# The meaning and power of smell: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 8, Test 2, Reading Passage 3

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 8, Test 2, Reading Passage 3. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 27 | viii | It became apparent that smell can evoke strong emotional responses. |
| 28 | ii | Odours are also essential cues in social bonding. |
| 29 | vi | smell is probably the most undervalued sense in many cultures |
| 30 | i | 'It smells like...,' we have to say when describing an odour, struggling to express our olfactory experience. |
| 31 | iii | interest in the psychology of smell is inevitably set to play an increasingly important role for researchers |
| 32 | v | our commonly held feelings about smells can help distinguish us from other cultures |
| 33 | C | It is only when the faculty of smell is impaired for some reason that we begin to realise the essential role |
| 34 | A | even when not consciously considered, smells register |
| 35 | C | While it is true that the olfactory powers of humans are nothing like as fine as those possessed by certain animals, they are still remarkably acute. |
| 36 | D | Researchers have still to decide whether smell is one sense or two |
| 37 | clothing | women and men were able to distinguish by smell alone clothing worn by their marriage partners |
| 38 | vocabulary | cannot be named in many languages because the specific vocabulary simply doesn't exist. |
| 39 | chemicals | one responding to odours proper and the other registering odourless chemicals in the air. |
| 40 | cultures | smells that are considered to be offensive in some cultures may be perfectly acceptable in others. |

## Why these answers are right

**27. viii.** Paragraph A reports a survey showing that smell can evoke strong emotional responses, and that people's likes and dislikes of odors rest on emotional associations. Its focus on how smells and emotions are tied together matches heading viii, the relationship between smell and feelings.

**28. ii.** Paragraph B begins by calling odors essential cues in social bonding, then gives examples of babies knowing their mothers and partners recognizing each other's clothing by smell. Bonds with family and loved ones are personal relationships, so heading ii fits paragraph B.

**29. vi.** Paragraph C says smell is probably the most undervalued sense and gives the usual reason: the human sense of smell is thought to be weak compared with that of animals. Explaining why smell is held in low regard matches heading vi, why our sense of smell is not appreciated.

The why and the trap for questions 30 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/the-meaning-and-power-of-smell/answers).

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