[Actual Test] - The Invention of the Ballpoint Pen IELTS Listening Answer Key & Explanations

[Actual Test] - The Invention of the Ballpoint Pen

0:00

Dr. Cork: Hello everyone. So in today's seminar we're going to be listening to a short presentation. That's you, Roger and your partner Josie.

Roger: That's right doctor Cork.

Dr. Cork: So what are you going to talk about?

Josie: We had some problems choosing a topic, actually.

Dr. Cork: 1I thought you both wanted to examine the effects of the invention of the aerosol spray.

Roger: 1Well, that was our first idea, but the problem was that we found there was a group in the other class who wanted to do that too.

Josie: 1Also, today's application of the invention seemed too much linked to its influence on the painting industry, and we looked at that a few weeks ago.

Dr. Cork: I see. Yes. I think you were wise to steer clear of that. What other ideas did you have?

Josie: We were stuck for a good topic for some time. In the end, Roger had some reasonable ideas.

Roger: Thanks, Josie. 2So one idea was that we could look into how the Industrial Revolution was affected by the invention of the spinning machine. This invention revolutionized the garment manufacturing industry and led to the loss of many jobs in factories.

Dr. Cork: That seems like a good project.

Yes. We thought so too, but it was hard finding the right sources.

Roger:I thought there would be plenty on that.

Josie: So did we, but the library had very little. 3We then had a look at a couple of other inventions, for example, Volta's invention of the chemical battery. Although this happened a long time ago, and we wanted to link it to the development of the mobile phone and how its development depended largely on getting a battery small enough to make them portable.

Dr. Cork: That might be too big a time between the invention and its effect.

Roger: But we came to that conclusion too, though it's a shame as it was such an interesting topic.

Dr. Cork: What came next?

Roger: 4We looked at how the sextant was invented, which was interesting, as it was invented in The US and The UK simultaneously. By measuring angular distances between objects, people were able to work out their geographical position relative to celestial objects. This allowed ships at sea to be able to work out their positions reasonably accurately, and no doubt save thousands of lives.

Dr. Cork: Was there a problem with that topic?

Josie: We thought so. The effect of the invention was so long ago that we thought it was no longer very relevant.

Dr. Cork: I see what you mean. You probably have been alright, though.

Roger: We decided not to take a chance.

Dr. Cork: Well, it's often good to play safe.

Roger: 5I then wanted to look at the invention of modern light polarizers, which were created by the American physicist Edward Land.

Dr. Cork: What do they do?

Josie: 5They eliminate glare and were used in the first instant cameras.

Dr. Cork: And what was wrong with that?

Josie: That was my fault, I'm afraid. I just found the topic really boring.

Roger: I didn't want to force her, so we we finally just chose a different subject.

Dr. Cork: So what did you finally decide on to talk about today?

Josie: We chose the invention of the ballpoint pen.

Dr. Cork: Off you go then.

Roger: I am starting. So like many inventions, the ballpoint pen came from a need, and this need for a different type of pen came about because of ink. Traditional fountain pens used an ink that dried too slowly. Quick drying ink was available as it was used in the printing business. This ink was soft and acidic as was needed, 6but it was not suitable for pens as it was too thick to pass through the nib of the traditional pen.

Dr. Cork: 7Am I right in saying that the ballpoint pen was invented by a Hungarian?

Josie: 7That's right. In the early nineteen thirties, Laszlo Biro, a Hungarian journalist, thought about how printing ink could be used in a pen. Biro's idea was to fit a tiny metal ball bearing at the end of the pen. This was not a new idea. In 1888, the American John Loud patented a roller ball tip marking pen. Loud invented his pen, which had a reservoir of ink and a roller ball, in order to apply thick ink to leather hides. Loud's pen was never produced, and neither were 350 other patented designs for ballpoint pens over the next thirty years. The problem was the ink. If it was too thin, the pen leaked. If it was too thick, the pen clogged, and sometimes it did both.

Dr. Cork: So Byro's was the first ballpoint pen commercially successful?

Roger: That's right, but not in Hungary. 8Byro had to leave Hungary just before the start of World War two, and he created a new home for himself in Argentina. There Byro set up a business producing his new pens, which were later also manufactured under license in The UK and The US.

Josie: Byro's original design is still the one that's used by most manufacturers of pens. In fact, the BIRO company has problems with people using the word BIRO. Because the BIRO pen has been so successful, people often use it as a generic term rather than as a trade name.

Dr. Cork: So how did Byro's ballpoint pen work?

Roger: At the bottom or point of the pen is a small ball bearing from which the name ballpoint comes. Above the ball bearing is a channel for the ink to flow down known as the ink tube. 9In the middle of the ink tube is a central spring.

Dr. Cork: It already sounds complicated. Is this the process that is used in the cheap ballpoint pen nowadays?

Roger: It does sound complicated, but it isn't really. And, yes, all modern ballpoint pens use this process.

Dr. Cork: Really? Anyway, please carry on.

Roger: The idea is that the pen is pressed down onto the paper when writing. 10This action forces the spring to rise so that its top section lifts and allows a gap to open between the ink tube and the ink tank, which is found above the spring in the body of the pen. The ink can then flow down to the ball bearing, coating it as the ball bearing revolves during the writing process. In this way, quick drying ink was able to be used in what was called the ballpoint pen.

Dr. Cork: That's very interesting. Now let's hear your section on the effects of this invention.

Questions 1-5

Match the invention (questions 1 - 5) with the business, industry or process it affected (A - G).

Choose FIVE answers from the list below and write the correct letter (A - G) next to questions 1 - 5.

A. The mobile phone business

B. The paint business

C. The sunglasses business

D. The ship building industry

E. The photography business

F. The clothing industry

G. Navigation

1

The Aerosol Spray

Correct answer: B

2

The Spinning Machine

Correct answer: F

3

The Battery

Correct answer: A

4

The Sextant

Correct answer: G

5

Light Polarisers

Correct answer: E

Questions 6-8

Choose the correct letter A, B, or C.

6What was the problem with using quick dry ink in fountain pens?

A. The ink did not flow in the pen properly

B. The ink was too soft

C. The ink was too acidic

7Who first produced a pen with a metal ball bearing at the end of a pen?

A. Lazlo Biro

B. John Loud

C. An unknown earlier inventor

8In which country did Biro first manufacture his ball point pens?

A. The UK

B. Argentina

C. The US

Questions 9-10

Complete the diagram below on Biro's ballpoint pen.

Youpass Ielts Listening Biros Ballpoint Pen

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the listening for each answer.

9 (spring)
10 (ink)

Answers For [Actual Test] - The Invention of the Ballpoint Pen

Answers and detail explain for [Actual Test] - The Invention of the Ballpoint Pen

Answer Table

Explain