How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers

Dec 19, 2022

How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers is a topic discussing about the colonies of Australia that are facing poverty and getting convicted of crimes. This IELTS topic has been taken from the book called “A Book for IELTS(Academic Module)”. There are 14 questions in total in the topic named How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers, which should be answered within the time span of 20 minutes by the candidates. Three types of questions are included in this topic, that is, multiple choice questions, match the speaker, and fill in the summary. The candidates should read thoroughly the IELTS reading passage in order to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords and for answering the questions below. Similar kinds of topics like How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers are included in the IELTS reading practice papers, which the candidates can take into their consideration for performing a good score in this section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Question

How Did Writing Begin Reading Answers

The Sumerians, an ancient people of the Middle East, had a story explaining the invention of writing more than 5,000 years ago. It seems a messenger of the King of Uruk arrived at the court of a distant ruler so exhausted that he was unable to deliver the oral message. So the king set down the words of his next messages on a clay tablet. A charming story, whose retelling at a recent symposium at the University of Pennsylvania amused scholars. They smiled at the absurdity of a letter which the recipient would not have been able to read. They also doubted that the earliest writing was a direct rendering of speech. Writing more likely began as a separate, symbolic system of communication and only later merged with spoken language.
Yet in the story the Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia, in what is now southern Iraq, seemed to understand writing's transforming function. As Dr Holly Pittman, director of the University's Center for Ancient Studies, observed, writing *arose out of the need to store and transmit information ... over time and space'.
In exchanging interpretations and information, the scholars acknowledged that they still had no fully satisfying answers to the questions of how and why writing developed. Many favored an explanation of writing's origins in the visual arts, pictures becoming increasingly abstract and eventually representing spoken words. Their views clashed with a widely held theory among archaeologists that writing developed from the pieces of clay that Sumerian accountants used as tokens to keep track of goods.
Archaeologists generally concede that they have no definitive answer to the question of whether writing was invented only once, or arose independently in several places, such as Egypt, the Indus Valley, China, Mexico And Central America. The preponderance of archaeological data shows that the urbanizing Sumerians were the first to develop writing, in 3,200 or 3,300 BC. These are the dates for many clay tablets in an early form of cuneiform, a script written by pressing the end of a sharpened stick into wet clay, found at the site of the ancient city of Uruk. The baked clay tablets bore such images as pictorial symbols of the names of people, places and things connected with government and commerce. The Sumerian script gradually evolved from the pictorial to the abstract, but did not at first represent recorded spoken language.
Dr Peter Damerow, a specialist in Sumerian cuneiform at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, said, 'It is likely that there were mutual influences of writing systems around the world. However, their great variety now shows that the development of writing, once initiated, attains a considerable degree of independence and flexibility to adapt to specific characteristics of the sounds of the language to be represented. Not that he accepts the conventional view that writing started as a representation of words by pictures. New studies of early Sumerian writing, he said, challenge this interpretation. The structures of this earliest writing did not, for example, match the structure of spoken language, dealing mainly in lists and categories rather than in sentences and narrative.
For at least two decades, Dr Denise Schmandt-Besserat, a University of Texas archaeologist, has argued that the first writing grew directly out of a system practiced by Sumerian accountants. They used clay tokens, each one shaped to represent a jar of oil, a container of grain or a particular kind of livestock. These tokens were sealed inside clay spheres, and then the number and type of tokens inside was recorded on the outside using impressions resembling the tokens. Eventually, the token impressions were replaced with inscribed signs, and writing had been invented.
Though Dr Schmandt-Besserat has won much support, some linguists question her thesis, and others, like Dr Pittman, think it too narrow. They emphasize that pictorial representation and writing evolved together. There's no question that the token system is a forerunner of writing,' Dr Pittman said, "but I have an argument with her evidence for a link between tokens and signs, and she doesn't open up the process to include picture making
Dr Schmandt-Besserat vigorously defended her ideas. 'My colleagues say that pictures were the beginning of writing, ' she said, 'but show me a single plature that becomes a sign in writing. They say that designs on pottery were the beginning of writing, but show me a single sign of writing you can trace back to a pot . it doesn't exist.' In its first 500 years, she asserted, cuneiform writing was used almost solely for recording economic information, and after that its uses multiplied and broadened.
Yet other scholars have advanced different ideas. Dr Piotr Michalowski, Professor of Near East Civilizations at the University of Michigan, said that the proto-writing of Sumerian Uruk was 'So radically different as to be a complete break with the past'. It no doubt served, he said, to store and communicate information, but also became a new instrument of power. Some scholars noted that the origins of writing may not always have been in economics. In Egypt, most early writing is high on monuments or deep in tombs. In this case, said Dr Pascal Vernus from a university in Paris, early writing was less administrative than sacred. It seems that the only certainty in this field is that many questions remain to be answered.

