Questions 28-32
The reading passage has five sections, A-E.
Choose the correct heading for sections A-E from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number i-viii in boxes 28-32 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
- Solving the puzzle of a bamboo document
- The importance of written records and different materials for recording them
- The use of bamboo for a range of purposes
- Suggestions for future possibilities for bamboo
- How bamboo was cultivated and different manufacturing methods
- The decline of bamboo as a recording surface
- The preservation and destruction of bamboo documents
- The process of bamboo strip production
Choose heading ii because it gives the main idea of the paragraph. The supporting evidence is: "Recording information required both a writing instrument and a surface that could survive handling.". This sentence shows what the paragraph is mainly about, rather than just mentioning a small detail.
Associated Text:
Recording information required both a writing instrument and a surface that could survive handling.
Choose heading viii because it gives the main idea of the paragraph. The supporting evidence is: "To make writing strips, workers cut mature stems into long narrow pieces.". This sentence shows what the paragraph is mainly about, rather than just mentioning a small detail.
Associated Text:
To make writing strips, workers cut mature stems into long narrow pieces.
Choose heading vii because it gives the main idea of the paragraph. The supporting evidence is: "Bamboo survives poorly in wet ground because mould and insects can quickly destroy it. However, dry conditions can preserve it for centuries.". This sentence shows what the paragraph is mainly about, rather than just mentioning a small detail.
Associated Text:
Bamboo survives poorly in wet ground because mould and insects can quickly destroy it. However, dry conditions can preserve it for centuries.
Choose heading iii because it gives the main idea of the paragraph. The supporting evidence is: "Bamboo was never only a writing material. Its stems have been used for scaffolding, water pipes, musical instruments, mats, baskets and boat parts.". This sentence shows what the paragraph is mainly about, rather than just mentioning a small detail.
Associated Text:
Bamboo was never only a writing material. Its stems have been used for scaffolding, water pipes, musical instruments, mats, baskets and boat parts.
Choose heading vi because it gives the main idea of the paragraph. The supporting evidence is: "Industrial paper, steel and plastic reduced the everyday importance of bamboo in many places.". This sentence shows what the paragraph is mainly about, rather than just mentioning a small detail.
Associated Text:
Industrial paper, steel and plastic reduced the everyday importance of bamboo in many places.
Questions 33-37
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 33-37
on your answer sheet.
33. What was the problem with using palm leaves and bark for writing?
34. Why were some bamboo strips pressed together?
35. When referring to destroyed records, the writer suggests that
36. The writer mentions Tran Minh to show that
37. What does the writer conclude about bamboo today?
(A) is correct. Choice A matches the question because "They could be harmed by damp and insects." is the idea supported by the passage evidence: "Some societies used palm leaves, bark or thin pieces of wood, but these were often vulnerable to damp and insects.". The wording may be paraphrased, but it points to the same meaning.
(B) is incorrect. Choice B says "They were too weighty to carry.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "Some societies used palm leaves, bark or thin pieces of wood, but these were often vulnerable to damp and insects.". Because Choice B does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(C) is incorrect. Choice C says "They could not be written on clearly.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "Some societies used palm leaves, bark or thin pieces of wood, but these were often vulnerable to damp and insects.". Because Choice C does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(D) is incorrect. Choice D says "They were available only in cities.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "Some societies used palm leaves, bark or thin pieces of wood, but these were often vulnerable to damp and insects.". Because Choice D does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
Associated Text:
Some societies used palm leaves, bark or thin pieces of wood, but these were often vulnerable to damp and insects.
(A) is incorrect. Choice A says "to take off the outer surface", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "The pressing helped the pieces sit closely together, while the binding kept them in the correct order.". Because Choice A does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(B) is correct. Choice B matches the question because "to make the strips sit closely together" is the idea supported by the passage evidence: "The pressing helped the pieces sit closely together, while the binding kept them in the correct order.". The wording may be paraphrased, but it points to the same meaning.
(C) is incorrect. Choice C says "to make the bamboo grow more quickly", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "The pressing helped the pieces sit closely together, while the binding kept them in the correct order.". Because Choice C does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(D) is incorrect. Choice D says "to divide old material from young material", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "The pressing helped the pieces sit closely together, while the binding kept them in the correct order.". Because Choice D does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
Associated Text:
The pressing helped the pieces sit closely together, while the binding kept them in the correct order.
(A) is incorrect. Choice A says "records are generally lost by accident.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "Rulers and armies have sometimes destroyed written records to remove evidence of debts, land rights or rival beliefs.". Because Choice A does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(B) is incorrect. Choice B says "new records are not as useful as old ones.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "Rulers and armies have sometimes destroyed written records to remove evidence of debts, land rights or rival beliefs.". Because Choice B does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(C) is incorrect. Choice C says "written evidence is seldom trusted by communities.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "Rulers and armies have sometimes destroyed written records to remove evidence of debts, land rights or rival beliefs.". Because Choice C does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(D) is correct. Choice D matches the question because "powerful people may want to remove inconvenient information." is the idea supported by the passage evidence: "Rulers and armies have sometimes destroyed written records to remove evidence of debts, land rights or rival beliefs.". The wording may be paraphrased, but it points to the same meaning.
Associated Text:
Rulers and armies have sometimes destroyed written records to remove evidence of debts, land rights or rival beliefs.
(A) is incorrect. Choice A says "bamboo was too fragile for practical transport.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "In the twentieth century, the explorer Tran Minh built a raft from lashed bamboo poles to demonstrate that coastal peoples could have travelled long distances using simple plant materials.". Because Choice A does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(B) is incorrect. Choice B says "modern boats imitated ancient bamboo designs.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "In the twentieth century, the explorer Tran Minh built a raft from lashed bamboo poles to demonstrate that coastal peoples could have travelled long distances using simple plant materials.". Because Choice B does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(C) is correct. Choice C matches the question because "bamboo could be used for long-distance ocean travel." is the idea supported by the passage evidence: "In the twentieth century, the explorer Tran Minh built a raft from lashed bamboo poles to demonstrate that coastal peoples could have travelled long distances using simple plant materials.". The wording may be paraphrased, but it points to the same meaning.
(D) is incorrect. Choice D says "bamboo rafts were mostly used for fishing.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "In the twentieth century, the explorer Tran Minh built a raft from lashed bamboo poles to demonstrate that coastal peoples could have travelled long distances using simple plant materials.". Because Choice D does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
Associated Text:
In the twentieth century, the explorer Tran Minh built a raft from lashed bamboo poles to demonstrate that coastal peoples could have travelled long distances using simple plant materials.
(A) is incorrect. Choice A says "It has taken the place of plastic in most industries.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "Its greatest significance for historians lies in the surviving documents and artefacts that show how earlier communities organised work, travel and law.". Because Choice A does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(B) is correct. Choice B matches the question because "Its historical evidence is now its most important cultural value." is the idea supported by the passage evidence: "Its greatest significance for historians lies in the surviving documents and artefacts that show how earlier communities organised work, travel and law.". The wording may be paraphrased, but it points to the same meaning.
(C) is incorrect. Choice C says "It is no longer valuable as a practical material.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "Its greatest significance for historians lies in the surviving documents and artefacts that show how earlier communities organised work, travel and law.". Because Choice C does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
(D) is incorrect. Choice D says "More documents should be written on bamboo strips.", but the passage evidence for the correct answer is "Its greatest significance for historians lies in the surviving documents and artefacts that show how earlier communities organised work, travel and law.". Because Choice D does not express that same idea, it should not be chosen.
Associated Text:
Its greatest significance for historians lies in the surviving documents and artefacts that show how earlier communities organised work, travel and law.
