Questions 1-6
The reading passage has six sections, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for sections A-F from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number i-x in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
- The profound impact of the use of tools on society
- Trade in metal ore between continents begins
- The use of domestic animals for farming and travel
- How alloys like copper were created
- African Innovations in Iron Production
- The story of the development of metal tools
- How the first crops were introduced to Africa
- A nation using metal weapons to subdue their neighbours
- The drying of north Africa leading to the movement of people and the further spread of metal technology across the continent
- Iron Technology's Introduction and Unique Diffusion in Africa
The answer is vii. Section A discusses the origins of agriculture in Africa, referencing how the first domesticated crops came from the Near East and states: 'Agriculture seems to have reached these people from the Near East, since the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but West Asian.' This directly matches heading vii: 'How the first crops were introduced to Africa.' The paragraph emphasizes the first introduction and diffusion of crops, not their later development, which is the key to choosing this heading.
Associated Text:
Agriculture seems to have reached these people from the Near East, since the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but West Asian.
The answer is iii. Section B details how domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and camels were introduced from outside Africa and their subsequent roles in farming and transportation. Specifically, it says: 'Cattle were introduced from Asia, as probably were domestic sheep and goats.' This fits heading iii, as the section is about the introduction and importance of animals for farming and travel in Africa.
Associated Text:
Cattle were introduced from Asia, as probably were domestic sheep and goats. The camel was introduced around the first century a.d. This was an important innovation, because the camel’s ability to thrive in harsh desert conditions and to carry large loads cheaply made it an effective and efficient means of transportation.
The answer is x. Section C focuses on iron's introduction to Africa from West Asia and notes the unusual way it was adopted: 'Iron came from West Asia, although its routes of diffusion were somewhat different than those of agriculture. Most of Africa presents a curious case in which societies moved directly from a technology of stone to iron without passing through the intermediate stage of copper or bronze metallurgy.' This matches heading x: 'Iron Technology's Introduction and Unique Diffusion in Africa.'
Associated Text:
Iron came from West Asia, although its routes of diffusion were somewhat different than those of agriculture. Most of Africa presents a curious case in which societies moved directly from a technology of stone to iron without passing through the intermediate stage of copper or bronze metallurgy.
The answer is i. Section D describes the profound effect the development of iron tools and weapons had on African society, stating: 'This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and weapons had an important place in society, often with special religious powers and functions.' This corresponds to heading i: 'The profound impact of the use of tools on society.'
Associated Text:
This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and weapons had an important place in society, often with special religious powers and functions.
The answer is v. Section E explains African innovations in iron production: 'Africans had iron from a relatively early date, developing ingenious furnaces to produce the high heat needed for production and to control the amount of air that reached the carbon and iron ore necessary for making iron. Much of Africa moved right into the Iron Age, taking the basic technology and adapting it to local conditions and resources.' This illustrates local creative adaptation, which fits heading v: 'African Innovations in Iron Production.'
Associated Text:
Africans had iron from a relatively early date, developing ingenious furnaces to produce the high heat needed for production and to control the amount of air that reached the carbon and iron ore necessary for making iron. Much of Africa moved right into the Iron Age, taking the basic technology and adapting it to local conditions and resources.
The answer is ix. Section F demonstrates that the spread of agriculture and iron was linked to a mass movement of people set in motion by the drying of the Sahara: 'Their migration may have been set in motion by an increase in population caused by a movement of peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up, of the Sahara.' The section further focuses on this migration and its effects, matching heading ix: 'The drying of north Africa leading to the movement of people and the further spread of metal technology across the continent.'
Associated Text:
Their migration may have been set in motion by an increase in population caused by a movement of peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up, of the Sahara.
Questions 7-14
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? In boxes 7-14 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.
The answer is TRUE. Paragraph A says: '...in some places near lakes and rivers, people who fished, with a more secure food supply, lived in larger population concentrations.' This directly supports the statement that larger communities who lived near water had a more reliable food source.
Associated Text:
people who fished, with a more secure food supply, lived in larger population concentrations
The answer is TRUE. Paragraph A states: 'the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but West Asian.' This confirms that the earliest cultivated plants discovered in Africa are native to Asia.
Associated Text:
the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but West Asian
The answer is NOT GIVEN. Although paragraph B mentions that 'the camel was introduced around the first century a.d.' and discusses its importance in transportation and trade, there is no mention of the camel's religious significance as the Sahara expanded.
Associated Text:
the camel was introduced around the first century a.d. This was an important innovation, because the camel’s ability to thrive in harsh desert conditions and to carry large loads cheaply made it an effective and efficient means of transportation. The camel transformed the desert from a barrier into a still difficult, but more accessible, route of trade and communication.
The answer is FALSE. Paragraph C states: 'Most of Africa presents a curious case in which societies moved directly from a technology of stone to iron without passing through the intermediate stage of copper or bronze metallurgy.' This demonstrates there was not a slow and gradual transition, but rather a leap directly from stone to iron.
Associated Text:
Most of Africa presents a curious case in which societies moved directly from a technology of stone to iron without passing through the intermediate stage of copper or bronze metallurgy
The answer is TRUE. Paragraph D explains: 'This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and weapons had an important place in society, often with special religious powers and functions. Iron hoes...and iron weapons...had symbolic meaning...Those who knew the secrets of making iron gained ritual and sometimes political power.' This clearly shows that the development of metal tools and weapons led to major social changes.
Associated Text:
This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and weapons had an important place in society, often with special religious powers and functions. Iron hoes, which made the land more productive, and iron weapons, which made the warrior more powerful, had symbolic meaning in a number of West African societies. Those who knew the secrets of making iron gained ritual and sometimes political power.
The answer is NOT GIVEN. While the passage states that blacksmiths sometimes had ritual or religious functions, it never claims or implies that metal itself was worshipped by many early African people.
Associated Text:
Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and weapons had an important place in society, often with special religious powers and functions. Those who knew the secrets of making iron gained ritual and sometimes political power.
The answer is FALSE. Paragraph E notes: 'Unlike in the Americas, where metallurgy was a very late and limited development, Africans had iron from a relatively early date'. This clearly means African metal technology was more advanced than in the Americas.
Associated Text:
Unlike in the Americas, where metallurgy was a very late and limited development, Africans had iron from a relatively early date
The answer is TRUE. Paragraph F explains: 'The diffusion of agriculture and later of iron was accompanied by a great movement of people who may have carried these innovations. These people probably originated in eastern Nigeria. ... They spoke a language, proto-Bantu ... The passage says that these migrants had iron weapons, linking them directly to iron-making technologies and showing that Bantu-speaking peoples are descended from such groups.'
Associated Text:
The diffusion of agriculture and later of iron was accompanied by a great movement of people who may have carried these innovations. These people probably originated in eastern Nigeria. Their migration may have been set in motion by an increase in population caused by a movement of peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up, of the Sahara. They spoke a language, proto-Bantu (“bantu” means “the people”), which is the parent tongue of a large number of Bantu languages still spoken throughout sub-Saharan Africa. archaeologists believe that their iron weapons allowed them to conquer their hunting-gathering opponents, who still used stone implements.
