Scratching The Surface Reading Answers

Look for a list of Scratching the Surface Reading Answers in table format below. Compare your answers, then correct any errors you notice.

1. B	5. A	9. False	13. False
2. C	6. Individual Scratching	10. True
3. A	7. Altered Others	11. Not Given
4. B	8. Bonding	12. True

If you want to do well on the IELTS reading section, our answers are here to help you. If you want to improve your answering efficiency, be sure to finish the practice test and read the in-depth explanations for Scratching the Surface Reading Answers.

This article consists of three distinct varieties of IELTS reading question types along with Scratching the Surface Reading Answers. If you take the time to complete the provided exercise and hone the skills measured on the IELTS reading exam, you will see marked improvement on the exam. For this practice test, the following types of questions are used:

• IELTS Reading Notes completion
• IELTS Reading True/False/Not given
• IELTS Reading Matching Features

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Strategies to Identify Scratching the Surface Reading Answers with Location

Before you start writing your Scratching the Surface IELTS Reading Answers, refer to some notes on tactics for tackling the question sections.

• The Scratching the surface passage is taken from the IELTS Academic (AC) reading practice test. Get the Scratching the surface reading pdf given in this article for your future reference.
• Understanding the heading and the main idea of each paragraph is essential for matching headings, and this in turn requires the skills of summarising and paraphrasing.
• Think about Scratching the surface reading answers with explanations sections in this article to learn about the answering process and enhance your reading abilities.
• Use the Scratching the surface reading answers with locations to help you find your solutions.
• In cases of true/false/not given you need to know a lot of words because the statement may have synonyms, and need to find the keywords in the statement to find the information in the passage.
• Note completion question types require scanning ability and close attention to instructions in order to be answered correctly.
• If you want to do well on the IELTS, you need to make reading a regular part of your life. Your proficiency in reading, vocabulary, and language will all improve as a result of this.
• Reading sections can be conquered more effectively if you practise scanning, skimming, paraphrasing, and summarising for alternative title choosing. 

As reading is one of the most challenging sections of the IELTS exam, you can review the other IELTS reading tips after reviewing your Scratching the surface IELTS reading answers.

IELTS Scratching the Surface Reading Passage

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on the Reading Passage below. After you've attempted all of the questions, review your answers using the provided Scratching the surface IELTS reading answers with locations.

                                    Scratching the surface

They induce untreatable itching, prickling, and crawling sensations in the skin. Although these creatures only exist in the imagination, their effects are real and contagious. 

In 1996, the typical example occurred in an American laboratory. After the installation of the new equipment, workers began to experience itching and the sensation of insects crawling over them. Complaints escalated, and the condition, which was attributed to "cable mites," began to spread to the sufferers' family. Utilising DDT, mothballs, pesticide, and rat poison, a concerted effort was made to eradicate the mites.

It didn't work. Scientists did a thorough check, but they couldn't find any pests or even signs of real parasite attacks. Small pieces of Rockwool insulation were found in the air, which could irritate the skin. The problem was fixed by putting in place a cleaning programme, and the staff was told that the problem had been solved. The infestation of cable mites went away.

Another incident occurred at a textile business in the 1990s, when workers complained of being bitten by insects smuggled into the factory in imported cloth. Dermatitis swept through the workforce, but in an unusual fashion. Instead of impacting people in a specific area of the factory, the bugs appeared to be spread among employees' social groupings. There were no parasites discovered. A third infestation grew among office workers who were poring through dusty records that had been sitting unused for decades. They blamed their skin problems on 'paper mites,' yet the source was irritation from paper splinters.

These are all instances of parasitosis illusions, in which anything in the environment is mistakenly identified as an insect or other problem. Everyone has heard of delirium tremens, in which alcoholics and amphetamine addicts have the sensation of insects crawling over their skin. However, this hallucination can also be caused by other circumstances. Static electricity, dust, fibres, and chemical solvents are all capable of spawning fictitious insects. The most intriguing aspect is that they spread. This illusion's contagious nature appears to be a form of reflex contagion. When you yawn, others yawn as well. If everyone around you is laughing, so are you. If you itch, your coworkers will scratch as well.

Dr. Paul Marsden is the managing editor of the Journal of Memetics, a publication devoted to the study of infectious ideas. He hypothesised that this type of collective engagement may have contributed to human evolution. In the distant past, the scratching of a single individual scratching would have alerted others of the presence of insects or parasites that bite. This would encourage them to itch themselves. Anyone who has been repeatedly bitten by mosquitoes without realising it will recognise the evolutionary significance of this form of warning. The outbreak of mass scratching may also promote mutual grooming, which is essential for bonding of primary groups.

