As wolves, bears and cheetahs recover, livestock guard dogs are back at work, and they work well. They also have a new conservation role: farmers who lose fewer animals kill fewer predators. Researchers warn that farmers' claims may be exaggerated, that the dogs can push predators onto neighbours, and that they can spread disease and disturb other species, though they can also protect wildlife.
The paragraph matching (27-31) uses B twice. The people matching (32-36) runs from B to E. The summary (37-40) is in F and G, in order.
Matching information (paragraphs A-G)
Questions 27-31
How to attack this block: B answers two items: what the dogs do to deter predators (stand between, bark, chase) and how they learn the job (raised with the herd from puppyhood). C is the paragraph where several researchers report success. The protected predator is Namibia's cheetah in D, and the hopeful note is at the end of G.
Question 27
Answer: DParagraph D, middle
Which paragraph gives an example of guard dogs protecting a predator species?
In Namibia, more than 90 per cent of cheetahs live outside protected areas… When guard dogs were introduced, more than 90 per cent of farmers… said that as a result they were less likely to kill predators.
Question says → Passage says
one predatorcheetahs
has been protectedless likely to kill predators
the introduction of livestock guard dogsWhen guard dogs were introduced
Why: Namibian farmers used to kill large numbers of cheetahs. Once they had guard dogs, they lost fewer animals and were less likely to kill predators. That's one predator protected by the dogs. D.
The trap: Paragraph F also talks about Namibia's cheetahs, but there the point is that other predators (jackals) suffered. F is about a side effect, D is the example of protection.
Question 28
Answer: GParagraph G, last sentence
Which paragraph ends on a hopeful note about where guard dogs could go next?
So if we can get this right, there may be a bright future for guard dogs in promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife.
Question says → Passage says
an optimistic suggestionthere may be a bright future
possible positive developmentspromoting harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife / using dogs to enhance biodiversity
Why: 'A bright future' is optimistic, and 'may' and 'if we can get this right' make it a suggestion rather than a fact. G.
The trap: Paragraph A says guard dogs are 'enjoying an unexpected revival', which sounds positive. But that's describing what has already happened, not suggesting future developments.
Question 29
Answer: BParagraph B, third and fourth sentences
Which paragraph describes how guard dogs scare predators off?
The dogs will place themselves between the livestock and any threat, barking loudly. If necessary, they will chase away predators
Question says → Passage says
the methods usedplace themselves between the livestock and any threat / barking loudly / chase away predators
help to keep predators awaychase away predators / their mere presence is sufficient
Why: Standing between the herd and the threat, barking, and chasing are the dogs' methods, and B describes all three. B.
The trap: Paragraph C shows that the dogs work (90 per cent, 65 per cent), but it gives results, not methods. Don't let the numbers pull you there.
Question 30
Answer: CParagraph C
Which paragraph has several academics saying guard dogs protect herds well?
biologist Silvia Ribeiro has found that more than 90 per cent of the farmers… rate the performance of the dogs as very good or excellent
Question says → Passage says
different academicsbiologist Silvia Ribeiro / Linda van Bommel and Chris Johnson at the University of Tasmania
a successful way of protecting farmers' herdsguard dogs are highly effective / the most efficient control method that we have
Why: C opens with 'guard dogs are highly effective' and backs it with research from Portugal (Ribeiro) and Australia (van Bommel and Johnson). Several academics, all reporting success. C.
The trap: Paragraph E has Smith's research on what farmers say too, but she warns the results may not be reliable. That's doubt about the evidence, not a claim of success.
Question 31
Answer: BParagraph B, second sentence and Macon's comment
Which paragraph explains how guard dogs learn to do their job?
These dogs are raised from an early age with the animals they will be watching and eventually these animals become the dog's family.
Question says → Passage says
how livestock guard dogs gain their skillsraised from an early age with the animals / Their initial training
Why: The dogs grow up with the herd from puppyhood until the animals feel like family, and Macon talks about their 'initial training'. That's how they learn the job. B again, as the NB allows.
The trap: Many people avoid B because they've just used it for question 29. Paragraph C mentions 'a programme to train and use guard dogs', but it reports results, not how the dogs learn.
Matching statements to people
Questions 32-36
How to attack this block: Pair each person with their angle. Macon is the shepherd on training. Ribeiro worries about farms that don't have dogs. Van Bommel says the dogs are the most efficient method if managed properly. Young sees common ground between ranchers and conservation. Smith says self-reported results should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Question 32
Answer: DParagraph D, last two sentences
Who says guard dogs can save both farm animals and wild ones?
'If ranchers don't have a dead cow, they will not make a call to apply for a permit to kill a wolf.'
Question says → Passage says
save the lives of… livestockdon't have a dead cow
and wild animalswill not make a call to apply for a permit to kill a wolf
bothcommon ground from the livestock perspective and from the conservation perspective
Why: No dead cow means no permit to kill a wolf, so one dog saves two lives: the cow's and the wolf's. Young also calls it 'common ground' between farming and conservation. D.
The trap: Van Bommel (C) talks about the amount of livestock saved, but she only mentions farm animals, not wildlife.
Question 33
Answer: EParagraph E, first sentence
Who says farmers' reports of changing their behaviour might not be reliable?
up to 88 per cent of farmers said they no longer killed predators after using dogs - but warned that such self-reported results must be taken with a pinch of salt
Question says → Passage says
Claims of a change in behavioursaid they no longer killed predators
from those using livestock guard dogsfarmers… after using dogs / self-reported
may not be totally accuratemust be taken with a pinch of salt
Why: 'Taken with a pinch of salt' means don't fully believe it. Smith says this about farmers' own reports that they stopped killing predators. E.
