Cambridge IELTS Academic 19 Reading Test 4 Answers with Explanation / IELTS Reading: The impact of climate change on butterflies in Britain , Deep-sea mining ,The Unselfish Gene

READING PASSAGE 1

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

The impact of climate change on butterflies in Britain

Number of Question	Question	Keywords of the Question	Answer	Location with Line Number in the Paragraph	Explanation
1	Forty years ago, there were fewer butterflies in Britain than at present.	forty years ago, fewer, butterflies, Britain	FALSE	Paragraph 1, Lines 1–2	The passage states that populations of two-thirds of butterfly species have declined over the past 40 years, meaning there were more butterflies in the past.
2	Caterpillars are eaten by a number of different predators.	caterpillars, eaten, predators	TRUE	Paragraph 1, Lines 5–6	The passage mentions that caterpillars serve as prey for birds, bats, and other small mammals, confirming that multiple predators consume them.
3	‘Phenology’ is a term used to describe a creature’s ability to alter the location of a lifecycle event.	Phenology, lifecycle event, location	FALSE	Paragraph 2, Lines 7–8	The passage defines phenology as the timing of lifecycle events, not changing their location.
4	Some species of butterfly have a reduced lifespan due to spring temperature increases.	butterflies, reduced lifespan, spring temperature	NOT GIVEN	N/A	The passage discusses temperature effects on reproduction and phenology but does not state that butterfly lifespans are reduced.
5	There is a clear reason for the adaptations that butterflies are making to climate change.	clear reason, adaptations, climate change	FALSE	Paragraph 3, Lines 5–7	The passage states that the reason is still unknown and that a study is trying to find the answer.
6	The data used in the study was taken from the work of amateur butterfly watchers.	data, study, amateur butterfly watchers	TRUE	Paragraph 4, Lines 1–2	The passage states that the study used records from butterfly enthusiasts who observe species in their free time.
7	The Small Blue lives in large ___.	Small Blue, lives, large	colonies	Paragraph 6, Line 6	The passage describes Small Blue colonies as "up to a hundred strong," confirming that they live in large colonies.
8	The Small Blue first appears at the start of ___.	Small Blue, first appears, start of	spring	Paragraph 6, Lines 5–6	The passage states that Small Blue butterflies develop early in spring, allowing later generations to emerge.
9	The High Brown Fritillary is considered to be more __ than other species.	High Brown Fritillary, considered, more	endangered	Paragraph 7, Line 4	The passage describes the High Brown Fritillary as "Britain’s most endangered butterfly."
10	The High Brown Fritillary’s caterpillars occupy a limited range of ___.	High Brown Fritillary, caterpillars, limited range	habitats	Paragraph 7, Lines 5–6	The passage states that the species is restricted to coppiced woodland and limestone pavement habitats.
11	The Silver-studded Blue is already able to reproduce twice a year in warm areas of ___.	Silver-studded Blue, reproduce, warm areas	Europe	Paragraph 8, Lines 2–3	The passage states that in continental Europe, this species can already have two generations per year.
12	The White Admiral is found in ___ areas of England.	White Admiral, found, areas of England	southern	Paragraph 9, Line 2	The passage specifies that the White Admiral is found in southern England.
13	Both climate change and the ___ of the caterpillar are possible reasons for the White Admiral’s decline.	White Admiral, reasons, decline, caterpillar	diet	Paragraph 9, Lines 3–4	The passage states that the White Admiral's decline may be due to climate change and the caterpillar's diet (which is solely honeysuckle).

