Wild Foods Of Australia Reading Answers

Dec 20, 2022

Wild Foods Of Australia Reading Answers contains 13 questions. test candidates' reading ability. Candidates must answer a variety of questions, each of which is unique. The IELTS Reading topic Wild Foods Of Australia Reading Answers gives students a passage and multiple questions. Candidates must answer the questions, each of which is unique. The IELTS Reading tests students' reading, accessing, and answering skills. In this Wild Foods Of Australia Reading Answers, there are three types of questions for the passage: Complete the summary, Select yes, No, Not specified, and Choose the correct letter A, B, C, or D. Students can access and practice them at IELTS Reading Practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Wild Foods Of Australia Reading Answers

Over 120 years ago, the English botanist J. D. Hooker, writing of Australian edible plants, suggested that many of them were ‘eatable but not worth eating’. Nevertheless, the Australian flora, together with the fauna, supported the Aboriginal people well before the arrival of Europeans. The Aborigines were not farmers and were wholly dependent for life on the wild products around them. They learned to eat, often after treatment, a wide variety of plants.
The conquering Europeans displaced the Aborigines, killing many, driving others from their traditional tribal lands, and eventually settling many of the tribal remnants on government reserves, where flour and beef replaced nardoo and wallaby as staple foods. And so, gradually, the vast store of knowledge, accumulated over thousands of years, fell into disuse. Much was lost.
However, a few European men took an intelligent and even respectful interest in the people who were being displaced. Explorers, missionaries, botanists, naturalists, and government officials observed, recorded, and. fortunately in some cases, published. Today, we can draw on these publications to form the main basis of our knowledge of the edible, natural products of Australia. The picture is no doubt mostly incomplete. We can only speculate on the number of edible plants on which no observation was recorded.
Not all our information on the subject comes from the Aborigines. Times were hard in the early days of European settlement, and traditional foods were often in short supply or impossibly expensive for a pioneer trying to establish a farm in the bush. And so necessity led to experimentation, just as it must have done for the Aborigines, and experimentation led to some lucky results. So far as is known, the Aborigines made no use of Leptospermum or Dodonaea as food plants, yet the early settlers found that one could be used as a substitute for tea and the other for hops. These plants are not closely related to the species they replaced, so their use was not based on botanical observation. Probably some experiments had fewer happy endings; L. J. Webb has used the expression eat, die, and learn in connection with the Aboriginal experimentation, but it was the successful attempts that became widely known. It is possible that the edibility of some native plants used by the Aborigines was discovered independently by the European settlers or their descendants.
Explorers making long expeditions found it impossible to carry sufficient food for the whole journey and were forced to rely on, in part, on food that they could find on the way. Still another source of information comes from the practice in other countries. There are many species from northern Australia which occur also in Southeast Asia, where they are used for food.
In general, those Aborigines living in the dry inland areas were largely dependent for their vegetable foods on seeds such as those of grasses, acacias, and eucalypts. They ground these seeds between flat stones to make coarse flour. Tribes on the coast, and particularly those in the vicinity of coastal rainforests, had a more varied vegetable diet with a higher proportion of fruits and tubers. Some of the coastal plants, even if they had grown inland, probably would have been unavailable as food since they required prolonged washing or soaking to render them non-poisonous; many of the inland tribes could not obtain water in the quantities necessary for such treatment. There was also considerable variation in the edible plants available to Aborigines in different latitudes. In general, the people who lived in the moist tropical areas enjoyed a much greater variety, than those in the southern part of Australia.
With all the hundreds of plant species used for food by the Australian Aborigines, it is perhaps surprising that only one, the Queensland nut, has entered into commercial cultivation as a food plant. The reason for this probably does not lie with an intrinsic lack of potential in Australian flora, but rather with the lack of exploitation of this potential. In Europe and Asia, for example, the main food plants have had the benefit of many centuries of selection and hybridization, which has led to the production of forms vastly superior to those in the wild. Before the Europeans came, the Aborigines practiced no agriculture and so there was no opportunity for such improvement; either deliberate or unconscious, in the quality of the edible plants.
Since 1788, there has, of course, been an opportunity for the selection of Australian food plants which might have led to the production of varieties that were worth cultivating. But Australian plants have probably ‘missed the bus’. Food plants from other regions were already so far in advance after a long tradition of cultivation that it seemed hardly worth starting work on Australian species. Undoubtedly, the native raspberry, for example, could, with suitable selection and breeding programs, be made to yield a high-class fruit; but Australians already enjoy good raspberries from other areas of the world and unless some dedicated amateur plant breeder takes up the task, the Australian raspberries are likely to remain unimproved.
And so, today, as the choice of which food plants to cultivate in Australia has been largely decided, and as there is little chance of being lost for long periods in the bush. Our interest in the subject of Australian food plants tends to relate to natural history rather than to practical necessity.

