IELTS READING MODULE 75

Choosing Answers from a List

DIRECTIONS Choose THREE letters, A-F.
Write the correct letters in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.
Which THREE of the following facts about ......................... are mentioned in the text?

STRATEGY Read the instructions carefully and scan the passage looking for the key words
in the direction line. Read carefully around those words in the passage. Scan the
answer choices quickly and look for key words in each statement. Match the key
words in the passage with the key words in the statement. Do not pay attention to
pronouns. Look for nouns, verbs, and modifiers.
TIP It is important to read the instructions carefully and pay attention to the key words
in the direction line. After you scan, choose the answers that you remember. Then
go back and look for the others.

PRACTICE (answers on page 229)

Passage 1
Look at the excerpt from a reading passage and the list of facts about hummingbirds that follow. Which
THREE of the facts are mentioned in the passage? For each fact you identify, underline the sentence or
phrase in the paragraph where you found it.

Researchers studying the behavior of black-chinned hummingbirds in Arizona have made some interest­
ing observations. They found that the hummingbirds who built their nests close to hawks' nests had greater
breeding success than hummingbirds who nested elsewhere. Further, it was not just a matter of how close
the hummingbird nests were to the hawk nests, but exactly how they were placed.

Hawks are predators, but not of hummingbirds. They do, however, go after Mexican jays which, in turn,
prey on hummingbird eggs. Since hawks tend to hunt from above, jays tend to forage even higher up when
hawks are in the neighborhood. Hummingbird nests that are built below hawk nests, therefore, are protected
because they are out of the jays' range. The researchers found that hummingbird nests located near hawk
nests had a survival rate as high as thirty percent, whereas hummingbird nests built farther way had a much
lower survival rate-as low as six percent according to one study. Additionally, researchers found that when a
hawk nest was abandoned for whatever reason, Mexican jays moved back in and the survival rate of nearby
hummingbird nests fell dramatically.

A Hummingbirds camouflage their nests with lichen.

B Mexican jays eat hummingbird eggs.
C Around one third of hummingbird nests that are close
to hawk nests survive.
D A hummingbird nest usually contains two eggs.
E After the nesting season, black-chinned hummingbirds
spend the winter in Mexico.
F Hawks generally don't hunt hummingbirds.
76 IELTS STRATEGIES AND TIPS

Passage 2
Look at the excerpt from a reading passage and the list of facts about savant syndrome that follow. Which
THREE of the facts are mentioned in the passage? For each fact you identify, underline the sentence or
phrase in the paragraph where you found it.

Savant syndrome is a condition in which a mentally disabled individual exhibits exceptional skills in a par­
ticular area. Savant syndrome is generally congenital but may also occur following an injury or disease. It is
frequently associated with autism, a neurological disorder characterized by difficulties with communication
and social skills and, often, cognitive deficits. In fact, over half of savant syndrome cases occur in individu­
als with that condition, while the rest of the cases are seen in people with other disabilities or injuries to the
central nervous system.

The outstanding talents seen in savants usually occur within a limited range of categories: musical perfor­
mance, artistic abilities, mathematics, and calendar calculation. Savants with musical abilities are known for
their exceptional performance skills, often including the ability to play a complicated piece even after hear­
ing it just once. Savants with mathematical talents are able to make complicated mathematical calculations
with unusual rapidity. Calendar calculators are able to instantly tell the day of the week that any date, past
or future, falls on. These talents are notable not only because they contrast sharply with the savant's mental
deficits in most other areas, but also because in many cases they are so much greater than the skill level of
the average person.

A Savant syndrome occurs in about one tenth of

individuals with autism.
B Savants' special abilities are usually seen in only a
few types of skill areas.
C Savants may have more than one special talent.
D Savants usually have intellectual disabilities.
E Savant syndrome may be acquired, or an individual
may be born with it.
F The causes of savant syndrome are unclear.