Nature's Useful Designs Reading Answers

Jul 14, 2025

Nature's Useful Designs Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Nature's Useful Designs Reading Answers has a total of 13 IELTS questions in total. In the question set, you have to choose which paragraph contains the given statement. In the next question set, you have to match the statement with the correct person. In the last set, you have to fill in the blank with the correct answer, only with one word.

The IELTS Reading section is an essential part of the test that evaluates a candidate's comprehension and analysis of various passage types. You will work through a number of IELTS reading practice problems in this section that resemble actual test situations. These questions are designed to help you improve your ability to recognise essential concepts, extract particular facts, and make inferences. Practising these IELTS reading problems can help you get comfortable with the structure and increase your confidence for the exam, regardless of whether you are studying for the Academic or General Training module.

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Section 1 NATURE'S USEFUL DESIGNS

A.What has fins like a whale, skin like a lizard, and eyes like a moth? The future of engineering. Almost all living organisms are uniquely adapted to the environment in which they live, some so well that scientists study them in the hope of replicating their natural design in technology. This

process, called biomimetics, is the crossroads where nature and engineering meet.

B. Perhaps the best example of biomimetics is Velcro. In 1948, a Swiss scientist, George de Mestral, had trouble removing a prickly weed that was stuck to his dog's fur, so he studied it under a microscope. Impressed by the stickiness of the prickle's hooks, he copied the design, engineering a fastener made of two pieces. One piece has stiff hooks like the prickle, while the other has soft loops that allow the hooks to stick. De Mestral named his invention Velcro—a combination of the words "velour" and "crochet."

C.Andrew Parker, a research fellow at the Natural History Museum in London and at the University of Sydney, is a leading proponent of biomimetics —applying designs from nature to problems in engineering, materials science, medicine, and other fields. He has investigated iridescence in

butterflies and beetles and antireflective coatings in moth eyes—studies that have led to brighter screens for cellular phones and an anticounterfeiting technique so secret that only his company is behind it. He is working to make cosmetics that mimic the natural sheen of diatoms (a type of algae) and, with the British Ministry of Defence, to imitate the water-repellent properties of these same creatures. He even draws inspiration from nature's past: one is the eye of a 45 million-year-old fly trapped in amber that he studies in a museum in Poland. Parker noticed microscopic corrugations that reduced light reflection. This feature is now being built into solar panels.

D.To Parker, every species, even those that have become extinct, is a success Story, optimized by millions of years of natural selection. His ethos: why not learn from this? Parker explored how the metallic sheen and dazzling colors of certain birds derive not from pigments but from neatly

spaced microscopic structures that reflect specific wavelengths of light. Such structural color, fade-proof and more brilliant than pigment, is of great interest to people who manufacture paint and holograms on credit cards. Glowworms produce a cool light with almost zero energy loss (a

normal light bulb wastes 98 percent of its energy as heat), and bombardier beetles have a highly effective combustion chamber in their posterior that heats chemicals and fires them at would-be predators.

E. For all nature's sophistication, many of its clever devices are made from simple substances like keratin, calcium carbonate, and chitin, which are manipulated into structures of fantastic complexity and toughness. The abalone, for example, makes its shell out of calcium carbonate, the same stuff as chalk. Yet, by coating this substance into walls of staggered, nanoscale bricks through a subtle play of proteins, it creates an armour 3000 times harder than chalk. Understanding the microscale and nanoscale structures responsible for a living material's

exceptional properties is critical to recreating it synthetically.

F. Though impressed by biological structures, Robert Cohen, an engineer at MIT in the United States, considers biology merely a starting point for innovation. "You don't have to reproduce a lizard's skin to make a wearable, collective device or a moth's eye to make an antireflective coating,' Cohen says. He believes biological structures can inspire us to do what is useful. But maybe you can do it better. Ultimately, he considers a biomimetics project a success only if it has the potential to make a useful product. "Looking at pretty structures in nature is not sufficient," Cohen says. "What I want to know is, can we actually transform these structures into something with true utility in the real world?"

