Alexander Henderson Reading Answers

Feb 4, 2023

Alexander Henderson Reading Answers is an academic reading topic discussing in detail about the workings of Alexander Henderson. The given IELTS topic has originated from the book named “Cambridge IELTS 10 Student's Book with Answers”. The topic named Alexander Henderson Reading Answers has a total of 13 wide range of questions in. The topic consists of two types of questions, which are, True/False/Not Given, and choose the correct answer. The candidates should thoroughly read the IELTS reading passage to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords and answer the questions below. IELTS reading practice papers can be taken into consideration by the candidates in order to score a good score in the reading section in which similar topics like Alexander Henderson Reading Answers has been included.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

Alexander Henderson Reading Answers

Alexander Henderson was born in Scotland in 1831 and was the son of a successful merchant. His grandfather, also called Alexander, had founded the family business, and later became the first chairman of the National Bank of Scotland. The family had extensive landholding in Scotland. Besides its residence in Edinburgh, it owned Press Estate, 650 acres of farmland about 35 miles southeast of the city. The family often stayed at Press Castle, the large mansion on the northern edge of the property, and Alexander spent much of his childhood in the area, playing on the beach near Eyemouth or fishing in the streams nearby.

Even after he went to school at Murcheston Academy on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Henderson returned to Press at weekends. In 1849 he began a three-year apprenticeship to become an accountant. Although he never liked the prospect of a business career, he stayed with it to please his family. In October 1855, however, he emigrated to Canada with his wife Agnes Elder Robertson and they settled in Montreal.

Henderson learned photography in Montreal around the year 1857 and quickly took it up as a serious amateur. He became a personal friend and colleague of the Scottish – Canadian photographer William Notman. The two men made a photographic excursion to Niagara Falls in 1860 and they cooperated on experiments with magnesium flares as a source of artificial light in 1865. They belonged to the same societies and were among the founding members of the Art Association of Montreal. Henderson acted as chairman of the association’s first meeting, which was held in Notman’s studio on 11 January 1860.

In spite of their friendship, their styles of photography were quite different. While Notman’s landscapes were noted for their bold realism, Henderson for the first 20 years of his career produced romantic images, showing the strong influence of the British landscape tradition. His artistic and technical progress was rapid and in 1865 he published his first major collection of landscape photographs. The publication had limited circulation (only seven copies have ever been found) and was called Canadian Views and Studies. The contents of each copy vary significantly and have proved a useful source for evaluating Henderson’s early work.

In 1866, he gave up his business to open a photographic studio, advertising himself as a portrait and landscape photographer. From about 1870 he dropped portraiture to specialize in landscape photography and other views. His numerous photographs of city life revealed in street scenes, houses, and markets are alive with human activity, and although his favorite subject was the landscape he usually composed his scenes around such human pursuits as farming the land, cutting ice on a river, or sailing down a woodland stream. There was sufficient demand for these types of scenes and others he took depicting the lumber trade, steamboats, and waterfalls to enable him to make a living. There was little competing hobby or amateur photography before the late 1880s because of the time-consuming techniques involved and the weight of equipment. People wanted to buy photographs as souvenirs of a trip or as gifts, and catering to this market, Henderson had stock photographs on display at his studio for mounting, framing, or inclusion in albums.

Henderson frequently exhibited his photographs in Montreal and abroad, in London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Paris, New York, and Philadelphia. He met with greater success in 1877 and 1878 in New York when he won first prizes in the exhibition held by E and H T Anthony and Company for landscapes using the Lambertype process. In 1878 his work won second prize at the world exhibition in Paris.

In the 1890s and 1880s, Henderson traveled widely throughout Quebec and Ontario, in Canada, documenting the major cities of the two provinces and many of the villages in Quebec. He was especially fond of the wilderness and often travelled by canoe on the Blanche, du Lièvre, and other noted eastern rivers. He went on several occasions to the Maritimes and in 1872 he sailed by yacht along the lower north shore of the St Lawrence River. That same year, while in the lower St Lawrence River region, he took some photographs of the construction of the Intercolonial Railway. This undertaking led in 1875 to a commission from the railway to record the principal structures along the almost-completed line connecting Montreal to Halifax. Commissions from other railways followed. In 1876 he photographed bridges on the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway between Montreal and Ottawa. In 1855 he went west along the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) as far as Rogers Pass in British Columbia, where he took photographs of the mountains and the progress of construction.

