Paper is one of the most important products ever invented by man. Wide spread use of writ­ten language would not have been possible without some cheap and practical material to write on. The invention of paper meant more people could be educated because more books could be printed and distributed. Together with the printing press, paper provided an extremely important way to communicate knowledge.

　　How much paper do you use every year? Probably you cannot answer that question quickly. In 1900 the world's use of paper was about one kilogram for each person a year. Now some coun­tries use as much as 50 kilograms of paper for each person a year. Countries like the United States, England and Sweden use more paper than other countries.

    Paper, like many other things that we use today, was first made in China. In Egypt and the West, paper was not very commonly used before the year 1400. The Egyptians wrote on a kind of material made of a water plant. Europeans used parchment for many hundreds of years. Parch­ment was very strong; it was made from the skin of certain young animals. We have learnt of the most important facts of European history from records that were kept on parchment.

Questions 17 to 20 are based on the passage you have just heard.

17. Which of the following is not mentioned about the invention of paper?

18. When did the Egyptians begin to use paper widely?

19. Which of the following countries uses most paper for each person a year?

20. What is the main idea of this short talk?

[P43-Three]