A Significant Development in Mining Safety – IELTS Reading Answers

With the right preparation, you can tackle any type of question that you might encounter in the IELTS Reading Module. You must pay attention to completing the different types of questions within one hour by practising with topics like 'A Significant Development in Mining Safety – IELTS Reading Answers'. Prior to checking the answer key, attempt to answer the questions as if you are in a real reading test. This will give you insight about the actual reading test passage.

With consistent practice, you can score highest on the IELTS Exam. All you need to do is to prepare using a good strategy so that you can stay calm during the exam. Therefore, it is important to accustom yourself to the conditions of the test. To achieve a higher band score of 8+, you must practice on a regular basis and you would become proficient in these passages such as the passage, ‘A Significant Development in Mining Safety’.

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Types Of Questions in A Significant Development in Mining Safety – IELTS Reading Answers

By consistently preparing yourself, you would adapt to the exam conditions for the reading module while increasing the level of precision. Since each question will have a unique structure, it is best to familiarize yourself with an individual question type before attempting it. Working on different questions will enhance your reading skills while helping you finish the exam on time. 

The question types found in the passage on 'A Significant Development in Mining Safety – IELTS Reading Answers' are:

• IELTS Reading Matching Headings with Tips & Practice Tests (Q.1-Q.5 )
• IELTS Reading Summary Completion with Tips & Practice Tests (Q.6-Q.9 )
• IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Questions (Q.10-Q.13 )

Are you confused and not sure on how to attempt questions on Matching Headings? Check out the video below!

Strategies to Attempt A Significant Development in Mining Safety – IELTS Reading Answers for Achieving a Band 8+

To attempt the passage, 'A Significant Development in Mining Safety – IELTS Reading Answers', you must first keep a few tips in mind to continuously improve your reading skills. With the right strategy, you will enhance your skills while spotting the information and selecting the answers whether you are appearing for the IELTS Academic Reading or General Training. Below are some of the strategies which you can consider as you prepare yourself and attempt the passage.

• Read the question first and identify the keywords given rather than spending time in reading the entire passage in the beginning. This will be time consuming and you might assume most of your answers. Therefore, skimming and scanning are the best strategies.
• Since the passage is from Section 1, you must put the timer on and spend no more than 20 minutes. This will help you to note you progress level and identify the areas where you face the most difficulty in. Remember that Time Management for IELTS Reading is a crucial aspect.
• Do not spend time on one difficult question, rather you can go ahead and attempt the next one. You can always return to the question later if time permits. As you practice, give yourself only one minute for answering an individual question. With this, you will have additional time to look over the passage. 
• You must learn How to Ace IELTS Reading with 'Keyword Technique'. You can start by underlining the specific information so that your answer is relevant to the question. 
• Always read the instructions given for each question type as it will tell you what sort of information you need from the passage and how you should answer the questions. This strategy would save your time as you take a glance over the questions provided first and understand the information you need to find from the passage. 
• Look at your spellings since you might loose a score if you write wrong spelling.
• As the questions will tend to be paraphrased, you must familiarize yourself with different IELTS Vocabulary words so that you can grasp information from context.
• Use the strategy of eliminating the options for multiple-choice and matching questions. Doing this will increase your chances of guessing the answers correctly, especially when you are unsure.

Reading Passage - A Significant Development in Mining Safety 

Significant Development in Mining Safety

A Coal has been used as a source of fuel for over 5,000 years, but for most of that time it was probably gathered from places where it was exposed on the surface of the ground, It is possible that the Romans undertook some mining, but coal mines across Europe largely, date from the 13th century. Thereafter coal production increased steadily and it gradually replaced charcoal and wood as a source of heat and energy. Initially, coal mines were fairly shallow, but they quickly reached the point where artificial lighting was necessary. At first, the lights used would have been no different from those used domestically — candles and simple oil lamps.
But as coal mines became deeper, miners encountered a new and terrible problem –firedamp. This was a natural gas, principally consisting of methane, that exploded on contact with a naked flame.The first known major firedamp explosion, which killed 99 people, took place in Belgium in 1514 and as new technology was used to mine at increasingly deep levels, the problem got worse.

B The simplest solution was to improve the ventilation of the mine. Many mines had only one shaft leading from the surface down to the working area below. Ventilation could be improved to some extent by dividing this into a downcast (bringing in fresh air) and an upcast (returning foul air and firedamp to the surface).But what was really needed was a safe lamp that could not ignite firedamp. The earliest forms of safety lighting sought to produce light without using a naked flame.One early method tried to utilise the fact that skins removed from decaying fish contain the element phosphorus, which emits light in the form of phosphorescence. Unfortunately, this phosphorus is highly toxic, flammable and can self-ignite -hardly desirable properties in a safety light.An alternative was a device invented in about 1750, consisting of a flint which struck against a piece of iron when a handle was turned, creating a shower of sparks which lit up the surrounding area. These were believed to be too cool to ignite firedamp.This device had major drawbacks – extra manpower had to be used to operate it continuously, and it also required regular maintenance and replacement.But worst of all, it was not in fact safe, and numerous accidents were caused when the sparks ignited firedamp. Nonetheless, it was considered to be the least dangerous form of lighting at the time.

