The “Extinct” Grass in Britain – IELTS Reading Answer

Practising IELTS Reading passages, like The Extinct Grass in Britain, is the ideal step to master IELTS Reading. But simply solving the questions won’t help.

You have to learn how to scan the given text, highlight keywords using the IELTS Reading keyword techniques and locate the answer within the limited duration of the exam in order to achieve the desired band score in this section. The IELTS Academic reading passage, The “Extinct” Grass in Britain, with 14 questions, provides you that golden opportunity. Also, if you are interested in familiarizing yourself with all the question types, don’t hesitate to take an IELTS reading practice test.

The question types found in the IELTS Reading Answers of The Extinct Grass in Britain are:

• True/False/Not Given IELTS Reading (Q. 1-8)
• IELTS Reading Matching Features (Q. 9-13)

Reading Passage

The “Extinct” Grass in Britain

Questions 1-8

1 The name of interrupted brome comes from the fact that the unprepossessing grass disappeared from places in the world for a period.

2 Interrupted brome became extinct because they were kept accidentally at room temperature.

3 Philip Smith worked at the University of Manchester.

4 English Nature has planned to recover the interrupted brome with seeds from Kew Botanic Gardens.

5 Farmers in the British countryside were pleased to grow interrupted brome for the agricultural landscape.

6 Legumes were used for feeding livestock and enriching the soil.

7 Interrupted brome grows poorly when competing with other energetic plants.

8 Only weedkillers can stop interrupting brome from becoming an invasive pest.

Questions 9 – 13

9 identified interrupted brome as another species of brome.

10 convinced others about the status of interrupted brome in the botanic world.

11 found interrupted brome together with sainfoin.

12 helped farmers know that sainfoin is useful for enriching the soil.

13 collected the first sample of interrupted brome.

A A.M. Barnard

B Professor Hackel

C George Claridge Druce

D Joan Thirsk

E Philip Smith

F Nathaniel Fiennes

Answers of The Extinct Grass in Britain Reading Passage With Location and Explanation

Scroll down for the answers to the IELTS Academic passage, The Extinct Grass in Britain, and find out your score you get for this passage.

1 Answer: False

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 1

Answer explanation: The first paragraph states that Bromus interruptus, commonly known as the interrupted brome, is a plant in the true grass family. Called interrupted brome because of its gappy seed-head, this unprepossessing grass was found nowhere else in the world. These lines suggest the name of interrupted brome comes from the fact that the unprepossessing grass was found nowhere in the world for a period. Thus, the statement contradicts the information, so, the answer is False.

2 Answer: True

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 1 & 3 (line 4)

Answer explanation: The first paragraph states that even the seeds stored at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden as an insurance policy were dead, having been mistakenly kept at room temperature. The 4th line of paragraph 3 illustrates that It was sad, he said, that interrupted brome had become extinct. These lines indicate that interrupted brome became extinct because they were kept accidentally at room temperature. Hence, the statement agrees with the information, so, the answer is True.

3 Answer: Not Given

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 3

Answer explanation: The 3rd paragraph illustrates that At first, Philip Smith was unaware that the scrawny pots of grass on his bench were all that remained of a uniquely British species. However, there’s no reference to the fact that Philip Smith worked at the University of Manchester. Hence, the answer is Not Given.

4 Answer: Not Given

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 4

Answer explanation: Paragraph 4 illustrates that Seeds from Smith’s plants have been securely stored in the state-of-the-art Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place in Sussex. And living plants thrive at the botanic gardens at Kew, Edinburgh, and Cambridge. However, there’s no reference to the fact that English nature has planned to recover the interrupted brome with seeds from Kew Botanic Gardens. Thus, the answer is Not Given.

5 Answer: False

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 6

Answer explanation: In the 6th line of the 4th paragraph, it is mentioned that English Nature has included interrupted brome in its Species Recovery Programme, and it is on track to be reintroduced into the agricultural landscape if friendly farmers can be found. The brome was probably never common enough to irritate farmers, but no one would value it today for its productivity or its nutritious qualities. We can deduce from these lines that English nature interrupted brome in its species recovery program and is on track to be re-introduced into the agricultural landscape. Therefore, the statement, that farmers in the British countryside were pleased to grow interrupted the brome for the agricultural landscape contradicts the information, so, the answer is False.

6 Answer: True

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 4

Answer explanation: The 4th line of the 5th paragraph states that Seeds brought in from the Continent were sown in pastures to feed horses and other livestock. And by 1650 the legumes were increasingly introduced into arable rotations, to serve as “green nature” to boost grain yields. Here, seeds refer to legumes, and thus, the legumes were used for feeding livestock and enriching the soil. Thus, the statement agrees with the information, so, the answer is True.