READING PASSAGE 2

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

Deep-sea mining

No.	Question	Keywords	Answer	Location with Line Number	Explanation
14	Reference to the rapidly increasing need for one raw material in the transport industry	Increasing need, raw material, transport industry	C	Lines 5-7 in Paragraph C	The paragraph states that demand for metals like cobalt (used in electric car batteries) is soaring.
15	A rough estimate of the area of the Earth covered by the oceans	Estimate, area, Earth, oceans	F	Line 1 in Paragraph F	The paragraph states that oceans occupy around 70% of the planet.
16	How a particular underwater habitat, where minerals and organisms co-exist, is formed	Underwater habitat, minerals, organisms, formed	E	Lines 1-3 in Paragraph E	The paragraph describes how hydrothermal vents are created when seawater meets volcanic magma.
17	Reference to the fact that the countries of the world have yet to agree on rules for the exploration of the seabed	Countries, agree, rules, seabed	D	Lines 2-4 in Paragraph D	The paragraph mentions that the global regulatory framework is not yet drafted.
18	A move away from the exploration of heavily mined reserves on land is a good idea	Move away, land reserves, good idea	D	Lines 2-4 in Paragraph F	Mike Johnston argues that deep-sea mining makes sense due to land resource depletion.
19	The negative effects of undersea exploration on local areas and their inhabitants are being ignored	Negative effects, undersea exploration, ignored	B	Lines 2-4 in Paragraph D	The authors argue that environmental and social impacts are disregarded.
20	There are more worthwhile things to extract from the sea than minerals	Worthwhile, extract, more than minerals	A	Lines 3-5 in Paragraph A	Mat Upton emphasizes the potential of new antibiotics rather than minerals.
21	No other form of human exploration will have such a destructive impact on marine life as deep-sea mining	Destructive impact, marine life, deep-sea mining	E	Lines 5-6 in Paragraph F	Verena Tunnicliffe states that deep-sea mining will be the greatest assault on marine ecosystems.
22	More is known about outer space than about what lies beneath the oceans	More known, outer space, beneath oceans	B	Lines 5-7 in Paragraph D	The authors state that the deep sea is less understood than the Moon, Mars, and Venus.
23	There is one marine life habitat where experts agree mining should not take place	Marine habitat, no mining, experts agree	C	Lines 5-7 in Paragraph E	Dr. Jon Copley states that hydrothermal vents should not be mined.
24	Mining corporations believe that the mineral resources lying under the sea may be superior to those found in the earth. They also say that these can be removed without producing much _______	Mining corporations, superior resources, little production	waste	Lines 7-9 in Paragraph C	The passage mentions that deep-sea mining could yield superior ore with little, if any, waste.
25	The extraction is often done by adapting the _______ that has already been used to work on land.	Extraction, adapting, already used on land	machinery	Lines 9-11 in Paragraph C	The passage states that mining companies use converted machinery from terrestrial mining.
26	However, concerned groups strongly believe that _______ is necessary due to the possible number of unidentified consequences.	Concerned groups, necessary, unidentified consequences	caution	Lines 3-5 in Paragraph D	The paragraph mentions that environmental and legal groups urge caution due to unknown impacts.

READING PASSAGE 3

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

The Unselfish Gene

No.	Question	Keywords	Answer	Location with Line Number	Explanation
27	What is the writer doing in the first paragraph?	Writer, first paragraph, human nature	C	Lines 1-5 in Paragraph 1	The writer describes a common belief that humans are selfish, ruthless, and motivated by self-interest.
28	What point is made about Richard Dawkins’ book The Selfish Gene?	Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, point made	C	Lines 1-3 in Paragraph 2	The book was popular because its ideas aligned with the competitive mindset of the late 20th century.
29	What does the writer suggest about the prehistoric era in the fourth paragraph?	Prehistoric era, resources, population	B	Lines 2-4 in Paragraph 4	The writer argues that population density was low, making competition for resources unlikely.
30	The writer refers to Bruce Knauft’s work as support for the idea that	Bruce Knauft, support, idea	A	Lines 1-3 in Paragraph 5	Knauft's research suggests early societies were egalitarian, contradicting the idea that selfishness is innate.
31	Bruce Knauft’s research shows that contemporary hunter-gatherer societies tend to exhibit a high level of _______ in all areas of life.	Hunter-gatherer, exhibit, high level	egalitarianism	Lines 1-2 in Paragraph 5	Knauft states that these societies practice extreme egalitarianism.
32	These societies also employ strategies to prevent differences in _______ occurring.	Strategies, prevent differences	status	Lines 4-6 in Paragraph 6	The !Kung prevent disparities in status by ensuring possessions are shared.
33	The !Kung follow a custom whereby the credit for one person’s success at _______ is given to another member of the group.	!Kung, credit, success	hunting	Lines 6-7 in Paragraph 6	The !Kung swap arrows, and credit for a kill goes to the owner of the arrow, not the hunter.
34	Individuals who behave in a _______ manner are punished by being excluded from the group.	Behavior, punishment, excluded	domineering	Lines 7-8 in Paragraph 6	Domineering individuals are ostracized from the group.
35	Women have a considerable amount of _______ in choices regarding work and marriage.	Women, choices, work, marriage	autonomy	Lines 8-9 in Paragraph 6	Women have autonomy in choosing marriage partners and work.
36	Some anthropologists are mistaken about the point when the number of societies such as the !Kung began to decline.	Anthropologists, mistaken, !Kung decline	NOT GIVEN	Not explicitly mentioned	The passage does not discuss whether anthropologists were mistaken about when such societies declined.
37	Humans who developed warlike traits in prehistory would have had an advantage over those who did not.	Prehistory, warlike traits, advantage	NO	Lines 3-5 in Paragraph 7	The writer argues that aggression was not advantageous since selfish individuals were ostracized.
38	Being peaceful and cooperative is a natural way for people to behave.	Peaceful, cooperative, natural behavior	YES	Lines 1-3 in Paragraph 8	The writer suggests that cooperation and altruism were dominant human traits for thousands of years.
39	Negative traits are more apparent in some modern cultures than in others.	Negative traits, modern cultures, differences	NOT GIVEN	Not explicitly mentioned	The passage does not compare the prevalence of negative traits in different modern cultures.
40	Animal research has failed to reveal a link between changes in the environment and the emergence of aggressive tendencies.	Animal research, environment, aggression	NO	Lines 3-5 in Paragraph 9	The passage states that primates become more aggressive when their natural habitats are disrupted.