Cambridge ielts 1-15 series reading answers explained

THE RETURN OF THE HUARANGO
QUESTIONS 1-5: COMPLETE THE NOTES BELOW. 
1. Answer: water
Key words: access, deep, surface
Paragraph 2 provides information on the role of the huarango tree: “it could reach deep water sources”. 
So the answer is „water‟. 
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access = reach 
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2. Answer: diet
Key words: crucial, local, inhabitants, long time ago
It is stated in paragraph 2 that “the huarango was key to the ancient people‟s diet”. 
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crucial = key 
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a long time ago = ancient 
Thus, the answer is „diet‟. 
3. Answer: drought
Key words: people, survive, periods
Still in paragraph 2, we learn that the huarango tree “allowed local people to withstand years of 
drought when their other crops failed”. 
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survive = withstand 
Thus, the answer is „drought‟. 
4. Answer: erosion
Key words: prevents, soil
It is stated in paragraph 2 that “Cutting down native woodland leads to erosion, as there is nothing to 
keep the soil in place”. Here, „native woodland‟ refers to the huarango trees. The sentence states that 
huarango trees keep the soil in place, thereby preventing soil erosion (because if those trees are cut 
down, erosion will occur). Therefore, the blank should be filled with „erosion‟. 
5. Answer: desert
Key words: prevents, land, becoming
The author concludes paragraph 2 by stating that: “So when the huarangos go, the land turns into a 
desert.” It can be inferred that huarangos prevent land from becoming a desert. 
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become = turn into 
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QUESTIONS 6-8: COMPLETE THE NOTES BELOW. 
6. Answer: (its / huarango / the) branches
Paragraph 3 gives information about traditional uses of huarangos (“For centuries the huarango tree 
was vital to the people”). Firstly, leaves and bark were used for “herbal remedies”, which refers to 
types of medicine. So answers for Q7 should be „leaves‟ and „bark‟ (in any order). 
Secondly, its branches were used for “charcoal for cooking and heating”. In other words, branches 
were used as fuel for cooking and heating. Thus, the answer for Q6 is „branches‟. 

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Finally, its trunk was used to build houses. „building‟ is synonymous to „construction‟, so the answer 
must be „trunk‟. 
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medicine = remedies 
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construction = build (building) 
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