The Bite That Heat IELTS Reading Answers

Dec 2, 2022

The Bite That Heat IELTS Reading Answers has 14 sets of questions which the candidates are required to attempt. The given topic involves two different sorts of questions mainly: True, False, Not Given and No More than two Words. Candidates for the True, False and Not Given type of questions, must have a crystal understanding of the IELTS passage which is provided below, in order to choose the correct answer. Candidates are required to have a thorough analysis of the passage to attempt the question in one or two words.

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Reading Passage Questions

Scientists are unlocking the medical potential of venom.

Michael decided to go for a swim. He was on vacation with his family in Guerrero, Mexico, and it was hotter than blazes. He grabbed his swimming trunks from where they’d been drying on a chair, slid them on, and jumped into the pool. Instead of cool relief, a burning pain ripped through the back of his thigh. Tearing off his trunks, he leaped naked from the pool, his leg on fire. Behind him a small, ugly, yellow creature was treading water. He scooped it into a Tupperware container, and the caretaker of the house rushed him to the local Red Cross facility, where doctors immediately identified his attacker: a bark scorpion, Centruroides sculpturatus, one of the most venomous species in North America. The fierce pain from a sting is typically followed by what feels like electric shocks racking the body. Occasionally victims die.
Luckily for Michael (who asked me not to give his Ml name), the bark scorpion is common in the area, and antivenom was readily available. He had an injection and was released a few hours later. In about 30 hours the pain was gone. What happened next could not have been predicted. For eight years Michael had endured a condition called ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic autoimmune disease of the skeleton, a sort of spinal arthritis. No one knows what triggers it. In the worst cases the spine may fuse, leaving the patient forever stooped and in anguish. “My back hurts every morning, and during bad flare-ups it was so horrible I couldn’t even walk,” he says.
But days after the scorpion sting, the pain went away, and now, two years later, he remains essentially pain free and off most of his medications. As a doctor himself, Michael is cautious about overstating the role of the scorpion’s venom in his remission. Still, he says, “if my pain came back, I’d let that scorpion sting me again.” Venom-the stuff that drips from the fangs and stingers of creatures lurking on the hiking trail or hiding in the cellar or under the woodpile—is nature’s most efficient killer. Venom is exquisitely honed to stop a body in its tracks. The complex soup swirls with toxic proteins and peptides——short strings of amino acids similar to proteins. The molecules may have different targets and effects, but they work synergistically for the mightiest punch. Some go for the nervous system, paralyzing by blocking messages between nerves and muscle. Some eat away at molecules so that cells and tissues collapse. Venom can kill by clotting blood and stopping the heart or by preventing clotting and triggering a killer bleed.
All venom is multifaceted and multitasking. (The difference between venom and poison is that venom is injected, or dibbled, into victims by way of specialized body parts, and poison is ingested.) Dozens, even hundreds, of toxins can be delivered in a single bite, some with redundant jobs and others with unique ones. In the evolutionary arms race between predator and prey, weapons and defenses are constantly tweaked. Drastically potent concoctions can result: Imagine administering poison to an adversary, then jabbing him with a knife, then finishing him off with a bullet to the head. That’s venom at work.
Ironically, the properties that make venom deadly are also what make it so valuable for medicine. Many venom toxins target the same molecules that need to be controlled to treat diseases. Venom works fast and is highly specific. Its active components—those peptides and proteins, working as toxins diabetes have been derived from venom. New treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer, and pain could be available within a decade.
“We aren’t talking just a few novel drugs but entire classes of drugs,” says National Geographic Society Emerging Explorer Zoltan Takacs, a toxinologist and herpetologist. So far, fewer than a thousand toxins have been scrutinized for medicinal value, and a dozen or so major drugs have made it to market. “There could be upwards of 20 million venom toxins out there waiting to be screened,” Takacs says. “It’s huge. Venom has opened up whole new avenues of pharmacology.” Toxins from venom and poison sources are also giving us a clearer picture of how proteins that control many of the body’s crucial cellular functions work. Studies of the deadly poison tetrodotoxin (TTX) from puffer fish, for instance, have revealed intricate details about the way nerve cells communicate.
“We ’re motivated to look for new compounds to lessen human suffering,” Angel Yanagihara of the University of Hawaii told me. “But while doing that, you may uncover things you don’t expect.” Driven in part out of revenge for a box jellyfish sting she endured 15 years ago, Yanagihara discovered a potential wound-healing agent within the tubules that contain jellyfish venom. “It had nothing to do with the venom itself,” she said. “By getting intimate with a noxious animal, I’ve been informed way beyond my expectations.”
More than 100,000 animals have evolved to produce venom, along with the glands to house it and the apparatuses to expel it: snakes, scorpions, spiders, a few lizards, bees, sea creatures such as octopuses, numerous species of fish, and cone snails. The male duck-billed platypus, which carries venom inside ankle spurs, is one of the few venomous mammals. Venom and its components emerged independently, again and again, in different animal groups. The composition of the venom of a single snake species varies from place to place and between adults and their young. An individual snake’s venom may even change with its diet.
Although evolution has been fine-tuning these compounds for more than a hundred million years, venom’s molecular architecture has been in place much longer. Nature repurposes key molecules from around the body—the blood, brain, digestive tract, and elsewhere—to serve animals for predation or protection. “It makes sense for nature to steal the scaffolds already in place,” Takacs says. “To make a toxin to wreck the nervous system, it’s most efficient to take a template from the brain that already works in that system, make some tiny changes, and there you have it: Now it’s a toxin.” Not all venom kills, of course—bees have it as a nonlethal defense, and the male platypus uses it to show rival males who’s boss during mating season. But mostly it’s for killing, or at least immobilizing, an animal’s next meal. Humans are often accidental victims. The World Health Organization estimates that every year some five million bites kill 100,000 people, although the actual number is presumed to be much higher. In rural areas of developing countries, where most bites occur, victims may not be able to get treatment or may instead choose traditional therapies and are therefore not counted.

