Skip to main content

TOEFL Reading 14

 

[1] Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. The word Hieroglyph comes from the Greek word hieroglyphica, meaning 'sacred carvings'. Hieroglyphs were first considered to be simple picture writing. However, it was later discovered that the hieroglyphs actually represent sounds, like the letters in English.
 

[2] Other scripts, or 'hieratic' and 'demotic' scripts, were used for daily writing in Ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian writing dates back to 394 AD. At the end of the fourth century AD, any language associated with paganism was forbidden with the advent of Christianity. At this point, 'Coptic' script, a language with 24 letters from the Greek alphabet, replaced hieroglyphs. Ancient Egyptian developed into this Coptic language. Eventually, Coptic was replaced by Arabic by the 11th century.
 

[3] In 1799, The Rosetta Stone was discovered by the French army of Napoleon in the Nile Delta. The stone was inscribed with text in Greek, demotic and hieroglyphs. It was handed over to the British and remains at the British Museum until today. The inscription on the stone was revealed as a law, written in these three forms of text – indicating that it could help in the deciphering of the hieroglyphs. However, although the meaning of the hieroglyphs could be interpreted, it was still not possible to understand the phonetics of the ancient language.
 

[4] In 1814, a British polymath called Thomas Young had a breakthrough in the phonetics of hieroglyphs by comparing names (Ptolemy and Berenika) with the Greek words. He concentrated on a group of hieroglyphs that were enclosed by a cartouche, or loop. He thought these special hieroglyphs represented something special, such as the name of the Pharaoh. If so, he could connect the phonetics of the name with the corresponding hieroglyphs as the name would be pronounced similarly in a different language. He matched the letters of the name with the hieroglyphs. He applied the same technique on another cartouche and continued to identify sounds of the ancient language. However, Young lost interest in the work in 1819.
 

[5] Jean-François Champollion, a French philologist, applied Young's technique to other names, such as Alexander and Cleopatra and made important breakthroughs in 1822 when he discovered hieroglyphs were phonetic and their underlying language was Egyptian. He discovered that the writers of hieroglyphs used the rebus principle – breaking long words into phonetic components and using images to represent those sounds. The word ‘belief’ could be represented by pictures of a bee and a leaf. He is famous for having cracked the code of a four-lettered cartouche, starting with the picture of a sun or ‘Ra’, the Egyptian sun god. Fluent in Coptic, Champollion discovered the meaning of the word ‘Ra me ses ‘or Rameses. The importance of the sun in the Rameses cartouche is vital because it indicates the language of the scribes. Champollion continued to prove that the Coptic scribes depended on using a phonetic alphabet.
 

[6] Champollion continued to do an in-depth study of hieroglyphs and realized that the hieroglyphs represented phonetic values and sometimes two or three consonants. In this way, the writers could use simple hieroglyphs to spell a word. Champollion launched his first trip to Egypt in July 1828. He was then able to study the hieroglyphs covering the Egyptian temples and to decode them accurately. Only four years later, Champollion died, aged 41. His work remains a valuable contribution to the understanding and interpretation of hieroglyphs today.
 

1 Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about hieroglyphs?

  • Coptic was a new form of hieroglyphic language.
  • Hieroglyphs were no longer used after the rise of Christianity.
  • Hieroglyphs were used for daily writing up to 394 AD.
  • After 394 AD, hieroglyphs were not studied as they were forbidden.

ANSWER EXPLANATION

Question is worth: 1 point.

Correct Answer: b
Your Selection: Not Answered

b is the correct answer because there is evidence to support this statement in paragraph 2: At the end of the fourth century AD, any language associated with paganism was forbidden with the advent of Christianity (lines 2 to 4).
a this is incorrect as it clearly states in the passage that Coptic had an alphabet and was therefore, not a hieroglyphic language.
c this is incorrect as it confuses the reader. In fact, 'Ancient Egyptian writing dates back to 394 AD' - 394 AD was the beginning of Ancient Egyptian writing.
d this is incorrect as there is no mention in the passage that hieroglyphs were forbidden.

