New Zealand's kakapō is a heavy, flightless, very long-lived parrot. Polynesian settlers, their dogs and rats, and later European forest clearance and introduced predators nearly wiped it out. After failed rescues and a near-extinct population of 51 in 1995, a funded Recovery Plan with predator-free islands and hand-rearing brought it back to 210 birds by 2020.
Both blocks follow the passage from A to E. The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements (1-6) move through A, B, D and D again. The notes (7-13) restart in A and finish with the Recovery Plan goals in E.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
Questions 1-6
How to attack this block: The first three are all FALSE, which unsettles people, but each contradicts one clear detail in A: the only flightless parrot, breeding only when food is plentiful, and males taking no part in rearing. The NOT GIVEN compares two threats (rats vs settlers) that the passage lists without ranking.
Question 1
Answer: FALSEParagraph A, third sentence
Are there other parrots that can't fly either?
It is the world's only flightless parrot
Question says → Passage says
inability to flyflightless
other parrots that sharethe world's only
Why: 'The world's only flightless parrot' means no other parrot is flightless. The statement says other parrots share this, so it directly contradicts the passage: FALSE.
The trap: Some people choose NOT GIVEN because no other parrot is named. You don't need names: 'only' already rules every other parrot out.
Question 2
Answer: FALSEParagraph A, near the end
Do adult kakapō breed every single year?
Kakapō breed in summer and autumn, but only in years when food is plentiful.
Question says → Passage says
produce chicksbreed
every yearonly in years when food is plentiful
Why: Breeding depends on food. 'Only in years when food is plentiful' means there are years with no breeding, so 'every year' is FALSE.
The trap: 'Summer and autumn' looks like a regular yearly cycle, and that tempts TRUE. Read past the comma: 'but only in years…' is the condition that makes it FALSE.
Question 3
Answer: FALSEParagraph A, near the end
Do male kakapō feed the females while they're on the nest?
Males play no part in incubation or chick-rearing - females alone incubate eggs and feed the chicks.
Question says → Passage says
adult male kakapōMales
bring food backplay no part / females alone… feed the chicks
Why: Males do nothing at the nest, and 'females alone' do the feeding. The next sentences add that the female has to leave the nest herself to find food, which only makes sense if no one brings it to her. FALSE.
The trap: NOT GIVEN tempts because the passage never says 'males don't feed females' in those exact words. But 'play no part' covers every nesting job, and the female going off to search for food confirms it.
Question 4
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph B
Was the Polynesian rat more dangerous to kakapō than the people who brought it?
For the early settlers, the flightless kakapō was easy prey… With them came the Polynesian dog and rat, which also preyed on kakapō.
Question says → Passage says
Polynesian settlersthe early settlers
the Polynesian ratPolynesian dog and rat, which also preyed on kakapō
Why: Both threats are there: the settlers ate the birds, and the rat 'also preyed on' them. 'Also' just adds the rat to the list. Nothing compares the size of the two threats, so it's NOT GIVEN.
The trap: Paragraph D says rats were 'a major predator of kakapō chicks', which can push you to TRUE. Those are later rats on the island sanctuaries, and even there no comparison with the settlers is made.
Question 5
Answer: TRUEParagraph D, first two sentences
Were the birds moved off Rakiura because of feral cats?
predation by feral cats on Rakiura Island led to a rapid decline in kakapō numbers. As a result, during 1980-97, the surviving population was evacuated to three island sanctuaries
Question says → Passage says
transferred… to other locationsevacuated to three island sanctuaries
at risk from feral catspredation by feral cats… led to a rapid decline
becauseAs a result
Why: The cats caused the decline, and 'As a result' links that cause to the move. 'Evacuated to three island sanctuaries' is the transfer. Cause and action both match: TRUE.
The trap: Paragraph C says Rakiura was free from 'stoats, ferrets and weasels', which can make you think the island was safe. It had no stoats, but it did have cats.
Question 6
Answer: TRUEParagraph D, second half
Did looking after young birds that were struggling help the population grow?
the population did not start to increase until rats were removed from all three islands, and the birds were more intensively managed. This involved… rescuing and hand-raising any failing chicks.
Question says → Passage says
helped increase the kakapō population sizethe population did not start to increase until
caring for struggling young birdsrescuing and hand-raising any failing chicks
Why: Growth only started once the birds were 'more intensively managed', and that management included rescuing and hand-raising failing chicks. 'Struggling young birds' is 'failing chicks', so TRUE.
The trap: It's easy to think rat removal was the only thing that worked. The sentence gives two conditions joined by 'and', and the chick rescue is part of the second.
