Eats, Shoots and Leaves Reading Answers

Feb 23, 2023

Eats, Shoots and Leaves Reading Answers is an IELTS academic reading topic that requires candidates to solve a given set of questions within 20 minutes. Eats, Shoots and Leaves Reading Answers has been referenced from the Cambridge IELTS 10 Student's Book with Answers and contains a total of 14 questions. The question types in this IELTS reading topic; Eats, Shoots and Leaves Reading Answers that candidates are required to solve are; matching statements, complete the summary and select the correct letters. To practice more such reading passage candidates can refer to the IELTS reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Eats, Shoots and Leaves Reading Answers

A Book Review

A. The title of Eats, Shoots and Leaves refers to a famously misplaced comma in a wildlife manual that ended up suggesting a panda rather violently “eats, shoots and leaves” instead of eating shoots and leaves. The author of this book, journalist Lynne Truss, is something akin to a militant linguist, dedicating this “zero tolerance” manifesto on grammar to the striking Bolshevik printers of St. Petersburg who, in demanding the same remuneration for punctuation as they received for letters, ended up setting in motion the first Russian Revolution.

B. Some of the books involve humorous attacks on erroneous punctuation. There is the confused Shakespearian thespian who inadvertently turns a frantic plea: “Go, get him surgeons!” into the cheerful encouragement of “Go get him, surgeons!” Street and shop signs have a ubiquitous presence. A bakery declares “FRESH DONUT’S SOLD HERE” and a florist curiously announces that “Pansy’s here!” (Is she?). The shameless title of a Hollywood film Two Weeks Notice is reeled in for criticism – “Would they similarly call it One Weeks Notice?’’, Truss enquires – and sometimes, as in the case of signs promoting “ANTIQUE’S” and “Potatoe’s” – one questions whether we are bearing witness to new depths of grammar ignorance, or a postmodern caricature of atrocious punctuation.

C. Eats, Shoots and Leaves is not just a piece of comedy and ridicule, however, and Truss has plenty to offer on the question of proper grammar usage. If you have ever wondered whether it is acceptable to simply use an “em dash” in place of a comma – the verdict from Truss is that you can. “The dash is less formal than the semicolon, which makes it more attractive,” she suggests. “It enhances conversational tone; and … it is capable of quite subtle effects.” The author concludes, with characteristic wry condescension, that the em dash’s popularity largely rests on people knowing it is almost impossible to use incorrectly. A truss is a personal champion of the semicolon, a historically contentious punctuation mark elsewhere maligned by novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr., as a “transvestite hermaphrodite representing absolutely nothing”. Coming to the semicolon’s defence. Truss suggests that while it can certainly be overused, she refers to the dying words of one 20th century writer: “I should have used fewer semicolons, the semicolon can perform the role of a kind of Special Policeman in the event of comma fights.”

D. Truss has come under criticism on two broad points. The first argument criticises the legitimacy of her authority as a punctuation autocrat. Louis Menand, writing in the New Yorker, details Eats, Shoots and Leaves’ numerous grammatical and punctuation sins: a comma-free non-restrictive clause; a superfluous ellipsis; a misplaced apostrophe; a misused parenthesis; two misused semicolons; an erroneous hyphen in the word “abuzz”, and so on. In fact, as Menand notes, half the semicolons in the Truss book are spuriously deployed because they stem from the author’s open flouting of the rule that semicolons must only connect two independent clauses. “Why would a person not just vague about the rules but disinclined to follow them bother to produce a guide to punctuation?” Menand inquires. Ultimately, he holds Truss accused of producing a book that pleases those who “just need to vent” and concludes that Eats, Shoots and Leaves is actually a tirade against the decline of language and print that disguises itself, thinly and poorly, as some kind of a style manual.

E. Linguist David Chrystal has criticised what he describes as a “linguistic purism” coursing through Truss’ book. Linguistic purism is the notion that one variety of language is somehow more-pure than others, with this sense of purity often based on an idealised historical point in the language’s development, but sometimes simply in reference to an abstract idea. In The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot and Left, Chrystal – a former colleague of Truss – condemns the no-holds-barred approach to punctuation and grammar. “Zero tolerance does not allow for flexibility,” he argues. “It is prescriptivism taken to extremes. It suggests that language is in a state where all the rules are established with 100 per cent certainty. The suggestion is false. We do not know what all the rules of punctuation are. And no rule of punctuation is followed by all of the people all of the time.”

F. Other detractors of Truss’ “prescriptivism” are careful to disassociate needless purism from robust and sensible criticism, an oppositional stance they call descriptivism. “Don’t ever imagine,” Geoffrey K. Pullum on the Language Log emphasises, “that I think all honest attempts at using English are just as good as any others. [ Bad writing needs to be fixed. But let’s make sure we fix the right things.” In other words, we do not require a dogmatic approach to clean up the misused language. Charles Gaulke concurs, noting that his opposition to “prescriptivism” does not require contending with the existence of standards themselves, but questioning whether our standards should determine what works, or whether what works should determine our standards.

