When Maps were Made for the Public Reading Answers

Jul 8, 2025

When Maps were Made for the Public Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. When Maps were Made for the Public Reading Answers has a total of 13 IELTS questions in total. It includes questions such as Choose one word only for each answer. State whether the statement is true, false or not given with the information given in the text

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Topic:

WHEN MAPS WERE MADE FOR THE PUBLIC

Since the art of map-making began, maps have largely been made for explorers, academics, and rulers. It wasn't until the 19th century that the general public began to demand maps for themselves. More than anything else, it was the appeal of travel to ordinary people that encouraged companies to begin creating and printing more maps than ever before, in order to meet the demands of their new market.

In the years after the American Civil War (1861-65), the rapidly growing US railroad system had so many independent rail companies, schedules, and destinations that maps were critical for planning a person's journey. One publisher, Rand McNally, made a fortune from producing railway maps for different parts of the USA, combined with a timetable and many descriptions

of scenery and towns in the same booklet.

When safety improvements in the 1880s helped to make the bicycle popular, cycling maps quickly appeared, showing roads in good condition even if they were rarely used. Later, in 1896, one of the first cycling guides appeared in print: George Blum's Cycler's Guide and Map of Road for California. Each cycle road was highlighted in red and labelled with not only the type of surface riders could expect to find, but also an indication of how steep it was.

The advent of the car brought a need for road maps and travel information. In 1900, André Michelin published a guide about France, with maps that showed the location of different kinds of reasonably priced accommodation and also car assistance for any mechanical problems. However, it was due primarily to its recommendations regarding which was the best restaurant to go to that the guide quickly became something a huge number of tourists and travellers bought and relied on. Nowhere was the need for road maps greater than in the United States. In 1902, the American Automobile Association was founded in Chicago, and three years later it published its first road maps for long-distance drivers. In 1917, Rand McNally began to publish Auto Trails Maps, a series of maps that each focused in detail on a different region that people might hope to visit within North America. The same publisher also helped to establish the US's use of identifiers to identify previously nameless roads. Following the European tradition, roads were given names, but now, thanks in part to Rand McNally, they were allocated numbers instead. The oil companies did not take long to realize the profit to be made from Americans exploring the open road, so service stations soon began to distribute free maps to encourage this. Free road maps became part of the fabric of American life, and it has been estimated that more than ten billion were distributed before the 1970s. It was then that the rising costs of oil and subsequent falling consumption led to the oil companies investigating where savings could be made. The maps were one of the first things to go. Another map product was the aeronautical chart for pilots. The first examples were produced in France and England around 1911. Techniques progressed greatly during World War I, and during the 1920s, there was continual development of maps for air navigation.

New maps also became available for those who only wanted to cross town by train. Some of the early maps of the London Underground were based on the city above ground; therefore, although they were accurate in terms of distance and direction, the maps were confusing because the stations in central London were so crowded together. In 1931, Harry Beck produced a map that looked rather like an electrical circuit, with straight lines and symbols. It included only one feature above ground: the River Thames. The stations were also spaced relatively equally, making the map much easier to read. Although Beck's map was initially rejected as too radical, it was approved in 1933. He continued to refine it for the next 25 years.

Shortly after Beck's contribution to the mapping of subterranean London, an equally significant achievement was performed above ground. Phyllis Pearsall was a painter who, in 1935, became lost on the way to a party in London due to the lack of a good map. This inspired her to plot all of London, and the next year she traced and catalogued its 23,000 streets. With map-maker James Duncan, Pearsall then produced an atlas and a comprehensive street index. Unable to interest any of the major publishers, the two founded their own company, the Geographer's Map Company Ltd, and produced what was then called the A—Z, Atlas and Guide to London. The company still exists and now publishes more than 300 different A-Z maps and atlases.

Questions 1-6

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MAPS FROM THE 19TH CENTURY ONWARDS

A growing interest in travel led to the increased production of maps in the 19th century.

AFTER 1865:

- Rand McNally made a lot of money by putting

a map and a (1).............in one publication.

Answer: TIMETABLE

Supporting statement: Rand McNally, made a fortune from producing railway maps for different parts of the USA, combined with a timetable

Keywords: Rand McNally, railway maps

Keyword Location: Para 2, Lines 3-4

Explanation: By publishing a map and a timetable, Rand McNally made a fortune.

