A Spark, a Flint How Fire Leapt to Life Reading Answers

Dec 5, 2022

A spark, a Flint How Fire Leapt to Life Reading Answers contains eleven passages and 15 different types of questions. Candidates will be shown various question types with clear instructions in this IELTS Section. Reading Answers comprises three types of questions: Matching heading, sentence completion, and Choose the correct option. For the Matching heading, candidates need to thoroughly go through each passage. For sentence completion, candidates need to skim the passage for keywords and understand the concept. To choose the correct option, candidates must read the IELTS Reading passage and understand the statement provided.

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Reading Passage Question

[The control of fire was the first and perhaps greatest of humanity’s steps towards a life-enhancing technology.]

To early man, the fire was a divine gift randomly delivered in the form of lightning, forest fire or burning lava. Unable to make flame for themselves, the earliest peoples probably stored fire by keeping slow burning logs alight or by carrying charcoal in pots.
How and where man learnt how to produce flame at will is unknown. It was probably a secondary invention, accidentally made during tool-making operations with wood or stone. Studies of primitive societies suggest that the earliest method of making fire was through friction. European peasants would insert a wooden drill in a round hole and rotate it briskly between their palms This process could be speeded up by wrapping a cord around the drill and pulling on each end.
The Ancient Greeks used lenses or concave mirrors to concentrate the sun’s rays and burning glasses were also used by Mexican Aztecs and the Chinese.
Percussion methods of fire-lighting date back to Paleolithic times, when some Stone Age toolmakers discovered that chipping flints produced sparks. The technique became more efficient after the discovery of iron, about 5000 years ago In Arctic North America, the Eskimos produced a slow-burning spark by striking quartz against iron pyrites, a compound that contains sulphur. The Chinese lit their fires by striking porcelain with bamboo. In Europe, the combination of steel, flint and tinder remained the main method of fire lighting until the mid 19th century.
Fire-lighting was revolutionized by the discovery of phosphorus, isolated in 1669 by a German alchemist trying to transmute silver into gold. Impressed by the element’s combustibility, several 17th-century chemists used it to manufacture fire-lighting devices, but the results were dangerously inflammable. With phosphorus costing the equivalent of several hundred pounds per ounce, the first matches were expensive.
The quest for a practical match really began after 1781 when a group of French chemists came up with the Phosphoric Candle or Ethereal Match, a sealed glass tube containing a twist of paper tipped with phosphorus. When the tube was broken, air rushed in, causing the phosphorus self-combust. An even more hazardous device, popular in America, was the Instantaneous Light Box — a bottle filled with sulphuric acid into which splints treated with chemicals were dipped.
The first matches resembling those used today were made in 1827 by John Walker, an English pharmacist who borrowed the formula from a military rocket-maker called Congreve. Costing a shilling a box, Congreves were splints coated with sulphur and tipped with potassium chlorate. To light them, the user drew them quickly through folded glass paper.
Walker never patented his invention, and three years later it was copied by a Samuel Jones, who marketed his product as Lucifers. About the same time, a French chemistry student called Charles Sauria produced the first “strike-anywhere” match by substituting white phosphorus for the potassium chlorate in the Walker formula. However, since white phosphorus is a deadly poison, from 1845 match-makers exposed to its fumes succumbed to necrosis, a disease that eats away jaw-bones. It wasn’t until 1906 that the substance was eventually banned.
That was 62 years after a Swedish chemist called Pasch had discovered non-toxic red or amorphous phosphorus, a development exploited commercially by Pasch’s compatriot J E Lundstrom in 1885. Lundstrom’s safety matches were safe because the red phosphorus was non-toxic; it was painted on to the striking surface instead of the match tip, which contained potassium chlorate with a relatively high ignition temperature of 182 degrees centigrade.
America lagged behind Europe in match technology and safety standards. It wasn’t until 1900 that the Diamond Match Company bought a French patent for safety matches — but the formula did not work properly in the different climatic conditions prevailing in America and it was another 11 years before scientists finally adapted the French patent for the US.
The Americans, however, can claim several “firsts” in match technology and marketing. In 1892 the Diamond Match Company pioneered book matches. The innovation didn’t catch on until after 1896, when a brewery had the novel idea of advertising its product in match books. Today book matches are the most widely used type in the US, with 90 percent handed out free by hotels, restaurants and others.

