The History Of Glass Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

This passage covers the full arc of glass production from obsidian used on prehistoric spear tips to modern recycling plants producing millions of containers per day. Key figures include English manufacturer George Ravenscroft (1632–1683), who introduced lead crystal glass; HM Ashley, whose 1887 machine tripled production speed; and Michael Owens, whose 1907 fully automated machine transformed bottle manufacturing. The source is listed as a practice passage.
 

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1–13, which are based on the passage below.
 

Questions 1–8 are Note Completion questions. Questions 9–13 are True/False/Not Given questions.

Paragraph A 

Glass has been used by man from his earliest origins. Historians found that obsidian, a type of natural glass, has formed in places, like in the mouth of a volcano, as a consequence of the intense heat of an eruption melting the island, which was used as tips for spears. In 4000 BC, archaeologists discovered evidence of man-made glass, which took the shape of glazes used for covering stone beads. With the covering of the sand core and the layer of molten glass, the first hollow glass container was made.

Paragraph B 

From the 1st century BC, the most common method to make glass containers was by doing glass blowing. As the raw materials contained impurities, the glass that was made at that time was highly colored. Methods to create colorless glass were developed during the first century AD, and it was then tinted by adding the coloring materials. Romans are the ones who took the secret of glassmaking across Europe during this century. But, they protected the glassmaking skills and technology; still, it spread throughout Europe and the Middle East after their empire was ruined in 476 AD. From the 10th century, the Venetians earned a reputation for making glass bottles with technical skill and artistic ability, and most of the craftsmen in Italy's cities set up glassworks throughout Europe.
 

Paragraph C 

When the English manufacturer George Ravenscroft (1632 – 1683) invented lead crystal glass, it became a major mark in the history of glass. He added lead in the raw materials during the process of glass-making to counter the clouding effect that occurs in blown glass. The new glass he introduced has the following qualities: it is softer, easier to decorate, has a higher refractive index, and has brilliance and beauty, and it has become an important glass to the optical industry. Optical lenses, astronomical telescopes, and microscopes have become possible only because of the invention of Ravenscroft.
 

Paragraph D 

In Britain, after rescinding the Excise Act in 1845, the modern glass industry began to boom. Heavy taxes were placed on the amount of glass melted in glasshouses before that time and increased continuously from 1745 to 1845. In 1851, at London's Great Exhibition, Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace marked the beginning of glass as a material used in the building industry. This path-breaking new building has increased the usage of glass in public, domestic, and horticultural architecture. As science and technology began to advance and develop, glass manufacturing techniques also improved.
 

Paragraph E 

From the year of 1887, when HM Ashley introduced a machine in Castleford, Yorkshire, England, that was capable of producing 200 bottles per hour. It is produced more than three times faster than any previous production methods. In 1907, Michael Owens, who is the founder of the Owens Bottle Company, developed the first fully automated machine in the USA and installed it in its factory. Owen's invention can produce 2,500 bottles per hour. Rapid development occurred, but during the First World War, Britain was cut off from the essential glass suppliers, and glass became part of the scientific sector. Before this, glass had been seen as a craft instead of precise science.
 

Paragraph F 

Currently, glassmaking is a big business. It has become a modern, hi-tech industry functioning in an intensely competitive market where quality, design, and service levels are important to maintaining market share. Modern glass plants have the capacity to make millions of glass containers per day in a variety of colors, green and brown remaining the most popular. Glass has become inseparable from modern life. You can see it in almost every aspect of our lives, our homes, and our cars. Many products have glass packaging, and most of the beverages are sold in glass, as are many foodstuffs, medicines,, and cosmetics.
 

Paragraph G 

Glass is the perfect material for recycling and concern for green issues; glass bottles and jars are becoming more popular as well with growing consumers. Glass recycling is a good thing for the environment. It saves used glass containers rather than disposing of them in landfills. Both fuel and production expenses can be saved because recycled glass needs less energy to melt than raw materials. The need for quarrying materials is minimized by recycling and preserves the valuable resources.

Questions 1–8: Note Completion

In boxes 1–8 on your answer sheet, choose one word from the given passage for each answer.

Early humans used a material called (1)  ……………… to make the sharp points of their (2)  ………………….. 4000 BC: (3) ………………… made of stone were covered in a coating of man-made glass. First century BC: glass was colored because of the (4) …………………… in the material. Until 476 AD: only the (5) …………………… knew how to make glass. 10th century: Venetians became famous for making bottles out of glass. 17th century: George Ravenscroft developed a process using (6) …………………. to avoid the occurrence of (7) ……………… in blown glass. Mid-19th century: British glass production developed after changes to laws concerning (8) ……………………

Questions 9–13: True/False/Not Given
 

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
 

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.

10. Michael Owens was hired by a large US company to design a fully automated bottle manufacturing machine for them.

11. Nowadays, most glass is produced by large international manufacturers.

12. Concern for the environment is leading to an increased demand for glass containers.

13. It is more expensive to produce recycled glass than to manufacture new glass.