Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 235
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 235 – PASSAGE – 1
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST
PASSAGE 1
Hair Colouring
A short history
Hair is a significant factor in the identification of people. When describing a person, hair only comes second to gender. People have been changing the colour of their hair from the times of Ancient Egypt to the modern day. As it is only a superficial cosmetic process, documenting the history of colouring hair has been of less interest to historians than more world-changing technological advances such as medicine and other forms of scientific progress, but what has been discovered is more than just an interesting sideline. The lengths people have gone to over the centuries to change their hair colour is astonishing.
The Egyptians darkened their hair with henna to cover the grey hair that comes with aging. Henna plant leaves contain a molecule which binds to proteins in the hair and skin, creating a stain, and it is still used to colour skin and hair today. In Ancient Greece and Rome, the use of henna continued, and extracts from other plants were used such as berries, flowers, tree bark and crushed nutshells to either lighten or darken hair colour. Analysis of hair samples from Greek and Roman remains has shown that it was common practice to use permanent hair dyes from plants such as saffron, indigo and alfalfa. Apart from natural dyes, there is evidence that they also used a combination of calcium hydroxide and lead oxide to make the hair black, which would have been highly toxic.
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As a less dangerous alternative, they later switched to fermenting leaches in wine vessels to create a product with the same darkening effect. Tribes in the north of Europe would bleach their hair blonde using a strong soap with a high potash concentration. This had the desired effect of terrifying their enemies, including the Romans, but was probably also effective for lice control. Venetian women in the seventeenth century lightened their hair by soaking it in lye, which is a corrosive substance made from ash. None of these methods were completely effective and safety was a concern for many of them.
Permanent hair dye as we know it today is a relatively recent invention. In 1863, William Henry Perkins stumbled across the formula for the first non-natural dye while trying to synthetize quinine as a cure for malaria. He found that a when chemical compound called aniline was extracted with alcohol, it produced an intensely purple-coloured substance. It was more vivid and permanent than natural dyes and the product was mainly used to colour fabrics, but could be used on hair as well.
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The only problem was that a pinkish purple, is not the choice of hair colour for most people. This led to chemistry professor August Wilhelm vonHofmann discovering the colour-changing molecule para-phenylenediamine, or PPD, which is s till the main ingredient in most hair dyes today. In 1907, chemist Eugene Schueller, the man who would eventually become the founder of cosmetics company L’Oreal, created the first synthetic dye specifically for hair using PPD. He initially sold it to Parisian hairdressers but soon began selling it internationally under the name of Aureole. It became a worldwide sensation.IELTS Academic Reading Test
Hollywood stars first dyed their hair platinum blonde to make an impact the days of black and white movies but with the arrival of colour films in the 1930s many of the biggest stars switched to shades of red and gold. The general public wanted to be in on it, and millions of women began getting their hair coloured. In 1947, the German company Schwarzkopf sold the first at home hair dye, and three years later there was another invention that would change the hair care for ever – Clairol invented a dye for people to lighten their own hair without using the powerful and damaging bleaching agent hydrogen peroxide.
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When hair dyes first became commonly available, they were marketed in discrete ways with slogans such as, ‘Has she, or hasn’t she?’ Since the 1980s people have been more open about their hair colour and it is no longer considered something deceptive or embarrassing. The stigma around men colouring their hair has persisted longer, and it is still something that most men would be unwilling to admit, though it has been common practice for politicians and actors for years. For women, hair colours became bolder and brighter around the turn of the twentieth century.
Studies show that up to 70 per cent of American women now dye their hair, and this part of hairdressing alone is a $12 billion industry. Hair colouring products have twice the sales growth of any other hair product. The variety of products and colours is also growing. People are now dying their hair all colours of the rainbow and it is completely socially acceptable. Going a shade of William Henry Perkins purple is quite normal these days. The most surprising recent fashion trend is for young people to colour their hair grey, as getting rid of grey hair is the reason the whole hair colouring thing started in the first place.
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Questions 1-5
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1. Hair is the first thing people use to identify someone.
2. Little attempt has been made to record the history of hair colouring.
3. The henna plant was first grown in Egypt.
4. Instead of using henna, the Greeks and Romans switched to dyes that came from other plants.
5. Though hair colour was available, not many Greeks and Romans took up the practice.
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Questions 6-9
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.
6. Why did the Romans start using a process that contained leaches?
A. It created a more intense black colour.
B. It was an easier method.
C. It was less harmful to the user.
D. It used more common ingredients
7 What was the reason northern European tribes whitened their hair?
A. To remove parasites from their hair.
B. To look more attractive.
C. To intimidate their opponents in battle.
D. To keep their hair clean.
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8 How did William Henry Perkins discover the first non-natural hair dye?
A. Through trial and error.
B. By design.
C. On purpose.
D. By chance.
9 Eugene Schueller was the first person to
A. start a cosmetics company.
B. sell a synthetic hair colour.
C. market a product to hairdressers.
D. produce the chemical PPD.
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Questions 10-13
Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Modern trends in hair colour
Hair colour became popular in the twentieth century because people want to emulate Hollywood stars.
Companies like Schwarzkopf and Clairol invented hair dyeing products that people could use at 10………………….
In the beginning advertisers used very 11 …………. methods because people did not want others to know they were dying their hair.
Men are still unlikely to 12…….. that they dye their hair, even though many do it.
A high percentage of American women colour their hair and it is a multi-billion dollar industry with huge growth.
Now it is 13………. to have your hair coloured in a multitude of shades and colours,
There is currently a trend for people to dye their hair grey.
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ANSWERS ARE BELOW
IELTS Academic Reading Test
ANSWERS
1. FALSE
2. TRUE
3. NOT GIVEN
4. FALSE
5. FALSE
6. C
7. C
8. D
9. B
10. HOME
11. DICCRETE
12. ADMIT
13. SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE
IELTS Academic Reading Test