Papyrus Reading Answers for IELTS General

To score well in the IELTS General Reading exam, you must understand how to approach and answer the different question types, like the ones in the Reading Answer of Papyrus.

The IELTS Reading passages, like the Reading Answer of Papyrus, ideally do not take you longer than 20 minutes to read. You must scan the given text, highlight keywords in order to give an appropriate response that follows the directions.

The passage, Reading Answer of Papyrus, is an IELTS General reading passage that consists of 13 questions.

The question types found in the Reading Answer of Papyrus are:

• Matching Headings (Q. 1-5)
• Multiple-Choice Questions (Q. 6-10)
• Summary Completion (Q. 11-13)

Reading Passage

Papyrus

Used by the ancient Egyptians to make paper, the papyrus plant has helped to shape the world we live in

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. Bureaucracies have become the backbone of civilizations, as governments try to keep track of populations, business transactions and taxes. At a personal level, our lives are governed by the documents we possess; we are certified on paper literally from birth to death. And written documentation carries enormous cultural importance: consider the consequences of signing the Foundation Document of the United Nations or the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Documentation requires a writing tool and a surface upon which to record the information permanently. About 5,000 years ago, the Sumerians started to use reeds or sticks to make marks on mud blocks which were then baked, but despite being fireproof, these were difficult to store. Other cultures used more flexible but less permanent surfaces, including animal skins and wood strips. In western culture, the adoption of papyrus was to have a great impact. Sheets of papyrus not only provide an invaluable record of people’s daily lives, they can also be dated using carbon-dating techniques, giving precise information about the age of the text written on them.

B Papyrus is strongly associated with Egyptian culture, although all the ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean used it. The papyrus sedge is a tall grass-like plant. It was harvested from shallow water and swamplands on the banks of the River Nile. 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. The sheet was then crushed to extract the water, dried and then polished to produce a high-quality writing surface, individual sheets could be glued together and rolled up to make scrolls or folded and bound to form books.

C In moist climates, the cellulose-rich sheets of papyrus would readily decay, becoming covered by mould or full of holes from attacks by insects. But in dry climates, such as the Middle East, papyrus is a stable, rot-resistant writing surface. 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. In 79 CE, 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. However, the most famous discoveries of papyrus have come from the rubbish dumps of the ancient town of Oxyrhynchus, some 160km south-west of Cairo, in the desert to the west of the Nile. Oxyrhynchus was a regional administrative capital and for a thousand years generated vast amounts of administrative documentation, including accounts, tax returns and correspondence, which was periodically discarded to make room for more. Over time, a thick layer of sand covered these dumps, and they were forgotten. But the documents were protected by the sand, creating a time capsule that allowed astonishing glimpses into the lives of the town’s inhabitants over hundreds of years.

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 politically, morally or religiously unacceptable. One such calamity, the burning of the Great Library of Alexandria, and the papyrus scrolls and books it contained, has been mythologized and has come to symbolize the global loss of cultural knowledge.

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. 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 and modelled on ancient Egyptian craft. As a marshland plant, papyrus sedge stabilizes soils and reduces erosion, while some investigations show that it has potential for water purification and sewage treatment.

E True paper was probably invented in China in the first century CE. Like papyrus, it was constructed from a meshwork of plant fibres, but the Chinese used fibres from the white mulberry tree, which yielded a tough, flexible material that could be folded, stretched, and compressed. The adoption of this paper by western cultures soon rendered papyrus obsolete.

Despite dreams of paper-free societies, western cultures still use enormous quantities of paper, often in ways that it would be inconceivable to use papyrus for. As a paper substitute, the role of the papyrus sedge in western cultures has been superseded; papyrus is little more than a niche product for the tourist market. What makes papyrus noteworthy for western societies nowadays is its use as the surface upon which our ancient ancestors recorded their lives, their art and their science. In the words of the ancient Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder, it is ‘the material on which the immortality of human beings depends’.

Questions 1-5

List of Headings

i. Solving the puzzle of a papyrus document
ii. The importance of written records and different ways of recording them
iii. The use of papyrus for a range of purposes
iv. Suggestions for future possibilities for papyrus
v. How papyrus was cultivated and different manufacturing methods
vi. The decline of papyrus use
vii. The preservation and destruction of papyrus documents
viii. The process of papyrus production

1 Section A
2 Section B
3 Section C
4 Section D
5 Section E

Questions 6-10

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

A They did not last for a long time.

B They were not easy to store.

C They were insufficiently flexible.

D They could be destroyed by fire.

7 Why did papyrus manufacturers hammer the papyrus?

A to remove water from the pith strips

B to join the layers of pith strips together

C to allow the pith strips to be easily cut

D to position the layers of pith strips at the correct angle

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

A information can be used for harm as well as for good.

B new ways must be found to ensure information is not lost.

C cultural knowledge depends on more than written texts.

D those in power may wish to keep others in ignorance.

9 The writer refers to Thor Heyerdahl to illustrate the point that

A papyrus could be used as a food on long sea voyages.

B the ancient Egyptians already had advanced navigation skills.

C papyrus could be used to build boats for long sea journeys.

D the ancient Egyptians knew of the environmental benefits of papyrus

10 What does the writer conclude about papyrus today?

A It is better for the environment than using paper.

B Its significance is restricted to its role in the past.

C It is still the best writing surface for some purposes.

D More efforts need to be made to ensure it stays in use.

