Tool For Ancient Writing Reading Answers

Feb 3, 2023

Tool For Ancient Writing Reading Answers is an IELTS general reading topic that requires candidates to solve a given set of questions within 20 minutes. Tool For Ancient Writing Reading Answers has been referenced from the IELTS Book Master IELTS General Training Volume 4. This IELTS reading topic; Tool For Ancient Writing Reading Answers comprises 13 questions. The question types in this IELTS reading topic are that candidates are required to write no more than three words, and choose the correct option. To practice more such reading passage candidates can refer to the IELTS reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Tool For Ancient Writing Reading Answers

{A} With time, the record-keepers developed systematized symbols from their drawings. These symbols represented words and sentences but were easier and faster to draw and universally recognized for meaning. The discovery of clay made portable records possible (you can’t carry a cave wall around with you). Early merchants used clay tokens with pictographs to record the quantities of materials traded or shipped. These tokens date back to about 8,500 B.C. With the high volume and the repetition inherent in record keeping, pictographs evolved and slowly lost their picture detail. They became abstract figures representing sounds in spoken communication. The alphabet replaced pictographs between 1700 and 1500 B.C. in the Sinaitic world. The current Hebrew alphabet and writing became popular around 600 B.C. About 400 B.C. the Greek alphabet was developed. Greek was the first script written from left to right. From Greek followed the Byzantine and the Roman (later Latin) writings. In the beginning, all writing systems had only uppercase letters, when the writing instruments were refined enough for detailed faces, lowercase was used as well (around 600 A.D.)

{B} The earliest means of writing that approached pen and paper as we know them today was developed by the Greeks. They employed a writing stylus, made of metal, bone, or ivory, to placemarks upon wax-coated tablets. The tablets are made in hinged pairs, closed to protect the scribe’s notes. The first examples of handwriting (purely text messages made by hand) originated in Greece. The Grecian scholar, Cadmus invented the written letter – text messages on paper sent from one individual to another.

{C} Writing was advancing beyond chiselling pictures into stone or wedging pictographs into wet clay. The Chinese invented and perfected ‘Indian Ink’. Originally designed for blacking the surfaces of raised stone-carved hieroglyphics, the ink was a mixture of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with the gelatin of donkey skin and musk. The ink invented by the Chinese philosopher, Tien-Lcheu (2697 B.C.), became common by the year 1200 B.C. Other cultures developed inks using natural dyes and colours derived from berries, plants, and minerals. In early writings, different coloured inks had ritual meanings attached to each colour.

{D} The invention of inks paralleled the introduction of the paper. The early Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and Hebrews, used papyrus and parchment papers. One of the oldest pieces of writing on papyrus known to us today is the Egyptian “Prisse Papyrus” which dates back to 2000 B.C. The Romans created a reed-pen perfect for parchment and ink, from the hollow tubular stems of marsh grasses, especially from the jointed bamboo plant. They converted bamboo stems into a primitive form of a fountain pen. They cut one end into the form of a pen nib or point. A writing fluid or ink filled the stem, squeezing the reed forced fluid to the nib

{E} By 400 A.D. a stable form of ink developed, a composite of iron salts, nutgalls, and gum, the basic formula, which was to remain in use for centuries. Its colour when first applied to paper was a bluish-black, rapidly turning into a darker black and then over the years fading to the familiar dull brown colour commonly seen in old documents. Wood-fiber paper was invented in China in 105 A.D. but it only became known about (due to Chinese secrecy) in Japan around 700 A.D. and was brought to Spain by the Arabs in 711 A.D. Paper was not widely used throughout Europe until paper mills were built in the late 14th century

{F} The writing instrument that dominated for the longest period in history (over one thousand years) was the quill pen. Introduced around 700 A.D., the quill is a pen made from a bird feather. The strongest quills were those taken from living birds in the spring from the five outer left wing feathers. The left wing was favoured because the feathers curved outward and away when used by a right-handed writer. Goose feathers were most common; swan feathers were of a premium grade being scarcer and more expensive. For making fine lines, crow feathers were the best, and then came the feathers of the eagle, owl, hawk, and turkey.

