The History of Glass: reading answers and analysis
The passage traces glass from volcanic obsidian and early glazes through Roman secrecy, Venetian craft and Ravenscroft's lead crystal to machines that made thousands of bottles an hour. It finishes with glass as a modern global industry and an ideal material for recycling.
Both blocks follow the passage. The notes (1-8) cover the first four paragraphs in date order. The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements (9-13) start with Ashley's machine and end with recycling in the last paragraph.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: The dates at the start of each note line are your signposts, so scan for them. The gaps need nouns, and a few are plural, so copy the passage's form. In the Ravenscroft note, two gaps come from one sentence: what he added and what he was trying to stop.
Question 1
Answer: obsidianParagraph 1, second sentence
What was the natural glass early humans used called?
a type of natural glass - obsidian - formed in places such as the mouth of a volcano
Question says → Passage says
a material calleda type of natural glass
Early humans usedFrom our earliest origins, man has been making use of glass
Why: The name of the natural glass sits between the dashes: obsidian. The note wants the material's name, so copy it carefully.
The trap: 'Glass' is too general, and 'sand' is what melted to make obsidian, not the material people used.
Question 2
Answer: spearsParagraph 1, second sentence
What weapons had obsidian points?
was first used as tips for spears
Question says → Passage says
the sharp points of theirtips for
Why: 'Sharp points' paraphrases 'tips', and the tips were for spears. The note has 'their ___', so use the plural.
The trap: 'Volcano' and 'eruption' sit in the same long sentence, but they explain how obsidian formed, not what it was used for.
Question 3
Answer: beadsParagraph 1, third sentence
What stone objects were coated with man-made glass in 4000 BC?
this took the form of glazes used for coating stone beads
Question says → Passage says
made of stone were covered in a coatingglazes used for coating stone
4000 BCdates back to 4000 BC
Why: The date leads you to the sentence, and the coated objects were stone beads. The note already has 'made of stone', so write only 'beads'.
The trap: 'Glazes' is the coating itself, not what was coated.
Question 4
Answer: impuritiesParagraph 2, second sentence
Why was glass coloured in the first century BC?
The glass made during this time was highly coloured due to the impurities of the raw material.
Question says → Passage says
was coloured because of thewas highly coloured due to the
in the materialof the raw material
Why: 'Because of' is 'due to', and the cause is the impurities in the raw material. Keep the plural.
The trap: 'Colouring materials' come in the next sentence, but they were added in the first century AD to tint colourless glass. That's a different century.
Question 5
Answer: RomansParagraph 2, middle
Who kept glass-making to themselves until 476 AD?
they guarded the skills and technology required to make glass very closely, and it was not until their empire collapsed in 476 AD
Question says → Passage says
Only the ___ knew how to make glassthey guarded the skills and technology required to make glass very closely
Until 476 ADnot until their empire collapsed in 476 AD
Why: 'They' refers to the Romans in the sentence before. They guarded the skills closely until their empire fell, so only they knew how.
The trap: 'Venetians' is the next note line, from the 10th century. Don't let the 476 AD date drift into the wrong group.
Question 6
Answer: leadParagraph 3, second sentence
What did Ravenscroft add to the raw materials?
He attempted to counter the effect of clouding that sometimes occurred in blown glass by introducing lead to the raw materials used in the process.
Question says → Passage says
developed a process usingby introducing… to the raw materials used in the process
Why: His method was to add lead to the raw materials. The note asks what the process used, so the answer is 'lead'.
The trap: 'Crystal' comes from 'lead crystal glass', but that's the product, not what he added. 'Lead crystal' is also two words.
Question 7
Answer: cloudingParagraph 3, second sentence
What problem in blown glass was Ravenscroft trying to stop?
He attempted to counter the effect of clouding that sometimes occurred in blown glass
Question says → Passage says
to avoid the occurrence ofto counter the effect of… that sometimes occurred
in blown glassin blown glass
Why: 'Avoid the occurrence of ___ in blown glass' matches 'counter the effect of clouding that sometimes occurred in blown glass'. The noun is 'clouding'.
The trap: 'Brilliance' comes later in the paragraph, but that's a benefit of the new glass, not the problem.
