The Unselfish Gene IELTS Reading Answers with Explanation

“The Unselfish Gene” is Passage 3 of Cambridge IELTS 19 Academic Reading Test 4. This page gives the answers for Questions 27–40 with a short explanation of why each answer is right, so you can check your work and learn from every mistake. The question types are: Multiple Choice, Summary Completion, Yes / No / Not Given.

Quick answers: Questions 27–40

Question	Answer
27	C
28	C
29	B
30	A
31	egalitarianism
32	status
33	hunting
34	domineering
35	autonomy
36	NOT GIVEN
37	NO
38	YES
39	NOT GIVEN
40	NO

Questions 27–30: Multiple Choice

Q	Question	Answer	Why
27	What is the writer's purpose in paragraph 1?	C	Option C is the one the passage supports.
28	What point is made about Dawkins' The Selfish Gene?	C	Option C is the one the passage supports.
29	What is suggested about the prehistoric era in paragraph 4?	B	Option B is the one the passage supports.
30	Knauft's work is cited as support for the idea that	A	Option A is the one the passage supports.

Questions 31–35: Summary Completion

Q	Question	Answer	Why
31	Hunter-gatherers show a high level of ___ in all areas of life	egalitarianism	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
32	Efforts to prevent differences in ___	status	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
33	Credit for success at ___ goes to another member	hunting	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
34	Those behaving in a ___ manner are excluded	domineering	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.
35	Women have considerable ___ over work and marriage	autonomy	Use exactly this wording from the passage, within the word limit.

Questions 36–40: Yes / No / Not Given

Q	Question	Answer	Why
36	Some anthropologists are wrong about when !Kung-type societies declined	NOT GIVEN	The passage gives no clear information to confirm or reject this statement.
37	Warlike traits in prehistory gave an advantage	NO	The passage contradicts this statement.
38	Peaceful, cooperative behaviour is natural for people	YES	The passage agrees with this statement.
39	Negative traits are more apparent in some modern cultures	NOT GIVEN	The passage gives no clear information to confirm or reject this statement.
40	Animal research found no link between environmental change and aggression	NO	The passage contradicts this statement.

Tips for these question types

• Multiple choice: eliminate options that are only partly right, and watch for words like only, always and never.
• Completion tasks: check the word limit and the grammar of the gap before you write the answer exactly as it appears in the passage.
• Yes / No / Not Given: these test the writer's opinion or claim. YES agrees with the writer, NO contradicts the writer, NOT GIVEN means the writer does not say.
• Review every mistake. Find the exact sentence in the passage that proves the answer so you can spot the same trap next time.

FAQ

How many questions does this passage have? The Unselfish Gene covers Questions 27–40, which is 14 questions.

Where is this passage from? It is Reading Passage 3 in Cambridge IELTS 19, Academic Test 4.

How should I use these answers? Attempt the passage under timed conditions first, then check your answers here and read the reason for every mistake.

Cambridge IELTS 19 Reading Test 4: all passages
Part 1: The Impact of Climate Change on Butterflies in Britain  |  Part 2: Deep-sea Mining  |  Part 3: The Unselfish Gene (you are here)

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