Table of Contents
The Cacao: a Sweet History
Passage
A. Most people today think of chocolate as something sweet to eat or drink that can be easily found in stores around the world. It might surprise you that chocolate was once highly treasured. The tasty secret of the cacao (Kah Kow) tree was discovered 2,000 years ago in the tropical rainforests of the Americas. The story of how chocolate grew from a local Mesoamerican beverage into a global sweet encompasses many cultures and continents.
B. Historians believe the Maya people of Central America first learned to farm cacao plants around two thousand years ago. The Maya took cacao trees from the rainforests and grew them in their gardens. They cooked cacao seeds, the crushed them into a soft paste. They mixed the paste with water and flavorful spices to make an unsweetened chocolate drink. The Maya poured the chocolate drink back and forth between two containers so that the liquid would have a layer of bubbles or foam.
Cacao and chocolate were an important part of Maya culture. There are often images of cacao plants on Maya buildings and art objects. Ruling families drank chocolate at special ceremonies. And, even poorer members of society could enjoy the drink once in a while. Historians believe that cacao seeds were also used in marriage ceremonies as a sign of the union between a husband and a wife.
The Aztec culture in current-day Mexico also prized chocolate. But, cacao plants could not grow in the area where the Aztecs lived. So, they traded to get cacao. They even used cacao seeds as a form of money to pay taxes. Chocolate also played a special role in both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cacao seeds and offerings to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies. Only the very wealthy in Aztec societies could afford to drink chocolate because cacao was so valuable. The Aztec ruler Montezuma was believed to drink fifty cups of chocolate every day. Some experts believe the word for chocolate came from the Aztec word “xocolatl” which in the Nahuatl language means “bitter water.” Others believe the word “chocolate” was created by combining Mayan and Nahuatl words.
C. The explorer Christopher Columbus brought cacao seeds to Spain after his trip to Central America in 1502. But it was the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes who understood that chocolate could be a valuable investment. In 1519, Cortes arrived in current-day Mexico. He believed the chocolate drink would become popular with Spaniards. After the Spanish soldiers defeated the Aztec empire, they were able to seize the supplies of cacao and send them home. Spain later began planting cacao in its colonies in the Americans in order to satisfy the large demand for chocolate. The wealthy people of Spain first enjoyed a sweetened version of chocolate drink. Later, the popularity of the drink spread throughout Europe. The English, Dutch and French began to plant cacao trees in their own colonies. Chocolate remained a drink that only wealthy people could afford to drink until the eighteenth century. During the period known as the Industrial Revolution, new technologies helped make chocolate less costly to produce.
D. Farmers grow cacao trees in many countries in Africa, Central and South America. The trees grow in the shady areas of the rainforests near the Earth’s equator. But these trees can be difficult to grow. They require an exact amount of water, warmth, soil and protection. After about five years, cacao trees start producing large fruits called pods, which grow near the trunk of the tree. The seeds inside the pods are harvested to make chocolate. There are several kinds of cacao trees. Most of the world’s chocolate is made from the seed of the forastero tree. But farmers can also grow criollo or trinitario cacao plants. Cacao trees grown on farms are much more easily threatened by diseases and insects than wild trees. Growing cacao is very hard work for farmers. They sell their harvest on a futures market. This means that economic conditions beyond their control can affect the amount of money they will earn. Today, chocolate industry officials, activists, and scientists are working with farmers. They are trying to make sure that cacao can be grown in a way that is fair to the timers and safe for the environment.
E. To become chocolate, cacao seeds go through a long production process in a factory. Workers must sort, clean and cook the seeds. Then they break off the covering of the seeds so that only the inside fruit, or nibs, remain. Workers crush the nibs into a soft substance called chocolate liquor. This gets separated into cocoa solids and fat called cocoa butter. Chocolate makers have their own special recipes in which they combine chocolate liquor with exact amounts of sugar, milk and cocoa fat. They finely crush this “crumb” mixture in order to make it smooth. The mixture then goes through two more processes before it is shaped into a mold form.
