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Crossing the Threshold Reading Answers

Bhaskar Das

Jul 11, 2025

Crossing the Threshold Reading Answers contains 14 questions and belongs to the assessment system of the IELTS General Reading test. Crossing the Threshold reading section must be answered within 20 minutes. In this IELTS reading passage, you'll encounter question types like Choose the correct letter, Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3? and Complete each sentence with the correct ending.

Crossing the Threshold Reading Answers explores Auckland Art Gallery renovation. To practice reading comprehension passages like this one, candidates are encouraged to explore the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.

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Topic:

The renovated Auckland Art Gallery in New Zealand unites old and new, creating an irresistible urge to step inside.

Architects are finding it very difficult in today's cultural landscape. The profession faces a three-way threat: a public that apparently doesn't understand what architects do, developers who couldn't care less what they do, and overbearing councils micromanaging every single aspect of what they do. According to sources within the architectural profession, the situation is much worse when architects work on municipal buildings, as architects FIMT and Archimedia discovered with their Auckland Gallery makeover, where a vast number of external pressures threatened the project, and with so many bureaucratic difficulties it looked doomed to fail.

The major challenge of the gallery renovation project was that it involved two parts. The first was to restore the heritage building, dating back to 1888, which contained a network of small spaces, refurbished so often it contained 17 different floor heights. The second was to deliver a new extension that would not only double floor and exhibition space but also attract new patrons, a total necessity. While the old building's circulation was off-putting, so was something intangible yet just as powerful: its atmosphere. For many, Auckland Art Gallery was just an old building that served a limited range of patrons with highbrow interests, missing its chance to engage with new audiences.

A 2003 survey of young people's impressions of the gallery confirmed this opinion, sounding more like references to an abandoned building.

For the survey authors, "threshold fear"-where certain groups are intimidated from entering certain spaces by their off-putting atmosphere

-was the institution's undoing, something no architect wants anything to do with. For those young people, Auckland Art Gallery was "undemocratic, dusty" and "cold-the epitome of threshold fear." Also, 16% of the sample group had no idea where it even was, despite being interviewed on the pavement right outside it. Clearly, the gallery was fatally out of step at a time when New Zealand's national museum in Wellington was successfully engaging broader audiences with contemporary branding and marketing, interactive displays, and temporary events.

The decision to evolve the gallery was actually made in 2000, although it took eight years for building to commence, as the architects fought off heritage committees and conservationists trying to stop them. The architects were not just dealing with a disillusioned public, but also with precious timber and the parkland which surrounds the building. Pushing the design through the Environment Court, the body which approves renovations of this scale, alone took three years. During this time, the budget blew out by several million dollars, the funding dried up, and the new wing had to be completely redesigned. Even after the redesigns, the use of kauri timber, with its significance to New Zealand's Maori people, stirred up political debate. In the new building, the architects have used kauri to produce a canopy with a curving interior roof supported by tapered steel columns, also clad in kauri. The canopy represents a signature public face, its curvature filtering light to the forecourt to the west and creating a visual echo of the canopy of pohutukawa trees in Albert Park to the east. The park also has cultural significance to Maori as it was the site of early settlements.

Another success is the refurbishment of the heritage building, especially the Mackelvie Gallery, in disrepair after its characteristic early twentieth

-century Edwardian decoration had been stripped out or walled away in previous renovations. Remarkably, the Mackelvie space has been reconstructed from two old photos, although the problem of multiple floor levels was so serious that scaffolding had to be erected at the highest level, with work progressing downwards-the reverse of normal practice. When it was over, a fascinating detail was retained: the lowest level visible under glass embedded in the new floor, the building itself as artwork, while elsewhere columns from the old gallery have been exposed in the walls of the new wing

The connection is reinforced by sculptures from Maori artist Arnold Wilson decorating the columns, while fellow artist Bernard Makoare was a consultant, ensuring the gallery emphasized Maori beliefs. Still, that didn't stop the conservationist Stephen King from accusing the architects of 'throwing' kauri at a 'mediocre building' and of misappropriating the 'mana' (spiritual energy) of the precious material (which is almost extinct: harvesting of both petrified and swamp kauri has been likened to a gold rush). However, the kauri that was used here was from the forest floor, and King's misconceptions sum up the prejudice that surrounded the project.

