Kangaroos Reading Answers

Jan 20, 2023

Kangaroos Reading Answers is a brief topic about the kangaroos, their life and adaptability. The given IELTS topic has been taken from the book “The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS Student's Book with Answers”. The topic named Kangaroos Reading Answers comes with 11 questions in total. The IELTS reading topic comes with three type of question. They are match the correct headings, no more than two words and select the correct option.

It is important to read the passage before answering the questions. IELTS reading practice papers can be taken into consideration by the candidates in order to score a good score in the reading section. The practice papers contains topics like Kangaroos Reading Answers. This is a part of the IELTS general reading topics.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

Kangaroos Reading Answers

.... .................The word Kangaroo has come to mean any member of the family of kangaroos and wallabies. The belief that it means "I don't understand" or "I don't know" is a popular myth that is also applied to many other Aboriginal- sounding Australian words. Male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers or jacks; females are does, flyers or jills and the young ones are joeys. The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob, troop or court.

......................... Kangaroos have been regarded as strange animals for many years. Some explorers have described them as creatures with similar heads to deer but without antlers, animals that stood upright like men and hopped like frogs. The hind legs of kangaroos are large and powerful and they have large feet adapted for leaping, a long muscular tail for balance and a small head. Like all marsupials, kangaroos have a pouch in which their young develop and grow after birth.

……………..Kangaroos are herbivores; they feed on grass and roots and chew cud. All species are nocturnal and during the day they usually relax quietly whilst during the cool evenings, nights and mornings they move about and feed usually in groups.

.........................Dingoes and other species like foxes and feral cats pose a threat to the kangaroo population, as they do to most populations of native animals. Like wallabies, kangaroos are able swimmers and enjoy immersing themselves in water if presented with the option. If pursued into the water, a large kangaroo may use its forepaws to hold the predator underwater to drown it. Another defensive tactic described by witnesses is catching the predator with the forepaws and killing it with the hind legs.

...........................A dominant male in a group of kangaroos is called a boomer. This is based on his size and age. A boomer has temporary exclusive access to females for mating. A boomer may find himself wandering in and out of the group of kangaroos - checking out the females and intimidating the other males who try to mate with the females.

............................. Kangaroos have developed in a number of ways to survive in a dry, infertile continent and a highly variable climate. As with all marsupials, the young are born at a very early stage of development after a gestation of 31-36 days. At this stage, only the forelimbs are somewhat developed, to allow the newborn to climb to the pouch and attach to a teat. A human embryo at a similar stage of development would be about 7 weeks old and premature babies born at less than 23 weeks are usually not mature enough to survive. The joey (baby kangaroo) will usually stay in the pouch for about 9 months or (for the Western Grey) 180 to 320 days before starting to leave the pouch for small periods of time. It is usually fed by its mother until the age of 18 months.

............. .............Before the whites came to Australia, the kangaroo was a very important animal for Australian Aborigines, both for its meat, its hide, its bones and its sinews. There were also important dreaming stories and ceremonies involving the kangaroo. Aherrenge is a current kangaroo dreaming site in the Northern Territory. The game of Marn grook was played using a ball made from kangaroo by the Kurnai people.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 15-21

This reading text has seven sections, A-G. Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-x, in spaces 15-21.

List of Headings

Territory
Kangaroos and humans
Adaptations
Diet
Predators
Courtship
Physical description
Upbringing
Movement
Terminology

Section A

Answer: x. Terminology
Supporting Sentence: The word Kangaroo has come to mean any member of the family of kangaroos and wallabies
Keyword : word, mean
Keyword location: Paragraph A, 1st sentence
Explanation: The author in the first paragraph tells the meaning of the word and where it is derived from. This is what we call as terminology. Since the whole paragraph is about names, terminology is the correct answer.

Section B

Answer: vii. Physical description
Supporting Sentence: Some explorers have described them as creatures with similar heads to deer but without antlers, animals that stood upright like men and hopped like frogs.
Keyword : described, explorers, creatures
Keyword location: paragraph B, 2nd sentence
Explanation: The author in the 2nd paragraph describes kangaroos. He says that explorers described them as similar to deers, they stood upright like men and hopped like frogs. The passage also talks about the shape and hind legs. These are all physical descriptions.

