The History of Papermaking in the United Kingdom Reading Answers
The History of Papermaking in the United Kingdom Reading Answers tests the candidates on their ability to read fluently by reading a passage and answering questions. The reading component of the IELTS examines candidates' comprehension abilities by presenting them with a variety of tasks. This IELTS Reading sample - The History of Papermaking in the United Kingdom Reading Answers contains two question types:
- Match the dates with events
- Select True, False or Not Given
Candidates must use IELTS Reading practice papers to improve their skills before appearing for the IELTS test.
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Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
The History of Papermaking in the United Kingdom Reading Answers
- The first reference to a paper mill in the United Kingdom was in a book printed by Wynken de Worde in about 1495. This mill belonged to a certain John Tate and was near Hertford. Other early mills included one at Dartford, owned by Sir John Speilman, who was granted special privileges for the collection of rags by Queen Elizabeth and one built in Buckinghamshire before the end of the sixteenth century. During the first half of the seventeenth century, mills were established near Edinburgh, at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, and several in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey.
- The Bank of England has been issuing bank notes since 1694, with simple watermarks in them since at least 1697. Henri de Portal was awarded the contract in December 1724 for producing the Bank of England watermarked bank-note paper at Bere Mill in Hampshire. Portals have retained this contract ever since but production is no longer at Bere Mill. There were two major developments at about the middle of the eighteenth century in the paper industry in the UK.
The first was the introduction of the rag engine or Hollander, invented in Holland sometime before 1670, which replaced the stamping mills, which had previously been used, for the disintegration of the rags and beating of the pulp. The second was in the design and construction of the mould used for forming the sheet. Early moulds had straight wires sewn down on to the wooden foundation, this produced an irregular surface showing the characteristic “laid” marks, and, when printed on, the ink did not give clear, sharp lines. Baskerville, a Birmingham printer, wanted a smoother paper.
James Whatman the Elder developed a woven wire fabric, thus leading to his production of the first woven paper in 1757. Increasing demands for more paper during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries led to shortages of the rags needed to produce the paper. - Part of the problem was that no satisfactory method of bleaching pulp had yet been devised, and so only white rags could be used to produce white paper. Chlorine bleaching was being used by the end of the eighteenth century, but excessive use produced papers that were of poor quality and deteriorated quickly.
By 1800 up to 24 million pounds of rags were being used annually, to produce 10,000 tons of paper in England and Wales, and 1000 tons in Scotland, the home market being supplemented by imports, mainly from the continent. Experiments in using other materials, such as sawdust, rye straw, cabbage stumps and spruce wood had been conducted in 1765 by Jacob Christian Schäffer. Similarly, Matthias Koops carried out many experiments on straw and other materials at the Neckinger Mill, Bermondsey around 1800, but it was not until the middle of the nineteenth century that pulp produced using straw or wood was utilised in the production of paper. - By 1800 there were 430 (564 in 1821) paper mills in England and Wales (mostly single vat mills), under 50 (74 in 1823) in Scotland and 60 in Ireland, but all the production was by hand and the output was low. The first attempt at a paper machine to mechanise the process was patented in 1799 by Frenchman Nicholas Louis Robert, but it was not a success.
- However, the drawings were brought to England by John Gamble in 1801 and passed on to the brother’s Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier, who financed the engineer Henry Donkin to build the machine.
The first successful machine was installed at Frogmore, Hertfordshire, in 1803. The paper was pressed onto an endless wire cloth, transferred to a continuous felt blanket and then pressed again. Finally it was cut off the reel into sheets and loft dried in the same way as hand made paper. In 1809 John Dickinson patented a machine that that used a wire cloth covered cylinder revolving in a pulp suspension, the water being removed through the centre of the cylinder and the layer of pulp removed from the surface by a felt covered roller (later replaced by a continuous felt passing round a roller).
This machine was the forerunner of the present day cylinder mould or vat machine, used mainly for the production of boards. Both these machines produced paper as a wet sheet, which require drying after removal from the machine, but in 1821 T B Crompton patented a method of drying the paper continuously, using a woven fabric to hold the sheet against steam heated drying cylinders. After it had been pressed, the paper was cut into sheets by a cutter fixed at the end of the last cylinder.By the middle of the nineteenth century the pattern for the mechanised production of paper had been set.
