IELTS Reading: Gender Selection – Answers & Detailed Analysis

Throughout human history, the desire to influence the gender of one’s offspring has manifested in many forms, from folklore and legends to deeply ingrained cultural beliefs. But can modern science finally unveil this mystery, particularly through something as seemingly simple as diet?

The IELTS reading passage “Gender Selection” takes us deep into groundbreaking research, revealing an unexpected link between a mother’s diet and the sex of her fetus. This ECE article serves not only as an academic exploration of reproductive science but also as a valuable challenge for your intensive reading skills, specifically for True/False/Not Given, Matching Endings, and Multiple Choice question types.

Reading Passage and Detailed Questions: Gender Selection

Reading Passage

Gender selection – the choosing of a baby’s gender prior to birth – occurs in many parts of the world. In China and India, for example, a baby’s gender is considered to be of vital importance to the family, and male babies are often preferred over females for cultural reasons. In Western countries as well, there are many reasons why a family might want to choose a baby’s sex. Often, parents wish to have a mix of both boys and girls in the family. There are also health reasons for gender selection: many diseases affect children of only one sex, and a family that is susceptible to these diseases may wish to choose a baby’s gender to avoid having an affected child.

This demand for gender choice by parents has led scientists worldwide to investigate gender selection prior to conception. Conventional wisdom states that the father’s sperm is the main determinant of a child’s gender, but recent research has begun to reveal a number of other possible determining factors.

Elissa Cameron’s research, conducted in 2007 at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, investigated the effects of diet on sex ratios at birth. In one experiment, she changed the blood sugar level of female mice prior to conception by putting a chemical in the animals’ water. Mice that received the additive saw their blood sugar levels fall… A separate control group of mice received pure water… In the control group, 41% of the mice were born female, as compared to 47% in the group that received the additive – a disparity that Dr Cameron ascribed to the differences in the mothers’ blood sugar levels.

Interestingly, the idea that blood sugar levels affect a baby’s sex follows traditional wisdom…

Another researcher in this field, Fiona Matthews of the University of Exeter, England, has come up with further evidence in support of the effect of diet on the sex of the unborn child. Her study followed 740 pregnant women who kept detailed records of their diets before conception. Her study found that mothers who consumed high-energy foods prior to conception were slightly more likely to have boys. The food with the greatest effect seemed to be breakfast cereals… Among women eating cereals on a daily basis, 59% had boys, compared with 43% of women who ate less than one bowl of breakfast cereal per week. These results are said to echo those seen in other animals, for example, horses and cows, which statistically bear more males when well-fed.

The eating habits of women in rich Western countries could explain the slight fall in male births that have been reported over the past several years. In the UK, male births are falling by 1 per 1,000 births per year. This decrease could be ascribed to the decline in the number of adults and adolescent girls eating breakfast on a regular basis. In addition, the popularity of low-calorie diets for females of child-bearing age could also be a factor contributing to the reduction in male births.

The recent decline in male births in Western countries appears to make sense if one looks at it from an evolutionary standpoint. Historically, more boys tend to be born in times of food plenty, while females tend to be born in times of scarcity. One explanation is that when food is scarce, it is better for the survival of the species for female children to be born – as one male can father offspring by many females. Lower-calorie diets among Western women could be biologically echoing the effects of scarcity – hence, the decline in male births.

So what can we conclude from this complicated picture? If you would like to have a son, it might be a good idea to eat a breakfast that includes cereal. On the other hand, if you would prefer to give birth to a daughter, then cut out breakfast and continue a weight reduction diet, at least until after conception.

Questions

Questions 1-8 (True/False/Not Given)

1. Mothers in India eat cereal for breakfast so that they will have male babies.
2. New drugs have been developed that allow parents to choose the sex of their child.
3. People used to think that the father was responsible for the sex of the baby.
4. Elissa Cameron used both humans and mice in her research.
5. The majority of research on gender selection is happening in Europe.
6. People in the United Kingdom often do not eat breakfast.
7. Some people think that drinking tea has an effect on the sex of a baby.
8. High-calorie diets have been shown to increase the likelihood of female births.

Questions 9-13 (Matching Endings) 9. In Western countries, gender selection 10. Elissa Cameron 11. Fiona Matthews 12. Eating breakfast cereal on a daily basis 13. Evolution seems to support

Question 14 (Multiple Choice – Title) 14. Which of the following is the most suitable title for Reading Passage 1?

A. Eating Cereal Is Good for Pregnant Women

B. Research Says Mice Make Better Mothers

C. Diet May Influence the Sex of Your Baby

D. Asian Research Influences Western Medicine

E. Gender Selection Research Sparks Scientific Debate

Summary of the Reading Passage

This passage explores the topic of gender selection, focusing on the link between a mother’s diet and the sex of her baby.

