The Hidden Histories of Exploration Exhibition Reading Answers

Feb 8, 2023

The Hidden Histories of Exploration Exhibition Reading Answers is an academic reading topic discussing in detail about the hidden histories of European explorers. The given IELTS topic has originated from the book named “The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS Student's Book with Answers with DVD-ROM”. The topic named The Hidden Histories of Exploration Exhibition Reading Answers has a total of 13 wide range of questions included. The topic consists of two types of questions, which are, True/False/Not Given, and choose the correct paragraph. The candidates should thoroughly read the IELTS reading passage to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords and answer the questions below. IELTS reading practice papers can be taken into consideration by the candidates in order to score a good score in the reading section in which similar topics like The Hidden Histories of Exploration Exhibition Reading Answers has been included.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

The Hidden Histories of Exploration Exhibition Reading Answers

We have all heard tales of lone, heroic explorers, but what about the local individuals who guided and protected European explorers in many different parts of the globe? Or the go-betweens - including interpreters and traders - who translated the needs and demands of explorers into a language that locals could understand? Such questions have received surprisingly little attention in standard histories, where European explorers are usually the heroes, sometimes the villains. The Hidden Histories of Exploration exhibition at Britain's Royal Geographical Society in London sets out to present an alternative view, in which exploration is a fundamentally collective experience of work, involving many different people. Many of the most famous examples of explorers said to have been 'lone travellers' - say, Mungo Park or David Livingstone in Africa - were anything but alone' on their travels. They depended on local support of various kinds - for food, shelter, protection, information, guidance, and solace - as well as on other resources from elsewhere.

The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) seeks to record this story in its Hidden Histories project, using its astonishingly rich collections. The storage of geographical information was one of the main rationales for the foundation of the RGS in 1830, and the Society's collections now contain more than two million individual items, including books, manuscripts, maps, photographs art-works, artefacts and film - a rich storehouse of material reflecting the wide geographical extent of British interest across the globe. In addition to their remarkable scope and range, these collections contain a striking visual record of exploration: the impulse to collect the world is reflected in a large and diverse image archive. For the researcher, this archive can vield many surprises: materials gathered for one purpose - say, maps relating to an international boundary dispute or photographs taken on a scientific expedition - may today be put to quite different uses.

In their published narratives, European explorers rarely portrayed themselves as vulnerable or dependent on others, despite the fact that without this support they were quite literally lost. Archival research confirms that Europeans were not merely dependent on the work of porters soldiers translators, cooks, pilots, guides, hunters and collectors: they also relied on local expertise. Such assistance was essential in identifying potential dangers poisonous species, unpredictable rivers, uncharted territories - which could mean the difference between life and death. The assistants themselves were usually in a strong bargaining position. In the Amazon, for example access to entire regions would depend on the willingness of local crew members and other assistants to enter areas inhabited by relatively powerful Amerindian groups. In an account of his journey across South America published in 1836, William Smyth thus complained of frequent desertion by his helpers: without them it was impossible to get on.

Those providing local support and information to explorers were themselves often not 'locals. For example, the history of African exploration in the nineteenth century is dominated by the use of Zanzibar as a recruiting station for porters, soldiers and guides who would then travel thousands of miles across the continent. In some accounts, the leading African members of expedition parties - the officers' or 'foremen - are identified, and their portraits published alongside those of European explorers.

The information provided by locals and intermediaries was of potential importance to geographical science. How was this evidence judged? The formal procedures of scientific evaluation provided one framework. Alongside these were more 'common sense notions of veracity and reliability, religiously-inspired judgments about the authenticity of testimony, and the routine procedures for cross-checking empirical observations developed in many professions.

Given explorers' need for local information and support, it was in their interests to develop effective working partnerships with knowledgeable intermediaries who could act as brokers in their dealings with local inhabitants. Many of these people acquired far more experience of exploration than most Europeans could hope to attain. Some managed large groups of men and women, piloted the explorers' river craft, or undertook mapping work. The tradition was continued with the Everest expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s, which regularly employed the Tibetan interpreter Karma Paul. In Europe, exploration was increasingly thought of as a career; the same might be said of the non-Europeans on whom their expeditions depended.

