William Gilbert and Magnetism
Read William Gilbert and Magnetism and check the IELTS Reading answers. The 16th and 17th centuries saw two great pioneers of modern science: Galileo and Gilbert. The impact of their findings is eminent. Gilbert was the first modern scientist, the accredited father of the science of electricity and…
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The 16th and 17th centuries saw two great pioneers of modern science: Galileo and Gilbert. The impact of their findings is eminent. Gilbert was the first modern scientist, the accredited father of the science of electricity and magnetism, an Englishman of learning and a physician at the court of Elizabeth. Prior to him, all that was known of electricity and magnetism was what the ancients knew: nothing more than that the lodestone possessed magnetic properties and that amber and jet, when rubbed, would attract bits of paper or other substances of small specific gravity. However, he is less well known than he deserves.
Vocabulary from this passage
13 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- analogy noun
A comparison between two things that highlights similarities, often used to explain an idea or to argue a case
The lecturer drew an analogy between the immune system and a city's emergency services.
- authoritative opinion noun
A view put forward by a recognised expert or institution and accepted as correct without independent testing
Medieval scholars often preferred authoritative opinion to direct observation when explaining natural phenomena.
- culminate verb
To reach a final, highest or decisive point after a long process, series of events or period of effort
Years of patient fieldwork culminated in the publication of a landmark study on glacier movement.
- eminent adjective
Famous and highly respected within a particular profession or field, usually because of outstanding achievement or long experience
An eminent surgeon was invited to chair the panel reviewing the hospital's new training programme.
- equidistant adjective
Placed at exactly the same distance from two or more given points, objects or places
The new library was built equidistant from the two campuses so that students could reach it easily.
- ingenious adjective
Clever, original and inventive, especially in finding a practical way to solve a difficult problem
Engineers devised an ingenious system that recycled waste heat to warm the entire research station.
- lodestone noun
A naturally magnetic rock, used by early navigators and in ancient experiments on attraction and magnetism
Sailors once rubbed a needle against a lodestone to turn it into a simple compass.
- mysticism noun
Belief in spiritual or hidden forces that cannot be explained by reason or tested by ordinary scientific methods
Critics claimed the astrologer's predictions owed more to mysticism than to any reliable evidence.
- polarity noun
The property of having two opposite poles, such as the north and south ends of a magnet
Reversing the polarity of the battery caused the small motor to spin in the opposite direction.
- predate verb
To exist or occur at an earlier time than something else, coming before it in history
Some cave paintings predate the earliest known written languages by many thousands of years.
- speculate verb
To form a theory or guess about something without firm evidence, often about a question that cannot yet be answered
Astronomers still speculate about whether microbial life could exist beneath the icy crust of distant moons.
- systematic experiment noun
A carefully planned and organised test, carried out step by step under controlled conditions to establish reliable results
Systematic experiments gradually replaced guesswork as the foundation of reliable medical knowledge.
- transmutation noun
The process of changing one substance into another, especially the alchemists' attempt to turn base metals into gold
Alchemists devoted entire careers to the transmutation of lead into gold, though no experiment ever succeeded.
Answers with explanations
- 1. v
Paragraph A opens by calling Galileo and Gilbert **two great pioneers** of **modern science**, then presents Gilbert as the first modern scientist and the father of electricity and magnetism. The heading **Pioneers of early science** condenses this opening claim. The heading about his early years belongs to the next paragraph, which gives his birth and schooling, and the heading about his discovery is too specific, because paragraph A says only what the ancients knew before him. Answer: v.
- 2. i
Paragraph B gives the biography of Gilbert's youth: he was **born** in Colchester in 1544 into an eminent family, went to **grammar school**, **studied medicine** at Cambridge and then travelled before settling in London. These details of birth, family and education are what the heading **Early years of Gilbert** summarises. The heading about recognition does not fit, because honours and royal posts appear only in the next paragraph. Answer: i.
- 2-3: E
2: Paragraph B gives the biography of Gilbert's youth: he was **born** in Colchester in 1544 into an eminent family, went to **grammar school**, **studied medicine** at Cambridge and then travelled before settling in London. These details of birth, family and education are what the heading **Early years of Gilbert** summarises. The heading about recognition does not fit, because honours and royal posts appear only in the next paragraph. Answer: i.
