The Theory That Stress IELTS Reading Answers

Sep 3, 2023

The theory that stress IELTS Reading Answers is a general reading subject that explores the theory that stress. The theory that stress IELTS reading answers have a total of thirteen questions. The specified topic generates a single type of question: True/False/Not Given. Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly in order to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS reading practice papers, which feature topics such as The theory that stress IELTS Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Theory that Stress

In September 1996 a competition was organized by the Financial Times in association with the London Borough of Southwark to design a new footbridge across the Thames. The competition attracted over 200 entries and was won by a team comprising Arup (engineers), Foster and Partners (architects) and the sculptor Sir Anthony Caro.

The bridge opened to the public on 10 June 2000. Up to 100,000 people crossed it that day with up to 2000 people on the bridge at any one time. At first, the bridge was still. Then it began to sway, just slightly. Then, almost from one moment to the next, when large groups of people were crossing, the wobble intensified. This movement became

sufficiently large for people to stop walking to retain their balance and sometimes to hold onto the handrails for support. It was decided immediately to limit the number of people on the bridge, but even so, the deck movement was sufficient to be uncomfortable and to raise concern for public safety so that on 12 June the bridge was closed until the problem could be solved.

The embarrassed engineers found the videotape that day which showed the center span swaying about 3 inches side to side every second. The engineers first thought that winds might be exerting excessive force on the many large flags and banners bedecking the bridge for its gala premiere. What's more, they also discovered that pedestrians also played a key role. Human activities, such as walking, running, jumping, swaying, etc. could cause horizontal forces which in turn could cause excessive dynamic vibration in the lateral direction in the bridge. As the structure began moving, pedestrians adjusted their gait to the same lateral rhythm as the bridge. The adjusted

footsteps magnified the motion - just like when four people all stand up in a small boat at the same time. As more pedestrians locked into the same rhythm, the increasing oscillations led to the dramatic swaying captured on film.

In order to design a method of reducing the movements, the force exerted by the pedestrians had to be quantified and related to the motion of the bridge. Although there are some descriptions of this phenomenon in existing literature, none of these actually quantifies the force. So there was no quantitative analytical way to design the bridge against this effect. An immediate research program was launched by the bridge's engineering designers Ove Arup, supported by a number of universities and research organizations.

The tests at the University of Southampton involved a person walking 'on the spot' on a small shake table. The tests at Imperial College involved persons walking along with a specially built, 7.2m-long platform which could be driven laterally at different frequencies and amplitudes. Each type of test had its limitations. The Imperial College tests were

only able to capture 7 - 8 footsteps, and the 'walking on the spot' tests, although monitoring many footsteps, could not investigate normal forward walking. Neither test could investigate any influence of other people in a crowd on the behavior of the individual being tested.

The results of the laboratory tests provided information which enabled the initial design of a retrofit to be progressed. However, the limitations of these tests were clear and it was felt that the only way to replicate properly the precise conditions of the Millennium Bridge was to carry out crowd tests on the bridge deck itself. These tests done by the Arup engineers could incorporate factors not possible in the laboratory tests. The first of these was carried out with 100 people in July 2000. The results of these tests were used to refine the load model for pedestrians. The second series of crowd tests were

carried out on the bridge in December 2000. The purpose of these tests was to further validate the design assumptions and to load test a prototype damper installation. The test was carried out with 275 people.

Unless the usage of the bridge was to be greatly restricted, only two generic options to improve its performance were considered feasible. The first was to increase the stiffness of the bridge to move all its lateral natural frequencies out of the range that could be excited by the lateral football forces, and the second was to increase the damping of the bridge to reduce the resonant response.

Section 2

Questions 14-17
Choose FOUR letters, A-H.
Write the correct letters in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.
Which FOUR of the following situation were witnessed on the opening ceremony of the bridge?

The frequency of oscillation increased after some time.
All the engineers went to see the ceremony that day.
The design of the bridge astonished the people.
Unexpected sideway movement of the bridge occurred.
Pedestrians had difficulty in walking on the deck.
The bridge fell down when people tried to retain their balance.
Vibration could be detected on the deck by the pedestrians.
It was raining when the ceremony began.

Question:14

Answer:A
Supporting statement:“..Then it began to sway, just slightly. Then, almost from one moment to the next, when large groups of people were crossing, the wobble intensified....”
Keywords: wobble, sway
Keyword location: para B, line 2-3
Explanation: Initially, when the bridge was still and unaffected by external forces, its natural frequency of oscillation was relatively low. As people began to cross the bridge, their footsteps created a rhythmic force that coincided with the natural frequency of the bridge's oscillations.

Question:15

Answer:D
Supporting statement:“...horizontal forces which in turn could cause excessive dynamic vibration in the lateral direction in the bridge....”
Keywords: forces, vibrations
Keyword location: para C, line 6-7
Explanation: The bridge started moving sideways due to a combination of factors related to human activities and the bridge's response to those activities

Question:16

Answer:E
Supporting statement:“...This movement became sufficiently large for people to stop walking to retain their balance and sometimes to hold onto the handrails for support...”
Keywords: balance, handrails
Keyword location: para B, line 4-5
Explanation: Pedestrians found it difficult to walk on the bridge due to the increasing swaying motion. Initially, when the bridge was still, walking on it was relatively comfortable. However, as the bridge started to sway slightly, it became more challenging for pedestrians to maintain their balance.

