The Pursuit of Knowledge Reading Answers

We have given The Pursuit of Knowledge practice tests and answers with explanations. The Pursuit of Knowledge Reading Answers has 14 questions which comprise three types of questions: Sentence Completion, Short Answer Questions and Yes/No/Not Given.

Table of contents:

• Solution for The Pursuit of Knowledge
• The Pursuit of Knowledge IELTS Reading Practice Test
• Passage
• Questions
• Answers with Explanations

Solution for The Pursuit of Knowledge

We have provided The Pursuit of Knowledge reading answers in the table given below for your reference.

Answer Table

1. English Lexicographer	5. Easy access to information/ easily accessible information/ easy information access	9. A natural human instinct	13. Not Given
2. (of) Human Knowledge	6. All-knowing	10. A Vortex/ A Veritable Vortex/ A Large information machine	14. No
3. Advert of Printing	7. Stream of information	11. Disillusionment and Stress
4. Renaissance man	8. The most singular failure	12. No

The Pursuit of Knowledge IELTS Reading Practice Test - Exam Review

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The Pursuit of Knowledge Reading Answers are provided here to make your browsing and reading more efficient. To correctly answer the questions, carefully read each paragraph, identify important phrases, and understand the general context of the text. You may conquer the IELTS reading section with the appropriate strategies and suggestions.

Passage

You should spend 20 minutes reading the The Pursuit of Knowledge passage below and answering each question (1–14). 

The Pursuit of Knowledge

1. According to the great English lexicographer Samuel Johnson, knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it (Boswell Life vol. 2 p, 383 18 April 1775). In the information-driven world we now inhabit, the latter has assumed a much greater level of importance.
   
   
2. At the time of the European Renaissance, which spanned the fourteenth, fifteenth and si­x-teenth centuries, it was considered possible for the educated, well-read man, the so-called Renaissance man, to possess the sum total of human knowledge. Admittedly, the body of knowledge then available was restricted, being held firmly in check by several important factors; the paucity of books in circulation at that time; the difficulty of acquiring copies of the texts; the need to copy texts by hand; and the cost of doing so. The example of Lupus of Ferrieres’ search for the Arsrhetorica of Fortunatus in the ninth century was repeated again and again throughout the Latin West until the momentous advent of printing in the middle of the fifteenth century. Printed books saw the end of some of the practical limitations placed on the spread of human knowledge. The first revolution in Information tech­nology had begun.
   
   
3. Renaissance man was rapidly left behind by this development; and, henceforth, it would be increasingly difficult for the educated man to cope with the expansion of knowledge that flowed through Europe via the medium of movable type. In today’s world, the scenario could hardly be more different. The most well-read indi­vidual, whom we could legitimately call information man, or homo sapiens, would certainly be considerably more knowledgeable than Renaissance man, Yet, because of the ever-expand­ing increase in the sum total of human knowledge over the latter half of the last millen­nium, and the changes in the world of technology, easy access to information has reduced the stature of the educated individual. All that he can hope to be now is an expert in a narrow field, not the all-knowing polymath of yesteryear.
   
   
4. It Is not surprising to see people overwhelmed by the unlimited stream of Information. There is simply too much of it to assimilate, and it is difficult to know what to do with the data once it is received; which brings us back to Johnson’s words. But we need to add an­other dimension to his dictum, one which was probably true in his time, but is even more pertinent today: people need to be able to live the knowledge they acquire and not just know it or know where to find it. Our deficiency in this regard is, perhaps, the most singular failure of the modern information age.
   
   
5. Acquisitiveness is a natural human Instinct. Children collect cards of footballers, or whatever is the latest fad. Stamps, coins and books are targets for children and adult collectors (dike, as their basic instincts are played upon and nurtured by market forces. The desire to gather knowledge is nothing new. What is astonishing, however, Is the way in which people treat the knowledge they have collected. It is as if the collection were an end in Itself; and herein lies the great deception, We have turned the world into a large machine of informa­tion, a veritable vortex into which we are all being Inexorably sucked, People beaver away amassing raw data, labouring under the misapprehension that they are doing something worthwhile when all that is really happening is the movement of information from one place to another, We should hardly be surprised that, as this becomes apparent, disillusion­ment and stress in the workplace arc becoming sadly the all too common consequences.
   
   
6. The world Is not really richer for having the current wealth of knowledge at its fingertips. It is like standing amongst the wealth of the British Library, the Bibliothèque Nationals in Paris or other great libraries and not being able to read. So what is to be done? Training in collecting and processing relevant information, followed by learning to collate, analyse and select or discard is the obvious solution, But there is such a dearth of people who know what to do that one remains pessimistic.

The pursuit of knowledge is sadly not all it is cracked up to be.

Questions

Questions 1-7

Complete the sentences below. Use NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS from the passage to complete each blank space.
Write your answers in Blank spaces next to 1-7 on your answer sheet.

1. Samuel Johnson was an___________________ .
2. Renaissance man supposedly possessed all__________________.
3. The spread of knowledge changed with the all important___________________.
4. According to the writer, today’s information man knows more than_______________.
5. The standing of the modern educated man has been diminished by _________________.
6. The polymath of the Renaissance is described as______________________.
7. In today’s world, people are weighed down by the endless__________________.

