Green Roofs – IELTS Reading Answers with Explanation

Practicing IELTS Reading passages, such as Green Roofs from Cambridge IELTS 18 Academic Reading Test 4, is a good way to prepare for the IELTS Reading test. However, merely answering the questions will not help.

In order to achieve the desired band score in this section, you must learn how to scan the given text, highlight keywords and locate the answer within the exam time limit. Green Roofs, the IELTS Academic reading passage with 14 questions, gives you that chance. You can also take IELTS reading practice tests if you wish to get to know the different types of questions.

The question types found in the IELTS Reading Answers of Green Roofs are:

•  Matching Information (Q. 1-5)
• Summary Completion (Q. 6-9)
• Multiple Choice Questions (Q. 10-13)

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Reading Passage 

Green Roofs

A Rooftops covered with grass, vegetable gardens and lush foliage are now a common sight in many cities around the world. More and more private companies and city authorities are investing in green roofs, drawn to their wide-ranging benefits. Among the benefits are saving on energy costs, mitigating the risk of floods, making habitats for urban wildlife, tackling air pollution and even growing food. These increasingly radical urban designs can help cities adapt to the monumental problems they face, such as access to resources and a lack of green space due to development. But the involvement of city authorities, businesses and other institutions is crucial to ensuring their success – as is research investigating different options to suit the variety of rooftop spaces found in cities. The UK is relatively new to developing green roofs, and local governments and institutions are playing a major role in spreading the practice. London is home to much of the UK’s green roof market, mainly due to forward-thinking policies such as the London Plan, which has paved the way to more than doubling the area of green roofs in the capital.

B Ongoing research is showcasing how green roofs in cities can integrate with ‘living walls’ environmentally friendly walls which are partially or completely covered with greenery, including a growing medium, such as soil or water. Research also indicates that green roofs can be integrated with drainage systems on the ground, such as street trees, so that the water is managed better and the built environment is made more sustainable. There is also evidence to demonstrate the social value of green roofs. Doctors are increasingly prescribing time spent gardening outdoors for patients dealing with anxiety and depression. And research has found that access to even the most basic green spaces can provide a better quality of life for dementia sufferers and help people avoid obesity.

C In North America, green roofs have become mainstream, with a wide array of expansive, accessible and food-producing roofs installed in buildings. Again, city leaders and authorities have helped push the movement forward — only recently, San Francisco, USA, created a policy requiring new buildings to have green roofs. Toronto, Canada, has policies dating from the 1990s, encouraging the development of urban farms on rooftops. These countries also benefit from having newer buildings than in many parts of the world, which makes it easier to install green roofs. Being able to keep enough water at roof height and distribute it right across the rooftop is crucial to maintaining the plants on any green roof – especially on ‘edible roofs’ where fruit and vegetables are farmed. And it’s much easier to do this in newer buildings, which can typically hold greater weight, than to retro-fit old ones. Having a stronger roof also makes it easier to grow a greater variety of plants, since the soil can be deeper.

D For green roofs to become the norm for new developments, there needs to be support from public authorities and private investors. Those responsible for maintaining buildings may have to acquire new skills, such as landscaping, and in some cases, volunteers may be needed to help out. Other considerations include installing drainage paths, meeting health and safety requirements and perhaps allowing access for the public, as well as planning restrictions and disruption from regular activities in and around the buildings during installation. To convince investors and developers that installing green roofs is worthwhile, economic arguments are still the most important. The term ‘natural capital’ has been developed to explain the economic value of nature; for example, measuring the money saved by installing natural solutions to protect against flood damage, adapt to climate change or help people lead healthier and happier lives.

E As the expertise about green roofs grows, official standards have been developed to ensure that they are designed, constructed and maintained properly, and function well. Improvements in the science and technology underpinning green roof development have also led to new variations in the concept. For example, ‘blue roofs’ enable buildings to hold water over longer periods of time, rather than draining it away quickly — crucial in times of heavier rainfall. There are also combinations of green roofs with solar panels, and ‘brown roofs’ which are wilder in nature and maximise biodiversity. If the trend continues, it could create new jobs and a more vibrant and sustainable local food economy – alongside many other benefits. There are still barriers to overcome, but the evidence so far indicates that green roofs have the potential to transform cities and help them function sustainably long into the future. The success stories need to be studied and replicated elsewhere, to make green, blue, brown and food-producing roofs the norm in cities around the world.

Check Out – IELTS Reading Skills for High Bands (Target BAND 8+)

Questions 1-5

1 mention of several challenges to be overcome before a green roof can be installed

2 reference to a city where green roofs have been promoted for many years

3 a belief that existing green roofs should be used as a model for new ones

4 examples of how green roofs can work in combination with other green urban initiatives

5 the need to make a persuasive argument for the financial benefits of green roofs

Questions 6-9

Advantages of green roofs

City rooftops covered with greenery have many advantages. These include lessening the likelihood that floods will occur, reducing how much money is spent on 6…………………….. and creating environments that are suitable for wildlife. In many cases, they can also be used for producing 7…………………….. There are also social benefits of green roofs. For example, the medical profession recommends 8…………………….. as an activity to help people cope with mental health issues. Studies have also shown that the availability of green spaces can prevent physical problems such as 9……………………..

Questions 10-11

Which TWO advantages of using newer buildings for green roofs are mentioned in Paragraph C of the passage?

A a longer growing season for edible produce

B more economical use of water

C greater water-storage capacity

D ability to cultivate more plant types

E a large surface area for growing plants

10……………………..

