Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 466
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 466 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST
READING PASSAGE – 2
THE PROCESS OF PAPERMAKING
Paper-making is the process of making paper, a substance which is used universally today for writing and packaging. In paper-making a dilute suspension of fibers in water is drained through a screen, so that a mat of randomly interwoven fibers is laid down. Water is removed from this mat of fibers by pressing and drying to make paper.
Since the invention of the Fourdrinier machine in the 19th century, most paper has been made from wood pulp because of cost. But other fiber sources such as cotton and textiles are used for high-quality papers. One common measure of a paper’s quality is its non-wood-pulp content, e.g., 25% cotton, 50% rag, etc. Previously, paper was made up of rags and hemp as well as other materials.
Paper-making, regardless of the scale on which it is done, involves making a dilute suspension of fibers in water and allowing this suspension to drain through a screen, so that a mat of randomly interwoven fibers is laid down. Water is then removed from this mat of fibers using a press. The method of manual paper-making changed very little over time, despite advances in technologies. The process of manufacturing handmade paper can be generalized into five steps:
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1. Separating the useful fiber from the rest of raw materials. (e. g. cellulose from wood, cotton, etc.)
2. Beating down the fiber into pulp
3. Adjusting the color, mechanical, chemical, biological, and other properties of the paper by adding special chemical premixes
4. Screening the resulting solution
5. Pressing and drying to get the actual paper
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Screening the fiber involves using a mesh made from non-corroding and inert material, such as aluminum, which is stretched in a wooden frame similar to that of a window. The size of the paper is governed by the size of the frame. This tool is then completely submerged in the solution vertically and drawn out horizontally to ensure a uniform coating of the wire mesh. Excess water is then removed and the wet mat of fiber lay on top of a damp cloth.
The process is repeated for the required number of sheets. This stack of wet mats is then pressed in a hydraulic press very gently to ensure the fiber does not squeeze out. The fairly damp fiber is then dried using a variety of methods, such as vacuum drying or simply air drying. Sometimes, the individual sheet is rolled to flatten, harden, and refine the surface. Finally, the paper is then cut to the desired shape or the standard shape (A4, letter, legal, etc.) and packed.
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The wooden frame is called a “deckle”. The deckle leaves the edges of the paper slightly irregular and wavy, called “deckle edges”, one of the indications that the paper was made by hand. Deckle-edged paper is occasionally mechanically imitated today to create the impression of old-fashioned luxury.
The impressions in paper caused by the wires in the screen that run sideways are called “laid lines” and the impressions made, usually from top to bottom, by the wires holding the sideways wires together are called “chain lines”. Watermarks are created by weaving a design into the wires in the mold. This is essentially true of Oriental molds made of other substances, such as bamboo. Handmade paper generally folds and tears more evenly along the laid lines.
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Handmade paper is also prepared in laboratories to study papermaking and in paper mills to check the quality of the production process. The “hand sheets” made according to TAPPI Standard T205 are circular sheets 15.9 cm (6.25 in) in diameter and are tested for paper characteristics such as brightness, strength and degree of sizing.
A modern paper mill is divided into several sections, roughly corresponding to the processes involved in making handmade paper. Pulp is refined and mixed in water with other additives to make pulp slurry. The head-box of the paper machine (Fourdrinier machine) distributes the slurry onto a moving continuous screen, water drains from the slurry (by gravity or under vacuum), the wet paper sheet goes through presses and dries, and finally rolls into large rolls. The outcome often weighs several tons.
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Another type of paper machine makes use of a cylinder mold that rotates while partially immersed in a vat of dilute pulp. The pulp is picked up by the wire and covers the mold as it rises out of the vat. A couch roller is pressed against the mold to smooth out the pulp, and picks the wet sheet off of the mold.
Questions 15-18
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
MANUAL PAPER MAKING
Dilute suspension is created in water of (15)……………..
Suspension is permitted to (16)…………….. through a screen
Rug of (17)…………….. strand is put down
A (18)…………….. is used to take away water from the rug of strand
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Questions 19-24
Complete the summary using the list of words and phrases A-J below. Write the correct letter, A-J, in boxes 19-24 on your answer sheet.
NB: You may use any letter more than once.
A ‘Deckle’ is a stilted 19…………………. which leaves the 20…………………. of the paper a little asymmetrical and undulating. These ends called ‘deckle edges’ are one of the ciphers of handmade paper. To 21……………….. an old created luxury, the deckle edged paper is sporadically mechanically emulated. ‘Laid Lines’ are the 22…………………. in the paper caused by wires in the screen that sprint sideways. The impersonations made from top to bottom be the wires 23…………………. the sideways wires collectively are called ‘Chain Lines’. Watermarks are produced by 24…………………. a drawing into the wires in the mold.
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A. impersonation
B. crease and shred
C. pushed
D. casing
E. intertwining
F. entwine
G. ends
H. adhering
I. make
J. swivels
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Questions 25-27
Choose the correct letter A, B, C OR D
25. The writer says that handmade paper is also primed in laboratories and in paper mills to
A. learn paper making and to check the excellence of the manufacture process.
B. Eminence production and mass production is easy.
C. Check the quality of the production process and study paper making.
D. Make it added fine and for volume production
26. Pulp slurry is prepared by
A. Amalgamating water with dilute pulp
B. Assimilating water with additives
C. Water and chemicals
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D. Additives and other chemicals
27. The purpose of writing the passage is to
A. Show how quality paper is produced
B. Kinds of paper making
C. Well-liked places of papermaking
D. Give information about paper making process
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IELTS Academic Reading Test
ANSWERS
15. FIBRE
16. DRAIN
17. INTERWOVEN
18. PRESS
19. D
20. G
21. I
22. A
23. H
24. E
25. A
26. B
27. D