Zulu Beadwork- IELTS Reading Answers

The IELTS Reading Module offers a fantastic chance to achieve excellent scores. It assesses a candidate’s reading comprehension skills in English. You must comprehend the various question types in order to perform at your best in this area. Ideally, you should not spend more than 20 minutes on a passage.

The Academic passage, Zulu Beadwork, is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. It contains some of the IELTS reading question types. If you are interested in familiarising yourself with all the question types, don’t hesitate to take an IELTS reading practice test. 

The questions are broken up into sets, each of which requires the execution of a distinct kind of task. So, let’s see how easy this passage is for you and if you’re able to make it in 20 minutes.

The question types found in this passage are:

• Matching Features (Q. 1-3)
• Short Answer Type Question (Q. 4-6)
• True/False/Not Given (Q. 7-11)
• Diagram Labelling/Completion (Q.12-15)

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Reading Passage

Zulu Beadwork

The South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, more commonly referred to as the Zulu Kingdom, is named after the Zulu people who have inhabited the area since the late 1400s. KwaZulu translates to mean “Place of Heaven.” “Natal” was the name the Portuguese explorers gave this region when they arrived in 1497. At that time, only a few Zulu clans occupied the area. By the late 1700s, the AmaZulu clan, meaning “People of Heaven,” constituted a significant nation. Today the Zulu clan represents the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with at least 11 million people in the kingdom. The Zulu people are known around the world for their elaborate glass beadwork, which they wear not only in their traditional costumes but as part of their everyday apparel. It is possible to learn much about the culture of the Zulu clan through their beadwork.

The glass bead trade in the province of KwaZulu-Natal is believed to be a fairly recent industry. In 1824, an Englishman named Henry Francis Fynn brought glass beads to the region to sell to the African people. Though the British are not considered the first to introduce glass beads, they were a main source through which the Zulu people could access the merchandise they needed. Glass beads had already been manufactured by the Egyptians centuries earlier around the same time when glass was discovered. Some research points to the idea that Egyptians tried to fool South Africans with glass by passing it off as jewels similar in value to gold or ivory. Phoenician mariners brought cargoes of these beads to Africa along with other wares. Before the Europeans arrived, many Arab traders brought glass beads down to the southern countries via camelback. During colonization’, the Europeans facilitated and monopolized the glass bead market, and the Zulu nation became even more closely tied to this art form.

The Zulu people were not fooled into believing that glass beads were precious stones but, rather, used the beads to establish certain codes and rituals in their society. In the African tradition, kings were known to wear beaded regalia so heavy that they required the help of attendants to get out of their thrones. Zulu beadwork is involved in every realm of society, from religion and politics to family and marriage. Among the Zulu women, the craft of beadwork is used as an educational tool as well as a source of recreation and fashion. Personal adornment items include jewellery, skirts, neckbands, and aprons. Besides clothing and accessories, there are many other beaded objects in the Zulu culture, such as bead-covered gourds, which are carried around by women who are having fertility problems. Most importantly, however, Zulu beadwork is a source of communication. In the Zulu tradition, beads are a part of the language with certain words and symbols that can be easily read. A finished product is considered by many artists and collectors to be extremely poetic.

The code behind Zulu beadwork is relatively basic and extremely resistant to change. A simple triangle is the geometric shape used in almost all beaded items. A triangle with the apex pointing downward signifies an unmarried man, while one with the tip pointing upward is worn by an unmarried woman. Married women wear items with two triangles that form a diamond shape, and married men signify their marital status with two triangles that form an hourglass shape. Colors are also significant, though slightly more complicated since each color can have a negative and a positive meaning. Educated by their older sisters, young Zulu girls quickly learn how to send the appropriate messages to a courting male. Similarly, males learn how to interpret the messages and how to wear certain beads that express their interest in marriage.

The codes of the beads are so strong that cultural analysts fear that the beadwork tradition could prevent the Zulu people from progressing technologically and economically. Socioeconomic data shows that the more a culture resists change the more risk there is in a value system falling apart. Though traditional beadwork still holds a serious place in Zulu culture, the decorative art form is often modified for tourists, with popular items such as the beaded fertility doll.