Section C

Answer: iv. Diet
Supporting Sentence: Kangaroos are herbivores; they feed on grass and roots and chew cud.
Keyword : herbivores, grass, root, feed on
Keyword location: Paragraph C, 1st sentence
Explanation: The opening sentence of the paragraph C suggests that kangaroos are harbivores. They feed on grass, roots and chew cud. These are the eating habits or diet of the kangaroo. Hence, diet is the correct answer.

Section D

Answer: v. Predators
Supporting Sentence: If pursued into the water, a large kangaroo may use its forepaws to hold the predator underwater to drown it.
Keyword : defence, threat, perdator
Keyword location: Paragraph D, 3rd sentence
Explanation: In the paragraph D, the author talks about animals from which kangaroos pose a threat. The author also mentions the ways kangaroos can dismiss the threat by killing other animals. Hence, predator is the correct term for the paragraph.

Section E

Answer: vi. Courtship
Supporting Sentence: A boomer may find himself wandering in and out of the group of kangaroos - checking out the females and intimidating the other males who try to mate with the females.
Keyword : intimidating, females, mate
Keyword location: paragraph E, last sentence
Explanation: The paragraph talks about boomer. The author says that they check out the females and intimidates other males who try to mate with the females. This is developing a romantic relationship for the mate, also called as courtship. Hence courtship is the correct answer.

Section F

Answer: iii. Adaptations
Supporting Sentence: Kangaroos have developed in a number of ways to survive in a dry, infertile continent and a highly variable climate
Keyword : survive
Keyword location: Paragraph F, 1st sentence
Explanation: The whole paragraph F talks about the survival and how kangaroos adapt to the environment. The starting lines of the passage clearly depicts how they survive in a dry, infertile continent. This means they can adapt and hence, adaptations is the correct answer.

Section G

Answer: ii. Kangaroos and Humans
Supporting Sentence: Before the whites came to Australia, the kangaroo was a very important animal for Australian Aborigines, both for its meat, its hide, its bones and its sinews.
Keyword : aborigines
Keyword location: Paragraph G, 1st sentence
Explanation: The passage states that Australian aborigins who were humans dependent on kangaroo meat, its hide and bones. This paragraphs talks about kangaroos and humans. Hence, the correct answer is kangaroos and humans.

Questions 22 and 23

Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in spaces 22 and 23.

A ......................to describe kangaroos can be either mob, troop or court.

Answer: collective noun
Supporting Sentence: The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob, troop or court.
Keyword : kangaroos, mob, troop, court.
Keyword location: Paragraph A, last sentence
Explanation: The first paragraph says that the collective noun for kangaroos is mob, troop or court. Collective noun means a group of kangaroos.

A boomer is the..................... ....... of Kangaroos.

Answer: dominant male
Supporting Sentence: A dominant male in a group of kangaroos is called a boomer.
Keyword : male, boomer
Keyword location: Paragraph E, 1st sentence
Explanation: The author says that a dominant male in the group is called boomer. As per the supporting sentence, dominant male is the correct answer.

Questions 24 and 25

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-D, from the box below.

Write the appropriate letter, A-D, in spaces 24 and 25.

at a rudimentary stage of growth.
without their forelimbs.
prey on kangaroos.
feed on grass and roots.

Dingoes and other ........................

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Dingoes and other species like foxes and feral cats pose a threat to the kangaroo population, as they do to most populations of native animals.
Keyword : dingoes, pose a threat
Keyword location: Paragraph D, 1st sentence
Explanation: the supporting sentence says that dingoes and other species like foxes pose a threat. Pose a threat means that they prey on kangaroos, hence posing the threat. This makes Option C the correct answer.

Young kangaroos are....................

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: As with all marsupials, the young are born at a very early stage of development after a gestation of 31-36 days.
Keyword : young, early stage
Keyword location: paragraph F, 2nd sentence
Explanation: The author directly states that the young are born at a very early stage of development after a gestation of 31-36 days. Hence, they are at a rudimentary stage of development. This makes A the correct answer.