The Phoenicians an Almost Forgotten People Reading Answers

Dec 21, 2023

The Phoenicians an Almost Forgotten People Reading Answers is an academic reading topic discussing in detail study about the Phoenicians. 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 Phoenicians an Almost Forgotten People Reading Answers has a total of 13 wide range of questions included. The topic consists of two types of questions, that is, complete the following sentences, and True/False/Not Given. 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 Phoenicians an Almost Forgotten People Reading Answers has been included.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

The Phoenicians an Almost Forgotten People Reading Answers

The Phoenicians inhabited the region of modern Lebanon and Syria from about 3000 BC. They became the greatest traders of the pre-classical world, and were the first people to establish a large colonial network. Both of these activities were based on seafaring, an ability the Phoenicians developed from the example of their maritime predecessors, the Minoans of Crete.

An Egyptian narrative of about 1080 BC, the Story of Wen-Amen, provides an insight into the scale of their trading activity. One of the characters is Wereket-El, a Phoenician merchant living at Tanis in Egypt’s Nile delta. As many as 50 ships carry out his business, plying back and forth between the Nile and the Phoenician port of Sidon.&

The most prosperous period for Phoenicia was the 10th century BC, when the surrounding region was stable. Hiram, the king of the Phoenician city of Tyre, was an ally and business partner of Solomon, King of Israel. For Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem, Hiram provided craftsmen with particular skills that were needed for this major construction project. He also supplied materials – particularly timber, including cedar from the forests of Lebanon. And the two kings went into trade in partnership. They sent out Phoenician vessels on long expeditions (of up to three years for the return trip) to bring back gold, sandalwood, ivory, monkeys and peacocks from Ophir. This is an unidentified place, probably on the east coast of Africa or the west coast of India.

Phoenicia was famous for its luxury goods. The cedar wood was not only exported as top-quality timber for architecture and shipbuilding. It was also carved by the Phoenicians, and the same skill was adapted to even more precious work in ivory. The rare and expensive dye for cloth, Tyrian purple, complemented another famous local product, fine linen. The metalworkers of the region, particularly those working in gold, were famous. Tyre and Sidon were also known for their glass. These were the main products which the Phoenicians exported. In addition, as traders and middlemen, they took a commission on a much greater range of precious goods that they transported from elsewhere.

The extensive trade of Phoenicia required much book-keeping and correspondence, and it was in the field of writing that the Phoenicians made their most lasting contribution to world history. The scripts in use in the world up to the second millennium BC (in Egypt, Mesopotamia or China) all required the writer to learn a large number of separate characters – each of them expressing either a whole word or an element of its meaning. By contrast, the Phoenicians, in about 1500 BC, developed an entirely new approach to writing. The marks made (with a pointed tool called a stylus, on damp clay) now attempted to capture the sound of a word. This required an alphabet of individual letters.

The trading and seafaring skills of the Phoenicians resulted in a network of colonies, spreading westwards through the Mediterranean. The first was probably Citium, in Cyprus, established in the 9th century BC. But the main expansion came from the 8th century BC onwards, when pressure from Assyria to the east disrupted the patterns of trade on the Phoenician coast.

Trading colonies were developed on the string of islands in the centre of the Mediterranean – Crete, Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, Ibiza – and also on the coast of north Africa. The African colonies clustered in particular around the great promontory which, with Sicily opposite, forms the narrowest channel on the main Mediterranean sea route. This is the site of Carthage.

Carthage was the largest of the towns founded by the Phoenicians on the north African coast, and it rapidly assumed a leading position among the neighbouring colonies. The traditional date of its founding is 814 BC, but archaeological evidence suggests that it was probably settled a little over a century later.

The subsequent spread and growth of Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean, and even out to the Atlantic coasts of Africa and Spain, was as much the achievement of Carthage as of the original Phoenician trading cities such as Tyre and Sidon. But no doubt links were maintained with the homeland, and new colonists continued to travel west.

From the 8th century BC, many of the coastal cities of Phoenicia came under the control of a succession of imperial powers, each of them defeated and replaced in the region by the next: first the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, Persians and Macedonian Greeks.

In 64 BC, the area of Phoenicia became part of the Roman province of Syria. The Phoenicians as an identifiable people then faded from history, merging into the populations of modern Lebanon and northern Syria.

Section 2

Solution And Explanation

Questions 1-8

Complete the sentences below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

The Phoenician’s trading activities

Question 1. The Phoenicians’ skill at……………………………….helped them to trade.

Answer: seafaring
Supporting sentence: The trading and seafaring skills of the Phoenicians resulted in a network of colonies, spreading westwards through the Mediterranean.&
Keyword : seafaring, skills, westwards, Mediterranean
Keyword location: paragraph 7, lines 1-2
Explanation: The first two lines of paragraph 7 explains that the Phoenicians' ability to trade and navigate the seas led to the development of a network of colonies. This extended through the Mediterranean toward the west. This happened due to seafaring which they have developed over time. Hence, seafaring is the correct answer. .

Question 2. In an ancient story, a…………………………………..from Phoenicia, who lived in Egypt, owned 50 ships.

Answer: merchant
Supporting sentence: One of the characters is Wereket-El, a Phoenician merchant living at Tanis in Egypt’s Nile delta.&
Keyword : characters, Wereket-El, merchant, 50 ships
Keyword location: paragraph 2, lines 2-3
Explanation: Wereket-El, a Phoenician trader who resides in Tanis in the Nile delta of Egypt, is one of the characters. He operates up to 50 ships, which travel back and forth from Sidon, a Phoenician port, to the Nile. Hence, he was a merchant from Phoenicic who owned 50 ships.

Question 3. A king of Israel built a…………………………………….using supplies from Phoenicia.

