The Development of Museums IELTS Reading
The Development of Museums IELTS Reading is taken from IELTS Academic Reading Cambridge 9 Test 4, Reading Passage 3. The Development of Museums IELTS Reading discusses how for scholars and historians, the museums played an important role from the very beginning but ordinary people consider museums to be overrated, and how the mindset of people is gradually changing for the better.
Check:
Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
IELTS reading sample questions and answers on the Development of Museums contains three types of questions:
- Matching the Headings
- Multiple choice questions
- True/False/Not given
To ensure a high score in reading, candidates need to practice from IELTS reading practice papers.
Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
The Development of Museums IELTS Reading
- The conviction that historical relics provide infallible testimony about the past is rooted in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, when science was regarded as objective and value free. As one writer observes: 'Although it is now evident that artefacts are as easily altered as chronicles, public faith in their veracity endures: a tangible relic seems ipso facto real.' Such conviction was, until recently, reflected in museum displays. Museums used to look - and some still do - much like storage rooms of objects packed together in showcases: good for scholars who wanted to study the subtle differences in design, but not for the ordinary visitor, to whom it all looked alike. Similarly, the information accompanying the objects often made little sense to the lay visitor. The content and format of explanations dated back to a time when the museum was the exclusive domain of the scientific researcher.
- Recently, however, attitudes towards history and the way it should be presented have altered. The key word in heritage display is now 'experience', the more exciting the better and, if possible, involving all the senses. Good examples of this approach in the UK are the Jorvik Centre in York; the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford; and the Imperial War Museum in London. In the US the trend emerged much earlier: Williamsburg has been a prototype for many heritage developments in other parts of the world. No one can predict where the process will end. On so-called heritage sites the re-enactment of historical events is increasingly popular, and computers will soon provide virtual reality experiences, which will present visitors with a vivid image of the period of their choice, in which they themselves can act as if part of the historical environment. Such developments have been criticized as an intolerable vulgarization, but the success of many historical theme parks and similar locations suggests that the majority of the public does not share this opinion.
- In a related development, the sharp distinction between museum and heritage sites on the one hand, and theme parks on the other, is gradually evaporating. They already borrow ideas and concepts from one another. For example, museums have adopted story lines for exhibitions, sites have accepted theming as a relevant tool, and theme parks are moving towards more authenticity and research-based presentations. In zoos, animals are no longer kept in cages, but in great spaces, either in the open air or in enormous greenhouses, such as the jungle and desert environments in Burgers Zoo in Holland. This particular trend is regarded as one of the major developments in the presentation of natural history in the twentieth century.
- Theme parks are undergoing other changes, too, as they try to present more serious social and cultural issues, and move away from fantasy. This development is a response to market forces and, although museums and heritage sites have a special, rather distinct, role to fulfill they are also operating in a very competitive environment, where visitors make choices on how and where to spend their free time. Heritage and museum experts do not have to invent stories and recreate historical environments to attract their visitors: their assets are already in place. However, exhibits must be both based on artifacts and facts as we know them, and attractively presented. Those who are professionally engaged in the art of interpreting history are thus in a difficult position, as they must steer a narrow course between the demands of 'evidence and 'attractiveness', especially given the increasing need in the heritage industry for income-generating activities.
- It could be claimed that in order to make everything in heritage more 'real', historical accuracy must be increasingly altered. For example, Pithecanthropus erectus is depicted in an Indonesian museum with Malay facial features, because this corresponds to public perceptions. Similarly, in the Museum of Natural History in Washington, Neanderthal man is shown making a dominant gesture to his wife. Such presentations tell us more about contemporary perceptions of the world than about our ancestors. There is one compensation, however, for the professionals who make these interpretations: if they did not provide the interpretation, visitors would do it for themselves, based on their own ideas, misconceptions and prejudices. And no matter how exciting the result, it would contain a lot more bias than the presentations provided by experts.
- Human bias is inevitable, but another source of bias in the representation of history has to do with the transitory nature of the materials themselves. The simple fact is that not everything from history survives the historical process. Castles, palaces and cathedrals have a longer lifespan than the dwellings of ordinary people. The same applies to the furnishings and other contents of the premises. In a town like Leyden in Holland, which in the seventeenth century was occupied by approximately the same number of inhabitants as today, people lived within the walled town, an area more than five times smaller than modern Leyden. In most of the houses several families lived together in circumstances beyond our imagination. Yet in museums, fine period rods give only an image of the lifestyle of the upper class of that era. No wonder that people who stroll around exhibitions are filled with nostalgia; the evidence in museums indicates that life was so much better in the past. This notion is induced by the bias in its representation in museums and heritage centres.
