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READING-PASSAGE-1

The document discusses the history and development of rubber, highlighting its early use by indigenous peoples in the Americas and the subsequent European interest sparked by explorers. Key innovations, such as vulcanization by Charles Goodyear and the invention of the pneumatic tire by John Boyd Dunlop, significantly advanced the rubber industry. By the late 19th century, rubber had become an essential material in various industries, particularly during the Industrial Revolution.

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118 views

READING-PASSAGE-1

The document discusses the history and development of rubber, highlighting its early use by indigenous peoples in the Americas and the subsequent European interest sparked by explorers. Key innovations, such as vulcanization by Charles Goodyear and the invention of the pneumatic tire by John Boyd Dunlop, significantly advanced the rubber industry. By the late 19th century, rubber had become an essential material in various industries, particularly during the Industrial Revolution.

Uploaded by

Nguyễn Ngọc PAnh
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© © All Rights Reserved
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READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on
Reading Passage 1 on pages 2 and 3.
Rubber
T and W Musgrove discuss the origins and early uses of rubber
The plants that produce rubber are spread right across the globe, and grow in
many different habitats. One might think it likely, therefore, that humankind has
known about rubber for thousands of years. Yet, unlike other crops of
economic importance, rubber led a relatively anonymous life until the last 150
years or so. The Indians of South America appear to be the first people to
have understood the properties of rubber, and the Aztecs of what is now
Mexico were the first to be recorded using the substance; a wall painting
dating back to the sixth century depicts a scene of a tributary offering of crude
rubber. With the arrival of Columbus in the Americas and the resulting Spanish
influx, further evidence starts to appear concerning the Native American use
of rubber. Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas describes a ritual game played with
a rubber ball at the court of the Aztec Emperor Montezuma II, and the Mayan
and Toltec people are known to have taken part in similar activities. Rubber
was also used to make raincoats, shoes, jars, torches and musical
instruments, all of which must have been made from the indigenous Castilla
elastica, as the Para plant now favoured for rubber cultivation does not grow
in the Mexican region.

The first description of latex (liquid rubber) extraction is made by Juan de


Torquemada, who noted that if a receptacle was not at hand the Native
Americans would place the latex on their bodies to allow it to solidify. However,
no real interest in rubber was shown by any European until Charles de la
Condamine, a French mathematician, published an account of his journey to
South America in 1735. The journey was undertaken on behalf of the Paris
Academy of Sciences to measure an arc of the meridian line on the equator,
but the journey home was to turn out to be more significant than the true
purpose of the trip. Condamine explored Brazil and Peru and discovered how
the local people used one single piece of coagulated latex to make boots. The
boots were impervious to water and, when smoked, looked like real leather. In
1747 the first description of the rubber tree and latex tapping was made by a
military engineer and amateur botanist, Francois Fresneau, who was posted
to French Guiana. The publications of Condamine and Fresneau created
considerable excitement among French scientists, and an attempt was made
to discover a solvent that could turn the crude rubber into a substance for
commercial exploitation.

In 1818 a British medical student named James Syme first used rubber to
make waterproof cloth. Another early use of the substance was as an eraser
of pencil marks, hence the name 'rubber'. This was complemented by
balloons, rubber bands, braces, boots for the army and other ideas that met
with varying degrees of success. In 1820 Thomas Hancock, an English
manufacturer of rubber goods such as driving belts, industrial rollers and
rubber hoses, invented a machine he called the 'piokle', which chewed up
waste strips for re-use. It was discovered that the masticated rubber was more
malleable, while maintaining much of its elasticity. In Scotland at the same
time Charles Mackintosh had discovered a way of using rubber as
waterproofing material, by a process he patented in 1823. Hancock and
Mackintosh joined forces in 1834, and three years later Hancock invented a
machine for spreading rubber onto material.

Despite their beneficial qualities, such as waterproofing, rubber goods were


still not particularly popular as they had some major flaws, including the fact
that they dissolved malodorously. They also became pliant when warm and
rigid when cold. Then in 1839 the American Charles Goodyear discovered that
it was possible to stabilize rubber by mixing it with sulphur while exposing it to
heat - a process he called vulcanisation - and the full versatility of this
extraordinary substance became apparent.
Rubber goods could now be manufactured which had all the beneficial
qualities of the material, such as durability, elasticity and variability, but which
were not sticky, soluble or governed by the vagaries of the weather. The
economic potential of rubber was now clearly evident. It played an important
role in the Industrial Revolution, being employed in the steam engines found in
factories, mills, mines and railways. It made a triumphant entrance as a new
and innovative material at the Great Exhibition of 1851, where shoes, airbeds,
furniture and clothing made out of newly improved rubber were proudly
displayed.

One of the most important rubber inventions was made in 1888, when an
Irishman called John Boyd Dunlop produced the first pneumatic tyre. Solid
rubber tyres had been used for the previous 18 years, but Dunlop's new
design, which he updated in 1890, immediately became popular. In 1895
Dunlop's tyres were first used in motor cars, and with the mass production of
cars just over the horizon the rubber industry had never looked healthier. The
import levels of rubber over the nineteenth century bear witness to its
irrepressible rise. In 1830 Britain had imported just 211 kg of crude rubber.
This had risen to 10,000 kg in 1857, and by 1874 levels were just under six
times as much again.
Questions 1 - 6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading
Passage 1?​
In boxes 1-6 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
1.​ Rubber plants grow only in certain regions of the world.
2.​ Rubber was extracted in Mexico as early as the sixth century.
3.​ Rubber from the Castilla elastica plant is of poorer quality than that from
the Para plant.
4.​ A French mathematician inspired real interest in rubber amongst
Europeans.
5.​ The process of vulcanisation was discovered by accident.
6.​ Imports of crude rubber into Britain fell during the nineteenth century.
Questions 7 - 13
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each
answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet
The Commercial Development of Rubber
Early European travellers gave accounts of various rubber objects in use in
Central and South America, and these accounts created interest in the
commercial exploitation of rubber.​
In 1818, 7_________was produced using rubber, and in 1820 a machine was
invented for recycling 8_________of rubber. Over the next few years, other
attempts were made to improve rubber, but some problems remained. For
example, rubber products smelt bad when they were dissolved, and could turn
either soft or 9_________depending on the temperature. However, in 1839 a
new process to 10_________the substance greatly increased its potential. For
example, rubber was used in the creation of the 11_________industry during
the Industrial Revolution. Then in 1888 the 12_________was developed, and
a few years later the 13_________of the motor car began.
1.false​ ​ 2.true​​ ​ 3.not given​ ​ ​ 4.true
5.not given​ ​ 6.false​ ​ 7.waterproof cloth​​ 8.waste strips
9.rigid​​ ​ 10.stabilize​ ​ 11.steam engines​
12.first pneumatic tyre​ ​ ​ 13.mass production

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