The Bridge That Swayed Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test with Answers

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Updated on Apr 03, 2025, 07:22

The IELTS Reading section assesses your ability to understand and analyse different types of texts. You will encounter three passages with increasing difficulty, followed by 40 questions that may include multiple choice, summary completion and table question questions. The section lasts 60 minutes, and you must manage your time effectively to answer all the questions.
 

The Bridge That Swayed Reading passage explores the phenomenon of bridge oscillations, focusing on the infamous case of the Millennium Bridge in London. It examines the engineering challenges, the unexpected swaying effect, and the scientific principles behind the structural instability.


Let’s look at The Bridge That Swayed reading answer passage, questions, and answers with explanations.

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1. The Bridge That Swayed Reading Answer Passage

You should spend approximately 20 minutes answering Questions 1 – 13 based on The Bridge That Swayed Reading Answer Passage below.

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2. The Bridge That Swayed Reading Answers with Sample Questions

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about the The Bridge That Swayed.

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3. Check Out Top 40+ IELTS Reading Practice Test Questions with Answers

Below are some top free IELTS Reading Practice test online questions with detailed answers to enhance your IELTS preparation online. 

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The Bridge That Swayed Reading Answer Passage

General Information

  • Read Instructions: Understand each question before answering.
  • Manage Time: Spend about 20 minutes per passage.
  • Skim and Scan: Quickly get the main idea and find specific information.
  • Highlight Key Info: Underline essential words or phrases.
  • Answer All Questions: Attempt every question; no penalty for wrong answers.
  • Stay Focused: Avoid distractions and keep your attention on the task.
  • Check Spelling: Ensure correct spelling and grammar.
  • Transfer Answers Clearly: Write answers neatly on the answer sheet.
  • Don’t Dwell: Move on if stuck and return later.
  • Review: If time allows, review your answers.

 

 

The Bridge That Swayed Reading Answer Passage

 

Paragraph 1. When the London Millennium footbridge was opened in June 2000, it swayed alarmingly. This generated huge public interest, and the bridge became known as London's "wobbly bridge".

 

Paragraph 2. The Millennium Bridge is the first new bridge to access the river Thames in London since Tower Bridge opened in 1894, and it is the first ever designed for pedestrians only. The bridge links the City of London near St Paul's Cathedral with the Tate Modern art gallery on Bankside. 

 

Paragraph 3.  The bridge opened initially on Saturday 10th June 2000. For the opening ceremony, a crowd of over 1,000 people had assembled on the south half of the bridge with a band in front. When they started to walk across with the band playing, there was immediately an unexpectedly pronounced lateral movement of the bridge deck. "It was a fine day, and the bridge was on the route of a major organised walk for a noble cause," one of the pedestrians recounted what he saw that day. “At first, it was still. Then, it began to sway sideways, just slightly. Then, almost from one moment to the next, when large groups of people were crossing, the wobble intensified. Everyone had to stop walking to retain balance and sometimes to hold on to the handrails for support”. Immediately, it was decided to limit the number of people on the bridge, and the bridge was dubbed the ‘wobbly’ bridge by the media who declared it another high-profile British Millennium Project failure. In order to fully investigate and resolve the issue the decision was taken to close the bridge on 12th June 2000. 

 

Paragraph 4.  Arup, the leading member of the committee in charge of the construction of the bridge, decided to tackle the issue head on. They immediately undertook a fast-track research project to seek the cause and the cure. The embarrassed engineers found the videotape that day, which showed the centre span swaying about 3 inches sideways every second and the south span 2 inches every 1.25 seconds. Because there was a significant wind blowing on the opening days (force 3-4) and the bridge had been decorated with large flags, the engineers first thought that winds might the exerting excessive force on the many large flags and banners, but it was rapidly concluded that wind buffering had not contributed significantly to vibration of the bridge. But, after measurements were made in university laboratories of the effects of people walking on swaying platforms and after large-scale experiments with crowds of pedestrians were conducted on the bridge itself, a new understanding and a new theory were developed.

 

Paragraph 5.  The unexpected motion was the result of a natural human reaction to small lateral movements. It is well known that a suspension bridge has a tendency to sway when troops march over it in lockstep, which is why troops are required to break step when crossing such a bridge. “If we walk on a swaying surface, we tend to compensate and stabilise ourselves by spreading our legs further apart, but this increases the lateral push”. Pat Dallard, the engineer at Arup, says that you change the way you walk to match what the bridge is doing. It is an unconscious tendency for pedestrians to match their footsteps to the sway, thereby exacerbating it even more. “It's rather like walking on a rolling ship deck; you move one way and then the other to compensate for the roll.” The way people walk doesn't have to match exactly the natural frequency of the bridge as in resonance; the interaction is more subtle. As the bridge moves, people adjust the way they walk in their own manner. The problem is that when there are enough people on the bridge, the total sideways push can overcome the bridge's ability to absorb it. The movement becomes excessive and continues to increase until people begin to have difficulty in walking they may even have to hold on to the rails. 

