The Falkirk Wheel Reading Answers
The Falkirk Wheel Reading Answers contains 13 questions which are to be answered in 20 minutes. The Falkirk Wheel Reading Answers consists of two types of questions including- True/False/Not Given and one-word answer. For True/False/Not Given, candidates need to skim the passage for keywords, understand the concept and state whether the given statement is true, false or not given. For a one-word answer, candidates must read the IELTS reading passage, identify keywords, and recognize synonyms to answer the question.
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Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
Falkirk Wheel IELTS Reading Sample
The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland is the world's first and only rotating boat lift. Opened in 2002, it is central to the ambitious £84.5m Millennium Link project to restore navigability across Scotland by reconnecting the historic waterways of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals.
The major challenge of the project lies in the fact that the Forth & Clyde Canal is situated 35 metres below the level of the Union Canal. Historically, the two canals had been joined near the town of Falkirk by a sequence of 11 locks - enclosed sections of canal in which the water level could be raised or lowered - that stepped down across a distance of 1.5 km. This had been dismantled in 1933, thereby breaking the link. When the project was launched in 1994, the British Waterways authority were keen to create a dramatic twenty-first-century landmark which would not only be a fitting commemoration of the Millennium, but also a lasting symbol of the economic regeneration of the region.
Numerous ideas were submitted for the project, including concepts ranging from rolling eggs to tilting tanks, from giant seesaws to overhead monorails. The eventual winner was a plan for the huge rotating steel boat lift which was to become The Falkirk Wheel. The unique shape of the structure is claimed to have been inspired by various sources, both manmade and natural, most notably a Celtic double headed axe, but also the vast turning propeller of a ship, the ribcage of a whale or the spine of a fish.
The various parts of The Falkirk Wheel were all constructed and assembled, like one giant toy building set, at Butterley Engineering's Steelworks in Derbyshire, some 400 km from Falkirk. A team there carefully assembled the 1,200 tonnes of steel, painstakingly fitting the pieces together to an accuracy of just 10 mm to ensure a perfect final fit. In the summer of 2001, the structure was then dismantled and transported on 35 lorries to Falkirk, before all being bolted back together again on the ground, and finally lifted into position in five large sections by crane. The Wheel would need to withstand immense and constantly changing stresses as it rotated, so to make the structure more robust, the steel sections were bolted rather than welded together. Over 45,000 bolt holes were matched with their bolts, and each bolt was hand-tightened.
The Wheel consists of two sets of opposing axe-shaped arms, attached about 25 metres apart to a fixed central spine.
Two diametrically opposed water-filled 'gondolas', each with a capacity of 360,000 litres, are fitted between the ends of the arms. These gondolas always weigh the same, whether or not they are carrying boats. This is because, according to Archimedes' principle of displacement, floating objects displace their own weight in water. So when a boat enters a gondola, the amount of water leaving the gondola weighs exactly the same as the boat. This keeps the Wheel balanced and so, despite its enormous mass, it rotates through 180° in five and a half minutes while using very little power. It takes just 1.5 kilowatt-hours (5.4 MJ) of energy to rotate the Wheel -roughly the same as boiling eight small domestic kettles of water.
Boats needing to be lifted up enter the canal basin at the level of the Forth & Clyde Canal and then enter the lower gondola of the Wheel. Two hydraulic steel gates are raised, so as to seal the gondola off from the water in the canal basin. The water between the gates is then pumped out. A hydraulic clamp, which prevents the arms of the Wheel moving while the gondola is docked, is removed, allowing the Wheel to turn. In the central machine room an array of ten hydraulic motors then begins to rotate the central axle. The axle connects to the outer arms of the Wheel, which begin to rotate at a speed of 1/8 of a revolution per minute. As the wheel rotates, the gondolas are kept in the upright position by a simple gearing system. Two eight-metre-wide cogs orbit a fixed inner cog of the same width, connected by two smaller cogs travelling in the opposite direction to the outer cogs - so ensuring that the gondolas always remain level. When the gondola reaches the top, the boat passes straight onto the aqueduct situated 24 metres above the canal basin.
