This IELTS Reading post deals with a total solution package for IELTS Cambridge 13 Reading test 3 Passage 1. The title of the passage is The coconut palm. This is a post on request from IELTS candidates who have real difficulties in locating and understanding Reading Answers. This post can be the best guide for you to understand every Reading answer easily and without much difficulty. Finding IELTS Reading answers is a step-by-step process and I hope this post can help you in this respect.

IELTS Cambridge 13 Test 3: AC Reading Module

Reading Passage 1:

The headline of the passage: The coconut palm

Questions 1-8 (Completing notes/table with ONE WORD ONLY):

In this type of question, candidates are asked to write only one word to complete a note or a table on the given topic. For this type of question, first, skim the passage to find the keywords in the paragraph concerned with the answer, and then scan to find the exact word.

[TIPS: Here scanning technique will come in handy. Target the keywords of the questions to find the answers. Remember to focus on Proper nouns, random Capital letters, numbers, special characters of text etc.]

Question 1: timber for houses and the making of  ______ 

Keywords for this question: trunk, 30 metres, making houses,

To find the answer to this question, we need to locate the keyword ‘trunk’ which can be found in paragraph no. 2, line no. 3. Here, the author writes, “ … . The coconut palm has a smooth, slender, grey trunk, up to 30 metres tall. This is an important source of timber for building houses, and is increasingly being used as a replacement for endangered hardwoods in the furniture construction industry.” So, the lines say that the trunk of a coconut tree is used not only in making the timbers for houses but also in making furniture.

So, the answer is:        furniture

Question 2: stems provide sap, used as a drink or a source of  _________

Keywords for this question: flowers, top of trunk, sap, used as drink,

The answer to this question is in line 8-10 of paragraph no. 2. The author writes about the coconut flowers, “…. . Immature coconut flowers are tightly clustered together among the leaves at the top of the trunk. The flower stems may be tapped for their sap to produce a drink, and the sap can also be reduced by boiling to produce a type of sugar used for cooking.” So, the lines say that the sap of coconut flowers can be used as a drink or as a source of sugar.

So, the answer is:        sugar              

Question 3: used for  __________ etc.  

Keywords for this question: fruits, middle layer (coir fibres),

Paragraph no 3 talks about the fruit of coconut trees. The answer can be found in paragraph no. 3, lines 3-5. The lines say, “….. The thick fibrous middle layer produces coconut fibre, ‘coir’, which has numerous uses and is particularly important in manufacturing ropes.” This means the thick fibre of coconut palm produces ‘coir’ which is used to manufacture ropes.

So, the answer is: ropes                     

Question 4: a source of ________

Keywords for this question: inner layer (shell)

In paragraph no. 3, lines 5-6 talk about the innermost layer of coconut fruits, “ ….  The woody innermost layer, the shell, with its three prominent ‘eyes’ surrounds the seed. An important product obtained from the shell is charcoal, which is widely used… . .. .”

So, the answer is: charcoal                

Question 5: (when halved) for _________ 

Keywords for this question: fruits, inner layer (shell), when halved

The last lines of paragraph no. 3 have the answer to this question. Here, in lines 7-8, the author states, “.. . .. When broken in half, the shells are also used as bowls in many parts of Asia.”

Here, when broken in half = when halved.

So, the answers are:     bowls

Question 6: a source of _______ for other plants.

Keywords for this question:  coconut water,

We can find the reference to coconut water in lines 2-3 of paragraph no. 4, “…. …is a sweetish liquid, coconut water, which is enjoyed as a drink, but also provides the hormones which encourage other plants to grow more rapidly and produce higher yields.” So, the coconut water is not only used as a drink, but also other plants use the hormones of it for rapid growth.

So, the answer is: hormones

Question 7: oil and milk for cooking and ________

Keywords for this question:  fruits, coconut flesh, oil, milk, cooking

In paragraph no. 4, the reference to coconut flesh can be found in line 5. Lines 5-7 says, “…. .. . Dried coconut flesh, ‘copra’, is made into coconut oil and coconut milk, which are widely used in cooking in different parts of the world, as well as in cosmetics.” So, coconut flesh is used in cooking and as cosmetics.

So, the answer is: cosmetics

Question 8: glycerine (an ingredient in ________ )  

Keywords for this question: coconut flesh, glycerine, ingredient

The answer to this question can be found in lines 7-9 of paragraph no. 4. Here, the writer says, “.. . . A derivative of coconut fat, glycerine, acquired strategic importance in a quite different sphere, as Alfred Nobel introduced the world to this nitroglycerine-based invention: dynamite.”  So, glycerine is a key ingredient of dynamite.

So, the answer is: dynamite

Questions 9-13: (TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN)

In this type of question, candidates are asked to find out whether:

The statement in the question matches with the account in the text- TRUE
The statement in the question contradicts the account in the text- FALSE
or, The statement in the question has no clear connection with the account in the text- NOT GIVEN

For this type of question, you can divide each statement into three independent pieces and make your way through with the answer.

Question 9: Coconut seeds need shade in order to germinate.

Keywords for this question: coconut seeds, shade, to germinate

The answer lies in lines 4-6 of paragraph no. 5 where the author says, “Literally cast onto desert island shores with little more sand to grow in and exposed to the full glare of the tropical sun, coconut seeds are able to germinate and root.” The line clearly contradicts with the statement and confirms that coconut seeds do not need shade (exposed to the full glare of the tropical sun) to germinate.

So, the answer is: FALSE

Question 10: Coconuts were probably transported to Asia from America in the 16^th century.

Keywords for this question: probably transported, Asia to America, 16^th century

The answer lies in lines 4-6 of paragraph no. 6 where the author says, “… .. .. 16^th century trade and human migration patterns reveal that Arab traders and European sailors are likely to have moved coconuts from South and Southeast Asia to Africa and then across the Atlantic to east coast of America.” These lines suggest that the possibility of transporting coconuts in the 16^th century was not from Asia to America, rather from Asia to Africa and then to America.

So, the answer is: FALSE

Question 11: Coconuts found on the west coast of America were a different type from those found on the east coast. 

Keywords for this question: west coast of America, different type from, east coast

We find the reference to the east and west coast of America in the final paragraph or paragraph no. 6. But, there is no comparison found between the coconut varieties found in these parts anywhere in the paragraph.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN

Question 12: All the coconuts found in Asia are cultivated varieties.   

Keywords for this question: all the coconuts, Asia, cultivated varieties

The answer is found in lines 10-12 where the writer says, “In Asia, there is a large degree of coconut diversity and evidence of millennia of human use – but there are no relatives growing in the wild.” These lines suggest that the there were no wild varieties in Asia, they were all cultivated.”

So the answer is: TRUE

Question 13: Coconuts are cultivated in different ways in America and the Pacific. 

Keywords for this question: cultivated, in different ways, America and the Pacific  

There is no definite mention of how coconuts are cultivated in the final paragraph or paragraph no. 6.

So the answer is: NOT GIVEN

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Click here for solutions to Cambridge 13 test 3 Reading passage 2 

Click here for solutions to Cambridge 13 test 3 Reading passage 3