Elephant Communication Reading Answers

Jan 4, 2023

Elephant Communication Reading Answers is an IELTS reading answers topic. It consists of 13 questions that must be finished within the time limit of 20 minutes. This topic has been taken from the book: Practice Tests for IELTS 2 - Volume 2. The topic: Elephant Communication Reading Answers is the last part of the reading section. The candidates must analyse the IELTS reading passage for keywords. The candidates must comprehend the passage and answer the questions accurately. The IELTS Reading practice papers include more similar topics like this Inside Elephant Communication Reading Answers. The candidates can go through these practice papers to polish up their knowledge and reading skills.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

Elephant Communication Reading Answers

A postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, O’Connell Rodwell has come to Namibia’s premiere wildlife sanctuary to explore the mysterious and complex world of elephant communication. She and her colleagues are part of a scientific revolution that began nearly two decades ago with the stunning revelation that elephants communicate over long distances using low-frequency sounds, also called infrasounds, that are too deep to be heard by most humans.

As might be expected, the African elephant’s ability to sense seismic sound may begin in the ears. The hammer bone of the elephant’s inner ear is proportionally very large for a mammal, but typical for animals that use vibrational signals. It may therefore be a sign that elephants can communicate with seismic sounds. Also, the elephant and its relative the manatee are unique among mammals in having reverted to a reptilian-like cochlear structure in the inner ear. The cochlea of reptiles facilitates a keen sensitivity to idbrations and may do the same in elephants.

But other aspects of elephant anatomy also support that ability. First, then enormous bodies, which allow them to generate low-frequency sounds almost as powerful as those of a jet takeoff, provide ideal frames for receiving ground vibrations and conducting them to the inner ear. Second, the elephant’s toe bones rest on a fatty pad that might help focus vibrations from the ground into the bone. Finally, the elephant’s enormous brain lies in the cranial cavity behind the eyes in line with the auditory canal. The front of the skull is riddled with sinus cavities that may function as resonating chambers for vibrations from the ground.

How the elephants sense these vibrations is still unknown, but O’Connell Rodwell who just earned a graduate degree in entomology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, suspects the pachyderms are “listening” with their trunks and feet. The trunk may be the most versatile appendage in nature. Its uses include drinking, bathing, smelling, feeding and scratching. Both trunk and feet contain two kinds of pressure-sensitive nerve endings—one that detects infrasonic vibrations and another that responds to vibrations with slightly higher frequencies. For O’Connell-Rodwell, the future of the research is boundless and unpredictable: “Our work is really at the interface of geophysics, neurophysiology and ecology,” she says. “We’re asking questions that no one has really dealt with before.”

Scientists have long known that seismic communication is common in small animals, including spiders, scorpions, insects and a number of vertebrate species such as white-lipped frogs, blind mole rats, kangaroo rats and golden moles. They also have found evidence of seismic sensitivity in elephant seals—2-ton marine mammals that are not related to elephants. But O’Connell Rodwell was the first to suggest that a large land animal also is sending and receiving seismic messages.

O’Connell Rodwell noticed something about the freezing behavior of Etosha’s six-ton bulls that reminded her of the tiny insects back in her lab. “I did my masters thesis on seismic communication in planthoppers,” she says. “I’d put a male planthopper on a stem and play back a female call, and the male would do the same thing the elephants were doing: He would freeze, then press down on his legs, go forward a little bit, then freeze again. It was just so fascinating to me, and it’s what got me to think, maybe there’s something else going on other than acoustic communication.”

Scientists have determined that an elephant’s ability to communicate over long distances is essential for its survival, particularly in a place like Etosha, where more than 2,400 savanna elephants range over an area larger than New Jersey. The difficulty of finding a mate in this vast wilderness is compounded by … elephant reproductive biology. Females breed only when nestrus a period of sexual arousal that occurs every two years and lasts just a few days. “Females in estrus make these very low, long calls that bulls home in on, because it’s such a rare event,” O’Connell-Rodwell says.

These powerful estrus calls carry more than two miles in the air and may be accompanied by long-distance seismic signals, she adds. Breeding herds also use low-frequency vocalizations to warn of predators. Adult bulls and cows have no enemies, except for humans, but young elephants are susceptible to attacks by lions and hyenas. When a predator appears, older members of the herd emit intense warning calls that prompt the rest of the herd to clump together for protection, then lee.

In 1994, O’Connell-Rodwell recorded the dramatic cries of a breeding herd threatened by lions at Mushara. “The elephants got really scared, and the matriarch made these very powerful warning calls, and then the herd took off screaming and trumpeting,” she recalls. “Since then, every time we’ve played that particular call at the water hole, we get the same response the elephants take off.”

Reacting to a warning call played hi the air is one thing, but could the elephants detect calls transmitted only through the ground? To find out, the research team in 2002 devised an experiment using electronic equipment that allowed them to send signals through the ground at Mushara. The results of our 2002 study showed US that elephants do indeed detect warning calls played through the ground,” O’Connell Rodwell observes.

