Natural History and Science Reading Answers

Mar 20, 2024

Natural History and Science Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Natural History and Science Reading Answers have a total of 12 IELTS questions in total. This topic has 6 questions in which you have say whether statement is true or false.In the next 3 questions you have to fill up the black choosing appropriate words from the paragraphs. In the rest of the questions we have to fill in the blanks.

Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers, which feature topics such as Natural History and Science Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Natural History and Science

If you want to survive as an ant, you'd better get ready to make some noise. A new study shows that even ant pupae—a stage between larvae and adult-can communicate via sound and that this communication can be crucial to their survival. "What's very cool about this paper is that researchers have shown for the first time that pupae do, in fact, make some sort of a sound," says Phil DeVries, an entomologist at the University

of New Orleans in Louisiana who was not involved in the study. "This was a very clever piece of natural history and science."

Scientists have known for decades that ants use a variety of small chemicals known as pheromones to communicate. Perhaps the most classic example is the trail of pheromones the insect's place as they walk. Those behind them follow this trail, leading to long lines of ants marching one by one. However, the insects also use pheromones to identify which nest an ant is from and its social status in that nest. Because this chemical communication is so prevalent and complex, researchers long believed that this was the primary way ants shared information. However, several years ago, researchers began to notice that adults in some ant genuses, such as Myrmica, which contains more than 200 diverse species found across Europe and Asia, made noise.

These types of ants have a specialised spike along their abdomen that they stroke with one of their hind legs similar to dragging the teeth of a comb along the edge of a table. Preliminary studies seemed to indicate that this noise served primarily as an emergency beacon, allowing the ants to shout for help when being threatened by a predator. Larvae and young pupae have soft outer skeletons, which means their specialised spikes haven't yet formed and they can't make noise. However as the pupae mature, their covering hardens into a tough exoskeleton like that found in adult ants. These older pupae do have fully functional spikes but were generally thought to be silent. Karsten Schönrogge, an entomologist at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, in the

United Kingdom, thought it odd that mature pupae would have the capability to produce sound but remain silent. So he and his colleagues listened in to a group of Myrmica scabrinodisants.

These 4- to 5-millimeter-long, reddish-brown ants are commonly found in northern Europe, in low-lying areas like peat bogs. Using an extra-sensitive microphone that would pick up on the faint acoustic signals, the researchers measured the sounds

produced by 10 differentM. scabrinodis larvae, six immature pupae, and six mature pupae. Whereas the larvoe and immature pupae were completely silent, the mature pupae produced brief pulses of sound, the team reports online today in Current Biology.

Further analysis of this noise showed that it was a simplified version of the more complex adult sound. It was as if the mature pupae were saying "Help!" while the adults were saying "Hey, I'm over here! Please come help! It's your friend!" To test the function of these noises in the mature pupae, the researchers first played back the sounds made by either the mature pupae or adult M. scabrinodis. Adult worker ants responded the

same way to both recordings, such as walking over to the speaker, rubbing their antennae against it, and guarding it. They didn't show these responses when Schönrogge and colleagues played white noise. These behaviours, which represent a worker ant's attempts to protect its nestmates indicate that acoustic communication served to bring assistance in both mature pupae and adult ants.

To see how the ants used this acoustic communication, the team removed the abdominal spike from some of the mature pupae in a nest. The researchers then disturbed the nest, spilling out larvae, pupae, and adult workers into an experimental arena. Normally, the adult ants rescue their nestmates in a specific order: mature pupae, immature pupae, and, finally, the larvae. In the experiments by Schönrogge and colleagues the adult workers indeed rescued the unmuted mature pupae first. However, the adult ants completely ignored the muted ants. It was as if the mute mature pupae simply didn't exist. "The sounds they make rescue them by signalling their social status," Schönrogge says. "There is complex information in these signals," that combine with chemical signals to provide an array of information about the individual.

Researchers have yet to decode everything the ants are communicating by sound and how the ants interpret these signals. Acoustic communication may be especially important in mature pupae because they don't yet produce the full array of adult pheromones, but they also don't smell and behave like larvae, either. De Vries cautions that the discovery doesn't mean that chemical communication in ants is less important. "Ants live in these enormously sophisticated societies," he says. "Acoustic signalling adds another gorgeous piece to what we know about how insect societies communicate."

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-6

Do the following statements agree with the information in the text?

True - if the statement agrees with the information
False - if the statement contradicts the information
Not Given - if there is no information present

Adult ants have spiked legs

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The passage does not mention whether adult ants have spiked legs or not.

Mature ants and pupae can convey they need help by creating sounds Pullepitor

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“..........Whereas the larvoe and immature pupae were completely silent, the mature pupae produced brief pulses of sound, the team reports online today in Current Biology............”
Keywords: online, sound
Keyword Location: para 4, line 5
Explanation:The passage mentions that mature pupae produce brief pulses of sound, which serve as an emergency beacon, allowing the ants to call for help when threatened by a predator.

