TPO-25 Integrated Writing
In 1938 an archaeologist in Iraq acquired a set of clay jars that had been excavated two years earlier by villagers constructing a railroad line. The vessel was about 2,200 years old. Each clay jay contained a copper cylinder surrounding an iron rod. The archaeologist proposed that vessel were ancient electric batteries and even demonstrated that they can produce a small electric current when filled with some liquids. However, it is not likely that the vessels were actually used as electric batteries in ancient times.
First of all, if the vessels were used as batteries, they would probably have been attached to some electricity conductors such as metal wires. But there is no evidence that any metal wires were located near the vessels. All that has been excavated are the vessels themselves.
Second, the copper cylinders inside the jarslook exactly like copper cylinders discovered in the ruins of Seleucia, an ancientcity located nearby. We know that the copper cylinders from Seleucia were used for holding scrolls of sacred texts, not for generating electricity. Since the cylinders found with the jars have the same shape, it is very likely they were used for holding scrolls as well. That no scrolls were found inside the jars can be explained by the fact that the scrolls simply disintegrated over the centuries.
Finally, what could ancient people have done with the electricity that the vessels were supposed to have generated? They had no devices that replied on electricity. As batteries, the vessels would have been completely useless to them.
The reading passage and the lecture both discuss the ussage of vesels like battery during the anciant times, which was found in one archaeological site in Iraq. In the reading part, the author mentions that it could not be batteries because of the tree reasons. However on the listening part, the speaker challenges what the author states and refutes the reasons, citing that the reasons are not convincing.
To begin with, as mantioed in the article, the author sets fort tath if they were for making electicity, archaeologists might found the wairs and other electronical conductor with them. Nevertheless, the lecturer rebutes the idea asserting that the artifacts did not excavated with profational aechaeologists and they have discovered by local people who though the other vessels approximate to the cylinders is not salient enough to keep them. Or local people can noy recognize the wairs inside of the batteries. We cannot find out it any time.
Secondly, the author points out that other similar coper cylanders, which are found in one site in Seleucia, were for holding scrolles a jor. Nontheless, the lecturer faltly contradicts the idea asserting that they might firstly use for produce electricites with liqued around them, then they changed the ulitilize of this artifacts to holding acrolles. Put it in other words, they could alter the porpouse of them.
Finally, the author claims that the reasons behind producing batteries at the anciant time is not clear yet.In contrast, the professor is of the opinion that they might use them as vessel for magical shows to indicates they had magical power. In addition, anciant doctors might use them to hill the illnecess and it was a invisible power for people.
Attribute Value Ideal
Final score: 21 in 30
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 0 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 12 12
No. of Words: 284 250
No. of Characters: 1406 1200
No. of Different Words: 155 150
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.105 4.2
Average Word Length: 4.951 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.561 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 101 80
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 76 60
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 44 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 33 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 23.667 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 10.331 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.667 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.352 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.593 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.198 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 4 4