Collecting Ant Specimens: reading answers and analysis
A practical guide to collecting ants. It explains why taxonomists and ecologists want different kinds of samples, then describes four methods: hand collecting, using baits, extracting ants from leaf litter with a heated funnel, and pitfall traps, with the strengths and weaknesses of each.
The TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements (27-30) are all in paragraph 1. The classification (31-36) jumps between the four method paragraphs, so it isn't in order. The diagram (37-40) is all in paragraph 4.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: Paragraph 1 contrasts taxonomy and ecology. Pin down what each one needs: many ants from one nest versus as many species as possible. Q30 is about whether one collection can serve both, which the passage says is a problem.
Question 27
Answer: TRUEParagraph 1, third sentence
Does taxonomy involve comparing ants within one group?
For taxonomy, or classification, long series, from a single nest, which contain all castes… are desirable, to allow the determination of variation within species.
Question says → Passage says
taxonomic researchFor taxonomy, or classification
comparing members of one grouplong series, from a single nest… the determination of variation within species
Why: Taxonomists want many ants from a single nest so they can see how individuals of the same species differ. Studying variation within a group means comparing its members. TRUE.
The trap: Some think 'one group' clashes with 'all castes' (workers, queens, males). The castes all come from one nest, so they're still one group.
Question 28
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 1, last sentence
Do taxonomists often identify new species of ant?
The taxonomist sometimes overlooks whole species in favour of those groups currently under study
Question says → Passage says
taxonomistsThe taxonomist
Why: The passage talks about what taxonomists collect and what they sometimes overlook, but never about discovering new species, let alone how often. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'Overlooks whole species' makes some answer FALSE. Missing species when collecting isn't the same as rarely identifying new ones. The passage is silent on new species.
Question 29
Answer: TRUEParagraph 1, fourth sentence
Is range the main thing that matters in ecological collections?
For ecological studies, the most important factor is collecting identifiable samples of as many of the different species present as possible.
Question says → Passage says
the key criterionthe most important factor
rangeas many of the different species present as possible
Why: 'The most important factor' is the key criterion, and collecting as many different species as possible is range. TRUE.
Question 30
Answer: FALSEParagraph 1, fifth sentence
Can one collection usually serve both taxonomy and ecology?
Unfortunately, these methods are not always compatible.
Question says → Passage says
can generally be used for bothnot always compatible
Why: The two purposes need different collections: long series from one nest for taxonomy, many species for ecology. The passage says they're 'not always compatible' and gives examples of each side missing what the other needs. FALSE.
The trap: 'Not always' sounds soft, so some answer NOT GIVEN. But the writer says 'Unfortunately' and explains why each collection fails the other purpose, which contradicts 'generally'.
Classification (methods A-D)
Questions 31-36
How to attack this block: Each method has its own paragraph, so find the paraphrase in the right one: 'elusive', 'marshy', 'minimal maintenance'. Letters repeat, and preservatives appear in more than one paragraph, so check which liquid belongs to which method.
Question 31
Answer: AParagraph 2, middle
Which method says it's better to take specimens from groups of ants?
When possible, collections should be made from nests or foraging columns and at least 20 to 25 individuals collected.
Question says → Passage says
it is preferableWhen possible… should be made
groups of antsnests or foraging columns
Why: This advice is in the hand-collecting paragraph: take ants from nests or columns, 20 to 25 at a time, so they're all the same species. A.
The trap: B, using bait, also brings many ants together, but the baits are about attracting foragers, not taking specimens from a nest or column.
Question 32
Answer: CParagraph 4, middle
Which method works especially well in wet places?
This method works especially well in rain forests and marshy areas.
Question says → Passage says
particularly effectiveworks especially well
wet habitatsrain forests and marshy areas
Why: Rain forests and marshes are wet habitats, and this sentence is in the leaf litter paragraph. C.
The trap: The pitfall trap (D) is mentioned in connection with drying out, but that's about the preservative, not wet habitats.
Question 33
Answer: BParagraph 3, second sentence
Which method is good for species that are hard to find?
This often increases the number of individuals collected and attracts species that are otherwise elusive.
Question says → Passage says
species which are hard to findspecies that are otherwise elusive
Why: 'Elusive' means hard to find or catch. Baits attract these species, so B.
The trap: C is tempting because small ants in leaf litter are hard to collect by hand. But the passage never calls them elusive. The word belongs to bait.
