The Benefits For Children Of Working With Archaeologists — IELTS Reading Answers

how unusual it is for archaeologists and children to have equal responsibilities

“What is less common is to find primary school pupils working as partners with an archaeologist. Our project lets primary school children take a joint role in an archaeological investigation, working actively alongside an expert in the field”

Paragraph B notes that what 'is less common' is primary pupils working 'as partners with an archaeologist', so equal responsibilities are unusual.

the relevance of the children's achievements to a country's educational requirements

“This is a key principle in the Social Studies section of Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence, the national framework for learning for children between the ages of three and 18”

Paragraph F links the work to 'Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence', the national framework for learning, i.e. national educational requirements.

the location of the archaeologists' main project

“The main project was developed with a team from the University of Aberdeen and funded by a Community Heritage fund and the National Lottery. It focused on the history and archaeology of an abandoned mid-19th-century settlement, located on common ground on the lower slopes of the Bennachie hills”

Paragraph C locates the main project at an abandoned settlement 'on the lower slopes of the Bennachie hills'.

a place where a large amount of archaeological material was found

“They also discovered the remains of a 19th- or 20th-century midden, or rubbish dump, containing many pieces of broken pottery”

Paragraph D describes a midden, or rubbish dump, 'containing many pieces of broken pottery', a large find of archaeological material.

a relative's connection to a local business

“One of the children discovered that their great-grandfather had once owned the Seaton workshop”

Paragraph G gives the child whose 'great-grandfather had once owned the Seaton workshop', a relative's link to a local business.

The experiment described in paragraph A is designed to show

1. Awhy objects break up when they are left in woodland.
2. Bhow modern objects differ from those made in the past.
3. Cwhat happens to a breakable object when it hits the ground.correct
4. Dhow long it takes to put a broken object back together again.

“A group of excited children are instructing community archaeologist Colin Shepherd when to drop a china mug on the floor so that they can see how it breaks on impact”

Option C fits the experiment: children tell Colin when to drop a mug 'so that they can see how it breaks on impact'.

In paragraph B, what does the writer say most schoolchildren do when they visit archaeological sites?

1. AThey meet with experts at the site.
2. BThey talk to people living near the site.
3. CThey are given information about the site.
4. DThey engage in simple activities at the site.correct

“They are normally given straightforward tasks like washing and sorting finds, that is, any discoveries that are of archaeological interest”

Option D matches the evidence that schoolchildren are 'normally given straightforward tasks like washing and sorting finds'.

The water mill is an example of something that the children

1. Ahad read about in history lessons.
2. Bdiscovered using written documents.correct
3. Chad heard about from local people.
4. Dremembered from previous activities.

“Taking on the role of historians and working with primary source materials, such as maps, census returns and tax payments, the children were able to develop their own lines of enquiry. Their research suggested that there had been a water mill in the area, so their excavations set out to find it”

Option B fits: the children used 'primary source materials, such as maps, census returns and tax payments', and their research suggested a water mill.

What does the writer say about one child's grandmother?

1. AShe recognised the pattern on some pottery.correct
2. BShe showed the children how to decorate pottery.
3. CShe regularly cooked using a pot that was very old.
4. DShe offered the children an old pot that she had kept.

“The grandmother of another child recounted her memories of making oatmeal porridge in a small bowl decorated with the same floral design as a pottery piece on display”

Option A matches the grandmother who recalled a bowl 'decorated with the same floral design as a pottery piece on display', so she recognised the pattern.

“Following a visit to the university to see the museum there, the children produced a timeline of everything they had found to show the period in history to which each item belonged”

The timeline followed 'a visit to the university to see the museum there', the place the summary names.

“They went on to invent a 'guess the object' game to engage visitors in their discoveries”

The children invented a 'guess the object' game 'to engage visitors', the singular noun needed.

“During the identification of the pottery pieces, one was identified as coming from the distinctive Seaton workshop in Aberdeen, so a complete example was borrowed from the museum and included in the cabinet alongside it”

The pottery came from 'the distinctive Seaton workshop in Aberdeen', the place name the gap requires.

What would be a suitable title for the article?

1. AChildren make an exciting archaeological discovery
2. BArchaeology is becoming a new hobby for children
3. CThe benefits for children of working with archaeologistscorrect
4. DCommunities appreciate the teachings of archaeologists

“The archaeological investigations carried out by the children created a real-life context for them to play an active part in learning – educating not just themselves but their community too”

Option C is the best title because the article centres on how the project let children 'play an active part in learning' alongside archaeologists.