Questions 1-10

READing PASSAgE 3 
Questions 27–40 
27  A: The reviewer says ‘We hope an encounter with 
nature might make us feel more “alive”. Would 
we use this same term [= the adjective ‘alive’] to 
describe nature itself, though?  Forests and the 
trees that form them are commonly perceived as 
objects lacking awareness [= they are thought to 
be passive], like rocks or stones.’ The phrase ‘beg to 
differ’ means ‘to disagree’. So Wohlleben does not 
agree that forests and trees live in a passive way.
28  C: The phrase ‘what sets it [= the book] apart’ 
means ‘what makes this a unique book’. The 
reviewer gives examples of how Wohlleben 
compares the behaviour of trees to the behaviour 
of human families. ‘Anthropomorphism’ means 
‘giving animals or objects human qualities and 
characteristics’.  
 Distraction 
A The reviewer mentions how various 
books ‘have done much to reformulate our views 
about the green world’ and contain a message 
about ‘sustainability’. This might imply that ordinary 
people can help protect forests, but he explains 
that these are features of all of the books. They are 
not unique to The Hidden Life of Trees; B Wohlleben 
thinks we should think more carefully before cutting 
down trees: he says that once you know how they 
interact and depend on one another, you ‘can no 
longer just chop them down’. However, he makes no 
distinction between which species of tree deserve 
to be preserved and which less so; D The quote does 
seem rather simplistic in its writing style, but the 
writer doesn’t say how this style compares to the 
style of other books of the same genre.
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29  B: We are told that Wohlleben initially took care of 
trees ‘purely for industrial reasons’: he had to make 
sure they were growing properly so they could be 
sold and used for manufacturing: ‘The straighter 
they were, the more high-quality logs could be 
sawn.’ But later he came to ‘appreciate trees for 
more than just their commercial worth’. Like the 
tourists who visited the forest, he started to see 
how ‘bent, crooked’ trees might be more interesting 
than straight ones.
 Distraction
 A We are told that Wohlleben was 
employed as a state forester, but we don’t know 
whether or not he thought this job would pay well; 
C The phrase ‘gives some of the credit’ tells us 
that Wohlleben listened to the visitors’ comments 
and appreciated them; D Wohlleben must have 
used certain techniques to keep the trees growing 
straight, but we aren’t told what these were or 
whether he introduced any new ones. 
30  B: ‘More than anything else, it was this encounter  
[= seeing/investigating the tree stump] that 
prompted him to look further into [= study/
research] the hidden behaviour of trees.’ 
 Distraction 
A The reviewer only provides an 
explanation about the way that trees and plants 
normally grow [= ‘This was chlorophyll . . .’]. 
Wohlleben discovers that the tree stump is still 
growing in the normal way – even though this isn’t 
clear on the surface of the stump; C the phrase ‘to 
highlight a lack of formal scientific training’ would 
suggest that the reviewer is critical of Wohlleben –  
but Wohlleben obviously knows enough to 
recognise the natural process occurring within the 
tree; D An anecdote is a short or interesting story 
about a real event or person – but the reviewer 
doesn’t suggest these are necessary to make the 
book interesting.  
31  nO: ‘Sceptical’ means ‘doubts that something 
is true’. But the reviewer explains that ‘Simard’s 
findings [= the results of her research] made 
complete sense to Wohlleben’ [= he understood and 
agreed with them].