Raising The Mary Rose Reading Answers, IELTS Passage

Raising The Mary Rose Reading Answers: The IELTS Reading section assesses a candidate’s ability to read, comprehend, and analyze different types of passages. One of the common topics in the test is “Raising the Mary Rose Reading Answers.” This passage explores the fascinating story of the Mary Rose, a 16th-century English warship that sank off the coast of England during a naval battle. It highlights the historical significance of the ship, the events leading to its sinking, and the complex process of its discovery and recovery from the seabed.

This guide provides a detailed passage along with answers to help IELTS aspirants improve their IELTS Reading skills. The questions in this passage include True/False/Not Given, Summary Completion, and Sentence Completion. By practicing these question types, candidates can enhance their ability to locate key information and understand the passage more effectively. Reading through the complete guide will give a deeper insight into the “Raising the Mary Rose Reading Answers” passage and help in better exam preparation. 

Free IELTS Reading Practice Tests, Cambridge Sample Test PDF

Raising The Mary Rose Reading Answers Passage

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on the reading passage 1 below.

Raising the Mary Rose

How a sixteenth-century warship was recovered from the seabed

1. On 19 July 1545, English and French fleets were engaged in a sea battle off the coast of southern England in the area of water called the Solent, between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. 

2. Among the English vessels was a warship by the name of  Mary Rose. Built in Portsmouth some 35 years earlier, she had had a long and successful fighting career, and was a favourite of King Henry VIII. Accounts of what happened to the ship vary: while witnesses agree that she was not hit by the French, some maintain that she was outdated, overladen and sailing too low in the water, others that she was mishandled by undisciplined crew.

3. What is undisputed, however, is that the Mary Rose sank into the Solent that day, taking at least 500 men with her. After the battle, attempts were made to recover the ship, but these failed.
   The Mary Rose came to rest on the seabed, lying on her starboard (right) side at an angle of approximately 60 degrees. The hull (the body of the ship) acted as a trap for the sand and mud carried by Solent currents. As a result, the starboard side filled rapidly, leaving the exposed port (left) side to be eroded by marine organisms and mechanical degradation. Because of the way the ship sank, nearly all of the starboard half survived intact.

4. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the entire site became covered with a layer of hard grey clay, which minimised further erosion.
   Then, on 16 June 1836, some fishermen in the Solent found that their equipment was caught on an underwater obstruction, which turned out to be the Mary Rose. Diver John Deane happened to be exploring another sunken ship nearby, and the fishermen approached him, asking him to free their gear. Deane dived down, and found the equipment caught on a timber protruding slightly from the seabed. Exploring further, he uncovered several other timbers and a bronze gun. Deane continued diving on the site intermittently until 1840, recovering several more guns, two bows, various timbers, part of a pump and various other small finds.

5. The Mary Rose then faded into obscurity for another hundred years. But in 1965, military historian and amateur diver Alexander McKee, in conjunction with the British Sub-Aqua Club, initiated a project called ‘Solent Ships’. While on paper this was a plan to examine a number of known wrecks in the Solent, what McKee really hoped for was to find the Mary Rose. Ordinary search techniques proved unsatisfactory, so McKee entered into collaboration with Harold E. Edgerton, professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

6. In 1967, Edgerton’s side-scan sonar systems revealed a large, unusually shaped object, which McKee believed was the Mary Rose. Further excavations revealed stray pieces of timber and an iron gun. But the climax to the operation came when, on 5 May 1971, part of the ship’s frame was uncovered. McKee and his team now knew for certain that they had found the wreck, but were as yet unaware that it also housed a treasure trove of beautifully preserved artefacts. 

7. Interest in the project grew, and in 1979, The Mary Rose Trust was formed, with Prince Charles as its President and Dr Margaret Rule its Archaeological Director. The decision whether or not to salvage the wreck was not an easy one, although an excavation in 1978 had shown that it might be possible to raise the hull. While the original aim was to raise the hull if at all feasible, the operation was not given the go-ahead until January 1982, when all the necessary information was available.

8. An important factor in trying to salvage  the Mary Rose was that the remaining hull was an open shell. This led to an important decision being taken: namely to carry out the lifting operation in three very distinct stages. The hull was attached to a lifting frame via a network of bolts and lifting wires. The problem of the hull being sucked back downwards into the mud was overcome by using 12 hydraulic jacks. These raised it a few centimetres over a period of several days, as the lifting frame rose slowly up its four legs. It was only when the hull was hanging freely from the lifting frame, clear of the seabed and the suction effect of the surrounding mud, that the salvage operation progressed to the second stage. In this stage, the lifting frame was fixed to a hook attached to a crane, and the hull was lifted completely clear of the seabed and transferred underwater into the lifting cradle. This required precise positioning to locate the legs into the stabbing guides of the lifting cradle. The lifting cradle was designed to fit the hull justing archaeological survey drawings, and was fitted with air bags to provide additional cushioning for the hull’s delicate timber framework. The third and final stage was to lift the entire structure into the air, by which time the hull was also supported from below. Finally, on 11 October 1982, millions of people around the world held their breath as the timber skeleton of the  Mary Rose was lifted clear of the water, ready to be returned home to Portsmouth.

