A Penny That Saved a Life – IELTS Reading Answers

Nehasri Ravishenbagam

6 min read

Updated On Oct 06, 2023

Reading Passage 1
A Penny That Saved a Life Reading Answers Explanation
Tips for Answering the Question Type in the above Reading Passage

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The Reading Module of the IELTS can be the top-scoring category with diligent practice. To achieve the best results in this section, you must understand how to approach and answer the different Question types in the Reading Module. By solving and reviewing Sample Reading Questions from past IELTS papers, you can ensure that your Reading skills are up to the mark.

The Academic passage, A Penny That Saved a Life, is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Try to find the answers to get an idea of the difficulty level of the passages in the actual reading test.

The question type found in this passage is:

True or False / Not Given (Q. 1-7)

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Reading Passage 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-7, which are based on the Reading Passage below.

A Penny That Saved a Life

Of the three Trickett brothers who left their home in Lincolnshire to fight for the United Kingdom in the First World War, only John would survive. Horace and Billy were among the more than eight million soldiers killed in the Great War, which saw casualties on an unprecedented scale due to the advent of new, more advanced weapons. John, however, was saved by the most ordinary and rudimentary equipment on the entire battlefield: a penny in his breast pocket that deflected a bullet intended for his heart.

The penny, issued in 1889 (10 years before John was born) and severely bent from the bullet’s impact, was sold on March 22, 2019, in Hansons Auctioneers’ Medals and Militaria Auction. Initially, the highest bid was £1,700, vastly exceeding Hansons’ initial estimate of between £100 and £200. Ultimately, it sold for £4500. The lot included a British victory medal as well as Trickett’s 1918 discharge certificate, among other items.

Six phone bidders as well as internet bidders battled to own the collection but it was sold to a buyer in the room – Mr. Nigel Trickett, 55, of Owston Ferry, near Doncaster. Mr. Trickett, the owner of a carpet business, said: “Private Trickett was my grand-dad and we wanted to keep the medals and penny in the family. It will be handed down. It’s where it belongs and we’ll take a lot of pride in showing it to family members.

“When the story went viral it brought 50 members of the family together – we all got in touch with each other. My granddad’s story is very interesting and true. Everything wouldn’t have happened in our family the way it has without that penny

While we don’t know precisely when and where Private Trickett had his brush with death, Adrian Stevenson, Hansons’ military expert, says that the incident occurred in 1917, on the war’s Western Front. The bullet, fired by a German soldier, ricocheted off Trickett’s penny and travelled up through Trickett’s nose, exiting through his left ear. Trickett lost hearing in that ear for the rest of his life, his granddaughter Maureen Coulson toid Hansons. Trickett received an honourable discharge from the military in September 1918. After coming home, he got married, had eight children, and worked as a postmaster and switchboard operator.

Coulson answered Hanson’s advertisement for a routine valuation event, bringing the penny and Trickett’s other effects to Stevenson. Ironically, the coin was “one of those real impossible things to value,” says Stevenson, who eventually settled on a relatively low estimate for the item due to the “very modest” value of the metal itself. It’s not the first time in Stevenson’s career that he’s heard of an everyday item blocking a bullet and making the difference between life and death. Bibles, shaving mirrors, and cigarette cases, he says, have all done the same and during the war, some manufacturers even began advertising thicker mirrors, explicitly pitching their life-saving potential.

“It’s strange to think,” said Coulson, “that, but for that penny, (Trickett’s] children would not have been born and I wouldn’t be here.” There could be many more families throughout the world who could say the same about other objects: Since Coulson delivered the coin to Hansons, the auction house has also acquired a shrapnel-damaged flask and belt buckle that may have saved their carriers.

“I was born after my grand-dad died but I remember seeing the penny when I was seven. We plan to visit my granddad’s grave in Bolton upon Dearne, Yorkshire, on the way home.” The medal was sold by Private Trickett’s grand-daughter Mrs. Maureen Coulson, 63, from Duffield, Derbyshire, who plans to give some of the proceeds to charity. Book a free trial session with our IELTS experts to learn more tips and techniques of IELTS Reading!

Questions 1-7

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?

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

1 The penny was a piece of equipment issued to all soldiers.

2 The penny that saved Trickett’s life was bought by his grandson.

3 John Trickett served in the British Army till 1918.

4 The auction house set a low initial price for the penny because it was made of metal which was not very expensive.

5 But for the penny, there would have been no Mr. Coulson.

6 Thicker shaving mirrors helped to save lives during the war.

7 The auction house had acquired a shrapnel-damaged flask that helped save the life of its owner.

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