Exploring British Village 2 Reading Answers

Feb 3, 2023

Exploring British Village 2 Reading Answers is a academic topic in the IELTS Reading section. This has been taken from the book: Cambridge IELTS. The IELTS reading section helps candidates increase their reading skills with the help of passages. Candidates need to read the passage and then answer the questions. There are 13 questions in this topic: Exploring British Village 2 Reading Answers. The IELTS reading questions are divided into two sections: no more than one word, and choose the appropriate paragraph. There are more topics like In search of the Exploring British Village 2 Reading Answers available online. Candidates can practice 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

Exploring British Village 2 Reading Answers

{A} The Neolithic longhouse was a long, narrow timber dwelling built by the first farmers in Europe beginning at least as early as the period 5000 to 6000 BC. The origin of the name blackhouse is of some debate. It could be less than 150 years old and may have been synonymous with inferior. On Lewis, in particular, it seems to have been used to distinguish the older blackhouses from some of the newer white-houses (Scottish Gaelic: taigh-geal, Irish: tí geal, tí bán), with their mortared stone walls. There may also be some confusion arising from the phonetic similarity between the ‘dubh’ , meaning black and taghadh meaning thatch. The houses in Scotland were built high rather than wide; however, some were built small and wide.

{B} The buildings were generally built with double-wall dry-stone walls packed with earth and wooden rafters covered with a thatch of turf with cereal straw or reed. The floor was generally flagstones or packed earth and there was a central hearth for the fire. There was no chimney for the smoke to escape through. Instead, the smoke made its way through the roof. The blackhouse was used to accommodate livestock as well as people. People lived at one end and the animals lived at the other with a partition between them.

{C} It is estimated that there are over ten thousand villages in Britain, yet defining the term ‘village’ isn’t as simple as it may at first sound. When does a hamlet become a village? And when does a village become a town?

{D} Strictly speaking the term ‘village’ comes from the Latin ‘villaticus’, which roughly translates as ‘a group of houses outside a villa farmstead’. Today a village is understood as a collection of buildings (usually at least 20) that is larger than a hamlet, yet smaller than a town, and which contains at least one communal or public building. This is most commonly the parish church, though it can be a chapel, school, public house, shop, post office, smithy or mill. Villagers will share communal resources such as access roads, a water supply, and usually a place of worship

{E} A hamlet is a smaller grouping of buildings that don’t necessarily have any public or service buildings to support it. A significant difference is that it won’t have a parish church like a village does, and most hamlets contain only between three and twenty buildings.

{F} The point at which a village becomes a town is difficult to determine and is probably best defined by those who live there. However, since the Middle Ages, the term ‘town’ has been a legal term that refers to the fact that the community has a borough charter. The situation is confused by the fact that there are many town-like suburban communities calling themselves villages (for example, Oxton Village in Birkenhead), as well as designed suburban ‘villages’ such as those built under the Garden Village Movement.

{G} The 2001 census shows us that approx 80% of people in England live in an urban environment, with under 7% living in rural villages (the remainder live in rural towns or outside concentrated settlements). This is the exact opposite of the situation two centuries ago, when under 20% of the population lived in the town, and the majority lived in rural villages. As late as 1851 agriculture remained the largest single source of employment in Britain, yet today under 3% of us work on the land.

{H} It is essential to remember that villages were created and have evolved because of particular combinations of geographical, commercial, economic and social factors. They expand, decline, move and fluctuate with the times. This article introduces some of the common forms of the village to be found in Britain.

The Medieval Village

{I} When we think of a British village we probably imagine a settlement of traditional cottages around a village green with a church and ancient manor house as a backdrop. This common form of the village has its roots in the medieval period when many villages started out as a cluster of agricultural dwellings

{J} Today farmsteads tend to be scattered about the landscape, but back in the medieval period those working on the land tended to live in small nucleated settlements (villages) and worked ‘open-field’ agriculture where land wasn’t enclosed. In fact, over much of Britain in the period up to 1800, it would have been unusual to have seen a farm or cottage outside of a settlement boundary.

