All answers on this page include the question number, correct answer and a brief explanation of where to find it in the passage or audio. Use these alongside the original Cambridge IELTS books for the best practice experience.
Test 1 Academic Reading Answers with Clear Explanations
Review all 40 Cambridge IELTS 17 Academic Reading Test 1 answers. Find the supporting passage evidence, understand misleading options and check the word limits before your next timed attempt.
Cambridge IELTS 17 Test 1 Academic Reading Answer Key
Use the key for quick marking, then read the explanations below. A slash separates accepted alternative forms. Where two letters are required, enter both letters across the two question numbers, in either order.
Passage 1: The development of the London underground railway
Questions 1 to 13Passage 2: Stadiums: past, present and future
Questions 14 to 26Passage 3: To catch a king
Questions 27 to 40Passage 1: The development of the London underground railway
Questions 1-13. Use the evidence locations below to return to the relevant text and review each answer.
1The ____ of London increased rapidly between 1800 and 1850.population
Where to Look: Passage 1, opening paragraph
Why: London's population grew rapidly during the first half of the nineteenth century. That period corresponds to 1800-1850, and population is the thing said to increase.
2Building the railway would make it possible to move people to better housing in the ____.suburbs
Where to Look: Passage 1, Pearson's proposal
Why: Pearson wanted poor workers moved out of inner-city slums into newly built suburbs. The railway would then give them inexpensive travel to work, linking transport with better housing.
3A number of ____ agreed with Pearson’s idea.businessmen
Where to Look: Passage 1, support for Pearson
Why: The passage says Pearson's ideas gained support among businessmen. Agreed with paraphrases supported. Keep the plural form because the note refers to a number of people.
4The company initially had problems getting the ____ needed for the project.funding
Where to Look: Passage 1, formation of the railway company
Why: The company struggled to raise funding for an expensive, radical scheme. The gap asks what was needed to finance construction, not the company that later invested.
5Negative articles about the project appeared in the ____.press
Where to Look: Passage 1, opposition to the project
Why: Critical articles appeared in the press and made fundraising harder. Negative articles paraphrases critical articles, so press is the required source of that criticism.
6With the completion of the brick arch, the tunnel was covered with ____.soil
Where to Look: Passage 1, cut-and-cover construction
Why: After the brick arch was completed, workers laid a two-metre layer of soil over the tunnel and rebuilt the road. Soil is the covering material, not the earlier timber supports.
7Other countries had built underground railways before the Metropolitan line opened.FALSE
Where to Look: Passage 1, opening of the Metropolitan line
Why: The Metropolitan is identified as the world's first underground railway. That directly contradicts the statement that other countries had opened underground railways earlier.
8More people than predicted travelled on the Metropolitan line on the first day.NOT GIVEN
Where to Look: Passage 1, first-day passenger figures
Why: The passage gives an actual first-day total of nearly 40,000 passengers, but no forecast. Without a predicted figure, a comparison with expectations cannot be made.
9The use of ventilation shafts failed to prevent pollution in the tunnels.TRUE
Where to Look: Passage 1, smoke and fumes
Why: Smoke and fumes remained a problem despite the addition of ventilation shafts. The attempted solution therefore did not prevent the pollution, agreeing with the statement.
10A different approach from the ‘cut and cover’ technique was required in London’s central area.TRUE
Where to Look: Passage 1, central London construction
Why: Cut and cover was not an option in central London. The passage says deep tunnelling was the only alternative, confirming that a different construction approach was necessary.
11The windows on City & South London trains were at eye level.FALSE
Where to Look: Passage 1, City & South London carriages
Why: The tiny windows were just below the roof, not at passengers' eye level. The passage supplies a conflicting position, so the answer is FALSE rather than NOT GIVEN.
12The City & South London Railway was a financial success.FALSE
Where to Look: Passage 1, commercial performance
Why: Although technically impressive, the City & South London Railway did not make a profit. Technical achievement is not financial success, and the statement contradicts the explicit financial result.
13Trains on the ‘Tuppenny Tube’ nearly always ran on time.NOT GIVEN
Where to Look: Passage 1, the Tuppenny Tube
Why: The line was popular and used new electric locomotives. Nothing is said about punctuality, so popularity cannot be used as evidence that trains nearly always ran on time.
