Oral Storytelling Traditions: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “Long before the invention of writing, human beings preserved and passed on their knowledge, history and beliefs through the spoken word. In societies without written records, stories, poems and songs were held in memory and recited aloud, handed down from one generation to the next by word of mouth.”
- Passage length: about 713 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“Oral Storytelling Traditions” is an original IELTS-style practice passage written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
Oral Storytelling Traditions answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
- 1
Oral tradition was a sophisticated system capable of preserving material accurately over long periods.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “This oral tradition was not a crude substitute for writing but a sophisticated system in its own right, capable of preserving vast amounts of material with surprising accuracy over long periods of time.”
- 2
Skilled storytellers in many cultures were treated with little respect.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “Such individuals commanded great respect, for they were the living libraries of their people, the guardians of history, genealogy and law as well as of entertainment.”
- 3
Repetition of phrases helped performers to remember long narratives.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “Repetition played an important role, with certain phrases, descriptions or whole passages recurring throughout a work, providing the performer with familiar building blocks.”
- 4
A single oral story usually existed in only one fixed and correct version.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “…a single story might exist in many different versions across a region without any one of them being regarded as the single correct form.”
- 5
Female storytellers were more common than male storytellers in ancient societies.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims that female storytellers were more common than male storytellers, but the passage does not confirm or deny this, only mentioning that skilled storytellers commanded respect without specifying gender.
- 6
The arrival of writing immediately put an end to oral traditions.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “The coming of writing did not immediately destroy these traditions, and for a long time oral and written culture existed side by side.”
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. because they could read and write
- B. because they were the living libraries of their people
- C. because they controlled the food supply
- D. because they invented new writing systems
- 7
Why were skilled storytellers so important to their communities?
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Answer: B — because they were the living libraries of their people
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — because they were the living libraries of their people.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “…they were the living libraries of their people, the guardians of history, genealogy and law as well as of entertainment.”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. verses
- B. genealogies
- C. formulas
- D. epics
- 8
What are the recurring expressions used by oral performers sometimes called?
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Answer: C — formulas
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — formulas.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “Such repeated expressions, sometimes called formulas, could be slotted into the narrative as needed.”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. that they had all been lost
- B. that they had been written by a single author at a desk
- C. that they had probably originated in an oral tradition before being written down
- D. that they contained no repetition
- 9
What did research into living oral traditions reveal about ancient epics?
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Answer: C — that they had probably originated in an oral tradition before being written down
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — that they had probably originated in an oral tradition before being written down.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “…concluded that some famous ancient epics had probably originated in a similar oral tradition before eventually being written down.”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. because recordings are of poor quality
- B. because it captures only a single performance and not the living art
- C. because storytellers refuse to be recorded
- D. because the stories are too short to record
- 10
According to the passage, why can a recording not fully preserve an oral tradition?
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Answer: B — because it captures only a single performance and not the living art
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — because it captures only a single performance and not the living art.
Evidence · Paragraph 8 “…a recording can capture only a single performance, and cannot fully reproduce the living art of the storyteller, whose tale was made anew each time it was told.”
Questions 11–14: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
In what form were stories and poems often composed to make them easier to recall?(max 2 words)
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Answer: verse (also accepted: in verse)
Why: The answer “verse” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “Stories and poems were often composed in verse, with regular rhythm and sometimes rhyme, features that make words easier to recall.”
- 12
Rather than reciting word for word, a skilled performer did what to the tale on each occasion?(max 3 words)
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Answer: re-created it (also accepted: re-created / recreated it / recreated)
Why: The answer “re-created it” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “…a skilled performer did not simply recite a memorised script word for word but re-created the tale afresh on each occasion.”
- 13
Besides entertainment, oral stories gave a community a shared sense of what?(max 3 words)
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Answer: identity (also accepted: shared identity / a sense of shared identity)
Why: The answer “identity” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “…communities passed on practical knowledge, moral lessons and a sense of shared identity.”
- 14
The spread of what, along with schooling and modern media, has threatened oral traditions?(max 2 words)
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Answer: literacy
Why: The answer “literacy” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 8 “The spread of literacy, formal schooling and modern media has changed the way people spend their time and pass on knowledge.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (Academic) conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single passage is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.5 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.5 |
| 11 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 6.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 4 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 14 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 14 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
True / False / Not Given
- Read the statement first and underline the key idea, especially any qualifiers like "all", "only", "never", "always", "more than" or dates and numbers.
- Because the questions follow the order of the passage, scan for the paragraph that deals with the same topic rather than re-reading everything.
Common trap: Confusing "False" with "Not Given": choose False only when the passage actively contradicts the statement; if the passage is silent, it is Not Given.
Full True / False / Not Given strategyMultiple Choice
- Read the question stem carefully before the options so you know exactly what is being asked.
- Because multiple-choice questions follow passage order, locate the relevant section and read it in full — the answer usually depends on more than one sentence.
Common trap: Distractors that use exact words from the passage but distort the meaning.
Full Multiple Choice strategyShort Answer
- Read the instructions and note the exact word limit; going over it means zero marks even if the meaning is right.
- Turn each question into a set of keywords and predict what kind of answer it needs (a person, a date, a place, a noun).
Common trap: Exceeding the word limit (writing four words when only three are allowed).
Full Short Answer strategyPractise “Oral Storytelling Traditions” under exam conditions
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