The Story Of Silk IELTS Reading Answers
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The Reading Module of the IELTS can be the top-scoring category with diligent practice. To achieve the best results in this section, you must understand how to approach and answer the different Question types in the Reading Module. By solving and reviewing Sample Reading Questions from past IELTS papers, you can ensure that your Reading skills are up to the mark.
The Academic passage, The Story Of Silk, is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Try to find the answers to get an idea of the difficulty level of the passages in the actual reading test. This page contains – The Story of Silk IELTS reading answers and its passage for you to practice.
The question types found in this passage are:
- Sentence completion (Q. 1 – 9)
- True/False/Not Given (Q. 10 – 13)
Reading Passage
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on the Reading Passage below. |
The Story Of Silk
The Story Of Silk The history of the world’s most luxurious fabric, from ancient China to the present day Silk is a fine, smooth material produced from the cocoons – soft protective shells – that are made by mulberry silkworms (insect larvae). Legend has it that it was Lei Tzu, wife of the Yellow Emperor, ruler of China in about 3000 BC, who discovered silkworms. One account of the story goes that as she was taking a walk in her husband’s gardens, she discovered that silkworms were responsible for the destruction of several mulberry trees. She collected a number of cocoons and sat down to have a rest. It just so happened that while she was sipping some tea, one of the cocoons that she had collected landed in the hot tea and started to unravel into a fine thread. Lei Tzu found that she could wind this thread around her fingers. Subsequently, she persuaded her husband to allow her to rear silkworms on a grove of mulberry trees. She also devised a special reel to draw the fibres from the cocoon into a single thread so that they would be strong enough to be woven into fabric. While it is unknown just how much of this is true, it is certainly known that silk cultivation has existed in China for several millennia.
Originally, silkworm farming was solely restricted to women, and it was they who were responsible for the growing, harvesting and weaving. Silk quickly grew into a symbol of status, and originally, only royalty were entitled to have clothes made of silk. The rules were gradually relaxed over the years until finally during the Qing Dynasty (1644 — 1911 AD), even peasants, the lowest caste, were also entitled to wear silk. Sometime during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), silk was so prized that it was also used as a unit of currency. Government officials were paid their salary in silk, and farmers paid their taxes in grain and silk. Silk was also used as diplomatic gifts by the emperor. Fishing lines, bowstrings, musical instruments and paper were all made using silk. The earliest indication of silk paper being used was discovered in the tomb of a noble who is estimated to have died around 168 AD.
Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wool to the East. It was named the Silk Road after its most precious commodity, which was considered to be worth more than gold. The Silk Road stretched over 6,000 kilometres from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea, following the Great Wall of China, climbing the Pamir mountain range, crossing modern-day Afghanistan and going on to the Middle East, with a major trading market in Damascus. From there, the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea. Few merchants travelled the entire route; goods were handled mostly by a series of middlemen.
With the mulberry silkworm being native to China, the country was the world’s sole producer of silk for many hundreds of years. The secret of silk-making eventually reached the rest of the world via the Byzantine Empire, which ruled over the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East during the period 330 — 1453 AD. According to another legend, monks working for the Byzantine emperor Justinian smuggled silkworm eggs to Constantinople (Istanbul in modern-day Turkey) in 550 AD, concealed inside hollow bamboo walking canes. The Byzantines were as secretive as the Chinese, however, and for many centuries the weaving and trading of silk fabric was a strict imperial monopoly. Then in the seventh century, the Arabs conquered Persia, capturing their magnificent silks in the process.
Silk production thus spread through Africa, Sicily and Spain as the Arabs swept, through these lands. Andalusia in southern Spain was Europe’s main silk-producing centre in the tenth century. By the thirteenth century, however, Italy had become Europe’s leader in silk production and export. Venetian merchants traded extensively in silk and encouraged silk growers to settle in Italy. Even now, silk processed in the province of Como in northern Italy enjoys an esteemed reputation.