AFTER 1880:

- George Philip produced maps that could not be damaged by water.

- George Blum's cycling map showed:

- The kind of (2).............the paths had.

- How steep the paths might be.

Answer: SURFACE

Supporting statement: Each cycle road was highlighted in red and labelled with not only the type of surface riders could expect to find, but also an indication of how steep it was.

Keywords: cycle road, surface

Keyword Location: Para 3, Lines 4-5

Explanation: The types of surfaces riders might come across while cycling are given in George Blum's Cycler's Guide and Map of Road for California.

1900 ONWARDS:

- André Michelin's guide provided information about:

- Finding economical (3)..............

Answer: ACCOMMODATION

Supporting statement: with maps that showed the location of different kinds of reasonably priced accommodation and also car assistance for any mechanical problems.

Keywords: location, accommodation

Keyword Location: Para 4, Lines 2-3

Explanation: André Michelin's guide to France, published in 1990, included information about reasonably priced accommodation.

- What to do if your car broke down.

- The Michelin guide became popular mainly because it helped people select a (4)...................

Answer: RESTAURANT

Supporting statement: recommendations regarding which was the best restaurant to go to that the guide quickly became something a huge number of tourists and travellers

Keywords: recommendations, restaurant

Keyword Location: Para 4, Line 4

Explanation: André Michelin's guide to France became popular because of the restaurant recommendations it included.

1917 ONWARDS:

Rand McNally:

- The company's Auto Trails Maps helped people explore roads through a particular (5)..........the USA.

Answer: REGION

Supporting statement: a series of maps that each focused in detail on a different region that people might hope to visit within North America

Keywords: region, North America

Keyword Location: Para 4, Lines 9-10

Explanation: Rand McNally Auto Trails Maps provided great detail about the different regions of North America for those who wish to visit the place.

- The company was also responsible for giving (6)............to American roads.

Answer: NUMBERS

Supporting statement: Thanks in part to Rand McNally, they were allocated numbers instead.

Keywords: allocated, numbers

Keyword Location: Para 4, Line 12

Explanation: The American roads were given numbers by Rand McNally.

Questions 7-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage I? 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

7. The free road maps provided by oil companies were the most detailed maps available to drivers in the USA.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: Free road maps became part of the fabric of American life, and it has been estimated that more than ten billion were distributed before the 1970s

Keywords: Free, American

Keyword Location: Para 4, Lines 15-16

Explanation: According to the text, the free road map provided by the oil companies was the most detailed in the USA.

8. Pilots were the first people to make use of aeronautical maps.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: Another map product was the aeronautical chart for pilots.

Keywords: aeronautical, pilots

Keyword Location: Para 4, Line 19

Explanation: According to the text, pilots were the first ones to use aeronautical maps.

9. Beck's London Underground map was immediately well received by the authorities.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: No information about Beck's London Underground map being received positively immediately by the authorities is given in the text.

10. Beck stopped working on the design of his map in 1933.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: Although Beck's map was initially rejected as too radical, it was approved in 1933.

Keywords: Beck's, 1933

Keyword Location: Para 5, Lines 7-8

Explanation: According to the text, Beck did not stop working on the map but continued to work on it until it was approved in 1933.

11. Pearsall created a new map of London because she got lost on her way to an event.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: Phyllis Pearsall was a painter who, in 1935, became lost on the way to a party in London due to the lack of a good map. This inspired her to plot all of London,

Keywords: Phyllis Pearsall, 1935

Keyword Location: Para 6, Line 2

Explanation: According to the text, Phyllis Pearsall created a map of London after getting lost while trying to reach a party due to the lack of a detailed map of the area.

12. Pearsall needed the help of a professional cartographer to complete her map.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: With map-maker James Duncan, Pearsall then produced an atlas and a comprehensive street index.

Keywords: James Duncan, atlas

Keyword Location: Para 6, Line 5

Explanation: According to the text, Pearsall did not need the help of a professional cartographer to complete her map, but she received help from a mapmaker named James Duncan.

13. Pearsall's map was widely praised by London's major publishing companies.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: Unable to interest any of the major publishers, the two founded their own company

Keywords: publishers, company

Keyword Location: Para 6, Line 6

Explanation: According to the text, Pearsall's map did not receive any interest from any major publishing company.

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