The Birth of Blue Reading Answers

Oct 3, 2024

The Birth of Blue Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. The Birth of Blue Reading Answers has a total of 13 IELTS questions in total. In the questions set there are questions where you have to fill in the blanks with correct answers. In the next part you have to choose the correct option from the given choices.

The passage "The Birth of Blue" is an excellent resource for anyone preparing for the IELTS exam, particularly for those focused on improving their IELTS reading skills. This article delves into the history and development of blue pigments, highlighting the challenges faced by artists and scientists over the centuries. As part of your IELTS reading practice questions, this passage tests your ability to understand detailed information, infer meanings, and grasp historical developments. It's a great example of the types of texts you'll encounter in the reading section of the IELTS, offering valuable insight into how to analyze complex passages.

Section 1

THE BIRTH OF BLUE

As a primary colour, blue has been the most difficult for artists and scientists to create. Artists have always been enchanted by blue, yet fine blues have long been difficult to obtain. Blues are relatively rare in nature, and painters throughout the ages have therefore found themselves at the mercy of what contemporary chemical technology could offer. Some blues have been prohibitively expensive, others were unreliable. The quest for a good blue has driven some crucial technological innovations, showing that the interaction of art and science has not always been a one-way affair.

The first pigments were simply ground-up coloured minerals dug from the earth. But few blue minerals are suitable as pigments - so there are no blues in cave art. Ancient Egyptian artists used blue prominently; however, because they knew how to make a fine artificial pigment, now known as Egyptian blue. The discovery of Egyptian blue, like that of many other artificial pigments, was almost certainly an accident. The Egyptians manufactured blue glazed stones and ornaments called faience using a technique they inherited from the Mesopotamians. Faience manufacture was big business in the ancient world - it was traded all over Europe by 1500 BC.

Faience is made by heating stone ornaments in a kiln with copper minerals such as malachite. Egyptian blue, which was made from at least 2500 BC, comes from firing chalk or limestone with sand and copper minerals, and probably appeared by the chance mixture of these ingredients in a faience kiln. Scientists recently deduced the secrets of another ancient blue: Maya blue, used for centuries throughout Central America before the Spanish Conquest. This is a kind of clay - a mineral made of sheets of atoms - with molecules of the blue dye indigo wedged between the sheets. Using indigo in this way, makes it less liable to decompose. No one has made colors this way since the Mayans, and no one knows exactly how they did it. But technologists are now interested in using the same trick to make stable pigments from other dyes.

The finest pigment available to medieval artists was ultramarine, which began to appear in Western art in the 13th century. It was made from the blue mineral lapis lazuli, of which only one source was known: the remote mines of Badakhshan, now in Afghanistan. In addition to the difficulty of transporting the mineral over such distances, making the pigment was a tremendously laborious business Lapis lazuli turns grayish when powdered because of impurities in the mineral. To extract the pure blue pigment, the powder has to be mixed to a dough with wax and kneaded repeatedly in water.

As a result, ultramarine could cost more than its weight in gold, and medieval artists were very selective in using it. Painters since the Renaissance craved a cheaper, more accessible, and blue to compare with ultramarine. Things improved in 1704, when a Berlin-based color maker called Diesbach discovered the first "modern" synthetic pigment: Prussian blue. Diesbach was trying to make a red pigment, using a recipe that involved the alkali potash. But Diesbach's potash was contaminated with animal oil, and the synthesis did not work out as planned. Instead of red, Diesbach made blue. The oil had reacted to produce cyanide, a vital ingredient of Prussian blue. Diesbach kept his recipe secret for many years, but it was discovered and published in 1724, after which anyone could make the color. By the 1750s, it cost just a tenth of ultramarine. But it wasn't such a glorious blue, and painters still weren't satisfied. They got a better alternative in 1802, when the French chemist Louis Jacques Thenard invented cobalt blue.

Best of all was the discovery in 1826 of a method for making ultramarine itself. The French Society for the Encouragement of National Industry offered a prize of 6,000 francs in 1824 to anyone who could make artificial ultramarine at an affordable price. The Toulouse chemist jean-Baptiste Guimet was awarded the prize two years later, when he showed that ultramarine could be made by heating china clay; soda, charcoal, sand and sulfur in a furnace. This meant that there was no longer any need to rely on the scarce natural source, and ultramarine eventually became a relatively cheap commercial pigment (called French ultramarine. as it was first mass- produced in Paris). In the 1950s, synthetic ultramarine became the source of what is claimed to be the world's most beautiful blue. Invented by the French artist Yyes Klein in collaboration with a Parisian paint manufacturer, Edouard Adam, International Klein

Blue is a triumph of modern chemistry. Klein was troubled by how pigments lost their richness when they were mixed with liquid binder to make a paint. With Adams help, he found that a synthetic resin, thinned with organic solvents, would retain this vibrant texture in the dry paint layer. In 1957, Klein launched his new blue with a series of monochrome paintings, and in 1960 he protected his invention with a patent.

Questions 1-4

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each.

The colors used in cave paintings and other early art were made by crushing 1……….. Answer: (COLOURED) MINERALS

Supporting statement: “.......The first pigments were simply ground-up coloured minerals dug from the earth.........”

Keywords: coloured, minerals

Keyword Location: para 2, Line 1

Explanation: Early art pigments, such as those used in cave paintings, were made from naturally occurring minerals that were crushed to produce color. These minerals provided a variety of colors, but few blue minerals existed.

However, later artists have generally had to rely on the 2…….. of the day for their Answer: CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE

Supporting statement: “.......Painters throughout the ages have therefore found themselves at the mercy of what contemporary chemical technology could offer.........”

