# The Dover Bronze-Age Boat: answers and explanations

The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Test 1, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, 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 | road | workmen were building a new road through the heart of Dover |
| 2 | conference | In 2002, on the tenth anniversary of the discovery, the Dover Bronze-Age Boat Trust hosted a conference |
| 3 | proposals | Detailed proposals to reconstruct the boat were drawn up in 2004. |
| 4 | launch | an official launch of the project was held at an international seminar in France in 2007 |
| 5 | exhibition | the exhibition was being prepared ready for opening in July 2012 ... The reconstructed boat, as a symbol of the maritime connections |
| 6 | TRUE | The boat was not a wreck, but had been deliberately discarded, dismantled and broken. |
| 7 | FALSE | the boat was found and studied by mainstream archaeologists who naturally focused on its cultural context |
| 8 | FALSE | The possibility of returning to Dover to search for the boat's unexcavated northern end was explored, but practical and financial difficulties were insurmountable |
| 9 | NOT GIVEN | Archaeological evidence was beginning to suggest a Bronze-Age community straddling the Channel, brought together by the sea |
| 10 | six metres | At the base of a deep shaft six metres below the modern streets a wooden structure was revealed. |
| 11 | moss | The seams had been made watertight by pads of moss, fixed by wedges and yew stitches. |
| 12 | hull | In 2012, however, the hull shape was at the centre of the work |
| 13 | cost and time | It was decided to make the replica half-scale for reasons of cost and time |

## Why these answers are right

**1. road.** The 1992 box asks what was being built when the boat turned up. Paragraph A says workmen were building a new road through Dover to link the port with the Channel Tunnel, and the archaeologists worked alongside them. So road is the one word.

**2. conference.** The 2002 step needs the kind of international event that was held. Paragraph E says that on the tenth anniversary in 2002 the Boat Trust hosted a conference, with many speakers from overseas. International in the chart matches that, so conference fits.

**3. proposals.** The 2004 box asks what was produced for the reconstruction. Paragraph G opens by saying detailed proposals to reconstruct the boat were drawn up in 2004. Drawn up matches produced, so proposals is the single word that completes the step.

The why and the trap for questions 4 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/the-dover-bronze-age-boat/answers).

[Practice The Dover Bronze-Age Boat](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/the-dover-bronze-age-boat)