Cambridge IELTS Academic 12 Reading Test 2 Answers with Explanation / IELTS Academic Reading: The risks agriculture faces in developing countries, The lost City, The benefits of being bilingual

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1.

The risks agriculture faces in developing countries

Answers	Keywords	Location	Explanation
1.A	characteristics, food production	P A, line 1	Two things distinguish food production form all other productive activities. ·         only apply= distinguish ·         Two things= two characters
2. B	challenges, only, farmers in certain parts of the world	P B,line 1	Farmers everywhere face major risks, including …. . .”. Don’t let the everywhere fool you. Go through the next lines. ….However, smallholder farmers in developing countries must in addition deal with adverse environments, both natural .. .. . ..”. ·         Developing countries = certain parts of the world.
3.H	difficulties, co-operation between farmers.	paragraph H, lines 7- 8	…that collective action does not come as a free good. It takes time, effort …… ·         co-operation= collective action ·         difficulties= takes time, effort
4.D	financial assistance, does not always go to the farmers	paragraph E, line 7	E, line 7 has a word ‘subsidies’ which is synonymous with financial assistance. It also says in lines 10 and 11, In fact, studies show that sixty percent of beneficiaries of subsidies are not poor, but rich… .. . . ·         that sixty percent of beneficiaries of subsidies are not poor= does not always go to the farmers The statement is made by Rokeya Kabir, Executive Director of Bangladesh Nari Progati Shangha.
5.B	benefit, collaborate, as a group	para H. Here lines 6 & 7	collective action offers an important way for farmers to strengthen their political and economic bargaining power. ·         strengthen = benefit. The statement is made by Sophia Murphy, senior advisor to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
6.C	financial assistance, standard of living, farmers.	paragraph E, line 1	Shenggen Fan………….Public welfare programmes are actually those programmes which supply financial assistance. ·         “address poverty” and “reduce their vulnerability to agriculture shocks” means to “improve the standard of living”. The statement is made by Shennge Fan, Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute.
7.G	may be helped, financial input	Paragraph I  line 8	………….worth more attention which is synonymous to “farmers may be helped”. Also, the part of the sentence in line 7 “consumers invest in local farmers….”   matches with “financial input by the same individuals who buy from them”. The statement is made by Sonali Bisht, founder and advisor of INHERE, India.
8.B	governments, reduce, variation in prices	paragraph D, line6	Sophia Murphy, senior advisor to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy suggested……….. ·         There is a word ‘government’. ·         The word ‘Mitigate’ means ‘reduce’. ·         ‘Wild swings in food prices’ means ‘variation in prices’.
9.A	improvements to infrastructure, major impact, risk for farmers	paragraph D, lines 3, 4, 5 and 6	………………..argued that governments can ……………. ·         Major impact on risk for farmers = governments can significantly reduce risk for farmers (line 4) The statement is made by Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
10.D 11.E	problems, affect farmers with small farms, developing countries	paragraph B line 3	In , you can find the mention of smallholder farmers which means farmers with small farms. There is also a clear mention of developing countries. Now, in line 3 and 4 you will find a phrase adverse environment which matches with answer D = the effects of changing weather patterns. Also in the opening of paragraph G, the writer states, “… climate change and its consequences for small-scale agriculture”. Here, ‘Small-scale agriculture’ matches with ‘farmers with small farms’.
12.C 13.D	recommended, improving, conditions for farmers	paragraph H and paragraph I	In paragraph H, as we’ve already read that collective actions can be beneficial for farmers. So, this matches with answer C where organizing co-operation …. is mentioned. In paragraph I, lines 7 and 8 there is a mention of “….community-supported agriculture, where consumers invest in local farmers by subscription and guarantee producers a fair price, ….” So, this matches with answer D where we find phrases like encouraging consumers and financial stakes.

 

 

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 .

The lost City

 

