African Coins Reading Answers

Apr 24, 2025

African Coins Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. African Coins Reading Answers has a total of 14 IELTS questions in total. In the question set given you have to choose the correct heading for each paragraph. In the next question set given you have to choose the correct answer in no more than two words or a number from the given passage.

The IELTS Reading section is an essential part of the test that evaluates a candidate's comprehension and analysis of various passage types. You will work through a number of IELTS reading practice problems in this section that resemble actual test situations. These questions are designed to help you improve your ability to recognize essential concepts, extract particular facts, and make inferences. Practicing African Coins IELTS reading problems can help you get comfortable with the structure and increase your confidence for the exam, regardless of whether you are studying for the Academic or General Training module.

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Section 1 AFRICAN COINS

In 1770, the explorer James Cook landed on the east coast of Australia and claimed the territory for Great Britain. It seems that, contrary to popular myth, he may not actually have been the first European to set foot on the continent. A new expedition, led by an Australian anthropologist, is investigating the possibility that ancient exploration may have taken place long before Cook and other Europeans ever journeyed to the continent. The expedition will follow a seventy-year-old treasure map to a sandy beach where a cache of mysterious ancient coins was discovered in the 1940s. The researchers are setting out to discover how the coins ended up in the sand; whether they washed ashore following shipwrecks and whether they can provide more details about ancient trade routes.

The coins were originally found by an Australian soldier named Maurie Isenberg, who was stationed in a remote area known as the Wessel Islands. The Wessel Islands are part of Arnhem Land, a region in Australia's vast Northern Territory. Isenberg was assigned to a radar station located on the Wessel Islands, and during his off-duty hours, he often went fishing along the idyllic beaches. One day in 1944, he came across a few old coins and put them in a tin. He marked the spot where he'd found the coins with an X on a hand-drawn map, but didn't think that he'd unearthed anything of great note.

Indeed, it wasn't until 1979 that Isenberg sent the coins to be authenticated and learned that some of them were estimated to be of great age. As it turned out, five of them had been produced in the sultanate of Kilwa in East Africa and are thought to date back to the twelfth century. Kilwa was a prosperous trading centre in those days, located on an island that is part of present-day Tanzania. Australian anthropologist Mike Owen, a heritage consultant in Darwin, is leading the upcoming expedition, and he says that the coins, 'have the capacity to redraft Australian history'. The copper coins, which were seldom used outside of East Africa, probably held very little monetary value in Kilwa: 'Yet, there they were - on a beach ten thousand kilometres to the east.'

Along with the African coins, there were a number of seventeenth and eighteenth-century Dutch coins in the cache of the type known as duits. The first record of European activity in the islands actually dates back to 1623, when sailors aboard a Dutch ship called the Wesel gave the islands their current name. However, oral history from the indigenous Yolngu people who inhabit the islands suggests that they played host to many visitors over the centuries. The expedition's main researcher is Australian anthropologist Dr Ian Mcintosh, who has spoken in depth with the Yolngu people. 'There was much talk of the Wessel Islands as a place of intense contact history,' he says.

Mcintosh points out that Northern Australia may have drawn early visitors because it lies close to the terminus of the ancient Indian Ocean trade route that linked Africa's east coast with Arabia, Persia, India and the Spice Islands (now part of Indonesia). 'This trade route was already very active, a very long time ago, and this find may be evidence of early exploration by peoples from East Africa or the Middle East.' According to Mcintosh, the shape of the Wessel Islands serves as a 'big catching arm' for any ships blown off course, which may point to the coins coming from a shipwreck, or even multiple shipwrecks.

It is difficult to tell whether there was routine contact with the outside world or whether there is any connection between the Dutch coins and the far older African coins, which may simply have ended up in the same place, but it is hoped that more evidence may come to light. Adding to the sense of anticipation is a persistent rumour that, in one of the many caves in the islands, there are more coins and antique weaponry.

The expedition is sponsored by the Australian Geographic Society and intends to follow the hand-drawn map given to them by Isenberg. Included in the team is a geomorphologist, whose task is to examine how the coastal landscape has changed over time. If shipwrecks are involved, how the coins washed up may provide clues to the location of a wreck, say the experts. Meanwhile, a heritage specialist has the job of looking after the documentation and ensuring that the site is protected, and anthropologists working with local indigenous people hope to identify likely sites of contact with foreign visitors. 'There is great interest on the part of the Yolngu in this project, and in uncovering aspects of their own past,' says Mcintosh.

Questions 14-20

Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-G.

i. A possible explanation for why a discovery was made in a particular location

ii. A recent study casts doubt on an accepted interpretation of events

iii. Analysis reveals the origins Of objects discovered by chance

iv. Documentary evidence that supports the study's initial findings

v. How the current study is going to be organised

vi. Evidence suggesting that traders once lived on the Wessel Islands

vii. A long-standing suggestion that further discoveries are possible

viii. The significance of a chance discovery goes undetected

ix. The aims of the current study

x. Written and anecdotal evidence of early trade in the region

14. Paragraph A

Answer: IX

Supporting statement: The researchers are setting out to discover how the coins ended up in the sand;

Keywords: researchers, discover

Keyword Location: Para A, Line 7

Explanation: The text states that under the direction of an Australian anthropologist, a new expedition was carried out to know more about the prehistoric travel that occurred long before Cook and other Europeans ever set foot on the continent. By referring to a seventy-year-old treasure map, the expedition arrived at a sandy beach where an array of cryptic ancient coins were found in the 1940s. The goal of the investigation was to find out how the coins got into the sand, whether they washed up after shipwrecks, and whether they can reveal more information about historical trade routes.

