Practice Tests
IELTS Reading (AC) Task 1 #93

A. Cartography, the science and art of map-making, has been an integral part of human civilisation for thousands of years. At its core, it is the practice of representing a three-dimensional space, such as the Earth, on a two-dimensional surface. The history of this discipline is not merely a record of technical advancements in drawing and measurement; it is a reflection of humanity's evolving perception of the world, driven by exploration, trade, science, and politics. From rudimentary sketches on clay tablets to interactive digital globes, the map has consistently served as a fundamental tool for understanding and navigating our surroundings.

B. The earliest known maps, such as the Babylonian Map of the World from the 6th century BCE, were more symbolic than geographically precise, often placing the creators'' own civilisation at the centre of the universe. It was the ancient Greeks who first applied mathematical principles to map-making. The work of Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century CE was particularly influential; his treatise, *Geographia*, established a system of latitude and longitude and provided instructions on how to create maps. Despite its significant inaccuracies, Ptolemy''s work was considered the authoritative reference on world geography in Europe for over 1,400 years, shaping the worldview of scholars throughout the Middle Ages.

C. A significant paradigm shift occurred during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries. As European mariners embarked on extensive voyages across the globe, the demand for more accurate navigational charts soared. This era witnessed a fusion of exploration and cartographic innovation. The invention of the printing press facilitated the wider distribution of maps, while new cartographic projections were developed to address the challenge of representing a spherical Earth on a flat plane. The most famous of these, the Mercator projection of 1569, became the standard for nautical charts for centuries due to its unique property of preserving the angles of direction.

D. The 18th and 19th centuries saw cartography become an increasingly scientific endeavour. The principles of the Enlightenment, with their emphasis on reason and empirical evidence, spurred a quest for greater precision. Techniques such as triangulation, which uses trigonometry to determine the locations of points by measuring angles, allowed for the creation of highly detailed and accurate surveys of entire countries. National mapping agencies were established in many European nations to undertake these systematic projects, producing comprehensive topographical maps that were vital for military, administrative, and economic purposes.

E. The 20th century, and particularly the digital age, has revolutionised cartography once again. The advent of aerial photography, followed by satellite imagery, provided an unprecedented bird's-eye view of the Earth's surface. This culminated in the development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), powerful computer-based tools that can capture, store, analyse, and display all forms of geographically referenced information. Today, cartography is a dynamic and ubiquitous field, with interactive maps integrated into countless everyday applications, from smartphone navigation to global environmental monitoring, making geospatial data more accessible than at any other point in human history.