Trees in Trouble Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Sample

Persistent practice is the quickest way to ace your IELTS Reading preparation. Let us start with the Trees in Trouble Reading answers. 

The IELTS, or the International English Language Testing System, is an internally standardised English language proficiency test accepted across 140 countries. The test comprises 4 modules: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. 

 The IELTS Reading test is a one-hour test that assesses your English reading skills. Given below are the test details.  

Check out the details of the IELTS Reading Test:

Duration	60 minutes
Number of Questions	40
Number of Section	3
Number of Passages	General Training: 4- 6 Academic: 3
Band Score	1-9
Question Types	– Identifying Information – Identifying a Writer’s Views/Claims – Sentence Completion – Summary, Note, Table, Flow-chart Completion – Diagram Label Completion – Short-answer Questions – Multiple Choice Questions – Matching Information – Matching Headings – Matching Features – Matching Sentence Endings

The IELTS Reading test consists of three sections and each section is recommended to finish within 20 minutes. 

The given Trees in Trouble passage explains the importance of big trees for the world and details how their destruction causes various impacts on the environment. It also specifies the numerous factors that cause this damage. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions followed by it. 

The given passage comprises two question sets:

• Matching Headings
• Note Completion questions. 

Check out the Trees in Trouble Reading answers below, with references and detailed explanations.

Trees In Trouble Reading Passage

Check out the Trees In Trouble reading passage below. Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions.

Trees in Trouble

Paragraph 1: Big trees are incredibly important ecologically. For a start, they sustain countless other species. They provide shelter for many animals, and their trunks and branches can become gardens, hung with green ferns, orchids and bromeliads, coated with mosses and draped with vines. With their tall canopies (leaves and branches that form a cover high above the ground) basking in the sun, they capture vast amounts of energy. This allows them to produce massive crops of fruit, flowers and foliage that sustain much of the animal life in the forest.

Paragraph 2: Only a small number of tree species have the genetic capacity to grow really big. The mightiest are native to North America, but big trees grow all over the globe, from the tropics to the boreal forests of the high latitudes. To achieve giant stature, a tree needs three things: the right place to establish its seedling, good growing conditions and lots of time with low adult mortality(no. of deaths within a particular group). Disrupt any of these, and you can lose your biggest trees.

Paragraph 3: In some parts of the world, populations of big trees are dwindling because their seedlings cannot survive or grow. In southern India, for instance, an aggressive non-native shrub, Lantana camara, is invading the floor of many forests. Lantana grows so thickly that young trees often fail to take root. With no young trees to replace them, it is only a matter of time before most of the big trees disappear. Across much of northern Australia, gamba grass from Africa is overrunning native savannah woodlands. The grass grows up to four metres tall and burns fiercely, creating super-hot fires that cause catastrophic tree mortality.

Paragraph 4: Without the right growing conditions trees cannot get really big, and there is some evidence to suggest tree growth could slow in a warmer world, particularly in environments that are already warm. Having worked for decades at La Selva Biological Station in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, David and Deborah Clark and colleagues have shown that tree growth there declines markedly in warmer years. “During the day, their photosynthesis shuts down when it gets too warm, and at night they consume more energy because their metabolic rate increases, much as a reptile’s would when it gets warmer,” explains David Clark. With less energy produced in warmer years and more being consumed just to survive, there is even less energy available for growth.

Paragraph 5: The Clarks’ hypothesis, if correct, means tropical forests would shrink over time. The largest, oldest trees would progressively die off and tend not to be replaced. According to the Clarks, this might trigger a destabilisation of the climate; as older trees die, forests would release some of their stored carbon into the atmosphere, prompting a vicious cycle of further warming, forest shrinkage and carbon emissions.

Paragraph 6: Big trees face threats from elsewhere. The most serious is increasing mortality, especially of mature trees. Across much of the planet, forests of slow-growing ancient trees have been cleared for human use. In western North America, most have been replaced by monocultures of fast-growing conifers. Siberia’s forests are being logged at an incredible rate. Logging in tropical forests is selective but the timber cutters usually prioritise the biggest and oldest trees. In the Amazon, my colleagues and I found the mortality rate for the biggest trees had tripled in small patches of rainforest surrounded by pasture land. This happens for two reasons. First, as they grow taller, big trees become thicker and less flexible: when winds blow across the surrounding cleared land, there is nothing to stop their acceleration. When they hit the trees, the impact can snap them in half. Second, rainforest fragments dry out when surrounded by dry, hot pastures and the resulting drought can have devastating consequences: one four-year study has shown that death rates will double for smaller trees but will increase 4.5 times for bigger trees.

Paragraph 7: Particular enemies to large trees are insects and disease. Across vast areas of western North America, increasingly mild winters are causing massive outbreaks of bark beetles. These tiny creatures can kill entire forests as they tunnel their way through the inside of trees. In both North America and Europe, fungus-causing diseases such as Dutch elm disease have killed off millions of stately trees that once gave beauty to forests and cities. As a result of human activity, such enemies reach even the remotest corners of the world, threatening to make the ancient giants a thing of the past.

