The Coffee House and the Birth of Public Debate: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 13 questionsAcademiceasy
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About this passage
The passage opens: “In the great cities of seventeenth-century Europe, a new kind of meeting place appeared that would change the way people did business, exchanged news and argued about ideas. This was the coffee house, and for the better part of a century it stood at the very centre of public life.”
- Passage length: about 718 words
- Questions: 13
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Note Completion, Short Answer
“The Coffee House and the Birth of Public Debate” is an original IELTS-style practice passage written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
The Coffee House and the Birth of Public Debate answers with explanations
Questions 1–5: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
- 1
Coffee was first drunk in Europe before it was known anywhere else.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: Coffee was already enjoyed across the Middle East and the Ottoman Empire before it became popular in Europe, indicating that it was not first drunk in Europe.
Where to find it · Paragraph 1 “It had long been enjoyed across the Middle East, in the lands of the Ottoman Empire and the Arab world, and it was from there that the fashion for it, and for the establishments that served it, gradually made its way westward.”
- 2
England's first coffee house is said to have opened in Oxford.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: The passage states that England's first coffee house is generally believed to have opened in the university city of Oxford in the 1650s.
Where to find it · Paragraph 2 “England's first coffee house is generally said to have opened in the university city of Oxford in the 1650s, and others soon followed in London and beyond.”
- 3
A market for marine insurance grew out of a London coffee house.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: The passage states that a famous market for marine insurance began in a London coffee house frequented by those interested in shipping, confirming that a market for marine insurance grew out of a London coffee house.
Where to find it · Paragraph 4 “A famous market for marine insurance, for instance, began in a London coffee house frequented by those with an interest in shipping, and an early stock exchange grew from another where dealers in shares chose to meet.”
- 4
Coffee was more expensive than beer during this period.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims coffee was more expensive than beer, but the passage does not confirm or deny this, only mentioning that coffee cost a penny and allowed long participation in discussions.
- 5
Some rulers tried to suppress the coffee houses.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: The passage states that some rulers attempted to suppress coffee houses because they feared these places as centers of dangerous talk and potential breeding grounds for discontent or conspiracy.
Where to find it · Paragraph 5 “On more than one occasion the authorities attempted to suppress the coffee houses or to place them under closer supervision, fearing them as centres of dangerous talk, though such efforts generally met with strong protest and little lasting success.”
Questions 6–9: Note Completion
Complete the notes below.
Complete the notes using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. The European coffee house Coffee reached Europe from the Middle East and the (6) ______ Empire. For the price of a (7) ______ , a customer could sit and join the conversation for hours. Coffee houses were nicknamed 'penny (8) ______ ' because of the learning to be had there. Rulers feared the coffee houses as places of dangerous (9) ______ .
- 6
Coffee reached Europe from the Middle East and the ______ Empire.(max 2 words)
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Answer: Ottoman
Why: The answer "Ottoman" is found in the passage where it mentions that coffee had long been enjoyed in the Middle East and the lands of the Ottoman Empire before reaching Europe.
Where to find it · Paragraph 1 “It had long been enjoyed across the Middle East, in the lands of the Ottoman Empire and the Arab world, and it was from there that the fashion for it, and for the establishments that served it, gradually made its way westward.”
- 7
For the price of a ______ , a customer could sit and join the conversation for hours.(max 2 words)
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Answer: penny
Why: The answer "penny" is found in the passage where it states that for the cost of a single cup, usually just a penny, a customer could sit for hours and participate in discussions.
Where to find it · Paragraph 3 “For the price of a single cup, usually just a penny, a customer could sit for hours, listen to the discussions going on around him and join in as he pleased.”
- 8
Coffee houses were nicknamed 'penny ______ ' because of the learning to be had there.(max 2 words)
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Answer: universities (also accepted: university)
Why: The answer is found in the passage where it mentions that coffee houses were humorously called 'penny universities' because a man could gain much knowledge and news there for the price of a penny.
