Using CRISPR gene editing, teams in Brazil and China re-domesticated wild tomatoes in under three years instead of 3,000, and made them bigger, more plentiful, richer in lycopene or vitamin C, disease- or salt-resistant. A US team did the same for the groundcherry. Experts hope for crops that cope with a warming planet, but doubt new foods will become staples.
Section matching (14-18) uses C twice. The researcher matching (19-23) mostly needs A, D and E, and Kudla is the answer twice. The sentence completions (24-26) are in B and C.
Matching information (sections A-E)
Questions 14-18
How to attack this block: C holds two items: the disease-resistant strain from China and Kudla's 'quite tasty' verdict. B explains how breeding from single plants loses diversity and flavour. E names foxtail, oat-grass and cowpea as candidate crops. A compares 3,000 years of domestication with under three years now.
Question 14
Answer: CSection C, last paragraph
Which section mentions a tomato that can resist a serious disease?
they managed to create a strain resistant to a common disease called bacterial spot race, which can devastate yields
Question says → Passage says
a type of tomatoa strain
can resistresistant to
a dangerous infectiona common disease… which can devastate yields
Why: The Chinese team's strain resists bacterial spot race, a disease that 'can devastate yields', which makes it dangerous. That's a type of tomato resisting an infection.
The trap: Section A mentions disease resistance too ('rust fungus devastating wheat crops'), but that's wheat and only a hope for the future. C is the one with an actual tomato.
Question 15
Answer: BSection B, second paragraph
Which section explains how breeding from one kind of plant causes problems?
every time a single plant with a mutation is taken from a larger population for breeding, much genetic diversity is lost. And sometimes the desirable mutations come with less desirable traits.
Question says → Passage says
focusing only on a certain type of tomato planta single plant with a mutation is taken from a larger population for breeding
problems can arisemuch genetic diversity is lost / less desirable traits
Why: B describes the cost of selecting single plants: lost diversity, unwanted traits, and supermarket tomatoes with less flavour. That's an explanation of how problems arise.
The trap: Section D also has problems (the groundcherry's sprawling growth and falling fruit), but those are about how the wild plant grows, not about breeding from one type.
Question 16
Answer: ESection E, second paragraph
Which section names wild plants that could become useful food?
The three teams already have their eye on other plants that could be 'catapulted into the mainstream', including foxtail, oat-grass and cowpea.
Question says → Passage says
a number of examples of plantsfoxtail, oat-grass and cowpea
could be useful as food sourcescould be 'catapulted into the mainstream'
Why: 'Including' introduces a list of three named plants that the teams might domesticate next. That's 'a number of examples'.
The trap: Section A has '50,000 edible plants', but it names none of them. Section D's groundcherry is already sold, so it is cultivated.
Question 17
Answer: ASection A, first two sentences
Which section compares early tomato domestication with recent research?
It took at least 3,000 years for humans to learn how to domesticate the wild tomato… Now two separate teams in Brazil and China have done it all over again in less than three years.
Question says → Passage says
the early domestication of the tomatoIt took at least 3,000 years
more recent researchNow two separate teams… less than three years
Why: The opening sets 3,000 years against under three years, then adds that the new tomatoes are even better in some ways. That's a direct comparison of old and new.
The trap: Section B describes the Aztecs and Incas breeding tomatoes, which is early domestication, but it doesn't set that against the CRISPR work the same way A does.
Question 18
Answer: CSection C, third paragraph
Which section has someone giving their opinion on how an edited tomato tastes?
'They are quite tasty,' says Kudla. 'A little bit strong. And very aromatic.'
Question says → Passage says
a personal reaction to the flavourThey are quite tasty… A little bit strong
Why: Kudla tells you what he thinks of the taste in his own words. That's a personal reaction to flavour, and C is the second answer from that section.
The trap: Section B mentions flavour too, but it's a general fact about supermarket tomatoes, not someone's own reaction.
Matching statements to researchers
Questions 19-23
How to attack this block: Kudla gives two views: we use only a small share of the world's 50,000 edible plants, and he won't say which species are next. Gao talks about drought- and heat-tolerant crops for a warming planet. Van Eck is limited by licence and approval costs. Jones doubts new foods will catch on widely.
Question 19
Answer: BSection E, second paragraph
Who says domesticated plants could cope with future changes in the environment?
By choosing wild plants that are drought or heat tolerant, says Gao, we could create crops that will thrive even as the planet warms.
Question says → Passage says
adapt to future environmental challengesthrive even as the planet warms
Domestication of certain plantschoosing wild plants that are drought or heat tolerant
Why: A warming planet is the future environmental challenge, and Gao says the right wild plants could thrive through it. B, Gao.
The trap: Kudla talks about future crops too, but about variety and diet, not climate.
Question 20
Answer: DSection E, first paragraph
Who thinks unusual new foods may not catch on widely?
But it will be hard for new foods to grow so popular with farmers and consumers that they become new staple crops, he thinks.
