The Terracotta Army Reading Answers

Jan 7, 2025

The Terracotta Army Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. The Terracotta Army Reading Answers has a total of 16 IELTS questions in total. In the questions set you have to fill the blanks with the correct answer from the passage. In the next set of questions you have to tell whether the statement is true, false or not given.

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,The Terracotta Army Reading Answers 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.

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Section 1

THE TERRACOTTA ARMY

It was a prolonged drought in 1974 that forced farmer Yang Zhifa and his five brothers to start digging a well in a small wooded area just outside their village in Lingtong Country near the city of Xi'an in Northwest China, eventually reaching a depth of 15 metres. On March 29th, they found something much more remarkable than water - the terracotta head of a Chinese warrior

along with a heavily-corroded bronze arrowhead. They did not understand the significance Of what they had found at the time, but the brothers had stumbled across the first emperor of China's Terracotta Army.

When Local archaeologist and museum curator Zhao Kangmin got a phone call a couple of weeks later about the farmers' discovery. he knew he needed to get down to the dig site as quickly as possible. The farmers weren't archaeologists, and he was worried they would unwittingly damage the site as they continued to dig for treasure. Zhao jumped on his bicycle and raced to the site. Once there, his worst fears were realized. The brothers had indeed continued to dig, and the site was now littered with hundreds of fragments of Shattered terracotta. He told the farmers that they had to stop what they were doing immediately. They were reluctant to agree. but finally did so.

Zhao gathered the broken fragments together and loaded them onto a truck to transport them to the Lingtong County Museum where he worked. Over the course of the next few days, Zhao painstakingly put the fragments back together. When he was finished, two imposing, 1.78- metre-tall figures stood before him. This was an incredible find, but he wondered if it was just

the tip of the iceberg. To find out, he assigned a small team to Start work on excavating the Site. It soon became Clear, as more soil was cleared and more figures and fragments of figures emerged, that far from there being just a few figures buried underground, there were potentially hundreds.

Zhao was uncertain whether the government in Beijing would allocate resources to a large- scale excavation and decided to continue the work with a small team. However, when journalist visiting the area heard about his work and published an article about the Site, word travelled fast. The authorities were quick to recognise the importance of the find and ordered a full

excavation of the site. Soon, the dig was teeming with archaeologists. It was quickly dawning on everyone that the farmers had stumbled upon one of the most astonishing archaeological finds in modern history. What they had found was an army cast in terracotta - made to defend the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, in the afterlife.

Over the months that followed, four pits were uncovered. To the astonishment of everyone involved, what was unearthed was an entire army, complete with horses and chariots. The first pit revealed the main bulk of the emperor's army — six thousand warriors in total arranged in battle formation, and scattered around their feet a huge collection of swords. The second pit

contained more infantry units, alongside cavalry units and chariots pulled by teams of terracotta horses. The third pit revealed high-ranking officers and the fourth and final pit was empty. In total, the emperor's army numbered eight thousand strong, all lying undiscovered for 2,200 years, buried just a kilometre and a half away from the giant burial mound that houses the mausoleum Of emperor Qin Shi Huang.

As more and more of the figures were painstakingly uncovered, one thing became clear — no two were the same. Built on an industrial scale in various workshops in the late 3rd century BC, each soldier's face had been individually finished off by hand to give it a unique look. Once cast and put together, the soldiers had then been painted to make them look as realistic as possible. Unfortunately, this paint quickly flaked off from the figures when they were unearthed, leading to criticism about the fact that insufficient environmental research had been undertaken before the figures were exposed to the elements.

A year after the discovery of the army, the Chinese government decided to open up the site to the public. A museum was built, and a protective roof was constructed over the now fully- exposed pits. It wasn't long before tourists began to trickle into the small provincial city of Xi'an, eager to see this amazing sight. Soon word spread around the world, and tourists flew in to see

the army in all its glory. The Terracotta Army was officially recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Today, it is one Of the most popular tourist attractions in China, and on the occasions when groups of the terracotta soldiers have been allowed out of the country to go on display in national museums around the world, they have attracted hundreds of thousands

of visitors.

Questions I — 8

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

THE TERRACOTTA ARMY

Discovery and early excavation

Yang Zhifa and his brothers were creating a 1___________ when they made their discovery

Answer: WELL

Supporting statement:Yang Zhifa and his five brothers to start digging a well in a small wooded area just

Keywords: brothers, well

Keyword Location: Para 1, Line 1-2

Explanation: According to the passage Yang Zhifa and his five brothers were forced by an extensive drought in 1974 to begin digging a well in a tiny wooded area outside the village in Lingtong Country, close to the city of Xi'an in Northwest China when they reached the depth of 15 meters. They unearthed a Chinese warrior's terracotta head and a badly corroded bronze arrowhead on March 29th, that was far more amazing than water.

Together with the terracotta head they found a metal 2_________

Answer: ARROWHEAD

Supporting statement:the terracotta head of a Chinese warrior along with a heavily-corroded bronze arrowhead.

Keywords: head arrowhead

Keyword Location: Para 1, Lines 4-5

Explanation: In the passage it is given that when the brothers dig the area for the well in hope of getting water due to the prolonged unavailability of it caused by the drought. They accidentally unearthed the terracotta head of a Chinese warrior along with a heavily-corroded bronze arrowhead not knowing what it was.