In 1892 Henderson accepted a full-time position with the CPR as manager of a photographic department which he was to set up and administer. His duties included spending four months in the field each year. That summer he made his second trip west, photographing extensively along the railway line as far as Victoria. He continued in this post until 1897 when he retired completely from photography.

When Henderson died in 1913, his huge collection of glass negatives was stored in the basement of his house. Today collections of his work are held at the National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, and the McCord Museum of Canadian History, Montreal.

Section 2

Questions 1-8

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE – if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE – if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN – if there is no information on this

Question 1. Henderson rarely visited the area around Press estate when he was younger.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: Besides its residence in Edinburgh, it owned Press Estate, 650 acres of farmland about 35 miles southeast of the city.
Keyword : residence, Edinburgh, 650 acres, southeast
Keyword location: paragraph 1, lines 4-5
Explanation: Lines 4-5 of paragraph 1 explains that in Scotland, the family owned a sizable landholding. It also possessed Press Estate, 650 acres of farmland located some 35 miles southeast of the city, in addition to its home in Edinburgh. So, the above statement can be regarded as a FALSE one.

Question 2. Henderson pursued a business career because it was what his family wanted.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: In 1849 he began a three-year apprenticeship to become an accountant.
Keyword : 1849, three-year, apprenticeship, accountant
Keyword location: paragraph 2, lines 2-3
Explanation: The second to third lines of paragraph 2 suggests that Henderson continued to visit Press on the weekends. It happened even when he transferred to the Murcheston Academy in the outskirts of Edinburgh for his academics. His three-year apprenticeship to become an accountant began in 1849. Hence, we can consider the statement to be a TRUE one.

Question 3. Henderson and Notman were surprised by the results of their 1865 experiment.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Supporting sentence: Henderson acted as chairman of the association’s first meeting, which was held in Notman’s studio on 11 January 1860.
Keyword : Henderson, chairman, Notman, studio
Keyword location: paragraph 3, lines 6-7
Explanation: The sixth to seventh lines of paragraph 3 explains that the association's first meeting, took place on January 11, 1860, in Notman's studio. It was presided over by Henderson. Although, no justified information being found for the above passage, it is an invalid statement.

Question 4. There were many similarities between Henderson’s early landscapes and those of Notman.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: In spite of their friendship, their styles of photography were quite different.
Keyword : friendship, styles, photography, different
Keyword location: paragraph 4, line 1
Explanation: The first line of paragraph 4 explains that despite their closeness, they had very different photographic techniques. Henderson painted romantic paintings throughout the first 20 years of his career, demonstrating the strong influence of the British landscape tradition. Notman's landscapes, on the other hand, were known for their bold realism. Hence, the above statement can be taken as a FALSE one.

Question 5. The studio that Henderson opened in 1866 was close to his home.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Supporting sentence: In 1866, he gave up his business to open a photographic studio, advertising himself as a portrait and landscape photographer.
Keyword : 1866, business, advertising, photographer
Keyword location: paragraph 5, lines 1-2
Explanation: The first two lines of paragraph 5 suggests that Henderson gave up his business in the year of 1866. He did so to start a photography studio promoting himself to be a portrait and landscape photographer. So, as no pertinent information has been provided, the above sentence stands to be an invalid one.

Question 6. Henderson gave up portraiture so that he could focus on taking photographs of scenery.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: From about 1870 he dropped portraiture to specialize in landscape photography and other views.
Keyword : 1870, portraiture, landscape, other views
Keyword location: paragraph 5, lines 2-3
Explanation: Lines 2-3 of paragraph 5 says that in order to focus on photographing landscapes and other views, Henderson stopped taking portraits around 1870. His countless images of city life captured in homes, markets, and street scenes. Therefore, the above sentence stands to be a TRUE one.