2 In paragraph 3, why does the author mention the importance of the discovery of The Rosetta Stone in 1799?

  • Because the discovery of The Rosetta Stone was a historical moment for the French.
  • Because the discovery of The Rosetta Stone was a historical moment for the British.
  • Because the discovery of The Rosetta Stone led to the decoding of the hieroglyphs.
  • Because the discovery of The Rosetta Stone was the first dictionary ever written.

ANSWER EXPLANATION

Question is worth: 1 point.

Correct Answer: c
Your Selection: Not Answered

c is the correct answer because there is evidence to support this statement in paragraph 3:
The inscription on the stone was revealed as a law, written in these three forms of text – indicating that it could help in the deciphering of the hieroglyphs. (Lines 4 to 6).

a this is incorrect as there is no reference to the discovery being a historical moment for the French.
b this is incorrect as there is no reference to the discovery being a historical moment for the British
d this is incorrect as there is no suggestion in this paragraph that The Rosetta Stone was the first dictionary ever written

3 According to paragraph 4, why did Thomas Young focus on the deciphering of names?

  • Due to the fact that they would be pronounced the same in different languages.
  • Because it was easier to decode names rather than common words.
  • Due to the fact that the names of the pharaoh and queen were sacred in meaning.
  • Because they were easier to decode.

ANSWER EXPLANATION

Question is worth: 1 point.

Correct Answer: a
Your Selection: Not Answered

a is the correct answer because there is evidence to support this statement in paragraph 4:
If so, he could connect the phonetics of the name with the corresponding hieroglyphs as the name would be pronounced similarly in a different language (lines 5 to 7).

b this is incorrect as there is no suggestion that researchers chose the 'easier' option
c this is incorrect as there is no mention in the paragraph that the names of the pharoah or queen were sacred in meaning.
d this is incorrect as this is an absurd statement and not mentioned anywhere in the passage.

4 According to paragraph 4, all of the following statements are true about the work of Thomas Young, EXCEPT:

  • Thomas Young focused on ‘special hieroglyphs’ when decoding the ancient language.
  • Thomas Young suspected special cartouches represented something important.
  • Thomas Young used a matching technique between the name’s letters and the hieroglyphs.
  • Thomas Young used a matching technique to identify the sounds of all hieroglyphs.

ANSWER EXPLANATION

Question is worth: 1 point.

Correct Answer: d
Your Selection: Not Answered

d is correct because there it refers to matching sounds - but in the passage, it states that Thomas Young matched the letters of the name with the hieroglyphs (lines 7 to 8).

a, b and c are incorrect because they are all true statements from the passage
a> He concentrated on a group of hieroglyphs that were enclosed by a cartouche, or loop.(Lines 3 to 4).
b> He thought these special hieroglyphs represented something special, such as the name of the Pharaoh (lines 4 to 5).
c> He matched the letters of the name with the hieroglyphs (lines 7 to 8).

5 Paragraph 5 supports which of the following statements about the writers of hieroglyphs:

  • The writers of hieroglyphs used long and short words
  • The writers of hieroglyphs used images which represented the phonetic sounds of words.
  • The writers of hieroglyphs used the rebus principle to break long words into smaller words.
  • The writers of hieroglyphs cracked the codes of the famous cartouches.

ANSWER EXPLANATION

Question is worth: 1 point.

Correct Answer: b
Your Selection: Not Answered

b is the correct answer because there is evidence to support this statement in paragraph 5:
'He discovered that the writers of hieroglyphs used the rebus principle – breaking long words into phonetic components, and using images to represent those sounds. The word ‘belief’ could be represented by pictures of a bee and a leaf'.(Lines 4 to 7).

a this is incorrect as it gives limited information about the writers of hieroglyphs
c this is incorrect as it changes the definition of the Rebus principle, as stated in the paragraph
d this statement is incorrect as there is no reference to this point in the passage.