Also Read: IELTS Test Online: Free Sample Papers

Questions for Trees In Trouble Reading Passage

Questions 1-7

The reading passage has seven paragraphs: A-G.

Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-x, as your answer to each question.

List of Headings

i. How Deforestation Harms Isolated Trees

ii. How other plants can cause harm

iii. Which big trees support the most diverse species

iv. Impact of big tree loss on the wider environment

v. Measures to prevent further decline in big tree populations

vi. How wildlife benefits from big trees

vii. Risk from pests and infection

viii. Ways in which industry uses big tree products

ix. How higher temperatures slow the rate of tree growth

x. Factors that enable trees to grow to significant heights

1. Paragraph 1
2. Paragraph 2
3. Paragraph 3
4. Paragraph 4
5. Paragraph 5
6. Paragraph 6
7. Paragraph 7

Questions 8-13

Complete the sentences below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

8. The biggest trees in the world can be found in ___________

9. Some trees in Northern Australia die because of __________ made worse by gamba grass.

10. The Clarks believe that the release of __________ from dead trees could lead to the death of more trees.

11. Strong ____________ are capable of damaging tall trees in the Amazon.

12. ____________ has a worse impact on tall trees than smaller ones.

13. In western Northern America, a species of ___________ has destroyed many trees.

Also Read: IELTS Reading Score 7+: Preparation Strategy

Trees In Trouble Reading Answers with Explanation

1. Answer:

vi – How wildlife benefits from big trees 

Reference: 

From paragraph 1: Big trees are incredibly important ecologically. For a start, they sustain countless other species. They provide shelter for many animals, and their trunks and branches can become gardens, hung with green ferns, orchids and bromeliads, coated with mosses and draped with vines.

Explanation: 

The Trees in Trouble reading passage explains the importance of big trees and the environmental threat they face. The passage begins by explaining the importance of big trees and how they influence other organisms in an ecosystem. They shelter and assist the growth of other plants and animals surrounding them. So, the given title, How Wildlife Benefits from Big Trees, matches paragraph 1. 

2.  Answer:

x – Factors that enable trees to grow to significant heights

Reference: 

From paragraph 2: To achieve giant stature, a tree needs three things: the right place to establish its seedling, good growing conditions and lots of time with low adult mortality(no. of deaths within a particular group).

Explanation: 

According to the passage, trees need three different elements to help them grow into big trees. The first condition is to receive a proper place for the seedlings to grow. Secondly, they require appropriate growing conditions. Finally, they need to get enough time without dying out. So, paragraph 2 matches with the title Factors that Enable Trees to Grow to Significant Heights, 

3.   Answer:

ii – How other plants can cause harm

Reference: 

From paragraph 3: In southern India, for instance, an aggressive non-native shrub, Lantana camara, is invading the floor of many forests. Lantana grows so thickly that young trees often fail to take root. With no young trees to replace them, it is only a matter of time before most of the big trees disappear. Across much of northern Australia, gamba grass from Africa is overrunning native savannah woodlands. The grass grows up to four metres tall and burns fiercely, creating super-hot fires that cause catastrophic tree mortality.

Explanation: 

The given paragraph explains how other plants can cause harm to the growth of a particular plant. The passage provides two examples of this. Lantana camara of southern India and the gama grass of Australia. Both these plants are replacing the native species. So, the title How Other Plants Can Cause Harm matches paragraph 3. 

4.  Answer:

ix – How higher temperatures slow the rate of tree growth

Reference: 

From paragraph 4: Without the right growing conditions trees cannot get really big, and there is some evidence to suggest tree growth could slow in a warmer world, particularly in environments that are already warm. Having worked for decades at La Selva Biological Station in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, David and Deborah Clark and colleagues have shown that tree growth there declines markedly in warmer years.

Explanation: 

According to the given passage, the studies conducted by David and Deborah Clark and their colleagues show that warmer climatic conditions can reduce the growth rate of plants. According to this four-year study, during summers, the energy expenditure of plants is reserved for survival. So, they lack energy for growth. So, the title How Higher Temperatures Slow the Rate of Tree Growth matches paragraph 4. 

5.  Answer:

iv – Impact of big tree loss on the wider environment

Reference: 

From paragraph 5: According to the Clarks, this might trigger a destabilisation of the climate; as older trees die, forests would release some of their stored carbon into the atmosphere, prompting a vicious cycle of further warming, forest shrinkage and carbon emissions.

Explanation: 

According to the passage, the death of bigger plants can destabilise the climatic conditions. Plants are carbon reservoirs. So, when a plant dies, carbon emission takes place. This increases the temperature and results in the death of more plants. So, paragraph 5 explains how the death of bigger trees causes further environmental losses. The given paragraph matches the title Impact of Big Tree Loss on the Wider Environment.

6.  Answer:

i – How deforestation harms isolated trees

Reference: 

From paragraph 6:  In the Amazon, my colleagues and I found the mortality rate for the biggest trees had tripled in small patches of rainforest surrounded by pasture land. This happens for two reasons. First, as they grow taller, big trees become thicker and less flexible: when winds blow across the surrounding cleared land, there is nothing to stop their acceleration. When they hit the trees, the impact can snap them in half. Second, rainforest fragments dry out when surrounded by dry, hot pastures and the resulting drought can have devastating consequences: one four-year study has shown that death rates will double for smaller trees but will increase 4.5 times for bigger trees.