Questions 1- 3

List A: Definitions

1 It means Place of Heaven.

2 It is the Portuguese name for southern Africa.

3 It means People of Heaven.

List B: Terms

A Phoenician

B Natal

C AmaZulu

D Explorer

E KwaZulu

Questions 4-6

4 Which country does the Zulu clan reside in?

5 When did the Portuguese arrive in KwaZulu-Natal?

6 How many members of the Zulu Kingdom are there?

Questions 7-11

7 The British were the first people to sell glass beads in Africa.

8 Henry Frances Flynn made a lot of money selling glass beads to the Zulu people.

9 The Zulu people believed that glass beads were precious stones.

10 The Zulu people use glass beads in many aspects of their daily lives.

11 Zulu women believe that bead-covered gourds can help them have babies.

Questions 12-15

Zulu Beadwork Reading Answers and Explanations

1 Answer: E

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph 1, line 2

Answer explanation: In the introductory paragraph, it is given that “KwaZulu translates to mean Place of Heaven”. This line points out that the meaning of the term ‘KwaZulu’ is ‘Place of Heaven’. Hence, the answer is E.

2 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph 1, line 3

Answer explanation: In the specified paragraph, it is given that ““Natal” was the name the Portuguese explorers gave this region when they arrived in 1497.”. It can be noted that the term ‘Natal’ was used by the Portuguese explorers for South Africa (this region) when they arrived there in 1497. Hence, the answer is B.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Zulu Beadwork Reading Passage

Let us check out some quick tips to answer the types of questions in the ‘Zulu Beadwork’ Reading Answers passage.

Matching Features:

In this type of question, you will have to match a list of options with the relevant set of statements. Some tips to answer matching features questions and obtain a high band in the IELTS examination are given below:

• Read questions and underline or circle keywords. This will help you find out where you would have to read and find later. Also, focus on how often every detail or name is appearing in the passage.
• Scan the passage and look for information given in the features and questions.
• Skim through the areas that are surrounded by keywords and features in the passage.
• Don’t get confused in case the text has synonyms of the information that is originally present in the question.
• Keep in mind that answers will not be in an order as questions.

Short-Answer Type Questions: 

Short Answer Type Questions is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to scan through a passage and answer questions based on the information given following the word limit.

To answer short-answer type questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Go through the instructions carefully – You will find the word limit for the answers there, which you have to follow strictly.
• Read the questions and highlight the keywords – The next step will be to read the questions to know what keywords or information you have to look for in the passage.
• Use the ‘Wh’ words in the questions – Words like ‘What’, (names), ‘Where’ (place), ‘When’ (time), etc. will enable you to understand the type of information you are looking for.
• Use reading techniques to study the passage quickly – Do not waste your time reading the whole passage. Scan through the passage to find out the keywords or their synonyms. If headers are given, use them to locate the answer easily.
• Check the spelling – Once you find the answer, note the correct spelling in your answer sheet.

True/False/Not Given:

In IELTS Reading, ‘True, False, Not Given’ questions are based on facts. Several factual statements will be provided to you, and it is up to you to determine whether or not they are accurate by reading the text.

To answer this type of question, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the question and identify the keywords – Before reading the material, have a look at your list of True, False, and Not Given questions.
• Scan the passage for synonyms or paraphrased words of the keywords – When you have highlighted the keywords, swiftly read the text to look for paraphrases or synonyms.
• Match the highlighted words in the questions with their synonyms in the text – Once you find both sets of keywords, cross-check them to find the answer.
• Identify the answer – If the facts match, the answer is TRUE, and in case it doesn’t match, it is FALSE. If you are unable to find the answer or unsure of it, mark it NOT GIVEN.

Diagram Completion:

The way to solve the diagram completion questions of the IELTS Reading is similar to Table Completion. You will be asked to fill in the blanks in a small passage given in the form of a diagram with the relevant words or numbers. So, let us revise the strategies.

• Read the instructions carefully. It will help you determine the word limit (no more than two, one word, etc.) and important terms like ‘using words from the text’ or ‘from the text’. You have to follow these strictly.
• Go through the incomplete diagram first. Also, think about keywords and how they could be represented by synonyms or paraphrasing.
• Locate where the information is by scanning quickly. If you can’t, move on.
• Study the reading text by using the skimming and scanning techniques. It will help to establish the answer quickly. When scanning for your answer, make sure you are thinking about paraphrasing and synonyms.
• The answers appear in the same order as the questions. Also, check your spelling and remember that your answer should be grammatically correct.

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