6 The word 'scribes' in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to:

  • Designers
  • Pharaohs
  • Egyptians
  • Writers

ANSWER EXPLANATION

Question is worth: 1 point.

Correct Answer: d
Your Selection: Not Answered

d is the correct answer because it is closest in meaning to the word 'scribes'.

a this word means 'people who draw or design'.
b this word means 'great kings of Egypt'.
c this word means 'people from Egypt'.

7 Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the following sentence?

However, although the meaning of the hieroglyphs could be interpreted, it was still not possible to understand the phonetics of the ancient language.

  • Nevertheless, it was still impossible to comprehend the sounds of the language even though the signification of the hieroglyphics was understood.
  • Nevertheless, it was still impossible to comprehend the meaning of the language even though the sounds of the hieroglyphics were understood.
  • Nevertheless, it was still possible to comprehend the sounds of the language even though the signification of the hieroglyphics was not understood.
  • Nevertheless, it was still impossible to comprehend the language even though hieroglyphics were never fully interpreted.

ANSWER EXPLANATION

Question is worth: 1 point.

Correct Answer: a
Your Selection: Not Answered

a is the correct answer because it is closest in meaning to the sample sentence

b this is incorrect as in fact, the sounds of the hieroglyphs were not understood ( 'it was still not possible to understand the phonetics of the ancient language').
c this is incorrect as it was not possible to comprehend the sounds of the language
d this is incorrect as the sentence is illogical.

8 According to the passage, what was the Champollion’s achievement?

  • Champollion was the first to discover that the hieroglyphs represented phonetic values.
  • He discovered that the hieroglyphs represented consonant sounds.
  • He discovered that the hieroglyphs represented phonetic values as well as sometimes two or three consonants.
  • He discovered that the hieroglyphs represented the ancient Egyptian language.

ANSWER EXPLANATION

Question is worth: 1 point.

Correct Answer: c
Your Selection: Not Answered

c is the correct answer because it is explained in the passage:
'Champollion continued to do an in-depth study of hieroglyphs and realized that the hieroglyphs represented phonetic values and sometimes two or three consonants'. (Paragaraph 6, lines 1 to 3).

a this is incorrect because there is no indication in the passage that Champollion was the 'first' person to discover that the hieroglyphs represented phonetic values.
b this is incorrect because it is limited - Champollion confirmed that the hieroglyphs not only represented consonants but also phonetic values.
d this is incorrect because the statement is absurd. Hieroglyphs were already a type of Egyptian language.

9 Examine the four █ in the selection below and indicate at which block the following sentence could be inserted into the passage:


The French scholar began to decipher ornate hieroglyphs.

 

█ [A] Champollion launched his first trip to Egypt in July 1828. █ [B] He was then able to study the hieroglyphs covering the Egyptian temples and to decode them accurately. █ [C] Only four years later, Champollion died, aged 41. █ [D] .

  • [A]
  • [B]
  • [C]
  • [D]

ANSWER EXPLANATION

Question is worth: 1 point.

Correct Answer: b
Your Selection: Not Answered

B is correct because the sample sentence introduces another name for Champollion aka the French Scholar. Because of this, it must precede the subject "He" in the next sentence.

Another way to tackle this is the process of elimination.

A cannot be correct as Champollion has not been introduced, yet.
C & D cannot be correct because the sample sentence states he 'began to...' which is an introduction to what he is doing in Egypt, so this must precede both C & D.

10Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong. To remove an answer choice, drag it back. To review the passage, click VIEW TEXT.

 

Both Thomas Young and Jean-Francois Champollion had important breakthroughs in the interpretation of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

  • b. Thomas Young made a breakthrough in the comparison of names.
  • c. Jean-Francois Champollion discovered hieroglyphs represented phonetic sounds and more than one consonant.
  • e. Champollion provided evidence that phonetics was the basis used by the Coptic writers.

