🔥When Maps were Made for the Public: Đề thi thật IELTS READING (IELTS Reading Recent Actual Test) - Làm bài online format computer-based, kèm giải thích từ vựng

Reading Passage 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 on pages 2 and 3.

When Maps were Made for the Public
Since the art of map-making began, maps have largely been made for explorers, academics, and rulers. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the general public began to demand maps for themselves. More than anything else, it was the appeal of travel to ordinary people that encouraged companies to begin creating and printing more maps than ever before, in order to meet the demands of their new market.

In the years after the American Civil War (1861–65), the rapidly growing US railroad system had so many independent rail companies, schedules, and destinations that maps were critical for planning a person’s journey. One publisher, Rand McNally, made a fortune from producing railway maps for different parts of the USA, combined with a timetable and many descriptions of scenery and towns in the same booklet.

When safety improvements in the 1880s helped to make the bicycle popular, cycling maps quickly appeared, showing roads in good condition even if they were rarely used. Later, in 1896, one of the first cycling guides appeared in print: George Blum’s Cycler’s Guide and Map of Road for California. Each cycle road was highlighted in red and labelled with not only the type of surface riders could expect to find, but also an indication of how steep it was.

The advent of the car brought a need for road maps and travel information. In 1900, André Michelin published a guide about France, with maps that showed the location of different kinds of reasonably priced accommodation and also car assistance for any mechanical problems. However, it was due primarily to its recommendations regarding which was the best restaurant to go to that the guide quickly became something a huge number of tourists and travellers bought and relied on. Nowhere was the need for road maps greater than in the United States. In 1902, the American Automobile Association was founded in Chicago, and three years later it published its first road maps for long-distance drivers. In 1917, Rand McNally began to publish Auto Trails Maps, a series of maps that each focused in detail on a different region that people might hope to visit within North America. The same publisher also helped to establish the US’s use of identifiers to identify previously nameless roads. Following the European tradition, roads were given names, but now, thanks in part to Rand McNally, they were allocated numbers instead.

The oil companies did not take long to realize the profit to be made from Americans exploring the open road, so service stations soon began to distribute free maps to encourage this. Free road maps became part of the fabric of American life, and it has been estimated that more than ten billion were distributed before the 1970s. It was then that the rising costs of oil and subsequent falling consumption led to the oil companies investigating where savings could be made. The maps were one of the first things to go. Another map product was the aeronautical chart for pilots. The first examples were produced in France and England around 1911. Techniques progressed greatly during World War I, and during the 1920s there was continual development of maps for air navigation.

New maps also became available for those who only wanted to cross town by train. Some of the early maps of the London Underground were based on the city above ground; therefore, although they were accurate in terms of distance and direction, the maps were confusing because the stations in central London were so crowded together. In 1931, Harry Beck produced a map that looked rather like an electrical circuit, with straight lines and symbols. It included only one feature above ground: the River Thames. The stations were also spaced relatively equally, making the map much easier to read. Although Beck’s map was initially rejected as too radical, it was approved in 1933. He continued to refine it for the next 25 years.>> Form đăng kí giải đề thi thật IELTS 4 kĩ năng kèm bài giải bộ đề 100 đề PART 2 IELTS SPEAKING quý đang thi (update hàng tuần) từ IELTS TUTOR

Shortly after Beck’s contribution to the mapping of subterranean London, an equally significant achievement was performed above ground. Phyllis Pearsall was a painter who, in 1935, became lost on the way to a party in London, due to the lack of a good map. This inspired her to plot all of London, and the next year she traced and catalogued its 23,000 streets. With map-maker James Duncan, Pearsall then produced an atlas and a comprehensive street index. Unable to interest any of the major publishers, the two founded their own company, the Geographer’s Map Company Ltd, and produced what was then called the A–Z, Atlas and Guide to London. The company still exists and now publishes more than 300 different A–Z maps and atlases.

Questions 1–6
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1–6 on your answer sheet.

The development of maps from the 19th century onwards

• A growing interest in travel led to the increased production of maps in the 19th century.

• After 1865:

  • Rand McNally made a lot of money by putting a map and a 1 __________________ in one publication.

• After 1880:

  • George Philip produced maps that could not be damaged by water.
  • George Blum’s cycling map showed:
    • The kind of 2 __________________ the paths had.
    • How steep the paths might be.

• 1900 onwards:

  • André Michelin’s guide provided information about:
    • Finding economical 3 __________________.
    • What to do if your car broke down.
  • The Michelin guide became popular mainly because it helped people select a 4 __________________.

• 1917 onwards:

  • Rand McNally:
    • The company’s Auto Trails Maps helped people explore roads through a particular 5 __________________ of the USA.
    • The company was also responsible for giving 6 __________________ to American roads.

Questions 7–13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 7–13 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

7. The free road maps provided by oil companies were the most detailed maps available to drivers in the USA.

8. Pilots were the first people to make use of aeronautical maps.

9. Beck’s London Underground map was immediately well received by the authorities.

10. Beck stopped working on the design of his map in 1933.

11. Pearsall created a new map of London because she got lost on her way to an event.

12. Pearsall needed the help of a professional cartographer to complete her map.

13. Pearsall’s map was widely praised by London’s major publishing companies.

• Timetable (n) - lịch trình

  • Definition: A schedule of times for events, like train or bus departures.
  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: Rand McNally made a fortune from producing railway maps for different parts of the USA, combined with a timetable and many descriptions of scenery and towns in the same booklet.

• Surface (n) - bề mặt

  • Definition: The outer or top layer of something.
  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: Each cycle road was highlighted in red and labelled with not only the type of surface riders could expect to find, but also an indication of how steep it was.

• Accommodation (n) - chỗ ở

  • Definition: A place where people can stay, especially when traveling.
  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: In 1900, André Michelin published a guide about France, with maps that showed the location of different kinds of reasonably priced accommodation.

• Restaurant (n) - nhà hàng

  • Definition: A place where meals are served to customers.
  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: It was due primarily to its recommendations regarding which was the best restaurant to go to that the guide quickly became something a huge number of tourists and travellers bought and relied on.

• Region (n) - vùng

  • Definition: An area, especially part of a country or the world.
  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: In 1917, Rand McNally began to publish Auto Trails Maps, a series of maps that each focused in detail on a different region that people might hope to visit within North America.

• Identifiers (n) - dấu hiệu nhận dạng

  • Definition: Things used to identify or distinguish something.
  • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: The same publisher also helped to establish the US’s use of identifiers to identify previously nameless roads.

1. Timetable
2. Surface
3. Accommodation
4. Restaurant
5. Region

1. Numbers
2. True
3. True
4. Not given
5. False
6. Not given
7. False
8. Not given