# The early history of salt

- 科目：雅思听力真题（Part 4）
- 考频：高频
- 最近考试：2020.7.11/2018.12.8/2018.4.14Asia/2015.8.13/2011.1.22
- 题目数：10
- 来源页：https://www.yaquan.site/paper/f4f2f6a0-a07b-4c86-82ae-bde573da8a0a（在线机考练习与音频请访问该页面）
- 数据更新：2026-10-29

## 题目原文

00:00:00,860 
 Part four. You will hear part of a presentation about the early history of salt. First, you have some time to look at questions thirty-one to forty. 
 00:01:03,400 
 Now, listen carefully and answer questions thirty-one to forty. 
 00:01:11,300 
 In my presentation, I'm going to talk about salt. In modern times, when we talk about salt, people may associate it with high blood pressure or increased heart risk, and many health experts warn that we should use less salt in our meals and dishes. However, we should not ignore its importance in our cuisine and even in early human history. Salt is one of the oldest, most ubiquitous food seasonings. The taste of salt is one of the basic human tastes. More importantly, salt plays an indispensable role in the health of human beings. For example, it regulates the body's acid-base balance. Because of its importance to survival, salt has often been considered a valuable commodity during human history. This can be tracked all the way back to ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, and ancient Rome, when salt was highly valued and used as a method of trade and currency. In ancient Rome, the busiest road leading to the city was the Via Salaria, which means the salt route in English. A soldier's pay, which partly consisted of salt, was known as salarium argentum in Latin, from which we derived the English word salary. A soldier's salary was cut if he was not worth his salt, an expression still used today. In fact, salt was not only the first condiment discovered but also the first preservative. We know today that food goes bad because microorganisms in the food multiply in abundance, and a high salt environment is not conducive to microbial reproduction. Extremely high concentrations of salt can even kill microorganisms in the food. The ancients certainly didn't know this, but they did know that salted food can be preserved for a long time. The use of salt as a preservative can be traced to ancient Sweden. At first, hunting was the principal means of livelihood. In this case, meat supplies were unlikely to be frequent. What's more, fewer animals were available for hunting. In order to ensure the supply of meat, many families in Sweden began to raise animals in the surrounding forests during the summer when the weather was suitable for animals to survive. These animals were fed every day until about three to four months later. That's in October, they were ready to be butchered for meat, and that was the only month when ancient Swedish people had fresh meat on their table. Then, with the continuous increase in productivity, people finally had some meat left. However, how to store the meat had become a headache until someone invented a whole new way to preserve food, salting. People tried to keep meat from going bad by adding some salt to it, and it could be preserved for several months and even years. There was evidence that salt was widely used to preserve meat. Historical documents in fifteen seventy-three recorded the Swedish king's everyday meals, mentioning that one hundred and seventy-five pounds of meat was consumed each year, but over one hundred and fifty pounds was salty. From this, we can clearly see the importance of salt in Sweden at that time. In addition, the documents also noted the annual sales of beer in Sweden soared during that period, and this must be related to high levels of salt in their food. 
 00:04:44,920 
 Now, let's turn to the sources of salt. Where is salt from? Well, salt is common in nature. It has long been found that salt can be extracted from seawater, mineral deposits, saline lakes, brine, spring, etc. 
 00:05:02,600 
 Among which the two most important ones are oceans and basins. On the floor of the latter often lie deserts where traces of salt can be found, such as the Sahara. Furthermore, the quality of different salt types varies a lot. For example, salt from seawater is always mixed with impurities. So after the salt is dried, the sediments and other chemicals need to be purified before eating. However, this is not the case with salt from springwater. We can hardly find any impurities, and the salt level is much more concentrated. Then, how did people distribute salt around the world? Of course, in modern times, we have various ways of transporting goods. But in ancient times, it was not the case. Take ancient Sweden we mentioned before as an example. Because of the heavy use of salt in the diet, Sweden could not feed itself and had to import large amounts of salt from other countries. In order to make sure they could buy enough salt from abroad, the Swedish had to attach great importance to shipping and keep it undamaged, as it was the most crucial way at that time. While in other ancient countries, in order to distribute salt to other places, groups of men were employed. They put bags of salt on their shoulders or backs and moved them to the surrounding regions. And gradually, these people were considered as a mode of transport in early times. Later, with the improvement of traffic conditions, salt trade between different regions was boosted, and long-distance food trade was also promoted, making communication between different cultures more frequent and... 
 00:06:50,880 
 That is the end of part four. You now have one minute to check