Chocolate making is big business. The market value of the yearly cacao crop around the world is more than five billion dollars. Chocolate is especially popular in Europe and the United States. For example, in 2005, the United States bought 1.4 billion dollars worth of cocoa products. Each year, Americans eat an average of more than five kilograms of chocolate per person. Speciality shops that sell costly chocolates are also very popular. Many offer chocolate lovers the chance to taste chocolates grown in different areas of the world.
Questions
Questions 1-5
Reading passage 1 has 5 chapters. Which chapter contains the following information?
Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet
1. the part of cacao trees used to produce chocolate
2. average chocolate consumption by people in the US per person per year
3. risks faced by fanners in the cacao business
4. where the first sweetened chocolate drink appeared
5. how ancient American civilizations obtained cacao
Questions 6-10
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
6 use cacao and chocolate in ceremonies were restricted Maya royal families
7 The Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes invested in chocolate and chocolate drinks.
8 The forastero tree produces the best chocolate.
9 some parts in cacao seed are get rid of during the chocolate process
10 Chocolate is welcomed more in some countries or continents than other parts around the world.
Questions 11-14
The flow chart below shows the steps in chocolate making.
Complete the flow chart using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each blank
Write your answers in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.
Cacao seeds
↓ sorting, cleaning and cooking ridding seeds of their 11………………….. Nibs
↓ crushing 12…………………
↓ Add sugar, milk and 13……………….. Crumb mixture
↓ Crush finely then come into a shape in a 14………………. chocolate
Answers
Below are the answers, key words, synonyms and full explanations for the IELTS Reading passage The Cacao: A Sweet History (Passage 1, Questions 1–14).
Questions 1–5: Which chapter contains the following information? (A–E)
1. The part of cacao trees used to produce chocolate
Answer: D
Key words: The seeds inside the pods are harvested to make chocolate
Synonyms: the part used to produce chocolate = the seeds inside the pods = “After about five years, cacao trees start producing large fruits called pods … The seeds inside the pods are harvested to make chocolate”
Explanation: Chapter D explains that the seeds inside the pods are the part harvested to make chocolate → D.
2. Average chocolate consumption by people in the US per person per year
Answer: E
Key words: Americans eat an average of more than five kilograms of chocolate per person
Synonyms: average consumption per person per year = average of more than five kilograms per person each year = “Each year, Americans eat an average of more than five kilograms of chocolate per person”
Explanation: Chapter E gives the average yearly chocolate consumption per American → E.
3. Risks faced by farmers in the cacao business
Answer: D
Key words: economic conditions beyond their control can affect the amount of money they will earn
Synonyms: risks faced by farmers = uncontrollable economic conditions on the futures market = “They sell their harvest on a futures market. This means that economic conditions beyond their control can affect the amount of money they will earn”
Explanation: Chapter D describes the market and disease risks that cacao farmers face → D.
4. Where the first sweetened chocolate drink appeared
Answer: C
Key words: The wealthy people of Spain first enjoyed a sweetened version of chocolate drink
Synonyms: where the first sweetened chocolate drink appeared = the wealthy of Spain first enjoyed a sweetened chocolate drink = “The wealthy people of Spain first enjoyed a sweetened version of chocolate drink”
Explanation: Chapter C states the sweetened chocolate drink first appeared among the wealthy in Spain → C.
5. How ancient American civilizations obtained cacao
Answer: B
Key words: cacao plants could not grow in the area where the Aztecs lived. So, they traded to get cacao
Synonyms: how they obtained cacao = they traded to get it (Maya grew it, Aztecs traded) = “But, cacao plants could not grow in the area where the Aztecs lived. So, they traded to get cacao”
Explanation: Chapter B explains how the Maya grew and the Aztecs traded to obtain cacao → B.
