# Nature or Nurture?: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 5, Test 1, Reading Passage 2

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 5, Test 1, Reading Passage 2. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 14 | F | there must be some sort of built-in animal aggression instinct that was activated by the experiment |
| 15 | A | Milgram told each volunteer 'teacher-subject' that the experiment was in the noble cause of education |
| 16 | B | The supposed 'pupil' was in reality an actor hired by Milgram |
| 17 | D | they further anticipated that only four per cent would go up to 300 volts |
| 18 | I | sociobiology is concerned with elucidating the biological basis of all behaviour |
| 19 | C | You have no other choice. You must go on. |
| 20 | B | punishing pupils for their mistakes would have a positive effect on the pupils' ability to learn |
| 21 | D | to administer whatever level of shock was called for, as per the rule governing the experimental situation of the moment |
| 22 | C | The overwhelming consensus was that virtually all the teacher-subjects would refuse to obey the experimenter. ... over 60 per cent of the teacher-subjects continued to obey Milgram up to the 450-volt limit |
| 23 | NOT GIVEN | Stanley Milgram of Yale University tested 40 subjects from all walks of life |
| 24 | TRUE | this aggressive instinct evolved as an advantageous trait, having been of survival value to our ancestors |
| 25 | FALSE | surrendering individual properties like loyalty, self-sacrifice and discipline to the service of malevolent systems of authority |
| 26 | FALSE | The problem for biologists, psychologists and anthropologists is to sort out which of these two polar explanations is more plausible. |

## Why these answers are right

**14. F.** The item asks for a biological explanation. Paragraph F suggests a built-in animal aggression instinct and a genetic need to discharge it, which a sociobiologist might trace back to our ancestors. Instinct and genes are biological ideas, while paragraph G offers the contrasting social explanation.

**15. A.** The item asks what Milgram told the teacher-subjects the experiment was for. Paragraph A says he told each volunteer it served the noble cause of education and tested whether punishing pupils for mistakes would help them learn. That is the explanation he gave, so A is the paragraph.

**16. B.** The item asks who the pupils really were. Paragraph B reveals that the supposed pupil was in reality an actor hired by Milgram to fake reactions to the shocks with groans and screams. Saying who the pupil actually was gives the pupil's identity, so B is correct.

The why and the trap for questions 17 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/nature-or-nurture/answers).

[Practice Nature or Nurture?](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/nature-or-nurture)