Academic Reading sample task – Table completion

Academic Reading sample task – Table completion

[Note: This is an extract from an Academic Reading passage on the subject of dung(dəNG) beetles(ˈbēdl). The text preceding this extract gave some background facts about dung beetles, and went on to describe a decision to introduce non-native varieties(vəˈrīədē) to Australia.]

Introducing dung beetles into a pasture(ˈpasCHər) is a simple process: approximately(əˈpräksəmətlē) 1,500 beetles are released, a handful at a time, into fresh cow pats(pat) in the cow pasture. The beetles immediately disappear beneath(bəˈnēTH) the pats digging and tunnelling(ˈtənl) and, if they successfully adapt to their new environment, soon become a permanent(ˈpərmənənt), self-sustaining(səˈstān) part of the local ecology(ēˈkäləjē). In time they multiply and within three or four years the benefits to the pasture are obvious.

Dung beetles work from the inside of the pat so they are sheltered(ˈSHeltərd) from predators(ˈpredədər) such as birds and foxes. Most species(ˈspēsēz) burrow(ˈbərō) into the soil(soil) and bury(ˈberē) dung in tunnels directly underneath the pats, which are hollowed(ˈhälō) out from within. Some large species originating(əˈrijəˌnāt) from France excavate(ˈekskəˌvāt) tunnels to a depth of approximately 30 cm below the dung pat.
These beetles make sausage(ˈsôsij)-shaped brood(bro͞od) chambers(ˈCHāmbər) along the tunnels. The shallowest(ˈSHalō) tunnels belong to a much smaller Spanish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree. South African beetles dig narrow tunnels of approximately 20 cm below the surface of the pat. Some surface-dwelling(ˈdweliNG) beetles, including a South African species, cut perfectly-shaped balls from the pat, which are rolled away and attached to the bases(ˈbāsēz) of plants.

For maximum dung burial(ˈberēəl) in spring, summer and autumn, farmers require a variety of species with overlapping periods of activity. In the cooler environments of the state of Victoria, the large French species (2.5 cms long), is matched with smaller (half this size), temperate(ˈtemp(ə)rət)-climate(ˈklīmit) Spanish species. The former are slow to recover from the winter cold and produce only one or two generations of offspring from late spring until autumn. The latter, which multiply rapidly(ˈrapədlē) in early spring, produce two to five generations annually.
The South African ball-rolling species, being a sub-tropical(tropical) beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal(ˈkōstəl) New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunneling species. In warmer climates, many species are active for longer periods of the year.

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