Born to Trade Reading Answers

Jun 15, 2025

Born to Trade is an IELTS Reading Answer that contains 13 questions and needs to be completed within 30 minutes. This reading answer also helps you to prepare for your IELTS exam. Born to Trade consists of questions like: Choose the correct letter. Participants should go through the IELTS Reading passage to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions. Also, Born to Trade Reading Answers gives all the information about the ancient obsession with material goods that began over 100,000 years ago, linking trade, prestige, and early human society. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Topic:

Long before our ancestors had any trappings of civilization, they had a taste for material goods. Kate Douglas discovers where this ancient obsession has led us.

A. Humans are born to trade, and we don't need shops or money to do it-the heart of commerce is an instinctive ability for what anthropologists call reciprocity. This is an ability to exchange goods of equal worth, and it evolved as the brains of our ancient ancestors and societies became more complex, allowing individuals to keep a running tally of their interactions with others. Evidence from modern hunter-gatherers leaves little doubt that the exchange of food and flavors is innate, as is the ability to keep track of the credits and debits that accrue as a result. Combine this skill for mental bookkeeping with even the most basic material culture, and trade inevitably follows.

B. Once trade gets off the ground, the economic benefits quickly make it irresistible. But exchanging tools, food, and other essentials of life in a barter economy is a far cry from the shopping mall. Modern consumerism sways beyond subsistence and utilitarianism to encompass everything from Gucci handbags and BMW convertibles to valuable paintings. Clearly, the worth of such goods is not inherent but resides in certain intangible qualities that we invest in them. When did humans start holding these goods in such high esteem?

C. All the archaeological evidence for the flowering of consumer culture has, up to now, pointed to a date of around 40,000 years ago. That's when early modern humans started making increasingly intricate bone and stone tools, carving patterns into rocks, and creating representational art such as carved figurines, jewelry, and cave paintings. However, discoveries in Africa are pushing the origins of consumerism much further back into human prehistory. A few years ago, reports began to emerge of discoveries made at the Blombos cave, a site of ancient human habitation in South Africa. Christopher Henshilwood and colleagues from the University of Bergen in Norway dated thousands of pieces of ochre from the cave, and many of them proved to be more than 100,000 years old-before the time that early humans moved out of Africa. Ochre, a colored clay that comes in various shades from red to black, does not occur naturally around Blombos and must have been imported from quarries at least 30 kilometers away, either directly by Blombos residents or through trade. Although ochre can be used to dry and preserve (or "cure") animal hides, the researchers are convinced the Blombos ochre had a symbolic purpose. For a start, it is predominantly red-any of the other colors available would have sufficed for curing-and the surfaces of the clay had been scraped in a way that indicates they were used to yield pigment for dyes.

D. An even more intriguing discovery from Blombos was of 41 beads dating from 76,000 years ago, found in clusters and made from the shells of a tiny mollusk. These cannot be natural deposits, argue the researchers, as each cluster contains shells of a similar size and color with consistently placed holes. What's more, all the beads display a pattern of wear suggesting friction from rubbing against thread, clothes, or other beads. The previous oldest find of beads in Africa dates back to just 45,000 years ago. And it seems the Blombos people's taste for beautiful items was not an isolated phenomenon. Jessica Thompson of Arizona State University in Tempe has described finding shell fragments from a site in Tanzania that she believes may represent debris from bead manufacture. They are at least 45,000-and possibly 280,000-years old. Although there is no evidence of how the ancient beads were used, their modern counterparts are often traded. So it looks as though our taste for jewelry and art is much older than we thought.

E. But why did we come to value these objects in the first place? In many animal species, individuals signal their genetic fitness by showing off with attention-grabbing adornment. Some researchers think that in humans, consumer products play a similar role. Archaeologist Aimee Plourde, from the University of California, also argues that even in egalitarian societies, some people are more successful than others. Among our ancestors, superior skills in areas such as hunting, crafts, environmental knowledge, and contact with neighboring groups would have brought respect—in other words, prestige. And because prestige brings social benefits, people would want to show off their talents. The best way to do this would be through demonstrating possession of material items that are hard to fake. "A good hunter, for instance, could advertise his skills by wearing the tooth of an animal that is elusive or dangerous," says Plourde. The benefits of prestige would also lead to competition to acquire it. As a result, the value and variety of prestige goods would spiral, and there would be a parallel increase in the ranking of social systems. If Plourde is correct, prestige goods form a direct link between our innate drive for trade and the development of structured, hierarchical societies. They are arguably the first step on the road to modern civilization, paving the way for agriculture and urbanization. We may not be impressed by beads anymore, but their modern equivalents have the same fascination. Nobody believes the guy who spends €670,000 on a Bugatti Veyron car does so because he needs to travel at 250 mph. We all know in today's consumer society he's buying an exclusive status symbol.

Questions 14-18

Reading Passage 2 has five sections, A-E.

Choose the correct heading or each section from the list of headings below. Write the correct letter, i-vii.

LIST OF HEADINGS

i. The desire to make expensive jewellery

ii. The clues that indicate ancient items were decorative

ili. Querying the changes in the value of traded items

iv. A natural human talent

v. How status can be gained from ownership of goods

vi. Recent finds alter theories about when consumerism started

vii. hanges in research methods

14. Section A

Answer: iv

Supporting statement: "Humans are born to trade... the heart of commerce is an instinctive ability... anthropologists call reciprocity."

