American Libraries Reading Answers

Apr 23, 2025

American Libraries Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. American Libraries Reading Answers has a total of 9 IELTS questions in total. In the question set given you have to choose the correct answer from the given text in no more than one word to fill the blanks.

The IELTS Reading section is an essential part of the test that evaluates a candidate's comprehension and analysis of various passage types. You will work through a number of IELTS reading practice problems in this section that resemble actual test situations. These questions are designed to help you improve your ability to recognize essential concepts, extract particular facts, and make inferences. Practicing these IELTS reading problems can help you get comfortable with the structure and increase your confidence for the exam, regardless of whether you are studying for the Academic or General Training module.

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Section 1 AMERICAN LIBRARIES

The US has some of the largest libraries in the world. The Library of Congress is by far the largest in the US, according to the volumes it holds. The majority of the top ten largest libraries are affiliated to universities. In fact, in the top ten, only three are not affiliated with any university, and they are the Library of Congress, the Boston Public Library, and the New York Public Library.

The Library of Congress:The Library of Congress is the largest library in the US holding 34,528,818 items. It encompasses three buildings on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, and Packard campus in Virginia. Underground passageways interconnect all the three buildings. The collections within the library are not limited to any subject, format or any country. It has collections from different parts of the world in more than 450 languages and more than half of the books it receives in a year are in languages other than English.

Boston Public Library: Boston Public Library in Massachusetts is the second largest library in the US holding 19,090,261 volumes of cataloged materials. It is a municipal public library and was founded in 1848. It is also known as the Library of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all the adult citizens of the Commonwealth arc are entitled to borrow materials and other research privileges. It is the biggest municipal public library in the US and is a member of Association of Research Libraries CARL).

The library has strengths in arts, art history, and American history. Because of the volumes the library holds a variety of subjects; it is one the five most important libraries in the US and the other four are the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the University Library Of Yale and Harvard University Library. In 1888 Charles Follen McKim architects designed the extension of the Library fashioning it on Bibliotheque. Nationale in France and had the look of the Renaissance style architecture and is known as the Mckim building.

Harvard University Library: Harvard University Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts is the third largest library in the US with 16,832,952 catalogued materials. There are more than 70 libraries that all make the Harvard Library system, and it is the oldest library in the US. It is also the Largest University Library in the US and the largest private library in the world. The library had its beginning in 1638 when John Harvard donated 400 books. The library was razed by fire in 1764 destroying all the books and other materials in the library. Only the books that were loaned out remained undestroyed. The library was rebuilt, and many people donated books to restock the library again. By 1912 there was more than one building devoted to library services and over the years several other branches of the library were established. The Harvard Library board is part of the governing body, and they are responsible for reviewing and assessing the strategic plans of the Harvard University Library. The board is chaired by the Provost and is composed of six permanent members and five members who serve for three years on a rotational basis.

Questions 14 - 22

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

14. Most of the libraries in list are a part of………..

Answer: UNIVERSITIES

Supporting statement:The majority of the top ten largest libraries are affiliated to universities.

Keywords: libraries, universities

Keyword Location: Para opening paragraph, Lines 2-3

Explanation: The text states that the top ten largest libraries mentioned in the list are affiliated to universities except only three: the Library of Congress, the Boston Public Library, and the New York Public Library.

15. Harvard University library is the…………library in America.

Answer: OLDEST

Supporting statement:and it is the oldest library in the US.

Keywords: oldest, US

Keyword Location: Para Harvard University Library, Line 3

Explanation: According to the text, the Harvard University library in Cambridge, Massachusetts, America is the third largest and the oldest library in the United States of America.

16. Mckim building style was inspired from architecture in………..

Answer: FRANCE

Supporting statement: Charles Follen McKim architects designed the extension of the Library fashioning it on Bibliotheque. Nationale in France

Keywords: architects, France

Keyword Location: Para Boston Public Library, Lines 10-11

Explanation: The text mentions that the architectural style used by Charles Follen McKim in the extension of the Boston Public Library in Massachusetts is taken from the Bibliothèque nationale in France.

17 .......was the cause of destruction of books in one of the American library.

Answer: FIRE

Supporting statement:The library was razed by fire in 1764 destroying all the books and other materials in the library.

Keywords: fire, 1764

Keyword Location: Para Harvard University Library, Lines 5-6

Explanation: According to the text the books and other materials in the Harvard University Library were destroyed due to a razing fire in 1764, only leaving behind the books that were loaned out at that time.

18. The Boston public library has great strength in arts, arts history and………… history.

Answer: AMERICAN

Supporting statement: The library has strengths in arts, art history, and American history.

Keywords: history, American

Keyword Location: Para Boston Public Library, Line 7

Explanation: The text states that the Boston Public Library has a vast majority of books in arts, art history, and American history.

19. The Library of Congress is composed of three campuses connected through………….. ducts.

Answer: UNDERGROUND

Supporting statement: Underground passageways interconnect all the three buildings.

Keywords: Underground, three buildings

Keyword Location: Para The Library of Congress, Line 3

Explanation: According to the text the Library of Congress is composed of three campuses including Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, and the Packard campus in Virginia all three areas are interconnected with each other through underground passageways.

20. Increase in the number of buildings was because of the development of the………..of the Harvard University Library.

Answer: BRANCHES

Supporting statement: over the years several other branches of the library were established.

Keywords: branches, established

Keyword Location: Para Harvard University Library, Line 9

Explanation: According to the text, Harvard University Library has increased the numbers of library buildings due to the development of new branches over the course of several years.

21. 60% of the books have been written in other………….. in the Library of Congress.

Answer: LANGUAGES

Supporting statement: more than half of the books it receives in a year are in languages other than English.

Keywords: books, English

Keyword Location: Para The Library of Congress, Line 6

Explanation: The text states that more than 60 percent of the books received by the Library of Congress in a year is in other languages and not in English.

22………………is not the only medium of instruction in the literature of The Library of Congress.

Answer: ENGLISH

Supporting statement: It has collections from different parts of the world in more than 450 languages

Keywords: collections, 450 languages

Keyword Location: Para The Library of Congress, Line 5

Explanation: The text mentions that the Library of Congress does not use English as a medium of instruction in literature, as it has a collection of books from many different parts of the world in 450 other languages.

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