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LanguageCert Practice Reading: Part 3: Multi-Text Attribution ID: #60287 Medium Flying Machines and Early Inventors
Instructions ›
Read the four texts below about the development of powered flight. There are seven questions about the texts. Which text gives you the answer to each question? Choose the correct text (A-D) for each question.
A The Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, are widely recognised as the first people to achieve powered flight. On December 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they successfully flew their aircraft, the Wright Flyer, for approximately 12 seconds, during which they covered a distance of just under 27 metres at a maximum height of three metres. This apparently minor event is still seen as a historic achievement to this day because manned flight had been a goal for thousands of years. For the vast majority of that time, human power was used with no succes. Then, in 1842, a British engineer fitted an engine to a flying machine, but the steam power produced was not sufficient to lift the machine off the ground. Other attempts at powered flight followed in the next 60 years, but the Wright Brothers were the first to achieve the longed-for goal.
B One hundred and twenty years or so since the Wright Brothers made the first manned and powered flight, commercial air travel is extremely safe. It is unknown how many people died over the centuries striving for the secret of flight, but there are several documented cases of people throwing themselves off high places wearing cloth wings tied to their arms. The results were totally predictable. The simple fact is that bird wings are significantly larger relative to their body size than human arms. Additionally, bird bones are much lighter than human bones because they are hollow. Manned flight was not possible by the laws of physics until an external power source was fitted, which is what the Wright Brothers did with eventual success. Inevitably, in the early years of flying it was extremely dangerous to take to the air. Indeed, one of the Wright brothers achieved another first five years from the historic flight, when Orville crashed his plane and killed his passenger, Thomas Selfridge - the first death in a plane crash.
C 'History is the lie that historians have agreed upon.' That is a slight misquotation from the great French writer and philosopher commonly known as Voltaire. The point is that there are often opposing views of what happened, who did it and when, even in a case such as the first manned powered flight. Sometimes it seems that the winner is the person who shouts the loudest. In the case of the Wright Brothers' achievement, Orville Wright himself played a role in discrediting the claims of Gustave Whitehead regarding his alleged earlier flights. After Whitehead's supporters began asserting that he had achieved powered flight first, Orville wrote a letter to the editor of Aviation magazine stating that there was no reliable evidence to support the claims. His view prevailed, and that view is supported by historians. However, some researchers are beginning to suggest that, as more and more documents appear on the web, the harder it will be to claim any event, however important, as the objective truth.
D Ask a browser or an AI system who first achieved powered flight and you will be told that it was the Wright Brothers on December 17, 1903, often with details of the duration of flight in terms of time and distance, and height achieved. This precision suggests that there is absolutely no doubt for historians about the facts of the case. Dig a little deeper, however, and you will find a number of contenders, including Gustave Whitehead, a German immigrant to the United States, who supposedly flew his aircraft, the No.21, in August 1901, two years before the Wright Brothers. Then there is New Zealand inventor Richard Pearse, who some believe flew his homemade craft, the Pearse Flyer, in New Zealand on March 31, 1903. His machine incorporated a steam-powered engine and a bird-like wing design. Then there are the Brazilians who claim one of their own, Alberto Santos-Dumont, as the first.
In which text does the writer describe attempts to cast doubt on the achievements of a rival inventor?
In which text does the writer explain why one version of events is most widely accepted?
In which text does the writer give details of the duration of a flight?
In which text does the writer mention an unfortunate fact?
In which text does the writer refer to several rivals for the honour of achieving powered flight?
In which text does the writer illustrate why so many individuals inevitably failed to fly?
In which text does the writer demonstrate a wider point about facts?
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.

Question Focus: Asks which text shows someone trying to prove a rival's claim was false.

Why this is correct: Text C shows Orville Wright working to cast doubt on his rival Whitehead. He wrote to a magazine saying there was no real proof for Whitehead's flights. That is attacking a rival's claim.

Question Focus: Asks which text says why most people believe one story over the others.

Why this is correct: Text C explains why the Wright version won: Orville argued his case, his view took hold, and historians back it. That is why one version is most widely accepted.

Question Focus: Asks which text gives numbers for how long a flight lasted.

Why this is correct: Text A gives the exact duration and distance - about 12 seconds and nearly 27 metres. Those numbers answer the question about how long the flight lasted.

Question Focus: Asks which text mentions a sad or unlucky event.

Why this is correct: Text B mentions a sad fact: Orville's crash killed his passenger, the first person to die in a plane crash. That is clearly an unfortunate fact.

Question Focus: Asks which text names more than one person who claims to have flown first.

Why this is correct: Text D names several rivals - Whitehead, Pearse and Santos-Dumont - who all might have flown first. That is a list of competitors for the honour.

Question Focus: Asks which text explains why so many early flyers were bound to fail.

Why this is correct: Text B explains why people failed: human arms are too small and our bones too heavy, so flight was impossible without an engine. That shows why failure was certain.

Question Focus: Asks which text makes a bigger point about how sure we can be of facts.

Why this is correct: Text C uses the flight story to make a wider point: as more documents appear online, it gets harder to call anything the plain truth. That is a general idea about facts.

General Tips:

  • Read all four texts first so you know each one's angle before answering.
  • For 'why' questions, look for a text that gives reasons, not just events.
  • A rival's name can appear in more than one text; pick the one that matches the exact action.
  • Numbers and dates are easy scanning clues for questions about times, lengths or distances.

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