The Bridge that Swayed Reading Answers

Justin

4 min read

Updated On Aug 23, 2024

This article is based on the IELTS reading answer 'The Bridge That Swayed.'

Here are the question types in the reading test
The Bridge That Swayed
Answers

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The IELTS Reading passage, “Bridge that Swayed”, has appeared in the recent IELTS Academic examination. With diligent practice, the Reading Module can be the top-scoring category for IELTS Aspirants. To score well, 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. Practise the reading passage ‘The Bridge that Swayed’ below and for more, try IELTS reading practice tests.

Here are the question types in the reading test

Reading Passage (The Bridge That Swayed)

Multiple Choice Questions (Q.14 – Q.17)
Summary Completion (Q.18 – Q.23)
Table completion (Q.24 – Q.26)

Before taking the test, refresh your skills by taking a look at IELTS Reading Summary Completion – Lessons and Tips.

The Bridge That Swayed

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on the Reading Passage below.

Find the practice test with The Bridge that Swayed PDF here.

Answers

Question number	Answer	Explanation
14	B	Paragraph 3, there’s a line that mentions, “at first, it was still. Then it began to sway sideways, just slightly.” Therefore, when the bridge opened to the public, it swayed sideways (side to side). Hence, the correct answer is “B.”
15	D	Paragraph 3 conveys that, “then, almost from one moment to the next, when a large group of people were crossing, the wobble intensified. Everyone had to stop walking to retain balance and sometimes to hold onto the handrails for support.” The term’ wobble intensified’ denotes that it was hard to keep balance on the bridge. Hence, the correct answer is “D.”
16	E	Paragraph 5 provides the information that “it is an unconscious tendency for pedestrians to match their footsteps to the sway.” Since the pedestrians matched their footsteps, it implies that pedestrians walked in synchronized steps. Hence, the correct answer is “E.”

17	H	Paragraph 4 conveys that “the center span swaying about 3 inches sideways every second and the south span 2 inches every 1.25 seconds.” This denotes that the bridge’s swaying rhythm varied to the portions of the bridge. Hence, the correct answer is “H.”
18	wind(s)	In paragraph 4, there’s a line that conveys “because there was a significant wind blowing on the opening days” It confirms that engineers thought the wind force on the opening day might have caused the movement. Hence, the correct answer is “wind(s).”
19	swaying	Paragraph 4 puts forward this information that “but after measurements were made in university laboratories of the effects of people? Walking on a swaying platform” since the measurements were observed in university laboratories about the effects on the bridge by people. Therefore, it confirms that people walk on swaying floors. Hence, the correct answer is “swaying.”
20	Further apart	Paragraph 5 states that “if we walk on a swaying surface, we tend to compensate and stabilise ourselves by spreading our legs further apart, but this increases the lateral push.” The earlier line confirms that people would place their legs further apart to stabilize themselves in the swaying bridge. Hence, the correct answer is “further apart.”
21	footsteps	Pat Dallard, in paragraph 5, mentions that “it is an unconscious tendency for pedestrians to match their footsteps to the sway, thereby exacerbating it even more.” From this line, we can deduce that pedestrians unconsciously or unknowingly adjust their footsteps. Hence, the correct answer is “footsteps.”
22	Horizontal forces	Professor Fujino Yozo of Tokyo University, in paragraph 6, conveys that he “believes the horizontal forces caused by walking, running or jumping could also, in turn, cause excessive dynamic vibration in the lateral direction in the bridge.” From this line, we can infer that Professor Fujino Yozo found that horizontal forces cause the vibration of the bridge. Hence, the correct answer is “horizontal forces.”
23	upright	The last line of paragraph 6 states that “as pedestrians locked into the same rhythm, the increasing oscillation led to the dramatic swaying captured on film until people stopped walking altogether because they could not even keep upright.” Therefore, the earlier line conveys that pedestrians stopped walking altogether to adjust their walk because it was impossible to keep or stand upright. Hence, the correct answer is “upright.”
24	(engineer designer) Arup	Paragraph 7 provides the information that “in order to design a method of reducing the movements, an immediate research program was launched by the bridge’s engineering designer Arup.” Also, “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.” Therefore, the test was conducted by engineer designer Arup to check the movement reduction. However, this test was not supported by enough data collection. Hence, the correct answer is “engineer designer Arup.”
25	Imperial College	According to paragraph 8, “the Imperial College test platform was too short that only seven or eight steps could be measured at one time.” From this line, we can confirm that the test conducted by Imperial College was short, which means it was not long enough. Hence, the correct answer is “Imperial College.”
26	University of Southampton	The first line of paragraph 8 states that “the tests at the University of Southampton involved a person walking on the spot on a small shake table.” The test, which did not include the real walking experience rather walking on the spot on a small shake table, was conducted by the University of Southampton. Hence, the correct answer is “University of Southampton.”

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