IELTS Reading Practice Test with Answers (2024)

1.

Pollination Reading Reading Passage

Pollination Reading

Paragraph A

Plants have developed a broad variety of reproductive strategies over time. Some plants, such as garlic and lilies, reproduce asexually by cutting off new roots or bulbs, or even branches, stalks, or leaves (e.g., mangroves, spider plants). Asexually reproducing plants are basically replicas of themselves. This straightforward reproduction technique allows plants to create new plants relatively quickly and with less effort than they can through sexual reproduction. However, most plants mainly reproduce sexually. From an evolutionary standpoint, the perks include more genetic diversity and better dispersion compared with colonies of clones produced by asexual reproduction. In flowering plants, pollen grains are transferred from the anther to the stigma, where they fertilise the female ovaries and produce seeds.

Paragraph B

Some flowering plants, like peas, beans, and tomatoes, can pollinate themselves, but pollination between different plants is more common. This can actually occur either because pollen is carried by the wind (it occurs in most conifers and many grasses) or because of pollinators, which are animals that plants depend on to help move pollen from one plant to the ovaries of another. Although certain bird and bat species also contribute significantly, insects make up the majority of pollinators.

Paragraph C

Plants have developed a variety of tactics to persuade pollinators to perform their tasks. Most plants produce nectar, a sweet mixture that pollinators consume as food. The honeybee, which gathers nectar and pollen for nourishment, is a well-known example. When a bee enters a flower, it rubs against the anther, causing the surface of its body to absorb pollen particles. When the honeybee enters a second flower and rubs against the stigma, some grain from that plant fertilises the second plant's ovaries, resulting in seeds that include genetic material from the initial plant's gametes coupled with the second plant's female reproductive system. A significant proportion of bees, butterflies, and moths, as well as some kinds of bats and birds, are drawn to flowers that produce nectar.

Paragraph D

Flowering plants have developed a variety of tactics to attract pollinators or otherwise simplify their job. Flowers with a "landing platform" that is open during the daytime and vibrant in colour—typically red, yellow, or orange—attract butterflies. On the contrary, most moths are active at night and are therefore attracted to flowers that are light in colour or white, have a strong aroma, and have a wide surface area for them to settle on. Long-tongued insects like butterflies and moths have evolved alongside plants that have formed deep pools of nectar that are exclusively accessible to certain species. Hummingbirds are captivated by bold colours, particularly red, and the flowers that entice them also have sturdy stems and are structured in such a way that the pollen may be rubbed across the heads of the little creatures while they drink nectar.

Paragraph E

Bees cannot see red; hence, flowers that are pleasing to them are usually blue, yellow, or other hues. Nectar guides, which are specks in each flower's centre that reflect ultraviolet light and enable the bees to reach the nectar, are another characteristic of several bee attractants. Similarly, flowers with a minty or sweet scent also lure bees. Snapdragons are not only aesthetically appealing to bees, but they are also intended to attract specific bee species: snapdragons possess a landing platform that unfolds if the bee is of appropriate weight, providing access to nectar and pollen.

Paragraph F

In agriculture, pollinators play an essential role. For most fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seed crops, farmers must rely on pollinator species, unlike many staple crops like rice, maize, canola, and wheat, which can self-pollinate or be pollinated by the wind. Pollinator animals are essential for the production of more than 30% of all crops around the globe. The most prominent pollinators in agriculture are bees. Crops they pollinate include fruit trees like apples and cherries, vegetables like squash, beans, tomatoes, and eggplant, floral shrubs, seasonal and perennial flowers, forages like clover and alfalfa, and fibre crops like cotton. Other pollinating insects comprise midges (cocoa), wasps (figs), moths (yucca, papaya), butterflies (asters, daisies, marigolds), bats (agave, palms, durians), and even hummingbirds (fuchsia).

Paragraph G

Concerns about the future of the food supply have been raised after recent drops in honeybees and other pollinator species across the globe. As a result, several scientists have urged for further research on the function of pollinators, the agricultural and environmental changes responsible for the decreases, as well as the consequences for the economy and the ecosystem, and strategies to stop further losses.