A tour of Britain's industrial revolution by sector: steam power from Newcomen to Watt and Boulton, coal and railways, textiles leaving the cottage for the factory, coke-smelted iron, the telegraph, and fast, dirty urban growth. It ends with the Luddites, the skilled weavers who smashed machines and were crushed by 1813.
The notes (1-7) run in passage order from the second paragraph to the seventh, one heading per sector. The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN block (8-13) starts again in the third paragraph and ends in the last.
Note completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 1-7
How to attack this block: The note headings match the passage's own sections, so jump to the right paragraph and read for the idea. Question 1 is about the part of the engine linked to the gears. Question 4 is a paraphrase: 'relatively little' in the text becomes 'not as much' in the notes. Both US and UK spellings of labour are accepted.
Question 1
Answer: pistonParagraph 2, second half
In Watt and Boulton's engine, which moving part was connected to the gears?
a new steam engine driven by both the forward and backward strokes of the piston, while the gear mechanism it was connected to produced rotary motion
Question says → Passage says
the movement of thethe forward and backward strokes of the
linked to a gear systemthe gear mechanism it was connected to
Why: 'Strokes' are the back-and-forth movements of the piston, and 'it was connected to' the gear mechanism. 'Movement' = 'strokes', 'linked to' = 'connected to', so the gap is 'piston'.
The trap: 'Engine' doesn't work: the note already names the steam engine, and 'the movement of the engine was linked to a gear system' isn't what the passage says. The specific part is the piston.
Question 2
Answer: coalParagraph 3, first sentence
What fuel was needed in greater amounts to run steam engines?
The demand for coal, which was a relatively cheap energy source, grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution, as it was needed to run
Question says → Passage says
A greater supply… was requiredThe demand for… grew rapidly / was needed
to power steam enginesto run… the factories… but also steam-powered transportation
Why: The note flips the passage round: growing demand means a greater supply was needed. Coal ran the factories and the steam-powered trains and ships, so 'coal' fills the gap.
The trap: 'Water' appears just before in the notes (Newcomen's engine pumped it out of mines), but water wasn't fuel. 'Coke' is in paragraph 5, but it was used for smelting iron, not for powering engines.
Question 3
Answer: workshopsParagraph 4, first sentence
Apart from homes, where did spinners and weavers work before industrialisation?
with the work performed in small workshops or even homes by individual spinners, weavers and dyers
Question says → Passage says
Before the Industrial Revolutionprior to the Industrial Revolution
worked at home and inthe work performed in small workshops or even homes
Why: The note has already used 'home', so the gap is the other place in the list: 'workshops'. It must be plural after 'in' with no article.
The trap: 'Cottage' (from 'cottage industry') looks like a place, but it describes the type of industry, and 'in cottage' isn't grammatical. 'Small workshops' is two words, which breaks the limit.
Question 4
Answer: labourParagraph 4, last sentence
Also accepted: labor
What was needed in smaller amounts once the new textile machines arrived?
With these machines, relatively little labour was required to produce cloth
Question says → Passage says
Not as muchrelatively little
was needed to produce clothwas required to produce cloth
Why: 'Not as much' is the note's way of saying 'relatively little', and the rest of the sentence is almost identical. The answer is 'labour'; the American spelling 'labor' is also accepted.
The trap: 'Effort' or 'work' might come to mind, but you must use the passage's word. 'Workers' is plural and doesn't fit 'not as much'.
Question 5
Answer: qualityParagraph 5, second half
In what way was iron smelted with coke better?
This method was cheaper and produced metals that were of a higher quality
Question says → Passage says
resulted in materialproduced metals
betterof a higher
Why: 'Better quality' paraphrases 'of a higher quality'. The gap comes after 'better', so it needs a noun, and 'quality' is it.
The trap: 'Cheaper' is in the same sentence, but it's an adjective about the method, not the material, and 'better cheaper' makes no sense.
Question 6
Answer: railwayParagraph 5, last sentence
Also accepted: railways
The growth of what increased the demand for iron?
in response to demand created by the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) and the expansion of the railways from the 1830s
Question says → Passage says
Demand for iron increasedenabling Britain's iron and steel production to expand in response to demand
the growth of thethe expansion of the
Why: Two things created demand: the Napoleonic Wars and the expansion of the railways. 'Growth' = 'expansion', and only 'railways' (or 'railway') fits after 'the growth of the'.
The trap: 'Wars' is the other cause, but you can't talk about 'the growth of the wars', and 'Napoleonic Wars' is two words. Stick with the one that matches 'expansion'.
Question 7
Answer: sanitationParagraph 7, last sentence
Apart from being dirty and crowded, what did the new cities not have enough of?
overcrowded cities suffered from pollution and inadequate sanitation
Question says → Passage says
dirty, crowdedovercrowded… pollution
lacked sufficientinadequate
Why: The note turns 'pollution' into 'dirty' and 'overcrowded' into 'crowded'. What's left is 'inadequate sanitation': 'lacked sufficient' means the same as 'inadequate', so the answer is 'sanitation'.