C By about 1810 the problem was becoming acute, and in some cases there was no alternative to working in the dark. Some mines were being forced to stop production, with serious economic consequences for the mine owners and local communities.
The general response, however, was to keep going and reluctantly accept the inevitable deaths from ignition of firedamp as a regrettable but not especially remarkable, consequence of coal mining.The miners themselves could do little — they were largely illiterate, and depended on the mine owners for a livelihood. However, the clerical, medical and legal professions were beginning to take notice.After 92 men and boys were killed in 1812 by an explosion at Felling Colliery in northern England, several professional people took action and a society was set up to raise funds for the discovery of new methods of lighting and ventilating mines.The first report of the society stated, ‘It is to scientific men only that we must look up for assistance in providing a cheap and effectual remedy.’

D As the leading chemist of the day, and an expert on gases, Sir Humphrey Davy was a natural choice from whom to seek help, and he was approached by the society in 1815.The general belief nowadays is that he was the inventor of the first miners’ safety lamp, in which the flame was enclosed by a mesh screen containing very small holes.Air could enter the lamp through the holes, but they were too small to allow the flame of the lamp to pass through them and ignite any firedamp present in the mine tunnelsDavy presented a paper describing the lamp in November 1815, and it was trialled in January 1816. However, a few weeks prior to Davy’s presentation, an engineer called George Stephenson had independently designed and demonstrated a lamp based on the same scientific principles. After much discussion and argument, he was eventually recognised as deserving equal credit for the discovery, but the time needed for this recognition to be given meant that the miners’ safety lamp had already been called the ‘Davy lamp’, and it is still called that today.

E But in fact, the real inventor of the safety lamp was a man called Dr William Reid Clanny, who in 1813 had been awarded a silver medal by the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce for his own version of a safety lamp. Clanny’s first lamp did not fulfill the needs of the ordinary working miner as it was rather heavy and cumbersome. But rather than seeking to glory in his achievement, he recognised its deficiencies and continued to work to improve it, as well as sharing his knowledge with others.George Stephenson acknowledged a debt to Clanny’s research, and Humphrey Davy visited him in 1815 shortly before completing the design for his own safety lamp but to this day Dr Clanny remains a forgotten hero.

Question 1-5 

The text has five sections A-E (1-5).

Headings

i. A controversy over two versions of an invention.

ii. The need to mine deeper for good-quality coal.

iii.Growing awareness of the need to improve conditioners for miners.

iv.A new danger caused by developments in mining.

v.The impact of poor air quality in mines on miner’s health.

vi.Early attempts to provide lighting without flames.

vii. A demand by miners for new technology.

viii.A person whose work never received full recognition.

1 Section A
2 Section B
3 Section C
4 Section D
5 Section E

The problem of providing artificial lighting in coal mines

Coal mines in Europe only really developed from the 13th century. As they became deeper, the methods used for lighting them created a risk of 6………………… due to the presence of firedamp. One solution was to improve ventilation by separating the7……….. into two parts. However, better lighting was also needed. One suggestion was to use a chemical found in the skins of fish, but this was found to be unsafe. Another possibility was a device which created 8…………. as it was believed these would not ignite the gas. However, this required additional 9………….. as well as maintenance and replacement and it was also unsafe.

Questions 10-13

10 What does the writer say about mine owners in 1810?

A Most of them disregarded safety issues
B They were criticized for conditions in the mines
C Most of them used unfair pressure to keep mines open
D They were unaware of how dangerous the mines were

11 According to the writer, what was the significance of the explosion at Felling Colliery in 1812?

A It led to increased legal protection for miners
B It led to a change in public attitudes to mining safety
C It demonstrated the lack of concern of certain groups towards the miners
D It started a movement to give miners proper training in safety procedures

12 The lamp presented by Davy was safer than previous methods of lighting because of its flame

A Could not remain alight for long time
B Did not get large enough to ignite the firedamp
C Did not have any contact with the air
D Could not pass beyond the mesh screen

13 What does the writer say about Davy and Stephenson?

A Davy refused to accept Stephenson’s work as it had not been fully trialed
B Davy insisted on the safety lamp being named after him rather than Stephenson
C Stephenson claimed Davy’s work was based on false principles
D Stephenson produced a working example of a safety lamp before Davy

Answers with Explanation for A Significant Development in Mining Safety – IELTS Reading Answers

Now, let's check out the answers for the passage, 'A Significant Development in Mining Safety – IELTS Reading Answers'. Try to find out why the wrong answers are incorrect while looking at the right ones, as this will help you in analyzing your own answer and knowing where you will need improvement to reach an 8+ IELTS Reading Band Score. Below are the answers with explanation for the passage so that you can go through it and enhance your skills.

After continuous practice, you will elevate your preparation for the reading module whether you are appearing for Academic or the IELTS General Reading. This will help you gain confidence for the final exam day as you will be calm and also aware of the strategies to be used. Remember that managing time and stressing the keywords given in the question when searching for answers will help you achieve a band 8+. So, keep working and learn to enhance your speed and accuracy in reading the questions on passages.

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