• Context: Gender selection is common in many parts of the world due to cultural reasons (India, China) or for health reasons and the desire for family balance (the West).
• Conventional Wisdom vs. New Research: Traditional beliefs held that the father’s sperm determines the gender, but recent studies suggest the mother’s diet is also a significant factor.
• Key Studies:
  • Elissa Cameron: Research on mice showed that lower blood sugar levels in the mother led to a higher ratio of female offspring.
  • Fiona Matthews: Research on humans showed that women who consumed high-energy foods, particularly breakfast cereals, were more likely to have boys.
• Implications & Explanations: The decline in male births in Western countries may be linked to the trend of skipping breakfast and low-calorie dieting among women. This aligns with the evolutionary perspective that more females are born during times of food scarcity.

Vocabulary Highlights

1. Prior to (phrase): Before (formal).
2. Vital importance (noun phrase): Crucial or essential importance.
3. Susceptible to (adjective): Likely to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing (e.g., disease).
4. Determinant (noun): A factor that decisively affects the nature or outcome of something.
5. Conventional wisdom (noun phrase): A generally accepted belief or opinion.
6. Disparity (noun): A great difference or inequality.
7. Ascribed to (verb): Attributed to a particular cause.
8. Scarcity (noun): The state of being in short supply; shortage.

Answer Key and Detailed Explanations

Questions 1-8

1. NOT GIVEN

• Keywords: Mothers in India, eat cereal.
• Explanation: The passage mentions India in the context of cultural preferences for male babies and mentions cereal in Fiona Matthews’ research. However, there is no information linking these two, meaning there is no evidence that Indian mothers eat cereal to have boys.

2. NOT GIVEN

• Keywords: New drugs.
• Explanation: The entire passage focuses on natural factors, specifically diet. There is no mention of any new “drugs” being developed.

3. TRUE

• Keywords: People used to think, father was responsible.
• Evidence (Paragraph 2): “Conventional wisdom states that the father’s sperm is the main determinant of a child’s gender…”
• Explanation: “Conventional wisdom” is synonymous with what people used to think.

4. FALSE

• Keywords: Elissa Cameron, humans and mice.
• Evidence (Paragraph 3): The paragraph only describes Cameron’s experiment on “female mice.”
• Explanation: There is no information indicating she used humans in her research.

5. NOT GIVEN

• Keywords: Majority of research, in Europe.
• Explanation: The passage mentions a study in South Africa (Cameron) and one in England (Matthews). While England is in Europe, there is no information stating that the “majority” of research is taking place there.

6. TRUE

• Keywords: United Kingdom, not eat breakfast.
• Evidence (Paragraph 6): “This decrease could be ascribed to the decline in the number of adults and adolescent girls eating breakfast on a regular basis.”
• Explanation: A decline in the number of people eating breakfast regularly implies that people in the UK often do not eat breakfast.

7. NOT GIVEN

• Explanation: The passage does not mention “tea” in any context related to a baby’s gender.

8. FALSE

• Keywords: High-calorie diets, increase, female births.
• Evidence (Paragraph 5): “Her study found that mothers who consumed high-energy foods prior to conception were slightly more likely to have boys.”
• Explanation: High-energy (high-calorie) diets increase the likelihood of having boys, not girls.

Questions 9-13

9. G. sometimes occurs for health reasons.

• Evidence (Paragraph 1): “There are also health reasons for gender selection…”

10. A. artificially decreased the blood sugar levels of mice.

• Evidence (Paragraph 3): “…she changed the blood sugar level of female mice… by putting a chemical in the animals’ water.”

11. C. asked patients to write down everything that they ate and when they ate it.

• Evidence (Paragraph 5): “…followed 740 pregnant women who kept detailed records of their diets…”

12. K. seems to increase the likelihood of male births.

• Evidence (Paragraph 5): “Among women eating cereals on a daily basis, 59% had boys…”

13. D. the influence of food scarcity upon sex ratios at birth.

• Evidence (Paragraph 7): “…more boys tend to be born in times of food plenty, while females tend to be born in times of scarcity.”

Question 14

14. C. Diet May Influence the Sex of Your Baby
Explanation: This is the most comprehensive and accurate title for the entire passage. The article focuses on scientific research showing that diet may be a factor influencing a baby’s gender. The other options are either too narrow or inaccurate.

The “Gender Selection” passage is a classic example of how the IELTS exam uses social science topics to test reading comprehension and inference skills. By analyzing this passage, we have practiced three important question types: True/False/Not Given, Matching Endings, and Multiple Choice. The takeaway is to always read carefully, distinguish between conventional wisdom and new findings, and keep track of different studies to avoid confusion. We hope that with these detailed analyses from ECE, you will feel more confident when facing similar reading passages.