Roller Coaster IELTS Reading Passage
This reading passage was asked recently on Recent IELTS Exam 30 September 2021 India
Reading Passage 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Roller Coaster
A. 600 years ago, roller coaster pioneers never would have imagined the advancements that have been made to create the roller coasters of today. The tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world is the Kingda Ka, a coaster in New Jersey that launches its passengers from zero to 128 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds (most sports cars take over four seconds to get to just 60 miles per hour). It then heaves its riders skyward at a 90-degree angle (straight up) until it reaches a height of 456 feet, over one and a half football fields, above the ground, before dropping another 418 feet (Coaster Grotto “Kingda Ka”). With that said, roller coasters are about more than just speed and height, they are about the creativity of the designers that build them, each coaster having its own unique way of producing intense thrills at a lesser risk than the average car ride. Roller coasters have evolved drastically over the years, from their primitive beginnings as Russian ice slides, to the metal monsters of today. Their combination of creativity and structural elements make them one of the purest forms of architecture.
B. At first glance, a roller coaster is something like a passenger train. It consists of a series of connected cars that move on tracks. But unlike a passenger train, a roller coaster has no engine or power source of its own. For most of the ride, the train is moved by gravity and momentum. To build up this momentum, you need to get the train to the top of the first hill or give it a powerful launch. The traditional lifting mechanism is a long length of chain running up the hill under the track. The chain is fastened in a loop, which is wound around a gear at the top of the hill and another one at the bottom of the hill. The gear at the bottom of the hill is turned by a simple motor. This turns the chain loop so that it continually moves up the hill like a long conveyor belt. The coaster cars grip onto the chain with several chain dogs, sturdy hinged hooks. When the train rolls to the bottom of the hill, the dogs catch onto the chain links. Once the chain dog is hooked, the chain simply pulls the train to the top of the hill. At the summit, the chain dog is released and the train starts its descent down the hill.
C. Roller coasters have a long, fascinating history. The direct ancestors of roller coasters were monumental ice slides – long, steep wooden slides covered in ice, some as high as 70 feet – that were popular in Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Riders shot down the slope in sledges made out of wood or blocks of ice, crash-landing in a sand pile. Coaster historians diverge on the exact evolution of these ice slides into actual rolling carts. The most widespread account is that a few entrepreneurial Frenchmen imported the ice slide idea to France. The warmer climate of France tended to melt the ice, so the French started building waxed slides instead, eventually adding wheels to the sledges. In 1817, the Russes a Belleville (Russian Mountains of Belleville) became the first roller coaster where the train was attached to the track (in this case, the train axle fit into a carved groove). The French continued to expand on this idea, coming up with more complex track layouts, with multiple cars and all sorts of twists and turns.
D. In comparison to the world’s first roller coaster, there is perhaps an even greater debate over what was America’s first true coaster. Many will say that it is Pennsylvania’s own Maunch Chunk-Summit Hill and Switch Back Railroad. The Maunch Chunk-Summit Hill and Switch Back Railroad was originally America’s second railroad and considered by many to be the greatest coaster of all time. Located in the Lehigh Valley, it was originally used to transport coal from the top of Mount Pisgah to the bottom of Mount Jefferson, until Josiah White, a mining entrepreneur, had the idea of turning it into a part-time thrill ride. Because of its immediate popularity, it soon became strictly a passenger train. A steam engine would haul passengers to the top of the mountain, before letting them coast back down, with speeds rumoured to reach 100 miles per hour! The reason that it was called a switchback railroad, a switch backtrack was located at the top – where the steam engine would let the riders coast back down. This type of track featured a dead end where the steam engine would detach its cars, allowing riders to coast down backwards. The railway went through a couple of minor track changes and name changes over the years but managed to last from 1829 to 1937, over 100 years.