3: Paragraph C lists how Gilbert was honoured: he was a **very successful and eminent doctor**, was elected president of the Royal Society, became personal physician to the Queen and was **knighted**. Professional success and social rank together match the heading **Professional and social recognition**. The heading about becoming president of the Royal Society picks out just one sentence, so it is too narrow for the whole paragraph. Answer: vi.
- 3. vi
Paragraph C lists how Gilbert was honoured: he was a **very successful and eminent doctor**, was elected president of the Royal Society, became personal physician to the Queen and was **knighted**. Professional success and social rank together match the heading **Professional and social recognition**. The heading about becoming president of the Royal Society picks out just one sentence, so it is too narrow for the whole paragraph. Answer: vi.
- 3-4: D
3: Paragraph C lists how Gilbert was honoured: he was a **very successful and eminent doctor**, was elected president of the Royal Society, became personal physician to the Queen and was **knighted**. Professional success and social rank together match the heading **Professional and social recognition**. The heading about becoming president of the Royal Society picks out just one sentence, so it is too narrow for the whole paragraph. Answer: vi.
4: Paragraph D explains why Gilbert moved from chemistry to physics: he was first interested in chemistry but **later changed his focus** because alchemy contained too much **mysticism**, and he then developed an interest in physics. This is the heading **His change of focus**. The heading about the development of chemistry is a trap, because chemistry appears only as the field he left. The list of his books at the end is a minor detail, not the main idea. Answer: x.
- 4. x
Paragraph D explains why Gilbert moved from chemistry to physics: he was first interested in chemistry but **later changed his focus** because alchemy contained too much **mysticism**, and he then developed an interest in physics. This is the heading **His change of focus**. The heading about the development of chemistry is a trap, because chemistry appears only as the field he left. The list of his books at the end is a minor detail, not the main idea. Answer: x.
- 5. ix
Paragraph E is about what Gilbert found out: his **discoveries** about **magnetism** and electricity, such as the finding that metals can be **magnetised** by rubbing and his naming of the north and south poles. The heading **His discovery about magnetism** matches this central idea. The heading about the great works of Gilbert refers to his book titles, which appear in the previous paragraph, and the heading about astronomy belongs to the paragraph after. Answer: ix.
- 6. iv
Paragraph F begins with the sentence **He also questioned traditional astronomical beliefs**, and the rest develops it: Gilbert would not say whether the Earth is at the centre of the universe, argued that **stars have their own planets** and tied the Earth's magnetism to its behaviour in space. The heading **Questioning traditional astronomy** paraphrases that opening line, with astronomical beliefs becoming astronomy. Answer: iv.
- 7. ii
Paragraph G stresses that Gilbert's **research method** was **revolutionary**: he relied on **experiments** rather than pure logic, unlike the Greek philosophers, and this was a **new attitude** to scientific investigation. The heading **What was new about his scientific research method** is a close paraphrase of this idea. The heading about pioneers of early science is a general statement that suits the opening paragraph, not this one. Answer: ii.
- 8. TRUE
The statement says Gilbert is **less famous than he should be**. In paragraph A the writer says **he is less well known than he deserves**, which is a close paraphrase: famous matches well known, and should be matches deserves. The writer gives this opinion directly, so the statement is confirmed and the answer is TRUE. It is not NOT GIVEN, because the passage does address his fame, and it is not FALSE, because nothing contradicts it. Answer: TRUE.
- 9. TRUE
The statement says Gilbert was **famous as a doctor** before the Queen employed him. Paragraph C calls him a **very successful and eminent doctor**, and only then adds that he was **also appointed** personal physician to Queen Elizabeth I. The word also shows that this post came on top of a reputation he already had, and eminent means highly respected. The statement is therefore supported, so the answer is TRUE, not NOT GIVEN. Answer: TRUE.
- 10. NOT GIVEN
The statement says Gilbert **lost faith in the medical theories** of his time. The passage does say he turned away from chemistry because of the **mysticism** of **alchemy**, but that is not medicine, and it never says he doubted medical ideas; in fact it calls him a very successful doctor. The text neither confirms nor contradicts the claim, so the answer is NOT GIVEN. FALSE would need a clear statement that he kept his faith in medical theory. Answer: NOT GIVEN.
- 11-13: CDE