The exam typically presents three types of questions for this passage. Use the table below to check your answers and note the location of each answer in the text.
An ironic post-war reconciliation between two former enemies.
Hugh O’Flaherty’s story is not just an inspiring tale of courage – it’s also a fantastic IELTS passage to practise your reading skills. By mastering the location-based approach outlined above, you will not only answer these 13 questions correctly but also build essential scanning and comprehension techniques that apply to any IELTS Reading passage. The exam typically presents three types of questions
Below are the from this passage, along with the correct answers and text locations (reproduced as paragraph markers or line references).
He received the US Medal of Freedom and was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). Hugh O’Flaherty’s story is not just an inspiring
By the time Allied forces liberated Rome in June 1944, O'Flaherty's network had successfully hidden and saved over 6,500 people, including Allied soldiers and Jewish refugees. After the war, O'Flaherty received numerous international honors, including the British Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and the US Medal of Freedom. In a remarkable twist of fate, O'Flaherty regularly visited his former nemesis, Herbert Kappler, in prison. Kappler eventually converted to Catholicism, baptized by the very priest he had once tried to kill. Practice Questions Questions 1–5: Matching Information
The text mentions that Kappler ordered a "white line to be painted across the pavement at the edge of St. Peter's Square, marking the strict boundary between Nazi-occupied Rome and the Vatican territory." 2. Answer: B Location: Paragraph B He received the US Medal of Freedom and
The passage explicitly states, "Because Ireland was a neutral nation during the war, O'Flaherty was initially permitted to visit POW camps." 3. Answer: F Location: Paragraph F
O'Flaherty's heroics earned him the nickname "The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican," a reference to the fictional heroine of Baroness Emmuska Orczy's novel. Like the literary character, O'Flaherty used his wit, intelligence, and cunning to evade detection and outmaneuver his enemies.
Master Answer Key for "The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican"
: Born in County Cork, he was posted to Rome in 1922 , precisely when Benito Mussolini came to power.