Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 543
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 543 – PASSAGE – 1
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 543
READING PASSAGE – 1
Göbekli Tepe: a remarkable discovery
Between roughly 10,000 and 11,000 BC, in a remote corner of Mesopotamia, now in modern-day Turkey, a people who pre-dated the invention of the wheel and lacked even basic technology such as metal tools, built an enormous complex of stone pillars called Gobekli Tepe (Potbelly Hill). To achieve this, they shaped blocks of limestone into pillars at a stone quarry.
They then moved each pillar, weighing between 11 and 22 tons, a distance of 100 to 500 meters from the quarry to the Gobekli Tepe site.
There, the pillars were arranged in rings, which usually consisted of eight upright pillars. Each pillar consists of two stones placed together in the form of a ‘T’. Typically, six of these pillars, connected by low walls, made up the circumference of each ring and two taller pillars were located in the center. The tallest pillars reached almost five meters in height, and the largest rings were almost 20 meters in diameter.
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To date, nearly 200 pillars have been found by archaeologists at the site. A menagerie of animals, including bulls, foxes, snakes, spiders, donkeys, gazelles and lions had been carved in relief on the stones. There are also strange depictions of human-like forms on the stones.
Experts have noted that art from other sites around the world created at roughly the same time typically depicts animals in herds, while at Gobekli Tepe, the images are of individual fierce-looking beasts.
Although archaeologists had been aware since the 1960s that there were old limestone slabs at Gobekli Tepe, these were for years generally dismissed as nothing more than a jumble of broken stones of fairly recent origin and uncertain purpose, and the site was essentially ignored. Then in 1994, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt took a closer look and realized that the unusually rounded appearance of the hill was something that ‘only man could have created’ and archaeologists began studying the site more carefully.
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In addition to traditional excavation, which has uncovered a treasure trove of flint tools as well as four rings of pillars, geomagnetic surveys were also conducted. The surveys revealed 16 additional rings buried in the hill that had been left undisturbed. It appears that every now and then, ancient builders filled in a ring, pillars and all, with dirt, gravel, flint and old tools. They then erected a new circle over or near the old one, buried one.
There are differing opinions about the purpose of Gobekli Tepe. The stones display prominent depictions of vultures, which are birds commonly associated with the dead, and it is possible that Gobekli Tepe was built as an ancient cemetery. However, some people say that the great age of the stones and the lack of any writing on them make interpreting the builders’ motivations virtually impossible.
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Of the many discoveries made at the site, perhaps the most intriguing is that the builders do not appear to have become settled before constructing the monuments. The indications are, in fact, that they were nomadic hunter-gatherers. This is remarkable because, up until this discovery, most experts believed that in order to build massive structures like those found at Gobekli Tepe, a society needed to have the organization and resources that could only come about through people living in a settled agricultural community. The evidence found at Gobekli Tepe, however, appears to seriously challenge this conventional wisdom.
Archaeologists have been digging at the site for more than 20 years, evidence of a well-established ancient settlement such as houses, hearths, cooking sites, or garbage dumps. However, they have found 100,000 fragments of the bones of wild game animals like boar, gazelle and deer, which strongly suggests the site was used by hunters. And, unlike the dry landscape found around Gobekli Tepe today, 11,000 years ago the region was a paradise that would have provided ample natural nourishment. It would have been full of fruit and nuts, all readily available to be collected by gatherers without the need for farming.
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All of the evidence suggests that these vast monuments at Gobekli Tepe were not built after a settled way of life had been adopted, but that the process of construction itself eventually caused the builders to abandon hunting and gathering. It seems that a large number of the enormous population required to build the complex eventually chose to remain nearby. Only after the monuments were finished did they adopt a more permanent lifestyle.
They started cultivating wild grasses in order to feed themselves and in this way started basic agricultural practices. In fact, the original strains of the modern wheat that people farm today have been traced to an ancient village only 32 kilometers from Gobekli Tepe. In addition, there are indications that the first pigs raised in domestic conditions were kept at a village about 100 kilometers away.
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Question 1-7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-7 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
1. The builders of Gobekli Tepe used tools made of iron.
2. The arrangement of the pillars in rings is thought to relate to the seasons of the year.
3. Specially trained workers carved the animals on the stones.
4. The stone carvings of creatures at Gobekli Tepe are similar to those found at other sites from the same period.
5. Until the 1990s, archaeologists believed that Gobekli Tepe site was of little importance.
6. Klaus Schmidt thought that the hill at Gobekli Tepe was formed naturally.
7. Archaeologists had to get permission before they could start studying the Gobekli Tepe site.
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Questions 8-13
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Gobekli Tepe
Purpose of Gobekli Tepe
• the kind of bird shown on many stones suggests the site may have been a 8…………………..
• it is impossible to know why the site was constructed because there’s no 9…………………..on the stones
Discoveries made at the site
• no remains of houses have been found to indicate a permanent 10…………………..
What we have learned about Gobekli Tepe and the area
• Gobekli Tepe was in a region where 11…………………..as well as fruit were easy to find
• an early form of 12…………………..was grown near Gobekli Tepe
• domesticated 13…………………..were kept at a place nearby
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ANSWERS
1. FALSE
2. NOT GIVEN
3. NOT GIVEN
4. FALSE
5. TRUE
6. FALSE
7. NOT GIVEN
8. CEMETERY
9. WRITING
10. SETTLEMENT
11. NUTS
12. WHEAT
13. PIGS
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