A tree's value depends on who is looking. Decades of 'high-grading' (cutting only the best timber) left Pennsylvania full of low-use or 'junk' trees, and wood-energy markets now make it worth removing them. The passage explains TSI, Salvage and Shelterwood cuts, then warns that some low-use wood should stay for soil, wildlife and diversity.
Paragraph matching (14-18) uses B twice. The timber-cut matching (19-21) is in E and F. The sentence completions (22-26) are all in the last paragraph, G, in order.
Matching information (paragraphs A-G)
Questions 14-18
How to attack this block: B holds two items: the damage done when owners cared only about timber value, and the 'junk trees' nickname. A lists the factors that make up a tree's value. The fuel for cars and lorries is in C. The named pests (adelgid, beetles, moths) are in E.
Question 14
Answer: BParagraph B
Which paragraph describes the harm done to forests when owners cared only about money?
In the past, Pennsylvania landowners were solely interested in the value of their trees as high-quality timber.
Question says → Passage says
focus only onsolely interested in
financial rewardthe value of their trees as high-quality timber
bad outcomes for a foresta legacy of 'low-use wood' / decrease the health of a stand leaving it more vulnerable to poor weather and disease
Why: B starts with owners who only wanted timber value, then lists what that 'high-grading' left behind: poor trees that crowd out better ones, shade out regeneration and weaken the stand. That's the statement's cause plus its bad outcomes.
The trap: A also talks about a tree's value as timber, but it just explains that value depends on who's looking. It doesn't describe any damage.
Question 15
Answer: AParagraph A, first sentence
Which paragraph lists the features of a tree that decide how much it's worth?
A tree's 'value' depends on several factors including its species, size, form, condition, quality, function, and accessibility
Question says → Passage says
the aspects of any treeseveral factors including its species, size, form
contribute to its worthA tree's 'value' depends on
Why: The opening sentence of A is a list of what a tree's value depends on: species, size, form and so on. 'Aspects' = 'factors', and 'worth' = 'value'.
The trap: B also mentions 'lower economic value', but it's about one group of trees being worth less, not about what makes up value for any tree.
Question 16
Answer: CParagraph C, fifth sentence
Which paragraph says wood could power cars and lorries?
can even be made into liquid fuels like ethanol and gasoline for lorries and cars
Question says → Passage says
help run vehiclesliquid fuels… for lorries and cars
potential usecan even be made into
Why: C lists the energy uses of wood: heating, electricity, gasification, and finally liquid fuels for lorries and cars. Vehicles = lorries and cars, and 'can even be' signals a possible use.
The trap: C also talks about schools, hospitals and coal plants. Those are buildings and power stations, not vehicles, so read to the end of the list.
Question 17
Answer: EParagraph E, second sentence
Which paragraph names insects that damage trees?
the many pests and pathogens visiting forests including hemlock wooly adelgid, Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, and gypsy moth
Question says → Passage says
examplesincluding… to name just a few
insects that attack treespests… hemlock wooly adelgid, Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, and gypsy moth
Why: E names four pests: an adelgid, a beetle, a borer and a moth. 'Examples' is the clue, and 'to name just a few' confirms the list is examples.
The trap: G mentions 'problem insects' and 'insect predators like woodpeckers, bats'. But those predators eat insects, and the problem insects aren't named, so there are no examples there.
Question 18
Answer: BParagraph B, fourth sentence
Which paragraph gives another name for trees with low-use wood?
Some people even call these 'junk trees', and they are abundant in Pennsylvania.
Question says → Passage says
an alternative nameSome people even call these
trees that produce low-use wood'low-use wood'… 'junk trees'
Why: 'Call these' is how a passage gives a name, and 'these' points back to the low-use wood in the sentence before. 'Junk trees' is the nickname. B has already answered 14, but letters can repeat here.
The trap: Many students avoid B because they've used it for 14. Don't assume each paragraph is used once unless the instructions say so.
Matching purposes to timber cuts
Questions 19-21
How to attack this block: The Shelterwood Cut in F does two of the three jobs: it leaves trees at a similar stage of growth, and a two-tier version spreads the income over a decade or more. The Salvage Cut in E removes sick trees. The TSI Cut isn't used.
Question 19
Answer: BParagraph E, last two sentences
Which cut removes diseased trees?
These types of cut reduce the number of sick trees and seek to manage the future spread of a pest problem.
Question says → Passage says
removereduce the number of
diseasedsick / pests and pathogens
Why: E is the Salvage Cut, and its purpose is to cut out sick trees during an outbreak and leave the healthy ones. 'Diseased' = 'sick', and pathogens are what cause disease.
The trap: The TSI Cut in D also removes poor trees, but because they're poor quality and crowd better stems, not because they're sick.
