The Development of Museums Reading Answers

In the table below, you will find the development of museums reading answers which is a solution for the Cambridge IELTS 9 Test 4 Reading Passage 3. 

Solution for The Development of Museums

1. ii	8. D
2. vi	9. C
3. i	10. B
4. iii	11. False
5. B	12. Not Given
6. A	13. False
7. D	14. True

Checking the development of museums reading answers is not enough. You need to know the explanations for the answers. Then, only you can figure out the problems in your answering process clearly, which will help you to do the IELTS reading test well. 

There are 3 IELTS reading question types with the academic reading passage of the development of museums reading answers. Four Matching headings questions, six multiple choice questions and four true false not given questions are given in the practice test. You can find tips for each of the question types to perform well in the reading test. 

Check out our YouTube Channel to Practice Full-Length IELTS Reading Tests Daily

 

AC Reading Module: The Development of Museums Reading Passage

You have to read the following passage carefully and patiently in order to write the development of museums reading answers. You can find the answer key with detailed explanations at the end of this reading test. In this passage itself, you will find the development of reading answers with location. 

The Development of Museums

A. The conviction that historical relics provide infallible testimony about the past is rooted in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, when science was regarded as objective and value free. As one writer observes: 'Although it is now evident that artefacts are as easily altered as chronicles, public faith in their veracity endures: a tangible relic seems ipso facto real.' Such conviction was, until recently, reflected in museum displays. Q31: Museums used to look - and some still do - much like storage rooms of objects packed together in showcases: good for scholars who wanted to study the subtle differences in design, but not for the ordinary visitor, to whom it all looked alike. Similarly, the information accompanying the objects often made little sense to the lay visitor. The content and format of explanations dated back to a time when the museum was the exclusive domain of the scientific researcher.

B. Recently, however, attitudes towards history and the way it should be presented have altered. Q32: The key word in heritage display is now 'experience', the more exciting the better and, if possible, involving all the senses. Good examples of this approach in the UK are the Jorvik Centre in York; the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford; and the Imperial War Museum in London. In the US the trend emerged much earlier: Williamsburg has been a prototype for many heritage developments in other parts of the world. No one can predict where the process will end. On so-called heritage sites the re-enactment of historical events is increasingly popular, and computers will soon provide virtual reality experiences, which will present visitors with a vivid image of the period of their choice, in which they themselves can act as if part of the historical environment. Q27: Such developments have been criticized as an intolerable vulgarization, but the success of many historical theme parks and similar locations suggests that the majority of the public does not share this opinion.
C. Q28: In a related development, the sharp distinction between museum and heritage sites on the one hand, and theme parks on the other, is Q33: gradually evaporating. They already borrow ideas and concepts from one another. For example, museums have adopted story lines for exhibitions, sites have accepted theming as a relevant tool, and theme parks are moving towards more authenticity and research-based presentations. In zoos, animals are no longer kept in cages, but in great spaces, either in the open air or in enormous greenhouses, such as the jungle and desert environments in Burgers Zoo in Holland. This particular trend is regarded as one of the major developments in the presentation of natural history in the twentieth century.
D. Q37: Theme parks are undergoing other changes, too, as they try to present more serious social and cultural issues, and move away from fantasy. This development is a response to market forces and, although museums and heritage sites have a special, rather distinct, role to fulfill Q29: they are also operating in a very competitive environment, where visitors make choices on how and where to spend their free time. Heritage and museum experts do not have to invent stories and recreate historical environments to attract their visitors: their assets are already in place. However, exhibits must be both based on artifacts and facts as we know them, and attractively presented. Those who are professionally engaged in the art of interpreting history are thus in a difficult position, as they must Q34: steer a narrow course between the demands of 'evidence' and 'attractiveness', especially given the increasing need in the heritage industry for income-generating activities.
E. Q30: It could be claimed that in order to make everything in heritage more 40 'real', historical accuracy must be increasingly altered. For example, Pithecanthropus erectus is depicted in an Indonesian museum with Malay facial features, because this corresponds to public perceptions. Similarly, in the Museum of Natural History in Washington, Neanderthal man is shown making a dominant gesture to his wife.Q35: Such presentations tell us more about contemporary perceptions of the world than about our ancestors. There is one compensation, however, for the professionals who make these interpretations: if they did not provide the interpretation, visitors would do it for themselves, based on their own ideas, misconceptions and prejudices. And no matter how exciting the result, it would contain a lot more bias than the presentations provided by experts.
F. Q36: Human bias is inevitable, but another source of bias in the representation of history has to do with the transitory nature of the materials themselves. The simple fact is that not everything from history survives the historical process. Castles, palaces and cathedrals have a longer lifespan than the dwellings of ordinary people. The same applies to the furnishings and other contents of the premises.Q39: In a town like Leyden in Holland, which in the seventeenth century was occupied by approximately the same number of inhabitants as today, people lived within the walled town, an area more than five times smaller than modern Leyden. In most of the houses several families lived together in circumstances beyond our imagination. Yet in museums, fine period rods give only an image of the lifestyle of the upper class of that era. No wonder that people who stroll around exhibitions are filled with nostalgia; the evidence in museums indicates that life was so much better in the past. This notion is induced by the bias in its representation in museums and heritage centres.

