Dutch elm disease killed around 25 million British elms in the 1960s and '70s after infected Canadian logs brought a more aggressive fungus. Small elms survive in hedgerows until they're big enough for the beetle, while a few mature trees and Brighton's windy coast have escaped. Scientists test resistant hybrids, but the Woodland Trust would rather give surviving elms time.
Section matching (14-18) uses C twice, once for the research problem and once for the size at which young elms get attacked. The people matching (19-23) spans the whole text. The summary (24-26) is entirely in D.
Matching information (sections A-G)
Questions 14-18
How to attack this block: C holds two items, so keep it in play. B explains how the disease arrived (logs shipped from Canada for boat building). E explains why Brighton escaped (sea winds). G is the only section where two people disagree about replanting.
Question 14
Answer: CSection C, second half
Which section says research is held back because so few big old elms survive?
Nevertheless, opportunities are limited as the number of these mature survivors is relatively small.
Question says → Passage says
research problemsopportunities are limited
only a few surviving large elmsthe number of these mature survivors is relatively small
Why: Russell wants to study the mature elms that escaped the disease, but there aren't many of them, so 'opportunities are limited'. That's the research problem, and it sits in C.
The trap: Section F is also about research (the resistance tests on seedlings), but those are new young trees, and F doesn't mention any shortage.
Question 15
Answer: GSection G
Where do people disagree about whether bringing elms back is worth it?
For her, the environmental case for reintroducing elm is strong… Others are more wary.
Question says → Passage says
the value of reintroducing elmsthe environmental case for reintroducing elm
a difference of opinionOthers are more wary
Why: G sets two views side by side: Russell thinks the case is strong because the trees will host wildlife, while Elliot worries about cloning and new diseases. Two people, opposite views, same question: that's a difference of opinion.
The trap: Section F is about how a reintroduction would work (hybrids, testing), but everyone in F is on the same side. Nobody argues there.
Question 16
Answer: BSection B, second and third sentences
Which section explains how the disease got into Britain?
in the '70s a second epidemic was triggered by shipments of elm from Canada. The wood came in the form of logs destined for boat building
Question says → Passage says
brought into Britainshipments of elm from Canada
Dutch elm diseasea second epidemic
Why: B gives the route in: Canadian elm logs, shipped for boat building, with bark that carried the beetles and the fungus. That's how the disease arrived.
The trap: Section A says how many trees the disease killed, but not where it came from. B is about cause and arrival, A is about the damage.
Question 17
Answer: ESection E, middle
Which section explains why one British place avoided the disease?
Local factors appear to have contributed to their survival. Strong winds from the sea make it difficult for the determined elm bark beetle to attack
Question says → Passage says
a location in Britainthe city of Brighton
the conditions that have enabledLocal factors… Strong winds from the sea
escape Dutch elm diseasecontributed to their survival
Why: Brighton is the location, and the condition is the sea wind, which makes it hard for the beetle to reach the trees. 'Local factors' is the passage's own word for 'conditions'.
The trap: Section C mentions old elms surviving in Cambridgeshire, but there the survival is a mystery ('mysteriously escaped'). No conditions are given.
Question 18
Answer: CSection C, third sentence
Which section says when young elms start to be at risk?
Once the trunk of the elm reaches 10-15 centimetres or so in diameter, it becomes a perfect size for beetles to lay eggs
Question says → Passage says
young elmssmall elms in hedgerows
the stage at whichas soon as they reach a certain size / Once the trunk… reaches 10-15 centimetres
become vulnerableget targeted by the beetle
Why: Small hedgerow elms are fine until they reach a certain size, then the beetle targets them. The 'stage' is the trunk diameter of 10-15 cm. That's in C, the same section as question 14.
The trap: Section F describes seedlings losing leaves and dying, which sounds like young trees being vulnerable. But that's a deliberate lab test, not the natural point when they become a target.
Matching statements to people
Questions 19-23
How to attack this block: Russell and Elliot each answer twice. Russell gives the scientific view: resistance tests show results within weeks, and survivors can't just be lucky. Elliot gives the conservation view: old photos show what was lost, and nature should be given time. Bourne's only line here is the warning that the beetles are close.
Question 19
Answer: BSection F, last sentence
Who says the damage shows up fast once a tree is infected?
'The effects are very quick,' says Russell. 'You return in four to six weeks and trees that are resistant show no symptoms
Question says → Passage says
the damage rapidly becomes visibleThe effects are very quick
gets infectedinjecting a tiny amount of the pathogen
Why: Russell describes the injection test: within four to six weeks, trees that can't resist show leaf loss or die. 'Very quick' is 'rapidly', and the symptoms are the visible damage.
The trap: Bourne (C) remembers watching trees 'just lose their leaves', which is visible damage too. But he says nothing about how fast it happened.
