Talc Powder Reading Answers

Dec 5, 2022

Talc Powder Reading Answers interprets and helps to understand the ability of the student over the passage. The candidates need to answer the related questions. The IELTS Reading test helps students in improving their skills which include reading, understanding, accessing, and analyzing. In this IELTS Reading Section, the candidates will have to answer different questions with specific instructions related to them. The following IELTS reading piece contains: Select A, B, or C in the boxes, Complete the summary, and Use no more than three words. The IELTS Reading practice papers will help the candidates prepare for the reading examination.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the question.

Talc Powder IELTS Reading Sample

Peter Rrigg discovers how talc from Luzenac’s Trimount in France finds its way into food and agricultural products—from chewing gum to olive oil.

High in the French Pyrenees, some 1,700m above sea level, lies Trimouns, a huge deposit of hydrated magnesium silicate – talc to you and me. Talc from Trimouns, and from ten other Luzenac mines across the globe, is used in the manufacture of a vast array of everyday products extending from paper, paint and plaster to cosmetics, plastics and car tyres. And of course, there is always tlc's best-known end use: talcum powder for babies’ bottoms. But the true versatility of this remarkable mineral is nowhere better displayed than in its sometimes surprising use in certain niche markets in the food and agriculture industries.

Take, for example, the chewing gum business. Every year, Talc de Luzenac France – which owns and operates the Trimouns mine and is a member of the international Luzenac Group (part of Rio Tinto minerals) – supplies about 6,000 tons of talc to chewing gum manufacturers in Europe. “We’ve been selling to this sector of the market since the 1960s”, says Laurent Fournier, sales manager in Luzenac’s Specialties business unit in Toulouse.

“Admittedly, in terms of our total annual sales of talc, the amount we supply to chewing gum manufacturers is relatively small, but we see it as a valuable niche market: one where customers place a premium on securing supplies from a reliable, high-quality source. Because of this, long-term allegiance to a proven supplier is very much a feature of this sector of the talc market.”Switching sources—in the way that you might choose to buy, say, paper clips from Supplier A rather than from Supplier B—is not an easy option for chewing gum manufacturers``, Fournier says. “The cost of reformulating is high, so when customers are using a talc grade that works, even if it’s expensive, they are understandably reluctant to switch.”

But how is talc actually used in the manufacture of chewing gum? PatrickDelord, an engineer with a degree in agronomics, who has been with Luzenac for 22 years and is now senior market development manager, Agriculture and Food, in Europe, explains that chewing gums has four main components. “The most important of them is the gum base”, he says. “It’s the gum base that puts the chew into chewing gum. It binds all the ingredients together, creating a soft, smooth texture.

To this, the manufacturer then adds sweeteners, softeners and flavorings. Our talc is used as a filler in the gum base. The amount varies between, say, ten and 35 per cent, depending on the type of gum. Fruit flavored chewing gum, for example, is slightly acidic and would react with the calcium carbonate that the manufacturer might otherwise use as a filler. Talc, on the other hand, makes an ideal filler because it’s non-reactive chemically. In the factory, talc is also used to dust the gum base pellets and to stop the chewing gum sticking during the lamination and packing process”, Delord adds.

The chewing gum business is, however, just one example of talc’s use in the food sector. For the past 20 years or so, olive oil processors in Spain have been taking advantage of talc’s unique characteristics to help them boost the amount of oil they extract from crushed olives. According to Patrick Delord, talc is especially useful for treating what he calls “difficult” olives. After the olives are harvested – preferably early in the morning because their taste is better if they are gathered in the cool of the day – they are taken to the processing plant.

There they are crushed and then stirred for 30-45 minutes. In the old days, the resulting paste was passed through an olive press but nowadays it’s more common to add water and centrifuge the mixture to separate the water and oil from the solid matter. The oil and water are then allowed to settle so that the olive oil layer can be decanted off and bottled. “Difficult” olives are those that are more reluctant than the norm to yield up their full oil content. This may be attributable to the particular species of olive, or to its water content and the time of year the olives are collected—at the beginning and the end of the season their water content is often either too high or too low.

These olives are easy to recognize because they produce a lot of extra foam during the stirring process, a consequence of an excess of a fine solid that acts as a natural emulsifier. The oil in this emulsion is lost when the water is disposed of. Not only that, if the wastewater is disposed of directly into local fields—often the case in many smaller processing operations—the emulsified oil may take some time to biodegrade and so be harmful to the environment.

“If you add between a half and two percent of talc by weight during the stirring process, it absorbs the natural emulsifier in the olives and so boosts the amount of oil you can extract”, says Delord. “In addition, talc’s flat, ‘platy’ structure helps increase the size of the oil droplets liberated during stirring, which again improves the yield. However, because talc is chemically inert, it doesn’t affect the color, taste, appearance or composition of the resulting olive oil.”

