Jumping Spiders Reading Answers

Oct 3, 2022

Jumping Spiders IELTS Reading Answers contains 13 different types of questions that are to be answered within 20 minutes. Candidates will be shown various question types with clear instructions in this IELTS Section. Reading Answers comprises three types of questions: Matching heading, sentence completion, and Choose the correct option. For the Matching heading, candidates need to thoroughly go through each passage. For sentence completion, candidates need to skim the passage for keywords and understand the concept. To choose the correct option, candidates must read the IELTS Reading passage and understand the statement provided.

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Reading Passage Question

For a stalking predator, the element of surprise is crucial. And for jumping spiders that sneak onto other spiders' webs to prey on their owners, it can be the difference between having lunch and becoming it. Now zoologists have discovered the secret of these spiders' tactics: creeping forward when their prey's web is vibrating.
The fifteen known species of Portia jumping spiders are relatively small, with adults being about two centimeters long (that's smaller than the cap on most pens). They habitually stay in the webs of other spiders, and in an area of these webs that is as out-of-the-way as possible. Portia spiders live mostly in tropical forests, where the climate is hot and humid. They hunt a range of other spiders, some of which could easily turn the tables on them. 'They will attack something about twice their own size if they are really hungry,' says Stimson Wilcox of Binghamton University in New York State. Wilcox and his colleague, Kristen Gentile of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, wanted to find out how Portia spiders keep the upper hand.
All jumping spiders have large eyes that look like binocular lenses, and they function pretty much the same way. Most jumping spiders locate their prey visually, and then jump and capture from one centimeter to over ten centimeters away. Only a few species of jumping spiders invade the webs of other spiders, and the Portia spider is among them. Jumping spiders, including Portia spiders, prey on insects and other arthropods by stalking. Sometimes the spiders lure their victims by vibrating the web to mimic the struggles of a trapped insect. But many web-weaving spiders appear to be wise to these tricks, so stalking is often a better strategy. Sometimes, the researchers found, Portia spiders take advantage of the vibrations created in the web by a gentle breeze. But if necessary, they will make their own vibrations.
The researchers allowed various prey spiders to spin webs in the laboratory and then introduced Portia spiders. To simulate the shaking effect of a breeze the zoologists used either a model aircraft propeller or attached a tiny magnet to the centre of the web which could be vibrated by applying a varying electrical field. The researchers noticed that the stalking Portia spiders moved more when the webs were shaking than when they were stilt and they were more likely to capture their prey during tests in which the webs were penorncally shaken than in those where the webs were undisturbed. If the spiders were placed onto unoccupied webs, they would make no attempt to change their movements.
It is the Portia spider's tactic of making its victims' webs shake that has most intrigued the researchers, They noticed that the spiders would sometimes shake their quarry's web violently, then creep forwards up to five millimeters before the vibrations died down. 'They'd make a big pluck with one of their hind legs,' says Wilcox. These twangs were much more powerful than the gentler vibrations Portia spiders use to mimic a trapped insect, and the researchers were initially surprised that the prey spiders did not respond to them in any way. But they have since discovered that the violent twanging produces a pattern of vibrations that match those caused by a twig falling onto the web.
Other predators make use of natural 'smokescreens' or disguise to hide from their prey: lions hunting at night, for example, move in on their prey when clouds obscure the moon. 'But this is the first example of an animal making its own smokescreen that we know of,' says Wilcox. 'Portia spiders are clearly intelligent and they often learn from their prey as they are trying to capture it. They do this by making different signals on the web of their prey until the prey spider makes a movement. In general, Portia spiders adjust their stalking strategy according to their prey and what the prey is doing. Thus, Portia spiders use trial-and-error learning in stalking. Sometimes they will even take an indirect route to reach a prey spider they can see from a distance. This can sometimes take one to two hours following a predetermined route. When it does this, the Portia spider is actually solving problems and thinking ahead about its actions.'

Solution with Explanation
Questions 1-9:
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-F on your answer sheet.

the reaction of the Portia spider’s prey to strong web vibrations

Answer: E
Supporting Statement: They noticed that the spiders would sometimes shake their quarry’s web violently, then creep forwards up to five millimeters before the vibrations died down. ‘They’d make a big pluck with one of their hind legs,’ says Wilcox. These things were much more powerful than the gentler vibrations Portia spiders use to mimic a trapped insect, and the researchers were initially surprised that the prey spiders did not respond to them in any way.
Keywords: Five millimeters, Vibrations, Portia
Keyword location: Paragraph E, lines 2-9
Explanation: Here, it is clear that the Portia spiders' prey does not respond when they produce a strong vibration because they mistake it for a twig falling on their web. As a result, paragraph E contains a record of their response.

a description of how the researchers set up their experiment

Answer: D
Supporting Statement: The researchers allowed various prey spiders to spin webs in the laboratory and then introduced Portia spiders. To simulate the shaking effect of a breeze the zoologists used either a model aircraft propeller or attached a tiny magnet to the center of the web which could be vibrated by applying a varying electrical field.
Keywords: Prey Spiders, Portia Spiders, Simulate, Shaking effect
Keyword location: Paragraph D, lines 1-4
Explanation: This hints at how the researchers set up the circumstances to carry out their research and examination of Portia spider behavior and predation strategy.

a comparison between Portia spiders and other animal species

Answer: F
Supporting Statement: Other predators make use of natural ‘smokescreens’ or disguise to hide from their prey: lions hunting at night, for example, move in on their prey when clouds obscure the moon.
Keywords: Predators, Smokescreens, Lions
Keyword location: Paragraph F, lines 1-3
Explanation: This establishes a distinction between the predatory actions of Portia spiders and those of other animals.

an explanation of how the researchers mimicked natural conditions.