Keywords: [humans, instinctive ability]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph A, Line 1–2}

Explanation: This section discusses trade as an innate human skill, introducing the concept of reciprocity, and showing humans' natural trading ability.

15. Section B

Answer: iii

Supporting statement: "Clearly, the worth of such goods is not inherent but resides in certain intangible qualities..."

Keywords: [worth, intangible qualities]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph B, Line 4–5}

Explanation: This paragraph questions how the value of traded goods shifted from utility to symbolic worth, emphasizing change in consumer perception.

16. Section C

Answer: vi

Supporting statement: "...discoveries in Africa are pushing the origins of consumerism much further back into human prehistory."

Keywords: [discoveries, origins of consumerism]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph C, Line 2–3}

Explanation: This section introduces newer archaeological findings that challenge the previously accepted timeline for the start of consumer culture.

17. Section D

Answer: ii

Supporting statement: "...each cluster contains shells of a similar size and color with consistently placed holes..."

Keywords: [shells, decorative use]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph D, Line 3–4}

Explanation: The paragraph explains evidence that the beads were decorative, based on their uniformity, wear patterns, and groupings.

18. Section E

Answer: v

Supporting statement: "...prestige brings social benefits, people would want to show off their talents... through possession of material items that are hard to fake."

Keywords: [prestige, material goods]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph E, Line 5–7}

Explanation: The section discusses how material goods act as symbols of status and prestige, much like modern status symbols.

Questions 19-20

Choose the correct letter.

19. In section A, 'reciprocity' refers to our ancestors' ability to:

A. keep written records of different goods traded

B. monitor the balance between goods given and received

C. produce more materials for trading purposes

D. make money from trading goods and services

Answer: B

Supporting statement: "...exchange of food and flavors is innate, as is the ability to keep track of the credits and debits..."

Keywords: [reciprocity, credits and debits]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph A, Line 4}

Explanation: Reciprocity refers to mentally tracking the balance of goods exchanged, showing monitoring of give-and-take rather than financial profit.

20. What is said about the ochre found around Blombos?

A. It is of a type only found in this particular area.

B. It has all been dyed to give the same shade of red.

C. It has been perfectly preserved despite its age.

D. It appears it was selected for its color.

Answer: D

Supporting statement: "...it is predominantly red—any of the other colors available would have sufficed for curing..."

Keywords: [ochre, color selection]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph C, Line 8–9}

Explanation: The researchers believe ochre was selected specifically for symbolic purposes due to its red color, not just utility.

Question 21

Choose the correct letter.

21. What made the researchers realize the purpose of the beads found at the Blombos caves?

A. They are a great variety of shapes and sizes.

B. They were found in large numbers, all grouped around each other.

C. They have patterns in many different colors.

D. They have holes and markings suggesting they were joined together.

Answer: D

Supporting statement: "...holes of a similar size and color with consistently placed holes... display a pattern of wear..."

Keywords: [beads, holes, wear]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph D, Line 3–5}

Explanation: The beads’ uniform holes and wear patterns indicate they were strung or worn, suggesting decorative or symbolic use.

Questions 22-26

Complete the summary below using the words, A-E WHY CERTAIN OBJECTS ARE VALUED?

Some researchers argue that we may use ownership of desirable goods to demonstrate our strength and fitness as other 22 …………..

Answer: D

Supporting statement: "In many animal species, individuals signal their genetic fitness by showing off with attention-grabbing adornment."

Keywords: [animal species, adornment]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph E, Line 1–2}

Explanation: The paragraph compares human display of goods to animals showing physical traits to indicate strength and fitness.

use their attractive physical features. Showing off one's superiority is not a new phenomenon, and even in ancient times, successful people would have gained 23 …………..

Answer: B

Supporting statement: "...would have brought respect—in other words, prestige."

Keywords: [respect, prestige]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph E, Line 4–5}

Explanation: People gained respect for skills and possessions, which added to their status within early societies.

from this. A desire for status could have led to an increase in the worth of prestige goods and to 24 ………….

Answer: A

Supporting statement: "The benefits of prestige would also lead to competition to acquire it."

Keywords: [competition, prestige]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph E, Line 6}

Explanation: The competition for prestige led to a greater desire for valuable goods and a growth in materialism.

among people wishing to achieve this Status.

It is thought that our natural desire to trade provided a basis for organized farming and 25 …………

Answer: E

Supporting statement: "...paving the way for agriculture and urbanization."

Keywords: [urbanization, agriculture]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph E, Line 9}

Explanation: The prestige system may have influenced the development of agriculture and the formation of cities.

development and finally resulted in the complex societies which can be seen today. Whilst we do not value things such as beads nowadays, other items hold the same appeal for us and bring the same status as owning beads did for our 26 ………..

Answer: C

Supporting statement: "We may not be impressed by beads anymore, but their modern equivalents have the same fascination."

Keywords: [beads, modern equivalents]

Keyword Location: {Paragraph E, Line 10}

Explanation: Although beads may seem outdated, they once held value for our ancestors, similar to how we view luxury items now.

A. competitiveness

B. respect

C. ancestors

D. species

E. city

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