The Reinvention of the Bicycle: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 13 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “The bicycle was not invented in a single flash of genius but reinvented again and again over most of a century, each version correcting the faults of the last. Its earliest ancestor appeared in 1817, when the German inventor Karl von Drais built a two-wheeled wooden machine with a seat and a steerable front wheel.”
- Passage length: about 770 words
- Questions: 13
- Question types: Note Completion, Matching Features, Short Answer
“The Reinvention of the Bicycle” 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 Reinvention of the Bicycle answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: Note Completion
Complete the notes below.
Complete the notes using ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. The development of the bicycle 1817: Karl von Drais built a machine pushed along by the rider's (1) ______ . 1860s: the 'boneshaker' had pedals fixed to the (2) ______ wheel. 1870s: the penny-farthing used a huge front wheel to increase (3) ______ . 1885: the 'safety bicycle' used a (4) ______ to drive the rear wheel. 1888: the (5) ______ tyre, filled with air, made riding smoother. The bicycle gave new freedom to travel, especially to (6) ______ .
- 1
1817: Karl von Drais built a machine pushed along by the rider's ______ .(max 1 word)
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Answer: feet
Why: The answer "feet" is found in the passage where it describes how the rider of Karl von Drais's 1817 machine propelled it by pushing along the ground with their feet.
Where to find it · Paragraph 1 “It had no pedals; the rider simply pushed along the ground with the feet, coasting where the road allowed.”
- 2
1860s: the 'boneshaker' had pedals fixed to the ______ wheel.(max 1 word)
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Answer: front
Why: The answer "front" comes from the part of the passage that describes how, in the 1860s, pedals were attached directly to the front wheel of the bicycle, known as the "boneshaker.
Where to find it · Paragraph 2 “Pedals arrived in the 1860s, fixed directly to the front wheel of a machine so jarring to ride over cobbled streets that it earned the name boneshaker.”
- 3
1870s: the penny-farthing used a huge front wheel to increase ______ .(max 1 word)
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Answer: speed
Why: The answer "speed" comes from the section describing the penny-farthing in the 1870s, where it states that the only way to increase speed was by enlarging the front wheel.
Where to find it · Paragraph 2 “This logic led, in the 1870s, to the extraordinary high-wheeler, or penny-farthing, whose front wheel grew enormous while the rear shrank to a tiny trailer.”
- 4
1885: the 'safety bicycle' used a ______ to drive the rear wheel.(max 1 word)
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Answer: chain
Why: The answer "chain" is found in the passage where it describes the 1885 safety bicycle, which used pedals to turn a chain that drove the rear wheel, allowing for flexible gearing without enlarging any wheel.
Where to find it · Paragraph 3 “Two wheels of equal, moderate size carried a rider seated low between them, and the pedals now turned a chain that drove the rear wheel, so that gearing could be chosen freely without enlarging any wheel.”
- 5
1888: the ______ tyre, filled with air, made riding smoother.(max 1 word)
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Answer: pneumatic
Why: The answer "pneumatic" is found in the passage where it describes how John Boyd Dunlop reintroduced the air-filled tire in 1888, providing a smoother ride for bicycles.
Where to find it · Paragraph 4 “In 1888 the Scottish inventor John Boyd Dunlop reintroduced the air-filled, or pneumatic, tyre, a cushion of trapped air that smoothed away the jolts that had tormented earlier riders.”
- 6
The bicycle gave new freedom to travel, especially to ______ .(max 1 word)
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Answer: women
Why: The answer "women" comes from the part of the passage that discusses how the bicycle provided ordinary people, particularly women, with new freedom to travel independently.
Where to find it · Paragraph 5 “Cheap and needing neither rails nor horses, the bicycle gave ordinary people, and especially women, a new and unprecedented freedom to travel where and when they wished.”
Questions 7–10: Matching Features
Match each description with the correct machine, A, B or C. You may use any letter more than once.