Other American innovations include an anti-after-glow solution to prevent the match from smoldering after it has been blown out; and the waterproof match, which lights after eight hours in water.

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-8:
Complete the summary below. Choose your answers from the box at the bottom of the page and write them in boxes 1- 8 on your answer sheet.

NB: There are more words than spaces so you will not use them all. You may use any of the words more than once.

Early Fire Lighting Methods

They tried to (1).................... Burning logs or charcoal (2)...................... That they could create fire themselves. It is suspected that the first man-made were produced by (3)..................... The very first fire-lighting methods involved the creation of (4)......................., by, for example (5)................. A wooden stick in a round hole. The use of (6).................... or persistent chipping was also widespread in Europe and among other people such as the Chinese (7).................... and European practice of this method continues until the 1850s (8) the discovery of phosphorous some years earlier

List of Words Mexicans random rotating despite preserve realizing sunlight lacking heavenly percussion Chance friction unaware without make heating Eskimos surprised until smoke

Question 1:

Answer: Preserve
Supporting Sentence: Unable to make flame for themselves, the earliest peoples probably stored fire by keeping slow-burning logs alight or by carrying charcoal in pots.
Keywords: burning, tried, logs, charcoal
Keywords Location: First Paragraph, second line
Explanation: Since ancient times, people have revered fire as a divine gift. But because they didn't know how to manufacture it, early people simply stored or conserved it.

Question 2:

Answer: Unaware
Supporting Sentence: Unable to make flame for themselves, the earliest peoples probably stored fire by keeping slow-burning logs alight or by carrying charcoal in pots.
Keywords: create, fire, themselves
Keywords Location: First paragraph, second line
Explanation: The text claims that younger generations tried to preserve fire since they couldn't or didn't know how to make it.

Question 3:

Answer: Chance
Supporting Sentence: It was probably a secondary invention, accidentally made during tool-making operations with wood or stone.
Keywords: fire-lightning, methods, creation
Keywords Location: Paragraph 2, second line
Explanation: The creation of flames can be regarded as such, per the paragraph, because it happened accidentally or by chance.

Question 4:

Answer: Friction
Supporting Sentence: Studies of primitive societies suggest that the earliest method of making fire was through friction
Keywords Location: Paragraph 2, line 3
Keywords: fire-lightning, methods, creation
Explanation: The passage makes it obvious that the fire lighting method was the oldest known method of manufacturing. As a result, friction was used as a technique of lighting fire.

Question 5:

Answer: Rotating
Supporting Sentence: European peasants would insert a wooden drill in a round hole and rotate it briskly between their palms This process could be speeded up by wrapping a cord around the drill and pulling on each end
Keywords Location: Paragraph 2, last line
Keywords: wooden stick, round hole
Explanation: This operation could be sped up by pulling on each end of a cable that has been wrapped around the drill, as was mentioned in the paragraph. Drilling a hole in a hardwood log and spinning a plank of wood inside it quickly was one of the first ways to start a fire, as was done throughout Europe.

Question 6:

Answer: Percussion
Supporting Sentence: Percussion methods of fire-lighting date back to Paleolithic times, when some Stone Age tool-makers discovered that chipping flints produced sparks.
Keywords: chipping, widespread, Europe, Chinese
Keywords Location: Paragraph 4, line 1
Explanation: In order to create a spark, the percussion technique, which is popular in Europe and other nations, entails constant chipping.

Question 7:

Answer: Eskimos
Supporting Sentence: Eskimos produced a slow-burning spark by striking quartz against iron pyrites, a compound that contains sulfur.
Keywords: European, practice, method
Keywords Location: Paragraph 4, fourth line
Explanation: A collection of closely related indigenous peoples is referred to as the "Eskimos." As a result, different peoples including the Chinese as well as Eskimos are familiar with percussion.