Section 2

Solution with Explanation
Questions 1-7:
Do the following points correspond to the writer's arguments in the reading passage? In boxes 1–7:

YES if the remark accurately reflects the author's assertions
NO if the remark contradicts the author's assertions.
NOT SPECIFIED if the passage does not contain information to this point.

The majority of pre-European Aboriginal knowledge about wild foods has been restored.

Answer: NO
Supporting Sentence: And so, gradually, the vast store of knowledge, accumulated over thousands of years, fell into disuse. Much was lost.
Keyword: pre-European, aboriginal knowledge of wild foods, recovered.
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 1-5
Explanation: During the European invasion, many Aborigines were slain, driven from their traditional tribal lands, and finally moved to government reserves, where wheat and beef replaced nardoo and wallaby as the primary sources of nutrition. As a result, the massive amount of material that had been gathered over thousands of years gradually began to be disregarded, causing significant damage.

The pre-European Aborigines had access to a limited number of food plants that were unknown to us.

Answer: NOT SPECIFIED

Europeans acquired their knowledge of edible wild plants from Aborigines.

Answer: NO
Supporting Sentence: Today, we can draw on these publications to form the main basis of our knowledge of the edible, natural products of Australia.
Keyword: Edible plants, Europeans, Aborigines
Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 4
Explanation: European men's informed and respectful concern in displaced groups was uncommon. Naturalists and government officials, in addition to explorers and missionaries, produced discoveries that were fortunately published in specific cases. These studies presently serve as the foundation of their knowledge of wild edible and natural objects found in Australia. The picture is still substantially incomplete. As a result, they can only estimate the quantity of unseen plants.

Pre-European Aborigines and European settlers both ate Dodonaea as a food source.

Answer: NO
Supporting Sentence: So far as is known, the Aborigines made no use of Leptospermum or Dodonaea as food plants, yet the early settlers found that one could be used as a substitute for tea and the other for hops.
Keyword: Dodonaeo, European settlers, Pre-European Aborigines
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, line 6
Explanation: Despite the fact that early settlers learned that Leptospermum and Dodonaea could be used as replacements for tea and hops, it is improbable that the Aborigines ate these plants.

Certain Australian food plants are botanically linked to plants found elsewhere in the world.

Answer: YES
Supporting Sentence: Undoubtedly, the native raspberry, for example, could, with suitable selection and breeding programs, be made to yield a high-class fruit.
Keyword: Australian food plants, elsewhere in the world, botanically linked
Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, line 6
Explanation: As Australians already have access to high-quality raspberries cultivated in other areas of the world, the local raspberry's quality is unlikely to increase without further selection and breeding efforts unless a dedicated amateur plant breeder comes up to the plate.

Closer to the coastline, pre-European Aboriginal cultures had access to a broader range of food plants than communities further inland.

Answer: YES
Supporting Sentence: Tribes on the coast, and particularly those in the vicinity of coastal rainforests, had a more varied vegetable diet with a higher proportion of fruits and tubers.
Keyword: closer to the coast, greater variety of food plants, tribes further inland
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, line 4
Explanation: Fruits and tubers were more abundant in the diets of coastal cultures, particularly those living near coastal rainforests, according to paragraph 6. Even if they had grown inland, several of the coastal plants would have been unavailable for consumption since washing or soaking them for a long length of time rendered them non-poisonous.

Certain types of coastal food plants have been discovered inland.

