# The kākāpō: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 20, Test 1, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 20, Test 1, 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 | FALSE | It is the world's only flightless parrot |
| 2 | FALSE | Kākāpō breed in summer and autumn, but only in years when food is plentiful. |
| 3 | FALSE | Males play no part in incubation or chick-rearing - females alone incubate eggs and feed the chicks. |
| 4 | NOT GIVEN | With them came the Polynesian dog and rat, which also preyed on kākāpō. |
| 5 | TRUE | predation by feral cats on Rakiura Island led to a rapid decline in kākāpō numbers ... the surviving population was evacuated to three island sanctuaries |
| 6 | TRUE | the population did not start to increase until rats were removed from all three islands ... rescuing and hand-raising any failing chicks |
| 7 | bulbs | roots and bark of trees as well as bulbs |
| 8 | soil | The 1-4 eggs are laid in soil |
| 9 | feathers | They ate its meat and used its feathers to make soft cloaks. |
| 10 | deer | and introduced species such as deer depleted the remaining forests of food. |
| 11 | 1980 | in 1980 it was confirmed females were also present |
| 12 | funding | together with a specialist advisory group called the Kākāpō Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee and a higher amount of funding. |
| 13 | stakeholders | and ensure stakeholders continue to be fully engaged in the preservation of the species. |

## Why these answers are right

**1. FALSE.** Paragraph A calls the kākāpō the world's only flightless parrot. If it is the only one, no other parrot can share its inability to fly, so the statement directly contradicts the passage and is FALSE.

**2. FALSE.** Paragraph C limits breeding to years when food is plentiful. Breeding that depends on a good food year cannot happen every year, so the claim that adults produce chicks annually is contradicted and the answer is FALSE.

**3. FALSE.** The passage says males play no part in raising chicks and that females alone feed them. Males bringing food to nesting females would be a part in chick-rearing, so the statement is the opposite of what paragraph C reports: FALSE.

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

[Practice The kākāpō](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/the-kakapo)