Alexander Henderson (1831-1913): reading answers and analysis
A short biography of the Scottish-born photographer who emigrated to Montreal in 1855. Henderson moved from amateur to professional landscape photography, sold stock prints from his studio, and later recorded Canada's railways, ending his career with the CPR in 1897.
Both blocks follow the passage in order. The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements (1-8) run from his childhood to his retirement. The notes (9-13) go through the passage again, from his father's job to the 1885 trip to Rogers Pass.
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.
How to attack this block: Most statements test a single detail, so find the date or name and read around it. The two NOT GIVEN answers add something extra (how the men felt about an experiment, where the studio was) that the passage never covers. The railway statements turn on small words like 'almost-completed'.
Question 1
Answer: FALSEParagraph 1, end, and paragraph 2, first sentence
As a young man, did Henderson hardly ever go to the Press estate area?
Alexander spent much of his childhood in the area… Even after he went to school at Murcheston Academy on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Henderson returned to Press at weekends.
Question says → Passage says
rarely visited the areaspent much of his childhood in the area / returned to Press at weekends
when he was youngerhis childhood
Why: FALSE. He spent much of his childhood there and kept returning every weekend even while at school. That's the opposite of 'rarely'.
The trap: Some pick NOT GIVEN because the passage never uses a word like 'often'. But 'much of his childhood' and 'at weekends' clearly contradict 'rarely'.
Question 2
Answer: TRUEParagraph 2
Did Henderson follow a business career to please his family?
Although he never liked the prospect of a business career, he stayed with it to please his family.
Question says → Passage says
pursued a business careerstayed with it
because it was what his family wantedto please his family
Why: TRUE. He disliked the idea of business but stuck with it 'to please his family'. Doing it to please them means doing it because they wanted it.
The trap: 'Never liked' can make the statement feel wrong, but the statement says nothing about whether he liked it, only why he did it.
Question 3
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 3
Were Henderson and Notman surprised by their 1865 experiment's results?
they cooperated on experiments with magnesium flares as a source of artificial light in 1865
Question says → Passage says
their 1865 experimentexperiments with magnesium flares… in 1865
Why: NOT GIVEN. The passage says they worked together on experiments with magnesium flares in 1865. It never says what the results were or how the two men felt about them.
The trap: The date matches exactly, which makes the statement look checkable. Nothing after that sentence returns to the experiment.
Question 4
Answer: FALSEParagraph 4, first two sentences
Were Henderson's early landscapes much like Notman's?
In spite of their friendship, their styles of photography were quite different. While Notman's landscapes were noted for their bold realism, Henderson for the first 20 years of his career produced romantic images
Question says → Passage says
many similaritiesquite different
Henderson's early landscapesfor the first 20 years of his career produced romantic images
Why: FALSE. The passage says their styles were 'quite different': Notman's realism against Henderson's romantic images in his first 20 years.
The trap: Paragraph 3 stresses how close they were as friends and colleagues, which makes 'similar' feel likely. Paragraph 4 opens by saying their friendship didn't extend to their style.
Question 5
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 5, first sentence
Was Henderson's 1866 studio near his home?
In 1866, he gave up his business to open a photographic studio, advertising himself as a portrait and landscape photographer.
Question says → Passage says
The studio that Henderson opened in 1866In 1866, he gave up his business to open a photographic studio
Why: NOT GIVEN. You get the year, the type of studio and how he advertised it, but no location and nothing about his home.
The trap: Paragraph 9 mentions his house basement, where his negatives were stored after his death. That's about the end of his life, not where the studio was.
Question 6
Answer: TRUEParagraph 5, second sentence
Did Henderson stop portraits to concentrate on scenery?
From about 1870 he dropped portraiture to specialize in landscape photography and other views.
Question says → Passage says
gave up portraituredropped portraiture
so that he could focus onto specialize in
photographs of scenerylandscape photography
Why: TRUE. 'Dropped' is 'gave up', 'specialize in' is 'focus on', and 'landscape' is 'scenery'. The 'to' gives the purpose, just like 'so that'.
Question 7
Answer: FALSEParagraph 7
Was the Montreal-Halifax line finished when Henderson started for the Intercolonial Railway?
This undertaking led in 1875 to a commission from the railway to record the principal structures along the almost-completed line connecting Montreal to Halifax.