Question 8:

Answer: Despite
Supporting Sentence: Fire-lighting was revolutionized by the discovery of phosphorus, isolated in 1669 by a German alchemist trying to transmute silver into gold.
Keywords: discovery, phosphorous, years
Keywords Location: Paragraph 5, First line
Explanation: In the following sentence, the author says The discovery of phosphorus, which was first separated in 1669 by a German alchemist attempting to turn silver into gold, changed the practice of lighting fires. The traditional form of lighting was still used by Europeans up until the 1850s despite the arrival of phosphorus in 1669.

Questions 9-15:
Look at the following notes that have been made about the matches described in Reading Passage. Decide which type of match (A-H) corresponds with each description and write your answers in boxes 9-15 on your answer sheet.

NB There are more matches than descriptions so you will not use them all. You may use any match more than once.

NOTES

made using a less poisonous type of phosphorus
identical to a previous type of match
caused a deadly illness
first to look like modern matches
first matches used for advertising
relied on an airtight glass container
made with the help of an army design

Types of Matches

the Ethereal Match
the Instantaneous Light box
Congreves
Lucifers
the first strike-anywhere match
Lundstrom’s safety match
book matches
waterproof matches.

Question 9. ___________ made using a less poisonous type of phosphorus

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence: Lundstrom’s safety matches were safe because the red phosphorus was non-toxic
Keywords: less, poisonous, phosphorous
Keywords Location: Ninth Paragraph. Last-line
Explanation: As Lundstrom developed less poisonous or non-toxic phosphorus to make safety matches, the author wrote.

Question 10. _________ identical to a previous type of match

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: Walker never patented his invention, and three years later it was copied by Samuel Jones, who marketed his product as Lucifers.
Keywords: identical, previous, type
Keywords Location: Eighth Paragraph, First line
Explanation: According to the author, Samuel Jones produced a product under the name Lucifers that was remarkably similar to the one Walker developed or designed.

Question 11. ________ caused a deadly illness

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: However, since white phosphorus is a deadly poison, from 1845 match-makers exposed to its fumes succumbed to necrosis, a disease that eats away jaw-bones.
Keywords: deadly, illness
Keywords Location: Eighth Paragraph, third line
Explanation: The first strike-anywhere match was created by Charles Sauria, a French chemistry student, and it caused a fatal sickness and is a disease that eats jawbones.

Question 12. _________ first to look like modern matches

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: The first matches resembling those used today were made in 1827 by John Walker, an English pharmacist who borrowed the formula from a military rocket-maker called Congreve.
Keywords: modern, matches
Keywords Location: Seventh Paragraph, first line
Explanation: According to the author, Congreve matches were the first to resemble or look like modern matches or to be used today.

Question 13. _________ modern matches for advertising

Answer: G
Supporting Sentence: The innovation didn’t catch on until after 1896 when a brewery had the novel idea of advertising its product in matchbooks.
Keywords: modern, matches, advertising
Keywords Location: Eleventh paragraph, third line
Explanation: The phrase For the first period in 1896, a brewery came up with the idea of marketing its products in matchboxes is referenced in the passage.

Question 14. _________ relied on an airtight glass container

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: Ethereal Match, a sealed glass tube containing a twist of paper tipped with phosphorus.
Keywords: airtight, glass, container
Keywords Location: Sixth Paragraph, first line
Explanation: The writer claimed, The phosphoric candle, often known as the Ethereal match, is an airtight or sealed glass container with a twist of paper tip and phosphorus. It was created in 1781 by a group of French chemists.

Question 15. ___________ made with the help of army design

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: The first matches resembling those used today were made in 1827 by John Walker, an English pharmacist who borrowed the formula from a military rocket-maker called Congreve.
Keywords: help, army, design
Keywords Location: Seventh paragraph, first line
Explanation: The author of the passage implied that John Walker produced a match design in 1827 based on a concept he stole from a military or army rocket designer named Congreve.

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