A Disaster of Titanic Proportions Reading Answers

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A Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading answers blog has solutions for three question types: Table Completion, True False Not given and Short answer questions. This passage is devised from Academic (ac) reading Test 11, reading passage 1. Check your answers now. 

Solution for Disaster of Titanic proporations

1. fleet 5. wireless operators 9. False 13. Not given
2. lookout 6. (wireless) messages 10. True  
3. midnight/12:00 a.m 7. False 11. False  
4. lifeboats 8. Not given 12. True  

If you are not able to get your answers right, use A Disaster of Titanic Proportions with location. The explanations given will eventually help you to build reading skills while locating and understanding the answer.

A Disaster of Titanic Proportions IELTS Reading Answers blog has been developed to provide you with practice for the IELTS reading module. Skills like eye for detail, skimming, logic and reasoning will be tested in the IELTS Reading section. Have persistent practice to answer the questions easily. 

A Disaster of Titanic Proportions IELTS Reading Answers is all about how the Titanic sank because of irregularities between staff members and other outer pressures and what measures should be taken at that time. You will encounter the following IELTS reading question types, which are based on The Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading passage. 

  • IELTS Reading Table Completion 
  • IELTS Reading True/False/Not given
  • IELTS Reading Short answer questions

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Strategies for solving  “A Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading answers”

  • A Disaster of Titanic Proportions passage is taken from the Academic (ac) Test 11, reading passage 1.
  • You must have a clear knowledge about the reading exam pattern, its time duration,number of questions, question types, etc to score better in your IELTS exam.
  • For solving Short answer questions you must read the instructions and word limit carefully.
  • A Disaster of Titanic Proportions IELTS reading passage contains information about how the Titanic sank and what factors were responsible for that catastrophic event.
  • To answer question types such as True/False/Not given easily you have to improve your vocabulary, grammar and reading skills.
  • Highlight the main points in the passage so that you can locate the questions to find the answer.
  • If you want to attempt this passage again in future refer A Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading pdf featured in this article.

Consider the above mentioned points on A Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading answers to concentrate properly on further questions.

Before attempting the passage A Disaster of Titanic Proportions  IELTS reading answers kindly refer to the IELTS reading tips.

IELTS reading passage - A Disaster of Titanic Proportions

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. After you've attempted all of the questions, review your answers using the provided A Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading answers with explanations.

A Disaster of Titanic Proportions

  1. Lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee on the Titanic's front mast spotted an eerie, black mass approaching into view immediately in front of the ship at 11:39 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. "Iceberg, right ahead!" Fleet exclaimed as he picked up the phone at the helm and waited for Sixth Officer Moody to answer. The worst maritime calamity in history was about to set in motion.
  2. The Titanic struck a piece of submerged ice 37 seconds later, shattering rivets in the ship's hull and filling the first five watertight compartments, despite the attempts of personnel in the bridge and engine room to manoeuvre around the iceberg. Thomas Andrews, the ship's designer, conducted a visual survey of the ship's damage at midnight and warned Captain Smith that the ship would sink in less than two hours.
    After Smith had given the order for the lifeboats to be opened and swung out 15 minutes earlier, the lifeboats were being loaded with women and children by 12:30 a.m. Only 28 of the 65 seats in the first lifeboat were occupied when it was successfully lowered 15 minutes later. The waterline was beginning to reach the Titanic's name on the ship's bow by 1:15 a.m., and every lifeboat would be released over the next hour as commanders tried to maintain discipline amid the mounting fear on board
  3. The dosing moments of the Titanic's sinking occurred shortly after 2:00 a.m., when the last lifeboat was lowered and the ship's propellers were taken out of the water, leaving 1,500 passengers to surge towards the ship's stern. Harold Bride and Jack Philips sent their final wireless message at 2:17 a.m. after being relieved of their duties as the ship's wireless operators, and the ship's band ceased performing. Less than a minute later, lifeboat occupants saw the ship's lights flash once, then go out, and heard a tremendous roar that indicated the Titanic's cargo was diving towards the bow, causing the front half of the ship to break off and sink. The bow of the Titanic briefly rose, and at 2:20 a.m the ship finally sank beneath the frigid waters.
  4. What or who was responsible for the magnitude of the catastrophic event? There are numerous explanations, some of which focus on minute minutiae. Because of a last-minute change in the ship's officer line-up, iceberg lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee were forced to make do without a pair of binoculars that an officer transferred off the ship at Southampton had left in a cupboard onboard,unbeknownst to any of the ship's crew. Fleet, who survived the sinking, claimed at a subsequent investigation that if he had owned the binoculars, he could have discovered the iceberg in time to avert disaster.
  5. Less than an hour before the Titanic collided with the iceberg, wireless operator Cyril Evans in California, about 20 miles to the north, attempted to reach Titanic operator Jack Phillips to warn him of the approaching pack ice. Phillips responded, "Shut up, shut up, you're jamming my signal." "I'm occupied." Philips was clearing a backlog of personal messages that passengers had requested to be transmitted to family and friends in the United States after the Titanic's wireless system had gone down for several hours earlier that day.
    Despite several warnings of ice ahead, Captain Smith kept the ship moving at 22 knots. Although it has been alleged that Smith was under pressure to make headlines by landing early in New York maritime historians such as Richard Howell have refuted this notion by pointing out that Smith was just adhering to standard procedure at the time and was not acting irresponsibly
  6. The Titanic did not have enough lifeboats for everyone on board, which is one of the most compelling explanations for the massive loss of life. Maritime regulations at the time considered that the  lifeboat capacity was determined by the size of the ship, not the number of passengers on board. This meant that with space for 1,178 of its 2,222 passengers, the Titanic actually exceeded the Board of Trade's requirement that it carry lifeboats for 1,060 passengers.
  7. Despite the fact that lifeboats were lowered with less than half full in many situations, and only 712 passengers survived despite a two-and-a-half-hour window of chance, more lifeboats would not have ensured more survivors in the absence of improved training and planning. After the order to launch lifeboats was given, many passengers were puzzled about where to go; a lifeboat drill that had been scheduled for earlier on the same day the Titanic struck the iceberg was cancelled by Captain Smith to allow passengers to attend church

A Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading questions

Questions 1 - 6

Complete the table below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in blank spaces next to 1-6 on your answer sheet.

Time   Person’s Position Action
11:39 p.m 1  __________  2  __________  A reported sighting of the iceberg
3 __________    Andrews Ship’s designer Reported how long the Titanic could stay afloat
12:15 a.m Smith Captain Ordered 4 __________ to be released
2:17 a.m Bride & Philips 5 __________  Relayed final  
6 __________ 

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Questions 7 - 10

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
 
7. The binoculars for the men on watch had been left in a crew locker in Southampton.
8. The missing binoculars were the major factor leading to the collision with the iceberg.
9. Philips missed notification about the ice from Evans because the Titanic’s wireless system was not functioning at the time.
10. Captain Smith knew there was ice in the area.

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Questions 11 - 13

Answer the questions below. 

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/ OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

11. What was the ship's speed despite repeated prior warnings about ice?

12. Instead of the lifeboat drill, Captain Smith allowed passengers to attend what?

13. How long did it take the Titanic to collide with a piece of submerged ice?

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A Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading answers

1. fleet 5. Wireless operators 9. False 13. 37 seconds
2. lookout 6. Wireless (messages) 10. True  
3. midnight/ 12:00 a.m 7. False 11. 22 knots  
4. lifeboats 8. Not given 12. church  

A Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading answers with explanations

A Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading answers with explanations can assist you in rectifying errors and identifying the required information for your answer.

(Note: The text in italics is from the reading passage and shows the location from where the answer is taken or inferred. The text in the regular font explains the answer in detail.)

1. fleet

Explanation:  Paragraph A, line 2 puts forward the information that “fleet picked up the phone to the helm, waited for Sixth Officer Moody to answer, and yelled: “Iceberg, right ahead!” The greatest disaster in maritime history was about to be set in motion.” Hence, we can infer that Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee had noticed a dark mass approaching the ship from the front, and Fleet had informed the ship’s Sixth Officer Moody.

2.  lookout

Explanation:  Line 1 in paragraph A infers that “at 11:39 p.m. on the evening of Sunday, 14 April 1912, lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee on the forward mast of the Titanic sighted an eerie, black mass coming into view directly in front of the ship.” Here, Lee and Fleet were both lookouts who had noticed the iceberg first, which meant they were assigned to the lookout post.

3. Midnight /12:00 a.m

Explanation:The line 2 from paragraph B has been paraphrased here. In the passage, it states that “the ship’s designer, Thomas Andrews, carried out a visual inspection of the ship’s damage and informed Captain Smith at midnight that the ship would sink in less than two hours.” Hence, we can deduce that Captain Smith was notified by the ship designer, Andrews, regarding sinking at 12:00 a.m.