Note completion (ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER)
Questions 7-13
How to attack this block: The note headings mirror the passage's history, so each heading tells you which paragraph to read. The diet list in A gives the first answer once you remove the items the note already mentions. Question 11 needs the year the females were confirmed, not the year the males were first seen.
Question 7
Answer: bulbsParagraph A, middle
Also accepted: Bulbs
Apart from fern fronds and tree parts, what else do kakapō eat?
with their diet including the leaves, roots and bark of trees as well as bulbs, and fern fronds
Question says → Passage says
various parts of a treethe leaves, roots and bark of trees
fern frondsfern fronds
Why: The note already covers fern fronds and the tree parts (leaves, roots, bark), so cross those off. The one item left in the list is 'bulbs'. Keep the plural, as in the passage.
The trap: 'Roots' or 'bark' are tempting single words, but they are the 'various parts of a tree' the note has already used.
Question 8
Answer: soilParagraph A, near the end
Also accepted: Soil
Where do kakapō lay their eggs?
The 1-4 eggs are laid in soil, which is repeatedly turned over before and during incubation.
Question says → Passage says
nests are created in… where eggs are laideggs are laid in soil
Why: The gap follows 'in', so it wants a place or material. The eggs 'are laid in soil', and the soil is turned over to make the nest. One word: 'soil'.
The trap: 'Trees' is a common wrong answer, because kakapō climb high into trees. They nest on the ground, though.
Question 9
Answer: feathersParagraph B, third sentence
Which part of the kakapō did the settlers make clothes from?
They ate its meat and used its feathers to make soft cloaks.
Question says → Passage says
clothessoft cloaks
were used to makeused its… to make
Why: 'Cloaks' are a kind of clothing, so the answer is what they were made from: 'feathers'. The note says 'were used', so you need the plural.
The trap: 'Meat' is in the same sentence, but the settlers ate it. It wasn't used for clothing.
Question 10
Answer: deerParagraph B, near the end
Also accepted: Deer
Which animal brought by the Europeans ate the kakapō's food?
introduced species such as deer depleted the remaining forests of food
Question says → Passage says
an animal which they introducedintroduced species such as
ate the kakapō's food sourcesdepleted the remaining forests of food
Why: The note wants an animal that removed food, not one that hunted kakapō. Deer 'depleted the remaining forests of food'. The verb is 'were', so the plural 'deer' fits (it has the same form singular and plural).
The trap: Cats, stoats and rats come in the very next sentence, also introduced by Europeans. They are predators that ate the birds, not their food.
Question 11
Answer: 1980Paragraph C, near the end
In which year was it confirmed that there were females on Rakiura?
There were about 200 individuals, and in 1980 it was confirmed females were also present.
Question says → Passage says
a definite sighting of female kakapōit was confirmed females were also present
in the yearin 1980
Why: 'Definite' matches 'confirmed', and only one year goes with confirming females: 1980.
The trap: 1977 is the year the large group on Rakiura was first spotted, but those were males. The females were only confirmed three years later.
Question 12
Answer: fundingParagraph D, middle
Also accepted: Funding
What did the Recovery Plan give more of?
In 1996, a new Recovery Plan was launched, together with a specialist advisory group… and a higher amount of funding.
Question says → Passage says
the Recovery Plan includeda new Recovery Plan was launched, together with
an increase ina higher amount of
Why: 'An increase in' is a paraphrase of 'a higher amount of', and the noun after it is 'funding'. One word only, so don't add 'higher'.
The trap: The advisory group is launched in the same sentence, but it is something new, not an increase in something that already existed.
Question 13
Answer: stakeholdersParagraph E, last part
Whose involvement does the plan want to keep going today?
ensure stakeholders continue to be fully engaged in the preservation of the species
Question says → Passage says
a current goalToday… Its key goals are
maintain the involvement ofcontinue to be fully engaged
kakapō protectionthe preservation of the species
Why: 'Maintain the involvement' is 'continue to be fully engaged', and the people involved are 'stakeholders'. Copy the spelling and keep the plural.
The trap: Paragraph E lists three goals. 'Habitat' and 'genetic diversity' are the other two, but neither is about people being involved.
Leaves, roots and bark are the 'various parts of a tree' already in the note, and fern fronds are named too. What's left from the list is 'bulbs'.
Words from this passage worth keeping
solitary(A)
living alone rather than in groups
forage(A)
search for food
incubation(A)
keeping eggs warm until they hatch
deplete(B)
use up or greatly reduce a supply of something
offset(D)
balance out or make up for
eradicate(D)
get rid of completely
supplementary(D)
added to what is already there, extra
stakeholders(E)
people or groups with an interest in something
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The full Cambridge 20 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 20, Test 1, 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.
