Question 17
ComprehensionJAMB 1987 Passage IV: Fire, torches and lamps
Primitive man was probably more concerned with fire as a source of warmth an as a means of cooking food than as a source of light. Before he discovered less laborious ways of making fire, he had to preserve it, and whenever he went on a journey he carried a firebrand with him. He discovery that the firebrand, from which the torch may well have developed, could be used for illumination was probably incidental to the primary purpose of preserving a flame.
Lamps, too, probably developed by accident. Early man may have had his first conception of a lamp while watching a twing or fibre burning in the molten fat dropped form roasting carcass. All he had to do was to fashion a vessel to contain fat and float a lighted reed in it. Such lamps, which were made of hollowed stones or sea-shells, have persisted in identical form up to quite recent times
Lamps, too, probably developed by accident. Early man may have had his first conception of a lamp while watching a twing or fibre burning in the molten fat dropped form roasting carcass. All he had to do was to fashion a vessel to contain fat and float a lighted reed in it. Such lamps, which were made of hollowed stones or sea-shells, have persisted in identical form up to quite recent times
According to the passage, the torch probably developed from a
- A.firebrand
- B.twig
- C.lamp
- D.fibre
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: A (firebrand)
Explanation
The passage speaks of 'the firebrand, from which the torch may well have developed'.