4. lifeboats

Explanation:  If you read thoroughly, the 3rd line of paragraph B describes “By 12:30 a.m., the lifeboats were being filled with women and children, after Smith had given the command for them to be uncovered and swung out 15 minutes earlier.” Here, we can learn that Captain Smith promptly ordered the discharge of lifeboats  after learning that the ship would sink in less than 2 hours at midnight, and the lifeboats were being filled with passengers by 12:10.

5. wireless operators

Explanation: The answer is clearly mentioned in the line 2 of paragraph C. You must note the paraphrasing here. In the passage, it is said that “at 2:17 a.m., Harold Bride and Jack Philips tapped out their last wireless message after being relieved of duty as the ship’s wireless operators, and the ship’s band stopped playing.” So, Harold Bride and Jack Philips were working under the position of wireless operators as they typed their last message before getting relieved from the duty at 2.17 a.m.

6. wireless (messages)

Explanation: In line 3 of paragraph E, you can refer to, “the Titanic’s wireless system had broken down for several hours earlier that day, and Philips was clearing a backlog of personal messages that passengers had requested to be sent to family and friends in the USA.” As mentioned earlier Harold Bride and Jack Philips (wireless operators) were clearing a backlog of wireless messages that passengers and their relatives sent before getting relieved.

7. False 

Explanation: If you read thoroughly, the line 2 of paragraph D describes “due to a last-minute change in the ship’s officer line-up, iceberg lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee were making do without a pair of binoculars that an officer transferred off the ship in Southampton had left in a cupboard onboard, unbeknownst to any of the ship’s crew.” Due to the urgency of the situation, the pair of binoculars were left in a cupboard on board and not in a crew locker in Southampton.

8. Not given

Explanation: None of the passages confirms or denies that the missing binoculars were the major factor leading to the collision with the iceberg.

9. False

Explanation: The  line 1 in the paragraph E infers that “less than an hour before the Titanic struck the iceberg, wireless operator Cyril Evans on the California, located just 20 miles to the north, tried to contact operator Jack Phillips on the Titanic to warn him of pack ice in the area. “Shut up, shut up, you’re jamming my signal,” Philips replied. “I’m busy”.“ From the given information we can deduce that Philips responded “I’m busy,” indicating that he did not miss Evans’ notification. And the wireless system had failed for several hours earlier that day, rather than “at the moment.”

10. True

Explanation: The line 4 in paragraph E mentions that “nevertheless, Captain Smith had maintained the ship’s speed of 22 knots despite multiple earlier warnings of ice ahead.” Here, it is mentioned that Captain Smith received multiple earlier warnings of ice ahead, which confirms that he knew there was ice in the area.

11. 22 knots

Explanation: Paragraph E 8th last line puts forward the information that “Despite several warnings of ice ahead, Captain Smith kept the ship moving at 22 knots.” Hence the answer is 22 knots

12. church

Explanation:  In the last third line of paragraph F, you can point out that “a lifeboat drill that had been scheduled for earlier on the same day the Titanic struck the iceberg was cancelled by Captain Smith to allow passengers to attend church.” Hence the answer is church.

13. 37 seconds

Explanation:  Paragraph B 1st line puts forward the information that “The Titanic struck a piece of submerged ice 37 seconds later, shattering rivets in the ship's hull and filling the first five watertight compartments, despite the attempts of personnel in the bridge and engine room to manoeuvre around the iceberg.” Hence the answer is 37 seconds.

Check the other reading passages

Click to check the other important reading passages listed below,

Conclusion

Hope you would have checked your answers with our “Disaster of Titanic Proportions reading answers”. Practising this kind of test will help you to understand your answering skills and to improve your time management skill required for completing the IELTS exam within a minimum period of time.

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About Author Roshan Sunthar

Roshan Sunthar is a study abroad expert as well as a renowned writer and author in international education. His academic excellence and 5+ years of work experience give him in-depth knowledge of international standardised exams and test preparation in IELTS, TOEFL, GRE, PTE, SAT, etc. The study materials he prepares incorporate exam-like questions. He’s also an expert in writing Statement of Purposes (SOPs) and Letter of Recommendations (LORs) for college admissions. He usually spends his leisure time watching English classics and documentaries, travelling, etc.

More Articles Post by Roshan Sunthar

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