Objections also came from the Auckland Regional Council, worrying about the extension's impact on Albert Park, yet the project's relationship with parkland is one of the most successful outcomes. Impact is not only minimal, but it improves the park's social function. The extension's enormous glass atrium opens up the building by directing the gaze from street level to the parkland beyond, while inside, the new art space is fronted along the east by a continuous glass wall incorporating the park into the gallery. The glass becomes a "screen" for viewing the outside world and makes the art accessible to those in the park, a far cry from both "white cube" galleries worldwide, the plain boxes where paintings are hung in antiseptic walls, and also the dusty, impermeable Auckland Gallery of old.

In 2008, the gallery averaged just 190,000 visitors annually. After reopening, it had 300,000 in five months. Cynics will chalk that up to the novelty of the new, but the fact is the gallery is now an alluring cultural space which is crawling with young people.

Questions 27-31 Choose the correct letter.

27. What is the writer's main point in the first paragraph?

A. Criticism of architects by different groups is unfair.

B. The architectural profession is generally well respected.

C. The most difficult projects for architects are public buildings.

D. Failure to deliver buildings is a result of poor communication.

Answer: C. The most difficult projects for architects are public buildings.

Supporting statement: "According to sources within the architectural profession, the situation is much worse when architects work on municipal buildings..."

Keywords: architects, municipal buildings, situation worse

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, Line 3

Explanation: The writer discusses the general challenges architects face and singles out public buildings, such as the Auckland Gallery, as particularly difficult due to external pressures and bureaucracy.

28. The Auckland Gallery project was particularly difficult because

A. the existing building was old and parts of it had fallen down.

B. there was a high number of floors in the building.

C. it involved renovating the existing building and adding a new one.

D. it needed to satisfy the requirements of the existing

Answer: C. it involved renovating the existing building and adding a new one.

Supporting statement: "The major challenge... was that it involved two parts. The first was to restore the heritage building... The second was to deliver a new extension..."

Keywords: restore, heritage building, new extension

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, Lines 1–3

Explanation: The passage clearly states that the challenge was twofold: restoring the old gallery and constructing a modern addition.

29. What disturbing information did the architects find out from the survey of young people?

A. They did not visit the gallery because of the way it made them feel.

B. They thought that the gallery buildings were not in use.

C. The gallery had the reputation of being dirty.

D. They did not like the entrance.

Answer: A. They did not visit the gallery because of the way it made them feel.

Supporting statement: "threshold fear... intimidated from entering certain spaces by their off-putting atmosphere..."

Keywords: threshold fear, intimidated, off-putting atmosphere

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, Line 3

Explanation: The phrase "threshold fear" directly relates to the emotional impact that discouraged young visitors from entering.

30. What point is the writer making when he says that 16% of the sample group did not know where the museum was?

A. Young people are not interested in galleries.

B. The gallery was not reaching out to involve young people.

C. The entrance to the gallery was not well signposted.

D. The location of the gallery was difficult to access.

Answer: B. The gallery was not reaching out to involve young people.

Supporting statement: "16%... had no idea where it even was... Clearly, the gallery was fatally out of step..."

Keywords: no idea, out of step, broader audiences

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, Lines 6–9

Explanation: This illustrates the lack of engagement and outreach toward the younger demographic, resulting in a disconnect.

31. Maori artists were used on this project to

A. satisfy the concerns of conservationists.

B. protect sacred materials in the Albert Park site.

C. make sure the gallery respects Maori culture.

D. ensure that certain sources of kauri were not used.

Answer: C. make sure the gallery respects Maori culture.

