Ambergris Reading Answers, IELTS Passage

Ambergris Reading Answers: The passage “Ambergris” is a popular topic for the IELTS Reading test, covering the origin, history, and various uses of ambergris. The passage consists of 13 questions, divided into three sections: Questions and Answers, Sentence Completion, and True/False/Not Given.

In this guide, we provide a sample passage on the Ambergris Reading Answers topic, along with detailed answers to help IELTS candidates understand the format and improve their reading skills. Practicing these questions will enhance your ability to locate information quickly and increase your chances of achieving a high IELTS band score.

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Ambergris Reading Answers Passage

Ambergris Reading Answers Passage                                     

Paragraph A.  Ambergris was used to perfume cosmetics in the days of ancient Mesopotamia, and almost every civilisation on the earth has a brush with ambergris. Before 1,000 AD, the Chinese named ambergris as lung sien hiang, “dragon’s spittle perfume,” as they thought that it was produced from the drooling of dragons sleeping on rocks at the edge of a sea. The Arabs knew ambergris as Anbar, believing that it is produced from springs near seas. It also gets its name from here. For centuries, this substance has also been used as a flavouring for food.

Paragraph B. During the Middle Ages, Europeans used ambergris as a remedy for headaches, colds, epilepsy, and other ailments. In the 1851 whaling novel MobyDick, Herman Melville claimed that ambergris was “largely used in perfumery.” But nobody ever knew where it really came from. Experts were still guessing its origin thousands of years later until the long ages of guesswork ended in the 1720’s, when Nantucket whalers found gobs of the costly material inside the stomachs of sperm whales. Industrial whaling quickly burgeoned. By the 20th century, ambergris is mainly recovered from inside the carcasses of sperm whales.

Paragraph C. Through countless ages, people have found pieces of ambergris on sandy beaches. It was named grey amber to distinguish it from golden amber, another rare treasure. Both of them were among the most sought-after substances in the world, almost as valuable as gold. (Ambergris sells for roughly $20 a gram, slightly less than gold at $30 a gram.)

Amber floats in salt water, and in old times, the origin of both of these substances was mysterious. But it turned out that amber and ambergris have little in common. Amber is a fossilised resin from trees that was quite familiar to Europeans long before the discovery of the New World and prized as jewellery. Although considered a gem, amber is a hard, transparent, wholly organic material derived from the resin of extinct species of trees, mainly pines.

Paragraph D. To the earliest Western chroniclers, ambergris was variously thought to come from the same bituminous sea founts as amber, from the sperm of fishes or whales, from the droppings of strange sea birds (probably because of confusion over the included beaks of squid) or from the large hives of bees living near the sea. Marco Polo was the first Western chronicler who correctly attributed ambergris to sperm whales and its vomit.

Paragraph E. As sperm whales navigate in the oceans, they often dive down to 2 km or more below the sea level to prey on squid, most famously the Giant Squid. It’s commonly accepted that ambergris forms in the whale’s gut or intestines as the creature attempts to “deal” with squid beaks. Sperm whales are rather partial to squid but seemingly struggle to digest the hard, sharp, parrot-like beaks. It is thought their stomach juices become hyperactive trying to process the irritants, and eventually hard, resinous lumps are formed around the beaks, and then expelled from their innards by vomiting.

When a whale initially vomits up ambergris, it is soft and has a terrible smell. Some marine biologists compare it to the unpleasant smell of cow dung. But after floating on the salty ocean for about a decade, the substance hardens with air and sun into a smooth, waxy, usually rounded piece of nostril heaven. The dung smell is gone, replaced by a sweet, smooth, musky and pleasant earthy aroma.

Paragraph F. Since ambergris is derived from animals, naturally, a question of ethics arises, and in the case of ambergris, it is very important to consider. Sperm whales are an endangered species, whose populations started to decline as far back as the 19th century due to the high demand for their highly emollient oil, and today their stocks still have not recovered. During the 1970s, the Save the Whales movement brought the plight of whales to international recognition.

Many people now believe that whales are “saved”. This couldn’t be further from the truth. All around the world, whaling still exists. Many countries continue to hunt whales in spite of international treaties to protect them. Many marine researchers are concerned that even the trade in naturally found ambergris can be harmful by creating further incentives to hunt whales for this valuable substance.

Paragraph G. One of the forms ambergris is used today is as a valuable fixative in perfumes to enhance and prolong the scent. But nowadays, since ambergris is rare and expensive, and big fragrance suppliers that make most of the fragrances on the market today do not deal in it for reasons of cost, availability and murky legal issues, most perfumeries prefer to add a chemical derivative which mimics the properties of ambergris.

As a fragrance consumer, you can assume that there is no natural ambergris in your perfume bottle unless the company advertises this fact and unless you own vintage fragrances created before the 1980s. If you are wondering if you have been wearing a perfume with this legendary ingredient, you may want to review your scent collection. Here are a few of some of the top ambergris containing perfumes: Givenchy Amarige, Chanel No. 5, and Gucci Guilty.

Ambergris Reading Answers Sample Questions

Questions and Answers 1–6

Write the correct letter, A, B, C, or D, in boxes 1–6 on your answer sheet.

1. In which civilization was ambergris referred to as "dragon’s spittle perfume"?

• A. European

• B. Chinese

• C. Arabian

• D. Indian

2. What discovery in the 1720s clarified the origin of ambergris?

• A. Found inside the bodies of whales

• B. Found in the nests of seabirds

• C. Found in tree resin

• D. Found floating on the ocean

3. Why is ambergris considered valuable in the perfume industry?

• A. It enhances the strength and longevity of the scent

• B. It creates a strong floral aroma

• C. It acts as a substitute for essential oils

• D. It increases the shelf life of perfumes

4. What was ambergris sometimes mistaken for in early history?

• A. Fossilised resin

• B. Amber from trees

• C. Whale bones

• D. Coral reefs

5. What happens to ambergris after it has floated in the ocean for a long time?

• A. It becomes brittle and breaks apart

• B. It turns into a soft liquid

• C. It hardens and develops a pleasant aroma

• D. It dissolves in salt water

6. Why is the trade of ambergris considered controversial?

• A. It is illegal under international law

• B. It encourages the hunting of endangered whales

• C. It reduces the population of squid

• D. It increases marine pollution

Questions and Answers 7–9

Complete the sentences below with NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the Ambergris Reading Answers passage.
Write your answers in boxes 7–9 on your answer sheet.

7. In the 19th century, sperm whales were hunted for their highly valuable __________.

8. Ambergris was first accurately linked to sperm whales by the explorer __________.

9. Ambergris is often replaced in modern perfumes by a synthetic __________ due to its high cost and limited availability.

Questions and Answers 10–13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Ambergris Reading Answers passage?
In boxes 10–13 on your answer sheet, write:

• TRUE if the statement agrees with the information.

• FALSE if the statement contradicts the information.

• NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this.

10. Ambergris is more valuable than gold per gram.

11. Sperm whales are still frequently hunted despite international bans.

12. Ambergris was widely used in cooking during the Middle Ages.

13. Modern perfumes containing natural ambergris are widely available in the market.

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