Social History of the East End of London - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From Cambridge IELTS 06 Academic Listening Test 1 · Part 4 · Questions 31–40
Audio
Questions
Questions 31–37 Table Completion
Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Social history of the East End of London
| Period | Situation |
|---|---|
| 1st-4th centuries | Produce from the area was used to 31 the people of London. |
| 5th-10th centuries | New technology allowed the production of goods made of metal and 32. |
| 11th century | Lack of 33 in the East End encouraged the growth of businesses. |
| 16th century | Construction of facilities for the building of 34 stimulated international trade.
Agricultural workers came from other parts of 35 to look for work. |
| 17th century | Marshes were drained to provide land that could be 36 on. |
| 19th century | Inhabitants lived in conditions of great 37 with very poor sanitation. |
Questions 38–40 Three Choices
Choose THREE letters, A-G.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q31 | feed | what's now the East End - the area by the river Thames, and along the road heading north-east from London to the coast - consisted of farmland with crops and livestock which helped to feed that population | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript describes how the area originally had many farms with plants and animals. This food production was used to give the people living in the city something to eat. Answer Explanation: The answer 'feed' means to provide or give food to someone so they can eat. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'feed' because the speaker explains that from the first to the fourth centuries, the East End was full of farms. These farms grew plants (crops) and raised animals (livestock). This food was used to help give the 45,000 people in London something to eat. In the question, 'produce' is a synonym or a group word for the crops and livestock mentioned in the talk. |
| Q32 | leather | The technology they introduced meant that metal and leather goods were produced there for the first time | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that the new ways of working brought by visitors enabled the local community to start making items from metal and leather. Answer Explanation: The answer is metal and leather. These are the materials used to make products during that time. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is metal and leather because the transcript mentions that starting from the fifth century, groups of people from Germany and Denmark moved to the East End. They brought with them new technology that allowed for the creation of products made from these two specific materials for the first time in that region. Keywords like 'produced' and 'goods' match the idea of manufacturing items from raw materials. |
| Q33 | restrictions | The East End benefited from this, and because there were fewer restrictions there than in the city itself, plenty of newcomers settled there from abroad, bringing their skills as workers, merchants or money-lenders during the next few hundred years | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that because there were fewer rules (restrictions) in the East End, many people from other countries moved there to use their skills and start businesses. Answer Explanation: The answer "restrictions" refers to official rules or laws that limit or control what people and businesses are allowed to do. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "restrictions" because the speaker explains that in the 11th century, the East End had fewer rules than the main city of London. This "lack" of rules attracted new people from other countries to come and work as merchants or money-lenders, which helped businesses grow. The word "fewer" in the transcript matches the idea of a "lack of" in the table. |
| Q34 | ships | In the sixteenth century the first dock was dug where ships were constructed, eventually making the East End the focus of massive international trade | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that in the 1500s (the sixteenth century), a place called a 'dock' was made to build ships. Because they could build ships there, the East End area became very important for buying and selling things with other countries. Answer Explanation: The answer is 'ships', which refers to large boats used for carrying people or goods on the sea. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'ships' because the transcript states that during the 16th century, the first dock was built specifically for constructing these vessels. This development led to a huge increase in trade with other countries, which matches the idea of 'stimulating international trade'. |
| Q35 | England | And in the late sixteenth century, when much of the rest of England was suffering economically, a lot of agricultural workers came to the East End to look for alternative work | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript tells us that in the late 16th century, many parts of England were poor. Because of this, many farm workers went to the East End to find different jobs. Answer Explanation: The answer is England, which is the country where many farm workers lived before they moved to the East End to find new jobs. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is England because the speaker explains that during the late sixteenth century, people who worked on farms came from other areas of the country to the East End. They were looking for 'alternative work' because other parts of England were having money problems. This matches the table entry about agricultural workers coming from other parts of a certain place to find a job. |
| Q36 | built | In the seventeenth century, the East End was still a series of separate, semi-rural settlements. There was a shortage of accommodation, so marshland was drained and built on to house the large numbers of people now living there | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that in the 1600s (seventeenth century), there were not enough homes for all the people. To solve this problem, they removed the water from wet lands and then constructed houses on that land. Answer Explanation: The answer "built" means that people constructed houses or buildings on top of the land. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is supported by the part of the talk describing the 17th century. During this time, there were not enough places for people to live. Because of this lack of space, land that was previously underwater or very wet (marshland) was dried out. This allowed people to put up new buildings or houses on that land to provide homes for everyone. Key terms to notice are "marshland was drained" which means the wet land was made dry, and "built on" which refers to the construction of housing. |