Subsequent developments concentrated on increasing the size and production of the machines. Similarly, developments in alternative pulps to rags, mainly wood and esparto grass, enabled production increases. - Conversely, despite the increase in paper production, there was a decrease, by 1884, in the number of paper mills in England and Wales to 250 and in Ireland to 14 (Scotland increased to 60), production being concentrated into fewer, larger units. Geographical changes also took place as many of the early mills were small and had been situated in rural areas.
The change was to larger mills in, or near, urban areas closer to suppliers of the raw materials (esparto mills were generally situated near a port as the raw material was brought in by ship) and the paper markets.
Section 2
Solution with Explanation
Questions (1-7)
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer of the reading passage on The History of Papermaking in the U.K.?
In Boxes 1-7 write:
- TRUE if the statement agrees with the writer
- FALSE if the statement doesn’t agree with the writer
- NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.
Question 1: The printing of paper money in the UK has always been done by the same company.
Answer: TRUE.
Supporting Statement: Henri de Portal was awarded the contract in December 1724 for producing the Bank of England watermarked bank-note paper at Bere Mill in Hampshire. Portals have retained this contract ever since but production is no longer at Bere Mill.
Keyword: contract, retained
Keyword location: Paragraph 2, 2nd and 3rd line
Explanation: According to the passage, it was mentioned that the paper money in the UK is being produced only by the John Tate near Hertford. Later, even when paper money became more famous and came into existence during the middle of the eighteenth century, the entire right to print paper money in the UK is in the hands of that particular company. Hence the statement is absolutely correct.
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Question 2: Early paper making in Europe was at its peak in Holland in the 18th century.
Answer: NOT GIVEN.
Question 3: 18th Century developments in moulds led to the improvement of a flatter, more even paper.
Answer: TRUE.
Supporting statement: There were two major developments at about the middle of the eighteenth century in the paper industry in the UK.
Keyword: development, paper, mould
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 4-8
Explanation: The paragraph states the developments on moulds for a flatter and even paper. With the introduction of the rag engine in Holland, the stamping mills were replaced and the mould used for forming the sheet had the straight wires sewn down onto the wooden foundation, this produced an irregular straight wire. That further developed the flatter and flatter and hence it came to the thickness of the paper.
Hence the statement that 18th-century developments in moulds led to the improvement of the flatter, more even paper is true in the context of the statement.
Question 4: Chlorine bleaching proved the answer to the need for more white paper in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Answer: FALSE.
Supporting statement: Chlorine bleaching was being used by the end of the eighteenth century, but excessive use produced papers that were of poor quality and deteriorated quickly.
Keyword: chlorine, bleaching
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, last line of paragraph
Explanation: The given statement is completely false because, according to the passage, the use of chlorine is mentioned only for the bleaching purpose and that served as a good bleaching agent. It even contained some bad effects like the paper produced using the chlorine as bleaching agent were of poor Quality had faster deterioration and not much supporting to the current demand and supply standards.
This clearly implies the bad effects of chlorine as the bleaching agent and the above statement contradicts the facts according to the passage.
Question 5: The first mechanised process that had any success still used elements of the handmade paper-making process.
Answer: TRUE.
Supporting Statement: …The first attempt at a paper machine to mechanise the process was patented….
Keyword: mechanise, process
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, last line
Explanation: The given statement is correct because the mechanised process that is patented became not so successful as par with the handmade paper making process. The entire process is solely dependent on the handmade machine parts. Since the output was low with the handmade machines, the mechanised process was introduced and it was also not giving many results. Hence the statement is correct in the context of the passage.
Question 6: Modern paper-making machines are still based on John Dickinson’s 1809 patent.
Answer: TRUE.
Supporting Statement: In 1809 John Dickinson patented a machine that used a wire cloth covered cylinder revolving in a pulp suspension, the water being…
Keyword: 1809, John Dickinson,
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 5-6
Explanation: Initially a patent was filed by John Dickinson in 1809 for making paper with a wire cloth covered cylinder revolving in a pulp suspension, the water is removed through the centre of the cylinder and the layer of pulp is removed from the surface by a felt-covered roller. This is the same process used in the present modern papermaking machines. Hence the above statement is true.
