Computer Provides More Questions Than Answers Reading Answers

Dec 1, 2022

Computer Provides More Questions Than Answers Reading Answers contain 13 questions that have to be answered in 20 minutes. Computer Provides More Questions Than Answers Reading Answers comprises three types of questions: Matching paragraphs, no more than two words and match the correct options. For matching paragraphs, candidates need to thoroughly go through the passage thoroughly. To fill the blanks with no more than two words, candidates need to skim the passage for keywords and understand the concept. To choose the correct option, candidates must read the IELTS passage and understand the statement provided.

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Reading Passage Questions

lies 18 miles north of Crete, where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean. Currents there can make shipping treacherous ~ and one ship bound for ancient Rome never made it. The ship that sank there was a giant cargo vessel measuring nearly 500 feet long. It came to rest about 200 feet below the surface, where it stayed for more than 2,000 years until divers looking for sponges discovered the wreck a little more than a century ago.
Inside the hull were a number of bronze and marble statues. From the look of things, the ship seemed to be carrying luxury items, probably made in various Greek islands and bound for wealthy patrons in the growing Roman Empire. The statues were retrieved, along with a lot of other unimportant stuff, and stored. Nine months later, an enterprising archaeologist cleared off a layer of organic material from one of the pieces of junk and found that it looked like a gearwheel. It had inscriptions in Greek characters and seemed to have something to do with astronomy.
That piece of “junk” went on to become the most celebrated find from the shipwreck; it is displayed at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Research has shown that the wheel was part of a device so sophisticated that its complexity would not be matched for a thousand years—it was also the world’s first known analog computer. The device is so famous that an international conference organized in Athens a couple of weeks ago had only one subject: the Antikythera Mechanism.
Every discovery about the device has raised new questions. Who built the device, and for what purpose? Why did the technology behind it disappear for the next thousand years? What does the device tell us about ancient Greek culture? And does the marvelous construction, and the precise knowledge of the movement of the sun and moon and Earth that it implies, tell us how the ancients grappled with ideas about determinism and human destiny?
“We have gear trains from the 9th century in Baghdad used for simpler displays of the solar and lunar motions relative to one another ~ they use eight gears,” said Francois Charette, a historian of science in Germany who wrote an editorial accompanying a new study of the mechanism two weeks ago in the journal Nature. “In this case, we have more than 30 gears. To see it on a computer animation makes it mind-boggling. There is no doubt it was a technological masterpiece.”
The device was probably built between 100 and 140 BC, and the understanding of astronomy it displays seems to have been based on knowledge developed by the Babylonians around 300-700 BC, said Mike Edmunds, a professor of astrophysics at Cardiff University in Britain. He led a research team that reconstructed what the gear mechanism would have looked like by using advanced three-dimensional-imaging technology. The group also decoded a number of the inscriptions. The mechanism explores the relationship between lunar months—the time it takes for the moon to cycle through its phases, say, full moon to full moon— and calendar years. The gears had to be cut precisely to reflect this complex relationship; 19 calendar years equal 235 lunar months.
By turning the gear mechanism, which included what Edmunds called a beautiful system of epicyclic gears that factored in the elliptical orbit of the moon, a person could check what the sky would have looked like on a date in the past, or how it would appear in the future. The mechanism was encased in a box with doors in front and back covered with inscriptions—a sort of instruction manual. Inside the front door were pointers indicating the date and the position of the sun, moon and zodiac, while opening the back door revealed the relationship between calendar years and lunar months, and a mechanism to predict eclipses.
“If they needed to know when eclipses would occur, and this related to the rising and setting of stars and related them to dates and religious experiences, the mechanism would directly help,” said Yanis Bitsakis, a physicist at the University of Athens who co-wrote the Nature paper. “It is a mechanical computer. You turn the handle and you have a date on the front.” Building it would have been expensive and required the interaction of astronomers, engineers, intellectuals and craftspeople. Charette said the device overturned conventional ideas that the ancient Greeks were primarily ivory tower thinkers who did not deign to muddy their hands with technical stuff. It is a reminder, he said, that while the study of history often focuses on written texts, they can tell us only a fraction of what went on at a particular time.
Imagine a future historian encountering philosophy texts written in our time— and an aircraft engine. The books would tell that researcher what a few scholars were thinking today, but the engine would give them a far better window into how technology influenced our everyday lives. Charette said it was unlikely that the device was used by practitioners of astrology, then still in its infancy. More likely, he said, it was bound for a mantelpiece in some rich Roman’s home. Given that astronomers of the time already knew how to calculate the positions of the sun and the moon and to predict eclipses without the device, it would have been the equivalent of a device built for a planetarium today ~ something to spur popular interest, or at least claim bragging rights.
Why was the technology that went into the device lost? “The time this was built, the jackboot of Rome was coming through,” Edmunds said. “The Romans were good at town planning and sanitation but were not known for their interest in science.” The fact that the device was so complex, and that it was being shipped with a quantity of other luxury items, tells Edmunds that it is very unlikely to have been the only one ever made. Its sophistication “is such that it can’t have been the only one,” Edmunds said. “There must have been a tradition of making them. We’re always hopeful a better one will surface.“ Indeed, he said, he hopes that his study and the renewed interest in the Antikythera Mechanism will prompt second looks by both amateurs and professionals around the world. “The archaeological world may look in their cupboards and maybe say, ’That isn’t a bit of rusty old metal in the cupboard.’”

Solution with Explanation

Question 1-5:
Match the Paragraph with the questions provided.

