Secrets Of The Forest — IELTS Reading Answers

Section A

“In 1942 Allan R Holmberg, a doctoral student in anthropology from Yale University, USA, ventured deep into the jungle of Bolivian Amazonia and searched out an isolated band of Siriono Indians”

Section A recounts Holmberg's 1942 expedition deep into Bolivian Amazonia to search out an isolated band of Siriono, an account of early exploration.

Section B

“The apparent simplicity of Indian ways of life has been judged an evolutionary adaptation to forest ecology, living proof that Amazonia could not - and cannot - sustain a more complex society”

Section B reports the view that Indian simplicity was judged an evolutionary adaptation to forest ecology, the idea that the forest limits complexity.

Section D

“The archaeological evidence shows that the natural history of Amazonia is to a surprising extent tied to the activities of its prehistoric inhabitants”

Section D says the archaeological evidence ties Amazonia's natural history to the activities of its prehistoric inhabitants.

The reason for the simplicity of the Indian way of life is that Amazonia has always been unable to support a more complex society.

“If the lives of Indians today seem "primitive", the appearance is not the result of some environmental adaptation or ecological barrier; rather it is a comparatively recent adaptation to centuries of economic and political pressure”

The text says the primitive appearance is not an environmental adaptation or ecological barrier but a recent adaptation to centuries of economic and political pressure.

There is a crucial popular misconception about the human history of Amazonia.

“The popular conception of Amazonia and its native residents would be enormously consequential if it were true. But the human history of Amazonia in the past 11,000 years betrays that view as myth”

The writer says the popular conception would be enormously consequential if true, but the past 11,000 years of human history betrays that view as myth.

There are lessons to be learned from similar ecosystems in other parts of the world.

“In 1942 Allan R Holmberg, a doctoral student in anthropology from Yale University, USA, ventured deep into the jungle of Bolivian Amazonia and searched out an isolated band of Siriono Indians”

The passage discusses Amazonia alone and never suggests lessons could be drawn from similar ecosystems elsewhere in the world.

Most ecologists were aware that the areas of Amazonia they were working in had been shaped by human settlement.

“Ecologists have assumed that tropical ecosystems were shaped entirely by natural forces and they have focused their research on habitats they believe have escaped human influence”

Ecologists assumed tropical ecosystems were shaped entirely by natural forces and focused on habitats they believed had escaped human influence.

The indigenous Amazonian Indians are necessary to the well-being of the forest.

“In the clash between environmentalists and developers, the Indians, whose presence is in fact crucial to the survival of the forest, have suffered the most”

The text says the Indians' presence is in fact crucial to the survival of the forest, confirming their necessity to its wellbeing.

It would be possible for certain parts of Amazonia to support a higher population.

“Archaeology makes clear that with judicious management selected parts of the region could support more people than anyone thought before”

Archaeology makes clear that with judicious management selected parts of the region could support more people than anyone thought before.

In 1942 the US anthropology student concluded that the Siriono

1. Awere unusually aggressive and cruel.
2. Bhad had their way of life destroyed by invaders.
3. Cwere an extremely primitive society.correct
4. Dhad only recently made permanent settlements.

“The Siriono, Holmberg later wrote, led a "strikingly backward" existence”

Holmberg wrote that the Siriono led a strikingly backward existence, so he concluded they were an extremely primitive society.

The author believes recent discoveries of the remains of complex societies in Amazonia

1. Aare evidence of early indigenous communities.correct
2. Bare the remains of settlements by invaders.
3. Care the ruins of communities established since the European invasions.
4. Dshow the region has only relatively recently been covered by forest.

“Evidence gathered in recent years from anthropology and archaeology indicates that the region has supported a series of indigenous cultures for eleven thousand years;”

Recent anthropology and archaeology indicate the region supported indigenous cultures for eleven thousand years, with complex societies thriving before Europeans arrived.

The assumption that the tropical ecosystem of Amazonia has been created solely by natural forces

1. Ahas often been questioned by ecologists in the past.
2. Bhas been shown to be incorrect by recent research.correct
3. Cwas made by Peter Feinsinger and other ecologists.
4. Dhas led to some fruitful discoveries.

“The archaeological evidence shows that the natural history of Amazonia is to a surprising extent tied to the activities of its prehistoric inhabitants”

Archaeological evidence shows Amazonia's natural history is tied to prehistoric inhabitants' activities, disproving the assumption of purely natural shaping.

The application of our new insights into the Amazonian past would

1. Awarn us against allowing any development at all.
2. Bcause further suffering to the Indian communities.
3. Cchange present policies on development in the region.correct
4. Dreduce the amount of hunting, fishing, and ‘slash-and-burn’.

“The new understanding of the pre-history of Amazonia, however, points toward a middle ground. Archaeology makes clear that with judicious management selected parts of the region could support more people than anyone thought before”

The new understanding points toward a middle ground, with judicious management of selected areas, implying present development policies should change.