Question says → Passage says
unusual plantsobscure plants / new foods
may not be accepted on a large scaleit will be hard… to grow so popular… that they become new staple crops
Why: Jones accepts that CRISPR could boost obscure plants, but doubts they'll become staple crops for farmers and consumers. That's not being accepted on a large scale. D, Jones.
The trap: Van Eck says the groundcherry could be a commercial crop, which is the opposite view. Her worry is cost, not popularity.
Question 21
Answer: ASection E, last paragraph
Who thinks the next steps in the research should be kept quiet?
But Kudla didn't want to reveal which species were in his team's sights, because CRISPR has made the process so easy.
Question says → Passage says
the future direction of certain researchwhich species were in his team's sights
not advisable… to be made publicdidn't want to reveal
Why: Kudla won't say which plants his team is targeting, because anyone with the right skills could copy the work. Keeping the next targets secret is the statement. A, Kudla.
The trap: Gao in the same section does talk about future plants openly, so the paragraph about drought-tolerant crops can pull you towards B.
Question 22
Answer: CSection D, end
Who says the cost is holding back work on domesticating one wild fruit?
taking the work further would be expensive because of the need to pay for a licence for the CRISPR technology and get regulatory approval
Question says → Passage says
one wild fruitthe groundcherry
limited by the costs involvedwould be expensive because of the need to pay for a licence
Why: Van Eck is the one working on a single fruit, the groundcherry, and she says going further would be expensive because of licence and approval costs. C, Van Eck.
The trap: Kudla also mentions how easy CRISPR is, which sounds like it's cheap. That's about how simple the technique is, not about costs.
Question 23
Answer: ASection A, second paragraph
Who says humans use only a small part of the plant food on Earth?
'There are 50,000 edible plants in the world, but 90 percent of our energy comes from just 15 crops.'
Question says → Passage says
the plant food available on Earth50,000 edible plants in the world
only… a small proportionjust 15 crops
Why: Fifteen crops out of 50,000 edible plants is a tiny share. The quote is Kudla's, so A again: letters can repeat.
The trap: Gao's quote follows straight after in Section A, so it's easy to give it to her. Her point is about copying the domestication of rice and maize, not about how few plants we use.
Sentence completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 24-26
How to attack this block: B supplies the lost trait of supermarket tomatoes. C gives what the FRUIT WEIGHT edit tripled, and what one Chinese strain tolerates (the same strain is rich in vitamin C). The UK and US spellings of flavour are both accepted.
Question 24
Answer: flavourSection B, second paragraph
Also accepted: flavor
What has been lost as an undesirable side effect of breeding for mutations?
sometimes the desirable mutations come with less desirable traits. For instance, the tomato strains grown for supermarkets have lost much of their flavour.
Question says → Passage says
An undesirable traitless desirable traits
loss ofhave lost much of their
Why: 'For instance' gives the example of an undesirable trait: supermarket tomatoes have lost flavour. 'Loss of ___' needs a noun, and 'flavour' (or 'flavor') fits.
The trap: 'Genetic diversity' is lost too, in the sentence before, but that's two words, and it's caused by breeding from a single plant, not by the mutation itself.
Question 25
Answer: sizeSection C, first paragraph
What did editing one gene make three times bigger?
they tripled the size of fruit by editing a gene called FRUIT WEIGHT
Question says → Passage says
three times its originaltripled the
modifying one geneediting a gene
Why: 'Tripled' = 'made three times', and what was tripled is the size. Make sure the noun you pick fits 'its original ___'.
The trap: 'Number' (of tomatoes per truss) is changed in the same sentence, but by a different gene, MULTIFLORA, and it isn't said to have tripled. 'Weight' is part of the gene's name, not what tripled.
Question 26
Answer: saltSection C, last paragraph
What was the vitamin C-rich Chinese strain not badly affected by?
They also created another strain that is more salt tolerant - and has higher levels of vitamin C.
Question says → Passage says
not badly affected bymore… tolerant
rich in vitamin Chigher levels of vitamin C
Why: 'Tolerant' of something means it doesn't harm you much. The vitamin C clue links the sentence to this strain, and it tolerates salt.
The trap: Bacterial spot race is in the sentence before, but that's 'another strain'. Only the salt-tolerant one has higher vitamin C.
A (Kudla). He wouldn't reveal his team's next species because CRISPR makes it too easy for others to copy. The sentence doesn't say 'secret', so it's easy to miss.
A. The opening sets 3,000 years of traditional domestication against under three years with CRISPR. That comparison is the whole first paragraph.
Words from this passage worth keeping
domesticate(A)
change a wild plant so people can farm it
devastating(A)
destroying or badly damaging
staple(E)
a basic food eaten regularly by many people
traits(B)
characteristics passed on genetically
sprawling(D)
spreading out untidily over a wide area
regulatory approval(D)
official permission from a controlling authority
obscure(E)
not well known
catapulted(E)
suddenly pushed into a much higher position
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The full Cambridge 17 Test 2 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 17, Test 2, Reading Passage 2. 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.