If the use of talc in olive oil processing and in chewing gum is long established,new applications in the food and agriculture industries are also constantly being sought by Luzenac. One such promising new market is fruit crop protection, being pioneered in the US. Just like people, fruit can get sunburned. In fact, in very sunny regions up to 45 percent of a typical crop can be affected by heat stress and sunburn. However, in the case of fruit, it’s not so much the ultraviolet rays that harm the crop as the high surface temperature that the sun’s rays create.

To combat this, farmers normally use either chemicals or spray a continuous fine canopy of mist above the fruit trees or bushes. The trouble is, this uses a lot of water—normally a precious commodity in hot, sunny areas—and it is therefore expensive. What’s more, the ground can quickly become waterlogged.” So our idea was to coat the fruit with talc to protect it from the sun”, says Greg Hunter, a marketing specialist who has been with Luzenac for ten years.

“But to do this, several technical challenges had first to be overcome. Talc is very hydrophobic: it doesn’t like water. So in order to have a viable product we needed a wettable powder—something that would go readily into suspension so that it could be sprayed onto the fruit. It also had to break the surface tension of the cutin (the natural waxy, waterproof layer on the fruit) and of course, it had to wash off easily when the fruit was harvested. No one’s going to want an apple that’s covered in talc.”

Initial trials in the state of Washington in 2003 showed that when the product was sprayed onto Granny Smith apples, it reduced their surface temperature and lowered the incidence of sunburn by up to 60 per cent. Today the new product, known as Envelope Maximum SPF, is in its second commercial year on the US market. Apple growers are the primary target although Hunter believes grape growers represent another sector with long-term potential. He is also hopeful of extending sales to overseas markets such as Australia, South America and southern Europe.

Section 2

Read the Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-6
Use the information in the passage to match each use of talc powder with correct application from A, B or C.
Write the appropriate letters A-C in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

NB: you may use any letter more than once

A	Chewing Gum Manufacture
B	Olive Oil Extraction
C	Fruit Crop Protection

_____________ Talc is used to prevent foaming.

Answer: B. Olive Oil Extraction
Supporting Sentence: These olives are easy to recognize because they produce a lot of extra foam during the stirring process, a consequence of an excess of a fine solid that acts as a natural emulsifier.
Keywords: Talc, prevent, foaming
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, 1^st line
Explanation: As per the passage, Olives produce a lot of extra foam during the stirring process. Talc is often added during the stirring process in order to reduce the amount of foaming of olives. This is done in order to prevent any degradation of the environment. Hence, Olive oil extraction is the correct answer.

_______________ Talc is used to prevent stickiness.

Answer: A. Chewing Gum Manufacture
Supporting Sentence: In the factory, talc is also used to dust the gum base pellets and to stop the chewing gum sticking during the lamination and packing process”, Delord adds.
Keywords: Talc, stickiness
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, last sentence.
Explanation: The author states that Talc is also used to stop chewing gum sticking. While manufacturing chewing gums, talc is often used to avert chewing gum from sticking during their packaging. Hence, chewing gum manufacture is the correct answer.

_______________ Talc is used to boost production.

Answer: B. Olive Oil Extraction
Supporting Sentence: Olive oil processors in Spain have been taking advantage of talc’s unique characteristics to help them boost the amount of oil they extract from crushed olives.
Keywords: Talc, boost production
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, Line 2
Explanation: Talc is also in the olive oil industry. It is primarily used to increase the amount of oil produced and extracted from the crushed olives.

_________________ Talc is used as a filler to provide a base.

Answer: A. Chewing Gum Manufacture
Supporting Sentence: In the factory, talc is also used to dust the gum base pellets and to stop the chewing gum sticking during the lamination and packing process”, Delord adds.
Keywords: Talc, filler, base
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, last line
Explanation: Chewing gum manufacturers commonly use talc as a filler in the gum base of all chewing gums. This helps in giving a smooth and soft texture to the chewing gum. Hence, chewing gum manufature is the correct answer.

________________ Talc is used to prevent sunburn.

Answer: C. Fruit Crop Protection
Supporting Sentence: So our idea was to coat the fruit with talc to protect it from the sun”, says Greg Hunter, a marketing specialist who has been with Luzenac for ten years.
Keywords: Talc, prevent sunburn.
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, Line 4
Explanation: The author states in the passage that talc is used in the fruit industry in order to protect them from getting sunburned. Hence, Fruit crop protection is the correct answer.

