The Rufous Hare-Wallaby - IELTS Reading Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Practice Test Plus 3 Academic Reading Test 3 · Part 1 · Questions 1–13
Reading Passage
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1–13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
The Rufous Hare-Wallaby
The Rufous Hare-Wallaby is a species of Australian kangaroo, usually known by its Aboriginal name, 'mala'. At one time, there may have been as many as ten million of these little animals across the arid and semi-arid landscape of Australia, but their populations, like those of so many other small endemic species, were devastated when cats and foxes were introduced – indeed, during the 1950s it was thought that the mala was extinct. But in 1964, a small colony was found 450 miles northwest of Alice Springs in the Tanami Desert. And 12 years later, a second small colony was found nearby. Very extensive surveys were made throughout historical mala range – but no other traces were found.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, scientists from the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory monitored these two populations. At first it seemed that they were holding their own. Then in late 1987, every one of the individuals of the second and smaller of the wild colonies was killed. From examination of the tracks in the sand, it seemed that just one single fox had been responsible. And then, in October 1991, a wild-fire destroyed the entire area occupied by the remaining colony. Thus the mala was finally pronounced extinct in the wild.
Fortunately, ten years earlier, seven individuals had been captured, and had become the founders of a captive breeding programme at the Arid Zone Research Institute in Alice Springs; and that group had thrived. Part of this success is due to the fact that the female can breed when she is just five months old and can produce up to three young a year. Like other kangaroo species, the mother carries her young – known as a joey – in her pouch for about 15 weeks, and she can have more than one joey at the same time.
In the early 1980s, there were enough mala in the captive population to make it feasible to start a reintroduction programme. But first it was necessary to discuss this with the leaders of the Yapa people. Traditionally, the mala had been an important animal in their culture, with strong medicinal powers for old people. It had also been an important food source, and there were concerns that any mala returned to the wild would be killed for the pot. And so, in 1980, a group of key Yapa men was invited to visit the proposed reintroduction area. The skills and knowledge of the Yapa would play a significant and enduring role in this and all other mala projects.
With the help of the local Yapa, an electric fence was erected around 250 acres of suitable habitat, about 300 miles northwest of Alice Springs so that the mala could adapt while protected from predators. By 1992, there were about 150 mala in their enclosure, which became known as the Mala Paddock. However, all attempts to reintroduce mala from the paddocks into the unfenced wild were unsuccessful, so in the end the reintroduction programme was abandoned. The team now faced a situation where mala could be bred, but not released into the wild again.
Thus, in 1993, a Mala Recovery Team was established to boost mala numbers, and goals for a new programme were set: the team concentrated on finding suitable predator-free or predator-controlled conservation sites within the mala's known range. Finally, in March 1999, twelve adult females, eight adult males, and eight joeys were transferred from the Mala Paddock to Dryandra Woodland in Western Australia. Then, a few months later, a second group was transferred to Trimouille, an island off the coast of western Australia. First, it had been necessary to rid the island of rats and cats – a task that had taken two years of hard work.
Six weeks after their release into this conservation site, a team returned to the island to find out how things were going. Each of the malas had been fitted with a radio collar that transmits for about 14 months, after which it falls off. The team was able to locate 29 out of the 30 transmitters – only one came from the collar of a mala that had died of unknown causes. So far the recovery programme had gone even better than expected.
Today, there are many signs suggesting that the mala population on the island is continuing to do well.
Questions
Questions 1–5 Flow Chart Completion
Complete the flow chart below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
The Wild Australian mala
Questions 6–9 Short Answers
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Questions 10–13 True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 10 million / ten million | At one time, there may have been as many as ten million of these little animals across the arid and semi-arid landscape of Australia | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that in the past, there were probably about ten million malas living in the very dry parts of Australia. Answer Explanation: The answer refers to the total number of Rufous Hare-Wallabies, or malas, that were living in Australia a long time ago. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is found in the first paragraph, which discusses the history of the mala. The passage states that at one time, there could have been as many as ten million of these animals living in dry areas. The phrase 'at one time' matches 'distant past' from the question, and 'arid and semi-arid landscape' matches 'desert and semi-desert regions.' |
| Q2 | cats and foxes / foxes and cats | but their populations, like those of so many other small endemic species, were devastated when cats and foxes were introduced | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that the number of these animals went down very fast because cats and foxes were brought into their habitat. Answer Explanation: The answer identifies the two types of animals that caused the mala population to drop very quickly. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'cats and foxes' because the text explains that the mala population was 'devastated' after these animals were introduced to Australia. In this context, 'devastated' is a synonym for 'destroyed' or 'ruined.' The flow chart asks what caused this destruction, and the passage points directly to these two predators. |
| Q3 | monitored | Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, scientists from the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory monitored these two populations | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that for two decades, scientists from a specific organization watched the two groups of mala to see what was happening to them. Answer Explanation: The answer 'monitored' means that scientists watched the groups of animals very carefully over many years to see how they were living. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is correct because the text says that after the two groups (colonies) were found, scientists from a wildlife group 'monitored' them during the 1970s and 1980s. This means they kept a close eye on the animals to check if their numbers were staying the same or changing. Keywords to note are 'monitored', which is a synonym for 'watched' or 'observed'. |
| Q4 | fire | And then, in October 1991, a wild-fire destroyed the entire area occupied by the remaining colony | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage states that in October 1991, a fire in the wild ruined the whole place where the last group of these animals lived. Answer Explanation: The answer is 'fire', which here refers to a large 'wild-fire' that burns across fields or forests. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'fire' because the passage describes the events leading to the extinction of the mala in the wild. According to the text, there were two surviving colonies. One was destroyed in 1987 by a fox, and the last remaining one was finished off in 1991 by a wild-fire. The flowchart asks what destroyed the other colony in 1991, and the passage explicitly points to this event. |
