Secret Of Swarm Reading Answers

Secret of swarm Reading Answers are displayed here, which is beneficial for the learners to directly check and verify their answers. It will help you to recognize your mistakes.

1. FALSE	5. NOT GIVEN	9. E	13. DEMOCRATIC
2. FALSE	6. TRUE	10. SCOUTS
3. NOT GIVEN	7. C	11. WAGGLE DANCE
4. TRUE	8. A	12. VOLUME

The secret of swarm reading passage contains three different question types and the whole passage - Secret of the swarm. IELTS reading is believed to be the most difficult module; however, by practising more, you can easily develop your skills.

You need to do more practice to achieve a good score, so that you need to know about all IELTS reading question types first. Below, we’ve mentioned question types, which we’ve included in this article.

• IELTS Reading Flow Chart Completion
• IELTS Reading True False Not Given
• IELTS Reading Matching Sentence Endings

Recommend IELTS Reading tips, tricks and strategies to achieve desirable scores in your exams.

Check Out our YouTube Channel to Practice Full-Length IELTS Reading Tests Daily

IELTS Reading Passage - Secret of Swarm

Secrets of Swarm

Insects, birds, and fish are often the species that people feel the most distanced from. Unlike many animals, they do not participate in human-like behaviour. The method in which they swarm or flock together is also hardly covered by the culinary press. The picture of city commuters marching like worker ants is a frequent one, but it is not a good one. Yet, according to a new school of scientific thought, these swarms may have much to teach us.

American author Peter Miller writes, ‘I used to believe that individual ants understood where they were heading and what they were meant to accomplish upon arrival. Deborah Gordon, a scientist at Stanford University, demonstrated to me that nothing ants conduct makes sense outside of the context of the colony as a whole. Which makes you question whether, as people, we don't serve a comparable purpose for the organisations where we work and the societies in which we reside.’ Ants lack intelligence on their own. However, as a colony, they make prudent choices. And, as Gordon discovered through her research, no ant makes decisions or issues orders.

Take food collection for instance. No ant determines, "There is a lot of food available today; many ants should go out to get it," when there is an abundance of food available. Instead, some forager ants go out, and as soon as they locate food, they return to the colony. At the entryway, they transmit a "go out" signal to the reserve foragers by brushing by them. The quicker foragers return, the more food there is, and the quicker other foragers go, till the quantity of food brought back eventually decreases. An organic computation was performed to answer the query, ‘How many foragers does the community need today?’ And if anything goes wrong - for instance, a hungry lizard hunting for an ant lunch - a swarm of ants returning without food sends a “Don’t go out” signal to the waiting reserves.

But could this kind of decentralised control function in a human organisation? Miller visited a Texas gas firm that has effectively employed calculations based on the behaviour of ant colonies to optimise its plants and transportation routes. They invented a computer model based on the principles of self-organisation observed in ant communities as Miller says, “If ant communities have evolved a method for establishing the most effective routes between their nests and food sources, company management reasoned, why not make use of that information? The model is supplied with information about deliveries that must be done the next day, as well as weather conditions, and it generates a simulation identifying the optimal path for delivery vehicles.

Miller notes that it was not until he read a honeybee study by Tom Seeley, a scientist at Cornell University, that he recognised the influence that swarm behaviour may have on people. The honeybees decide together which new nest to migrate into. Initially, scouts fly to different locations to study them. When they return, they perform a "waggle dance" for their location, prompting further scouts to investigate. Numerous bees leave their hives, but none compares all locations. Each gives feedback on just one. The more they enjoyed their nest, the more energetic and prolonged their waggle dance would be, and the more bees would visit it. The volume of bees increases up toward a certain location; it assures that support for the best location snowballs and that the choice is made in the most democratic way possible.

Through a variety of information and a little bit of healthy competition, humans can also make intelligent judgements. Miller states, "The greatest example of shared decision-making I saw during my research was a town meeting in Vermont where people argued their annual budget face-to-face.” For group decision-making to be effective, it is necessary to have a method for filtering through the many possibilities proposed by group members and a method for narrowing these options. Vermont residents govern their local affairs by submitting ideas or supporting the proposals of others until a vote reaches a consensus. As with bees, a wide sample of choices prior to making a decision will often result in an agreeable compromise for everyone. The 'wisdom of the multitude' produces intelligent judgments for the benefit of the collective, and leaves people feeling informed and appreciated.

Without physical interaction, we are increasingly demonstrating swarm behaviour on the internet as well. For instance, Miller compares a wiki website to a termite hill. Information-sharing websites are based on the fundamental idea of indirect cooperation, exactly as termites develop their intricate structures. Termites lack a plan from an architect or a great building design. They merely detect changes in their surroundings, such as when the mound's wall has been damaged, changing the airflow. They go to the location of the change and put a grain of dirt there. When another termite discovers the grain, it too will discard it. When another termite discovers the grain, it too will discard it. A termite mound is comparable to a wiki website in this regard. Instead of discussing what we want to share online in person, we just add to what someone else, perhaps a stranger on the other side of the world, has already written. This indirect knowledge and skill-sharing is now reaching the halls of power.

