Two Stone Variety IELTS Reading Answers

Sep 26, 2023

Two Stone Variety IELTS Reading Answers is a topic of the IELTS general reading topic which includes 8 questions. The specified IELTS topic generates a few word types of questions. Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly in order to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. Candidates can further enhance their reading skills by going through IELTS reading practice papers available on the website. Candidates can use IELTS reading topics like It is not really known when the IELTS Reading Answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Two Stone Variety

A
It is not really known when the very first cup of coffee was drunk but there are written records from the 10th century that mention two Arabian philosophers who drank a dark, bitter beverage. At the time it was called bunchum.

B
Before that, it seems that the effects of coffee were well known to warriors in Ethiopa as far back as the 6th century. They would grind the coffee beans into a powder and then mix it with ghee, a kind of clarified butter, and eat it before going into battle. It is generally thought that coffee originates from the forested highlands of Ethiopa and then spread to North Africa, Arabia, and Turkey.

C
The favorite bedtime story about the origin of coffee goes like this: Once upon a time in the land of Arabia there lived a goat herder named Kaldi. One night, Kaldi's goats failed to come home, and in the morning he found them dancing with abandoned glee near a shiny, dark-leafed shrub with red berries. Kaldi soon determined that it was the red berries that caused the goats' eccentric behavior, and soon he was dancing too.

D
Finally, a learned imam saw the goats dancing, Kaldi dancing, and the shiny, dark-leafed shrub with the red berries. The learned imam subjected the red berries to various experiments, one of which involved boiling them in water. Soon, neither the imam nor his fellows fell asleep at prayers, and the use of coffee spread from monastery to monastery, throughout Arabia and from there to the rest of the world.

E
The coffeehouse culture really took off in these areas in the 16th century and became so important that in Turkey not giving your wife enough coffee to drink was seen as a good reason for divorce. Around this time coffee began to spread around the world but to maintain a monopoly all exported coffee beans had to be boiled or partially roasted to prevent other countries from growing them.

F
However, in the 17th century an Indian pilgrimage Sufi called Baba Budan managed to smuggle a few coffee beans out of Arabia and into India. He then established a coffee plantation in the Mysore region of India that still exists today. As of 2009, India produced only 4.5% of the world's coffee but this translates into 8,200 tons of coffee beans per year and an industry that supports more than 250,000 coffee growers.

G
Although the first coffee house opened in Venice in 1683, coffee had been available since 1608 but was seen as a luxury by all but the very rich. Coffeehouses quickly established a reputation as the place to be seen and a popular meeting place for political debate. The French revolutionists discussed the fate of the bourgeoisie in coffeehouses and if it were not for coffee the founding fathers of the United States of America may never have formed their national policies as they too met in coffeehouses.

H
In seventeenth-century England, coffeehouses were often called penny universities where, for the price of three pennies (entry and a cup of coffee), you could mix with famous scholars and participate in lively discussions. Later, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European and American intellectuals spent more time in coffeehouses than they did at home.

I
When you compare a typical 16th century breakfast in England of beer and herring with coffee, eggs and bread in the 19th century one might be forgiven for thinking that it must have been coffee that fuelled the start of the industrial revolution.

J
The coffee bean is in fact a seed and comes from a small red (sometimes yellow) fruit that grows on plants halfway in size between a shrub and a tree. The fruit most commonly contains two stones with their flat sides together. A small percentage, about 10% -15% contain a single seed, and this is called a peaberry. Many people believe that they have more flavor than the more common two stone variety.

K
The two most economically important varieties of coffee plant in the world are the Arabica and the Robusta; 75-80% of the coffee produced worldwide is Arabica and 20% is Robusta. Arabica seeds consist of 0.8-1.4% caffeine and Robusta seeds consist of 1.7-4% caffeine. As coffee is one the world's most widely consumed beverages, free seeds are a major cash crop, and an important export product, accounting for over 50% of some developing nations' foreign exchange earnings. The United States imports more coffee than any other nation. The average per capita consumption of coffee in the United States in 2011 was 4.24 kg and the value of coffee imported exceeded $8 billion.

