[Đáp án IELTS Reading] Dolls through the ages (Giải thích chi tiết)

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Dolls Through the Ages

What is today a simple children’s toy has a surprisingly rich history. Dolls have been a part of humankind for thousands of years. Often depicting religious figures, or used as playthings, early dolls were probably made from primitive materials such as clay, fur, or wood.

Dolls constructed of flat pieces of wood, painted with various designs, and with hair made of clay, have often been found in Egyptian graves dating back to 2000 BC. Egyptian tombs of wealthy families have included pottery dolls. Dolls being placed in these graves leads some to believe that they were cherished possessions.

Girls from ancient Greece and Rome offered their wooden dolls to goddesses after they were too ‘grown-up’ to play with dolls. Most ancient dolls that were found in tombs were very simple creations, often made from such materials as clay, rags, wood, or bone. Some of the more unique dolls were made with ivory or wax. The main goal was to make the doll as lifelike as possible. That ideal led to the creation of dolls with movable limbs and removable garments, dating back to 600 BC.

Following the era of the ancient dolls, Europe became a major hub for doll production. These dolls were primarily made of wood. Fewer than 30 examples of primitive wooden stump dolls from England survive today. The Grodnertal area of Germany produced many peg wooden dolls, a type of doll that has very simple peg joints and resembles a clothespin (a device for hanging washing on a clothesline). An alternative to wood was developed in the 1800s.

‘Composition’ is a collective term for mixtures of pulped wood or paper that were used to make doll heads and bodies. These mixtures were moulded under pressure, creating a durable doll that could be mass produced. Manufacturers closely guarded the recipes for their mixtures, sometimes using strange ingredients like ash or eggshells. Papier-mâché, a type of composition, was one of the most popular mixtures.

In addition to wooden dolls, wax dolls grew in popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries. Much in Germany was a major manufacturing center for wax dolls. Wax dollmakers would model a doll’s head in wax or clay, and then cover it with plaster to create a mould. Then they would pour melted wax into the cast. The wax for the head would be very thin, no more than 3 mm. Some of the most distinctive wax dolls were created in England between 1850 and 1930. One of the first dolls that portrayed a baby was made in England from wax at the basinsion of the 10th centur

Around the same time porcelain became popular. It is made by firing special clays in a kiln at more than 2372 degrees Fahrenheit (1300°C), and only a few clays can withstand firing at such high temperatures. Porcelain is used generically to refer to both china and bisque dolls; china is glazed, whereas bisque is unglazed. Germany, France, and Denmark started creating china heads for dolls in the 1840s. These china heads were replaced in the 1860s by ones made of bisque. Bisque, which is porcelain fired twice with colour added to it after the first firing, looked more like skin than china did.

In France, the bébé was popular in the 1880s, and it has become a highly sought after doll today. The bébé, first made in the 1850s, was different from its predecessors because it depicted a younger girl. Until then, most French dolls were representations of adults. Although the French dolls were unrivalled in their artistry, German bisque dolls became quite popular because they were not as expensive. Kammer & Reinhardt introduced a bisque character doll in the 1900s, starting a trend of creating realistic dolls.

For many centuries, rag dolls were made by mothers for their children. The term ‘rag doll’ refers generically to dolls made of any fabric. ‘Cloth doll’ refers to a subset of rag dolls made of linen or cotton. Commercially produced rag dolls were first introduced in the 1850s by English and American manufacturers. Although not as sophisticated as dolls made from other materials, rag dolls were well loved, often as a child’s first toy.

Dollmaking did not become an industry in the United States until after the Civil War in the 1860s. Doll production was concentrated in the New England region of the United States, with dolls made from a variety of materials such as leather, rubber, papier-mâché, and cloth. Celluloid was developed in the state of New Jersey in the late 1860s and was used to manufacture dolls until the mid-1950s. German, French, American, and Japanese factories churned out cheaply produced celluloid dolls in mass quantities. However, celluloid fell out of favour because of its extreme flammability and propensity to fade in bright light.

After World War I, doll makers experimented with plastics. Hard plastic dolls were manufactured in the 1940s. They resembled composition dolls, but they were much more durable. Other materials used in doll manufacturing included rubber, foam rubber, and vinyl in the 1950s and 1960s. Vinyl changed doll making, allowing doll makers to root hair into the head, rather than using wigs or painting the hair. Although most dolls are now mass-manufactured using these modern materials, many modern doll makers are still using the traditional materials of the past to make collectible dolls.

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Câu hỏi

Questions 1–6

Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

Dolls

Earliest known dolls

• represented religious figures
• used as toys

Egypt 2000 BC

• bodies were made of 1…………………
• 2………………… was used for the hair

Ancient Greece and Rome

• dolls were given to 3………………… by older girls
• 600 BC
• realistic dolls had separate clothes and 4………………… that could be put in different positions

17th and 18th centuries

• dolls made of 5…………………
• moulds made of 6…………………

1800s

• ……………….. became more common
• new manufacturing process developed
• new group of mixtures known as …………………
• recipes for these mixtures kept secret

Questions 7–13

Do the following statements agree with the text?