G. Ultimately, it is unlikely the purists and pedagogues will ever make absolute peace with those who see language as a fluid, creative process within which everyone has a role to play. Both sides can learn to live in a sort of contentious harmony, however. Creativity typically involves extending, adapting and critiquing the status quo, and revising and reviving old traditions while constructing new ones. Rules must exist in order for this process to take place, if only for them to be broken. On the flip side, rules have an important role to play in guiding our language into forms that can be accessed by people across all manner of differences, so it is vital to acknowledge the extent to which they can be democratic, rather than merely autocratic in function. Nevertheless, all the regulations in the world cannot stem the natural spring of language, which bursts through rivets and snakes around the dams that linguistic authorities may try to put in place. We should celebrate rather than curse these inevitable tensions

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-6

Look at the following statements (Questions 1-6) and the list of people below.

Match each statement with the correct person A-E.

Write the correct letter A-E for questions 1-6.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

Mistakes should make correct on the basis of common sense.
No one has legitimacy as an ultimate authority on punctuation use.
Eats, Shoots and Leaves is not the type of book it claims to be.
The idea that some forms of language can be better than others is wrong.
The semicolon has no real purpose.
We can ask whether rules are helpful without undermining the need for rules.

List of people

Kurt Vonnegut Jr
Louis Menand
David Chrystal
Geoffrey K. Pullum
Charles Gaulke

(Guide: There are 6 questions that needs to be matched with the correct person listed from A to E)

Question: 1

Answer: D. Geoffrey K. Pullum
Supporting Sentences: “Don’t ever imagine,” Geoffrey K. Pullum on the Language Log emphasizes, “that I think all honest attempts at using English are just as good as any others. [ Bad writing needs to be fixed. But let’s make sure we fix the right things.” In other words, we do not require a dogmatic approach to clean up the misused language.
Keyword: fixed, fix
Keyword Location: (Para 9 Lines 2-4)
Explanation: Here, the sentence given in the questions has the same meaning as given in the above supporting sentence from the passage given. Specifically the line - “In other words, we do not require a dogmatic approach to clean up the misused language”, has the same meaning. “Misused language” refers to the “mistakes”.

Question: 2

Answer: C. David Chrystal
Supporting Sentences: “Zero tolerance does not allow for flexibility,” he argues. “This prescriptivism takes to extremes. It suggests that language is in a state where all the rules have established with 100 per cent certainty. The suggestion is false. We do not know what all the rules of punctuation are. And no rule of punctuation is followed by all of the people all of the time.”
Keyword: Punctuation
Keyword Location: (Part 8 Lines 2-4)
Explanation: The given sentence shows resemblance to the above sentences in the E part. Specifically, the lines - “We do not know what all the rules of punctuation are. And no rule of punctuation is followed by all of the people all of the time.” have the same meaning.

Question: 3

Answer: B. Louis Menand
Supporting Sentences : Ultimately, he holds Truss accused of producing a book that pleases those who “just need to vent” and concludes that Eats, Shoots and Leaves is actually a tirade against the decline of language and print that disguises itself, thinly and poorly, as some kind of a style manual.
Keyword: Eats, shoots, leaves
Keyword Location: (Para 6 Lines 3-5)
Explanation: Louis Menand concludes that Eats, Shoots and Leaves is actually a tirade against the decline of language and print that disguises itself in different ways which basically means Eats, Shoots and Leaves is not the type of book as it claims to be.

Question: 4

Answer: C. David Chrystal
Supporting Sentences: Linguist David Chrystal has criticised what he describes as a “linguistic purism” coursing through Truss’ book. Linguistic purism is the notion that one variety of language is somehow more pure than others.
Keyword: variety of language, more pure, than others
Keyword Location: (Part 7 Lines 1-2)
Explanation: As we can see David Chrystal criticizes “linguistic purism”, which has the same meaning as “the idea that some forms of language can be better than others is wrong.”

Question: 5

Answer: A. Kurt Vonnegut Jr
Supporting Sentences: A truss is a personal champion of the semicolon, a historically contentious punctuation mark elsewhere maligned by novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr., as a “transvestite hermaphrodite representing absolutely nothing.”
Keyword: the semicolon, absolutely nothing
Keyword Location: (Para 4 Lines 2-3)
Explanation: Kurt Vonnegut maligned the semicolon as a “transvestite hermaphrodite representing absolutely nothing” which concludes that he says that the semicolon has no real purpose.

Question: 6

Answer: E. Charles Gaulke
Supporting Sentences: Charles Gaulke concurs, noting that his opposition to “prescriptivism” does not require contending with the existence of standards themselves, but questioning whether our standards should determine what works, or whether what works should determine our standards.
Keyword: questioning whether
Keyword Location: (Part 9 Lines 4-6)
Explanation: The supporting sentence stated above clearly concludes the sentence given in the question.

Questions 7-11

Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers for questions 7-11 below.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves is a book on punctuation by journalist Lynne Truss, who could be described as a 7 ____________ She dedicates the book to the Bolshevik printers who started the 8 ____________ by protesting for better pay conditions. The book is partly a humorous criticism of incorrect punctuation. Some of the examples are so bad it is possible that they are actually a 9 ____________ Truss also guides the reader on correct punctuation usage. She likes the em dash because it is not as 10 ____________ as the semicolon, for example, but remains a 11 ____________ of the latter due to its ability to discipline areas of text that are crowded with commas.

