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[1]Cuneiform writing originated in southern Mesopotamia around 3200 BCE, almost certainly as an accounting tool used by temple administrators in Sumer to track grain, livestock, and labor obligations. The earliest tablets are essentially ledgers: pictographs of objects pressed into wet clay, accompanied by numerical marks.

[2]■1 The first major adaptation came when Akkadian-speaking populations in central Mesopotamia began using cuneiform around 2400 BCE. ■2 Akkadian is not a close relative of Sumerian; linguists treat Sumerian as a language isolate, a language with no known relatives. ■3 Fitting a script designed for Sumerian onto a Semitic language required new signs and new conventions for writing sounds that Sumerian did not have. ■4

[3]By the second millennium BCE, cuneiform had become the medium of international correspondence. Letters recovered from Amarna in Egypt, written in Akkadian cuneiform, show that even states which used other scripts at home adopted it for diplomacy.

2.The word isolate in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

4.Look at the four squares in paragraph 2. The following sentence can be added to the passage.

This difference between the languages created practical problems for scribes.

You express a clear preference and give relevant reasons. Pauses and limited word stress sometimes make the response harder to follow. Practise giving a specific example and emphasising key words.

Suggested practice for the next speaking attempt.

Start with a clear preference, then explain your main reason.

Use one specific example to explain why you prefer this approach.

Practise talking about a past experience that supports your opinion.

Record your answer again and listen for pauses that interrupt the idea.

Stress the key word in your opinion so the attitude lands in your voice, not just the words.