The Fruit Book IELTS Reading Academic Passage with Answers
Reading Passage 3
The Fruit Book
It’s not every scientist who writes books for people who can’t read. And how many scientists want their books to look as dog-eared as possible? But Patricia Shanley, an ethnobotanist, wanted to give something back. After the poorest people of the Amazon allowed her to study their land and its ecology, she turned her research findings into a picture book that tells the local people how to get a good return on their trees without succumbing to the lure of a quick buck from a logging company. It has proved a big success.
A. The book is called Fruit Trees and Useful Plants in the Lives of Amazonians, but is better known simply as the “fruit book”. The second edition was produced at the request of politicians in western Amazonia. Its blend of hard science and local knowledge on the use and trade of 35 native forest species has been so well received (and well used) that no less a dignitary than Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva, has written the foreword. “There is nothing else like the Shanley book,” says Adalberto Verrísimo, director of the Institute of People and the Environment of the Amazon. “It gives science back to the poor, to the people who really need it.”
B. Shanley’s work on the book began a decade ago, with a plea for help from the Rural Workers’ Union of Paragominas, a Brazilian town whose prosperity is based on exploitation of timber. The union realised that logging companies would soon be knocking on the doors of the caboclos, peasant farmers living on the Rio Capim, an Amazon tributary in the Brazilian state of Pará. Isolated and illiterate, the caboclos would have little concept of the true value of their trees; communities downstream had already sold off large blocks of forest for a pittance. “What they wanted to know was how valuable the forests were,” recalls Shanley, then a researcher in the area for the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Research Centre. ieltsxpress
C. The Rural Workers’ Union wanted to know whether harvesting wild fruits would make economic sense in the Rio Capim. “There was a lot of interest in trading non-timber forest products (NTFPs),” Shanley says. At the time, environmental groups and green-minded businesses were promoting the idea.
This was the view presented in a seminal paper, Valuation of an Amazonian Rainforest, published in Nature in 1989. The researchers had calculated that revenues from the sale of fruits could far exceed those from a one-off sale of trees to loggers. “The union was keen to discover whether it made more sense conserving the forest for subsistence use and the possible sale of fruit, game and medicinal plants, than selling trees for timber,” says Shanley. Whether it would work for the caboclos was far from clear.
D. Although Shanley had been invited to work in the Rio Capim, some caboclos were suspicious. “When Patricia asked if she could study my forest,” says Joao Fernando Moreira Brito, “my neighbours said she was a foreigner who’d come to rob me of my trees.” In the end, Moreira Brito, or Mangueira as he is known, welcomed Shanley and worked on her study. His land, an hour’s walk from the Rio Capim, is almost entirely covered with primary forest.
A study of this and other tracts of forest selected by the communities enabled Shanley to identify three trees, found throughout the Amazon, whose fruit was much favoured by the caboclos: bacuri (Platonia insignis), uxi (Endopleura uchi) and piquia (Cayocas villosum). The caboclos used their fruits, extracted oils, and knew what sort of wildlife they attracted. But, in the face of aggressive tactics from the logging companies, they had no measure of the trees’ financial worth. IELTSXpress
The only way to find out, Shanley decided, was to start from scratch with a scientific study. “From a scientific point of view, hardly anything was known about these trees,” she says. But six years of field research yielded a mass of data on their flowering and fruiting behaviour. During 1993 and 1994, 30 families weighed everything they used from the forest – game, fruit, fibre, medicinal plants – and documented its source.
E. After three logging sales and a major fire in 1997, the researchers were also able to study the ecosystem’s reaction to logging and disturbance. They carried out a similar, though less exhaustive, study in 1999, this time with 15 families. The changes were striking. Average annual household consumption of forest fruit had fallen from 89 to 28 kilogrammes between 1993 and 1999.
“What we found,” says Shanley, “was that fruit collection could coexist with a certain amount of logging, but after the forest fire, it dropped dramatically.” Over the same period, fibre use also dropped from around 20 to 4 kilogrammes. The fire and logging also changed the nature of the caboclo diet. In 1993 most households ate game two or three times a month. By 1999 some were fortunate if they ate game more than two or three times a year. ieltsxPRE SS
F. The loss of certain species of tree was especially significant. Shanley’s team persuaded local hunters to weigh their catch, noting the trees under which the animals were caught. Over the year, they trapped five species of game averaging 232 kilogrammes under piquia trees. Under copaiba, they caught just two species averaging 63 kilogrammes; and under uxi, four species weighing 38 kilogrammes.