_________________ Talc is used to help increase the size of the product.

Answer: B. Olive Oil Extraction
Supporting Sentence: Talc’s structure helps to increase the size of the oil droplets liberated during stirring.
Keywords: Talc, increase, size, product
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 2
Explanation: The passage states that talc is often added during the stirring process in order to raise the size of the olive oil droplets that are released during this stage. Hence, olive oil extraction is the correct answer.

Questions 7-12
Complete the following summary below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7-12 on your answer sheet.

The use of talc powder in the olive oil industry in Spain has been around for 7 ___________ years. It is extremely useful in dealing with “difficult” olives which often produce a lot of 8 ____________ due to the high content of solid matter. The traditional method of oil extraction used in some smaller plants often produces 9 ________________, which contains emulsified oil, and if it is directly disposed of, it may be 10 ___________ to the environment, because it cannot 11 ________________. But adding talc powder can absorb the emulsifier and increase the production, because the size of oil 12 ______________ grows.

Question:

Answer 7: 20
Supporting Sentence: For the past 20 years, olive oil processors in Spain have been taking advantage of talc’s unique characteristics to help them boost the amount of oil they extract from crushed olives.
Keywords: 20 years, olive oil processors, talc, Spain
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, Line 2
Explanation: The author clearly mentions 20 years in the passage. The olive oil manufacturers of Spain have been using talc for 20 years in order to increase the amount of oil extracted from crushed olives. Hence, the answer is 20 years.

Question:

Answer 8: extra foam
Supporting Sentence: These olives are easy to recognize because they produce a lot of extra foam, a consequence of an excess of fine solid that acts as a natural emulsifier.
Keywords: Talc, treating, difficult, olives, recognize, extra foam
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, Line 3, 9
Explanation: As per the passage, talc is often used in order to extract oil from olives that might not be able to yield their full oil content. The author calls them “difficult” olives. They contain a huge amount of solid matter and hence, generate a lot of extra foam. This makes extra foam the correct answer.

Question:

Answer 9: waste water
Supporting Sentence: Not only that, if the wastewater is disposed of directly into local fields—often the case in many smaller processing operations—the emulsified oil may take some time to biodegrade and so be harmful
to the environment.
Keywords: waste water, disposed, smaller processing operations.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, last line
Explanation: The stirring of crushed olives in the case of small plants produces huge amounts of wastewater. hence, waste water is the correct answer.

Question:

Answer 10: Harmful
Supporting Sentence: Not only that, if the wastewater is disposed of directly into local fields—often the case in many smaller processing operations—the emulsified oil may take some time to biodegrade and so be harmful to the environment.
Keywords: waste water, disposed, local fields, emulsified oil, harmful, environment.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, Line 12
Explanation: The wastewater produced due to the stirring of crushed olives contains emulsified oil. This oil might prove to be harmful for the environment if they are disposed of directly in the surrounding fields.

Question:

Answer 11 biodegrade
Supporting Sentence: If the waste water is disposed of directly into local fields, the emulsified oil may take some time to biodegrade and so be harmful to the environment.
Keywords: waste water, disposed, emulsified oil, biodegrade, environment, harmful, local fields
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, Line 12
Explanation: The wastewater produced due to the stirring of crushed olives contains emulsified oil. Since these oils are not easily biodegradable, it can harm the environment. As per the question, biodegradable is the correct answer.

.Question:

Answer 12: droplets
Supporting Sentence: If you add half and two percent of talc by weight, it absorbs the natural emulsifier in the olives and helps increase the size of the oil droplets liberated during stirring, which improves the yield.
Keywords: Talc, add, absorbs, natural emulsifier, olives, size, oil droplets, stirring, improves, yield.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Line 1-2
Explanation: Upon the addition of talc during the stirring process, it absorbs the emulsifier and aids to raise the yield of oil by increasing the size of the oil droplets. This makes droplets the correct answer.

Questions 13-14
Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 13-14 on your answer sheet.

What are the last two stages of the chewing gum manufacturing process?

Answer: packaging and lamination
Supporting Sentence: In the factory, talc is also used to stop the chewing gum sticking during the lamination and packing process.
Keywords: stages, chewing gum, manufacturing, sticking, lamination, packaging
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, Line 10
Explanation: The author states that the lamination and packaging of chewing gums comprise the last two stages of the manufacturing process. here talc is used to reduce the stickyness.

Which group of farmers does Invelop intend to target next?

Answer: grape growers
Supporting Sentence: Today the Envelope Maximum SPF believes grape growers represent another sector with long term potential.
Keywords: farmers, Invelop, grape growers, long term potential, target
Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, Line 3
Explanation: Invelop Maximum SPF intends to target grape growers as they believe that this sector has huge potential in the long run. Hence, as per the passage, grape growing sector is the correct answer.

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