Read IELTS reading tips to enhance your answering skills

AC Reading Module: The Development of Museums Reading Questions

To solve each question type, you need to be aware of how each question type works. Read the instructions properly before reading the questions and write the development of reading answers. 

Questions 27 - 30 (Matching Headings)

The Development of museums reading passage has six paragraphs, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-E from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-vii, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

• i. Commercial pressures on people in charge
• ii. Mixed views on current changes to museums
• iii. Interpreting the facts to meet visitor expectations
• iv. The international dimension
• v.  Collections of factual evidence
• vi. Fewer differences between public attractions
• vii. Current reviews and suggestions 

Example 

Paragraph A = v

27. Paragraph B
28. Paragraph C
29. Paragraph D
30. Paragraph E

Read IELTS reading matching headings to get more tips and strategies.

Questions 5 - 10 (Multiple Choice Questions)

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter to the questions  5-10 on your answer sheet.

31. Compared with today’s museums, those of the past
A  did not present history in a detailed way.
B  were not primarily intended for the public.
C  were more clearly organised.
D  preserved items with greater care.
 
32. According to the writer, current trends in the heritage industry
A  emphasise personal involvement.
B  have their origins in York and London.
C  rely on computer images.
D  reflect minority tastes.
 
33. The writer says that museums, heritage sites and theme parks
A  often work in close partnership.
B  try to preserve separate identities.
C  have similar exhibits.
D  are less easy to distinguish than before.
 
34. The writer says that in preparing exhibits for museums, experts
A  should pursue a single objective.
B  have to do a certain amount of language translation.
C  should be free from commercial constraints.
D  have to balance conflicting priorities.
 
35. In paragraph E, the writer suggests that some museum exhibits
A  fail to match visitor expectations.
B  are based on the false assumptions of professionals.
C  reveal more about present beliefs than about the past.
D  allow visitors to make more use of their imagination.
 
36. The passage ends by noting that our view of history is biased because
A  we fail to use our imagination.
B  only very durable objects remain from the past.
C  we tend to ignore things that displease us.
D  museum exhibits focus too much on the local area.

To solve multiple choice questions efficiently, read IELTS reading multiple choice questions

Questions 11 - 14 (True False Not Given)

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Development of Museums Reading Passage?

For the questions 11-14 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

37. Consumers prefer theme parks which avoid serious issues.
38. More people visit museums than theme parks.
39. The boundaries of Leyden have changed little since the seventeenth century.
40. Museums can give a false impression of how life used to be.

Also read IELTS Reading True False Not Given to get more tips, tricks and strategies

The Development of Museums Reading Answers with explanation

Find the development of museums reading answers with explanations below to identify the mistakes and the problems in your answering process. 

(Note: The text in italics is from the reading passage and shows the location from where the answer is taken or inferred. The text in the regular font explains the answer in detail.)

27. Paragraph B = ii

Explanation: In the following line, Such developments have been criticized as an intolerable vulgarization, but the success of many historical theme parks and similar locations suggests that the majority of the public does not share this opinion, you can see the mixed views on current changes to the system. 

28. Paragraph C = vi

Explanation: In a related development, the sharp distinction between museum and heritage sites on the one hand, and theme parks on the other is gradually evaporating. This line indicates fewer differences between public attractions

29. Paragraph D = i

Explanation: they are also operating in a very competitive environment, where visitors make choices on how and where to spend their free time. This line expresses the following idea, Commercial pressures on people in charge.