Question 20
Answer: ASection G, last two sentences
Who thinks it might be wiser to give the surviving old elms time?
'Sometimes the best thing you can do is just give nature time to recover ... over time, you might get resistance,' says Elliot.
Question says → Passage says
it may be better toSometimes the best thing you can do
wait and seejust give nature time to recover
the mature elms that have survivedthose elms that have survived independently
Why: Elliot's Woodland Trust would rather give space to elms that survived on their own than plant new ones, and he says to 'give nature time'. That's waiting to see how the survivors do.
The trap: Russell (B) also focuses on the surviving mature elms, but she wants to study them now and find out why they lived. That's active research, not waiting.
Question 21
Answer: BSection C, last sentence
Who says there has to be a reason some mature elms survived?
'What are the reasons for their survival?' asks Russell… I don't see how it can be entirely down to luck.
Question says → Passage says
There must be an explanationI don't see how it can be entirely down to luck
the survival of some mature elmstheir survival
Why: If it can't be 'entirely down to luck', then there must be a cause. Russell even lists the options: avoidance, tolerance, resistance. That's her second answer in this set.
The trap: Bourne (C) talks about why Brighton's elms survived, which is an explanation for survival. But the statement is about someone insisting there must be one, and that's Russell's line about luck.
Question 22
Answer: CSection E, last sentence
Who warns that the disease-carrying insects are close by?
'The beetles can just march in if we're not careful, as the threat is right on our doorstep,' says Bourne.
Question says → Passage says
insects carrying Dutch elm diseaseThe beetles
not very far awayright on our doorstep
We need to be awareif we're not careful
Why: 'Right on our doorstep' is an idiom for very close. Bourne is warning Brighton that the beetles could come in at any time.
The trap: Russell (B) also talks about beetles targeting hedgerow elms in Section C, but she's describing what happens, not warning that they're nearby.
Question 23
Answer: ASection A, last two sentences
Who says you only see the disease's impact when you look at evidence of how big elms used to be?
You look at old photographs from the 1960s and it's only then that you realise the impact
Question says → Passage says
see evidencelook at old photographs from the 1960s
how prominent the tree once wasThey were significant, large trees
you understand the effectyou realise the impact
Why: Elliot's old photographs are the 'evidence', and they show how large and significant the elms were. Only then do you 'realise the impact', which is understanding the effect.
The trap: Bourne (C) saw the disease himself as a boy, which is first-hand memory, not looking at evidence. Elliot's point is for people who weren't there.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 24-26
How to attack this block: D reads in the same order as the summary. The first gap needs the one tree preferred over elm, the second the 18th-century use paired with crates, and the third the part of the Cutty Sark built from elm.
Question 24
Answer: oakSection D, first sentence
Which tree was the only one preferred to elm in Britain?
For centuries, elm ran a close second to oak as the hardwood tree of choice in Britain
Question says → Passage says
For hundreds of yearsFor centuries
the only tree that was more popular… than elmelm ran a close second to
Why: If elm came 'a close second' to oak, oak was first and the only tree ahead of it. One word: 'oak'.
The trap: Birch, ash and hazel are in the next sentence, but they're the woodlands elm grew in, not trees that beat it.
Question 25
Answer: flooringSection D, middle
Besides boxes, what was elm wood used for in the 18th century?
In the 18th century, it was planted more widely and its wood was used for items such as storage crates and flooring.
Question says → Passage says
it was grownit was planted more widely
boxesstorage crates
Why: The summary has already turned 'storage crates' into 'boxes', so the gap is the other item in the pair: 'flooring'. Copy it exactly; 'floors' isn't the passage's word.
The trap: 'Crates' is the word people grab first, but 'boxes' already covers it in the summary.
Question 26
Answer: keelSection D, last sentence
Which part of the Cutty Sark was made of elm?
used to build the keel of the 19th-century sailing ship Cutty Sark as well as mining equipment
Question says → Passage says
Due to its strengthsuitable for items that experienced high levels of impact
was also constructed from elmwas used to build
Why: The gap follows 'the Cutty Sark's', so it needs a part of the ship. The passage names one: the 'keel'.
The trap: 'Ship' and 'equipment' are nearby, but the summary already names the ship and the mining equipment. Only the part is missing.
C again. Young elms become vulnerable once the trunk reaches 10-15 cm across. It sits in the same section as the question 14 answer, so people who cross letters off miss it.
Write 'flooring'. 'Storage crates' is paraphrased as 'boxes' in the summary, so the other item is the answer.
Words from this passage worth keeping
aftermath(A)
the period after a disaster, when its effects are still felt
virulent(B)
spreading quickly and causing severe harm
succumb(C)
die or be defeated by a disease or force
ingrained(E)
deeply fixed and hard to remove
precarious(E)
uncertain and likely to get worse
susceptible(F)
easily affected or harmed by something
wary(G)
cautious because of possible problems
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