Explanation: 

The above-given lines explain that isolated trees are worst affected by deforestation. A major reason is that when storms hit isolated big trees, they do not have other nearby trees for support. So the impact is doubled. Another reason is that, as the nearby forest cover disappears, the ground is drying out easily. So, paragraph 6 matches with the title How Deforestation Harms Isolated Trees. 

7.  Answer:

vii – Risk from pests and infection

Reference: 

From paragraph 7: Particular enemies to large trees are insects and disease. Across vast areas of western North America, increasingly mild winters are causing massive outbreaks of bark beetles. These tiny creatures can kill entire forests as they tunnel their way through the inside of trees.  In both North America and Europe, fungus-causing diseases such as Dutch elm disease have killed off millions of stately trees that once gave beauty to forests and cities. 

Explanation: 

The concluding paragraph of the passage explains how insects and infections destroy forests. An example given here is the case of beetles in western North America. An example of infections is the fungus-causing diseases such as Dutch elm disease in North America and Europe. This denoted that paragraph 7 matches the title Risk from Pests and Infection. 

8.  Answer:

North America

Reference: 

From paragraph 2: Only a small number of tree species have the genetic capacity to grow really big. The mightiest are native to North America, but big trees grow all over the globe, from the tropics to the boreal forests of the high latitudes.

Explanation: 

According to the given paragraph, North America is home to the mightiest big trees in the world. Besides North America, bigger trees are also found across the globe, from tropical regions to high latitudes. 

9.  Answer:

Super-hot Fires

Reference: 

From paragraph 3: Across much of northern Australia, gamba grass from Africa is overrunning native savannah woodlands. The grass grows up to four metres tall and burns fiercely, creating super-hot fires that cause catastrophic tree mortality.

Explanation: 

As the above lines suggest, the trees of Northern Australia are dying due to the fires. The African plant gamba grass is a major factor that adds to the fires. 

10.  Answer:

Stored Carbon

Reference: 

From paragraph 5: According to the Clarks, this might trigger a destabilisation of the climate; as older trees die, forests would release some of their stored carbon into the atmosphere, prompting a vicious cycle of further warming, forest shrinkage and carbon emissions.

Explanation: 

As mentioned in the above lines, old plants release their stored carbon as they die. The release of carbon results in rising climatic temperatures, resulting in the death of more plants. 

11.  Answer:

Winds 

Reference: 

From paragraph 6: In the Amazon, my colleagues and I found the mortality rate for the biggest trees had tripled in small patches of rainforest surrounded by pasture land. This happens for two reasons. First, as they grow taller, big trees become thicker and less flexible: when winds blow across the surrounding cleared land, there is nothing to stop their acceleration. When they hit the trees, the impact can snap them in half. 

Explanation: 

According to the passage, strong winds can uproot big plants. As plants grow taller, they become less flexible. As a result, huge storms can affect them easily. So, taller trees are more affected than smaller trees. 

12.  Answer:

Drought 

Reference: 

From paragraph 6: rainforest fragments dry out when surrounded by dry, hot pastures and the resulting drought can have devastating consequences: one four-year study has shown that death rates will double for smaller trees but will increase 4.5 times for bigger trees.

Explanation: 

According to the given paragraph, drought is a major problem that affects trees. As the study suggests, the effect of drought on bigger plants is 4.5 times greater than that on smaller trees. 

13.  Answer:

Beetle 

Reference: 

From paragraph 7: Particular enemies to large trees are insects and disease. Across vast areas of western North America, increasingly mild winters are causing massive outbreaks of bark beetles. These tiny creatures can kill entire forests as they tunnel their way through the inside of trees.

Explanation: 

According to the final paragraph of the passage, tiny insects called beetles have caused a major destruction of trees in western North America. These small insects tunnel through the trees, causing the trees to die out. 

Also Read: IELTS Reading 2023: Valuable Tips

Try More Reading Passages

• The Power of Play Reading Answers
• Could Urban Engineers Learn from Dance Reading Answers
• The Flavour of Pleasure Reading Answers
• The Forgotten Forests Reading Answers
• Henry Moore Reading Answers
• Why We Need to Protect Polar Bears Reading Answers
• Coastal Archaeology of Britain Reading Answers

Conclusion 

The IELTS Reading test can be easier for you with proper guidance and regular practice. Try to attempt as many IELTS Reading sample papers as possible. You can get free IELTS resources online. However, make sure you rely on credible sources. 

For IELST Reading preparation, try to cultivate a regular reading practice. Read different types of texts such as newspapers, magazines and novels. Focus on the grammar, vocabulary, punctuation and other focus points of language. 

Leap’s IELTS experts can deliver you the right IELTS aids. Reach out to our experts for detailed classes, IELTS resources and practice sessions. 

Frequently Asked Questions