| Q5 | extinct | Thus the mala was finally pronounced extinct in the wild | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage states that after the last wild group was gone, the mala was officially said to be gone from nature. Answer Explanation: The answer "extinct" means that an animal or plant group no longer has any living members in nature. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is found in the second paragraph of the passage. It explains that after several events killed the final groups of these animals living in nature, there were none left. The text says they were "pronounced extinct in the wild," where "pronounced" has the same meaning as "declared" in the flow chart. |
| Q6 | 5 months / five months | Part of this success is due to the fact that the female can breed when she is just five months old and can produce up to three young a year | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage states that a female mala is ready to have her own babies by the time she is only five months old. Answer Explanation: The answer is the age of five months. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is five months because the text explains that the breeding program was successful partly because female malas can start to breed, or have babies, at that very young age. This fast reproduction helps the population grow quickly. |
| Q7 | 15 week / fifteen weeks | Like other kangaroo species, the mother carries her young – known as a joey – in her pouch for about 15 weeks, and she can have more than one joey at the same time | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage tells us that the mother animal carries her baby in a skin pocket for fifteen weeks, and she can even have more than one baby in there at once. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the baby mala spends about fifteen weeks living inside the pocket on its mother's stomach. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is found in the part of the text discussing how the mala breeds. It mentions that like kangaroos, the mother keeps her baby (called a 'joey') in her 'pouch' (a skin pocket) for 'about 15 weeks'. Therefore, 15 weeks is the specific amount of time the young stay inside. |
| Q8 | strong medicinal powers / medicinal powers | Traditionally, the mala had been an important animal in their culture, with strong medicinal powers for old people. It had also been an important food source, and there were concerns that any mala returned to the wild would be killed for the pot | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that the mala was a very significant animal for the Yapa people because it was used to create medicine for older people and was also a source of food. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the Yapa people believed the mala had special healing abilities or could be used as medicine for the elderly. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is supported by the passage's description of the mala's cultural importance to the Yapa people. The text explicitly mentions two main reasons for its value: its use as food and its 'strong medicinal powers' for old people. Since the question asks for the value other than being food, 'medicinal powers' is the specific detail required. |
| Q9 | skills and knowledge / knowledge and skills | The skills and knowledge of the Yapa would play a significant and enduring role in this and all other mala projects | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that the Yapa people's expert abilities and the things they knew were very important and lasted a long time in every project related to the mala. Answer Explanation: The answer refers to the specific abilities and information provided by the Yapa people for the project. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is located in the fourth paragraph. The text uses the word 'enduring' as a synonym for 'lasting' and 'role' as a synonym for 'contribution'. It explicitly states that the Yapa people's 'skills and knowledge' were parts of this lasting role in the projects to help the animals. |
| Q10 | FALSE | With the help of the local Yapa, an electric fence was erected around 250 acres of suitable habitat, about 300 miles northwest of Alice Springs so that the mala could adapt while protected from predators | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage says that workers and local people had to put up an electric fence to protect the mala from other animals that might hurt them. This proves that the area needed human help to be safe. Answer Explanation: The answer is FALSE because the passage says people had to build a special fence to keep the animals safe, which means the area did not have enough natural protection. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is FALSE because the passage explains that an electric fence was built to protect the mala from predators in the Mala Paddock. An electric fence is a man-made tool, not a natural defense. This shows that the natural environment was not enough (sufficient) to keep the animals safe, which contradicts the statement. |
| Q11 | TRUE | However, all attempts to reintroduce mala from the paddocks into the unfenced wild were unsuccessful, so in the end the reintroduction programme was abandoned | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage explains that every time they tried to move the mala from their safe areas back into nature where there were no fences, it failed. For this reason, the project to release them into the wild was stopped. Answer Explanation: The answer is TRUE, which means the passage confirms that scientists stopped trying to put the mala back into nature without fences or protection. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is TRUE because the passage explicitly states that scientists faced failures when trying to put the animals back into the "unfenced wild." Because these attempts did not work, they stopped that specific plan. The word "abandoned" in the text is a synonym for "gave up their efforts," and "unfenced wild" matches "unprotected wild" in the question. |
| Q12 | NOT GIVEN | Finally, in March 1999, twelve adult females, eight adult males, and eight joeys were transferred from the Mala Paddock to Dryandra Woodland in Western Australia | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage only mentions that a group of mala was moved to Dryandra Woodland. It does not give any information about what happened to them after they were moved there. Answer Explanation: The answer is NOT GIVEN because the passage does not provide any information about whether the mala population in Dryandra Woodland grew quickly, grew slowly, or changed at all. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is NOT GIVEN because while the text mentions the date and the specific number of animals moved to Dryandra Woodland, it provides no further details about that specific group. The passage focuses on the success of the animals moved to Trimouille island instead. Because the text is silent on the growth or size of the population in Dryandra Woodland after the transfer, we cannot say if the statement is true or false. |
| Q13 | TRUE | So far the recovery programme had gone even better than expected | Excerpt/Passage Explanation: The passage states that, up to that point, the plan to help the animals grow in number was working out even more successfully than the scientists had hoped. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the scientists were happy with the first results of their plan to save the mala. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is TRUE because the text says the recovery program had gone "even better than expected." When a project goes better than you thought it would, it means you are satisfied or even more than satisfied with the results. After six weeks, researchers found that almost all of the animals had survived, which confirmed that the start of the program was a success. |