The Origins of Paper Money: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “For most of human history, money meant metal. Coins of gold, silver, bronze and copper were carried, weighed and counted in every marketplace from China to the Mediterranean, and their value lay in the precious material from which they were struck.”
- Passage length: about 721 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: Matching Information, Note Completion, Yes / No / Not Given
“The Origins of Paper Money” is an original IELTS-style practice passage written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
The Origins of Paper Money answers with explanations
Questions 1–5: Matching Information
The passage has six paragraphs, A-F. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A-F.
- A. Paragraph A
- B. Paragraph B
- C. Paragraph C
- D. Paragraph D
- E. Paragraph E
- F. Paragraph F
- 1
a description of how the weight of coins hindered long-distance trade
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Answer: Paragraph A
Why: Paragraph A explains that the weight of metal coins made them difficult to transport over long distances, posing a significant obstacle to merchants engaging in long-distance trade.
Where to find it · Paragraph A “A large sum of money in coin was extremely heavy, and a merchant wishing to buy goods in a distant city faced the daunting prospect of transporting a great weight of metal over long and often dangerous roads.”
- 2
an account of a traveller who was amazed by the use of paper money
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Answer: Paragraph D
Why: Paragraph D is correct because it describes the Italian traveller Marco Polo's amazement at the use of paper money in China, highlighting how he marveled at its acceptance as readily as gold.
Where to find it · Paragraph D “The Italian traveller Marco Polo, who journeyed through China in the thirteenth century, devoted a famous passage of his account to the paper money he saw in use there.”
- 3
the point at which the state took over the issuing of notes
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Answer: Paragraph C
Why: Paragraph C is correct because it describes how the government recognized the usefulness of paper notes and took over their production, marking the point at which the state began issuing official notes.
Where to find it · Paragraph C “Recognising both the usefulness of paper notes and the profit to be made from issuing them, the government took over their production, printing official notes backed by its own authority.”
- 4
an explanation of what happened when too many notes were printed
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Answer: Paragraph E
Why: Paragraph E explains that when too many notes were printed, inflation occurred, leading to a loss of public confidence and the collapse of the paper money's value, forcing a return to coin.
Where to find it · Paragraph E “On several occasions the value of the paper collapsed, public confidence evaporated, and people refused to accept the notes at all, forcing a return to coin.”
- 5
the much later appearance of banknotes in Europe
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Answer: Paragraph F
Why: Paragraph F explains that banknotes appeared much later in Europe because the concept of paper money was initially met with skepticism and disbelief by Europeans, as illustrated by Marco Polo's account of Chinese paper money.
Where to find it · Paragraph D “The Italian traveller Marco Polo, who journeyed through China in the thirteenth century, devoted a famous passage of his account to the paper money he saw in use there.”
Questions 6–10: Note Completion
Complete the notes below.
Complete the notes using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. The early history of paper money Metal (6) ______ were durable but very heavy to carry in large amounts. In China, merchants left their money at deposit shops and received a paper (7) ______ in return. Later, the (8) ______ began to print official notes backed by its own authority. Printing too many notes caused prices to rise, a process now called (9) ______ . In Europe, the first banknotes were issued by (10) ______ who held people's gold for safekeeping.
- 6
Metal ______ were durable but very heavy to carry in large amounts.(max 2 words)
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Answer: coins
Why: The answer "coins" is found in section A, where it describes metal coins as durable but heavy, highlighting the inconvenience of transporting large sums of them over long distances.
Where to find it · Paragraph A “A large sum of money in coin was extremely heavy, and a merchant wishing to buy goods in a distant city faced the daunting prospect of transporting a great weight of metal over long and often dangerous roads.”
- 7
In China, merchants left their money at deposit shops and received a paper ______ in return.(max 2 words)
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Answer: note (also accepted: receipt)
Why: The answer "note" is found in section B, where it explains that merchants received a written note when they deposited their coins at trusted deposit shops.
Where to find it · Paragraph B “Merchants who did not wish to carry heavy strings of coins began to deposit them with trusted deposit shops, receiving in return a written note that recorded the amount left behind.”
