IELTS Rewind

IELTS Reading Practice Test: The Industrial Revolution in Britain

Practice your IELTS reading skills with this comprehensive 13-question test. Time limit: 20 minutes.

Reading Passage Content Summary

## The Industrial Revolution in Britain The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the mid-1700s and by the 1830s and 1840s had spread to many other parts of the world, including the United States. In Britain, it was a period when a largely rural, agrarian* society was transformed into an indust...

Question Types Included

  • note-completion (7 questions)
  • true-false-not-given (6 questions)

Test Information

  • Total Questions: 13
  • Time Limit: 20 minutes
  • Level: Intermediate to Advanced
  • Format: IELTS Academic Reading

The Industrial Revolution in Britain

Reading Passage Content

This page contains IELTS reading practice materials with comprehensive questions and explanations.

Reading Comprehension Questions

Questions 1–7: Note Completion

Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1–7.

Britain’s Industrial Revolution


    Steam power
  • Newcomen’s steam engine was used in mines to remove water.
  • In Watt and Boulton’s steam engine, the movement of the (1). was linked to a gear system.
  • A greater supply of (2). was required to power steam engines.

    • Textile industry
  • Before the Industrial Revolution, spinners and weavers worked at home and in (3)..
  • Not as much (4). was needed to produce cloth once the spinning jenny and power loom were invented.

    • Iron industry
  • Smelting of iron ore with coke resulted in material that was better (5)..
  • Demand for iron increased with the growth of the (6)..

    • Communications
  • Cooke and Wheatstone patented the first telegraphy system.
  • The telegraphy system was used to prevent locomotives colliding.

    • Urbanisation
  • Small towns turned into cities very quickly.
  • The new cities were dirty, crowded and lacked sufficient (7)..

Questions 8–13: True/False/Not Given

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?
Write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
Write FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
Write NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

8 Britain’s canal network grew rapidly so that more goods could be transported around the country.

9 Costs in the iron industry rose when the technique of smelting iron ore with coke was introduced.

10 Samuel Morse’s communication system was more reliable than that developed by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone.

11 The economic benefits of industrialisation were limited to certain sectors of society.

12 Some skilled weavers believed that the introduction of the new textile machines would lead to job losses.

13 There was some sympathy among local people for the Luddites who were arrested near Huddersfield

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Exam Duration:
min
Standard test • Range: 5-180 minutes
20 min
13 questions
IELTS Reading #52: The Industrial Revolution in Britain | IELTS Rewind