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Latihan TOEFL Reading 7: Cuneiform and the Origins of Writing

Baca passage berikut dengan teliti, lalu kerjakan 15 soalnya. Jawaban dan pembahasan bisa dibuka setelah kamu mencoba sendiri.

Around 3400 BCE, in the region of Mesopotamia, scribes began pressing wedge-shaped marks into soft clay tablets using a reed stylus, creating a system now known as cuneiform. The earliest tablets were simple accounting records, tracking quantities of grain, livestock, and other goods exchanged in temple and palace economies.

Over centuries, cuneiform evolved from a system of pictographs, which resembled the objects they represented, into a more abstract set of symbols representing sounds and syllables. This shift allowed scribes to record not only inventories but also laws, letters, poetry, and religious texts, expanding writing's role far beyond bookkeeping.

Cuneiform remained in use across the Near East for more than three thousand years, adapted by multiple cultures and languages, including Akkadian, Babylonian, and Persian. Its gradual disappearance, complete by the first century CE, coincided with the spread of alphabetic scripts, which required far fewer symbols and were easier to learn, making literacy accessible to a wider population.

Soal

1. What is the passage primarily about?

  1. Daily life of Mesopotamian farmers
  2. The development and eventual decline of cuneiform writing
  3. The discovery of clay tablets in Mesopotamia
  4. How ancient temples were built
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: B. The development and eventual decline of cuneiform writing

Passage mengikuti alur: asal-usul cuneiform → perkembangannya → penyebabnya menghilang.

2. The word 'abstract' in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

  1. Concrete and picture-like
  2. Written in color
  3. Easy to translate
  4. Not directly resembling real objects
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: D. Not directly resembling real objects

Simbol yang 'abstract' berarti tidak lagi menyerupai bentuk benda aslinya — berbeda dari pictograph.

3. According to paragraph 1, what were the earliest cuneiform tablets primarily used for?

  1. Religious ceremonies
  2. Poetry
  3. Accounting records of goods
  4. Royal letters
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: C. Accounting records of goods

Disebutkan eksplisit: 'earliest tablets were simple accounting records'.

4. It can be inferred that alphabetic scripts eventually replaced cuneiform because

  1. Alphabetic scripts used fewer symbols and were easier to learn
  2. Clay became too expensive to use
  3. Cuneiform was banned by law
  4. Cuneiform tablets were too heavy to transport
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: A. Alphabetic scripts used fewer symbols and were easier to learn

Teks menyebut alphabetic scripts 'required far fewer symbols and were easier to learn, making literacy accessible to a wider population'.

5. Why does the author mention that cuneiform was adapted by Akkadian, Babylonian, and Persian cultures?

  1. To show cuneiform's long and widespread use across different languages
  2. To argue these cultures invented writing independently
  3. To compare their religious beliefs
  4. To explain why cuneiform declined
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: A. To show cuneiform's long and widespread use across different languages

Ini menunjukkan skala penggunaan cuneiform yang luas dan bertahan lama lintas budaya.

6. The word 'stylus' in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

  1. a religious symbol
  2. a type of clay
  3. a writing tool
  4. a counting device
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: C. a writing tool

'Reed stylus' adalah alat tulis yang digunakan untuk menekan huruf ke tanah liat.

7. According to paragraph 1, what tool did scribes use to press marks into clay?

  1. A metal chisel
  2. Their fingers
  3. A reed stylus
  4. A brush
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: C. A reed stylus

Disebutkan eksplisit scribes 'pressing wedge-shaped marks... using a reed stylus'.

8. According to paragraph 2, what did cuneiform allow scribes to record beyond inventories?

  1. Nothing beyond accounting
  2. Only royal decrees
  3. Maps and diagrams
  4. Laws, letters, poetry, and religious texts
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: D. Laws, letters, poetry, and religious texts

Disebutkan eksplisit 'not only inventories but also laws, letters, poetry, and religious texts'.

9. It can be inferred that the shift from pictographs to abstract symbols made cuneiform

  1. Less useful overall
  2. Exclusively used for religious purposes
  3. Understandable only by children
  4. More flexible for representing a wider range of ideas
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: D. More flexible for representing a wider range of ideas

Pergeseran ke simbol abstrak memungkinkan cuneiform mencatat lebih banyak jenis informasi, bukan sebaliknya.

10. Why does the author trace the evolution from pictographs to abstract symbols in paragraph 2?

  1. To describe an unrelated writing system
  2. To show how cuneiform's expanding use was linked to its increasing abstraction
  3. To criticize ancient scribes
  4. To argue pictographs were superior
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: B. To show how cuneiform's expanding use was linked to its increasing abstraction

Perkembangan bentuk simbol dihubungkan langsung dengan meluasnya fungsi cuneiform di paragraf yang sama.

11. The word 'disappearance' in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

  1. the process of no longer being used or seen
  2. a religious ceremony
  3. a type of trade
  4. a sudden explosion
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: A. the process of no longer being used or seen

'Its gradual disappearance' merujuk pada proses cuneiform berhenti digunakan seiring waktu.

12. According to paragraph 3, by when was cuneiform's disappearance complete?

  1. It never disappeared
  2. The twentieth century
  3. The fifth century BCE
  4. The first century CE
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: D. The first century CE

Disebutkan eksplisit 'complete by the first century CE'.

13. Which three cultures are mentioned as adapting cuneiform?

  1. None are mentioned
  2. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
  3. Akkadian, Babylonian, and Persian
  4. Egyptian, Greek, and Roman
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: C. Akkadian, Babylonian, and Persian

Disebutkan eksplisit ketiga budaya ini mengadaptasi cuneiform.

14. It can be inferred that alphabetic scripts contributed to wider literacy because

  1. They required learning far fewer symbols than cuneiform
  2. They were harder to learn than cuneiform
  3. They were purely decorative
  4. They were only used by royalty
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: A. They required learning far fewer symbols than cuneiform

Disebutkan alphabetic scripts 'required far fewer symbols and were easier to learn, making literacy accessible to a wider population'.

15. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?

  1. The decline of writing systems
  2. The geography of the Near East
  3. The religious beliefs of Mesopotamians
  4. The origin of cuneiform and its earliest use for accounting
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: D. The origin of cuneiform and its earliest use for accounting

Paragraf 1 berfokus pada asal-usul cuneiform dan fungsi awalnya sebagai catatan akuntansi.

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