Questions 6–10: True / False / Not Given
6. The use of cacao and chocolate in ceremonies was restricted to Maya royal families.
Answer: FALSE
Key words: even poorer members of society could enjoy the drink once in a while
Synonyms: not restricted to royals = poorer members could also enjoy it = “Ruling families drank chocolate at special ceremonies. And, even poorer members of society could enjoy the drink once in a while”
Explanation: Chapter B says even poorer people could sometimes drink chocolate, so it was not restricted to royalty → FALSE.
7. The Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes invested in chocolate and chocolate drinks.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: Hernando Cortes who understood that chocolate could be a valuable investment
Synonyms: The passage says he understood chocolate could be a valuable investment, but never states that he actually invested = “it was the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes who understood that chocolate could be a valuable investment”
Explanation: Chapter C says Cortes recognised chocolate’s investment potential, but it does not say he actually invested in it → NOT GIVEN.
8. The forastero tree produces the best chocolate.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: Most of the world’s chocolate is made from the seed of the forastero tree
Synonyms: “most” is about quantity, not quality; the passage never says forastero is the “best” = “Most of the world’s chocolate is made from the seed of the forastero tree. But farmers can also grow criollo or trinitario cacao plants”
Explanation: Chapter D says most chocolate comes from forastero, but makes no claim about which tree produces the best chocolate → NOT GIVEN.
9. Some parts of the cacao seed are removed during the chocolate process.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: they break off the covering of the seeds so that only the inside fruit, or nibs, remain
Synonyms: some parts are removed = the covering is broken off = “Then they break off the covering of the seeds so that only the inside fruit, or nibs, remain”
Explanation: Chapter E: the outer covering of the seeds is removed, leaving only the nibs → TRUE.
10. Chocolate is more popular in some countries or continents than in other parts of the world.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: Chocolate is especially popular in Europe and the United States
Synonyms: more welcomed in some places than others = especially popular in Europe and the US = “Chocolate is especially popular in Europe and the United States”
Explanation: Chapter E notes chocolate is especially popular in Europe and the US, i.e. more popular in some regions → TRUE.
Questions 11–14: Flow-chart Completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)
11. Ridding seeds of their ______ → Nibs
Answer: covering
Key words: they break off the covering of the seeds so that only the inside fruit, or nibs, remain
Synonyms: ridding seeds of their covering = break off the covering of the seeds = “Then they break off the covering of the seeds so that only the inside fruit, or nibs, remain”
Explanation: Chapter E: removing the covering leaves the nibs → covering.
12. Crushing → ______
Answer: chocolate liquor
Key words: Workers crush the nibs into a soft substance called chocolate liquor
Synonyms: crushing the nibs produces = a soft substance called chocolate liquor = “Workers crush the nibs into a soft substance called chocolate liquor”
Explanation: Chapter E: crushing the nibs makes chocolate liquor → chocolate liquor.
13. Add sugar, milk and ______ → Crumb mixture
Answer: cocoa fat
Key words: combine chocolate liquor with exact amounts of sugar, milk and cocoa fat
Synonyms: add sugar, milk and … = combine with sugar, milk and cocoa fat = “they combine chocolate liquor with exact amounts of sugar, milk and cocoa fat”
Explanation: Chapter E: the recipe adds sugar, milk and cocoa fat → cocoa fat.
14. Crush finely, then shape it in a ______ → chocolate
Answer: mold (form)
Key words: before it is shaped into a mold form
Synonyms: come into a shape in a … = shaped into a mold form = “The mixture then goes through two more processes before it is shaped into a mold form”
Explanation: Chapter E: the smooth mixture is finally shaped into a mold form → mold (form).
Answer Key (Quick Reference)
| Q | Answer | Q | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D | 8 | NOT GIVEN |
| 2 | E | 9 | TRUE |
| 3 | D | 10 | TRUE |
| 4 | C | 11 | covering |
| 5 | B | 12 | chocolate liquor |
| 6 | FALSE | 13 | cocoa fat |
| 7 | NOT GIVEN | 14 | mold (form) |
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