Storytelling IELTS Reading Answers
The IELTS Reading section is an important part of the IELTS exam which analyzes students’ proficiency in reading. The IELTS exam is for testing students' proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening of the language. The IELTS Reading section is for assessing how well students read the given passage and answer the questions appropriately from the passage. The IELTS academic reading section includes a passage on a given topic which students need to complete within a time frame of 60 minutes for responding to 40 questions for 3-4 passages. In order to ace this section students need to be prepared from the IELTS Reading Sample Papers effectively. Storytelling IELTS Reading Answers can be used as an instance by students for practising for their exam. The question types included within this passage are as follows:
- Choose the correct letter
- Complete the sentence in One Word
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Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
Storytelling IELTS Reading Answers
A
It was told, we suppose, to people crouched around a fire: a tale of adventure, most likely-relating some close encounter with death; a remarkable hunt, an escape from mortal danger; a vision, or something else out of the ordinary. Whatever its thread, the weaving of this story was done with a prime purpose. The listeners must be kept listening. They must not fall asleep. So, as the story went on, its audience should be sustained by one question above all. What happens next?
B
The first fireside stories in human history can never be known. They were kept in the heads of those who told them. This method of storage is not necessarily inefficient. From documented oral traditions in Australia, the Balkans and other parts of the world we know that specialised storytellers and poets can recite from memory literally thousands of lines, in verse or prose, verbatim-word for word. But while memory is rightly considered an art in itself, it is clear that a primary purpose of making symbols is to have a system of reminders or mnemonic cues – signs that assist us to recall certain information in the mind’s eye.
C
In some Polynesian communities, a notched memory stick may help to guide a storyteller through successive stages of recitation. But in other parts of the world, the activity of storytelling historically resulted in the development or even the invention of writing systems. One theory about the arrival of literacy in ancient Greece, for example, argues that the epic tales about the Trojan War and the wanderings of Odysseus – traditionally attributed to Homer – were just so enchanting to hear that they had to be preserved. So the Greeks, c.750-700BC, borrowed an alphabet from their neighbors in the eastern Mediterranean, the Phoenicians.
D
The custom of recording stories on parchment and other materials can be traced in many manifestations around the world, from the priestly papyrus archives of ancient Egypt to the birch-bark scrolls on which the North American Ojibway Indians set down their creation-myth. It is a well-tried and universal practice: so much so that to this day storytime is probably most often associated with words on paper. The formal practice of narrating a story aloud would seem-so we assume to have given way to newspapers, novels and comic strips. This, however, is not the case. Statistically, it is doubtful that the majority of humans currently rely upon the written word to get access to stories. So what is the alternative source?
E
Each year, over 7 billion people will go to watch the latest offering from Hollywood, Bollywood and beyond. The supreme storyteller of today is cinema. The movies, as distinct from still photography, seem to be an essential modem phenomenon. This is an illusion, for there are, as we shall see, certain ways in which the medium of film is indebted to very old precedents of arranging ‘sequences’ of images. But any account of visual storytelling must be with the recognition that all storytelling beats with a deeply atavistic pulse: that is, a ‘good story’ relies upon formal patterns of plot and characterisation that have been embedded in the practice of storytelling over many generations.
F
Thousands of scripts arrive every week at the offices of the major film studios. But aspiring screenwriters really need to look no further for essential advice than the fourth-century BC Greek Philosopher Aristotle. He left some incomplete lecture notes on the art of telling stories in various literary and dramatic modes, a slim volume known as The Poetics. Though he can never have envisaged the popcorn-fuelled actuality of a multiplex cinema, Aristotle is almost prescient about the key elements required to get the crowds flocking to such a cultural hub. He analysed the process with cool rationalism. When a story enchants us, we lose the sense of where we are; we are drawn into the story so thoroughly that we forget it is a story being told. This is, in Aristotle’s phrase, ‘the suspension of disbelief.
