Evidence from a Town’s Transport Experiment
About this practice test
A report on Alderby’s twelve-week transport experiment, its mixed effects on travel, businesses and the environment, and the council’s final decisions.
What you’ll practice
Finding detail
Locate specific information and evidence.
Interpreting ideas
Connect main points and inferences.
Evaluating arguments
Assess claims, evidence, and limitations.
What to expect:
8 questions with explanations to review after submission.
Study the questions and tasks
Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.
- Practice level
- B2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.
- Question formats
- Multiple choice
How to approach this practice
Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.
Evidence from a Town’s Transport Experiment
When the council of Alderby resurfaced the roads around its old market square, it saw a chance to try something unusual. For twelve weeks, the town would limit through-traffic on market days, run a small shuttle bus from the outer car parks, and widen one bike lane that had previously ended in a narrow squeeze beside the post office. The plan was not presented as a crusade against cars. The transport officer said the aim was simpler: to collect evidence before deciding whether the town centre needed permanent changes. Shop owners, parents, and bus users were invited to comment, but many of them doubted that a short trial could settle much at all. The first fortnight was untidy. Several drivers missed the temporary signs and turned into the square before realising that the route had changed. The shuttle was free, yet some people did not use it because the stop outside the library was not obvious enough. Even so, the council’s counters showed a small rise in visitors on market mornings, especially among people arriving on foot or by bus. Residents with reduced mobility were among the most positive respondents, because the shuttle dropped them closer to the stalls than the old bus stop had done. In contrast, shoppers who came late in the afternoon noticed little difference, since the restrictions had already ended by then. By the middle of the experiment, the town had gathered enough numbers to see a pattern. More people were arriving by bus, bicycle, and on foot, while car-park use fell only sharply on Fridays, when the market was busiest. That did not mean every driver stayed away; it meant that some switched the day they visited, and others parked farther out. Children going to school and workers with early starts still relied on cars in the morning, partly because the first buses were not frequent enough. So the trial changed how people arrived, but not whether they travelled at all. The business figures were equally mixed. The cafe beside the square reported longer visits, and the bookshop said customers lingered because they did not feel rushed by passing traffic. Yet the hardware store and the florist complained that deliveries became awkward when lorries could not stop near the front door. After hearing that complaint, the council allowed an early loading window before the market opened. This adjustment mattered, because it showed that the experiment was never designed to prove that all businesses would benefit in the same way. Instead, its effect depended on timing, location, and the kind of service each shop offered. The environmental results also resisted simple praise. Noise levels around the square fell, and there were fewer moments when cars idled beside the pavement with engines running. However, some traffic simply moved to the ring road and to one residential lane that drivers began using as a shortcut. The council therefore said it could not claim the town’s air had improved overall without watching for a longer period. A few critics made a different point: because everyone knew the trial would end, some people behaved more carefully than they would in ordinary life. That made the evidence useful, but not complete. When the twelve weeks ended, the council kept the shuttle and added permanent crosswalks, but it did not keep the full closure of the square. The mayor said the experiment had been valuable because it showed where the real bottlenecks were and because it proved that public transport works best when it is reliable and linked to safe walking routes. In other words, the town had not found a magic solution. It had found something more practical: a way to see which changes produced clear gains, which ones needed adjusting, and which ones simply shifted the problem somewhere else.
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Question 1 · Multiple choice
Choose all the correct answers.
Choose TWO reasons why the council launched the transport experiment.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- It wanted to prove that cars were the only cause of the town's congestion.
- It saw a chance to try something unusual.
- It wanted evidence before deciding whether the changes should be permanent.
- It wanted to force all private vehicles out of the centre within twelve weeks.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- It saw a chance to try something unusual.; It wanted evidence before deciding whether the changes should be permanent.
The passage gives two motives: the council wanted to gather evidence before making permanent changes, and it also saw a chance to try something unusual while the roads were being resurfaced. The other options are too strong and are rejected by the line saying the plan was not a crusade against cars.
it saw a chance to try something unusual
to collect evidence before deciding whether the town centre needed permanent changes
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Question 2 · Multiple choice
Choose all the correct answers.
Choose TWO statements about the first fortnight that are supported by the passage.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Residents with reduced mobility reacted especially positively because the shuttle brought them closer to the stalls.
- The shuttle stop outside the library was easy to spot for everyone.
- Visitor numbers were lower on market mornings than before the trial.
- Several drivers missed the temporary signs and entered the square by mistake.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Residents with reduced mobility reacted especially positively because the shuttle brought them closer to the stalls.; Several drivers missed the temporary signs and entered the square by mistake.
The early stage was messy because drivers missed the temporary signs, and the shuttle helped some residents with reduced mobility reach the stalls more easily. The other statements are contradicted: the stop was not obvious enough, and visitor numbers did not fall on market mornings.
