In the passage, the word 'pulp' most probably means

Before paper was invented, people wrote on clay tablets, stone, bamboo strips or animal skins. These materials were heavy, expensive or hard to make. According to Chinese records, an official named Cai Lun presented a new kind of paper to the emperor in the year 105. It was made from tree bark, old rags and fishing nets pounded into a pulp, spread on a screen and left to dry. The knowledge of papermaking spread slowly westward. In the eighth century, Muslim craftsmen in Samarkand and later in Baghdad set up paper mills. Paper was cheaper than parchment, and its spread helped books to be copied and shared in large numbers.

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. a soft wet mass of fibres

  1. Step 1: The materials were pounded into a pulp, then spread to dry.
Answer
a soft wet mass of fibres.
Why not the others: a hard and dry sheet of material, a type of net used for fishing and a kind of black ink used by writers do not fit.

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