The Wild West Village near Tabernas Reading Answers

Jun 15, 2024

The Wild West Village near Tabernas Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. The Wild West Village near Tabernas Reading Answers have a total of 8 IELTS questions in total. In the questions you have to choose which section mentions the correct information from the passage by selecting True, False and not Given.

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 Wild West Village near Tabernas 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 text below and answer questions 9-13.

The Wild West Village near Tabernas

Sandwiched between the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, Gador, Filabres and Alhamilla is one of the most dramatic landscapes in Spain, the desolate Desierto de Tabernas. Tabernas desert is one of the most geologically interesting landscapes in Europe since it clearly shows the process of natural desertification and erosion.

Its features include sheer- sided gullies, carved out by the infrequent but torrential rains that only fall on a few days in the year. Another feature is piping, where water permeates through the top of a slope and emerges farther down through a hole, the water creating an underground pipe in the process. In certain places, there are so many holes that they have created a Swiss cheese effect.

Eight million years ago, in the Miocene period, the sea covered the Tabernas desert area, reaching inland as far as the foothills of the Sierra de Los Filabres, where today a strip of fossilised coral dunes delineates the former coastline. The deposited material consisted of sand and loam, and this is what makes up the Tabernas desert today. A million years later the Sierra Alhamilla rose up, cutting off the Tabernas desert area from the ocean and creating an inland sea, where more sand, loam, clay, limestone and gypsum were deposited. At the end of the Pliocene epoch, the sea receded, leaving the seabed exposed to erosion.

Although the desert may look like it has scarce vegetation, it, in fact, harbours a fair variety of xerophyte flora accustomed to surviving in semi-arid areas, including some plants that are unique to the Desierto de Tabernas. Among these species are the attractive sea lavender. Another is the winter-flowering toadflax, which after a wet autumn, clothe the usually barren desert slopes around Tabernas in white and release their vanilla scent into the air.

You can find it on flat land next to the Solar Platform of Almeria (a vast expanse of solar panels, installed to take advantage of the 3,000 hours of sun received in this area every year) near Tabernas, off the road north to Senes. It also grows in dry river beds. With its annual rainfall of 240mm concentrated in no more than four days a year, only plants that have adapted to semi-arid climate can thrive here. With high levels of salinity in the soil, plants also need to be salt-resistant, like the saltwort, Salsola genistoides, commonly seen here. The desert is riddled with numerous dry riverbeds or ramblas, which provide a unique microclimate that is more humid than any other place in this otherwise parched landscape. Here you can see reeds, oleanders and tamarisks.

It may appear as if this harsh landscape is incapable of supporting much in the way of fauna, but along the edges of the seasonal rivers, there is a wealth of vertebrates, most notably reptiles and birds. The most commonly seen reptiles are ladder snakes, spiny- footed lizards and ocellated lizards. Around the more moist areas of the dry riverbeds, you can see amphibians such as marsh frogs, natterjack toads and terrapins. Birds of prey, including Bonelli's eagles and peregrines, come from the nearby Sierra de Alhamilla Natural Area to use the desert as a hunting ground. The steppe region, including former areas of cereal cultivation, is one of Europe's few refuges for trumpeter finches, a common resident of oases in the Sahara desert. They hide themselves away in the numerous rocky crevices in this Spanish desert, along with the Sierra de Alhamilla and the Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park. Bee-eaters make their nests in holes in the rocky slopes.

Given the arid conditions, mammals are less common with around 20 species inhabiting the park, the most important being the Algerian hedgehog. As a North African species, this is one of only several places, concentrated in eastern Spain, where it is found in the Iberian Peninsula. Abundant rabbits, hares and dormice provide plentiful prey for the carnivores and raptors in the area.

Section 2

Solution and Explantion

Questions 14- 18

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?

In boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE - if the statement is true according to the passage
FALSE - if the statement contradicts the passage
NOT GIVEN - if there is no information about this in the passage

Most westerns made in Europe are filmed in Tabernas.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The passage does not provide any information about Western films being made in the Tabernas desert.

The area is perfect for the development of alternative energy.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“........You can find it on flat land next to the Solar Platform of Almeria (a vast expanse of solar panels, installed to take advantage of the 3,000 hours of sun received in this area every year)........”
Keywords: panels, 3,000 hours
Keyword Location: para 4, line 1
Explanation: The passage mentions the installation of solar panels to utilize the abundant sunlight, indicating the area's suitability for alternative energy development.

