IELTS FOR
ACADEMIC PURPOSES
TEST 2 (READING)
READING
READING PASSAGE 1
You
should spend about 20 minutes on questions 1-13, which are based on Reading
Passage 1 below.
The
Rise and Fall of the British Textile Industry
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Textile production in Britain can be
said to have its roots as an industry at the beginning of the 18th
century, when Thomas Crotchet and George Sorocold established what is thought
to be the first factory built in Britain. It was a textile mill with a
waterwheel as its source of power, the latest machinery, and even accommodation
for the workers. As well as possibly being the first sweatshop in the modern
sense, it was the beginning of the end for traditional textile production.
For hundreds of years the spinning and
weaving of cloth had been done manually by men, women and children in their own
homes. The yam would be combed and spun using a spindle, then woven on a
hand-loom, and what they produced would be mainly for local consumption. Technology
far more sophisticated than the spindle and hand-loom would change all that.
The demand for cotton textiles had been
growing since the Middle Ages, fostered by the importation of high quality
cotton fabrics from the Middle East and India. So how were local producers to
fight off the competition? The imported fabrics were of course expensive, so
textile makers (not just in Britain but throughout Europe) produced mixed fabrics
and cotton substitutes. They also had foreign textiles banned. But the key to
the increased productivity needed to meet the demand, was machine production.
It would be faster, cheaper and the finished products would be consistent in
quality. Not least of the advantages was that it would allow manufacturers to
market their goods on a large, if not yet global, scale.
The story of the growth of the British
textile industry from about 1733 and for the next two hundred years is one of
constant technological innovation and expansion. In 1733 John Kay invented
the fly-shuttle, which made the hand-loom more efficient, and in 1764 James
Hargreaves came up with the spinning Jenny, which among other things had the
effect of raising productivity eightfold. The next great innovator was Richard
Arkwright, who in 1768 employed John Kay (of the fly-shuttle) to help him
build more efficient machinery. He was a man with a vision – to mechanise
textile production – and by 1782 he has a network of mills across Britain. As
the water-powered machinery, though not yet fully mechanised, became more
complex, Kay began to use steam engines for power. The first power-loom,
however, which was invented in 1785 by Dr Edmund Cartwright, really did
mechanise the weaving stage of textile manufacture.
The pace of growth quickened with the
expansion of Britain’s influence in the world and the acquisition of colonies
from which cheap raw materials could be imported. For example, in a single
decade, from 1781 to 1791, imports of cotton into Britain quadrupled, going
on to reach 100 million pounds in weight in 1815 and 263 million in 1830. The
increase in exports is equally impressive; in 1751 £46,000 worth of cloth was
exported and by the end of the century this had risen to £5.4 million. By the
end of the 19th century the figure had soared to close on £50
million. Britain was now supplying cheaper and better quality clothing to a
global market. Yet during the course of the 20th century Britain lost
its position as a major textile manufacturer.
So what happened? There are a number of
views on this question, not all of them conflicting, and where there is
disagreement it is usually about when the decline began. Whether it began
before the First World War (1914-18), or during the inter-war years
91919-1939), or after 1945, most economists would give roughly the same
reasons. To start with, there was competition from abroad, especially from
developing countries in the Far East, notably Japan. It was thought by
manufacturers that the best way to combat this increased competition was to
modernise. However, management and the labour unions were unable to agree on
how to handle this situation.
Modernisation would mean people losing
their jobs and possibly a change in labour practices. Such changes as were
made served only to slow down the industry’s decline rather than help regain
its predominant position. Economically less developed countries, on the other
hand, had the advantage of being able to provide low wage competition,
without the problem of powerful labour unions.
There are, of course, many other
reasons for the textile industry’s decline, two of which became particularly
noticeable in the late twentieth century and are related. The first is
outsourcing, when manufacturers establish factories in countries where there
is cheap labour. This obviously leads to less demand for locally-produced
goods. Related to this, the textile and clothing industries have acquired a
bad reputation for exploiting workers, often illegal immigrants, in
sweatshops where they are forced to work long hours and are paid far less
than the minimum wage.
We seem to be
back with Crotchet and Sorocold and their first live-in-factory. The globalising
trend of out-sourcing, however, was a rational response to the growing
competition from overseas, which, it goes without saying, does not excuse the
exploitation of workers. The British industry itself, while no longer holding
a key place in the global textile market, has adapted itself and now
concentrates more on the world of fashion and design where it seems to be
doing quite well.
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Questions 1-6
Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
TEXTILE
MANUFACTURE
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Early history
Begins as a cottage industry
Products hand-woven and made for 1 ______________
Local producers face 2 ______________ from overseas
Ways found to deal with situation
Imported fabrics 3 ______________, mixed cottons
produced
Early technology
Machine production needed to 4 ______________
for cotton fabrics
Improved technology (such as the
fly-shuttle) more 5 ______________ and productive
Machinery begins to be powered by 6 ______________
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Questions 7-9
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
7
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Which of the following innovations increased
productivity by 800%?
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a
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the power-loom
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b
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the steam engine
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c
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the spinning jenny
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d
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the fly-shuttle
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8
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During which period was the British
textile industry at its peak?
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a
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1733-1785
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b
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1781-1791
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c
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1791-1830
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d
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1830-1900
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9
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Which of the following was a major
cause of the British textile industry’s decline?
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a
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the expansion of foreign textile
industries
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b
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the loss of overseas markets
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c
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there being no demand for products
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d
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labour becoming too expensive
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Questions 10-13
Do the following statements agree with
the information given in Reading Passage 1?
TRUE
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if the statement agrees with the
information
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FALSE
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if the statement contradicts the
information
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NOT GIVEN
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if there is no information on this
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10
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Foreign textiles were banned because of
their inferior quality.
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______________
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11
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Richard Arkwright built the first
fully-mechanised textile mill.
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______________
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12
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In less developed countries, the
industry could rely on cheap labour.
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______________
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13
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Out-sourcing was one method used to
compete with foreign manufacturers.
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______________
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ANSWER
KEY
1
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local
consumption
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2
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competition
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3
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banned
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4
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meet (the)
demand
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5
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efficient
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6
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steam (engines)
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7
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C
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8
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D
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9
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A
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10
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FALSE
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11
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NOT
GIVEN
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12
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TRUE
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13
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TRUE
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