Questions 8-11 

Answer the questions below. Use NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers next to 8-11 on your answer sheet.

8. How does the writer describe people’s inability in the modern world to use the knowledge that they obtain?

9. What is the desire to collect things described as?

10. According to the author, what has the world turned into?

11. What are the consequences in the workplace of moving large amounts of raw data around?

Questions 12-14 

Do the statements below agree with the information in the Reading Passage?
In Boxes 12-14, write:

YES                        if the statement agrees with the information in the passage
NO                          if the statement contradicts the information in the passage
NOT GIVEN           if there is no information about the statement in the passage

Example: The European Renaissance spanned the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.
Answer: Yes.

12. As the world has a wealth of knowledge within easy reach, it is now richer.

13. Knowledge processing courses will soon be obligatory for all library workers.

14. The author believes that the pursuit of knowledge is worthwhile.

Answers for The Pursuit of Knowledge with explanations

The Pursuit of Knowledge reading answers with explanations are given below. It will be useful to rectify the mistakes in your answering process.

(Note: The language highlighted in bold refers to the passage's location and answer. The explanatory sentences from the reading passage are shown in italics.)

1. Answer: English Lexicographer

Explanation: The first line of paragraph A clearly states that according to the great English lexicographer Samuel Johnson, knowledge is of two kinds. Therefore, Samuel Johnson was an English Lexicographer.

2. Answer: (of) Human Knowledge

Explanation: Paragraph B, Last 2nd Line reveals the information that it was considered possible for the educated, well-read man, the so-called Renaissance man, to possess the sum total of human knowledge. Hence, Renaissance man supposedly possessed all of human knowledge.

3. Answer: Advent of Printing

Explanation: In the Paragraph B, Seventh Line illustrates that the example of Lupus of Ferrieres’ search for the Arsrhetorica of Fortunatus in the ninth century was repeated again and again throughout the Latin West until the momentous advent of printing in the middle of the fifteenth century. This suggests that the spread of knowledge changed with the all-important advent of painting.

4. Answer: Renaissance man

Explanation: The fourth Line of Paragraph C reveals the information that the most well-read indi­vidual, whom we could legitimately call information man, or homo sapiens, would certainly be considerably more knowledgeable than Renaissance man. This sentence provides the information that according to the writer, today’s information man knows more than Renaissance man.

5. Answer: Easy access to information/ easily accessible information/ easy information access

Explanation: It can be referred from Paragraph C, Last second Line that, easy access to information has reduced the stature of the educated individual. This sentence denotes that the standing of the modern educated man has been diminished by easy access to information.

6. Answer: All-knowing

Explanation: The Paragraph C, Last Lines clearly mentioned that the changes in the world of technology, easy access to information has reduced the stature of the educated individual. All that he can hope to be now is an expert in a narrow field, not the all-knowing polymath of yesteryear. This implies that the polymath of the Renaissance is described as All-knowing.

7. Answer: Stream of information

Explanation: It is apparent in Paragraph D, Line 1 that it Is not surprising to see people overwhelmed by the unlimited stream of Information. There is simply too much of it to assimilate, and it is difficult to know what to do with the data once it is received. This sentence provides the knowledge that in today’s world, people’s arcs are weighed down by the endless stream of information.

8. Answer: The most singular failure

Explanation : The sentence is evidently represented in the Paragraph D, 5th Line that people need to be able to live the knowledge they acquire and not just know it or know where to find it. Our deficiency in this regard is, perhaps, the most singular failure of the modern information age. This sentence answers the question that the writer describes as the most singular failure in the modern world to use the knowledge that they obtain.

9. Answer: A natural human instinct

Explanation: The information is revealed in Paragraph E, Line 1 that Acquisitiveness is a natural human Instinct. Children collect cards of footballers, or whatever is the latest fad. Stamps, coins and books are targets for children and adult collectors (dike, as their basic instincts are played upon and nurtured by market forces. It is clear from the sentence that natural human instinct is described as the desire to collect things.

10. Answer: A Vortex/ A Veritable Vortex/ A Large information machine

Explanation: Paragraph E, Line 6 says that we have turned the world into a large machine of informa­tion, a veritable vortex into which we are all being Inexorably sucked. Thus, it is justified in the sentence that the world has turned into a machine of information, named a veritable vortex.

11. Answer: Disillusionment and Stress

Explanation: Paragraph E, Last Line explains that, we should hardly be surprised that, as this becomes apparent, disillusion­ment and stress in the workplace arc become sadly the all too common consequences. It is evident that the consequences in the workplace of moving large amounts of raw data around are disillusionment and stress.

12. Answer: No

Explanation: Paragraph F, Line 1 narrates that the world Is not really richer for having the current wealth of knowledge at its fingertips. Thus, the statement as the world has a wealth of knowledge within easy reach, it is now richer is incorrect, because it shows clearly that having a lot of knowledge and information at our fingertips does not contribute to making the world a richer place; rather, it causes human beings to suffer.

13. Answer: Not Given

Explanation: There is no context for the following sentence and it is not included in the text.

14. Answer: No

Explanation:  At the conclusion of the passage, the author makes it abundantly clear that the pursuit of knowledge is not as worthwhile as it should be because there aren't enough people who can clearly analyse knowledge, leaving pessimism as the only remaining option. Therefore, the answer is No.

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