The remaining 11 metres of lift needed to reach the Union Canal is achieved by means of a pair of locks. The Wheel could not be constructed to elevate boats over the full 35-metre difference between the two canals, owing to the presence of the historically important Antonine Wall, which was built by the Romans in the second century AD. Boats travel under this wall via a tunnel, then through the locks, and finally on to the Union Canal.
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Section 2
Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
in boxes 1-6 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
(Guide: In this task type, the candidates are required to study the passage properly then answer the questions marked from 1 - 6. Each question’s answer will either be true or false or not given.)
Question 1: The Falkirk Wheel has linked the Forth & Clyde Canal with the Union Canal for the first time in their history.
Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: This had been dismantled in 1933, thereby breaking the link. When the project was launched in 1994, the British Waterways authority were keen to create a dramatic twenty-first-century landmark which would not only be a fitting commemoration of the Millennium, but also a lasting symbol of the economic regeneration of the region.
Keyword: Linked, forth and Clyde canal, union canal, first time.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, Lines 3-7
Explanation: In paragraph 2 lines 4-9 says, “Historically, the two canals have been joined near the town of Falkirk by a sequence of 11 locks that stepped down across a distance of 1.5 km. This was dismantled in 1933…
According to these lines, the canals had been linked once before and this is not the first time.
Question 2: There was some opposition to the design of the Falkirk Wheel at first.
Answer: Not Given
Question 3: The Falkirk Wheel was initially put together at the location where its components were manufactured.
Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: “The various parts of The Falkirk Wheel were all constructed and assembled, like one giant toy building set, at Butterley Engineering's Steelworks in Derbyshire, some 400 km from Falkirk.”
Keyword: Initially, put together, location, components, manufactured.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, First 2 lines
Explanation: Here in this question we need to find the location of the wheel. So as per paragraph 4, lines 1-4, “the various parts of the Falkirk wheel were all constructed and assembled at Butterley Engineering’s steelworks in Derbyshire..”, So the statement given here and the text given above both have the same meaning. hence it’s true.
Question 4: The Falkirk Wheel is the only boat lift in the world which has steel sections bolted together by hand.
Answer: Not Given
Question 5: The weight of the gondolas varies according to the size of the boat being carried.
Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: So when a boat enters a gondola, the amount of water leaving the gondola weighs exactly the same as the boat. This keeps the Wheel balanced and so, despite its enormous mass, it rotates through 180° in five and a half minutes while using very little power. It takes just 1.5 kilowatt-hours (5.4 MJ) of energy to rotate the Wheel -roughly the same as boiling eight small domestic kettles of water.
Keyword: Weight, varies,size of boat
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Lines 4-5
Explanation: It is given in paragraph 5 lines 6-7 . Here the writer says that these Gondolas always weigh the same, whether or not they are carrying boats.
Hence the statement is very clear that the weight is always the same. So the statement is false.
Question 6: The construction of the Falkirk Wheel site took into account the presence of a nearby ancient monument.
Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: The remaining 11 metres of lift needed to reach the Union Canal is achieved by means of a pair of locks. The Wheel could not be constructed to elevate boats over the full 35-metre difference between the two canals, owing to the presence of the historically important Antonine Wall, which was built by the Romans in the second century AD. Boats travel under this wall via a tunnel, then through the locks, and finally on to the Union Canal.
Keyword: Historically important, presence,ancient, Monument
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, Lines 4-5
Explanation: As mentioned in the last paragraph, “the wheel could not be constructed to elevate boats over the full 35-meter difference between the two canals, owing to the presence of historically important Antonine wall.” In the above-given line historically important means ancient. So it is understood that the construction of the wheel is inspired or influenced by the presence of an ancient monument.
Question 7 - 13
Label the diagram below.
Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet.
Question 7
Answer: Gates
Supporting Sentence: The water between the gates is then pumped out. A hydraulic clamp, which prevents the arms of the Wheel moving while the gondola is docked, is removed, allowing the Wheel to turn.
Keyword: Hydraulic steel, raised, a pair, shut out water
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Lines 3-4
Explanation: In lines 4-7 of paragraph 6,it is given that two hydraulic steel gates are raised, so as to seal the gondola off from the water in the canal basin. Now here some matches can be found with keywords such as : a pair of equals to two, lifted equals to raised, shut out water equals to seal off from water. So the appropriate answer for this is Gates.