Question 7. When Henderson began work for the Intercolonial Railway, the Montreal to Halifax line had been finished.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: he took some photographs of the construction of the Intercolonial Railway.
Keyword : photographs, construction, Intercolonial, Railway
Keyword location: paragraph 7, lines 5-7
Explanation: Lines 5-7 of paragraph 7 suggests that In the same year, Henderson captured some images of the Intercolonial Railway's construction. He captured those at the time of visiting the lower St. Lawrence River region. This project was started in 1875. Thus, the above statement can be stated to be a FALSE one.

Question 8. Henderson’s last work as a photographer was with the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: In 1892 Henderson accepted a full-time position with the CPR as manager of a photographic department which he was to set up and administer.
Keyword : Henderson, CPR, photographic department, administer
Keyword location: paragraph 9, lines 1-2
Explanation: Lines 1-2 of paragraph 9 suggests that in 1892, Henderson agreed to take a full-time position with the CPR as the manager of a photographic department. It is the photographic department which he was to establish and run. Each year, he had to spend four months in the field performing his tasks. So, we can conclude the above statement to be a TRUE one.

Questions 9-13

Complete the notes below

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet

Alexander Henderson

Early life

was born in Scotland in 1831 – father was a 9…………………………
trained as an accountant, emigrated to Canada in 1855

Start of a photographic career

opened up a photographic studio in 1866
took photos of city life, but preferred landscape photography
people bought Henderson’s photos because photography took up considerable time and the 10 ……………………… was heavy
the photographs Henderson sold were 11…………………………… or souvenirs

Traveling as a professional photographer

traveled widely in Quebec and Ontario in 1870s and 1880s
took many trips along eastern rivers in a 12…………………………..
worked for Canadian railways between 1875 and 1897
worked for CPR in 1885 and photographed the 13…………………………… and the railway at Rogers Pass

Question 9:

Answer: merchant
Supporting sentence: Alexander Henderson was born in Scotland in 1831 and was the son of a successful merchant.
Keyword : Alexander Henderson, born, son, merchant
Keyword location: paragraph 1, line 1
Explanation: Line 1 of paragraph 1 explains that Alexander Henderson was born in the year of 1831 in Scotland. His father was a successful merchant. His grandfather, also called Alexander, was the founder of their family
business. His grandfather became the first chairman of the National Bank of Scotland later on.

Question 10:

Answer: equipment
Supporting sentence: There was little competing hobby or amateur photography before the late 1880s because of the time-consuming techniques involved and the weight of equipment.
Keyword : hobby, amateur photography, weight, equipment
Keyword location: paragraph 5, lines 8-10
Explanation: Lines 8-10 of paragraph 5 explains about the heaviness of the equipment. Due to the time-consuming procedures required and the bulky equipment, there was little amateur or hobby photography before the late 1880s.

Question 11:

Answer: gifts
Supporting sentence: People wanted to buy photographs as souvenirs of a trip or as gifts, and catering to this market
Keyword : paragraph 5, lines 10-11
Keyword location: People, photographs, souvenirs, market
Explanation: The tenth to eleventh lines of paragraph 11 says that to meet this demand, Henderson displayed stock photos in his studio. He did so for mounting, framing, or inclusion in albums. People wanted to purchase photos as gifts or keepsakes of their travels.

Question 12:

Answer: canoe
Supporting sentence: He was especially fond of the wilderness and often travelled by canoe on the Blanche
Keyword : fond, wilderness, travelled, Blanche
Keyword location: paragraph 7, lines 2-3
Explanation: The second to third lines of paragraph 7 implies that Henderson travelled extensively in Ontario and Quebec in the 1890s and 1880s. He photographed many of Quebec's villages as well as the two provinces' largest towns. He had a specific love for the wilderness and frequently canoed along renowned eastern rivers like the Blanche and du Lièvre.

Question 13:

Answer: mountains
Supporting sentence: he took photographs of the mountains and the progress of construction
Keyword : photographs, mountains, progress, construction
Keyword location: paragraph 8, lines 2-4
Explanation: The second to fourth lines of paragraph 8 explains that Henderson travelled west on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1855. He travelled all the way to Rogers Pass in British Columbia, where he captured images of the surrounding mountains and the development of the railroad.