# A Remarkable Beetle: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 3, Test 2, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 3, Test 2, Reading Passage 1. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | NOT GIVEN | avoiding the soft cattle dung in which bush flies and buffalo flies breed |
| 2 | NO | More than 4,000 species of these remarkable creatures have evolved ... the CSIRO imported insects from about 50 different species of dung beetle |
| 3 | YES | Between 1968 and 1982, the CSIRO imported insects |
| 4 | YES | Of the 26 species that are known to have become successfully integrated into the local environment |
| 5 | NO | within three or four years the benefits to the pasture are obvious |
| 6 | D | South African beetles dig narrow tunnels of approximately 20 cm below the surface of the pat. |
| 7 | A | Some large species originating from France excavate tunnels to a depth of approximately 30 cm below the dung pat. |
| 8 | B | The shallowest tunnels belong to a much smaller Spanish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit |
| 9 | temperate | smaller (half this size), temperate-climate Spanish species |
| 10 | early spring | The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring |
| 11 | 2-5 | produce two to five generations annually. |
| 12 | sub-tropical | The South African ball-rolling species, being a subtropical beetle |
| 13 | South African tunneling | where it commonly works with the South African tunnelling species |

## Why these answers are right

**1. NOT GIVEN.** The statement compares how easy bush flies and buffalo flies are to control. The writer names both flies only once, as insects that breed in the soft cattle dung native beetles avoid, and never says which is harder to control, so the view is not given.

**2. NO.** The 4,000 figure in paragraph B is the number of dung beetle species that exist worldwide. Paragraph C says the CSIRO imported insects from about 50 species, so the claim that four thousand species were brought to Australia contradicts the writer.

**3. YES.** You need to check how long the CSIRO kept importing beetles. Paragraph C gives the period as between 1968 and 1982, and that span is exactly fourteen years, so the statement agrees with what the writer says.

The why and the trap for questions 4 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/a-remarkable-beetle/answers).

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