The Art of History Reading Answers

Feb 9, 2023

The Art of History Reading Answers has 15 questions that are to be answered in 40 minutes. IELTS topic-The Art of History Reading Answers deals with evolution of communication. The Art of History IELTS reading question type has two kinds of questions. That is choosing the correct answer, and writing the correct answer. Candidates need to skim through the passage for the best answer. The Art of History Reading Answers help students to prepare for IELTS exams.They can also refer to IELTS Reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Art of History Reading Answers

The Art of History

1 The earliest stage of writing is called pre-writing or proto-literary, and depends on direct representation of objects, rather than representing them with letters or other symbols. Evidence for this stage, in the form of rock and cave paintings, dates back to about 15,000 years ago, although the exact dates are debatable. This kind of proto-literate cave painting has been found in Europe, with the best known examples m South-Western France, but also in Africa and on parts of the American continent. These petrographs (pictures on rock) show typical scenes of the period, and include representations of people, animals and activities. Most are astonishingly beautiful, with a vibrancy and immediacy that we still recognise today. They are painted with pigments made from natural materials including crushed stones and minerals, animal products such as blood, ashes, plant materials of all kinds, and they produce a wide range of colours and hues.

2 Why did ancient people put such effort into making them? Various theories have been put forward, but the most compelling include the idea that the pictures were records of heroic deeds or important events, that they were part of magical ceremonies, or that they were a form of primitive calendar, recording the changes in the seasons as they happened. These, then, are all explanations as to why man started to write.

3 A related theory suggests that the need for writing arose thereafter from the transactions and bartering that went on. In parts of what is now Iraq and Iran, small pieces of fired earth – pottery – have been found which appear to have been used as tokens to represent bartered objects, much as we use tokens in a casino, or money, today. Eventually, when the tokens themselves became too numerous to handle easily, representations of the tokens were inscribed on day tablets.

4 An early form of writing is the use of pictograms, which are pictures used to communicate. Pictograms have been found from almost every part of the world and every era of development, and are still in use in primitive communities nowadays. They represent objects, ideas or concepts more or less directly. They tend to be simple in the sense that they are not a complex or full picture, although they are impressively difficult to interpret to an outsider unfamiliar with their iconography, which lends to be localised, and to differ widely form society to society. They were never intended to be a detailed testimony which could be interpreted by outsiders, but to serve instead as aide-memoires to the author, rather as we might keep a diary in a personal shorthand. However, some modem pictograms are more or less universally recognised, such as the signs which indicate men’s and women’s toilets, or road signs, which tend to be very similar throughout the world.

5 The first pictograms that we know of are Sumerian in origin, and date to about 8000 BC. They show how images used to represent concrete objects could be expanded to include abstractions by adding symbols together, or using associated symbols. One Sumerian pictogram, for example, indicates ‘death’ by combining the symbols for ‘man’ and winter’; another shows ‘power’ with the symbol for a man with the hands enlarged.

6 By about 5,000 years ago, Sumerian pictograms had spread to other areas, and the Sumerians had made a major advance towards modern writing with the development of the rebus principle, which meant that symbols could be used to indicate sounds. This was done try using a particular symbol not only for the thing it originally represented, but also for anything which was pronounced in a similar way. So the pictogram for na (meaning ‘animal’) could also be used to mean ‘old’ (which was also pronounced na). The specific meaning of the pictogram (whether na meant ‘old’ or animal j could only be decided through its context.

7 It is a short step from this to the development of syllabic writing using pictograms, and this next development took about another half a century. Now the Sumerians would add pictograms to each other, so that each, representing an individual sound – or syllable – formed part of a larger word. Thus pictograms representing the syllables he, na and mi (‘mother’, ‘old’, my’) could be put together to form henami or ‘grandmother’.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 26-32

Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs 1 – 7. Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs 1 – 7 from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate letters A – H in boxes 26 – 32 on your answer sheet. There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use them all.

Paragraph Headings

A Magic and Heroes

B Doing Business

C Early Developments

D Sounds and Symbols

E Images on Stone

F Stories and Seasons

G A Personal Record

H From Visual to Sound

Paragraph 1

Answer: E Images on Stone
Supporting Sentence: These petrographs (pictures on rock) show typical scenes of the period, and include representations of people, animals and activities.
Keywords: petrographs, (pictures on rock)
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, lines 6-7
Explanation: The first paragraph talks about earliest form of writing which was rock or cave paintings. It also mentions the word petrographs meaning pictures on rock. Therefore option-E suits the best as the title for this paragraph out of all.

Paragraph 2

Answer: F Stories and Seasons
Supporting Sentence: but the most compelling include the idea that the pictures were records of heroic deeds or important events, that they were part of magical ceremonies,
Keywords: important events, magical ceremonies
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 2-3
Explanation: According to paragraph 2, it can be understood that cave paintings were done to represent various stories, events and etc. Therefore option-F suits the best as the title for this paragraph out of all.

Paragraph 3

Answer: B Doing Business
Supporting Sentence: A related theory suggests that the need for writing arose thereafter from the transactions and bartering that went on.
Keywords: transactions, bartering
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, first two lines
Explanation: According to the third paragraph, the need for writing came for business purposes and sometimes evidence for historic transactions were found. Therefore option-B suits the best as the title for this paragraph out of all.

