Saving bugs to find new drugs: reading answers and analysis
A zoologist explains why insects are an untapped source of medicines. Drug research once turned away from nature, but genome mining and health crises have revived it. Insects are hard to study, so his team uses ecology to target species, and he hopes the work will help conservation.
How to attack this block: Seven items for nine paragraphs, so most paragraphs get used. Watch for pairs that sound alike: B (why nature-based drugs fell out of favour) vs F (why insects are hard to research), and C (renewed interest) vs H (technology that helps). 'Benefit wildlife' is the conservation point in the last paragraph.
Question 14
Answer: CParagraph C
Which paragraph names what is behind the return of interest in natural medicines?
This realisation, together with several looming health crises, such as antibiotic resistance, has put bioprospecting - the search for useful compounds in nature - firmly back on the map.
Question says → Passage says
factors drivingThis realisation, together with several looming health crises
a renewed interest in natural medicinal compoundsnew approaches focusing once again on natural products / firmly back on the map
Why: C gives the reasons nature-based research is back: lab methods had mixed success, genome mining showed how much is untapped, and health crises like antibiotic resistance. 'Back on the map' is 'renewed interest'.
The trap: H explains a technique that makes insect research easier, but that's about how, not why interest returned.
Question 15
Answer: HParagraph H
Which paragraph explains how new technology has made insect research easier?
Fortunately, it is now possible to snip out the stretches of the insect's DNA that carry the codes for the interesting compounds and insert them into cell lines that allow larger quantities to be produced.
Question says → Passage says
recent technological advancesit is now possible to snip out the stretches of the insect's DNA
made insect research easierallow larger quantities to be produced
Why: 'It is now possible' signals something recent, and copying DNA into cell lines solves the problem of getting enough of a compound. That's technology making research easier.
The trap: C mentions the ability to 'mine genomes', which also sounds technological, but it's about nature in general, not about insect research being easier.
Question 16
Answer: AParagraph A
Which paragraph gives examples of animals using natural substances as medicine?
the capuchin monkeys who rub themselves with toxin-oozing millipedes to deter mosquitoes, or the chimpanzees who use noxious forest plants to rid themselves of intestinal parasites
Question says → Passage says
examples of animalsthe capuchin monkeys / the chimpanzees
use medicinal substances from naturerub themselves with toxin-oozing millipedes / use noxious forest plants
Why: A gives two primates treating themselves with natural substances: capuchins using millipedes against mosquitoes and chimps using plants against parasites.
The trap: G describes insects using poisons and antimicrobials, but they use them to catch prey and survive, not as medicine for themselves.
Question 17
Answer: FParagraph F
Which paragraph explains why insects are hard to use in drug research?
Firstly, there are so many insects that, without some manner of targeted approach, investigating this huge variety of species is a daunting task.
Question says → Passage says
reasons whyFirstly / Secondly / Thirdly
challenginga daunting task / difficult to obtain sufficient quantities
Why: F opens with a question about why insects get little attention, then lists three reasons: too many species, tiny glands, and rare species that are hard to rear. Each is a challenge.
The trap: B also lists hurdles in finding natural compounds, but they apply to nature in general, not to insects.
Question 18
Answer: IParagraph I
Which paragraph says drug research could help wildlife?
my main motivation for looking at insects in this way is conservation
Question says → Passage says
benefit wildlifeconservation / make people think differently about the value of nature
interest in drug researchlooking at insects in this way
Why: The writer's main reason for this research is conservation. He hopes showing nature's medicinal value will make people value it more, which benefits wildlife.
The trap: D praises insect diversity, but it doesn't link research to protecting them.
Question 19
Answer: BParagraph B
Which paragraph gives a reason nature-based medicines went out of fashion for a while?
The main cause of this shift is that although there are plenty of promising chemical compounds in nature, finding them is far from easy.
Question says → Passage says
fell out of favour for a periodfor a while, modern pharmaceutical science moved its focus away from nature
a reason whyThe main cause of this shift
Why: 'For a while' matches 'for a period', and science moving its focus away from nature is the medicines falling out of favour. 'The main cause' is the reason.
The trap: F gives reasons why insect research is difficult, which sounds similar, but F explains why insects are neglected now, not why nature as a whole was set aside.
