Changes to the Soviet Union's working week
Read Changes to the Soviet Union's working week and check the IELTS Reading answers. The Soviet Union's first Five Year Plan was intended to turn the weak and undeveloped country into a powerful, modern, industrial nation. Following its introduction in 1928, production of coal, iron and steel incre…
Passage preview
The Soviet Union's first Five Year Plan was intended to turn the weak and undeveloped country into a powerful, modern, industrial nation. Following its introduction in 1928, production of coal, iron and steel increased at a fantastic rate, and new industrial cities sprang up. Everyone's life was affected, as collectivised farming drove millions from the land to swell the industrial proletariat. Private enterprise disappeared in city and country, leaving the state supreme under the leadership of Stalin. Unlimited enthusiasm was the mood of the day, with the Communists believing that iron will and hard-working manpower alone would bring about a new world.
Vocabulary from this passage
11 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- collectivise verb
To organise private farms or industries into jointly run units controlled by the state
The government moved to collectivise agriculture, taking land from individual peasant families.
- cram verb
To force too many things or activities into a limited space or period of time
Students often cram a semester's revision into the final week before exams.
- emulate verb
To try to match or surpass the achievements of someone admired by imitating their methods
Developing economies often seek to emulate the industrial strategies of the most successful nations.
- haphazardly adverb
In a disorganised, random manner without any clear plan, order or careful coordination
Files had been stored haphazardly, so locating a single document took hours.
- ingenious adjective
Cleverly original and inventive, especially in solving a difficult practical problem in an unexpected way
Engineers devised an ingenious system of pulleys to lift the stones into position.
- institute verb
To introduce and establish a rule, system or practice officially so that it begins to operate
The council instituted a strict recycling policy across all municipal offices last year.
- proletariat noun
The class of industrial wage-earning workers who own no property, especially in Marxist and Communist thought
Marx predicted that the proletariat would eventually overthrow the capitalist class that employed them.
- reversion noun
A return to a former state, practice or system, often after an unsuccessful change
The election result prompted a reversion to the protectionist policies of the previous decade.
- stagger verb
To arrange events or workers so that they occur at different times rather than all together
The factory staggered shift start times to avoid congestion at the main gate.
- streamline verb
To make a system or process more efficient by removing unnecessary steps and simplifying how work is done
The hospital streamlined its admissions procedure to reduce waiting times for emergency patients.
- vaunted adjective
Praised or boasted about excessively, often when the claimed qualities fail to appear in practice
The vaunted reform delivered far fewer benefits than its supporters had promised.
Answers with explanations
- 27. ix
Paragraph 1 describes the first Five Year Plan. The heading about **optimism** about transforming the country paraphrases the text: the plan was meant to turn a weak country into a modern industrial nation, and **unlimited enthusiasm** was the mood. The Communists believed iron will and manpower would bring about a **new world**, which shows optimism. Scan the final sentence for the mood words. Headings about foreign inspiration or failure do not fit, because this paragraph is about hopes and ambitions. Answer: ix.
- 28. vii
Paragraph 2 points to American models. The heading about **inspiration from abroad** matches Lenin being intrigued by **Taylor**, an American expert, and the Communists admiring **Ford's** assembly line and imported tractors. 'Inspiration' paraphrases 'intrigued' and 'admirers', while 'abroad' paraphrases 'American' and 'capitalist models'. The signpost is the foreign names. The paragraph does not describe the working week's structure or its failure, so those headings are wrong. Answer: vii.
- 29. i
Paragraph 4 opens with Larin's idea: Sundays were wasted, so why not abolish that day and run factories every day. The heading about a **decision** for factories to operate **seven days a week** paraphrases 'a continuous working week so that the machines could operate ... every day', and 'decision' matches Stalin approving and the **introduction** with immediate effect. The heading about how the week was organised fits the next paragraph, where the five-day cycle is explained. Answer: i.
- 30. vi
Paragraph 5 explains the mechanics. The heading about **how** the continuous working week was **organised** matches the details: a new five-day week with four working days and one free day, staggered rest days, and workers **divided into five groups**, each given a colour on the calendars. 'Organised' paraphrases this system of rotation. The heading about pros and cons belongs to the next paragraph, which weighs benefits against an objection. Answer: vi.
