Autumn Leaves IELTS Reading Answers
The Academic passage ‘Autumn Leaves’ is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Read the passage below and answer questions 1 – 13. Beyond the questions, you will find the answers along with the location of the answers in the passage and the keywords that help you find out the answers.
Autumn Leaves
Answers
Question number | Answer | Keywords | Location of keywords |
---|---|---|---|
1 | C | The source of the red is widely known: it is created by anthocyanins, water-soluble plant pigments reflecting the red to blue range of the visible spectrum. | Paragraph C;
Line 1 |
2 | B | For many trees, the best strategy is to abandon photosynthesis until the spring, So rather than maintaining the now redundant leaves throughout the winter, the tree saves its precious resources and discards them. | Paragraph B;
Lines 3 – 4 |
3 | H | leaves that are the reddest are those on the side of the tree which gets most sun, red is brighter on the upper side of the leaf, best conditions for intense red colours are dry, sunny days and cool nights, conditions that nicely match those that make leaves susceptible to excess light, maples, the more north you travel in the northern hemisphere, It’s colder there, they’re more stressed, their chlorophyll is more sensitive and it needs more sunblock. | The whole of paragraph H |
4 | B | Summer leaves are green because they are full of chlorophyll, the molecule that captures sunlight converts that energy into new building materials for the tree. | Paragraph B;
Line 1 |
5 | E | It has also been proposed that trees may produce vivid red colours to convince herbivorous insects that they are healthy and robust and would be easily able to mount chemical defences against infestation. | Paragraph E;
Line 1 |
6 | sun(light) | One is straightforward: on many trees, the leaves that are the reddest are those on the side of the tree which gets most sun | Paragraph H;
Line 2 |
7 | upper | Not only that, but the red is brighter on the upper side of the leaf. | Paragraph H;
Line 3 |
8 | dry | It has also been recognised for decades that the best conditions for intense red colours are dry, sunny days | Paragraph H;
Line 4 |
9 | north | trees such as maples usually get much redder the more north you travel in the northern hemisphere | Paragraph H;
Line 5 |
10 | FALSE | the idea behind this hypothesis is that the red pigment is made in autumn leaves to protect chlorophyll, the light-absorbing chemical, from too much light | Paragraph F;
Line 2 |
11 | TRUE | plausible suggestion, why leaves would go to the trouble of making anthocyanins when they’re busy packing up for the winter, theory known as the ‘light screen’ hypothesis, it sounds paradoxical,Why does chlorophyll need protection,Why protect chlorophyll | The whole of Paragraph F; |
12 | NOT GIVEN | – | – |
13 | B | As chlorophyll is depleted, other colours that have been dominated by it throughout the summer begin to be revealed. This unmasking explains the autumn colours of yellow and orange. | Paragraph B;
Lines 5 – 6 |
Also check :