Testing Animal Intelligence - IELTS Reading Answers

Kasturika Samanta

12 min read

Updated On Dec 30, 2025

Boost your IELTS reading band score to 8 and above by using the ‘Testing Animal Intelligence’ IELTS reading passage and its answer key. Also, learn to deal with different IELTS reading questions with the tips here and refine your reading strategy.

Testing Animal Intelligence Reading Answers

Passage for Testing Animal Intelligence IELTS Reading Answers
Questions for Testing Animal Intelligence Reading Answers
Answers and Explanations of Testing Animal Intelligence IELTS Reading Passage
How to Solve the Question Types in the ‘Testing Animal Intelligence’ Reading Passage?

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One might find that reading long texts without a break for a full sixty minutes can be quite fatiguing. Focusing on a single passage like ‘Testing Animal Intelligence IELTS Reading Answers’ during practice will assist you in building your endurance progressively. After you master a single passage with confidence, you have the option to advance to two, and ultimately to full-length IELTS Reading practice tests, thereby avoiding feelings of burnout or frustration.

Solve the questions with the passage ‘Testing Animal Intelligence Reading Answers’ given below, check your answers against the provided location and explanations, and improve your performance in the reading module.

Passage for Testing Animal Intelligence IELTS Reading Answers

Now go through the passage for ‘Testing Animal Intelligence’ Reading Answers given below, and be prepared to solve similar IELTS Reading topics for General and Academic for the reading section.

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-27, which are based on the Reading Passage below.

Testing Animal Intelligence

A Applying human intelligence tests to animals has been largely discredited, as these are designed to measure human intelligence. Even time-honoured tests like putting rats into mazes can be deceptive, since such tests assume the animals will rely on the same senses as we do. A rat's primary sense organ is its nose, not its eyes. Give a rat a maze of smells, not just visible walls, and it can solve it as fast as a human can.

B If intelligence is defined as the ability to cope with everything your environment throws at you, then all surviving species are intelligent. If members of any animal species are required to solve complex problems, many of them will eventually do it.

C This implies that animals can be "educated" like people. What seems to differentiate humans is not our mental skills so much as our flexibility and our capability for abstract thought: the ability to create new ideas and images as well as receive them.

D Animals can do things like navigating or remembering the locations of objects much better than we can. What they don't do so well is apply reasoning to a whole range of problems, which is one of the things that has made human beings so successful as a species.

E Part of the problem in assessing animal intelligence is communication. For example, we can't speak to dolphins, because they can't hear human speech very well. And their own language is so different from ours that it will take years of research and enormous computing power to decipher it. So far, scientists have only identified the names, or 'call-signs', by which dolphins seem to refer to themselves and each other, including 'talking about' other dolphins who aren't present.

F The best we can do is to develop a common language of signs. The Dolphin Institute in Hawaii uses more than 100 different hand-signals. Its dolphins can understand not only individual words but also the grammar which links them - the difference between 'take the ball to the surfboard' and 'take the surfboard to the ball', for example - as well as abstract concepts like left and right, yes and no, and questions. If you give them a meaningless command, such as 'take the ball to the surfboard' when there is no surfboard, they take it to a sign meaning 'no', as if to say 'I can't'.

G Dolphins seem able to learn independently. For example, they are the only species besides humans which can instantly understand television. They realise it's only a representation of the real world and that they can take instructions from a picture of a trainer on- screen but they can't expect the picture to give them a reward.

H The Dolphin Institute has even devised a signal meaning "be creative", at which the dolphin will make up some previously unseen behaviour. Combine the signals for "create" and "with another dolphin", and two dolphins can produce an instant synchronised routine. This suggests that they can communicate with one another and either design the routine together or agree that one will be the leader.

I In the wild, dolphins cooperate to catch fish by driving them onto a beach, and this behaviour is not restricted to their own species. In Argentina, dolphins collaborate with fishermen to drive fish into the latter's nets, in return for a share of the catch. Each dolphin will only work with a particular fisherman and, when they breed, their offspring work with the same man.

J As more research is done, we can increasingly appreciate the complexities of other species' behaviour. Monkeys and apes seldom resort to violence to get their own way, preferring social manipulation and deception. The most successful members of the group tend to be those who are best at soliciting support, or who have the largest families to back up their opinions - not the biggest or strongest as with, say, rutting stags. Research has shown that chimps can perform surprisingly complex sequences of actions to process food, such as collecting a bundle of leaves or cracking nuts with a rock. This implies the ability to plan things in their minds before starting the task, otherwise they might get muddled forgetting to place all the leaves the same way round, or find a hard, level resting place for the nut, for instance.

