Page 9 - Mission IELTS Leaflet

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American biologists have been amazed to find two
different species of tropical octopus walking on
just two legs.
They have discovered that the animals wrap six of
their legs around their bodies when under threat
and appear to walk backwards. The action also
helps the creatures to blend into their
background.
A
Researchers have identified an elephant in Kenya
that makes traffic noises. In quiet moments after
dark, Mlaika can be heard making the sounds of a
truck increasing speed.
Joyce Poole of the Amroseli elephant research
project in Tsavo National Park reports in the
journal Nature Today that Mlaika is evidence that
vocal learning in response to auditory experience
has evolved in elephants.
B
Christopher Clark from Cornell University in New
York has discovered that whale songs can be
heard across thousands of miles of ocean and
whales use sound to create their own mental
map of the sea floor.
Nobody knows if whales communicate with each
other directly, or even what their messages
mean, but scientists have believed for more than
thirty years that whales’ voices have helped them
to locate under sea landmasses for a very long
time.
C
Between 1994 and 2001, Dr David Lusseau
from the University of Aberdeen studied a group
of dolphins in the Doubtful Sea in New Zealand.
He identified individual dolphins by the markings
on their fins and bodies and recorded how much
time they spent with other dolphins. Using this
information, Dr Lusseau concluded that certain
individuals preferred interacting with some
dolphins more than others; and that they formed
social networks much the same as humans do.
D
1 All these texts are about scientific research on animals. Which text is about:
1 animals that keep company with others in their group?
2 animals that can copy the sounds of other things?
3 animals that can walk like humans do?
4 animals that use sound to find out where things are?
SKILLS FOCUS: Reading for gist/skimming
2 Ex. 1 required you to read for gist/skim reading. What is this?
Skim reading/Reading for gist
Letting your eyes pass quickly over the text just to find out what it’s generally about.
When you skim read, you MUSTN’T:
• read carefully.
• try to understand each word.
• try to understand all the grammar.
Skim reading is very useful when you want to find out the general meaning of a text quickly.
Development of all necessary skills and sub-skills for every IELTS Paper