Cambridge IELTS Academic 3 Reading Test 2 Answers with Explanation / IELTS Academic Reading: Cambridge 3 Test 2 Answer / Cambridge IELTS 3 Reading Test 2 Answers with Explanation

READING PASSAGE 1

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

A remarkable beetle

Question Number	Answer	Keywords	Location in Passage	Text
1	NOT GIVEN	-	-	-
2	NO	species, evolved, adapted, climates, dung	para 2, first 3 lines	"More than 4,000 species of these remarkable creatures have evolved and adapted to the world’s different climates and the dung of its many animals."
3	YES	dung beetles, introduced, control dung-breeding flies	para 3, line 2-7	"at the Australian Government’s premier research organisation, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), suggested that dung beetles should be introduced to Australia to control dung-breeding flies."
4	YES	climatic zones, successfully integrated, natural boundary	para 2, last 3 lines	"Of the 26 species that are known to have become successfully integrated into the local environment, only one, an African species released in northern Australia, has reached its natural boundary."
5	NO	beetles, released, cow pats, disappear, tunneling, benefits	para 3, last 5 lines	"The beetles immediately disappear beneath the pats digging and tunneling and, if they successfully adapt to their new environment, soon become a permanent, self-sustaining part of the local ecology. In time they multiply and within three or four years the benefits to the pasture are obvious."
Question Number	Answer	Keywords	Location in Passage	Text
6	South Africa	-	-	-
7	French	-	-	-
8	Spanish	para 5, line 3-9	"Some large species originating from France excavate tunnels to a depth of approximately 30 cm below the dung pat. These beetles make sausage-shaped brood chambers along the tunnels. The shallowest tunnels belong to a much smaller Spanish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree. South African beetles dig narrow tunnels of approximately 20 cm below the surface of the pat."

Question Number	Answer	Keywords	Location in Passage	Text Associated with Answer
6	South Africa	South Africa	Para 5, line 11-14: "South African beetles dig narrow tunnels of approximately 20 cm below the surface of the pat."	Some surface-dwelling beetles, including a South African species, cut perfectly.
7	French	France	Para 5, line 3-4: "Some large species originating from France excavate tunnels to a depth of approximately 30 cm below the dung pat."	Some large species originating from France excavate tunnels to a depth of approximately 30 cm below the dung pat.
8	Spanish	Spain	Para 5, line 6-7: "The shallowest tunnels belong to a much smaller Spanish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree."	The shallowest tunnels belong to a much smaller Spanish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree.

Question Number	Answer	Keywords	Location in Passage	Text Associated with Answer
9	temperature	state of Victoria, French, Spanish	Para 6, line 3-4: "state of Victoria, the large French species (2.5 cms long) is matched with smaller (half this size), temperate-climate Spanish species."	The large French species is matched with smaller, temperate-climate Spanish species in the state of Victoria.
10	early spring	early spring	Para 6, line 6-7: "The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations annually."	The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations annually.
11	2-5	spring until autumn	Para 6, line 6-7: "The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations annually."	The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations annually.
12	sub-tropical	sub-tropical beetle	Para 6, last 4 lines: "The South African ball-rolling species, being a sub-tropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunnelling species."	The South African ball-rolling species, being a sub-tropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunnelling species.
13	South Africa tunneling	South African ball-rolling, South African tunnelling	Para 6, last 4 lines: "The South African ball-rolling species, being a sub-tropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunnelling species."	The South African ball-rolling species, being a sub-tropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunnelling species.

 

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 .