At last, the team was getting a handle on which trees were worth keeping, and which could reasonably be sold. “This showed that selling piquia trees to loggers for a few dollars made little sense,” explains Shanley. “Their local value lies in providing a prized fruit, as well as flowers which attract more game than any other species.” ieltsx PRESS
G. As a result of these studies, Shanley had to tell the Rural Workers’ Union of Paragominas that the Nature thesis could not be applied wholesale to their community – harvesting NTFPs would not always yield more than timber sales. Fruiting patterns of trees such as uxi were unpredictable, for example. In 1994, one household collected 3,654 uxi fruits; the following year, none at all.
H. This is not to say that wild fruit trees were unimportant. On the contrary, argues Shanley, they are critical for subsistence, something that is often ignored in much of the current research on NTFPs, which tends to focus on their commercial potential. Geography was another factor preventing the Rio Capim caboclos from establishing a serious trade in wild fruit: villagers in remote areas could not compete with communities collecting NTFPs close to urban markets, although they could sell them to passing river boats. IELTSXpress.com
I. But Shanley and her colleagues decided to do more than just report their results to the union. Together with two of her research colleagues, Shanley wrote the fruit book. This, the Bible and a publication on medicinal plants co-authored by Shanley and designed for people with minimal literacy skills are about the only books you will see along this stretch of the Rio Capim.
The first print ran to only 3,000 copies, but the fruit book has been remarkably influential, and is used by colleges, peasant unions, industries and the caboclos themselves. Its success is largely due to the fact that people with poor literacy skills can understand much of the information it contains about the non-timber forest products, thanks to its illustrations, anecdotes, stories and songs. “The book doesn’t tell people what to do,” says Shanley, “but it does provide them with choices.” The caboclos who have used the book now have a much better understanding of which trees to sell to the loggers, and which to protect. ielts xpre s s
Questions 27-32
Reading Passage 3 has nine paragraphs A-I.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-I in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.
27. A description of Shanley’s initial data collection
28. Why a government official also contributes to the book
29. Reasons why the community asked Shanley to conduct the research
30. Reference to the starting point of her research
31. Two factors that alter food consumption patterns
32. Why the book is successful
Questions 33-40
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Forest fire has caused local villagers to consume less:
33. ________
34. ________
Game
There is the least amount of game hunted under 35 ________ yield is also 36 ________ . Thus, it is more reasonable to keep 37 ________ .
All the trees can also be used for 38 ________ besides selling them to loggers. But this is often ignored, because most researches usually focus on the 39 ________ of the trees.
The purpose of the book:
To give information about 40 ________
The Fruit Book IELTS Reading Answers
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27. D
28. A
29. C
30. B
31. E
32. I
33. 34 FRUIT, FIBRE
35. UXI
36. UNPREDICTABLE
37. PIQUIA
38. SUBSISTENCE
39. COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL
40. NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS/NTFPS
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The Fruit Book IELTS Reading Answers Explanation
Q27. A description of Shanley’s initial data collection.
Answer : D
Supporting Sentence: The only way to find out, Shanley decided, was to start from scratch with a scientific study. “From a scientific point of view, hardly anything was known about these trees,” she says. But six years of field research yielded a mass of data on their flowering and fruiting behaviour. During 1993 and 1994, 30 families weighed everything they used from the forest – game, fruit, fibre, medicinal plants – and documented its source.
Keywords: scratch, field research, the mass of data ieltsxpress
Keyword Location: Section D, second paragraph 4th sentence.
Explanation: Shanley opted to start from the beginning with a scientific investigation. “From a scientific standpoint, there was very little known about these trees,” she explains. However, six years of field research revealed a wealth of information about their flowering and fruiting patterns. This data is very appropriate for the given information.
Q28. Why does a government official also contribute to the book?
Answer : A
Supporting Sentence: blend of hard science and local knowledge on the use and trade of 35 native forest species. “It gives science back to the poor, to the people who need it.”
Keywords: local knowledge, trade of forest species, gives science to the poor.
Keyword Location: Section A, 3rd sentence
Explanation: Politicians in western Amazonia requested the publication of the second edition as it has a blend of rigorous research and local knowledge on the use and trade of 35 native forest species. “It returns science to the poor, to those who are in desperate need of it.” Therefore this content in the passage is well suited for the given information.
Q29. Reasons why the community asked Shanley to conduct the research.
Answer : C
Supporting Sentence: The union was keen to discover whether it made more sense conserving the forest for subsistence use and the possible sale of fruit, game and medicinal plants, than selling trees for timber,” says Shanley.
