Science roundup links shared meals, exceptionally loud birds, and asteroid Bennu to bigger questions

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

C2. 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 overarching idea is established by the article’s opening and closing paragraphs?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Scientific research increasingly depends on space missions.
   2. Apparently unrelated observations can generate broad scientific questions.
   3. Biological research is more reliable than planetary investigation.
   4. Everyday behavior is the central subject of contemporary science.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Apparently unrelated observations can generate broad scientific questions.

   The article frames disparate investigations as examples of scientific breadth.

   Together, the three stories move from a shared table to the natural world and then into space, emphasizing the breadth of contemporary science.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which result most directly supports the claim that social context affects physiology?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Participants consumed identical quantities of carbohydrates.
   2. The findings appeared in Science Advances.
   3. Social eaters showed a different glucose pattern.
   4. Insulin moves glucose into the body’s cells.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Social eaters showed a different glucose pattern.

   The comparison links social eating with measurable glucose outcomes.

   Their levels did not rise as sharply, and they returned to their baseline more quickly.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   In the phrase “That social cue,” what does “That” refer to?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The release of insulin
   2. The presence of carbohydrates
   3. The brain’s association of people with eating
   4. The return of glucose to baseline
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The brain’s association of people with eating

   The demonstrative points back to the brain’s association with eating companions.

   One proposed explanation is that the brain associates other people with eating.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention the account’s lack of details about the birds?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To reject the scientific value of studying birds
   2. To acknowledge limits while preserving a legitimate research question
   3. To explain why bird calls are louder than human speech
   4. To identify the species responsible for the finding
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To acknowledge limits while preserving a legitimate research question

   The qualification limits the claims that can responsibly be made.

   Although the supplied account gives no further details about the species or the measurements involved, the subject raises a basic question in animal communication: how do birds produce sounds powerful enough to attract attention across their environment?

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized after introducing the roundup?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. From planetary science to physiology, then animal behavior
   2. From social eating to bird communication, then asteroid research
   3. From historical background to experimental methods, then conclusions
   4. From disputed findings to confirmed results, then unresolved questions
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   From social eating to bird communication, then asteroid research

   The discussion proceeds through three domains in a deliberate sequence.

   Together, the three stories move from a shared table to the natural world and then into space, emphasizing the breadth of contemporary science.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What function does the 24% figure serve in the discussion?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It identifies the study’s sample size.
   2. It measures the social group’s relative efficiency.
   3. It estimates insulin release during digestion.
   4. It indicates the proportion of participants eating alone.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It measures the social group’s relative efficiency.

   The statistic quantifies the reported difference between the groups.

   The researchers calculated that the social group was 24% more efficient at clearing glucose from the blood.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article describe the proposed mechanism as incomplete?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The researchers did not measure blood glucose.
   2. The social group showed no measurable difference.
   3. The explanation remains provisional rather than exhaustive.
   4. The brain cannot influence metabolic processes.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The explanation remains provisional rather than exhaustive.

   The wording distinguishes a plausible explanation from a definitive causal account.

   This remains a proposed mechanism rather than a complete account of why the difference occurred, but it illustrates how behavior and physiology can be closely intertwined.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship between Bennu and Earth does the final section emphasize?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Bennu may have directly caused Earth’s formation.
   2. Bennu offers material that can illuminate Earth’s origins.
   3. Bennu contains modern organisms transported from Earth.
   4. Bennu’s orbit determines present-day environmental conditions.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Bennu offers material that can illuminate Earth’s origins.

   Bennu is presented as an indirect evidentiary resource for planetary history.

   In this sense, a distant body becomes a source of evidence about our planet’s beginnings.

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.