# HIGHS & LOWS: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 3, Test 3, Reading Passage 3

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

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 26 | A | the feeling of cold distracted the divers from their tasks ... before their bodies had time to cool down |
| 27 | B | a connection between behaviour and the length of the daylight hours ... food consumption of stags increases during the winter |
| 28 | B | some people complain of the air being 'heavy' and of feeling irritable, moody and on edge ... such as the Mistral in southern France and the Fohn in southern Germany, mood can be affected |
| 29 | NOT GIVEN | Some Russian scientists claim that children learn better after being exposed to ultraviolet light. |
| 30 | FALSE | make people more active and reactive and, possibly, more aggressive |
| 31 | FALSE | Sceptics might say that longer exposure to sunshine puts people in a better mood |
| 32 | TRUE | the dull weather of winter drastically cuts down the amount of sunlight ... This condition has been given the name SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). |
| 33 | TRUE | The amount of melatonin falls with greater exposure to daylight. ... These changes seem to be triggered by varying melatonin levels. |
| 34 | NOT GIVEN | The positive charge increases the levels of serotonin |
| 35 | B, D, E | a telephone counselling service gets more telephone calls from people with suicidal feelings when it rains |
| 36 | B, D, E | High levels of serotonin in certain areas of the nervous system make people more active and reactive |
| 37 | B, D, E | people become less sceptical and more optimistic when the weather is sunny ... They gave bigger tips when the sun was shining |
| 38 | B | The frequency of riots rises dramatically as the weather gets warmer |
| 39 | A | hamsters put on more weight when the nights are getting shorter and their melatonin levels are falling |
| 40 | F | time cues provided by the changing lengths of day and night trigger changes in animals' behaviour |

## Why these answers are right

**26. A.** The question asks why the cold-water divers did worse. Paragraph C says their performance fell as soon as they entered the water, before their bodies cooled, so the feeling of cold distracted them. Being distracted means being less able to concentrate, A.

**27. B.** The question asks what daylight length does. Paragraph D links behavior to daylight hours through melatonin and gives stags, whose food consumption rises and falls through the year, while paragraph E adds hamsters gaining weight as nights shorten. Both describe feeding habits, so B.

**28. B.** This asks what may affect human irritability. Paragraph F says that when a thunderstorm is brewing some people feel irritable and on edge, and that winds like the Mistral and the Fohn affect mood. These are weather phenomena people react to, so B is correct.

The why and the trap for questions 29 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/highs-and-lows/answers).

[Practice HIGHS & LOWS](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/highs-and-lows)