The Voynich Manuscript
Read The Voynich Manuscript and check the IELTS Reading answers. The starkly modern Beinecke Library at Yale University is home to some of the most valuable books in the world: first folios of Shakespeare, Gutenberg Bibles and manuscripts from the early Middle Ages. Yet the library's most controver…
Passage preview
The starkly modern Beinecke Library at Yale University is home to some of the most valuable books in the world: first folios of Shakespeare, Gutenberg Bibles and manuscripts from the early Middle Ages. Yet the library's most controversial possession is an unprepossessing vellum manuscript about the size of a hardback book, containing 240-odd pages of drawings and text of unknown age and authorship. Catalogued as MS408, the manuscript would attract little attention were it not for the fact that the drawings hint at esoteric knowledge, while the text seems to be some sort of code – one that no-one has been able to break. It’s known to scholars as the Voynich manuscript, after the American book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, who bought the manuscript from a Jesuit college in Italy in 1912.
Answers with explanations
- 27. TRUE
The passage confirms that the manuscript is of **unknown age**. This matches the statement that it is **uncertain when** it was written exactly, making the answer TRUE.
- 28. NOT GIVEN
The text states that Wilfrid Voynich **bought** the manuscript, but it never mentions how the Beinecke Library eventually acquired it or whether Voynich himself ever **donated** it to them. Because there is no information on this detail, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
- 29. TRUE
The text explicitly states that the manuscript has attracted attention from people outside of professional circles, such as **amateur dabblers**. Because interest definitely extends beyond academics and professional codebreakers, the statement is supported and is TRUE.
- 30. FALSE
The statement claims the text contains **just under 70** symbols. However, the passage explicitly states that there are **more than 70** distinct symbols. Because this directly contradicts the text, the answer is FALSE.
- 31. D
The insight that unusual word frequencies make it unlikely to be an authentic, real language comes directly from the discoveries and conclusions of **William Friedman**. This links statement 31 to option **D**.
- 32. A
The quote explaining that the manuscript is unique because people can gain **direct access** ("one that you can see for yourself") rather than relying on second-hand reports is attributed to **Gordon Rugg**. This matches option **A**.
- 33. E
The theory that the author had **lost touch with reality** (which is a paraphrase of "may not have been entirely sane") was suggested by **Rob Churchill**. Therefore, the correct matching option is **E**.
- 34. C
Wilfrid Voynich believed the author was Roger Bacon. **William Newbold** is the researcher who supported this view and claimed to have found Bacon's cipher key, meaning he agreed it was likely the author was the same person suggested by Voynich. This matches option **C**.
- 35. microscope
The summary needs a singular noun for the device Newbold believed the author used to view cells. The text states he claimed Bacon had access to a **microscope**. The word fits the grammatical and meaning requirements of the gap.
- 36. concepts
The sentence needs a noun indicating what the artificial language was based on. Friedman believed the words were devised from (based on) **concepts**. Since the instruction allows NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS, **concepts** is the correct answer.
- 37. computer
The summary gap requires a noun identifying what device Friedman believed would bring advances (major insights) to codebreaking. The text points out that he suspected this would come from the **computer**. This is the correct noun.
- 38. spectral analysis
The summary states Landini used a system known as something. The passage identifies this specific pattern-detecting method as **spectral analysis**. Because this is a two-word phrase, it fits the word limit perfectly.
- 39. table
Rugg's system involved a grille used to pick out symbols from a specific source. The text identifies this source as a **table**. The singular noun **table** correctly and logically completes the summary sentence.
- 40. C
The entire passage chronicles a continuous sequence of different researchers (from Newbold to Friedman, Landini, and Rugg) trying and failing to decipher the manuscript. It does not provide the true meaning or author (which remain unknown). Therefore, the writer's primary aim is clearly to **describe the numerous attempts to decode the manuscript**, making **C** the correct choice.