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EXAM SKILL U3

The document discusses the history and evolution of the ballpoint pen, highlighting key figures like John Loud, Ladislas Biro, and Milton Reynolds. It details the challenges faced in the pen's development and its eventual commercial success in the USA. Additionally, it includes sections for exam practice in reading, speaking, and listening related to the topic.

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11 views2 pages

EXAM SKILL U3

The document discusses the history and evolution of the ballpoint pen, highlighting key figures like John Loud, Ladislas Biro, and Milton Reynolds. It details the challenges faced in the pen's development and its eventual commercial success in the USA. Additionally, it includes sections for exam practice in reading, speaking, and listening related to the topic.

Uploaded by

rolly.pht1602
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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READING

Exercise 4: EXAM PRACTICE. Read the passage carefully and choose the correct option.

The ballpoint pen

Most of us have at least one, but how did this popular item evolve?

One morning in 1945, a crowd of 5,000 people jammed the entrance of Gimbels Department Store
in New York. The day before, Gimbels had placed a full-page advertisement in the New York
Times for a wonderful new invention, the ballpoint pen. The advertisement described the pen as
“fantastic” and “miraculous”. Although they were expensive, $12.50 each, all 10,000 pens in stock
were sold on the first day.

In fact, this “new” pen was not new at all. In 1888, John Loud, a leather manufacturer, had
invented a pen with a reservoir of ink and a rolling ball. However, his pen was never produced,
and efforts by other people to produce a commercially successful one failed too. The main
problem was with the ink. If it was too thin, the ink leaked out of the pen. If it was too thick, it
didn’t come out of the pen at all.

Almost fifty years later, in 1935, a newspaper editor in Hungary thought he spent too much time
filling his pens with ink. He decided to invent a better kind of pen. With the help of his brother,
who was a chemist, he produced a ballpoint pen that didn’t leak when the pen wasn’t being used.
The editor was called Ladislad Biro, and it was his name that people would associate more than
any other with the ballpoint pen.

By chance, Biro met Augustine Justo, the Argentinian president. Justo was so impressed with
Biro’s invention that he invited him to set up a factory in Argentina. In 1943, the first Biro pens
were produced.

Unfortunately, they were not popular, since the pen needed to be held in a vertical position for the
ink to come out. Biro redesigned the pen with a better ball, and in 1944 the new product was on
sale throughout Argentina.

It was a North American, Milton Reynolds, who introduced the ballpoint pen to the USA. Copying
Biro’s design, he produced the version that sold so well at Gimbels. Another American, Patrick
Frawley, improved the design and in 1950 began producing a pen he called the Papermate. It was
an immediate success, and within a few years, Papermate were selling in their millions around the
world.

1. People went to Gimbels to buy a ballpoint pen because


A. they couldn’t get them anywhere else.
B. they had been told how good the pens were.
C. they had never seen a ballpoint pen before.
D. they thought the price was good.
2. Why were early ballpoint pens not produced commercially?
A. Nobody wanted to buy one
B. It cost too much to produce them.
C. They used too much ink.
D. They didn’t work properly.
3. Why was Ladislas Biro’s pen better than earlier models?
A. It didn’t need to be filled with ink as often.

1
B. It was designed by a chemist.
C. The ink stayed in the pen until it was needed.
D. It was easier to use.
4. Biro’s first commercially-produced pen
A. was produced in a factory owned by the Argentinian president.
B. only worked if used in a certain way.
C. was a major success.
D. went on sale in 1944.
5. Patrick Frawley’s pen
A. was a better version of an earlier model.
B. took time to become successful.
C. was the USA’s first commercially successful ballpoint pen.
D. was only successful in the USA.

SPEAKING
You are going to do IELTS Speaking Part 2. You will need some paper and a pencil.

Describe a job you would like to have.


You should say:
what the job is
what you know about that job
what study or training you would need to do so you can get that job
and explain why you would like to have that job.

LISTENING
Listen and complete Questions 1-6. Write ONE WORD for each answer. (Track 3.3)
1. Joe’s low_______________ doesn’t allow him to buy many electronic goods.
2. He’s often influenced by his____________________ when he buys electronic items.
3. Advertisements featuring somebody_______________ sometimes help him decide which
product to buy.
4. Joe prefers to get new products from _____________________.
5. He doesn’t like waiting for a long time after _________________ something.
6. He finds it hard to resist buying electronic products if they are new and
_________________.

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