The Impact of the Potato Reading Answers

Two different sorts of questions, such as recognizing true statements and sentence completion, are included in the IELTS topic Impact of the Potato Reading Practice test.

Table of contents:

• Solution for The Impact of the Potato
• The Impact of the Potato IELTS Reading Practice Test
• Passage
• Questions
• Answers with Explanations

Solution for The Impact of the Potato

The Impact of the Potato reading answers are given in the table below. You may cross-check your answers.

Answer Table

1. FALSE	5. TRUE	9. MEAT	13. INVESTMENT
2. FALSE	6. FLOWER	10. CROPS
3. NOT GIVEN	7. PREJUDICE	11. SOIL
4. TRUE	8. REVERSE	12. CULTIVATION

The Impact of the Potato IELTS Reading Practice Test - Exam Review

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The applicants must attempt all the questions in the The Impact of the Potato Reading Answers. Candidates must thoroughly read the IELTS Reading passage, comprehend its main points, and then choose the segment that best fits the headings. 

Passage

We have provided The Impact of the Potato practice test below, read it carefully and answer the questions 1-13.

The Impact of the Potato

A. The potato was first cultivated in South America between three and seven thousand years ago, though scientists believe they may have grown wild in the region as long as 13,000 years ago. The genetic patterns of potato distribution indicate that the potato probably originated in the mountainous west-central region of the continent.

B. Early Spanish chroniclers who misused the Indian word batata (sweet potato) as the name for the potato noted the importance of the tuber to the Incan Empire. The Incas had learned to preserve the potato for storage by dehydrating and mashing potatoes into a substance called Chuchu could be stored in a room for up to 10 years, providing excellent insurance against possible crop failures. As well as using the food as a staple crop, the Incas thought potatoes made childbirth easier and used it to treat injuries.

C. The Spanish conquistadors first encountered the potato when they arrived in Peru in 1532 in search of gold, and noted Inca miners eating chuchu. At the time the Spaniards failed to realize that the potato represented a far more important treasure than either silver or gold, but they did gradually begin to use potatoes as basic rations aboard their ships. After the arrival of the potato in Spain in 1570，a few Spanish farmers began to cultivate them on a small scale, mostly as food for livestock.

D. Throughout Europe, potatoes were regarded with suspicion, distaste and fear. Generally considered to be unfit for human consumption, they were used only as animal fodder and sustenance for the starving. In northern Europe, potatoes were primarily grown in botanical gardens as an exotic novelty. Even peasants refused to eat from a plant that produced ugly, misshapen tubers and that had come from a heathen civilization. Some felt that the potato plant’s resemblance to plants in the nightshade family hinted that it was the creation of witches or devils.

E. In meat-loving England, farmers and urban workers regarded potatoes with extreme distaste. In 1662, the Royal Society recommended the cultivation of the tuber to the English government and the nation, but this recommendation had little impact. Potatoes did not become a staple until, during the food shortages associated with the Revolutionary Wars, the English government began to officially encourage potato cultivation. In 1795, the Board of Agriculture issued a pamphlet entitled “Hints Respecting the Culture and Use of Potatoes”； this was followed shortly by pro-potato editorials and potato recipes in The Times. Gradually, the lower classes began to follow the lead of the upper classes.

F. A similar pattern emerged across the English Channel in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. While the potato slowly gained ground in eastern France (where it was often the only crop remaining after marauding soldiers plundered wheat fields and vineyards), it did not achieve widespread acceptance until the late 1700s. The peasants remained suspicious, in spite of a 1771 paper from the Facult de Paris testifying that the potato was not harmful but beneficial. The people began to overcome their distaste when the plant received the royal seal of approval: Louis XVI began to sport a potato flower in his buttonhole, and Marie-Antoinette wore the purple potato blossom in her hair.

G. Frederick the Great of Prussia saw the potato’s potential to help feed his nation and lower the price of bread, but faced the challenge of overcoming the people’s prejudice against the plant. When he issued a 1774 order for his subjects to grow potatoes as protection against famine, the town of Kolberg replied: “The things have neither smell nor taste, not even the dogs will eat them, so what use are they to us?” Trying a less direct approach to encourage his subjects to begin planting potatoes, Frederick used a bit of reverse psychology: he planted a royal field of potato plants and stationed a heavy guard to protect this field from thieves. Nearby peasants naturally assumed that anything worth guarding was worth stealing, and so snuck into the field and snatched the plants for their home gardens. Of course, this was entirely in line with Frederick’s wishes.

H. Historians debate whether the potato was primarily a cause or an effect of the huge population boom in industrial-era England and Wales. Prior to 1800，the English diet had consisted primarily of meat, supplemented by bread, butter and cheese. Few vegetables were consumed, most vegetables being regarded as nutritionally worthless and potentially harmful. This view began to change gradually in the late 1700s. The Industrial Revolution was drawing an ever increasing percentage of the populace into crowded cities, where only the richest could afford homes with ovens or coal storage rooms, and people were working 12-16 hour days which left them with little time or energy to prepare food. High yielding, easily prepared potato crops were the obvious solution to England’s food problems.