“We expected them to clump up into tight groups and leave the area, and that’s in fact what they did. But since we only played back one type of call, we couldn’t really say whether they were interpreting it correctly. Maybe they thought it was a vehicle or something strange instead of a predator warning.” H. An experiment last year was designed to solve that problem by using three different recordings—the 1994 warning call from Mushara, an anti-predator call recorded by scientist Joyce Poole in Kenya and an artificial warble tone.

Although still analyzing data from this experiment, O’Connell Rodwell is able to make a few preliminary observations: “The data I’ve seen so far suggest that the elephants were responding like I had expected, when the ’94 warning call was played back, they tended to clump together and leave the water hole sooner. But what’s really interesting is that the unfamiliar anti-predator call from Kenya also caused them to clump up, get nervous and aggressively rumble—but they didn’t necessarily leave. I didn’t think it was going to be that clear cut.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 28-3:
Summary
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than three words from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 28-31 on your answer sheet.

Elephant Communication Reading Answers

Question 28:

Answer: hammer
Supporting Sentence: The hammer bone of the elephant’s inner ear is proportionally very large for a mammal, but typical for animals that use vibrational signals.
Keyword: hammer bone, elephant’s inner ear.
Keyword Location: 2nd paragraph, 2nd sentence.
Explanation: The second paragraph states that the inner ear of the elephant consists of a hammer bone. This bone is proportionally very large in elephants in comparison to other mammals. However, it is typical for animals since the animals mainly use vibrational signals.
Therefore, the “hammer” is the correct answer since it fits perfectly in the blank.

Question 29:

Answer: body
Supporting Sentence: First, then enormous bodies, which allow them to generate low-frequency sounds almost as powerful as those of a jet takeoff, provide ideal frames for receiving ground vibrations and conducting them to the inner ear.
Keyword: enormous bodies, powerful as those of a jet takeoff.
Keyword Location: 3rd paragraph, 2nd sentence.
Explanation: The third paragraph states that elephants have enormous bodies that enable them to render low-frequency sounds that are powerful enough as those of jet takeoff. It offers suitable frames for receiving the vibrations of the ground and driving them to the inner ear. Therefore, “body” is the correct answer to fill in the blank.

Question 30:

Answer: pad
Supporting Sentence: Second, the elephant’s toe bones rest on a fatty pad that might help focus vibrations from the ground into the bone.
Keyword: elephant’s toe bones, rest on a fatty pad.
Keyword Location: 3rd paragraph, 3rd sentence.
Explanation: The third paragraph clearly states that the toe bones of elephants rest on a fatty pad. This helps the elephants to concentrate on the vibrations that they receive from the ground to the bone. Therefore, “pad” is the correct answer that suits perfectly to fill in the blank.

Question 31:

Answer: cavities/sinus cavities
Supporting Sentence: The front of the skull is riddled with sinus cavities that may function as resonating chambers for vibrations from the ground.
Keyword: front of the skull, sinus cavities.
Keyword Location: 3rd paragraph, last sentence.
Explanation: The author in the third paragraph has stated that the front of the skull of elephants is attached to sinus cavities. These cavities play the role of resonating chambers for receiving vibrations from the ground. Therefore, “sinus cavities” is the correct answer that perfectly goes with the blank.

Question 32-38:
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more three words or a number from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 32-38 on your answer sheet.

How the elephants sense these sound vibrations is still unknown, but O’Connell Rodwell, a fresh graduate in entomology at the University of Hawaii, proposes that the elephants are “listening” with their 32…………., by two kinds of nerve endings—that responds to vibrations with both 33 ………….frequency and slightly higher frequencies, o’Connell Rodwell work is at the combination of geophysics, neurophysiology and 34 ………….and it also was the first to indicate that a large land animal also is sending and receiving 35 ………….,. O’Connell-Rodwell noticed the freezing behavior by putting a male planthopper communicative approach other than 36………… Scientists have determined that an elephant’s ability to communicate over long distances is essential, especially, when elephant herds are finding a 37…………., or are warning of predators. Finally, the results of our 2002 study showed US that elephants can detect warning calls played through the 38………….”

Question 32:

Answer: trunks and feet
Supporting Sentence: How the elephants sense these vibrations is still unknown, but O’Connell Rodwell who just earned a graduate degree in entomology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, suspects the pachyderms are “listening” with their trunks and feet.
Keyword: pachyderms are “listening”, trunks and feet.
Keyword Location: 4th paragraph, 1st sentence.
Explanation: The fourth paragraph depicts the way the elephants feel the vibrations are not yet known. However, O’Connell Rodwell, after having a graduate degree in entomology suspects that the elephants mainly listen to the vibrations through their trunks and feet. Therefore, “trunks and feet” is the correct answer that perfectly goes with the blank.

Question 33:

Answer: infrasonic
Supporting Sentence: Both trunk and feet contain two kinds of pressure-sensitive nerve endings—one that detects infrasonic vibrations and another that responds to vibrations with slightly higher frequencies.
Keyword: trunk and feet, pressure-sensitive nerve endings, infrasonic vibrations, slightly higher frequencies.
Keyword Location: 4th paragraph, 3rd sentence.
Explanation: The third paragraph clearly states that the trunk and feet of elephants possess two sorts of nerve endings that are sensitive to pressure. One of which identifies the vibrations with infrasonic frequencies and the other responds to the slightly higher frequencies vibrations. Therefore, “infrasonic” is the correct answer that suits perfectly with the blank.

