Cambridge IELTS Academic 12 Reading Test 3 Answers with Explanation / IELTS Academic Reading: Flying Tortoises , The Intersection of Health Sciences and Geography , Music and the emotions

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1.

Flying Tortoises

Answers	Keywords	Location	Explanation
1. v			The islands were colonised by one or more tortoises from mainland South America”. “Colonise” can be considered the same as “populate”.
2. iii			This paragraph explains what happened to the tortoises after human arrival, and those are negative impacts for the tortoises such as -taken on board these ships to act as food supplies, they (humans) hunted the tortoises and destroyed their habitat to clear land for agriculture, and so on.
3. viii			This paragraph talks about a tortoise-breeding center with its captive-breeding programme. In 1989, work began on a tortoise breeding centre • Start = begin• Programme = project• Protect tortoise populations = conservation
4. i			If people wait too long after that point, the tortoises eventually become too large to transport. This means that if the timing is wrong, there is a big price to pay or they have to face a big problem.
5. iv			……….to work out more ambitious reintroduction. The aim was to use a helicopter to move 300 of the breeding centre’s tortoises to various locations close to Sierra Negra. It means that the plan is a very big one.
6. vi			The whole paragraph explains the procedures indicating that the operation was carefully prepared.
7. ii			Eventually, one tiny tortoise came across a fully grown giant …
8. pirates	17th Century, small numbers	paragraph B line 2-3	From 17th century onwards, pirates took a few on board for food, … … .. ·         a few = small numbers. ·         means that ships were used by pirates,
9. food	1790s, very large numbers	paragraph B line 5& 6	The tortoises were taken on board these ships to act as food supplies during long ocean passages. Sometimes, their bodies were processed into high-grade oil.” ·         Kept for = act as ·         To produce = processed
10. oil	1790s, very large numbers	paragraph B line 5& 6	Sometimes, their bodies were processed into high-grade oil.
11. settlers	hunt, on islands	paragraph B, line 9	They hunted the tortoises……”. ·         They= when settlers came to the islands. ·         Here, ‘they’ is referring to settlers.
12. species	Habitat destruction, not native	Paragraph B, line 10	They also introduced alien species- ranging from ……………
13. eggs	feed on, baby tortoise	Paragraph B, line 11	…….that either prey on the eggs and young tortoises… .. ..”. ·         prey on = fed on ·         young tortoises = baby tortoises

 

 

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 .

The Intersection of Health Sciences and Geography 

 

Questions 14-19: (Identifying Information)

Question No.	Answer	Keywords	Location	Explanation
14	D	not all diseases, totally eliminated	Paragraph D (Lines 2-3)	The writer mentions diseases like polio are "re-emerging," meaning they haven't been fully eliminated.
15	C	physical condition, caused by, human behaviour	Paragraph C (Lines 1-8)	The paragraph discusses conditions like asthma and lung problems caused by human activities like driving cars and industrialization.
16	F	classifying diseases, how far they extend geographically	Paragraph F (Lines 3-4)	The passage talks about categorizing diseases and mapping their spread geographically.
17	G	reasons, access to healthcare, vary within a country	Paragraph G (Lines 1-9)	The passage explains how healthcare availability differs in regions of a country, with examples of distance to hospitals.
18	D	health geography, mixture of different academic fields	Paragraph D (Lines 4-7)	The paragraph describes health geography as combining knowledge of geography with the study of health and diseases.
19	B	type of area, particular illness is rare	Paragraph B (Lines 6-7)	The passage mentions that malaria is rare in high-altitude deserts, indicating that certain areas are less prone to specific illnesses.

