It’s Only a Cockroach Reading Answers

Feb 3, 2023

It’s Only a Cockroach Reading Answers comprises a total of 13 questions. This IELTS reading topic: It’s Only a Cockroach Reading Answers comprises question types such as; Complete the flowchart, Label the diagram, and Yes/No/Not Given. To solve these questions in the IELTS reading topic, candidates must go through the passage carefully and identify the major keywords. It’s Only a Cockroach Reading Answers are to be solved by the candidates within a timeframe of 20 minutes which remains the same for all the IELTS Reading assessments. To practice more such IELTS reading topics, candidates can refer to the book IELTS Mock Test 2020. Moreover, candidates might consider IELTS Reading practice papers to practice such relevant questions.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

It’s Only a Cockroach Reading Answers

I turn on the light in my kitchen that night, and then I see it. I draw back, and my first instinct is to scream. I control myself with difficulty, but find myself shuddering, unable to deal with the creature before me. It’s only a cockroach, but its large size, long antennae, shiny appearance, and spiny legs, all present a particularly disgusting appearance. And this is not just to me, but to everyone it seems, even to the point of phobic responses.

This is certainly the over-riding reason I want these creatures totally eradicated from my apartment, but with their offensive odour, passive transportation of microbes, and trails of droppings, they also pose a distinct threat to domestic hygiene. Clearly, cohabitation is not possible. So, I do all I can to keep these pests away. Food is stored in sealed containers, garbage cans have tight lids, my kitchen is kept spotlessly clean, and my apartment swept and mopped nightly. I have also sealed up possible entry points, but still, these loathsome things find their way inside. I need a way to kill them.

The most precise cockroach killer is, typically, another insect. A specific species of wasp targets these creatures. With a quick accurate swoop, it bites the cockroach at the main nerve centre of its body, which results in a temporary paralysis. This is very necessary, as we all know just how fast cockroaches can run. The wasp has only a few minutes to prepare its next sting, in the exact area of the brain which controls the cockroaches’ instinct to escape. After the paralysis departs, the cockroach is subdued and docile, and doomed. The wasp bites off the antennae to further discourage flight, then drags its victim away.

Faced with such predation, cockroaches usually conceal themselves during the day, and with their ability to flatten their bodies, they can disappear into just about any tiny nook, crevice, and cranny. There, they wait patiently for darkness before emerging to search for food, and will usually run away when exposed to light. Given this, I am told that the slim and agile house centipede is probably the most effective cockroach predator, able to track down and root out the most carefully hidden prey. Unfortunately, I would say that centipedes are even more disgusting to have in one’s house, if that’s possible. I just can’t win this game.

Can anyone win? These insects are just about the hardiest, on the planet. Some can wait for up to three months before meals, some can survive on the barest hint of nutrition (such as the glue on the back of postage stamps), and some can live without air for over half an hour. They do not, however, handle cold weather well, preferring the warm conditions and security found within buildings. Hidden there, the female lays egg capsules containing around 40 eggs, and with the insect’s relatively long lifespan (about a year), some 300 to 400 offspring can ultimately be produced. The result: once these insects have infested a building, they are very difficult to eradicate.

Cockroaches do, however, have some subtleties. They leave chemical messages in their droppings, as well as emit airborne pheromones to signal other cockroaches about sources of food and water, and alert them to their own presence. The latter is more important, for these insects are actually somewhat gregarious. Research has shown that cockroaches make group-based decisions, and tend to co-operate. One study placed a large number of cockroaches in a dish with three small shelters, and the insects divided themselves equally between two of them, leaving the third one empty. When these shelters were exchanged for two very large ones, all the cockroaches arranged themselves in just one. These creatures, it seems, prefer the company of others, and a rather fair al location of resources.

Should I therefore feel any admiration? It is hard - in fact, in Western culture, cockroaches are almost universally depicted as repulsive and dirty pests. In the insect’s most famous literary appearance - Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’ - a man, Gregor, is transformed overnight into a monstrous insect, probably a cockroach (although the story never quite makes that clear). Gregor’s transformation results in very predictable responses from his family and friends, who can never accept him again. He eventually dies, outcast and lonely, despised and mistreated - a potent symbol of alienation and rejection. Yet in the Pixar animated feature ‘Wall-E’, a cockroach provides essential companionship to a lone robot living on a planet scorched by a nuclear holocaust.

Whatever the case, I am faced with a big problem: a large ugly cockroach crawling slowly across my sink, antennae waving as it explores around. If I try to grab it, it will dart away, and I doubt whether I’ll be able to catch it before it disappears into the numerous cracks and crevices of my old apartment. So, I carefully remove my slipper, determined to squash the insect, but then almost scream again as it lifts on its legs, raises membranous wings, and with a loud buzzing noise, flies away. Oh, just what I need they can fly, too.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-4

Answer the questions.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer

What aspect of cockroaches makes the author want them removed from the home?

Answer: disgusting appearance
Supporting Sentence: It’s only a cockroach, but its large size, long antennae, shiny appearance, and spiny legs, all present a particularly disgusting appearance.
Keyword : its large size, disgusting appearance
Keyword Location: 1st paragraph, 3rd sentence
Explanation: The author in the first paragraph explains the appearance of cockroaches which is very disgusting. In the 1st sentence of the second paragraph the author says that these are the reasons for which he wants the cockroaches out of his home. Hence, disgusting appearance is the correct answer.