{K} By the time that the Domesday Book was written in 1086 most of the good agricultural land in Britain was already under cultivation, and England was a densely populated country. Two centuries later nucleated settlements were to be found over much of Britain, typically consisting of well-organised village settlements sitting within open fields.

{L} Over lowland Britain on good soil you would typically find a settlement every couple of miles, and the communities would use the open agricultural land around where they lived. The average village would have its church, manor house, and cottage tenements all clustered together, and the open land around would usually be divided into thin strips. In some villages, you can still see the remnants of medieval strip field systems around the periphery of the settlement. There would often be meadows, pasture and woodland held ‘in common, and only the lord of the manor would have his own, private land or ‘demesne’. In the medieval village, virtually everyone would have earned their living on the territory, hence the community had to be relatively self-sufficient.

{M} ‘Green Villages’ were a common village form, where houses clustered around a central green of common land. They are often the remnants of planned settlements introduced after the Norman Conquest in the 19th century. It is suggested that this arrangement allowed for easier defence, especially compared to the village form most common before the Normans, which was simple clusters of farms. However there is also evidence of ‘village’ greens in Anglo-Saxon settlements, and even at Romano-British sites.

{N} The village green was soon adopted as the main social space within a village, as well as its focal point alongside the church or chapel. Village greens often take a triangular form, usually reflecting the fact that the village was at the meeting of three roads. The continuing importance of the village green to modern-day communities is reflected in the fact that this is usually where the war memorial is seen, as well as village notice boards, where local cricket matches are played, and where public benches are placed. The Open Spaces Society states that in 2005 there were about 3,650 registered greens in England and about 220 in Wales.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
Questions 14-19
Reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A and C-G from the list below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.

List of heading

(i) Questions arise to be answered.
(ii) Contrast data between present and past.
(iii) Initial response of association on village.
(iv) Origin of a certain ancient building.
(v) Inner structure of building.
(vi) Layout of village to persist in micro-environment.
(vii) Terms of village explained.
(viii) Definition of village type.
(ix) Difference between village and town.
(X) Elements need to be considered in terms of village.

(14) paragraph A

Answer: iv
Supporting Sentence: The Neolithic longhouse was a long, narrow timber dwelling built by the first farmers in Europe beginning at least as early as the period 5000 to 6000 BC. The origin of the name blackhouse is of some debate.
Keywords: Neolithic longhouse, narrow timber
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, lines 1-3
Explanation: The Neolithic longhouse was a type of dwelling constructed by early European farmers, dating back to at least 5000 to 6000 BC. These houses were long and narrow, made of timber. The origin of the name "blackhouse" is uncertain.

(15) paragraph B

Answer: v
Supporting Sentence: The buildings were generally built with double-wall dry-stone walls packed with earth and wooden rafters covered with a thatch of turf with cereal straw or reed. The floor was generally flagstones or packed earth and there was a central hearth for the fire.
Keywords: double-wall, dry-stone, flagstones
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 1-3
Explanation: The Neolithic longhouses were typically constructed using double-wall dry-stone walls filled with earth and supported by wooden rafters. The roof was made of turf and cereal straw or reed. The floor was usually made of flagstones or packed earth and had a central fireplace.

(16) paragraph C

Answer: i
Supporting Sentence: It is estimated that there are over ten thousand villages in Britain, yet defining the term ‘village’ isn’t as simple as it may at first sound.
Keywords: ten thousand villages, Britain
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 1-2
Explanation: Estimations suggest that there are more than ten thousand settlements in Britain. It can be referred to as villages, however, the definition of the term "village" is not straightforward.

(17) paragraph D

Answer: vii
Supporting Sentence: Strictly speaking the term ‘village’ comes from the Latin ‘villaticus’, which roughly translates as ‘a group of houses outside a villa farmstead’.
Keywords: village, villaticus
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, lines 1-2
Explanation: The word 'village' originates from the Latin term 'villaticus', which means a collection of houses located outside of a villa farm.

(18) paragraph E

Answer: viii
Supporting Sentence: A significant difference is that it won’t have a parish church like a village does, and most hamlets contain only between three and twenty buildings.
Keywords: difference, parish church, hamlets
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, lines 2-3
Explanation: One notable distinction is that a hamlet typically lacks a parish church, unlike a village. Additionally, hamlets usually consist of only a few buildings, usually between three and twenty.

