Researchers are tracking Monarch butterflies to learn more about their journey

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the article’s primary purpose?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To explain how tracking may clarify Monarch migration
   2. To compare Monarchs with several other migrating species
   3. To evaluate the commercial value of butterfly research
   4. To describe the history of transmitters in biology
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To explain how tracking may clarify Monarch migration

   It explains how tracking technology may clarify Monarch migration.

   The project is designed to provide a clearer picture of the butterflies’ journey, including where they stop and which challenges they encounter along the way.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can be inferred about ordinary observation from the second paragraph?

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   1. It is impossible during migration
   2. It may not reveal the full movement pattern
   3. It provides more data than tracking devices
   4. It focuses exclusively on environmental conditions
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It may not reveal the full movement pattern

   Ordinary observation may capture events without revealing the complete route.

   Attached to a butterfly, it may offer information that is difficult to obtain by observing the insects individually.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   In the third paragraph, “those points” refers to what?

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   1. Several stopping locations
   2. The researchers and butterflies
   3. North America and Mexico
   4. Devices and observations
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   North America and Mexico

   The phrase refers to North America and Mexico, the journey’s endpoints.

   For Monarch butterflies, the destination identified in this project is Mexico, while the researchers are working across North America to learn more about the passage between those points.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article discuss the butterflies’ stopping points?

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   1. To show that stops are irrelevant to migration
   2. To identify where research funding is concentrated
   3. To connect movement with journey-related difficulties
   4. To prove that butterflies remain stationary frequently
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To connect movement with journey-related difficulties

   Stops may reveal conditions and difficulties along the migration route.

   Tracking could therefore help connect the butterflies’ movement with the practical difficulties of traveling such a long route.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Chronologically, from ancient research to modern findings
   2. From project overview to methods, significance, and implications
   3. By contrasting two competing scientific theories
   4. From environmental threats to proposed political solutions
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   From project overview to methods, significance, and implications

   It moves from the project’s overview to its methods, significance, and implications.

   For now, the researchers’ stated goal is to learn more about the route, its stopping points, and its challenges.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship does the article establish between device size and research capability?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Smaller devices may expand researchers’ ability to study movement
   2. Larger devices are necessary for accurate biological research
   3. Device size determines the butterflies’ destination
   4. Tiny devices prevent scientists from studying migration
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Smaller devices may expand researchers’ ability to study movement

   Small devices can make movement observable without depending solely on sightings.

   A device that is tiny enough to be carried by a butterfly may allow scientists to investigate movement without relying solely on occasional sightings.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What limitation is explicitly or implicitly acknowledged?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The project has already mapped every stopping point
   2. The researchers have not yet presented definitive results
   3. The butterflies cannot carry the transmitters
   4. The study excludes the migration route itself
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The researchers have not yet presented definitive results

   The project is intended to provide information, not yet report completed findings.

   For now, the researchers’ stated goal is to learn more about the route, its stopping points, and its challenges.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.