- 31. xi
Paragraph 6 lists advantages, namely more rest, higher production and employment, a better standard of living and less crowded facilities, and then one drawback: **the only objection** concerned the family. That balance is why the heading about **pros and cons** fits. 'Benefits' and 'objection' paraphrase pros and cons. The heading about factories failing to achieve improvements does not match, since this paragraph presents promises, not results. Answer: xi.
- 32. iv
Paragraph 7 reports that the week reached its peak but was **not consistently introduced everywhere**. Managers merely claimed to have **gone over** to it without applying it, and factories ran five-, six- and seven-day weeks **at the same time**. 'Not consistently' paraphrases 'haphazardly' and 'confusion reigned'. The workers' dislike is a secondary detail, so the heading about a proposal by workers does not apply. Answer: iv.
- 33. x
Paragraph 8 explains why output did not rise. The heading about **the failure of factories** to achieve **expected improvements** paraphrases 'far from having the **vaunted effect** on production'. 'Expected' matches 'vaunted'. Supporting evidence includes rotating teams doing different work and **poorly maintained** machines. The heading about the end of two schemes refers to the final paragraph, where abandonment is described. Here the point is that promised productivity gains failed to appear. Answer: x.
- 34. ii
Paragraph 9 covers the final stage. The heading about **the end** of **two short-lived schemes** matches the continuous week and the new **six-day week**, which were both finally **abandoned** in 1940. 'Two schemes' paraphrases 'both', and 'short-lived' reflects their decline, ending with 'The experiment had failed.' Look for dates and the word 'abandoned' as signposts. The heading about failed improvements was already used for the previous paragraph, which discusses production. Answer: ii.
- 35. C
The question asks which aspect of **American business** was admired. Paragraph 2 names two admired Americans: Taylor, whose **time and motion studies** found ways of **streamlining effort** so every worker produced the maximum, and Ford, whose **assembly line mass production** was praised. Both are methods of increasing productivity. The text never praises high employment, product variety or the quality of goods, so those options are not mentioned. Answer: C.
- 36. B
The question asks what the continuous working week was intended to ensure. Paragraph 4 gives the aim: abolish the **wasted** Sunday so that the **machines could operate to their full capacity every day** of the week, which means machinery in continuous use. Paragraph 5 adds that workers' total hours were **not** to increase, so greater output per worker and more days off were not the goal. Buying efficient machines is never mentioned. Answer: B.
- 37. A
The question asks which area was thought **unlikely to improve**. Paragraph 6 promises that **employment** would increase and that shopping and leisure **facilities** would be far less crowded, so those three options are expected to get better. The one drawback is that **the only objection concerned the family**, where more than one member was working and schedules would clash. Family life is therefore the area not expected to improve. Answer: A.
- 38. Taylor
The question asks for the person whose **theories** inspired efforts to increase efficiency. Paragraph 2 says Lenin was intrigued by the **ideas of Taylor**, the American management expert whose time and motion studies found ways of **streamlining effort**. **Ford** is also mentioned, but the Communists admired his assembly line and tractors, which are practices and machines, not theories. One word is needed, and 'Taylor' is copied from the passage. Answer: Taylor.
- 39. Larin
The question asks who **proposed** the continuous working week. Paragraph 4 says the economist **Larin** came up with an idea for even greater efficiency: why not abolish the wasted Sunday by **instituting a continuous working week**. Stalin only **approved** it afterwards, so he authorised the idea instead of proposing it, which makes him a likely distractor. The name is copied from the passage and fits the three-word limit. Answer: Larin.
- 40. colour-coding
The question asks what **system** identified the different groups of workers on the **calendars**. Paragraph 5 says workers were divided into five groups, each assigned a **colour** which appeared on the new calendars, and then calls this **colour-coding** a valuable device. The hyphenated compound counts as one word, so it fits the three-word limit. Copy it exactly as printed, with the British spelling and the hyphen. Answer: colour-coding.