Art in Iron and Steel Reading Answers

Nov 30, 2022

Art in Iron and Steel Reading Answers contain 14 questions that have to be answered in 20 minutes. Art in Iron and Steel Reading Answers comprises three types of questions: Matching paragraphs, no more than three words and select the correct option. For matching paragraphs, candidates need to thoroughly go through the passage throughly. For no more than three words, candidates need to skim the passage for keywords and understand the concept. Candidates must read the IELTS passage and understand the statement provided.

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Reading Passage Questions

Works of engineering and technology are sometimes viewed as the antitheses of art and humanity. Think of the connotations of assembly lines, robots, and computers. Any positive values there might be in such creations of the mind and human industry can be overwhelmed by the associated negative images of repetitive, stressful, and threatened jobs. Such images fuel the arguments of critics of technology even as they may drive powerful cars and use the Internet to protest what they see as the artless and dehumanizing aspects of living in an industrialized and digitized society. At the same time, landmark megastructures such as the Brooklyn and Golden Gate bridges are almost universally hailed as majestic human achievements as well as great engineering monuments that have come to embody the spirits of their respective cities. The relationship between art and engineering has seldom been easy or consistent.
The human worker may have appeared to be but a cog in the wheel of industry, yet photographers could reveal the beauty of line and composition in a worker doing something as common as using a wrench to turn a bolt. When Henry Ford’s enormous River Rouge plant opened in 1927 to produce the Model A, the painter/photographer Charles Sheeler was chosen to photograph it. The world’s largest car factory captured the imagination of Sheeler, who described it as the most thrilling subject he ever had to work with. The artist also composed oil paintings of the plant, giving them titles such as American Landscape and Classic Landscape.
Long before Sheeler, other artists, too, had seen the beauty and humanity in works of engineering and technology. This is perhaps no more evident than in Coalbrookdale, England, where iron, which was so important to the industrial revolution, was worked for centuries. Here, in the late eighteenth century, Abraham Darby III cast on the banks of the Severn River the large ribs that formed the world’s first iron bridge, a dramatic departure from the classic stone and timber bridges that dotted the countryside and were captured in numerous serene landscape paintings. The metal structure, simply but appropriately called Iron Bridge, still spans the river and still beckons engineers, artists, and tourists to gaze upon and walk across it, as if on a pilgrimage to a revered place.
At Coalbrookdale, the reflection of the ironwork in the water completes the semicircular structure to form a wide-open eye into the future that is now the past. One artist’s bucolic depiction shows pedestrians and horsemen on the bridge, as if on a woodland trail. On one shore, a pair of well-dressed onlookers interrupts their stroll along the riverbank, perhaps to admire the bridge. On the other side of the gently flowing river, a lone man leads two mules beneath an arch that lets the towpath pass through the bridge’s abutment. A single boatman paddles across the river in a tiny tub boat. He is in no rush because there is no towline to carry from one side of the bridge to the other. This is how Michael Rooker was Iron Bridge in his 1792 painting. A colored engraving of the scene hangs in the nearby Coalbrookdale museum, along with countless other contemporary renderings of the bridge in its full glory and in its context, showing the iron structure not as a blight on the landscape but at the center of it. The surrounding area at the same time radiates out from the bridge and pales behind it.
In the nineteenth century, the railroads captured the imagination of artists, and the steam engine in the distance of a landscape became as much a part of it as the herd of cows in the foreground. The Impressionist Claude Monet painted man-made structures like railway stations and cathedrals as well as water lilies. Portrait painters such as Christian Schussele found subjects in engineers and inventors – and their inventions – as well as in the American founding fathers. By the twentieth century, engineering, technology, and industry were very well established as subjects for artists.
American-born Joseph Pennell illustrated many European travel articles and books. Pennell, who early in his career made drawings of buildings under construction and shrouded in scaffolding, returned to America late in life and recorded industrial activities during World War I. He is perhaps best known among engineers for his depiction of the Panama Canal as it neared completion and his etchings of the partially completed Hell Gate and Delaware River bridges.
Pennell has often been quoted as saying, “Great engineering is great art,” a sentiment that he expressed repeatedly. He wrote of his contemporaries, “I understand nothing of engineering, but I know that engineers are the greatest architects and the most pictorial builders since the Greeks.” Where some observers saw only utility, Pennell saw also beauty, if not in form then at least in scale. He felt he was not only rendering a concrete subject but also conveying through his drawings the impression that it made on him. Pennell called the sensation that he felt before a great construction project ‘The Wonder of Work”. He saw engineering as a process. That process is memorialized in every completed dam, skyscraper, bridge, or other great achievement of engineering.
If Pennell experienced the wonder of work in the aggregate, Lewis Hine focused on the individuals who engaged in the work. Hine was trained as a sociologist but became best known as a photographer who exposed the exploitation of children. His early work documented immigrants passing through Ellis Island, along with the conditions in the New York tenements where they lived and the sweatshops where they worked. Upon returning to New York, he was given the opportunity to record the construction of the Empire State Building, which resulted in the striking photographs that have become such familiar images of daring and insouciance. He put his own life at risk to capture workers suspended on cables hundreds of feet in the air and sitting on a high girder eating lunch. To engineers today, one of the most striking features of these photos, published in 1932 in Men at Work, is the absence of safety lines and hard hats. However, perhaps more than anything, the photos evoke Pennell’s “The Wonder of Work” and inspire admiration for the bravery and skill that bring a great engineering project to completion.

