# The Industrial Revolution in Britain: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 19, Test 2, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 19, Test 2, 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 | piston | Watt later worked with the English manufacturer Matthew Boulton to invent a new steam engine driven by both the forward and backward strokes of the piston |
| 2 | coal | The demand for coal |
| 3 | workshops | with the work performed in small workshops or even homes by individual spinners |
| 4 | labour | relatively little labour was required to produce cloth |
| 5 | quality | This method was cheaper and produced metals that were of a higher quality |
| 6 | railway | enabling Britain's iron and steel production to expand in response to demand created by the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) and the expansion of the railways from the 1830s. |
| 7 | sanitation | as overcrowded cities suffered from pollution and inadequate sanitation. |
| 8 | NOT GIVEN | steam-powered boats and ships were widely used to carry goods along Britain's canals |
| 9 | FALSE | This method was cheaper and produced metals that were of a higher quality |
| 10 | NOT GIVEN | Samuel Morse and other inventors worked on their own versions in the United States |
| 11 | TRUE | improved the standard of living for the middle and upper classes, many poor people continued to struggle |
| 12 | TRUE | they feared that unskilled machine operators were robbing them of their livelihood |
| 13 | NOT GIVEN | a few Luddites were shot during an attack on a mill near Huddersfield |

## Why these answers are right

**1. piston.** Watt and Boulton's engine was 'driven by both the forward and backward strokes of the piston', and the gear mechanism it was connected to produced rotary motion. The strokes are the movement in the note, so the missing part is the 'piston'.

**2. coal.** Paragraph C says 'The demand for coal... grew rapidly' because it was needed to run factories and steam-powered transport. Growing demand means a greater supply was required, so the single word for the gap is 'coal'.

**3. workshops.** Before industrialization, textile work was 'performed in small workshops or even homes by individual spinners, weavers and dyers'. The note already mentions homes, so the other place, 'workshops', 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-industrial-revolution-in-britain/answers).

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