EnglishPrepository

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Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension CEFR B1 Topic: The Great Green Wall of Africa – a huge tree-planting project to stop the desert from spreading

The Great Green Wall: Africa's Living Barrier

What this tests: reading for detail, opinion, attitude, purpose and what the writer implies.

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Instructions

Read the text about the Great Green Wall of Africa. Then answer the six multiple-choice questions by choosing the correct letter (A, B, C or D).

Imagine stopping a desert not with machines or walls of stone, but with trees. This is the idea behind the Great Green Wall, a huge project that stretches across Africa from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east. It is not one unbroken structure built by a single government; instead, it is a green strip of plants that many countries are growing together, little by little, along the edge of the Sahara.

The project began in 2007 because the desert was spreading fast. Hot winds and years without rain were turning good farmland into dry, useless sand, and millions of people who depended on farming were losing their way of life. African leaders agreed that something had to be done, so they joined forces on one shared plan rather than acting alone.

The method is simple but effective. If communities plant trees and other plants along the desert's edge, the roots hold the soil together so it cannot blow away. Trees also provide shade, which helps other plants grow, and they can produce fruit, wood and medicine that local people can sell or use. So far, workers have planted millions of trees, and in some areas the desert has actually stopped advancing. In Senegal and Ethiopia, farmers say their land is in much better condition than it was ten years ago.

Still, the project has faced serious difficulties. It needs enormous amounts of money, and some countries have not received the support they were promised. Conflict in certain regions has also made it dangerous to plant and care for trees. On top of this, climate change is making the situation more urgent, since rising temperatures could bring even worse droughts in future.

Despite all this, many experts remain confident. They believe that if governments, local communities and international organisations keep working together, the Great Green Wall could eventually restore millions of hectares of land and improve life for more than one hundred million people. For the farmers already watching their fields turn green again, the project shows that even a problem as big as a spreading desert can sometimes be answered with one of the oldest solutions there is: planting a tree.

1. According to the text, what exactly is the Great Green Wall?

A — A belt of vegetation being grown gradually by many countries together B — A line of fences built to block blowing sand from the desert C — A single large forest planted entirely by one international organisation D — A network of irrigation channels built to water crops in dry regions

2. Why did African leaders start the project in 2007?

A — Because conflicts had forced farming families to abandon their land B — Because governments did not have enough money to help farmers C — Because rising temperatures were already causing worse droughts D — Because expanding dry land was destroying the soil that farmers relied on

3. In the sentence "Trees also provide shade, which helps other plants grow, and they can produce fruit, wood and medicine that local people can sell or use," what does "they" refer to?

A — The local people using the products B — The communities planting along the desert's edge C — The roots holding the soil together D — The trees growing along the desert's edge

4. What can be inferred about planting work in regions affected by conflict?

A — International organisations have refused to work there B — Progress there has probably been harder than in calmer regions C — These regions no longer plan to take part in the project D — These regions have already finished their part of the wall

5. What is the writer's attitude towards the project's difficulties?

A — The writer admits the difficulties but still expects progress B — The writer suggests funding is the only problem left to solve C — The writer feels the challenges make success very unlikely D — The writer believes political conflict will end the project for good

6. What is the main purpose of the text?

A — To describe how planting trees can stop a desert from spreading B — To explain an environmental project and report on its progress C — To persuade readers to donate money to African farmers D — To warn governments that the project is likely to fail

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This exercise read aloud, sentence by sentence: a pause to answer each question, the hint after the pause, then the answer and why. It gives the answers — try the exercise first.

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