L
The process that turns these seeds into a beverage is a long and complex process, perhaps the most complex process associated with any major beverage. It starts with the coffee grower, moves to the picker, then to the mill workers who remove the fruit and dry the seeds, then to those who clean and grade the beans, to those who roast them, to the consumers and baristas who finally grind the beans and prepare the beverage.

M
Every act along the way affects the final taste. Each part of the process can be performed either with passion or with carelessness. The final cup of coffee can, therefore, end up tasting like ditch water or be like nectar that raises your senses to an almost spiritual level of awareness.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 28 - 31
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Question 28. How did Arabia maintain their monopoly of coffee?

They never exported the beans
They boiled the beans
They only sold coffee powder
They roasted the beans

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “...coffee began to spread around the world but to maintain a monopoly all exported coffee beans had to be boiled or partially roasted to prevent other counties from growing them…”
Keywords: coffee, spread, around the world, monopoly, exported, coffee beans, boiled, partially roasted
Keyword Location: para E, line 2
Explanation: According to the writer, coffee began to spread around the world but to maintain a monopoly all exported coffee beans had to be boiled or partially roasted to prevent other counties from growing them.

Question 29. Why was coffee slow to spread through Europe when first introduced?

It was seen as an expensive luxury
Political reasons
There were no coffeehouses
It had a bad reputation

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “Although the first coffee house opened in Venice in 1683, coffee had been available since 1608 but was seen as a luxury by all but the very rich…”
Keywords:
Keyword Location: para , line
Explanation: According to the writer, coffee is a luxurious and very expensive item. As a result, coffee was slow in spreading through Europe.

Question 30. What were coffeehouses in England also known as?

home
places for intellectuals
cheap places to go
penny universities

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “...In seventeenth-century England, coffeehouses were often called penny universities where, for the price of three pennies (entry and a cup of coffee)…”
Keywords: seventeenth-century England, coffeehouses, penny universities, price of three pennies, cup of coffee, famous scholars
Keyword Location: para H, line 1
Explanation: According to the writer, in seventeenth-century England, coffeehouses were often called penny universities where, for the price of three pennies (entry and a cup of coffee), you could mix with famous scholars and participate in lively discussions.

Question 31. What was a typical breakfast in England in the 16th century?

herrings, beer, and coffee
beer, bread, and eggs
herrings and beer
eggs, beer, and herrings

Answer: C
Supporting statement: “...When you compare a typical 16th century breakfast in England of beer and herring…”
Keywords: 16th century, breakfast, England, beer, herring, coffee, eggs, bread, 19th century
Keyword Location: para I, line 1
Explanation: According to the writer, when you compare a typical 16th century breakfast in England of beer and herring with coffee, eggs and bread in the 19th century one might be forgiven for thinking that it must have been coffee that fuelled the start of the industrial revolution.

Questions 32 - 35
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

Of the two main varieties of coffee plant, more (32)............ coffee is produced around the world than (33)........... but the latter has more (34)........ at (35).............……

Question 32.

Answer: ARABICA
Supporting statement: “...The two most economically important varieties of coffee plant in the world are the Arabica and the Robusta; 75-80% of the coffee produced worldwide is Arabica…”
Keywords: economically important varieties, coffee plants, Arabica, Robusta; 75-80% of the coffee produced worldwide, 20% is Robusta
Keyword Location: para K, line 1
Explanation: According to the writer, the two most economically important varieties of coffee plant in the world are the Arabica and the Robusta; 75-80% of the coffee produced worldwide is Arabica and 20% is Robusta.

Question 33.

Answer: ROBUSTA
Supporting statement: “...The two most economically important varieties of coffee plant in the world are the Arabica and the Robusta; 75-80% of the coffee produced worldwide is Arabica…”
Keywords: economically important varieties, coffee plants, Arabica, Robusta; 75-80% of the coffee produced worldwide, 20% is Robusta
Keyword Location: para K, line 1
Explanation: According to the writer, the two most economically important varieties of coffee plant in the world are the Arabica and the Robusta; 75-80% of the coffee produced worldwide is Arabica and 20% is Robusta.