Section 2
Solution and Explanation
Questions 1- 4
Reading Passage has six paragraphs, 1-6
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs 2-4 from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-vii, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
- Paragraph 2
- Paragraph 3
- Paragraph 4
- Paragraph 5
| Example | Answer |
| Paragraph 1 | v |
List of Headings
- Commercial pressures on people in charge
- Mixed views on current changes to museums
- Interpreting the facts to meet visitor expectations
- The international dimension
- Collections of factual evidence
- Fewer differences between public attractions
- Current reviews and suggestions
(Guide: In this type of IELTS Reading question you need to match the headings with appropriate paragraphs. For this, you need to understand the content of the paragraphs and the difference between the main and supporting ideas.
Tip: The answers are scattered inside the passage. Read the headings and the answer numbers carefully. There are usually more headings than required. )
Answer 1 : ii
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, last line
Supporting Sentence: Such developments have been criticised as an intolerable vulgarisation, but the success of many historical theme parks and similar locations suggests that the majority of the public does not share this opinion.
Explanation: As we know that many of the historical theme parks and such other similar locations have been successful due to various reasons and so are the views of the visitors for the same location.
As it is mentioned in the 2nd paragraph that such developments have been criticized and are considered to be intolerable vulgarizations.
Read More IELTS Reading Related Samples
Answer 2 : vi
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, 1st and 2nd Lines.
Supporting Sentence: In a related development, the sharp distinction between museum and heritage sites on the one hand, and theme parks on the other, is gradually evaporating.
Explanation: The heading is selected for paragraph 3 because in the starting of the paragraph we learn about the difference between the heritage sites, museums and the theme parks is vaporizing. This is shown by an example of museums bagging a styled tagline for attracting the visitors in the given paragraph.
Answer 3 : i
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, 2nd Line.
Supporting Sentence: they are also operating in a very competitive environment, where visitors make choices on how and where to spend their free time
Explanation: The heading relates well with the paragraph as in the paragraph we learn about the theme parks being very cautious about selecting and opting for the theme and which can be more economical price rate because of the more number of theme parks evolving in and around the locations. The people who are in charge of the locations have to attract people in all possible ways whereas for the heritage sites and the museums, the people in charge need not recreate the historical scenes to attract people.
Answer 4 : iii
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, 1st and 2nd Lines.
Supporting Sentence: It could be claimed that in order to make everything in heritage more ‘real’, historical accuracy must be increasingly altered. For example, Pithecanthropus erectus is depicted in an Indonesian museum with Malay facial features, because this corresponds to public perceptions.
Explanation: The heading for the paragraph has been selected as we learn how the facts are altered in various ways to meet the expectations of the visitors. There are two examples given in the paragraph which tell about how certain small but very precious matters in making the perceptions of the visitors come true.
Also check IELTS Reading Topics
Questions 5-10
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.
- Compared with today's museums, those of the past
- did not present history in a detailed way.
- were not primarily intended for the public.
- were more clearly organized.
- preserved items with greater care.
- According to the writer, current trends in the heritage industry
- emphasize personal involvement.
- have their origins in York and London.
- rely on computer images.
- reflect minority tastes.
- The writer says that museums, heritage sites and theme parks
- often work in close partnership
- try to preserve separate identities.
- have similar exhibits.
- are less easy to distinguish than before
- The writer says that in preparing exhibits for museums, experts
- should pursue a single objective.
- have to do a certain amount of language translation.
- should be free from commercial constraints.
- have to balance conflicting priorities.
- In paragraph 5, the writer suggests that some museum exhibits
- fail to match visitor expectations.
- are based on the false assumptions of professionals.
- reveal more about present beliefs than about the past.
- allow visitors to make more use of their imagination.
- The passage ends by noting that our view of history is biased because
- we fail to use our imagination.
- only very durable objects remain from the past
- we tend to ignore things that displease us.
- museum exhibits focus too much on the local area,
(Guide: To answer the multiple choice question of IELTS reading you need to understand the text well and pick out necessary information. Answers you need to write are usually letters such as A, B, C, or D.
