Mau Piailug, Ocean Navigator Reading Answers

Dec 1, 2022

Mau Piailug, Ocean Navigator Reading Answers comprises of 7 questions which the candidates requires to attempt within 20 minutes. The topic comprises single kind of questions, which is- True/False/Not Given. Candidates must go throughout the passage and analyze the statement given below, and opt forTrue/False/Not Given, and answer whether the sentences are true, false, or not given. Neat study of the IELTS reading passage, is vital for the candidates for identifying the keywords, and recognizing synonyms to answer the below mentioned questions.

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Reading Passage Questions

In early 1976, Mau Piailug, a fisherman, led an expedition in which he sailed a traditional Polynesian boat across 2,500 miles of ocean from Hawaii to Tahiti. The Polynesiai Voyaging Society had organised the expedition. Its purpose was to find out if seafarers in the distant past could have found their way from one island to the other without navigational instruments, or whether the islands had been populated by accident. At the time, Mau was the only man alive who knew how to navigate just by observing the stars, the wind and the sea. He had never before sailed to Tahiti, which was a long way to the south. However, he understood how the wind and the sea behave around islands, so he was confident he could find his way. The voyage took him and his crew a month to complete and he did it without a compass or charts.

His grandfather began the task of teaching him how to navigate when he was still a baby. He showed him pools of water on the beach to teach him how the behaviour of the waves and wind changed in different places. Later, Mau used a circle of stones to memorise the positions of the stars. Each stone was laid out in the sand to represent a star.

The voyage proved that Hawaii’s first inhabitants came in small boats and navigated by reading the sea and the stars. Mau himself became a keen teacher, passing on his traditional secrets to people of other cultures so that his knowledge would not be lost. He explained the positions of the stars to his students, but he allowed them to write things down because he knew they would never be able to remember everything as he had done.

Solution With Explanation

Question 1: At the time of his voyage, Mau had unique navigational skills.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: At the time, Mau was the only man alive who knew how to navigate just by observing the stars, the wind and the sea.
Keyword: Expedition, without navigational instruments, only man alive, observing stars
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, lines 4-11
Explanation: Lines 4-11 of paragraph 1 states that Mau possessed some special navigational abilities at the time of his journey on ship by a keen obsevation of the stars, the wind and the sea. Hence, the above statement is TRUE.

Question 2: Mau was familiar with the sea around Tahiti.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: He had never before sailed to Tahiti, which was a long way to the south.
Keyword: never before, Tahiti
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, lines 10-11
Explanation: Lines 10-11 of paragraph 1 explains clearly that Tahiti, a place which was located far to the south, was a destination where Mau had never visited earlier, and so he was not familiar with the sea surrounding Tahiti. So, the given statement is a FALSE one.

Question 3: Mau thought it would be difficult to use a compass and charts.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: No relevant information regarding this above context is given in the passage.

Question 4: Mau’s grandfather was his only teacher.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The passage has no pertinent information regarding the preceding context, hence the above sentence is not valid.

Question 5: Mau used stones to learn where each star was situated in the sky.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: Later, Mau used a circle of stones to memorise the positions of the stars.
Keyword: circle of stones, position of stars
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 5-8
Explanation: Lines 5-8 of paragraph 2 briefing that Mau used to remember the locations or places of the stars by using a circle of stones. He used to point the locations of each star by making a layout in the sand by stones. Thus, the above statement is correct.

Question 6: The first inhabitants of Hawaii could read and write.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The sentence above is invalid since the passage contains no suitable information about the prior context.

Question 7: Mau expected his students to memorise the positions of the stars.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: He explained the positions of the stars to his students, but he allowed them to write things down because he knew they would never be able to remember everything as he had done.
Keyword: teacher, students, position of stars, remember
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, Lines 3-9
Explanation: Lines 3-9 of paragraph 3 suggests that Mau gave his students an explanation of the star placements, but he encouraged them to take notes because he was aware that they wouldn't be able to recall everything like he did. Therefoe, studying the whole passage it can be said that the above mentioned sentence is FALSE.