 

Paragraph 6.  Professor Funjino Yozo of Tokyo University, who studied the earth-resistant Toda Bridge in Japan, believes the horizontal forces caused by walking, running, or jumping could also, in turn, cause excessive dynamic vibration in the lateral direction in the bridge. He explains that as the structure began moving, pedestrians adjusted their gait to the same lateral rhythm as the bridge; the adjusted footsteps magnified the motion just like when four people all stand up in a small boat at the same time. As more pedestrian: locked into the same rhythm, the increasing oscillation led to the dramatic swaying captured on film until people stopped walking altogether, because they could not even keep upright. 

 

Paragraph 7.  In order to design a method of reducing the movements, an immediate research program was launched by the bridge's engineering designer, Arup. It was decided that the force exerted by the pedestrians had to be quantified and related to the motion of the bridge. Although there are some descriptions of this phenomenon in existing literature, none of these actually quantifies the force. So there was no quantitative analytical way to design the bridge against this effect. The efforts to solve the problem quickly got supported by a number of universities and research organisations.

 

Paragraph 8.  The tests at the University of Southampton involved a person walking on the spot on a small shake table. The tests at Imperial College involved persons walking along a specially built, 7.2m long platform, which could be driven laterally at different frequencies and amplitudes. These tests have their own limitations. While the Imperial College test platform was too short that only seven or eight steps could be measured at one time, the "walking on the spot" test did not accurately replicate forward walking, although many footsteps could be observed using this method. Neither test could investigate any influence of other people in a crowd on the behaviour of the individual tested.

 

Paragraph 9.  The results of the laboratory tests provided information which enabled the initial design of a retrofit to be progressed. However, unless the usage of the bridge was to be greatly restricted, only two generic options to improve its performance were considered feasible. The first was to increase the stiffness of the bridge to move all its lateral natural frequencies out of the range that could be excited by the lateral footfall forces, and the second was to increase the damping of the bridge to reduce the resonant response.

 

Let’s explore the questions and answers of The Bridge That Swayed reading answer passage.

2.

The Bridge That Swayed Reading Answers with Sample Questions

Have you read the passage? Now, take the test and find The Bridge That Swayed Reading answers! Try to answer these questions by yourself before you sneak a peek at the answers given below.

Questions and Answers 1-4
  • Choose FOUR letters, A-I. Write the correct letters in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
  • Which FOUR of the following could be seen on the day when the bridge opened to the public?

 

A. the bridge moved vertically

B. the bridge swayed from side to side

C. the bridge swayed violently throughout the opening ceremony

D. it was hard to keep balance on the bridge

E. pedestrians walked in synchronised steps

F. pedestrians lengthened their footsteps

G. a music band marched across the bridge

H. the swaying rhythm varied to the portions of the bridge

I. Flags and banners kept still on the bridge
 

The Bridge That Swayed  Reading Answers with Explanations (1-4)

 

Type of question: Multiple choice questions

 

In this question type, you are asked to answer the question followed by several options, typically lettered A, B, C, or D. The task is to select the correct answer from the given choices based on the information provided in the reading passage.

 

How to best answer: 
 

  • Read the question carefully and understand what it asks.
  • Pay attention to the keywords in the question.
  • Skim the passage quickly to locate relevant information.
  • Eliminate the clearly incorrect options.
  • Select the answer that best fits the information in the passage.
     
1. B

 

Reference: From Paragraph 3: “At first, it was still. Then, it began to sway sideways, just slightly. Then, almost from one moment to the next, when large groups of people were crossing, the wobble intensified.”

 

Explanation:  This line clearly describes the bridge's lateral swaying motion when people walked on it. The word "sideways" confirms that the movement was from side to side, making "B" the correct answer.

 

2. D

 

Reference: From Paragraph 3: “Then, almost from one moment to the next, when large groups of people were crossing, the wobble intensified. Everyone had to stop walking to retain balance and sometimes to hold on to the handrails for support.”

 

Explanation: This statement highlights that the movement of the bridge became strong enough to make it difficult for pedestrians to maintain their balance. The mention of people stopping and holding onto the rails confirms that keeping balance was a challenge, making "D" the correct answer.
 

3. E

 

Reference: From Paragraph 5: “It is an unconscious tendency for pedestrians to match their footsteps to the sway, thereby exacerbating it even more.”

 

Explanation: This line explains that pedestrians unknowingly adjusted their steps to match the movement of the bridge. Since they walked in a synchronised manner, their collective movement made the swaying worse, making "E" the correct answer.

