Candle Making in Colonial America- Reading Answers

The Academic passage, ‘Candle Making in Colonial America Reading Answers’, is a reading passage that consists of 13 questions.

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The question types found in this passage are:

• IELTS Multiple Choice Question (Q. 1-3)
• IELTS Matching Features (Q. 5-14)

Reading Passage

A The primary material used in making candles today is paraffin1 wax, which is derived from petroleum. In the process of refining crude oil, refiners “crack” the oil, thereby separating it into different products such as gasoline, heating oil, and kerosene. Paraffin wax, originally produced by plants that lived 100 to 700 million years ago to protect their leaves, is inert and remains suspended in the decayed vegetable matter that eventually becomes crude oil. In the refining process, paraffin wax is separated out and sold as a by-product.

B Paraffin was not discovered until the early 1800s. At that time, paraffin was derived by a process of distilling bituminous schist, now known as shale oil. In 1850, Dr. James Young, a Scottish industrial chemist, applied for a patent for obtaining paraffin oil and paraffin from bituminous coals. Shortly after that, under a license from Young, paraffin was being produced from coal on a large scale in the United States. Because petroleum is now readily available, Young’s original process for obtaining paraffin is no longer profitable, and paraffin is currently produced from crude oil.

C Before the discovery of paraffin, candle making had for centuries relied on different materials. Chemically, those materials were also hydrocarbons; however, they were derived directly from insects, animals, or plants.

D In colonial times in America, beeswax was highly valued for making candles. Even today beeswax, though more expensive, is highly regarded because pure beeswax candles emit no smoke when burning, whereas paraffin candles produce a black, slightly oily soot. Beeswax is secreted only by female worker bees. As a worker bee eats honey, her wax glands exude the wax as oval flakes that form on the underside of her last four abdominal segments. The bee then removes the wax flakes and chews them, mixing the wax flakes with her saliva to soften them. When the wax is sufficiently pliable, she attaches it to the honeycomb. As the wax comb is built up, each pocket is filled with honey and then sealed with more wax.

E Given the numerous uses and considerable value not only of honey but also of the bees themselves and their beeswax, beekeeping was an important part of American life in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Many of the early settlers brought honeybee hives with them from Europe. Not indigenous to North America, the European honeybees nonetheless thrived and often escaped into the wild. In 1785, writing in Notes on the State o f Virginia, Thomas Jefferson observed, “The bees have generally extended themselves into the country, a little in advance of the white settlers. The Indians therefore call them the white man’s fly, and consider their approach as indicating the approach of the settlements of the whites.” Eventually, the Native Americans as well as the colonists used beeswax and honey in the frontier bartering system that grew up in the absence of readily available coinage.

F Another source of colonial candle material was animal fat or tallow. Cattle and sheep were the most common sources of tallow. Pork fat was not used because candles made from it dripped too much and were dangerous. Additionally, the odor of burning pork tallow was particularly offensive. Chicken and duck fat were too soft to make candles. The tallow was rendered— heated in a cauldron until the fat melted—and then strained numerous times to remove any gristle, meat fibers, and as many impurities as possible. Straining reduced, but did not entirely eliminate, the extent to which the candles smoked and emitted a noxious odor. Tallow candles needed to be stored in tightly closed containers, usually made of tin or wood, to keep out rodents and other animals that might eat them.

G In the New World, the colonists discovered a native plant high in a natural waxy substance that could be extracted and used for candle making. The plant is the bayberry shrub, also known as candleberry. Bayberry shrubs are dense and semi evergreen. The plants are extremely hardy, grow to as much as nine feet high, and do well even in salt-laden, coastal soil unsuitable for other horticulture. In winter, the female plants bear clusters of blue-gray berries, which lend their color to the wax. The colonists boiled the berries to separate the waxy matter from the pulp and then skimmed the wax off the top. Although making bayberry candles was more labor intensive than making tallow candles, bayberry candles were considerably superior, burning longer and producing less smoke. Further recommending them, they had a pleasing scent. Compared to beeswax, bayberries were available in greater quantities, and the colonists found that bayberry wax was harder than beeswax and thus also burned longer.

H Because the bayberry clusters were harvested in winter and because making the candles was very time-consuming, the candles were often saved for special occasions, particularly Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Eventually, they became a holiday tradition and gave rise to the saying, “Bayberry candles burned to the socket, puts luck in the home, food in the larder, and gold in the pocket.” Fortunate indeed was the colonial household with brightly burning candles and a holiday feast.

1 This paraffin is different from the British word paraffin, which is called kerosene in the United States.

2 British: odour

3 British: fibres

4 British: labour

1 Paraffin is

A a petroleum by-product.

B found in rocks.

C from a type of vegetable.

2 Paraffin was first obtained from

A crude oil.

B rotten vegetables.

C bituminous coal.

3 James Young was

A a candle maker.

B an oil producer.

C a scientist.