These individuals often forged close working relationships with European explorers. Such partnerships depended on mutual respect, though they were not always easy or intimate, as is particularly clear from the history of the Everest expeditions depicted in the Hidden Histories exhibition. The entire back wall is covered by an enlarged version of a single sheet of photographs of Sherpas taken during the 1936 Everest expedition. The document is a powerful reminder of the manpower on which European mountaineering expeditions depended, and also of the importance of local knowledge and assistance. Transformed from archive to wall display, it tells a powerful story through the medium of individual portraits - including Karma Paul, veteran of previous expeditions, and the young Tensing Norgay, 17 years before his successful 1953 ascent. This was a highly charged and transitional moment as the contribution of the Sherpas, depicted here with identity tags round their necks, was beginning to be much more widely recognised. These touching portraits encourage us to see them as agents rather than simply colonial subjects or paid employees. Here is a living history, which looks beyond what we already know about exploration: a larger history in which we come to recognise the contribution of everyone involved.

Section 2

Questions 1-7

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?

In boxes 1-7 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

Question 1. The Hidden Histories of Exploration exhibition aims to show the wide range of people involved in expeditions.

Answer: TRUE&
Supporting sentence: exploration is a fundamentally collective experience of work, involving many different people.
Keyword : exploration, fundamentally, experience, different people
Keyword location: paragraph A, lines 7-8
Explanation: Lines 7-8 of paragraph A implies an alternate viewpoint. According to this, exploration is basically a group experience of work involving many different people. They are presented in the Hidden Histories of Exploration exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain in London. Most well-known explorers who are considered to have been "lone travellers" fall into this category. So, the above statement is a TRUE one.

Question 2. The common belief about how Park and Livingstone travelled is accurate.

Answer: FALSE&
Supporting sentence: Mungo Park or David Livingstone in Africa - were anything but alone' on their travels.
Keyword : Mungo Park, Livingstone, alone, travels
Keyword location: paragraph A, lines 9-10
Explanation: Lines 9-10 of paragraph A explains that neither Mungo Park nor David Livingstone in Africa were travelling alone. They relied on many forms of local assistance, including food, shelter, safety, knowledge, direction, and comfort, as well as on outside resources. Thus, the given statement is a FALSE one.

Question 3. The RGS has organised a number of exhibitions since it was founded.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: No justified information has been given in the above extract to support the validation of this statement. Hence, the above statement stands to be an invalid one.

Question 4. Some of the records in the RGS archives are more useful than others.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: No pertinent information has been given in the passage in order to support the justification of the said statement. So, we can clearly conclude the above statement to be an invalid one.

Question 5. Materials owned by the RGS can be used in ways that were not originally intended.

Answer: TRUE&
Supporting sentence: For the researcher, this archive can vield many surprises: materials gathered for one purpose&
Keyword : researcher, archive, surprises, one purpose
Keyword location: paragraph B, lines 8-9
Explanation: Lines 8-9 of paragraph B suggests that the archive holds numerous surprises for the researcher. Maps pertaining to a dispute over international boundaries or photos collected during a scientific expedition. These are two examples of materials that may now be used for entirely unrelated purposes. Thus, we can conclude the above statement to be a TRUE one.

Question 6. In their publications, European explorers often describe their dependence on their helpers.

Answer: FALSE&
Supporting sentence: In their published narratives, European explorers rarely portrayed themselves as vulnerable or dependent on others
Keyword : narratives, European, explorers, dependent on others
Keyword location: paragraph C, lines 1-2
Explanation: The first two lines of paragraph C implies that European explorers rarely depicted themselves in their published accounts as helpless or dependent on others. It is despite the reality that they were very literally lost without assistance. According to archival research, Europeans were not only reliant on the labour of porters, soldiers, and translators. They are also reliant on that of cooks, pilots, guides, hunters, and collectors. Hence, it is a FALSE statement.