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-9:
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage
In boxes 1-9 on your answer sheet, 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

Michael was unluckily hit by electric shocks and nearly lost his life during his vacation.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting Sentence: Luckily for Michael (who asked me not to give his Ml name), the bark scorpion is common in the area, and antivenom was readily available.
Keywords: bark scorpion, Michael, luckily, antivenom
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, Lines 1-3
Explanation: Lines 1-3 of paragraph B states that Michael who was requested not to be called by his Ml name, was fortunate in that the bark scorpion is prevalent in the region and that antivenom was easily accessible. After receiving an injection, he was soon after released and he got relieved from the pain 30 hours earlier. Thus, the above statement is a FALSE one.

The disease Michael had suffered from for eight years was caused by an accident

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Supporting Sentence: For eight years Michael had endured a condition called ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic autoimmune disease of the skeleton, a sort of spinal arthritis. No one knows what triggers it.
Keywords: ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic autoimmune disease, skeleton, spinal arthritis,.riggers
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, Lines 3-5
Explanation: No pertinent data regarding the above context is available in the above passage.

Michael is grateful for the bark scorpion bite because it helped him recover from the ankylosing spondylitis.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting Sentence: But days after the scorpion sting, the pain went away, and now, two years later, he remains essentially pain-free and off most of his medications.
Keywords: ankylosing spondylitis, scorpion sting, pain, pain-free, medications
Keyword Location: Para C, Lines 1-2
Explanation: The first two lines of Paragraph C states that the pain of Michael is subsided in the days following the scorpion sting, and two years later, he is still largely pain-free and off most of his medications so Michael is thankful for the bite of the scorpion. Thus, the above statement is is TRUE.

No venom is just responsible for one job.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting Sentence: All venom is multifaceted and multitasking.
Keywords: venom, multifaceted, multitasking, job
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, Lines 1
Explanation: The commencing line of the paragraph D explains that no venom is particulated to a single task, rather all venoms are of various kinds of parts and have the practice doing multiple tasks. Hence, the above statement is a TRUE one.

There is no difference between venom and poison.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting Sentence: The difference between venom and poison is that venom is injected, or dibbled, into victims by way of specialized body parts, and poison is ingested.
Keywords: venom, poison, injected, dibbed, ingested
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, Lines 1-2
Explanation: The first two lines of paragraph D suggests that the distinction between venom and poison is that the former is injected, or "dibbled," into victims using specific bodily parts, whilst the latter is swallowed. Thus, the statement is regarded as FALSE.

Venom can kill while it can also be used as medicine to save.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting Sentence: Ironically, the properties that make venom deadly are also what make it so valuable for medicine.
Keywords: venom, deadly, valuable, medicine
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Lines 1
Explanation: The beginning sentence of paragraph E suggests that ludicrously, the qualities that make venom lethal are also what make it so beneficial for treatment. So, the above statement is a TRUE one.