15. Paragraph B

Answer: VIII

Supporting statement: but didn't think that he'd unearthed anything of great note.

Keywords: unearthed, great note

Keyword Location: Para B, Line 7

Explanation: The text mentions that the coins were first found by Australian soldier Maurie Isenberg. He found some old coins and placed them in a tin one day in 1944 while fishing along the beautiful beaches. He thought he had not uncovered anything particularly noteworthy, but he did mark the location of the coins with an X on a hand-drawn map.

16. Paragraph C

Answer: III

Supporting statement:Indeed, it wasn't until 1979 that Isenberg sent the coins to be authenticated and learned that some of them were estimated to be of great age

Keywords: Isenberg, authenticated

Keyword Location: Para C, Line 1

Explanation: Isenberg didn't find out that some of the coins were considered to be quite old until 1979, when he sent them to be authenticated. It turned out that five of them, believed to be from the twelfth century, had been made in the East African sultanate of Kilwa.

17. Paragraph D

Answer: X

Supporting statement: However, oral history from the indigenous Yolngu people who inhabit the islands suggests that they played host to many visitors over the centuries

Keywords: oral history, visitors

Keyword Location: Para D, Lines 4-5

Explanation: According to oral history from the native Yolngu people, the islands have hosted numerous tourists over the ages. Also, Dr. Ian McIntosh, an Australian anthropologist, the expedition's main researcher, has had extensive conversations with the Yolngu people. Through his research, he found evidence of extensive trade that took place in the past on the island.

18. Paragraph E

Answer: I

Supporting statement:which may point to the coins coming from a shipwreck, or even multiple shipwrecks.

Keywords: coins, shipwreck

Keyword Location: Para E, Line 7

Explanation: According to the text, Mcintosh claims that the Wessel Islands' serve as a "big catching arm" for any ships that are blown off course, which explains why the coins were found in a particular location and suggests that they came from an accident on the ship or even several shipwrecks.

19. Paragraph F

Answer: VII

Supporting statement: Adding to the sense of anticipation is a persistent rumour that, in one of the many caves in the islands, there are more coins and antique weaponry.

Keywords: anticipation, caves

Keyword Location: Para F, Line 4

Explanation: According to the text there is a persistent rumor that there are additional coins and ancient weapons in one of the islands' various caves, increasing the sense of anticipation.

20. Paragraph G

Answer: V

Supporting statement: intends to follow the hand-drawn map given to them by Isenberg. Included in the team is a geomorphologist,

Keywords: map , geomorphologist

Keyword Location: Para G, Line 2

Explanation: According to the text, The Australian Geographic Society is funding the expedition, which plans to stick to the hand-drawn map that Isenberg provided. One member of the team is a geomorphologist, whose job it is to investigate the changes in the coastal landscape throughout time. Anthropologists will work with the local people to discover potential places of encounter with foreign visitors, while a heritage specialist is responsible for maintaining documentation and making sure the site is protected.

Questions 21-26

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

21. Maurie Isenberg first discovered the coins in the year……..

Answer: 1944

Supporting statement:One day in 1944, he came across a few old coins and put them in a tin

Keywords: 1944, old coins

Keyword Location: Para B, Line 5

Explanation: According to the text the coins were first discovered by Maurie Isenberg in 1944, when he was assigned to a radar station located on the Wessel Islands, and during his off-duty hours, he went fishing along the idyllic beaches.

22. The African coins which Isenberg found were made of……..

Answer: COPPER

Supporting statement:The copper coins, which were seldom used outside of East Africa,

Keywords: copper coins, East Africa

Keyword Location: Para C, Line 7

Explanation: According to the text, the coins Isenberg found were made of copper which was unusual as had very little monetary value in Kilwa but he still found them on the beach.

23. The African coins are thought to have been made in the……….. century.

Answer: TWELFTH

Supporting statement:and are thought to date back to the twelfth century.

Keywords: date back, twelfth century

Keyword Location: Para C, Lines 3-4

Explanation: The text states that it wasn’t until Isenberg sent the coins to be checked it came to light that the coins were made in the twelfth century.

24. The later coins Isenberg found are called………..

Answer: DUITS

Supporting statement:Dutch coins in the cache of the type known as duits.

Keywords: Dutch, duits

Keyword Location: Para D, Line 2

Explanation: The text states that along with the African coins, Isenberg also found some of the Dutch coins from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries known as the Duits.

25. The islands where Isenberg found the coins are named after a……….

Answer: DUTCH SHIP

Supporting statement: when sailors aboard a Dutch ship called the Wesel gave the islands their current name.

Keywords: Dutch ship, name

Keyword Location: Para D, Lines 3-4

Explanation: The text states that the island where Isenberg found the coins is named after sailors of a Dutch ship named Wesel gave the island the same name as their ship.

26. Local people think there may be…………..as well as more coins on the islands.

Answer: ANTIQUE WEAPONRY

Supporting statement:there are more coins and antique weaponry.

Keywords: coins, antique weaponry

Keyword Location: Para F, Line 5

Explanation: According to the text, local people of the island think that there may be more coins and antique weaponry somewhere in the caves on the island.

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