The issue occurs when the reflex contagion has nothing to do with a true threat. People may exaggerate symptoms to gain attention or to escape an unpleasant job. Scanners spent the entire day laboriously evaluating the results of bubble-chamber testing. Textile workers and administrative personnel reviewing data would have found the task to be similarly arduous. Considering that skin illnesses are notoriously susceptible to psychological effects, it is easy to understand how a group dynamic could support the perceived parasites.

Few individuals recognise that their misinterpretation of symptoms is the result of what psychologists refer to as a hysterical condition, making treatment difficult. Previously, removing irritants and receiving expert assurances were sufficient. Today, however, there is a rising mistrust of conventional treatment and increased access to support groups. Patients can promote other other's delusions by discussing Internet-based accounts of elusive mites that perplex scientists. This might cause a pandemic of unknown parasites that spread from mind to mind like a super virus. Only knowledge of the illusion's potency can destroy it. You may now cease your scratching.

Scratching the Surface Reading Questions

Questions 1-3

Complete the notes below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer 

Evolutionary purpose theory

Parasite/Insect bite
1.__________.
Benefit to group
2.____________.
In the presence of pets
Group scratching
Group grooming
Benefit to group
3. __________.

Click to know more about IELTS reading notes completion

Questions 4-8

Do the following statements agree with the writer’s views in the Reading Passage ? Write,

• TRUE if the statement is true according to the passage
• FALSE if the statement is false according to the passage
• NOT GIVEN if the statement is not given in the passage

4. Some continue to scratch because they know it will allow them to stop working.

5. The staff in the laboratory, factory, and office had monotonous employment.

6. The skin of humans is highly sensitive to irritants.

7. In many instances, individuals no longer believe medical professionals' claims.

8. It is impossible to prevent the illness from spreading via the Internet.

Click to know more about IELTS reading true/false/not given

Questions 9-13

Classify statements 1-5 according to whether they apply to the following:-

A. the laboratory
B. the factory
C. the office

9. One symptom of the illness was distress among coworkers who socialised together.

10. Second, each victim was using an out-of-date file.

11. Third, they made an effort to eliminate the insects they had pinpointed as the cause.

12. They said the animals had brought in foreign materials with them.

13. Fifth, the employees' loved ones were impacted by the illness.

Click to know more about IELTS reading matching features

Scratching the Surface Reading Answers with Explanations

Scratching the surface reading answers with explanations can assist you in rectifying errors and identifying the required information for your answer.

(Note: The text in italics from the reading passage shows the location from where the answer is taken or inferred. ) 

1. Individual Scratching

Explanation: In the 3rd and 4th line of 6th paragraph. “individual scratching would have alerted others of the presence of insects or parasites that bite”.

2. Altered others

Explanation:  In the 4th line of 6th paragraph, “in the distant past, the scratching of a single individual scratching would have alerted others of the presence of insects or parasites that bite”.

3. Bonding

Explanation: The last last line of 6th paragraph, “essential for bonding of primary groups.”

4. False

Explanation: In the last line of 6th paragraph, “If you itch, your coworkers will scratch as well”.

5. True

Explanation: In the last few lines of 7th paragraph, “ Scanners spent the entire day laboriously evaluating the results of bubble-chamber testing. Textile workers and administrative personnel reviewing data would have found the task to be similarly arduous. Considering that skin illnesses are notoriously susceptible to psychological effects, it is easy to understand how a group dynamic could support the perceived parasite”.

6. Not given

Explanation: -

7. True

Explanation: In the 1st and 2nd lines of paragraph 8, “Few individuals recognise that their misinterpretation of symptoms is the result of what psychologists refer to as a hysterical condition, making treatment difficult”.

8. False

Explanation: In the 5th line of paragraph 8th, “Patients can promote other other's delusions by discussing Internet-based accounts of elusive mites that perplex scientists”.

9. B

Explanation: In the 4th line of 4th paragraph, “the bugs appeared to be spread among employees' social groupings”.

10. C

Explanation: In the5th and 6th lines of paragraph 4th, “A third infestation grew among office workers who were poring through dusty records”.

11. A

Explanation: In the last two lines of paragraph 3,’’Utilising DDT, mothballs, pesticide, and rat poison, a concerted effort was made to eradicate the mites”.

12. B

Explanation: In the first three lines of paragraph 3, “It didn't work. Scientists did a thorough check, but they couldn't find any pests or even signs of real parasite attacks. Small pieces of Rockwool insulation were found in the air, which could irritate the skin”.

13. A

Explanation: In the 3rd and 4th line of paragraph 2, “Complaints escalated, and the condition, which was attributed to "cable mites," began to spread to the sufferers' family”.

Check the other reading passages

Click to check the other important reading passages listed below,

• Pollination reading answers
• Colour Blindness Reading Answers
• Domestic Pets in New Urban areas Reading Answers

Conclusion

“Scratching the surface reading answers” article will help you to enhance your reading skills and to secure a good band score in the IELTS exam. You can practise more IELTS reading answers using the links given above. We hope this article will help you in your IELTS reading preparation.