Supporting statement: "Maori artist Arnold Wilson... Bernard Makoare was a consultant, ensuring the gallery emphasized Maori beliefs."

Keywords: Maori, consultant, emphasized beliefs

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 5

Explanation: The involvement of Maori artists ensured that the redesign acknowledged and respected Maori cultural values.

Questions 32-36

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3? Write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks

32. Before the renovation, the Auckland Art Gallery was regarded as an elitist institution.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: "Auckland Art Gallery was just an old building that served a limited range of patrons with highbrow interests..."

Keywords: limited range, highbrow interests, old building

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, Line 5

Explanation: The writer clearly states that the gallery was seen as serving a niche, elite group, making it appear elitist.

33. Stephen King's intervention in the project shows his understanding of the architects' use of kauri.

Answer: NO

Supporting statement: "King... accusing the architects... King's misconceptions sum up the prejudice that surrounded the project."

Keywords: misconceptions, prejudice, accusing

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 8

Explanation: The writer asserts that King misunderstood the architects' intent, thus his intervention does not reflect an accurate understanding.

34. The way the building interacts with its surroundings is a triumph.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: "...project's relationship with parkland is one of the most successful outcomes."

Keywords: relationship, parkland, successful outcome

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Line 2

Explanation: The design is praised for enhancing interaction with the surrounding park, marking it as a triumph.

35. The glass flooring in the Mackelvie Gallery which reveals old features

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: "a fascinating detail was retained: the lowest level visible under glass... the building itself as artwork..."

Keywords: visible under glass, building as artwork

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 4

Explanation: The visible old features under glass add an artistic dimension to the building, making the gallery itself a display.

36. The design of the extension to the Auckland Art Gallery is similar to the design of white cube galleries in other parts of the world.

Answer: NO

Supporting statement: "a far cry from both 'white cube' galleries worldwide... and also the dusty, impermeable Auckland Gallery of old."

Keywords: far cry, white cube galleries

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Line 7

Explanation: The new design is explicitly stated as being very different from the conventional sterile gallery designs.

Questions 37-40

Complete each sentence with the correct ending. A-F.

37. The destruction of Edwardian ornamentation

Answer: F. was the result of earlier attempts to modernise the building.

Supporting statement: "Mackelvie Gallery, in disrepair after its characteristic... decoration had been stripped out or walled away in previous renovations."

Keywords: disrepair, stripped out, previous renovations

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 2

Explanation: The destruction was caused by earlier renovation attempts aiming to modernize the space.

38. It is extraordinary that a limited number of photographs

Answer: C. was the clue to rebuilding the Mackelvie Gallery successfully.

Supporting statement: "Remarkably, the Mackelvie space has been reconstructed from two old photos..."

Keywords: reconstructed, two old photos

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 3

Explanation: The success of the reconstruction was achieved with very limited photographic evidence.

39. The problem of having so many floor levels to deal with

Answer: A. resulted in work being done in the opposite direction to that usually followed.

Supporting statement: "...scaffolding had to be erected at the highest level, with work progressing downwards-the reverse of normal practice."

Keywords: reverse of normal practice

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 4

Explanation: The abnormal structure of the building forced the renovation team to adopt an unusual construction method.

40. The glass flooring in the Mackelvie Gallery which reveals old features

Answer: D. has resulted in the building itself becoming a work of art.

Supporting statement: "the lowest level visible under glass... the building itself as artwork..."

Keywords: building itself, artwork, visible under glass

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 4

Explanation: By preserving and showcasing historical layers, the building is elevated into an exhibit in itself.

A. resulted in work being done in the opposite direction to that usually followed.

B. is more than cosmetic and has improved the circulation.

C. was the clue to rebuilding the Mackelvie Gallery successfully.

D. has resulted in the building itself becoming a work of art.

E. means that you should be able to tell whether you are in the old wing or the new one.

F. was the result of earlier attempts to modernise the building.

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*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.

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