Book review: The World of Sugar by Ulbe Bosma: Reading answers

The passage opens

Answers 27–40

1. 27

   What does the reviewer suggest about the cultivation and trading of sugar in the first paragraph?

   B: Beet sugar has been made more internationally competitive. Multiple choice

   The reviewer says beet sugar received subsidies and was sold cheaply on world markets. This suggests measures made it more competitive internationally.

   “It has also been massively subsidised and sold at artificially low prices on world markets”

2. 28

   In the second paragraph, when discussing the sugar market in Britain, the reviewer stresses

   A: how the sources used changed over time. Multiple choice

   The paragraph traces how Britain’s sources changed from colonial cane sugar to imports from Cuba and Brazil, then European beet sugar, and finally domestic beet sugar. This supports the answer that the reviewer stresses changes in the sources used over time.

   “Following the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, cane sugar was imported to Britain from places which retained the practice, such as Cuba and Brazil. Towards the end of the 19th century, the British started to import beet sugar from continental Europe. Only in the 20th century was there a move to develop a national beet sugar industry.”

3. 29

   What is the reviewer doing in the third paragraph?

   C: addressing a misconception about the growing of sugar cane Multiple choice

   The reviewer directly challenges the misconception that cane sugar was produced only on large plantations. The example of small farmers growing cane with rice reinforces this point.

   “Contrary to popular belief, cane sugar production was never just restricted to large, dedicated plantations owned by rich men.”

4. 30

   In the final paragraph, what does the reviewer suggest is the overall message of Bosma's book?

   A: Sugar is a harmful and unnecessary product. Multiple choice

   The reviewer says sugar is unnecessary because people can do without it and have alternatives for sweetness. This presents the book’s overall message as sugar being unnecessary and harmful, rather than something that needs only economic controls.

   “He shows that we could always have done without sugar and that today we have many alternative sources of sweetness.”

5. 31

   H: migrant workers Summary completion (word list)

   The passage names Polish workers in German beet fields and Mexican and Sicilian workers in US production. These examples match the summary’s reference to migrant workers.

   “German beet fields employed Polish workers; Mexicans and many others, including Sicilians, were vital to US sugar production.”

6. 32

   E: small-scale cultivation Summary completion (word list)

   The passage says traditional methods on small farms continued and dominated in South Asia and Latin America. This corresponds to small-scale cultivation.

   “the continuity of the use of traditional methods on small farms. In the mid 20th-century, this type of sugar production dominated in South Asia and Latin America.”

7. 33

   I: powerful individuals and businesses Summary completion (word list)

   The passage identifies capitalists, sugar dynasties, and corporations as influential in sugar production. These are the powerful individuals and businesses referred to in the summary.

   “This is also a history of capitalists and sugar dynasties, as well as corporations that in some cases have remained influential over very long periods.”

8. 34

   A: national governments Summary completion (word list)

   The passage says powerful sugar interests influenced state policies. In the summary, this matches their influence on national governments.

   “Great firms and great interests have had profound influence on the policies of states.”

9. 35

   G: financial controls Summary completion (word list)

   Trade barriers and subsidies are forms of financial controls used to protect producers’ interests. The summary describes these as being established to support sugar producers.

   “their interests were consequently protected by trade barriers and subsidies.”

10. 36

    C: less wealthy nations Summary completion (word list)

    The passage says poor countries came off worse in the struggle to control the industry. This matches the summary’s statement that less wealthy nations were penalised.

    “In the battle for control of the industry, it was inevitably the poor countries which came off worse.”

11. 37

    Sugar has now become available in large quantities due to a range of agricultural developments.

    YES Yes / No / Not Given

    The writer says new techniques, varieties, fertilisers, and irrigation systems helped make sugar ubiquitous. This agrees with the statement that agricultural developments have made sugar available in large quantities.

    “now new techniques, varieties, fertilisers, irrigation systems and much more have turned gleaming white sugar into a ubiquitous chemical.”

12. 38

    Advertisers initially marketed sugar as a luxury product.

    NOT GIVEN Yes / No / Not Given

    The passage says sugar was once regarded as a luxury, but it does not say that advertisers initially marketed it that way. The statement about advertisers is therefore not given.

13. 39

    The invention of high-fructose corn syrup was a positive development.

    NO Yes / No / Not Given

    The writer calls mass sweetening a worrying development and later describes high-fructose corn syrup as a leading cause of obesity. This contradicts the claim that its invention was a positive development.

    “The recent past has seen worrying new developments in mass sweetening. High-fructose corn syrup made from maize using an enzymatic process invented in Japan in the 1960s has a similar number of calories to table sugar but is far cheaper to produce.”

14. 40

    High-fructose corn syrup is an ingredient in many processed foods.

    YES Yes / No / Not Given

    The passage explicitly says high-fructose corn syrup is used in a large number of processed foods. This agrees with the statement.

    “It is now widely consumed, having been adopted in the making of soft drinks and a large number of processed foods”

More Reading answers