Free - Practice - Test - Reading Practice 1

Reading Practice Set 1
Agriculture, Iron, and the Bantu Peoples

1. There is evidence of agriculture in Africa prior to 3000 B.C. It may have developed
independently, but many scholars believe that the spread of agriculture and iron throughout
Africa linked it to the major centers of the Near East and Mediterranean world. The drying up
of what is now the Sahara desert had pushed many peoples to the south into sub-Saharan
Africa. These peoples settled at first in scattered hunting-and-gathering bands, although in
some places near lakes and rivers, people who fished, with a more secure food supply, lived
in larger population concentrations. Agriculture seems to have reached these people from the
Near East, since the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not
African but West Asian. Once the idea of planting diffused, Africans began to develop their
own crops, such as certain varieties of rice, and they demonstrated a continued receptiveness
to new imports. The proposed areas of the domestication of African crops lie in a band that
extends from Ethiopia across southern Sudan to West Africa. Subsequently, other crops, such
as bananas, were introduced from Southeast Asia.
2. Livestock also came from outside Africa. Cattle were introduced from Asia, as probably were
domestic sheep and goats. Horses were apparently introduced by the Hyksos invaders of
Egypt (1780–1560 B.C.) and then spread across the Sudan to West Africa. Rock paintings in
the Sahara indicate that horses and chariots were used to traverse the desert and that by 300–
200 B.C., there were trade routes across the Sahara. Horses were adopted by peoples of the
West African savannah, and later their powerful cavalry forces allowed them to carve out
large empires. Finally, the camel was introduced around the first century A.D. This was an
important innovation, because the camel’s ability to thrive in harsh desert conditions and to
carry large loads cheaply made it an effective and efficient means of transportation. The
camel transformed the desert from a barrier into a still difficult, but more accessible, route of
trade and communication.
3. Iron came from West Asia, although its routes of diffusion were somewhat different than
those of agriculture. Most of Africa presents a curious case in which societies moved directly
from a technology of stone to iron without passing through the intermediate stage of copper
or bronze metallurgy, although some early copper-working sites have been found in West
Africa. Knowledge of iron making penetrated into the forests and savannahs of West Africa at
roughly the same time that iron making was reaching Europe. Evidence of iron making has
been found in Nigeria, Ghana, and Mali.
4. This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African societies. Iron
represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and weapons had an
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important place in society, often with special religious powers and functions. Iron hoes, which
made the land more productive, and iron weapons, which made the warrior more powerful,
had symbolic meaning in a number of West African societies. Those who knew the secrets of
making iron gained ritual and sometimes political power.
5. Unlike in the Americas, where metallurgy was a very late and limited development, Africans
had iron from a relatively early date, developing ingenious furnaces to produce the high heat
needed for production and to control the amount of air that reached the carbon and iron ore
necessary for making iron. Much of Africa moved right into the Iron Age, taking the basic
technology and adapting it to local conditions and resources.
6. The diffusion of agriculture and later of iron was accompanied by a great movement of
people who may have carried these innovations. These people probably originated in eastern
Nigeria. Their migration may have been set in motion by an increase in population caused by
a movement of peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up, of the Sahara. They spoke a
language, proto-Bantu (“bantu” means “the people”), which is the parent tongue of a large
number of Bantu languages still spoken throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Why and how these
people spread out into central and southern Africa remains a mystery, but archaeologists
believe that their iron weapons allowed them to conquer their hunting-gathering opponents,
who still used stone implements. Still, the process is uncertain, and peaceful migration—or
simply rapid demographic growth—may have also caused the Bantu explosion.
Directions: Now answer the questions.
1. According to paragraph 1, why do researchers doubt that agriculture developed independently in
Africa?
(A) African lakes and rivers already provided enough food for people to survive without agriculture.
(B) The earliest examples of cultivated plants discovered in Africa are native to Asia.
(C) Africa’s native plants are very difficult to domesticate.
(D) African communities were not large enough to support agriculture.
2. In paragraph 1, what does the author imply about changes in the African environment during this
time period?
(A) The climate was becoming milder, allowing for a greater variety of crops to be grown.
(B) Although periods of drying forced people south, they returned once their food supply was
secure.
(C) Population growth along rivers and lakes was dramatically decreasing the availability of fish.
(D) A region that had once supported many people was becoming a desert where few could survive.
3. According to paragraph 2, camels were important because they

(A) were the first domesticated animal to be introduced to Africa
(B) allowed the people of the West African savannahs to carve out large empires
(C) helped African peoples defend themselves against Egyptian invaders
(D) made it cheaper and easier to cross the Sahara
4. The word “profound” in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) fascinating
(B) far-reaching
(C) necessary
(D) temporary
5. The word “ritual” in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) military
(B) physical
(C) ceremonial
(D) permanent
6. According to paragraph 4, all of the following were social effects of the new metal technology in
Africa EXCEPT:
(A) Access to metal tools and weapons created greater social equality.
(B) Metal weapons increased the power of warriors.
(C) Iron tools helped increase the food supply.
(D) Technical knowledge gave religious power to its holders.
7. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in
the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential
information.
(A) While American iron makers developed the latest furnaces, African iron makers continued
using earlier techniques.
(B) Africans produced iron much earlier than Americans, inventing technologically sophisticated
heating systems.
(C) Iron making developed earlier in Africa than in the Americas because of the ready availability
of carbon and iron ore.
(D) Both Africa and the Americas developed the capacity for making iron early, but African
metallurgy developed at a slower rate.
8. Paragraph 6 mentions all of the following as possible causes of the “Bantu explosion” EXCEPT
(A) superior weapons

(B) better hunting skills
(C) peaceful migration
(D) increased population
9. In the paragraph below, there is a missing sentence. Look at the paragraph and indicate (A, B, C
and D) where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
These people had a significant linguistic impact on the continent as well.
Where would the sentence best fit?
The diffusion of agriculture and later of iron was accompanied by a great movement of people who
may have carried these innovations. These people probably originated in eastern Nigeria. (A) Their
migration may have been set in motion by an increase in population caused by a movement of
peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up, of the Sahara. (B) They spoke a language, proto-Bantu
(“bantu” means “the people”), which is the parent tongue of a large number of Bantu languages still
spoken throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Why and how these people spread out into central and
southern Africa remains a mystery, but archaeologists believe that their iron weapons allowed them
to conquer their hunting-gathering opponents, who still used stone implements. (C) Still, the process
is uncertain, and peaceful migration—or simply rapid demographic growth—may have also caused
the Bantu explosion. (D)
(A) Option A
(B) Option B
(C) Option C
(D) Option D
10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below.
Complete the summary by choosing the THREE answer choices that express the most important
ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that
are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
Write your answer choices in the spaces where they belong. You can either write the letter of your
answer choice, or you can copy the sentence.
Agriculture and iron working probably spread to Africa from neighboring regions.
Answer Choices
(A) Once Africans developed their own native crops, they no longer borrowed from other
regions.
(B) The harshness of the African climate meant that agriculture could not develop until after the
introduction of iron tools.
(C) The use of livestock improved transportation and trade and allowed for new forms of political
control.
(D) As the Sahara expanded, the camel gained in importance, eventually coming to have religious
significance.
(E) The spread of iron working had far-reaching effects on social, economic, and political
organization in Africa.
(F) Today’s Bantu-speaking peoples are descended from a technologically advanced people who
spread throughout Africa

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Reading Practice Set 1

Agriculture, Iron, and the Bantu Peoples

3. According to paragraph 2, camels were important because they

4. The word “profound” in the passage is closest in meaning to

5. The word “ritual” in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) superior weapons

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