The Garden City Movement: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “By the end of the nineteenth century, the great industrial cities had become, for many of their inhabitants, places of overcrowding, pollution and squalor. Rapid growth had packed enormous numbers of people into cramped and unhealthy housing, often close to the smoking factories where they worked.”
- Passage length: about 758 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“The Garden City Movement” 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 Garden City Movement answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
- 1
The garden city was intended to combine the advantages of both town and country.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “Howard's solution was to create settlements that would marry the advantages of both, offering the economic opportunities of the town within a healthy, green environment.”
- 2
Howard intended garden cities to grow without any limit on their size.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “…it would be built to a fixed plan for a set number of inhabitants, and once it reached its intended size, growth would be accommodated by founding a new city nearby rather than by expanding the old one.”
- 3
The green belt around each city was to be kept permanently free from building.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “This ring of countryside, kept permanently free from building, would provide space for farming and recreation.”
- 4
Howard proposed that the land of a garden city should be owned by private landlords.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “He proposed that the land on which a garden city stood should be held in common on behalf of the community rather than by private landlords.”
- 5
The first garden city attracted more visitors than any other town in England.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims the first garden city attracted more visitors than any other town in England, but the passage neither confirms nor denies this, only mentioning that the settlements attracted great interest.
Closest related text · Paragraph 6 “With the support of others who shared his vision, a company was formed and land was acquired to build the first garden city, which was begun in the early years of the twentieth century a short distance from London.”
- 6
Some places used the 'garden' label without adopting Howard's underlying principles.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “…many places that borrowed the label 'garden' adopted the leafy appearance of his cities without their underlying principles of planning and common ownership.”
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. a shortage of factories
- B. overcrowding, pollution and squalor
- C. too much open countryside
- D. a lack of workers
- 7
What problem in industrial cities helped inspire Howard's proposal?
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Answer: B — overcrowding, pollution and squalor
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — overcrowding, pollution and squalor.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “…the great industrial cities had become, for many of their inhabitants, places of overcrowding, pollution and squalor.”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. work and social life
- B. fresh air and natural beauty
- C. factories and employment
- D. large populations
- 8
According to Howard, what did the countryside offer but the city lack?
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Answer: B — fresh air and natural beauty
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — fresh air and natural beauty.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “…the country offered fresh air and natural beauty, but little employment or social life.”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. the increase in value would fund public services rather than enrich private owners
- B. the land would be sold to the highest bidder
- C. the value would be given to the factories
- D. the land would be left undeveloped
- 9
How, in Howard's plan, would the community benefit from the rising value of the land?
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Answer: A — the increase in value would fund public services rather than enrich private owners
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports A — the increase in value would fund public services rather than enrich private owners.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “…the resulting increase in value would benefit the community as a whole and could be used to fund public services, rather than enriching private owners.”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. that cities should be left to grow haphazardly
- B. that the growth of cities could be consciously guided for the good of residents
- C. that green space around cities was unnecessary
- D. that all cities should be as large as possible
- 10
What lasting idea did the garden city movement help to establish?
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Answer: B — that the growth of cities could be consciously guided for the good of residents
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — that the growth of cities could be consciously guided for the good of residents.
Evidence · Paragraph 8 “…the garden city movement helped to establish the very idea that the growth of cities could and should be consciously guided for the good of those who live in them.”
Questions 11–14: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
Who put forward the proposal for the garden city?(max 2 words)
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Answer: Ebenezer Howard (also accepted: Howard)
Why: The answer “Ebenezer Howard” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “…an Englishman named Ebenezer Howard put forward a bold proposal for a new kind of settlement.”
- 12
What name came to be given to the ring of countryside surrounding each city?(max 3 words)
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Answer: the green belt (also accepted: green belt)
Why: The answer “the green belt” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “The green belt, as this surrounding land came to be known, ensured that the benefits of the countryside remained within easy reach.”
- 13
Near which city was the first garden city begun?(max 2 words)
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Answer: London
Why: The answer “London” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “…land was acquired to build the first garden city, which was begun in the early years of the twentieth century a short distance from London.”
- 14
Howard proposed that the land should be held in what way, on behalf of the community?(max 2 words)
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Answer: in common (also accepted: common)
Why: The answer “in common” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “…the land on which a garden city stood should be held in common on behalf of the community.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 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 |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.5 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.5 |
| 11 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 6.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 4 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 14 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 14 | 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 strategyMultiple Choice
- Read the question stem carefully before the options so you know exactly what is being asked.
- Because multiple-choice questions follow passage order, locate the relevant section and read it in full — the answer usually depends on more than one sentence.
Common trap: Distractors that use exact words from the passage but distort the meaning.
Full Multiple Choice 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 Garden City Movement” under exam conditions
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