William Kamkwamba Reading Answers

Nov 4, 2023

William Kamkwamba Reading Answers is a general reading subject that explores starting a business venture in Australia. William Kamkwamba reading answers have a total of seven IELTS questions in total. The specified topic generates a single question type: fill in the blanks with no more than three words. 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 William Kamkwamba 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

William Kamkwamba

In 2002, William Kamkwamba had to drop out of school, as his father, a maize and

a tobacco farmer, could no longer afford his school fees. But despite this setback, William was determined to get his education. He began visiting a local library that had just opened in his old primary school, where he discovered a tattered science book. With only a rudimentary grasp of English, he taught himself basic physics - mainly by studying photos and diagrams. Another book he found there featured windmills on the cover and inspired him to try and build his own.

He started by constructing a small model. Then, with the help of a cousin and friend, he spent many weeks searching scrap yards and found old tractor fans, shock absorbers, plastic pipe and bicycle parts, which he used to build the real thing.

For windmill blades, William cut some bath pipe in two lengthwise, then heated the pieces over hot coals to press the curled edges flat. To bore holes into the blades, he stuck a nail through half a corn cob, heated the metal red and twisted it through the blades. It took three hours to repeatedly heat the nail and bore the holes. He attached the blades to a tractor fan using proper nuts and bolts and then to the back axle of a bicycle. Electricity was generated through the bicycle dynamo. When the wind blew the blades, the bike chain spun the bike wheel, which charged the dynamo and sent a current through wire to his house.

What he had built was a crude machine that produced 12 volts and powered four lights. When it was all done, the windmill's wingspan measured more than eight feet and sat on top of a rickety tower 15 feet tall that swayed violently in strong gales. He eventually replaced the tower with a sturdier one that stands 39 feet, and built a second machine that watered a family garden.

The windmill brought William Kamkwamba instant local fame, but despite his accomplishment, he was still unable to return to school. However, news of his magetsi a mphepo - electric wind - spread beyond Malawi, and eventually things began to change. An education official, who had heard news of the windmill, came to visit his village and was amazed to learn that William had been out of school for five years. He arranged for him to attend secondary school at the government's expense and brought journalists to the farm to see the windmill. Then a story published in the Malawi Daily Mail caught theattention of bloggers, which in turn caught the attention of organizers for the Technology

Entertainment and Design conference. In 2007, William spoke at the TED Global conference in Tanzania and got a standing ovation. Businessmen stepped forward with offers to fund his education and projects,

and with money donated by them, he was able to put his cousin and several friends back into school and pay for some medical needs of his family. With the donation, he also drilled a borehole for a well and water pump in his village and installed drip irrigation in his father's fields.

The water pump has allowed his family to expand its crops. They have abandoned tobacco and now grow maize, beans, soybeans, potatoes and peanuts. The windmills have also brought big lifestyle and health changes to the other villagers. 'The village has changed a lot, William says. 'Now, the time that they would have spent going to fetch water, they are using for doing other things. And also the water they are drinking is clean water, so there is less disease.' The villagers have also stopped using kerosene and can use the money previously spent on fuel to buy other things. William Kamkwamba's example has inspired other children in the village to pursue science. William says they now see that if they put their mind to something, they can achieve it. 'It has changed the way people think," he says.

Section 2

Solution And Explanation

Questions 28-32

Complete the flow chart below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Building the Windmill
William learned some (28)......from a library book.
First, he built a (29)........ of the windmill.
Then he collected materials from (30)...... with a relative.
He made the windmill blades from pieces of (31)...…
He fixed the blades to a (32)..... and then to part of a bicycle.
He raised the blades on a tower.

Ques 28

Answer: PHYSICS / BASIC PHYSICS
Supporting statement: “....., he taught himself basic physics - mainly by studying photos and diagrams........”
Keywords: basic, diagrams
Keyword Location: para 1, line 5
Explanation: It is given in the passage that he used to teach himself physics from photos and diagrams.

