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When The Tulip Bubble Burst Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

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Updated on Sep 06, 2024, 12:16

The passage explores the history of "Tulip Mania" in 17th-century Holland, a period when tulips became highly sought after, leading to extraordinary prices and widespread speculation. Originally from Persia and the Ottoman Empire, Tulips became a symbol of wealth and status in Holland during its Golden Age. The demand for rare tulip bulbs skyrocketed, leading to a speculative frenzy where even ordinary citizens mortgaged their properties to trade bulbs. 


The peak of Tulip Mania saw bulbs being sold for exorbitant amounts, but the market eventually crashed when buyers refused to pay the inflated prices. The passage also parallels Tulip Mania and modern-day speculative bubbles, such as the dot-com craze, highlighting the risks of irrational market behaviour.

This passage is useful for IELTS Reading practice as it requires you to understand complex historical events, identify key information, and summarise lengthy texts. The passage challenges your ability to interpret cause-and-effect relationships, compare different historical periods, and comprehend the implications of economic phenomena. Additionally, it offers opportunities to practice skills needed for tasks like matching headings to paragraphs, true/false/not given questions, and summary completion, which are common in the IELTS Reading section.

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1. When The Tulip Bubble Burst Reading Passage

You should spend approximately 20 minutes answering Questions 1 - 14 based on the Reading Passage below. 

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2. When The Tulip Bubble Burst Reading Questions & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about When The Tulip Bubble Burst Reading Questions & Answers

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1.

When The Tulip Bubble Burst Reading 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.

 

Learn about IELTS General Reading. 

 

 

 

When The Tulip Bubble Burst Reading Passage 

 

Paragraph A:
Tulips are spring-blooming perennials that grow from bulbs. Depending on the species, tulip plants can grow as short as 4 inches (10 cm) or as high as 28 inches (71 cm). The tulip’s large flowers usually bloom on scapes or sub-scapose stems that lack bracts. Most tulips produce only one flower per stem, but a few species bear multiple flowers on their scapes (e.g. Tulipa turkestanica). The showy, generally cup or star-shaped tulip flower has three petals and three sepals, which are often termed tepals because they are nearly identical. These six tepals are often marked on the interior surface near the bases with darker colorings. Tulip flowers come in a wide variety of colors, except pure blue (several tulips with “blue” in the name have a faint violet hue).

 

Paragraph B:
Long before anyone ever heard of Qualcomm, CMGI, Cisco Systems, or the other high-tech stocks that have soared during the current bull market, there was Semper Augustus. Both more prosaic and more sublime than any stock or bond, it was a tulip of extraordinary beauty, its midnight-blue petals topped by a band of pure white and accented with crimson flares. To denizens of 17th century Holland, little was as desirable.

 

Paragraph C:
Around 1624, the Amsterdam man who owned the only dozen specimens was offered 3,000 guilders for one bulb. While there’s no accurate way to render that in today’s greenbacks, the sum was roughly equal to the annual income of a wealthy merchant. (A few years later, Rembrandt received about half that amount for painting The Night Watch.) Yet the bulb’s owner, whose name is now lost to history, nixed the offer.

 

Paragraph D:
Who was crazier, the tulip lover who refused to sell for a small fortune or the one who was willing to splurge. That’s a question that springs to mind after reading Tulip Mania: The Story of the World’s Most Coveted Flower and the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused by British journalist Mike Dash. In recent years, as investors have intentionally forgotten everything they learned in Investing 101 in order to load up on unproved, unprofitable dot-com issues, tulip mania has been invoked frequently. In this concise, artfully written account, Dash tells the real history behind the buzzword and in doing so, offers a cautionary tale for our times.

 

Paragraph E:
The Dutch were not the first to go gaga over the tulip. Long before the first tulip bloomed in Europe—in Bavaria, it turns out, in 1559—the flower had enchanted the Persians and bewitched the rulers of the Ottoman Empire. It was in Holland, however, that the passion for tulips found its most fertile ground, for reasons that had little to do with horticulture.

 

Paragraph F:
Holland in the early 17th century was embarking on its Golden Age. Resources that had just a few years earlier gone toward fighting for independence from Spain now flowed into commerce. Amsterdam merchants were at the centre of the lucrative East Indies trade, where a single voyage could yield profits of 400%. They displayed their success by erecting grand estates surrounded by flower gardens. The Dutch population seemed to have two contradictory impulses: a horror of living beyond one’s means and the love of a long shot.

 

Paragraph G:
Enter the tulip. “It is impossible to comprehend the tulip mania without understanding just how different tulips were from every other flower known to horticulturists in the 17th century,” says Dash. “The colours they exhibited were more intense and more concentrated than those of ordinary plants.” Despite the outlandish prices commanded by rare bulbs, ordinary tulips were sold by the pound. Around 1630, however, a new type of tulip fancier appeared, lured by tales of fat profits. These “florists,” or professional tulip traders, sought out flower lovers and speculators alike. But if the supply of tulip buyers grew quickly, the supply of bulbs did not. The tulip was a conspirator in the supply squeeze: It takes seven years to grow one from seed. And while bulbs can produce two or three clones, or “offsets,” annually, the mother bulb only lasts a few years.

