The Forgotten role of Women in Medieval Arts Reading Answers

Nov 12, 2024

The Forgotten role of Women in Medieval Arts Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. The Forgotten role of Women in Medieval Arts Reading Answers has a total of 13 IELTS questions in total. In the questions set,you have to choose the correct passage for the given statement. In the next section you have to fill in the blank with correct answers.

The IELTS Reading section is a crucial component of the IELTS exam, designed to assess a candidate's ability to comprehend and analyze different types of passages. In this passage, you will engage with a series of IELTS reading practice questions that simulate real test scenarios. These questions are aimed at improving your skills in identifying key ideas, extracting specific information, and making inferences. Whether you are preparing for the Academic or General Training module, practicing these IELTS reading questions will help you become familiar with the format and boost your confidence for the actual test.

Section 1

THE FORGOTTEN ROLE OF WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL ARTS

A. A team of archaeologists recently and unexpectedly revealed direct archaeological evidence of the involvement of medieval women in the production of manuscripts. This challenges the widespread assumptions that men were the sole producers of books throughout the period in European history known as the Middle Ages (600-1500 AD). They did so by identifying particles of blue pigment in the fossilised dental plaque of a medieval woman as lapis lazuli, an extremely valuable stone at the time. The findings are the first of their kind and strongly suggest it will be possible to increase the profile of ancient female artists. In the historical and archaeological record by analysing their dirty teeth.

B. This discovery was made possible by applying technological advances in the field of archaeological science to a little-studied deposit on teeth known as tartar, which is mineralised dental plaque. In most societies today, oral hygiene practices are part of our daily routine, meaning that dental plaque is regularly removed and doesn't have a chance to build up on our teeth. This was not the case in the past. Plaque built up and mineralised over the course of people's lives. This solid deposit has unique archaeological potential. A key characteristic of dental plaque is that while it forms it has the ability to entrap a wide range of microscopic and molecular debris that enters a person's mouth. When dental plaque hardens and becomes tartar, it can entomb these particles and molecules for hundreds or thousands of years - potentially even millions.

C. The majority of scholarly work conducted on ancient tartar has been centered on what people ate but, besides taking in food, the human mouth is subject to a constant influx of particles of different types directly from the environment. Tree and grass pollen, spores, cotton fibers, medicinal plants and micro-charcoal have all been reported among the finds from this type of dental analysis. Despite such promising evidence, the value of tartar as environmental evidence has not, so far, been much exploited.

D. The team analyzed the skeletal remains of a female individual, known as B78, who lived in the 11th-12th century. She was buried in the grounds of a former women's monastery in Dalheim, Germany, that is in ruins today but was occupied by various

religious groups for around a thousand years. They found well over 100 bright blue particles, in the form of small crystals and individual flecks, scattered throughout the tartar which was still preserved on her teeth. Her skeletal remains had not indicated

anything particular about her life, besides a general indication that she probably did not do any hard labor. The blue particles were unlike any other discovery - firstly because of their color, and secondly because of their sheer number.

E. To be sure about the nature of the particles of bright blue powder trapped in the woman's tartar, a range of microscopy techniques were used. All techniques provided the same results: the blue specks were lazurite, the blue portion of the lapis lazuli stone, a substance more precious than gold in Medieval Europe. Afghanistan was the only source of the stone at the time, and the preparation of the pigment took great skill.

F. So how did particles of this precious material end up deposited on this woman's teeth? A variety of reasons were possible, from painting to accidental ingestion during pigment preparation, or even the consumption of the powder as a medicine. But the way in which the blue particles were found in her tartar - single flecks in different areas - pointed to repeated exposure, not a single intake. And creating a vivid blue pigment from lapis lazuli required an Arabic method of oil flotation that did not appear in European artists' manuals until after the 15th century. This all suggests that it's more likely that this ultramarine pigment was brought into the region as a finished product for use by artists.

G. The most likely explanation, then, is that this was an artist who repeatedly used her lips to make a fine point on the end of her brush in order to paint intricate detail on manuscripts. This finding suggests that women were more involved in the production of books throughout the Middle Ages than tends to be thought. Before the 12th century fewer than one per cent of the books that still remain can be traced to the work of women. Additionally. artists are largely invisible in both the historic and archaeological records as they rarely signed their work before the 15th century and, until now, there have been no known skeletal markers directly associated with producing art. The work strongly points to the possibility of using microscopic particles entombed in ancient tartar to track the artists of ancient times. It also suggests that it may be possible to track other 'dusty crafts using this method and thereby reveal the invisible workforce behind many forms of art.

Questions 28-32

Choose the correct letter.

28. In Paragraph A, what does the writer say about the archaeology team's work?

A. It confirmed what they had assumed when they started it.

B. It was hard to persuade other historians about their findings.

C. It could reveal the importance of various women in history.

D. It could help identify the number of books written in the Middle Ages.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: “........The findings are the first of their kind and strongly suggest it will be possible to increase the profile of ancient female artists.........”

Keywords: profile, female

Keyword Location: para A, Line 7-8

Explanation: The findings have the potential to raise the historical profile of female artists, challenging the assumption that men were the primary creators of manuscripts in the Middle Ages.

29. What point does the writer make about dental tartar in Paragraph C?

A. Archaeologists could make more use of it than they do at present.

B. Some particles are more easily trapped in it than others.

C. The environment can cause it to break down.

D. Changes in people's diet have influenced its composition.

Answer: A

Supporting statement: “.........the value of tartar as environmental evidence has not, so far, been much exploited........”