The content inside the wrecked ship

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: The ship appeared to be transporting luxury goods, most likely created on several Greek islands and intended for affluent Roman Empire clients.
Keywords: Greek islands, Roman Empire clients, luxury goods
Keyword Location: Paragraph B
Explanation: The sculptures were recovered and stowed, along with a few other insignificant artefacts. Nine months later, an intrepid archaeologist removed a layer of organic material from one of the trash and found what looked to be a gearwheel. It looked to be about astronomy and was written in Greek letters.

Ancient astronomers and craftsman might involve

Answer: H
Supporting Sentence: It would have been costly to construct and would have necessitated the collaboration of astronomers, engineers, thinkers, and craftspeople.
Keywords: astronomers, craftspeople
Keyword Location: lines 3-4, Paragraph H
Explanation: The creation refuted the common misconception that the ancient Greeks were mostly ivory tower thinkers who shunned practical work.

The location of the Antikythera Mechanism

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: The Antikythera Mechanism is so well-known that an international conference held in Athens a few weeks ago focused solely on it.
Keywords: Antikythera Mechanism, international conference, Athens
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line 5 -6
Explanation: That piece of junk eventually rose to fame and is currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Details of how it was found

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: The Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean 18 miles north of Crete on the island of Antikythera.
Keywords: Aegean Sea, Antikythera
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, lines 1- 2
Explanation: At the confluence of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, 18 miles north of Crete, is the Greek island of Antikythera.

Appearance and structure of the mechanism

Answer: G
Supporting Sentence: A person could verify what the sky would have looked like on a specific date in the past, or how it would appear in the future, by turning the gear mechanism, which contained what Edmunds called a beautiful system of epicyclic gears that factored in the elliptical orbit of the moon.
Keywords: gear mechanism, appear
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, Lines 3-4
Explanation: paragraph G, lines 3–4 The gadget was kept in a box with writing on the front and back doors that served as a sort of user guide.

Question 6-9:
Answer the questions with No More than TWO Words for each.

An ancient huge sunk _______ was found accidentally by sponges searcher

Answer: cargo vessel
Supporting Sentence: The ship that sank was a massive cargo ship that was nearly 500 feet long.
Keywords: sank, cargo ship
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, lines 3-4
Explanation: It is stated in lines 3–4 of paragraph A that a large cargo ship, almost 500 feet in length, sunk there.

The ship loaded with

Answer: luxury items
Supporting Sentence: A number of bronze and marble statues were found inside the hull. The ship appeared to be carrying luxury items, most likely made on various Greek islands and bound for wealthy Roman Empire patrons.
Keywords: bronze, marble statues
Keyword Location: paragraph B, line 2
Explanation: The ship looked to be carrying expensive products created on several Greek islands and bound for affluent Roman Empire customers, according to paragraph B line 2.

However, an archaeologist found a junk similar to a

Answer: gearwheel
Supporting Sentence: When archaeologists removed a layer of organic material from one of the junk, they discovered what appeared to be a gearwheel. It was inscribed in Greek characters and appeared to be related to astronomy.
Keywords: archaeologists, Greek characters
Keyword Location: Paragraph B , lines 5-7
Explanation: Lines 5-7 of paragraph B state that archaeologists scraped a layer of organic material from one of the debris that looked to be a gearwheel.

This inspiring and elaborated device was found to be the first

Answer: analogue computer
Supporting Sentence: According to research, the wheel was part of a device so complex that it would take a thousand years to match it in complexity — it was also the world's first known analogue computer.
Keywords: analogue computer, device
Keyword Location: paragraph C , lines 3-4
Explanation:The wheel was discovered to be a component of a mechanism whose intricacy would take a millennium to equal. According to studies, it was also the first analogue computer ever made.

Questions 10-13:
Choose the correct answer

More complicated than the previous device

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: We have more than 30 gears in this case. It is mind-boggling to see it as a computer animation. It was, without a doubt, a technological marvel.
Keywords: computer animation
Keyword Location: paragraph E, lines 5-7
Explanation: When you consider it as a computer animation, it is astounding. Without a question, it was an engineering masterpiece.

Anticipate to find more Antikythera Mechanism in the future

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Edmunds hopes that his research and the renewed interest in the Antikythera Mechanism will prompt amateurs and professionals around the world to take another look.
Keywords: Edmunds, Antikythera Mechanism
Keyword Location: Paragraph J, lines 5- 8
Explanation:Edmunds stated his confidence that his investigation into the Antikythera Mechanism and his rekindled interest in it will be successful.

Antikythera Mechanism was found related to the moon

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: A person could check what the sky would have looked like on a specific date in the past, or how it would appear in the future, by turning the gear mechanism, which included what Edmunds called a beautiful system of epicyclic gears that factored in the elliptical orbit of the moon.
Keywords: elliptical orbit, moon
Keyword Location: paragraph G
Explanation: Edmunds' beautiful system of epicyclic gears that factored in the elliptical orbit of the moon.

Mechanism assisted ancient people to calculate the movement of stars.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: The mechanism would directly assist if they needed to know when eclipses would occur, and this was related to the rising and setting of stars and related to dates and religious experiences, said Yanis Bitsakis.
Keywords: setting of stars,Yanis Bitsakis
Keyword Location: paragraph H, line 1-3
Explanation: The mechanism would directly assist if they needed to know when eclipses would occur. This was related to the rising and setting of stars and related to dates and religious experiences, as Yanis Bitsakis explained.

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