Giải đề Cambridge IELTS 16 – Test 1 – Reading passage 1 – Why do we need to protect polar bears?

Bài đọc "Why do we need to protect polar bears?" trong Cambridge IELTS 16, Test 4, Reading Passage 1 là một bài về chủ đề sinh học và môi trường. Đây là dạng bài thường gặp, đòi hỏi bạn phải xác định và tìm kiếm thông tin cụ thể trong đoạn văn. Dưới đây là đề bài và đáp án chi tiết bài đọc Why do we need to protect polar bears. 

I. Đề bài Cambridge IELTS 16 Reading passage 1 Why do we need to protect polar bears

Why we need to protect polar bears

Polar bears are being increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change, but their disappearance could have far-reaching consequences. They are uniquely adapted to the extreme conditions of the Arctic Circle, where temperatures can reach -40°C. One reason for this is that they have up to 11 centimetres of fat underneath their skin. Humans with comparative levels of adipose tissue would be considered obese and would be likely to suffer from diabetes and heart disease. Yet the polar bear experiences no such consequences.

A 2014 study by Shi Ping Liu and colleagues sheds light on this mystery. They compared the genetic structure of polar bears with that of their closest relatives from a warmer climate, the brown bears. This allowed them to determine the genes that have allowed polar bears to survive in one of the toughest environments on Earth. Liu and his colleagues found the polar bears had a gene known as APoB, which reduces levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) – a form of ‘bad’ cholesterol. In humans, mutations of this gene are associated with increased risk of heart disease. Polar bears may therefore be an important study model to understand heart disease in humans.

The genome of the polar bear may also provide the solution for another condition, one that particularly affects our older generation: osteoporosis. This is a disease where bones show reduced density, usually caused by insufficient exercise, reduced calcium intake or food starvation. Bone tissue is constantly being remodelled, meaning that bone is added or removed, depending on nutrient availability and the stress that the bone is under. Female polar bears, however, undergo extreme conditions during every pregnancy. Once autumn comes around, these females will dig maternity dens in the snow and will remain there throughout the winter, both before and after the birth of their cubs. This process result in about six months of fasting, where the female bears have to keep themselves and their cubs alive, depleting their own calcium and calorie reserves. Despite this, their bones remain strong and dense.

Physiologists Alanda Lennox and Allen Goodship found an explanation for this paradox in 2008. They discovered that pregnant bears were able to increase the density of their bones before they started to build their dens. In addition, six months later, when they finally emerged from the den with their cubs, there was no evidence of significant loss of bone density. Hibernating brown bears do not have this capacity and must therefore resort to major bone reformation in the following spring. If the mechanism of bone remodelling in polar bears can be understood, many bedridden humans, and even astronauts, could potentially benefit.

The medical benefits of the polar bear for humanity certainly have their importance in our conservation efforts, but these should not be the only factors taken into consideration. We tend to want to protect animals we think are intelligent and possess emotions, such as elephants and primates. Bears, on the other hand, seem to be perceived as stupid and in many cases violent. And yet anecdotal evidence from the field challenges those assumptions, suggesting for example that polar bears have good problem-solving abilities. A male bear called GoGo in Tennoji Zoo, Osaka, has even been observed making use of a tool to manipulate his environment. The bear used a tree branch on multiple occasions to dislodge a piece of meat hung out of his reach. Problem-solving ability has also been witnessed in wild polar bears, although not as obviously as with GoGo. A calculated move by a male bear involved running and jumping onto barrels in an attempt to get to a photographer standing on a platform four metres high.

In other studies, such as one by Alison Ames in 2008, polar bears showed deliberate and focussed manipulation. For example, Ames observed bears putting objects in piles and then knocking them over in what appeared to be a game. The study demonstrates that bears are capable of agile and thought-out behaviours. These examples suggest bears have greater creativity and problem-solving abilities than previously thought. 

As for emotions, while the evidence is once again anecdotal, many bears have been seen to hit out at ice and snow-seemingly out of frustration- when they have just missed out on a kill. Moreover, polar bears can form unusual relationships with other species, including playing with the dogs used to pull sleds in the Arctic. Remarkably, one hand-raised polar bear called Agee has formed a close relationship with her owner Mark Dumas to the point where they even swim together. This is even more astonishing since polar bears are known to actively hunt humans in the wild.

If climate change were to lead to their extinction, this would mean not only the loss of potential breakthroughs in human medicine, but more importantly, the disappearance of an intelligent, majestic animal.