| Q37 | poverty | By the nineteenth century London was the busiest port in the world, and this became the main source of employment in the East End. Those who could afford to live in more pleasant surroundings moved out, and the area became one where the vast majority of people lived in extreme poverty, and suffered from appalling sanitary conditions | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that in the 1800s (the nineteenth century), almost everyone living in this area was very poor and lived in very dirty, unhealthy conditions. Answer Explanation: The answer 'poverty' means the state of being extremely poor and not having enough money for basic needs like food and a good home. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is found in the section of the text about the nineteenth century. The speaker says that the East End became a place where most people lived in 'extreme poverty.' In the table, the word 'great' is used as a synonym for 'extreme,' making 'poverty' the correct word to complete the description of the living conditions. Additionally, the text mentions 'appalling sanitary conditions,' which matches the 'very poor sanitation' part of the table. |
| Q38 | — | — | |
| Q39 | — | — | |
| Q40 | C / E / F | Houses were crowded closely together and usually very badly built, because there was no regulation. But the poor and needy were attracted by the possibility of work, and they had to be housed. It was the availability, rather than the condition, of the housing that was the major concern for tenants and landlords alike. Few houses had electricity at this time, so other sources of power were used, like coal for the fires which heated perhaps just one room. Of course, the smoke from these contributed a great deal to the air pollution for which London used to be famous. A tiny, damp, unhealthy house like this might well be occupied by two full families, possibly including several children, grandparents, aunts and uncles | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that East End houses were 'badly built' and occupied by 'two full families,' which means they were too full. It also says that houses only used coal fires that warmed just 'one room' because there was no electricity for heating. Answer Explanation: The answer identifies three specific issues with housing in the East End during the 20th century: problems staying warm (heating problems), too many people living in a small space (overcrowding), and houses being built poorly (poor standards of building). Reason For Correctness: The correct answer includes C, E, and F because the transcript explicitly mentions these issues. It notes that houses were 'very badly built' (poor standards) and 'crowded' or shared by 'two full families' (overcrowding). It also states that people used coal fires that only 'heated perhaps just one room,' showing that it was difficult to heat the homes properly (heating problems). |
Transcript
In the last few weeks, we've been looking at various aspects of the social history of London, and this morning we're continuing with a look at life in the area called the East End. I'll start with a brief history of the district, and then focus on life in the first half of the twentieth century.
Back in the first to the fourth centuries AD, when the Romans controlled England, London grew into a town of 45,000 people, and what's now the East End - the area by the river Thames, and along the road heading north-east from London to the coast - consisted of farmland with crops and livestock which helped to feed that population.
The Romans left in 410, at the beginning of the fifth century, and from then onwards the country suffered a series of invasions by tribes from present-day Germany and Denmark, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, many of whom settled in the East End. The technology they introduced meant that metal and leather goods were produced there for the first time. And as the East End was by the river, ships could transport goods between there and foreign markets.
In the eleventh century, in 1066 to be precise, the Normans conquered England, and during the next few centuries London became one of the most powerful and prosperous cities in Europe. The East End benefited from this, and because there were fewer restrictions there than in the city itself, plenty of newcomers settled there from abroad, bringing their skills as workers, merchants or money-lenders during the next few hundred years.
In the sixteenth century the first dock was dug where ships were constructed, eventually making the East End the focus of massive international trade. And in the late sixteenth century, when much of the rest of England was suffering economically, a lot of agricultural workers came to the East End to look for alternative work.
In the seventeenth century, the East End was still a series of separate, semi-rural settlements. There was a shortage of accommodation, so marshland was drained and built on to house the large numbers of people now living there.
By the nineteenth century London was the busiest port in the world, and this became the main source of employment in the East End. Those who could afford to live in more pleasant surroundings moved out, and the area became one where the vast majority of people lived in extreme poverty, and suffered from appalling sanitary conditions.
That brief outline takes us to the beginning of the twentieth century, and now we'll turn to housing.
At the beginning of the century, living conditions for the majority of working people in East London were very basic indeed. Houses were crowded closely together and usually very badly built, because there was no regulation. But the poor and needy were attracted by the possibility of work, and they had to be housed. It was the availability, rather than the condition, of the housing that was the major concern for tenants and landlords alike.
Few houses had electricity at this time, so other sources of power were used, like coal for the fires which heated perhaps just one room. Of course, the smoke from these contributed a great deal to the air pollution for which London used to be famous.
A tiny, damp, unhealthy house like this might well be occupied by two full families, possibly including several children, grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Now, before I go on to health implications of this way of life, I'll say something about food and nutrition.