Practice Tests
IELTS Reading (AC) Task 1 #89

A. In our digital age, the significance of paper is often overlooked, yet this ubiquitous material was fundamental to the development of human civilisation. Before the advent of true paper, societies relied on a variety of writing surfaces, from clay tablets and animal hides to papyrus, from which the word ‘paper'' is derived. However, these precursors were either cumbersome, expensive, or lacked durability. The invention of paper as we know it—a thin material produced by pressing together moist fibres of cellulose pulp derived from rags, wood, or grasses—represented a pivotal technological leap, originating in ancient China.

B. Historical records credit the innovation of papermaking to Cai Lun, an official of the Han Dynasty court, in approximately 105 AD. While earlier, more primitive forms of paper may have existed, Cai Lun is celebrated for standardising and improving the production process. The meticulous method involved macerating materials such as mulberry bark, hemp, and old linen rags into a pulp, suspending this mixture in water, and then collecting a thin layer on a porous screen. Once drained and pressed to remove excess water, the resulting sheet was left to dry, creating a lightweight, flexible, and highly absorbent writing surface. For centuries, this sophisticated technique was a closely guarded secret within the Chinese empire.

C. The dissemination of papermaking technology to the rest of the world was a gradual process. A crucial turning point occurred in 751 AD at the Battle of Talas, where Arab forces captured skilled Chinese papermakers. This event facilitated the transfer of knowledge westward, and cities like Samarkand and Baghdad soon became major hubs of paper production. Islamic scholars refined the process, introducing the use of starch for a smoother surface and developing new techniques for mass production. The technology eventually reached Europe through Moorish Spain in the 12th century, but its adoption across the continent was slow, with parchment remaining the preferred medium for important documents for several more centuries.

D. The most significant transformation in the history of paper came with the Industrial Revolution. Until the 19th century, paper was primarily made from cotton and linen rags, a limited resource that kept production costs high. The development of a process to extract cellulose fibres from wood pulp in the 1840s, combined with the invention of the Fourdrinier machine for continuous automated production, completely revolutionised the industry. Paper became an inexpensive, mass-produced commodity, fuelling a surge in literacy, the proliferation of newspapers, and the expansion of bureaucracy. This democratisation of knowledge, however, also ushered in significant environmental implications related to deforestation, which continue to be addressed today.