Cambridge IELTS Academic 8 Reading Test 4 Answers with Explanation / IELTS Academic Reading: Land of the rising sum , Biological control of the pests , Collecting ant specimens

READING PASSAGE 1

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

Land of the rising sum

Question Number	Answer	Keywords	Location	Text
1	vii	Background to middle-years education in Japan	Section B, first few lines	"Lower secondary schools in Japan cover three school years, from the seventh grade (age 13) to the ninth grade (age 15)..."
2	i	The influence of Monbusho	Section C, lines 3-4 and last sentence	"Everyone has their own copy of the textbook supplied by the central education authority, Monbusho, as a part of the concept of free compulsory education up to the age of 15... Besides approving textbooks, Monbusho also decides the highly centralized national curriculum and how it is to be delivered."
3	v	The typical format of a maths lesson	Section D, lines 11-12	"Only rarely are supplementary worksheets distributed in a maths class."
4	ii	Helping less successful students	Section E, lines 3-4 and last sentence	"In observed lessons, any strugglers would be assisted by the teacher or quietly seek help from their neighbour... the Japanese attitude towards education runs along the lines of 'if you work hard enough, you can do almost anything'."
5	viii	The key to Japanese successes in maths education	Section F, first lines of parts 1 and 2	"So what are the major contributing factors in the success of maths teaching? Clearly, attitudes are important... Other relevant points relate to the supportive attitude of a class towards slower pupils, the lack of competition within a class and a positive emphasis on learning for oneself and improving one's own standard."
6	YES	Wider range of achievement, English pupils studying maths, Japanese counterparts	Section A, lines 4-6	"...there was also a larger proportion of 'low' attainers in England, where, incidentally, the variation in attainment scores was much greater."
7	NO	Percentage of Gross National Product spent on education, reflects level of attainment in mathematics	Section A, last sentence	"The percentage of Gross National Product spent on education is reasonably similar in the two countries, so how is this higher and more consistent attainment in maths achieved?"
8	NOT GIVEN	Private schools in Japan, modern and spacious, state-run lower secondary schools	Section B, lines 2-3	"all pupils at this stage attend state schools; only 3 percent are in the private sector. Schools are usually modern in design, set well back from the road and spacious inside."
9	NO	Teachers mark homework, Japanese schools	Section D, lines 3-5	"Pupils mark their own homework: this is an important principle in Japanese schooling as it enables pupils to see where and why they made a mistake so that these can be avoided in future."
10	B	Maths textbooks in Japanese schools are well organised and adapted to the needs of the pupils	Section C	"These textbooks are, on the whole, small, presumably inexpensive to produce, but well set out and logically developed."
11	C	When a new maths topic is introduced, it is carefully and patiently explained to the students	Section D, lines 7-10	"the teacher explains the topic of the lesson, slowly and with a lot of repetition and elaboration. Examples are demonstrated on the board; questions from the textbook are worked through first with the class..."
12	A	Schools deal with students who experience difficulties by giving them appropriate supplementary tuition	Section E, lines 2-5 and lines 10-13	"Teachers say that they give individual help at the end of a lesson or after school, setting extra work if necessary. In observed lessons, any strugglers would be assisted by

Question Number	Answer	Keywords	Location	Text
13	C	Much effort is made and correct answers are emphasized	Section F, lines 3-4	"Maths is recognized as an important compulsory subject throughout schooling, and the emphasis is on hard work coupled with a focus on accuracy."

 

 