E. The coaster craze in America was just starting to build. The creation of the SwitchBack Railway, by La Marcus Thompson, gave roller coasters national attention. Originally built at New York’s Coney Island in 1884, SwitchBack Railways began popping up all over the country. The popularity of these rides may puzzle the modern-day thrill-seeker, due to the mild ride they gave in comparison to the modern-day roller coaster. Guests would pay a nickel to wait in line up to five hours just to go down a pair of side-by-side tracks with gradual hills that vehicles coasted down at top speed around six miles per hour. Regardless, Switchback Railways were very popular, and sparked many people, including Thompson, to design coasters that were bigger and better.
F. The 1910s and 1920s were probably the best decades that the roller coaster has ever seen. The new wave of technology, such as the “unstop wheels”, an arrangement that kept a coaster’s wheels to its tracks by resisting high gravitational forces, showed coasters a realm of possibilities that have never been seen before. In 1919, North America alone had about 1,500 roller coasters, a number that was rising rampantly. Then, the Great Depression gave a crushing blow to amusement parks all over America. As bad as it was, amusement parks had an optimistic look at the future in the late 1930s. But, in 1942 roller coasters could already feel the effects of World War Two, as they were forced into a shadow of neglect. Most, nearly all of America’s roller coasters were shut down. To this very day, the number of roller coasters in America is just a very tiny fraction of the amount of roller coasters in the 1920s.
Questions 1-4
The working mechanism of a roller-coaster is explained through the diagram
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Question 5- 10
Given below is the summary of a paragraph from the reading passage.
Complete the summary using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer
Write your answers in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.
The first roller coaster was perhaps originated from Russia which is wrapped up by 5……………………, which was introduced into France, and it was modified to 6…………………… because the temperature there would 7…………………… the ice. This time 8…………………… were installed on the board.
In America, the first roller coaster was said to appear in Pennsylvania, it was actually a railroad that was designed to send 9…………………… between two mountains. Josiah White turned it into a thrill ride, it was also called switch backtrack and a 10…………………… there allowed riders to slide down back again.
Questions 11-14
Do the following statements present the opinion of the writer in the passage?
In boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet, write
Yes, if the statement agrees to the opinion of the writer
No, if the statement does not agree with the opinion of the writer
Not given, if the statement is unclear in expressing any opinion
11. The most exciting roller coaster in the world is in New Jersey.
12. French added more innovation on Russian ice slide including both cars and tracks.
13. Switch Back Railways began to gain popularity since its first construction in New York.
14. The Great Depression affected amusement parks yet did not shake the significant role of US roller coasters in the world.
Roller Coaster IELTS Reading Answers
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Reading Passage 2 Roller Coaster
1. chain
2. loop
3. gear
4. (simple) motor
5. ice
6. waxed slides
7. melt
8. wheels
9. coal
10. steam engine
11. NOT GIVEN
12. YES
13. YES
14. NO
Roller Coaster IELTS Reading Answers Explanation
Question 1.
Answer: Chain
Supporting Sentence: the supporting lifting mechanism is a long length of chain running up the hill under the track.
Keywords: mechanism, chain
Keyword location: section B, 5th line
Explanation: The chain is a traditional lifting machine that has a long length running up the hill under the track.
Question 2.
Answer: Loop
Supporting Sentence: The chain is fastened in a loop, which is wound around a gear at the top of the hill and another one at the bottom of the hill.
Keywords: wound, gear
Keyword location: Paragraph B, 7th line
Explanation: Paragraph B explains that a loop is created with the chain. The chain is connected to a loop-shaped track.
Question 3.
Answer: Gear
Supporting Sentence: the chain is fastened in a loop, which is wound around a gear at the top of the hill and another one at the bottom of the hill
Keywords: hill, bottom
Keyword location: section B, 7th line
Explanation: The gear exists on the top as well as the bottom of the hill which plays an important role in the mechanism of the roller coaster.
Question 4.
Answer: (simple) motor
Supporting Sentence: The gear at the bottom of the hill is turned by a simple motor.
