The geography of taste buds
Read The geography of taste buds and check the IELTS Reading answers. Scientists have long known that the surface of the tongue is covered with taste buds: onion-shaped bundles of cells that stand guard for the digestive system. Long before our modern world of supermarkets and restaurants, taste bu…
Passage preview
Scientists have long known that the surface of the tongue is covered with taste buds: onion-shaped bundles of cells that stand guard for the digestive system. Long before our modern world of supermarkets and restaurants, taste buds served as a crucial tool to maintain the daily existence of our ancestors. The bitter flavour of a wild almond told a prehistoric human foraging in African forests that the nut was poisonous, and they should spit it out. A sweet fruit, though, was safe to consume, and full of energy from carbohydrates. The presence of lions and other man-eating predators also added urgency to meal choices. 'If the thing didn't taste good, you might decide it's not worth it to be out in the open and at risk,' says Steve Miller, a taste researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Answers with explanations
- 27. L
The blank needs a noun describing the primary evolutionary purpose of taste buds. The passage states they were a 'crucial tool to maintain the daily existence of our ancestors.' Option L (**survival**) accurately and concisely summarizes the concept of 'maintaining daily existence' in a harsh ancient world.
- 28. D
The blank requires a noun related to the safety of eating food. The text explicitly states that sweet fruit 'was safe to consume.' Option D (**consumption**) is the direct noun equivalent of the verb 'consume' and correctly fulfills the grammatical and logical requirement of the sentence.
- 29. E
The blank requires a noun identifying a threat that complicated the gathering of food for early humans. The passage explains that 'lions and other man-eating predators' added urgency and risk to their meal choices. Option E (**predators**) directly matches the text's explicit description of this environmental threat.
- 30. K
The blank needs a noun representing the sensory mechanism responsible for much of our perceived taste. The text reveals that what we think we taste is 'actually the work of our nose.' Option K (**smell**) represents the sense directly associated with the nose, making it the correct completion.
- 31. I
The blank requires a noun describing the physical state of meat or vegetables indicated by sour/bitter tastes. The passage states these tastes signal 'decomposing meat or vegetables.' Option I (**decay**) serves as an exact synonym for decomposition, perfectly completing the meaning of the summary.
- 32. B
The blank needs a noun completing the phrase 'in this [blank] we are different.' The passage points out that 'Unlike animals, humans have acquired a taste for tartness,' highlighting a difference in sensory perception. Option B (**sense**) perfectly captures this distinction regarding our sense of taste.
- 33. YES
The statement suggests the myth began from an interpretation error. The passage states the concept 'probably originated with a German text mistranslated into English'. A mistranslation is directly equivalent to an error of interpretation or translation, making the writer's claim factually aligned with the text. Answer: YES.
- 34. NO
The statement claims scientists were in **agreement** regarding the location of cells. The text clearly states that the details were 'long a matter of debate' and that while 'some scientists' held certain beliefs, others were unconvinced. This debate explicitly contradicts the idea of widespread scientific agreement. Answer: NO.
- 35. NOT GIVEN
The statement makes a specific quantitative claim that bitter-sensing cells have **more receptors** than sweet-sensing cells. While the passage details the biological experiments with mutant mice and the successful isolation of these specific receptors, it provides no comparative statistics or information about the quantity of receptors. Answer: NOT GIVEN.
- 36. YES
The statement highlights two teams making the same discovery simultaneously after long study. The text confirms that 'After eight years' of research, Matsunami's team and Zanker's 'separate group' 'simultaneously published' that they found the tart sensors. This perfectly aligns with the writer's claims. Answer: YES.
- 37. NO
The statement claims scientists **failed to find** taste receptors elsewhere in the body. The passage directly contradicts this assertion by highlighting the surprising discoveries that receptors are 'also found in the spinal cord' and 'have been found in the intestinal tract.' Answer: NO.
- 38. C
The correct option is C, stating the myth used to be taught and believed in academic circles. The passage explicitly supports this by mentioning that the erroneous mouth map diagrams 'still appeared in university neuroscience textbooks' as recently as 1996, confirming its historical presence in formal academic teaching.
- 39. D
Option D states the reference aims to show how a popular idea was proved wrong. Zanker's experiment isolated the receptors, finding each cell responds to only one taste. The text notes this specifically 'dispelled the notion that all cells could sense all tastes,' directly proving a prior scientific belief wrong.
- 40. B
Option B suggests the main purpose is to inform readers of a recent scientific discovery. While the passage traces the history of taste research, it culminates in the 'breakthrough' where teams 'finally found the tongue's tart sensors.' The central focus is explaining this new discovery and its implications.