Question: 8
Answer: Clamp
Supporting Sentence: A hydraulic clamp, which prevents the arms of the Wheel moving while the gondola is docked, is removed, allowing the Wheel to turn. In the central machine room an array of ten hydraulic motors then begins to rotate the central axle. The axle connects to the outer arms of the Wheel, which begin to rotate at a speed of 1/8 of a revolution per minute. As the wheel rotates, the gondolas are kept in the upright position by a simple gearing system. Two eight-metre-wide cogs orbit a fixed inner cog of the same width, connected by two smaller cogs travelling in the opposite direction to the outer cogs - so ensuring that the gondolas always remain level.
Keyword: Hydraulic clamp, removed, taken out, rotate
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Lines 5-7
Explanation: As it is stated in fourth sentence of paragraph 6, “A hydraulic clamp which prevents the arm of the wheel moving while the gondola is docked ,is removed allowing the wheel to turn .” There are some matches with keywords here: Taken out= removed, rotate = turn.
Question: 9
Answer: Axle
Supporting Sentence: Two eight-metre-wide cogs orbit a fixed inner cog of the same width, connected by two smaller cogs travelling in the opposite direction to the outer cogs - so ensuring that the gondolas always remain level. When the gondola reaches the top, the boat passes straight onto the aqueduct situated 24 metres above the canal basin.
Keyword: Hydraulic motors, rotate ,drive
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Lines 8-9
Explanation: As far as paragraph 6 is concerned, “ in the central machine room an array of ten hydraulic motors then begins to rotate the central axle”. So it means that the hydraulic motors drive , or control the axle by rotating it.
Question: 10
Answer: Cogs
Supporting Sentence: When the gondola reaches the top, the boat passes straight onto the aqueduct situated 24 metres above the canal basin
Keyword: Gondolas, gearing system, different-sized,upright.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Lines 11-12
Explanation: Again in paragraph 6,lines 16-21 say, “as the wheel rotates, the gondolas are kept in the upright position by a simple gearing system. Two eight-metre-wide cogs orbit a fixed inner cog of the same width connected by two smaller cogs….” Here, the writer says that the writer illustrates the gearing system which comprises many cogs of different sizes. So, the word in the blank is cogs.
Question: 11
Answer: Aqueduct
Supporting Sentence: When the gondola reaches the top, the boat passes straight onto the aqueduct situated 24 metres above the canal basin
Keyword: Passes straight, canal basin, moves directly onto
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Last 2 lines
Explanation: If we look closely at the end of paragraph 6, the author indicates, “when the gondola reaches the top, the boat passes straight onto the aqueduct situated 24 metres above the canal basin.” here,
Move onto=pass onto, Directly=straight
Question: 12
Answer: Wall
Supporting Sentence: The Wheel could not be constructed to elevate boats over the full 35-meter difference between the two canals, owing to the presence of the historically important Antonine Wall, which was built by the Romans in the second century AD. Boats travel under this wall via a tunnel, then through the locks, and finally on to the Union Canal.
Keyword: Travel under, tunnel, beneath, Roman
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, Last 2 lines
Explanation: Here at the end of the text we got the answer for this. in the last line of the last paragraph, the writer says, “boats travel under this wall via a tunnel…”. Here this wall indicates the wall which was built by Romans in the second century AD. Additionally, here under means beneath.
Question: 13
Answer: Locks
Supporting Sentence: The remaining 11 metres of lift needed to reach the Union Canal is achieved by means of a pair of locks. The Wheel could not be constructed to elevate boats over the full 35-metre difference between the two canals, owing to the presence of the historically important Antonine Wall, which was built by the Romans in the second century AD. Boats travel under this wall via a tunnel, then through the locks, and finally on to the Union Canal.
Keyword: Lift, canal, raise, reach
Keyword Location: Last Paragraph
Explanation: The final paragraph begins with special information. “the remaining 11 metres of lift needed to reach the union canal is achieved by a pair of locks.” So, here it means that the locks actually lift or raise the boat.
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