# Why Open-Plan Offices Lost Their Appeal: answers and explanations

Testmigo Practice Test 1, Reading Passage 2

Source: Written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 14 | ix | the open office was not invented by technology firms |
| 15 | iv | studied how paperwork and conversation really travelled through an organisation |
| 16 | iii | Yet sales were disappointing |
| 17 | x | Customers, however, were less interested in Propst's vision than in their budgets |
| 18 | vi | flatly contradicted the accepted industry view |
| 19 | ii | Surveys, though, record what people feel rather than what they do |
| 20 | vii | they need a variety of settings rather than one fixed desk |
| 21 | B, D | write off office furnishings as depreciating assets |
| 22 | B, D | joining panels at 90 degrees squeezed far more people onto a floor |
| 23 | sound privacy | strong dissatisfaction with sound privacy |
| 24 | sociometric badges | 52 employees wore sociometric badges |
| 25 | instant messaging | gathered email and instant-messaging records |
| 26 | productivity | productivity had declined |

## Why these answers are right

**14. ix.** Paragraph A describes Facebook's 2015 Gehry building as a celebrated open floor plan, then notes that the open office was not invented by technology firms. A recent landmark resting on an older idea is heading ix.

**15. iv.** Paragraph B explains that the Schnelle brothers studied how paperwork and conversation moved through a company and placed staff by whom they dealt with. Paperwork and conversation are information, so heading iv summarises the Bürolandschaft method.

**16. iii.** Paragraph C presents Propst's first Action Office with its attractive features, then reports that sales were disappointing because it was costly and managers felt uneasy. An appealing product with poor sales matches heading iii.

The why and the trap for questions 17 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/why-open-plan-offices-lost-their-appeal/answers).

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