 

  • a. Thomas Young discovered the hieroglyphs represented two or more consonants.
  • b. Thomas Young made a breakthrough in the comparison of names.
  • c. Jean-Francois Champollion discovered hieroglyphs represented phonetic sounds and more than one consonant.
  • d. Jean-Francois Champollion studied the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone.
  • e. Champollion provided evidence that phonetics was the basis used by the Coptic writers.
  • f. Thomas Young and Jean-Francoise Champollion worked together on the interpretation of the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

ANSWER EXPLANATION

Question is worth: 2 points.

Correct Answer: b,c,e
Your Selection: Not Answered

b,c and e are the correct answers because there is evidence in the passage supporting each point.
b> Paragraph 4, lines 1 and 2: In 1814, a British polymath called Thomas Young had a breakthrough in the phonetics of hieroglyphs by comparing names (Ptolemy and Berenika) with the Greek words.
c> Paragraph 6, lines 1 and 2:Champollion continued to do an in-depth study of hieroglyphs and realized that the hieroglyphs represented phonetic values and sometimes two or three consonants
e> Paragraph 5, lines 10 and 11: Champollion continued to prove that the Coptic scribes depended on using a phonetic alphabet.


a This is incorrect because it was Champollion, not Young, who discovered the hieroglyphs represented two or more consonants.
d This is incorrect because there is no reference in the passage that Jean-Francois Champollion studied the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone.
f This is incorrect because there is no reference in the passage that Thomas Young and Champollion worked together.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TOEFL Reading 1

  [1] In the southeastern Pacific Ocean, on the piece of land known as Easter Island (now a territory of Chile), stand several hundred massive stone monoliths. These carvings, called “moai,” are recognizable by their oversized heads, with their heavy brows, long noses, elongated ears, and protruding lips. While they average four meters in height and 12.5 tonnes, the largest is almost 10 meters tall and the heaviest weighs a full 86 tons. The upright sculptures are scattered around Easter Island, many installed on platforms called “ahu” along the coast, while others are more inland and several stand near the main volcanic quarry of Rano Raraku. The Rapa Nui people of the island built a total of 887 of these impressive statues between the 12th and 16th centuries. They were, it is said, symbols of religious and political authority,  embodiments  of powerful chiefs or ancestors which faced inland toward the island’s villages, perhaps watching over their creators, keeping them...
Post a Comment
Read more

TOEFL Reading 5

  [1] At the beginning of the 13th century, a tribe of hunting and gathering nomads arrived in Mesoamerica, which is the south-central area of what we now call Mexico. These people were called the Aztecs. It is said that, upon their arrival at Lake Texcoco, they saw an eagle perched on a cactus and accepted it as a sign to settle there. 300 years later, this group of people had managed to establish a mighty empire, ruling over a population in the millions, from their architecturally wondrous capital city of Tenochtitlan. What made this possible was, in part, the Aztecs  ingenuity  in agriculture.  While they didn’t enjoy the benefits of the wheel or the beast of burden, they still managed to use the land around the lakes of central Mexico to support their population through several methods.   [2] The first, and simplest form of agriculture is known as rainfall cultivation. This method involves cultivating only some of the land reserved for agriculture. The un...
Post a Comment
Read more

TOEFL Reading 6

  [1] The Agricultural Revolutions occurred between 2000 and 6000 BC. It is believed that due to climate change, people moved from animal hunting to gathering and agriculture. About 10,000 years ago, some human groups began to raise animals and cultivate domesticated plants. Over the next thousand years, most people became food producers, although hunting and gathering were ongoing. The Agricultural Revolution is the period in history when food production was prevalent in human activity. It occurred over a period of time as food gathering led to food production over several generations. We believe the process began when foragers started to  scatter  seeds and clear weeds to grow crops they enjoyed using for food. It’s possible that non-settled groups behaved in this way, although some families probably settled permanently to produce this food in the long term. [2] The discovery of specialized stone tools indicated the new food-producing practices: polished or ground s...
Post a Comment
Read more