Raising The Mary Rose Reading Answers Sample Questions

Questions 1-5

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
In boxes 1-5 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

1. The Mary Rose was hit by a French ship during the battle.

2. The ship remained completely intact after sinking.

3. John Deane was searching for the Mary Rose when he first discovered the wreck.

4. Alexander McKee used sonar technology to help find the Mary Rose.

5. The final decision to raise the Mary Rose was made immediately after it was found.

Questions 6-9

Complete the table below.
Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

 Questions 10-13

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-H, below.
Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet.

10. The Mary Rose lay on the seabed in a position that

11. The shipwreck was protected from further damage because

12. The first major discovery confirming the location of the Mary Rose was

13. The lifting cradle was specially designed to

A. was difficult to retrieve due to strong currents.
B. ensured it remained partially preserved.
C. fit the structure of the remaining hull.
D. prevented it from moving with the tides.
E. made in May 1971 when part of the ship’s frame was uncovered.
F. led to the ship sinking rapidly.
G. helped archaeologists determine the cause of the sinking.
H. used air bags to cushion the delicate wood.

Raising The Mary Rose Reading Answers with Explanations 

1. The Mary Rose was hit by a French ship during the battle. - FALSE

• Location: Paragraph 2

• Reference: "while witnesses agree that she was not hit by the French"

• Explanation: The passage clearly states that the Mary Rose was not hit by the French.

2. The ship remained completely intact after sinking. - FALSE

• Location: Paragraph 4

• Reference: "leaving the exposed port (left) side to be eroded by marine organisms and mechanical degradation"

• Explanation: Only the starboard side remained intact, while the port side was eroded.

3. John Deane was searching for the Mary Rose when he first discovered the wreck. - FALSE

• Location: Paragraph 6

• Reference: "Diver John Deane happened to be exploring another sunken ship nearby"

• Explanation: John Deane was not looking for the Mary Rose; he found it accidentally while exploring another wreck.

4. Alexander McKee used sonar technology to help find the Mary Rose. - TRUE

• Location: Paragraph 8

• Reference: "McKee entered into collaboration with Harold E. Edgerton... Edgerton’s side-scan sonar systems revealed a large, unusually shaped object"

• Explanation: McKee used sonar technology, provided by Edgerton, to locate the wreck.

5. The final decision to raise the Mary Rose was made immediately after it was found. - FALSE

• Location: Paragraph 10

• Reference: "the operation was not given the go-ahead until January 1982, when all the necessary information was available."

• Explanation: Although they found the wreck in 1971, the decision to raise it was made more than a decade later in 1982.

6. The Mary Rose sank in the - Solent

• Location: Paragraph 1

• Reference: "On 19 July 1545, English and French fleets were engaged in a sea battle... in the Solent."

• Explanation: The passage states that the ship sank in the Solent after a battle.

7. Found their equipment stuck on part of the wreck. - Fishermen

• Location: Paragraph 6

• Reference: "some fishermen in the Solent found that their equipment was caught on an underwater obstruction"

• Explanation: Fishermen first discovered the wreck when their equipment got stuck.

8. A project called - Solent Ships

• Location: Paragraph 7

• Reference: "In 1965, military historian and amateur diver Alexander McKee... initiated a project called ‘Solent Ships’."

• Explanation: McKee started the Solent Ships project to find the Mary Rose.

9. The Mary Rose was finally raised from the - water

• Location: Paragraph 12

• Reference: "on 11 October 1982... the timber skeleton of the Mary Rose was lifted clear of the water."

• Explanation: The passage states that the ship was finally lifted from the water on this date.

10. The Mary Rose lay on the seabed in a position that - B. ensured it remained partially preserved.

• • Location: Paragraph 4

  • Reference: "Because of the way the ship sank, nearly all of the starboard half survived intact."

  • Explanation: The starboard side remained covered and protected from erosion, keeping it partially preserved.

11. The shipwreck was protected from further damage because - D. prevented it from moving with the tides.

• • Location: Paragraph 5

  • Reference: "During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the entire site became covered with a layer of hard grey clay, which minimised further erosion."

  • Explanation: The clay layer prevented movement and further damage to the wreck.

1. The first major discovery confirming the location of the Mary Rose was - E. made in May 1971 when part of the ship’s frame was uncovered.

• • Location: Paragraph 9

  • Reference: "on 5 May 1971, part of the ship’s frame was uncovered."

  • Explanation: The ship’s frame was the first major piece found, confirming its location.

13. The lifting cradle was specially designed to - C. fit the structure of the remaining hull.

• • Location: Paragraph 11

  • Reference: "The lifting cradle was designed to fit the hull using archaeological survey drawings."

  • Explanation: The cradle was made to match the shape of the remaining hull for safe lifting.

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