The trap: Ribeiro (B) speaks next in the same paragraph and also raises a problem, but hers is predators moving to neighbouring farms, not doubts about what farmers say.
Question 34
Answer: BParagraph E, last two sentences
Who warns of bad results if not enough farms use guard dogs?
If we are not working with everybody, we are transferring the wolf pressure to the neighbour's herd and he can use poison and kill an entire pack of wolves.
Question says → Passage says
not sufficiently widespreadIf we are not working with everybody / only one or two have dogs
negative resultstransferring the wolf pressure to the neighbour's herd / kill an entire pack of wolves
Why: Where only one or two farmers have dogs, the wolves move to the neighbour without dogs, who may poison a whole pack. That's the danger of dogs not being used widely enough. B.
The trap: Smith (E) raises doubts in the same paragraph, but about reliability of data. The line about 'working with everybody' is Ribeiro's.
Question 35
Answer: CParagraph C, last sentence
Who says guard dogs are the best protection, if they're handled properly?
'If they are managed and used properly, livestock guard dogs are the most efficient control method that we have
Question says → Passage says
as long as the dogs are appropriately handledIf they are managed and used properly
the best way of protecting farm animalsthe most efficient control method that we have
Why: 'Managed and used properly' = 'appropriately handled', and 'the most efficient… method' = 'the best way'. The condition and the claim both match van Bommel. C.
The trap: Ribeiro (B) also reports that the dogs perform well, but that's farmers' ratings in her study, without the condition about handling.
Question 36
Answer: AParagraph B, last two sentences
Who says training a livestock guard dog is different from training a house dog?
too much human affection makes it a great dog for guarding the front porch, rather than a great livestock guard dog
Question says → Passage says
Teaching a livestock guard dog how to do its workTheir initial training is to make them understand that livestock is going to be their life
a house guard doga great dog for guarding the front porch
a different focustoo much human affection… rather than
Why: Macon says the training must focus the dog on the livestock. Too much attention from people produces a dog that guards the porch, which is a house guard dog. A.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 37-40
How to attack this block: F supplies the first three answers: the predator killed more often in Namibia, what dogs can pass to wild animals, and what they compete with other carnivores for. G gives the ground-nest raider for the last gap.
Question 37
Answer: jackalsParagraph F, fifth sentence
Which predator was killed more often in Namibia after guard dogs arrived?
in spite of the impact farmers obtaining guard dogs had on cheetahs, the number of jackals killed by dogs and people actually increased
Question says → Passage says
a rise in the deaths of other predatorsthe number of… killed by dogs and people actually increased
In Namibiathe consequences are clear in Namibia
Why: The cheetahs benefited, but the deaths of 'jackals' went up. The gap follows 'particularly', so it needs the named animal in the plural.
The trap: 'Cheetahs' is the predator people remember from Namibia, but the summary has already used it. They're the ones being protected, not the ones dying more.
Question 38
Answer: diseasesParagraph F, near the end
What might guard dogs carry that could harm other species?
They have been found to spread diseases to wild animals, including endangered Ethiopian wolves.
Question says → Passage says
which may affect other speciesto wild animals, including endangered Ethiopian wolves
the dogs could havespread
Why: The dogs spread 'diseases' to wild animals. The gap follows 'have' with no article, so the plural noun fits.
The trap: 'Fear' (from 'landscape of fear') also affects other species, but it changes prey behaviour. It isn't something the dogs 'have' that spreads to other animals.
Question 39
Answer: foodParagraph F, second to last sentence
What might the dogs leave less of for some wild animals?
They may also compete with other carnivores for food.
Question says → Passage says
reduce the amount of… available to certain wild animalscompete with other carnivores for
Why: If dogs compete with carnivores for 'food', those carnivores get less of it. 'The amount of' needs an uncountable noun, and 'food' fits.
The trap: 'Prey' is tempting because it's in the last sentence, but it's countable ('the number of prey', not 'the amount'), and that sentence is about prey behaviour, not availability.
Question 40
Answer: foxesParagraph G, third sentence
Which predators would normally attack ground nests?
their presence has been found to protect birds which build their nests on the ground in fields, where foxes would normally raid them
Question says → Passage says
help birds by protecting their nestsprotect birds which build their nests on the ground
might otherwise be threatenedwould normally raid them
Why: 'Otherwise' = 'normally', and the nest raiders are 'foxes'. The summary says 'predators such as', so use the plural.
The trap: 'Dogs' might seem to fit as predators, but here the dogs are the protectors. 'Wolves' appear in the passage too, but not in connection with birds' nests.
E (Smith). 'A pinch of salt' about what farmers self-report is the claim that may not be totally accurate. Ribeiro's concern is a different one: predators moving to neighbouring farms.
B. The methods (positioning themselves in between, barking, chasing) are in B, while C only shows that the dogs work. B is also the answer to question 31.
Words from this passage worth keeping
exterminate(A)
kill all members of a group
revival(A)
a return to popularity or use
predation(C)
animals being killed and eaten by other animals
tolerant of(D)
willing to accept something you don't like
taken with a pinch of salt(E)
not believe something completely
displace(E)
force something to move from its usual place
unintended(F)
not planned or expected
coexistence(G)
living together peacefully
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The full Cambridge 20 Test 4 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 20, Test 4, Reading Passage 3. 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.
