IELTS Academic Reading: Cambridge 11 Test 4; Reading passage 1: Research using twins; with best solutions and explanations

November 10, 2018June 9, 2023

This IELTS Reading post focuses on the best solutions and detailed explanations of IELTS Cambridge 11 Reading Test 4 Passage 1. The title of the passage is Research using twins. This post aims at those IELTS candidates who have major difficulties in locating and selecting Reading Answers. This post can be the best channel for you to understand every Reading answer easily and without trouble because all the answers have easy and clear explanations. Finding IELTS Reading answers is a step-by-step process and I hope this post can help you in this respect.

Reading Passage 1:

The headline of the passage: Research using twins

Questions 1-4: (TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN):

[In this type of question, candidates are asked to find out whether:

The statement in the question matches with the account in the text- TRUE
The statement in the question contradicts the account in the text- FALSE
The statement in the question has no clear connection with the account in the text- NOT GIVEN

For this type of question, you can divide each statement into three independent pieces and make your way through with the answer.]

Question 1: There may be genetic causes for the differences in how young the skin of identical twins looks.

Keywords for the question: may be, genetic cause, differences, young, skin,

The answer can be found in lines 8-11 of the first paragraph. Here, the writer says, “Any differences between them – one twin having younger looking skin, for example – must be due to environmental factors such as less time spent in the sun.” It means the differences are because of the environment, not for genetic causes.

So, the answer is: FALSE

Question 2: Twins are at greater risk of developing certain illnesses than non-twins.

Keywords for the question: greater risk, developing certain illnesses,

Many of you might think the answer is in the second paragraph because of these lines, “If identical twins are more similar to each other with respect to an ailment than fraternal twins are, then vulnerability to the disease must be rooted at least in part in heredity. Unfortunately, the sentence starts with ‘if’, which means the writer only compares identical twins with fraternal twins, he doesn’t make a comparison between twins and non-twins.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN

Question 3: Bouchard advertised in newspapers for twins who had been separated at birth.

Keywords for the question: Bouchard, advertised, newspapers,

In paragraph no. 3 and 4, we find reference to the groundbreaking research on twins. However, nowhere in the paragraph we find any reference to advertisement in newspapers.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN

Question 4: Epigenetic processes are different from both genetic and environmental processes.

Keywords for the question: Epigenetic, different from, genetic and environmental,

In paragraph no. 6, the writer mentions, “… .. .nature and nurture are not the only elemental forces at work. According to a recent field called epigenetics, there is a third factor also in play, one that in some cases serves as a bridge between the environment and our genes.” In the previous paragraphs, genetic and environmental processes (nature and nurture) have been explained. Now, in paragraph 6 this line means that the epigenetic process works as a bridge between those two processes. It means it is neither a genetic process nor an environmental process.

So, the answer is: TRUE

Questions 5-9: (Matching statements with a list of researchers)

[In this kind of questions, the candidates have to match the statements which are stated by different researchers given in the list.]

Question 5: invented a term used to distinguish two factors affecting human characteristics

Keywords for the question: invented a term, distinguish, characteristics

It is quite easy to find this answer because there is a trick that works here perfectly.

Special Tips:

The phrase “invented a term” is synonymous to ‘coined the phrase’. It means saying something special that no one used this way before. Remember the saying, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” by the greatest boxer Mohammad Ali. He coined the phrase. 🙂

So, for this question, we need to find ‘coined the phrase’ and we find it in paragraph no. 4. Here, the writer says, “The idea of using twins to measure the influence of heredity dates back to 1875, when the English scientist Francis Galton first suggested the approach (and coined the phrase ‘nature and nurture’.)”

So, the answer is: A (Francis Galton)

Question 6: expressed the view that the study of epigenetics will increase our knowledge

Keywords for the question: study of epigenetics, will increase, knowledge

The answer can be found at the end of paragraph 12 lines 1-3. Here, we find the comments or views of Geneticist Danielle Reed. “Reed adds, the latest work in epigenetics promises to take our understanding even further”. This means that Reed is hopeful that the study of epigenetics will give us a better understanding or knowledge.