## 题目与答案

### 31. The Early History of Salt Introduction Salt is essential for human 31_____

The Early History of Salt Introduction Salt is essential for human 31_____

**答案**：health

原文定位：More importantly, salt plays an indispensable role in the health of human beings

同义替换：「essential for」↔「plays an indispensable role in」

### 32. Ancient Rome The word 32_____ comes from the Latin word`s solarium argentum, which was used to describe the payment to Roman soldiers.

Ancient Rome The word 32_____ comes from the Latin word`s solarium argentum, which was used to describe the payment to Roman soldiers.

**答案**：salary

原文定位：A soldier's pay, which partly consisted of salt, was known as salarium argentum in Latin, from which we derived the English word salary

### 33. Ancient Sweden Animals were kept in the local 33_____ at the right time of year.

Ancient Sweden Animals were kept in the local 33_____ at the right time of year.

**答案**：forests

原文定位：many families in Sweden began to raise animals in the surrounding forests during the summer

同义替换：「local」↔「surrounding」

### 34. Fresh meat was only available in 34_____ .

Fresh meat was only available in 34_____ .

**答案**：October

原文定位：That was the only month when ancient Swedish people had fresh meat on their table

### 35. Salt has been used widely, from the diet of the 35_____ in Sweden.

Salt has been used widely, from the diet of the 35_____ in Sweden.

**答案**：King

原文定位：Historical documents in fifteen seventy-three recorded the Swedish king's everyday meals, mentioning that one hundred and seventy-five pounds of meat was consumed each year

同义替换：「diet」↔「meals」；「widely used」↔「importance of」

### 36. 36_____ consumption increased rapidly because the food was much too salty.

36_____ consumption increased rapidly because the food was much too salty.

**答案**：beer

原文定位：the documents also noted the annual sales of beer in Sweden soared during that period, and this must be related to high levels of salt in their food

同义替换：「consumption increased rapidly」↔「sales of beer in Sweden soared」；「food was much too salty」↔「high levels of salt in their food」

### 37. Salt source People mainly extract salt from oceans and 37_____ in the basins.

Salt source People mainly extract salt from oceans and 37_____ in the basins.

**答案**：deserts

原文定位：the two most important ones are oceans and basins. On the floor of the latter often lie deserts where traces of salt can be found

同义替换：「extract」↔「can be found」

### 38. Salt from spring water is more 38_____ and purer compared to that from sea water.

Salt from spring water is more 38_____ and purer compared to that from sea water.

**答案**：concentrated

原文定位：However, this is not the case with salt from springwater. We can hardly find any impurities, and the salt level is much more concentrated

同义替换：「purer」↔「hardly find any impurities」

### 39. Salt distribution In Ancient Sweden Local needed to protect the 39_____ by which they imported salt.

Salt distribution In Ancient Sweden Local needed to protect the 39_____ by which they imported salt.

**答案**：shipping

原文定位：the Swedish had to attach great importance to shipping and keep it undamaged, as it was the most crucial way at that time

同义替换：「protect」↔「keep it undamaged」

### 40. In other ancient countries People carrying salt around were seen as natural means of 40_____ .

In other ancient countries People carrying salt around were seen as natural means of 40_____ .

**答案**：transport

原文定位：groups of men were employed;these people were considered as a mode of transport in early times

同义替换：「natural means of」↔「a mode of」；「people」↔「groups of men」

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