Keywords: keen to discover, conserving
Keyword Location: Section C, 6th sentence. ieltsxpress
Explanation: This is the correct answer because there was a lot of interest in trading non-timber forest products, the Rural Workers’ Union wanted to discover if gathering wild fruits would make economic sense in the Rio Capim. “The union wanted to see if conserving the forest for subsistence usage and the possible sale of fruit, game, and medicinal plants made more sense than selling trees for timber
Q30. Reference to the starting point of her research.
Answer : B
Supporting Sentence: Shanley’s work on the book began a decade ago, with a plea for help from the Rural Workers’ Union of Paragominas.
Keywords: work, began, a plea for help
Keyword Location: Section B, 1st sentence.
Explanation: The Rural Workers Union of Paragominas, as indicated in the paragraph, requests assistance, which prompted Shanley to begin her study. So this is the correct answer to the question asked.
Q31. Two factors that alter food consumption patterns.
Answer : E
Supporting Sentence: After three logging sales and a major fire in 1997, the researchers were also able to study the ecosystem’s reaction to logging and disturbance. ieltsxpress
Keywords: logging, disturbance
Keyword Location: Section E, 1st sentence.
Explanation: in 1997 due to the major fire and logging sales, there was a disturbance in the ecosystem’s reaction which caused changes in annual household consumption of forest fruit. Therefore this data in the passage is relevant for the given information.
Q32. Why is the book successful?
Answer : I
Supporting Sentence: Its success is largely due to the fact that people with poor literacy skills can understand much of the information it contains about the non-timber forest products.
Keywords: understand, success, thanks.
Keyword Location: Section I, 5th sentence
Explanation: The content says that many of the facts about non-timber forest products can be accessible even by those with low reading skills. Thus this section is the correct answer for the given question.
Q33. Question 7
Answer : Fruit/forest fruit
Supporting Sentence: Average annual household consumption of forest fruit had fallen from 89 to 28 kilogrammes between 1993 and 1999.
Keywords: fallen, average annual consumption ieltsxpress
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Lines 5-6
Explanation: According to the data collected from 15 families in 1999, the average consumption of forest fruit had fallen.
Q34.
Answer : Fibre
Supporting Sentence: Over the same period, fibre use also dropped from around 20 to 4 kilogrammes.
Keywords: dropped, period
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Lines 9-10
Explanation: the paragraph says that with the falling of consumption in forest fruit, there was also a drop in the use of fibre.
Question 35
Answer : uxi
Supporting Sentence: Under copaiba, they caught just two species averaging 63 kilogrammes; and under uxi, four species weighing 38 kilogrammes.
Keywords: uxi, weighing 38 kilogrammes.
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, Lines 5-6
Explanation: In the paragraph, it is given that Shanley’s team caught five species of game weighing an average of 232 kilogrammes under piquia trees, two species weighing an average of 63 kilogrammes under copaiba, and four species weighing 38 kilogrammes under uxi. This content is the correct data for the given question. ieltsxpress
Question 36
Answer : unpredictable
Supporting Sentence: Fruiting patterns of trees such as uxi were unpredictable.
Keywords: unpredictable, uxi
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, Lines 4-5
Explanation: Shanley’s data concluded that harvesting HTFPs would not yield more than timber sales and fruiting patterns of uxi are unpredictable.
Question 37
Answer : piqua/piqua trees
Supporting Sentence: This showed that selling piqua trees to loggers for a few dollars made little sense,” explains Shanley.
Keywords: selling, few dollars.
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, last 3 lines ieltsxpress
Explanation: Shanley’s team concluded that selling piquia trees to loggers would be more reasonable and worth keeping.
Question 38
Answer : subsistence
Supporting Sentence: This is not to say that wild fruit trees were unimportant. On the contrary, argues Shanley, they are critical for subsistence.
Keywords: unimportant, subsistence
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, first 2 lines
Explanation: Shanley argues that the wild fruit trees on the other hand can be sold to passing riverboats.
Question 39
Answer : commercial potential
Supporting Sentence: something that is often ignored in much of the current research on NTFPs, which tends to focus on their commercial potential. ieltsxpress.com
Keywords: ignored,
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, lines 3-4
Explanation: This isn’t to suggest that wild fruit trees didn’t have a role. On the contrary, they are essential for subsistence, according to Shanley.
Question 40
Answer : non-timber forest products
Supporting Sentence: much of the information it contains about the non-timber forest products.
Keywords: information IELTSX press
Keyword Location: Paragraph I, Lines 11-12
Explanation: Its success is largely because it offers information about non-timber forest products that even people with low literacy skills can grasp.
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