The Meaning and Power of Smell: IELTS Reading Answers

Practicing with sample passages is a great way to get better at the IELTS Reading section. "The Meaning and Power of Smell" is a typical topic in the IELTS reading test topic that tests access of information location, skimming and scanning abilities and understanding of key ideas and interprets facts. 

These practices will boost your reading speed and help you become more familiar with the question types that you would most likely see in an IELTS exam.

This table will provide you an overview of "The Meaning and Power of Smell" for IELTS Reading Passage

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The Meaning and Power of Smell IELTS Reading Passage 

The human sense of smell olfaction is often overlooked despite its deep influence on our emotions, relationships, and identity. Only when it is impaired such as during illness do we realize how central it is to our well-being.

Paragraph A

A study conducted by Concordia University in Montreal surveyed participants about the impact of smell on their lives. Many of them experienced happiness with scent-related positive memories and disgust with negative odour memories. Emotional connections can even reverse our view of smells we may normally consider pleasant or unpleasant.

Paragraph B

Smell also serves as a cue in social bonding infants can successfully identify their mothers within days or even hours after birth using only smell and adults, as well, can identify their loved ones with just scent. In one study, participants were able to correctly identify used clothes of their spouse by smell alone; but not by sight. 

Paragraph C

Although smell is an important human sense, smell is not valued and is discounted in many cultures because the sense of smell continues to be downplayed. For example, humans have in the past been labelled as “poor smellers”, inferior to animal olfaction; but humans can detect thousands of smells, at times, in extremely small concentrations. 

Paragraph D

Inherently, olfactory is difficult to describe and most languages do not contain accurate and acceptable descriptive language for scent. Smells are transient in that they cannot be documented or recorded; we can only rely on personal memories for research which are not objective or without accountability. 

Paragraph E

Investigators continue to study the phenomenon of smell. Some scientists question whether olfactory is one sense or a collection of different systems but do agree that there are systems for detecting smells and another system for detecting chemicals that have no smell. As researchers study the impact of smells on the nose, they also hope to show that smells can affect human wellbeing.

Paragraph F

Smell is culturally specific: what is culture bound being judged as hey, that is one in society offensive, in another maybe valued or acceptable. The social value a culture assigns to smells helps define the identity of the cultural group; in this way, smell is not simply a sensory apparatus, it is a historical and symbolic phenomenon.

If you want to know more, also check the IELTS Reading Test: How to Prepare for IELTS Reading Section?

The Meaning and Power of Smell Reading Answers :Questions 1–6 (Matching Headings)

Notes: The text comprises six paragraphs (A and F). Based on the questions, put the selected parts after the designated paragraphs.

Questions

i. The difficulties of talking about smells

ii. The role of smell in personal relationships

iii. Future studies into smell

iv. Smell is our undervalued sense

v. Smell as cultural identity

vi. The relationship between smell and emotion

Guidelines/Tip for Responding to These Questions: Candidates will need to read the Passage and find where the mentioned point has been noted or discussed.

Answers & Explanations

Also look: Strategies to Achieve High Marks on the IELTS Reading Test  provides additional strategies to enhance and support the score you wish to achieve.

The Meaning and Power of Smell Reading Answers: Questions 7–10 (Multiple‑Choice)

Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D:

1. As per to the introduction, we have became aware of smells importance when we
   A. encounter new smells
   B. experience powerful emotions
   C. lose our ability to smell
   D. breathe strong odours
    Answer: C — awareness comes when smell is impaired.
2. The test in paragraph B shows that
   A. smell cues emotional memories
   B. people recognize family by smell
   C. smell is primarily learned
   D. women have stronger smell skills
    Answer: B — participants identified spouses by scent alone. 
3. In paragraph C the writer is
   A. supporting previous theories
   B. making a recommendation
   C. challenging a misconception
   D. outlining study limitations
    Answer: C — it disputes the belief that human smell is weak.
4. In paragraph E, it has been suggested that studies about smell
   A. are becoming more precise
   B. consider smell purely physical
   C. show most smells are harmless
   D. still leave smell’s definition unclear
    Answer: D — researchers haven’t fully defined how smell functions.

The Meaning and Power of Smell Reading

Answers:Questions 11–14 (Sentence Completion)

Instruction: Fill in the gaps using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each gap.

Questions

11. Many respondents could recognize their spouse’s clothing by _____.

12. Some cultures lack appropriate _____ to describe odours.

13. Odor may react to _____ smells in the atmosphere.

14. Odours deemed unpleasant to smell in some _____ are neutral in others..

The Meaning and Power of Smell Reading

Answers: Questions 15–18 (True/False/Not Given)

Do the information given in the Reading Passage following statements agree with it?

In boxes 15-18 on your answer sheet, write:

• TRUE: If the statement agrees with the information in the Reading Passage
• FALSE: If the statement contradicts the information in the Reading Passage
• NOT GIVEN: If there is no information about this in the Reading Passage

Questions

15. Synott led research involving thousands of respondents.

16. Infants can recognize their mother’s odour soon after birth.

17. Human olfaction is more refined than in many animals.

18. The cultural meaning of smell is discussed in Paragraph F.

Guidelines/Tip for Answering These Types of Questions: Candidates are just to read through the text thoroughly and then simply write, true or false.

Answers & Explanations

Conclusion

In summary, “The Meaning and Power of Smell” stresses how smell, although often disregarded, is very important to memory, emotions, relationships, and cultural identity. IELTS candidates will gain awareness of it through practice passages to develop their understanding and comprehension skills while improving their reading performance.

It boosts reading accuracy, speed, and familiarity with exam formats key to achieving a high IELTS band score.