The passage defines archaeology and compares it with anthropology and history. Archaeology is a branch of anthropology that studies past societies through their material remains, and covers far more time than written history. Because objects don't speak for themselves, the archaeologist works much like a scientist, building a picture of the past from data.
Questions 14-27 · 14 marks · 4 question blocks
The YES / NO / NOT GIVEN statements (14-19) run from paragraph 1 to paragraph 8. The choose-two questions draw on paragraphs 4-5 (20-21) and paragraph 7 (22-23). The summary (24-27) is in the last two paragraphs, as the instructions say.
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
| Q | Your answer | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Questions 14-19 · YES / NO / NOT GIVEN | ||
| 14 | YES | |
| 15 | NOT GIVEN | |
| 16 | NO | |
| 17 | YES | |
| 18 | NOT GIVEN | |
| 19 | NO | |
| Questions 20-21 · Multiple choice (choose TWO) | ||
| 20 | D and E(in either order) | |
| 21 | ||
| Questions 22-23 · Multiple choice (choose TWO) | ||
| 22 | C and D(in either order) | |
| 23 | ||
| Questions 24-27 · Summary completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS) | ||
| 24 | oral histories | |
| 25 | humanistic studyAlso accepted: historical discipline | |
| 26 | historical disciplineAlso accepted: humanistic study | |
| 27 | scientist | |
How to attack this block: Two NOT GIVENs ask about things the writer never judges (translation skills, which field is more demanding). The NOs come from a concession ('however far from reality') and a date that applies only to western Asia.
Does archaeology need both creativity and careful investigation?
partly the careful work of the scientific analyst, partly the exercise of the creative imagination
Question says → Passage says
Why: The very first sentence names both: careful scientific work and creative imagination. YES.
Must archaeologists be able to translate ancient-language texts?
Conventional historical sources begin only with the introduction of written records around 3,000 BC in western Asia
Question says → Passage says
Why: Written records come up, but the writer never says archaeologists have to read or translate them. Most of archaeology, in fact, deals with periods before writing. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: Because archaeology deals with the past and written records are discussed, it feels as though translation must be part of the job. The writer doesn't say so.
Do films show archaeologists' work realistically?
However far from reality such portrayals are, they capture the essential truth that archaeology is an exciting quest
Question says → Passage says
Why: 'However far from reality' admits the films aren't realistic. They only get the excitement right. NO.
The trap: 'They capture the essential truth' can make people choose YES. The truth they capture is one feeling (excitement), not a realistic picture of the work.
Do anthropologists use the word 'culture' in more than one sense?
Anthropologists also use the term 'culture' in a more restricted sense when they refer to the 'culture' of a particular society
Question says → Passage says
Why: There's Tylor's broad definition, and 'also' introduces a second, narrower one. Two meanings means more than one. YES.
Is archaeology harder to study than anthropology?
Anthropology is thus a broad discipline - so broad that it is generally broken down into three smaller disciplines: physical anthropology, cultural anthropology and archaeology.
Question says → Passage says
Why: Archaeology is described as one part of anthropology. The writer never compares how demanding the two are, so NOT GIVEN.
The trap: Some students reason that the part must be easier than the whole and choose NO. 'Broader' isn't the same as 'more demanding', and no judgement about difficulty is made.
Has Europe's history been written down since 3,000 BC?
Conventional historical sources begin only with the introduction of written records around 3,000 BC in western Asia, and much later in most other parts of the world.
Question says → Passage says
Why: 3,000 BC is the date for western Asia only. Everywhere else, which includes Europe, got written records 'much later'. That contradicts the statement, so NO.
The trap: Europe isn't named, so NOT GIVEN is tempting. But 'most other parts of the world' covers it, and the writer gives it a later date.
How to attack this block: Both answers are in the definition of anthropology and its branches. Be careful with ideas that belong to a different field in the passage, such as the growing field of heritage studies.
Which two statements about anthropology does the writer make?
so broad that it is generally broken down into three smaller disciplines… concerns the study of human biological or physical characteristics and how they evolved
Question says → Passage says
Why: D: anthropology is so broad it's 'broken down into' three smaller disciplines, which means subdivided. E: physical anthropology, one of those branches, studies how human characteristics 'evolved'.
The trap: C (long fieldwork) is the most tempting, because cultural anthropologists live 'within contemporary communities'. The passage never says how long, so 'long periods' isn't supported. B (a growing field) is said about heritage studies, not anthropology.
How to attack this block: Both answers are in the paragraph on interpreting material culture and ethnoarchaeology, given as questions and examples. Sewers in the first paragraph are the trap for the waste-site option.
Which two archaeological tasks does the writer mention?
Why are some dwellings round and others square?… how such societies use material culture - how they make their tools and weapons
Question says → Passage says
Why: C: 'dwellings' are homes, and asking why some are round and others square is working out reasons for their shape. D: ethnoarchaeologists study how societies use material culture and make their tools.
The trap: A is tempting because paragraph 1 mentions 'investigating the sewers of Roman Britain', a waste site. Nothing says it's about diet. Cave art (B) and climate (E) aren't mentioned.
How to attack this block: Gaps 25 and 26 come from one sentence that gives archaeology two labels, and either order is accepted. The final gap is the person the writer compares archaeologists to.
What do archaeologists value as much as written records?
recognises the importance of the written word, but in no way lessens the importance of the useful information contained in oral histories
Question says → Passage says
Why: 'In no way lessens the importance' means oral histories matter just as much as written sources. The gap takes 'oral histories', two words.
The trap: 'Material culture' is what archaeology mostly studies, but the sentence the summary is built on contrasts the written word with oral histories.
Also accepted: historical discipline
What is the first of the two things the writer calls archaeology?
Since the aim of archaeology is the understanding of humankind, it is a humanistic study, and since it deals with the human past, it is a historical discipline.
Question says → Passage says
Why: The sentence gives two labels in a row, each with a reason. Each label is two words, so they fit the limit. Either order is accepted for 25 and 26.
The trap: 'Science' is tempting because the paragraph ends by comparing archaeology to science. That comparison is Question 27, and the writer never says archaeology is a science.
Also accepted: humanistic study
What is the second of the two things the writer calls archaeology?
since it deals with the human past, it is a historical discipline
Question says → Passage says
Why: The second label is 'historical discipline', because archaeology deals with the human past. If you wrote it in 25, put 'humanistic study' here.
The trap: Don't write 'history'. The writer explains that archaeology differs from written history, so you need the exact phrase.
Whose way of working does the writer compare archaeology to?
In this respect, the practice of the archaeologist is rather like that of the scientist
Question says → Passage says
Why: 'Rather like' is the comparison, and the archaeologist's practice is compared to the scientist's: collecting data, testing hypotheses, building a model. One word: 'scientist'.
The trap: 'Historian' might seem a natural pair after the history discussion, but the writer contrasts archaeologists with historians here, not compares them.
Europe isn't named, but written records started 'much later in most other parts of the world', which makes it NO, not NOT GIVEN.
Fieldwork (C) sounds right for anthropologists, but the passage never says it takes long periods. Subdivision and evolution are the two stated points.
'They capture the essential truth' makes films sound accurate, but the same sentence admits they are 'far from reality'.
The full Cambridge 4 Test 4 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 4, Test 4, Reading Passage 2. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