 

Paragraph H:
Bulb prices rose steadily throughout the 1630s, as ever more speculators entered the market. Weavers and farmers mortgaged whatever they could to raise cash to begin trading. In 1633, a farmhouse in Hoorn changed hands for three rare bulbs. By 1636 any tulip—even bulbs recently considered garbage—could be sold off, often for hundreds of guilders. A futures market for bulbs existed, and tulip traders could be found conducting their business in hundreds of Dutch taverns. Tulip mania reached its peak during the winter of 1636-37, when some bulbs were changing hands ten times in a day. The zenith came early that winter, at an auction to benefit seven orphans whose only asset was 70 fine tulips left by their father. One, a rare Violetten Admirael van Enkhuizen bulb that was about to split in two, sold for 5,200 guilders, the all-time record. All told, the flowers brought in nearly 53,000 guilders.

 

Paragraph I:
Soon after, the tulip market crashed utterly, spectacularly. It began in Haarlem, at a routine bulb auction when, for the first time, the greater fool refused to show up and pay. Within days, the panic had spread across the country. Despite the efforts of traders to prop up demand, the market for tulips evaporated. Flowers that had commanded 5,000 guilders a few weeks before now fetched one-hundredth that amount. Tulip mania is not without flaws. Dash dwells too long on the tulip’s migration from Asia to Holland. But he does a service with this illuminating, accessible account of incredible financial folly.

 

Paragraph J:
Tulip mania differed in one crucial aspect from the dot-com craze that grips our attention today: Even at its height, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, well-established in 1630, wouldn’t touch tulips. “The speculation in tulip bulbs always existed at the margins of Dutch economic life,” Dash writes. After the market crashed, a compromise was brokered that let most traders settle the debts for a fraction of then liability. The overall fallout on the Dutch economy was negligible. Will we say the same when Wall Street’s current obsession finally runs its course?

2.

When The Tulip Bubble Burst Reading Questions & Answers

Questions and Answers 1-5
  • The Reading Passage has nine paragraphs A-I.
  • Which paragraph contains the following information?
  • Write the correct letter A-I, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

 

1. Difference between bubble burst impacts by tulip and by high-tech shares.
2. Spread of tulips before the 17th century.
3. Indication of money offered for the rare bulb in the 17th century.
4. Tulip was treated as money in Holland.
5. The comparison made between a tulip and other plants.

 

When The Tulip Bubble Burst Reading Answers with Explanations (1-5)

 

Question Type:  Matching Information

 

Matching Information questions in the IELTS Reading test require you to find specific details within a passage and match them to the appropriate paragraph. These questions test your ability to locate and understand specific information quickly. You will be given a list of statements and asked to identify the paragraph (labeled A, B, C, etc.) in which each piece of information is found.

 

How to best answer the question:

 

  • Quickly skim through the passage to get a general idea of the content and structure. 
  • Read the statements carefully. Underline or highlight key terms or phrases that will help you identify the relevant information in the passage.
  • Go through each paragraph systematically and match it with the statement that best fits the content. 

     
1. I


Reference: 
Paragraph I 
Speculation about tulip bulbs always existed at the margins of Dutch economic life.

Explanation: 
This line explains that tulip speculation was marginal compared to the impact of high-tech stocks.

 

2. D


Reference: 
Paragraph D 
Long before the first tulip bloomed in Europe—in Bavaria, it turns out, in 1559—the flower had enchanted the Persians and bewitched the rulers of the Ottoman Empire.

Explanation: 
This line indicates that tulips had already captivated other regions long before they appeared in Europe.

 

3. B


Reference: 
Paragraph B 
Around 1624, the Amsterdam man who owned the only dozen specimens was offered 3,000 guilders for one bulb.

Explanation: 
This line provides the specific amount offered for a rare tulip bulb, highlighting its high value.

 

4. G


Reference: 
Paragraph G 
Tulip mania reached its peak during the winter of 1636-37, when some bulbs were changing hands ten times in a day.

Explanation: 
This line illustrates that tulips were exchanged frequently, akin to currency during the peak of tulip mania.

 

5. F


Reference: 
Paragraph F 
The colours they exhibited were more intense and more concentrated than those of ordinary plants.

Explanation: 
This line describes the unique and intense coloration of tulips compared to other plants.

 

Read more about Dictation Words for IELTS: Practice and Preparation!

Questions and Answers 6-10
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
In boxes 6-10 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 in the passage

 

6. In 1624, all the tulip collections belonged to a man in Amsterdam.

7. Tulip was first planted in Holland according to this passage.

8. The popularity of Tulip in Holland was much higher than in any other country in the 17th century.

9. Holland was the most wealthy country in the world in the 17th century.

10. From 1630, Amsterdam Stock Exchange started to regulate the Tulips exchange market.

 

When The Tulip Bubble Burst Reading Answers with Explanations (6-10)

 

Question Type:  True/False/Not Given

 

In this task, you are presented with a statement, and your task is to determine if it agrees with the information in the passage (True), contradicts the information in the passage (False), or if there is insufficient information in the passage to decide (not given).