- 8
Later, the ______ began to print official notes backed by its own authority.(max 2 words)
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Answer: government (also accepted: state / the government)
Why: The answer is found in section C, where it explains that the government took over the production of paper notes, printing official ones backed by its authority.
Where to find it · Paragraph C “Recognising both the usefulness of paper notes and the profit to be made from issuing them, the government took over their production, printing official notes backed by its own authority.”
- 9
Printing too many notes caused prices to rise, a process now called ______ .(max 2 words)
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Answer: inflation
Why: The answer "inflation" comes from section E, where it explains that issuing too many notes led to each note buying less, causing prices to rise steadily, which is now known as inflation.
Where to find it · Paragraph E “When too many notes were issued, each one bought less than before, and prices rose steadily in what we would now call inflation.”
- 10
In Europe, the first banknotes were issued by ______ who held people's gold for safekeeping.(max 2 words)
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Answer: goldsmiths (also accepted: private goldsmiths)
Why: The answer "goldsmiths" comes from the passage section B, where it describes how merchants deposited their coins with trusted deposit shops, which were often run by goldsmiths, and received a written note in return.
Where to find it · Paragraph F “It was not until the seventeenth century that European banknotes appeared in a recognisable form, issued first by private goldsmiths who held their customers' gold for safekeeping and gave out receipts that could be passed from person to person.”
Questions 11–14: Yes / No / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in the passage? Write YES, NO or NOT GIVEN.
- 11
Paper notes were easier and safer to carry than heavy coins.
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Answer: YES
Why: The passage states that paper receipts were far lighter and safer to carry than coins, making them more convenient for merchants.
Where to find it · Paragraph B “These paper receipts were far lighter and safer to carry than the coins themselves, and before long the notes began to circulate from hand to hand as if they were money, since everyone understood that they could be redeemed for metal whenever required.”
- 12
Governments always managed to control carefully the number of notes they issued.
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Answer: NO
Why: The passage explains that governments often succumbed to the temptation of printing more paper money than the economy could support, leading to inflation and loss of public confidence.
Where to find it · Paragraph E “Because notes were so cheap and easy to produce, there was a constant temptation for governments in financial difficulty to print more of them than the economy could support.”
- 13
Marco Polo found the Chinese use of paper money surprising.
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Answer: YES
Why: Marco Polo was amazed by the Chinese use of paper money, as he described how the ruler could create something from tree bark that everyone accepted as readily as gold, which seemed unbelievable to Europeans.
Where to find it · Paragraph D “He marvelled that the ruler could take the bark of trees, turn it into paper, stamp it with an official seal, and thereby create something that all his subjects would accept in payment as readily as if it were gold.”
- 14
Paper money was more widely used in southern China than in the north.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims paper money was more widely used in southern China than in the north, but the passage never confirms or denies this, as it only discusses the general use and development of paper money in China.
Closest related text · Paragraph D “The Italian traveller Marco Polo, who journeyed through China in the thirteenth century, devoted a famous passage of his account to the paper money he saw in use there.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (Academic) conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single passage is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.5 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.5 |
| 11 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 6.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 4 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 14 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 14 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
Matching Information
- Read each statement and identify exactly what kind of information you are looking for — a reason, a result, an example, a definition, a contrast.
- Note that the statements do NOT follow paragraph order, so treat each one as an independent search.
Common trap: Assuming the questions run in order — they do not, which makes linear reading inefficient.
Full Matching Information strategyNote Completion
- Use headings and indentation to identify the topic of each blank.
- Predict the answer type and mark the word limit.
Common trap: Treating bullets as unrelated when they belong to one passage section.
Full Note Completion strategyYes / No / Not Given
- Identify the claim in the statement and, crucially, whose opinion it represents — these passages often quote several people, so track who is speaking.
- Scan the passage for opinion signals: verbs like "argues", "believes", "suggests", "claims", and phrases such as "in the author’s view".
Common trap: Treating a reported opinion (someone else’s view mentioned by the writer) as the writer’s own conclusion.
Full Yes / No / Not Given strategyPractise “The Origins of Paper Money” under exam conditions
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