Question says → Passage says
had been finishedalmost-completed
the Montreal to Halifax lineline connecting Montreal to Halifax
Why: FALSE. The line was 'almost-completed', so it hadn't been finished. In fact his first railway photos, in 1872, were of the line's construction.
The trap: 'Almost' is easy to skim past. If you read only 'completed', you'll mark TRUE.
Question 8
Answer: TRUEParagraph 8, last sentence
Was the CPR job Henderson's final work as a photographer?
He continued in this post until 1897, when he retired completely from photography.
Question says → Passage says
his last work as a photographerretired completely from photography
with the Canadian Pacific Railwaya full-time position with the CPR
Why: TRUE. He held the CPR post until 1897 and then retired completely from photography, so nothing came after it.
The trap: The paragraph about his death mentions his collection, which some read as later work. It's just where his negatives ended up.
Note completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 9-13
How to attack this block: The notes follow the passage closely, so use the headings to find each paragraph. Gaps 10 and 11 are in the same long paragraph about selling photographs. Check plurals: one answer must be plural to match the sentence.
Question 9
Answer: merchantParagraph 1, first sentence
What was Henderson's father's job?
Alexander Henderson was born in Scotland in 1831 and was the son of a successful merchant.
Question says → Passage says
father was awas the son of a successful
Why: Being the son of a merchant means his father was a merchant. The gap follows 'a', so it needs a singular noun.
The trap: 'Chairman' and 'banker' come from the grandfather's story in the next sentence, not the father's.
Question 10
Answer: equipmentParagraph 5
Besides the time it took, what was heavy and put off amateurs?
There was little competing hobby or amateur photography before the late 1880s because of the time-consuming techniques involved and the weight of the equipment.
Question says → Passage says
took up considerable timetime-consuming techniques
the ___ was heavythe weight of the
Why: 'Weight' becomes 'heavy', so the heavy thing is the equipment. It needs a noun after 'the', and 'equipment' is uncountable, so no 's'.
The trap: 'Techniques' sits in the same sentence, but it goes with 'time-consuming', which the note has already covered.
Question 11
Answer: giftsParagraph 5, last sentence
Apart from souvenirs, what were Henderson's photos bought as?
People wanted to buy photographs as souvenirs of a trip or as gifts
Question says → Passage says
the photographs Henderson soldPeople wanted to buy photographs
or souvenirsas souvenirs of a trip or
Why: People bought the photos as souvenirs or as gifts. The note has 'souvenirs', so the gap takes the other word. It must be plural to match 'were... souvenirs'.
The trap: 'Albums' comes later in the sentence, but albums are where the photos went, not what they were.
Question 12
Answer: canoeParagraph 7, second sentence
How did Henderson travel along the eastern rivers?
He was especially fond of the wilderness and often travelled by canoe on the Blanche, du Liévre, and other noted eastern rivers.
Question says → Passage says
took many trips along eastern riversoften travelled… on the Blanche, du Liévre, and other noted eastern rivers
in aby
Why: He 'often travelled by canoe' on these rivers. The note says 'in a', so you need a singular noun: 'canoe'.
The trap: 'Yacht' is in the next sentence, but that was one trip along the St Lawrence, not his regular river travel.
Question 13
Answer: mountainsParagraph 7, last sentence
What did Henderson photograph at Rogers Pass along with the railway?
as far as Rogers Pass in British Columbia, where he took photographs of the mountains and the progress of construction
Question says → Passage says
worked for CPR in 1885In 1885 he went west along the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)
photographed the ___ and the railwaytook photographs of the mountains and the progress of construction
Why: The note's 'the railway' replaces 'the progress of construction', so the gap takes the other thing he photographed: the mountains. It must be plural.
The trap: 'Bridges' were photographed in 1876 on a different railway. Make sure you're on the 1885 sentence.
NOT GIVEN. The passage says when he opened the studio and what he sold there, but never where it was.
Words from this passage worth keeping
landholdings(Paragraph 1)
land that a person or family owns
apprenticeship(Paragraph 2)
a period of training for a job while working
emigrate(Paragraph 2)
leave your country to live in another
excursion(Paragraph 3)
a short trip for a particular purpose
circulation(Paragraph 4)
how many copies are distributed
cater to(Paragraph 5)
provide what a particular group wants
commission(Paragraph 7)
a formal request and payment for a piece of work
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The full Cambridge 14 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 14, Test 2, Reading Passage 1. 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.
