Columns Reading Answers

Jan 5, 2026

Columns Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Columns Reading Answers has a total of 13 IELTS questions, such as

Reading Passage 3 has six sections A-F. Choose the correct heading for sections B—F from the list of headings below. Write the correct number i-viii.
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Complete the labels for the columns below using NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the passage.

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 recognise essential concepts, extract particular facts, and make inferences. Practising 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

COLUMNS

A.Few other legacies from the past in the Western world are as tangible and cogent as the column. This architectural feature's ubiquitous presence speaks to its symbolism of strength and stability. The use of columns, even if merely decorative, is a tribute to its ancient origins, which are not always readily apparent. The most basic column is a post or pillar used to support the structure's roof. This could consist of the trunk of a tree or stones piled on top of one another. The origin of forms used in Western architecture. In regard to columns, can be traced to the ancient Mediterranean world. The civilizations there created structures and spaces that prefigured those created for several millennia thereafter.

B.The Egyptians made use of the column as early as the third millennium before the Common Era. Through trade and contact with other populations, the use of the column spread throughout the region. Some of the most impressive artistic expressions of this form were columns made in Persia where the capital (the topmost part) consisted of two ornate bulls' heads facing outwards. The most well-known and recognizable types of column in the Western world today, though, were developed in Greece. The architecture there represented the humanistic culture of that civilization and was the yardstick of form and function against which all other architectural forms were compared to. The construction of buildings was one of many areas where the Romans borrowed ideas from; they also applied their own innovations. These ideas were transmitted to the rest of Europe and then to the rest of the world. The modest Greek column and their original three orders do not readily tell the story of how they came to be almost universally used and known.

C.The most basic form of column invented by that ancient civilization was the Doric order. It consists of a fluted shaft with twenty channels, or grooves, set around a cylindrical shape. Doric columns have no base and stand directly upon the flat surface, while the capital consists merely of a round, undecorated stone on which the rest of the Structure sits upon. One of the most famous examples of a structure incorporating the Doric order is the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Dedicated as a temple to the ancient Greek goddess of war and wisdom, Athena, it is one of the most important buildings in the Western world to have survived from the classical era. Studies of the facade reveal how closely it hews to the Golden Ratio. The height-to-diameter ratio of the columns gives the Parthenon a 'masculine' feel, as opposed to the other orders, which have more slender and graceful proportions.

D.The second order of columns in classical architecture is called the Ionic order. Its construction is more complicated than simple Doric columns. The most distinguishing feature is the inclusion of four volutes (scroll-like designs which bear resemblance to eyes) on four corners above the column shaft, and below the abacus, the area where the rest of the structure sits on top of the column. The volutes facing a viewer may either be in the same geometric plane, or they may be angled with respect to each other, so as to look the same from all four sides. In Ionic columns, the volutes and the abacus together are what compose the capital. Unlike in the Doric order, there is a base that consists of a torus, a flat donut-shaped protrusion coming out from the column, and a plinth block on which the whole column sits. Columns of this order have a greater height to diameter ratio and 24 channels worth of fluting, and therefore. feel lighter than their Doric counterparts.

E.The final mode in classical architecture is the Corinthian order. The most decorative of the three orders, it is also considered the most 'feminine.' While Corinthian capitals have similar proportions to Ionic columns and also have a base, their volutes are less distinguished. Their most prominent features are the two ranks of carved leaves that curl up and out of the column. Though invented by the Greeks, the order was not as established there as in the wider world. Thus, it is possible to see a wide variation in the themes with changes made to the fluting or the representation of the leaves.

F.The three different types of columns are only one part of the architecture that so defined the ancient Mediterranean world. The word ‘order’ refers not only to the columns themselves, but also to the rules of proportionality for the whole structure in which they were embedded. The meticulous attention to detail and spatial relationships of different parts created a memorable harmony in Classic Greek buildings. They have served as an architectural inspiration ever since,

QUESTIONS 26 - 30

Reading Passage 3 has six sections A-F.

Choose the correct heading for sections B—F from the list of headings below. Write the correct number i-viii.

LIST of HEADINGS

i. Strict rules that lived beyond their creators

ii. Development of column in ancient civilization

iii. Many different types of architectural orders

iv. Column with a simple form

v. Legacy passed down from generations ago

vi. The column most representative of females

vii- Why columns are used so much

viii. A more graceful column

26. Paragraph B

Answer: II

Supporting statement: The Egyptians made use of the column as early as the third millennium before the Common Era. Through trade and contact with other populations, the use of the column spread throughout the region.

Keywords: Egyptians, third millennium, trade, spread

Keyword Location: Para B, Lines 1-2

Explanation: This section outlines the historical progression and spread of columns from Egypt to Persia, Greece, and Rome.

27. Paragraph C

Answer: IV

Supporting statement: The most basic form of column invented by that ancient civilization was the Doric order.

Keywords: basic form, Doric order

Keyword Location: Para C, Line 1

Explanation: This paragraph describes the Doric order as the "most basic form," noting it has no base and an undecorated stone capital.