Question 34.

Answer: CAFFEINE
Supporting statement: “...Arabica seeds consist of 0.8-1.4% caffeine and…”
Keywords: Arabica seeds, 0.8-1.4%, caffeine, Robusta seeds, 1.7-4%
Keyword Location: para K, line 2
Explanation: According to the writer, Arabica seeds consist of 0.8-1.4% caffeine and Robusta seeds consist of 1.7-4% caffeine.

Question 35.

Answer: 1.7 - 4%
Supporting statement: “...Arabica seeds consist of 0.8-1.4% caffeine and…”
Keywords: Arabica seeds, 0.8-1.4%, caffeine, Robusta seeds, 1.7-4%
Keyword Location: para K, line 2
Explanation: According to the writer, Arabica seeds consist of 0.8-1.4% caffeine and Robusta seeds consist of 1.7-4% caffeine.

Questions 36 - 40
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Question 36. What did Ethiopian warriors mix coffee powder with before going into battle?

Answer: GHEE/ CLARIFIED BUTTER
Supporting statement: “... it seems that the effects of coffee were well known to warriors in Ethiopa as far back as the 6th century…”
Keywords: effects of coffee, warriors, Ethiopa, 6th century, grind, coffee beans, powder, ghee, clarified butter, battle
Keyword Location: para B, line 2
Explanation: According to the writer, it seems that the effects of coffee were well known to warriors in Ethiopa as far back as the 6th century. They would grind the coffee beans into a powder and then mix it with ghee, a kind of clarified butter, and eat it before going into battle.

Question 37. According to a famous story, who realized coffee can keep you awake when praying?

Answer: LEARNED IMAM
Supporting statement: “...neither the imam nor his fellows fell asleep at prayers, and the use of coffee spread from monastery to monastery…”
Keywords: learned imam, subjected, red berries, various experiments, boiling, water
Keyword Location: para D, line 3
Explanation: According to the writer, the learned imam subjected the red berries to various experiments, one of which involved boiling them in water. Soon, neither the imam nor his fellows fell asleep at prayers, and the use of coffee spread from monastery to monastery, throughout Arabia and from there to the rest of the world.

Question 38. How many coffee beans did Baba Budan smuggle into India?

Answer: A FEW
Supporting statement: “...in the 17th century an Indian pilgrim Sufi called Baba Budan managed to smuggle a few coffee beans out of Arabia and into India…”
Keywords: 17th century, Indian pilgrim, Sufi, Baba Budan, smuggle, coffee beans, Arabia, India
Keyword Location: para H, line 1
Explanation: According to the writer, in the 17th century an Indian pilgrim Sufi called Baba Budan managed to smuggle a few coffee beans out of Arabia and into India. He then established a coffee plantation in the Mysore region of India that still exists today

Question 39. What type of coffee bean is said to be the most flavourful?

Answer: PEABERRY
Supporting statement: “...A small percentage, about 10% -15% contain a single seed, and this is called a peaberry…”
Keywords: small percentage, 10% -15%, single seed, peaberry, more flavor, two stone variety
Keyword Location: para J, line 4
Explanation: According to the writer, a small percentage, about 10% -15% contain a single seed, and this is called a peaberry. Many people believe that they have more flavor than the more common two stone variety.

Question 40. If you don't treat coffee properly what can it end up tasting like?

Answer: DITCH WATER
Supporting statement: “...The final cup of coffee can, therefore, end up tasting like ditch water or be like nectar…”
Keywords: final cup, coffee can, end up, tasting, ditch water, nectar, spiritual level, awareness
Keyword Location: para M, line 3
Explanation: According to the writer, the final cup of coffee can, therefore, end up tasting like ditch water or be like nectar that raises your senses to an almost spiritual level of awareness.