IELTS Reading 練習 公共圖書館的歷史（含題目+詳解）

The History of Public Libraries

The idea that any citizen, regardless of wealth, may walk into a building and borrow books for free is so familiar today that its novelty is easy to miss. For most of recorded history, libraries existed mainly to serve scholars, priests or rulers, not the general public. The famous Library of Alexandria, founded in the third century BC, gathered hundreds of thousands of scrolls but admitted only approved researchers. Medieval European libraries, almost all attached to monasteries or universities, often chained their volumes to the desks and lent nothing.

The first lending libraries open to fee-paying members appeared in the eighteenth century, when growing literacy and falling book prices created a market that booksellers and clubs were quick to fill. Subscription libraries in cities such as Edinburgh and Philadelphia required a modest annual payment in exchange for borrowing rights, and were popular among middle-class readers who could not afford to buy every novel they wished to read. These were a step forward, but the poorest, who arguably needed books most, remained excluded.

The decisive shift came in 1850, when the British Parliament passed the Public Libraries Act. The Act allowed local councils to fund free libraries from the rates — a small property tax — provided that ratepayers approved by a two-thirds majority. Manchester opened the first municipal lending library under the new law in 1852. Progress was slow at first because many councils were reluctant to raise taxes, but by 1900 most large British towns had established at least one public branch.

A second wave of expansion came from private philanthropy. Between 1883 and 1929, the Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of more than 2,500 library buildings around the world, with most concentrated in the United Kingdom and the United States. Carnegie did not endow the books or staff; he insisted that the local community fund the ongoing operation, on the grounds that a library supported only by its donor would not become genuinely civic.

Today, in most developed countries, public libraries serve more functions than mere book lending — internet access, study spaces, language classes — but the principle established in 1850 still defines them: tax-funded, free at the point of use, and open to all.

1. The Library of Alexandria allowed any literate citizen to enter and read.
2. Subscription libraries in the eighteenth century charged their members a fee.
3. Manchester's 1852 library was the first to be opened under the Public Libraries Act.
4. Andrew Carnegie's libraries are now mostly closed.

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. According to the passage, the 1850 Public Libraries Act required:

- A. all British councils to open a free library immediately - B. ratepayer approval by a two-thirds majority before funding - C. private donors to provide the building - D. universities to admit the public

1. Carnegie refused to fund a library's books and staff because he believed:

- A. local communities could not afford operating costs - B. donor-only funding would prevent the library from becoming genuinely civic - C. governments alone should pay for cultural buildings - D. books would be wasted on poor readers

Complete the summary below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage.

Medieval European libraries were typically attached to monasteries or universities and often (7) ______ their books to the desks. The 1850 Act allowed councils to fund free libraries from a small property tax called the (8) ______. Between 1883 and 1929, Andrew Carnegie funded more than (9) ______ library buildings worldwide.

1. FALSE Supporting sentence: "The famous Library of Alexandria ... admitted only approved researchers". "Only approved researchers" contradicts "any literate citizen".

2. TRUE Supporting sentence: "Subscription libraries ... required a modest annual payment in exchange for borrowing rights". "Modest annual payment" = "fee".

3. TRUE Supporting sentence: "Manchester opened the first municipal lending library under the new law in 1852". Direct paraphrase.

4. NOT GIVEN The passage says Carnegie funded over 2,500 buildings but says nothing about how many are still open. Don't infer — NOT GIVEN.

5. B — ratepayer approval by a two-thirds majority before funding Supporting sentence: "The Act allowed local councils to fund free libraries from the rates ... provided that ratepayers approved by a two-thirds majority". Direct paraphrase; A is the trap (the passage says councils were "allowed", not required).

6. B — donor-only funding would prevent the library from becoming genuinely civic Supporting sentence: "a library supported only by its donor would not become genuinely civic". Direct paraphrase.

7. chained Supporting sentence: "Medieval European libraries ... often chained their volumes to the desks". Single-word answer.

8. rates Supporting sentence: "to fund free libraries from the rates — a small property tax". Single-word answer.

9. 2,500 Supporting sentence: "funded the construction of more than 2,500 library buildings around the world". The number counts as one word.