28. Paragraph D

Answer: VIII

Supporting statement: Columns of this order have a greater height-to-diameter ratio and 24 channels worth of fluting, and therefore feel lighter than their Doric counterparts.

Keywords: greater height to diameter, feel lighter

Keyword Location: Para D, Lines 10-11

Explanation: The Ionic order is described as more complicated and "lighter" or more slender compared to the masculine Doric order.

29. Paragraph E

Answer: VI

Supporting statement: The most decorative of the three orders, it is also considered the most 'feminine.'

Keywords: decorative, feminine

Keyword Location: Para E, Lines 1-2

Explanation: The text explicitly labels the Corinthian order as the most "feminine" of the three classical modes.

30. Paragraph F

Answer: I

Supporting statement: The word ‘order’ refers not only to the columns themselves, but also to the rules of proportionality for the whole structure... They have served as an architectural inspiration ever since

Keywords: rules of proportionality, inspiration ever since

Keyword Location: Para F, Lines 2-5

Explanation: This section discusses how the "orders" were a system of rules that have continued to inspire architecture long after the ancient Mediterranean civilizations.

QUESTIONS 31 - 33

Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

31. Columns, if not made just for decoration, have a function in that they…………….

Answer: SUPPORT THE STRUCTURE

Supporting statement: The most basic column is a post or pillar used to support the structure's roof

Keywords: basic column, support, structure's roof

Keyword Location: Para A, Lines 4-5

Explanation: The text defines the fundamental functional purpose of a column as a support for a roof or building.

32. The Greeks passed their ideas of architecture onto the ………..

Answer: REST OF EUROPE

Supporting statement: These ideas were transmitted to the rest of Europe and then to the rest of the world.

Keywords: ideas, transmitted, rest of Europe

Keyword Location: Para B, Lines 9-10

Explanation: The passage describes how architectural ideas developed in Greece and Rome were eventually spread to the European continent

33. One outstanding display of Doric order architecture is the…………..

Answer: PARTHENON IN ATHENS

Supporting statement: One of the most famous examples of a structure incorporating the Doric order is the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.

Keywords: famous examples, Doric order, Parthenon

Keyword Location: Para C, Line 5

Explanation: The Parthenon is cited as a prime historical example of the Doric architectural style.

QUESTIONS 34 - 35

Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

34. The use of Corinthian columns has spread to

Answer: THE WIDER WORLD

Supporting statement: Though invented by the Greeks, the order was not as established there as in the wider world.

Keywords: order, wider world

Keyword Location: Para E, Line 5

Explanation: While Greek in origin, the Corinthian order found more extensive use and establishment globally.

35. The column was only one feature in the architecture of the……

Answer: ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN

Supporting statement: The three different types of columns are only one part of the architecture that so defined the ancient Mediterranean world.

Keywords: columns, one part, ancient Mediterranean

Keyword Location: Para F, Lines 1-2

Explanation: The text explains that columns were part of a broader architectural system used in the Mediterranean region.

QUESTIONS 36 - 40

Complete the labels for the columns below using

NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the passage.

36…………

Answer: VOLUTES

Supporting statement: The most distinguishing feature is the inclusion of four volutes (scroll-like designs which bear resemblance to eyes) on four corners above the column shaft...

Keywords: four volutes, four corners

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, Lines 3-4

Explanation: The diagram points to the curly, scroll-like ornaments at the top of the first column. The text specifically identifies these features as "volutes" and describes them as "scroll-like designs".

37…………..

Answer: CAPITAL

Supporting statement: In Ionic columns, the volutes and the abacus together are what compose the capital.

Keywords: volutes, capital

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, Line 7

Explanation: The bracket in the diagram indicates the entire uppermost section of the column. The text defines this topmost part, which includes the decorative elements (like volutes or leaves), as the "capital".

38…………..

Answer: BASE

Supporting statement: Unlike in the Doric order, there is a base that consists of a torus, a flat donut-shaped protrusion coming out from the column...

Keywords: Doric order, torus

Keyword Location: Para D, Lines 8-10

Explanation: The label points to the bottom support of the column. While the Doric order lacks this feature, the text confirms that both Ionic and Corinthian columns sit upon a "base."

39…………column

Answer: IONIC

Supporting statement: The second order of columns in classical architecture is called the Ionic order... The most distinguishing feature is the inclusion of four volutes...

Keywords: Ionic order, second order

Keyword Location: Para D, Line 1

Explanation: The first column in the diagram features the distinctive "volutes" (scrolls) and a "base", which the text identifies as the defining characteristics of the Ionic order.

40…………….column

Answer: CORINTHIAN

Supporting statement: The final mode in classical architecture is the Corinthian order... Their most prominent features are the two ranks of carved leaves that curl up and out of the column.

Keywords: classical architecture, Corinthian order

Keyword Location: Para E, Line 1

Explanation: The middle column in the diagram shows decorative carved leaves. According to the text, these "carved leaves" are the "most prominent features" of the Corinthian order.

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