{G} There were also disadvantages associated with the use of quill pens, including a lengthy preparation time. The early European writing parchments made from animal skins required much scraping and cleaning. A lead and a ruler made margins. To sharpen the quill, the writer needed a special knife (origins of the term “pen-knife”.) Beneath the writer’s high-top desk was a coal stove, used to dry the ink as fast as possible.

H Plant-fiber paper became the primary medium for writing after another dramatic invention took place: Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable wooden or metal letters in 1436. Simpler kinds of printing e.g. stamps with names used much earlier in China, did not find their way to Europe. During the centuries, many newer printing technologies were developed based on Gutenberg’s printing machine e.g. offset printing.

{I} Articles written by hand had resembled printed letters until scholars began to change the form of writing, using capitals and small letters, writing with more of a slant and connecting letters. Gradually writing became more suitable to the speed the new writing instruments permitted. The credit of inventing Italian ‘running hand’ or cursive handwriting with its Roman capitals and small letters, goes to Aldus Manutius of Venice, who departed from the old set forms in 1495 A.D. By the end of the 16th century, the old Roman capitals and Greek letterforms transformed into the twenty-six alphabet letters we know today, both for upper and lower-case letters. When writers had both better inks and paper, and handwriting had developed into both an art form and an everyday occurrence, man’s inventive nature once again turned to improving the writing instrument, leading to the development of the modern fountain pens

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-3:
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, D, E ? Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.

Question 1-2 What two features do record retention possess in nature?

(A) Easier and faster
(B) Capaciousness
(C) portable
(D) convenient
(E) Iterance

Question 1.

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: The earliest means of writing that approached pen and paper as we know them today was developed by the Greeks. They employed a writing stylus, made of metal, bone, or ivory, to placemarks upon wax-coated tablets.
Keywords: approached pen, Greeks
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 1-3
Explanation: The Greeks invented the oldest form of writing that resembled pen and paper as we know them today. They marked the wax-coated tablets with a writing stylus made of metal, bone, or ivory.

Question 2.

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: The earliest means of writing that approached pen and paper as we know them today was developed by the Greeks. They employed a writing stylus, made of metal, bone, or ivory, to placemarks upon wax-coated tablets.
Keywords: approached pen, Greeks
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 1-3
Explanation: The Greeks invented the oldest form of writing that resembled pen and paper as we know them today. They marked the wax-coated tablets with a writing stylus made of metal, bone, or ivory.

Question 3:- What hurts the technique of producing wooden paper from popularity for a long time?

(A) Scarcity
(B) Complexity
(C) Confidentiality by the inventors
(D) High cost

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Plant-fiber paper became the primary medium for writing after another dramatic invention took place: Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable wooden or metal letters in 1436.
Keywords: Plant-fiber, paper, wooden
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, lines 1-3
Explanation: As mentioned in the above paragraph, the confidentiality of inventors was necessary to be observed. The passage, thus, justifies the chosen option.

Questions 4-10:
The reading Passage has eleven paragraphs A-I.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-1, in boxes 31-37 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.

Question 4:- the working principle of the primitive pens made of plant stems

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: They converted bamboo stems into a primitive form of a fountain pen. They cut one end into the form of a pen nib or point. A writing fluid or ink filled the stem, squeezing the reed forced fluid to the nib
Keywords: bamboo stems, fountain pen, writing fluid
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, lines 5-7
Explanation: As mentioned in the reading passage, bamboo stems were converted in the forms of fountain pens. The working principle included cutting off one end of a pen and it was squeezed in order to release the ink.

