How Forests Regulate the Global Climate: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “Forests cover a substantial share of the world's land and do far more than provide timber and shelter for wildlife. They are among the most important regulators of the planet's climate, quietly influencing the temperature, moisture and chemistry of the air across whole continents.”
- Passage length: about 750 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“How Forests Regulate the Global Climate” is an original IELTS-style practice passage written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
How Forests Regulate the Global Climate answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information.
- 1
Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “Trees draw carbon dioxide out of the air during photosynthesis, using the energy of sunlight to combine it with water and build the sugars from which they grow.”
- 2
The carbon stored in a forest stays locked away even after the forest is burned.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “When a forest is cleared or burned, however, this stored carbon is released back into the air, and the same trees that once cooled the planet can become a source of warming instead.”
- 3
Moisture released by one forest can fall as rain over land far away.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “In some regions the moisture released by one stretch of forest is carried by winds and falls as rainfall over land far away, so that clearing trees in one place can reduce the rain that reaches another.”
- 4
Forests generally reflect more sunlight than bare ground or snow.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “A dense canopy of dark leaves absorbs a large proportion of the sunlight that strikes it, whereas bare ground, and especially snow, reflects much more of that light back into space.”
- 5
Tropical forests contain a greater variety of animal species than northern forests.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims tropical forests have more animal species than northern forests, but the passage does not address this; it focuses on forests' roles in climate regulation, carbon storage, and moisture release.
Closest related text · Paragraph 5 “Tropical forests, which are warm and wet and grow quickly, are especially powerful at storing carbon and pumping moisture into the air, and clearing them is widely regarded as damaging to the climate.”
- 6
A newly planted forest may take many years to store as much carbon as the woodland it replaced.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “…a newly planted area may need many years before it stores as much carbon as the woodland it replaced.”
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. A store
- B. A pump
- C. A blanket
- D. A mirror
- 7
What does the passage compare a great forest to when describing its effect on water?
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Answer: B — A pump
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — A pump.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “In this sense a great forest behaves almost like a pump, moving water through the landscape and helping to keep distant regions green.”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. The amount of carbon a forest stores
- B. The fraction of sunlight that a surface reflects
- C. The rate at which trees release water vapour
- D. The variety of species living in a forest
- 8
What does the term albedo refer to?
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Answer: B — The fraction of sunlight that a surface reflects
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — The fraction of sunlight that a surface reflects.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “The fraction of sunlight that a surface reflects is known as its albedo.”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. They store more carbon than tropical forests
- B. They grow much faster than other forests
- C. Their dark canopy replaces snow that would otherwise reflect sunlight
- D. They release very little water vapour
- 9
Why can forests in the far north have a stronger local warming effect?
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Answer: C — Their dark canopy replaces snow that would otherwise reflect sunlight
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — Their dark canopy replaces snow that would otherwise reflect sunlight.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “Forests in the far north, by contrast, grow in regions where snow would otherwise reflect a great deal of sunlight, so their dark canopy can have a stronger local warming effect that partly offsets the benefit of the carbon they hold.”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Mature forests are cheaper to protect
- B. Mature forests hold especially large amounts of carbon
- C. New trees never store any carbon
- D. New forests reflect too much sunlight
- 10
According to the passage, why is conserving mature forests often considered more valuable than planting new trees?
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Answer: B — Mature forests hold especially large amounts of carbon
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — Mature forests hold especially large amounts of carbon.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “Mature forests that have grown undisturbed for a long time hold especially large amounts of carbon, which is why conserving them is often considered more valuable than planting new trees to replace them.”
Questions 11–14: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
What word, meaning a store, describes a growing forest that holds carbon out of the atmosphere?(max 2 words)
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Answer: sink (also accepted: a store)
Why: The answer “sink” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “A growing forest therefore acts as a store, or sink, holding vast quantities of carbon that would otherwise remain in the atmosphere as a heat-trapping gas.”
- 12
What is the process called by which trees release moisture into the air from their leaves?(max 2 words)
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Answer: transpiration
Why: The answer “transpiration” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “Trees draw moisture up from the soil through their roots and release it into the air from their leaves in a process called transpiration.”
- 13
Which type of forest is described as especially powerful at storing carbon and pumping moisture?(max 2 words)
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Answer: tropical forests (also accepted: tropical)
Why: The answer “tropical forests” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “Tropical forests, which are warm and wet and grow quickly, are especially powerful at storing carbon and pumping moisture into the air, and clearing them is widely regarded as damaging to the climate.”
- 14
What condition, caused by a hotter, drier climate, stresses trees and increases the risk of large fires?(max 2 words)
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Answer: drought (also accepted: prolonged drought)
Why: The answer “drought” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “…as prolonged drought stresses the trees and increases the risk of large fires that release still more carbon.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (Academic) conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single passage is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.5 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.5 |
| 11 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 6.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 4 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 14 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 14 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
True / False / Not Given
- Read the statement first and underline the key idea, especially any qualifiers like "all", "only", "never", "always", "more than" or dates and numbers.
- Because the questions follow the order of the passage, scan for the paragraph that deals with the same topic rather than re-reading everything.
Common trap: Confusing "False" with "Not Given": choose False only when the passage actively contradicts the statement; if the passage is silent, it is Not Given.
Full True / False / Not Given strategyMultiple Choice
- Read the question stem carefully before the options so you know exactly what is being asked.
- Because multiple-choice questions follow passage order, locate the relevant section and read it in full — the answer usually depends on more than one sentence.
Common trap: Distractors that use exact words from the passage but distort the meaning.
Full Multiple Choice strategyShort Answer
- Read the instructions and note the exact word limit; going over it means zero marks even if the meaning is right.
- Turn each question into a set of keywords and predict what kind of answer it needs (a person, a date, a place, a noun).
Common trap: Exceeding the word limit (writing four words when only three are allowed).
Full Short Answer strategyPractise “How Forests Regulate the Global Climate” under exam conditions
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