Build a Mediaeval castle Reading Answers

Feb 9, 2023

Build a Mediaeval castle Reading Answers contains sample answers about mediaeval castles and its building. Build a Mediaeval castle Reading Answers has 13 different questions. IELTS Build a Mediaeval castle Reading Answers contains three types of questions, namely: true/ false/ not given, complete the summary and choose the correct letter. Candidates are required to read the IELTS Reading passage and answer which statements are true, false or not given in the passage. To complete the summary, candidates are supposed to choose the correct answer for each blank from the given list of options. For the last set of questions, candidates are required to choose three correct letters as answers. Candidates can gain proficiency on diverse topics by undertaking IELTS Reading practice papers.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Build a Mediaeval castle Reading Answers

Michel Guyot, owner and restorer of Saint Fargeau castle in France, first had the idea of building a 13th-century style fortress following the discovery that the 15th-century red bricks of his castle obscured the stone walls of a much older stronghold. His dream was to build a castle just as it would have been in the Middle Ages, an idea which some found mildly amusing and others dismissed as outright folly. However, Maryline Martin – project director – was inspired by the exciting potential for the venture to regenerate the region. It took several months to bring together and mobilise all the various different partners: architects, archaeologists and financial backers. A site in the heart of Guédelon forest was found: a site which offered not only all the resources required for building a castle – a stone quarry, an oak forest and a water supply – but in sufficient quantities to satisfy the demands of this gigantic site. The first team started work and on June 20th 1997 the first stone was laid.
Unlike any other present-day building site, Michel Guyot’s purpose is clear, he warmly welcomes members of the public to participate. The workers’ role is to demonstrate and explain, to a wide audience, the skills of our forefathers. Stone quarrying, the building of vaulted ceilings, the blacksmith’s work and the raising of roof timbers are just some of the activities which visitors can witness during a visit to Guédelon. The workers are always on hand to talk about their craft and the progress of the castle. Each year 60,000 children visit Guédelon with their schools. The site is an excellent educational resource, bringing to life the history of the Middle Ages. Guided tours are tailored to the school curriculum and according to age groups: activity trails for primary school children and interactive guided tours for secondary school children. Pupils of all ages have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of mediaeval stonemasons by taking part in a stone carving workshop or discover the secrets of the mediaeval master-builders at the geometry workshop.
Workers in the Burgundy region of France are building a 13th century castle. They’re not restoring an old castle. They’re actually building a new old castle. See the builders are constructing it from scratch. The craftsmen have been working for nearly ten years now but they’re not even halfway done yet. That’s because they’re using only mediaeval tools and techniques. The World’s Gerry Hadden takes US to the site of what will be the Guedelon Castle. Another reason said by Jean Francois, a member of Guedelon stone cutter’s guild, for eight hours a day he bangs on a 13th century chisel with a 13th century iron mallet.
The progress of construction has to give way to tourists' side for their visits. The visitors from 2010, however unsightly they may be, are vital to the project. The initial funding came not from pillaging the local peasantry but from regional councils, the European Union and large companies. For the last 10 years, Guédelon, 100 miles southeast of Paris, has funded itself from its entrance fees. Last year it had a record 300,000 visitors, who paid almost €2.5m, making it the second most-visited site in Burgundy. The most visited site was the Hospice de Beaune, a beautiful 15th-century almshouse built 600 years before, or, if you prefer, 200 years “after”, Guédelon.
limestone is found in the construction of various local buildings, from the great and prestigious edifice of Ratilly castle to the more modest poyaudines houses. This stone contains 30-40% iron oxide; this can make it extremely hard to extract and dress. Having studied the block in order to determine and anticipate the natural fault lines of the stone, the quarrymen first carve a series of rectilinear holes into the block. Iron wedges are then hammered into this line of holes. The shockwaves produced by the quarrymen’s sledgehammers cause the stone to split along a straight line. The highest quality blocks are dressed to produce lintels, voussoirs, corbels, ashlars etc. The medium quality blocks are roughly shaped by the stonecutters and used on the uncoursed curtain walls, and as facing stones on the castle’s inner walls. There are water-filled clay pits in the forest. Clay is taken from these pits, cleaned and purged. It is then shaped in wooden moulds to form bricks. After the bricks have been left to air-dry, they are fired in a wood fired kiln for about 12 hours, at roughly 1000°c.
The mortar is the “glue” used to bind the castle’s stones. It is made up of precise doses of lime, sand and water. The people working there wear the tunics, skirts and headgear that they might have worn then, but they wear these over jeans and shoes with reinforced toes. They mix their mortar primarily as they would have done then, using sand they dig themselves, but they are not allowed to use the extremely effective hot lime from mediaeval days, because of its toxicity, and so they add a modem chemical ingredient instead, to achieve the same effect. Workers in the Mid Age obviously were unaware of it and some died earlier by inhaling toxic gas. And so, we met many wonderful people who do not pretend to be anything but modern human beings practising an old technique and finding out what it would have felt like, as much as possible, to do it with only the resources of an older time.
We also learned that even if there is a straight lintel across a doorway, you will usually find an arch of stones built into the wall differently. Because of the physics of an arch, which channels the weight above it down into whatever is supporting it at each side instead of pressing down in the middle, this helps to take a lot of the weight off of the lintel itself, whether it is free standing or buried in the wall against the impact of warfare. The arch is the strongest element for spanning space in stone architecture. This is why, in ancient ruins, you will often find the entire wall missing, and the arched windows and doorways still standing, in beautiful patterns against the sky