(19) paragraph F

Answer: ix
Supporting Sentence: The point at which a village becomes a town is difficult to determine and is probably best defined by those who live there. However, since the Middle Ages, the term ‘town’ has been a legal term that refers to the fact that the community has a borough charter.
Keywords: village, Middle Ages, legal term
Keyword Location: Paragraph f, lines 1-3
Explanation: It can be challenging to specify when a village transforms into a town, and the distinction is often subject to the perception of the inhabitants. Historically, the term "town" has been a legal term, referring to a community that holds a borough charter since the Middle Ages.

(20) paragraph G

Answer: ii
Supporting Sentence: The 2001 census shows us that approx 80% of people in England live in an urban environment, with under 7% living in rural villages (the remainder live in rural towns or outside concentrated settlements).
Keywords: 2001 census, England
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, lines 1-3
Explanation: According to the 2001 census, approximately 80% of the population in England resides in urban areas, while less than 7% live in rural villages. The remaining individuals live in rural towns or in areas outside of concentrated settlements.

Questions 21-26:
Summary
Village Green layout and
Extending

Impression of British Village usually takes forms of old-styled ____21___with church and manor house. However, records in ____22___ indicated that England was already a cultivated and populated country in the 11th century. During medieval times, farmers literally could support themselves and the community, therefore, needed to ___23___ in general.

Green village was usually _____24_____ _of dwellings after the invasion from Norman, and it was gathered mainly for the purpose of ______25______ Village Green’s _______26___shape had a connection with its location among the roads, and nowadays it still can be seen in some public venues such as memorial and sports sites.

Question 21.

Answer: cottages
Supporting Sentence: When we think of a British village we probably imagine a settlement of traditional cottages around a village green with a church and ancient manor house as a backdrop.
Keywords: British village, cottages
Keyword Location: Pargraph I, lines 1-2
Explanation: When one conjures an image of a traditional British village. It is likely to be a portrayal of a collection of quaint cottages situated around a village green, with a church and historic manor house in the background.

Question 22.

Answer: 1086
Supporting Sentence: By the time that the Domesday Book was written in 1086 most of the good agricultural land in Britain was already under cultivation, and England was a densely populated country.
Keywords: Domesday Book, 1086
Keyword Location: Paragraph K, lines 1-2
Explanation: When the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086. Thus, a majority of the fertile agricultural land in Britain had already been utilized, resulting in a high population density in England.

Question 23.

Answer: self-sufficient
Supporting Sentence: In the medieval village, virtually everyone would have earned their living on the territory, hence the community had to be relatively self-sufficient
Keywords: medieval village, self-sufficient
Keyword Location: Paragraph L, lines 7-9
Explanation: During the medieval period, the majority of villagers would have earned their livelihood. It was within the village, therefore the village had to be relatively self-sufficient.

Question 24.

Answer: remnants
Supporting Sentence: They are often the remnants of planned settlements introduced after the Norman Conquest in the 19th century.
Keywords: remnants, Norman Conquest
Keyword Location: Paragraph M, lines 2-3
Explanation: Hamlets are frequently the leftover of planned settlements established during the 19th century following the Norman Conquest.

Question 25.

Answer: defence
Supporting Sentence: It is suggested that this arrangement allowed for easier defence, especially compared to the village form most common before the Normans, which was simple clusters of farms.
Keywords: easier defence, Normans
Keyword Location: Paragraph L, lines 3-4
Explanation: This layout is believed to have provided better protection, particularly compared to the typical village form. This existed prior to the Norman conquest, which typically consisted of isolated farm clusters.

Question 26.

Answer: triangular
Supporting Sentence: Village greens often take a triangular form, usually reflecting the fact that the village was at the meeting of three roads.
Keywords: Village, triangular form, reflecting
Keyword Location: Paragraph N, lines 2-3
Explanation: Village greens frequently have a triangular shape, which is usually an indication that the village was located where three roads intersected.

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