Section 2

Question 27 to 30:
The candidates are given four options for each question from A to D. You have to choose from the given options and write the answer in a given box from 27 to 30.

Q27. The researchers at the symposium regarded the story of the King of Uruk as ridiculous because

writing probably developed independently of speech
clay tablets had not been invented at that time
the distant ruler would have spoken another language
evidence of writing has been discovered from an earlier period

Answer: A-writing probably developed independently of speech
Supporting Sentence: Writing more likely began as a separate, symbolic system of communication and only later merged with spoken language.
Keywords: Writing, began as a separate, communication, later merged with spoken language
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, lines 7-8
Explanation: The seventh and eighth lines of paragraph 1 states that it seems more likely that writing developed independently as a symbolic form of communication before assimilating into spoken language.

Q28. According to the writer, the story of the King of Uruk

is a probable explanation of the origins of writing
proves that early writing had a different function to writing today
provides an example of symbolic writing
shows some awareness amongst Sumerians of the purpose of writing

Answer: D-shows some awareness amongst Sumerians of the purpose of writing
Supporting Sentence: Yet in the story, the Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia, in what is now southern Iraq, seemed to understand writing’s transforming function.
Keywords: Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia, now southern Iraq, understand writing’s transforming function
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 1-2
Explanation: Lines 1-2 of paragraph 2 states that the Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia in what is now southern Iraq, appeared to comprehend writing's transformative purpose in the King of Uruk narrative.

Q29. There was disagreement among the researchers at the symposium about

the area where writing began
the nature of early writing materials
the way writing began
the meaning of certain abstract images

Answer: C-the way writing began
Supporting Sentence: The scholars acknowledged that they still had no fully satisfying answers to the questions of how and why writing developed.
Keywords: scholars acknowledged, no, answers, how, why writing developed
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, lines 1-2
Explanation: Line 1-2 of paragraph 3 implies that the academics admitted that they were still in need of more complete explanations for how and why writing evolved.

Q30. The opponents of the theory that writing developed from tokens believe that it

grew out of accountancy
evolved from pictures
was initially intended as decoration
was unlikely to have been connected with commerce

Answer: B-evolved from pictures
Supporting Sentence: ‘My colleagues say that pictures were the beginning of writing/ she said, ‘but show me a single picture that becomes a sign in writing.
Keywords: Schmandt-Besserat, defended, pictures, the beginning of writing, evolved from pictures
Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, lines 1-2
Explanation: The first two lines of paragraph 8 suggests that strongly defending her viewpoints, Dr. Schmandt-Besserat. Her coworkers claim that pictures were the origin of writing, but she pressed them to produce a single image that can be translated into writing.

Question 31 to 36:
The candidates are provided with a list of speakers from A to E and statements made by them. You need to match the speaker with the statement made by them. Write the answer in a box from 31 to 36.

List of people:

Dr. Holly Pittman
Dr. Peter Damerow
Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat
Dr. Piotr Michalowski
Dr. Pascal Vernus

Q31. There is no proof that early writing is connected to decorated household objects.

Answer: C- Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat
Supporting Sentence: They say that designs on pottery were the beginning of writing, but show me a single sign of writing you can trace back to a pot – it doesn’t exist.’
Keywords: designs, pottery, beginning, writing, show, a single sign of writing, trace, pot, doesn’t exist
Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, lines 3-4
Explanation: Lines 3-4 of paragraph 8 states that writing and decorative objects like pottery, according to Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat, have nothing in common. The third and fourth lines of paragraph 8 implies that

Q32. As writing developed, it came to represent speech.

Answer: B- Dr. Peter Damerow
Supporting Sentence: Their great variety now shows that the development of writing, once initiated, attains a considerable degree of independence and flexibility to adapt to specific characteristics of the sounds of the language to be represented.
Keywords: development, writing, attains, considerable, independence, flexibility, adapt, characteristics, sounds, language, represented
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, lines 3-5
Explanation: It seems possible that different writing systems around the world had reciprocal affects, according to Dr. Peter Damerow, a Sumerian cuneiform expert at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. Their wide variety currently demonstrates, however, that writing development, once started, achieves a significant degree of independence and flexibility to adapt to particular qualities of the sounds of the language to be expressed.

Q33. Sumerian writing developed into a means of political control.

Answer: D- Dr. Piotr Michalowski
Supporting Sentence: To store and communicate information, but also became a new instrument of power.
Keywords: but, became, a new instrument, power
Keyword Location: Paragraph 9, lines 3-4
Explanation: Dr Piotr Michalowski, the professor of Near East Civilizations at the University of Michigan claimed that recent investigations into early Sumerian writing call into question this interpretation. Because they primarily dealt in lists and categories rather than sentences and narrative, these early writings' forms did not, for instance, correspond to the structure of spoken language.