Solution and explanation

Questions 1-5:
The Reading Passage has eight paragraphs A-H
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

Question 1: Art connected with architecture for the first time.

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Abraham Darby III cast the large ribs that formed the world's first iron bridge on the banks of the Severn River in the late eighteenth century. The metal structure, simply but appropriately called Iron Bridge, still spans the river and beckons engineers, artists, and tourists to gaze upon and walk across it, as if on a pilgrimage to a revered place.
Keywords: Iron Bridge, Engineers, Artist.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3 lines 6-7
Explanation: In accordance with the reading passage, Abraham Darby III casted the huge ribs that laid the foundation for world’s first iron bridge on the banks of the Severn River in the late eighteenth century. Thus, option c is the correct answer for this question.

Question 2: Small artistic objects and constructions built are put together.

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: Railroads captivated the imagination of artists in the nineteenth century, and a distant steam engine became as much a feature of a landscape as a herd of cows in the foreground. Claude Monet, an Impressionist, depicted man-made structures such as train stations and churches, as well as water lilies.
Keywords: Railway Stations, Artists, Steam Engine
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5 lines 1-3
Explanation: It can be concluded from the reading passage that engineering, technology, and industry were all considered as artistic subjects.

Question 3: The working condition were recorded by the artist as an exciting subject.

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Sheeler was thrilled with the world's largest automotive plant, which he considered the most exciting topic he had ever worked on. Oil paintings of the plant were also created by the artist, with titles such as American Landscape and Classic Landscape.
Keywords: Thrilling, Photograph, Artist
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2 lines 4-5
Explanation: In accordance with the reading passage it can be concluded that Sheeler was fascinated with the world's largest car factory. The author addresses it as the most exciting part of the write up.

Question 4: Mention one engineer’s artistic work on an unfinished engineering project.

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence: Pennell, who began his career drawing scaffolded constructions, is likely best known among engineers for his depiction of the Panama Canal as it neared completion, as well as his etchings of the half-finished Hell Gate and Delaware River bridges.
Keywords: Career, Constructions, Completion.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6 lines 2-4.
Explanation: Pennell addressed as the individual who created early drawigs of buildings under construction and encased in scaffolding early in his career, settled in America in later part of his life. While he was in America, he documented several industrial acitvities during World War I. Thus, he came to be addressed as one of the reknowned engineers.

Question 5: Two examples of famous bridges which became the iconic symbols of those cities.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: The Brooklyn and Golden Gate bridges are widely regarded as magnificent human achievements as well as outstanding engineering monuments that have come to represent the spirit of their respective cities.
Keywords: Brooklyn Bridges, Golden Gate bridges, Achievements.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1 lines 6-7.
Explanation: The Golden and Brooklyn Gate bridges are addressed as one of the finest results of human hardships. These are further addressed as the potential link between engineering and art which have never been in a constant phase.

Questions 6-10:
Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-F) with opinions or deeds below.
Write the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet.

List of people

Charles Sheeler
Michael Rooker
Claude Monet
Christian Schussele
Joseph Pennell
Lewis Hine

Question 6: Who made a comment that concrete constructions have beauty just as artistic processes created by engineers the architects.

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: "Wonderful engineering is great art," Pennell has been quoted as saying. He thought he was not just recreating a concrete subject, but also transmitting the effect it produced on him through his drawings.
Keywords: Engineering, Concrete, Art
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6 lines 1-4
Explanation: It can be concluded from the above reading passage that Pennell addressed engineering as a method. Every completed dam, skyscraper, bridge, or other great engineering project bears witness to this process.

