The Return of the Elm – IELTS Reading Answers (Cambridge 20 Test 1)

The Return of the Elm – IELTS Reading Answers & explanation

In this post, you'll find the complete solution and explanation for Reading passage The Return of the Elm ? from the IELTS Book Cambridge 20. Each answer is explained in the easiest possible way, along with the answer location from the passage. This is perfect for students who want to understand not just the correct answers, but why they are correct — helping you improve your IELTS Reading skills with every practice test.

Questions 14-18    Which section contains the following information?

14. Reference to the research problems that arise from there being only a few surviving large elms. Answer: C

Keywords: opportunities are limited, mature survivor, relatively small

Answer Location: Paragraph C, Lines (Nevertheless, opportunities are limited as the number of these mature survivors is relatively small. ‘What are the reasons for their survival?’ asks Russell.)

15. Details of a difference of opinion about the value of reintroducing elms to Britain.  Answer: G

Keywords: raise questions, putting them back,

Answers Location: paragraph G, Lines ( All of this raises questions of social acceptance, acknowledges Russell. ‘If we’re putting elm back into the landscape, a small element of it is not native-are we bothered about that?’ For her, the environmental case for reintroducing elm is strong. ‘They will host wildlife, which is a good thing.” Others are more wary. ‘On the face of it, it seems like a good idea,’ says Elliot.)

16. Reference to how Dutch elm disease was brought into Britain. Answer: B

Keywords: Dutch elm disease the disease, brought, Britain

Answer location: Paragraph B, Lines ( The disease is caused by a fungus that blocks the elms’ vascular (water, nutrient, and food transport) system, causing branches to wilt and die. A first epidemic, which occurred in the 1920s, gradually died down, but in the ’70s, a second epidemic was triggered by shipments of elm from Canada. The wood came in the form of logs destined for boat building and its intact bark was perfect for the elm bark beetles that spread the deadly fungus. This time, the beetles carried a much more virulent strain that destroyed the vast majority of British elms.)

17. A description of the conditions that have enabled a location in Britain to escape Dutch elm disease. Answer: E

Keywords: the conditions/factors/strong wind, location in Britain, Brighton, to escape=survival

Answer location: Paragraph E, lines (.’ Today, the city of Brighton’s elm total about 17,000. Local factors appear to have contributed to their survival. Strong winds from the sea make it difficult for the determined elm bark beetle to attack this coastal city’s elm population. However, the situation is precarious. .)

18. Reference to the stage at which young elms become vulnerable to Dutch elm disease. Answer: C

Keywords: the stage, young/small elms, vulnerable = get targeted,

Answer location: Paragraph C, Lines (Today, elms still exist in the southern English countryside, but mostly only in low hedgerows between fields. ‘We have millions of small elms in hedgerows, but they get targeted by the beetle as soon as they reach a certain size,’ says Karen Russell. 

Questions 19-23:   Match each statement with the correct person, A, B, or C.

19. If a tree gets infected with Dutch elm disease, the damage rapidly becomes visible. Answer: B

Keywords: get infected,damage=leaf loss,die,visible=show,rapidly

Answer location: paragraph F, Lines (‘The effects are very quick,’ says Russell. ‘You return in four to six weeks and trees that are resistant show no symptoms, whereas those that are susceptible show leaf loss and may even have died completely. ‘)

20.It may be better to wait and see if the mature elms that have survived continue to flourish. Answer: A

Keywords: time to recover over time, mature elms, survive, flourish

Answer location: paragraph G, Lines (‘Sometimes the best thing you can do is just give nature time to recover over time, you might get resistance,’ says Elliot.) 

21. There must be an explanation for the survival of some mature elms. Answer: B

Keywords: survival, mature elms

Answer location: paragraph C ( The key, Russell says, is to identify and study those trees that have survived and work out why they stood tall when millions of others succumbed. Nevertheless, opportunities are limited as the number of these mature survivors is relatively small. ‘What are the reasons for their survival?’ asks Russell.‘Avoidance, tolerance, resistance? We don’t know where the balance lies between the three. I don’t see how it can be entirely down to luck.”)

22. We need to be aware that insects carrying Dutch elm disease are not very far away. Answer: C

Keywords: be aware, elm disease, not far away = our  doorstep

Answer location: Paragraph E, Lines ( ‘The beetles can just march in if we’re not careful, as the threat is right on our doorstep,’ says Bourne.)

23. You understand the effect Dutch elm disease has had when you see evidence of how prominent the tree once was. Answer: A

Keywords: effect, elm disease, evidence, prominent

Answer location: paragraph A, Lines ( ‘The impact of the disease is difficult to picture if you hadn’t seen what was there before,’ says Matt Elliot of the Woodland Trust.‘You look at old photographs from the 1960s and it’s only then that you realise the impact [elms had]. They were significant, large trees, then they were gone.’)

Questions 24-26:    Complete the summary below.

24. Answer: oak

Keywords: hunderd years= centuries,more popular=elm was 2nd

Answer Location: Paragraph D , First line (For centuries, elm ran a close second to oak as the hardwood tree of choice in Britain .)

25. Answer: flooring

Keywords:18th Century, storage crates=boxes 

Answer Location: Paragraph D, Lines ( In the 18th century, it was planted more widely and its wood was used for items such as storage crates and flooring.)

26. Answer: keel

Keywords: mining equipment, Cutty Sark's

Answer Location: Paragraph D, Lines ( It was also suitable for items that experienced high levels of impact and was used to build the keel of the 19th-century sailing ship Cutty Sark, as well as mining equipment.)

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                            Hard Vocabulary in Passage: The Return of the Elm?

Word / Phrase	Meaning (Simple)	Example Sentence
Vascular system	The plant's system that transports water and nutrients	The fungus blocked the tree's vascular system, causing branches to wilt.
Wilt	To become limp or droopy	When the water supply is cut off, plants and branches begin to wilt.
Epidemic	A sudden outbreak affecting many in a short time (usually a disease)	A second epidemic of disease destroyed most of the elms.
Virulent strain	A very severe and harmful version of a disease	The beetles carried a much more virulent strain of fungus.
Hedgerows	Rows of bushes or trees forming boundaries between fields	Elms now survive mostly in low hedgerows between fields.
Specimen	An individual example of a species used for study	Mature specimens of elms that escaped the epidemic were found in Cambridgeshire.
Succumb	To fail to resist something; to give in or die	Millions of other elms succumbed to the disease.
Hardwood	Strong, dense wood from deciduous trees	Elm ran a close second to oak as the hardwood tree of choice.
Ingrained	Deeply established; part of one’s deepest nature	Elm is ingrained in British culture.
Advocate	Someone who supports or promotes an idea or cause	Peter Bourne is a strong advocate for elms in Brighton.
Precarious	Probably dangerous or risky; unstable	The elms in Brighton survived, but the situation remains precarious.
Hybrid strain	A mix of genes from different species or types	A new generation of hybrid seedlings is being tested for disease resistance.
Resistant / Tolerant	Able to survive or endure harmful conditions	The future of elms depends on identifying strains resistant or tolerant to the disease.
Pathogen	A disease-causing organism (like bacteria or fungus)	Researchers injected small amounts of the pathogen to test resistance.
Susceptible	Likely to be harmed or affected by something dangerous	Trees that are susceptible show leaf loss or may die after infection.
Social acceptance	How well people accept something within a community	Some question whether it's okay to reintroduce a partly non-native elm for social acceptance.
Host	To provide habitat and support for other life	Elms will host wildlife when reintroduced.

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