Question 20
Answer: EParagraph E
Which paragraph gives an insect-based medicine currently being used?
alloferon, an antimicrobial compound produced by blow fly larvae, is used as an antiviral and antitumor agent in South Korea and Russia
Question says → Passage says
an insect-derived medicinean antimicrobial compound produced by blow fly larvae
in use at the momentis used as an antiviral and antitumor agent
Why: Alloferon comes from blow fly larvae and 'is used' in South Korea and Russia. The present tense tells you it's in use now.
The trap: The wasp venom in the same paragraph only 'has potential', so it isn't in use yet.
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 21-22
How to attack this block: The question asks what makes insects interesting, not what makes them hard. Huge numbers and small size are listed in F as problems. The answers are the defensive compounds in D and the DNA technique in H.
Question 21-22
Answer: B and C (in either order)Paragraphs D and H
Which two things make insects interesting for drug research?
the evolution of an enormous range of very interesting compounds for defensive and offensive purposes… it is now possible to snip out the stretches of the insect's DNA that carry the codes for the interesting compounds
Question says → Passage says
the variety of substancesan enormous range of very interesting compounds
to protect themselvesfor defensive and offensive purposes
extract and make use of insects' genetic codessnip out the stretches of the insect's DNA that carry the codes
Why: B: insects have evolved a huge range of compounds for defence (and attack). C: their DNA codes for those compounds can now be cut out and used to produce them in larger amounts.
The trap: A is the main distractor. F mentions the huge numbers of insects, but as a problem (a daunting task), not an attraction. E is wrong because F says insects are very small, which makes research harder, and D is never mentioned.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 23-26
How to attack this block: G gives the team's method and its two target groups of insects. Each gap is a noun: a field of knowledge, what predators catch, where scavengers live, and a type of drug. Gap 26 needs a plural.
Question 23
Answer: ecologyParagraph G, first sentence
What expertise does Piper's team use to guide its bioprospecting?
we use our knowledge of ecology as a guide to target our efforts
Question says → Passage says
using their expertise inuse our knowledge of
when undertaking bioprospecting with insectsas a guide to target our efforts
Why: 'Expertise in' replaces 'knowledge of', and the field is ecology. It needs a noun after 'in'.
The trap: 'Zoologists' is in the summary already, and H's 'natural history knowledge' is two words. Write 'ecology'.
Question 24
Answer: preyParagraph G, second sentence
What do insects overpower and keep fresh with their poison?
the many insects that secrete powerful poison for subduing prey and keeping it fresh for future consumption
Question says → Passage says
overpowersubduing
preservekeeping it fresh for future consumption
Why: 'Subduing' means overpowering, and 'keeping it fresh' means preserving. What they subdue and keep fresh is their prey.
The trap: 'Poison' is right there, but poison is what the insects produce, which the summary calls 'compounds'.
Question 25
Answer: habitatsParagraph G
Where do the bacteria and fungi insects defend against come from?
masters of exploiting filthy habitats, such as faeces and carcasses, where they are regularly challenged by thousands of micro-organisms
Question says → Passage says
pathogenic bacteria and fungithousands of micro-organisms
found in theirfilthy… where they are regularly challenged by
Why: The micro-organisms live in the 'filthy habitats' these insects use. The gap follows 'their' and needs a plural noun: 'habitats'.
The trap: 'Faeces' or 'carcasses' are examples of the habitats. The summary wants the general word that covers both.
Question 26
Answer: antibioticsParagraph G, last sentence
What kind of drugs does Piper hope these compounds will lead to?
there is certainly potential to find many compounds that can serve as or inspire new antibiotics
Question says → Passage says
useful in the development of drugs such ascan serve as or inspire new
Why: The compounds could 'serve as or inspire' new antibiotics, which is 'useful in developing' them. The gap needs a plural noun after 'such as'.
The trap: 'Antimicrobial' appears earlier in G, but it's an adjective describing the compounds. 'Antibiotics' is the drug.
Write 'habitats', not 'faeces' or 'carcasses'. The summary wants the general word that covers both.
Words from this passage worth keeping
ailments(A)
illnesses, usually minor ones
deter(A)
keep away or discourage
from scratch(B)
from the very beginning, with nothing to start from
looming(C)
about to happen and threatening
niche(D)
a particular place or role in an environment
daunting(F)
so big or hard that it seems frightening
ubiquity(F)
being found everywhere
subdue(G)
bring under control by force
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The full Cambridge 14 Test 3 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 14, Test 3, Reading Passage 2. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
