Martin Luther King Reading Answers

Dec 23, 2022

Martin Luther King Reading Answers have 13 questions in total. These questions have to be answered in 20 minutes. Martin Luther King Reading Answers comprises two types of questions, namely- choosing the correct option, and true/false/not given. The IELTS Reading section helps candidates improve their reading skills. This topic Martin Luther King Reading Answers has been taken from the book McGraw-Hill Education 6 IELTS Practice Tests with Audio. There are similar IELTS Reading topics like Martin Luther King Reading Answers available online for the students to practice. IELTS Reading practice papers will help candidates prepare themselves for the D-Day of the IELTS Exam.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Martin Luther King Reading Answers

Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the son of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. He had an older sister, Willie Christine King, and a younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams King. Growing up in Atlanta, King attended Booker T. Washington High School. He skipped a ninth and twelfth grade and entered Morehouse College at age fifteen without formally graduating from high school. From the time that Martin was born, he knew that black people and white people had different rights in certain parts of America.
If a black family wanted to eat at a restaurant, they had to sit in a separate section of the restaurant. They had to sit at the back of the cinema and even use separate toilets. Worse, and perhaps even more humiliating still, in many southern states, if a black man was on a bus and all the seats were taken, he would have to endure the indignity of relinquishing his own seat to a white man. King could never understand the terrible injustice of this. In 1948, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. Later, King began doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University and received his Doctor of Philosophy on June 5, 1955. King married Coretta Scott, on June 18, 1953, and they had four children.
Returning to the South to become pastor of a Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, King first achieved national renown when he helped mobilise the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system in 1955. This was organised after Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man – in the segregated south, black people could only sit at the back of the bus. The 382-day boycott led the bus company to change its regulations, and the Supreme Court declared such segregation unconstitutional.
In 1957 King was active in the organisation of the Southern Leadership Christian Conference (SCLC), formed to co-ordinate protests against discrimination. He advocated non-violent direct action based on the methods of Gandhi, who led protests against British rule in India culminating in India’s independence in 1947. In 1963, King led mass protests against discriminatory practices in Birmingham, Alabama, where the white population were violently resisting desegregation. The city was dubbed ‘Bombingham’ as attacks against civil rights protesters increased, and King was arrested and jailed for his part in the protests.
After his release, King participated in the enormous civil rights march, in Washington, in August 1963, and delivered his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech, predicting a day when the promise of freedom and equality for all would become a reality in America. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1965, he led a campaign to register blacks to vote. The same year the US Congress passed the Voting Rights Act outlawing the discriminatory practices that had barred blacks from voting in the south.
As the civil rights movement became increasingly radicalised, King found that his message of peaceful protest was not shared by many in the younger generation. King began to protest against the Vietnam War and poverty levels in the US. On March 29, 1968, King went to Memphis, Tennessee, in support of the black sanitary public works employees who had been on strike since March 12 for higher wages and better treatment. In one incident, black street repairmen had received pay for two hours when they were sent home because of bad weather, but white employees had been paid for the full day. King could not bear to stand by and let such patent acts of racism go unnoticed. He moved to unite his people, and all the peoples of America on the receiving end of discriminatory practices, to protest for their rights, peacefully but steadfastly.
On his trip to Memphis, King was booked into room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, owned by Walter Bailey. King was shot at 6:01 p.m. April 4, 1968, while he was standing on the motel’s second-floor balcony. King was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where doctors opened his chest and performed a manual heart massage. He was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. King’s autopsy revealed that although he was only 39 years old, he had the heart of a 60-year-old man.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Question 1 to 5
Choose the correct answer from A, B, C and D
(Guide: 4 answers are provided, and students must choose the correct information based on the information present in the passage. The information in only one of the answers will align with the passage.)
TIP: Students must check the keywords to find the answer correctly.

Question 1. From a young age Martin Luther King

wanted to protest for the rights of black people.
could not understand why black people were treated differently.
was not allowed to go to the cinema or restaurants.
was aware that black people were being humiliated in many northern states.

Answer: B. could not understand why black people were treated differently.
Supporting sentence: King could never understand the terrible injustice of this.”
Keywords: terrible injustice, separate, never understand, black people
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, Line 6
Explanation: The author states that King saw lots of injustices against Black people. They were asked to sit in separate sections of the restaurants. The cinemas and toilets were separate for the blacks. They were also expected to give up their seats for white people if all the seats in a bus were filled. As per the passage, King failed to understand these terrible injustices against the people of their community.

Question 2. What initially made Martin Luther King famous?

the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system
becoming a pastor at a Baptist Church
when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus
when he persuaded Rosa Parks not to give up her bus seat to a white man

Answer: A. the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system
Supporting sentence: “King first achieved national renown when he helped mobilise the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system.”
Keywords. Montgomery bus system, boycott, renown
Keyword Location: Paragraph B

Explanation: The author in paragraph B started by explaining that King became famous and renowned because he could mobilize and boycott the Montgomery bus system. This makes the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system the correct answer.

Question 3. What influenced Martin Luther King regarding non-violence?

India’s independence in 1947
Christianity
the Southern Leadership Christian Conference
the methods of Gandhi

Answer: D. the methods of Gandhi
Supporting sentence: “He advocated non-violent direct action based on the methods of Gandhi.”
Keywords. Non-violence, Gandhi
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, Sentence 2
Explanation: The passage gives an example of Gandhi who introduced non-violence in India. This influenced Martin Luther King. Hence, the methods of Gandhi is the correct answer.

