Cork is the bark of the cork oak, a light, springy, fireproof material people have used since ancient times. The passage explains where the trees grow, why harvesting takes so much patience and skill, and why plastic stoppers and screw caps have taken over part of the bottle market. It ends by arguing that cork's image and green credentials give it a future.
Both blocks follow the passage. The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements (1-5) run from the second paragraph to the fifth. The notes (6-13) all come from the last two paragraphs: screw caps in the sixth, cork stoppers in the seventh.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: Each statement hangs on one detail, so read the numbers and absolute words closely. One statement claims something technology achieved when the passage says it never has, and another mixes up two different waiting periods. Watch the superlative in the first statement: the passage gives a thickness, but compares it with no other tree.
Question 1
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 2, first sentence
Does the cork oak have thicker bark than any other living tree?
Its bark grows up to 20 cm in thickness
Question says → Passage says
the thickest barkup to 20 cm in thickness
of any living treethe cork oak itself is an extraordinary tree
Why: The passage gives a thickness for the cork oak's bark, but it never compares it with other trees. Without a comparison, you can't say it's the thickest, so the answer is NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'Extraordinary tree' and the 20 cm figure make it sound like a record, so people write TRUE. A superlative needs a comparison in the text, and there isn't one.
Question 2
Answer: FALSEParagraph 2, middle
Have scientists managed to make an artificial cork with the same cell structure?
the bark of the cork oak has a particular cellular structure - with about 40 million cells per cubic centimetre - that technology has never succeeded in replicating
Question says → Passage says
developed a synthetic corktechnology has never succeeded in replicating
the same cellular structurea particular cellular structure
Why: The passage says technology has never managed to copy cork's cell structure. The statement says scientists have done exactly that, so it's FALSE.
The trap: Later the passage mentions plastic stoppers, which are a synthetic substitute. That's not the same as copying cork's cellular structure, so it doesn't make this TRUE.
Question 3
Answer: FALSEParagraph 4, middle
Is the gap between a tree's first and second harvest 25 years?
to the first harvest takes 25 years, and a gap of approximately a decade must separate harvests from an individual tree.
Question says → Passage says
between the first and second harvesta gap of approximately a decade must separate harvests
Individual cork oak treesan individual tree
Why: Twenty-five years is the time from planting to the first harvest. Between one harvest and the next the gap is about ten years, so the statement is FALSE.
The trap: The number 25 is right there in the passage, which is why people write TRUE. Check what the number measures: planting to first harvest, not harvest to harvest.
Question 4
Answer: TRUEParagraph 4, last sentence
Should cork be harvested when the air is dry?
If the bark is stripped on a day when it's too cold - or when the air is damp - the tree will be damaged.
Question says → Passage says
stripped in dry atmospheric conditionsthe right kind of summer's day / when the air is damp - the tree will be damaged
Why: Stripping bark on a damp day damages the tree, so harvesting should happen when the air is dry. The statement is the positive version of the passage's warning, so it's TRUE.
The trap: The passage never actually uses the word 'dry', so some people choose NOT GIVEN. Saying damp air harms the tree is the same as saying you need dry conditions.
Question 5
Answer: TRUEParagraph 5, first two sentences
Is hand work the only method for getting the bark off?
No mechanical means of stripping cork bark has been invented, so the job is done by teams of highly skilled workers.
Question says → Passage says
The only wayNo mechanical means… has been invented
by handdone by teams of highly skilled workers / using small sharp axes
Why: No machine exists for the job, so skilled workers do it with small axes. If machines are ruled out, hand stripping is the only way, which makes the statement TRUE.
The trap: Some students hesitate because the workers use axes, which are tools. Using a hand tool is still doing it by hand, as opposed to by machine.
Note completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 6-13
How to attack this block: The notes are a straight comparison, and the passage helps you by putting each side in its own paragraph. Most gaps need an adjective or a noun lifted from a short list, so check the grammar of the note line: 'are ___ to produce' needs a comparative adjective, 'easily ___' needs a past participle.
