Ancient Egypt – IELTS Reading Passage with Answers

Since IELTS Reading is considered the second easiest module of the exam after Listening, solve and review reading passage of Ancient Egypt and similar passages to ensure that your reading skills are up to the mark.

The Academic passage, Ancient Egypt, is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Since questions get repeated in the IELTS exam, these passages are ideal for practice. If you want more practice, try taking an IELTS reading practice test.

There are 13 questions in the IELTS Reading Answers of Ancient Egypt, which showcase four different IELTS Reading question types. They are:

• Sentence Completion (Q. 1-3)
• Diagram Completion (Q. 4-7)
• True/False/Not Given (Q. 8-12)
• Multiple-Choice Questions (Q. 13)

Reading Passage 

Ancient Egypt

The people of ancient Egypt emerged as one of the first Western civilisations. Sustained by the River Nile and protected by vast deserts, the Egyptians lived in comparative security, prosperity and peace for thousands of years. When such conditions exist, civilization and its arts usually flourish. To this day, many of the Egyptian artistic creations display the wealth, splendour and talent of this great civilisation.

Ancient Egypt has been called a land of temples and tombs, and for centuries people have been filled with wonder at the ingenuity of the Egyptians, whose impressive works have withstood the ravages of time so well. Had it not been for the long-lasting nature of their monuments and carved inscriptions in the form of hieroglyphics’, much evidence of their activities would have vanished from all historical records. In about 3000 BC, Upper and Lower Egypt were united under the first pharaoh, and generally, from that time until the invasion by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, Egypt prospered as a nation of skilful craftsmen and artists.

The Egyptians were industrious, highly civilised and deeply religious people, who obediently accepted the supreme authority of their pharaohs. The people were content to serve and work for the state in return for a secure livelihood. They considered this earthly life to be a segment in a great cycle, at the end of which everything would be returned to its original form. The richer and more important the person, the more careful and elaborate would be his or her burial, and the stronger and safer the tomb in which they would be buried.

The burial of the dead in the ground was not considered sufficiently safe for kings, queens and court officials, so sunken, sealed tombs were ingeniously constructed to protect personal treasures, food and instructions for the safe conduct of the soul after death. The design of these tombs developed into the stepped pyramid, and finally into the square pyramid that we know today.

There are about 80 ancient pyramids in Egypt. The Great Pyramid at Gizeh, which King Cheops built as his tomb 5000 years ago, holds the most interest. It stands with two other pyramids on a slight rise overlooking the River Nile. At the centre of the pyramid is the King’s Chamber and leading down from there is a long narrow area known as the Grand Gallery. The pyramid covers 13 acres and contains 2,300,000 blocks of limestone, each weighing an average of 1.5 tons. Its pyramidal form has a perfectly square base with sides of 756 feet and a height of 481 feet. Situated directly below the King’s Chamber is the Queen’s Chamber and there are two air channels leading upwards from the centre of the pyramid to the outside.

Originally, the exterior was covered in highly polished limestone slabs, all of which have been stolen over the years. It is estimated that a total of 100,000 men laboured for 20 years to build this gigantic structure, and although architecturally unimportant in design, it has aroused the curiosity of millions of people because of the uncanny accuracy of its measurements and proportions. It reveals the remarkable ingenuity and the great organising ability of the ancient Egyptians.

Near these pyramids stands the Great Sphinx, the origin and purpose of which constitute one of the world’s most famous puzzles. Shaped from an outcrop of stone in the form of a human-headed lion, the face is possibly a portrait of King Khafra, the son of Cheops, who was buried in the second largest pyramid. The Sphinx is one of the biggest statues ever made.

The Egyptian people showed reverence towards natural objects such as the lotus flower, the scarab beetle, the falcon, the lion, the sun and the River Nile. AII these subjects and many more were used symbolically and conventionally as motifs in low-relief carving and painting. It was the custom of the Egyptians to depict the various parts of the human figure, usually in the most characteristic positions. The head was shown in profile except for the eye, which was represented from the front, the shoulders and a portion of the arms were portrayed from the front, while the hips and legs were side views. Wall decoration showed little or no attempt to indicate depth or perspective, except by placing distant objects above near things. It was essentially two-dimensional, and relative size indicated the status of the person, so the pharaoh was the largest figure in the composition.

Egyptian art is characterised by a passion for permanence, a desire to impress by size, and a determination to make each item serve its function without much regard for the whole. It is obvious that art among these people reached a very high level and the strong influence of Egyptian art can be seen in the work of nearby civilisations.

The fortunate discovery and subsequent deciphering in 1822 of the Rosetta Stone, which showed the same laws inscribed both in Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Egyptian demotic, or popular version of their language, as well as the Greek language, eventually gave the key to the meaning of Egyptian inscriptions, and therefore the significance of much Egyptian art.

Questions 1-3

1 Security and peace are two …………………… that are necessary for a civilization to be successful.

2 Ancient Egyptians worked as both……………………. .

3 Ordinary Egyptians expected to receive …………………… for their hard work.

Questions 4-7

4 ……………………………………………

5 ……………………………………………

6 …………………………………………..

7 ……………………………………………

Questions 8-12

8 The surface of the Great Pyramid is covered in polished limestone slabs.

9 King Khafra died before King Cheops.

10 Egyptian carvings were often based on things found in nature.

11 Important characters in Egyptian carvings were bigger than less important characters.

12 Egyptian art was greatly influenced by the art of neighbouring cultures.

Question 13

13 The writer’s aim in this passage is to

A describe the construction methods of the pyramids.

B explain the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians.

C offer an interpretation of Egyptian art and sculpture.

