Papyrus — IELTS Reading Answers

Section A

“Libraries and archives are cultural crossroads of knowledge exchange, where the past transmits information to the present, and where the present has the opportunity to inform the future”

Heading ii suits Section A, which calls libraries 'cultural crossroads of knowledge exchange' linking past, present and future.

Section B

“Manufacturing sheets of papyrus from papyrus sedge was a complex, messy process. Pith from inside the plant's stem was cut into long strips that were laid side by side. These were then covered with a second layer of strips which were laid at right angles to the first, then soaked in water and hammered together.”

Heading viii fits Section B's manufacturing account, from cutting pith strips to soaking, hammering, drying and polishing the sheet.

Section C

“Collections of documents that record information and ideas have frequently been viewed as potentially dangerous. For thousands of years, governments, despots and conquerors have resorted to burning libraries and books to rid themselves of inconvenient evidence or obliterate cultures and ideas that they found...”

Heading vii matches Section C, where rulers 'burn libraries and books' to destroy inconvenient evidence and obliterate cultures.

Section D

“Besides their use in record-keeping, papyrus stems were used in many other aspects of Mediterranean life, such as for boat construction and making ropes, sails and baskets, as well as being a source of food”

Heading iii covers Section D's other uses of papyrus stems: boats, ropes, sails, baskets and even food.

Section E

“the adoption of this paper by western cultures soon rendered papyrus obsolete”

Heading vi fits Section E, where western paper 'rendered papyrus obsolete', marking the material's decline.

What was the problem with using animal skins and wood strips for writing on?

1. AThey did not last for a long time.correct
2. BThey were not easy to store.
3. CThey were insufficiently flexible.
4. DThey could be destroyed by fire.

“Other cultures used more flexible but less permanent surfaces, including animal skins and wood strips”

A: animal skins and wood strips were 'less permanent', so they did not last long as writing surfaces.

Why did papyrus manufacturers hammer the papyrus?

1. Ato remove water from the pith strips
2. Bto join the layers of pith strips togethercorrect
3. Cto allow the pith strips to be easily cut
4. Dto position the layers of pith strips at the correct angle

“These were then covered with a second layer of strips which were laid at right angles to the first, then soaked in water and hammered together”

B: the second layer was soaked and 'hammered together', which bonded the crossed strips into one sheet.

When referring to burning libraries and books, the writer is suggesting that

1. Ainformation can be used for harm as well as for good.
2. Bnew ways must be found to ensure information is not lost.
3. Ccultural knowledge depends on more than written texts.
4. Dthose in power may wish to keep others in ignorance.correct

“governments, despots and conquerors have resorted to burning libraries and books to rid themselves of inconvenient evidence or obliterate cultures and ideas that they found politically, morally or religiously unacceptable”

D: burning removed 'inconvenient evidence' and obliterated ideas, suggesting rulers wanted people kept ignorant.

The writer refers to Thor Heyerdahl to illustrate the point that

1. Apapyrus could be used as a food on long sea voyages.
2. Bthe ancient Egyptians already had advanced navigation skills.
3. Cpapyrus could be used to build boats for long sea journeys.correct
4. Dthe ancient Egyptians knew of the environmental benefits of papyrus

“In 1969 the adventurer Thor Heyerdahl attempted to cross the Atlantic from Morocco in the boat Ra, to show that it was possible for mariners in ancient times to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Ra was made from bundles of papyrus stems”

C: Heyerdahl's Ra, 'made from bundles of papyrus stems', showed ancient mariners could cross the Atlantic in papyrus boats.

What does the writer conclude about papyrus today?

1. AIt is better for the environment than using paper.
2. BIts significance is restricted to its role in the past.correct
3. CIt is still the best writing surface for some purposes.
4. DMore efforts need to be made to ensure it stays in use.

“papyrus is little more than a niche product for the tourist market”

B: papyrus is now 'little more than a niche product for the tourist market', so its importance belongs to the past.

“In moist climates the cellulose-rich sheets of papyrus would readily decay, becoming covered by mould or full of holes from attacks by insects”

In damp conditions the sheets became 'full of holes from attacks by insects', so the plural noun insects fits.

“the earliest known roll of papyrus scroll was found in the tomb of an official called Hemeka near Memphis, which was then the capital city of Egypt, and is around five thousand years old”

The earliest scroll 'was found in the tomb of an official called Hemeka', so tomb is the noun.

“in 79CE, nearly 2,000 papyrus scrolls in the library of Julius Caesar's father-in-law were protected at Herculaneum by ash from the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius”

The scrolls were protected 'by ash from the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius', so eruption fits.