Cambridge 19 Reading Test 4 - Answers With Explanation

1. "Populations of around two thirds of butterfly species have declined in Britain over the past 40 years" — there were more, not fewer, 40 years ago — FALSE.

2. Caterpillars "act as prey for birds as well as bats and other small mammals" — TRUE.

3. Phenology refers to "the timing of such lifecycle events," not their location — FALSE.

4. The passage discusses timing shifts but never mentions lifespan changing — NOT GIVEN.

5. "The answer is still unknown" as to whether the phenology shift helps or harms butterflies — no clear reason is given — FALSE.

6. Data came from "butterfly enthusiasts — people who spend their free time observing the activities of different species" — amateurs — TRUE.

7. The Small Blue's "colonies are up to a hundred strong."

8. "Some develop into butterflies early in spring."

9. The High Brown Fritillary is "often described as Britain's most endangered butterfly."

10. It "is found only in coppiced woodland and limestone pavement habitats" — a limited range of habitats.

11. Single-generation species "show the capacity, in continental Europe, to add a second generation in years that are sufficiently warm."

12. "The White Admiral of southern England" has seen a recent decline.

13. "The caterpillar exists solely on a diet of a plant called honeysuckle."

14. Paragraph C: demand for "copper, aluminium, cobalt for electric car batteries and other metals to power technology and smartphones, is soaring."

15. Paragraph F: "the oceans occupy around 70% of the planet and are relatively unexplored."

16. Paragraph E: hydrothermal vents "are created when seawater meets volcanic magma."

17. Paragraph D: "the global regulatory framework is not yet drafted."

18. Johnston: "It makes sense to explore this untapped potential... instead of continually looking at the fast depleting land resources."

19. Hunter, Aguon and Singh describe "a general disregard for environmental and social impacts, and the marginalisation of indigenous peoples and their rights."

20. Upton wants "to see if there are any more medicines or drugs down there before we destroy it for ever" — value beyond minerals.

21. Tunnicliffe: "Mining will be the greatest assault on deep-sea ecosystems ever inflicted by humans."

22. Hunter, Aguon and Singh note "the surface of the Moon, Mars and even Venus have all been mapped and studied in much greater detail" than the deep seabed.

23. Copley: "On deep sea vents, scientists are clear... 'we don't want mining on them.'"

24. Mining corporations claim ore can be extracted "with little, if any, waste."

25. Extraction involves "some form of converted machinery previously used in terrestrial mining."

26. "Environmental and legal groups have urged caution" given the unknown risks.

27. "There has long been a general assumption that human beings are essentially selfish" — the writer is describing a widely held view, not yet challenging it.

28. Dawkins's book "became popular because it fitted so well with... the competitive and individualistic ethos that was so prevalent in late 20th-century societies."

29. "The world was very sparsely populated" in prehistory, which the writer uses to argue there was little need to fight over resources — implying resources were relatively plentiful.

30. Knauft's hunter-gatherers show "extreme political and sexual egalitarianism" with no accumulation of property — evidence that selfishness isn't an ancient, built-in trait but something that emerged later.

31. "Hunter-gatherers are characterised by 'extreme political and sexual egalitarianism.'"

32. Groups have "methods of preserving egalitarianism by ensuring that disparities of status don't arise."

33. Among the !Kung, "the acclaim does not go to the person who fired the arrow, but to the person the arrow belongs to" after a successful hunt.

34. "If a person becomes too domineering, the other members of the group ostracise them."

35. "Women in hunter-gatherer groups worldwide often benefit from a high level of autonomy."

36. The passage says societies like the !Kung were normal "until a few thousand years ago," but never suggests anthropologists are mistaken about this — NOT GIVEN.

37. "Individuals who behaved selfishly and ruthlessly would be less likely to survive, since they would have been ostracised from their groups" — the opposite of an advantage — NO.

38. "It makes more sense... to see traits such as cooperation, egalitarianism, altruism and peacefulness as innate characteristics of human beings" — YES.

39. The passage doesn't compare how strongly negative traits show up across different modern cultures — NOT GIVEN.

40. "Research has shown repeatedly that when the natural habitats of primates... are disrupted, they tend to become more violent" — a link has clearly been found — NO.