Alaska's fisheries are among the world's largest, and salmon is at the heart of them. After overfishing crashed stocks in the 1950s, the state managed salmon sustainably, with biologists able to stop fishing at any time. Despite a sudden collapse in 1999, the fishery won Marine Stewardship Council certification in 2000.
The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements (14-20) run from the opening paragraph to the 1990s harvests, in order. The sentence endings (21-26) follow the passage from the management paragraph to the certification in 2000.
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: This block is full of numbers, so check each one against the exact wording: 'exceeded', 'well in excess of', '90%'. The first statement gets the name wrong (it was the mainland, not the islands). The two NOT GIVEN statements add details about ownership and species the passage never gives.
Question 14
Answer: FALSEParagraph 1, second sentence
Did the Aleutian islanders give their own islands the name 'Aleyska'?
The islands' native inhabitants called this land mass Aleyska, the 'Great Land'; today, we know it as Alaska.
Question says → Passage says
The inhabitants of the Aleutian islandsThe islands' native inhabitants
their islandsa land mass that lay farther to the north… this land mass
Why: Aleyska was their name for the big land mass to the north, not for their own islands. And they didn't 'rename' anything; it was their name for it. FALSE.
The trap: Both names start 'Ale-', so it's easy to think Aleyska refers to the Aleutians. Read what 'this land mass' points back to.
Question 15
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 2, last sentence
Are Alaska's fisheries owned by some of the world's biggest companies?
Alaska's commercial fisheries have developed into some of the largest in the world
Question says → Passage says
Alaska's fisheriesAlaska's commercial fisheries
some of the world's largestsome of the largest in the world
Why: The fisheries themselves are among the world's largest. Nothing is said about who owns them. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: The phrase 'some of the world's largest' is copied almost exactly, which tempts TRUE. It describes the fisheries, not the companies that own them.
Question 16
Answer: TRUEParagraph 3, second and third sentences
Does life in Alaska depend on salmon?
'Salmon,' notes writer Susan Ewing in The Great Alaska Nature Factbook, 'pump through Alaska like blood through a heart, bringing rhythmic, circulating nourishment to land, animals and people.'
Question says → Passage says
Life in Alaskaland, animals and people
is dependent on salmonpump through Alaska like blood through a heart / allowed some native cultures to flourish
Why: Comparing salmon to blood pumping through a heart means Alaska's life depends on it. The quotes add that salmon feed people, animals and even the soil. TRUE.
The trap: Because the support is a metaphor, some people choose NOT GIVEN. The 'heart and soul' and 'blood' images, plus the list of what salmon feed, make the dependence clear.
Question 17
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 3, fifth sentence
Are 90% of Pacific salmon caught sockeye or pink?
All five species of Pacific salmon - chinook, or king; chum, or dog; coho, or silver; sockeye, or red; and pink, or humpback
Question says → Passage says
sockeye or pink salmonsockeye, or red; and pink, or humpback
Ninety per cent of all Pacific salmon caught90% of all Pacific salmon commercially caught in North America
Why: The 90% figure is about where Pacific salmon are produced (Alaska), not which species they are. The passage lists the five species but gives no split by species. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: The '90%' and the species names are in the same sentence, so it feels as if the passage links them. It doesn't.
Question 18
Answer: TRUEParagraph 3, last sentence
Was more than 320,000 tonnes of salmon caught in Alaska in 2000?
During 2000, commercial catches of Pacific salmon in Alaska exceeded 320,000 tonnes
Question says → Passage says
More thanexceeded
salmon were caught in Alaskacommercial catches of Pacific salmon in Alaska
Why: 'Exceeded' = 'more than', and the year and figure match. TRUE.
The trap: The first part of Paragraph 3 gives other catch figures for 2000 (groundfish, shellfish). Make sure you match the salmon figure.
Question 19
Answer: TRUEParagraph 4, second sentence
Did salmon numbers fall sharply between 1940 and 1959?
Between 1940 and 1959, overfishing led to crashes in salmon populations so severe that in 1953 Alaska was declared a federal disaster area.
Question says → Passage says
a sharp decreasecrashes… so severe
Alaska's salmon populationsalmon populations
Why: A 'crash' so severe it led to a federal disaster is a sharp decrease. TRUE.
Question 20
Answer: FALSEParagraph 4, last sentence
Was the average yearly catch in the 1990s 100 million salmon?
during the 1990s, annual harvests were well in excess of 100 million, and on several occasions over 200 million fish
Question says → Passage says
During the 1990sduring the 1990s
was 100 millionwell in excess of 100 million
Why: 'Well in excess of' means a lot more than 100 million, sometimes over 200 million. Saying the average was 100 million contradicts that. FALSE.