Keywords: tartar, exploited

Keyword Location: para C, Line 6-7

Explanation: The writer points out that although tartar holds valuable information, it has not yet been widely used for environmental analysis in archaeology.

30. What did the skeleton of B78 suggest about her?

A. She had not been very old when she died.

B. Her life had not been very physically demanding.

C. Her teeth had more tartar than most skeletons of that age.

D. She had been given a grander burial than other women of her time.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “........Her skeletal remains had not indicated anything particular about her life, besides a general indication that she probably did not do any hard labor.........”

Keywords: skeletal, remains

Keyword Location: para D, Line 4-6

Explanation: The analysis suggested that B78 did not engage in heavy physical work, giving insight into her lifestyle and social status.

31. What is the writer doing in Paragraph F?

A. supporting the team's view that the blue pigment was imported

B. explaining why artists in Europe liked to use the blue pigment

C. comparing artistic designs using the blue pigment in different parts of the world

D. criticizing arguments put forward by other scientists about the blue pigment

Answer: A

Supporting statement: “.........This all suggests that it’s more likely that this ultramarine pigment was brought into the region as a finished product........”

Keywords: suggests, brought

Keyword Location: para F, Line 6-7

Explanation: The writer discusses evidence supporting the view that the pigment was imported due to the lack of local techniques for ultramarine blue production in Europe at the time.

32. What problem does the writer highlight about medieval artists in Paragraph G?

A the poor facilities available to females in the profession

B. the small number of projects available to them

C. the difficulties locating their skeletal remains for study

D. the lack of evidence for their contribution to books

Answer: D

Supporting statement: “.........Additionally, artists are largely invisible in both the historic and archaeological records as they rarely signed their work........”

Keywords: invisible, archaeological

Keyword Location: para G, Line 3-4

Explanation: The writer highlights that the invisibility of medieval artists in records makes it challenging to attribute their contributions, especially in book production, where they did not usually sign their work.

Questions 33-36

The text has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Which paragraph mentions the following?

Write the correct letter, A-G.

33. reference to the possible length of time that tartar can preserve particles from the air

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “.........tartar… can entomb these particles and molecules for hundreds or thousands of years - potentially even millions.........”

Keywords: preserve, hundreds

Keyword Location: para B, Line 8-9

Explanation: Paragraph B mentions that tartar can preserve particles for extensive periods, which adds value to its use in archaeological studies.

34. two reasons why the particles that the team found in teeth were unique

Answer: D

Supporting statement: “.........The blue particles were unlike any other discovery - firstly because of their color, and secondly because of their sheer number........”

Keywords: unique, color

Keyword Location: para D, Line 6-8

Explanation: The paragraph outlines why the blue particles were unique, focusing on their unusual color and large quantity, both of which were significant for the research team.

35. various examples of the types of particle that can be discovered in old teeth

Answer: C

Supporting statement: “........Tree and grass pollen, spores, cotton fibers, medicinal plants and micro-charcoal have all been reported among the finds from this type of dental analysis.........”

Keywords: pollen, spores

Keyword Location: para C, Line 3-5

Explanation: The paragraph lists different particles that can be trapped in dental tartar, showcasing the variety of environmental and dietary evidence that teeth can preserve.

36. a suggestion that the blue pigment might have been used in medieval times to cure illness

Answer: F

Supporting statement: “.........or even the consumption of the powder as a medicine.........”

Keywords: consumption, medicine

Keyword Location: para F, Line 3-4

Explanation: Paragraph F suggests that the blue pigment could have been consumed as a remedy, providing a possible explanation for its presence in medieval dental tartar.

Questions 37-40

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

LAPIS LAZULI

A blue pigment used to create artworks in Europe in the Middle Ages was derived from a stone called lapis lazuli. In medieval times, even (37)...... was not as valuable. Lapis Answer: GOLD

Supporting statement: “........a substance more precious than gold in Medieval Europe.........”

Keywords: precious, gold

Keyword Location: para E, Line 4-5

Explanation: The paragraph describes lapis lazuli as more valuable than gold during medieval times, indicating the preciousness of the blue pigment.

lazuli could only be found in Afghanistan and a lot of (38)....... was needed to make the Answer: SKILL

Supporting statement: “.........and the preparation of the pigment took great skill..........”

Keywords: preparation, skill

Keyword Location: para E, Line 5-6

Explanation: Creating pigment from lapis lazuli required a significant amount of skill, highlighting the expertise needed in the process. Skill is the correct answer for this.

pigment from the stone. The procedure used to do this appeared much later in the manuals used by European artists and this suggests that the product came to their countries as an imported powder. Artists often had to make a (39)........... on their

Answer: POINT

Supporting statement: “........used her lips to make a fine point on the end of her brush in order to paint intricate detail.........”

Keywords: fine, point

Keyword Location: para G, Line 2-3

Explanation: Artists would shape the brush tip to a fine point with their lips, helping them create the detailed features in their artwork.

brushes using their mouths, which then enabled them to produce the fine features needed for (40)........ and books.

Answer: MANUSCRIPTS

Supporting statement: “........fine point on the end of her brush in order to paint intricate detail on manuscripts.........”

Keywords: detail, manuscripts

Keyword Location: para G, Line 3-4

Explanation: Manuscripts are specifically mentioned as items that required fine detailing, clarifying their connection to the work of these artists.

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