The History of Cartography: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 13 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “A map is such a familiar object that it is easy to forget what a strange and remarkable thing it is. To draw a map is to shrink the world onto a flat surface and to decide what to leave in and what to leave out.”
- Passage length: about 811 words
- Questions: 13
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“The History of Cartography” 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 History of Cartography answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information.
- 1
Every map involves choices about what to include and what to leave out.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “To draw a map is to shrink the world onto a flat surface and to decide what to leave in and what to leave out.”
- 2
The oldest surviving maps were mainly designed to guide travellers from place to place.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “These maps were not meant to guide a traveller from one place to another so much as to express how their makers understood their own position in the universe.”
- 3
Scholars in the Islamic world preserved and built on the mathematical geography of the ancient Mediterranean.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “Scholars in the Islamic world preserved and extended the mathematical geography of the ancient Mediterranean, producing detailed and comparatively accurate maps”
- 4
A flat map can accurately preserve shapes, sizes, distances and directions all at the same time.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “Any such representation must distort something, whether shapes, sizes, distances or directions, and no flat map can preserve them all at once.”
- 5
Measuring how far east or west a ship had travelled was for a long time very difficult.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “…measuring how far east or west it had travelled long defeated navigators, leading to errors that could wreck vessels and cost lives.”
- 6
Modern satellite maps are more expensive to produce than older paper maps were.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims that modern satellite maps are more expensive to produce than older paper maps, but the passage does not confirm or deny this, as it does not discuss the cost of map production.
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. They invented the printing of maps
- B. They described locations using two numbers, an ancestor of latitude and longitude
- C. They drew the first maps of the whole ocean floor
- D. They stopped placing sacred cities at the centre of maps
- 7
What contribution did scholars of the ancient Mediterranean make to cartography?
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Answer: B — They described locations using two numbers, an ancestor of latitude and longitude
Why: they began to think about the Earth in mathematical terms... describing any location by two numbers... This idea, the ancestor of modern latitude and longitude
Where to find it · Paragraph 3 “A great step forward came with the scholars of the ancient Mediterranean world, who began to think about the Earth in mathematical terms.”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Charts combining geography with religious ideas
- B. Charts recording coastlines, harbours and compass bearings between ports
- C. Charts showing the positions of the stars
- D. Charts of imaginary lands
- 8
What kind of charts did medieval sailors rely on?
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Answer: B — Charts recording coastlines, harbours and compass bearings between ports
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — Charts recording coastlines, harbours and compass bearings between ports.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “Sailors, by contrast, relied on a different kind of chart that recorded coastlines, harbours and the compass bearings between ports”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. It made straight courses impossible to plot
- B. It greatly exaggerated the size of regions far from the equator
- C. It could not show any coastlines
- D. It could only be used on land
- 9
What was a drawback of the famous projection mentioned in the passage?
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Answer: B — It greatly exaggerated the size of regions far from the equator
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — It greatly exaggerated the size of regions far from the equator.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “…it did so at the cost of greatly exaggerating the size of regions far from the equator”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Using satellites to gather images
- B. Guarding maps as commercial secrets
- C. Selecting a limited set of features and arranging them to tell a useful story
- D. Measuring position at sea
- 10
According to the passage, what is the essential act of mapmaking that has remained unchanged?
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Answer: C — Selecting a limited set of features and arranging them to tell a useful story
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — Selecting a limited set of features and arranging them to tell a useful story.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “…selecting from the endless complexity of the real world a limited set of features and arranging them to tell a useful story.”
Questions 11–13: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
What is the technical name for the study and practice of mapmaking?(max 2 words)
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Answer: cartography
Why: The answer “cartography” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “The history of mapmaking, or cartography”
- 12
What material were some of the oldest maps scratched onto?(max 2 words)
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Answer: clay tablets (also accepted: clay / clay tablet)
Why: The answer “clay tablets” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “Some of the oldest were scratched onto clay tablets”
- 13
What general name is given to the different methods for showing a globe on a flat surface?(max 2 words)
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Answer: projections (also accepted: projection)
Why: The answer “projections” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “Different solutions, known as projections, were devised to suit different purposes.”
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 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 History of Cartography” under exam conditions
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