Cambridge IELTS Academic 15 Reading Test 4 Answers with Explanation / IELTS Academic Reading: The return of the Huarango, Silbo Gomero – the whistle , Environmental practices of big businesses,

READING PASSAGE 1

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

The return of the Huarango

Question	Answer	Keywords	Location	Text
1	water	can access, deep, below, surface	Paragraph 1 - Line no. 5	"They stretch down 50-80 metres and, as well as sucking up water for the tree, they bring it into . .. .”
2	diet	crucial part, local inhabitants’, long time ago	Paragraph 2 - Lines no. 2-3	"He believes the huarango was the key to the ancient people’s diet and . .. ..”
3	drought	helped, people, survive, periods of	Paragraph 2 - Lines no. 3-4	"because it could reach deep water sources, it allowed local people to withstand years of drought when their other crops failed. . .”
4	erosion	prevents, of the soil	Paragraph 2 - Lines no. 4-6	"But over the centuries huarango trees were gradually replaced with crops. Cutting down native woodland leads to erosion, as there is nothing to keep the soil in place. . .”
5	desert	prevents, land, from becoming	Paragraph 2 - Last lines	"So, when the huarangos go, the land turns into a desert. … .”
6	its branches/huarango branches/the branches	part of tree, traditional use, fuel	Paragraph 3 - Line no. 3	"while its branches were used for charcoal for cooking and heating, . .. .”
7	leaves (and) bark	part of tree, traditional use, medicine	Paragraph 3 - Lines no. 2-3	"Its leaves and bark were used for herbal remedies, . .. .”
8	its trunk/huarango trunk/the trunk	part of tree, traditional use, construction	Paragraph 3 - Line no. 4	"and its trunk was used to build houses. .. ..”
9	NOT GIVEN	local families, told Whaley, traditional uses, huarango products	Not found	Not found
10	FALSE	Farmer Alberto Benevides, now, making a good profit	Paragraph 6 - Lines no. 4-5	"His farm is relatively small and doesn’t yet provide him enough with enough to live on, but he hopes this will change. .. . .”
11	TRUE	Whaley, needs, co-operation of farmers, help preserve, wildlife	Paragraph 7 - Lines no. 4-5	"In the hope of counteracting this, he’s persuading farmers to let him plant forest corridors on their land. …”
12	FALSE	Whaley’s project to succeed, needs to be extended, over a very large area	Paragraph 8 - Lines no. 2-4	"It’s not like a rainforest that needs to have this huge expanse. Life has always been confined to corridors and islands here. . . .”
13	NOT GIVEN	Whaley, plans, go to Africa, to set up, similar project	Paragraph 8 - Lines no. 6-8	"‘If we can do it here, in the most fragile system on Earth, then that’s a real message of hope for lots of places, including Africa, where there is drought and they just can’t afford to wait for rain.”

