IELTS Listening Part 4: A Lecture on the History of Glass

Part Four. You will hear a lecture about the history of glass.

You have some time to look at questions thirty-one to forty.

Now listen carefully and answer questions thirty-one to forty.

Good afternoon, everyone. Today's topic is something you use every day.

Have you ever wondered where glass actually comes from?

Well, let's start at the very beginning.

Glass is made mainly from sand, heated to very high temperatures.

Believe it or not, people made glass four thousand years ago!

The earliest glass objects were tiny beads, not windows.

Let's turn to the Romans, because they changed everything!

Around two thousand years ago, they started blowing glass through a tube.

Suddenly, cups and bottles were cheap enough for ordinary families.

Now, what's interesting is what happened later, in Venice.

In twelve ninety-one, the city moved all its glassmakers,

to a small island called Murano.

Officially, it was to protect the city from fires.

But the glassmakers weren't allowed to leave the island!

Let's move on to Britain, where glass caused a strange problem.

From sixteen ninety-six, people actually paid a tax on windows!

Sadly, many families bricked up their windows to save money.

The tax was finally removed in eighteen fifty-one.

And that same year, London built the amazing Crystal Palace!

Now, let's jump ahead to the twentieth century.

In the nineteen fifties, a new method made flat glass much cheaper.

That's why modern buildings can have whole walls of glass.

And today, thin glass fibres carry the internet under the oceans!

To sum up, what makes glass so special today?

Glass can be recycled again and again, without losing quality.

Next week, we'll look at how glass recycling actually works.

Thanks for listening, everyone. Enjoy your afternoon!

That is the end of Part Four.