Numeration — IELTS Reading Answers

A developed system of numbering

“As they began to settle, grow plants and herd animals, the need for a sophisticated number system became paramount”

The sentence needs the period when numbering became essential: 'as they began to settle, grow plants and herd animals, the need ... became paramount'.

An additional hand signal

“But in real situations the number and words are often accompanied by gestures to help resolve any confusion. For example, when using the one, two, many type of system, the word many would mean, Look at my hands and see how many fingers I am showing you”

Gestures accompany words when the number system is limited — 'when using the one, two, many type of system' — so option E fits.

In seventh-century Europe, the ability to count to a certain number

“In fact, to qualify as a witness in a court of law a man had to be able to count to nine”

Counting to nine was required 'to qualify as a witness in a court of law', a civic role, matching option A.

Thinking about numbers as concepts separate from physical objects

“When the number 4 can be registered in the mind as a specific word, independent of the object being referenced, the individual is ready to take the first step toward the development of a notational system for numbers and, from there, to arithmetic”

Once number is registered 'independent of the object', the individual can move toward a notational system and 'from there, to arithmetic'.

Expressing number differently according to class of item

“The numeration system of the Tsimshian language in British Columbia contains seven distinct sets of words for numbers according to the class of the item being counted: for counting flat objects and animals, for round objects and time, for people, for long objects and trees, for canoes, for measures,”

Tsimshian has 'seven distinct sets of words for numbers according to the class of the item being counted', a feature of early systems — option G.

For the earliest tribes, the concept of sufficiency was more important than the concept of quantity.

“Our ancestors had little use for actual numbers; instead their considerations would have been more of the kind Is this enough? rather than How many? when they were engaged in food gathering, for example”

Ancestors asked 'Is this enough?' rather than 'How many?', so sufficiency mattered more than quantity.

Indigenous Tasmanians used only four terms to indicate numbers of objects.

“The indigenous peoples of Tasmania were only able to count one, two, many”

Tasmanians could count only 'one, two, many' — three terms, not four, so the statement is contradicted.

Some peoples with simple number systems use body language to prevent misunderstanding of expressions of number.

“But in real situations the number and words are often accompanied by gestures to help resolve any confusion”

Words are 'often accompanied by gestures to help resolve any confusion', confirming body language prevents misunderstanding.

All cultures have been able to express large numbers clearly.

“The lack of ability of some cultures to deal with large numbers is not really surprising”

The text notes 'the lack of ability of some cultures to deal with large numbers', contradicting the claim that all cultures express them clearly.

The word 'thousand' has Anglo-Saxon origins.

“By the seventh century, the word teon had become interchangeable with the tachund or hund of the Anglo-Saxon language, and so 100 was denoted as hund teontig, or ten times ten”

The passage discusses 'tachund' and 'hund' in Anglo-Saxon but never states that the word 'thousand' has Anglo-Saxon origins.

In general, people in seventh-century Europe had poor counting ability.

“The average person in the seventh century in Europe was not as familiar with numbers as we are today. In fact, to qualify as a witness in a court of law a man had to be able to count to nine”

'The average person in the seventh century in Europe was not as familiar with numbers as we are today', and witnesses needed only to count to nine.

In the Tsimshian language, the number for long objects and canoes is expressed with the same word.

“The numeration system of the Tsimshian language in British Columbia contains seven distinct sets of words for numbers according to the class of the item being counted: for counting flat objects and animals, for round objects and time, for people, for long objects and trees, for canoes, for measures,”

Tsimshian has separate sets for 'long objects and trees' and for 'canoes', so the same word is not used for both.

The Tsimshian language contains both older and newer systems of counting.

“The numeration system of the Tsimshian language in British Columbia contains seven distinct sets of words for numbers according to the class of the item being counted: for counting flat objects and animals, for round objects and time, for people, for long objects and trees, for canoes, for measures,”

The last set is 'a later development' while the first six are 'relics of an older system', so both newer and older systems exist.

Early peoples found it easier to count by using their fingers rather than a group of pebbles.

“Counting is not directly related to the formation of a number concept because it is possible to count by matching the items being counted against a group of pebbles, grains of corn, or the counter's fingers”

Counting with pebbles, grains or fingers is listed as possible, but the passage never says fingers were easier than pebbles.