 

4. H

 

Reference: From Paragraph 4: “The embarrassed engineers found the videotape that day which showed the centre span swaying about 3 inches sideways every second and the south span 2 inches every 1.25 seconds.”

 

Explanation: This line indicates that different sections of the bridge swayed at different rates, confirming that the swaying rhythm varied in different portions of the bridge. This directly supports the answer "H" as correct.

 

To build a strong word bank that can help you approach the Reading section with clarity and confidence, go through the list of IELTS Reading Vocabulary!

Questions and Answers 5-10
  • Complete the summary below.
  • Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

 

To understand why the Millennium Bridge swayed, engineers of Arup studied the videotape taken on the day of the opening ceremony. In the beginning, they thought of the forces of 

(5) _________ might have caused the movement because there were many flags and banners on the bridge that day. But quickly, new understandings arose after a series of tests were 

conducted on how people walk on (6) _________ floors. The tests showed people would place their legs (7) ________ to keep balance when the floor is shaking. Pat Dallard even believes 

pedestrians may unknowingly adjust their (8) _________ to match the sway of the bridge. Professor Fujino Yozo's study found that the vibration of a bridge could be caused by the (9) _________ of people walking, running and jumping on it because the lateral rhythm of the sway could make pedestrians adjust their walk and reach the same step until it is impossible to 

stand (10) __________ .

 

The Bridge That Swayed  Reading Answers With Explanations (5-10)
 

Type of question: Summary completion

 

Under this task, you will be given a summary with incomplete sentences. However, you will not be given any list of words/phrases to choose the missing information. You must refer to the main passage to fill in the missing information. 

 

How to best answer: 

  • Read the summary to understand what information it’s missing.
  • Identify keywords and locate them in the main passage to find missing words. 
  • Review the context of the words you’ve chosen to match the summary.
  • Finalise your answers.

 

5. Wind(s)

 

Reference: From Paragraph 4: “Because there was a significant wind blowing on the opening days (force 3-4) and the bridge had been decorated with large flags, the engineers first thought that winds might the exerting excessive force on the many large flags and banners, but it was rapidly concluded that wind buffering had not contributed significantly to vibration of the bridge.”

 

Explanation: This line indicates that engineers initially suspected strong winds and large flags on the bridge as possible causes of the movement. However, they later ruled out this possibility, making "wind(s)" the correct answer.

 

6. Swaying

 

Reference: From Paragraph 4: “But after measurements were made in university laboratories of the effects of people walking on swaying platforms and after large-scale experiments with crowds of pedestrians were conducted on the bridge itself, a new understanding and a new theory were developed.”

 

Explanation: This sentence explains that experiments were conducted on swaying platforms to study how people walk on unstable surfaces. The results contributed to new insights into the bridge’s movement, making "swaying" the correct answer.

 

7. Further apart

 

Reference: From Paragraph 5: “If we walk on a swaying surface, we tend to compensate and stabilise ourselves by spreading our legs further apart, but this increases the lateral push.”

 

Explanation: This line highlights that people naturally spread their legs further apart to maintain balance on a moving surface. However, this adjustment increases the lateral force on the bridge, making "further apart" the correct answer.

 

8. Footsteps

 

Reference: From Paragraph 5: “It is an unconscious tendency for pedestrians to match their footsteps to the sway, thereby exacerbating it even more..”

 

Explanation: This sentence explains that pedestrians unknowingly adjust their footsteps to match the movement of the bridge, which worsens the swaying effect. This confirms that "footsteps" is the correct answer.
 

9. Horizontal forces

 

Reference: Paragraph 6: “Toda Bridge in Japan believes the horizontal forces caused by walking, running or jumping could also, in turn, cause excessive dynamic vibration in the lateral direction in the bridge.”

 

Explanation: This line states that horizontal forces from pedestrian movement, including walking, running, and jumping, contribute to vibrations in the bridge. Since this explains the cause of the swaying, "horizontal forces" is the correct answer.

 

10. Upright

 

Reference: From Paragraph 6: “As more pedestrians locked into the same rhythm, the increasing oscillation led to the dramatic swaying captured on film until people stopped walking altogether, because they could not even keep upright.”

 

Explanation: This sentence describes how pedestrians, moving in sync with the bridge’s sway, experienced increasing instability until they could no longer stand upright. This confirms that "upright" is the correct answer.

 

To build a strong word bank that can help you approach the Reading section with clarity and confidence, go through the IELTS Academic Reading 2025!