G.This, of course, is the tricky bit. Potentially one of the most useful embodiments of natural design is the bio-inspired robot, which could be deployed in places where people would be too conspicuous, bored to tears, or killed. But such robots are notoriously hard to build. Ronald Fearing, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, has taken on one of the biggest challenges of all: to create a miniature robotic fly that is swift, small, and manoeuvrable enough for use in surveillance or search-and-rescue operations.

H. The key to making his micromechanical flying insect (MFI) work, Fearing says, is not to attempt to copy the fly, but to isolate the structures crucial to its feats of flying. The fly's wing is driven by 20 muscles, some of which only fire every fifth wing beat, and one can only stand in wonder, "What on earth just happened there?" says Fearing. Some things are just too mysterious and complex to be able to replicate.

I. For all the power of the biomimetics program, and the brilliant people who practice it, bio-inspiration has led to surprisingly few mass-produced products, and arguably only one household word: Velcro. Some biomimetics blame industry, whose short-term expectations about how soon projects should be completed and become profitable clash with the time-consuming nature of biomimetics research. Others lament the difficulty in coordinating joint work among diverse academic and industrial disciplines, which is required to understand natural structures and mimic what they do. But the main reason biomimetics has not yet come of age is that, from an engineering standpoint, reproducing such intricate nanostructures is hard. Nonetheless, the gap with nature is gradually closing.

Questions 14-19

Reading Passage 2 has nine paragraphs, A-I. Which paragraph contains the following

information? Write the correct letter, A-I.

14. How an organism turns a basic material into something incredibly strong

Answer: E

Supporting statement: The abalone, for example, makes its shell out of calcium carbonate, the same stuff as chalk.

Keywords: abalone, calcium carbonate

Keyword Location: Para E, Line 3

Explanation: The passage states that an abalone, whose shell is composed of calcium carbonate, the substance used to make chalk, becomes so hard that it coats walls of uneven, nanoscale bricks through a delicate play of proteins, creating armour that is 3000 times harder than chalk. This is an example of how an organism transforms a basic material into something incredibly strong.

15. A claim that biomimetics has had limited commercial impact so far

Answer: I

Supporting statement: short-term expectations about how soon projects should be completed and become profitable clash with the time-consuming nature of biomimetics research.

Keywords: profitable, time-consuming

Keyword Location: Para I, Lines 4-5

Explanation: According to the text, it is clear that biomimetics had a limited impact on the commercial industry due to its time-consuming nature and the companies' demanding profit in the short run, which is not possible in this case.

16. A difficulty that led to a researcher's accidental discovery

Answer: A

Supporting statement: scientists study them in the hope of replicating their natural design in technology.

Keywords: replicating, natural design

Keyword Location: Para A, Line 3

Explanation: A paragraph states that the discovery of biomimetics was due to the scientist's research in the hopes of replicating nature's design into technology.

17. An example of nature being far more efficient than a common household object

Answer: D

Supporting statement: Glowworms produce a cool light with almost zero energy loss (a

normal light bulb wastes 98 percent of its energy as heat),

Keywords: energy, wastes

Keyword Location: Para D, Lines 6-7

Explanation: According to the text, Para D mentions that Glowworms emit a cool light with little energy loss; in contrast, a typical lightbulb loses 98% of its energy as heat is the perfect example of nature being far more efficient than a common household object.

18. An ancient specimen that inspired a modern innovation

Answer: C

Supporting statement: He even draws inspiration from nature's past: one is the eye of a 45 million-year-old fly trapped in amber that he studies in a museum in Poland.

Keywords: nature's, fly

Keyword Location: Para C, Lines 8-9

Explanation: In para C, it is mentioned that the eye of a 45 million-year-old fly trapped in amber is used as a source of innovation to create something new.