Question 7: The development of bigger mills near larger towns was so that mill owners could take advantage of potential larger workforces.
Answer: FALSE.
Supporting Sentence: The change was to larger mills in, or near, urban areas closer to suppliers of the raw materials (esparto mills were generally situated near a port as the raw material was brought in by ship) and the paper markets.
Keyword: larger mills, urban areas
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, last line
Explanation: According to the passage, the given statement is false. Because most of the paper mills by the mill owners have taken the advantage of potential large workforces only in the rural areas. The large workforces were not available near the larger towns and they were only established in the rural areas targeting potential large workforces. The statement contradicts the facts.
Questions 8-13:
Match the events (8-13) with the dates (A – G) listed below.
Write the appropriate letters in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet.
Questions:
- Invention of the rag engine.
- A new method for drying paper patented.
- First successful machine for making paper put into production.
- Manufacture of the first woven paper.
- Watermarks were first used for paper money.
- The first machine for making paper patented.
DATES
- 1803
- 1757
- 1821
- 1697
- 1799
- 1670
- 1694
Question 8: Invention of the rag engine.
Answer: F. 1670
Supporting Statement: The first was the introduction of the rag engine or Hollander, invented in Holland sometime before 1670.
Keyword: rag engine
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, 5th line
Explanation: the major developments of the middle eighteenth century in the paper industry of the UK are the introduction of rag engines in 1670 in holland. And the second is the design and the construction of the mould used for forming the sheet. Hence according to the passage, the invention year is 1670. Hence the answer is 1670.
Question 9: A new method for drying paper patented.
Answer: C. 1821
Supporting Statement: But in 1821 T B Crompton patented a method of drying the paper continuously
Keyword: new method, drying, paper
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, 7th line
Explanation: the wet sheets required a method of drying after removing from the machine. T B Crompton patented a method of drying the paper continuously in 1821 which have led to great changes in the papermaking industry. Hence the woven fabric holds the sheet against steam-heated drying cylinders. Hence, the patent was filed in 1821. Hence the answer is 1821.
Question 10: First successful machine for making paper put into production.
Answer: A. 1803
Supporting Statement: The first successful machine was installed at Frogmore, Hertfordshire, in 1803.
Keyword: first, machine
Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, 2nd line
Explanation: According to the passage, the first successful machine was installed at Frogmore, Hertfordshire, in 1803. Initially, the paper was pressed onto an endless wire cloth. Which transformed into a continuously felt blanket and then pressed to prepare the handmade paper. Hence the First successful machine for making paper was put into production in 1803. Hence the answer is 1803.
Question 11: Manufacture of the first woven paper.
Answer: B. 1757
Supporting statement: James Whatman the Elder developed a woven wire fabric, thus leading to his production of the first woven paper in 1757.
Keyword: woven paper
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, 9th line
Explanation: In the earlier days, the moulds were used for forming the sheet. This produced an irregular surface showing the characteristic “laid” marks, and did not give good results as expected. Hence, James Whatman the Elder developed a woven wire fabric, thus leading to his production of the first woven paper in 1757. So the manufacture of the first woven paper took place in 1757. Hence the answer is 1757.
Question 12: Watermarks were first used for paper money.
Answer: D 1697
Suppporting Statement: The Bank of England has been issuing bank notes since 1694, with simple watermarks in them since at least 1697.
Keyword: watermark
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, 1st line
Explanation: The Bank of England has been issuing bank notes since 1694, with simple watermarks in them since at least 1697. Henri de Portal was awarded the contract in December 1724 for producing the watermark. Then onwards the watermark became the important one to consider on the paper currency. This legacy began in the year in 1697. Hence the answer is 1697.
Question 13: The first machine for making paper patented.
Answer: E 1799.
Supporting Statement: The first attempt at a paper machine to mechanise the process was patented in 1799 by Frenchman Nicholas Louis Robert, but it was not a success.
Keyword: patented, first, paper machine
Keyword location: Paragraph 4, 2nd line
Explanation: By the beginning of the 1800’s the paper mills were so less in number later after the first attempt patent was approved and then the industry outburst in larger quantities. The first attempt at a paper machine to mechanise the process was patented in 1799 by Frenchman Nicholas Louis Robert, which was not a big success but paved a way for machines for paper making. Hence the answer is 1799.
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