Several drivers missed the temporary signs and turned into the square before realising that the route had changed
Residents with reduced mobility were among the most positive respondents, because the shuttle dropped them closer to the stalls than the old bus stop had done
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Question 3 · Multiple choice
Choose all the correct answers.
Choose TWO findings from the council's counts and surveys in the middle of the experiment.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Car-park use fell only sharply on Fridays, when the market was busiest.
- Morning travel stopped because buses ran more frequently.
- More people were arriving by bus, bicycle, and on foot.
- All drivers left the area for good.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Car-park use fell only sharply on Fridays, when the market was busiest.; More people were arriving by bus, bicycle, and on foot.
The data showed a shift towards bus, bicycle, and walking travel, and car-park use dropped most clearly on Fridays. The other two options are wrong because buses were not frequent enough for all morning travellers, and the experiment did not stop people travelling altogether.
More people were arriving by bus, bicycle, and on foot, while car-park use fell only sharply on Fridays, when the market was busiest
Children going to school and workers with early starts still relied on cars in the morning, partly because the first buses were not frequent enough
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Question 4 · Multiple choice
Choose all the correct answers.
Choose TWO statements about the businesses near the square.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- The cafe and the bookshop reported longer visits or more lingering customers.
- The council refused to change loading times after the complaints.
- Every shop benefited in the same way.
- The hardware store and the florist said deliveries became awkward.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- The cafe and the bookshop reported longer visits or more lingering customers.; The hardware store and the florist said deliveries became awkward.
The cafe and bookshop gained from the reduced traffic, while the hardware store and florist had delivery problems. The passage specifically says the council did adjust loading times after the complaints, so it did not refuse to change the arrangement.
The cafe beside the square reported longer visits, and the bookshop said customers lingered because they did not feel rushed by passing traffic
the hardware store and the florist complained that deliveries became awkward when lorries could not stop near the front door
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Question 5 · Multiple choice
Choose all the correct answers.
Choose TWO points the council made about the environmental results.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- The town could already claim its air had improved overall.
- The critics had no reason to question the trial.
- Noise levels around the square fell.
- Some traffic moved to the ring road and a residential lane.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Noise levels around the square fell.; Some traffic moved to the ring road and a residential lane.
The council observed quieter streets around the square, but it also noticed that traffic moved elsewhere instead of disappearing. That is why it refused to claim an overall air-quality improvement. The other choices do not match the passage.
Noise levels around the square fell
some traffic simply moved to the ring road and to one residential lane that drivers began using as a shortcut
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Question 6 · Multiple choice
Choose all the correct answers.
Choose TWO limitations of the experiment's evidence mentioned in the passage.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- The shuttle was free, so everyone used it.
- The council could not claim the town's air had improved overall without longer observation.
- The council already had perfect data for normal life.
- Because everyone knew the trial would end, some people behaved more carefully than usual.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- The council could not claim the town's air had improved overall without longer observation.; Because everyone knew the trial would end, some people behaved more carefully than usual.
The evidence was limited because people may have behaved differently when they knew the trial would end, and because the council said it could not claim the air had improved overall without watching for longer. The other options are contradicted or unrelated.
because everyone knew the trial would end, some people behaved more carefully than they would in ordinary life
The council therefore said it could not claim the town’s air had improved overall without watching for a longer period
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Question 7 · Multiple choice
Choose all the correct answers.
Choose TWO ideas the mayor links to the experiment's value.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Small changes never reveal anything useful.
- It showed where the real bottlenecks were.
- The town should ban all cars permanently.
- Public transport works best when it is reliable and linked to safe walking routes.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- It showed where the real bottlenecks were.; Public transport works best when it is reliable and linked to safe walking routes.
The mayor says the trial was valuable because it revealed bottlenecks and showed the conditions under which public transport works best. The other options invent a stronger policy than the passage supports or directly contradict the mayor's view.
The mayor said the experiment had been valuable because it showed where the real bottlenecks were
public transport works best when it is reliable and linked to safe walking routes
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Question 8 · Multiple choice
Choose all the correct answers.
Choose TWO conclusions that match the council's final decision.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- The council kept the full closure of the square.
- The town found a magic solution to congestion.
- The council kept the shuttle and added permanent crosswalks.
- Some changes simply shifted the problem somewhere else.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- The council kept the shuttle and added permanent crosswalks.; Some changes simply shifted the problem somewhere else.
The council kept the shuttle and permanent crosswalks, but it stopped short of preserving the full closure. The final paragraph also says the town learned that some changes produced gains while others shifted the problem elsewhere. The wrong options contradict those conclusions.
When the twelve weeks ended, the council kept the shuttle and added permanent crosswalks, but it did not keep the full closure of the square
which ones simply shifted the problem somewhere else
What to review next
Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.
A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.
Before you practise: a worked example
Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.
The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?
The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.
This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.