# The development of the London underground railway: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 17, Test 1, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 17, 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 | population | London's population grew at an astonishing rate |
| 2 | suburbs | His idea was to relocate the poor workers who lived in the inner-city slums to newly constructed suburbs |
| 3 | businessmen | Pearson's ideas gained support amongst some businessmen and in 1851 he submitted a plan to Parliament. |
| 4 | funding | The organisation had difficulty in raising the funding for such a radical and expensive scheme |
| 5 | press | not least because of the critical articles printed by the press. |
| 6 | soil | A two-metre-deep layer of soil was laid on top of the tunnel and the road above rebuilt. |
| 7 | FALSE | was the world's first underground railway |
| 8 | NOT GIVEN | On its first day, almost 40,000 passengers were carried between Paddington and Farringdon |
| 9 | TRUE | smoke and fumes remained a problem, even though ventilation shafts were added to the tunnels |
| 10 | TRUE | The 'cut and cover' method of construction was not an option in this part of the capital. |
| 11 | FALSE | had tiny windows just below the roof |
| 12 | FALSE | it did not make a profit |
| 13 | NOT GIVEN | It was very popular and soon afterwards new railways and extensions were added |

## Why these answers are right

**1. population.** Paragraph A opens by saying that in the first half of the 1800s London's population grew at an astonishing rate. "Increased rapidly" paraphrases "grew at an astonishing rate", and 1800 to 1850 is the first half of the century, so population fills the gap.

**2. suburbs.** Paragraph B explains that Pearson wanted to relocate poor workers from inner-city slums to newly constructed suburbs. The note's "move people to better housing" restates relocating them, and the place they would move to is the suburbs.

**3. businessmen.** Paragraph B reports that Pearson's ideas "gained support amongst some businessmen". Agreeing with an idea is what gaining someone's support means, and the note's "A number of" matches "some", so the plural noun businessmen completes it.

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

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