Question 6
Answer: tasteParagraph 6, middle
What part of the bottle's contents don't screw caps affect?
The tiniest concentrations - as little as three or four parts to a trillion - can spoil the taste of the product contained in the bottle.
Question says → Passage says
affectspoil
the bottle contentsthe product contained in the bottle
Why: The problem with cork is TCA, which can spoil the taste of what's in the bottle. Screw caps don't have that problem, so the note's gap is 'taste'.
The trap: 'Contents' appears in the passage too ('the effect it may have on the contents of the bottle'), but the note already has 'contents'. The gap needs the thing about the contents that gets spoiled.
Question 7
Answer: cheaperParagraph 6, last sentence
How do screw caps compare with cork on production cost?
These substitutes are cheaper to manufacture and, in the case of screw caps, more convenient for the user.
Question says → Passage says
to produceto manufacture
are ___are cheaper
Why: 'Are ___ to produce' matches 'are cheaper to manufacture'. The gap needs a comparative adjective, and 'cheaper' is the one word.
The trap: Don't write 'cheap'. The passage compares the substitutes with cork, so the comparative form is the one in the text.
Question 8
Answer: convenientParagraph 6, last sentence
What advantage do screw caps have for the person opening the bottle?
in the case of screw caps, more convenient for the user
Question says → Passage says
to usefor the user
are ___more convenient
Why: The same sentence gives a second advantage, this one only for screw caps: they're more convenient for the user. With one word only, write 'convenient'.
The trap: 'More convenient' is two words, so it breaks the ONE WORD rule. 'Cheaper' belongs to the line above.
Question 9
Answer: imageParagraph 7, second sentence
What does cork suit about high-quality products?
its traditional image is more in keeping with that of the type of high quality goods with which it has long been associated
Question says → Passage says
suitmore in keeping with
quality productshigh quality goods
Why: Cork's traditional image matches the image of high-quality goods. 'Suit' paraphrases 'in keeping with', and the gap needs the noun 'image'.
The trap: 'Traditional' is an adjective in the same phrase. The note needs a noun after 'the', so 'traditional' doesn't fit.
Question 10
Answer: sustainableParagraph 7, third sentence
What kind of material is cork, environmentally speaking?
cork is a sustainable product that can be recycled without difficulty
Question says → Passage says
made from a ___ materiala sustainable product
Why: The note wants an adjective between 'a' and 'material', and the passage calls cork 'a sustainable product'. 'Sustainable' fits.
The trap: 'Recycled' is in the same sentence, but that's the next note's answer and it's a verb form, so it doesn't fit 'a ___ material'.
Question 11
Answer: recycledParagraph 7, third sentence
What can easily be done with cork when it's finished with?
can be recycled without difficulty
Question says → Passage says
easilywithout difficulty
Why: 'Easily' is a direct swap for 'without difficulty', and the word before it is 'recycled'. The note needs the past participle, exactly as the passage has it.
The trap: 'Recyclable' is a common mistake. It's not the word in the passage, and 'easily recyclable' changes the form the note expects.
Question 12
Answer: biodiversityParagraph 7, fourth sentence
What do cork forests support in their regions?
cork forests are a resource which support local biodiversity
Question says → Passage says
aidsupport
cork forestscork forests
Why: 'Aid' means help or support, and what cork forests support is local biodiversity. The gap needs that one noun.
The trap: Writing 'local biodiversity' breaks the ONE WORD limit. 'Local' just describes it.
The note says 'easily ___', so you need 'recycled', the verb form after 'can be', not 'sustainable' from the same sentence.
Words from this passage worth keeping
buoyant(Paragraph 1)
able to float
replicating(Paragraph 2)
copying something exactly
thrive(Paragraph 3)
grow strongly and well
prise away(Paragraph 5)
pull something off with effort, using force
virtual monopoly(Paragraph 6)
almost complete control of a market by one thing
in keeping with(Paragraph 7)
suitable for or matching
desertification(Paragraph 7)
land turning into desert
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The full Cambridge 12 Test 5 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 12, Test 5, Reading Passage 1. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
