Cambridge IELTS 11, Test 2, Reading Passage 2: What Destroyed The Civilisation of Easter Island?, Solution With Answer Key

What Destroyed The Civilisation of Easter Island? Passage Solution with Answer Key – Cambridge IELTS 11 Test 2 Reading Passage 2. Here we will discuss detailed explanation of all the questions of the passage. Here is step by step Solution with Tips and Strategies. This post is for educational purpose only. If you find difficulties in reading passage to find the right answer in the exam, just read the post carefully. Tips and strategies will help you find the right answer.

 

What Destroyed The Civilisation of Easter Island?

IELTS Reading Passage Solution

 

IELTS Cambridge 11 Test 2  Academic Reading Module, Reading Passage 2

 

PASSAGE 2: What Destroyed The Civilisation of Easter Island? (View Full Passage Here)

Questions 14-20: (List of headings)

** Tips (link details): How To Solve List of Heading in IELTS Reading Passage

Question 14: Paragraph A
Now, in paragraph A, the answer to this question is found at the end in lines 12-13 where the author mentions, “Modern science – linguistic,
archeological, and genetic evidence – has definitely proved the moai builders were Polynesians, ……”. Here, the phrase definitely proved means that the fact has no dispute.
Answer: ii (An undisputed answer to a question about the moai)

Question 15: Paragraph B
Now, in paragraph B lines 9-12, the author writes, “When the islanders (the Rapanui people) cleared the forests for firewood and farming, the forests didn’t grow back. As trees became scarce and they could no longer construct wooden canoes for shing, they ate birds. Soil erosion decreased their crop yields.” All these indicate that the food resources actually decreased or diminished.
Answer: ix (Diminishing food resources)

Question 16: Paragraph C
Now, the first line of paragraph C has the answer. Here, the writer says, “The moai, he thinks, accelerated the self-destruction.” Then, the writer supports this idea and presented a list of what the moai (the statues) did, for example, competing by building ever bigger figures, laying the moai on wooden sledges, hauling over log rails, clearing land etc. So, the right answer for this paragraph has to be how the statues made the situation worse.
Answer: viii (How the statues made a situation worse)

Question 17: Paragraph D
Now, in Paragraph D, the answer to this question can be traced simply looking at the last line. The author writes, “… .. . the prehistoric Rapanui were pioneers of sustainable farming.” So, this line indicates that the Rapanui people were the people to innovate some environmental friendly farming methods. The author supports it with previous lines, “.. .. . archaeological excavations indicate that the Rapanui went to heroic efforts to protect the resources of their wind-lashed, infertile elds. They built thousands of circular stone windbreaks and gardened inside them, and used broken volcanic rocks to keep the soil moist”.
Answer: i (Evidence of innovative environment management practices)

 

Question 18: Paragraph E
Now, in Paragraph E, the answer is found in line no. 4. “.. .. Hunt and Lipo say, archeological evidence backs up Rapanui folklore… .. ” Here, backs up means support, folklore means local belief.

Answer: iv (A theory which supports a local belief)

Question 19: Paragraph F
Now, in paragraph F, the author mentions a number of damages for which the Rapanui people were not responsible, for instance, rats and some deadly diseases. The first line gives the indication, “Moreover, Hunt and Lipo are convinced that the settler were not wholly responsible for the loss of the island’s trees. . . .” Then, in line 4, he talks about the rats, “.. .. The rats arrived along with the settlers… … .” and in lines 10-11 the writers mentions of the diseases, “.. .. of the Europeans, who introduced deadly diseases to which islanders had no immunity”.
Answer: vii (Destruction outside the inhabitants’ control)

Question 20: Paragraph G
Now, in Paragraph G, the writer talks about two different views of the Rapanui. In one side, Hunt and Lipo provides the vision that the moai builders were “… peaceful and ingenious” (lines 1 & 2)., while we find another view that the Rapanui “were reckless destroyers ruining their own environment and society.” (lines 2 &3). And the writer agrees with both vision in line 4. “Whichever is the case.. .. .” So, the correct heading for this paragraph has to be two opposing views about the Rapanui people.
Answer: vi (Two opposing views about the Rapanui people)

 

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Question 21-24 (Summary completion with ONE word only)

** Tips (link details): How To Solve Completing Summaries with and without a Wordlist in IELTS Reading Module?

Question 21: Diamond believes that the Polynesian settlers on Rapa Nui destroyed its forests, cutting down its trees for fuel and clearing land for _________.
Keywords: destroyed forests, cutting down trees, for fuel, clearing land

Now, in paragraph B, the writer mentions in lines 5-9, “US scientist Jared Diamond believes that the Rapanui people – descendants of Polynesian settlers wrecked their own environment. They had unfortunately settled on an extremely fragile island – dry, cool, and too remote to be properly fertilised by windblown volcanic ash. When islanders cleared the forests for firewood and farming, the forests didn’t grow back.” It can be gathered from the lines that the islanders cleared the forests for two reasons, firewood (fuel) and farming.
Answer: farming

Question 22: When the islanders were no longer able to build the _____ they needed to go shing, …. ..
Keywords: no longer able to build, needed to go shing
Now, the answer is in line 10 of paragraph B. “As trees became scarce and they could no longer construct wooden canoes for shing, they ate birds.” This means that the islanders failed to construct (build) canoes with which they used to go shing.
Answer: canoes

Question 23: . . … they began using the island’s _______ as a food source, according to Diamond.
Keywords: began using, island’s, food source
Now, we came to know from the previous question that the islanders failed to build canoes with which they could fish. And so, what did they do? Line 10 of paragraph B gives us the clue. “As trees became scarce and they could no longer construct wooden canoes for fishing, they ate birds.” They started eating the birds of the island.
Answer: birds

Question 24: …. .. .and that the methods of transporting the statues needed not only a great number of people, but also a great deal of _______.
Keywords: methods of transporting, statues, great number of people,

Now, in paragraph C, we find the reference to the construction of the moai (the big statues). Here, in lines 4-5, the writer talks about how they might have moved the statues. “Diamond thinks they laid the moai on wooden sledges, hauled over log rails, but that required both a lot of wood and a lot of people.”
Here, required = needed, a lot of people = a great number of people.
Answer: wood

 

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Question 25-26: (Choosing TWO answers from given options)

** Tips (link details): How To Solve Factor Matching Questions in IELTS Reading?

Question 25 and 26: On what points do Hunt and Lipo disagree with Diamond?
Now, to find these answers, we need to look at points where Diamond discussed about a thing Hunt and Lipo disagreed with him.
Let’s take a look at paragraph C where Diamond presumes, and the writer mentions, “they (the Rapanui people) laid the moai on wooden
sledges; hauled over log rails, but that required both a lot of wood and a lot of people.” However, in paragraph E, Hunt and Lipo opines, and the author writes, “moving the moai required few people and no wood.” So, it can be gathered that Hunt and Lipo’s suggestion differs with Diamond about how the moai were transported. Again, in paragraph C, Diamond believes that the moai (the statues)
accelerated the destruction of the island whereas in paragraph F, the writer opines, “Hunt and Lipo are convinced that the settlers were not
wholly responsible for the loss of the island’s trees.” So, here, Hunt and Lipo disagree with Diamond’s view about the impact of the moai on
Rapanui society.
Answers: B and C

 

 

 

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Answer Key – What Destroyed The Civilisation of Easter Island?

Cambridge IELTS 11 Test 2 Answer Key, Reading Passage 2

 

What Destroyed The Civilisation of Easter Island Reading Passage Answers Keys

Passage 2

 

 

 

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