This Marvelous Invention Reading Answers Reading Passage
A. Among all of humanity’s various achievements, language stands out as the most significant. While other innovations such as the wheel, farming and sliced bread, have greatly impacted our physical lives, it is the emergence of language that truly defines our humanity. In comparison to language, every other invention seems less important, as all that we have accomplished is rooted in language. Without language, we would not have been able to rise to a position of extraordinary dominance over other species, as well as over the natural world itself.
B. But language is foremost not just because it came first. In its own right it is a tool of extraordinary sophistication, yet based on an idea of ingenious simplicity: 'this marvellous invention of composing out of twenty-five or thirty sounds that infinite variety of expressions which, whilst having in themselves no likeness to what is in our mind, allow us to disclose to others its whole secret, and to make known to those who cannot penetrate it all that we imagine, and all the various stirrings of our soul' This was how, in 1660, the renowned French grammarians of the Port- Royal abbey near Versailles distilled the essence of language, and no one since has celebrated more eloquently the magnitude of its achievement. Even so, there is just one flaw in all these hymns of praise, for the homage to languages unique accomplishment conceals a simple yet critical incongruity. Language is mankind s greatest invention - except, of course, that it was never invented. This apparent paradox is at the core of our fascination with language, and it holds many of its secrets.
C. Language often seems so skillfully drafted that one can hardly imagine it as anything other than the perfected handiwork of a master craftsman. How else could this instrument make so much out of barely three dozen measly morsels of sound? In themselves, these configurations of mouth p,f,b,v,t,d,k,g,sh,a,e and so on - amount to nothing more than a few haphazard spits and splutters, random noises with no meaning, no ability to express, no power to explain. But run them through the cogs and wheels of the language machine, let it arrange them in some very special orders, and there is nothing that these meaningless streams of air cannot do: from sighing the interminable boredom of existence to unravelling the fundamental order of the universe.
D. What’s truly remarkable about language is that it doesn’t take a genius to get it working. The language system enables nearly everyone - from ancient foragers in warm grasslands to modern-day thinkers in urban areas, to combine meaningless sounds into limitless, nuanced meanings, all with seemingly no effort. But this very simplicity is what causes language to be undervalued, as its everyday successes are often overlooked. Language functions so effortlessly that people rarely pause to consider the skill and ingenuity behind it. In this way, language hides its own artistry.
E. Often, it is only the estrangement of foreign tongues, with their many exotic and outlandish features, that brings home the wonder of languages design. One of the showiest stunts that some languages can pull off is an ability to build up words of breath-breaking length, and thus express in one word what English takes a whole sentence to say. The Turkish
word çehirliliçtiremediklerimizdensiniz, to take one example, means nothing less than 'you are one of those whom we can't turn into a town-dweller'. (In case you were wondering, this monstrosity really is one word, not merely many different words squashed together - most of its components cannot even stand up on their own).
F. If that seems like an unusual exception, consider Sumerian, the language once spoken along the Euphrates around 5,000 years ago by the people who invented writing and made historical documentation possible. A Sumerian word such as munintuma'a ("when he had made it suitable for her") may look rather modest compared to the long Turkish example mentioned earlier. What makes it remarkable, though, is not its length but its efficient compactness. The word is built from separate elements, each tied to a specific piece of meaning. This smart structure allows even individual sounds to carry useful information. In fact, even the absence of a sound can be used to convey something meaningful. For example, if you were to ask which part of the Sumerian word matches the English pronoun "it" in the phrase "when he had made it suitable for her," the answer would be nothing. But it is a specific type of nothing - the intentional absence in a certain position. The system is so precisely designed that even a silence placed correctly serves a purpose. Who could have created such a clever invention?
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This Marvelous Invention Reading Answers: Questions 1-6
Read the passage consisting paragraph from A-F.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph given from i-vii and mention the number against the paragraph name.
List of Headings:
i. The different types of languages show their stunningness.
ii. How few sounds are organized to convey a meaning. The amazingness of a few organized sounds to convey a meaning.
iii. Why sounds in different languages sounds different
iv. Seemingly the non-fitting nature of language
v. Even silence can be meaningful
vi. The reason why language is the most important invention of mankind
vii. The universal ability to use language
1. Paragraph A
2. Paragraph B
3. Paragraph C
4. Paragraph D
5. Paragraph E
6. Paragraph F
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This Marvelous Invention Reading Answers: Questions 7-10
Mankind’s one of the most important inventions - wheel, has a major impact on __(7)____ aspects of life, but no impact has been as ___(8)___ as that of language. The structure of language is very ___(9)____ to comprehend, yet consists of a small number of sounds. It seems language is ___(10)____ to use, however people often ignore its smoothness.
A. difficult
B. complex
C. original
D. admired
E. material
E. easy
F. fundamental
This Marvelous Invention Reading Answers: Questions 11-14
Do the statements given below agree with the information given in the passage?
Write your responses in:
YES if statement agrees with the views of writer
NO if statement does not agrees with the views of writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about it.
11. Humans might have achieved their present position without language.
12. The Port-Royal grammarians brought justice to the language.
13. You can explain an idea more clearly through a sentence than in a word.
14. It was the Sumerians who first started recording the events.
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Answers and Explanations: Questions 1-14
Answer 1. vi (The reason why language is the most important invention of mankind)
Explanation: In paragraph A, the notion that language is a marvelous human invention and more powerful than the wheel is brought forth and provides the context on how it can be considered extraordinary.
Answer 2. vii (The universal ability to use language)
Explanation: It is the universal accessibility that is highlighted in the paragraph B when all humans, since the early period of foragers up to modern philosophers find it easy to use language.
Answer 3. iv (Seemingly the non-fitting nature of language)
Explanation: The paragraph C talks about the fraudulent ease of language, i.e., how it has the appearance of natural and easy, but in fact, complex and surprising.
Answer 4. ii (How few seconds are organized to convey a meaning)
Explanation: Paragraph D expounds on the capacity of a few meaningless sounds to be organised to carry infinity and complex meaningfulness.
Answer 5. v (Even silence can be meaningful)
Explanation: The paragraph E talks of the Sumerian language particularly the attribute that even silence can have meaning in it, it is linguistically functional.
Answer 6. i (The different types of languages show their stunningness)
Explanation: The paragraph F discusses the differences in languages, such as Turkish and Sumerian, to demonstrate a disparity in the way a meaning is expressed, accentuating its complexity and ingenuity.
Answer 7. E (material)
Answer 8. F (fundamental)
Answer 9. B (complex)
Answer 10. E (easy)
After combining all answers in blanks, the final summary comes out is:
Mankind’s one of the most important inventions - wheel, has a major impact on material aspects of life, but no impact has been as fundamental as that of language. The structure of language is very complex to comprehend, yet consists of a small number of sounds. It seems language is easy to use, however people often ignore its smoothness.
Answer 11. NO
Explanation: The text lends a lot of support to the claim that language plays a central role in human development implying that he and she could not have accomplished so much without it.
Answer 12. NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The passage doesn't provide a specific opinion or evaluation of the Port-Royal grammarians.
Answer 13. YES
Explanation: This same notion is evidenced in the passage, where expression of thoughts is facilitated by grammar, especially when you use organized sentences.
Answer 14. YES
Explanation: The excerpt adds that Sumerians came up with the writing and made it possible to record history.
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