What Lucy Taught Us
Read What Lucy Taught Us and check the IELTS Reading answers. On a Sunday morning in late November 1974, a team of scientists were digging in an isolated spot in the Afar region of Ethiopia. Surveying the area, palaeoanthropologist Donald Johanson spotted a small piece of bone. Straight away, he re…
Passage preview
On a Sunday morning in late November 1974, a team of scientists were digging in an isolated spot in the Afar region of Ethiopia. Surveying the area, palaeoanthropologist Donald Johanson spotted a small piece of bone. Straight away, he recognised that it came from the elbow of a human ancestor. And there were plenty more. ‘As I looked up the slopes to my left, I saw bits of the skull, a chunk of jaw, a couple of vertebrae,’ says Johanson.
Vocabulary from this passage
10 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- a heated debate noun phrase
A discussion in which people argue strongly and show anger or passion.
In the passage:
"heated debates over whether or not the marks were really made by tools" shows scientists still disagree (paragraph 8).
Synonyms: a fierce argument, a lively discussion
Opposites: a calm discussion
- briefer adjective
Lasting a shorter time than something else.
In the passage:
Q12 says modern humans have "a longer" childhood; the passage says Lucy's childhood "was much briefer than ours".
Synonyms: shorter
Opposites: longer
- fend for oneself verb phrase
To look after yourself and meet your own needs without help.
In the passage:
"she had to fend for herself from a young age" shows how early Lucy became independent (paragraph 9).
Synonyms: look after yourself, cope alone
- forage for verb phrase
To search for food, usually wild food, in a place.
In the passage:
Q10 says things "were also part of her diet"; the passage says Lucy died "foraging for them" (crocodile and turtle eggs).
Synonyms: in search of, hunt for
- immediately obvious adjective phrase
Easy to see or understand at once, without needing any further thought.
In the passage:
Q3 says the experts "realised the importance"; the passage says it "was immediately obvious that the skeleton was a significant find".
Synonyms: clear straight away, plain to see
Opposites: unclear
- in line with adverb phrase
In agreement with something, or following the same pattern.
In the passage:
"In line with this idea" and "In line with that" link a new fact to an earlier claim (paragraphs 6 and 9).
Synonyms: consistent with, in keeping with
Opposites: at odds with
- it may be that adverb phrase
Used to say that something is possible but not certain.
In the passage:
Q6 says "possibly started"; the passage hedges with "It may be that upright walking evolved in the trees" (paragraph 6).
Synonyms: perhaps, possibly
Opposites: it is certain that
- range verb
To travel or move over a wide area.
In the passage:
"to range more widely" means to travel over a bigger area; it is not about a variety of items (paragraph 7).
Synonyms: roam, travel
- reflect verb
To show or be a sign of something that is true or present.
In the passage:
"the shape and positioning of her pelvis reflected a fully upright gait" means showed it; it is not about mirrors or thinking (paragraph 5).
Synonyms: show, indicate
- stuck verb
To become fixed and remain in use, as a name or idea does.
In the passage:
"The name stuck" means Lucy became the permanent name; it is not about glue or sticking physically (paragraph 3).
Synonyms: catch on, remain
Opposites: fade
Answers with explanations
- 1. FALSE
The statement says Johanson was **uncertain** about the bone. Look for **elbow** in the first paragraph: he recognised what it was **straight away**, so he had no doubt. The statement contradicts the passage, so it is FALSE.
- 2. TRUE
**Several bones** means more than one. Johanson lists **bits of the skull, a chunk of jaw, a couple of vertebrae**, and the sentence before says there were **plenty more**. All of it was found at the same site, so the statement is TRUE.
- 2-3: A
2: **Several bones** means more than one. Johanson lists **bits of the skull, a chunk of jaw, a couple of vertebrae**, and the sentence before says there were **plenty more**. All of it was found at the same site, so the statement is TRUE.
3: **Realised the importance** is the passage's **immediately obvious** that the skeleton was a **significant find**. The scientists understood its value as soon as they knew the sediments were 3.5 million years old. The statement agrees with the passage, so it is TRUE.
- 3. TRUE
**Realised the importance** is the passage's **immediately obvious** that the skeleton was a **significant find**. The scientists understood its value as soon as they knew the sediments were 3.5 million years old. The statement agrees with the passage, so it is TRUE.
- 3-4: NOT GIVEN
3: **Realised the importance** is the passage's **immediately obvious** that the skeleton was a **significant find**. The scientists understood its value as soon as they knew the sediments were 3.5 million years old. The statement agrees with the passage, so it is TRUE.
4: The deciding words are **upper part**. The passage says Lucy was the **most complete** early human found, with **40%** of the skeleton preserved, but it never says which part, upper or lower, was least damaged. Nothing confirms or contradicts the statement, so it is NOT GIVEN.
- 4. NOT GIVEN
The deciding words are **upper part**. The passage says Lucy was the **most complete** early human found, with **40%** of the skeleton preserved, but it never says which part, upper or lower, was least damaged. Nothing confirms or contradicts the statement, so it is NOT GIVEN.
- 5. TRUE
**Measurements** is the passage's **size**. The team's **feeling was that the skeleton was female due to its size**, which is **helped ... decide if it was male or female**. The statement matches, so it is TRUE.
- 6. branches
Look for **upright walking** and **in the trees** in the paragraph about Lucy's life in the trees. The note's **started among the ... of trees** matches the passage's idea that walking evolved there as a way to walk along **branches**.
- 7. ground
**In search of food** is the passage's **hunting for food**, and moved to the matches **heading to the ground**. Savannahs opening up is also mentioned, but the passage says hunting for food **may have been the real reason**. The answer is **ground**.
- 8. teeth
**Analysis of food** matches **Studies of the remains of food**, and changes in their diet matches **expanding their diet**. The food remains were **trapped on preserved human teeth**, so the gap needs **teeth**.
- 9. fruit
**Substituted for** means 'used instead of'. The passage says that **instead of mostly eating fruit** early humans began to include **grasses and possibly meat**, so **fruit** is what meat and grasses replaced. **Trees** only says where the fruit came from.
- 10. eggs
**Located close to Lucy** matches **found near her skeleton**, and **part of her diet** matches Lucy **foraging for them**. The things found were crocodile and turtle **eggs**. Crocodile and turtle only say which animals laid them.
- 11. bones
**Had marks on them** matches **scratches**, and **possibly made by tools** matches **seem to have been made by stone tools**. What the archaeologists uncovered with these marks were animal **bones**.
- 12. childhood
The note says modern humans have a **longer** ___ than Lucy, so look for a comparison. The passage says Lucy's **childhood was much briefer than ours**. If hers was briefer, ours is longer, so the answer is **childhood**.
- 13. brains
**Appear to develop later** reverses the passage's **matured much earlier than ours do**. A recent study of an early human suggested that **their brains** matured earlier, so modern **brains** develop later. Wisdom teeth and fused bones are about Lucy's adulthood, not this comparison.