The nineteenth century and industrialisation saw the downfall of the European silk industry. The cheaper Japanese silk, trade in which was greatly facilitated by the opening of the Suez Canal, was one of the many factors driving the trend. Then in the twentieth century, new manmade fibres, such as nylon, started to be used in what had traditionally been silk products, such as stockings and parachutes. The two world wars, which interrupted the supply of raw materials from Japan, also stifled the European silk industry. After the Second World War, Japan’s silk production was restored, with improved production and quality of raw silk. Japan was to remain the world’s biggest producer of raw silk, and practically the only major exporter of raw silk, until the 1970s. However, in more recent decades, China has gradually recaptured its position as the world’s biggest producer and exporter of raw silk and silk yarn. Today, around 125,000 metric tons of silk are produced in the world, and almost two-thirds of that production takes place in China.
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Questions 1-9
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. |
Early Silk Production in China
- Around 3000 BC, according to legend:
– silkworm cocoon fell into the emperor’s wife’s 1 ………………..
– emperor’s wife invented a 2 ……………….. to pull out silk fibres
- Only 3 ……………….. were allowed to produce silk
- Only 4 ……………….. were allowed to wear silk
- Silk used as a form of 5 ………………..
– e.g. farmers’ taxes consisted partly of silk
- Silk is used for many purposes
– e.g. evidence found of 6 ……………….. made from silk around 168 AD
Silk Reaches the Rest of the World
- Merchants used the Silk Road to take silk westward and bring back 7 ……………….. and precious metals
- 550 AD: 8 ……………….. hide silkworm eggs in canes and take them to Constantinople
- Silk production spreads across the Middle East and Europe
- 20th century: 9 ……………….. and other manmade fibres cause a decline in silk
Questions 10-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
In boxes 10-13 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. |
- Gold was the most valuable material transported along the Silk Road.
- Most tradesmen only went along certain sections of the Silk Road.
- The Byzantines spread the practice of silk production across the West.
- Silk yarn makes up the majority of silk currently exported from China.
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The Story of Silk Reading Answers With Explanation
- Answer: Tea
Question Type: Sentence completion
Answer Explanation: Paragraph A mentions the legend that it was ‘Lei Tzu, wife of the Yellow Emperor’, ruler of China in about ‘3000 BC’, who discovered silkworms. One account of the story goes that as she was taking a walk in her husband’s gardens, she discovered that ‘silkworms’ were responsible for the destruction of several mulberry trees. She collected a number of cocoons and sat down to have a rest. It just so happened that while ‘she was sipping some tea’, ‘one of the cocoons landed in the hot tea’. Hence, the answer is ‘tea’.
- Answer: Reel
Question Type: Sentence completion
Answer Explanation: Paragraph A informs that Lei Tzu, wife of the Yellow Emperor persuaded her husband to allow her to rear silkworms on a grove of mulberry trees. ‘She’ also ‘devised a special reel’ to ‘draw the fibres from the cocoon’ into a single thread so that they would be strong enough to be woven into fabric. Hence, the answer is ‘reel’.
- Answer: Women
Question Type: Sentence completion
Answer Explanation: Paragraph B states that originally, ‘silkworm farming’ was ‘solely restricted to women’ (only women were allowed to produce silk), and it was they who were responsible for the growing, harvesting and weaving. Hence, the answer is ‘women’.
- Answer: Royalty
Question Type: Sentence completion
Answer Explanation: Paragraph B brings out the fact that ‘silk’ quickly grew into a ‘symbol of status’, and ‘originally, only royalty were entitled (had the power and privilege) to have clothes made of silk’. Hence, the answer is ‘royalty’.
- Answer: Currency
Question Type: Sentence Completion
Answer Explanation: In paragraph B, it is noted that sometime ‘during the Han Dynasty’ (206 BC-220 AD), ‘silk’ was so prized that it was also ‘used as a unit of currency’. Government officials were paid their salary in silk, and ‘farmers paid their taxes in grain and silk’. Hence, the answer is ‘currency’.
- Answer: Paper
Question Type: Sentence completion
Answer Explanation: Paragraph B stated that the earliest indication of ‘silk paper’ being used was ‘discovered’ in the tomb of a noble who is estimated to have died ‘around 168 AD’. Hence, the answer is ‘paper’.
