Two Welsh sisters inherit a fortune built on mining and shipping and spend it on art, starting with safe choices and then buying French Impressionists at a time when almost nobody in Britain did. The war changes them, one of them stops buying, and the whole collection ends up in the National Museum Wales.
Both blocks run in passage order, which makes this a friendly opener. The notes (1-7) walk through paragraphs A to H. The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements (8-13) start again at A and finish in the last paragraph, J.
Note completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 1-7
How to attack this block: The note headings copy the passage's own structure: family, collecting, the war, reputation. Use them as a map. The notes paraphrase, so hunt for the idea, not the word. Question 1 names one of the grandfather's industries and asks for the other one. Questions 3 and 4 look alike, but they want two different records the sisters kept.
Question 1
Answer: miningParagraph A, first sentence
Apart from transport, which industry made the grandfather rich?
a Welshman who amassed a fortune in the shipping and mining industries
Question says → Passage says
grandfather's wealth came fromamassed a fortune in
transportationshipping
Why: The note already gives you one of the two industries in disguise: 'transportation' is the shipping business. The gap wants the other one, and the passage pairs shipping with mining. One word, so just 'mining'.
The trap: 'Shipping' is the word you see first, but the note has already covered it as 'transportation'. Writing it again would leave the note saying the same thing twice.
Question 2
Answer: educationParagraph B, first sentence
What part of their early life was set up to steer them towards art collecting?
the sisters' education was rigorously geared toward such pursuits
Question says → Passage says
designed to give them an interest inrigorously geared toward
activities such as collecting artsuch pursuits / art collecting
Why: 'Geared toward' means planned or designed for a purpose, and 'such pursuits' points back to art collecting. The gap follows 'their', so it needs a noun, and the noun the passage gives is 'education'.
The trap: 'School' is tempting because the next sentence mentions their London school, but the passage says the school 'focused on cultural rather than academic study'. The thing that was 'geared toward' art collecting is their education.
Question 3
Answer: notesParagraph B, last sentence
What did the sisters write down at the galleries they visited?
visiting art galleries and making extensive notes on the collections there
Question says → Passage says
took lengthymaking extensive
the things they saw in art galleriesthe collections there
Why: 'Lengthy' is a paraphrase of 'extensive', and 'took' notes is the same as 'making' notes. The gap comes after an adjective and before 'about', so it needs a plural noun: 'notes'.
The trap: 'Collections' is right next to it, but you don't 'take collections' about anything. The gap is what they produced, not what they looked at.
Question 4
Answer: journalsParagraph D, first sentence
Which written record shows the sisters' taste for Old Master paintings?
The sisters' journals reveal their preference for Old Master paintings.
Question says → Passage says
showedreveal
they likedtheir preference for
expensive to buybeyond what they were willing to pay
Why: 'Showed they liked' is a direct paraphrase of 'reveal their preference for', and the subject of that verb is 'journals'. The rest of the note ('expensive to buy') matches the later sentences about price in the same paragraph.
The trap: Many people write 'notes' again because it worked for question 3. The gallery notes are in paragraph B. The source for their taste in Old Masters is a different record: their journals.
Question 5
Answer: VeniceParagraph E, third sentence
Where were the scenes in the first Impressionist paintings they bought?
their first purchases of Impressionist art, made in October 1912, were scenes of Venice by the French artist Claude Monet
Question says → Passage says
the first Impressionist paintings they boughttheir first purchases of Impressionist art
showed places inwere scenes of
Why: The note asks for a place, and the paintings are 'scenes of Venice'. Capital letter, one word, done.
The trap: 'Paris' is all over this paragraph because the sisters visited it, and Monet is French. But the Monet paintings showed Venice, not Paris.
Question 6
Answer: canteenParagraph F, last sentence
Where did the sisters work for soldiers in France?
both sisters decided to volunteer at a canteen for troops at Troyes, in northern France
Question says → Passage says
worked involunteer at
for soldiersfor troops
Why: 'Troops' is 'soldiers' and 'volunteer at' is 'worked in'. The gap follows 'a', so it needs a singular noun, and the place they worked is a canteen.
The trap: 'Troyes' is the name of the town, not the kind of place they worked in. The note already says 'in France', so it wants the type of building.
Question 7
Answer: friendsParagraph H, second sentence
Who didn't the sisters have among artists, according to commentators?
Much is made of their isolation in rural Wales and the fact that they didn't make friends with artists or gallery owners.
Question says → Passage says
not considered typical collectorsunlikely pioneer collectors
lived in isolation in the countrysidetheir isolation in rural Wales
did not have any ___ who were artistsdidn't make friends with artists
Why: The note turns the verb phrase 'make friends with' into a noun: they didn't have any friends who were artists. The gap needs a plural noun after 'any', so 'friends'.
