This IELTS Reading post is the second of the series post deals with a total solution package for Cambridge IELTS Series Book 11 Reading Test 2 Passage 2 which is entitled What destroyed the civilization of Easter Island?. In this post I’ve discussed about all the answers and the best solutions with clear and easy explanations for Reading Passage 2. This is another targeted post for candidates who have great problems in finding and understanding IELTS Reading Answers. This post can easily guide you the best to figure out every Reading answer without any difficulty. Finding IELTS Reading answers is a step-by-step routine and I hope this post can assist you in this topic.

Reading Passage 2:

The headline of the passage: What destroyed the civilization of Easter Island?

Questions 14-20: (List of headings)

[To find answers for List of Headings, check the first and (occasionally) the last few lines of each paragraph. Most of the time, the answer is there for you containing some synonymous words, which have a match with the lists of headings. If you cannot find the answers in the first and last few lines, you may need to check the middle of the paragraphs. This we did in other tests too.]

Question 14: Paragraph A

In paragraph A, the answer to this question is found at the end in lines 12-13 where the author mentions, “Modern science – linguistic, archeological, and genetic evidence – has definitely proved the moai builders were Polynesians, ……”. Here, the phrase definitely proved means that the fact has no dispute.

So, the answer is: ii (An undisputed answer to a question about the moai)

Question 15: Paragraph B

In paragraph B lines 9-12, the author writes, “When the islanders (the Rapanui people) cleared the forests for firewood and farming, the forests didn’t grow back. As trees became scarce and they could no longer construct wooden canoes for fishing, they ate birds. Soil erosion decreased their crop yields.” All these indicate that the food resources actually decreased or diminished.

So, the answer is: ix (Diminishing food resources)

Question 16: Paragraph C

The very first line of paragraph C has the answer. Here, the writer says, “The moai, he thinks, accelerated the self-destruction.” Then, the writer supports this idea and presented a list of what the moai (the statues) did, for example, competing by building ever bigger figures, laying the moai on wooden sledges, hauling over log rails, clearing land etc. So, the right answer for this paragraph has to be how the statues made the situation worse.

So, the answer is: viii (How the statues made a situation worse)

Question 17: Paragraph D

In Paragraph D, the answer to this question can be traced simply by looking at the last line. The author writes, “… .. . the prehistoric Rapanui were pioneers of sustainable farming.” So, this line indicates that the Rapanui people were the people to innovate some environmental friendly farming methods. The author supports it with previous lines, “.. .. . archaeological excavations indicate that the Rapanui went to heroic efforts to protect the resources of their wind-lashed,  infertile fields.  They built thousands of circular stone windbreaks and gardened inside them, and used broken volcanic rocks to keep the soil moist”.

So, the answer is: i (Evidence of innovative environment management practices)

Question 18: Paragraph E

In Paragraph E, the answer is found in line no. 4. “.. .. Hunt and Lipo say, archeological evidence backs up Rapanui folklore… .. ” Here, backs up means support, folklore means local belief.

So, the answer is: iv (A theory which supports a local belief)

Question 19: Paragraph F

In paragraph F, the author mentions a number of damages for which the Rapanui people were not responsible, for instance, rats and some deadly diseases. The first line gives the indication, “Moreover, Hunt and Lipo are convinced that the settler were not wholly responsible for the loss of the island’s trees. . . .”  Then, in line 4, he talks about the rats, “.. .. The rats arrived along with the settlers… … .” and in lines 10-11 the writer mentions the diseases, “.. .. of the Europeans, who introduced deadly diseases to which islanders had no immunity”.

So, the answer is: vii (Destruction outside the inhabitants’ control)

Question 20: Paragraph G      

In Paragraph G, the writer talks about two different views of the Rapanui. In one side, Hunt and Lipo provides the vision that the moai builders were “…  peaceful  and  ingenious” (lines 1 & 2)., while we find another view that the Rapanui “were reckless destroyers ruining their own environment and society.” (lines 2 &3). And the writer agrees with both vision in line 4. “Whichever is the case.. .. .” So, the correct heading for this paragraph has to be two opposing views about the Rapanui people.

