The Impact of the Potato

Passage preview

The potato was first cultivated in South America between three and seven thousand years ago, though scientists believe they may have grown wild in the region as long as 13,000 years ago. The genetic patterns of potato distribution indicate that the potato probably originated in the mountainous west-central region of the continent.

Vocabulary from this passage

9 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.

become a staple verb phrase

To turn into a basic food that people eat regularly and depend on.

In the passage: Q5 asks why potatoes grew popular; the passage says they "did not become a staple until" the wartime food shortages.

Synonyms: become a main food, become a regular food

gain ground verb phrase

To become more popular, accepted or successful over time.

In the passage: "The potato slowly gained ground in eastern France": it spread, but was not widely accepted until the late 1700s.

Synonyms: become accepted, make progress

Opposites: lose ground

overcome prejudice verb phrase

To succeed in defeating an unfair, fixed opinion about a person or thing.

In the passage: Q7 says Frederick "had to handle" the gap; the passage says he "faced the challenge of overcoming the people’s prejudice".

Synonyms: handle, tackle bias

regard with suspicion verb phrase

To think that someone or something may be dishonest, dangerous or harmful.

In the passage: "Potatoes were regarded with suspicion, distaste and fear": the writer's way of saying people did not trust them (Q4).

Synonyms: view with distrust, treat with caution

Opposites: trust

reverse psychology noun phrase

Persuading someone by suggesting the opposite of what you actually want them to do.

In the passage: Q8 gap: "Frederick used a bit of reverse psychology": he guarded the field so the peasants would steal the plants.

Synonyms: opposite tactics

scarcely any adjective phrase

Almost none; hardly any of something.

In the passage: Q13 says "almost without"; the passage says "with scarcely any investment or hard labour" (paragraph about Ireland).

Synonyms: almost without, hardly any

Opposites: plenty of

sport verb

To wear or display something, often with pride, so that others see it.

In the passage: Q6 says the King "put" a flower in his buttonhole; the passage says he "began to sport a potato flower". Not the game.

Synonyms: wear, display

supplemented by verb phrase

Having something extra added to improve or complete it.

In the passage: Q9 says people ate the gap "with bread, butter and cheese"; the passage says the diet was meat "supplemented by bread, butter and cheese".

Synonyms: with, added to by

sustenance noun

Food and drink that people need to stay alive and healthy.

In the passage: "Used only as animal fodder and sustenance for the starving": food for people with nothing else to eat.

Synonyms: nourishment, food

Answers with explanations

1. 1. FALSE

   Find the **chroniclers** in the second paragraph. The passage says they **misused** the word batata as the potato's name, so the Incan word chuño is wrong. Chuño is a different thing: the dried, mashed potato the Incas stored. The statement is FALSE.

2. 2. FALSE

   The deciding words are **purpose** and **find potatoes**. The Spanish reached Peru **in search of gold**, and the next sentence says they did not yet see the potato as a treasure. They did not go there for potatoes, so the statement is FALSE.

3. 2-3: chin

   2: The deciding words are **purpose** and **find potatoes**. The Spanish reached Peru **in search of gold**, and the next sentence says they did not yet see the potato as a treasure. They did not go there for potatoes, so the statement is FALSE.

   3: The passage says what the Spanish did with potatoes: they used them as **basic rations** on ships. It never says what they believed about their **nutrients**, or compares them with other vegetables. Only the English view of vegetables comes later. So it is NOT GIVEN.

4. 3. NOT GIVEN

   The passage says what the Spanish did with potatoes: they used them as **basic rations** on ships. It never says what they believed about their **nutrients**, or compares them with other vegetables. Only the English view of vegetables comes later. So it is NOT GIVEN.

5. 3-4: C

   3: The passage says what the Spanish did with potatoes: they used them as **basic rations** on ships. It never says what they believed about their **nutrients**, or compares them with other vegetables. Only the English view of vegetables comes later. So it is NOT GIVEN.

   4: Match **did not like to eat** with **refused to eat**, and **ugly** with **ugly, misshapen tubers**. The writer names ugliness as a reason peasants refused potatoes. A second reason, the plant's heathen origin, is added, but the statement is still supported. So it is TRUE.

6. 4. TRUE

   Match **did not like to eat** with **refused to eat**, and **ugly** with **ugly, misshapen tubers**. The writer names ugliness as a reason peasants refused potatoes. A second reason, the plant's heathen origin, is added, but the statement is still supported. So it is TRUE.

7. 5. TRUE

   The key phrase is **food shortages**, plus **Revolutionary Wars** for the war. The text says potatoes **did not become a staple until** the government began to encourage them during those shortages, so the UK link is **England**. The 1662 recommendation is a trap: it had little impact. The statement is TRUE.

8. 6. flower

   Look for the King, **Louis XVI**. He began to **sport** a potato **flower** in his buttonhole, and this royal approval is what helped people overcome their distaste. **Sport** here means wear in public, and the gap needs the noun after **potato**.

9. 7. prejudice

   Look for **Frederick** and the potato's potential. The text says he **faced the challenge of overcoming** the people's **prejudice** against the plant. **Handle** in the question means overcome, and **ordinary people** means the people.

10. 8. reverse

    The question says **adopted a form of**, and the passage says Frederick **used a bit of reverse psychology**. He guarded a field of potatoes so that the peasants would steal them. The word before **psychology** in the text is **reverse**.

11. 9. meat

    Look for **Before 1800**, which matches **Prior to 1800**. **Preferred eating** becomes **consisted primarily of**, and the bread, butter and cheese in the question are only extras: the text says they were **supplemented by** them. So the main food was meat.

12. 10. crops

    Match **obvious way to deal with** with **the obvious solution to**. The passage names the solution as **high-yielding, easily prepared potato crops**, and the plural **crops** completes the question's phrase.

13. 11. soil

    Look for **Irish** and **climate**. The passage says the potato was **well suited to** the Irish soil and climate, which the question words as **suited potatoes well**. The word that sits next to climate is **soil**.

14. 12. cultivation

    Look for the population figures **1780 and 1841**. **Thanks to** matches **beyond the widespread cultivation of the potato**: the text says growth came without industry or new farming methods, just from the **cultivation** of potatoes. Industry and techniques are the wrong causes.

15. 13. ["investment","labour"]

    Look for **poorest farmers**. **Almost without** is the question's paraphrase of **scarcely any**, and the text lists what they did not need: **investment** or hard labour. The gap needs a noun after **without**, and the first noun in that list is the answer.

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