Cambridge ielts 1-15 series reading answers explained

CAMBRIDGE IELTS 7 – TEST 2 – PASSAGE 1
WHY PAGODAS DON‟T FALL DOWN 

---

109 
THE TRUE COST OF FOOD 
QUESTIONS 14-17 WHICH PARAGRAPH CONTAINS THE 
FOLLOWING INFORMATION ? 
14. A COST INVOLVED IN PURIFYING DOMESTIC WATER 
Keywords: cost, purifying, water 
Skimming through the passage, it can be seen that information relating to “the cost ” is mainly in 
paragraph E. We don‟t need to know the meaning of “bug”. When the writer says ” removal of 
(something) from drinking water”, we can rely on ” drinking water” to guess that we need to remove 
something “unhealthy”, so that the water can be “drink-able.”And this process of removal is called 
“purifying.” In paragraph E, the writer says: ” The costs included: …£23m for the removal of the bug 
cryptosporidium from drinking water by water companies; …” 
+ bug :a common name used to refer to bacteria, parasites or viruses 

---

110 
+ purify = removal of the parasite in order to make drinking water clean 
=> ANSWER: E 
15. THE STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FARMING INDUSTRY 
Keywords: stages, farming 
The words ” stages” can be related to the process of the development of the farming industry. 
Skimming through the whole passage, it can be noticed that in paragraph B lie a number of words 
indicating a “process” : first, then, then, and now. Particularly, the writer says : ” First mechanisation, 
then mass use of chemical fertiliser and pesticides, then….and now genetic engineering – the onward 
march of intensive farming has seemed unstoppable in the last…” 
+ development = onward march 
+ march = steady forward movement or progression 
=> ANSWER: B 
16. THE TERM USED TO DESCRIBE HIDDEN COSTS 
Keywords: term, hidden costs 
In paragraph C, the writer explains: ” That is mainly because the costs of all this damage are what 
economists refer to as externalities: they are outside the main transaction…To many, the costs may not 
even appear to be financial at all, but merely aesthetic…” The costs that are outside the main 
transaction can be understood as hidden costs So the term here is “externalities” 
=> ANSWER: C 
17. ONE EFFECT OF CHEMICALS ON WATER SOURCES 
Keywords: effect, chemicals, water 
Information relating to “effect” is mainly found in paragraph B. 
In paragraph B, the writer says: ” Natural soil fertility is dropping … while the growth of algae is 
increasing in lakes because of the fertiliser run-off” 
+ effect corresponds to ” the growth of algae is increasing” 
+ water corresponds to lakes 
+ chemicals corresponds to fertiliser 
+ fertiliser: a kind of chemical added to soil or water to increase its productivity 
=> ANSWER: B 
QUESTIONS 18-21 YES, NO, NOT GIVEN 
18. SEVERAL SPECIES OF WILDLIFE IN THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE 
ARE DECLINING 
Keywords: species of wildlife, British countryside, declining 
In paragraph B, the writer says: “In Britain, for example, many of our best-loved farmland birds, such 
as the skylark, the grey partridge, the lapwing and the corn bunting, have vanished from huge stretches 
countryside, as have even…insects” In the text, the writer says many birds have vanished so it can be 
inferred that their numbers are declining 
+ several species of wildlife corresponds to many farmland birds 
+ vanish= disappear in a sudden/mysterious way. 
+ decline = decrease in number 
=> ANSWER: YES 
19.THE TASTE OF FOOD HAS DETERIORATED IN RECENT YEARS. 