- Answer: Wool
Question Type: Sentence completion
Answer Explanation: Paragraph C mentions that demand for ‘this exotic fabric’ (silk) eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, ‘taking silk westward’ and ‘bringing gold, silver (precious metals) and wool to the East’. Hence, the answer is ‘wool’.
- Answer: Monks
Question Type: Sentence completion
Answer Explanation: Paragraph D cites another legend that ‘monks’ working for the Byzantine emperor, Justinian, smuggle ‘silkworm eggs to Constantinople’ in ‘550 AD’, ‘concealed’ (hidden) ‘inside hollow bamboo walking canes’. Hence, the answer is ‘monks’.
- Answer: Nylon
Question Type: Sentence completion
Answer Explanation:
Paragraph E relates that industrialisation saw the ‘downfall’ (decline) of the European ‘silk industry’. In the ‘twentieth century’, new ‘manmade fibres, such as nylon’, started to be used in what had traditionally been silk products, such as stockings and parachutes. Hence, the answer is ‘nylon’.
- Answer: False
Question Type: True/False/Not given
Answer Explanation: Paragraph C brings out the fact that demand for silk eventually created the ‘lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road’, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wool to the East. It was ‘named the Silk Road’ ‘after its most precious commodity’ (silk), which was ‘considered to be worth more than gold’. As the statement contradicts the information, the answer is ‘FALSE’.
- Answer: True
Question Type: True/False/Not given
Answer Explanation: Paragraph C mentions that the ‘Silk Road stretched’ over 6,000 kilometres ‘from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea, following the Great Wall of China, climbing the Pamir mountain range, crossing modern-day Afghanistan and going on to the Middle East, with a major trading market in Damascus’. From there, the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea. ‘Few merchants travelled the entire route’. Most goods were handled mostly by a series of middlemen and most of the tradesmen went along certain sections of the Silk Route. As the statement agrees with the information, the answer is ‘TRUE’.
- Answer: False
Question Type: True/False/Not given
Answer Explanation: Paragraph D points out that the ‘Byzantines were as secretive as the Chinese’, however, and for many centuries ‘the weaving and trading of silk fabric was a strict imperial monopoly’. Then in the seventh century, the ‘Arabs’ conquered Persia, ‘capturing their magnificent silks in the process. Silk production thus spread through Africa, Sicily and Spain as the Arabs swept’, through these lands. As the statement contradicts the information, the answer is ‘FALSE’.
- Answer: Not Given
Question Type: True/False/Not given
Answer Explanation: In Paragraph E, it is given that in more recent decades, ‘China’ has gradually recaptured its position as the world’s ‘biggest producer and exporter of raw silk and silk yarn’. Today, ‘around 125,000 metric tons of silk are produced in the world’, and ‘almost two-thirds of that production takes place in China’. There is no mention of which product makes up the majority of silk exported from China. Hence, the answer is ‘NOT GIVEN’.
Tips for Answering the Question Types in the above Reading Passage
Let us check out some quick tips to answer the three types of questions in the ‘The Story Of Silk’ Reading Answers passage.
Sentence Completion:
Sentence Completion is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to fill in a gap in a sentence with a word or phrase from the passage.
To answer sentence completion questions, you can use the following strategies:
- Read the sentence carefully: This will give you an idea of the type of word or phrase that is missing.
- Scan the passage for the keywords: The keywords in the sentence can help you to identify the correct word or phrase.
- Read the sentence with the missing word or phrase: This will help you to see how the word or phrase fits into the sentence.
- Check your answer: Once you have filled in the gap, make sure that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence.
True/False/Not Given:
True/False/Not Given questions are a type of IELTS Reading question that requires you to identify whether a statement is true, false, or not given in the passage.
- True statements are statements that are explicitly stated in the passage.
- False statements are statements that are explicitly contradicted in the passage.
- Not Given statements are statements that are neither explicitly stated nor contradicted in the passage
To answer True/False/Not Given questions, you need to be able to understand the passage and identify the key information. You also need to be able to distinguish between statements that are explicitly stated, contradicted, and not given.
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