Ques 29

Answer: MODEL/ SMALL MODEL
Supporting statement: “......He started by constructing a small model. Then, with the help of a cousin and friend, he spent many weeks searching scrap yards......”
Keywords: model, weeks
Keyword Location: para 2, line 1
Explanation: It is given that he started constructing a small windmill model. It was done with the help of his cousin and friend.

Ques 30

Answer: SCRAP YARDS
Supporting statement: “......He started by constructing a small model. Then, with the help of a cousin and friend, he spent many weeks searching scrap yards......”
Keywords: model, weeks
Keyword Location: para 2, line 1
Explanation: It is given that he made it by collecting the scrap yards, and other plastic items.

Ques 31

Answer: PIPE / BATH PIPE
Supporting statement: “.....For windmill blades, William cut some bath pipe in two lengthwise, then heated the pieces over hot coals to press the curled edges flat......”
Keywords: pieces, curled
Keyword Location: para 3, line 1
Explanation: It is given that William used some bath pipes for the windmill’s blades. He used to heat the pipe pieces to curl them.

Ques 32

Answer: TRACTOR FAN
Supporting statement: “...... He attached the blades to a tractor fan using proper nuts and bolts and then to the back axle of a bicycle.....”
Keywords: blades, bolts
Keyword Location: para 3, line 4
Explanation: It is given that William attached the blades he made to the fan of the tractor. He used nuts and bolts and then used it to back the axle of his bicycle.

Questions 33-37

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 33-37 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

William used the electricity he created for village transport.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement: “.... Electricity was generated through the bicycle dynamo. When the wind blew the blades, the bike chain spun the bike wheel, which charged the dynamo and sent a current through wire to his house........”
Keywords: dynamo, current
Keyword Location: para 3, line 7
Explanation: It is given that William used a cycle dynamo to produce electricity. He used it to send current to his own house.

At first, William's achievement was ignored by local people.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement: “.....The windmill brought William Kamkwamba instant local fame, but despite his accomplishment, he was still unable to return to school......”
Keywords: instant, fame
Keyword Location: para 4, line 1
Explanation: It is given that the windmill he made was giving him a good amount of fame in his locality. Hence it cannot be claimed that his achievement was ignored.

Journalists from other countries visited William's farm.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: There has been no mention of any intenational journalists who visited William’s farm.

William used money he received to improve water supplies in his village.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: “....With the donation, he also drilled a borehole for a well and water pump in his village and installed drip irrigation in his father's fields.........”
Keywords: borehole, drip
Keyword Location: para 5, line 4
Explanation: It is given in the passage that he used the donation money to drill a borewell in his village and also installed irrigation facility for his father’s fields.

The health of the villagers has improved since the windmill was built.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: “......The windmills have also brought big lifestyle and health changes to the other villagers.......”
Keywords: windmills, villagers
Keyword Location: para 6, line 3
Explanation: It is given that the lifestyle and health of villagers was changed due to the windmill.

Questions 38-40

Use NO MORE THAN ONE WORD and/or a NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

How tall was the final tower that William built?

Answer: 39 FEET
Supporting statement: “....... He eventually replaced the tower with a sturdier one that stands 39 feet, and built a second machine that watered a family garden........”
Keywords: tower, machine
Keyword Location: para 3, line 3
Explanation: It is given that the final tower that was built by William was 39 feet in height.

What did the villagers use for fuel before the windmill was built?

Answer: KEROSENE
Supporting statement: “....... The villagers have also stopped using kerosene and can use the money previously spent on fuel to buy other things.........”
Keywords: kerosene, fuel
Keyword Location: para 6, line 6
Explanation: It is given that the villagers stopped using kerosene after the construction of windmill which clearly indicates that it was used as a fuel before the windmill.

What school subject has become more popular in William's village?

Answer: SCIENCE
Supporting statement: “....William Kamkwamba's example has inspired other children in the village to pursue science. .....”
Keywords: inspired, pursue
Keyword Location: para 7, line 1
Explanation: It is given that William become an inspiration for the children of the village. They were motivated to pursue science as a subject.

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