In 1900, the world’s use of paper was about ______ for each person in a year.

W: Hi; there. How are you going with your tutorial next week?
M: Oh, good. I’ve decided to talk about paper and its use.
W: Fascinating. I’m sure.
M: Yes, I think it’s an interesting topic. Do you know about how much paper you use every year?
W: Well, I’ve never thought about that. I can’t answer your question. I suppose you can tell me something about it.
M: Ok. It will be a good practice for my tutorial next week.
W: How much paper does one person use every year.9
M: In 1900, the world’s use of paper was about 1 kilogram for each person in a year. Now some countries use as much as 50 kilograms of paper for each person in a year.
W: This shows how far advanced the country is.
M: You’re right. Countries like the United States, Britain, Japan, Germany and Sweden certainly use more paper than other countries.
W: I’m very interested in the history of paper. Are you going to talk about it next week?
M: Yes, of course.
W: Where was paper first made?
M: In China. The Chinese first made paper about 2,000 years ago. China still has pieces of paper which were made as long ago as that. But Chinese paper was not made from the wood of trees. It was made from the hair-like parts of certain plants. In Egypt and the west, paper was not very commonly used before the year 1400. the Egyptians wrote on papyrus, a kind of paper made from the pith or the stems of tall aquatic cyperaceous plants. Europeans used parchment for many hundreds of years.
W: What was parchment?
M: Parchment was made from the skin of certain young animals. They were very strong. We have learnt some of the most important facts of European history from records that were kept on parchment.
W: Oh, I see. How about paper in Europe?
M: Well, paper was not made in southern Europe until about the 1100s. Scandinavia which now makes a great deal of the world’s paper but didn’t begin to make it until 1500. It was a German named Schaeffer who found out that the best paper could be made from trees. After that Canada, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the United States became the most important in paper making. They are forest countries. Today Finland makes the best paper in the world and the paper industry of the country is the biggest in the world. New paper-making machines are very big, and they make paper very fast. The biggest machines can make a piece of paper 300 metres long and six metres wide in one minute.
W: Oh, my god! That’s amusing.
M: What are the uses of paper?
W: Paper is used for newspapers, books, writing paper, envelopes, wrapping paper, paper bags...
M: Yes. Only half of the paper that is made is used for books and newspapers. Have you got an idea about other uses of paper?
W: No, I’m afraid not.
M: There are many other uses. Paper is very good for keeping you warm. Houses are often insulated with paper. You have perhaps seen homeless people asleep on a large number of newspapers.
W: Yes, I have. So they are insulating themselves against the cold.
M: You are right. In Finland, it is very cold in winter. It is sometimes 40 degrees below zero centigrade. The farmers wear paper boots in the snow. Nothing could be warmer.
W: Oh, that’s unbelievable.
M: Now more and more things are made of paper. We have had paper plates, cups and dishes for a long time. But now we hear that chairs, tablets, and even beds can be made of paper. With paper boots and shoes, you can wear paper hats, paper dresses, and paper raincoats. When you have used them once, you throw them away and buy new ones. You know the latest in paper seems to be paper houses. These are not small houses for children to play in, but real, big houses for people to live in. You can put one up yourself in a few hours, and you can use it for about five years.
W: Fascinating!
M: People have made paper boats, but they have not yet made paper planes or cars. Just wait, they probably will.
W: Well, I’m sure your tutorial will go really well.