The Return of Monkey Life IELTS Reading Answers

The Reading Module of the IELTS can be the top-scoring category with diligent practice. To achieve the best results in this section, you must understand how to approach and answer the different Question types in the Reading Module. By solving and reviewing Sample Reading Questions from past IELTS papers, you can ensure that your reading skills are up to the mark.

The Academic passage, ‘The Return of Monkey Life‘, is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Since questions get repeated in the IELTS exam, these passages are ideal for practice. If you want more practice, try taking an IELTS reading practice test.

The Return of Monkey Life is part of an IELTS Academic reading test. The question types found in this passage are:

• Matching Information (Q. 14 – 19)
• Matching Features (Q.20-22)
• Sentence Completion (Q.23-27)

Reading Passage

The Return of Monkey Life 

As an East Wind blasts through a gap in the Cordillera de Tilarán, a rugged mountain range that splits northern Costa Rica in half, a female mantled howler monkey moves through the swaying trees of the forest canopy.

A Ken Glander, a primatologist from Duke University, gazes into the canopy, tracking the female’s movements. Holding a dart gun, he waits with infinite patience for the right moment to shoot. With great care, Glander aims and fires. Hit in the rump, the monkey wobbles. This howler belongs to a population that has lived for decades at Hacienda La Pacifica, a working cattle ranch in Guanacaste province. Other native primates – white-faced capuchin monkeys and spider monkeys – once were common in this area, too, but vanished after the Pan-American Highway was built nearby in the 1950s. Most of the surrounding land was clear-cut for pasture.

B Howlers persist at La Pacifica, Glander explains, because they are leaf-eaters. They eat fruit when it’s available but, unlike capuchin and spider monkeys, do not depend on large areas of fruiting trees. “Howlers can survive anyplace you have half a dozen trees because their eating habits are so flexible,” he says. In forests, life is an arms race between trees and the myriad creatures that feed on leaves. Plants have evolved a variety of chemical defenses, ranging from bad-tasting tannins, which bind with plant-produced nutrients, rendering them indigestible, to deadly poisons, such as alkaloids and cyanide.

C All primates, including humans, have some ability to handle plant toxins. “We can detoxify a dangerous poison known as caffeine, which is deadly to a lot of animals,” Glander says. For leaf-eaters, long-term exposure to a specific plant toxin can increase their ability to defuse the poison and absorb the leaf nutrients. The leaves that grow in regenerating forests, like those at La Pacifica, are actually more howler friendly than those produced by the undisturbed, centuries-old trees that survive farther south, in the Amazon Basin. In younger forests, trees put most of their limited energy into growing wood, leaves and fruit, so they produce much lower levels of the toxin than do well-established, old-growth trees.

D The value of maturing forests to primates is a subject of study at Santa Rosa National Park, about 35 miles northwest of Hacienda La Pacifica. The park hosts populations not only of mantled howlers but also of white-faced capuchins and spider monkeys. Yet the forests there are young, most of them less than 50 years old. Capuchins were the first to begin using the reborn forests when the trees were as young as 14 years. Howlers, larger and heavier than capuchins, need somewhat older trees, with limbs that can support their greater body weight. A working ranch at Hacienda La Pacifica also explains their population boom in Santa Rosa. “Howlers are more resilient than capuchins and spider monkeys for several seasons,” Fedigan explains. “They can live within a small home range, as long as the trees have the right food for them. Spider monkeys, on the other hand, occupy a huge home range, so they can’t make it in fragmented habitats.”

E Howlers also reproduce faster than other monkey species in the area. Capuchins don’t bear their first young until about 7 years old, and spider monkeys do so even later, but howlers give birth for the first time at about 3.5 years of age. Also, while a female spider monkey will have a baby about once every four years, well-fed howlers can produce an infant every two years.

F The leaves howlers eat hold plenty of water, so the monkeys can survive away from open streams and water holes. This ability gives them a real advantage over capuchin and spider monkeys, which have suffered during the long, ongoing drought in Guanacaste.

