The Can - A Brief History Lesson Reading Answers

Mar 7, 2024

The Can - A Brief History Lesson Reading Answers is an academic reading topic. The Can - A Brief History Lesson Reading Answers have a total of 5 IELTS questions in total. The specified topic generates 2 question types: Choose correct headings, Match the events. Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers, which feature topics such as The Can - A Brief History Lesson Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Can - A Brief History Lesson

The story of the can begins in 1795 when Nicholas Appert, a Parisian, had an idea: why not pack food in bottles like wine? Fifteen years later, after researching and testing his idea, he published his theory: if food is sufficiently heated and sealed in an airtight container, it will not spoil. In 1810 Peter Durand, an Englishman, wanted to surpass Appert's invention, so he elected to try tin instead of glass. Like glass, tin could be sealed airtight but tin was not breakable and was much easier to handle. Durand himself did no canning, but two other Englishmen, Bryan Donkin and John Hall, used Durand's patent. After experimenting for more than a year, they set up a commercial canning factory and by 1813 they were sending tins of food to British army and navy authorities for trial.
Perhaps the greatest encouragement to the newborn canning industry was the explosion in the number of new colonial territories. Angleen who emigrated to america orted to ali nes other know, the industry it was ese was in mas Kensett, who might fairly be called the father of the can manufacturing industry in the United States. In 1812 he set up a small plant on the New York waterfront to make the first hermetically sealed products in the United States.
Just before the Civil War, a technical advance by canners enabled them to speed up production. Adding calcium chloride to the water in which cans were cooked raised the water temperature, speeding up the canning process. Also for almost 100 years, Tin cans were made by artisans by hand. It was a laborious process, requiring considerable skill and muscle. As the industrial A good artisan could make only 10 cans a day, True production progress in can making began in 1922, when American engineers perfected the body making process. New methods soon increased production of cans to as many as 250 a minute.
As early as 1940, can manufacturers began to explore the possibility of adapting cans to package carbonated soft drinks. The can had to be strengthened to accommodate higher internal can pressures created by carbonation (especially during warm summer months), which meant increasing the thickness of the metal used in the can ends. Another concern for the new beverage can was its shelf life. Even small amounts of dissolved tin or iron from the can could impair the drinking quality of drinks. Also and iron in the can. At this point the can was upgraded by improving the organic coatings used to line the inside. The can manufacturers then embarked on a program or morerio and cose sovinas ov reducine doun. of coating used in can making. These efforts were in part inspired by a new competitor — aluminum.
Beverage cans made from aluminum were first introduced in 1965. This was an exciting innovation for the packaging industry because the aluminum can was made with only two pieces - a body and an end. This made production easier. Some of the reasons for the aluminum cans acceptance were its ductility, its support of carbonation pressure, its lighter weight and the fact that aluminum does not rust. Both steel and aluminum cans used an easy-open end tab but the aluminum tab was much easier to make. Perhaps the most critical element in the aluminum can market success was its recycling value. Aluminum can recycling excelled economically in the competition with steel because of the efficiencies aluminum cans realized in making new cans from recycled materials compared with 100 percent virgin aluminum. Steel did not realize similar economies in the recycling process.
Prior to 1970, can makers, customers and consumers alike were unaware of the impact that the mining and manufacturing of steel or aluminum had on the environment. The concept of natural resource preservation was not an issue of great importance and the low growth of population during these early years further de-emphasized concerns for resource depletion. Both industries, however, came to realize the importance of reducing their impact on the environment in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a new environmentally conscious generation emerged. Manufacturers began to recognize the economics of recycling, namely lower manufacturing costs from using less material and less energy. By the 1980s and 1990s, recycling had become a way of life. Aluminum can recycling has become a billion-dollar business and one of the world's most successful environmental enterprises. Over the years, aluminum can come to be known as America's most recyclable package, with over four percent of cans being recycled annually.
Advances in can manufacturing technology have also brought us lighter aluminum cans. In 1972, one pound of aluminum yielded 21.75 cans. Today, by using less material to make each can, one pound of aluminum makes approximately 32 cans a 47 percent improvement. Just the lightening of can ends makes a huge difference. When you multiply the savings by the 100 billion cans that are made each year the weight and savannas are phenomenal - over 200 million pounds of aluminum!

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 27 - 32

The reading passage 3 has 7 paragraphs A - G. From the list of headings below choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B - G. NB There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use them all

i The Invention of the Aluminum Can

ii Technological Breakthroughs

iii Canning and the Beer Industry

iv The Invention

v Canning and War

vi Further Manufacturing Advances

vii Problems with Spoiled Contents

viii Expansion of the Industry

ix Today's Uses for Canning

x Drinks Canning

xi Cans and The Environment

Paragraph B.......