Where to find it · Paragraph 3 “For this reason coffee houses became known, half in jest, as 'penny universities', since a man might pick up a great deal of learning and news there for the price of a penny, without ever paying a university fee.”
- 9
Rulers feared the coffee houses as places of dangerous ______ .(max 2 words)
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Answer: talk
Why: The answer "talk" is found in the passage where it mentions that rulers were uneasy about coffee houses as places where news spread quickly and opinions were exchanged freely, making them centers of potentially dangerous discussions.
Where to find it · Paragraph 5 “On more than one occasion the authorities attempted to suppress the coffee houses or to place them under closer supervision, fearing them as centres of dangerous talk, though such efforts generally met with strong protest and little lasting success.”
Questions 10–13: Short Answer
Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Answer the questions below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
- 10
In which university city did England's first coffee house open?(max 3 words)
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Answer: Oxford
Why: The passage states that England's first coffee house is generally believed to have opened in the university city of Oxford in the 1650s.
Where to find it · Paragraph 2 “England's first coffee house is generally said to have opened in the university city of Oxford in the 1650s, and others soon followed in London and beyond.”
- 11
In which century did coffee houses appear across Europe?(max 3 words)
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Answer: the seventeenth century (also accepted: seventeenth century / seventeenth)
Why: The passage states that coffee houses appeared in the great cities of seventeenth-century Europe, indicating the century when they became widespread across the continent.
Where to find it · Paragraph 1 “In the great cities of seventeenth-century Europe, a new kind of meeting place appeared that would change the way people did business, exchanged news and argued about ideas.”
- 12
Besides insurance, what kind of exchange grew from a coffee house where dealers met?(max 3 words)
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Answer: a stock exchange (also accepted: stock exchange / stock)
Why: The answer is found in the passage where it mentions that an early stock exchange developed from a coffee house where share dealers gathered.
Where to find it · Paragraph 4 “A famous market for marine insurance, for instance, began in a London coffee house frequented by those with an interest in shipping, and an early stock exchange grew from another where dealers in shares chose to meet.”
- 13
Compared with the tavern, what did the coffee house help its customers to stay?(max 3 words)
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Answer: alert
Why: The answer comes from the part of the passage that explains how the coffee house served a drink that kept customers attentive, unlike the tavern where the strong drink could impair judgment.
Where to find it · Paragraph 2 “Unlike the tavern, where the strong drink on offer tended to loosen tongues and cloud judgement, the coffee house served a beverage that kept its customers alert, and it acquired a reputation as a place of sober and serious conversation.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 13 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (Academic) conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single passage is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 13 / 13 | 9.0 |
| 12 / 13 | 8.5 |
| 11 / 13 | 7.5 |
| 10 / 13 | 7.0 |
| 9 / 13 | 6.5 |
| 8 / 13 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 13 | 5.5 |
| 5–6 / 13 | 5.0 |
| 4 / 13 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 13 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 13 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 13 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 13 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
True / False / Not Given
- Read the statement first and underline the key idea, especially any qualifiers like "all", "only", "never", "always", "more than" or dates and numbers.
- Because the questions follow the order of the passage, scan for the paragraph that deals with the same topic rather than re-reading everything.
Common trap: Confusing "False" with "Not Given": choose False only when the passage actively contradicts the statement; if the passage is silent, it is Not Given.
Full True / False / Not Given strategyNote Completion
- Use headings and indentation to identify the topic of each blank.
- Predict the answer type and mark the word limit.
Common trap: Treating bullets as unrelated when they belong to one passage section.
Full Note Completion strategyShort Answer
- Read the instructions and note the exact word limit; going over it means zero marks even if the meaning is right.
- Turn each question into a set of keywords and predict what kind of answer it needs (a person, a date, a place, a noun).
Common trap: Exceeding the word limit (writing four words when only three are allowed).
Full Short Answer strategyPractise “The Coffee House and the Birth of Public Debate” under exam conditions
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