A Very Special Dog — IELTS Reading Answers

The drugs in the suitcase

1. Awere hidden inside the lining.
2. Bhad pepper and coffee around them.correct
3. Chad previously been frozen.
4. Dhad a special smell to repel dogs.

“Inside the case, within styrofoam casing, packed in loose pepper and coffee, wrapped in freezer paper and heat-sealed in plastic, are 18 kilograms of hashish”

Option B: the hashish was 'packed in loose pepper and coffee' to mask its scent, not hidden in the lining, frozen or treated with repellent.

Most dogs are not good at finding drugs because

1. Athey don't work well with a handler.
2. Bthey lack the right training.
3. Cthe drugs are usually very well hidden.
4. Dthey lack certain genetic qualities.correct

“Ordinary dogs have a 0.1% chance of making it in drug detection. The new breeding programme, run by the Australian Customs, is so successful that more than 50% of its dogs make the grade”

Option D: ordinary dogs have a '0.1% chance', while a breeding programme lifts success above 50%, so inherited qualities decide.

Florence is a good drug detector because she

1. Ahas a better sense of smell than other dogs.
2. Bis not easily distracted.correct
3. Chas been specially trained to work at airports.
4. Denjoys what she is doing.

“It turns out that it's not Florence's nose that makes her a top drug dog, but her unswerving concentration, plus a few other essential traits”

Option B: 'it's not Florence's nose' but 'her unswerving concentration' that makes her a top dog, so she is not easily distracted.

Dogs like Florence may help scientists understand

1. Ahow human and dog brains differ.
2. Bhow people can use both sides of their brain.
3. Cwhy some people have difficulty paying attention.correct
4. Dthe best way for people to maintain their focus.

“Florence could help neurobiologists to understand both what they call 'attention processing', the brain mechanisms that determine what a person pays attention to and for how long, and its flip side, problems such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)”

Option C: the research covers 'attention processing' and 'its flip side' - ADHD - so the dogs may explain why some people cannot concentrate.

In 1993, the Australian Customs

1. Adecided to use its own dogs again.
2. Bwas successful in finding detector dogs.
3. Cchanged the way it obtained dogs.correct
4. Dasked private breeders to provide more dogs.

“Traditionally, the animals came from pounds and private breeders. But, in 1993, fed up with the poor success rate of finding good dogs this way, John Vandeloo, senior instructor with the Detector Dog Unit, joined forces with Kath Champness, then a doctoral student at the University of Melbourne,”

Option C: dogs previously came 'from pounds and private breeders'; in 1993 the unit 'set up a breeding programme', changing how it obtained them.

“First, every good detector dog must love praise because this is the only tool trainers have at their disposal, but the dog must still be able to work for long periods without it The ideal detector is also fearless enough to deal with jam-packed airport crowds and the roaring engine rooms of cargo ships the dog must...”

Options D, E, F and I match the four traits: love of praise, working long periods without it, fearlessness among crowds and engines, and hours of focus.

Methods of determining if a child has ADHD are now widely accepted.

“As many as 3 to 5% of children are thought to suffer from the condition in the US, where the incidence is highest, although diagnosis is often controversial”

FALSE: 'diagnosis is often controversial', which contradicts the idea that methods of determining ADHD are now widely accepted.

After about five minutes of a vigilance test, some subjects will still notice some blips.

“Five minutes into the test, one in ten subjects will start to miss the majority of the blips, one in ten will still be able to spot nearly all of them and the rest will come somewhere in between”

TRUE: 'five minutes into the test... one in ten will still be able to spot nearly all' the blips, so some subjects keep noticing them.

Vigilance tests help improve concentration.

“Attention in humans can be tested by asking subjects to spot colours on a screen while ignoring shapes, or to spot sounds while ignoring visual cues, or to take a 'vigilance test'”

NOT GIVEN: the text says vigilance tests are used to 'test' attention, but never claims they improve or train concentration.

If a few grams of a drug are well concealed, even the best dogs will miss them.

“During a routine mail screen that can take hours, the dogs stay so focused that not even a postcard lined with 0.5 grams of heroin and hidden in a bulging sack of letters escapes detection”

FALSE: '0.5 grams of heroin' hidden in a 'bulging sack of letters' does not 'escape detection', contradicting the claim that concealment defeats dogs.