The larvae do no produce any signals

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement:“.........Europe, in low-lying areas like peat bogs. Using an extra-sensitive microphone that would pick up on the faint acoustic signals, the researchers measured the sounds produced by 10 different............”
Keywords: extra, sounds
Keyword Location: para 4, line 2
Explanation:The passage mentions that larvae and immature pupae were completely silent, implying that they do not produce signals. However, it does not explicitly state that larvae do not produce any signals.

Quiet ants were not retrieved by the mature ants

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“..........To test the function of these noises in the mature pupae, the researchers first played back the sounds made by either the mature pupae or adult M. scabrinodis. Adult worker ants responded the same way to both recordings, such as walking over to the speake...........”
Keywords: worker, speaker
Keyword Location: para 5, line 4
Explanation:The passage mentions that in an experiment where the abdominal spike was removed from some mature pupae, adult ants ignored the muted ants. It indicates that quiet ants were not retrieved by the mature ants.

The ants tested did not showian positions relating to hierarchy

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement:“..........However, the insects also use pheromones to identify which nest an ant is from and its social status in that nest. Because this chemical communication is so prevalent and complex, researchers long believed that this was the primary way ants shared information...........”
Keywords: prevalent, shared
Keyword Location: para 2, line 5
Explanation:The passage mentions that acoustic communication, combined with chemical signals, provides an array of information about the individual, including its social status in the nest.

Ants live in practical communities

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“........."Ants live in these enormously sophisticated societies," he says. "Acoustic signalling adds another gorgeous piece to what we know about how insect societies communicate."............”
Keywords: insect, communicate
Keyword Location: para 7, line 6
Explanation:The passage mentions that ants live in enormously sophisticated societies, suggesting that they live in organized communities.

Questions 7-9

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F below

Write the correct letter A-F.

The ants can use their sense of smell

Answer: B
Supporting statement:“..........they don't yet produce the full array of adult pheromones, but they also don't smell and behave like larvae, either. De Vries cautions that the discovery doesn't mean that chemical communication in ants is less important. ...........”
Keywords: chemical, ants
Keyword Location: para 7, line 3
Explanation:The sentence completion "The ants can use their sense of smell" is completed by B, "to talk to each other and gain knowledge of their place in the hierarchy," as the passage mentions that ants use chemical communication, which is prevalent and complex.

Some ants can create a sound

Answer: D
Supporting statement:“...........study shows that even ant pupae—a stage between larvae and adult-can communicate via sound and that this communication can be crucial to their survival...........”
Keywords: crucial, survival
Keyword Location: para 1, line 2
Explanation: The sentence "Some ants can create a sound" is completed by D, "that is used to ask for help," as the passage describes how ants make noise to call for help when threatened.

Some researchers

Answer: E
Supporting statement:“..........To see how the ants used this acoustic communication, the team removed the abdominal spike from some of the mature pupae in a nest. The researchers then disturbed the nest, spilling out larvae, pupae, and
adult workers into an experimental arena. ..........”
Keywords: researchers, arena
Keyword Location: para 5, line 1
Explanation:The sentence "Some researchers" is completed by E, "documented the tone from various stages of ant formation," as the passage describes how researchers listened in to a group of ants and measured the sounds produced by different stages of ant formation.

to detect other insects
to talk to each other and gain knowledge of their place in the hierarchy
from using their antennae
that is used to ask for help
documented the tone from various stages of ant formation
created a support network for the ants

Questions 10-13

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.

Adult ants have a 10……… in the lower half of their body,

Answer: SPECIALIZED SPIKE
Supporting statement:“.........These types of ants have a specialised spike along their abdomen that they stroke with one of their hind legs similar to dragging the teeth of a comb along the edge of a table. ............”
Keywords: abdomen, table
Keyword Location: para 3, line 1
Explanation:The passage mentions that some ants have a specialized spike along their abdomen, which they stroke with one of their hind legs to create sound.

that can create a sound when rubbed with a leg The sounds created are used when the ant feels 11………..Larvae and younger 12 ……….are not fully groan so they do not make any sounds

Answer: THREATENED
Supporting statement:“...........Preliminary studies seemed to indicate that this noise served primarily as an emergency beacon, allowing the ants to shout for help when being threatened by a predator...........”
Keywords: served, predator
Keyword Location: para 3, line 4
Explanation: The passage states that the noise created by mature pupae serves primarily as an emergency beacon, allowing the ants to shout for help when threatened by a predator.

Ques 12:

Answer: PUPAE
Supporting statement:“..........rgency beacon, allowing the ants to shout for help when being threatened by a predator. Larvae and young pupae have soft outer skeletons, which means their specialised spikes haven't yet formed and they can't make noise...........”
Keywords: specialized, formed
Keyword Location: para 3, line 5
Explanation: The passage mentions that larvae and immature pupae were completely silent, indicating that they do not make any sounds.

As they grow the outer casings become a 13……. simlar to the mature ants.

Answer: TOUGH EXOSKELETON
Supporting statement:“...........haven't yet formed and they can't make noise. However as the pupae mature, their covering hardens into a tough exoskeleton like that found in adult ants. ..........”
Keywords: mature, adults
Keyword Location: para 3, line 6
Explanation: The passage describes how as the pupae mature, their covering hardens into a tough exoskeleton, similar to that found in adult ants.

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