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-4

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

In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the Statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

The French people would not abandon his idea in favour of a realistic one.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: The relevant information regarding the statement is not given in the passage.

One aim of the castle is to show the ancestral achievement to the public.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: The workers’ role is to demonstrate and explain, to a wide audience, the skills of our forefathers.
Keywords: workers, explain, audience, skills
Keywords Location: paragraph B
Explanation: As per paragraph B, it is the employees' responsibility to display and explain our ancestors' abilities to a broad audience. When visiting Guédelon, guests can see blacksmithing, stone quarrying, erecting vaulted ceilings, and raising roof timbers, to name a few. A conversation about their trade and the development of the castle is always possible with the workers. Therefore, the assertion is true.

Short lifespan of workers was due to overdue heating.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Workers in the Mid Age obviously were unaware of it and some died earlier by inhaling toxic gas
Keywords: workers, died, toxic gas
Keywords Location: paragraph F
Explanation: According to paragraph F, Mid Age personnel were undoubtedly oblivious of it, and some of them passed away earlier from breathing hazardous gas. We met a lot of lovely people who don't try to be anything
other than contemporary humans using ancient skills. This clarifies that workers didn’t die due to heating. Instead they died because of toxic gas. Hence, the above statement is false.

stones were laid not in a straight line arrangement to avoid damaging or collapsing.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: We also learned that even if there is a straight lintel across a doorway, you will usually find an arch of stones built into the wall differently.
Keywords: learned, straight, lintel
Keywords Location: Paragraph G, lines 1-2
Explanation: As explained in the above-mentioned supporting sentence, the stones laid followed an arch pattern. This further helped with avoiding damage and collision related disasters.

Questions 5-10

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using A-L from the following options for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.

metal vedge
hammer handle
lift
Masons
patterns
heating
bricks
wood
experts
split
walls
holes

Limestone Processing

When 5……… found a suitable block, they began to cut lines of 6……… into it. 7…….. were used and knocked into and generated shockwaves to make stone 8………. Different qualities of blocks would be used in different places of the castle. On the other hand, 9………. were shaped from clay in a mould and went through a process of 10……… for about 12 hours.

Question: 5

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: Having studied the block in order to determine and anticipate the natural fault lines of the stone, the quarrymen first carve a series of rectilinear holes into the block. Iron wedges are then hammered into this line of holes.
Keywords: block, rectilinear holes, hammered
Keywords Location: Paragraph E, lines 4-7
Explanation: As explained in the excerpt given above, suitable stones underwent several different processes. These blocks were carved with rectilinear holes, followed by hammering.

Question: 6

Answer: L
Supporting Sentence: the quarrymen first carve a series of rectilinear holes into the block. Iron wedges are then hammered into this line of holes.
Keywords: carve, rectilinear, holes, block
Keywords Location: paragraph E
Explanation: The procedure is covered in paragraph E. The block is first drilled with a succession of rectilinear holes, according to the text. The next step is to hammer iron wedges into this row of holes. The stone splits into two pieces in a straight line as a result of the shockwaves created by the quarrymen's sledgehammers. To create lintels, voussoirs, corbels, ashlars, and other architectural features, the best blocks are treated.

Question: 7

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: Iron wedges are then hammered into this line of holes. The shockwaves produced by the quarrymen’s sledgehammers cause the stone to split along a straight line.
Keywords: iron wedge, hammered, hole, sledgehammer, stone
Keywords Location: paragraph E
Explanation: The procedure is covered in paragraph E. It claims that the quarrymen first chisel a number of rectilinear holes into the block in order to identify and foresee the natural fracture lines of the stone. The next step is to hammer iron wedges into this row of holes. The stone splits into two pieces in a straight line as a result of the shockwaves created by the quarrymen's sledgehammers. To create lintels, voussoirs, corbels, ashlars, and other architectural features, the best blocks are treated.