Paragraph 4

Answer: G A Personal Record
Supporting Sentence: but to serve instead as aide-memoires to the author, rather as we might keep a diary in a personal shorthand
Keywords: serve, aide-memoires, diary in a personal shorthand
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, lines 8-9
Explanation: The fourth paragraph states that pictograms sometimes are not for everyone to interpret the message, but only as a personal communication to someone or a memory as in our personal diary. Therefore option-G suits the best as the title for this paragraph out of all.

Paragraph 5

Answer: C Early Developments
Supporting Sentence: They show how images used to represent concrete objects could be expanded
Keywords: images, used to represent, expanded
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 2
Explanation: The fifth paragraph talks about how the images used to communicate was developed and improved to make the process effective. Therefore option-C suits the best as the title for this paragraph out of all.

Paragraph 6

Answer: D Sounds and Symbols
Supporting Sentence: which meant that symbols could be used to indicate sounds
Keywords: symbols, used to, indicate sounds
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, line 3
Explanation: The sixth paragraph states that during early times symbols were improvised to represent various sounds. Therefore option-D suits the best as the title for this paragraph out of all.

Paragraph 7

Answer: H From Visual to Sound
Supporting Sentence: Now the Sumerians would add pictograms to each other, so that each, representing an individual sound
Keywords: pictograms, representing, individual sound
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, lines 2 - 3
Explanation: The seventh paragraph states that various syllables were interpreted to get various sounds. Therefore option-H suits the best as the title for this paragraph out of all.

Questions 33-37

Complete the following notes on Reading Passage 3 using ONE or TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 33 – 37 on your answer sheet.

Notes on the Development of Writing

First stage of writing – pre-writing or proto-literacy – very old – 15,000 years. Evidence: cave and rock paintings. Famous example – (33)............................... Reasons for development of writing: primitive ceremonies, recording events, seasons, used on pottery to represent (34).............................. Next stage: simple pictograms – pictures used to represent articles and (35)................................. Very simple drawings (but very difficult to understand). Then – 8000 BC – combined (36)...................................to create new concepts (eg. man + winter = death). After this – started using same pictogram for different words with same (37)..............................Very important step.

Question 33.

Answer: south-western France
Supporting Sentence: This kind of proto-literate cave painting has been found in Europe, with the best known examples m South-Western France
Keywords: examples, South-Western France
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, lines 4-5
Explanation: According to the first paragraph, South-Western France is a good example for proto-literate cave painting that are found in Europe. So south-western France is the answer.

Question 34.

Answer: bartered objects
Supporting Sentence: have been found which appear to have been used as tokens to represent bartered objects
Keywords: represent bartered objects
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, lines 3-4
Explanation: The third paragraph states that writing was needed to represent various transactions also. It sometimes represented bartered objects. Therefore bartered objects is the answer here as the rest are already mentioned.

Question 35.

Answer: ideas
Supporting Sentence: They represent objects, ideas or concepts more or less directly.
Keywords: represent, ideas
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, lines 3-4
Explanation: The fourth paragraph states that pictograms used to represent objects, articles and ideas. Therefore ideas is the answer as the rest are mentioned.

Question 36.

Answer: symbols
Supporting Sentence: They show how images used to represent concrete objects could be expanded to include abstractions by adding symbols together
Keywords: adding symbols together
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, lines 2-3
Explanation: Paragraph 5 states that symbols were added to develop the communication process. Therefore symbols is the answer.

Question 37.

Answer: sound
Supporting Sentence: Now the Sumerians would add pictograms to each other, so that each, representing an individual sound
Keywords: pictograms, representing, individual sound
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, lines 2 - 3
Explanation: The seventh paragraph states that various syllables were interpreted to get various sounds. Therefore sound is the answer.

Questions 38 – 40

Choose the appropriate letters A – D and write them in boxes 38 – 40 on your answer sheet.

The earliest stages of writing

A were discovered 15,000 years ago and are found all over the world.

B are pictures which show the natural life of the time.

C are called petrographs and were painted with natural materials.

D could not describe concepts.

Answer: C are called petrographs and were painted with natural materials.
Supporting Sentence: They are painted with pigments made from natural materials including crushed stones
Keywords: painted, pigments, from natural materials
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 9
Explanation: According to paragraph 1, Petrographs, the earliest forms of writing, were painted with organic materials. Therefore option-C is the answer.

The earliest pictograms

A represent complex objects and are difficult to understand.

B represent comparatively simple objects and are easy to understand.

C are a record of events for outsiders.

D are fairly simple but may not be easy to interpret.

Answer: D are fairly simple but may not be easy to interpret.
Supporting Sentence: although they are impressively difficult to interpret
Keywords: impressively difficult to interpret
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 5
Explanation: Fifth paragraph states that even though the earliest pictograms are quite basic, they can be challenging to interpret. Therefore option-D is the answer.

About 5.000 years ago

A Sumerians were developing sounds.

B Sumerians were writing in a modern style.

C pictograms were used over a wide area.

D pictogram symbols could only have one meaning.

Answer: C pictograms were used over a wide area.
Supporting Sentence: By about 5,000 years ago, Sumerian pictograms had spread to other areas
Keywords: pictograms, spread to other areas
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, line 1
Explanation: According to the sixth paragraph, pictograms had spread to wide area of regions by about 5,000 years ago. Therefore option-C is the answer.