# Urban farming: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 18, Test 1, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 18, 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 | lettuces | From identical vertical tubes nearby burst row upon row of lettuces |
| 2 | 1,000 kg | 20 staff will harvest up to 1,000 kg of perhaps 35 different varieties of fruit and vegetables |
| 3 | consumption | there's no reason why you shouldn't eventually target maybe between 5% and 10% of consumption." |
| 4 | pesticides | treated with something like 17 different pesticides |
| 5 | journeys | the varieties are selected for their capacity to withstand such substantial journeys |
| 6 | producers | 80% of the price I pay goes to wholesalers and transport companies, not the producers |
| 7 | flavour | "You can select crop varieties for their flavour |
| 8 | TRUE | the world's largest urban rooftop farm ... mushrooms in underground carparks |
| 9 | NOT GIVEN | The equipment weighs little, can be installed on almost any flat surface and is cheap to buy |
| 10 | FALSE | consuming a tiny fraction of the electricity used by some techniques |
| 11 | TRUE | are lower than soil-based organic growers |
| 12 | FALSE | much of the produce is suited to the summer months |
| 13 | NOT GIVEN | And beans tend to take up a lot of space for not much return. |

## Why these answers are right

**1. lettuces.** The note lists what grows in the vertical tubes. Paragraph A says strawberries sprout from the tubes and that from identical vertical tubes nearby burst rows of lettuces, with herbs close by, so the missing crop is lettuces.

**2. 1,000 kg.** "As much as" in the note paraphrases "up to" in paragraph B, and "daily harvest" matches "every day". The figure given for a weight of produce is 1,000 kg, which fits the limit of two words and/or a number.

**3. consumption.** Hardy says the farm could eventually target between 5% and 10% of consumption. The note turns this into "as much as 10% of the city's ... overall", so the noun that follows the percentage in the passage, consumption, fills the gap.

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

[Practice Urban farming](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/urban-farming)