Answer: D
Supporting Statement: The researchers allowed various prey spiders to spin webs in the laboratory and then introduced Portia spiders. To simulate the shaking effect of a breeze the zoologists used either a model aircraft propeller or attached a tiny magnet to the center of the web which could be vibrated by applying a varying electrical field.
Keywords: Spin Webs, Simulate, Shaking effect, Zoologists
Keyword location: Paragraph D, lines 1-4
Explanation: This shows that in an effort to investigate the behavior and activities of the Portia spiders, scientists attempted to mimic natural conditions.

a comparison between Portia spiders and their prey

Answer: B
Supporting Statement: They hunt a range of other spiders, some of which could easily turn the tables on them. ‘They will attack something about twice their size if they are really hungry,’ says Stimson Wilcox of Binghamton University in New York State.
Keywords: Other spiders, twice their size, really hungry
Keyword location: Paragraph B, lines 5-9
Explanation: These lines enable a transparent and clear comparison to be made between both the Portia spiders and their prey. As a result, the reference is in paragraph B.

the reason why concealment is important to Portia spiders

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: For a stalking predator, the element of surprise is crucial.
Keywords: Stalking predator, element of surprise
Keyword location: Paragraph A, the introductory line
Explanation: This implies that for predators like Portia spiders, who frequently stalk their victims, concealing or hiding from them is a vital component.

a description of the Portia spider’s habitat

Answer: B
Supporting Statement: They habitually stay in the webs of other spiders, and in an area of these webs that is as out-of-the-way as possible. Portia spiders live mostly in tropical forests, where the climate is hot and humid.
Keywords: Habitually, other spiders, tropical forests, hot and humid.
Keyword location: Paragraph B, lines 2-5
Explanation: The habitat and living conditions are described in these paragraphs.

the number of species of Portia spiders

Answer: B
Supporting Statement: The fifteen known species of Portia jumping spiders are relatively small, with adults being about two centimeters long (that’s smaller than the cap on most pens).
Keywords: Fifteen, Species, small, two centimeters long.
Keyword location: Paragraph B, lines 1-2
Explanation: These lines provide the precise number of Portia spider species, which is Fifteen.

an example of the Portia spider’s cleverness

Answer: F
Supporting Statement: Portia spiders are intelligent and they often learn from their prey as they are trying to capture it. They do this by making different signals on the web of their prey until the prey spider moves.
Keywords: intelligent, prey, different signals
Keyword location: Paragraph F, lines 4-6
Explanation: The Portia spiders are depicted in these verses as crafty and shrewd hunters. They use a variety of strategies to display their cunning, and one of them includes observing how their victim behaves.

Questions 10-13:
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D, and write it on your answer sheet.

Question 10: In their laboratory experiments, the researchers found that the Portia spiders moved most when the web was

vibrating.
motionless.
undisturbed.
unoccupied.

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: The researchers noticed that the stalking Portia spiders moved more when the webs were shaking than when they were stilt and they were more likely to capture their prey during tests in which the webs were generically shaken than in those where the webs were undisturbed.
Keywords: Stalking, shaking, capture
Keyword location: Paragraph D, lines 4-7
Explanation: These pimples, which were discovered to be moved by the spiders, were observed to move more when webs were vibrating or shaking and less when they weren't.

Question 11: What discovery did the researchers make about Portia spiders?

They make very strong vibrations with one leg.
They move 5 mm at a time on a still web.
They move slowly when vibrations stop.
They use energetic vibrations to mimic a trapped insect.

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: They noticed that the spiders would sometimes shake their quarry’s web violently, then creep forwards up to five millimeters before the vibrations died down. ‘They’d make a big pluck with one of their hind legs,’ says Wilcox.
Keywords: quarry’s web, big pluck, hind legs
Keyword location: Paragraph E, lines 2-4
Explanation: These lines imply that spiders use their back legs to scrape their prey's web in an effort to trick or defraud it.

Question 12: Portia spiders are the only known animal to

use the weather to disguise themselves.
mimic other prey-eating animals.
creates their smokescreen.
stalk using ‘trial and error’.

Answer: C
Supporting Statement: Other predators make use of natural ‘smokescreens’ or disguise to hide from their prey: lions hunting at night, for example, move in on their prey when clouds obscure the moon. ‘But this is the first example of an animal making its smokescreen that we know of,’ says Wilcox.
Keywords: smokescreens, disguise
Keyword location: Paragraph F, lines 1-4
Explanation: This implies that the only creatures known to have used a smokescreen to assault their prey are the Portia spiders.

Question 13: The Portia spider demonstrates ‘thinking ahead’ when it

chooses prey that is a short distance away.
takes a longer route to reach its prey.
reaches its prey in a short time.
solves the problem of locating its prey.

Answer: B
Supporting Statement: Sometimes they will even take an indirect route to reach a prey spider they can see from a distance. This can sometimes take one to two hours following a predetermined route. When it does this, the Portia spider is solving problems and thinking ahead about its actions.
Keywords: indirect route, predetermined route, solving problems.
Keyword location: Paragraph F, lines 9-12
Explanation: This implies that when spiders are planning ahead, even if the indirect route is longer, they usually choose to go around their target.

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