Xem thêm: Đề bài và đáp án bài nghe Test 1 part 1 - IELTS Cambridge 16 - Children's Engineering Workshops

II. Đáp án Reading passage 1 Why do we need to protect polar bears

III. Giải thích đáp án chi tiết

Questions 1-7: True/False/Not Given

1. FALSE: Đoạn 1 nêu rõ: "Humans with comparative levels of adipose tissue would be considered obese and would be likely to suffer from diabetes and heart disease. Yet the polar bear experiences no such consequences." Điều này mâu thuẫn trực tiếp với câu hỏi.

2. FALSE: Đoạn 2 nói: "They compared the genetic structure of polar bears with that of their closest relatives... the brown bears." Câu hỏi nói rằng họ so sánh các nhóm gấu Bắc Cực khác nhau, nhưng thông tin trong bài đọc cho thấy họ so sánh gấu Bắc Cực với gấu nâu.

3. NOT GIVEN: Đoạn 2 có nói về nghiên cứu của Liu, nhưng không đề cập liệu đây có phải là những người đầu tiên thực hiện so sánh gen giữa gấu Bắc Cực và gấu nâu hay không.

4. TRUE: Đoạn 2 giải thích rằng gấu Bắc Cực có gen APoB, "which reduces levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) – a form of ‘bad’ cholesterol." Điều này khớp với ý của câu hỏi.

5. TRUE: Đoạn 3 có câu: "This process result in about six months of fasting." "Fasting" có nghĩa là nhịn ăn.

6. FALSE: Đoạn 4 nói rằng khi những con gấu cái này ra khỏi hang, "there was no evidence of significant loss of bone density." Điều này mâu thuẫn trực tiếp với câu hỏi.

7. TRUE: Đoạn 4 kết luận: "If the mechanism of bone remodelling in polar bears can be understood, many bedridden humans, and even astronauts, could potentially benefit." Câu trả lời sử dụng từ "potentially" tương đương với "could also be used by people one day".

Questions 8-13: Complete the sentences

8. violent: Phần cuối đoạn 5 có câu: "Bears, on the other hand, seem to be perceived as stupid and in many cases violent."

9. tool: Đoạn 5 có câu: "A male bear called GoGo... has even been observed making use of a tool to manipulate his environment."

10. meat: Cũng trong đoạn 5, người ta thấy GoGo "used a tree branch on multiple occasions to dislodge a piece of meat hung out of his reach."

11. photographer: Đoạn 5 tiếp tục kể về một con gấu hoang dã: "running and jumping onto barrels in an attempt to get to a photographer standing on a platform four metres high."

12. game: Đoạn 6 nói về một nghiên cứu khác: "Ames observed bears putting objects in piles and then knocking them over in what appeared to be a game."

13. frustration: Đoạn cuối cùng, khi nói về cảm xúc, có câu: "many bears have been seen to hit out at ice and snow-seemingly out of frustration- when they have just missed out on a kill."

IV. Từ vựng và cụm từ hay trong bài

Một số từ vựng và cụm từ hay trong bài bạn cần ghi nhớ: 

• Adipose tissue: mô mỡ

• Obese: béo phì

• Mutations: đột biến

• Genome: hệ gen

• Osteoporosis: bệnh loãng xương

• Fasting: nhịn ăn

• Depleting: làm cạn kiệt

• Anecdotal evidence: bằng chứng giai thoại, không chính thức

• Manipulation: sự thao túng, xử lý

• Frustration: sự thất vọng, bực bội

• Conservation efforts: nỗ lực bảo tồn

• Extinction: sự tuyệt chủng

Trên đây là đề bài và đáp án bài đọc Cambridge 16 Reading passage 1 Why do we need to protect polar bears. Dành thời gian luyện tập thêm nhiều dạng đề và ghi nhớ từ vựng để mở rộng vốn từ, chinh phục được band điểm như mong đợi nhé!

Học tiếng Anh online dễ dàng hơn với PREP - Nền tảng Học & Luyện thi thông minh cùng AI. Nhờ công nghệ AI độc quyền, bạn có thể tự học trực tuyến ngay tại nhà, chinh phục lộ trình học IELTS, TOEIC, tiếng Anh giao tiếp hiệu quả. Bên cạnh đó, học viên còn có sự hỗ trợ tuyệt vời từ Teacher Bee AI, trợ lý ảo giúp bạn giải đáp thắc mắc và đồng hành 1-1 trong suốt quá trình học tập. Hãy click TẠI ĐÂY hoặc liên hệ HOTLINE 0931428899 để nhận tư vấn chi tiết về các khóa học tiếng Anh chất lượng nhất thị trường!

Tải ngay app PREP để bắt đầu hành trình học tiếng Anh tại nhà với chương trình học luyện thi online chất lượng cao.