# The coconut palm: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 13, Test 3, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 13, Test 3, Reading Passage 1. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | furniture | increasingly being used as a replacement for endangered hardwoods in the furniture construction industry |
| 2 | sugar | the sap can also be reduced by boiling to produce a type of sugar used for cooking |
| 3 | ropes | which has numerous uses and is particularly important in manufacturing ropes. |
| 4 | charcoal | An important product obtained from the shell is charcoal |
| 5 | bowls | When broken in half, the shells are also used as bowls in many parts of Asia. |
| 6 | hormones | provides the hormones which encourage other plants to grow more rapidly and produce higher yields |
| 7 | cosmetics | which are widely used in cooking in different parts of the world, as well as in cosmetics |
| 8 | dynamite | as Alfred Nobel introduced the world to his nitroglycerine-based invention: dynamite |
| 9 | FALSE | exposed to the full glare of the tropical sun, coconut seeds are able to germinate and root |
| 10 | FALSE | are likely to have moved coconuts from South and Southeast Asia to Africa and then across the Atlantic to the east coast of America |
| 11 | NOT GIVEN | But the origin of coconuts discovered along the west coast of America by 16th century sailors has been the subject of centuries of discussion. |
| 12 | TRUE | but there are no relatives growing in the wild |
| 13 | NOT GIVEN | coconuts originated on coral islands in the Pacific and were dispersed from there |

## Why these answers are right

**1. furniture.** The trunk row needs a second use for its timber besides houses. Paragraph B says the trunk wood is increasingly replacing endangered hardwoods in the furniture construction industry, so furniture is the one word that completes the making of.

**2. sugar.** The flowers row says the sap is used as a drink or a source of something. Paragraph B explains that the sap can be boiled down to produce a type of sugar for cooking, so sugar fills the gap.

**3. ropes.** You need a use of coir, the fiber from the middle layer. Paragraph C says coir has numerous uses and is particularly important in manufacturing ropes. The table's etc. stands for the numerous other uses, so ropes is the answer.

The why and the trap for questions 4 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/the-coconut-palm/answers).

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