A Monologue on the Social History of the East End of London IELTS Listening Answers

Dec 13, 2022

A Monologue on the Social History of the East End of London IELTS Listening Answers is a topic discussing about the social history of the East End part of the country of London. The given IELTS topic has 10 questions which are to attempt by the candidates should answer within the time of 40 minutes. The candidates should skim through the below-provided passage in order to understand the core of the topic. The IELTS Listening section is to analyze and evaluates the listening skills of the candidates. The given topic includes two different sorts of questions, mainly,

No more than two words
Choose three letters.

The candidates should necessarily go through the given extract, identify the keywords and recognize the synonyms before answering the given sections of questions. The practice of the IELTS Listening practice papers should be taken into consideration by the candidates so that they can prepare for similar kinds of topics.

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Topic: A Monologue on the Social History of the East End of London

Audio Transcript

In the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at various aspects of the social history of London, and this morning we’re continuing with a look at life in the area called the East End. I’ll start with a brief history of the district, and then focus on life in the first half of the 20th century .

Back in the first to the 4th centuries AD, when the Romans controlled England, London grew into a town of 45,000 people, and what’s now the East End – the area by the river Thames, and along the road heading north east from London to the coast – consisted of farmland with crops and livestock which helped to feed that population.

The Romans left in 410, at the beginning of the fifth century, and from then onwards the country suffered a series of invasions by tribes from present-day Germany and Denmark, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, many of whom settled in the East End. The technology they introduced meant that metal and leather goods were produced there for the first time. And as the East End was by the river, ships could transport goods between there and foreign markets .

In the eleventh century, in 1066 to be precise , the Normans conquered England, and during the next few centuries London became one of the most powerful and prosperous cities in Europe. The East End benefited from this, and because there were fewer restrictions there than in the city itself, plenty of newcomers settled there from abroad, bringing their skills as workers, merchants or money-lenders during the next few hundred years.

In the 16th century the first dock was dug where ships were constructed, eventually making the East End the focus of massive international trade. And in the late sixteenth century, when much of the rest of England was suffering economically, a lot of agricultural workers came to the East End to look for alternative work.

In the seventeenth century, the East End was still a series of separate, semi rural settlements. There was a shortage of accommodation, so marshland was drained and built on to house the large numbers of people now living there.

By the nineteenth century, London was the busiest port in the world, and this became the main source of employment in the East End. Those who could afford to live in more pleasant surroundings moved out, and the area became one where the vast majority of people lived in extreme poverty, and suffer from appalling sanitary conditions.

That brief outline takes us to the beginning of the twentieth century, and now we’ll turn to housing.

At the beginning of the century, living conditions for the majority of working people in East London were very basic indeed . Houses were crowded closely together and usually very badly built, because there was no regulation . But the poor and needy were attracted by the possibility of work, and they had to be housed. It was the availability, rather than the condition, of the housing that was the major concern for tenants and landlords alike.

Few houses had electricity at this time, so other sources of power were used, like coal for the fires which heated perhaps just one room. Of course, the smoke from these contributed a great deal to the air pollution for which London used to be famous.

A tiny, damp, unhealthy house like this might well be occupied by two full families, possibly including several children, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Now, before I go on to health implications of this way of life, I’ll say something about food and nutrition

Questions 31-37.

Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

A social history of the East End of London

Period	Situation
1st—4th centuries	Produce from the area was used to 31____________________________ the people of London.
5th—10th centuries	New technology allowed the production of goods made of 32_______________________ and _____________________________________
11th century	Lack of 33___________________________ in the East End encouraged the growth of businesses.
16th century	Construction of facilities for the building of 34______________________________ stimulated international trade. Agricultural workers came from other parts of 35__________________________________ to look for work.
17th century	Marshes were drained to provide land that could be 36__________________________________on
19th century	Inhabitants lived in conditions of great 37_____________________________with very poor sanitation.

Question 31.

Answer: feed
Explanation: As per the the narrator in the extract in the 1st and 4th century, the road that are going towards the region of north east from London to the coast, had farmland with crops was to feed the people in London.

Question 32.

Answer: leather
Explanation: The narrator in the above extract says that during the period of 5th-10th centuries, modern technology permits the production of goods which were made of metal and leather.

Question 33.

Answer: restrictions
Explanation: Narrator says that during the 11th century, the absence of restrictions in the East End helped in the business expansion.

Question 34.

Answer: ships
Explanation: According to the narrator in the 16th century, the construction of facilities for the manufacturing of ships accelerated the trade on an international basis.

Question 35.

Answer: alternative
Explanation: As per the narrator, the agricultural workers came to the East End from other parts of alternative in search of new works as their career.

Question 36.

Answer: built
Explanation: Thus the answer is built. The narrator states that marshes were drained for making land that could be built on to the house.

Question 37.

Answer: poverty
Explanation: The narrator in the above extract mentions that during the period of 19th century, many pupils lived in a poverty stricken condition who sufferred from bad hygiene.

Questions 38-40.

Choose THREE letters, A-G. Write answers next to 38-40 on your answer sheet.
Which THREE of the following problems are mentioned in connection with 20th-century housing in the East End?

unsympathetic landlords
unclean water
heating problems
high rents
overcrowding
poor standards of building
houses catching fire

Question 38.

Answer: C
Explanation: The narrator says that some of the houses during the 20th century in the East End had electricity, and therefore, the power sources were used. Hence, heating problems is one of the factor.

Question 39.

Answer: E
Explanation: The narrator here explains that during the period of the 20th century, the small houses were pre-occupied by the person of two families, and thus became overcrowding. So, option E will be the second right choice for this question.

Question 40.

Answer: F
Explanation: The narrator in the passage states that the houses that were built during the period of the 20th century were of very poor standards or quality. So, option F can also be considered as another problem of the houses during the 20th century.

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