear in The Falkirk Wheel?
The passage is tested with True / False / Not Given, Diagram Labeling. 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.