I. Whereas most of their neighbors regarded the potato with suspicion and had to be persuaded to use it by the upper classes, the Irish peasantry embraced the tuber more passionately than anyone since the Incas. The potato was well suited to the Irish the soil and climate, and its high yield suited the most important concern of most Irish farmers: to feed their families.

J. The most dramatic example of the potato’s potential to alter population patterns occurred in Ireland, where the potato had become a staple by 1800. The Irish population doubled to eight million between 1780 and 1841，this without any significant expansion of industry or reform of agricultural techniques beyond the widespread cultivation of the potato. Though Irish landholding practices were primitive in comparison with those of England, the potato’s high yields allowed even the poorest farmers to produce more healthy food than they needed with scarcely any investment or hard labor. Even children could easily plant, harvest and cook potatoes, which of course required no threshing, curing or grinding. The abundance provided by potatoes greatly decreased infant mortality and encouraged early marriage.

Questions

Questions 1-5

Do the following statements agree with the information in the IELTS reading sample text? Mark them as follows.

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information in the text. 
FALSE - if the statement does not agree with the information in the text.
NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this in the text.

1   The early Spanish called potato as the Incan name ‘Chuchu’.
2   The purposes of Spanish coming to Peru were to find out potatoes.
3   The Spanish believed that the potato has the same nutrients as other vegetables.
4   Peasants at the time did not like to eat potatoes because they were ugly.
5   The popularity of potatoes in the UK was due to food shortages during the war.

Questions 6–13

Complete the sentences below with NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from passage 1 for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 6-13 on your answer sheet.

6   In France, people started to overcome their disgusting about potatoes because the King put a potato …………………….. in his button hole.
7   Frederick realized the potential of potato but he had to handle the …………………… against potatoes from ordinary people.
8   The King of Prussia adopted some ………………………. Psychology to make people accept potatoes.
9   Before 1800, the English people preferred eating ………………………… with bread, butter and cheese.
10   The obvious way to deal with England food problems were high yielding potato……………………
11   The Irish …………………….. and climate suited potatoes well.
12   Between 1780 and 1841, based on the …………………….. of the potatoes, the Irish population doubled to eight million.
13   The potato’s high yields help the poorest farmers to produce more healthy food almost without…………………….

Answers for The Impact of the Potato with Explanations

The Impact of the Potato answers with explanations are given below. It will assist you in understanding the format of the reading test and will allow you to correct your errors.

1. Answer: FALSE
Explanation: According to the text, the Indian term for sweet potato, batata, was employed as the name for the potato by early Spanish chroniclers. Consequently, the claim is untrue.

2. Answer: FALSE
Explanation: The book claims that early Spanish chroniclers called potatoes by the Indian word for sweet potatoes, batata. As a result, the assertion is false.

3. Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: Not available

4. Answer: TRUE
Explanation: According to the text, peasants thought potatoes were unsightly, deformed tubers that originated from a pagan civilisation. Due of their appearance, peasants did not enjoy eating potatoes. The assertion is accurate.

5. Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Following the food shortages during the revolutionary wars, the English government promoted the production of potatoes. That is how, according to the text, it came to be a staple in the UK. The assertion is true as a result.

6. Answer: FLOWER
Explanation: According to the text, XVI reportedly wore buttonhole flowers made of potatoes. When the plant obtained the royal nod of approval, French citizens started to get over their dislike of it. Therefore, the flower is the right response.

7. Answer: PREJUDICE
Explanation: According to the text, Frederick the Great of Prussia understood that potatoes would aid in supplying his country with food. However, he had a problem in dispelling public hostility to it. Prejudice is therefore the appropriate response.

8. Answer: REVERSE
Explanation: According to the text, Frederick employed some reverse psychology to persuade his subjects to eat potatoes. Reverse is hence the right response.

9. Answer: MEAT
Explanation: According to the supporting phrase, before 1800, the English favored eating meat with bread, butter, and cheese. Meat is therefore the appropriate response.

10. Answer: CROPS
Explanation: According to the author, potato harvests were abundant and produced a good yield. This was the answer to England's food-related issues. Therefore, the right response is crops.

11. Answer: SOIL
Explanation: The Irish soil and climate were the two Irish characteristics that were ideal for potatoes. They were successful with potatoes. Soil is the proper response.

12. Answer: CULTIVATION
Explanation: According to the author, the population of Ireland quadrupled to eight million people in around 60 years. The vast cultivation of potatoes was the only reason for this. Therefore, cultivation is the appropriate response.

13. Answer: INVESTMENT
Explanation: According to the text, the poorest farmers benefited from potatoes' great output. Thanks to the high potato yields, they were able to make more nutritious meals essentially without investing any money. Investment is thus the right response.

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