Museums of fine art and their public: reading answers and analysis
The writer argues that art museums, by stressing the special status of originals, limit what visitors get from art. Treasure-house settings make people feel small, fixed monetary values stop them forming their own views, and crowded displays rush them. Good reproductions could make art as accessible as books and music.
The summary (27-31) covers paragraphs 2 to 4. The multiple choice (32-35) follows paragraphs 5 to 8. YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (36-40) is in the last two paragraphs.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
Q
Your answer
Answer
Questions 27-31 · Summary completion (word list A-L)
How to attack this block: Several options are near-synonyms, so match meaning exactly: printing huge numbers of texts is mass production, not just technology. Workshop apprentices become assistants, and 'original scale' becomes size. Check the grammar too, because two gaps need plural nouns.
Question 27
Answer: BParagraph 2, second sentence
What has the availability of novels long depended on?
the novel has evolved precisely because of technological developments that made it possible to print out huge numbers of texts
Question says → Passage says
has depended on … for so longhas evolved precisely because of
mass productionprint out huge numbers of texts
Why: Printing huge numbers of copies is mass production. The novel exists in its current form because books can be produced in bulk, so B.
The trap: C (mechanical processes) and I (basic technology) both echo 'technological developments'. The passage's point isn't the machinery itself but the huge numbers it made possible, and only 'mass production' carries that.
Question 28
Answer: HParagraph 2, last sentence
With novels, what matters most to the reader?
With novels, the reader attends mainly to the meaning of words rather than the way they are printed on the page
Question says → Passage says
the most important thingattends mainly to
underlying ideasthe meaning of words
Why: Novel readers focus on what the words mean, not how they look on the page. The meaning behind the words is the underlying ideas, so H. The gap's verb 'are' needs a plural, which H gives.
The trap: J (readers) is plural too and the sentence is about the reader, but readers aren't the thing that matters most to themselves. The contrast is meaning versus print.
Question 29
Answer: LParagraph 3, second sentence
Who did artists like Leonardo get to copy their work?
artists seemed perfectly content to assign the reproduction of their creations to their workshop apprentices
Question says → Passage says
were happy to instructseemed perfectly content to assign
produce copies of their workthe reproduction of their creations
assistantstheir workshop apprentices
Why: Apprentices in an artist's workshop were his helpers, so 'assistants' is the paraphrase. L.
The trap: F (artist) is singular and the artists are already the subject of the sentence. They gave the copying to someone else.
Question 30
Answer: GParagraph 3, last sentence
Along with surface relief and colour, what can modern reproductions copy accurately?
high-quality prints made exactly to the original scale, with faithful colour values, and even with duplication of the surface relief of the painting
Question says → Passage says
sizeexactly to the original scale
colourfaithful colour values
surface relief featuresthe surface relief of the painting
Why: The summary names relief and colour, so the third feature is the one left: scale. 'Original scale' means the same size as the original, so G.
The trap: E (paints) sounds connected to colour, but the passage talks about colour values, not the paints used. K (picture frames) is never mentioned.
Question 31
Answer: DParagraph 4
Whose interests may suffer because museums promote original works?
Unfortunately, this seems to place severe limitations on the kind of experience offered to visitors.
Question says → Passage says
it is regrettableUnfortunately
museums still promote the superiority of original worksmuseums continue to promote the special status of original work
the publicvisitors
Why: The people losing out are the visitors, whose experience is limited. 'Visitors' becomes 'the public', and the last paragraph uses 'the museum public' too. D.
The trap: A (institution) tempts because it's about museums, but the museum is the one doing the promoting. It's the visitors who pay the price.
Multiple choice
Questions 32-35
How to attack this block: Each question points to one paragraph, in order. The answer is the effect on the viewer, not the money or the museum: feeling worthless, feeling your opinion can't count, works out of place, and no fixed start or end. Distractors reuse the money and time themes.
Question 32
Answer: CParagraph 5, last two sentences
Why does the writer mention London's National Gallery?
it is therefore difficult not to be impressed by one's own relative 'worthlessness' in such an environment
Question says → Passage says
visitors' opinions of themselvesone's own relative 'worthlessness'
the negative effect a museum can havedifficult not to be impressed by
Why: Every work in the Gallery is worth more than the average visitor owns, so visitors are made to feel worthless. That's the museum lowering people's view of themselves: C.
The trap: B (conflict between financial and artistic values) uses the money theme, but the writer doesn't describe a clash in society. The money only matters because of how it makes visitors feel about themselves.
Question 33
Answer: DParagraph 6
Why might viewers today hold back from criticising a work?
Evidently, nothing the viewer thinks about the work is going to alter that value, and so today's viewer is deterred from trying to extend that spontaneous, immediate, self-reliant kind of reading
Question says → Passage says
their personal reactionnothing the viewer thinks about the work
is of no significanceis going to alter that value
unwilling to criticiseis deterred from trying
Why: Someone more powerful has already fixed the work's value, and nothing the viewer thinks will change it. So viewers feel their own response doesn't count: D.
