The Seedhunters-Preserving The Botanical Treasure Reading Answers

Jul 26, 2024

The Seedhunters-Preserving The Botanical Treasure Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. The Seedhunters-Preserving The Botanical Treasure Reading Answers have a total of 13 IELTS questions in total. In the questions, you have to choose the correct statement from the given options. In the next section you have to tell whether the statement is true or false.

Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers, which feature topics such as The SEEDHUNTERS-PRESERVING THE BOTANICAL TREASURE Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Seedhunters-Preserving The Botanical Treasure

With quarter of the world's plants set to vanish within the next 50 years, Dough Alexander reports on the scientists working against the clock the preserve the Earth's botanical heritage. They travel the four comers of the globe, scouring jungles, forests and savannas. But they're not looking for ancient artefacts, lost treasure or undiscovered tombs. Just pods. It may lack the romantic allure of archaeology, or the whiff of danger that accompanies going after big game, but seed hunting is an increasingly serious business. Some seek seeds for profit-hunters in the employ of biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies and private corporations on the lookout for species that will yield the drugs or crops of the future. Others collect to conserve, working to halt the sad slide into extinction facing so many plant species.
Among the pioneers of this botanical treasure hunt was John Tradescant, an English royal gardener who brought back plants and seeds from his journeys abroad in the early 1600s. Later, the English botanist Sir Joseph Banks-who was the first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and travelled with Captain James Cook on his voyages near the end of the 18th century-was so driven to expand his collections that he sent botanists around the world at his own expense.
Those heady days of exploration and discovery may be over, but they have been replaced by a pressing need to preserve our natural history for the future. This modem mission drives hunters such as Dr Michiel van Slageren, a good-natured Dutchman who often sports a wide-brimmed hat in the field-he could easily be mistaken for the cinematic hero Indiana Jones. He and three other seed hunters work at the Millennium Seed Bank, an 80 million (pounds sterling] international conservation project that aims to protect the world's most endangered wild plant species
The group's headquarters are in a modem glass-and-concrete structure on a 200-hectare Estate at Wakehurst Place in the West Sussex countryside. Within its underground vaults are 260 million dried seeds from 122 countries, all stored at -20 Celsius to survive for centuries Among the 5 100 species represented are virtually all of Britain's 1,400 native seed-bearing plants, the most complete such collection of any country's flora.
Overseen by the Royal botanic gardens, the Millennium Seed Bank is the world's largest wild-plant depository. It aims to collect 24,000 species by 2010. The reason is simple: thanks to humanity's efforts, an estimated 25 per cent of the world's plants are on the verge of extinction and may vanish within 50 years. We're currently responsible for habitat destruction on an unprecedented scale, and during the past 400 years plant species extinction rates have been about 70 times greater than those indicated by the geological record as being 'normal'. Experts predict that during the next 50 years a further one billion hectares of wilderness will be converted to farmland in developing countries alone.
The implications of this loss are enormous. Besides providing staple food crops, plants are a source of many machines and the principal supply of fuel and building materials in many parts of the world. They also protect soil and help regulate the climate. Yet, across the globe plant species are being driven to extinction before their potential benefits are discovered.
The World Conservation Union has listed 5,714 threatened species and is sure to be much higher. In the UK alone, 300 wild plant species are classified as endangered. The Millennium Seed Bank aims to ensure that even if a plant becomes extinct in the wild it won't be lost forever. Stored seeds can be used the help restore damaged or destroyed environments or in scientific research to find new benefits for society- in medicine, agriculture or local industry- that would otherwise be lost.
Seed banks are an insurance policy to protect the world's plant heritage for the future, explains Dr Paul Smith, another Kew seed hunter *Seed conservation techniques were originally developed by farmers/' he says. "Storage is the basis what we do, conserving seeds until you can use them-just as in farming." Smith says there's no reason why any plant species should become extinct, given today's technology. But he admits that the biggest challenge is finding, naming and _ categorising all the world's plants. And someone has to gather these seeds before it's too late. "There aren't a lot of people out there doing this," he says* The key is to know the flora from a particular area, and that knowledge takes years to acquire.*
There are about 1,470 seed banks scattered around the globe, with a combined total of 5.4 million samples, of which perhaps two million are distinct non-duplicates. Most preserve genetic material for agriculture use in order to ensure crop diversity; others aim to conserve wild species. although only 15 percent of all banked plants are wild.
Many seed banks are themselves under threat due to lack of funds. Last year,Imperial College, London, examined crop collections from 151 countries and found that while the number of plant samples had increased in two thirds of the countries, budget had been cut in a quarter and remained static in another 35 per cent. Th UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research has since set up the Global Conservation Trust, which aims to raise US $260 million to protect seed banks in perpetuity.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 14-18

Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

Some people collect seeds for the purpose of protecting certain species from (14)........, others collect seeds for their ability to produce

Answer: EXTINCTION
Supporting statement:“.........Others collect to conserve, working to halt the sad slide into extinction facing so many plant species...........”
Keywords: species, extinction
Keyword Location: para A, Line 6
Explanation: The passage explains that some seed hunters collect seeds to prevent plant species from becoming extinct. Therefore, the word "extinction" fits in this context.

