Joy English · Level B2 · Historyjoy-english.com
The invention of paper
Name:Date:
Follow a historical explanation in an academic lecture.
Listen to each sentence and write what you hear.
Audio and answer checking: https://joy-english.com/listening-lessons/the-invention-of-paper
Words to know
- clay
- Soft earth that becomes hard when it is heated.
- pulp
- A soft, wet mass of material.
- technique
- A way of doing something that needs skill.
Answer key
- Before paper, people wrote on stone, clay and animal skins.The stress in “animal” is on “an”.
- Paper as we know it was first made in China many centuries ago.“As we know it” means in its modern form.
- Plant material was soaked, beaten into a pulp and dried in thin sheets.The -ed of “soaked” is a t sound.
- The technique slowly spread along trade routes to the Middle East and Europe.“Routes” can rhyme with “boots” or “outs”.
- It was cheaper and lighter than the materials used before.“Cheaper” and “lighter” are both comparatives.