Question:8

Answer: J
Supporting Sentence: The shockwaves produced by the quarrymen’s sledgehammers cause the stone to split along a straight line.
Keywords: shockwaves, quarrymen, sledgehammer, stone
Keywords Location: paragraph E
Explanation: The procedure is discussed in paragraph E. Per this, the stone splits into two pieces in a straight line as a result of the shockwaves created by the quarrymen's sledgehammers. To create lintels, voussoirs, corbels, ashlars, and other architectural features, the best blocks are treated. For the uncoursed curtain walls, the stonecutters employ blocks of medium grade that are roughly formed.

Question: 9

Answer: G
Supporting Sentence: Clay is taken from these pits, cleaned and purged. It is then shaped in wooden moulds to form bricks.
Keywords: clay, pits, cleaned, purged, shaped, moulds
Keywords Location: paragraph E
Explanation: The procedure is discussed in paragraph E. It claims that the stonecutters give the medium-quality blocks a rough contour. They are utilised as face stones on the inner walls of the castle and on the uncoursed curtain walls. In the forest, there are clay puddles. These pits' clay is removed, cleansed, and purified. It is then formed into bricks using wooden moulds. The bricks are burned in a wood-fired kiln for approximately 12 hours at a temperature of about 1000°c after being allowed to air-dry.

Question: 10

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence: After the bricks have been left to air-dry, they are fired in a wood fired kiln for about 12 hours, at roughly 1000°c.
Keywords: bricks, air-dry, fired, wood
Keywords Location: paragraph E
Explanation: The procedure is discussed in paragraph E. It claims that the forest contains clay pits that are submerged in water. These clay pits' contents are removed, cleansed, and purged. Afterward, it is formed into bricks using wooden moulds. The bricks are burnt in a wood fired kiln for around 12 hours at a temperature of about 1000°c after being allowed to air dry.

Questions 11-13

Choose three correct letters, A-G.

Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.

Why does the castle building project last 10 years for just half progress?

They lack of enough funds
Guedelon castle needs a time-consuming design
Workers obeyed modem working hours
Their progress were delayed by unpredictable weather
Guedelon castle need to receive valuable visitors
They used old techniques and skills
Stone processing need more labour and time

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: For the last 10 years, Guédelon, 100 miles southeast of Paris, has funded itself from its entrance fees.
Keywords: Guedelon, funded, entrance fees
Keywords Location: paragraph D
Explanation: According to paragraph D, the progress of the building must make way for visitors' side of the site. Even though they are unattractive, the 2010 visitors are essential to the project. The first money came from regional councils, the European Union, and big businesses rather than plundering the local peasantry. Guédelon, a town southeast of Paris located 100 miles away, has been self-sufficient for the past ten years due to entry prices. It had a record 300,000 visitors last year, who spent about €2.5 million there, making it Burgundy's second-most popular destination.

Question: 12

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: For the last 10 years, Guédelon, 100 miles southeast of Paris, has funded itself from its entrance fees.
Keywords: Guedelon, funded, entrance fees
Keywords Location: paragraph D
Explanation: According to paragraph D, the progress of the building must make way for visitors' side of the site. Even though they are unattractive, the 2010 visitors are essential to the project. The first money came from regional councils, the European Union, and big businesses rather than plundering the local peasantry. Guédelon, a town southeast of Paris located 100 miles away, has been self-sufficient for the past ten years due to entry prices. It had a record 300,000 visitors last year, who spent about €2.5 million there, making it Burgundy's second-most popular destination.

Question: 13

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence: but modern human beings practising an old technique and finding out what it would have felt like
Keywords: human being, practising, old technique
Keywords Location: paragraph F
Explanation: The workers mix their mortar essentially as they would have done back then, using sand they excavate themselves, according to paragraph F. However, they are not permitted to utilise the potent hot lime that was used in mediaeval times. Due to its toxicity, they substitute a modern chemical substance to provide the same results. Evidently, the Mid Ages' workers were ignorant of it, and some of them passed away sooner from hazardous gas inhalation. We thus encountered a lot of amazing people who are simply contemporary human beings using ancient skills. Finding out, as much as feasible, what it would have felt like to complete the task with only the tools from a previous era.

Read More IELTS Reading Related Samples