READING PASSAGE 2

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

Biological control of the pests

Question Number	Answer	Keywords	Location	Text
14	B	Counter-productive, ecological disorders, chemical-resistant, superbugs	Paragraph 1, last 3 lines	"proving to be counter-productive. Apart from engendering widespread ecological disorders, pesticides have contributed to the emergence of a new breed of chemical-resistant, highly lethal superbugs."
15	A	Study, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), agricultural pests, resistance	Paragraph 2, first 2 lines	"According to a recent study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), more than 300 species of agricultural pests have developed resistance to a wide range of potent chemicals."
16	D	Agriculture, farmers, pesticides, crop yield, insecticide application	Paragraph 4, lines 4-5	"agriculture, the farmers avidly took to pesticides as a sure measure to boost crop yield. The insecticide was applied eight times a year in"
17	D	Alarming turn, outbreak, new pests, pesticide spraying, financial outlay	Paragraph 5, first 4 lines	"By the mid-1960s, the situation took an alarming turn with the outbreak of four more new pests, necessitating pesticide spraying to such an extent that 50% of the financial outlay on cotton production was accounted for by pesticides."
18	NOT GIVEN	-	-	-
19	YES	Disease-spreading pests, immune to insecticides	Paragraph 2, last 3 lines	"resistance to a wide range of potent chemicals. Not to be left behind are the disease-spreading pests, about 100 species of which have become immune to a variety of insecticides now in use."
20	NO	Pests withstand synthetic chemicals, genetic diversity, resistance	Paragraph 3, last 3 lines	"Because of their tremendous breeding potential and genetic diversity, many pests are known to withstand synthetic chemicals and bear offspring with a built-in resistance to pesticides."
21	YES	Bio-control, safe, non-polluting, self-dispersing	Paragraph 7, last 2 lines	"When handled by experts, bio-control is safe, non—polluting and self-dispersing."
22	D	Prey on 'disapene scale' insects, defoliants of fruit trees	Paragraph 9, last 2 lines	"that prey on 'disapene scale' insects — notorious defoliants of fruit trees in the US and India"
23	H	Predator indigenous to India, controlling Rhodes grass-scale insect	Paragraph 10, line 5-6	"predator indigenous to India, Neodumetia sangawani, was found useful in controlling the Rhodes grass-scale insect that was devouring forage"
24	C	Examples of pest control, coconut groves, leaf-mining hispides	Paragraph 10, line 2-3	"by the following examples. In The late 1960s, when Sri Lanka's flourishing coconut groves were plagued by leaf-mining hispides, a larval parasite"
25	E	CIBC, Argentinian weevil, eradication of water hyacinth	Paragraph 9, line 5-6	"supported by CIBC, is now trying out an Argentinian weevil for the eradication of water hyacinth, another dangerous weed"
26	B	12-kilometre-long canal, weed Salvinia molesta, rice fields in Kerala	Paragraph 10, last 3 lines	“12-kilometre- long canal from the clutches of the weed Salviniamolesta, popularly called „African Payal‟ in Kerala. About 30,000 hectares of rice fieldsin Kerala are infested by this weed.”

READING PASSAGE 3

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

Collecting ant specimens

Question Number	Answer	Keywords	Location	Text
27	TRUE	Taxonomic research, comparing members, one group of ants	Paragraph 1, lines 4-6	"For taxonomy, or classification, long series, from a single nest, which contain all castes (workers, including majors and minors, and, if present, queens and males) are desirable, to allow the determination of variation within species."
28	NOT GIVEN	New species, frequently, identified, taxonomists	-	-
29	TRUE	Range, key criterion, ecological collections	Paragraph 1, lines 7-8	"For ecological studies, the most important factor is collecting identifiable samples of as many of the different species present as possible."
30	FALSE	Single collection, taxonomic and ecological purposes	Paragraph 1, last few lines	"The taxonomist sometimes overlooks whole species in favour of those groups currently under study, while the ecologist often collects only a limited number of specimens of each species, thus reducing their value for taxonomic investigations."
31	A (hand collecting)	Specimens, groups of ants	Paragraph 2, lines 6-8	"when possible, collections should be made from nests or foraging columns and at least 20 to 25 individuals collected. This will ensure that all individuals are from the same species and so increase their value for detailed studies."
32	C (sampling ground litter)	Particularly effective, wet habitats	Paragraph 4	"this method works especially well in rain forests and marshy areas"
33	B (using bait)	Good method, hard to find	Paragraph 3	"Baits can be used to attract and concentrate foragers. This often increases the number of individuals collected and attracts species that are otherwise elusive."
34	D (using a pitfall trap)	Little time and effort required	Paragraph 5	"One advantage of pitfall traps is that they can be used to collect over a period of time with minimal maintenance and intervention."
35	A (hand collecting)	Separate containers, individual specimens	Paragraph 2, lines 11-12	"Individual insects are placed in plastic or glass tubes (1.5 – 3.0 ml capacity for small ants, 5-8 ml for larger ants) containing 75% to 95% ethanol."
36	D (using a pitfall trap)	Non-alcoholic preservative	Paragraph 5	"the preservative used is usually ethylene glycol or propylene glycol, as alcohol will evaporate quickly and the traps will dry out."
37	heat	-	Paragraph 4, lines 4-5	"This is most commonly done by placing leaf litter on a screen over a large funnel, often under some heat."
38	leaf litter	-	Paragraph 4, lines 4-5	"This is most commonly done by placing leaf litter on a screen over a large funnel, often under some heat."
39	(coarse) screen	-	Paragraph 4, lines 7-9	"A method of improving the catch when using a funnel is to sift the leaf litter through a coarse screen before placing it above the funnel."
40	alcohol	-	Paragraph 4, lines 5-6	"As the leaf litter dries from above, ants (and other animals) move downward and eventually fall out the bottom and are collected in alcohol placed below the funnel."