Mental Gymnastics - IELTS Reading Answers

This article provides the Mental Gymnastics - IELTS Reading Answers, which is an authentic reading passage that has appeared in a real IELTS test. With consistent practice, the Reading Module can become the highest-scoring section for IELTS candidates. To achieve a strong score, it is essential to understand how to approach and tackle different question types effectively.

By attempting and reviewing sample reading questions from past IELTS papers, you can sharpen your skills and improve accuracy. Try the Mental Gymnastics - IELTS Reading practice test below, and explore additional IELTS Reading exercises on IELTSMaterial.com to boost your performance.

Mental Gymnastics - IELTS Reading Passage

A THE working day has just started at the head office of Barclays Bank in London. Seventeen staff are helping themselves to a buffet breakfast as young psychologist Sebastian Bailey enters the room to begin the morning’s training session. But this is no ordinary training session. He’s not here to sharpen their finance or management skills. He’s here to exercise their brains.

B Today’s workout, organised by a company called the Mind Gym in London, is entitled “having presence”. What follows is an intense 90-minute session in which this rather abstract concept is gradually broken down into a concrete set of feelings, mental tricks and behaviours. At one point the bankers are instructed to shut their eyes and visualise themselves filling the room and then the building. They finish up by walking around the room acting out various levels of presence, from low-key to over the top.

C It’s easy to poke fun. Yet similar mental workouts are happening in corporate seminar rooms around the globe. The Mind Gym alone offers some 70 different sessions, including ones on mental stamina, creativity for logical thinkers and “zoom learning”. Other outfits draw more directly on the exercise analogy, offering “neurobics” courses with names like “brain sets” and “cerebral fitness”. Then there are books with titles like Pumping Ions, full of brainteasers that claim to “flex your mind”, and software packages offering memory and spatial-awareness games.

D But whatever the style, the companies’ sales pitch is invariably the same—follow our routines to shape and sculpt your brain or mind, just as you might tone and train your body. And, of course, they nearly all claim that their mental workouts draw on serious scientific research and thinking into how the brain works.

E One outfit, Brainergy of Cambridge, Massachusetts (motto: “Because your grey matter matters”) puts it like this: “Studies have shown that mental exercise can cause changes in brain anatomy and brain chemistry which promote increased mental efficiency and clarity. The neuroscience is cutting-edge.” And on its website, Mind Gym trades on a quote from Susan Greenfield, one of Britain’s best known neuroscientists: “It’s a bit like going to the gym, if you exercise your brain it will grow.”

F Indeed, the Mind Gym originally planned to hold its sessions in a local health club, until its founders realised where the real money was to be made. Modern companies need flexible, bright thinkers and will seize on anything that claims to create them, especially if it looks like a quick fix backed by science. But are neurobic workouts really backed by science? And do we need them?

G Nor is there anything remotely high-tech about what Lawrence Katz, co-author of Keep Your Brain Alive, recommends. Katz, a neurobiologist at Duke University Medical School in North Carolina, argues that just as many of us fail to get enough physical exercise, so we also lack sufficient mental stimulation to keep our brains in trim. Sure we are busy with jobs, family and housework. But most of this activity is a repetitive routine. And any leisure time is spent slumped in front of the TV.

H So, read a book upside down. Write or brush your teeth with your wrong hand. Feel your way around the room with your eyes shut. Sniff vanilla essence while listening intently to orchestral music. Anything, says Katz, to break your normal mental routine. It will help invigorate your brain, encouraging its cells to make new connections and pump out neurotrophins, substances that feed and sustain brain circuits.

I Well, up to a point it will. “What I’m really talking about is brain maintenance rather than bulking up your IQ,” Katz adds. Neurobics, in other words, is about letting your brain fulfil its potential. It cannot create super-brains. Can it achieve even that much, though? Certainly, the brain is an organ that can adapt to the demands placed on it. Tests on animal brain tissue, for example, have repeatedly shown that electrically stimulating the synapses that connect nerve cells thought to be crucial to learning and reasoning, makes them stronger and more responsive. Brain scans suggest we use a lot more of our grey matter when carrying out new or strange tasks than when we’re doing well-rehearsed ones. Rats raised in bright cages with toys sprout more neural connections than rats raised in bare cages- suggesting perhaps that novelty and variety could be crucial to a developing brain. Katz, And neurologists have proved time and again that people who lose brain cells suddenly during a stroke often sprout new connections to compensate for the loss—especially if they undergo extensive therapy to overcome any paralysis.

J Guy Claxton, an educational psychologist at the University of Bristol, dismisses most of the neurological approaches as “neuro-babble”. Nevertheless, there are specific mental skills we can learn, he contends. Desirable attributes such as creativity, mental flexibility, and even motivation, are not the fixed faculties that most of us think. They are thought habits that can be learned. The problem, says Claxton, is that most of us never get proper training in these skills. We develop our own private set of mental strategies for tackling tasks and never learn anything explicitly. Worse still, because any learned skill- even driving a car or brushing our teeth-quickly sinks out of consciousness, we can no longer see the very thought habits we’re relying upon. Our mental tools become invisible to us.

