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BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 482
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 482 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 482
READING PASSAGE – 2
Australia’s Pearling Industry
A. Australia’s pearling industry began long before European settlement. Northern Australian coastal-dwelling Aborigines harvested the abundant pearl shell from the shallow waters and had a well-established trading network for it. Aborigines also traded with fishermen from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, who harvested various fish, sea animals and pearl shells. Folklore, songs, cave paintings and the diaries of early settlers tell us of links between Australia and Indonesia dating back 500 years.
When Europeans settled in Australia, they were quick to see the value of the pearl fields. Pearling began in earnest in the 1850’s at Shark Bay, Western Australia, and this spread to the islands in the Torres Strait over the next 30 years. The colony of Queensland recognised the value of this resource, and annexed the islands in 1879. By 1910, nearly 400 boats and more than 3,500 people were fishing for shell in waters around Broome, then the biggest pearling centre in the world.
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B. Pearl shell obtained from Western Australia and the Torres Strait found an initial ready market in the clothing industry in the United States and England, especially for buttons and buckles. Quick immediate returns could be made with pearl shell attracting £400 a ton in the early period and, at the worst time, in 1894, £79 a ton. The Torres Strait supplied over half the world demand for pearl shell in the 1890’s.
Pearl shell and mother of pearl were the main focus of the industry, as the shell was used in developing markets to make cutlery, hair combs, jewellery items, as well as art objects and inlay for furniture. One business alone in the Torres Strait raised £31,500 worth of shell and £5000 worth of pearls in one year.
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C. These boom times attracted large numbers of Europeans, South Sea Islanders and Asians who came for the adventure, the promise of work and the possibility of making their fortunes. In the Torres Strait, by 1886, there were an equal number of non-islanders as there were islanders. In Broome, the largest of these immigrant groups were the Chinese. Not only did they come as pearlers, but also as cooks and shopkeepers, similar to the gold boom days.
D. In the Torres Strait, pearlers not only sought pearls, but also other island resources to maintain the industry and this extended to the ransacking of the islands for food and timber and water to eat and build with. Along with the onslaught of diseases, this contributed to a significant population decline amongst the Torres Strait islanders within 30 years to as low as 50 per cent of pre-pearling populations by 1900.
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E. From 1862, the pearl supply was so low that larger boats were sent out two kilometres off shore to collect oysters in deep water. Aboriginal men and women would ‘naked dive’. This meant they had to dive down deep with no oxygen, no snorkel and no mask. In the Torres Strait, employment conditions were regarded as dangerous as well as unspeakably squalid and this contributed to many accidents.
Many of the Japanese divers were used as indentured labour. This means that they were working for no money in order to repay a debt, usually for their transportation to Australia. Divers were paid by the amount of shell they collected and very few of these divers ever managed to work off their debt. Attempts to regulate the marine industry and to prevent improper employment of Aborigines and islanders were made by the Queensland parliament and wages were required to be paid in front of an inspector after 1893.
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F. The invention of diving suits revolutionised the pearling industry in Australia. Divers could go deeper than ever before, stay underwater longer and collect more shell and pearls. These divers wore vulcanised canvas suits and massive bronze helmets and spent hours underwater.
On the bottom, they struggled about in lead-weighted boots, frantically scooping oysters into bags, because divers were paid by the amount of shell they collected. Pearl divers regularly faced the threat of shark attack, as well as the dreaded crippling effects of the bends with every dive. Some sources say that the mortality rate for divers was 50 per cent. In addition, whole fleets were shipwrecked in single cyclones.
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G. During World War 1 and World War 2, the industry virtually ceased, as most of the workers enlisted. The industry relied heavily on its Japanese pearl divers and as a result of Japan entering World War 2, these divers were detained in prisoner of war camps. The recovery after World War 2 was slow, as harvesting methods used in the previous decades meant that the supply of shell had almost run out. The development of cultured pearls and the use of plastic buttons and buckles in the 1950’s also devastated the industry in the Torres Strait by the 1960’s.
H. Broome and the pearling industry survived the economic devastation of both World Wars and today is recognised as a ‘pearl capital.’ Today, Western Australia has a well-established industry including hatchery and culturing facilities, producing pearls valued at AUS$150 million last year. As a result of the pearling industry, the architecture and population of Broome is quite unique in Australia. It has a Chinatown with a number of Chinese buildings and a local cemetery with both Japanese and Chinese sections. Broome’s location in the sub-tropics has contributed to its attraction as a tourist destination with a thriving multicultural community and flourishing economy.
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Questions 14 – 21
The text on the previous pages has 8 paragraphs (A – H). Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct number (i – xi) in boxes 14 – 21 on your answer sheet.
i. The Industry’s Negative Local Effects
ii. Local Governments Benefit through Taxation
iii. Developments and Dangers
iv. High Demand Brings Large Profits
v. Boats Designed for the Industry
vi. Industry Setbacks
vii. The Origins of the Industry
viii. Shameful Exploitation
ix. The Legacy
x. The Rush for Riches
xi. Government Legislation Affects Pricing
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14. Paragraph A
15. Paragraph B
16. Paragraph C
17. Paragraph D
18. Paragraph E
19. Paragraph F
20. Paragraph G
21. Paragraph H
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Questions 22 – 26
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.
22. To which industry was Australian pearl shell first sold?
23. What construction resource was over-exploited on the Torres Strait islands to help support the pearl industry there?
24. Who supervised any money paid to Aboriginal and island workers from 1893?
25. What hindered pearlers in diving suits from walking properly on the sea bed?
26. What had depleted the available amount of pearl shell before World War 2?
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ANSWERS
14. VII
15. IV
16. X
17. I
18. VIII
19. III
20. VI
21. IX
22. (THE) CLOTHING (INDUSTRY)
23. TIMBER
24. AN INSPECTOR
25. LEAD(-WEIGHTED) (BOOTS)
26. HARVESTING (METHODS)
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