Scientists Study Jonathan the Tortoise’s Genome for Clues to Longevity

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 central purpose?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To prove that tortoises age more slowly than all other animals
   2. To explain a longevity study and its scientific limitations
   3. To compare Jonathan’s habitat with those of other tortoises
   4. To present a genetic treatment for human aging
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To explain a longevity study and its scientific limitations

   It explains the study’s promise while emphasizing the limits of genetic interpretation.

   Its value lies in the possibility that Jonathan’s genetic information could deepen scientific understanding of longevity.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention comparisons among long-lived species?

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   1. To establish that all species age identically
   2. To identify Jonathan’s precise geographical origin
   3. To show how comparisons may illuminate longevity
   4. To demonstrate that genomes are simple instruction manuals
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To show how comparisons may illuminate longevity

   Comparisons may reveal why some organisms survive considerably longer than others.

   Such comparisons may help researchers explore why some organisms remain alive for far longer than others.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “Such comparisons” refer to?

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   1. Comparisons involving aging across species
   2. Researchers’ comparisons of genetic instructions
   3. Jonathan’s comparisons with ordinary standards
   4. Differences between individual researchers
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Comparisons involving aging across species

   The phrase points back to comparisons involving different species’ aging rates.

   Animals do not all grow older at the same pace, and long-lived species can provide useful points of comparison.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can reasonably be inferred about Jonathan’s genome?

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   1. It will certainly reveal the cause of Jonathan’s longevity
   2. It may contain clues requiring corroboration and careful analysis
   3. It is identical to the genomes of all long-lived species
   4. It proves that age alone determines biological survival
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It may contain clues requiring corroboration and careful analysis

   The article presents it as potentially informative, but not independently conclusive.

   Genetic information can be studied for possible patterns, but interpreting those patterns requires care.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How does paragraph five qualify earlier optimism?

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   1. By rejecting genome research as scientifically irrelevant
   2. By limiting claims drawn from one animal’s genetic features
   3. By arguing that Jonathan is not genuinely old
   4. By shifting attention from biology to habitat protection
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   By limiting claims drawn from one animal’s genetic features

   It introduces methodological caution about attributing causation to individual traits.

   A distinctive feature in one animal does not, by itself, establish why that animal has survived for so many years.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

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   What contrast structures the article’s conclusion?

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   1. Ancient history versus modern technology
   2. Individual biology versus environmental change
   3. Potential insight versus immediate certainty
   4. Land animals versus aquatic organisms
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   Answer

   Potential insight versus immediate certainty

   The conclusion contrasts investigation’s potential value with the absence of immediate certainty.

   For that reason, the study should be understood as an investigation rather than a promise of immediate answers.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why is Jonathan described as notable beyond being old?

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   1. He has been compared with every known tortoise
   2. He is exceptionally old among land animals
   3. He possesses the world’s most thoroughly studied genome
   4. He lives in a habitat shared by many species
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   He is exceptionally old among land animals

   His age represents an exceptional case among land animals and enables unusual study.

   At 194, he represents an exceptional example among land animals.

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.