G
We know the feeling. If ever we have stayed in our seats, stunned with grief, as the credits roll by, or for days after seeing that vivid evocation of horror have been nervous about taking a shower at home, then we have suspended disbelief. We have been caught, or captivated, in the storyteller’s web. Did it all really happen? We really thought so for a while. Aristotle must have witnessed often enough this suspension of disbelief. He taught at Athens, the city where theatre developed as a primary form of civic ritual and recreation. Two theatrical types of storytelling, tragedy and comedy, caused Athenian audiences to lose themselves in sadness and laughter respectively. Tragedy, for Aristotle, was particularly potent in its capacity to enlist and then purge the emotions of those watching the story unfold on the stage, so he tried to identify those factors in the storyteller’s art that brought about such engagement. He had, as an obvious sample for analysis, not only the fifth-century BC masterpieces of Classical Greek tragedy written by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Beyond them stood Homer, whose stories even then had canonical status: The Iliad and The Odyssey were already considered literary landmarks-stories by which all other stories should be measured. So what was the secret of Homer’s narrative art?
H
It was not hard to find. Homer created credible heroes. His heroes belonged to the past, they were mighty and magnificent, yet they were not, in the end, fantasy figures. He made his heroes sulk, bicker, cheat and cry. They were, in short, characters – protagonists of a story that an audience would care about, would want to follow, would want to know what happens next. As Aristotle saw, the hero who shows a human side-some flaw or weakness to which mortals are prone-is intrinsically dramatic.d by logging.
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Section 2
Solution and Explanation
Questions 14-20:
The Reading Passage has eight paragraphs A-H
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
Question 14: A misunderstanding of a modern way for telling stories
Answer: E
Supporting sentence: The supreme storyteller of today is cinema. The movies, as distinct from still photography, seem to be an essential modem phenomenon. This is an illusion, for there are, as we shall see, certain ways in which the medium of film is indebted to very old precedents of arranging ‘sequences’ of images.
Keywords: supreme storyteller, still photography, illusion, old precedents
Keyword location: lines 2-5
Explanation: cinema has been considered as a modern way of telling stories and still photography has become the modem phenomenon essential for the same which is merely an illusion considering that the medium of today’s films are highly indebted or based on arranging the sequences of images. Hence, cinema as a modern way of storytelling is a misunderstanding that people have.
Question 15: The typical forms mentioned for telling stories
Answer: G
Supporting sentence: Two theatrical types of storytelling, tragedy and comedy, caused Athenian audiences to lose themselves in sadness and laughter respectively.
Keywords: theatrical, tragedy and comedy, Athenian audiences
Keyword location: lines 6-8
Explanation: two types of storytelling forms has been mentioned by Aristotle for tragedy and comedy which are the two forms typical of storytelling
Question 16: The fundamental aim of storytelling
Answer: A
Supporting sentence: the weaving of this story was done with a prime purpose. The listeners must keep listening. They must not fall asleep.
Keywords: weaving, prime purpose, listening, asleep
Keyword location: lines 3-5
Explanation: the primary purpose of storytelling has been considered with the listeners not falling asleep and to continue listening.
Question 17: A description of reciting stories without any assistance
Answer: B
Supporting sentence: it is clear that a primary purpose of making symbols is to have a system of reminders or mnemonic cues – signs that assist us to recall certain information in the mind’s eye.
Keywords: primary purpose, making symbols, reminders, mnemonic cues, mind eye’s
Keyword location: last 3 lines
Explanation: ancient storytellers used their memory to retain all the stories and used symbols to remember certain aspects of the stories that could help their mind remember the storylines effectively without any assistance.
Question 18: How to make story characters attractive
Answer: H
Supporting sentence: Homer created credible heroes. His heroes belonged to the past, they were mighty and magnificent, yet they were not, in the end, fantasy figures. He made his heroes sulk, bicker, cheat and cry. They were, in short, characters – protagonists of a story that an audience would care about, would want to follow, would want to know what happens next.
