# THE LITTLE ICE AGE: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 8, Test 2, Reading Passage 2

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 8, Test 2, Reading Passage 2. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 14 | ii | They are the deeply important context for the current unprecedented global warming. |
| 15 | vii | This book is a narrative history of climatic shifts during the past ten centuries |
| 16 | ix | The increased productivity from farmland made some countries self-sufficient in grain and livestock and offered effective protection against famine. |
| 17 | iv | triggering for the first time humanly caused global warming |
| 18 | C | we have only 'proxy records' reconstructed largely from tree rings and ice cores |
| 19 | B | amplified with a growing body of temperature data from ice cores drilled in Antarctica |
| 20 | A | The Little Ice Age was far from a deep freeze, however; rather an irregular seesaw of rapid climatic shifts |
| 21 | H | mild winters, and frequent Atlantic storms |
| 22 | G | or to periods of droughts, light northeasterly winds, and summer heat waves |
| 23 | C | There was a vast migration from Europe by land-hungry farmers and others |
| 24 | C | The unprecedented land clearance released vast quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere |
| 25 | A | Norse voyagers from Northern Europe explored northern seas, settled Greenland, and visited North America |
| 26 | B | changes in water temperatures forced fishing fleets to work further offshore |

## Why these answers are right

**14. ii.** Paragraph B gives the dates and character of the Little Ice Age, then says its climatic events are the deeply important context for today's unprecedented global warming. Linking that period to the present situation matches heading ii, the relevance of the Little Ice Age today.

**15. vii.** Paragraph D opens by calling the book a narrative history of climatic shifts during the past ten centuries. Ten centuries is a thousand years, and a book that covers that span is a study, so heading vii, a study covering a thousand years, fits paragraph D.

**16. ix.** Paragraph E moves from famine and food worries to an agricultural revolution that made some countries self-sufficient in grain and livestock and protected them against famine. Finally having enough to eat after years of shortage is what heading ix, enough food at last, describes.

The why and the trap for questions 17 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/the-little-ice-age/answers).

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