Perseverance in The Riddle of The Rosetta Stone

In The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone, James Cross Giblin makes his ideas clear to readers best through his

• confidence and style.

• courage and success.

• tone and viewpoint.

• format and objectives.

Read the excerpt from The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone.

Near the entrance to the long, high-ceilinged room stand two magnificent granite statues of Pharaoh Amenophis III, who ruled Egypt about 1400 B.C. Farther on is a colossal head of Pharaoh Ramesses II dating back to 1250 B.C. And beyond it, resting on a simple base, is a slab of black basalt, a colossal rock.

Which words in the excerpt best show that Giblin thinks the room is important?

• entrance and room

• long and high-ceilinged

• magnificent and colossal

• simple and slab

Read the excerpt from The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone.

Next to the statues and the head, the slab seems unimpressive at first glance. It is roughly the size of a tabletop—three feet nine inches long, two feet four and a half inches wide, and eleven inches thick. But many experts would say that this rather small piece of rock was more valuable than any of the larger objects in the room. For it is the famed Rosetta Stone, which gave nineteenth-century scholars their first key to the secrets of ancient Egypt.

Which words in the excerpt best show that Giblin views the Rosetta Stone as very important?

• statues and unimpressive

• more valuable and famed

• rather small and piece of rock

• larger objects and scholars

Read the excerpt from The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone.

Before the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799, no one knew how to read Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. Its meaning had been lost for almost 1400 years. But countless visitors to Egypt over the centuries had tried to decipher the mysterious symbols. This is the story of their attempts, and of how the Rosetta Stone finally enabled scholars to unlock the Egyptian past.

The story begins in the seventh century A.D., when Greek scholars visiting Egypt first called the symbols "hieroglyphs." They gave them that name, which means "sacred carvings" in Greek, because they found so many of them on the walls of Egyptian tombs and temples.

Which phrase from this excerpt best supports the author’s view that the people who deciphered the Egyptian writing system played an important role in history?

• no one knew how to read Egyptian hieroglyphic writing

• countless visitors to Egypt over the centuries had tried

• The story begins in the seventh century A.D.

• finally enabled scholars to unlock the Egyptian past

In Giblin’s view, which group’s initial determination helped solve the mystery of the Rosetta Stone?

• Greeks

• Egyptians

• Romans

• French

Read the line of text from The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone.

But many experts would say that this rather small piece of rock was more valuable than any of the larger objects in the room.

In this line of text, the author makes his viewpoint clear about the

• reign of Pharaoh Amenophis III who discovered the Rosetta Stone.

• reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II who discovered the Rosetta Stone.

• Rosetta Stone’s use of hieroglyphs to describe life in ancient Egypt.

• Rosetta Stone’s use of hieroglyphs to explain weather patterns.

Which statement presents a counterclaim to James Cross Giblin’s viewpoint?

• Egyptian hieroglyphs provide information about the country’s history, medicine, science, and laws.

• The Rosetta Stone allowed people to read ancient Egyptian writing.

• Learning how to read hieroglyphs is the best way to understand the ancient culture of the Egyptians.

• Digging up ancient Egyptian tombs teaches us more about the way people lived than hieroglyphs do.

Read the excerpt from The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone by James Cross Giblin.

However they obtained it, the Greeks couldn’t resist adding their own original "explanations" to the definitions. For example, a Greek writer named Horapollo said correctly that the picture of a goose stood for the word "son." But then he explained that this was because geese took special care of their young, which was completely inaccurate. He wrote that the image of a rabbit meant "open" because a rabbit's eyes never close—an equally false statement.

Which phrase shows the author’s feelings about Horapollo’s ideas?

• However they obtained it

• a Greek writer named Horapollo

• the image of a rabbit meant "open"

• completely inaccurate

Read the excerpt from The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone by James Cross Giblin.

A few genuine advances in understanding the hieroglyphs were made during the 1700s. The French scholar C. J. de Guignes observed that groups of hieroglyphs in Egyptian texts were often enclosed by an oval outline, which he called a cartouche. "Cartouche" is a French word that originally meant a cartridge, and the line around the hieroglyphs had a similar shape. De Guignes guessed rightly that the cartouches in hieroglyphic inscriptions were intended to draw attention to important names, probably the names of Egyptian rulers.

Based on this excerpt, what is the author’s view of the progress made in the 1700s?

• A French scholar first used the term “cartouche” to describe hieroglyphs.

• Scholars had some success understanding the meanings of the hieroglyphs.

• By the 1700s, scholars had given up trying to figure out the hieroglyphs.

• Hieroglyphs in Egyptian texts were often enclosed within an oval shape.

Read the excerpt from The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone by James Cross Giblin.

Some of these scholars made otherwise significant contributions to the world's knowledge of ancient Egypt. A German priest of the 1600s, Athanasius Kircher, wrote the first grammar and vocabulary of Coptic, the language of Christian Egypt. These books were to prove of great value when the hieroglyphs were eventually deciphered.

Which words does Giblin use to show his viewpoint?

• priest and vocabulary

• knowledge and scholars

• significant and great value

• Coptic and Christian Egypt