Secret of swarm IELTS Reading Questions

Questions 1-4

Complete the flow-chart.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

How honeybees choose a new nest

Honeybee 1. _______ research potential online locations

Upon their return, they perform 2.  ________

Other bees are active and report back

Enthusiasm and 3.  ________ increase for one particular site

A decision is made utilising a 4.  ______ procedure

Recommend IELTS Reading Flow Chart Completion to know more.

Questions 5-10

Answer the question from True/ False or Not Given.

TRUE            if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE           if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN  if there is no information on this

5. Commuters are sometimes likened to worker ants in a positive light.
6. Certain ants within a colony have leadership positions.
7. Forager ants communicate the distance to the food source.
8. Forager ants can respond rapidly to potentially threatening circumstances.
9. Wind may cause damage to termite mounds.
10. Termites construct their nests without interacting directly with one another.

Understand the IELTS Reading True False Not Given questions to score well in the test.

Questions 11-13

Complete the sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.

11. Citizens in an annual Vermont meeting   
12. Managers working for a Texas gas company   
13. Some internet users  

1. To develop vast and complex systems, use descriptive comments.
2. Provide support for each other’s ideas in order to reach the best outcome.
3. Communicate with each other to determine who the leader will be.
4. Repair structures they have built without directly communicating with one another.
5. Use decision-making processes based on insect communities to improve their service.
6. Contribute independently to the thoughts of others they do not know.

Learn more about IELTS Reading Matching Sentence Endings questions.

Secret Of Swarm Reading Answers With Explanations

After attending the questions, follow the Secret of swarm reading answers with explanations in order to validate your answers and identify any errors.

(Note: The statement in italics occurs in the text and indicates how the answer is derived or deduced. The standard font text offers a detailed description of the solution.)

1.  Scouts

Explanation: In paragraph 5, the writer mentioned that, “The honeybees decide together which new nest to migrate into. Initially, scouts fly to different locations to study them.”

2.  Waggle dance

Explanation: In paragraph 5, It indicates that, “When they return, they perform a "waggle dance" for their location,.........”

3.  Volume

Explanation: In paragraph 5, the writer states that, “The more they enjoyed their nest, the more energetic and prolonged their waggle dance would be, and the more bees would visit it. The volume of bees increases up toward a certain location ....”

4.  Democratic

Explanation: In paragraph 5, It indicates that “it assures that support for the best location snowballs and that the choice is made in the most democratic way possible.”

5.  False

Explanation: In paragraph 1, the writer says that “The picture of city commuters marching like worker ants is a frequent one, but it is not a good one.” These lines contradict the given statement.

6.  False

Explanation: In paragraph 2, It indicates that, “...And, as Gordon discovered through her research, no ant makes decisions or issues orders.” However, the given information says that some aunts within a colony have leadership roles; while, no ants make decisions. Hence, it’s false.

7.  Not Given

Explanation: In passages there is no information regarding the distance of food; however, they talked about how they collect food in paragraph 3. Hence, it’s not given.

8.  True

Explanation: In paragraph 3, the writer mentioned that, “And if anything goes wrong - for instance, a hungry lizard hunting for an ant lunch - a swarm of ants returning without food sends a “Don’t go out” signal to the waiting reserves.” According to these lines, they are able to react in dangerous situations.

9.  Not Given

Explanation: In paragraph 7, it indicates the information about Termite mounds; however, they didn’t mention that termite mounds can be damaged by the wind. Hence, it’s not given.

10.  True

Explanation: In paragraph 7, the writer mentioned that, “....idea of indirect cooperation, exactly as termites develop their intricate structures. Termites lack a plan from an architect or a great building design. They merely detect changes in their surroundings, such as when the mound's wall has been damaged, changing the airflow. They go to the location of the change and put a grain of dirt there. When another termite discovers the grain, it too will discard it.” According to these lines, it suggests that they go to the sites of the change and drop a grain of soil without directly communicating to each other.

11.  B

Explanation: In paragraph 6, the given information indicates that, “...Vermont residents govern their local affairs by submitting ideas or supporting the proposals of others until a vote reaches a consensus.” These lines suggest that they provide support to each other and reach the best outcome.

12.  E

Explanation: In paragraph 4, the writer mentioned that, “But could this kind of decentralised control function in a human organisation? Miller visited a Texas gas firm that has effectively employed calculations based on the behaviour of ant colonies to optimise its plants and transportation routes. They invented a computer model based on the principles of self-organisation observed in ant communities as Miller says, “If ant communities have evolved a method for establishing the most effective routes between their nests and food sources, company management reasoned, why not make use of that information?” According to these lines, it’s clear that managers use decision-making strategies based on ants colonies to improve services.

13.  F

Explanation: In paragraph 7, it indicates that, “A termite mound is comparable to a wiki website in this regard. Instead of discussing what we want to share online in person, we just add to what someone else, perhaps a stranger on the other side of the world, has already written. This indirect knowledge and skill-sharing is now reaching the halls of power.” These lines suggest that some internet users who do not know indirect knowledge and skill-sharing, they also contribute independently.

Check the other reading passages

• Iceman reading answers
• Working in the movies reading answers

Conclusion

To perform well in your actual IELTS exam, you need to understand how to use solving techniques and improve your understanding. Therefore, “Secret of swarm reading answers” will help you to enhance your capabilities and to comprehend the meaning of sentences.