Cutty Sark Reading Answers

Jan 3, 2023

Cutty Sark Reading Answers is a topic of the IELTS Reading section. This has been taken from the book: Reading for IELTS with Answer Key: 6.0-7.5 - Volume 6. The IELTS reading section helps candidates increase their reading skills with the help of passages. Candidates need to read the passage an then answer the questions. There are 13 questions in this topic: Cutty Sark Reading Answers. The IELTS reading questions are divided into two sections: True, False, Not Given and complete the sentence. There are more topics like In search of the Cutty Sark Reading Answers available online. Candidates can procatise from IELTS Reading practice papers to help them excel in the IELTS exam.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

Cutty Sark Reading Answers

The nineteenth century was a period of great technological development in Britain, and for shipping the major changes were from wind to steam power, and from wood to iron and steel.

The fastest commercial sailing vessels of all time were clippers, three-masted ships built to transport goods around the world, although some also took passengers. From the 1840s until 1869, when the Suez Canal opened and steam propulsion was replacing sail, clippers dominated world trade. Although many were built, only one has survived more or less intact: Cutty Sark, now on display in Greenwich, southeast London.

Cutty Sark’s unusual name comes from the poem Tam O’Shanter by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Tam, a farmer, is chased by a witch called Nannie, who is wearing a ‘cutty sark’ – an old Scottish name for a short nightdress. The witch is depicted in Cutty Sark’s figurehead – the carving of a woman typically at the front of old sailing ships. In legend, and in Burns’s poem, witches cannot cross water, so this was a rather strange choice of name for a ship.

Cutty Sark was built in Dumbarton, Scotland, in 1869, for a shipping company owned by John Willis. To carry out construction, Willis chose a new shipbuilding firm, Scott & Linton, and ensured that the contrast with them put him in a very strong position. In the end, the firm was forced out of business, and the ship was finished by a competitor.

Willis’s company was active in the tea trade between China and Britain, where speed could bring shipowners both profits and prestige, so Cutty Sark was designed to make the journey more quickly than any other ship. On her maiden voyage, in 1870, she set sail from London, carrying large amounts of goods to China. She returned laden with tea, making the journey back to London in four months. However, Cutty Sark never lived up to the high expectations of her owner, as a result of bad winds and various misfortunes. On one occasion, in 1872, the ship and a rival clipper, Thermopylae, left port in China on the same day. Crossing the Indian Ocean, Cutty Sark gained a lead of over 400 miles, but then her rudder was severely damaged in stormy seas, making her impossible to steer. The ship’s crew had the daunting task of repairing the rudder at sea, and only succeeded at the second attempt. Cutty Sark reached London a week after Thermopylae.

Steam ships posed a growing threat to clippers, as their speed and cargo capacity increased. In addition, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the same year that Cutty Sark was launched, had a serious impact. While steam ships could make use of the quick, direct route between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the canal was of no use to sailing ships, which needed the much stronger winds of the oceans, and so had to sail a far greater distance. Steam ships reduced the journey time between Britain and China by approximately two months.

By 1878, tea traders weren’t interested in Cutty Sark, and instead, she took on the much less prestigious work of carrying any cargo between any two ports in the world. In 1880, violence aboard the ship led ultimately to the replacement of the captain with an incompetent drunkard who stole the crew’s wages. He was suspended from service, and a new captain appointed. This marked a turnaround and the beginning of the most successful period in Cutty Sark’s working life, transporting wool from Australia to Britain. One such journey took just under 12 weeks, beating every other ship sailing that year by around a month.

The ship’s next captain, Richard Woodget, was an excellent navigator, who got the best out of both his ship and his crew. As a sailing ship, Cutty Sark depended on the strong trade winds of the southern hemisphere, and Woodget took her further south than any previous captain, bringing her dangerously close to icebergs off the southern tip of South America. His gamble paid off, though, and the ship was the fastest vessel in the wool trade for ten years.

As competition from steam ships increased in the 1890s, and Cutty Sark approached the end of her life expectancy, she became less profitable. She was sold to a Portuguese firm, which renamed her Ferreira. For the next 25 years, she again carried miscellaneous cargoes around the world.

Badly damaged in a gale in 1922, she was put into Falmouth harbor in southwest England, for repairs. Wilfred Dowman, a retired sea captain who owned a training vessel, recognised her and tried to buy her, but without success. She returned to Portugal and was sold to another Portuguese company. Dowman was determined, however, and offered a high price: this was accepted, and the ship returned to Falmouth the following year and had her original name restored.

Dowman used Cutty Sark as a training ship, and she continued in this role after his death. When she was no longer required, in 1954, she was transferred to dry dock at Greenwich to go on public display. The ship suffered from fire in 2007, and again, less seriously, in 2014, but now Cutty Sark attracts a quarter of a million visitors a year.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-8:
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

Clippers were originally intended to be used as passenger ships.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: The fastest commercial sailing vessels of all time were clippers, three-masted ships built to transport goods around the world, although some also took passengers.
Keyword: commercial, clippers
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, Lines 1-2
Explanation: The author directly states that clippers were used for commercial purposes. They were the fastest commercial sailing vessels. This means that they were not used as passenger ships. Hence, the statement is False.