K Even sheep, a byword for mindless behaviour, perhaps deserve reappraisal. It has long been known that you can't buy a hill farm without buying the sheep that go with it. The local flock develops an intimate knowledge of the terrain, enabling the sheep to find food in summer and shelter in winter, which is passed down from ewe to lamb for generations. It has discovered that sheep recognise each other's faces, and appear to use the right side of the brain for this, just like people. They can easily distinguish between 50 different faces, which they can remember for at least two years, and can remember the faces of sheep they haven't seen for a while. It is widely assumed that dogs are brighter than sheep. However, in the hills of Gujarat in western India, instead of using sheepdogs to round up their flocks, shepherds call directly to the sheep - and they obey.

Questions for Testing Animal Intelligence Reading Answers

The passage, Testing Animal Intelligence Reading Answers, consists of 14 questions, which showcase three different IELTS Reading question types. They are:

IELTS Reading Table Completion (Q. 14-18)
IELTS Reading Yes/No/Not Given (Q. 19-26)
IELTS Reading Multiple-Choice Question (Q. 27)

Questions 14-18

Complete the table below using information from the text given below (A-H).

Animal	Skill
rats	14 …………….
dolphins	15 …………….
monkeys and apes	16 …………….
sheep	17 …………….
all animals	18 …………….

A can collaborate with each other

B can give instructions to other animals

C transfer knowledge to their offspring

D can recognise many different human faces

E use many of the same strategies as humans in their dealings with each other.

F solve problems in their daily lives

G can create images

H can solve certain puzzles very quickly

Questions 19-26

Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer? Write

YES if the statement reflects the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

19 Human intelligence tests are inappropriate for animals.

20 In some cases, animal abilities can be considered superior to human abilities.

21 Animals learn to recognise images more slowly than humans.

22 Human intelligence is more versatile than animal intelligence.

23 Scientists have learned to communicate effectively with dolphins.

24 Dolphins can tell the difference between fact and fiction.

25 Only humans are ever dishonest with each other.

26 We will have a much greater understanding of animal intelligence in the future.

Questions 27

From the list below, choose the sentence A-D which best summarises the views of the writer.

Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in box 27 on your answer sheet.

A Scientists are discovering that many animals are much more intelligent than they realised.

B Some animals are not actually less intelligent than humans - their intelligences are just different.

C We cannot accurately assess animal intelligence, because their intelligences are different to ours.

D The only real difference between human and animal intelligence is that we can think creatively.

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Answers and Explanations of Testing Animal Intelligence IELTS Reading Passage

In this section, you can examine the answers that have been provided to you, alongside the explanation that will aid you in identifying the answers. Check out 'Testing Animal Intelligence' answers and assess your improvement for a high IELTS band score.