Questions 20-26: (Completing sentences with ONE WORD ONLY)

Question No.	Answer	Keywords	Location	Explanation
20	vaccinations	Certain diseases, disappeared, thanks to	Paragraph A (Lines 1-2)	The passage talks about diseases disappearing due to improvements in vaccinations and healthcare.
21	antibiotics	because, more contact, losing, usefulness	Paragraph A (Lines 3-6)	The passage mentions that with more contact between people, antibiotics are losing their usefulness.
22	mosquitos	disease-causing, most likely, found, hot, damp regions	Paragraph B (Lines 3-5)	The passage discusses malaria-prone areas where mosquitoes thrive in hot, damp conditions.
23	factories	cause, pollution, burn a particular fuel	Paragraph C (Line 6)	The passage refers to factories burning coal, contributing to pollution.
24	forests	growth of cities, an impact	Paragraph C (Lines 7-8)	The passage explains that the growth of cities leads to the cutting down of forests.
25	polio	disease, growing, after, eradicated	Paragraph D (Lines 2-3)	The passage mentions polio as a disease that is re-emerging after being eradicated.
26	mountain	physical barrier, prevent people, reaching a hospital	Paragraph G (Lines 7-9)	The passage explains that physical barriers like mountains can prevent people from accessing healthcare facilities.

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 .

Music and the emotions

Answers	Keywords	Location	Explanation
27. dopamine	music, neurons	paragraph 2 line 12	The first thing they discovered is that music triggers the production of dopamine— a chemical with a key role in setting people’s moods— by the neurons .. .. . ….. ·         Meaning that the substance which is released by the brain’s neurons is called dopamine.
28. pleasure	two of the parts, are associated	Paragraph 2, Last line	As these two regions have long been linked with the experience of pleasure,…..”. ·         Two regions = two of the parts ·         Linked with = associated with ·         Experience = feeling
29. caudate	observed, neurons, in the area of the brain, called	P3, L 1	What is rather more significant is the finding that the dopamine neurons in the caudate— a region of the brain……. ·         observed = found ·         in the area of the brain = a region of the brain
30. anticipatory phase	active, just before, participants’ favourite	P3, L3	… . .. .  — were at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants’ favourite moments in the music. The researchers call this the ‘anticipatory  phase’…. .. .
31. food	activity, associated with, reward stimuli, such as	P3, L 3	… .. .in anticipating food and other ‘reward’ stimuli—…” ·         anticipating = expectation
32. B	emphasise, first paragraph	P1, L2,3,4	And yet, even though music says little, it manages to touch us deeply…………………………………. .sound stirs us at our biological roots. ·         meaning that sound of music touches us very intensely.
33. C	view of, Montreal study, second paragraph	P2, L2,3	…………. in revealing the precise underpinnings of the potent pleasurable stimulus’ that is music. ·         It means that the Montreal Study has produced some precise data about music and pleasure
34. A	Interesting, the results, Montreal Study	paragraph 3, line 1	What is rather more significant….. …………………..—were at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants’ favourite moments in the music. ·         Meaning that the interesting matter is the time of neuron’s response.
35. B	Why, refer to, Meyer’s work		In paragraph 4 the writer describes in lines 7-9, “This is why composers often introduce a key note in the beginning of a song, spend most of the rest of the piece in the studious avoidance of the pattern, and then finally repeat it only at the end.” Now, in paragraph 5, the writer talks about Meyer’s work and thus supports what is said in paragraph 4. ….. … . .showing how Beethoven begins with the clear statement of a rhythmic and harmonic pattern and then, in an ingenious tonal dance, carefully holds off repeating it……. .. .. .. Beethoven saves that chord for the end.
36. D	Leonard Meyer, causes, listener’s	P6, line 4	Meyer argued that the emotions we find in music come from the unfolding events of the music itself. ·         itself= internal composition
37. F	Montreal researchers, discovered	P3, Line 3	—were at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants’ favourite moments in the music. This means that Montreal researchers have found that dopamine neuron becomes more active prior to (around 15 seconds before) the participants’ favourite moments in the music.
38. B	Many studies, demonstrated	P4, L6	Numerous studies, after all, have demonstrated that dopamine neurons quickly adapt to predictable rewards. If we know what’s going to happen next, then we don’t get excited. It means neurons’ activity goes down if the results is predictable
39. E	Meyer’s analysis, Beethoven’s music	P5, Line 7	What Beethoven does instead is suggest variation in the pattern………………chord for the end. ·         He delays in giving the specific chord what his listeners expect to hear.
40. C	Earlier theories, suggested	Last paragraph, line 2	While the earlier theories of music focused on the way a sound can refer to the real world of images and experiences—…… ·         real world of images and experiences= actual pictures and events.