Question 4. What did Martin Luther King fight for in 1965?

the right of black people to vote
the actions of the US Congress
the right to win the Nobel Peace Prize
the right of black people to travel abroad

Answer: A. The right of black people to vote
Supporting sentence: “In 1965, he led a campaign to register blacks to vote.”
Keywords. 1965, Vote, campaign
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, Line 3
Explanation: According to section D of the paragraph, in the year 1965, King led a campaign for blacks to be registered and allowed to vote. This makes “right of black people to vote” the correct answer.

Question 5. How did Martin Luther King feel about the civil rights movement?

It was helping the war in Vietnam.
It brought the younger generation together.
It had been exploited by politicians who wanted to get more votes.
The protesters sometimes behaved too violently.

Answer: D. The protesters sometimes behaved too violently.
Supporting sentence: “King found that his message of peaceful protest was not shared by many in the younger generation.”
Keywords: Peaceful protest not followed,
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Line 1
Explanation: As per the passage, Martin Luther King felt that his idea of non-violence protests was not followed during the civil rights movement. This was especially not followed by the younger generations. This has been made evident in paragraph E. Hence, the protest behaved violently.

Question 6-8:

In the question from 6-8, write

TRUE- If the statements agree with the information in the passage
FALSE- If the statements disagree with the information in the passage
NOT GIVEN- IF there is no information in the passage

(Guide: In this question, three choices are given, and students must choose TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN based on the information available in the passage. if no information is present, students must write Not given as their option)

Question 6. The black boycott of the Montgomery bus system was a success.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: “The 382-day boycott led the bus company to change its regulations, and the Supreme Court declared such segregation unconstitutional.”
Keywords: boycott, bus company, change in regulation
Keywords Location: Paragraph B, Line 4
Explanation: The statement in paragraph B mentions that after the boycott, the bus company was forced to change its regulations as the Supreme Court declared such segregation as unconstitutional, proving that the boycott was successful.

Question 7. In 1963 the white people in Alabama wanted desegregation.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: “In Birmingham, Alabama, where the white population were violently resisting desegregation.”
Keywords: Alabama, white population, desegregation
Keywords location: Paragraph C, Line 4
Explanation: As section C clearly mentions, Alabama’s white people were against the idea of desegregation and were violently resisting it.

Question 8. Martin Luther King achieved a lot in his protest against the Vietnam War.

Answer: Not Given

Question 9- 14:
There are six paragraphs from A to F in the above passage, and we need to choose one heading from the list for each section.

Write the correct number against each paragraph.

Paragraph A
Paragraph B
Paragraph C
Paragraph D
Paragraph E
Paragraph F

the memorable speech
unhappy about violence
A tragic incident
Protests and action
the background of an iconic man
Making his mark internationally
Difficult childhood
Black Street repairmen

(Guide: In order to match the heading question in the IELTS reading task, students must give an appropriate title to each section of the paragraph. Students must be able to understand the essence of each section to provide a suitable heading.)

Question 9

Answer: (v)- The background of an iconic man
Supporting sentence: “He was the son of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King.”
Keywords: background, school, sister, brother
Keyword Location: Paragraph A
Explanation: In the passage, the author mentions the birth date, and birthplace and talks about King’s Parents, sisters, and brothers. It also mentions his school and gives us an idea about the leader’s pastThis mean the background of the king is provided..

Question 10

Answer: (vii)- Difficult childhood
Supporting sentence: They had to sit at the back of the cinema and even use separate toilets. Worse, and perhaps even more humiliating still, in many southern states, if a black man was on a bus and all the seats were taken, he would have to endure the indignity of relinquishing his own seat to a white man. King could never understand the terrible injustice of this. 
Keywords: Cinema, toilets
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 1
Explanation: According to paragraph B, we see the difficulties a black man had to face. Martin Luther King was too a victim of all these injustices. It was very humiliating according to him. Hence, he had a difficult childhood.

Question 11

Answer: (iv)- Protests and action
Supporting sentence: King first achieved national renown when he helped mobilise the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system in 1955.
Keywords: boycott, Montgomery
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line 2 & 3
Explanation: The author in paragraph B mentions the black bus boycott in Montgomery. This allowed the bus company to change its regulations. They started to protest and take action on the injustice. As the section mentions protests conducted by the King, the title protests and action are appropriate.

Question 12

Answer: (ii) - Unhappy about violence
Supporting sentence: “He advocated non-violent direct action based on the methods of Gandhi.”
Keywords: Gandhi, Non- Violence
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 3
Explanation: As per the passage, we can see that King supported the idea of non-violence that was introduced by Gandhi. This clearly means he was unhappy with the idea of violence.

Question 13

Answer: (i) - the memorable speech
Supporting sentence: “ In August 1963, and delivered his famous ‘I have a dream speech’.”
Keywords: delivered, famous, speech
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 2
Explanation: As per the passage, in August 1963, Martin Luther King delivered his famous speech ‘I have a dream’. This shows that the speech was memorable and thus, makes the heading accurate.

Question 14

Answer: (vi)- Making his mark internationally
Supporting sentence: “King began to protest against the Vietnam War.”
Keywords: Vietnam war, international
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, line 3
Explanation: While fighting in Vietnam, Martin Luther King made an international mark as he originally belonged to the USA. Fighting in an international country and hence, making his mark makes the title appropriate.

Read More IELTS Reading Related Samples