(Guide: Candidates need to select up to three words from the passage to fill up the blank)

Question: 7

Answer: Militant Linguist
Supporting Sentences: The author of this book, journalist Lynne Truss, is something akin to a militant linguist, dedicating this “zero tolerance” manifesto on grammar to the striking Bolshevik printers of St. Petersburg
Keyword: this book, journalist Lynn Truss
Keyword Location: Para 1, lines 3 - 6
Explanation: As we can see the line - “The author of this book, journalist Lynne Truss, is something akin to a militant linguist” in Part A which concludes that she is a militant linguist.

Question 8

Answer: First Russian Revolution
Supporting Sentences:The author of this book, journalist Lynne Truss, is something akin to a militant linguist, dedicating this “zero tolerance” manifesto on grammar to the striking Bolshevik printers of St. Petersburg who, in demanding the same remuneration for punctuation as they received for letters, ended up setting in motion the first Russian Revolution.
Keyword: Lynn Truss, dedicating, Bolshevik Printers
Keyword Location: Para 1, lines 3 - 7
Explanation: “The author of this book, journalist Lynne Truss, is something akin to a militant linguist, dedicating this “zero tolerance” manifesto on grammar to the striking Bolshevik printers of St. Petersburg who, in demanding the same remuneration for punctuation as they received for letters, ended up setting in motion the first Russian Revolution.” This line from the first paragraph of the passage concludes that she dedicated her work to the Bolshevik printers who started the first Russian revolution.

Question: 9

Answer: Postmodern Caricature
Supporting Sentences: The shameless title of a Hollywood film Two Weeks Notice is reeled in for criticism – “Would they similarly call it One Weeks Notice?’’, Truss enquires – and sometimes, as in the case of signs promoting “ANTIQUE’S” and “Potatoe’s” – one questions whether we are bearing witness to new depths of grammar ignorance, or a postmodern caricature of atrocious punctuation.
Keyword: postmodern
Keyword Location: Para 2, lines 5 - 9
Explanation: The lines from second paragraph - “Some of the books involve humorous attacks on erroneous punctuation.” and “The shameless title of a Hollywood film Two Weeks Notice is reeled in for criticism – “Would they similarly call it One Weeks Notice?’’, Truss enquires – and sometimes, as in the case of signs promoting “ANTIQUE’S” and “Potatoes” – one questions whether we are bearing witness to new depths of grammar ignorance, or a postmodern caricature of atrocious punctuation.” clearly conclude the used word for the blank space.

Question: 10

Answer: Formal
Supporting Sentences: If you have ever wondered whether it is acceptable to simply use an “em dash”1 in place of a comma – the verdict from Truss is that you can. “The dash is less formal than the semicolon, which makes it more attractive,” she suggests.
Keyword: Truss, dash, less, than
Keyword Location: Para 3, lines 2 - 4
Explanation: “The dash is less formal than the semicolon, which makes it more attractive.” This sentence from the third paragraph concludes that she likes the em dash because it is not as formal as the semicolon.

Question :11

Answer: Personal Champion
Supporting Sentences: Truss is a personal champion of the semicolon, a historically contentious punctuation mark elsewhere maligned by novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr., as a “transvestite hermaphrodite representing absolutely nothing”.
Keyword: personal champion
Keyword Location: Para 3, 8 - 11
Explanation: The author concludes, with characteristic wry condescension, that the em dash’s popularity largely rests on people knowing it is almost impossible to use incorrectly. A truss is a personal champion of the semicolon, a historically contentious punctuation mark.

Question 12-14

Choose THREE letters, A—G.

Write the correct letters as the answer.

Which THREE of the following statements form part of the author’s conclusion?

Rules prevent the creation of new things.
A centralised point of control can effectively guide the flow of language.
Both the descriptivists and prescriptivists have important roles to play in language evolution.
Disputes over matters of language rules need not be condemned.
Prescriptivists and descriptivists are both wrong.
Rules help everyone use language and do not merely prescribe usage.
An essential part of creativity is the rejection of that which has come before.

Answer: B, D and F
Supporting Sentences :
Para 10 - Ultimately, it is unlikely the purists and pedagogues will ever make absolute peace with those who see language as a fluid, creative process within which everyone has a role to play. Both sides can learn to live in a sort of contentious harmony, however.
Para 11 - Rules must exist in order for this process to take place, if only for them to be broken. On the flip side, rules have an important role to play in guiding our language into forms that can be accessed by people across all manner of differences, so it is vital to acknowledge the extent to which they can be democratic, rather than merely autocratic in function. Nevertheless, all the regulations in the world cannot stem the natural spring of language, which bursts through rivets and snakes around the dams that linguistic authorities may try to put in place. We should celebrate rather than curse these inevitable tensions.
Explanation : The first 2 lines of paragraph 10 conclude that to effectively guide the flow of a language, a centralised control point is necessary.
Paragraph 11 concludes the points D and F.

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