# Whale Strandings: answers and explanations

The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Test 5, Reading Passage 2

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Test 5, 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 | skin | collecting skin samples for instance |
| 15 | noise | It is known that noise pollution from offshore industry, shipping and sonar can impair underwater communication |
| 16 | Tasmania | And when 80% of all Australian whale strandings occur around Tasmania |
| 17 | sperm | a survey by Klaus Vanselow and Klaus Ricklefs of sperm whale strandings in the North Sea |
| 18 | sound waves | these just fade out on shallow beaches, so the whale doesn't hear an echo and it crashes onto the shore. |
| 19 | nutrients | strong westerly and southerly winds bring cool water rich in nutrients closer to the Australian coast, there is an increase in the number of fish. |
| 20 | microbubbles | smaller ones - called microbubbles - can last for days. It is these that absorb whale 'clicks'. |
| 21 | blood | The bubbles block the flow of blood to vital organs |
| 22 | NOT GIVEN | researchers at the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute, a Greek non-profit scientific group, linked whale strandings with low-frequency sonar tests |
| 23 | TRUE | in mass atypical strandings (such as the one in Greece), the whales don't strand as a group; they are scattered over a larger area. |
| 24 | NOT GIVEN | She says sonar technology cannot always be blamed for mass strandings. |
| 25 | TRUE | If one of the group strands and sounds the alarm, others will try to swim to its aid, and become stuck themselves. |
| 26 | FALSE | suggested that changes in the Earth's magnetic field might be involved. But others are sceptical. |

## Why these answers are right

**14. skin.** The question asks what researchers take from dead whales. Paragraph A says that once the last whale in a group dies, a team investigates, collecting skin samples for instance and recording anything useful. So skin, or skin samples, answers it within two words.

**15. noise.** You need what industry and shipping produce that harms whales. Paragraph A states that noise pollution from offshore industry, shipping and sonar can impair underwater communication. Noise, or noise pollution, is the answer.

**16. Tasmania.** This question asks for the region with most Australian strandings. Paragraph D says 80% of all Australian whale strandings happen around Tasmania. Eighty percent is clearly most, so Tasmania, or around Tasmania, is the answer.

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

[Practice Whale Strandings](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/whale-strandings)