Writing — Questions and answers
Read the full story
What made ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs special?
Choices
- They only used wedge-shaped marks like cuneiform.
- They could be a picture, a sound, or a clue to help understand a word. ✓
- They were only used for very short messages about trade.
- They were always painted in just one color.
Answer: They could be a picture, a sound, or a clue to help understand a word.
From page 5
What important new idea did the Greeks add to the Phoenician alphabet?
Choices
- They decided to remove all the consonant letters.
- They added symbols to represent vowel sounds. ✓
- They made all the letters look exactly like Roman capital letters.
- They made the alphabet much harder to learn and use.
Answer: They added symbols to represent vowel sounds.
From page 7
What was the main job of scribes and monks like Brother Alaric?
Choices
- To invent new and secret writing systems every day.
- To carefully copy and preserve old texts so knowledge would not be lost. ✓
- To throw away all the old books and start fresh.
- To only write down their own silly stories.
Answer: To carefully copy and preserve old texts so knowledge would not be lost.
From page 8
According to Dr. Aris Thorne, what is the constant purpose of writing?
Choices
- To make thoughts vanish quickly like smoke.
- To create confusion with many different symbols.
- To preserve, communicate, and make knowledge better. ✓
- To only make pretty pictures on a screen.
Answer: To preserve, communicate, and make knowledge better.
From page 10