7 Answer: True

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 2

Answer explanation: Paragraph 2 illustrates, that Interrupted brome has come back from the dead, and not through any fancy genetic engineering. Thanks to one green-fingered botanist, interrupted brome is alive and well living as a pot plant. These lines indicate that the interrupted brome grows poorly when competing with other energetic plants. Thus, the statement agrees with the information, so, the answer is True

8 Answer: False

Question type: True/ False/ Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 7,line 2

Answer explanation: The 2nd line of paragraph 7 illustrates that Each spring, the brome relied on farmers to resow its seeds; in the days before weedkillers and sophisticated seed sieves, an ample supply would have contaminated stocks of crop seed. Therefore, the statement: that only weedkillers can stop interrupting brome to become an invasive pest contradicts the information, so, the answer is False.

9 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 12

Answer explanation: The twelfth line of the 4th paragraph states that so close is the relationship that interrupted brome was originally deemed to be a mere variety of soft brome by the great Victorian taxonomist Professor Hackel. Thus, it was taxonomist Professor Hacker suggested identifying interrupted brome as another species of brome. So, the answer is B.

10 Answer: C

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph 4, last line

Answer explanation: The last line of the 4th paragraph suggests, “But in 1895, George Claridge Druce, a 45-year-old Oxford pharmacist with a shop on the High Street, decided that it deserved species status, and convinced the botanical world. Druce was by then well on his way to fame as an Oxford don, mayor of the city, and a fellow of the Royal Society.” It is evident from these lines that George Claridge Druce convinced others about the status of interrupted brome in the botanic world. Thus, the answer is C.

11 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 3

Answer explanation: The 3rd line of paragraph 5 illustrates that According to agricultural historian Joan Thirsk, sainfoin and its friends made their first modest appearance in Britain in the early 1600s. Seeds brought in from the Continent were sown in pastures to feed horses and other livestock. These lines indicate that Joan Thirsk found interrupted brome together with sainfoin. Hence, the answer is D

12 Answer: F

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph 5, last line

Answer explanation: The last line of the 5th paragraph state that A bestseller of its day, Nathaniel Fiennes’s Sainfoin Improved, published in 1671, helped to spread the word. These lines suggest that it was Nathaniel Fiennes who helped farmers know that sainfoin is useful for enriching the soil. Thus, the answer is F.

13 Answer: A

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph 6

Answer explanation: Paragraph 6 illustrates the fact that Although the credit for the “discovery” of interrupted brome goes to a Miss A.M. Barnard, who collected the first specimens at Odsey, Bedfordshire, in 1849, the grass had probably lurked undetected in the English countryside for at least a hundred years. It is clear from these lines that It was A.M. Barnard who collected the first sample of interrupted brome. Hence, the answer is A.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in The Extinct Grass in Britain IELTS Reading Answers

You might know the solutions to the questions in the passage, The Extinct Grass in Britain, but that might not be enough when you want to give your hundred percent on IELTS. So, let us have a quick revision of IELTS exam preparation tips on how to solve the questions types in The Extinct Grass in Britain.

True/False/Not Given

In IELTS Academic Reading, ‘True, False, Not Given’ questions are based on facts. Several factual statements will be provided to you, and it is up to you to determine whether or not they are accurate by reading the text.

To answer this type of question, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the question and identify the keywords – Before reading the material, have a look at your list of True, False, and Not Given questions.
• Scan the passage for synonyms or paraphrased words of the keywords – When you have highlighted the keywords, swiftly read the text to look for paraphrases or synonyms.
• Match the highlighted words in the questions with their synonyms in the text – Once you find both sets of keywords, cross-check them to find the answer.
• Identify the answer – If the facts match, the answer is TRUE, and in case it doesn’t match, it is FALSE. If you are unable to find the answer or unsure of it, mark it NOT GIVEN.

Matching Features:

In this type of question, you will have to match a list of options with the relevant set of statements. Some tips to answer matching features questions and obtain a high band in the IELTS exam are given below: 

• Read questions and underline or circle keywords. This will help you find out where you would have to read and find later. Also, focus on how often every detail or name is appearing in the passage.
• Scan the passage and look for information given in the features and questions.
• Skim through the areas that are surrounded by keywords and features in the passage.
• Don’t get confused in case the text has synonyms of the information that is originally present in the question.
• Keep in mind that answers will not be in an order as questions. 

Check More IELTS Reading Answers