Passage 2: Stadiums: past, present and future
Questions 14-26. Use the evidence locations below to return to the relevant text and review each answer.
14a mention of negative attitudes towards stadium building projectsA - Section A
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section A
Why: Section A describes growing scepticism, very high construction costs and disused venues after major events. Those concerns are the negative attitudes towards stadium projects requested.
15figures demonstrating the environmental benefits of a certain stadiumF - Section F
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section F
Why: The Kaohsiung example includes electricity output, annual carbon-dioxide savings and the proportion of the surrounding area supplied. These figures demonstrate environmental benefits rather than just spectator capacity.
16examples of the wide range of facilities available at some new stadiumsE - Section E
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section E
Why: The section lists hotels, shops, conference facilities, restaurants, playgrounds and green space. These non-sporting services show the range of facilities at mixed-use stadiums.
17reference to the disadvantages of the stadiums built during a certain eraD - Section D
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section D
Why: Section D discusses early twentieth-century stadiums losing flexibility, occupying suburban sites and using more energy. These are disadvantages linked to a particular period of stadium development.
18The amphitheatre of Arles, for example, was converted first into a ____, then into a residential area.fortress
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section B, Arles
Why: The Arles amphitheatre first became a fortress with towers and later a village. Follow the order of its changing uses rather than choosing the later residential function.
19It was finally converted into an arena where spectators could watch ____.bullfights
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section B, Arles
Why: During the nineteenth century, Arles returned to use as an arena staging bullfights. The gap asks for the spectacle people watched, not a general word such as events.
20The arena in Verona is famous today as a venue where ____ is performed.opera
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section B, Verona
Why: Verona's arena is now renowned as a venue for opera because of its acoustics. The one-word answer names the performance rather than the reason it sounds good there.
21The site of Lucca’s amphitheatre has also been used for many purposes over the centuries, including the storage of ____.salt
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section C, Lucca
Why: The site served as a salt depot among other uses. A depot is a storage place, so storage of salt paraphrases the historical function.
22It is now a market square with ____ and homes incorporated into the remains of the Roman amphitheatre.shops
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section C, present-day Lucca
Why: Remains of the amphitheatre are incorporated into shops and residences around the square. Homes paraphrases residences, leaving shops as the other type of building.
23When comparing twentieth-century stadiums to ancient amphitheatres in Section D, which TWO negative features does the writer mention?C + D (Either Order)
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section D
Why: Suburban sites and surrounding car parks can make stadiums less accessible. This supports C, less convenient locations. The other required choice is D, and either order is accepted.
24When comparing twentieth-century stadiums to ancient amphitheatres in Section D, which TWO negative features does the writer mention?C + D (Either Order)
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section D
Why: Twentieth-century stadiums were often designed only for sport and lost earlier flexibility. This supports D, less versatile. Questions 23-24 require C and D, not two copies of one choice.
25Which TWO advantages of modern stadium design does the writer mention?B + E (Either Order)
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section E
Why: Mixed-use stadiums regenerate urban space and welcome families and a wider community. That supports B, bringing community life back into cities. The second required choice is E.
26Which TWO advantages of modern stadium design does the writer mention?B + E (Either Order)
Where to Look: Passage 2, Section F
Why: Large canopies accommodate solar panels and sufficient height allows small wind turbines. Stadiums therefore offer suitable sites for renewable generators, E. Enter B and E in either order.
Passage 3: To catch a king
Questions 27-40. Use the evidence locations below to return to the relevant text and review each answer.
27Charles II then formed a ____ with the Scots.H - strategic alliance
Where to Look: Passage 3, opening account of the Scots agreement
Why: Charles made a deal with the Scots to obtain their support and crown. That political arrangement is a strategic alliance, H, rather than a new government or military invention.
28In order to become King of Scots, he abandoned an important ____ that was held by his father and had contributed to his father’s death.J - religious conviction
Where to Look: Passage 3, agreement on religion
Why: Charles accepted Presbyterianism in return for the Scottish crown, abandoning a principle his father had defended. Religious conviction, J, captures the nature of that sacrificed belief.