Answer: temple
Supporting sentence: For Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem, Hiram provided craftsmen with particular skills that were needed for this major construction project.
Keyword : Solomon’s, temple, Jerusalem, major construction project
Keyword location: paragraph 3, lines 3-4
Explanation: The third to fourth lines of paragraph 3 implies that Solomon, King of Israel, had Hiram as a business partner and ally. Hiram provided the skilled craftsmen required for this massive building project for Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. He also supplied materials – particularly timber, including cedar from the forests of Lebanon. These were the supplies from Phoenicia. Hence, the temple was built using the supplies from Phoenicia.

Question 4. Phoenicia supplied Solomon with skilled…………………………….

Answer: craftsmen
Supporting sentence: Hiram provided craftsmen with particular skills
Keyword : Hiram, craftsmen, particular, skills
Keyword location: paragraph 3, lines 3-4
Explanation: Lines 3-4 of paragraph 3 states Hiram provided the experienced workers needed for this enormous Solomon's temple construction project in Jerusalem. Hence, the craftsmen were provided by Hiram.

Question 5. The main material that Phoenicia sent to Israel was……………………………

Answer: timber/ wood
Supporting sentence: He also supplied materials – particularly timber, including cedar from the forests of Lebanon. The cedar wood was not only exported as top-quality timber for architecture and shipbuilding.
Keyword : cedar, wood, top-quality timber, shipbuilding
Keyword location: paragraph 5, lines 1-2
Explanation: The word particularly means specially. here the word is used for timber which was main material supplied by Hiram. This was the main material that was sent to Israel. Hence, timber is the correct answer. .

Question 6. The kings of Phoenicia and Israel formed a business………………………………….in order to carry out trade.

Answer: partnership
Supporting sentence: And the two kings went into trade in partnership.&
Keyword : two, kings, trade, partnership
Keyword location: paragraph 4, lines 2-3
Explanation: Hiram sent supplies, mainly wood from Lebanon's cedar woods to Israel for building. The two rulers then engaged in joint commerce or business partnership. They dispatched Phoenician ships on lengthy voyages to bring back gold, sandalwood, ivory, monkeys and peacocks from Ophir. This marked the partnership of the two kings.

Question 7. Phoenicians carved………………………………………., as well as cedar.

Answer: ivory
Supporting sentence: It was also carved by the Phoenicians, and the same skill was adapted to even more precious work in ivory.
Keyword : carved, Phoenicians, same skill, ivory
Keyword location: paragraph 5, lines 2-3
Explanation: The Phoenicians not only carved cedar and high-quality timber for architecture and shipbuilding. The Phoenicians also carved it, and they applied the same technique to even more priceless ivory work. This means that they knew to carve Ivory also. Hence, Ivory is the correct answer.

Question 8. The Phoenicians also earned a………………………………………. for shipping goods.

Answer: commission
Supporting sentence: In addition, as traders and middlemen, they took a commission on a much greater range of precious goods that they transported from elsewhere.
Keyword : traders, middlemen, commission, transported&
Keyword location: paragraph 5, lines 6-8
Explanation: The sixth to eighth lines of paragraph 5 says that the Phoenicians exported these as their principal goods. Additionally, they received a commission on a far wider variety of priceless commodities. This means that they earned extra commission on additonal goods. hence, they earned a commission for shipping goods.

Questions 9-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

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 9. Problems with Assyria led to the establishment of a number of Phoenician colonies.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: pressure from Assyria to the east disrupted the patterns of trade on the Phoenician coast.
Keyword : Assyria, patterns, Phoenician, coast
Keyword location: paragraph 7, line 4
Explanation: Lines 4 of paragraph 7 clarifies that the trading and seafaring skills of the Phoenicians resulted in a network of colonies, spreading westwards through the Mediterranean. However, the primary expansion began about the eighth century BC, when Assyria's assault on the east disturbed trade or created problems for patterns along the Phoenician coast. Hence, the problems led to a number of colonies is True.

Question 10. Carthage was an enemy town which the Phoenicians won in battle.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: Carthage was the largest of the towns founded by the Phoenicians on the north African coast
Keyword : Carthage, towns, Phoenicians, north African coast
Keyword location: paragraph 8, line 1
Explanation: The first line of paragraph 8 explains that Carthage was the largest of the Phoenician towns on the north African coast. It was one of the colonies created by Phoenicians. This means that they cannot be their own enemy. Hence, it is a FALSE statement.

Question 11. Phoenicians reached the Atlantic ocean.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: The subsequent spread and growth of Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean, and even out to the Atlantic coasts of Africa and Spain
Keyword: subsequent, Phoenician, Atlantic, coasts
Keyword location: paragraph 10, lines 1-2
Explanation: The first two lines of paragraph 10 states that both Carthage and the early Phoenician trading centres like Tyre and Sidon contributed to the future expansion. They had also contributed flourishing of Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean and even as far as the Atlantic shores of Africa and Spain. If they have reached the Atlantic sores means they have reached the ocean. Therefore, we can state that the above statement can be taken as a TRUE .

Question 12. Parts of Phoenicia were conquered by a series of empires.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: In 64 BC, the area of Phoenicia became part of the Roman province of Syria.
Keyword : 64 BC, Phoenicia, part, Roman province
Keyword location: paragraph 12, line 1
Explanation: Line 1 of paragraph 12 clarifies that Phoenicia was annexed to the Roman province of Syria in 64 BC. The Phoenicians as a distinct people then vanished from history and was assimilated into the people of the present-day Lebanon and northern Syria. Thus, the given statement can be regarded as a TRUE one.

Question 13. The Phoenicians welcomed Roman control of the area.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: There is not any pertinent information in the given extract to support the validation of the above said statement. Hence, the above statement can be clearly regarded as an invalid one.

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