So, the answer is: vi (Two opposing views about the Rapanui people)

Question 21-24       (Summary completion with ONE word only)

(In this kind of question candidates are given a summary for one, two or three paragraphs with some fill-in-the-blanks questions. As these are fill-in-the-blanks or gaps, there is a condition of writing ONE, TWO or THREE words for each answer. Candidates need to find out the related paragraphs by correctly studying the keywords from the questions. Then, they should follow the steps of finding answers to fill in the gaps.)

As the heading of the summary is Jared Diamond’s View, we have to start looking for answers from paragraph B.

Question 21: Diamond believes that the Polynesian settlers on Rapa Nui destroyed its forests, cutting down its trees for fuel and clearing land for _________.

Keywords for this question: destroyed forests, cutting down trees, for fuel, clearing land    

In paragraph B, the writer mentions in lines 5-9, “US scientist Jared Diamond believes that the Rapanui people – descendants of Polynesian settlers wrecked their own environment. They had unfortunately settled on an extremely fragile island – dry, cool, and too remote to be properly fertilised by windblown volcanic ash. When islanders cleared the forests for firewood and farming, the forests didn’t grow back.”

It can be gathered from the lines that the islanders cleared the forests for two reasons, firewood (fuel) and farming.

So, the answer is: farming

Question 22: When the islanders were no longer able to build the _____ they needed to go fishing, …. ..

Keywords for this question: no longer able to build, needed to go fishing

The answer is in line 10 of paragraph B. “As trees became scarce and they could no longer construct wooden canoes for fishing, they ate birds.” This means that the islanders failed to construct (build) canoes with which they used to go fishing.

So, the answer is: canoes

Question 23: . . … they began using the island’s _______ as a food source, according to Diamond.

Keywords for this question: began using, island’s, food source 

We came to know from the previous question that the islanders failed to build canoes with which they could fish. And so, what did they do? Line 10 of paragraph B gives us the clue. “As trees became scarce and they could no longer construct wooden canoes for fishing, they ate birds.” They started eating the birds of the island.

So, the answer is: birds

Question 24: ….  .. .and that the methods of transporting the statues needed not only a great number of people, but also a great deal of _______.

Keywords for this answer: methods of transporting, statues, great number of people,   

In paragraph C, we find the reference to the construction of the moai (the big statues). Here, in lines 4-5, the writer talks about how they might have moved the statues. “Diamond thinks they laid the moai on wooden sledges, hauled over log rails, but that required both a lot of wood and a lot of people.”

Here, required = needed, a lot of people = a great number of people.

So, the answer is: wood

Question 25-26:          (Choosing TWO answers from given options)

Questions 25 and 26: On what points do Hunt and Lipo disagree with Diamond?

To find these answers, we need to look at points where Diamond discussed a thing Hunt and Lipo disagreed with him.

Let’s take a look at paragraph C where Diamond presumes, and the writer mentions, “they (the Rapanui people) laid the moai on wooden sledges; hauled over log rails, but that required both a lot of wood and a lot of people.” However, in paragraph E, Hunt and Lipo give their opinion, and the author says here, “moving the moai required few people and no wood.” So, it can be gathered that Hunt and Lipo’s suggestion differs from Diamond’s about how the moai were transported. Again, in paragraph C, Diamond believes that the moai (the statues) accelerated the destruction of the island whereas in paragraph F, the writer opines, “Hunt and Lipo are convinced that the settlers were not wholly responsible for the loss of the island’s trees.” So, here, Hunt and Lipo disagree with Diamond’s view about the impact of the moai on Rapanui society.

So, the answers are: B and C  

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Click here for solutions to Cambridge 11 Test 2 Reading Passage 1

Click here for solutions to Cambridge 11 Test 2 Reading Passage 3

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