29The battle led to a ____ for the Parliamentarians.F - decisive victory
Where to Look: Passage 3, Battle of Worcester outcome
Why: Charles was comprehensively defeated by the Parliamentary army. A decisive victory for the Parliamentarians expresses the same outcome from the winning side's perspective.
30A ____ was offered for Charles’s capture.B - large reward
Where to Look: Passage 3, national manhunt
Why: A huge sum was offered for capturing Charles. This directly corresponds to a large reward, B, rather than a conspiracy or political debate.
31He eventually managed to reach the ____ of continental Europe.D - relative safety
Where to Look: Passage 3, escape to France
Why: Charles evaded his pursuers and sought refuge in France. Refuge provides relative safety, D, even though his subsequent European exile was difficult and impoverished.
32Charles chose Pepys for the task because he considered him to be trustworthy.NOT GIVEN
Where to Look: Passage 3, meeting with Pepys
Why: Charles wanted his escape recorded so it would not be forgotten. The passage does not explain why he selected Pepys specifically or whether trust was the deciding reason.
33Charles’s personal recollection of the escape lacked sufficient detail.NO
Where to Look: Passage 3, Charles's recollections
Why: Charles described the escape in great detail over two three-hour meetings. This contradicts the claim that his account lacked sufficient detail, so the writer's position is NO.
34Charles indicated to Pepys that he had planned his escape before the battle.NO
Where to Look: Passage 3, Charles's account of defeat
Why: Charles says he began considering how to save himself after the battle was hopelessly lost. This conflicts with the claim that the escape was planned before the battle.
35The inclusion of Charles’s account is a positive aspect of the book.YES
Where to Look: Passage 3, the review's praise for first-hand accounts
Why: The reviewer identifies the use of Charles's narrative as one of the book's pleasures because it brings readers close to events. This explicitly treats its inclusion as a positive feature.
36What is the reviewer’s main purpose in the first paragraph?B - to give an account of the circumstances leading to Charles II’s escape
Where to Look: Passage 3, first main paragraph
Why: The opening traces the political agreement, invasions, defeat and manhunt. Its overall purpose is to establish the circumstances leading to the escape, not to describe battle tactics in detail.
37Why does the reviewer include examples of the fugitives’ behaviour in the third paragraph?C - to illustrate how the events of the six weeks are brought to life
Where to Look: Passage 3, examples of disguise and concealment
Why: Hair cutting, skin dye and hiding in an oak illustrate the vivid daily narrative. The examples show how the book brings events to life, rather than primarily criticising the fugitives' preparation.
38What point does the reviewer make about Charles II in the fourth paragraph?A - He chose to celebrate what was essentially a defeat.
Where to Look: Passage 3, commemorating the escape
Why: Charles commissioned artwork and other memorials to an episode that began in defeat. The reviewer highlights the unusual enthusiasm with which he celebrated a low point in his life.
39What does the reviewer say about Charles Spencer in the fifth paragraph?B - He takes an unbiased approach to the subject matter.
Where to Look: Passage 3, assessment of Spencer's approach
Why: The reviewer praises Spencer's balanced sympathy for both Charles and the republicans pursuing him. That supports an unbiased approach, rather than insufficient detail or heavy use of modern expressions.
40When the reviewer says the book ‘doesn’t quite hit the mark’, she is making the point thatD - it fails to address whether Charles II’s experiences had a lasting influence on him.
Where to Look: Passage 3, final criticism
Why: The reviewer wants more exploration of how hiding and escape shaped Charles as a later monarch. The weakness concerns the lasting influence of those experiences, not omission of the disguises themselves.
Using This Reading Answer Key
Is This the Academic or General Training Test?
This page covers Cambridge IELTS 17 Academic Reading Test 1. Academic and GT Reading use different texts and answer keys, so check the track before marking.
How Should I Review a Wrong Answer?
Return to the evidence location and compare the exact meaning, not just matching words. Check spelling and word limits. For NOT GIVEN, identify the information the text does not supply.
How Do I Estimate My Band?
Count one mark for each correct answer, then consult the Reading Band Score Guide. Academic and GT use different raw-score conversions, and an estimate is not an official IELTS result.
What to Do After Marking
Group your errors by misunderstanding, distractors, spelling and instructions. Review the difficult section, then try another complete test to check whether your accuracy improves.