The trap: 'Advisers' looks possible, because the same paragraph says they relied on 'a trusted circle of advisers'. But they did have advisers, so it can't fill a 'did not have any' gap.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
Questions 8-13
How to attack this block: Three are TRUE, which is more than this question type usually gives you, so don't panic when TRUE keeps coming up. The NOT GIVEN pair are both 'extra detail' traps. The passage talks about the right paintings but never says where they were bought or how the public reacted.
Question 8
Answer: TRUEParagraph A, last sentence
Did the way they were brought up affect how they chose to spend their money?
Their religious upbringing in rural Wales gave them a deep sense of social responsibility and they chose to use their inheritance for cultural and philanthropic purposes.
Question says → Passage says
childhoodreligious upbringing
the way they decided to use their wealthchose to use their inheritance for cultural and philanthropic purposes
Why: Upbringing is what happens in your childhood. The sentence links it directly to their sense of responsibility and their decision to spend the inheritance on culture and charity, so TRUE.
The trap: Some people pick NOT GIVEN because the passage doesn't say 'influenced'. It doesn't need to: the upbringing 'gave them' the sense of responsibility that shaped the decision.
Question 9
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph D, last sentence
Did they buy their Corot paintings from a gallery in France?
their early purchases were of the fashionable, safe variety, and included, for example, paintings by the French artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Question says → Passage says
Corot paintings in the collectionincluded… paintings by the French artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Why: The passage tells you they bought Corot paintings and that Corot was French. It never says where the paintings were bought. No seller, no gallery, no country, so NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'French artist' and the trips to Paris in paragraph E make France feel like the obvious place. A French painter's work can be sold anywhere, and the passage is silent on it.
Question 10
Answer: FALSEParagraph E, second sentence
Was Hugh Blaker against them buying French Impressionists?
We know that Hugh Blaker, as a champion of contemporary French art, had a hand in the decision
Question says → Passage says
opposeda champion of
the decision to buy art by French Impressionistshad a hand in the decision
Why: A 'champion' of something supports and promotes it, and 'had a hand in' means he helped bring the decision about. Someone who helped make a decision did not oppose it, so FALSE.
The trap: NOT GIVEN is tempting because the passage never uses the word 'oppose'. But it does tell you his position, and that position is the opposite of the statement.
Question 11
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph G, last sentence
Was the Cezanne display in Bath a hit with visitors?
they became the first works by Cezanne to go on display in a public gallery in Britain
Question says → Passage says
the exhibition at the Bath galleryshipped directly to Bath… on display in a public gallery
Why: The passage says the paintings went on display in Bath and that this was a first for Britain. It says nothing about how many people came or what they thought, so NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'First' and 'public gallery' make it sound like a big event. Being the first is not the same as being popular.
Question 12
Answer: TRUEParagraph I, first sentence
Did the war make Gwendoline rethink collecting art?
Gwendoline felt increasingly uncomfortable buying art works when faced with the poverty and social upheaval created by the First World War
Question says → Passage says
the impact of the First World Warthe poverty and social upheaval created by the First World War
reconsider her interest in collecting artfelt increasingly uncomfortable buying art works / made her final art purchase
Why: The war's effects made her uneasy about buying art, she switched to social causes, and she made her last purchase in 1926. That is a reconsideration caused by the war, so TRUE.
The trap: Paragraph G says the canteen work damaged her health, which is also a war effect. It's a distraction: the reason she stopped buying is the poverty and upheaval in paragraph I, and that still makes the answer TRUE.
Question 13
Answer: TRUEParagraph J, first sentence
Were they buying Impressionists at a time when hardly anyone else was?
The sisters collected French Impressionist paintings at a time when such art was routinely ignored by individuals and institutions alike.
Question says → Passage says
during a period whenat a time when
very few people were doing soroutinely ignored by individuals and institutions alike
Why: If both private collectors and institutions routinely ignored this art, very few people were buying it. The statement is a softer version of the same sentence, so TRUE.
Most people write 'notes' again because it answered question 3. The evidence for their taste in Old Masters comes from their journals (paragraph D), a different source from the gallery notes in B.
The Cézanne paintings were the first of his shown in a British public gallery. 'First' is not 'popular'. Nothing is said about visitors, so NOT GIVEN.
Words from this passage worth keeping
amass(A)
gradually collect a large amount of something, such as money or objects
philanthropic(A)
giving money to help other people or good causes
geared toward(B)
designed or organised for a particular purpose
beyond their means(D)
too expensive for the money they had
have a hand in(E)
help to cause or make something happen
champion(E)
a person who strongly supports and promotes something
social upheaval(I)
a sudden, disruptive change in how society works
legacy(J)
something valuable left behind for future generations
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 21 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 21, Test 1, 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.
FAQ
The Davies Sisters: quick answers
"The Davies Sisters" is Reading Passage 1 of Cambridge IELTS 21, Test 1. It covers questions 1-13 (13 marks).
Questions 1-7: Note completion and questions 8-13: TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN.
3 TRUE, 1 FALSE and 2 NOT GIVEN.
Our review highlights questions 4, 10 and 11. Each one is explained in "Questions worth a second look" above.