Questions and Answers 11-13
  • Complete the table below.
  • Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

 

Test Conducted by Problems of the test
11. ____________ Not enough data collection
12. ____________ Not long enough
13. ____________ Not like the real walking experience

 

The Bridge That Swayed  Reading Answers With Explanations (11-13)

 

Type of question: Table Completion

 

Under this task, you are required to fill in missing information in a table based on the information provided in the passage. These questions typically appear as part of the matching information or summary completion tasks.

 

How to best answer: 

 

  • Quickly skim the passage for the main idea and relevant details.
  • Note keywords or headings in the table to place missing information.
  • Read surrounding sentences carefully for specific details.
  • Use accurate and grammatically correct information from the passage.
  • Verify and finalise your answers.

 

11. (engineer designer) Arup

 

Reference: From Paragraph 7: “In order to design a method of reducing the movements, an immediate research program was launched by the bridge's engineering designer, Arup. It was decided that the force exerted by the pedestrians had to be quantified and related to the motion of the bridge. Although there are some descriptions of this phenomenon in existing literature, none of these actually quantifies the force. So there was no quantitative analytical way to design the bridge against this effect.”

 

Explanation: This line suggests that Arup led the research to quantify the force pedestrians exert on the bridge. However, it highlights that no prior quantitative method existed to design against this effect, making "Arup" the correct answer.

 

12. Imperial College

 

Reference: From Paragraph 8: “While the Imperial College test platform was too short that only seven or eight steps could be measured at one time, the "walking on the spot" test did not accurately replicate forward walking, although many footsteps could be observed using this method.”

 

Explanation:  This line indicates that the test platform at Imperial College was not long enough to gather sufficient data. Since only a few steps could be recorded in each test, it was difficult to analyse the full impact of walking, making "Imperial College" the correct answer.

 

13. University of Southampton

 

Reference: From Paragraph 8: “The tests at the University of Southampton involved a person walking on the spot on a small shake table.”

 

Explanation: This line states that the test at the University of Southampton required participants to walk in place rather than move forward. Since this method did not accurately simulate real walking motion, it confirms that "University of Southampton" is the correct answer.

 

To build a strong word bank that can help you approach the Reading section with clarity and confidence, go through the IELTS Academic Reading 2025!
3.

Check Out Top 40+ IELTS Reading Practice Test Questions with Answers

Below are some top 40+ free IELTS Reading Practice test online questions with detailed answers to enhance your IELTS preparation online. We have provided sample passages for each test type for your reference.
 

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FAQs

Q. What are common keywords in The Bridge That Swayed reading passage?

Ans. Common keywords in The Bridge That Swayed passage may include terms like "bridge failure," "resonance," "wind forces," "structural integrity," and "engineering design." These words help locate relevant information quickly and understand the passage’s main ideas.

Q. How to answer matching headings questions in The Bridge That Swayed reading passage?

Ans. Read each paragraph carefully and identify its main idea. Look for repeated words or synonyms related to the headings. Eliminate incorrect options by ensuring the chosen heading summarises the paragraph’s content accurately.

Q. What is a challenging aspect of The Bridge That Swayed reading passage?

Ans. One challenge is understanding technical engineering terms and their context. The passage may also contain complex sentence structures and detailed descriptions, requiring careful reading and keyword identification.

Q. Are The Bridge That Swayed passages part of the IELTS Academic or General Reading?

Ans. This passage is typically found in the IELTS Academic Reading section, as it focuses on scientific and technical concepts, making it more suited for candidates preparing for higher education.

Q. Can I use a highlighter during the Reading test?

Ans. No, you cannot use a highlighter in the IELTS Reading test. You can underline or circle important words in the question paper, but your answers must be written clearly in the answer sheet.

Q. Should I manage my time equally across all passages?

Ans. No, since the passages increase in difficulty, you may need to allocate more time to the last passage. A good strategy is to spend about 15 minutes on the first passage, 20 minutes on the second, and 25 minutes on the last one.

Q. Can I start with any section of the Reading test?

Ans. Yes, you can start with any passage or question, as there is no fixed order. However, it's best to begin with the easier passages to gain confidence and manage time effectively.

Q. Are spelling mistakes penalised in the Reading test?

Ans. Yes, spelling mistakes are penalised in the IELTS Reading test. Even if your answer is correct in meaning, an incorrect spelling will be marked as wrong.

Q. Do I need to include articles ('a', 'an', 'the') in my answers?

Ans. Yes, if the question requires a grammatically correct phrase or sentence, you must include articles. However, for short answers or notes, articles may not always be necessary.

Q. Can I write my answers in pen or pencil?

Ans. You must use a pencil for the Reading test. Answers written in pen may not be accepted, and using a pencil allows you to erase and correct mistakes easily.

Q. What happens if I leave a question unanswered?

Ans. If you leave a question unanswered, you will receive no marks for it. It is better to guess rather than leave it blank, as there is no negative marking in the IELTS Reading test.