Question 34
Answer: DParagraph 5, second-last sentence
Which method needs little time and effort?
One advantage of pitfall traps is that they can be used to collect over a period of time with minimal maintenance and intervention.
Question says → Passage says
little time and effortminimal maintenance and intervention
Why: Once set, pitfall traps keep collecting with hardly any looking after. 'Minimal maintenance and intervention' means little effort. D.
The trap: 'Over a period of time' might make you think pitfall traps take a long time. The time is the trap's, not yours.
Question 35
Answer: AParagraph 2, last two sentences
Which method puts each specimen in its own container?
Individual insects are placed in plastic or glass tubes
Question says → Passage says
separate containersplastic or glass tubes
individual specimensIndividual insects
Why: In the hand-collecting paragraph, each ant goes into its own tube of ethanol. A.
The trap: B mentions test-tubes or vials too, but there they're surfaces for placing baits on the ground, not containers for individual specimens.
Question 36
Answer: DParagraph 5, middle
Which method should use a preservative without alcohol?
The preservative used is usually ethylene glycol or propylene glycol, as alcohol will evaporate quickly and the traps will dry out.
Question says → Passage says
non-alcoholic preservativeethylene glycol or propylene glycol
should be usedas alcohol will evaporate quickly
Why: Pitfall traps sit in the ground for a long time, so alcohol would evaporate. Glycol is used instead. D.
The trap: C, the leaf litter funnel, collects ants 'in alcohol', so it's the opposite. A uses ethanol, which is also alcohol.
Diagram labelling (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
Questions 37-40
How to attack this block: One sentence gives three of the four labels, so read it slowly and map it from top to bottom: heat, litter, screen, funnel. The last label is in the next sentence. The articles printed in the diagram ('some', 'a') match the passage's words.
Question 37
Answer: heatParagraph 4, fourth sentence
What is applied above the funnel in the diagram?
This is most commonly done by placing leaf litter on a screen over a large funnel, often under some heat.
Question says → Passage says
some ___often under some heat
Why: The diagram label starts with 'some', which copies 'some heat'. The heat dries the litter from above, driving the ants down.
The trap: 'Light' might seem natural for a lamp in a diagram, but the passage word is 'heat'. Use the passage's word.
Question 38
Answer: leaf litterParagraph 4, fourth sentence
What sits on the screen in the funnel?
This is most commonly done by placing leaf litter on a screen over a large funnel
Question says → Passage says
placing ___ on a screenplacing leaf litter on a screen
Why: The material in the top of the funnel is leaf litter, the layer of leaves and debris the ants live in. Two words, inside the limit.
The trap: 'Leaves' or 'debris' alone don't match the passage's term. 'Leaf litter' is the name the passage uses throughout.
Question 39
Answer: screenParagraph 4, fourth sentence
What holds the leaf litter above the funnel?
placing leaf litter on a screen over a large funnel
Question says → Passage says
a ___on a screen
Why: The label has 'a' before the gap, and the litter is placed 'on a screen'. The screen lets ants fall through but holds the litter.
The trap: 'Funnel' is the obvious wrong answer, but in the diagram the funnel is the cone below. The screen is the mesh between litter and funnel.
Question 40
Answer: alcoholParagraph 4, fifth sentence
What do the ants fall into at the bottom?
ants (and other animals) move downward and eventually fall out the bottom and are collected in alcohol placed below the funnel
Question says → Passage says
below the funnelplaced below the funnel
Why: The container at the bottom of the diagram is where the ants end up, and the passage says they're collected in alcohol placed below the funnel.
The trap: 'Ethanol' and 'glycol' are other preservatives in the passage, but they belong to hand collecting and pitfall traps. For the funnel, the word is 'alcohol'.
The funnel is the cone below; the label points at the mesh the litter sits on, which is the screen.
Words from this passage worth keeping
exhaustive(Paragraph 1)
complete and thorough
abundances(Paragraph 1)
how many there are of something
compatible(Paragraph 1)
able to work together
nocturnal(Paragraph 2)
active at night
foragers(Paragraph 3)
animals searching for food
elusive(Paragraph 3)
hard to find or catch
debris(Paragraph 4)
loose bits of waste material
evaporate(Paragraph 5)
turn from liquid into gas and disappear
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The full Cambridge 8 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 8, 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.
