Mass Appeal of the Manta Rays – IELTS General Reading Answers

IELTS applicants who practise consistently can earn the highest possible scores on the IELTS General Reading module, as it is easier than the IELTS Reading Academic. To do so successfully, you must be able to approach and respond to a variety of question types, such as those found in Mass Appeal of the Manta Rays in IELTS Cambridge 12 Test 8.

The Academic passage, Mass Appeal of the Manta Rays, is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Try to find the answers to get an idea of the difficulty level of the passages in the actual reading test. If you want more passages to solve, try taking one of our IELTS reading practice tests.

There are 13 questions in total in the Reading Answers of Mass Appeal of the Manta Rays. You must comprehend the subject, identify important terms in the IELTS reading passages, and then respond in accordance with the instructions.

The question types found in this passage are:

• Matching Information (Q. 1-3)
• True/False/Not Given (Q. 4-9)
• Summary Completion (Q. 10-13)

Reading Passage 

Mass Appeal of the Manta Rays

A I am underwater, face to face with a large flat fish which I recognise immediately as being a manta ray. For an instant I look straight into its gaping mouth and see the row of small, flattened teeth in its lower jaw. Close on its tail comes another manta ray, and another and another. The manta rays are unaffected by my being there, cruising past in a leisurely fashion without seeming to expend any great effort.

B From above, the manta rays are great black silhouettes that fishermen called ‘devil fish’, because of the curious horn-like fins hanging down near their mouths. But looking into their eyes you get a sense of their peaceful nature. Unlike stingrays, mantas don’t have venomous spines in their tails, and unlike many fish species they seem to enjoy human company. Once, over-enthusiastically, I swim towards a manta. I am just a few inches away when it senses me. To my surprise, the whole fish twitches in alarm and shoots off, perhaps fearing that I will touch it. I feel ashamed to have given it a fright.

C I have come to Hanifaru, a small lagoon next to an uninhabited island in the Maldives, especially to see manta rays. These great harmless creatures congregate here during the south-west monsoons between May and November and, if the tides and winds are right, enter a shallow cul-de-sac in the reef to hunt for plankton, their main source of nutrition. On certain days the bay can attract more than 100 mantas. I have seen many manta rays on dives around the world, though not in these numbers.

D Guy Stevens is my guide, a British marine biologist who has been studying the mantas for the past five years. Based at the nearby Four Seasons resort, he has identified more than 2,000 individual manta rays, photographing and cataloguing them according to their distinctive skin patterns. Each day we make the 40-minute boat journey from the resort to Hanifaru. Feeding events, as Guy calls them, are never guaranteed, but, during the season, hotel guests can sign up for ‘manta alerts’. If Guy and his research assistants spot significant manta activity, the guests will be brought by fast speedboat to the lagoon to snorkel. When feeding, the mantas of Hanifaru tend to stay near the surface, making them accessible to snorkellers just as much as divers. They seem not to mind the human competition in this quite small space, and indeed they are often joined by other rays and even giant whale sharks, which feed on the same plankton.

E Word among the diving community about the possibility of finding a mass of manta rays at Hanifaru has slowly been spreading over the past year. Outside the shallow lagoon I can see five large safari boats- live-aboard cruisers that take divers around the best underwater sites in the Maldives. It is something that Guy has been monitoring closely. ‘Word is out that Hanifaru is a top manta spot,’ he explains, ‘and although the government has declared the bay a “protected area”, we still don’t have any regulations in force to limit the number of people in the water at any one time.’

F During my stay, the resort received a visit from the then-president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed. Since coming to power in 2008, he had made his interest in the marine environment and concerns about climate change well known. In 2009 he held an underwater cabinet meeting, urging other world leaders to act decisively to combat climate change. The protection of wildlife areas such as Hanifaru was clearly one of his objectives, and I asked him why he took such an interest. ‘Maldivians have lived with the reefs and their fish life since long before there were tourists,’ he said. ‘And while tourist dollars are good for our country, the sea and its produce are even more vital to my people. I have to balance what tourists want to see with preserving the marine environment- and in some cases, like Hanifaru, those objectives coincide.’

G On several dives I am lucky enough to get close to the mantas, sometimes at underwater ‘cleaning stations’. Here, the mantas come in small numbers, or individually, to pause above a coral outcrop and wait while small fish pick at their skin, removing parasites. Adapted for fast swimming with their flattened bodies, they can accelerate rapidly with a twitch of their wings. They gaze at human swimmers with a kind of knowing calm, something people often remark on when they try to capture the emotion they experience after seeing them. ‘The manta rays have the biggest brain of any fish,’ Guy explains, ‘and some manta researchers are convinced that mantas can recognise individual people underwater.’

H I return to the lagoon over the course of several days and learn more from Guy about his hopes for the future. ‘People can visit this place, but I want to be sure that they don’t harass the mantas by touching them or crowding them out while they’re feeding. We’re working to get a full-time ranger station and some kind of permit system to limit the number of boats that can enter the lagoon each day.’

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Questions 1-3

1 a record that is being kept of manta rays in the area

2 something that the writer regrets

3 the reason for the writer’s visit

Questions 4-9

4 It is difficult to distinguish one manta ray from another.

5 For hotel guests, viewing manta rays feeding has to be arranged at short notice.

6 The manta rays appear to object to the presence of people in the water while they are feeding.

7 Guy Stevens is concerned about the increasing interest in Hanifaru.

8 Mohamed Nasheed succeeded in persuading certain other countries to take steps to protect the environment.

9 A procedure has now been established to control the number of visitors.

Questions 10-13

The Manta Ray

During certain times of year, depending on the weather conditions and the tides, manta rays collect to look for 10……………….. to feed on. They eat the same food as other species, such as giant whale sharks. As for keeping clean, they are kept free from 11……………….. by smaller fish.