Keywords: technology, contemporary

Keyword Location: para 1, Line 5

Explanation: This statement says that artists have relied on chemical technology to obtain blue pigments. The phrase "at the mercy of" indicates their dependence on scientific advancements for producing the color.

supplies of blue. Among the first examples of the widespread use of blue was in 3......

Answer: ANCIENT EGYPTIAN

Supporting statement: “.......Ancient Egyptian artists used blue prominently; however, because they knew how to make a fine artificial pigment, now known as Egyptian blue.........”

Keywords: Egyptian, used

Keyword Location: para 2, Line 2

Explanation: Egyptian blue was one of the earliest examples of widely-used blue pigments, and it was prominent in Ancient Egyptian art. Hence "Ancient Egyptian" is the correct answer.

art. Over the centuries, many more attempts to create acceptable blues have been made, some of which have led to significant 4……….

Answer: TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS

Supporting statement: “........The quest for a good blue has driven some crucial technological innovations, showing that the interaction of art and science has not always been a one-way affair........”

Keywords: innovations, quest

Keyword Location: para 1, Line 7

Explanation: The development of blue pigments has been a driving force behind many technological breakthroughs. As artists and scientists sought to create reliable and affordable blue colors, they contributed to significant technological advancements.

Questions 5 and 6

Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.

5. What was the main disadvantage in using ultramarine for medieval artists?

A. It contained a number of impurities.

B. It was excessively expensive.

C. The color wasn't permanent.

D. The preparation process was hazardous.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “.......As a result, ultramarine could cost more than its weight in gold, and medieval artists were very selective in using it.........”

Keywords: weight, in gold

Keyword Location: para 4, Line 5

Explanation: The cost of ultramarine was extremely high, and this was the primary reason why medieval artists were selective in its use. The statement "cost more than its weight in gold" highlights its prohibitive price, making option B the correct choice.

6. The discovery of Prussian blue was the result of

A. using the wrong quantity of an ingredient

B. mixing the wrong ingredients together.

C. including an ingredient that was impure.

D. using an ingredient of the wrong color.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: “........Diesbach's potash was contaminated with animal oil, and the synthesis did not work out as planned. Instead of red, Diesbach made blue........”

Keywords: animal, oil

Keyword Location: para 5, Line 3

Explanation: Prussian blue was accidentally created when Diesbach’s potash was contaminated with animal oil. This impurity led to the unexpected production of blue instead of red, so option C is correct.

Questions 7-13

Look at the descriptions and the list of types of blue below. Match each description with the type of blue

7. developed in the early years of the 19th century

Answer: E

Supporting statement: “........They got a better alternative in 1802, when the French chemist Louis Jacques Thenard invented cobalt blue........”

Keywords: cobalt, blue

Keyword Location: para 5, Line 6

Explanation: Cobalt blue was developed in 1802, which places its development in the early 19th century. Therefore, cobalt blue is the correct answer.

8. derived from a scarce natural resource

Answer: C

Supporting statement: “.......Ultramarine... was made from the blue mineral lapis lazuli, of which only one source was known: the remote mines of Badakhshan, now in Afghanistan.........”

Keywords: lazuli, remote

Keyword Location: para 4, Line 2

Explanation: Ultramarine was derived from the rare mineral lapis lazuli, which was found only in a single remote location. This makes it the pigment derived from a scarce natural resource.

9. specially designed to retain its depth of color when used in paint

Answer: G

Supporting statement: “........With Adams help, he found that a synthetic resin, thinned with organic solvents, would retain this vibrant texture in the dry paint layer........”

Keywords: vibrant, texture

Keyword Location: para 6, Line 5

Explanation: International Klein Blue (IKB) was created to retain its vibrant and rich color when used in paint, a key concern for the artist Yves Klein. He and a paint manufacturer developed a formula that ensured the color's depth remained even when dried.

10. was cheap to produce but had limited appeal for artists

Answer: D

Supporting statement: “........By the 1750s, it cost just a tenth of ultramarine. But it wasn't such a glorious blue, and painters still weren't satisfied........”

Keywords: cheap, painters

Keyword Location: para 5, Line 5

Explanation: Prussian blue was affordable to produce and much cheaper than ultramarine. However, it was not as aesthetically appealing to artists because it did not have the same vibrant and rich quality as other blues.

11. made using a technique which is not yet fully understood

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “........No one has made colors this way since the Mayans, and no one knows exactly how they did it........”

Keywords: made, exactly

Keyword Location: para 3, Line 6

Explanation: The exact method by which the ancient Mayans created Maya blue remains a mystery. While modern scientists have some understanding of the materials involved, the precise technique used is still not fully understood.

12. thought to have been produced during another manufacturing process

Answer: A

Supporting statement: “........Egyptian blue... probably appeared by the chance mixture of these ingredients in a faience kiln........”

Keywords: mixture, faience

Keyword Location: para 3, Line 4

Explanation: Egyptian blue is thought to have been accidentally discovered during the process of making faience, a glazed material. The accidental combination of materials in a faience kiln likely led to the creation of this blue pigment.

13. came to be manufactured inexpensively in large quantities

Answer: F

Supporting statement: “........Ultramarine eventually became a relatively cheap commercial pigment (called French ultramarine, as it was first mass-produced in Paris)........”

Keywords: produced, cheap

Keyword Location: para 6, Line 4

Explanation: French ultramarine, a synthetic version of ultramarine, was mass-produced in Paris at an affordable price. This made the pigment widely available and inexpensive

TYPES OF BLUE

A. Egyptian blue

B. Maya blue

C. Ultramarine

D. Prussian blue

E. cobalt blue

F. French ultramarine

G. International Klein Blue

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