Question 20
Answer: CParagraph F, last sentence
Which cut spreads the income over several years?
so that there are two harvests and the money that comes in is spread out over a decade or more
Question says → Passage says
generate incomethe money that comes in
across a number of yearsspread out over a decade or more
Why: F, the Shelterwood Cut, can create a two-tier forest with two harvests, so the money arrives in instalments over ten years or more. That's income across a number of years.
The trap: D says TSI Cuts can be tailored to a farmer's goals, which might include money, but it says nothing about timing income.
Question 21
Answer: CParagraph F, third sentence
Which cut leaves trees that are all about the same age?
It leaves a young forest where all trees are at a similar point in their growth.
Question says → Passage says
create a forestleaves a young forest
close in ageat a similar point in their growth
Why: The Shelterwood Cut takes out the mature trees once seedlings are established, so what's left is all young growth at a similar stage. 'Close in age' is the paraphrase. C answers both 20 and 21.
The trap: Students often refuse to use C twice and pick A or B. Nothing in D or E mentions age, and the rubric lets you reuse a letter.
Sentence completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 22-26
How to attack this block: G lists what to remove and what to keep, and the sentences go through it in order. The answers are what dead wood is cleared to prevent, what tree tops return to the soil, the feature that makes damaged trees good homes, one small tree species named as food, and the kind of tree kept for diversity.
Question 22
Answer: fireParagraph G, first sentence
What risk is some dead wood removed to prevent?
Thinnings and dense and dead wood removal for fire prevention also center on the production of low-use wood.
Question says → Passage says
Some dead wood is removeddead wood removal
to avoid the possibility ofprevention
Why: 'Removal for fire prevention' becomes 'removed to avoid the possibility of ___'. 'Prevention' has been turned into 'avoid', so the gap takes the thing being prevented: fire.
The trap: Don't write 'prevention'. It's the passage's word for 'avoid', and 'the possibility of prevention' makes no sense.
Question 23
Answer: nutrientsParagraph G, third sentence
What do the tops of felled trees give back to the soil?
The tops of trees that have been cut down should be left on the site so that their nutrients cycle back into the soil.
Question says → Passage says
the tops of cut treesThe tops of trees that have been cut down
help improve soil qualitycycle back into the soil
Why: Tops are left so their nutrients return to the soil, and that's what improves it. The gap needs a plural noun ('The ___ … can help'), and 'nutrients' fits.
The trap: 'Tops' itself is already in the sentence, and 'soil' is what's improved. The gap is the thing that travels from one to the other.
Question 24
Answer: cavitiesParagraph G, fourth sentence
Which feature of damaged trees makes them homes for animals?
trees with many cavities are extremely important habitats for insect predators like woodpeckers, bats and small mammals
Question says → Passage says
provide habitatsare extremely important habitats
a range of creaturesinsect predators like woodpeckers, bats and small mammals
Why: Trees full of holes are habitats for woodpeckers, bats and small mammals, which is 'a range of creatures'. The question's 'damaged trees' describes what a tree with cavities is. The gap follows 'their' and goes with 'provide', so it needs the plural 'cavities'.
The trap: 'Predators' or 'woodpeckers' are the creatures living there. The gap is the part of the tree that gives them a home.
Question 25
Answer: hawthornParagraph G, sixth sentence
Which small tree is named as a food source for wildlife?
not all small trees are low-use. For example, many species like hawthorn provide food for wildlife.
Question says → Passage says
Some trees that are small, such assmall trees… For example, many species like
a source of food for animalsprovide food for wildlife
Why: 'Such as' in the sentence matches 'For example… like' in the passage, and the one example given is hawthorn.
The trap: 'Wildlife' fits the meaning of the sentence's end but not the gap, which needs a type of tree. Black cherry in A also gives food to animals, but it's described as large, not small.
Question 26
Answer: rareParagraph G, last sentence
Which kind of tree should be kept because it adds variety?
rare species of trees in a forest should also stay behind as they add to its structural diversity
Question says → Passage says
should be left to growshould also stay behind
add to the varietyadd to its structural diversity
Why: The gap comes after 'trees that are', so it needs an adjective. The passage describes these trees as 'rare', and keeping them adds to diversity.
The trap: 'Structural' is the other adjective nearby, but it describes the diversity, not the trees.
B. 'Junk trees' is what some people call low-use wood. It's an easy detail to miss, sitting beside the high-grading item that is also in B.
Words from this passage worth keeping
accessibility(A)
how easy something is to reach or get to
legacy(B)
something left behind by earlier actions
abundant(B)
existing in large numbers
regeneration(B)
new growth that replaces what was lost
tailored to(D)
designed to suit a particular need
pathogens(E)
organisms that cause disease
vigorous(E)
strong and healthy
resilience(G)
the ability to recover from damage or difficulty
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 18 Test 1 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 18, Test 1, 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.