 

How to best answer the question:

 

  • Read the statement carefully to ensure you understand exactly what it is saying. 
  • Pay attention to details such as dates, numbers, and specific information.
  • Scan the passage to find the section where the relevant information is likely to be located. 
  • Focus on finding evidence that either supports or contradicts the statement.
  • True: If the statement agrees with the information in the passage.
  • False: If the statement contradicts the information in the passage.
  • Not Given: If there is no information in the passage that confirms or contradicts the statement.

     
6. True


Reference: 
Paragraph B 
Around 1624, the Amsterdam man who owned the only dozen specimens was offered 3,000 guilders for one bulb.

Explanation: 
This line confirms that one man in Amsterdam owned all the known tulip specimens in 1624.

 

7. False


Reference: 
Paragraph D 
Long before the first tulip bloomed in Europe—in Bavaria, it turns out, in 1559—the flower had enchanted the Persians and bewitched the rulers of the Ottoman Empire.

Explanation: 
This line indicates that tulips were introduced to Europe before reaching Holland, making the statement false.

 

8. True


Reference: 
Paragraph E 
It was in Holland, however, that the passion for tulips found its most fertile ground, for reasons that had little to do with horticulture.

Explanation: 
This line indicates that the passion for tulips in Holland was more intense than in other countries.

 

9. Not Given


Reference
NA

Explanation: 
The passage does not provide specific information about Holland being the wealthiest country in the world.

 

10. False


Reference: 
Paragraph J 
Even at its height, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, well-established in 1630, wouldn’t touch tulips.

Explanation: 
This line explains that the Amsterdam Stock Exchange did not regulate the tulip market.

 

Read more about A Guide on Most Common English Words Used in Daily Life!

Questions and Answers 11-14
  • Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage.
  • Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
  • Write your answers in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet

 

The Dutch concentrated on gaining independence by 11. ___________ against Spain in the early 17th century; consequently, spare resources entered the area of 12. ______________
Prosperous traders demonstrated their status by building great 13. ____________and with gardens in the surroundings. Attracted by the success of profit on tulips, traders kept looking for 14. ____________ and speculators for sale.

 

When The Tulip Bubble Burst Reading Answers with Explanations (11-14)

 

Type of Question: Summary Completion

 

Summary completion questions provide a summary of part of the reading passage with several blanks. Your task is to fill in these blanks with appropriate words or phrases from the passage. The summary may cover a whole passage or a part of it, focusing on key points and main ideas.

 

How to best answer this question:

 

  • Quickly skim the passage to get an idea of its main ideas and structure.
  • Focus on keywords in the summary and look for them or their synonyms in the passage.
  • Carefully read the instructions to know the word limit and any specific guidelines.
  • Identify the part of the passage related to the summary. This often involves scanning for keywords or phrases.
  • Ensure the words you choose fit grammatically and contextually within the summary.
  •  

After filling in the blanks, review the summary to ensure it makes sense and adheres to the word limit. 
 

11. Fighting


Reference: 
Paragraph E 
Resources that had just a few years earlier gone towards fighting for independence from Spain now flowed into commerce.

Explanation: 
This line shows that Dutch resources were previously focused on fighting for independence.


 

12. Commerce


Reference: 
Paragraph E 
Resources that had just a few years earlier gone towards fighting for independence from Spain now flowed into commerce.

Explanation: 
This line indicates that after fighting, resources were redirected to commerce.


 

13. Estates


Reference: 
Paragraph F 
They displayed their success by erecting grand estates surrounded by flower gardens.

Explanation: 
This line describes how traders showed their wealth by building grand estates.


 

14. Flower Lovers


Reference: 
Paragraph G 
These ‘florists,’ or professional tulip traders, sought out flower lovers and speculators alike.

Explanation: 
This line indicates that traders were searching for flower lovers due to the tulip market’s success.

 

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FAQs

Q. What types of questions are in the IELTS Reading section?

Ans. The IELTS Reading section features various question types, including multiple-choice, true/false/not given, matching headings, summary completion, sentence completion, and short answer questions. These are designed to test a range of reading skills, such as understanding main ideas, detail, logical argument, and recognising writers' opinions, attitudes, and purposes.

Q. How long is the IELTS Reading test?

Ans. The IELTS Reading test lasts for 60 minutes. During this time, candidates must read three passages and answer a total of 40 questions. Time management is crucial to ensure all questions are attempted.

Q. Can I write on the question paper?

Ans. Yes, candidates are allowed to write on the question paper, which can help note key points or highlight important information. However, only answers written on the answer sheet will be marked, so it is essential to transfer answers accurately.