Angkor WAT: History of Ancient Temple Reading Answers

May 15, 2025

Angkor WAT: History of Ancient Temple Reading Answers contains 13 questions, and it is a topic belonging to the assessment system of IELTS general reading test. Angkor WAT: History of Ancient Temple Reading Answers have to be answered within 20 minutes. In this IELTS reading section, there are questions like Does the following statement agree with the information? Choose the correct letter and choose one word only. Also, Angkor WAT: History of Ancient Temple Reading Answers talks about all the information about an ancient temple named Angkor WAT. To practice reading papers like that, the candidates can refer to IELTS Reading Practice test.

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Topic:

Angkor WAT: History of Ancient Temple

Built between roughly A.D. 1113 and 1150, and encompassing an area of about 500 acres (200 hectares), Angkor Wat is one of the largest religious monuments ever constructed. Its name means "temple city."

A. Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century, and statues of Buddha were added to its already rich artwork. Sometime later it was turned into a military fortification. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that scientists are struggling to preserve. Its 213-foot-tall (65 meters) central tower is, along with other four smaller towers, wrapped around by a series of enclosure walls, a layout that recreates the image of Mount Meru, a legendary place in Hindu mythology that is said to lie beyond the Himalayas and be the home of the gods.

B. The city where the temple was built, Angkor, is located in modern-day Cambodia and was once the capital of the Khmer Empire. This city contains hundreds of temples, and the population may have been over 1 million people. It was easily the largest city in the world until the Industrial Revolution. Angkor had an urban core that could easily have held 500,000 people and a vast hinterland that had many more inhabitants, as airborne laser scanning (lidar) research has shown. Researchers have also identified a "lost" city called Mahendraparvata, which is located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Angkor Wat.

C. Angkor Wat itself is surrounded by a 650-foot-wide (200 m) moat that encompasses a perimeter of more than 3 miles (5 km). This moat is 13 feet deep (4 m) and would have helped stabilize the temple's foundation, preventing groundwater from rising too high or falling too low. Angkor Wat's main entrance was to the west (a direction associated with Vishnu) across a stone causeway, with guardian lions marking the way. Recently, archaeologists found the remains of eight towers made of sandstone and laterite by the western gateway. These towers may be the remains of shrines that were in use before Angkor at was fully constructed. To the east of the temple was a second, more modest, entrance.

D. The heart of the temple was the central tower, entered by way of a steep staircase, a statue of Vishnu at top. This tower "was at once the symbolic center of the nation and the actual center where secular and sacred power joined forces," writes researcher Eleanor Mannikka in the book "Angkor: Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire" (Abbeville Press, 2002). "From that unparalleled space, Vishnu and the king ruled over the Khmer people."

E. Hidden paintings have been discovered in the central tower. One chamber in the tower has a scene showing a traditional Khmer ensemble of musical instruments known as the pinpeat, which is made up of different gongs, xylophones, wind instruments and other percussion instruments. In the same chamber, there's also an intricate scene featuring people riding horses between two structures, which might be temples. These two paintings are among 200 that have been discovered in Angkor Wat since 2010.

F. A mile long sand structure containing a variety of spiral designs was recently discovered beside Angkor Wat by archaeologists using lidar. It would have existed for a brief period during the mid to-late 12th century. Archaeologists are not certain what it was used for, and it's possible that the structure was never completed. The remains of homes and ponds used by workers who lived near Angkor Wat, and serviced the temple, were also found recently during lidar research.

G. Building Angkor Wat was an enormous undertaking that involved quarrying, careful artistic work and lots of digging. To create the moat around the temple, 1.5 million cubic meters (53 million cubic feet) of sand and silt were moved, a task that would have required thousands of people working at one time. To support them, a tough material called laterite was used, which in turn was encased with softer sandstone that was used for carving the reliefs. These sandstone blocks were quarried at the Kulen Hills, about 18 miles (30 km) to the north. A series of canals were used to transport the blocks to Angkor Wat, research shows.

H. Beneath the central tower was a shaft that leads to a chamber where, in 1934, archaeologists found "two pieces of crystal and two gold leaves far beneath where the Vishnu statue must have been," Coe writes, adding that deposits like these "spiritually 'energized' a temple, much as a battery will provide power to a portable electronic device."

I. Although Angkor Wat is dedicated to Vishnu, the full purpose of the temple is still debated. Researchers still wonder whether the ashes of Suryavarman Il were interred in the monument, perhaps in the same chamber where the deposits were found. If that were the case, it would give the temple a funerary meaning.

Questions 1 - 5

Reading Passage 1 has nine sections A - I.

Which section contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A - I.

1. Evidence of artistic works found in Angkor Wat.

Answer: E

Supporting statement: "Hidden paintings have been discovered in the central tower. One chamber in the tower has a scene showing a traditional Khmer ensemble of musical instruments known as the pinpeat..."

