The Globemakers: The Curious Story of an Ancient Craft: reading answers and analysis
A review of Peter Bellerby's book. He set out to buy his father a good globe, found none, and spent years and a lot of money learning to make one. That became the only bespoke globe company in the world. The review also looks at famous globemakers of the past and mourns the craft skills that are disappearing.
Questions 27-40 · 14 marks · 3 question blocks
Where the answers sit
The summary (27-32) comes from paragraphs A to C, in order. YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (33-36) is all paragraph B. The multiple choice (37-40) follows E, F, G and H.
Questions 27-32
The summary retells the opening in plain words, so each gap is a synonym job: obstacles become problems, a quick online order becomes an internet purchase, school classrooms become educational use. Do the easy synonyms first and let elimination handle the rest.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | G | — |
| 28 | J | — |
| 29 | I | — |
| 30 | C | — |
| 31 | A | — |
| 32 | E | — |
Questions 33-36
All four are in paragraph B. Question 33 is the key one. The reviewer calls the popular belief in our ancestors' ignorance 'stubbornly held' and wrong, so the statement that it's correct is NO. The Plato and Crates statements add judgements the passage never makes.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | NO | — |
| 34 | NOT GIVEN | — |
| 35 | NOT GIVEN | — |
| 36 | YES | — |
Questions 37-40
One question per paragraph, E to H. The options test tone: did Bellerby nearly quit, or discover a problem? Was he inspired by the old masters, or did he share something with them? Pick the option that matches the paragraph's exact claim, not its mood.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | B | — |
| 38 | C | — |
| 39 | D | — |
| 40 | A | — |
The questions most people get wrong
The reviewer calls Behaim a kindred spirit and says Coronelli's ambition reflects Bellerby's. That's something in common with each of them (C), not inspiration (A).
'Contrary to stubbornly held popular views' tells you the reviewer thinks the popular view is wrong. The statement says it's correct, so NO.
The book is 'hardly a blueprint for commercial success'. It won't tell you how to build a profitable business, so A.
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The full Cambridge 21 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 21, Test 4, Reading Passage 3. 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.