4 was often made from the fat of cows

5 is made from a bush that grows near the sea

6 needs to be filtered before being made into candles

7 was not used before the nineteenth century

8 produces smokeless candles

9 produced candles that were attractive to hungry mice and rats

10 is bluish in color

11 was brought to colonial America by European settlers

12 was often reserved for holiday use

13 has a pleasing aroma

14 was often used for trading in place of money

Candle Making in Colonial America Reading Answers

1 Answer: A

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph A, line 1 & line 6

Answer explanation: The selected lines say that “The primary material used in making candles today is paraffin1 wax, which is derived from petroleum.” & “…sold as a by-product.”. This tells us that paraffin is derived from petroleum as a by-product. Hence, the answer is A.

2 Answer: C

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph B, line 2-line 4

Answer explanation: In the quoted lines of Paragraph B, it is said that “In 1850, Dr. James Young, a Scottish industrial chemist, applied for a patent for obtaining paraffin oil and paraffin from bituminous coals.” This points to the fact that paraffin was first obtained from bituminous coal and was patented by Dr. James Young. Hence the answer is C.

3 Answer: C

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph B, line 2-line 3

Answer explanation: In the quoted lines of Paragraph B, it is said that “In 1850, Dr. James Young, a Scottish industrial chemist…” This points to the fact that James Young was a scientist. Hence the answer is C.

4 Answer: C

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph F, line 1-line 2

Answer explanation: In the quoted lines of Paragraph F, it is said that “Another source of colonial candle material was animal fat or tallow. Cattle and sheep were the most common sources of tallow.” This proves the fact that tallow was often made from the fat of cows and sheep. Hence the answer is C.

5 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph G, line 3 – line 7

Answer explanation: The mentioned line of Paragraph G says that “Bayberry shrubs are dense and semi evergreen. The plants are extremely hardy, grow to as much as nine feet high, and do well even in salt-laden, coastal soil unsuitable for other horticulture. …The colonists boiled the berries to separate the waxy matter from the pulp and then skimmed the wax off the top.” As it is clear that Bayberry wax is made from the shrubs of the same name that grows near the sea, the answer is D.

6 Answer: C

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph F, line 5 – line 6

Answer explanation: The mentioned line of Paragraph F says that “The tallow was rendered— heated in a cauldron until the fat melted—and then strained numerous times to remove any gristle, meat fibers, and as many impurities as possible.” As it is clear that tallow needs to be filtered before being made into candles as there are impurities, the answer is C.

7 Answer: A

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph B, line 1

Answer explanation: The first line of Paragraph B says that “Paraffin was not discovered until the early 1800s.” It is clear that paraffin was not used before the nineteenth century as it was not discovered until the early 1800s, that is the early nineteenth century. Hence, the answer is A.

8 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph D, line 2 – line 3

Answer explanation: The mentioned line of Paragraph D indicates that “…pure beeswax candles emit no smoke when burning, whereas paraffin candles produce a black, slightly oily soot.” It is clear that beeswax produces smokeless candles(candles emit no smoke when burning). Hence, the answer is B.

9 Answer: C

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph F, line 8- line 9

Answer explanation: The mentioned line of Paragraph F says that “Tallow candles needed to be stored in tightly closed containers, usually made of tin or wood, to keep out rodents and other animals that might eat them.” As it is clear that tallow produced candles that were attractive to hungry mice and rats (rodents), the answer is C.

10 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph G, line 5 – line 6

Answer explanation: The provided lines says that “In winter, the female plants bear clusters of blue-gray berries, which lend their color to the wax.”. It is clear from the statement that bayberry wax is bluish in colour. Hence, the answer is D.

11 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph E, line 2 – line 4

Answer explanation: The given lines say that “…beeswax, beekeeping was an important part of American life in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Many of the early settlers brought honeybee hives with them from Europe.” This statement points out that the beeswax was brought to colonial America by early European settlers. Hence the answer is B.

12 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph H, line 1 – line 3

Answer explanation: The following lines from Paragraph H says that “Because the bayberry clusters were harvested in winter and because making the candles was very time-consuming, the candles were often saved for special occasions, particularly Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Eventually, they became a holiday tradition…” From this reference, we can conclude that bayberry wax was often reserved for holiday use in the winter when it was harvested. Hence the answer is D.

13 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph G, line 10

Answer explanation: The following lines from Paragraph G says that “Further recommending them, they had a pleasing scent.”. Based on this reference, we can conclude that bayberry wax has a pleasant aroma or scent. Hence the answer is D.

14 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Features

Answer location: Paragraph E, line 9 – line 11

Answer explanation: The following lines from Paragraph E says that “Eventually, the Native Americans as well as the colonists used beeswax and honey in the frontier bartering system that grew up in the absence of readily available coinage.” We can deduce from this that Americans used beeswax along with honey for trading in place of money (frontier bartering system). Hence the answer is B.

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