Keywords: artistic works, paintings, discovered

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Line 1-2

Explanation: The passage discusses the discovery of paintings in Angkor Wat, providing evidence of artistic works.

2. A description of challenges during the construction of Angkor Wat.

Answer: G

Supporting statement: "Building Angkor Wat was an enormous undertaking that involved quarrying, careful artistic work and lots of digging."

Keywords: construction, challenges, undertaking

Keyword Location: Paragraph G, Line 1

Explanation: The paragraph describes the difficulties involved in constructing Angkor Wat, including the large-scale excavation and quarrying efforts.

3. A statement on the role of the central tower.

Answer: D

Supporting statement: "This tower 'was at once the symbolic center of the nation and the actual center where secular and sacred power joined forces,' writes researcher Eleanor Mannikka."

Keywords: central tower, role, power

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, Line 3-4

Explanation: The passage explains the central tower's significance as both a symbolic and functional center of power in Angkor Wat.

4. The function of some items found under the central tower

Answer: H

Supporting statement: "Deposits like these 'spiritually 'energized' a temple, much as a battery will provide power to a portable electronic device.'"

Keywords: function, items, found, central tower

Keyword Location: Paragraph H, Line 3-4

Explanation: The paragraph describes how certain objects found beneath the central tower were used to provide spiritual energy to the temple.

5. A question on further uses of Angkor Wat.

Answer: I

Supporting statement: "Researchers still wonder whether the ashes of Suryavarman II were interred in the monument, perhaps in the same chamber where the deposits were found."

Keywords: question, further uses, Angkor Wat

Keyword Location: Paragraph I, Line 2-3

Explanation: The passage raises the question whether Angkor Wat also served as a funerary monument for Suryavarman II.

Questions 6 - 7

Do the following statements agree with the information in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 6 - 7 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this

6. At first, the Angkor Wat was not built as a place to worship Buddha.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century."

Keywords: originally, Hindu temple, converted, Buddhist

Keyword Location: Paragraph A, Line 1-2

Explanation: The passage confirms that Angkor Wat was first constructed as a Hindu temple before being converted into a Buddhist site in the 14th century.

7. The temples of Angkor Wat were believed to be the place where the gods lived.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "A layout that recreates the image of Mount Meru, a legendary place in Hindu mythology that is said to lie beyond the Himalayas and be the home of the gods."

Keywords: home of the gods, Hindu mythology, Mount Meru

Keyword Location: Paragraph A, Line 5-6

Explanation: The text states that the design of Angkor Wat symbolizes Mount Meru, which is believed in Hindu mythology to be the dwelling place of the gods.

Questions 8 - 9

Do the following statements agree with the

information in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 8 - 9 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this

8. The city Angkor was the largest in the world during the Industrial Revolution.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "It was easily the largest city in the world until the Industrial Revolution."

Keywords: largest city, Industrial Revolution

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, Line 3-4

Explanation: The text states that Angkor was the largest city until the Industrial Revolution, meaning it was no longer the largest city during that period.

9. 500,000 people lived in the centre of Angkor during the Khmer Empire

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "Angkor had an urban core that could easily have held 500,000 people and a vast hinterland that had many more inhabitants."

Keywords: 500,000, centre, Khmer Empire

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, Line 5-6

Explanation: The passage confirms that the central area of Angkor could accommodate 500,000 people, verifying the statement.

Questions 10 - 13

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

10. Besides stabilizing the temple's foundation, the moat also helped to control the level of …………………………..

Answer: groundwater

Supporting statement: "This moat is 13 feet deep (4 m) and would have helped stabilize the temple's foundation, preventing groundwater from rising too high or falling too low."

Keywords: stabilize, control, groundwater

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, Line 3-4

Explanation: The moat played a crucial role in regulating the groundwater levels to protect the temple's foundation.

11. The eight towers next to the western gateway are thought to have been used as ……… before Angkor Wat was completed.

Answer: shrines

Supporting statement: "These towers may be the remains of shrines that were in use before Angkor Wat was fully constructed."

Keywords: towers, western gateway, before completion

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, Line 6-7

Explanation: The text suggests that the towers were likely used as shrines before the full construction of Angkor Wat.

12. In order to help the workers to make the moat, …………….. was used.

Answer: laterite

Supporting statement: "To support them, a tough material called laterite was used, which in turn was encased with softer sandstone that was used for carving the reliefs."

Keywords: help workers, moat, material

Keyword Location: Paragraph G, Line 4-5

Explanation: The passage confirms that laterite was used as a supportive material during the construction process, including the moat.

13. Scientists still doubt whether the Suryavarman Il's ……………… were buried in the temple.

Answer: ashes

Supporting statement: "Researchers still wonder whether the ashes of Suryavarman II were interred in the monument, perhaps in the same chamber where the deposits were found."

Keywords: scientists, doubt, buried, Suryavarman II

Keyword Location: Paragraph I, Line 2-3

Explanation: The text states that researchers are uncertain if Suryavarman II’s ashes were buried in Angkor Wat.

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