Moai - TOEFL Reading

​Moai - TOEFL Reading

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

• The transportation of the moai is both remarkable and mysterious,but not as impressive as the actual creation of the statues

• The moaiwere carved with stone chisels,which was an impressive accomplishment,

  but it is still unknown whether people actually transported them

• The creation of the moai is amazing,but not as amazing as how they were transported

• The transportation of the moai is remarkable,mysterious,and as impressive as their creation with simple hand tools

Multiple Choice

In paragraph 2, what does the author say about past theories of how the moai were transported from quarries to their resting places?

• The theories claimed that the use of natural resources for transporting moai had devastating effects on the land and society.

• The theories relied on evidence of log roadways that remained long after the Rapa Nui people had disappeared

• The theories were supported by oral accounts of the use of wood by the Rapa Nui peoples at the time the moai were constructed and transported

• The theories were based on inaccurate estimates of the amount of wood required to transport moai over large distances

Multiple Choice

The word 'they' in paragraph 2 refers to:

• proponents

• the peoples

• rollers

• statues

Multiple Choice

Why does the author mention “sophisticated computer models” developed by Jo Anne Van Tilburg in paragraph 3?

• to emphasize the difficulty of theorizing about activities of people in the remote past

• to demonstrate Van Tillbergs hypothesis appeared to be supported by evidence

• to cast doubt on theories that relied more on experimentation than on effective digital modelling

• to show how archaelogy can apply modern tools to ancient mysteries

Multiple Choice

Examine the four spaces in the selection below and indicate at which block the following sentence could be inserted into the passage:

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

In paragraph 3, what does the author NOT suggest about Jo Anne Van Tilburg’s hypothesis concerning the method of transporting the moai?

• The use of computer modelling provides evidence that rolling statues on logs would have been a very efficent method of transportation

• It was supported by successful attempts at replicating how the Rapa Nui people may have rolled the statues on logs

• It provides conclusive evidence that the Rapa Nui people used log rolling techniques to move the moai

• With all the variables taken into to account,there still wasnt enough to provide reasonable justification for the log rolling method

Multiple Choice

What can be inferred from paragraph 5 about the statues found at their eventual resting places?

• They showed signs of having been tipped over on their sides at some point in transit

• The people intended for them to be located elsewhere but were constrained by their transportation methods

• Many were,in fact,created where they were installed rather than at the quarries that were originally assumed to be the place of creation

• They did not have curved front edges

Multiple Choice

The word 'abandoned' in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to:

• damaged

• tipped

• left

• altered

Multiple Choice

Which of the following methods of transportation does the author say is supported by the most compelling evidence?

• The rolling of the moai in an upright position on the logs

• The shuffling of the moai with ropes tied to its head and base

• the rolling of the moai in the prone position

• The rocking of the moai with ropes tied to its head

Multiple Choice

Question 10

• abc

• bde

• cad

• cef

• def