Answers	Keywords	Location	Explanation
14. iv			Line 4 depicts …… “His goal was to locate…..”. Line 6 states, “….. and Bingham’s plan was to… …
15. vi			….. a track had recently been blasted down…….Almost all previous travelers had left the river at Ollantaytambo and taken a high pass across the mountains to rejoin the river………. … .. . but also therefore never passing through the area around Machu Picchu. ·         Means that before Bingham’s expedition using the recent track, previous travelers had no idea that the recent route has existed.
16. viii			……. And Bingham also seems to have been less than keen on …… “ ·         Means for the time being Bingham also lost his interest in the expedition.
17. v			….. Bingham writes about the approach in vivid style.” ……… It seemed like unbelievable dream….” ·         vivid style + unbelievable dream = dramatic.
18. i			His journey entries of the time reveal a much more gradual appreciation of his achievement. ….. rejoined his companions, to whom he seems to have said little about his discovery. ·         Meaning that Bingham writes in his notebook many things but doesn’t tell his companions much.
19. vii			When he came to write the National Geographic magazine article that broke the story to the world in April 1913, …” ·         These lines suggest that Bingham wrote an article on Machu Picchu.
20. iii			An idea which has gained wide acceptance over the past few years…… ·         wide acceptance = common belief.
21. TRUE	went, South America, search, Inca city	paragraph A line 1	Hiram Bingham arrived in South America in 1911. …exploration of the remote hinterland to the west of Cusco, the old capital of the Inca .. ..
22. FALSE	particular route, down the Urubamba valley,	paragraph B,line 2 and 3	A track had recently been blasted down….almost all previous travelers had left the river at Ollantaytambo and taken a high pass across the mountains to rejoin the river………. … .. . but also therefore never passing through the area around Machu Picchu.” It clearly means that before Bingham’s expedition using the recent track, previous travelers had no idea that the recent route have existed.
23. FALSE	understood, significance, Machu Picchu	paragraph E, line 6 and 7	At this stage, Bingham didn’t realize the extent or the importance of the site….” ·         Bingham didn’t realize the extent or the importance= not understood the significance
24. NOT GIVEN	returned, in order to, evidence		No such information is provided
25. rubber	the track, down the Urubamba valley, for transportation	paragraph B, line 2 and 3	A track had recently been blasted down… .. .. to enable rubber to be brought up by mules from the jungle.” ·         Meaning that the tract was built to enable the passage of rubber.
26. farmer	ruins of Machu Picchu, the Urubamba valley, from a	paragraph C line 1	Up the nearby hill to see some ruins that a local farmer, Melchor Arteaga, had told them about… It was a local farmer who told Bingham’s team about the ruins.

  

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 .

The benefits of being bilingual explained

Question No.	Answer	Keywords	Location	Explanation
27	eye movements	Observing, Russian–English, when asked, select certain objects	Paragraph B, line 10	‘Studying’ (line 9) is synonymous with ‘Observing’. The paragraph mentions selecting words like ‘stamp’ or ‘marka’, indicating the study of eye movements.
28	language co-activation	both languages, simultaneously, mechanism, known as	Paragraph B, lines 6 & 7	The text states that auditory input activates words in both languages, meaning bilinguals engage both languages at the same time. ‘Mechanism’ = ‘phenomenon’, and ‘known as’ = ‘called’.
29	Stroop Task	test, called, naming colours	Paragraph C, line 7	The name of the test is mentioned as ‘Stroop Task’, followed by the phrase ‘to name the colour’.
30	conflict management	more able to handle, a skill called	Paragraph C, lines 6 & 7	The text states that bilingual people perform better on tasks that require conflict management, meaning they are more able to handle such tasks.
31	cognitive control	changing strategies, have superior	Paragraph C, lines 14-17	The text discusses switching between tasks (changing strategies) and states that bilingual people have better cognitive control.

Questions 32-36 (YES/NO/NOT GIVEN)

Question No.	Answer	Keywords	Location	Explanation
32	YES	attitudes, have changed, recent years	Paragraph A, lines 2-7	The passage states that in the past, bilingualism was viewed negatively, but technology has shown clear benefits, indicating a change in attitudes.
33	NOT GIVEN	better than, at guessing correctly, words before finished	-	The passage discusses word recognition and prediction but does not compare bilinguals and monolinguals in this specific way.
34	NO	consistently, name images, faster	Paragraph C, lines 2-3	The passage states that bilinguals actually name pictures more slowly, contradicting the question statement.
35	NO	brains process single sounds, more efficiently, in all situations	Paragraph D	The passage states that bilingual and monolingual brain responses are similar without background noise, contradicting the statement.
36	NOT GIVEN	Fewer, suffer, brain disease, old age	Paragraph F	The passage mentions brain disease in old age but does not compare the number of bilingual and monolingual people affected.

Questions 37-40 (Identifying Information - Paragraphs A-G)

Question No.	Answer	Keywords	Location	Explanation
37	D	example, brains respond, differently, non-verbal auditory input	Paragraph D	The passage discusses how bilingual and monolingual brains react differently to sound stimuli.
38	G	demonstration, bilingual upbringing, benefit, before speaking	Paragraph G, lines 1-3	The passage talks about seven-month-old bilingual babies showing cognitive advantages.
39	B	description, process, identify words, hear	Paragraph B	The passage explains how bilinguals recognize words when hearing them.
40	C	negative consequences, being bilingual	Paragraph C, lines 2-3	The passage states that bilinguals take more time to name pictures, showing a drawback.