30. Paragraph E = iii

Explanation: It could be claimed that in order to make everything in heritage more 'real', historical accuracy must be increasingly altered. This line from the paragraph suggests that Interpreting the facts to meet visitor expectations.

31. B. were not primarily intended for the public.

Explanation: Museums used to look - and some still do - much like storage rooms of objects packed together in showcases: good for scholars who wanted to study the subtle differences in design, but not for the ordinary visitor, to whom it all looked alike. In this line itself, you can understand that museums in the past were not for the general public.

32. A. emphasise personal involvement.

Explanation: The key word in heritage display is now 'experience', the more exciting the better and, if possible, involving all the senses. This line emphasises that it involves personal involvement.

33. D. are less easy to distinguish than before.

Explanation: In a related development, the sharp distinction between museum and heritage sites on the one hand, and theme parks on the other, is gradually evaporating. This line clearly expresses that now it is difficult to distinguish between museums, heritage sites and theme parks.

34. D. have to balance conflicting priorities. 

Explanation: Those who are professionally engaged in the art of interpreting history are thus in a difficult position, as they must steer a narrow course between the demands of 'evidence' and 'attractiveness'. Evidence and attractiveness have to be balanced. Hence the answer is, d.have to balance conflicting priorities.

35. C. reveal more about present beliefs than about the past.

Explanation: Such presentations tell us more about contemporary perceptions of the world than about our ancestors. This line reveals more about present beliefs than about the past.

36. B. only very durable objects remain from the past.

Explanation: Human bias is inevitable, but another source of bias in the representation of history has to do with the transitory nature of the materials themselves. The simple fact is that not everything from history survives the historical process. This line announces the bias of only durable objects remaining from the past. 

37. False 

Explanation: Theme parks are undergoing other changes, too, as they try to present more serious social and cultural issues, and move away from fantasy. This development is a response to market forces. Market forces are nothing but consumer forces. So, the statement is false.

38. Not Given

Explanation: Information of that kind is not present in the development of museums passage.

39. False

Explanation: In a town like Leyden in Holland, which in the seventeenth century was occupied by approximately the same number of inhabitants as today, people lived within the walled town, an area more than five times smaller than modern Leyden. More than five times smaller contradicts the piece of information, changed little. Hence, the answer is false. 

40. True

Explanation: It could be claimed that in order to make everything in heritage more ‘real', historical accuracy must be increasingly altered.

Tips for Cracking the Development of Museums Question Types:

Matching Headings

• Understand the gist of the paragraph. Do not select a heading just because it has one or more words in the paragraph. 
• An important detail in the paragraph could be the heading but only in the absence of a central idea. 
• Often, the first sentence of the paragraph introduces the main idea, but choosing the heading merely focusing on the first sentence of the paragraph could lead to a mistake. The first sentence of the paragraph could refer to the previous paragraph. 
• However, Although, Additionally - this kind of signpost words needs to be looked upon. For instance, However denotes a shift in the focus of the paragraph to a contrasting idea. 

Multiple Choice Questions

• In this question type, you are supposed to choose one correct answer. In the instructions section itself, it's mentioned if you have to choose more than one option. 
• Read the first question and underline the keywords. If the question does not have sufficient information, it is better to read the options and pick out the keywords from them. 
• Now, read the passage with the help of keywords and locate the portion of the passage, where could be the answers found. 
• Read the chosen portion carefully and answer the questions one by one. 

True, False, Not Given

• Read the question carefully and identify the keywords that could help you to locate the appropriate portion of the passage. In addition, you need to understand the question with utmost attention to understand the meaning. 
• Go through the passage and find the location where the marked keywords lie. You should remember that you will not find the exact keyword. So, look for words or phrases which have similar meaning. 
• The entire meaning of the sentence could be changed when you alter the single word. Thus, give an extra amount of attention to the words like some, often, occasionally, never, all

Check the Other Reading Passages

Click to get the other reading passages and answers.

• a neuroscientist reveals how to think differently reading answer 
• why we need to protect polar bears reading answers
• the step pyramid of djoser reading answers 

Conclusion

“The Development of Museums Reading Answers”  could have helped you to spot the mistakes and errors in your answering skills. If you want to develop your answering process in a more effective way, check out the reading passages and answers we have provided.