The trap: The number 100 million appears in the passage, so TRUE is tempting. Read the words around the number.
Sentence endings (A-K)
Questions 21-26
How to attack this block: The beginnings follow the text in order. Several endings use words from the passage in the wrong way: spawning, freezing eggs, subsistence communities, denying certification. Match the meaning of each sentence, not the shared vocabulary.
Question 21
Answer: GParagraph 5, second and fifth sentences
Why do Alaska's biologists monitor adult fish?
There are biologists throughout the state constantly monitoring adult fish as they show up to spawn… one or more field biologists in a particular area can put a halt to fishing.
Question says → Passage says
keep a check on adult fishconstantly monitoring adult fish
to ensure that fish numbers are sufficient to permit fishingIn-Season Abundance-Based Management / can put a halt to fishing
Why: The system is 'abundance-based': biologists count the fish and stop fishing if numbers are too low. Their checks make sure there are enough fish before fishing is allowed. G.
The trap: C (to stop fish from spawning) reverses it: the biologists watch fish arriving to spawn, they don't stop it.
Question 22
Answer: EParagraph 5, fifth and sixth sentences
What power do the biologists have?
one or more field biologists in a particular area can put a halt to fishing. Even sport fishing can be brought to a halt.
Question says → Passage says
Biologists have the authorityfield biologists… can put a halt to fishing
to stop people fishing for sportEven sport fishing can be brought to a halt
Why: The biologists can halt fishing, 'even sport fishing'. E.
The trap: K (close down all fisheries) is what the state did in the 1999 crisis, not a power the passage gives the biologists.
Question 23
Answer: BParagraph 5, last sentence
What has abundance-based management let the fisheries do?
It is this management mechanism that has allowed Alaska salmon stocks - and, accordingly, Alaska salmon fisheries - to prosper
Question says → Passage says
has allowed the Alaska salmon fisherieshas allowed… Alaska salmon fisheries
to be successfulto prosper
Why: 'Prosper' = 'be successful'. B.
The trap: G (ensure fish numbers are sufficient) describes how the system works, but this sentence is about its result: success.
Question 24
Answer: AParagraph 6, second sentence
What was the MSC set up to do?
The Council, which was founded in 1996, certifies fisheries that meet high environmental standards, enabling them to use a label that recognises their environmental responsibility.
Question says → Passage says
was establishedwas founded in 1996
to recognise fisheries that care for the environmentcertifies fisheries that meet high environmental standards / recognises their environmental responsibility
Why: The MSC certifies environmentally responsible fisheries. That's recognising fisheries that care for the environment, A.
The trap: D (set up environmental protection laws) sounds official, but the MSC sets criteria for a label, not laws.
Question 25
Answer: KParagraph 8, last sentence
What did the state do after the 1999 salmon collapse?
However, the state reacted quickly, closing down all fisheries, even those necessary for subsistence purposes.
Question says → Passage says
the state decidedthe state reacted quickly
to close down all fisheriesclosing down all fisheries
Why: The state closed every fishery, even subsistence ones. K.
The trap: H (assist subsistence communities) borrows 'subsistence', but the state actually closed their fisheries too. I (freeze salmon eggs) twists the cause of the collapse, the harsh winter.
Question 26
Answer: FParagraph 9, second sentence
What did the MSC allow seven companies to do in September 2000?
Seven companies producing Alaska salmon were immediately granted permission to display the MSC logo on their products.
Question says → Passage says
the MSC allowedwere immediately granted permission
to label their products using the MSC logoto display the MSC logo on their products
Why: 'Granted permission' = 'allowed', and displaying the logo on products is labelling them. F.
The trap: J (deny certification) is what some observers expected, but the fisheries qualified.
Biologists monitor adult fish so that they can stop fishing when numbers are low, which is G. Ending C, about stopping fish from spawning, reverses the purpose.
Words from this passage worth keeping
archipelago(Paragraph 1)
a group of islands
bounty(Paragraph 2)
a large, generous supply
flourish(Paragraph 3)
grow and do well
mandates(Paragraph 4)
officially requires
prosper(Paragraph 5)
be successful
subsistence(Paragraph 7)
producing just enough food to live on
contend(Paragraph 8)
argue, claim
culminating(Paragraph 8)
reaching a final point
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The full Cambridge 7 Test 4 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 7, Test 4, 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.
