Read the following excerpt from a passage about etymology.
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. For a language with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages, and texts about the languages, to gather knowledge about how words were used during earlier periods of their history and when they entered the languages in question.
Etymologists also apply the methods of comparative linguistics to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct information to be available. By analysing related languages with a technique known as the comparative method, linguists can make inferences about their shared parent language and its vocabulary. In this way, word roots have been found that can be traced all the way back to the origin of, for instance, the Indo-European language family.
The word etymology is derived from the Greek word ἐτυμολογία, etymologia, itself from ἔτυμον, etymon, meaning "true sense", and the suffix -logia, denoting "the study of".
Which TWO of the following statements agree with the information above?
A) Etymology involves the study of historical texts.
B) Some languages are too old for linguists to understand.
C) The ancient Greeks were the first to study the origins of words.
D) Most words have their origins in Indo-European languages.
E) The word ‘etymology’ derives from a word meaning ‘the study of true sense’.
A and D
Posted by: Tien Nguyen | March 28, 2016 at 12:56
A & E
Posted by: Jing | March 28, 2016 at 13:01
A E
Posted by: Jessie | March 28, 2016 at 13:02
A and D
Posted by: Leon | March 28, 2016 at 13:06
A
E
Posted by: mayra | March 28, 2016 at 13:07
A&E
Posted by: Paul | March 28, 2016 at 13:08
A & D
Posted by: quynh | March 28, 2016 at 13:09
A E
Posted by: Kim John | March 28, 2016 at 13:19
A E
Posted by: linh | March 28, 2016 at 13:22
A E
Posted by: Hoàng Nam | March 28, 2016 at 13:26
B/E
Posted by: novice | March 28, 2016 at 13:27
BE
Posted by: BriL | March 28, 2016 at 13:30
may be i'm wrong, but i think that "...words, their origins, and how their form and meaning..." is not the synonym of the word "text"
Posted by: novice | March 28, 2016 at 13:32
B and E
Posted by: Nikhilesh | March 28, 2016 at 13:41
A and E
Posted by: Middo | March 28, 2016 at 13:54
A & D
Posted by: Jeffery | March 28, 2016 at 13:59
A&E
Posted by: Tuan NB | March 28, 2016 at 14:08
B and E
Posted by: Phuong | March 28, 2016 at 14:09
A E
Posted by: Linh | March 28, 2016 at 14:12
My answer is A&E
Posted by: Hoang Bui | March 28, 2016 at 14:16
A and E
Posted by: TienLe | March 28, 2016 at 14:17
A and E
Posted by: Dila | March 28, 2016 at 14:22
A and E
Novice: I agree with you on the point that "...words, their origins, and how their form and meaning..." are not synonyms for `text´.
However, the following sentence states "etymologists make use of texts in these languages, and texts about the languages..".
That is why I understand that "A" is one of the statements agreeing with the information given above.
Posted by: Juan `The Argentine´ | March 28, 2016 at 14:29
A and E
Posted by: Thuy | March 28, 2016 at 14:29
A and E
Posted by: DangTran | March 28, 2016 at 14:32
Letters A & E
Posted by: Reden | March 28, 2016 at 14:40
A and E
Posted by: Bakr | March 28, 2016 at 14:47
A&D
Posted by: shally | March 28, 2016 at 14:56
A&E
Posted by: auau | March 28, 2016 at 15:00
A.E
Posted by: Shay | March 28, 2016 at 15:05
Juan `The Argentine´
the fragment of the sentence you've mentioned refers to the "For a language with a long written history", which corresponds to the answer choice B with the key words "..languages are too old.."
Posted by: novice | March 28, 2016 at 15:06
A, E
Posted by: Ku | March 28, 2016 at 15:17
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. ~~> A
The word etymology is derived from the Greek word ἐτυμολογία, etymologia, itself from ἔτυμον, etymon, meaning "true sense", and the suffix -logia, denoting "the study of". ~~> E
Posted by: Cheetah! | March 28, 2016 at 15:20
A and E
Posted by: khac vu | March 28, 2016 at 15:23
AD
Posted by: dynadixon@yahoo.com | March 28, 2016 at 15:30
A, E
Posted by: Tan | March 28, 2016 at 15:33
B&E
Posted by: Samjhana | March 28, 2016 at 15:35
A, E
Posted by: ame | March 28, 2016 at 15:37
Hi Simon,
I got a question about writing task 2. the question is
some people believe that good leaders are born . where as others hold the opinion that leadership qualities could be obtained during the life. Who represents the good leader qualities indeed? Give reasons for your answer with your knowledge and experience.
Do we have to write about both inborn leaders as well as aquired one . please help i am confused about it
Posted by: mohammad | March 28, 2016 at 15:44
A & E
Posted by: Minh | March 28, 2016 at 15:45
Hi Simon, my answer for this Reading section is:
A and E.
Posted by: daoquangduc | March 28, 2016 at 15:54
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.
We have synonyms here is: involve = is, historical texts = history of words
The word etymology is derived from the Greek word ἐτυμολογία, etymologia, itself from ἔτυμον, etymon, meaning "true sense", and the suffix -logia, denoting "the study of".
We have is derived is passive voice.
A) Etymology involves the study of historical texts.
E) The word ‘etymology’ derives from a word meaning ‘the study of true sense’.
Posted by: NhutHuynh | March 28, 2016 at 15:59
A
E
Posted by: Amina | March 28, 2016 at 16:10
A&E
Posted by: Seema | March 28, 2016 at 16:36
My answers are A & E.