G Growing human population pressures in Central and South America have led to persistent destruction of forests. During the 1990s, about 1.1 million acres of Central American forest were felled yearly. Alejandro Estrada, an ecologist at Estación de Biología Los Tuxtlas in Veracruz, Mexico, has been exploring how monkeys survive in a landscape increasingly shaped by humans. He and his colleagues recently studied the ecology of a group of mantled howler monkeys that thrive in a habitat completely altered by humans: a cacao plantation in Tabasco, Mexico. Like many varieties of coffee, cacao plants need shade to grow, so 40 years ago the landowners planted fig, monkeypod and other tall trees to form a protective canopy over their crop. The howlers moved in about 25 years ago after nearby forests were cut. This strange habitat, a hodgepodge of cultivated native and exotic plants, seems to support about as many monkeys as would a same-sized patch of wild forest. The howlers eat the leaves and fruit of the shade trees, leaving the valuable cacao pods alone, so the farmers tolerate them.

H Estrada believes the monkeys bring underappreciated benefits to such farms, dispersing the seeds of fig and other shade trees and fertilizing the soil with feces. He points out that howler monkeys live in shade coffee and cacao plantations in Nicaragua and Costa Rica as well as in Mexico. Spider monkeys also forage in such plantations, though they need nearby areas of forest to survive in the long term. He hopes that farmers will begin to see the advantages of associating with wild monkeys, which includes potential ecotourism projects.

“Conservation is usually viewed as a conflict between agricultural practices and the need to preserve nature,” Estrada says. “We’re moving away from that vision and beginning to consider ways in which agricultural activities may become a tool for the conservation of primates in human-modified landscapes.”

Questions 14-19

14 a reference of reduction in forest inhabitant

15 only one species of monkey survived while the other two species were vanished.

16 a reason for Howler Monkey of choosing new leaves

17 mention to Howler Monkey’s nutrient and eating habits

18 a reference of asking farmers’ changing attitude toward wildlife

19 the advantage for Howler Monkey’s flexibility living in a segmented habitat

Questions 20-22

List of places

A Hacienda La Pacifica

B Santa Rosa National Park

C a cacao plantation in Tabasco, Mexico

D Estación de Biología Los Tuxtlas in Veracruz, Mexico

E Amazon Basin

20 howler Monkey’s benefit to the local region’s agriculture

21 the original home for all three native monkeys

22 a place where Capuchins monkey comes for a better habitat

Questions 23-27

The reasons for Howlers monkey survive better in local region than other two species

– Howlers in La Pacifica since they can feed themselves with the leaf when 23………………………. is not easily found

– Howlers have better ability to alleviate the 24…………………………., which old and young trees used to protect themselves)

– when compared to that of spider monkeys and capuchin monkeys, the 25…………………………. rate of Howlers is relatively faster (round for just every 2 years).

– the monkeys can survive away from open streams and water holes as the leaves howlers eat hold high content of 26………………………., which ensures them to resist continuously 27………………………. In Guanacaste.

Answers of The Return of Monkey Life Reading Answer With Location and Explanations

14 Answer: G

Question type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph G

Answer Explanation: Paragraph G discusses the impact of a growing human population in Central and South America on the destruction of forests. It also mentions the annual deforestation rate in Central American forests during the 1990s. Here’s a statement that refers to the above lines: Growing human population pressures in Central and South America have led to persistent destruction of forests. During the 1990s, about 1.1 million acres of Central American forest were felled yearly. Hence, we can conclude that paragraph G is referring to the reduction in Forest inhabitant. So, the answer is G.

15 Answer: A

Question type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph A

Answer Explanation: Paragraph A discusses the efforts of Ken Glander, a primatologist from Duke University, who is tracking and darting a female howler monkey in a region known as Hacienda La Pacifica in Guanacaste province. The paragraph also mentions the historical decline of native primate populations, including white-faced capuchin monkeys and spider monkeys, in the same area due to the construction of the Pan-American Highway in the 1950s and the conversion of land into pasture through clear-cutting. Hence, it is clear that Paragraph A primarily addresses the survival of one monkey species while the other two species disappeared. So, the answer is A.