Keywords: motor
Keyword location: section B, 8th line
Explanation: A motor is used to move the gear at the bottom of the hill that turns the chain loop so that it continually moves up the hill like a long conveyor belt.
Question 5.
Answer: ice
Supporting Sentence: The direct ancestors of roller coasters were monumental ice slides – long, steep wooden slides covered in ice, some as high as 70 feet – that were popular in Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries
Keywords: monumental, steep
Keyword location: section C, 2nd line
Explanation: ice-covered roller coasters were introduced in France by Russia in the 16th and 17th century
Question 6.
Answer: waxed slides
Supporting Sentence: the warmer climate of France tended to melt the ice, so the French started building waxed slides instead, eventually adding wheels to the sleds.
Keywords: melt, ice
Keyword location: section C, 6th line
Explanation: the ice slide idea of France was difficult to formulate because of the warm climate so they created waxed slides
Question 7.
Answer: melt
Supporting Sentence: the warmer climate of France tended to melt the ice, so the French started building waxed slides instead, eventually adding wheels to the sleds
Keywords: warmer, France
Keyword location: section C, 6th line
Explanation: the ice used in the roller coaster would melt because of the warm climate temperature of France.
Question 8.
Answer: wheels
Supporting Sentence: the warmer climate of France tended to melt the ice, so the French started building waxed slides instead, eventually adding wheels to the sleds
Keywords: waxed, building
Keyword location: section C, 6th line
Explanation: wheels were added to the roller coaster boards after realizing the effect of warm climate on the ice. Waxed slides were replaced by wheels.
Question 9.
Answer: coal
Supporting Sentence: Located in the Lehigh Valley, it was originally used to transport coal from the top of Mount Pisgah to the bottom of Mount Jefferson, until Josiah White, a mining entrepreneur, had the idea of turning it into a part-time thrill ride.
Keywords: coal, Lehigh Valley
Keyword location: section D, 4th line
Explanation: The second railway that originated in America was used to carry coal. It was Josiah white who was struck with the idea to make it a full-time thrill ride.
Question 10.
Answer: stream engine
Supporting Sentence: a stream engine would haul passengers to the top of the mountain, before letting them coast back down, with speeds rumored to reach 100 miles per hour
Keywords: engine, passenger
Keyword location: section D, 6th line
Explanation: the passengers used to reach the top of the hill and slide back down at a speed of 100 miles per hour with the help of a steam engine.
Question 11. The most exciting roller-coaster in the world is in new jersey
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Question 12. French added more innovations in Russia ice slide including both cars and tracks
Answer: YES
Supporting Sentence: The most widespread account is that a few entrepreneurial Frenchmen imported the ice slide idea to France. The warmer climate of France tended to melt the ice, so the French started building waxed slides instead, eventually adding slides to the sleds.
Keywords: French, warmer climate, ice, waxed slides
Keyword location: section C, 5th line
Explanation: because of the warm climate of France, the ice slides began to melt which is why the French polished the idea of ice slides by creating waxed slides along with the sleds.
Question 13. Switchback railways began to gain popularity since its first construction in new york
Answer: YES
Supporting Sentence: originally built at New York’s Coney Island in 1884, switchback railways began popping up all over the country
Keywords: switchback railways, first construction, New York
Keyword location: section E, 3rd line
Explanation: switchback railways have managed to attract a huge mass of people since the day they came into existence. This massive increasing popularity of the roller-coaster motivated the owner to create bigger and better roller coasters.
Question 14. The great depression affected amusement parks yet did not shake the significant role of the US roller coaster in the world
Answer: NO
Supporting Sentence: most nearly all of America’s roller coaster was shut down
Keywords: great depression, amusement parks
Keyword location: section F, 7th line
Explanation: The sentence is incorrect because the great depression and world war 2 not only affected the amusement parks but also decreased the crowd for the roller coaster.
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