Tea and the Industrial Revolution – IELTS Reading Answers

Reading Passage

Tea and the Industrial Revolution

Questions 1-7 

(i) The search for the reasons for an increase in population 

(ii) Industrialisation and the fear of unemployment 

(iii) The development of cities in Japan 4 The time and place of the Industrial Revolution 

(iv) The time and place of the Industrial Revolution 

(v) The cases of Holland, France, and China 

(vi) Changes in drinking habits in Britain 

(vii) Two keys to Britain’s industrial revolution 

(viii) Conditions required for industrialization 

(ix) Comparisons with Japan lead to the answer 

1 Paragraph A 

2 Paragraph B 

3 Paragraph C 

4 Paragraph D 

5 Paragraph E 

6 Paragraph F 

7 Paragraph G 

Questions 8-13 

8 China’s transport system was not suitable for the industry in the 18th century. 

9 Tea and beer both helped to prevent dysentery in Britain. 

10 Roy Porter disagrees with Professor Macfarlane’s findings. 

11 After 1740, there was a reduction in population in Britain. 

12 People in Britain used to make beer at home. 

13 The tax on malt indirectly caused a rise in the death rate. 

Answer key

1 Answer: Ⅳ

Question type: Matching the headings

Answer location: Paragraph A, lines 2-4

Answer explanation: “Why did this particular Big Bang – the world-changing birth of industry-happen in Britain? And why did it strike at the end of the 18th century?” This paragraph thus clearly talks about the time and place of the industrial revolution. 

2 Answer: Ⅷ

Question type:  Matching the headings

Answer location: Paragraph B, lines 1-6

Answer explanation: “‘There are about 20 different factors and all of them need to be present before the revolution can happen,’ he says. For the industry to take off, there needs to be the technology and power to drive factories, large urban populations to provide cheap labor, easy transport to move goods around, an affluent middle­ class willing to buy mass-produced objects, a market-driven economy, and a political system that allows this to happen.” This talks about the dynamics and factors that caused the industrial revolution in Britain. 

3 Answer: Ⅶ

Question type:  Matching the headings

Answer location: Paragraph C, lines 1-5

Answer explanation: “The missing factors, he proposes, are to be found in almost every kitchen cupboard. Tea and beer, two of the nation’s favorite drinks, fuelled the revolution. The antiseptic properties of tannin, the active ingredient in tea, and of hops in beer – plus the fact that both are made with boiled water – allowed urban communities to flourish at close quarters without succumbing to water-borne diseases such as dysentery.” This suggests that the industrial revolution in Britain was primarily led by tea and beer. 

4 Answer: Ⅰ

Question type:  Matching the headings

Answer location:  Paragraph D, lines 1-4

Answer explanation: “Macfarlane had wondered for a long time how the Industrial Revolution came about. Historians had alighted on one interesting factor around the mid-18th century that required explanation. Between about 1650 and 1740, the population in Britain was static. But then there was a burst in population growth.” This talks about the driving force that caused the increase in population in Britain post-1740. 

5 Answer: Ⅵ

Question type:  Matching the headings

Answer location:  Paragraph E, lines 7-10

Answer explanation: “For a long time, the English were protected by the strong antibacterial agent in hops, which were added to help preserve the beer. But in the late 17th century a tax was introduced on malt, the basic ingredient of beer. The poor turned to water and gin and in the 1720s the mortality rate began to rise again.” This talks about the taxes that were levied upon the malt and hence the Britishers had no other option but to change their drinking habits. This led to the decline in their population due to higher Infant Mortality rates. 

6 Answer: Ⅸ

Question type:  Matching the headings

Answer location:  Paragraph F, lines 1-4

Answer explanation: “Macfarlane looked to Japan, which was also developing large cities about the same time, and also had no sanitation. Water-borne diseases had a much looser grip on the Japanese population than those in Britain. Could it be the prevalence of tea in their culture? Macfarlane then noted that the history of tea in Britain provided an extraordinary coincidence of dates.” In this paragraph, a clear comparison has been drawn between Japan and Britain. 

7 Answer: Ⅱ

Question type:  Matching the headings

Answer location:  Paragraph G, lines 2-5

Answer explanation: “Macfarlane notes that even though 17th-century Japan had large cities, high literacy rates, even a futures market, it had turned its back on the essence of any work-based revolution by giving up labor-saving devices such as animals, afraid that they would put people out of work.” This talks about the reason why Japan couldn’t witness the industrial revolution in the 18th century and that was the fear of unemployment. 

8 Answer: Not given 

Question type: True/False/Not given

Answer location: N/A

Answer explanation: There is no such reference where the transportation attributes of China have been made. 

9 Answer: True

Question type: True/False/Not given

Answer location: Paragraph C, lines 2-5

Answer explanation: “The antiseptic properties of tannin, the active ingredient in tea, and of hops in beer – plus the fact that both are made with boiled water – allowed urban communities to flourish at close quarters without succumbing to water-borne diseases such as dysentery.” This suggests that the hop in the beer used as a preservative and the tannin in the tea helps fight bacteria and hence, have antiseptic properties. This helped in the prevention of dysentery in Britain. 

10 Answer: False

Question type: True/False/Not given

Answer location: Paragraph C, lines 7-8

Answer explanation: “Macfarlanes case has been strengthened by support from notable quarters – Roy Porter, the distinguished medical historian, recently wrote a favorable appraisal of his research.” This suggests that Porter rather strengthened the studies made by Macfarlanes by praising his work. Therefore the statement that Porter refuted the studies made by Macfarlanes is false. 

11 Answer: False

Question type: True/False/Not given

Answer location: Paragraph D, lines 3-5

Answer explanation: “Between about 1650 and 1740, the population in Britain was static. But then there was a burst in population growth. Macfarlane says: ‘The infant mortality rate halved in the space of 20 years, and this happened in both rural areas and cities and across all classes.” Thus, after 1740, the population rose and didn’t decline. Hence, the answer is False. 

12 Answer: Not given 

Question type: True/False/Not given

Answer location: N/A

Answer explanation: There is no such reference where the manufacturing of beer at home by the Britishers is made. 

13 Answer: True 

Question type: True/False/Not given

Answer location: Paragraph E, lines 7-10

Answer explanation: “For a long time, the English were protected by the strong antibacterial agent in hops, which were added to help preserve the beer. But in the late 17th century a tax was introduced on malt, the basic ingredient of beer. The poor turned to water and gin and in the 1720s the mortality rate began to rise again.” This clearly states that the taxes on Malt were increased and which caused a change in the drinking habit of the Britishers. Since the hop was antiseptic and helped prevent dysentery, the British population declined to owe to diseases after the high tax was levied on malt as the rural population no longer consumed beer. 

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