# The Unselfish Gene: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 19, Test 4, Reading Passage 3

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 19, Test 4, 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 | C | There has long been a general assumption that human beings are essentially selfish. |
| 28 | C | became popular because it fitted so well with - and helped to justify - the competitive and individualistic ethos |
| 29 | B | it seems unlikely that prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups had to compete against each other for resources |
| 30 | A | There is significant evidence to back this notion from contemporary hunter-gatherer groups |
| 31 | egalitarianism | hunter-gatherers are characterised by "extreme political and sexual egalitarianism". |
| 32 | status | They also have methods of preserving egalitarianism by ensuring that disparities of status don't arise. |
| 33 | hunting | swap arrows before going hunting and when an animal is killed |
| 34 | domineering | And if a person becomes too domineering |
| 35 | autonomy | Women in hunter-gatherer groups worldwide often benefit from a high level of autonomy |
| 36 | NOT GIVEN | were normal until a few thousand years ago |
| 37 | NO | as they would have been of little benefit in the prehistoric era |
| 38 | YES | to see traits such as cooperation, egalitarianism, altruism and peacefulness as innate characteristics of human beings |
| 39 | NOT GIVEN | why do modern humans behave so selfishly and ruthlessly? |
| 40 | NO | when the natural habitats of primates such as apes and gorillas are disrupted, they tend to become more violent and hierarchical |

## Why these answers are right

**27. C.** The first paragraph opens with 'There has long been a general assumption that human beings are essentially selfish' and then describes that view. A general assumption is a commonly held belief, so the writer is describing other people's belief, which is option C.

**28. C.** Dawkins' book 'became popular because it fitted so well with' the competitive, individualistic ethos 'so prevalent in late 20th-century societies'. Fitting the dominant attitudes of the period is being in line with the attitudes of its time, so C is correct.

**29. B.** The fourth paragraph stresses how sparsely populated the world was and concludes that groups were unlikely to 'compete against each other for resources'. With so few people, resources must have been relatively plentiful, which is option B.

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

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