Answer: viii
Supporting statement: “.......Perhaps the greatest encouragement to the newborn canning industry was the explosion in the number of new colonial territories........”
Keywords: canning , explosion
Keyword Location: para B, line 1
Explanation: It is clearly given in the paragraph that the canning industry was booming due to the increase in the number of colonial territories. This means expansion.

Paragraph C......

Answer: ii
Supporting statement: “.......Just before the Civil War, a technical advance by canners enabled them to speed up production. .......”
Keywords: enabled, production
Keyword Location: para C, line 1
Explanation: It is given that there was a technical advancement fight going on before the civil war. Paragraph C mentions that.

Paragraph D.......

Answer: x
Supporting statement: “......The can had to be strengthened to accommodate higher internal can pressures created by carbonation........”
Keywords: internal, pressure
Keyword Location: para D,line 2
Explanation: It is given that paragraph D mentioned about the packaging of drinks in the cans. All the atmospheric conditions and health conditions were concerned.

Paragraph E.......

Answer: i
Supporting statement: “.......Beverage cans made from aluminum were first introduced in 1965. This was an exciting innovation for the packaging industry.......”
Keywords: exciting , innovation
Keyword Location: para E, line 1
Explanation: It is given that the beverages made from aluminum were introduced in 1965. It is given in passage E about the aluminum cans.

Paragraph F......

Answer: xi
Supporting statement: “......Prior to 1970, can makers, customers and consumers alike were unaware of the impact that the mining and manufacturing of steel or aluminum had on the environment. ........”
Keywords: unaware, environment
Keyword Location: para F, line 1
Explanation: It is given that paragraph F mentions the fact the people didn’t know about the environmental effects of aluminum. All the problems caused by aluminum cans on the environment are given in F.

Paragraph G......

Answer: vi
Supporting statement: “......Advances in can manufacturing technology have also brought us lighter aluminum cans.........”
Keywords: lighter, cans
Keyword Location: para G, line 1
Explanation: This paragraph mentioned about the different types of aluminum cans that are manufactured. The new ones were more lighter.

Questions 33 - 38

Below are 2 lists. The first list is a list of dates of events in Reading Passage 3: The second list (A - G) is a list of the events. Match the year with the correct event in the history of the can

1922

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “.......True production progress in can making began in 1922,.......”
Keywords: production. began
Keyword Location: para C, line 6
Explanation: It is given that the actual mass production of cans had started in the year 1922.

1812

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “.......In 1812 he set up a small plant on the New York waterfront to make the first hermetically sealed products in the United States........”
Keywords: waterfront, hermetically
Keyword Location: para B, line 5
Explanation: It is given that in 1812 a small can factory was set up. It was the first hermetically sealed factory.

1813

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “.......and by 1813 they were sending tins of food to British army and navy authorities for trial........”
Keywords: navy, trial
Keyword Location: para A, line 9
Explanation: It is given that in the year 1813, tins of food were tested by the military army.

1965

Answer: C
Supporting statement: “.......Beverage cans made from aluminum were first introduced in 1965........”
Keywords: beverages, aluminum
Keyword Location: para E, line 1
Explanation: It is given that the beverages can were started to be made from aluminum from the year 1965.

1813

Answer: G
Supporting statement: “.......In 1812 he set up a small plant on the New York waterfront to make the first hermetically sealed products in the United States........”
Keywords: waterfront, hermetically
Keyword Location: para G, line 5
Explanation: It is given that in 1812 a small can factory was set up. It was the first hermetically sealed factory.

1940

Answer: F
Supporting statement: “.......As early as 1940, can manufacturers began to explore the possibility of adapting cans to package carbonated soft drinks.......”
Keywords: possibility, adapting
Keyword Location: para D, line 1
Explanation: It is given that the can manufacturers started to manufacture carbonated fizzy drinks in aluminum cans.

EVENTS

A Mass production techniques revolutionized the canning process.
B Tinned food was tested by military authorities.
C Today's canning material was first introduced.
D The first American canning factory was opened.
E Tin was used in the canning process for the first time.
F The canning of fizzy drinks began.
G The first business canning plant was opened

Questions 39 and 40

Read paragraphs F and G of Reading Passage 3 again and look at the statements below.

TRUE - if the statement is true
FALSE - if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN - if the information is not given in the text

Recycling has helped reduce manufacturing overhead

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: “......Aluminum can recycling excelled economically in the competition with steel because of the efficiencies aluminum cans realized........”
Keywords: competition, efficiencies
Keyword Location: para E, line 9
Explanation: It is given that the aluminum can were very good for recycling. Hence it excelled in the economical aspect.

Aluminum can production has fallen by nearly 50% since 1972.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: There has been no mention of aluminum cans falling by nearly 50% since 1972. Nothing has been mentioned in the passage.

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