Write

TRUE – if it agrees;
FALSE – if it contradicts;
NOT GIVEN – if there’s no info

7. Bisque dolls appear less realistic than dolls made of china.

8. French dolls tended to cost more than German bisque dolls.

9. The first rag dolls were made in the 1850s.

10. Only dolls made of cotton or linen are classified as cloth dolls.

11. Dolls made of celluloid tended to lose their colour.

12. Composition dolls lasted longer than the plastic dolls that were made in the 1940s.

13. Doll collectors prefer a doll to be dressed in its original clothing.

Đáp án kèm phân tích

Questions 1–6: Note completion (ONE WORD ONLY)

1. wood

• Giải thích: Câu hỏi yêu cầu tìm vật liệu làm nên thân (bodies) của búp bê Ai Cập năm 2000 TCN. Bài đọc mô tả búp bê được cấu tạo từ những miếng gỗ phẳng.
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 2, câu 1.”Dolls constructed of flat pieces of wood… have often been found in Egyptian graves dating back to 2000 BC.”

2. clay

• Giải thích: Câu hỏi yêu cầu tìm vật liệu làm tóc (hair) cho búp bê Ai Cập. Bài đọc nói tóc được làm bằng đất sét.
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 2, câu 1.”…and with hair made of clay, have often been found…”

3. goddesses

• Giải thích: Câu hỏi nói búp bê ở Hy Lạp và La Mã cổ đại được các cô gái lớn tuổi trao cho ai. Bài đọc nói họ dâng búp bê cho các nữ thần.
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 3, câu 1.”Girls from ancient Greece and Rome offered their wooden dolls to goddesses after they were too ‘grown-up’ to play with dolls.”

4. limbs

• Giải thích: Câu hỏi đề cập đến búp bê năm 600 TCN có quần áo riêng và bộ phận nào có thể đặt ở các vị trí khác nhau (put in different positions). Bài đọc nhắc đến “movable limbs” (tay chân có thể cử động).
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 3, câu cuối.”That ideal led to the creation of dolls with movable limbs and removable garments, dating back to 600 BC.”

5. wax

• Giải thích: Câu hỏi nói về vật liệu làm búp bê trong thế kỷ 17 và 18. Bài đọc nói ngoài búp bê gỗ, búp bê sáp (wax dolls) cũng trở nên phổ biến.
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 6, câu 1.”In addition to wooden dolls, wax dolls grew in popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries.”

6. plaster

• Giải thích: Câu hỏi hỏi khuôn (moulds) được làm bằng gì. Bài đọc mô tả quy trình tạo đầu búp bê sáp là phủ thạch cao (plaster) lên mẫu để tạo khuôn.
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 6, câu 3.”…and then cover it with plaster to create a mould.”

Questions 7–13: TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN

7. Bisque dolls appear less realistic than dolls made of china.

• Đáp án: FALSE
• Giải thích: Bài đọc nói rằng Bisque trông giống da thật hơn (more like skin) so với China. “Giống da thật hơn” nghĩa là “chân thực hơn” (more realistic), trái ngược với nhận định “kém chân thực hơn” (less realistic) của câu hỏi.
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 7, câu cuối.”Bisque… looked more like skin than china did.”

8. French dolls tended to cost more than German bisque dolls.

• Đáp án: TRUE
• Giải thích: Bài đọc nói búp bê Đức trở nên phổ biến vì chúng “không đắt bằng” (not as expensive) búp bê Pháp. Điều này đồng nghĩa với việc búp bê Pháp đắt hơn.
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 8, câu 4.”…German bisque dolls became quite popular because they were not as expensive.”

9. The first rag dolls were made in the 1850s.

• Đáp án: FALSE
• Giải thích: Bài đọc nói rag dolls đã được các bà mẹ làm cho con “trong nhiều thế kỷ” (For many centuries). Chỉ có những con búp bê vải được sản xuất thương mại (Commercially produced) mới bắt đầu từ những năm 1850.
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 9, câu 1 và 3.”For many centuries, rag dolls were made by mothers… Commercially produced rag dolls were first introduced in the 1850s…”

10. Only dolls made of cotton or linen are classified as cloth dolls.

• Đáp án: TRUE
• Giải thích: Bài đọc phân biệt rõ: “rag doll” là thuật ngữ chung cho búp bê làm từ bất kỳ loại vải nào, nhưng “cloth doll” là một tập hợp con (subset) chỉ những búp bê làm từ lanh (linen) hoặc bông (cotton).
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 9, câu 2.”‘Cloth doll’ refers to a subset of rag dolls made of linen or cotton.”

11. Dolls made of celluloid tended to lose their colour.

• Đáp án: TRUE
• Giải thích: Bài đọc nói celluloid không còn được ưa chuộng vì tính dễ cháy và xu hướng “phai màu” (fade) dưới ánh sáng mạnh. “Fade” đồng nghĩa với “lose their colour”.
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 10, câu cuối.”…celluloid fell out of favour because of its… propensity to fade in bright light.”

12. Composition dolls lasted longer than the plastic dolls that were made in the 1940s.

• Đáp án: FALSE
• Giải thích: Bài đọc nói búp bê nhựa cứng (thập niên 40) trông giống búp bê hỗn hợp (composition) nhưng chúng “bền hơn nhiều” (much more durable). Vậy búp bê nhựa mới là loại bền hơn (lasted longer), không phải composition.
• Vị trí và trích dẫn: Đoạn 11, câu 2.”Hard plastic dolls… resembled composition dolls, but they were much more durable.”

13. Doll collectors prefer a doll to be dressed in its original clothing.

• Đáp án: NOT GIVEN
• Giải thích: Bài đọc có nhắc đến việc các nhà sản xuất hiện đại dùng vật liệu truyền thống để làm “búp bê sưu tầm” (collectible dolls), nhưng hoàn toàn không đề cập đến sở thích của nhà sưu tập về trang phục (quần áo gốc hay không).

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