READING PASSAGE 2

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

Silbo Gomero – the whistle ‘language’ of the Canary Islands

Question No.	Answer	Keywords	Location	Text
14	NOT GIVEN	La Gomera, most mountainous, all the Canary Islands	1st paragraph, beginning	"La Gomera is one of the Canary Islands situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa. This small volcanic island is mountainous, with steep rocky slopes and deep, wooded ravines, rising to 1,487 metres at its highest peak."
15	FALSE	Silbo, only appropriate, short, simple messages	5th paragraph, lines 4-5	"In daily life they use whistles to communicate short commands, but any Spanish sentence could be whistled."
16	TRUE	brain-activity study, silbadores and non-whistlers, produced, different results	6th paragraph, lines 2-7	"Results showed the left temporal lobe of the brain, which is usually associated with spoken language, was engaged during the processing of Silbo. . . . . When the experiments were repeated with non-whistlers, however, activation was observed in all areas of the brain."
17	FALSE	The Spanish, introduced Silbo, 15th Century	8th paragraph, first few lines	"Carreiras says the origins of Silbo Gomero remain obscure, but that indigenous Canary Islanders, who were of North African origin, already had a whistled language when Spain conquered the volcanic islands on the 15th Century."
18	FALSE	precise data, available, all of the whistle languages, in existence, today	8th paragraph, lines 5-6	"There are thought to be as many as 70 whistled languages still in use, though only 12 have been described and studied scientifically."
19	TRUE	children of Gomera, now learn, Silbo	9th paragraph, line 4	"Since 1999, Silbo Gomero has been taught in all of the island’s elementary schools."
20	words	high- and low-frequency tones represent different sounds in Spanish	4th paragraph, lines 1-2	"Silbo is a substitute for Spanish, with individual words recoded into whistles which have high- and low-frequency tones."
21	finger	pitch of whistle is controlled using silbador’s	4th paragraph, lines 2-3	"A whistler – or silbador – puts a finger in his or her mouth to increase the whistle’s pitch."
22	direction	________ is changed with a cupped hand	4th paragraph, line 3	"while the other hand can be cupped to adjust the direction of the sound."
23	commands	in everyday use for the transmission of brief	5th paragraph, line 4	"In daily life they use whistles to communicate short commands."
24	fires	can relay essential information quickly, e.g. to inform people about	5th paragraph, lines 5-6	"Siblo has proved particularly useful when fires have occurred on the island and rapid communication across large areas has been vital."
25	technology	future under threat because of new	final paragraph, lines 1-3	"But with modern communication technology now widely available, researchers say whistled languages like Silbo are threatened with extinction."
26	award	Canaries’ authorities hoping to receive a UNESCO	final paragraph, lines 5-7	"In addition, locals are seeking assistance from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 'The local authorities are trying to get an **

READING PASSAGE 3

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

Environmental practices of big businesses

Question	Answer	Keywords	Location	Text
27	D (moral standards)	many big businesses, prepared to harm, people, the environment, make money, appear to have, no	Lines 1-3, paragraph 1	"The environmental practices of big businesses are shaped by a fundamental fact that for many of us offend our sense of justice..."
28	E (control)	lack of, by governments	Lines 4-9, paragraph 1	"When government regulation is effective, and when the public is environmentally aware..."
29	F (involvement)	lack of public	Lines 4-9, paragraph 1	"When government regulation is effective, and when the public is environmentally aware..."
30	H (overfishing)	environmental problems, such as	Lines 4-9, paragraph 1	"That is still the case today for fishermen in an unmanaged fishery without quotas..."
31	B (trees)	destruction of	Lines 4-9, paragraph 1	"That is still the case today for ... international logging companies with short-term leases on tropical rainforest land..."
32	C (could be prevented by the action of ordinary people)	main idea, third paragraph, environmental damages	Paragraph 3	"In the long run, it is the public, either directly or through its publications..."
33	D (influence the environmental policies of businesses and governments)	fourth paragraph, ways, in which, public can	Paragraph 4	"The public can do that by suing businesses for harming them, as happened after the Exxon Valdez disaster..."
34	B (A fast-food company forced their meat suppliers to follow the law)	pressure, exerted by, big businesses, disease BSE	Paragraph 5	"For instance, after the US public became concerned about the spread of a disease known as BSE..."
35	YES	the public, should be prepared, fund, good environmental practices	Paragraph 6	"I also believe that the public must accept the necessity for higher prices for products to cover the added costs..."
36	NOT GIVEN	contrast between, moral principles, different businesses	Paragraph 6	"My views may seem to ignore the belief that businesses should act in accordance with moral principles..."
37	NO	important, to make, clear distinction, between, acceptable, unacceptable, behaviour	Final paragraph, lines 1-3	"To me, the conclusion that the public had the ultimate responsibility for the behavior of even the biggest businesses is empowering and hopeful..."
38	YES	the public, successfully influenced, businesses, in the past	Final paragraph, lines 3-6	"In the past, businesses have changed when the public came to expect and require different behavior..."
39	NOT GIVEN	future, businesses, will show, more concern, for, environment	Final paragraph, lines 6-7	"I predict that in the future, just as in the past, changes in public attitudes will be essential for changes in businesses’ environmental practices."
40	D (Are big businesses to blame for the damage they cause the environment?)	best subheading	Overall passage	The overall idea of the passage is the fact that both big businesses and the general public are to blame for the damage caused in the environment.