Question 5:- a writing tool commonly implemented for the longest time

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence: One of the oldest pieces of writing on papyrus known to us today is the Egyptian “Prisse Papyrus” which dates back to 2000 B.C
Keywords: oldest pieces, papyrus, Prisse Papyrus
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, lines 1-3
Explanation: As explained in the above mentioned reading passage the oldest writing tool is called Prisse Papyrus. This tool has existed from 2000 B.C.

Question 6:- liquid for writing firstly devised by Chinese

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: The Chinese invented and perfected ‘Indian Ink’. Originally designed for blacking the surfaces of raised stone-carved hieroglyphics, the ink was a mixture of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with the gelatin of donkey skin and musk.
Keywords: Chinese, Indian Ink, stone-carved, hieroglyphics,
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 2-4
Explanation: The above-mentioned supporting sentence highlights the ink that was invented by the Chinese. This ink consisted of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with gelatin of donkey skin and musk.

Question 7:- majuscule scripts as the unique written form originally

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: Articles written by hand had resembled printed letters until scholars began to change the form of writing, using capitals and small letters, writing with more of a slant and connecting letters.
Keywords: written, resembled, letters
Keyword Location: Paragraph I, lines 1-3
Explanation: The above-mentioned paragraph explains that these scripts were originally printed letters. Further, these were developed by changing the form of writing and implementing use of capital letters and small letters.

Question 8:- the original invention of today’s correspondences

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Plant-fiber paper became the primary medium for writing after another dramatic invention took place: Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable wooden or metal letters in 1436.
Keywords: Plant-fiber, paper, wooden
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, lines 1-3
Explanation: As mentioned in the above paragraph, the confidentiality of inventors was necessary to be observed. The passage, thus, justifies the chosen option.

Question 9:- the mention of two basic writing instruments being invented coordinately

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: By 400 A.D…… Arabs in 711 A.D.
Keywords: basic, 400 A., ink, wooden paper, Arabs, 711 A.D
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Lines 1-6
Explanation: As mentioned in the reading passage, therefore, the two basic instruments are; ink and wooden paper.

Question 10:- a design to safeguard the written content

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: The Chinese invented and perfected ‘Indian Ink’. Originally designed for blacking the surfaces of raised stone-carved hieroglyphics, the ink was a mixture of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with the gelatin of donkey skin and musk.
Keywords: Chinese, Indian Ink, stone-carved, hieroglyphics,
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 2-4
Explanation: The above-mentioned supporting sentence highlights the ink that was invented by the Chinese. This ink consisted of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with gelatin of donkey skin and musk.

Questions 11-13:
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

Question 11:- What makes it not so convenient to use the quill pens?

Answer: Lengthy preparation time
Supporting Sentence: There were also disadvantages associated with the use of quill pens, including a lengthy preparation time.
Keywords: disadvantages, quill pens, lengthy, preparation, time
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, lines 1-2
Explanation: The usage of quill pens had drawbacks as well, such as a protracted preparation period.

Question 12:- When did one more breakthrough occur following the popularity of paper of plant fibres?

Answer: in 1436
Supporting Sentence: Plant-fiber paper became the primary medium for writing after another dramatic invention took place: Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable wooden or metal letters in 1436.
Keywords: primary, invention, 1436
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, lines 1-3
Explanation: After another significant breakthrough, the printing press with interchangeable wooden or metal letters was created by Johannes Gutenberg in 1436. It used plant-fiber paper to replace animal-fiber paper as the dominant writing surface.

Question 13:- What inventions were the results of human’s creative instinct of developing writing tools?

Answer: modern fountain pens
Supporting Sentence: When writers had both better inks and paper, and handwriting had developed into both an art form and an everyday occurrence, man’s inventive nature once again turned to improving the writing instrument, leading to the development of the modern fountain pens
Keywords: inks, paper, modern, fountain, pens
Keyword Location: paragraph I, lines 8-10
Explanation: Modern fountain pens were created as a result of man's inventive spirit. It was in order to turn to enhancing the writing instrument once more. Until then authors had access to better inks, paper, and handwriting had become both an art form and a common occurrence.

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