Roman tunnels: reading answers and analysis
The Romans borrowed the Persian qanat method: vertical shafts dug along a line of posts, joined underground, with plumb lines to keep them straight. For high mountains they dug from both ends (counter-excavation), which needed careful surveying and sometimes went wrong, as at Saldae. Tunnels also served roads and gold mines, and hard rock could take decades.
Questions 1-13 · 13 marks · 3 question blocks
Where the answers sit
The diagram labels (1-6) come from the second and third paragraphs. TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (7-10) is all in the counter-excavation paragraph. The short answers (11-13) are in the last two paragraphs.
Questions 1-6
The Persian diagram follows the qanat description: what marked the route, where the water ended up, and the shafts' second job besides removing earth. The Roman shaft diagram uses the next paragraph: the cover made of wood or stone, what hung on the plumb line, and what the handholds were for.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | posts | — |
| 2 | canal | — |
| 3 | ventilation | — |
| 4 | lid | — |
| 5 | weight | — |
| 6 | climbing | — |
Questions 7-10
The new method was used when the qanat method wasn't practical, so it didn't replace it (FALSE). The Saldae problem is known from an inscription on the tunnel wall, not a book (FALSE). The two teams did miss each other (TRUE). The passage says the method needed advanced knowledge, but never says who was hired.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | FALSE | — |
| 8 | NOT GIVEN | — |
| 9 | FALSE | — |
| 10 | TRUE | — |
Questions 11-13
Each question names a place, so scan for Dolaucothi, 'inscriptions' and Cevlik. The key accepts short and long forms (architect or the architect's name, harbour or harbor).
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | gold | — |
| 12 | architect | the architect / architect's name / the architect's name |
| 13 | harbour | harbor / the harbour / the harbor |
The questions most people get wrong
NOT GIVEN. Counter-excavation needed advanced surveying, maths and geometry, but nothing says only experienced builders were employed.
The label points to the thing hanging at the end of the plumb line: the 'weight' that had to hang in the centre of the shaft.
The shafts removed earth and also provided ventilation during the work. The label already mentions removing earth, so the gap is the second job.
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The full Cambridge 16 Test 4 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 16, Test 4, Reading Passage 1. The passage name belongs to Cambridge University Press. No passage text or question wording is reproduced on this page. The answers are published for self-marking, and the analysis is our own.