Housing and Living Spaces
Lesson 7.2 trains True / False / Not Given on a housing-themed Reading passage, focusing on paraphrase detection.
- Decide TFNG with paraphrased evidence
- Avoid the 'too obvious' trap on FALSE
- Recognise NOT GIVEN by absence of evidence
Reading · TFNG rules
- Statement matches the passage in meaning (often paraphrased).
- Both information and direction agree.
- FALSE = passage actively contradicts the statement.
- NOT GIVEN = passage simply doesn't tell us — neither confirmed nor denied.
If a statement adds an extra detail (e.g. a date, percentage, reason) that isn't in the passage, it's usually NOT GIVEN — not FALSE.
Reading · Mini-passage
Across many mid-sized European cities, the average rent has risen faster than wages over the past decade. In Lisbon, for instance, rents climbed 65% between 2013 and 2023, while average salaries grew by only 19%. Local councils have responded with mixed approaches: Vienna continues to expand its long-standing social housing programme, whereas Lisbon has so far relied mainly on tax incentives for private developers, with limited impact on affordability.
- Q1: Rents in mid-sized European cities have outpaced wages. → TRUE
- Q2: Lisbon has banned short-term lets to protect tenants. → NOT GIVEN
- Q3: Vienna built its social housing programme only in the last ten years. → FALSE
Pathway focus · Academic data link
Those Lisbon figures (65% rent vs 19% wages) are pure Task 1 fuel — practise describing them as a paragraph.
Exam Strategy
- Exam Tip
No evidence either way = NOT GIVEN. Don't infer.
Independent Practice
Time yourself: 8 minutes for 10 questions.
Key Takeaways
- TFNG = match meaning, not words.
- FALSE needs an active contradiction in the passage.