Reading Exercise: Pacific navigation and voyaging

A. The numerous small islands of the Pacific Ocean were uninhabited until the ancestors of today's islanders sailed from Southeast Asia in ocean-going canoes about 2,000 years ago. There is still ongoing debate about how they managed to traverse such vast distances across the ocean without any modern technologies that we now take for granted.

B. While some early twentieth-century writers romanticized fleets of heroic navigators setting sail simultaneously, later researchers have found this vision exaggerated. It wasn't until 1956 when American historian Andrew Sharp published his research that a serious assessment of Pacific voyaging emerged. Sharp challenged the heroic portrayal, suggesting that navigational skills were limited and settlement of the islands was often more a matter of chance due to drifting canoes. Sharp's theory faced considerable criticism but sparked renewed interest and prompted new valuable research in the field.

C. Since the 1960s, numerous investigations have been conducted, many of them being field-based rather than relying solely on armchair research. While not dismissing all armchair research – which relies on published materials – it became clear that reliance on traditional sources like travelers' journals or missionary accounts, often by untrained observers, hindered progress in understanding Pacific voyaging. Sharp's work marked a shift towards more rigorous fieldwork and original research methods.

D. In 1965, David Lewis, a physician and experienced yachtsman, embarked on a unique mission. He utilized his own yacht, which he had owned for many years, to navigate through the islands and connect with traditional navigators who still relied on ancient methods at sea. Lewis joined them on test voyages aboard their traditional canoes, where modern instruments were visibly absent, although he secretly used them to verify the navigators’ calculations. One of his most notable voyages covered approximately 1,000 nautical miles between two mid-ocean islands. Contrary to Sharp's theory of drifting, Lewis discovered that ancient navigators possessed knowledge of celestial navigation, utilizing specific star positions on the horizon to steer their canoes accurately.

E. Geographer Edwin Doran pursued a markedly different approach. His focus was on acquiring precise data concerning the performance of traditional sailing canoes. To achieve this, he employed state-of-the-art electronic instruments during his journeys aboard traditional canoes across some of the Pacific's most remote areas. Doran meticulously recorded canoe speeds under various wind conditions, ranging from gales to calms, and assessed the canoes' ability to sail relative to the wind angle. His work provided the initial precise measurements of traditional sailing canoe capabilities.

F. Physiologist Steven Horvath contributed significantly by examining the physical capabilities of the men involved, rather than focusing on navigation techniques or canoe types. Using adapted physiological methods, Horvath calculated the energy expenditure required to paddle these canoes when sailing conditions were unfavorable, such as during windless periods or against contrary winds. His findings suggested that paddles or possibly long oars could propel these primarily sailing vessels over long distances.

G. Wall Garrard led a team that conducted groundbreaking research, employing a unique methodology based in linguistic studies of Pacific island languages. Despite being conducted largely in a laboratory setting, Garrard's approach utilized advanced computer simulation techniques adapted from other disciplines. His models convincingly suggested that Pacific migrations were systematic rather than simultaneous. He proposed that these migrations should be viewed as a series of progressively ambitious voyages, expanding further into uncharted oceans.

H. What do we learn about Pacific navigation and voyaging from this research? Importantly, none of the researchers attempted to prove or disprove specific theories. Such experiments inherently cannot definitively confirm or refute hypotheses. The strength of this research lies in its diverse methodologies. By synthesizing these findings, we can infer that traditional navigators employed various types of canoes, water sources, and navigation techniques. Adaptability was their greatest asset; they adapted their methods based on prevailing sea conditions. Moreover, these navigators did not merely drift aimlessly at sea; they engaged in systematic migrations. For Pacific peoples, the ocean became an avenue, not a barrier, fostering communication long before other civilizations. An unexpected outcome of this research has been a revival of traditional voyaging practices among some Pacific island groups, preserving ancestral skills that were once thought lost forever.

Questions 1-5

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage?

