‘The History of Glass’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
Here are explanations of the Questions of passage named ‘The History of Glass ’, which is from the Cambridge 12 book. The Questions that have been asked are ‘True/False/Not Given’ and Blanks’. You will find the locations of the Reading Answers, Keywords(highlighted and underlined) and justifications.
READING PASSAGE 1: The History of Glass
| Question | Answer |
| 1 | OBSIDIANS |
| 2 | SPEARS |
| 3 | BEADS |
| 4 | IMPURITIES |
| 5 | ROMANS |
| 6 | LEAD |
| 7 | CLOUDING |
| 8 | TAXES |
| 9 | TRUE |
| 10 | FALSE |
| 11 | NOT GIVEN |
| 12 | TRUE |
| 13 | FALSE |
Questions 1-8
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
The History of Glass
- Early humans used a material called 1……………………….. to make the sharp points of their 2……………….
Location: 1st paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the second and third line of the paragraph. ‘Historians have discovered that a type of natural glass – obsidian – formed in places such as the mouth of a volcano as a result of the intense heat of an eruption melting sand – was first used as tips for spears…’Here, ‘natural glass’ is a material and it is called as ‘obsidian’. Moreover, ‘sharp points’ and ‘tips’ means the same.
Answer: (1) Obsidian
(2) Spears
- 4000 BC: 3………………………… made of stone were covered in a coating of man-made glass.
Location: 1st paragraph
Explanation: The main keyword ‘4000 BC’ helps to locate an answer in the second line of the paragraph. ‘this took the form of glazes used for coating stone beads…’Thus, this statement makes an answer very clear as ‘stone beads’ means ‘beads are made of stone’
Answer: Beads
‘The History of Glass’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
- First century BC: glass was coloured because of the 4………………………. in the material.
Location: 2nd paragraph
Explanation: The main keyword ‘first century BC’ helps to find an answer in the second line of the paragraph. ‘The glass made during this time was highly coloured due to the impurities of the raw material…’Here, ‘due to’ and ‘because’ both words are used to tell the reason. This statement clearly states that glass was coloured because of the ‘impurities’ in the material.
Answer: Impurities
- Until 476 AD: Only the 5………………………… knew how to make glass.
Location: 2nd paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the fourth line of the paragraph. ‘The secret of glass making was taken across Europe by the Romans during this century…’ it was not until their empire collapsed in 476 AD that glass-making knowledge became widespread throughout …’Here, the writer states that secret of glass making was taken by Romans. This means only the Romans knew how to make glass until 476 AD.
Answer: Romans
‘The History of Glass’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
- From 10th century: Venetians became famous for making bottles out of glass.
- 17th century: George Ravenscroft developed a process using 6………………………..
Location: 3rd paragraph
Explanation: The main keyword ‘Ravenscroft’ is there in the first line of the paragraph. ‘A major milestone in the history of glass occurred with the invention of lead crystal glass by the English glass manufacturer George Ravenscroft (1632-1683)…’Here, ‘invention’ and ‘developed’ means the same.
Answer: Lead
to avoid the occurrence of 7………………………. in blown glass.
Location: 3rd paragraph
Explanation: The main keyword ‘blown glass’ helps to find an answer in the second line of the paragraph. . ‘He attempted to counter the effect of clouding that sometimes occurred in blown glass…’Here, ‘counter the effect’ and ‘avoid the occurrence’ means the same. Thus, the answer is ‘clouding’.
Answer: Clouding
‘The History of Glass’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
- Mid-19th century: British glass production developed after changes to laws concerning 8……………………..
Location: 4th paragraph
Explanation: The main keyword ‘mid-19th century’ helps to locate an answer in the second line of the paragraph. ‘Before that time, heavy taxes had been placed on the amount of glass melted in a glasshouse…’This means British glass production was in problem when there were taxes. Thus, the answer is Taxes.
Answer: Taxes
Questions 9-13
In boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
9 In 1887, HM Ashley had the fastest bottle-producing machine that existed at the time.
Location: 5th paragraph
Explanation: The main keyword ‘1887’ helps to locate an answer in the first two lines of the paragraph. ‘HM Ashley introduced a machine capable of producing 200 bottles per hour in Castleford, Yorkshire, England – more than three times quicker than any previous production method…’Here, this line clearly states that Ashley had the fastest bottle-producing machine. Here, ‘quicker’ and ‘fastest’ are synonyms. Thus, the answer is clear.
Answer: True
‘The History of Glass’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
10 Michael Owens was hired by a large US company to design a fully-automated bottle manufacturing machine for them.
Location: 5th paragraph
Explanation: The main keywords ‘Michael Owens’ and ‘US company’ helps to locate an answer in the fourth line of the paragraph. ‘the first fully automated machine was developed in the USA by Michael Owens – founder of the Owens Bottle Machine Company…’Here, Michael was the founder but he was not hired. Thus, the question statement contradicts the passage statement.
Answer: False
11 Nowadays, most glass is produced by large international manufacturers.
Location:6th paragraph
Explanation: Though the writer talks about that glass manufacturing is a big business. But there is no information about the present time. Thus, no information available.
Answer: Not Given
‘The History of Glass’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
12 Concern for the environment is leading to an increased demand for glass containers.
Location: Last paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the first line of the paragraph. ‘with growing consumer concern for green issues, glass bottles and jars are becoming ever more popular…’Here, ‘concern for green issues’ means ‘concern for the environment’. Moreover, ‘becoming ever more popular’ means ‘increased demand’. Hence, the answer is True.
Answer: True
13 It is more expensive to produce recycled glass than to manufacture new glass.
Location: Last paragraph
Explanation: The answer to this question is in the second last line of the paragraph. ‘As less energy is needed to melt recycled glass than to melt down raw materials, this also saves fuel and production costs…’ Here it is conspicuous that, recycled glassed need very less energy and it saves fuel too. All above, in the last it is mentioned that it saves production costs, so it means that, it is quite cheap to produce recycled glass. Hence, the answer is false.
Answer: False
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