Manta rays have certain characteristics which make them good swimmers; they use their 12……………….. to get up speed and they have flattened bodies, which help them to move quickly through the water. The nature of the manta’s 13……………….. is of particular interest to scientists.

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Answers for Mass Appeal of the Manta Rays Reading Answers with Location and Explanations

1 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph D, Line 2

Answer explanation: The selected line reveals, “Based at the nearby Four Seasons resort, he has identified more than 2,000 individual manta rays, photographing and cataloguing them according to their distinctive skin patterns.”. This tells us that the fourth paragraph informs us about a record (photographing and cataloguing)that is being kept of manta rays in the area around the Four Seasons resort. Hence, the answer is D.

2 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph B, Line 7

Answer explanation: In the quoted line of Paragraph B, it is declared, “I feel ashamed to have given it a fright.” This points to the fact that the author regrets going too near a manta while swimming and alarming it. Hence, the answer is B.

3 Answer: C

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph C, Line 1

Answer explanation: In the highlighted line of Paragraph C, it is reported that “I have come to Hanifaru, a small lagoon next to an uninhabited island in the Maldives, especially to see manta rays.” This proves the fact that the reason for the writer’s visit to Hanifaru is to see manta rays. Hence, the answer is C.

4 Answer: False

Question type: True/False/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph D, Line 2

Answer explanation: In the quoted line of Paragraph D, it is said that “Based at the nearby Four Seasons resort, he has identified more than 2,000 individual manta rays, photographing and cataloguing them according to their distinctive skin patterns.” It is clear from the above-mentioned line that manta rays can be distinguished based on their distinctive skin patterns and it is not a difficult task. As the statement contradicts the information, the answer is False.

5 Answer: True

Question type: True/False/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph D, Line 4

Answer explanation: In the specified line of Paragraph D, it is communicated that “Feeding events, as Guy calls them, are never guaranteed, but, during the season, hotel guests can sign up for ‘manta alerts’.”. In this way, it is shown that even though feeding mantas is not guaranteed, they can be arranged at short notice if the guests sign up for ‘manta alerts’. As the statement agrees with the information, the answer is True.

6 Answer: False

Question type: True/False/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph D, Line 6 -Line 7

Answer explanation: The mentioned lines of Paragraph D say that “When feeding, the mantas of Hanifaru tend to stay near the surface, making them accessible to snorkellers just as much as divers. They seem not to mind the human competition in this quite small space…”. As it is clear that mantas do not mind the presence of humans while feeding, which contradicts the information, the answer is False.

7 Answer: True

Question type: True/False/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph H, Line 2-Line 3

Answer explanation: The given lines of Paragraph H describe, “‘People can visit this place, but I want to be sure that they don’t harass the mantas by touching them or crowding them out while they’re feeding. We’re working to get a full-time ranger station and some kind of permit system to limit the number of boats that can enter the lagoon each day.’”. It is clear that Guy Stevens, a British marine biologist, is worried that the growing interest of people in the manta rays around Hanifaru might affect the manta. As the statement agrees with the information, the answer is True.

8 Answer: Not Given

Question type: True/False/Not Given

Answer location: N.A.

Answer explanation: Although there is a reference to Mohamed Nasheed’s visit to Hanifaru in 2009 and his attempt to urge other world leaders to act decisively to combat climate change, there is no mention of his success in persuading certain other countries to take steps to protect the environment. Hence, the answer is Not Given.

Tips to Solve the Question Types in Mass Appeal of the Manta Rays IELTS Reading Answers

Since now you know the answers to Mass Appeal of the Manta Rays Reading Answers with explanation, let us check out some quick tips to answer the three types of questions in the General Reading Answers of Mass Appeal of the Manta Rays.

Matching Information: 

You will be given a list of three to six statements in this type of question, and you will need to match the information in each statement to the corresponding information in a paragraph in the reading passage.

• Read the instructions followed by the list of statements – You will get an idea of the main idea of each statement. Also, figure out the keywords from each statement.
• Scan and skim through the passage – Use these reading techniques to go through the text and find out which paragraph or section contains the relevant information of the statements.
• One paragraph will contain information given in a statement – While one statement corresponds to one passage, some passages may not have any answer. Remember this to avoid repetition or wasting your time.
• Identify the answer – Once you identify the keywords and find out the corresponding paragraph that contains the information, follow this process for the others.

True/False/Not Given

In IELTS Reading, ‘True, False, Not Given’ questions are based on facts. Several factual statements will be provided to you, and it is up to you to determine whether or not they are accurate by reading the text.

To answer this type of question, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the question and identify the keywords – Before reading the material, have a look at your list of True, False, and Not Given questions.
• Scan the passage for synonyms or paraphrased words of the keywords – When you have highlighted the keywords, swiftly read the text to look for paraphrases or synonyms.
• Match the highlighted words in the questions with their synonyms in the text – Once you find both sets of keywords, cross-check them to find the answer.
• Identify the answer – If the facts match, the answer is TRUE, and in case it doesn’t match, it is FALSE. If you are unable to find the answer or unsure of it, mark it NOT GIVEN.

Summary Completion: 

Summary Completion is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to fill in a gap in a paragraph with a word or phrase from the passage.

To answer summary completion questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the sentences carefully: This will give you an idea of the type of word or phrase that is missing.
• Scan the passage for the keywords: The keywords in the sentence can help you to identify the correct word or phrase.
• Read the sentence with the missing word or phrase: This will help you to see how the word or phrase fits into the sentence.
• Check your answer: Once you have filled in the gap, make sure that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence.

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