# The secret of staying young: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 14, Test 4, Reading Passage 1

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 14, Test 4, 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 | four | Giraldo focused on ants at four age ranges |
| 2 | young | Giraldo watched how well the ants took care of the young of the colony |
| 3 | food | She compared how well 20-day-old and 95-day-old ants followed the telltale scent that the insects usually leave to mark a trail to food. |
| 4 | light | She tested how ants responded to light |
| 5 | aggressively | the older ants attacked the poor fruit fly just as aggressively as the young ones did |
| 6 | location | nor was there any difference in the location of the dying cells |
| 7 | neurons | regions where neurons come together. |
| 8 | chemicals | brain chemicals whose decline often coincides with aging. |
| 9 | FALSE | Naked mole rats can live for almost 30 years and stay fit for nearly their entire lives. |
| 10 | TRUE | Unlike all previous studies, which only estimated how old the ants were, her work tracked the ants |
| 11 | FALSE | Giraldo expected the older ants to perform poorly in all these tasks. |
| 12 | NOT GIVEN | but the results of recent bee studies were mixed |
| 13 | TRUE | Out in the wild, the ants probably don't live for a full 140 days |

## Why these answers are right

**1. four.** The note asks how many age groups of ants Giraldo studied. Paragraph C says she focused on ants at four age ranges and then lists them, from 20 to 22 days up to 120 to 122 days, so the total is four, written as a word or the number 4.

**2. young.** The note asks what the ants looked after. Paragraph D says Giraldo watched how well the ants took care of the young of the colony, counting how often they attended to, carried and fed them. Took care of matches looked after, so the word is young.

**3. food.** You need what the ants locate by following a scent trail. Paragraph D says the insects leave a telltale scent to mark a trail to food, and Giraldo compared how well older and younger ants followed it, so the missing word is food.

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

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