New treatments for cancer are now available on the market.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting Sentence: New treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer, and pain could be available within a decade.
Keywords: autoimmune diseases, cancer, pain, a decade.
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Lines 4-5
Explanation: Lines 4-5 of paragraph E suggests that within a decade, new remedies for cancer, autoimmune disorders, and pain may be accessible. So, the above statement is FALSE.

So far 20 million venom toxins have been checked for medical use.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting Sentence: “There could be upwards of 20 million venom toxins out there waiting to be screened,” Takacs says.
Keywords: million, venom, toxins, to be screened, Takacs
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, Lines 4-5
Explanation: Lines 4-5 of paragraph F suggests that according to Takacs, there may be up to 20 million venom poisons in existence that need to be evaluated. Therefore, the above statement is regarded as FALSE.

The majority of mammals carry venom inside their bodies.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting Sentence: The male duck-billed platypus, which carries venom inside ankle spurs, is one of the few venomous mammals.
Keywords: male duck-billed platypus, venom, ankle spurs, few, venomous, mammals
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, Lines 3-4
Explanation: Lines 3-4 of paragraph H suggests that the male duck-billed platypus is one of the mammals those are poisonous, has poison inside their ankle spurs. Thus, the statement is undertaken as FALSE.

Questions 10-14:
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 10-14 on your answer sheet.

The way how does venom works is compared to that OF -----------

Answer: medicines
Supporting Sentence: Ironically, the properties that make venom deadly are also what make it so valuable for medicine. Many venom toxins target the same molecules that need to be controlled to treat diseases. Venom works fast and is highly specific.
Keywords: properties, venom, valuables, medicine, toxins, molecules, diseases. highly specific.
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Lines 1-3
Explanation: The first three lines of paragraph E suggests that contrary to popular belief, venom's lethal characteristics are also what make it so desirable as a drug. The same chemicals that must be managed in order to treat diseases are the targets of many venom poisons. Venom is extremely focused and acts quickly. Therefore, medicines is the right choice.

A venom source of —-----------has helped to present complex facts about how nerve cells convey information to each other.

Answer: pufferfish
Supporting Sentence: Studies of the deadly poison tetrodotoxin (TTX) from pufferfish, for instance, have revealed intricate details about the way nerve cells communicate.
Keywords: Studies, deadly poison, tetrodotoxin (TTX), pufferfish, intricate details, nerve cells, communicate, convey
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, Lines 7-9
Explanation: Lines 7-9 of paragraph F suggests that the studies of the lethal toxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) from pufferfish, for example, have uncovered minute details regarding the communication between nerve cells. So, pufferish is the right option.

Tens of thousand animals have developed —------ and —------- that are respectively responsible for storing and letting out the venom.

Answer: glands, apparatuses
Supporting Sentence: More than 100,000 animals have evolved to produce venom, along with the glands to house it and the apparatuses to expel it: snakes, scorpions, spiders, a few lizards, bees, sea creatures such as octopuses, numerous species of fish, and cone snails.
Keywords: 100,000 animals, evolved, venom, glands, apparatuses, snakes, scorpions, spiders, lizards, bees, sea creatures, octopuses, fish, cone snails.
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, Lines 1-3
Explanation: Lines 1-3 of paragraph H states that the snakes, scorpions, spiders, a few lizards, bees, sea creatures like octopuses, countless species of fish, and cone snails are just a few of the animals that have acquired the ability to create venom combined with the glands to store it and the mechanisms to expel it. Thus, glands and appratuses are the right words.

The makeup of venom of a snake may change with the place, age and —------

Answer: diet
Supporting Sentence: The composition of the venom of a single snake species varies from place to place and between adults and their young. An individual snake’s venom may even change with its diet.
Keywords: composition, venom, snake, place, adults, young, diet
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, Lines 5-7
Explanation: Lines 5-7 of paragraph H states that a single snake species' venom varies in composition from region to region and between adults and their offspring. Even a snake's diet can affect the venom it. Thus, diet is the answer.

Some animal uses venom to warn of its exclusive power during the mating season

Answer: rival males
Supporting Sentence: Not all venom kills, of course—bees have it as a nonlethal defense, and the male platypus uses it to show rival males who’s boss during mating season.
Keywords: venom, nonlethal defense, bees, the male platypus, mating season
Keyword Location: Paragraph I, Lines 7-8
Explanation: Lines 7-8 of paragraph I states that of course, not all venom is harmful; bees have it as a nonlethal defence, and the male platypus utilises it to assert his dominance over other males during the breeding season. Thus rival males will be the answer.

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