The steam car: reading answers and analysis
Early cars ran on steam, but slow start-ups, frequent refills and then the electric starter for petrol engines killed them off. The Doble brothers kept trying: a quiet, fast Model B, a Model C with thousands of orders but faulty engines, and a superb but hugely expensive Model E. Fewer than fifty were made, yet survivors still pass California's emissions laws.
Questions 14-26 · 13 marks · 3 question blocks
Where the answers sit
The headings (14-20) take one paragraph each, A to G. The multiple choice (21-23) covers B, C and D. The summary (24-26) is in F and G.
Questions 14-20
The story is a timeline, and each paragraph is a turning point: the inheritance from railway steam, a better rival arriving, good press for the Model B, orders for the Model C, customers let down, a cold-weather test, and a closing look at whether steam could return. One heading (about marketing) is never used.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | iii | — |
| 15 | viii | — |
| 16 | vi | — |
| 17 | v | — |
| 18 | vii | — |
| 19 | i | — |
| 20 | iv | — |
Questions 21-23
Question 21 is the glory days being 'few'. Question 22 is about the first car: it ran badly, so they built a second and third prototype. Question 23 is about what Abner did before the Model C, which was to seek investment in Detroit.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | A | — |
| 22 | C | — |
| 23 | B | — |
Questions 24-26
The later Model E pushed its top speed past a hundred miles per hour. 'Fewer than fifty' becomes 'under ___' (the word or the number both work). The last gap is the adjective the writer uses about California's emissions laws.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | speed | — |
| 25 | fifty | 50 |
| 26 | strict | — |
The questions most people get wrong
Paragraph F. The car sat overnight in freezing weather and was left out for an hour before being tested, so the heading about cold conditions fits. The good results come later in the paragraph.
B. The internal combustion engine is the better option. Its noisy start doesn't change the heading, because the electric starter settled it.
B. He drove to Detroit to seek investment and used it to open the company. A tempts, but nothing says production moved.
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Cambridge IELTS 18, Test 3, Reading Passage 2. 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.