# A Chronicle of Timekeeping: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 8, Test 1, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 8, Test 1, Reading Passage 1. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | D | they could not always be depended on in the cloudy and often freezing weather of northern Europe. |
| 2 | B | the calendars that were developed at the lower latitudes were influenced more by the lunar cycle ... where seasonal agriculture was practised, the solar year became more crucial. |
| 3 | F | By the 16th century, a pendulum clock had been devised |
| 4 | E | in the early 14th century, a number of systems evolved ... The schemes that divided the day into 24 equal parts varied according to the start of the count |
| 5 | B | the Egyptians had formulated a municipal calendar having 12 months of 30 days |
| 6 | F | 'small clock', or French, hours, which split the day into two 12-hour periods commencing at midnight |
| 7 | D | a variation on the original escapement was invented in 1670, in England ... led to the development of a new floor-standing case design |
| 8 | A | the Babylonians began to measure time, introducing calendars to co-ordinate communal activities |
| 9 | anchor | a lever-based device shaped like a ship's anchor |
| 10 | wheel | releases each tooth of the escape wheel, in turn allowing it to turn a precise amount |
| 11 | tooth | it catches and then releases each tooth |
| 12 | pendulum | this invention allowed the use of a long pendulum |
| 13 | second | which could beat once a second |

## Why these answers are right

**1. D.** You need a paragraph describing an early invention that cold weather affected. Paragraph D explains that sundials and water clocks worked around the Mediterranean but could not always be depended on in the cloudy and often freezing weather of northern Europe. Freezing matches cold temperatures.

**2. B.** The item asks where geography shapes farming calendars. Paragraph B contrasts lower latitudes, where calendars followed the lunar cycle, with northern climes, where seasonal agriculture made the solar year more crucial. Latitude is geography, and agriculture links it to farming communities.

**3. F.** The item wants the origins of the pendulum clock. Paragraph F ends by saying that by the 16th century a pendulum clock had been devised, although its large swing made it inefficient. That first appearance of the device is its origin.

The why and the trap for questions 4 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/a-chronicle-of-timekeeping/answers).

[Practice A Chronicle of Timekeeping](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/a-chronicle-of-timekeeping)