Traditional Maori Medicine
Read Traditional Maori Medicine and check the IELTS Reading answers. The Maori are the indigenous people of the islands of New Zealand. Their traditional medicine, which is believed to date back as far as the 13th century, was a system of healing that was passed down through the generations orally.…
Passage preview
The Maori are the indigenous people of the islands of New Zealand. Their traditional medicine, which is believed to date back as far as the 13th century, was a system of healing that was passed down through the generations orally. It comprised diverse practices and placed an emphasis on the spiritual dimension of health. Its practices included remedies made from herbs, and physical therapies such as massage to relieve discomfort in the muscles and bones.
Vocabulary from this passage
10 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- ailments noun
Illnesses that are usually minor but often long lasting.
In the passage:
"Common ailments such as the cold and influenza" (the paragraph on present-day demand).
Synonyms: illnesses, complaints
- a perceived lack of noun phrase
A shortage that people believe exists, whether or not it is true.
In the passage:
"A perceived lack of a spiritual dimension in Western health services": the writer reports a belief, not a fact.
Synonyms: an apparent shortage of, an assumed absence of
- a resurgence of noun phrase
A new growth of interest or activity after a period of decline.
In the passage:
"There was a resurgence of all aspects of Maori culture" explains the renewed interest in traditional medicine.
Synonyms: a revival of, a renewal of
Opposites: a decline in
- be attributed to verb phrase
To be said to be caused by something or someone.
In the passage:
"Diseases sent by the gods were often attributed to attacks by evil spirits", and missionaries attributed disease to disbelief.
Synonyms: be blamed on, be put down to
- be passed down through the generations verb phrase
To be taught or given from older people to younger ones over a long time.
In the passage:
The passage says the system "was passed down through the generations orally", which is why Q1 (written texts) is FALSE.
Synonyms: be handed down, be transmitted
- fail to respond to verb phrase
To show no improvement when given a particular treatment.
In the passage:
Demand continues for "illnesses ... that fail to respond to standard medical treatment".
Synonyms: not improve with, resist
Opposites: respond well to
- ineffectual adjective
Not producing the result or effect that was hoped for.
In the passage:
"Western medicine was also relatively ineffectual at the time" (colonisation paragraph).
Synonyms: ineffective, futile
Opposites: effective
- mainstream health professionals noun phrase
Doctors and nurses who practise the standard, widely accepted kind of medicine.
In the passage:
Q12 says "Western doctors"; the passage says "mainstream health professionals" (last paragraph).
Synonyms: Western doctors, conventional practitioners
Opposites: alternative practitioners
- of considerable benefit adjective phrase
Very useful and bringing a large, noticeable advantage.
In the passage:
Q4 (TRUE): chewing pepper-tree leaves for toothache "was found to be of considerable benefit".
Synonyms: very helpful, highly advantageous
Opposites: of little use
- widespread agreement noun phrase
A view or decision that most people in a group share.
In the passage:
Q6 says healers "often reach the same conclusion"; the passage says there is "no ... widespread agreement about treatments".
Synonyms: reach the same conclusion, consensus
Opposites: disagreement
Answers with explanations
- 1. FALSE
The statement says healers learned from **written texts**. The first paragraph says the system was **passed down through the generations orally**, so the knowledge was spoken, not written. The text says the opposite of the statement, so it is FALSE.
- 2. NOT GIVEN
Look for the first European visits. The text gives the **average age of death** (around 30) but never says how the Europeans **reacted** to it. The deciding word is **surprised**: to be TRUE the text would need to describe their surprise, to be FALSE it would need to deny it. Neither happens, so it is NOT GIVEN.
- 2-3: Mississippi
2: Look for the first European visits. The text gives the **average age of death** (around 30) but never says how the Europeans **reacted** to it. The deciding word is **surprised**: to be TRUE the text would need to describe their surprise, to be FALSE it would need to deny it. Neither happens, so it is NOT GIVEN.
3: The deciding words are **more serious**. The text names both kinds, **diseases of the gods** and **physical diseases**, and then explains only the first. It never says one kind was worse than the other, so it is NOT GIVEN.
- 3. NOT GIVEN
The deciding words are **more serious**. The text names both kinds, **diseases of the gods** and **physical diseases**, and then explains only the first. It never says one kind was worse than the other, so it is NOT GIVEN.
- 3-4: less tough
3: The deciding words are **more serious**. The text names both kinds, **diseases of the gods** and **physical diseases**, and then explains only the first. It never says one kind was worse than the other, so it is NOT GIVEN.
4: Find **toothache**. People with it were told to **chew the leaves of this same tree**, the pepper tree from the sentence before, and this was **of considerable benefit**. The leaves did treat toothache, so it is TRUE.
- 4. TRUE
Find **toothache**. People with it were told to **chew the leaves of this same tree**, the pepper tree from the sentence before, and this was **of considerable benefit**. The leaves did treat toothache, so it is TRUE.
- 5. TRUE
The statement's **Western religion** is **Christianity** in the text. Missionaries blamed disease on the Maori not believing in it, and as healers seemed powerless many Maori **turned to Christianity**. The next sentence says the healers' schools closed and the tradition **declined**, so religion was one reason: TRUE.
- 6. FALSE
Look at the last paragraph, about today's healers. Their work has **no ... widespread agreement about treatments**. The statement says they **often reach the same conclusion** about the best treatment, which is the opposite of 'no agreement', so it is FALSE.
- 7. rule
The gap follows **spiritual** and needs a noun. Look at diseases sent by the gods: the person **had broken a religious rule**. **Religious** paraphrases the note's 'spiritual', so the thing disobeyed is a **rule**.
- 8. river
Match **food** and **sacred**. The text says places where people had died were sacred, so **taking food from a river where someone had died** brought sickness. The stick from a tree is the 'burning sacred wood' part, so this gap is **river**.
- 9. confidence
The note says healers could not cure the new diseases, so Maori **lost** something **in them**. The text says this failure strongly affected Maori **confidence in their healers**. 'In them' repeats 'in their healers', so the gap is **confidence**.
- 10. schools
Look for **shutting down**. Its paraphrase is **started to close**, and what closed were the **schools of higher learning** that had trained healers. The note's 'the ___ for Maori healing' therefore needs **schools**.
- 11. statistics
The note names the **1970s**, so find that date. **Statistics from the 1970s** came out **revealing** that Maori health was **poorer**, which the note paraphrases as 'showed that Maori were not as healthy'. 'Published ___' is **statistics**.
- 12. clinics
Look for healers working with other medical staff. The note's **Western doctors** are the text's **mainstream health professionals**, and the places where some healers work **alongside** them are **urban clinics**. 'In cities' matches 'urban', so the gap is **clinics**.
- 13. language
The last sentence gives the answer. The note's 'patients appreciate' paraphrases **seen as important by many of those receiving treatment**. What they value is the Maori **language**, so that is the gap.