Question number	Answer	Explanation
14	H	The last line of paragraph A states that “give a rat a maze of smells, not just visible walls, and it can solve it as fast as a human can.” The words ‘can solve it as fast as a human can’ imply that rats can quickly solve certain puzzles. Hence, the correct answer is “H.”
15	A	Paragraph H states that “they can communicate with one another and either design the routine together or agree that one will be the leader.” Besides that, paragraph I mentions that “in Argentina, dolphins collaborate with fishermen to drive fish into the latter’s nets, in return for a share of the catch.” These lines suggest that dolphins can collaborate with each other. Hence, the correct answer is “A.”
16	E	According to paragraph J, “monkeys and apes seldom resort to violence to get their own way, preferring social manipulation and deception.” Moreover, it also mentions “the ability to plan things in their minds before starting the task.” Since social manipulation and deception are the strategies generally opted by humans, it suggests that monkeys and apes also use the same strategies in their dealings with each other. Hence, the correct answer is “E.”
17	C	Paragraph K provides the information that “the local flock develops an intimate knowledge of the terrain, enabling the sheep to find food in summer and shelter in winter, which is passed down from ewe to lamb for generations.” The term ‘which is passed down’ suggests that sheep transfer their knowledge to their offspring. Hence, the correct answer is “C.”
18	F	The last line of paragraph B suggests that “if members of any animal species are required to solve complex problems, many of them will eventually do it.” The earlier mentioned line confirms that eventually, all animals solve problems in their daily lives. Hence, the correct answer is “F.”
19	YES	The beginning of paragraph A conveys that “applying human intelligence tests to animals has been largely discredited, as these are designed to measure human intelligence.” Since the human intelligence test is discredited to animals, it confirms that it is inappropriate for animals. As the statement agrees with the information, the correct answer is “YES.”
20	YES	The first line of paragraph D states that “animals can do things like navigating or remembering the locations of objects much better than we can.” This line confirms that animals’ abilities can be considered superior to human abilities because they can remember the locations of objects better. As the statement agrees with the information, the correct answer is “YES.”
21	NOT GIVEN	None of the passages provides the information that animals learn to recognize images more slowly than humans. Hence, the correct answer is “NOT GIVEN.”
22	YES	There’s a line in paragraph C in which the author states that “what seems to differentiate humans is not our mental skills so much as flexibility and our capability for abstract thought: the ability to create new ideas and images as well as receive them.” The term ‘capability for abstract thoughts and ability to create new ideas’ confirms that human intelligence is more adaptable or versatile than animal intelligence. As the statement agrees with the information, the correct answer is “YES.”
23	NO	Paragraph E mentions that “so far, scientists have only identified the names, or ‘call-signs’, by which dolphins seem to refer to themselves and each other, including ‘talking about’ other dolphins who aren’t present.” The above line denotes that scientists have discovered how dolphins communicate with each other, not that they have learned to communicate with dolphins. As the statement contradicts the information, the correct answer is “NO.”
24	NOT GIVEN	None of the passages confirms or denies that dolphins can tell the difference between facts and fiction. Hence, the correct answer is “NOT GIVEN.”
25	NO	In paragraph J, the author conveys that “monkeys and apes seldom resort to violence to get their own way, preferring social manipulation and deception.” As monkeys and apes also use manipulations and deceptions, it means that it’s not true that only humans are dishonest with each other. As the statement contradicts the statement, the correct answer is “NO.”
26	NOT GIVEN	Nowhere in the passage is it mentioned that we’ll have a better understanding of animal intelligence in the future. Hence, the correct answer is “NOT GIVEN.”
27	C	In paragraph A author mentions that “even time-honoured tests like putting rats into mazes can be deceptive since such tests assume the animals will rely on the same sense as we do.” As the tests are ‘deceptive’, it means that we cannot accurately assess animal intelligence because their intelligence is different to ours. Hence, the correct answer is “C.”

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How to Solve the Question Types in the ‘Testing Animal Intelligence’ Reading Passage?

Now, let’s check out some IELTS exam preparation tips for achieving a band score of 8+ for each question type in the Testing Animal Intelligence Reading Answers. This will help you learn how to approach each question type effectively.

Table Completion

Start by reading the table headings carefully so you understand what kind of information is required. In this passage, you are matching animals with their specific abilities.
Read the list of options (A–H) first and paraphrase each skill in your mind.
For example, “can solve certain puzzles very quickly” can be paraphrased as fast problem-solving.
Scan the passage for explicit comparisons or examples involving each animal.
For instance, when rats are compared directly with humans in problem-solving speed, that signals a speed-related skill, not general intelligence.
Match one clear ability per animal and avoid overthinking secondary details.
Check that the chosen skill is directly stated or clearly implied, not assumed.
Do not select a skill just because it sounds impressive. Always confirm it is clearly supported by the text, as seen with sheep transferring knowledge across generations.

Yes/No/Not Given

Read each statement carefully and identify whether it tests an opinion, comparison, or absolute claim.
Locate the relevant paragraph and compare the statement only with what the writer claims, not what seems logical.
Choose:

YES if the writer clearly agrees
NO if the writer clearly disagrees
NOT GIVEN if the idea is not addressed at all

Pay special attention to strong or absolute words such as only, always, or ever.
If the passage discusses a topic but does not make the specific claim, the correct answer is NOT GIVEN.
Do not infer meaning from silence. Lack of information is NOT GIVEN, not NO.

Multiple-Choice Question

First, read the question carefully to understand that you are looking for the overall viewpoint of the writer, not a detail.
Skim the passage again, focusing on:

the introduction
repeated themes
the conclusion or reflective statements

Eliminate options that:

focus too narrowly on one animal
exaggerate claims
introduce ideas not consistently supported in the passage

Choose the option that best captures the writer’s central argument, even if it does not use the same wording.
Do not choose the option that sounds most positive or dramatic. Choose the one that best reflects the author’s reasoning throughout the text.

To conclude, samples such as Testing Animal Intelligence IELTS Reading Answers from IELTS Reading recent actual tests and practice tests are crucial. Using these reading techniques, you'll boost your reading speed, easily identify your weak spots, and tackle various question types used to assess your comprehension. As a result, consistent practice with these tests will bring you closer to achieving your desired results.

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