19. Situations where it is preferable to replace a human with a machine

Answer: B

Supporting statement: Impressed by the stickiness of the prickle's hooks, he copied the design, engineering a fastener made of two pieces.

Keywords: prickle's, engineering

Keyword Location: Para B, Lines 3-4

Explanation: In para B, the invention of Velcro is given, and it is also clear from the text that the use of a machine in place of humans is much more suitable to overcome a problem.

Questions 20-22

Match each statement with the correct person, A, B, C, or D. Write the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

20. All living things provide something useful for humans to discover.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: To Parker, every species, even those that have become extinct, is a success Story, optimized by millions of years of natural selection. His ethos: why not learn from this?

Keywords: Parker, extinct, learn

Keyword Location: Para D, Line 1-2

Explanation: According to Andrew Parker, the species which have lived before and continue to do so in nature are all from whom we can learn something from as they all have something unique about themselves.

21. Natural designs are sometimes impossible for people to copy.

Answer: D

Supporting statement: says Fearing. Some things are just too mysterious and complex to be able to replicate.

Keywords: mysterious, complex

Keyword Location: Para H, Lines 4-5

Explanation: In the passage, Ronald Fearing mentions that it is not easy to copy something from nature, as it can be quite complex and bewildering to replicate.

22. Biomimetics achieves nothing unless it has a practical application.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: Ultimately, he considers a biomimetics project a success only if it has the potential to make a useful product.

Keywords: biomimetics, potential

Keyword Location: Para F, Lines 5-6

Explanation: In the passage, Robert Cohen states that if a useful product is made, then only a biomimetics project can be considered a success.

LIST OF PEOPLE:

A. George de Mestral

B. Andrew Parker

C. Robert Cohen

D. Ronald Fearing

Questions 23-26

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

23. Andrew Parker is studying the shiny surface of diatoms in order to develop_________

Answer: COSMETICS

Supporting statement: He is working to make cosmetics that mimic the natural sheen of diatoms (a type of algae) and, with the British Ministry of Defence,

Keywords: cosmetics, algae

Keyword Location: Para C, Lines 6-7

Explanation: Andrew Parker is a prominent proponent of biomimetics and a research fellow at the University of Sydney and the Natural History Museum in London. He is working with the British Ministry of Defence to create products that replicate the water-repellent qualities of diatoms, a form of algae, along with their natural sheen.

24. Paint companies are interested in the way some __________get their color.

Answer: BIRDS

Supporting statement: Such structural color, fade-proof and more brilliant than pigment, is of great interest to people who manufacture paint and holograms on credit cards.

Keywords: pigment, manufacture paint

Keyword Location: Para D, Line 5

Explanation: According to the text, paint manufacturing companies are interested in the birds' colour because it does not contain any pigments, but neatly spaced microscopic structures that reflect specific wavelengths of light, which are fade-proof and more brilliant than pigment.

25. Bombardier beetles protect themselves by shooting hot ____________at their enemies.

Answer: CHEMICALS

Supporting statement: bombardier beetles have a highly effective combustion chamber in their posterior that heats chemicals and fires them at would-be predators.

Keywords: bombardier beetles, chemicals

Keyword Location: Para D, Lines 7-8

Explanation: The text states that the posterior part of bombardier beetles contains a very efficient combustion chamber that heats chemicals and shoots them at attackers.

26. One scientist is studying the___________ to build a tiny robot that can help people in danger.

Answer: FLY

Supporting statement: to create a miniature robotic fly that is swift, small, and manoeuvrable enough for use in surveillance or search-and-rescue operations.

Keywords: robotic fly, search-and-rescue

Keyword Location: Para G, Lines 5-6

Explanation: According to the text, A professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, named Ronald Fearing has taken on one of the most difficult tasks of all: developing a tiny, flexible, and movable robotic fly that can be used for surveillance or search and rescue missions.

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