Cutty Sark was given the name of a character in a poem.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Cutty Sark’s unusual name comes from the poem Tam O’Shanter by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Tam, a farmer, is chased by a witch called Nannie, who is wearing a ‘cutty sark’ – an old Scottish name for a short nightdress
Keyword: name, Cutty
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, Lines 1
Explanation: The supporting sentence directly states that the name came from the poem Tam O’Shanter. Cutty Sark was the name of a dress and not a character of the poem. Hence, it is not imaginary. This makes the statement False.

The contract between John Willis and Scott & Linton favoured Willis.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: To carry out construction, Willis chose a new shipbuilding firm, Scott & Linton, and ensured that the contrast with them put him in a very strong position.
Keyword: strong position
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, 2nd line
Explanation: The author states ‘put him in a strong position’ in the passage. This suggests that the contract favoured Willis. Hence, the answer is True.

John Willis wanted Cutty Sark to be the fastest tea clipper travelling between the UK and China.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: Willis’s company was active in the tea trade between China and Britain, where speed could bring shipowners both profits and prestige, so Cutty Sark was designed to make the journey more quickly than any other ship.”
Keyword: quickly, journey
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 1
Explanation: The supporting sentence shows that Wills wanted Cutty Sark to be the fastest ship for the trade between UK and China. The ship was designed to make it the fastest for the purpose. Hence, the answer is True.

Despite storm damage, Cutty Sark beat Thermopylae back to London.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Crossing the Indian Ocean, Cutty Sark gained a lead of over 400 miles, but then her rudder was severely damaged in stormy seas … Cutty Sark reached London a week after Thermopylae.
Keyword: week later, stormy
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 6
Explanation: The author states that both ships left the port on the same day. He also states that Cutty Sark faced a storm. Cutty Sark couldn’t withstand the storm and could not defeat the Thermopylae on the journey to London. Cutty Sark reached a week later.

The opening of the Suez Canal meant that steam ships could travel between Britain and China faster than clippers.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: While steam ships could make use of the quick, direct route between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the canal was of no use to sailing ships, which needed the much stronger winds of the oceans, and so had to sail a far greater distance.
Keyword: no use, canal
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Lines 2-7
Explanation: As per the passage, the opening of the canal became useful for steam ships. They reduced the journey time by 2 months. This canal was of no use for sailing ships as they needed stronger winds of the ocean.

Steam ships sometimes used the ocean route to travel between London and China.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: There is no information in the passage regarding the above statement.

Captain Woodget put Cutty Sark at risk of hitting an iceberg.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: As a sailing ship, Cutty Sark depended on the strong trade winds of the southern hemisphere, and Woodget took her further south than any previous captain, bringing her dangerously close to icebergs off the southern tip of South America.
Keyword: icebergs, dangerously close
Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, Lines 3-4
Explanation: The author explains that Woodget took the ship further south. This made Cutty Sark face a danger of hitting icebergs as it was the southern tip. Hence, the answer is True.

Questions 9-13:
Complete the sentences below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

9 After 1880, Cutty Sark carried ………………………… as its main cargo during its most successful time. 10 As a captain and …………………………., Woodget was very skilled. 11 Ferreira went to Falmouth to repair damage that a …………………………. had caused. 12 Between 1923 and 1954, Cutty Sark was used for ………………………….. 13 Cutty Sark has twice been damaged by ………………………… in the 21st century.

Question 9:

Answer: wool
Supporting Sentence: This marked a turnaround and the beginning of the most successful period in Cutty Sark’s working life, transporting wool from Australia to Britain.
Keyword: transporting, wool, sucessful
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 3
Explanation: As per the passage, at the most successful period in Cutty Sark’s history, it carried wool. The route was Australia to Britain. Hence, wool is the correct answer.

Question 10:

Answer: Navigator
Supporting Sentence: The ship’s next captain, Richard Woodget, was an excellent navigator, who got the best out of both his ship and his crew.
Keyword: woodget, captain
Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, Introductory line
Explanation: As per the supporting sentence, we see that Woodget was an excellent navigator and captain. Hence, navigator is the correct answer.

Question 11:

Answer: Gale
Supporting Sentence: Badly damaged in a gale in 1922, she was put into Falmouth harbour in southwest England, for repairs
Keyword: damaged, gale, Falmouth
Keyword Location: Paragraph 10, Line 1
Explanation: The author states that Cutty Sark was badly damaged by a gale in 1922. After that it went to Falmouth for repairs. Hence, gale is the correct answer.

Question 12:

Answer: Training
Supporting Sentence: Dowman used Cutty Sark as a training ship, and she continued in this role after his death.
Keyword: training
Keyword Location: Paragraph 11, Lines 1
Explanation: The passage states that Cutty Sark was used as a training ship for nearly 31 years from 1923 to 1954. After this, she was sent to Greenwich. Hence, training is the correct answer.

Question 13:

Answer: Fire
Supporting Sentence: The ship suffered from fire in 2007, and again, less seriously, in 2014, but now Cutty Sark attracts a quarter of a million visitors a year.
Keyword: fire, 2007, 2014
Keyword Location: Paragraph 11, Line 3
Explanation: The supporting sentence shows 2 instances where the ship was damaged. Both times the reason was fire. Hence, Fire is the correct answer.

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