Questions 11-13

How Papyrus Documents Have Survived

Papyrus is rich in cellulose and in some conditions will be destroyed by fungal growths or be consumed by 11………………. However, it can survive for long periods in an environment that is dry. It has been found in a 5,000-year-old 12………………….. in Egypt, and in Herculaneum, many papyrus documents were preserved following a huge 13……………………. in 79 CE. In the town of Oxyrhynchus, unwanted administrative documents were left on rubbish dumps which were covered with sand, preserving them for many years.

Papyrus IELTS Reading Answers With Explanation

1  Answer: ii

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer location: Paragraph A

Answer explanation: The first paragraph has lines that state – “And written documentation carries enormous cultural importance…the Sumerians started to use reeds or sticks to make marks on mud blocks which were then baked…Other cultures used more flexible but less permanent surfaces, including animal skins and wood strips. In western culture, the adoption of papyrus was to have a great impact.”. These lines refer to the fact that the first paragraph begins with the discussion on the importance of written documentation and different methods in which it is done. Hence, the answer is ii (The importance of written records and different ways of recording them).

2 Answer: viii

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer location: Paragraph B, line 4-line 7

Answer explanation: In the second paragraph, it is noted that “Manufacturing sheets of papyrus from papyrus sedge was a complex, messy process. Pith from inside the plant’s stem was cut into long strips…rolled up to make scrolls or folded and bound to form books.”. It can be pointed out that this section of the passage deals with the process in which papyrus is produced from the plant stem to scrolls. Hence, the answer is viii (The process of papyrus production).

3 Answer: vii

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer location: Paragraph C

Answer explanation: In the mentioned paragraph, it is stated that “In moist climates, the cellulose-rich sheets of papyrus would readily decay, becoming covered by mould or full of holes from attacks by insects…But the documents were protected by the sand, creating a time capsule that allowed astonishing glimpses into the lives of the town’s inhabitants over hundreds of years… 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 politically, morally or religiously unacceptable.”. From the given references, it can be said that the third paragraph begins with the ways of preservation of the papyrus documents and how they became time capsules for later generations. Gradually, the paragraph also mentions how they were destroyed by rulers and religious leaders as they burnt them. Hence, the answer is vii (The preservation and destruction of papyrus documents).

4 Answer: iii

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer location: Paragraph D, line 1

Answer explanation: In the introductory line of the fourth paragraph, it is reported that “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.”. It can be concluded that the fourth paragraph mentions different ways in which papyrus was used other than documentation, like boat building, making ropes, sails and baskets and also as a food source. Hence, the answer is iii (The use of papyrus for a range of purposes).

5 Answer: vi

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer location: Paragraph E, line 3

Answer explanation: In the fifth paragraph, it is stated that “The adoption of this paper by western cultures soon rendered papyrus obsolete.”. Here, it is clear that with the invention of paper by the Chinese, the use of papyrus began to decline and gradually became obsolete. Hence, the answer is vi (The decline of papyrus use).

6 Answer: A

Question type: Multiple-Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph A, line 7

Answer explanation: In the indicated location, it is given that “Other cultures used more flexible but less permanent surfaces, including animal skins and wood strips.”. The quoted line points out that animal skins and wood strips were less permanent surfaces, which means they did not last for a long time. Hence, the answer is A (They did not last for a long time.).

7 Answer: B

Question type: Multiple-Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph B, line 5-line 6

Answer explanation: In the second paragraph, it is noted that “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.”. This indicates that the two strips of the plant stems were hammered together to join them together at right angles. Hence, the answer is B (to join the layers of pith strips together).

8 Answer: D

Question type: Multiple-Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph C, line 10

Answer explanation: In the indicated line, it is given that “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 politically, morally or religiously unacceptable.”. It can be concluded from the quoted line that governments, despots and conquerors burnt libraries containing information on the papyrus so that evidence of their actions are not forwarded to the later generations and they remain ignorant (obliterate cultures and ideas). Hence, the answer is D (those in power may wish to keep others in ignorance.).

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Papyrus Reading Answers

Since now you know the answers of Papyrus Reading Answers with location, let us check out some quick tips to answer the types of questions in the  Papyrus General Reading Answers passage.

Matching Headings: 

In this type of questions of IELTS Reading, you must match the heading in this type of question to the appropriate paragraph or reading segment in the text. Your ability to figure out the paragraph’s key concept and its supporting ideas will be put to the test.

• Take your time to rephrase the potential headings’ keywords.
• Find the main idea by scanning and skimming the paragraphs. Sometimes the essential idea of the paragraph is expressed in the header.
• For clarification on the paragraph’s main idea, see the first and last sentences. Likewise, quickly scan the middle of the paragraph to make sure you comprehend it.
• Don’t try to match words. Your primary goal is to match a correct paragraph.
• Choose the heading that best fits the paragraph after reading it again if two seem to be appropriate.
• The number of headings will always be greater than the number of paragraphs or sections, therefore some headings will never be utilized.

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.

Summary Completion:

Summary Completion is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to fill in a gap in a paragraph with a word or phrase from the passage.

To answer summary completion questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the sentences carefully: This will give you an idea of the type of word or phrase that is missing.
• Scan the passage for the keywords: The keywords in the sentence can help you to identify the correct word or phrase.
• Read the sentence with the missing word or phrase: This will help you to see how the word or phrase fits into the sentence.
• Check your answer: Once you have filled in the gap, make sure that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence.

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