Zhao Kangmin put the terracotta pieces into a 3________and took them to the museum

Answer: TRUCK

Supporting statement:Zhao gathered the broken fragments together and loaded them onto a truck to transport them to the Lingtong County Museum

Keywords: broken, transport

Keyword Location: Para 3, Line 1

Explanation: In the passage it is stated that Zhao Kangmin gathered the broken fragments of the terracotta loaded them onto a truck and transported them to the Lingtong County Museum

where he used to work Zhao painstakingly put the fragments back together over the course of the next few days when he was finished two 1.78- metre-tall figures stood before him.

a 4____________ became aware of the site and wrote about it

the government sent more archaeologists to the site

Answer: JOURNALIST

Supporting statement: However, when journalist visiting the area heard about his work and published an article about the Site

Keywords: area, site

Keyword Location: Para 4, Line 3

Explanation: In the given passage it is clear that discovery of the terracotta was not known t to the public or the government until a journalist visiting the area wrote an article about it this made the authorities quick to notice about the site and the unearthing of the terracotta army they then asked for an speed upped excavation of the site

Objects in the four pits

• Pit one: warriors and numerous5________

Answer: SWORDS

Supporting statement:The first pit revealed the main bulk of the emperor's army — six thousand warriors in total arranged in battle formation, and scattered around their feet a huge collection of swords.

Keywords: emperor’s, warriors

Keyword Location: Para 5, Lines 3-4

Explanation: According to the passage the items found in the pit number one were the vast portion of the emperor's army, totaling 6,000 warriors, were positioned in combat formation, with a vast number of swords lying around their feet.

• Pit two: warriors, chariots and 6________

Answer: CAVALRY

Supporting statement:The second pit contained more infantry units, alongside cavalry units and chariots pulled by teams of terracotta horses.

Keywords: cavalry, chariots

Keyword Location: Para 5, Line 5

Explanation: According to the passage in addition to cavalry groups and chariots driven by groups of terracotta horses, the second pit housed more infantry divisions.

• Pit three: warriors and a chariot

• Pit four: empty

How the terracotta figures were made

• mass produced in a number of 7_________

Answer: WORKSHOPS

Supporting statement: Built on an industrial scale in various workshops in the late 3rd century BC

Keywords: industrial, workshops

Keyword Location: Para 6, Line 2

Explanation:According to the passage the terracotta army was made on an industrial scale in various workshops they were made one by one handmade.

• the8_________ of individual figures completed by hand to make them look different

Answer:FACES

Supporting statement: each soldier's face had been individually finished off by hand to give it a unique look.

Keywords: soldier’s, face

Keyword Location: Para 6, Line 3

Explanation:It is stated in the passage that the faces of all the terracotta soldiers look unique with distinct- features clearly indicating that each one of them was made handmade

Questions 9 — 16

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

In boxes 9-16 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

9. Yang Zhifa and his brothers realised immediately that their discovery was important.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement:They did not understand the significance of what they had found at the time,

Keywords: significance, found

Keyword Location: Para 1, Lines 5-6

Explanation: The brothers did not stop the digging even after being told to stop doing it by Zhao Kangmin because they did not know about the significance of the thing they had just unearthed due to their digging.

I0. When Zhao Kangmin arrived at the site. he knew he had been right to be concerned.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement:Once there, his worst fears were realized. The brothers had indeed continued to dig, and the site was now littered with hundreds Of fragments of Shattered terracotta.

Keywords: littered, fragments

Keyword Location: Para 2, Line 6

Explanation: According to the passage when Zhao hurried to the location after jumping on his bicycle. His worst fears proved true once he arrived. The location was now covered with hundreds of pieces of broken terracotta, showing that the brothers had surely kept digging.

11. Yang and his brothers carried out Zhao's order straight away.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement:He told the farmers that they had to stop what they were doing immediately. They were reluctant to agree. but finally did so.

Keywords: farmers, stop

Keyword Location: Para 2, Line 7

Explanation: In the passage it is stated that the farmer’s brother did not stop the digging of the well even when asked by Zhao. They had continued to do so for some time not knowing the importance of what they had just dug out but after sometime they stopped the digging.

12. After he had assembled two terracotta figures, Zhao sent Other people to continue digging.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement:he assigned a small team to Start work on excavating the Site.

Keywords: excavating, small

Keyword Location: Para3, Line 5

Explanation: After Zhao had packed and loaded the shattered fragments of the terracotta army in a truck he assembled them together and sent a small team to start the excavation process of the site to keep the work going.

13. The government sent archaeologists from every part of China to work on the site.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The passage does not state anything about the fact that the government ordered archaeologists from every part of China to help in the excavation process of the terracotta warriors.

14. The figures found in the third pit represented the leaders of the emperor's army.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement:The third pit revealed high-ranking officers and an elaborate bronze war chariot.

Keywords: pit, officers

Keyword Location: Para 5, Line 6

Explanation: According to the passage the contains found in the third pit were high ranking officials of the emperor army and an elaborate bronze war chariot.

15. Extensive research was carried out to discover how excavation would affect the paint on the figures.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement:Unfortunately, this paint quickly flaked off from the figures when they were unearthed, leading to criticism about the fact that insufficient environmental research had been undertaken before the figures were exposed to the elements.

Keywords: paint, research

Keyword Location: Para 6, Line 5-6

Explanation: It is stated in the passage that after being casted and assembled, the soldiers were painted to get the most lifelike appearance. Regretfully, when the figures were uncovered, this paint rapidly peeled off of them. This made it clear that no research was done about the elements and compounds of the terracotta army.

16. Large groups of tourists need special permission to visit the site.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The passage does not state anything about there being a special permission being required to visit the site on the contrary the site is open to everyone to visit.

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