Question 20
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
Primitive man preserved fire because
- A.he used it for illumination during his travels
- B.his method of making fire was labourious
- C.he wanted to discover how to make a lamp
- D.he wanted to develop the torch
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: B (his method of making fire was labourious)
Explanation
He preserved fire because making a new one was hard work; the passage says this was before he found 'less laborious ways of making fire'.