The Berlin Wall Reading Answers

Jul 16, 2024

The Berlin Wall Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. The Berlin Wall Reading Answers have a total of 13 IELTS questions in total. In the questions, you have to choose the correct heading for the statement. In the next questions, you have to answer within 2-3 words.

Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers, which feature topics such as The The Berlin Wall Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a secured concrete barrier that substantially and ideologically separated Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Construction of the Wall was beginning by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) on 13 August 1961. The Wall cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany, with East Berlin. The barrier comprised guard towers positioned along great concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area (later known as the "death strip*) that contained anti-vehicle trenches, beds of nails, and other defences. The Eastern Bloc depicted the Wall as defending its population from fascist elements colluding to avert the "will of the people* from building a socialist state in East Germany.

GDR authorities officially denoted to the Berlin Wall as the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampar. The West Berlin city government occasionally mentioned to it as the "Wall of Shame", a term coined by mayor Willy Brandt in reference to the Wall's restriction on freedom of movement. Along with the distinct and much longer Inne German border (IGB), which delineated the border between East and West Germany, it came to physically signify the "Iron Curtain" that parted Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War.

Before the Wall's erection, 3.5 million East Germans circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration limitations and deserted from the GDR, many by crossing over the border from East Berlin into West Berlin; from there they could then travel to West Germany and to other Western European countries. Between 1961 and 1989 the Wall prohibited almost all such emigration. During this period, over 100,000 people tried to escape, and over 5,000 people succeeded in escaping over the Wall, with a projected death toll ranging from 136 to more than 200 in and around Berlin.

On 15 June 1961, First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party and GDR State Council chairman Walter Ulbricht specified in an international press conference, "No one has the intention of erecting a wall!". It was the first time the colloquial term Mauer (wall) had been used in this situation. The transcript of a telephone call between Nikita Khrushchev and Ulbricht, on 1 August in the same year, recommends that the initiative for the creation of the Wall came from Khrushchev. Nevertheless other sources recommend that Khrushchev had initially been wary about building a wall, fearing negative Western reaction. However, Ulbricht had pushed for a border closure for quite some time, disagreeing that East Germany's very existence was at stake.

Khrushchev had become encouraged upon seeing US president John F. Kennedy's youth and immaturity, a weakness against Khrushchev's ruthless, undiplomatic aggression. In the 1961 Vienna summit, Kennedy made the mistake of confessing that the US wouldn't actively oppose the building of a barrier. A feeling of inaccuracy and disappointment immediately afterwards was self-confessed by Kennedy in a candid interview with New York Times columnist James "Scotty" Reston. On Saturday 12 August 1961, the leaders of the GDR attended a garden party at a government guesthouse in Döllnsee, in a wooded area to the north of East Berlin. There Ulbricht signed the order to close the border and erect a wall.

At midnight, the police and units of the East German army started to close the border and, by Sunday morning, 13 August, the border with West Berlin was shuf East German troops and workers had begun to tear up streets running alongside the border to make them blocked to most vehicles and to install hooked wire entanglements and fences along the 156 kilometres (97 mi) around the three western sectors, and the 43 kilometres (27 mi) that separated West and East Berlin.
The date of 13 August became commonly denoted to as Barbed Wire Sunday in Germany.
The barrier was erected inside East Berlin or East German territory to confirm that it did not intrude on West Berlin at any point. Generally, the Wall was only slightly inside East Berlin, but in a few places, it was some distance from the legal border, most particularly at Potsdamer Bohnhoff and the Lenné Triangle that is now much of the Potsdamer Platz development. Later, the initial barrier was built up into the Wall proper, the first concrete elements and large blocks being put in place on 17 August. Throughout the erection of the Wall, National People's Army (NVA) and Combat Groups of the Working Class (KdA) soldiers stood in front of it with guidelines to shoot anyone who tried to defect. Furthermore, chain fences, walls, minefields and other hindrances were installed along the length of East Germany's western border with West Germany proper. A vast no man's land was cleared to offer a clear line of fire at escaping refugees.
In 1989, a succession of revolutions in nearby Eastern Bloc countries in Poland and Hungary in particular triggered a chain reaction in East Germany that eventually caused in the demise of the Wall. After several weeks of civil turbulence, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Masses of East Germans crossed and mounted onto the Wall, Joined by West Germans on the other side in a festive atmosphere Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters fragmented away parts of the Wall. The Brandenburg Gate, a few meters from the Berlin Wall, was Unlocked on 22 December 1989. The destruction of the Wall officially commenced on 13 June 1990 and was accomplished in November 1991. The "fall of the Berlin Wall" paved the way for German reunification, which officially took place on 3 October 1990.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-8

Choose the correct heading for the given sections from the list of headings below Write the correct number in the answer sheet.

LIST OF HEADINGS

The wall built slightly inside east Germany for the most part.
Weakness of the US leader.
The Berlin wall construction and purpose.
Evidence from a telephone call that who instructed to build the wall.
Both sides having different meaning of the Wall.
Shutting down of border by army and police
The fall of the wall
People dying in pursuit to cross the border.

Paragraph A

Answer: III
Supporting statement:“......The Berlin Wall was a secured concrete barrier that substantially and ideologically separated Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Construction of the Wall was beginning by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) on 13 August 1961........”
Keywords: construction, purpose
Keyword Location: para A, lines 1-2
Explanation: Para A discusses the construction of the Berlin Wall and its purpose, which was to separate Berlin ideologically and physically. Option III is the correct answer.

