IELTS Reading Exercise 2

Using rope to construct pyramids

No one knows exactly how- the pyramids were built. Marcus Chown reckons the answer could be ‘hanging in the air’

The pyramids in Egypt were constructed over three millennia ago, and the method remains a mystery. The traditional view suggests tens of thousands of laborers dragged stones on sledges, yet there exists no conclusive evidence supporting this theory. Recently, Maureen Clemmons, a software consultant from California, proposed that kites played a role. While studying a book on Egypt's monuments, she encountered a hieroglyph depicting men in peculiar stances. These men appeared to be manipulating ropes linked to a large bird in the sky via a mechanical system. Clemmons speculated whether this 'bird' might have actually been a colossal kite, used by these men to hoist heavy objects.

Intrigued, Clemmons reached out to Morteza Gharib, a professor of aeronautics at the California Institute of Technology. He found the concept fascinating. ‘Coming from Iran, I have a strong interest in Middle Eastern science,’ he mentions. The object in the sky that caught Clemmons’s attention also puzzled him. The wings of the object appeared too short and wide to belong to a bird. ‘There was a possibility it could have been a kite,’ he suggests. Since he needed a summer project for his student Emilio Graff, exploring the potential of using kites for heavy lifting seemed promising.

Gharib and Graff undertook the challenge of raising a 4.5-meter stone column from horizontal to vertical, relying solely on wind power. Their initial calculations and experiments with scale-model wind tunnels convinced them that they wouldn’t require a strong wind to lift the 33.5-ton column. Even a modest and sustained force over time could move the base across the ground on a trolley.

Earlier this year, the team tested Clemmons’s improbable theory using a 40-square-meter rectangular nylon sail. The kite effortlessly lifted the column off the ground. ‘We were completely amazed,’ Gharib remarks. The moment the sail caught the wind, it generated a massive force, raising the column to a vertical position in just 40 seconds.

The wind was blowing at a gentle 16 to 20 kilometers per hour, slightly more than half of what they initially estimated would be necessary. They hadn’t anticipated the effect when the kite was deployed. There was a significant initial force – five times greater than the steady-state force,' Gharib explains. This discovery led Gharib to realize that kites could lift enormous weights. He speculated that even a 300-ton column could be raised vertically by 40 or so men using four or five sails. Clemmons’s hypothesis was indeed correct: the builders of the pyramids could have utilized kites to position massive stones. ‘Whether they actually did is another question,’ Gharib adds. There are no existing images of the pyramid construction, making it impossible to definitively know the methods used. The evidence supporting the use of kites for moving large stones is no more or less credible than the evidence supporting the use of sheer force,' Gharib concludes.

Indeed, the experiments conducted have left many experts unconvinced. ‘There is no proof supporting the use of kites for lifting,’ says Wallace Wendrich, an associate professor of Egyptology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Others argue in favor of the theory. Utilizing the wind would not have posed a challenge for skilled sailors like the Egyptians. Moreover, they are known to have employed sturdy wooden pulleys capable of bearing the weight of massive stone blocks. Additionally, there is physical evidence suggesting that ancient Egyptians had an interest in aviation. A wooden artifact discovered at the Saqqara step pyramid bears a striking resemblance to a modern glider. Despite dating from several centuries after the construction of the pyramids, its sophistication hints at long-standing Egyptian explorations into flight. Furthermore, other ancient civilizations were certainly aware of kites; as early as 1250 BC, the Chinese used them for messaging and to drop flaming debris on their adversaries.

The experiments could also have practical applications today. Many regions worldwide lack access to heavy machinery but possess knowledge of wind, sailing, and basic mechanical principles. Already, Gharib has been approached by a civil engineer in Nicaragua who plans to erect buildings with adobe roofs supported by concrete arches in an area inaccessible to heavy equipment. His concept involves constructing the arches horizontally and then raising them into place using kites. ‘We’ve offered him some design suggestions,’ Gharib notes. ‘Now we await his feedback.’ Whether or not kites were indeed used in pyramid construction, it appears they may serve as viable construction tools in the 21st century AD.

Questions 1-7Do the following statement with the information given in Reading Passage 158?In boxes 1-7 on your answer  sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the informationFALSE if the statement contradicts the informationNOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1. It is generally believed that large numbers of people were needed to build the pyramids.2. Clemmons found a strange hieroglyph on the wall of an Egyptian monument.3. Gharib had previously done experiments on bird flight.4. Ghari band Graff tested their theory before applying it.5. The success of the actual experiment was due to the high speed of the wind.6. They found that, as the kite flew higher, the wind force got stronger.7. The team decided that it was possible to use kites to raise very heavy stones.

Questions 8-13Complete the summary below.Choose NO MORE THAN WORDS from the passage for each answer

Write your answers in boxes 8-13 your answer sheet.

Addition evidence for theory of kite lifting

The Egyptians had 8………………, which couldlift large pieces of 9……………….., and they knew how to use the energy of the wind from their skill as 10………………. The discovery on one pyramid of an object which resembled a 11……………..suggests they may have experimented with 12 …………... In addition, over two thousand years ago kites used in china as weapons, as well as for sending 13………………

Answer:1. TRUE2. FALSE3. NOT GIVEN4. TRUE5. FALSE6. NOT GIVEN7. TRUE8. (wooden) pulleys9. stone10. (accomplished) sailors11. (modern) glider12. flight13. messages