The following text is from an article about ancient writing systems.
The Rosetta Stone was key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. Discovered in 1799, the stone contained the same text in three scripts: hieroglyphics, Demotic, and ancient Greek. Since scholars could read Greek, they used it as a guide to decode the other scripts. French scholar Jean-François Champollion finally cracked the code in 1822.
What is the primary purpose of the text?
To explain how the Rosetta Stone enabled the decoding of hieroglyphics
To compare the difficulty of learning different ancient languages
To argue that more resources should be devoted to archaeology
To describe the daily life of ancient Egyptians
Correct Answer: A
Choice A is the best answer. The text explains how the Rosetta Stone's three scripts allowed scholars to use Greek as a key to decode hieroglyphics.
- Evidence: The text states the stone was "key to deciphering" and explains the process: "Since scholars could read Greek, they used it as a guide to decode."
- Reasoning: The entire paragraph details the mechanism of this historical breakthrough.
- Conclusion: The purpose is to explain this specific decoding process.
💡 Strategy: Identify the central event (deciphering hieroglyphics) and the role of the subject (Rosetta Stone) in it.
Choice B is incorrect because difficulty levels are not compared. Choice C is incorrect because no argument about resources is made. Choice D is incorrect because daily life is not discussed.