---

111 
Keywords: taste, deteriorated, recent 
A reference to the cost of food in recent years can be found in paragraph A. But no sentences indicate 
the quality of food, especially the taste. 
=> ANSWER: NOT GIVEN 
20.THE FINANCIAL COSTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE ARE 
WIDELY RECOGNIZED. 
Keywords: financial costs, enviromental, widely 
In paragraph C, the writer says: ” To many, the costs may not even appear to be financial at all, but 
merely aesthetic- a terrible shame, but nothing to do with money.” The cost here is the cost of 
environmental damage as listed in paragraph B. 
In paragraph C, the writer explains: “That is mainly because the costs of all this damage are…” So it 
can be inferred that many people fail to make a connection between environmental damage, in turning 
the British countryside into a battlefield, with the price that they pay for food as consumers. Therefore 
the financial costs are not widely recognized. 
=> ANSWER: NO 
21. ONE OF THE COSTS CALCULATED BY PROFESSOR PRETTY WAS 
ILLNESS CAUSED BY FOOD. 
Keywords: costs, Professor Pretty, illness caused by food 
In paragraph E, on listing the costs according to Professor Pretty, the writer mentions : “… £169 m 
from food poisoning” Thus, because the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides and the introduction 
of monocultures has resulted in the production of food which is harmful to human health, the costs of 
medical treatment for food poisoning have to be considered as part of the „true cost‟ of food. 
=> ANSWER: YES 
QUESTIONS 22-26 COMPLETE THE SUMMARY 
22. PROFESSOR PRETTY CONCLUDES THAT OUR… ARE HIGHER THAN 
MOST PEOPLE REALISE, BECAUSE WE MAKE THREE DIFFERENT 
TYPES OF PAYMENT. 
Keywords: our, Professor Pretty, higher, three different types of payment 
From keywords, especially the words ” three types of payment”, we can skim through and infer that 
the content of the sentence is from paragraph E, where the writer says: ” Professor Pretty draws a 
simple but memorable conclusion from all this: our foodbills are actually threefold. We are paying for 
our supposedly cheaper food in three separate ways: once over the counter, secondly through our 
taxes… and thirdly to clean up the mess that modern farming leaves behind.” 
+ higher corresponds to threefold = three times as much/ triple 
+ conclude = draw a conclusion 
+ three different types= three seperate ways 
+ make payment = pay for 
+ over the counter: in the shops 
We need a noun here, something “ours” that is higher, so the word needed is ” foodbills” 
=> ANSWER: Foodbills 
23. HE FEELS IT IS REALISTIC TO SUGGEST THAT BRITAIN SHOULD 
REDUCE ITS RELIANCE ON…. 

---

112 
Keywords: realistic, Britain, reduce,reliance on 
In paragraph F, the writer argues: ” Breaking away from industrial agriculture as the solution to hunger 
maybe very hard for some countries, but in Britain, where the immediate need to supply food is less 
urgent, and the costs and the damage of intensive farming have been clearly seen, it may be more 
feasible.” This means that Pretty feels that breaking away from industrial agriculture is realistic, as the 
need for food in Britain is less urgent, while the damage of intensive farming is more obvious. 
+ reduce its reliance corresponds to break away from 
+realistic corresponds to feasible = possible, likely 
We need a noun here, for something which Britain should rely less on, or in other words, break away 
from. So the possible answer is industrial agriculture or intensive farming 
=> ANSWER: industrial agriculture/ intensive farming 
24-25. ALTHOUGH MOST FARMERS WOULD BE UNABLE TO ADAPT 
TO…, PROFESSOR PRETTY WANTS THE GOVERNMENT TO INITIATE 
CHANGE BY ESTABLISHING WHAT HE REFERS TO AS A… 
Keywords: farmers, unable to adapt to, government, change, he refers to as a 
This is a suggestion of Professor Pretty, so we can guess that information we need to find is from the 
next paragraph. Specifically, in paragraph G, the writer states: ” Professor Pretty feels that organic 
farming would be too big a jump in thinking and in practices for many farmers.” This means that it 
will be difficult for many farmers to change to organic farming. Here we need a noun-something that 
many farmers would find difficult to adapt to. So the answer is “organic farming” 
=> ANSWER: 24. organic farming 
Then in the next sentence, we find a “suggestion” of Professor Pretty: ” He is recommending the 
immediate introduction of a “Greener Food Standard”, which would push the market towards more 
sustainable environmental practices…” 
+ introduction can be understood as “initiate change” 
+ initiate = bring about, or cause to occur, some new change or policy. 
We need a noun- something new that Professor Pretty suggests.So the answer is a “Greener Food 
Standard.” 
=> ANSWER: 25.Greener Food Standard 
26. HE FEEL THIS WOULD HELP TO CHANGE THE ATTITUDES OF 
BOTH …AND… 
Keywords: change, attitudes , both 
In the next sentences in paragraph G, the writer says: ” It could go a long way, he says, to shifting 
consumers as well as farmers towards a more sustainable system of agriculture.” “It” here is the 
Greener Food Standard. 
+ change = shift 
+ the attitude can be understood as a more sustainable system of agriculture. 
We need 2 nouns, 2 things/people whose attitudes should be changed as a result of the introduction of 
the new standard. So the answer is consumers and farmers. 
=> ANSWER: 26. consumers/ farmers