Question 7: Who made a romantic depiction of an old bridge in one painting

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Pedestrians and horsemen, as though on a wooded trail, are seen on the bridge in one artist's pastoral image. A pair of well-dressed bystanders on one bank take a break from their stroll along the riverbank, perhaps to admire the bridge. A lone man leads two mules beneath an arch that allows the towpath to pass through the bridge's abutment on the other side of the softly flowing river. In a little tub boat, a solitary boatman paddles across the river. He is not in a hurry because there is no towline to take from one side of the bridge to the other. In his 1792 picture, Michael Rooker depicted Iron Bridge in this manner.
Keywords: Iron Bridge, Engraving, Glory
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4 lines 7-8
Explanation: In paragraph 4 lines 7-10, In his 1792 painting, Michael Rooker portrays Iron Bridge. In the neighboring Coalbrookdale museum, a colored engraving of the image displays among many other depictions of the bridge in all its splendor and context. It depicts the iron construction not as a blight on the countryside but as its heart.

Question 8: Who produced art pieces demonstrating the courage of workers in the site.

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence: Lewis Hine risked his own life to photograph workmen hung hundreds of feet in the air and eating lunch on a high girder. One of the most remarkable elements of these photographs, published in 1932 in Men at Work, to engineers today is the lack of safety lines and hard helmets.
Keywords: Photographer, Sociologist, Exploitation.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 8 line 2.
Explanation: According to the passage, Lewis Hine mostly concentrated on individuals who a were a part of the projects. Hine by training was a sociologist. However, he is mostly known as a photographer who was responsible for revealing chld exploitation.

Question 9: Who produced portraits involving subjects in engineers and inventions and historical human heroes.

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: Engineers and innovators – and their innovations – as well as the American founding fathers, were subjects for Christian Schussele. Engineering, technology, and industry were well-established as subjects for artists by the twentieth century.
Keywords: Imaginations, Artists, Engineering, Technology.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5 lines 1-5.
Explanation: Artists were enthralled by railroads, and a distant steam engine came to resemble a herd of cows in the foreground as well as other landscape elements. For portrait painters like Christian Schussele, subjects included engineers, inventors, and their works of art, as well as the American founding fathers.

Question 10: Who produced a painting of factories and named them ambitiously

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: Charles Sheeler, a painter, and the photographer was chosen to photograph it. Sheeler was enthralled with the world's largest automotive plant, which he considered the most exciting topic he had ever worked on. Oil paintings of the plant were also created by the artist, with titles such as American Landscape and Classic Landscape.
Keywords: Factory, Captured, Thrilling.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2 lines 4-5.
Explanation: Lines 4-5 of paragraph two Charles Sheeler decided to shoot it there. Sheeler was enthralled by the largest automobile plant in the world, which he regarded as the most exciting subject he had ever worked on.

Questions 11-14:
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.

Question 11: In the late eighteenth century, as artists began to capture the artistic attractiveness incorporated into architecture via engineering and technology were captured in numerous serene landscape paintings. One good example is the engineer called.

Answer: Abraham Darby III
Supporting Sentence: The enormous ribs that constituted the world's first iron bridge were cast on the banks of the Severn River by Abraham Darby III, a startling contrast from the classic stone and timber bridges that littered the area and were portrayed in several calm landscape paintings.
Keywords: Timber, Bridges, Engineers
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3 line 4-7 sentence
Explanation: the third paragraph, lines 3–4 Abraham Darby III switched to employing irons and built the first iron bridge in history.

Question 12: Had designed the first iron bridge in the world and changed to using irons yet earlier bridges in the countryside were constructed using materials such as.

Answer: stone.
Supporting Sentence: The first iron bridge was a striking contrast to the traditional stone and timber bridges that studded the region and were featured in several quiet landscape paintings. Iron Bridge is a simple but obvious term for types of steel.
Keywords: Engineers, Artist, Paintings
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3 lines 6-7
Explanation: In paragraphs,3 lines 3-4Abraham Darby III developed the world's first iron bridge and switched to using irons.

Question 13: And wood. This first Iron bridge which across the.

Answer: river
Supporting Sentence: The galvanized steel, renamed Iron Bridge, still crosses the river, tempting engineers, artists, and tourists to look at it and go across it.
Keywords: Captured, Landscape, Pilgrimage
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3 lines 6-7.
Explanation: On the Severn River's banks, the first iron bridge was constructed. During the industrial revolution, the enormous ribs it produced were crucial and served for many generations.

Question 14: was much significant in the industrial revolution period and it functioned for centuries. Numerous spectacular paintings and sculptures of Iron Bridge are collected and exhibited locally in

Answer: Coalbrookdale Museum
Supporting Sentence: The round structure at Coalbrookdale is completed by the reflection of the ironwork in the water, like a wide-open eye into the future that is now the past.
Keywords: Technology, Evident, Revolution
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3 Lines 1-3
Explanation: The iron building is portrayed as a landscape theme at the Coalbrookdale Museum, it is stated in lines 2-3 of paragraph 3. This is perhaps nowhere more evident than at Coalbrookdale, England, where iron mining has been going on for centuries and is so important to the industrial revolution.

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