Posted by: Taslim Uddin | March 28, 2016 at 16:54
A and E
Posted by: Sokia | March 28, 2016 at 17:04
AE
Posted by: Calvin | March 28, 2016 at 17:10
B and E
Posted by: wonjung | March 28, 2016 at 17:31
B &E
Posted by: Novemnine | March 28, 2016 at 17:45
hi simon ,
B and E are correct phrases about this excerpt
Posted by: hossein | March 28, 2016 at 17:47
A E
Posted by: dev | March 28, 2016 at 17:59
A and E
Posted by: gagan | March 28, 2016 at 18:07
I think it is B and E. Because in B "some languages were too old ..." Convey the same meaning as "for a language with long written history "
Posted by: suma | March 28, 2016 at 18:22
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Posted by: RicardoML | March 28, 2016 at 18:33
A,E
Posted by: LUCY | March 28, 2016 at 20:21
A_E
Posted by: Mohamed Hosni | March 28, 2016 at 20:28
A & E
LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING THE RIGHT ANSWER
Posted by: zAcK | March 28, 2016 at 20:38
A
E
Posted by: Aftab Ashraf | March 28, 2016 at 20:38
E & D
Posted by: Afnan | March 28, 2016 at 20:44
A
E
Posted by: Helen | March 28, 2016 at 20:50
A
E
Posted by: wiwik | March 28, 2016 at 21:39
A, E
Posted by: Cristina | March 28, 2016 at 22:20
E, D
Posted by: Talgat Jampeissov | March 28, 2016 at 22:39
A
E
Posted by: Misha | March 28, 2016 at 23:59
D E
Posted by: VU | March 29, 2016 at 00:51
I choose A ,D
Posted by: Elsa.hvn@gmail.com | March 29, 2016 at 01:09
A,E
Posted by: Peter Vu | March 29, 2016 at 01:53
B E
Posted by: Saeed | March 29, 2016 at 02:31
A & E
Posted by: vy | March 29, 2016 at 02:35
B E
Posted by: Liwen | March 29, 2016 at 03:29
my answer is A, E
Posted by: niuxiufeng | March 29, 2016 at 04:01
A & E
Posted by: Jamie | March 29, 2016 at 04:22
A&E.
For C&D, it can be easily identified, it's not true or mentioned in this article. There is few confuse between A&B, however, I think for B, it's about comparative linguistic.
Posted by: lattelan | March 29, 2016 at 04:58
B & E
Posted by: kaythwemyint | March 29, 2016 at 05:00
A & E
Posted by: Faith | March 29, 2016 at 05:18
D, E
Posted by: Tinh | March 29, 2016 at 05:30
A and E are clearly the answers.
B is not correct because it means some languages are too old so that linguists cannot understand them, which is not covered in the text.
D is not true because it is just an example.
Posted by: Lê Văn Bùi Phước | March 29, 2016 at 05:39
B, E
Posted by: Ruby | March 29, 2016 at 06:30
A&E
Posted by: Sardar Ali | March 29, 2016 at 06:44
My answer is A and D.
Thanks you.
Posted by: Martino | March 29, 2016 at 06:46
A, E
Posted by: Jackie | March 29, 2016 at 07:51
B&E
Posted by: Jimmy | March 29, 2016 at 08:04
A & E
Posted by: irene | March 29, 2016 at 08:50
A, D
Posted by: tian | March 29, 2016 at 08:50
My answer is A and E.
A because the etymologists make use of texts in and about old languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during earlier periods of their history and when they entered the languages in question.
E because "the word etymology is derived from the Greek word ἐτυμολογία, etymologia, itself from ἔτυμον, etymon, meaning "true sense", and the suffix -logia, denoting "the study of"."
Posted by: NgThuy | March 29, 2016 at 09:02
A & E is my answer for this question.
Posted by: elly2910 | March 29, 2016 at 09:54
A and E are my answer
Posted by: TUCHIBA | March 29, 2016 at 10:16
A&E
Posted by: Gibi | March 29, 2016 at 11:06
D and E
Posted by: khadiga | March 29, 2016 at 11:14
A & B
Posted by: farhi | March 29, 2016 at 13:30
CORRECT ANSWERS FROM SIMON:
A
E
In answer A, notice the word "involves". It is definitely correct that etymology involves the study of historical texts ("etymologists make use of texts").
Posted by: Simon | March 29, 2016 at 13:33
thank you for clarification, Simon
probably i've overlooked the word "involves"
Posted by: novice | March 29, 2016 at 14:54
i've found that sometimes correct answers are too visible that you begin to doubt whether there's a trap :)
Posted by: novice | March 29, 2016 at 15:00
Hi Simon,
I've got a really funny question. If the passage and question were reversed in the following way, do you think the answer should continue to be TRUE? (considering it's a True, False, Not Given type)
Passage:
Etymology involves the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.
Question:
Etymology is the study of historical texts.
Posted by: James Z. | March 29, 2016 at 15:04
D, E
Posted by: Mustafa | March 29, 2016 at 15:42
A
E
Posted by: pachu | March 29, 2016 at 16:03
Only E is true .... I wonder Why this is a multiple choice question
If it is false and true and not given Question type
A would be not given
Posted by: Lala | March 29, 2016 at 17:11
E is correct. I am not sure about A.
Posted by: sumiyya | March 29, 2016 at 19:17
E;A
Posted by: Shahnoza | March 30, 2016 at 02:23
A E
Posted by: ARSLAN | March 30, 2016 at 12:28