Read the article. Match each paragraph 1–5 with the heading A–F that best fits. There is one heading you do not need.
Mystery book
1 _____________
One of the most mysterious books in the world is the so-called Voynich manuscript. The name refers to Wilfrid Voynich, a book collector who bought the manuscript in Italy in 1912. We do not know who wrote the manuscript or why, but scientific analysis shows that it probably dates from the fifteenth century and was written in northern Italy. Attempts to trace the history of the manuscript have identified some of its previous keepers, but have opened up more questions than they have answered.
2 _____________
The book is about 240 pages long and appears to have six main parts. It is richly illustrated with pictures of plants, animals, people and stars. There are many theories about the subject matter of the manuscript. The pictures suggest that the manuscript may be a handbook for doctors working with herbs, but no one knows for sure. Why is that the case? Because no-one can read it!
3 _____________
The book was written in a language that nobody has been able to read, using letters that nobody recognises. Many people think the book is written in code, but even the most experienced code-breakers have been unable to translate it. Experts have identified about 30 recurring letters or symbols that may correspond to an encoded alphabet; however, there are also a number of letters or symbols that appear only once or twice in the whole book. There appear to be nearly 35,000 ‘words’ in the manuscript.
4 _____________
Experts usually agree that the first section is about plants, and that the first word on each page is the name of a plant. This section follows the pattern of medieval herbal guides with descriptions and careful illustrations. But this does not make it easier to understand the manuscript because nobody recognises the plants. Some look familiar, but the pictures often show peculiar details that don’t match any known plants, or they combine the roots of one plant with the flowers, fruit and leaves of other species.
5 _____________
Some people suggest the book must have been a kind of trick or hoax and that the reason we cannot understand it is that it doesn’t mean anything. Others argue that it can’t have been just a joke because writing 240 pages and drawing the complex pictures must have taken months and been a lot of hard work. One theory is that someone with a mental illness wrote the book, and that it is a product of his or her imagination. We may never know, but the Voynich manuscript continues to be one of the world’s greatest mysteries.
A An overview of the structure
B A challenging puzzle
C Just a load of nonsense?
D Origins and owners
E A magical garden?
F The author’s identity
Mystery book
1 _____________
One of the most mysterious books in the world is the so-called Voynich manuscript. The name refers to Wilfrid Voynich, a book collector who bought the manuscript in Italy in 1912. We do not know who wrote the manuscript or why, but scientific analysis shows that it probably dates from the fifteenth century and was written in northern Italy. Attempts to trace the history of the manuscript have identified some of its previous keepers, but have opened up more questions than they have answered.
2 _____________
The book is about 240 pages long and appears to have six main parts. It is richly illustrated with pictures of plants, animals, people and stars. There are many theories about the subject matter of the manuscript. The pictures suggest that the manuscript may be a handbook for doctors working with herbs, but no one knows for sure. Why is that the case? Because no-one can read it!
3 _____________
The book was written in a language that nobody has been able to read, using letters that nobody recognises. Many people think the book is written in code, but even the most experienced code-breakers have been unable to translate it. Experts have identified about 30 recurring letters or symbols that may correspond to an encoded alphabet; however, there are also a number of letters or symbols that appear only once or twice in the whole book. There appear to be nearly 35,000 ‘words’ in the manuscript.
4 _____________
Experts usually agree that the first section is about plants, and that the first word on each page is the name of a plant. This section follows the pattern of medieval herbal guides with descriptions and careful illustrations. But this does not make it easier to understand the manuscript because nobody recognises the plants. Some look familiar, but the pictures often show peculiar details that don’t match any known plants, or they combine the roots of one plant with the flowers, fruit and leaves of other species.
5 _____________
Some people suggest the book must have been a kind of trick or hoax and that the reason we cannot understand it is that it doesn’t mean anything. Others argue that it can’t have been just a joke because writing 240 pages and drawing the complex pictures must have taken months and been a lot of hard work. One theory is that someone with a mental illness wrote the book, and that it is a product of his or her imagination. We may never know, but the Voynich manuscript continues to be one of the world’s greatest mysteries.
A An overview of the structure
B A challenging puzzle
C Just a load of nonsense?
D Origins and owners
E A magical garden?
F The author’s identity
2a
3b
4e
5c
mam nadzieję że pomogłam;)
2. A
3. B
4. E
5. C