Paragraph B

Answer: V
Supporting statement:“.......The West Berlin city government occasionally mentioned it as the 'Wall of Shame', a term coined by mayor Willy Brandt in reference to the Wall's restriction on freedom of movement.......”
Keywords: Shame, Anti-Fascist
Keyword Location: para B, lines 1-3
Explanation: Para B explains the differing perspectives of the Berlin Wall: the East called it the "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart" while the West called it the "Wall of Shame." Option V is the correct answer.

Paragraph C

Answer: VIII
Supporting statement:“.......During this period, over 100,000 people tried to escape, and over 5,000 people succeeded in escaping over the Wall, with a projected death toll ranging from 136 to more than 200 in and around
Berlin.......”
Keywords: escape, death toll
Keyword Location: para C, lines 4-6
Explanation: Paragraph C details the number of people who tried to escape and the death toll associated with these attempts. Option VIII is the correct answer.

Paragraph D

Answer: IV
Supporting statement:“.......The transcript of a telephone call between Nikita Khrushchev and Ulbricht, on 1 August in the same year, recommends that the initiative for the creation of the Wall came from Khrushchev.......”
Keywords: call, Khrushchev
Keyword Location: para D, lines 4-5
Explanation: Para D references a telephone call between Khrushchev and Ulbricht suggesting the initiative to build the Wall came from Khrushchev. Option IV is the correct answer.

Paragraph E

Answer: II
Supporting statement:“.......Khrushchev had become encouraged upon seeing US president John F. Kennedy's youth and immaturity, a weakness against Khrushchev's ruthless, undiplomatic aggression.......”
Keywords: Kennedy, weakness
Keyword Location: para E, lines 1-2
Explanation: Para E discusses Khrushchev's perception of Kennedy's weakness, which influenced his decision-making. Option II is the correct answer.

Paragraph F

Answer: VI
Supporting statement:“........At midnight, the police and units of the East German army started to close the border and, by Sunday morning, 13 August, the border with West Berlin was shut.......”
Keywords: border, army
Keyword Location: para F, lines 1-2
Explanation: Para F describes how the East German police and army began shutting down the border at midnight, effectively closing it by the next morning. The correct answer is VI, which is about the shutting down of the border by the army and police.

Paragraph G

Answer: I
Supporting statement:“......The barrier was erected inside East Berlin or East German territory to confirm that it did not intrude on West Berlin at any point.........”
Keywords: Berlin, did not intrude
Keyword Location: para G, line 1
Explanation: Para G explains that the Wall was constructed slightly inside East Berlin or East German territory to avoid intruding on West Berlin. ‘I’ focuses on the Wall being built slightly inside East Germany for the most part.

Paragraph H

Answer: VII
Supporting statement:“......After several weeks of civil turbulence, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin........”
Keywords: wall, visit
Keyword Location: para H, line 3-4
Explanation: Para H describes the events leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall, including the announcement by the East German government that allowed citizens to visit West Germany and West Berlin.

Questions 9-14

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS For each.

The guard towers were located along …….... walls.

Answer: CONCRETE
Supporting statement:“.......The barrier comprised guard towers positioned along great concrete walls........”
Keywords: towers, concrete
Keyword Location: para A, line 3
Explanation: The passage states that guard towers were positioned along great concrete walls, indicating the material and construction of the barrier. Hence concrete is the correct answer.

The West Berlin city government sporadically mentioned the wall as the ……….

Answer: WALL OF SHAME
Supporting statement:“......The West Berlin city government occasionally mentioned it as the 'Wall of Shame........”
Keywords: Berlin, Wall
Keyword Location: para B, line 2
Explanation: The passage indicates that the West Berlin city government referred to the Wall as the "Wall of Shame," a term used to criticize its restrictive nature. Hence, the wall of shame is the correct answer.

........... people attempted to escape over the wall from 1961 to 1989.

Answer: 100,000
Supporting statement:“.....During this period, over 100,000 people tried to escape.........”
Keywords: people, tried
Keyword Location: para C, line 5
Explanation:The passage mentions that over 100,000 people attempted to escape over the Wall between 1961 and 1989, highlighting the significant number of escape attempts. Hence 100,000 is the correct answer.

Over ……. people died in Berlin and the places nearby.

Answer: 200
Supporting statement:“........with a projected death toll ranging from 136 to more than 200 in and around Berlin......”
Keywords: toll, more
Keyword Location: para C, line 6
Explanation: The passage states that the death toll in and around Berlin was more than 200, reflecting the human cost of attempting to cross the Wall. Hence 200 is the correct answer.

East and west Berlin were separated with fences and Barbed wires of …… kilometres.

Answer: 43
Supporting statement:“........and to install hooked wire entanglements and fences along the 156 kilometers (97 mi) around the three western sectors, and the 43 kilometers (27 mi) that separated West and East Berlin......”
Keywords: fences, 43 kilometers
Keyword Location: para F, line 3
Explanation: The passage details that fences and barbed wire were installed along the 43 kilometers separating East and West Berlin, indicating the length of the barrier. Hence 43 is the correct answer.

The Brandenburg Gate opened on ………….

Answer: 22 DECEMBER 1989
Supporting statement:“.......The Brandenburg Gate, a few meters from the Berlin Wall, was unlocked on 22 December 1989.......”
Keywords: Gate, 22 December
Keyword Location: para H, line 7
Explanation: The passage specifies that the Brandenburg Gate was opened on 22 December 1989, marking a significant event in the fall of the Berlin Wall. Hence the given date is the correct answer.

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