Dogs a Love Story Reading Answers: Where IELTS is considered one of the most recognised and challenging English Language Proficiency tests globally, the Reading section is often manageable for many test-takers. It primarily tests a candidate’s ability to comprehend and interpret academic texts. Among the many IELTS Reading passages used for practice, “Dogs a Love Story” is a notable topic that offers a blend of historical facts, evolutionary biology, and human-animal relationships.
This article presents a sample reading passage titled “Dogs a Love Story”, followed by a set of IELTS-style questions and model answers. Candidates are reminded that each IELTS Reading Test passage should be completed in 20 minutes to stay within the overall test time limit. The included question types are based on the real IELTS Academic Reading format and fall under three major categories: Multiple Choice Questions, Summary Completion, and True/False/Not Given.
Read this guide carefully to practise your reading skills and improve your test performance using the “Dogs a Love Story” Reading Answers passage.
Free IELTS Reading Practice Tests
Dogs a Love Story Reading Answers Passage
Questions 1-13 are given that are based on the reading passage below. Spend about 20 minutes answering all the questions.
Dogs A Love Story
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Genetic studies demonstrate that dogs evolved through wolves and are as identical to the creatures from which they descended as humans with various physical attributes are to each other, i.e. not very dissimilar. 'Even in the most changeable mitochondrial DNA markers — DNA passed down from mother to child — dogs and wolves differ by less than 1%,' says Robert Wayne who is a geneticist at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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According to Wayne, wolf-like creatures date back between one and two million years. Genetic research reveals that roughly 100,000 years ago, some kind of dog started to diverge. As early as 400,000 years ago, wolf and early human fossils have been discovered nearby, whereas dog and early human fossils are only about 14,000 years old. This places wolves and/or dogs in the company of man or his ancestors before the advent of agriculture and permanent human settlements, at a time when both species did survive on what they could scrape together through hunting or scavenging.
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Why would these rivals collaborate? The answer most likely rests in the similarities between early human clans and wolf packs in terms of size, social organization, and range of prey, as well as in how openly people welcomed the most docile wolves—those who were young or less aggressive—into their camps.
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After smelling tasty food, some wolves or proto-dogs may have made their way near to the fire ring. They may then have entered early human gatherings by being friendly or helpful. The wolves hung around campsites scavenging leftovers while clans of similarly sized nomadic humans and wandering packs of twenty-five or thirty wolves roamed the landscape simultaneously hunting big game. The humans may have used the wolves' superior scenting abilities and speed to locate and track potential kills. Wolves have acute senses which allow them to alert people to danger at night.
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It's possible that things weren't as difficult back then as is generally believed. In many cases, there would have been plenty of food, few predators, and no clear separation between people and wildlife. Smaller or less dangerous wolves may sneak through those pores, and because they had grown up in packs where alpha bosses presided, they would be familiar with the art of submission and able to adjust to being under the control of humans. Particularly puppies would be difficult to resist in their current state. A domestication process started because of this marriage birth.
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People-friendly breeds that can be distinguished from wolves by their size, shape, coat, ears, and markings have evolved over the course of millennia as a result of the admission of some wolves and proto-dogs into human settlements and the rejection of larger, more menacing ones. Dogs often had smaller snouts than wolves due to their smaller overall size. They would help with the hunt, tidy up the camp by eating trash, warn of danger, keep people warm, and provide food. Puppy eating was a common habit among Native Americans and other people, and it is still common in some cultures.
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Egyptian images on rock and pottery from the fourth millennium BC depict men working with dogs. The partnership had its problems back then, just like it does now. Wild canines prowled the city's streets, robbing shoppers coming home from the market of their food. Dogs continue to appear at all the significant turning points in human history, sometimes in spite of their propensity for misbehaving and other times because of it.
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Aristotle, who lived 350 years before Christ, documented three different breeds of domesticated dogs in ancient Greece, including the swift Laconians that the wealthy used to hunt and kill deer and rabbits. Roman warriors trained huge dogs for combat three hundred years later. An armed man could be dismembered by the brutes once they forced him off his horse.
