This Academic IELTS Reading post focuses on solutions to an IELTS Reading Test 4 Reading Passage 1 titled ‘Bats to the rescue’. This is a target post for IELTS candidates who have huge problems finding out and understanding Reading Answers in the AC module. This post can help you comprehend every reading answer very quickly. Finding out IELTS Reading answers is a steady process, and this post will assist you in this respect.
Test 4: AC Reading Module
Reading Passage 1: Questions 1-13
The headline of the passage: Bats to the rescue
🔖 Passage Topic:
This passage sheds light on the role of insectivorous bats in Madagascar in protecting rice and other crops by acting as natural pest controllers. It discusses the impact of habitat changes and how these bats have adapted to support both biodiversity and agriculture.
Questions 1-6: TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN
[In this type of question, candidates are asked to find out whether:
The statement in the question agrees with the information in the passage – TRUE
The statement in the question contradicts the information in the passage – FALSE
If there is no information on this – NOT GIVEN
For this type of question, you can divide each statement into three independent pieces and make your way through with the answer. This question type generally follows a sequence. So, scanning skills are effective here.]
Questions 1–6: TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
❓1. Many Madagascan forests are being destroyed by attacks from insects.
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 1): “Farmers have been clearing forests to make way for rice fields in response to insect pests…”.
This indicates it’s not insects that are destroying forests directly, but farmers who are clearing the land because their crops are being damaged by insects.
So, the cause of destruction is misrepresented in the question.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “destroyed” ↔ “cleared”; “attacks from insects” ≠ “farmers clearing land”
✅Answer: FALSE
❓2. Loss of habitat has badly affected insectivorous bats in Madagascar.
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 1 & 2): Paragraph 1 ends with: “some of the island’s insectivorous bats are currently thriving” and Paragraph 2 adds: “bats are responding to human activity and deforestation”.
These suggest that bats are not badly affected but rather adapting well.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “badly affected” ≠ “adapt well”
✅Answer: FALSE
❓3. Ricardo Rocha has carried out studies of bats in different parts of the world.
🔎Explanation: The passage only refers to Rocha’s research in Madagascar and does not mention other parts of the world.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “different parts of the world” is not referenced at all.
✅Answer: NOT GIVEN
❓4. Habitat modification has resulted in indigenous bats in Madagascar becoming useful to farmers.
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 2): “several species of bats are giving Madagascar’s rice farmers a vital pest control service” and “providing a valuable free service”.
This implies that bats have become beneficial to farmers due to changes in habitat.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “useful to farmers” ↔ “pest control service”
✅Answer: TRUE
❓5. The Malagasy mouse-eared bat is more common than other indigenous bat species in Madagascar.
🔎Explanation: The passage lists several bat species but does not compare their populations. There’s no data to support or refute the claim.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “more common” = “greater in number” – not mentioned.
✅Answer: NOT GIVEN
❓6. Bats may feed on paddy swarming caterpillars and grass webworms.
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 5): “six species of bat are preying on rice pests, including the paddy swarming caterpillar and grass webworm”.
This is a direct match to the question.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “feed on” ↔ “preying on”
✅Answer: TRUE
Question 7-13: Completing table
[In this type of question, candidates need to fill in the gaps in a table. For this type of question, the scanning technique will come in handy. It works just like completing sentences.]
❓7. DNA analysis of bat __________
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 7): “used DNA barcoding techniques to analyse droppings collected from bats”.— The phrase is directly stated.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: No paraphrase used; direct match.
✅Answer: droppings
❓8. Ate pests of rice, ________, sugarcane, nuts, and fruit
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 8): ” “scientists also found indications that the bats were consuming pests of other crops, including the black twig borer (which infests coffee plants), the sugarcane cicada, the macadamia nut-borer, and the sober tabby (a pest of citrus fruits).“. — “coffee” is explicitly included.
So “coffee” is the correct fit.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: No paraphrase; direct list.
✅Answer: coffee
❓9. Prevent the spread of disease by eating _________ and blackflies
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 10): “Rocha and his team found evidence that Malagasy bats feed not just on crop pests but also on mosquitoes – carriers of malaria, Rift Valley fever virus and elephantiasis – as well as blackflies, which spread river blindness.“
The term “vectors of disease” paraphrases “spread of disease.”
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “spread of disease” ↔ “vectors of disease”
✅Answer: mosquitoes
❓10. They provide food rich in _________
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 11): “bats become a crucial source of protein for local people”. This is a direct confirmation.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “rich in protein” ↔ “crucial source of protein”
✅Answer: protein
❓11. The buildings where they roost become ________
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 11, lines 2-4): “Even the children will hunt them. And as well as roosting in trees, the bats sometimes roost in buildings, but are not welcomed there because they make them unclean“. This is a direct confirmation.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “ them ” ↔ “where they roost”
✅Answer: unclean
❓12. They play an important role in local _________
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 11): “associated with sacred caves and the ancestors… very significant in the culture of the people”. A clear reference.
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “important role in culture” ↔ ” very significant in the culture of the people “
✅Answer: culture
❓13. Farmers should provide special ________ to support the bat population
🔎Explanation: (Paragraph 11): “farmers can promote this mutually beneficial relationship by installing bat houses“.
The word “houses” is a summary of both “bat houses” and “natural roosting sites.”
👍🏼Synonyms/Paraphrases: “farmers can promote” ↔ ” Farmers should provide”
✅Answer: houses
