(Question type: Task 3)
You will now read a short passage and then listen to a talk on the same academic topic. You will then be asked a question about them. After you hear the question, you will have 30 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak.
Read a passage about the development of written language. You have 45 seconds to read the passage. Begin reading now.
Pictographs
Pictographs are very simple pictures that represent a word or idea. This artwork is the earliest known form of writing, with archaeological discoveries of pictographs dating back to 3000 BC in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Scholars believe that pictographs developed independently in many different parts of the world, including the Middle East, China, and Mesoamerica. Because early pictographs were meant to resemble physical objects, they tended to represent nouns that referred to concrete things, but as pictographs in the ancient world became visually simpler and more abstract, they stopped representing actual objects. Instead, they began to represent abstract concepts and phonetic sounds. In time, pictographs became the basis for modern writing systems.
Using examples from the talk, explain how pictographs changed to become modern writing.
Preparation time: 30 seconds
Response time: 60 seconds