11……………………..

Questions 12-13

Which TWO aims of new variations on the concept of green roofs are mentioned in Paragraph E of the passage?

A to provide habitats for a wide range of species

B to grow plants successfully even in the wettest climates

C to regulate the temperature of the immediate environment

D to generate power from a sustainable source

E to collect water to supply other buildings

12……………………..

13……………………..

Answers for Green Roofs Reading Answers with Location and Explanations

1 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph D

Answer explanation: The selected lines from the fourth paragraph reveals, “For green roofs to become the norm for new developments, there needs to be support from public authorities and private investors. Those responsible for maintaining buildings may have to acquire new skills, such as landscaping, and in some cases, volunteers may be needed to help out. Other considerations include installing drainage paths….”. This tells us that the fourth paragraph discusses various challenges like support of public authorities, skilled maintaining personnel, etc. that have to be overcome before a green roof can be installed. Hence, the answer is D.

2 Answer: C

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph C, Line 3

Answer explanation: In the quoted line of Paragraph C, it is declared, “Toronto, Canada, has policies dating from the 1990s, encouraging the development of urban farms on rooftops.”. This points to the fact that Paragraph C mentions that the city of Toronto in Canada has been promoting green roofs for many years (since 1990s). Hence, the answer is C.

3 Answer: E

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph E, Line 2

Answer explanation: In the highlighted line of Paragraph E, it is reported that “Improvements in the science and technology underpinning green roof development have also led to new variations in the concept.”. This proves the fact that Paragraph E points out to the belief that existing green roofs can help in the improvement and lead to new variations in this concept. Hence, the answer is E.

4 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph B, Line 2

Answer explanation: In the quoted line of Paragraph B, it is said that “Research also indicates that green roofs can be integrated with drainage systems on the ground, such as street trees, so that the water is managed better and the built environment is made more sustainable.”. It is clear from the above-mentioned sentence that Paragraph B cites examples of how green roofs can work with other green urban initiatives like drainage systems on ground. Hence, the answer is B.

5 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph D

Answer explanation: In the specified line of Paragraph 4, it is communicated that “To convince investors and developers that installing green roofs is worthwhile, economic arguments are still the most important.”. Through this sentence, it can be highlighted that Paragraph D discusses the importance of convincing investors about the benefits of green roofs. Hence, the answer is D.

6 Answer: energy

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph A, Line 3

Answer explanation: The mentioned line of Paragraph A says that “Among the benefits are saving on energy costs, mitigating the risk of floods…”. This portion of Paragraph A points out one of the benefits of green roofs is saving costs on energy. Hence, the answer is ‘energy’.

7 Answer: food

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph A, Line 3

Answer explanation: The given line of Paragraph A describes, “Among the benefits are …making habitats for urban wildlife, tackling air pollution and even growing food.”. It is clear that other than saving cost on energy, lessening flood occurrence, creating environments that are suitable for wildlife, green roofs can also be useful for growing food. Hence, the answer is ‘food’.

8 Answer: gardening

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph B, Line 3-Line 4

Answer explanation: In the above-mentioned lines of Paragraph B, it is given, “There is also evidence to demonstrate the social value of green roofs. Doctors are increasingly prescribing time spent gardening outdoors for patients dealing with anxiety and depression.”. This shows that one of the social benefits of green roofs is allowing patients dealing with anxiety and depression a practice for gardening. Hence, the answer is ‘gardening’.

Tips to Solve the Question Types in Green Roofs IELTS Reading Answers

You might know the solutions to the questions in the passages, Green Roofs, but that might not be enough when you want to give your hundred percent on the IELTS exam.

So, let us have a quick revision of tips on how to solve the questions types in Green Roofs Reading Answers.

Matching Information: 

You will be given a list of three to six statements in this type of question, and you will need to match the information in each statement to the corresponding information in a paragraph in the reading passage.

• Read the instructions followed by the list of statements – You will get an idea of the main idea of each statement. Also, figure out the keywords from each statement.
• Scan and skim through the passage – Use these reading techniques to go through the text and find out which paragraph or section contains the relevant information of the statements.
• One paragraph will contain information given in a statement – While one statement corresponds to one passage, some passages may not have any answer. Remember this to avoid repetition or wasting your time.
• Identify the answer – Once you identify the keywords and find out the corresponding paragraph that contains the information, follow this process for the others.

Summary Completion: 

Summary Completion is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to fill in a gap in a paragraph with a word or phrase from the passage.

To answer summary completion questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the sentences carefully: This will give you an idea of the type of word or phrase that is missing.
• Scan the passage for the keywords: The keywords in the sentence can help you to identify the correct word or phrase.
• Read the sentence with the missing word or phrase: This will help you to see how the word or phrase fits into the sentence.
• Check your answer: Once you have filled in the gap, make sure that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence.

Multiple-Choice Questions:

You will be given a reading passage followed by several questions based on the information in the paragraph in multiple-choice questions. Your task is to understand the question and compare it to the paragraph in order to select the best solution from the available possibilities.

• Read the question and choose the keywords before reading the passage. If the query sentence is lacking in information, look into keyword possibilities.
• Then read the passage using the keywords to identify the important information.
• Read the essential words carefully and match them with each choice to select the proper option.
• There are various possibilities with keywords that do not match the information.
• Try to use the elimination process as much as possible.
• Match the meaning rather than the terms to find the best solution.

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