- A. the penny-farthing (high-wheeler)
- B. the safety bicycle
- C. the hobby-horse (draisine)
- 7
It had no pedals and was moved by pushing the feet on the ground.
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Answer: C — the hobby-horse (draisine)
Why: The passage states that the hobby-horse, or draisine, had no pedals and was moved by the rider pushing along the ground with their feet.
Where to find it · Paragraph 1 “It had no pedals; the rider simply pushed along the ground with the feet, coasting where the road allowed.”
- 8
Its front wheel was made very large to allow higher speeds.
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Answer: A — the penny-farthing (high-wheeler)
Why: The passage states that the penny-farthing's front wheel was made very large to increase speed, as one turn of the pedals equaled one turn of the wheel.
Where to find it · Paragraph 2 “This logic led, in the 1870s, to the extraordinary high-wheeler, or penny-farthing, whose front wheel grew enormous while the rear shrank to a tiny trailer.”
- 9
It had two wheels of equal size and a chain driving the rear wheel.
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Answer: B — the safety bicycle
Why: The passage states that the safety bicycle, produced in 1885, had two wheels of equal size and a chain that drove the rear wheel.
Where to find it · Paragraph 3 “Two wheels of equal, moderate size carried a rider seated low between them, and the pedals now turned a chain that drove the rear wheel, so that gearing could be chosen freely without enlarging any wheel.”
- 10
Its high seat made a fall over the front a serious risk.
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Answer: A — the penny-farthing (high-wheeler)
Why: The passage states that the penny-farthing had a high seat, which made falls common and could pitch the rider head first onto the road, indicating a serious risk of falling over the front.
Where to find it · Paragraph 2 “It was fast and, for a time, fashionable, but the rider perched high above the axle, and a sudden stop could pitch him head first onto the road.”
Questions 11–13: 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.
- 11
Who produced the safety bicycle in 1885?(max 3 words)
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Answer: John Kemp Starley (also accepted: Starley / J K Starley / John Starley)
Why: The passage states that the decisive breakthrough in bicycle design came in 1885 when John Kemp Starley introduced the safety bicycle, which featured two equal-sized wheels and a chain-driven rear wheel.
Where to find it · Paragraph 3 “The decisive breakthrough came in 1885, when the English manufacturer John Kemp Starley produced what he called the safety bicycle.”
- 12
What kind of tyre did Dunlop reintroduce in 1888?(max 3 words)
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Answer: pneumatic (also accepted: the pneumatic tyre / pneumatic tyre / air-filled)
Why: The answer is found in the passage where it mentions that in 1888, John Boyd Dunlop reintroduced the air-filled tyre, also known as the pneumatic tyre, which provided a smoother ride for cyclists.
Where to find it · Paragraph 4 “In 1888 the Scottish inventor John Boyd Dunlop reintroduced the air-filled, or pneumatic, tyre, a cushion of trapped air that smoothed away the jolts that had tormented earlier riders.”
- 13
What was the trade of the Wright brothers before they built aircraft?(max 3 words)
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Answer: bicycle mechanics (also accepted: bicycle mechanic / mechanics / bicycle repair)
Why: The passage does not provide information about the Wright brothers or their trade before building aircraft.
Where to find it · Paragraph 5 “The bicycle also seeded later technologies: the brothers who built the first successful aeroplane, Wilbur and Orville Wright, earned their living as bicycle mechanics, and much of their feel for lightweight structures and balance came straight from the workshop.”
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
Note 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 strategyMatching Features
- Read the list of options (the features) and locate each one in the passage, underlining every place it appears — names and dates are easy to spot.
- Read the statements and identify the claim or characteristic each one describes.
Common trap: Assuming each option is used exactly once — some are reused and some are distractors.
Full Matching Features 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 Reinvention of the Bicycle” under exam conditions
Free, auto-marked, with the 20-minute timer and an instant band estimate.
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