The trap: B uses 'financial', which links to the work's huge monetary value. But viewers aren't afraid of money consequences; they feel their opinion can't affect anything.
Question 34
Answer: AParagraph 7
What causes the 'displacement effect'?
the strangeness of seeing such diverse paintings, drawings and sculptures brought together in an environment for which they were not originally created
Question says → Passage says
the variety of works on displaysuch diverse paintings, drawings and sculptures
the way they are arrangedbrought together in an environment for which they were not originally created
Why: The effect comes from very different works being gathered in a place they weren't made for, and it's heightened by the sheer number. Variety plus the way they're put together is A.
The trap: B tempts because the next sentence says you couldn't see everything in weeks. That's about the volume of exhibits, and it's not the same as being unable to view one work over a long period.
Question 35
Answer: DParagraph 8, fourth sentence
How is a painting different from other art forms?
a picture has no clear place at which to start viewing, or at which to finish
Question says → Passage says
unlike other forms of artBy contrast… Similarly, novels and poems
have a specific beginning or endno clear place at which to start viewing, or at which to finish
Why: Plays, operas, novels and poems have a set sequence and length. A painting has no fixed start or finish: D.
The trap: A and B pick up 'audience' and 'performance' from the opera comparison, but the writer's contrast is only about time and sequence, not contact or location.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 36-40
How to attack this block: The writer's opinions are strong, so the NOs are clear reversals: art historians and museums agree, and the powerful aren't expected to help. The NOT GIVENs add details (a range of media, selling only high-quality copies) to phrases taken from the text.
Question 36
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 9, first sentence
Does the writer say art history should look for meaning using many different media?
a specialised academic approach devoted to 'discovering the meaning' of art within the cultural context of its time
Question says → Passage says
art historythe art historian
discovering the meaning of art'discovering the meaning' of art
Why: The writer describes art history as discovering meaning in the cultural context of the time. A 'range of media' is never mentioned, and the writer doesn't say what it should focus on. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: The phrase 'discovering the meaning' is lifted straight from the passage, so TRUE-style matching kicks in. The extra idea, 'using a range of media', has no support.
Question 37
Answer: NOParagraph 9, second sentence
Do art historians' methods clash with what museums do?
This is in perfect harmony with the museum's function
Question says → Passage says
conflicts within perfect harmony with
that of art museumsthe museum's function
Why: 'In perfect harmony' is the opposite of 'conflicts', so the writer's view contradicts the statement. NO.
The trap: The writer is critical of both art historians and museums, which can make you feel they're at odds. They're criticised for the same thing, which is why they agree.
Question 38
Answer: YESLast paragraph, second sentence
Should people be encouraged to say openly what they think of art?
The museum public, like any other audience, experience art more rewardingly when given the confidence to express their views.
Question says → Passage says
encouragedgiven the confidence
give their opinions openlyexpress their views
Why: The writer says people get more from art when they're confident enough to express their views, and complains throughout about spontaneous criticism being suppressed. YES.
Question 39
Answer: NOT GIVENLast paragraph, third sentence
Should only high-quality reproductions be sold to the public?
If appropriate works of fine art could be rendered permanently accessible to the public by means of high-fidelity reproductions
Question says → Passage says
reproductions of fine arthigh-fidelity reproductions
the publicaccessible to the public
Why: The writer wants high-fidelity reproductions to make art accessible, but says nothing about selling them or about banning lower-quality ones. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'High-fidelity' matches 'high quality', which pushes people to YES. The word 'only' and the idea of selling aren't in the passage.
Question 40
Answer: NOLast paragraph, last sentence
Are powerful people likely to encourage more people to enjoy art in future?
Unfortunately, that may be too much to ask from those who seek to maintain and control the art establishment.
Question says → Passage says
those with powerthose who seek to maintain and control the art establishment
likely to encouragemay be too much to ask
Why: The writer expects the people who control the art world not to make art more accessible: 'too much to ask'. That's the opposite of the statement, so NO.
The trap: Some readers pick NOT GIVEN because the writer only says 'may'. But the writer's view is clearly pessimistic, and that contradicts 'likely to encourage'.
NOT GIVEN. The writer wants high-fidelity reproductions to be accessible, but says nothing about selling, or about 'only'.
Words from this passage worth keeping
facsimiles(Paragraph 3)
exact copies
bread and butter(Paragraph 3)
routine work that provides a regular income
implicit(Paragraph 4)
understood but not stated directly
repositories(Paragraph 5)
places where things are stored and kept
deterred(Paragraph 6)
discouraged from doing something
superficially(Paragraph 8)
only on the surface, without looking deeply
put paid to(Paragraph 9)
put an end to
in awe of(Paragraph 10)
feeling great respect mixed with fear
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The full Cambridge 10 Test 2 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 10, Test 2, Reading Passage 3. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
