The Language of Bees: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “A honeybee colony can contain tens of thousands of individuals, yet it behaves in many ways like a single organism. Thousands of workers must be directed each day to flowers that may be scattered across several square kilometres, and the richest sources of nectar can change from hour to hour as blossoms open and fade.”
- Passage length: about 796 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“The Language of Bees” is an original IELTS-style practice passage written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
The Language of Bees answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information.
- 1
The best sources of nectar available to a bee colony can change during the course of a single day.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “…the richest sources of nectar can change from hour to hour as blossoms open and fade.”
- 2
Karl von Frisch worked alone and received no recognition for his research.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “…the Austrian scientist Karl von Frisch, whose patient observations earned him a share of a Nobel Prize.”
- 3
The round dance gives other bees precise directions to a food source.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “This so-called round dance tells the others that food is close by but gives no precise direction”
- 4
Bees can adjust their dance to allow for the movement of the sun across the sky.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “A forager kept waiting inside the hive will gradually shift the angle of her dance to account for how far the sun has travelled while she was delayed”
- 5
A bee that has found a rich patch of flowers dances more energetically than one reporting a poor find.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “…a bee that has found an especially rich patch dances more vigorously and for longer, attracting more followers than one reporting a poorer find.”
- 6
Honeybees can also communicate the exact species of flower they have visited.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims honeybees can communicate the exact species of flower, but the passage never confirms or denies this, only explaining how bees communicate the location and distance of food sources.
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. The number of bees needed at the flowers
- B. The direction and distance of the food source
- C. The time of day the food was discovered
- D. The colour of the flowers
- 7
According to the passage, what does the straight waggle run mainly communicate?
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Answer: B — The direction and distance of the food source
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — The direction and distance of the food source.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “The straight portion, known as the waggle run, carries the essential message... the direction and duration of this run are not random but correspond precisely to the location of the food the bee has found.”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. By pointing her head directly at the flowers
- B. By the speed at which she circles
- C. By the angle of her run relative to straight up, standing for the angle relative to the sun
- D. By the loudness of the buzzing she produces
- 8
How does a bee indicate the direction of a food source on the vertical comb?
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Answer: C — By the angle of her run relative to straight up, standing for the angle relative to the sun
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — By the angle of her run relative to straight up, standing for the angle relative to the sun.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “…she uses the angle of her waggle run relative to straight up as a substitute for the angle of the food relative to the sun.”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. That the food is of poor quality
- B. That the flowers are farther from the hive
- C. That the sun is about to set
- D. That the hive is under threat
- 9
What does a longer waggle during each straight run tell other bees?
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Answer: B — That the flowers are farther from the hive
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — That the flowers are farther from the hive.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “A short burst signals a source close to the hive, while a longer, more drawn-out waggle indicates that the foragers must fly much farther to reach the reward.”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. By removing the queen from the hive
- B. By using a mechanical model that sent real bees to a chosen spot
- C. By painting the flowers different colours
- D. By recording the sounds bees make
- 10
How did researchers demonstrate that the dance carries real information?
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Answer: B — By using a mechanical model that sent real bees to a chosen spot
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — By using a mechanical model that sent real bees to a chosen spot.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “…a small mechanical model was used to imitate the dance and successfully sent real bees to a chosen location.”
Questions 11–14: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
What overall pattern does a returning forager trace on the comb?(max 3 words)
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Answer: a figure-of-eight (also accepted: figure-of-eight / figure-of-eight pattern)
Why: The answer “a figure-of-eight” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “…a returning forager traces a figure-of-eight pattern”
- 12
What simpler movement do bees perform for flowers that are very close to the hive?(max 3 words)
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Answer: round dance (also accepted: the round dance / a round dance)
Why: The answer “round dance” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “This so-called round dance tells the others that food is close by”
- 13
Besides movement, what do dancing bees carry on their bodies that helps recruits identify the flowers?(max 3 words)
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Answer: scent (also accepted: odour / the flowers' odour)
Why: The answer “scent” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “…the dancing bee often carries traces of the flowers' odour on her body”
- 14
What internal ability allows bees to compensate for the sun's changing position?(max 3 words)
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Answer: an internal sense of time (also accepted: a sense of time / internal sense of time)
Why: The answer “an internal sense of time” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “Bees solve this problem with an internal sense of time that allows them to compensate for the sun's movement.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (Academic) conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single passage is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.5 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.5 |
| 11 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 6.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 4 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 14 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 14 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
True / False / Not Given
- Read the statement first and underline the key idea, especially any qualifiers like "all", "only", "never", "always", "more than" or dates and numbers.
- Because the questions follow the order of the passage, scan for the paragraph that deals with the same topic rather than re-reading everything.
Common trap: Confusing "False" with "Not Given": choose False only when the passage actively contradicts the statement; if the passage is silent, it is Not Given.
Full True / False / Not Given strategyMultiple Choice
- Read the question stem carefully before the options so you know exactly what is being asked.
- Because multiple-choice questions follow passage order, locate the relevant section and read it in full — the answer usually depends on more than one sentence.
Common trap: Distractors that use exact words from the passage but distort the meaning.
Full Multiple Choice strategyShort Answer
- Read the instructions and note the exact word limit; going over it means zero marks even if the meaning is right.
- Turn each question into a set of keywords and predict what kind of answer it needs (a person, a date, a place, a noun).
Common trap: Exceeding the word limit (writing four words when only three are allowed).
Full Short Answer strategyPractise “The Language of Bees” under exam conditions
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