Question:17

Answer:G
Supporting statement:“..horizontal forces which in turn could cause excessive dynamic vibration in the lateral direction in the bridge...”
Keywords: vibration, lateral
Keyword location: para C, line 6-7
Explanation: When pedestrians are on the bridge, their feet make contact with the surface, allowing them to sense the vibrations directly. These vibrations can be perceived as a rhythmic movement or shaking sensation

Questions 18-22
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage 2
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer

Write your answers in boxes 18-22 on your answer sheet.

After the opening ceremony, the embarrassed engineers tried to find out the reason for the bridge's wobbling. Judged from the videotape, they thought that 18... ............ and 19...................... might create an excessive force on the bridge. The distribution of 20………….resulted from human activities could cause 21……….. Throughout the structure. This swaying prompted people to start adjusting the way they walk, which in turn reinforced the 22…………….

Question:18

Answer:WINDS
Supporting statement:“...The engineers first thought that winds might be exerting excessive force on the many large flags...”
Keywords: wind, excessive
Keyword location: para C, line 3-4
Explanation:The engineers initially believed that the winds were exerting an inordinate force on the numerous large flags and banners adorning the bridge for its grand opening. In addition, they discovered that pedestrians also played an important role.

Question:19

Answer:THE PEDESTRIANS
Supporting statement:“....Human activities, such as walking, running, jumping, swaying, etc. could cause horizontal forces which in turn could cause excessive dynamic vibration in the lateral direction in the bridge....”
Keywords: swaying, lateral
Keyword location: para C, line 5-6
Explanation:Walking, running, jumping, swaying, and other human motions could produce horizontal forces that could lead to an excessive amount of dynamic vibration in the bridge's lateral direction.

Question:20

Answer:HORIZONTAL FORCES
Supporting statement:“....Human activities, such as walking, running, jumping, swaying, etc. could cause horizontal forces which in turn could cause excessive dynamic vibration ....”
Keywords: horizontal, vibration
Keyword location: para C, line 5-6
Explanation:Human activities, such as walking, running etc., may generate horizontal forces, which may result in excessive dynamic vibration in the bridge's lateral orientation. As the structure began to move, pedestrians modified their gait to match its lateral rhythm.

Question:21

Answer:EXCESSIVE DYNAMIC VIBRATION
Supporting statement:“....Human activities, such as walking, running, jumping, swaying, etc. could cause horizontal forces which in turn could cause excessive dynamic vibration ....”
Keywords: horizontal, forces
Keyword location: para C, line 5-6
Explanation:It is clearly given in the passage that the horizontal force can cause excessive dynamic vibration.

Question:22

Answer: MOTION
Supporting statement:“...As the structure began moving, pedestrians adjusted their gait to the same lateral rhythm as the bridge. The adjusted footsteps magnified the motion...”
Keywords:rhythm, adjusted
Keyword location: para C, line 7-8
Explanation: As the bridge began to move, pedestrians modified their movement to match its lateral rhythm. The modified footfalls amplified the motion.

Questions 23-26

Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Reading Passage 2 for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.

Research programs launched by universities and Organizations

Universities / People	Activity
Test at 23………. 'walking on the spot' at Southampton Crowd test conducted by 25 ...........	Limited ability to have 7-8 footsteps Not enough data on 24 ……..... Aim to verify 26 ............

Question:23

Answer: IMPERIAL COLLEGE
Supporting statement:“...The Imperial College tests were only able to capture 7 - 8 footsteps, and the 'walking on the spot' tests...”
Keywords: imperial, footsteps
Keyword location: para E, line 5-6
Explanation:The test was conducted at Imperial college. It is clearly given in the passage E.

Question:24

Answer: NORMAL FORWARD WALKING
Supporting statement:“...'walking on the spot' tests, although monitoring many footsteps, could not investigate normal forward walking....”
Keywords: footsteps, investigate
Keyword location: para E, line 5-6
Explanation:It is clearly given in the passage E that they investigate the normal forward walking.

Question:25

Answer: THE ARUP ENGINEERS
Supporting statement:“...These tests done by the Arup engineers could incorporate factors not possible in the laboratory tests....”
Keywords: factors, laboratory
Keyword location: para F, line 5-6
Explanation: these crowd test were conducted by the Arup engineers. It has been given in the paragraph F of the passage.

Question:26

Answer: THE DESIGN ASSUMPTIONS
Supporting statement:“... The purpose of these tests was to further validate the design assumptions and to load test a prototype damper installation. The test was carried out with 275 people....”
Keywords: factors, laboratory
Keyword location: para F, line 9-10
Explanation: These tests were thoughtfully designed to validate the assumptions which were made during the design of bridge.