Question 8
Answer: taxesParagraph 4, first two sentences
Which laws changed and let British glass production grow in the mid-1800s?
only really started to develop after the repeal of the Excise Act in 1845. Before that time, heavy taxes had been placed on the amount of glass melted
Question says → Passage says
changes to lawsthe repeal of the Excise Act
British glass production developedIn Britain, the modern glass industry only really started to develop
Why: The industry grew after the Excise Act was repealed, and that act had placed heavy taxes on glass. The laws were about taxes, plural.
The trap: 'Excise' fits grammatically, but the note wants what the laws concerned, and the passage explains that as 'heavy taxes'.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
Questions 9-13
How to attack this block: The first two statements are about machine makers: check the speed comparison and who founded the company. The NOT GIVEN is about who makes most glass today, and the FALSE at the end reverses the cost of recycling.
Question 9
Answer: TRUEParagraph 5, first sentence
Was Ashley's 1887 machine the quickest bottle maker at the time?
introduced a machine capable of producing 200 bottles per hour in Castleford, Yorkshire, England - more than three times quicker than any previous production method
Question says → Passage says
the fastest bottle-producing machinemore than three times quicker than any previous production method
Why: His machine was more than three times quicker than any earlier method, so in 1887 nothing was faster. TRUE.
The trap: Owens' machine made 2,500 bottles an hour, much faster, so some people say FALSE. But that came in 1907. The statement says 'at the time'.
Question 10
Answer: FALSEParagraph 5, second sentence
Was Owens hired by a big US firm to design his machine?
the first fully automated machine was developed in the USA by Michael Owens - founder of the Owens Bottle Machine Company
Question says → Passage says
hired by a large US companyfounder of the Owens Bottle Machine Company
a fully-automated bottle manufacturing machinethe first fully automated machine
Why: Owens founded the company; he wasn't hired by it. The machine was installed in his own factory. That contradicts the statement, so FALSE.
The trap: The bracket says the company later became the major manufacturer Owens-Illinois, which makes it sound like a big firm employed him. It only grew big later, and it was his.
Question 11
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 6, second sentence
Do big international manufacturers make most glass today?
It has become a modern, hi-tech industry operating in a fiercely competitive global market
Question says → Passage says
NowadaysToday
internationalglobal market
Why: The passage describes a global, competitive market, but says nothing about who makes most of the glass or how big the firms are. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'Global market' and 'big business' make it sound as if large international firms dominate. The passage describes the market, not who controls it.
Question 12
Answer: TRUEParagraph 7, first sentence
Is environmental concern increasing demand for glass containers?
with growing consumer concern for green issues, glass bottles and jars are becoming ever more popular
Question says → Passage says
Concern for the environmentconsumer concern for green issues
an increased demand for glass containersglass bottles and jars are becoming ever more popular
Why: As people care more about green issues, glass bottles and jars become more popular. 'More popular' is increased demand, so TRUE.
Question 13
Answer: FALSEParagraph 7, last two sentences
Does recycled glass cost more to produce than new glass?
As less energy is needed to melt recycled glass than to melt down raw materials, this also saves fuel and production costs.
Question says → Passage says
more expensive to produce recycled glasssaves fuel and production costs
to manufacture new glassto melt down raw materials
Why: Recycled glass needs less energy to melt, which saves fuel and production costs. So it's cheaper, not more expensive: FALSE.
The trap: The passage doesn't use the word 'cheaper', so some people choose NOT GIVEN. 'Saves… production costs' is a direct contradiction.
The colour came from 'impurities', plural. 'Colouring' materials were added later to tint colourless glass, a different century.
Words from this passage worth keeping
molten(Paragraph 1)
melted by very high heat
impurities(Paragraph 2)
unwanted substances mixed into a material
tinted(Paragraph 2)
given a slight colour
milestone(Paragraph 3)
an important event in the development of something
repeal(Paragraph 4)
the official cancelling of a law
levied(Paragraph 4)
officially charged (a tax)
fiercely competitive(Paragraph 6)
with very strong competition between rivals
quarried(Paragraph 7)
dug out of the ground
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The full Cambridge 12 Test 8 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 12, Test 8, Reading Passage 1. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
The rest of Cambridge 12 Test 8
Passage 1 · Questions 1-13 · You're hereThe History of Glass