The trap: 'Pollution' is in the same phrase, but cities don't 'lack sufficient pollution'. It's already covered by 'dirty'.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
Questions 8-13
How to attack this block: Half this block is NOT GIVEN. The passage mentions canals, Morse and Huddersfield, but never says the canal network grew, that one telegraph beat another, or how local people felt about the arrested Luddites. The one FALSE contradicts the text directly: coke made iron cheaper, not dearer.
Question 8
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 3, last sentence
Did the canal network expand quickly to carry more goods?
steam-powered boats and ships were widely used to carry goods along Britain's canals
Question says → Passage says
goods could be transportedcarry goods along Britain's canals
Why: Canals are mentioned only as routes that steam boats used. Nothing is said about the canal network growing, quickly or otherwise.
The trap: 'Widely used' and 'grew rapidly' (which is in the same paragraph, about coal) can blur together. Using canals a lot is not the same as building more of them.
Question 9
Answer: FALSEParagraph 5
Did smelting with coke push costs up in the iron industry?
This method was cheaper and produced metals that were of a higher quality
Question says → Passage says
Costs… roseThis method was cheaper
Why: The passage says the coke method was cheaper than using charcoal. Costs falling is the opposite of costs rising, so the statement is FALSE.
The trap: Coke is made by heating coal, an extra step, so you might guess it cost more and choose NOT GIVEN. The passage settles it: 'cheaper'.
Question 10
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 6
Was Morse's system more reliable than Cooke and Wheatstone's?
In the 1830s and 1840s, Samuel Morse and other inventors worked on their own versions in the United States.
Question says → Passage says
Samuel Morse's communication systemSamuel Morse… worked on their own versions
Why: We learn that Morse developed his own version in the US, and that Cooke and Wheatstone's was used for railway signalling in the UK. The two systems are never compared, so there's no information on which was more reliable.
The trap: Morse is the famous name, so general knowledge may push you towards TRUE. Answer only from the passage, which makes no comparison.
Question 11
Answer: TRUEParagraph 8, first sentence
Did only some groups in society gain from industrialisation's economic benefits?
improved the standard of living for the middle and upper classes, many poor people continued to struggle
Question says → Passage says
economic benefitsincreased the country's economic output overall and improved the standard of living
limited to certain sectors of societyfor the middle and upper classes, many poor people continued to struggle
Why: Living standards improved for the middle and upper classes, while the poor kept struggling. So the gains went to some groups and not others, which is what 'limited to certain sectors' means.
The trap: 'Increased the country's economic output overall' can make it sound as though everyone benefited. The rest of the sentence tells you who actually did.
Question 12
Answer: TRUEParagraph 8, second half
Did some skilled weavers think the new machines would cost them their jobs?
Many had spent years learning their craft, and they feared that unskilled machine operators were robbing them of their livelihood.
Question says → Passage says
skilled weaversMany had spent years learning their craft
believedfeared
lead to job lossesrobbing them of their livelihood
Why: Years learning a craft makes them skilled. Their fear was that machine operators were taking their livelihood, meaning their way of earning a living. That's job losses.
The trap: 'Many' in the passage and 'some' in the statement don't clash: if many weavers feared it, then some did. Don't mark it down for that.
Question 13
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 9, second half
Did local people feel sorry for the Luddites arrested after Huddersfield?
In the days that followed, other Luddites were arrested, and dozens were hanged or transported to Australia.
Question says → Passage says
Luddites who were arrestedother Luddites were arrested
near Huddersfieldan attack on a mill near Huddersfield
Why: The passage tells you what happened to the arrested Luddites (hanging or transportation) but never mentions how local people felt about them. Their reaction is missing.
The trap: Harsh punishments make sympathy seem likely, and the government's 'punishable by death' law might suggest public hostility. Neither feeling is actually stated.
Canals are named (steam boats used them), but nothing says the network expanded. Words from the statement appearing in the text is not the same as the idea being there.
TRUE. The eighth paragraph says higher output helped the middle and upper classes while the poor kept struggling. That is 'benefits limited to certain sectors', just paraphrased.
Demand came from the Napoleonic Wars and the railways. Only 'railway' (or 'railways') fits a single-word gap after 'growth of the'.
Words from this passage worth keeping
agrarian(Paragraph 1)
based on farming
cottage industry(Paragraph 4)
work done on a small scale in homes or small workshops
mechanised(Paragraph 4)
using machines instead of hand work
smelting(Paragraph 5)
heating ore to extract the metal
urbanisation(Paragraph 7)
people moving from the countryside into towns and cities
sanitation(Paragraph 7)
systems for clean water and removing waste
livelihood(Paragraph 8)
the way someone earns the money they live on
all but vanished(Paragraph 9)
almost completely disappeared
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The full Cambridge 19 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 19, 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.
