The History of the Pencil
Read The History of the Pencil and check the IELTS Reading answers. The history of the pencil starts with a violent thunderstorm. When some particularly ferocious weather struck the Lake District in North West England in the sixteenth century, locals in the village of Borrowdale discovered a large…
Passage preview
The history of the pencil starts with a violent thunderstorm. When some particularly ferocious weather struck the Lake District in North West England in the sixteenth century, locals in the village of Borrowdale discovered a large uprooted tree. Underneath the tree lay an unknown black substance which we now know as graphite. It was slightly shiny and smooth to the touch. And it left a black smear on the hands of all who touched it.
Vocabulary from this passage
10 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- assume control of verb phrase
To take power or authority over something, often officially.
In the passage:
Q5 says "completely took over"; the passage says the government "assumed control of all the mines" (paragraph 4).
Synonyms: took over, take charge of
Opposites: hand over
- be equipped with verb phrase
To be given the tools or equipment needed for a task.
In the passage:
Q12 says American astronauts "used" pencils; the passage says both countries' astronauts "were equipped with pencils" (last paragraph).
Synonyms: used, be supplied with
- continue to thrive verb phrase
To keep growing and being successful, even in difficult conditions.
In the passage:
"England's pencil industry continues to thrive": the opposite of Q11's "closed down", so the statement is false.
Synonyms: keep flourishing, go from strength to strength
Opposites: decline, close down
- enclose verb
To surround something completely, or to put it inside something else.
In the passage:
Q4 says "wrapped in"; the passage says people "enclosed a thin core of the substance in stiff sheep hides or rope" (paragraph 2).
Synonyms: wrapped in, surround
Opposites: expose
- give rise to verb phrase
To cause something to begin or develop, often something unexpected or unwelcome.
In the passage:
"The varying quality of pencil leads eventually gave rise to a system": the grading system was the result.
Synonyms: lead to, bring about
- invaluable adjective
Extremely useful; so valuable that its worth cannot be measured.
In the passage:
"invaluable to the British army and navy": it means extremely useful, not "without value".
Synonyms: indispensable, essential
Opposites: worthless
- it should be pointed out verb phrase
Used to add a correction or an important fact that changes how something is understood.
In the passage:
"It should be pointed out though, that the popular myth ... is merely fiction": the writer corrects the story, which decides Q12.
Synonyms: it is worth noting, it must be stressed
- overlook verb
To fail to notice or consider something important.
In the passage:
"Americans overlooking the practical advantages of pencils": here it means failing to notice, not looking down on something.
Synonyms: neglect, disregard
Opposites: notice
- staying power noun phrase
The ability to last or stay popular for a long time.
In the passage:
"because words have remarkable staying power, we still call graphite the lead": the old name survives.
Synonyms: durability, longevity
- turn out verb phrase
To produce something in large numbers or quantities.
In the passage:
"the British could turn out faster and more cheaply": here it means produce goods, not "to prove to be" or "to attend".
Synonyms: produce, manufacture
Answers with explanations
- 1. tree
The note's **first found below** matches **Underneath the tree lay** the black substance, and "blown down in a storm" matches the **uprooted** tree after the thunderstorm. The gap follows "a", so it needs a singular noun: **tree**.
- 2. sheep
**The first use** points to **Initially**, and **make marks on** is a paraphrase of **identify**. The farmers marked their **sheep**. Paper is the trap: it comes in the same paragraph, but as the use that others thought of afterwards.
- 2-3: FALSE
2: **The first use** points to **Initially**, and **make marks on** is a paraphrase of **identify**. The farmers marked their **sheep**. Paper is the trap: it comes in the same paragraph, but as the use that others thought of afterwards.
3: **Dirty to use** becomes **messy to handle**, and the cause of the mess is given straight away: the untreated material was very **soft**. The gap needs an adjective after "so".
- 3. soft
**Dirty to use** becomes **messy to handle**, and the cause of the mess is given straight away: the untreated material was very **soft**. The gap needs an adjective after "so".
- 3-4: E
3: **Dirty to use** becomes **messy to handle**, and the cause of the mess is given straight away: the untreated material was very **soft**. The gap needs an adjective after "so".
4: **Wrapped in** matches **enclosed ... in**, and "animal skin" in the note matches **sheep hides**. The gap is the other thing used to wrap the graphite: **rope**.
- 4. rope
**Wrapped in** matches **enclosed ... in**, and "animal skin" in the note matches **sheep hides**. The gap is the other thing used to wrap the graphite: **rope**.
- 5. mines
**Completely took over** is a paraphrase of **assumed control of all**, and **there** means Borrowdale. The thing they took over was the **mines**. Use the plural, because the text says "all the".
- 6. steal
**Local people began to** matches **the locals ... started to**, and "for the money involved" matches the graphite being **so valuable**. After "to" the gap needs a verb: **steal**. "Wad" is only the locals' name for graphite, not an action.
- 7. TRUE
The deciding words are **the first to make**. The passage says the Italians **originally invented** the wooden casing, which means they were first. A pencil with a wooden casing is a pencil made out of wood, so the statement agrees.
- 8. NOT GIVEN
Find the sentence about **the Germans**. It says only that they used **mass-production** techniques. The only wood in the paragraph is cedar, used by the Italians. The text never says the Germans used different types of wood, so it is NOT GIVEN.
- 9. FALSE
The statement swaps the two ingredients. **More clay** makes the pencil **harder, sharper and more precise**; it is **more graphite** that makes the mark **darker**. The text contradicts the statement, so it is FALSE.
- 10. NOT GIVEN
The paragraph says manufacturers **still use** the HB system **today**, so it is widely used now. It never says when the system started or how quickly manufacturers adopted it. The speed in **very quickly** is not mentioned: NOT GIVEN.
- 11. FALSE
**All closed down** is the opposite of **continues to thrive**. The writer says English pencil-making is still doing well in Keswick, so the statement is FALSE.
- 12. TRUE
**Used pencils** matches **were equipped with pencils**, and **early journeys into space** matches **first space flights**. The story about Americans spending millions on a pen is called a myth, so don't be put off by it: American astronauts did have pencils. TRUE.
- 13. FALSE
**Unlikely to continue** is the opposite of the writer's view. Pencils **remain in use** everywhere, and there is **nothing to suggest** anything better than graphite will replace them. The statement contradicts this, so it is FALSE.