The Role Of The Swiss PostBus — IELTS Reading Answers

When comparing the Swiss transportation system to a tree, the writer emphasises

1. Athe size of the postbus system.
2. Bhow competitive the postbus system is.
3. Chow important the postbus system is.correct
4. Dthe threat to the postbus system.

“the trunk that holds the tree together is the vast postbus network, without which the whole network would not function”

C: the postbus network is 'the trunk that holds the tree together', so the metaphor stresses how vital it is, not its size or competitiveness.

What is said about bus services in the second paragraph?

1. AVillages have the chance to request more buses every four years.
2. BNew routes are often introduced to reflect an increase in population.
3. CBus timetables tend to change every four years.
4. DThe number of buses that call at a village depends on how many people live there.correct

“The frequency of these services is directly related to population density”

D: service frequency is 'directly related to population density', so the number of buses calling depends on how many people live in the village.

According to the fourth paragraph, what were three-tone horns first used to indicate?

1. Ahow many coach horses required foodcorrect
2. Bhow long the bus would stay at the station
3. Chow many passengers wanted a meal
4. Dhow soon the bus would arrive at the station

“This musical 'language' started in the mid-nineteenth century, when the coach drivers could also blow their horns a certain number of times on approaching the station to indicate the number of horses needing to be fed, giving the stationmaster time to prepare the fodder”

A: horns were blown to show 'the number of horses needing to be fed', so the signal told the stationmaster how many coach horses needed food.

What point does the writer make about the postbus drivers?

1. AMany choose to give passengers information about the surroundings.correct
2. BMost are proud of driving buses to places without other forms of transport.
3. CThey are required to inform passengers about the sights seen from the bus.
4. DThey are not allowed to stop for passengers to take photographs.

“Most of the drivers therefore see themselves as educators and tour guides. Although it's not in their job description, they're likely to point out the sights — waterfalls, gorges, and so on — and are always ready to pull over for a photo opportunity”

A: 'Most of the drivers' act as educators and 'are likely to point out the sights', though this is not in their job description.

What is said about the buses’ automated announcements?

1. AThey are given in the language of the bus’s starting point.
2. BThe language they are given in depends on where the bus is at the time.correct
3. CThey are always given in all the four languages of Switzerland.
4. DThe language they are given in depends on the bus’s destination.

“their automated intercom announcements are given in the language of whichever canton the bus is currently passing through”

B: announcements use 'the language of whichever canton the bus is currently passing through', so the language depends on the bus's present location.

Some postbuses after the First World War were originally army vehicles.

“After the First World War, Swiss Post bought a fleet of decommissioned military trucks which were converted into postbuses”

TRUE: after the war Swiss Post bought 'decommissioned military trucks which were converted into postbuses', so some began as army vehicles.

The number of driverless buses has increased steadily since 2015.

“Today, the Swiss Post Office boasts one of the world’s most advanced coach fleets, including fuel-cell models and the world's first driverless bus. This was launched in 2015 in the town of Sion, the capital of the canton of Valais, one of the 26 cantons, or administrative regions, that make up the country”

NOT GIVEN: the text mentions the world's first driverless bus launched in Sion in 2015 but never says how many exist or whether numbers rose.

On the longest postbus route in Switzerland, passengers have to change buses.

“Switzerland's longest postbus journey, and one of the highest, crosses four mountain passes – an eight-hour trip undertaken by a single postbus”

FALSE: the eight-hour crossing is 'undertaken by a single postbus', so passengers stay on the same bus rather than changing.

The weather on the longest postbus route is likely to include extreme weather conditions.

“The route goes through several cantons; two languages (German and Italian); all four seasons – from burning sunshine to showers and heavy snowfalls”

TRUE: the route passes through 'all four seasons', from 'burning sunshine' to 'heavy snowfalls', so extreme weather is expected.

There is a widely used nickname for part of the longest route used by postbuses.

“One of the passes, the Gotthard, is often described as 'the People's Road'”

TRUE: the Gotthard pass 'is often described as the People's Road', a nickname suggesting wide popular use.

Bus drivers’ training can be shortened if they have driven buses before joining Postbus.

“Irrespective of their previous driving experience, drivers undergo lots of training”

FALSE: 'Irrespective of their previous driving experience, drivers undergo lots of training', so prior bus driving does not shorten it.

In some villages most passengers are school children.

“It not only carries the villagers to town and back, it takes village children to and from school”

NOT GIVEN: the bus takes village children to school, but the text never says schoolchildren form most passengers in any village.

Buses carry only rubbish that can be recycled.

“It takes village children to and from school, delivers mail, transports milk from the village farms down to the valley, collects rubbish from the village (Swiss laws do not allow dumping anywhere in the mountains), and brings building materials to households”

NOT GIVEN: the text says the bus 'collects rubbish' and that dumping is banned, but never limits the load to recyclable rubbish only.