In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

1 The Pacific islands were uninhabited when migrants arrived by sea from Southeast Asia

2 Andrew Sharp was the first person to write about the migrants to islanders

3 Andrew Sharp believed migratory voyages were based on more on luck than skill

4 Despite being controversial, Andrew Sharp’s research had positive results

5 Edwin Doran disagreed with the findings of Lewis’s research

Questions 6-10

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet.

6. David Lewis’s research was different because

• A  he observed traditional navigators at work
• B  he conducted test voyages using his own yacht
• C  he carried no modern instruments on test voyages
• D  he spoke the same language as the islanders he sailed with

7. What did David Lewis’s research discover about traditional navigators?

• A  They used the sun and moon to find their position
• B  They could not sail further than about 1,000 nautical miles
• C  They knew which direction they were sailing in
• D  They were able to drift for long distances 

8. What are we told about Edwin Doran’s research?

• A  Data were collected after the canoes had returned to land
• B  Canoe characteristics were recorded using modern instruments
• C  Research was conducted in the most densely populated regions
• D  Navigators were not allowed to see the instruments Doran used

9. Which of the following did Steven Horvath discover during his research?

• A  Canoe design was less important than human strength
• B  New research methods had to be developed for use in canoes
• C  Navigators became very tired on the longest voyages
• D  Human energy may have been used to assist sailing canoes

10. What is the writer’s opinion of  Wall Garrard’s research?

• A  He is disappointed it was conducted in the laboratory
• B  He is impressed by the originality of the techniques used
• C  He is surprised it was used to help linguists with their research
• D  He is concerned that the islands studied are long distances apart

Questions 11-14

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.

Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.

11 One limitation in the information produced by all of this research is that it

12 The best thing about this type of research

13 The most important achievement of traditional navigators

14 The migration of people from Asia to the Pacific

A was the variety of experimental techniques used

B was not of interest to young islanders today

C was not conclusive evidence in support of a single theory

D was being able to change their practices when necessary

E was the first time humans intentionally crossed an ocean

F was the speed with which it was conducted

Answers:

1. YES (Đoạn 1, “The many tiny islands of the Pacific Ocean had no human population until ancestors of today’s islanders sailed from Southeast Asia in ocean-going canoes approximately 2,000 years ago.”)

2. NO (Đoạn 2, “no considered assessment of Pacific voyaging was forthcoming until 1956 when the American historian Andrew Sharp published his research.”)

3. YES (Đoạn 2, “Sharp challenged the ‘heroic vision’ by asserting that the expertise of the navigators was limited, and that the settlement of the islands was not systematic, being more dependent on good fortune by drifting canoes.

4. YES (Đoạn 2, “If nothing else, however, it did spark renewed interest in the topic and precipitated valuable new research.”)

5. NOT GIVEN (Không có thông tin)

6. A (Đoạn 4, “…he took the yacht he had owned for many years and navigated through the islands in order to contact those men who still find their way at sea using traditional methods.”)

7. C (Đoạn 4, “Far from drifting, as proposed by Sharp, Lewis found that ancient navigators would have known which course to steer by memorizing which stars rose and set in certain positions along the horizon and this gave them fixed directions by which to steer their boats.”)

8. B (Đoạn 5, “He was interested in obtaining exact data on canoe sailing performance, and to that end employed the latest electronic instrumentation.”)

9. D (Đoạn 6, “As a physiologist, Horvath’s interest was not in navigation techniques or in canoes, but in the physical capabilities of the men themselves.”)

10. B (Đoạn 7, “Clever adaptation of computer simulation techniques pioneered in other disciplines allowed him to produce convincing models suggesting the migrations were indeed systematic, but not simultaneous.”)

11. C (Đoạn 2, “Sharp challenged the ‘heroic vision’ by asserting that the expertise of the navigators was limited, and that the settlement of the islands was not systematic, being more dependent on good fortune by drifting canoes.”)

12. A (Đoạn 3, “Since the 1960s a wealth of investigations has been conducted, and most of them, thankfully, have been of the ‘non-armchair’ variety.”)

13. D (Đoạn 8, “ When we splice together these findings we can propose that traditional navigators used a variety of canoe types, sources of water and navigation techniques, and it was this adaptability which was their greatest accomplishment.”)