16 Answer: C

Question type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph C

Answer Explanation: Paragraph C refers to the ability of primates, including humans, to handle plant toxins. It discusses how primates, especially leaf-eating ones, can develop a tolerance to specific plant toxins over time. It also compares the toxin levels in leaves from regenerating forests, like those at La Pacifica, to leaves from older, undisturbed trees in the Amazon Basin, noting that younger forests have lower toxin levels because the trees allocate more energy to growth and produce less toxin. So, these lines shed light on one of the reasons why howler monkeys may prefer to consume new leaves. Hence, the answer is C.

17 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph B

Answer Explanation: From the initial lines of Paragraph B, “Howlers persist at La Pacifica, Glander explains, because they are leaf-eaters. They eat fruit when it’s available but, unlike capuchin and spider monkeys, do not depend on large areas of fruiting trees.” We understand Glander explaining that howler monkeys are able to persist at La Pacifica because they are not dependent on large areas of fruiting trees. Instead, they can survive in a place where there are a few trees, because they are able to eat a variety of leaves. This line refers to the leaf-eating habits of howler monkeys in forests. Hence, the answer is B.

18 Answer: G

Question type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph G

Answer Explanation: In the last lines of Paragraph G, it is mentioned that he hopes that farmers will begin to see the advantages of associating with wild monkeys, which includes potential ecotourism projects. These lines signify Alejandro Estrada’s aspiration that farmers will start to realize the advantages of having wild monkeys on their farms, which could lead to opportunities for ecotourism projects. Hence, it is clear that this paragraph mentions the reference of asking farmers’ changing attitude toward wildlife. So, the answer is G.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Return of Monkey Life Reading Passage 

Let us check out some quick tips to answer the types of questions in the Return of Monkey Life Reading Answers passage.

Matching Information:

Matching Information questions are a type of IELTS Reading question that requires you to match information from the passage to a list of statements. The statements can be about the main ideas of the passage, supporting details, or the author’s purpose and attitude. Here are some tips to ace IELTS Reading Matching Information questions:

• Read the instructions carefully. Make sure you understand how many statements you need to match and if there are any special rules, such as whether you can use a statement more than once.
• Read the statements first. This will help you to understand what type of information you are looking for and to eliminate any statements that are clearly wrong.
• Skim the passage to get a general understanding of the topic and the structure of the passage.
• Scan the passage to find the specific information that you are looking for.
• Match the information to the passage. Be careful of red herrings and make sure that the information in the statement is supported by the passage.

Matching Features:

In IELTS Reading Matching Features questions, you match statements to features or names from a passage. The statements are paraphrased and in a different order than the information in the passage. There are more options to choose from than there are questions. Here are some tips for answering IELTS Reading Matching Features questions:

• Read the instructions carefully to make sure you understand what you are being asked to do.
• Skim the passage first to get a general idea of the topic and the different sections of the passage.
• Read the features and statements carefully to make sure you understand what they mean.
• Highlight the keywords in the features and statements.
• Eliminate the wrong answers first.

Sentence Completion:

IELTS Reading Sentence Completion questions require you to fill in the blanks in a sentence with information from the passage. The answers are usually one or two words. Here are some tips to ace the IELTS Reading Sentence Completion questions:

• Read the instructions carefully. Make sure you understand how many words you can write for the answer and if you need to include the exact words from the text.
• Read the incomplete sentences first. This will help you to understand what type of information you are looking for.
• Try to predict the missing words and their type. Are you looking for a noun, a verb, an adjective, or an adverb?
• Skim the text to find the keywords in the first sentence. It’s important that you start with this one even if you think some of the other sentences will be easier to complete.
• Scan the text for the keywords. Once you have found the keywords, scan the text to find the information that is relevant to the incomplete sentence.
• Read in detail to find the answer itself. Once you have found the information that is relevant to the incomplete sentence, read it in detail to find the answer itself.

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