Question 7. Local helpers refused to accompany William Smyth during parts of his journey.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: William Smyth thus complained of frequent desertion by his helpers: without them it was impossible to get on.
Keyword : William Smyth, desertion, helpers, impossible&
Keyword location: paragraph C, lines 10-11
Explanation: Lines 10-11 of paragraph C implies that William Smyth lamented his helpers' frequent abandonment in a South American travelogue that was published in 1836. He states that without them, progress would have been impossible. Therefore, the given statement can be regarded as a TRUE one.

Questions 8-13

Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the following information?

Question 8. reference to the distances that some non-European helpers traveled

Answer: D
Supporting sentence :their portraits published alongside those of European explorers
Keyword : portraits, alongside, European, explorers
Keyword location: paragraph D, lines 5-6
Explanation: The fifth to sixth lines of paragraph D explains a reference of non-European helpers. According to some reports, the officials or foremen of the expedition teams are African. They are named and their photos are published alongside those of the European explorers. So, paragraph D will be the exact location for this answer.

Question 9. description of a wide range of different types of documents

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: a rich storehouse of material reflecting the wide geographical extent of British interest across the globe.&
Keyword : storehouse, material, geographical, globe
Keyword location: paragraph B, lines 5-6
Explanation: Lines 5-6 of paragraph B states about various types of documents. Over two million unique items, including books, manuscripts, maps, pictures, artwork, artefacts, and video, are now part of the Society's holdings. It is a remarkable repository of information illustrating the broad geographic scope of British interest around the world. So, paragraph B will be the appropriate location for this answer.

Question 10. belief about the effect of an exhibition on people seeing it

Answer: G
Supporting sentence: history of the Everest expeditions depicted in the Hidden Histories exhibition.
Keyword : history, Everest, expeditions, Hidden Histories exhibition
Keyword location: paragraph G, lines 3-4
Explanation: Paragraph G implies that the people frequently developed close working connections with European explorers. Such alliances required mutual respect, but they were not always simple or intimate. It is so because the history of the Everest expeditions depicted in the Hidden Histories exhibition makes especially obvious. So, paragraph G will be the exact location for this answer.

Question 11. examples of risks explorers might have been unaware of without local help

Answer: C
Supporting sentence: In the Amazon, for example access to entire regions would depend on the willingness of local crew members&
Keyword : Amazon, access, willingness, local crew members
Keyword location: paragraph C, lines 7-8
Explanation: Lines 7-8 of paragraph C explains that in the Amazon, access to entire regions would depend on the crew members and other helpers. Their willingness to pass through territory inhabited by rather strong Amerindian groups. So, paragraph C will be the exact location for this answer.

Question 12. reference to various approaches to assessing data from local helpers

Answer: E
Supporting sentence: The information provided by locals and intermediaries was of potential importance to geographical science.
Keyword : information, intermediaries, potential, geographical science
Keyword location: paragraph E, lines 1-2
Explanation: Lines 1-2 of paragraph E implies that the knowledge given by villagers and middlemen had the potential to be significant for geographical science. One framework was offered by the formal processes of scientific appraisal. These were accompanied by more "common sense ideas of truth and reliability." So, paragraph E will be the appropriate location for this answer.

Question 13. reference to people whose long-term occupation was to organize local assistance for European explorers

Answer: F
Supporting sentence: Some managed large groups of men and women, piloted the explorers' river craft, or undertook mapping work.
Keyword : managed, explorers', undertook, work
Keyword location: paragraph F, lines 4-5
Explanation: Paragraph F says that many of these individuals gained significantly more exploration-related experience than the majority of Europeans could ever hope to. Others oversaw sizable teams of men and women, drove the explorers' rivercraft, or carried out mapping tasks. So, paragraph F will be the appropriate location for this answer.