Question 34:

Answer: ecology
Supporting Sentence: For O’Connell-Rodwell, the future of the research is boundless and unpredictable: “Our work is really at the interface of geophysics, neurophysiology and ecology,” she says.
Keyword: the interface of geophysics, neurophysiology and ecology.
Keyword Location: 4th paragraph, 4th sentence.
Explanation: The fourth paragraph clearly cites that the work of O’Connell-Rodwell is mainly a combination of neurophysiology, geophyphysices and ecology. For him, the future of the research is not predictable and is boundless. Therefore, “ecology” is the correct answer as it supports the argument given in the passage. Hence it fits in the blank perfectly.

Question 35:

Answer: seismic messages
Supporting Sentence: But O’Connell Rodwell was the first to suggest that a large land animal also is sending and receiving seismic messages.
Keyword: first to suggest, a large land animal, sending and receiving seismic messages.
Keyword Location: 5th paragraph, last sentence.
Explanation: The fifth paragraph cites that O’Connell Rodwell was the first researcher to indicate that a large land animal is transmitting and obtaining seismic messages. Therefore, “seismic messages” is the correct answer that supports the argument of the passage. Therefore, it fits in the blank in a perfect way.

Question 36:

Answer: acoustic communication/communications
Supporting Sentence: It was just so fascinating to me, and it’s what got me to think, maybe there’s something else going on other than acoustic communication.
Keyword: seismic communication, male planthopper, would freeze, freeze again, acoustic communication.
Keyword Location: 6th paragraph, last sentence.
Explanation: The sixth paragraph states O’Connell Rodwell’s view regarding the freezing behaviour in planthoppers. He has accomplished his master's thesis on seismic communications in planthoppers. He said that male planthoppers have identical actions to that of elephants. Since the elephant also freezes and presses down their legs and moves ahead a little bit and then freezes again like the male planthoppers. This makes him believe that the communicative approach of the male planthoppers is other than acoustic communication. Therefore, “acoustic communication” is the correct answer that suits well in the blank.

Question 37:

Answer: mate
Supporting Sentence: The difficulty of finding a mate in this vast wilderness is compounded by … elephant reproductive biology.
Keyword: elephant’s ability, communicate over long distances, difficulty of finding a mate, Breeding herds, low-frequency vocalizations, warn of predators.
Keyword Location: 7th paragraph, 1st- 6th sentence.
Explanation: The seventh paragraph states the proposal determined by the scientists. They have considered the elephant’s power to articulate over long distances is important for its survival. The herd of elephants face difficulties in finding a mate in this vast forest. They use low-frequency vocalizations especially to warn others of predators. It is essential for them to find a mate to lead their lives in the forest. Therefore, “mate” is the correct answer that fits perfectly in the blank.

Question 38:

Answer: ground
Supporting Sentence: “The results of our 2002 study showed US that elephants do indeed detect warning calls played through the ground,” O’Connell Rodwell observes.
Keyword: 2002 study showed US, detect warning calls, played through the ground.
Keyword Location: 10th paragraph, last sentence.
Explanation: The tenth paragraph has clearly stated the observation of O’Connell Rodwell. According to him, the results of a 2002 study revealed to the US that elephants indicate the warning calls recreated through the ground. Hence, “ground” is the correct answer that supports the argument of the passage. Therefore, it suits perfectly in the blank.

Question 39-40:
Choose the correct letter. A, B, c or D. Write your answers in boxes 39-40 on your answer sheet.

According to the passage, it is determined that an elephant need to communicate over long distances for its survival.

When a threatening predator appears.
When young elephants meet humans.
When older members of the herd want to flee from the group.
when a male elephant is in estrus.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: Breeding herds also use low-frequency vocalizations to warn of predators.
Keyword: long distances, for its survival, low-frequency vocalizations, warn of predators.
Keyword Location: 8th paragraph, 1st- 2nd sentence.
Explanation: The eighth paragraph states that the scientists have considered the elephant’s power to articulate over long distances is important for its survival. They use low-frequency vocalizations especially to warn others of threatening predators. Therefore, A is the correct answer since it supports the argument described in the passage.

What is the author’s attitude toward the experiment by using three different recordings in the paragraph?

the outcome is definitely out of the original expectation
the data can not be very clearly obtained
the result can be somewhat undecided or inaccurate
the result can be unfamiliar to the public

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: But since we only played back one type of call, we couldn’t really say whether they were interpreting it correctly.
Keyword: played, one type of call, interpreting it correctly.
Keyword Location: 11th paragraph, 1st to the last sentence.
Explanation: The paragraph states that the experiment was designed to detect the type of call with the applications of three different recordings. Since one type of call is played, it cannot be ensured that they were decoding it correctly. There arises confusion in the author and he predicts that the result is somewhat not decided or not correct. Therefore, C is the correct answer as it satisfies the argument of the passage.

Read more IELTS Reading Related Samples