D provides an overview of early Egyptian society.

Answers of Ancient Egypt Reading Answers with Location and Explanation 

1 Answer: conditions

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 1, line 2 – line 3

Answer explanation: In the specified lines, it is stated that “…the Egyptians lived in comparative security, prosperity and peace for thousands of years. When such conditions exist, civilization and its arts usually flourish.”. From these lines, it can be inferred that security and peace are two conditions that are necessary for a civilization to be successful (flourish). Hence, the answer is ‘conditions’.

2 Answer: craftsmen and artists

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 3

Answer explanation: In the mentioned paragraph, it is given “In about 3000 BC, Upper and Lower Egypt were united under the first pharaoh, and generally, from that time until the invasion by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, Egypt prospered as a nation of skilful craftsmen and artists.”. This reference proves that ancient (about 3000 BC) Egyptians worked both as craftsmen and artists. Hence, the answer is ‘craftsmen and artists’.

3 Answer: a secure livelihood

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 3, line 2

Answer explanation: In the specified section, it is given “The people were content to serve and work for the state in return for a secure livelihood.”.  In other words, ordinary Egyptians expected to receive a secure livelihood for their hard work. Hence, the answer is ‘a secure livelihood’. 

4 Answer: (the) Grand Gallery

Question type: Diagram Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 4

Answer explanation: In the fifth paragraph, it is stated that “At the centre of the pyramid is the King’s Chamber and leading down from there is a long narrow area known as the Grand Gallery.”. It can be pointed out that the point marked as 4 in the image is the Grand Gallery, as we can see it is just below the King’s Chamber, which is in the middle of the structure. Hence, the answer is ‘(the) Grand Gallery’.

5 Answer: 481 feet

Question type: Diagram Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 6

Answer explanation: Through a reference line like, “Its pyramidal form has a perfectly square base with sides of 756 feet and a height of 481 feet.”, it can be concluded that the height of the pyramid, which is marked as question 5, is 481 feet. Hence, the answer is ‘481 feet’.

6 Answer: (the) Queen’s Chamber

Question type: Diagram Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 7

Answer explanation: In the quoted line of the fifth paragraph, it is written “Situated directly below the King’s Chamber is the Queen’s Chamber and there are two air channels leading upwards from the centre of the pyramid to the outside.”. It points out the fact that the point marked as question 6 is directly below the King’s Chamber as shown in the image and is therefore the Queen’s Chamber. Hence, the answer is ‘(the) Queen’s Chamber’.

7 Answer: (the) air channel(s)

Question type: Diagram Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 7

Answer explanation: In Paragraph 5, it is said that “…and there are two air channels leading upwards from the centre of the pyramid to the outside.”. This indicates that the two points labelled as question 7 at the top are the air channels as they are led upwards towards the top as shown in the image. Hence, the answer is ‘(the) air channel(s)’.

8 Answer: FALSE

Question type: True/False/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 6, line 1

Answer explanation: The following line –Originally, the exterior was covered in highly polished limestone slabs, all of which have been stolen over the years.– establishes the fact that the outer surface of the pyramids used to be covered in limestone slabs, but they are no longer there at present as they were stolen. As the statement contradicts the information, the answer is False.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Ancient Egypt Reading Answers 

Now that you know the answers to the Reading passage of Ancient Egypt with location, it is time to check out some quick tips to answer the three IELTS Reading question types in Reading Answers of Ancient Egypt.

Sentence Completion:

In the sentence completion of the IELTS Reading test, you will be asked to fill in the blanks in incomplete phrases with the relevant words or numbers.

• Read the instructions carefully. It will help you determine the word limit (no more than two, one word, etc) and important terms like ‘using words from the text’ or ‘from the text’. You have to follow these strictly.
• Read the incomplete sentences first. Also, think about keywords and how they could be represented by synonyms or paraphrasing.
• Locate where the information is by scanning quickly. If you can’t, move on.
• Study the reading text by using the skimming and scanning techniques. It will help to establish the answer quickly. When scanning for your answer, make sure you are thinking about paraphrasing and synonyms.
• The answers appear in the same order as the questions.Also, check your spelling and remember that your answer should be grammatically correct.

Diagram Completion

In Diagram Completion, you will be given a paragraph and a diagram, and you must label the elements that refer to the passage. Fill in the blanks in the diagram with text or words.

To answer Diagram Completion questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Consider the words near the blanks. These are largely taken directly from the text or rephrased using simple synonyms.
• Read the labels that are provided since they will help you discover the answer.
• Even if the information you provide is accurate, your response will be deemed incorrect should you use the wrong number of words.

True/False/Not Given:

True/False/Not Given questions are a type of IELTS Reading question that requires you to identify whether a statement is true, false, or not given in the passage.

• True statements are statements that are explicitly stated in the passage.
• False statements are statements that are explicitly contradicted in the passage.
• Not Given statements are statements that are neither explicitly stated nor contradicted in the passage

To answer True/False/Not Given questions, you need to be able to understand the passage and identify the key information. You also need to be able to distinguish between statements that are explicitly stated, contradicted, and not given.

Multiple-Choice Questions:

You will be given a reading passage followed by several questions based on the information in the paragraph in multiple-choice questions. Your task is to understand the question and compare it to the paragraph in order to select the best solution from the available possibilities.

• Before reading the passage, read the question and select the keywords. Check the keyword possibilities if the question statement is short on information.
• Then, using the keywords, read the passage to find the relevant information.
• To select the correct option, carefully read the relevant words and match them with each option.
• You will find several options with keywords that do not correspond to the information.
• Try opting for the elimination method mostly.
• Find the best option by matching the meaning rather than just the keywords.

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