Deep sea discovery
Read Deep sea discovery and check the IELTS Reading answers. Nico Michiels is an ecologist from the University of Tübingen in Germany who spends part of each year in Egypt, where he dives in the Red Sea, observing fish life and gathering data on its coral reefs. In September 2007 he decided to find…
Passage preview
Nico Michiels is an ecologist from the University of Tübingen in Germany who spends part of each year in Egypt, where he dives in the Red Sea, observing fish life and gathering data on its coral reefs. In September 2007 he decided to find out how far red light could penetrate the ocean depths. Seawater absorbs different colours at different depths, and as an experienced diver, Michiels was aware that red light is extinguished not far below the surface whereas blue-green light penetrates deeper. To find out the depth at which red disappeared in this particular ocean, however, he attached a special plastic filter to his dive mask, which was designed to block out all colours except red. Then he began to descend. In theory, once he reached about 15 metres, he should have been plunged into darkness. Instead, something totally unexpected happened. Sure enough, 20 metres down it was as dark as night. 'All the fish disappeared. With no light from the surface, they were effectively black and had become invisible,' he says. 'But it didn't stay black for long. Then I saw a group of goby fish with bright red eyes lit up against the background. After that, red spots began to show up all over the reef.'
Vocabulary from this passage
9 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- accustomed to adjective phrase
To slowly become used to something so that it no longer feels strange.
In the passage:
"once his eyes grew accustomed to the gloom" (paragraph B): a useful phrase for describing adaptation in Speaking.
Synonyms: get used to, adapt to
Opposites: feel unfamiliar with
- assortment noun
A mixed collection of different things of the same general kind.
In the passage:
"he bought an assortment of tropical fish" (paragraph D): a mixed selection, not one species.
Synonyms: variety, selection
- be confined to verb phrase
To exist only in one limited place or area, and nowhere else.
In the passage:
"the red tends to be confined to parts of the body used to signal" (paragraph E): restriction to one area.
Synonyms: be limited to, be restricted to
Opposites: spread across
- compelling adjective
So convincing that it is difficult to doubt or ignore.
In the passage:
"More compelling for Michiels is the case of the scorpionfish" (paragraph G): the writer ranks his best evidence.
Synonyms: convincing, persuasive
Opposites: unconvincing
- hard to distinguish adjective phrase
Difficult to see clearly as separate from what surrounds it.
In the passage:
Q12 says fish "cannot easily be seen" against red backgrounds; the passage says such a fish "would be hard to distinguish" (paragraph G).
Synonyms: cannot easily be seen, hard to see
Opposites: conspicuous
- it remains to be seen verb phrase
Used to say that the answer is not yet known and must wait.
In the passage:
"As for the other fish, it remains to be seen" (paragraph H): the writer admits uncertainty, a typical Not Given signal.
Synonyms: it is not yet known, it is still unclear
Opposites: it is certain
- lines of evidence noun phrase
Separate kinds of proof that all point towards the same conclusion.
In the passage:
"There are several lines of evidence to support this" (paragraph F): a Writing Task 2 phrase for supporting a claim.
Synonyms: strands of evidence, sources of proof
- pick out verb phrase
To see or recognise someone or something among many similar things.
In the passage:
Q2 says Michiels "could see" the markings; the passage says he "could pick them out" without the filter (paragraph B).
Synonyms: see, spot
- ward off verb phrase
To keep something harmful or unwelcome away by acting against it.
In the passage:
Q9 says "keep ... away"; the passage says "to ward off enemies" (paragraph E).
Synonyms: keep away, fend off
Opposites: invite
Answers with explanations
- 1. TRUE
Look for the number **15 metres**. The statement's **expected total darkness** matches **should have been plunged into darkness**, and **in theory** shows this was his expectation before the surprise. The text agrees with the statement.
- 2. TRUE
The statement says he saw the markings **without the aid of the red filter**. The text says that **with the red filter removed** he could still **pick them out** once his eyes adjusted. Waiting for his eyes to adjust is not an aid, so the statement is TRUE.
- 2-3: monoculture
2: The statement says he saw the markings **without the aid of the red filter**. The text says that **with the red filter removed** he could still **pick them out** once his eyes adjusted. Waiting for his eyes to adjust is not an aid, so the statement is TRUE.
3: The statement says other divers **had assumed** they would see red markings. The text says the opposite: **no one expected to see it**, which is why nobody had **spotted** the red before. The two ideas clash, so the statement is FALSE.
- 3. FALSE
The statement says other divers **had assumed** they would see red markings. The text says the opposite: **no one expected to see it**, which is why nobody had **spotted** the red before. The two ideas clash, so the statement is FALSE.
- 3-4: A
3: The statement says other divers **had assumed** they would see red markings. The text says the opposite: **no one expected to see it**, which is why nobody had **spotted** the red before. The two ideas clash, so the statement is FALSE.
4: The deciding word is **All**. The text says he found **three fish species** on one dive and **many others since**, but it never says where the others were found. To be TRUE it would need to put every red-marked fish in the Red Sea; to be FALSE, to name another place.
- 4. NOT GIVEN
The deciding word is **All**. The text says he found **three fish species** on one dive and **many others since**, but it never says where the others were found. To be TRUE it would need to put every red-marked fish in the Red Sea; to be FALSE, to name another place.
- 5. FALSE
The deciding word is **first**. At **20 metres down**, in the sea, Michiels already **suspected fluorescence**. Germany came later, when in his lab he only **confirmed** it. So the idea came first in the Red Sea, not in Germany, and the statement is FALSE.
- 6. TRUE
**Remains uncertain** matches **still not sure**, and **what creates fluorescence** matches **what is fluorescing**. Don't be put off by the line before, **he confirmed that the fish did indeed fluoresce**: he knows that they fluoresce, but not what causes it. So the statement is TRUE.
- 7. head
The note says **mainly**, so look for the **most common** markings. The text puts them **on the body towards the head**; the eyes and the fins come after, **to a lesser extent**. That is why the gap needs **head**.
- 8. communication
The note's **specifically** matches **a very particular function**. The function is named straight after the colon: **communication** with other members of the species. It fits before **purposes**.
- 9. enemies
Like some animals matches **a whole range of animals**, and use fluorescence matches **employ fluorescence**. The signals are used **to ward off enemies**, which is the note's **keep ... away**. So the gap needs **enemies**.
- 10. location
Look for **gobies**, the name in the note. **Show their** matches **indicate their**, and what they indicate is their **location**. Keeping the group together is the reason for the signal, not the thing the fish show.
- 11. species
**Very similar** matches **closely related**, and variations in the markings matches **do not have completely identical markings**. The sentence ends with species recognition, so the gap needs **species**.
- 12. corals
**Cannot easily be seen** matches **hard to distinguish**. The red background is the faint glow he saw coming from **corals**, which matches fish near backgrounds that **give off a red light**. So the gap needs **corals**.
- 13. seahorse
**The only fish** matches **One exception**, and **ability to see red** matches **eyes are sensitive to red**. Most marine fish are thought incapable of seeing red, so the **seahorse** is the single fish the text names.