AMCAT Reading Comprehension-11
PASSAGE-11
The unique Iron Age Experimental Centre at Lejre, about 40 km west of Copenhagen, serves as a museum, a classroom and a place to get away from it all. How did people live during the Iron Age? How did they support themselves? What did they eat and how did they cultivate the land? These and a myriad of other questions prodded the pioneers of the Lejre experiment. Living in the open and working 10 hours a day, volunteers from all over Scandinavia led by 30 experts, built the first village in the ancient encampment in a matter of months. The house walls were of clay, the roofs of hay - all based on original designs. Then came the second stage - getting back to the basics of living. Families were invited to stay in the 'prehistoric village' for a week or two at a time and rough it Iron Age-style. Initially, this experiment proved none too easy for modern Danes accustomed to central heating, but it convinced the centre that there was something to the Lejre project. Little by little, the modern Iron Agers learnt that their huts were, after all, habitable. The problems were numerous - smoke belching out from the rough-and-ready fireplaces into the rooms and so on. These problems, however, have led to some discoveries: domed smoke ovens made of clay, for example, give out more heat and consume less fuel than an open fire, and when correctly stoked, they are practically smokeless. By contacting other museums, the Lejre team has been able to reconstruct ancient weaving looms and pottery kilns. Iron Age dyeing techniques, using local natural vegetation, have also been revived, as have ancient baking and cooking methods.
1. What is the main purpose of building the Iron Age experimental center?
(A) Prehistoric village where people can stay for a week or two to get away from modern living.
(B) Replicate the Iron Age to get a better understanding of the time and people of that era.
(C) To discover the differences between a doomed smoke oven and an open fire to identity the more efficient of the two.
(D) Revive activities of ancient women such as weaving, pottery, dyeing, cooking and baking.
2) From the passage what can be inferred to be the centre’s initial outlook towards the Lejre project?
(A) It initiated the project (B) It eagerly supported it
(C) It felt the project was very unique (D) It was apprehensive about it
3)What is the meaning of the sentence “Initially, this experiment proved none to easy for modern Danes accustomed to central heating, but it convinced the centre that there was something to the Lejre project.”?
(A) Even though staying in the huts was not easy for the modern people, the centre saw merit in the simple living within huts compared to expensive apartments
(B) Staying in the huts was quite easy for the modern people and the centre also saw merit in the sample living within huts compared to expensive apartments.
(C) The way of living of the Iron Age proved difficult for the people of the modern age who are used to living in luxury
(D) The way of living of the Iron Age proved very easy for the people of the modern age since it was hot inside the huts, and they were anyway used to heated rooms.
4)What can be the title of the passage?
(A) Modern techniques find their way into pre-historic villages
(B) Co-existence of ancient and modern times
(C) Glad to be living in the 21st century (D) Turning back time
Category: Amcat, Amcat English, Amcat Passage
0 comments