(15)......... They are called seed hunters.

Answer: DRUGS / CROPS
Supporting statement:“..........Some seek seeds for profit-hunters in the employ of biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies and private corporations on the lookout for species that will yield the drugs or crops of the future.........”
Keywords: drugs, crops
Keyword Location: para A, Line 5
Explanation: The passage mentions that some seed hunters are looking for seeds that can produce drugs or crops, highlighting the dual purposes of seed collection

The (16), …….. of them included both

Answer: PIONEERS
Supporting statement:“..........Among the pioneers of this botanical treasure hunt was John Tradescant, an English royal gardener who brought back plants and seeds from his journeys abroad in the early 1600s.........”
Keywords: gardeners, botanists
Keyword Location: para B, Line 1
Explanation: The passage refers to early seed hunters as pioneers, indicating that both gardeners and botanists were among the first to engage in this activity. Hence pioneers is correct answer.

gardeners and botanists, such as (17)............,

Answer: SIR JOSEPH BANKS
Supporting statement:“.......Later, the English botanist Sir Joseph Banks—who was the first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and travelled with Captain James Cook ...........”
Keywords: gardeners, botanists
Keyword Location: para B, Line 3
Explanation: Sir Joseph Banks is mentioned as an example of a pioneer who was both a botanist and a gardener. Hence answer is Sir Joseph Banks.

who financially supported collectors out of his own pocket. The seeds collected are usually stored in seed banks, one of which is the famous millennium seed bank, where seeds are all stored in the (18)..........at a low temperature.

Answer: UNDERGROUND VAULTS
Supporting statement:“........Within its underground vaults are 260 million dried seeds from 122 countries, all stored at -20 Celsius to survive for centuries...........”
Keywords: Bank, underground
Keyword Location: para D, Line 2
Explanation: The passage describes that seeds in the Millennium Seed Bank are stored in underground vaults at low temperatures. Hence the correct answer is underground vaults.

Questions 19-20

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? Write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

The reason to collect seeds is different from the past.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“.......Those heady days of exploration and discovery may be over, but they have been replaced by a pressing need to preserve our natural history for the future.............”
Keywords: seeds, different
Keyword Location: para C, Line 1
Explanation: The passage contrasts the past reasons for collecting seeds (exploration and discovery) with the current reason (preservation), indicating a change in purpose.

The Millennium Seed Bank is one of the earliest seed banks.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The passage does not provide any information about the Millennium Seed Bank being one of the earliest seed banks, so this statement is not given.

Questions 21-24

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? Write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

A major reason for plant species extinction is farmland expansion.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“........Experts predict that during the next 50 years a further one billion hectares of wilderness will be converted to farmland in developing countries alone............”
Keywords: extinction, farmland
Keyword Location: para E, Line 5
Explanation: The passage links farmland expansion to the conversion of wilderness, suggesting that this is a major reason for plant species extinction.Hence the given statement is true.

The method scientists use to store seeds is similar to that used by farmers.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“..........Seed conservation techniques were originally developed by farmers," he says. "Storage is the basis of what we do, conserving seeds until you can use them—just as in farming.........”
Keywords: seeds, similar
Keyword Location: para H, Line 2
Explanation: The passage states that the methods used by scientists to store seeds are based on techniques developed by farmers, indicating similarity. Hence the given statement is true.

Technological development is the only hope to save plant species.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement:“.........Smith says there's no reason why any plant species should become extinct, given today's technology. But he admits that the biggest challenge is finding, naming and categorising all the world's plants..........”
Keywords: hope, save
Keyword Location: para H, Line 4
Explanation: While technology plays a significant role, the passage indicates that challenges such as finding, naming, and categorising plants also need to be addressed. Thus, technology alone is not the only hope.

The works of seed conservation are often limited by insufficient financial resources.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“.........Many seed banks are themselves under threat due to lack of funds..........”
Keywords: limited, financial
Keyword Location: para J, Line 1
Explanation: The passage explicitly mentions that many seed banks face threats due to insufficient funding, indicating that financial resources limit seed conservation efforts.

Questions 25-26

Choose TWO letter, A-E

Which TWO of the followings are provided by plants to the human ?

food
fuels
clothes
energy
commercial products

Answer: A
Supporting statement:“..........Besides providing staple food crops, plants are a source of many medicines and the principal supply of fuel and building materials in many parts of the world..........”
Keywords: plants, humans
Keyword Location: para F, Line 1
Explanation: The passage mentions that plants provide staple food crops and are a principal supply of fuel. Therefore, A is the correct answer. The passage does not mention clothes, energy, or commercial products explicitly in this context.

Question 26:

Answer: B
Supporting statement:“..........Besides providing staple food crops, plants are a source of many medicines and the principal supply of fuel and building materials in many parts of the world.........”
Keywords: medicines, world
Keyword Location: para
Explanation: The passage mentions that plants provide staple food crops and are a principal supply of fuel. Therefore, B is the correct answer. The passage does not mention clothes, energy, or commercial products explicitly in this context.

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