Different plants find different ways to adapt to the heat.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“......With its annual rainfall of 240mm concentrated in no more than four days a year, only plants that have adapted to a semi-arid climate can thrive here..........”
Keywords: adapt, semi-arid
Keyword Location: para 4, line 4
Explanation: The passage explains that plants in the desert have adapted to the semi-arid climate, indicating various adaptations to the heat and lack of water.

The hottest place in the desert is in the dry river beds.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The passage does not specify where the hottest place in the desert is located.

Bonelli's eagles live in the desert.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement:“........Birds of prey, including Bonelli's eagles and peregrines, come from the nearby Sierra de Alhamilla Natural Area to use the desert as a hunting ground.........”
Keywords: eagles, hunting
Keyword Location: para 5, line 5
Explanation: Bonelli's eagles do not live in the desert but come from nearby areas to hunt, contradicting the statement that they live in the desert.

Questions 19-23

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-H, below.

Write the correct letter A-H.

The plants that grow in the desert adapt to

Answer: C
Supporting statement:“........With high levels of salinity in the soil, plants also need to be salt-resistant, like the saltwort, Salsola genistoides, commonly seen here.........”
Keywords: salt, salt-resistant
Keyword Location: para 4, line 5
Explanation: The plants adapt to high salinity levels in the soil. Hence C is the perfect heading.

The lunar type landscape has not been affected much by

Answer: H
Supporting statement:“.......Tabernas desert is one of the most geologically interesting landscapes in Europe since it clearly shows the process of natural desertification and erosion..........”
Keywords: landscapes, process
Keyword Location: para 1, line 2
Explanation: This fits the context as the passage suggests a natural process largely uninfluenced by human activities like farming.

The trumpeter finches are protected by

Answer: A
Supporting statement:“......They hide themselves away in the numerous rocky crevices in this Spanish desert..........”
Keywords: hide, rocky
Keyword Location: para 5, line 7
Explanation: It is clearly mentioned in the passage that the trumpeter finches are protected by rocky crevices.

The Swiss cheese effect has been caused by

Answer: F
Supporting statement:“.......Another feature is piping, where water permeates through the top of a slope and emerges farther down through a hole, the water creating an underground pipe in the process.........”
Keywords: piping, water
Keyword Location: para 1, line 6
Explanation: It is clearly given that the Swiss cheese effect is caused by water permeating through the rocks, creating holes.

The floral fragrance of vanilla is produced bv.

Answer: D
Supporting statement:“.......Another is the winter-flowering toadflax, which after a wet autumn, clothe the usually barren desert slopes around Tabernas in white and release their vanilla scent into the air.........”
Keywords: scent, winter
Keyword Location: para 3, line 4
Explanation: It is given that the floral fragrance of vanilla is produced by the winter-flowering toadflax.

the rocky crevices.
the oases.
salt.
the winter flowering toadflax.
the gullies.
water permeating through the rocks.
good soil.
farmers.

Question 24

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Why does the desert look surreal?

because it looks like the moon
because it has barren slopes
because it has a lot of vegetation
because it is bleached by the sun

Answer: A
Supporting statement:“........Alhamilla is one of the most dramatic landscapes in Spain, the desolate Desierto de Tabernas........”
Keywords: landscape, surreal
Keyword Location: para 1, line 2
Explanation: It is not directly mentioned but it is given that the surreal aspect of the desert is due to its resemblance to the moon.

Questions 25-26

Choose NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

The rainy season only lasts for up to and so plants must adapt to a semi-arid environment.

Answer: FOUR DAYS
Supporting statement:“.......With its annual rainfall of 240mm concentrated in no more than four days a year, only plants that have adapted to a semi-arid climate can thrive here..........”
Keywords: rainfall, four
Keyword Location: para 4, line 4
Explanation: The passage mentions that the rainy season lasts for up to four days a year.

The Algerian hedgehog is one example of a number of different that live there.

Answer: MAMMALS
Supporting statement:“.......Given the arid conditions, mammals are less common with around 20 species inhabiting the park.........”
Keywords: mammals, 20 species
Keyword Location: para 6, line 1
Explanation: It is given that the Algerian hedgehog is an example of the various mammals that live in the desert.

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