The development of the London underground railway: reading answers and analysis
By the 1850s London's centre was jammed with horse traffic, and railways weren't allowed into the City. Charles Pearson's plan became the Metropolitan line, the world's first underground railway (1863), built by 'cut and cover' under existing roads. Crossing the centre needed deep tunnels and electric trains, so the City & South London (1890) and the 'Tuppenny Tube' (1900) followed.
Questions 1-13 · 13 marks · 2 question blocks
Where the answers sit
The notes (1-6) cover A to D in order. TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (7-13) picks up at E and runs to the end of the long final paragraph, G.
Questions 1-6
The note headings follow the passage's own story: the problem, the proposed solution, the construction. Each answer is a noun close to its paraphrase: what grew quickly, where the poor would be rehoused, who backed Pearson, what the company struggled to raise, where the hostile articles ran, and what went on top of the tunnel.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | population | — |
| 2 | suburbs | — |
| 3 | businessmen | — |
| 4 | funding | — |
| 5 | press | — |
| 6 | soil | — |
Questions 7-13
Three FALSEs each contradict one clear fact: the Metropolitan was the world's first, the train windows were just below the roof, and the City & South London didn't make a profit. The NOT GIVENs add something the passage never measures: passenger forecasts and punctuality.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | FALSE | — |
| 8 | NOT GIVEN | — |
| 9 | TRUE | — |
| 10 | TRUE | — |
| 11 | FALSE | — |
| 12 | FALSE | — |
| 13 | NOT GIVEN | — |
The questions most people get wrong
NOT GIVEN. Almost 40,000 people travelled on day one, but no prediction is mentioned, so there's nothing to compare 'more than predicted' with.
TRUE. Smoke and fumes remained a problem 'even though ventilation shafts were added', so the shafts didn't solve it.
A two-metre layer of soil went on top of the tunnel before the road was rebuilt. 'Brick' is wrong, because the arch itself is brick.
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The full Cambridge 17 Test 1 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 17, Test 1, 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.