Keywords: credible heroes, mighty and magnificent, fantasy figures, protagonists
Keyword location: lines 1-4
Explanation: Homer created stories which had heroes which typically the audience would want to know more about and would care about thereby making them attractive
Questions 19-22
Classify the following information as referring to
- adopted the writing system from another country
- used organic materials to record stories
- used tools to help to tell stories
Write the correct letter, A, B or C in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.
Question 19: Egyptians
Answer: B
Supporting sentence: The custom of recording stories on parchment and other materials can be traced in many manifestations around the world, from the priestly papyrus archives of ancient Egypt to the birch-bark scrolls on which the North American Ojibway Indians set down their creation-myth.
Keyword: record, stories
Keyword location: Para D, lines 1-4
Explanation: Egyptians made use of papyrus parchment in order to record their stories and kept them as archives.
Question 20: Ojibway
Answer: B
Supporting sentence: The custom of recording stories on parchment and other materials can be traced in many manifestations around the world, from the priestly papyrus archives of ancient Egypt to the birch-bark scrolls on which the North American Ojibway Indians set down their creation-myth.
Keywords: manifestations, birch-bark scrolls
Keyword location: Para D, lines 1-4
Explanation: the North American Ojibway Indians used birch-bark to make way for telling stories about their origin as a creation of myth using them as organic record pieces.
Question 21: Polynesians
Answer: C
Supporting sentence: In some Polynesian communities, a notched memory stick may help to guide a storyteller through successive stages of recitation.
Keywords: notched memory stick, successive stages, recitation
Keyword location: Para C, lines 1-2
Explanation: Polynesian communities used tools of storytelling as a notched memory stick to guide the storyteller to recite the story in successive stages
Question 22: Greek
Answer: A
Supporting sentence: So the Greeks, c.750-700 BC, borrowed an alphabet from their neighbours in the eastern Mediterranean, the Phoenicians.
Keywords: borrowed, alphabet, neighbours, eastern Mediterranean
Keyword location: Para C, last 2 lines
Explanation: the Greeks borrowed the alphabet as part of their writing style from their neighbours who were from the eastern Mediterranean regions, the Phoenicians
Questions 23-26:
Complete the sentences below with ONE WORD ONLY from the passage.
Write your answer in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.
Question 23: Aristotle wrote a book on the art of storytelling called
Answer: The Poetics
Supporting sentence: He left some incomplete lecture notes on the art of telling stories in various literary and dramatic modes, a slim volume known as The Poetics.
Keywords: lecture notes, art of telling stories, literary, dramatic modes
Keyword location: para F, lines 3-4
Explanation: The Poetics is the book which is written by Aristotle including lecture notes to tell the art of storytelling
Question 24: Aristotle believed the most powerful type of story to move listeners is
Answer: Tragedy
Supporting sentence: Tragedy, for Aristotle, was particularly potent in its capacity to enlist and then purge the emotions of those watching the story unfold on the stage, so he tried to identify those factors in the storyteller’s art that brought about such engagement.
Keywords: tragedy, Aristotle, purge the emotions, engagement
Keyword location: Para G, lines 8-10
Explanation: According to Aristotle, tragedy as the genre of storytelling helps in engaging the audience and purges emotions among the people who watch the story unfold on the stage
Question 25: Aristotle viewed Homers works as
Answer: landmarks
Supporting sentence: Beyond them stood Homer, whose stories even then had canonical status: The Iliad and The Odyssey were already considered literary landmarks-stories by which all other stories should be measured.
Keyword: Homer
Keyword location: Para G, last 3 lines
Explanation: Aristotle considered the Homer’s stories had way of putting out the storyline which has the capacity to measure all other stories.
Question 26: Aristotle believed attractive heroes should have some
Answer: Flaws/weakness
Supporting sentence: As Aristotle saw, the hero who shows a human side-some flaw or weakness to which mortals are prone-is intrinsically dramatic.d by logging.
Keywords: hero, human side, mortals
Keyword location: para H, last lines
Explanation: Aristotle believed that flaws or weakness in the protagonist made the stories more dramatic
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