What human aspect do they endanger?

Answer: domestic hygiene
Supporting Sentence: This is certainly the over-riding reason I want these creatures totally eradicated from my apartment, but with their offensive odour, passive transportation of microbes, and trails of droppings, they also pose a distinct threat to domestic hygiene.
Keyword : distinct threat, pose
Keyword Location: 2nd paragraph, 1st sentence
Explanation: The author in the second paragraph directly states that these cockroaches pose a threat to domestic hygine due to their offensive odour, transportation of microbes and trails of droppings. Hence, domestic hygiene is the correct answer.

Which insect is the best cockroach killer?

Answer: wasp
Supporting Sentence: A specific species of wasp targets these creatures.
Keyword : killer, target
Keyword Location: 3rd paragraph, 2nd sentence
Explanation: The author asks whatr can be done to kill the cockroaches. The passage only answers that there is a specific kind of wasp that targets the cockroaches. This makes wasps the correct answer.

What can cockroaches do to easily hide?

Answer: flatten (bodies)
Supporting Sentence: Faced with such predation, cockroaches usually conceal themselves during the day, and with their ability to flatten their bodies, they can disappear into just about any tiny nook, crevice, and cranny.
Keyword : conceal, ability to flatten, disappear
Keyword Location: 4th paragraph, 1st sentence
Explanation: The author in the passage says that if the cockroaches faces a threat, they hide easily. This is because they can flatten their bodies which allows them to hide and disappear into any corner. This makes flatten the correct answer.

Questions 5-8

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage One?

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

The author finds cockroaches more repulsive than centipedes.

Answer: Flase
Supporting Sentence: Unfortunately, I would say that centipedes are even more disgusting to have in one’s house, if that’s possible.
Keyword : more distusting
Keyword Location: 4th paragraph, 2nd last sentence
Explanation: The author directly states that centipedes are even more disgusting than cockroaches. This means they are more repulsive than cockroaches. Hence, the statement is False.

Cockroaches live longer than many other insects.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: Some can wait for up to three months before meals, some can survive on the barest hint of nutrition (such as the glue on the back of postage stamps), and some can live without air for over half an hour.
Keyword : survive, barest, live without air
Keyword Location: 5th paragraph, 3rd sentence
Explanation: The author explains how cockroaches can live without meals and barest of nutrition. The passage also explains how they can live without air for over half an hour. This is more than any insect can survive.

Cockroaches will fight over food.

Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: Some can wait for up to three months before meals, some can survive on the barest hint of nutrition
Keyword : meals, nutrition
Keyword Location: 5th paragraph, 3rd sentence
Explanation: The author states that they wait upto three months before meals and can survive with very little nutrition. This means there is no need for them to fight bfor food. Hence, the statement is false.

Cockroaches are often the subject of research.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: There is no such information in the passage.

Questions 9-11

Complete the summary of the second half of the passage.

Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.

Cockroaches use 9_________ in the air to communicate, and show a willingness to 10__________ , yet the author struggles to feel 11__________ for these insects.

Question 9

Answer: pheromones
Supporting Sentence: They leave chemical messages in their droppings, as well as emit airborne pheromones to signal other cockroaches about sources of food and water, and alert them to their own presence.
Keyword : airborne, signal
Keyword Location: 6th paragraph, 2nd sentence
Explanation: The question asks us what cockroaches use to communicate. The supporting sentence clearly states that they emit airborne pheromones to signal other cockroaches about water and food sources. Hence, pheromones is the correct answer.

Question 10

Answer: co-operate
Supporting Sentence: Research has shown that cockroaches make group-based decisions, and tend to co-operate.
Keyword : airborne, signal
Keyword Location: 6th paragraph, 4th sentence
Explanation: The passage states that they inform other cockroaches about the food and water resources. This is co-operating among each other so that everyone can survive. Hence, co-operate is the correct answer.

Question 11

Answer: admiration
Supporting Sentence: Should I therefore feel any admiration?
Keyword : admiration, feel
Keyword Location: 2nd last paragraph, 1st sentence
Explanation: The author states all the characteristics of cockroaches and how they co-operate. He also asks himself a question if the author should feel admiration towards them. Hence, admiration is the correct answer.

Questions 12-13

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

Gregor

A becomes a cockroach.
B is a famous character.
C despises his friends.
D needs companionship.

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: Gregor’s transformation results in very predictable responses from his family and friends, who can never accept him again.
Keyword : family, friends, accept
Keyword Location: Last paragraph, 4th sentence
Explanation: The author states that Gregor’s family could never accept the transformation and rejected him. They did not accept him. So he needed companionship.

The author wants to

A catch the cockroach.
B kill the cockroach.
C touch the cockroach.
D fly like a cockroach.

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: So, I carefully remove my slipper, determined to squash the insect,
Keyword : slipper, squash
Keyword Location: last paragraph, 2nd last sentence
Explanation: The author states that he wants to squash the insect with his sleepers. This means he wants to kill the cockroach.