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Dogs continued to work in seventeenth-century England, herding animals, dragging sleds and plows, hauling carts, or acting as turn-spits to turn beef and venison over open fires. However, working dogs were not well-liked and when they grew old, they were typically hanged or drowned. In the meantime, "unnecessary" dogs rose in status among the English nobility. It was stated that King James I loved his dogs more than any of his subjects. When his ship was lost in a storm in 1682, Charles II's brother Lame had dogs at sea. Charles II was known for playing with his dog at the Council table. He supposedly screamed out, "Save the dogs and Colonel Churchill?" as sailors drowned.
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Private registries were established in the late nineteenth century as a result of the breeding craze to safeguard valuable bloodlines. The English Kennel Club was founded in 1873, while across the Atlantic, the American Kennel Club (AKC) was established eleven years later. The AKC currently recognizes 150 breeds, the Kennel Club 196, and the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, located in Europe, many more. In the middle of the 19th century, as they continue to do today, superfluous dogs began to outnumber working dogs by a significant margin. Unless you consider having a job.
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Dogs a Love Story Reading Answers Sample Questions
Questions 1–5: Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
1. What do genetic studies show about dogs and wolves?
A. They are genetically unrelated
B. They are completely identical
C. They have almost no genetic differences
D. Dogs evolved after agriculture developed
2. According to Robert Wayne, when did dogs begin to diverge from wolves?
A. Around 14,000 years ago
B. Between 1 and 2 million years ago
C. Roughly 100,000 years ago
D. After permanent human settlements began
3. What helped early wolves become accepted into human groups?
A. Their hunting skills
B. Their size and friendliness
C. Their resistance to hunger
D. Their advanced intelligence
4. How did wolves contribute to early human survival?
A. By teaching humans how to hunt
B. By attacking rival groups
C. By helping track prey and giving warnings
D. By farming and guarding crops
5. Why were wolves able to adapt to human control?
A. They had a natural dislike for wilderness
B. They lacked the ability to dominate
C. They were familiar with social hierarchy
D. They were forced by hunger
Questions 6–9: Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Summary:
Over time, early humans allowed wolves to live near their 6. _________ where food was cooked. The smaller, more submissive wolves were better able to 7. _________ to life under humans. This eventually led to the beginning of 8. _________ as humans started selecting more suitable wolves. Over thousands of years, dogs were bred with traits like small size, soft coats, and shorter 9. _________.
Questions 10–13: Do the following statements agree with the information in the passage?
Write TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN.
10. Dogs were first used to protect food from wild animals.
11. Ancient Egyptians used dogs mainly for religious rituals.
12. Roman soldiers trained dogs to fight in battles.
13. The number of dogs kept for work was always higher than pet dogs.
Dogs a Love Story Reading Answers with Explanation
Questions 1–5: Multiple Choice
1. What do genetic studies show about dogs and wolves?
2. According to Robert Wayne, when did dogs begin to diverge from wolves?
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Answer: C – Roughly 100,000 years ago
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Location: Paragraph 2
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Reference: “Genetic research reveals that roughly 100,000 years ago, some kind of dog started to diverge.”
3. What helped early wolves become accepted into human groups?
4. How did wolves contribute to early human survival?
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Answer: C – By helping track prey and giving warnings
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Location: Paragraph 4
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Reference: “The humans may have used the wolves' superior scenting abilities… Wolves have acute senses which allow them to alert people to danger at night.”
5. Why were wolves able to adapt to human control?
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Answer: C – They were familiar with social hierarchy
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Location: Paragraph 5
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Reference: “…because they had grown up in packs where alpha bosses presided, they would be familiar with the art of submission…”
Questions 6–9: Summary Completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
6. campsites
7. adapt
8. domestication
9. snouts
Questions 10–13: TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
10. Dogs were first used to protect food from wild animals.
11. Ancient Egyptians used dogs mainly for religious rituals.
12. Roman soldiers trained dogs to fight in battles.
13. The number of dogs kept for work was always higher than pet dogs.
Guidance to PW
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