Answer: NOT SPECIFIED

Questions 8–10:
Fill in the right letters (A-D) in boxes 8-10 on your response sheet.

Wallaby meat…

A) was consumed on a daily basis by Aborigines prior to European settlement.
B) was offered in return for goods such as flour by Aborigines.
C) was a staple cuisine on government-controlled territories.
D) was grown on farms prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Answer: A) was consumed on a daily basis by Aborigines prior to European settlement.
Supporting Sentence: The conquering Europeans displaced the Aborigines, killing many, driving others from their traditional tribal lands
Keyword: Wallaby meat, Aborigines, before European settlement
Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 1
Explanation: During the European invasion, many Aborigines were slain, driven from their traditional tribal regions, and finally moved to government reserves, where flour and beef replaced nardoo and wallaby as the primary source of nutrition.

Experimentation with wild plants …

A) was mostly based on botanical observation.
B) was inescapable for early Australian immigrants in every section of the country.
C) resulted in the Aborigines adopting Leptospermum as a food plant.
D) Occasionally, this had unfavorable consequences for Aboriginal people.

Answer: D) Occasionally, this had unfavorable consequences for Aborigines.
Supporting Sentence: And so necessity led to experimentation, just as it must have done for the Aborigines, and experimentation led to some lucky results.
Keyword: experimentation, wild plants, aborigines, results
Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, line 4
Explanation: In regard to the Aboriginal trials, L. J. Webb has used the expression "eat, die, and learn," and it's probable that other tests had less favourable outcomes.
10. Aboriginal people were not farmers and relied only on wild food sources. During therapy, they frequently developed a taste for a variety of plants.

Wild plants used by Aborigines …

A) was only found in dry places.
B) was confined to seed.
C) at times necessitated the use of tools.
D) was more abundant in Australia's southern region.

Answer: C) at times necessitated the use of tools.
Supporting Sentence: The Aborigines were not farmers and were wholly dependent for life on the wild products around them. They learned to eat, often after treatment, a wide variety of plants.
Keyword: Aborigines, wild plants, use of tools
Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 4
Explanation: Aboriginal people were not farmers and subsisted entirely on the wild food products to them. They often developed a taste for a range of plants during treatment.

Questions 11 – 13:

Complete the summary section below. Each answer should contain ONE or TWO words from the passage. Fill in boxes 11–13 on your answer sheet with your responses.

Despite the large numbers of wild plants that could be used for food, only one, the …………(11)…………… is being grown as a cash crop. Other edible plants in Australia, however much potential they have for cultivation, had not gone through the lengthy process of……………(12)………….… that would allow their exploitation because Aborigines were not farmers. Thus species such as the …………….(13)……………, which would be an agricultural success had it not had to compete with established European varieties at the time of European settlement, are of no commercial value.

Question 11:

Answer 11: Queensland nut
Supporting Sentence: With all the hundreds of plant species used for food by the Australian Aborigines, it is perhaps surprising that only one, the Queensland nut, has entered into commercial cultivation as a food plant.
Keyword: Queensland
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, 1st line
Explanation: According to the author, there are numerous types of wild plants, but only Queensland nuts have been cultivated for food.

Question 12:

Answer 12: Selection
Supporting Sentence: The reason for this probably does not lie with an intrinsic lack of potential in Australian flora, but rather with the lack of exploitation of this potential. In Europe and Asia, for example, the main food plants have had the benefit of many centuries of selection and hybridization, which has led to the production of forms vastly superior to those in the wild.
Keyword: selection, potential
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, 3rd line
Explanation: Because the Australian market did not go through the extensive selection process that the European or Asian markets did, other edible plants did not become edible.

Question 13:

Answer 13: Native raspberry
Supporting Sentence: Undoubtedly, the native raspberry, for example, could, with suitable selection and breeding programs, be made to yield a high-class fruit; but Australians already enjoy good raspberries from other areas of the world and unless some dedicated amateur plant breeder takes up the task, the Australian raspberries are likely to remain unimproved.
Keyword: selection, program, Australian, yield
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, last line
Explanation: Since Australians enjoy wonderful raspberries from other nations, their local raspberries lie unnoticed and unimproved.

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