Q34. Early writing did not represent the grammatical features of speech.

Answer: B- Dr. Peter Damerow
Supporting Sentence: The structures of this earliest writing did not, for example, match the structure of spoken language, dealing mainly in lists and categories rather than in sentences and narrative.
Keywords: structures, earliest writing did not, match, structure, spoken language
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, lines 7-9
Explanation: The proto-writing of Sumerian Uruk was "So profoundly different as to be a complete break with the past," according to Dr. Piotr Michalowski, professor of Near East Civilizations at the University of Michigan. He claimed that while it undoubtedly functioned to communicate and preserve information, it also evolved into a new tool of power.

Q35. There is no convincing proof that tokens and signs are connected.

Answer: A- Dr. Holly Pittman
Supporting Sentence: Dr. Pittman said, ‘but I have an argument with her evidence for a link between tokens and signs, and she doesn’t open up the process to include picture making.’
Keywords: Dr. Pittman, argument, evidence, the link between tokens, signs
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, lines 3-5
Explanation: However, Dr. Holly Pittman in lines 3-5 of paragraph 7 objected that she doesn't expand up the process to encompass picture production, and she have an argument with her proof for a link between tokens and signs.

Q36. The uses of cuneiform writing were narrow at first, and later widened.

Answer: C- Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat
Supporting Sentence: They used clay tokens, each one shaped to represent a jar of oil, a container of grain, or a particular kind of livestock. These tokens were sealed inside clay spheres, and then the number and type of tokens inside was recorded on the outside using impressions resembling the tokens.
Keywords: accountants, clay tokens, oil, of grain, particular, livestock, eventually, token, replaced, inscribed signs, writing, invented.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, lines 3-6
Explanation: According to Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat in lines 3-6 of paragraph 6, they utilised clay tokens that were individually shaped to symbolise a jar of oil, a grain container, or a specific type of cattle. These tokens were sealed within clay spheres, and impressions mimicking the tokens were used to record the quantity and type of tokens inside on the outside.

Question 37 to 40:
Below is given the summary of the passage with the title 'The earliest form of writing'. The candidate has to fill in the blanks in the summary by using the clue box. There are clues given from A to N, choose the appropriate word.

The earliest form of writing

Most archaeological evidence shows that the people of (37) ……………………… invented writing in around 3,300 BC. Their script was written on (38) ………………………… and was called (39) ………………………………..Their script originally showed images related to political power and business, and later developed to become more (40) ………………… .

Q37. Most archaeological evidence shows that the people of ……………………… invented writing in around 3,300 BC.

Answer: H- Mesopotamia
Supporting Sentence: Yet in the story the Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia, in what is now southern Iraq, seemed to understand writing's transforming function.
Keywords: The Sumerians, ancient people, Middle East, a story explaining, invention, writing, 5,000 years, lived in Mesopotamia
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 1-2
Explanation: The Sumerians who lived in Mesopotamia, were inventors of writings more than 5000 years ago. Lines 1-2 of paragraph 2 suggests that over 5,000 years ago, a myth about the origins of writing was held by the Sumerians, a prehistoric tribe from the Middle East. However, the Mesopotamian Sumerians who lived in the story.

Q38. Their script was written on …………………………

Answer: L- clay tablets
Supporting Sentence: These are the dates for many clay tablets in an early form of cuneiform, a script written by pressing the end of a sharpened stick into wet clay, found at the site of the ancient city of Uruk.
Keywords: cuneiform, script written by, sharpened stick, wet clay
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, lines 5-6
Explanation: Lines 5-6 of paragraph 4 explains that by pushing the end of a sharpened stick on clay tablets, the cuneiform characters, an early type of writing, were created.

Q39. and was called ………………………………..

Answer: A- cuneiform
Supporting Sentence: These are the dates for many clay tablets in an early form of cuneiform, a script written by pressing the end of a sharpened stick into wet clay, found at the site of the ancient city of Uruk.
Keywords: cuneiform, script written by, sharpened stick, wet clay
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, lines 5-6
Explanation: The paragraph 4 states an ancient kind of writing is the cuneiform scripts.

Q40. Their script originally showed images related to political power and business, and later developed to become more ………………… .

Answer: I- abstract
Supporting Sentence: The Sumerian script gradually evolved from the pictorial to the abstract but did not at first represent recorded spoken language.
Keywords: Sumerian script, evolved from pictorial, to abstract, recorded spoken language
Keyword Location: paragraph 4, lines 8-10
Explanation: Lines 8-10 of paragraph 4 describes that the Sumerian writing initially did not represent any documented spoken language, but it progressively transitioned from pictorial to abstract.

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