So, the answer is: C (Danielle Reed)

Question 7: developed a mathematical method of measuring genetic influences.

Keywords for the question: developed, mathematical method, measuring genetic influences

In paragraph 5, the author mentions, “Bouchard and his colleagues used this mountain of data to identify how far twins were affected by their genetic makeup. The key to their approach was a statistical concept called heritability. In broad terms, the heritability of a trait measures the extent to which differences among members of a population can be explained by differences in their genetics”.

Here, statistical concept = mathematical method

So, the answer is: B (Thomas Bouchard)

Question 8: pioneered research into genetics using twins

Keywords for the question: pioneered, research, genetics, twins

Answer to this question can be found in paragraph no. 4 lines 1-4, “The idea of using twins to measure the influence of heredity dates back to 1875, when the English scientist Francis Galton first suggested the approach. .. . . .”. Here, the phrase “first suggested” means that Francis Galton was the first person or the pioneer to use twins to measure the influence of heredity.

So, the answer is: A (Francis Galton)

Question 9: carried out research into twins who had lived apart

Keywords for the question: carried out, research, twins who had lived apart,

To find the answer to this question, we need to locate the key phrase ‘twins who had lived apart’ which can be found in paragraph no. 4. Here, the writer says in lines 6-10, “… .. twin studies took a surprising twist in the 1980s, with the arrival of studies into identical twins who had been separated at birth and reunited as adults. Over two decades 137 sets of twins eventually visited Thomas Bouchard’s lab….”

So, the answer is: B (Thomas Bouchard)

Question 10-13: (Summary completion using the list of words)

(In this kind of question candidates are given a summary for one, two, or three paragraphs with some fill-in-the-blanks questions. As these are fill-in-the-blanks or gaps, there is a condition of writing ONE, TWO, or THREE words for each answer or, for this kind of question, choose words from a given list. Candidates need to find out the related paragraphs by correctly studying the keywords from the questions. Then, they should follow the steps of finding answers to fill in the gaps.)

Question 10 and 11: In epigenetic processes, 10 __________ influence the activity of our genes, for example in creating our internal 11 ____________.

Keywords for the question: epigenetic process, influence, activity of our genes, creating, our internal,

The answer lies in paragraph 7. You need to read the whole paragraph. First, the writer says, in line 1 and 2, what epigenetic processes are. “Epigenetic processes are chemical reactions .. .. . ..” Then in the last few lines of the paragraph, the writer explains what these chemical reactions influence, “These reactions influence how our genetic code is expressed: how each gene is strengthened or weakened; even turned on or off, to build our bones, brains and all other parts of our bodies.”

So, it can be deduced or realized from these lines that ‘chemical’ reactions influence how our internal body parts are created such as ‘our bones, brains’ etc.

So, the answers are:

D (chemicals)
B (organs)

Question 12: The study of epigenetic processes is uncovering a way in which our genes can be affected by our ________.

Keywords for the question: uncovering a way, our genes can be affected,

In paragraph 9, the writer mentions in lines 1-5, “One way the study of epigenetics is revolutionizing our understanding of biology is by revealing a mechanism by which the environment directly impacts our genes.”

Here, the word ‘impact’ is synonymous to ‘affected’, ‘revealing’ is synonymous to ‘uncovering a way’.

So the answer is: E (environment)

Question 13: One example is that if a pregnant rat suffers stress, the new-born rat may show problems in its ____________.

Keywords for the question: pregnant rat, suffers stress,

The answer to this question can also be found in paragraph 9, where the writer says in lines 5-9, “Studies of animals, for example, have shown that when a rat experiences stress during pregnancy, it can cause epigenetic changes in a fetus that lead to behavioral problems as the rodent grows up.”

So the answer is: F (behavior/ behavior)