Hunting Perfume in Madagascar
Read Hunting Perfume in Madagascar and check the IELTS Reading answers. Ever since the unguentari plied their trade in ancient Rome, perfumers have had to keep abreast of changing fashions. These days they have several thousand ingredients to choose from when creating new scents, but there is alway…
Passage preview
Ever since the unguentari plied their trade in ancient Rome, perfumers have had to keep abreast of changing fashions. These days they have several thousand ingredients to choose from when creating new scents, but there is always a demand for new combinations. The bigger the "palette" of smells, the better the perfumer's chance of creating something new and fashionable. Even with everyday products such as shampoo and soap, consumers are becoming increasingly fussy. Cheap, synthetic smells are out. Fresh, natural smells are in. And many of today's fragrances have to survive tougher treatment than ever before, resisting the destructive power of bleach or a high temperature wash cycle. Chemists can now create new smells from synthetic molecules, but nature has been in the business far longer. Plants produce countless fragrant chemicals. Many are intended to attract pollinators. Others are produced for quite different purposes. The fragrant resins that ooze from wounds in a tree, for example, defend it against infection.
Vocabulary from this passage
9 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- aroma noun
A distinctive, typically pleasant smell or fragrance, often associated with plants, food, or spices
Seaweed extracts are generally avoided by perfumers because they possess an excessively dark and heavy aroma.
- conjure verb
To call an image, memory, or idea to the mind; to evoke a specific mental representation
The industry highly values scents that conjure the fresh and sun-kissed atmosphere of the open ocean.
- destructive power noun
The capacity of a substance or force to cause significant damage, deterioration, or complete ruin
Fragrances in laundry detergents must be engineered to resist the destructive power of concentrated bleach.
- evolutionary hot spot noun
A geographical area with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from human activities
Madagascar is considered an evolutionary hot spot because the vast majority of its flora is unique.
- headspace noun
The air space above a substance in a closed container, often containing trapped volatile aroma compounds
The fragrance molecules are trapped within the headspace of the glass jar before being chemically analyzed.
- novel adjective
New or unusual in an interesting way; original and not previously identified or experienced
Perfume hunters travel to remote rainforests in search of novel fragrances that have never been synthesized.
- pollutant noun
A substance that contaminates the environment, particularly air or water, often resulting from industrial or human activity
The technique used to capture flower scents was originally designed to identify harmful air pollutants.
- synthetic molecules noun
Man-made chemical compounds created in a laboratory to mimic or enhance naturally occurring scents or substances
Modern chemists often combine synthetic molecules with natural extracts to create more durable and complex perfumes.
- volatile molecules noun
Chemical substances that easily evaporate at normal temperatures, allowing them to be detected by the olfactory system
Filters are used to absorb different types of volatile molecules during the fragrance extraction process.
Answers with explanations
- 14. B
The question asks for a preferred location to find novel plant-based scents. Paragraph B explicitly identifies Madagascar as an evolutionary hot **spot** and an **ideal source** for discovering novel fragrances because 85% of its plants are unique.
- 15. E
The question describes a promising task that has so far produced limited findings. Paragraph E discusses the highly sought-after ocean smells, but notes the limited success because they currently only have seaweed, which produces a restricted, **dark and heavy aroma**.
- 16. A
The prompt asks for details about difficult conditions that fragrances must endure. Paragraph A describes how modern scents must survive **tougher treatment**, explicitly giving examples of demanding conditions like the **destructive power of bleach** or high-temperature wash cycles.
- 17. D
The question mentions finding a replacement for an unavailable substance. Paragraph D explains that since the company **does not use animal products any longer**, discovering a **tree** whose sap provides an animal smell serves as a perfect substitute.
- 18. B
The question asks for a description of a land expedition. Paragraph B vividly describes the perfume hunters trailing up and down **paths and animal tracks** and **exploring the thick vegetation** of the Madagascan rainforest, perfectly illustrating a land expedition.
- 19. TRUE
The statement asserts that modern manufacturers have the option to use synthetic odors. The text explicitly confirms this, stating that chemists **can now create new smells** using **synthetic molecules**. Answer: TRUE.
- 20. TRUE
The statement suggests Madagascar was chosen because its plants are rare elsewhere. The passage supports this, explaining that Madagascar is an ideal source because 85% of its plants are **unique**, meaning they do not exist in other parts of the world. Answer: TRUE.
- 21. NOT GIVEN
The statement claims capturing the smell is one of the 'most important things' in creating new aromas. While the passage describes the methods for trapping fragrances in detail, it never explicitly states or ranks this step as being the **most important** part of the overall process. Answer: NOT GIVEN.
- 22. FALSE
The statement claims the trapping technique was entirely the hunters' own invention (ingenuity). The text directly contradicts this by stating the technique was **originally designed to trap and identify air pollutants**, meaning they borrowed an existing method rather than inventing it completely. Answer: FALSE.
- 23. NOT GIVEN
The statement claims most customers prefer perfumes made with animal musk. The passage notes that beaver musk was 'once a key ingredient' and that the company no longer uses animal products, but it never mentions what the **customers prefer** or demand. Answer: NOT GIVEN.
- 24. HEADSPACE
The diagram points to the space inside a flask or glass jar over a flower. The text specifies that when a jar or flask is fitted over a flower, the fragrance molecules are trapped in this **headspace**. 'Headspace' correctly identifies the area.
- 25. filter
The diagram labels a part where air is pumped out to collect fragrance. The text explicitly states that the air is pumped out 'over a series of **filter**' to absorb the volatile fragrance molecules. Therefore, 'filter' completes the blank.
- 26. ["silicone","rubber"]
The diagram requires identifying the material of the probe syringe needle. The text states the needle is made of **silicone rubber**. Since the instruction dictates ONE WORD ONLY, writing either 'silicone' or 'rubber' is the correct way to complete the diagram.