This passage has no title

Question No.	Answer	Keywords	Location	Explanation
14	v	Governments, management of the environment	Section A	The role of governments in environmental management is difficult but unavoidable, as explained in the opening lines of Section A.
15	vii	Farming, food output	Section B	The author describes the impact of farming on the earth’s surface and its connection to food output, specifically between the 1970s and 1980s.
16	ii	Environmental impact, modern farming	Section C	The environmental impact of modern farming is discussed, particularly its damaging effects as mentioned in the final lines of Section B.
17	iv	Government policy, rich countries	Section D	The author examines how government policies in rich countries, such as subsidies, can worsen environmental damage caused by farming.
18	i	Uruguay Round, international trade agreement	Section F	The Uruguay Round trade negotiations are expected to reduce farm subsidies, and their probable effects are discussed in Section F.
19	G	Clearing land for cultivation, deforestation	Section C	The environmental impact of clearing land for agriculture, the primary cause of deforestation, is explained in Section C.
20	C	Chemical inputs, degraded water supply	Section C	The increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is linked to water supply contamination, causing environmental damage.
21	F	More intensive farming, soil erosion	Section C	The section discusses how more intensive farming contributes to soil erosion, highlighting its environmental consequences.
22	B	Expansion of monoculture, disappearance of old plant varieties	Section C	The spread of monoculture and the loss of old plant varieties that could protect against pests or diseases are mentioned.
23	C	Soil erosion, United States, 1982	Section C	Research from 1982 revealed that soil erosion was significantly damaging 20% of U.S. farmland, leading to reduced soil productivity.
24	B	Fertilizer use, Denmark, mid-1980s	Section D	Fertilizer use in Denmark doubled between 1960 and 1985, which is the context for the question about Denmark in the mid-1980s.
25	D	Farm diversification, New Zealand, post-1984	Section D	Following the end of fertilizer subsidies, New Zealand saw increased farm diversification after 1984.
26	C	Less enlightened countries, New Zealand, subsidies	Section D	The writer critiques countries that have not fully embraced the benefits of ending subsidies, referring to them as ‘less enlightened’ compared to New Zealand.
27	A	Uruguay Round agreements, sustainable farming	Section F	The Uruguay Round agreements are likely to encourage sustainable farming practices in the long term, benefiting farmers in poor countries.
28	A	Environmental management	Entire Passage	The overall theme of the passage is environmental management, which encompasses topics like farming, subsidies, and soil erosion.

READING PASSAGE 3

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

The concept of role theory

Question Number	Answer	Keywords	Location in Passage	Text Associated with Answer
29	NOT GIVEN	N/A	N/A	N/A
30	YES	role definition	Para 2, last 3 lines	"...they are forced that way by the expectations of their role."
31	YES	role definition, dress, role signs	Para 4, first 3 lines	"In social circumstances, dress has often been used as a role sign to indicate the nature and degree of formality of any gathering and occasionally the social status of people present."
32	NOT GIVEN	N/A	N/A	N/A
33	YES	office signs, furniture, role signs	Para 6, first 3 lines	"In organisations, office signs and furniture are often used as role signs."
34	NO	role ambiguity	Para 1, lines 3-6	"If his occupation of the role is unclear, or if it differs from that of the others in the role set, there will be a degree of role ambiguity."
35	NO	role ambiguity, job descriptions	Para 1, lines 8-10	"The virtue of job descriptions is that they lessen this role ambiguity."
36	'role sign'	Place, managers, change of location, role from boss to friend	Para 5, first 3 lines	"Place is another role sign. Managers often behave very differently outside the office and in it, even to the same person. They use a change of location to indicate a change in role from, say, boss to friend."
37	'ritual'	role change, change of role, obvious sign	Para 5, lines 6-8	"In very significant cases of role change, e.g. from a soldier in the ranks to officer, from bachelor to married man, the change of role has to have a very obvious sign, hence rituals."
38	'role sign'	office signs, furniture, role signs	Para 6, lines 1-3	"In organisations, office signs and furniture are often used as role signs."
39	'role set'	role ambiguity, uncertainty, focal person, members	Para 1, first 3 lines	"Role ambiguity results when there is some uncertainty in the minds, either of the focal person or of the members of his role set, as to precisely what his role is at any given time."
40	C	N/A	N/A	N/A