Tip: After locating the necessary details, use paraphrasing to relate the information and the answer options. You will find the answers in order in the passage.)
Answer 5 : B
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, 3rd Line.
Supporting Sentence: Museums used to look – and some still do – much like storage rooms of objects packed together in showcases: good for scholars who wanted to study the subtle differences in design, but not for the ordinary visitor, to whom it all looked alike.
Explanation: This is because most of them primarily used to look more of a kind of storage rooms where the objects are preserved and were meant for the students who are more curious or are a student of History and not for the ordinary visitors. This has been mentioned in the paragraph above.
Answer 6 : A
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, 1st Line.
Supporting Sentence: The key word in heritage display is now ‘experience’, the more exciting the better and, if possible, involving all the senses
Explanation: This is because most museums nowadays focus on how to increase the experience of the visitors and how to meet their expectations of the same. They follow the way, “More exciting, more better.”
Answer 7 : A
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, 1st and 2nd Lines.
Supporting Sentence: they already borrow ideas and concepts from one another.
Explanation: As mentioned in the paragraph above, there is really very less difference left between the heritage sites and the theme parks as they borrow each other’s ideas for attracting visitors and increasing the experience of the visitors.
Answer 8 : D
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, 4th Line.
Supporting Sentence: Those who are professionally engaged in the art of interpreting history are thus in a difficult position, as they must steer a narrow course between the demands of ‘evidence’ and ‘attractiveness’,
Explanation: This is because, as mentioned in the paragraph above, it is stated that those who are indulged in interpreting the history will be in the evidences as well as the attractiveness for the visitors that might be up to the mark of visitors’ expectations as well difficult position as they have to work collectively.
Answer 9 : C
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5.
Supporting Sentence: Such presentations tell us more about contemporary perceptions of the world than about our ancestors
Explanation: The writer tries to convey that if the visitors do not understand certain things being visualized to them, they start interpreting the things on their own misconceptions.
Answer 10 : B
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, 1st and 2nd Lines.
Supporting Sentence: Human bias is inevitable, but another source of bias in the representation of history has to do with the transitory nature of the materials themselves. The simple fact is that not everything from history survives the historical process.
Explanation: The writer has explained in the concluding paragraph that only certain things from the past have survived and are still surviving. He has also stated how biased people are in showcasing the upper class of the lives of that era and not all the things that have survived the historical process.
Also check IELTS Reading Syllabus
Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
Questions 11-14
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 11-14 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
- Consumers prefer theme parks which avoid serious issues.
- More people visit museums than theme parks.
- The boundaries of Leyden have changed little since the seventeenth century.
- Museums can give a false impression of how life used to be
(Guide: To answer the true or false IELTS reading type questions, you need to read the passage and identify specific information. You need to understand the opinion of the author, and understand the given information.
Tip: Use paraphrasing of the given information and the answer options. If you find a supporting sentence, the answer is TRUE; if you find an opposing sentence, the answer is FALSE; and if there is no relevant information, the answer is NOT GIVEN. The answers usually come in order. )
Answer 11 : FALSE
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, 1st Line.
Supporting Sentence: Theme parks are undergoing other changes, too, as they try to present more serious social and cultural issues, and move away from fantasy.
Explanation: The writer has stated in the paragraph that how the theme parks are undergoing various changes to represent more of the social and the cultural issues and also how they move away from fantasy for the better cause.
Answer 12 : NOT GIVEN
Answer 13 : FALSE
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, 5th Line.
Supporting Sentence: In a town like Leyden in Holland, which in the seventeenth century was occupied by approximately the same number of inhabitants as today, people lived within the walled town, an area more than five times smaller than modern Leyden
Explanation: In the seventeenth century, Leyden in Holland was occupied by the same number of inhabitants as of today but were confined in the walled area of those days which was approximately 5 times lesser than that of the present day’s Leyden. This does not mean that the boundaries for Leyden have changed, the walled town has been evacuated and people have occupied the real area of Leyden available to them.
Answer 14 : TRUE
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, 1st Line.
Supporting Sentence: It could be claimed that in order to make everything in heritage more ‘real’, historical accuracy must be increasingly altered
Explanation: As mentioned in the paragraph, the people incharge of the heritage sites and the museums do various changes to attract the visitors and increase the experience as they are inclined towards the monetary / commercial side as well. This has been explained by the writer in the paragraph by stating, in order to make it look more real, the historical accuracy must be altered.
Comments