K Claxton is the academic adviser to the Mind Gym. So not surprisingly, the company espouses his solution-that we must return our thought patterns to a conscious level, becoming aware of the details of how we usually think. Only then can we start to practise better thought patterns, until eventually these become our new habits. Switching metaphors, picture not gym classes, but tennis or football coaching.

L In practice, the training can seem quite mundane. For example, in one of the eight different creativity workouts offered by the Mind Gym entitled “creativity for logical thinkers” one of the mental strategies taught is to make a sensible suggestion, then immediately pose its opposite. So, asked to spend five minutes inventing a new pizza, a group soon comes up with no topping, sweet topping, cold topping, price based on time of day, flat-rate prices and so on.

M Bailey agrees that the trick is simple. But it is surprising how few such tricks people have to call upon when they are suddenly asked to be creative: “They tend to just label themselves as uncreative, not realising that there are techniques that every creative person employs.” Bailey says the aim is to introduce people to half a dozen or so such strategies in a session so that what at first seems like a dauntingly abstract mental task becomes a set of concrete, learnable behaviours. He admits this is not a short cut to genius. Neurologically, some people do start with quicker circuits or greater handling capacity. However, with the right kind of training he thinks we can dramatically increase how efficiently we use it.

N It is hard to prove that the training itself is effective. How do you measure a change in an employee’s creativity levels, or memory skills? But staff certainly report feeling that such classes have opened their eyes. So, neurological boosting or psychological training? At the moment you can pay your money and take your choice. Claxton for one believes there is no reason why schools and universities shouldn’t spend more time teaching basic thinking skills, rather than trying to stuff heads with facts and hoping that effective thought habits are somehow absorbed by osmosis.

Mental Gymnastics - IELTS Reading Questions

Questions 1-5

1 Mind Gym coach instructed employees to imagine that they are the building.

2 Mind Gym uses the similar marketing theory that is used all round.

3 Susan Greenfield is the founder of Mind Gym.

4 All businesses and industries are using Mind Gym’s sessions globally.

5 According to Mind Gym, extensive scientific background supports their mental training. sessions.

Questions 6-13

A Guy Claxton

B Sebastian Bailey

C Susan Greenfield

D Lawrence Katz

NB You may use any letter more than once

6 We do not have enough inspiration to keep our brain fit.

7 The more you exercise your brain like exercise in the gym, the more brain will grow.

8 Exercise can keep your brain healthy instead of improving someone’s IQ.

9 It is valuable for schools to teach students about creative skills besides basic knowledge.

10 We can develop new neuron connections when we lose old connections via certain treatments.

11 People usually mark themselves as not creative before figuring out there are approaches for each person.

12 An instructor in Mind Gym who guided the employees to exercise.

13 Majority of people don’t have appropriate skills-training for the brain.

Mental Gymnastics - IELTS Reading Answers with Explanation

Let’s now review the answers to the questions from the passage in the reading section, Mental Gymnastics - IELTS Reading Answers, and assess your improvement for a high IELTS Reading band score.

1 Answer: No

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph B, line 4 – line 5

Answer explanation: The following line from Paragraph B states that “At one point the bankers are instructed to shut their eyes and visualise themselves filling the room and then the building.” This suggests that the employees were instructed to visualize themselves filling the rooms and building instead of becoming the building. Hence the answer is No.

2 Answer: Yes

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph C, line 1 – line 2

Answer explanation: The following line from Paragraph C states that “Yet similar mental workouts are happening in corporate seminar rooms around the globe.” This indicates that the mental workouts used by Mind Gym are used all over the world. Hence the answer is Yes.

3 Answer: No

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph E, line 3 – line 6

Answer explanation: The following lines from Paragraph E state that “The neuroscience is cutting-edge.” And on its website, Mind Gym trades on a quote from Susan Greenfield, one of Britain’s best known neuroscientists: “It’s a bit like going to the gym, if you exercise your brain it will grow.” This clearly shows that Susan Greenfield is one of Britain best-known neuroscientists and not the founder of Mind Gym. Hence the answer is No.

4 Answer: No

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph C, line 1 – line 2

Answer explanation: The following line from Paragraph C states that “Yet similar mental workouts are happening in corporate seminar rooms around the globe.” This suggests that Mind Gym only caters to corporate organizations and not all industries and businesses. Hence the answer is No.

5 Answer: Not Given

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph D, line 2 – line 4

Answer explanation: The following line from Paragraph C states that “And, of course, they nearly all claim that their mental workouts draw on serious scientific research and thinking into how the brain works.” This indicates that all companies that offer mental workout sessions claim their training sessions are scientifically researched, however it is not mentioned that this statement was made specifically made by Mind Gym. Hence the answer is not given.

6 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph G, line 2 – line 6

Answer explanation: The following lines from Paragraph G state that “ Katz, a neurobiologist at Duke University Medical School in North Carolina, argues that just as many of us fail to get enough physical exercise, so we also lack sufficient mental stimulation to keep our brains in trim. Sure we are busy with jobs, family and housework. But most of this activity is a repetitive routine. And any leisure time is spent slumped in front of the TV.” This indicates that Lawrence Katz believes We do not have enough inspiration to keep our brain fit. Hence the answer is D.

7 Answer: C

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph E, line 4 – line 6

Answer explanation: The following line from Paragraph E states that “And on its website, Mind Gym trades on a quote from Susan Greenfield, one of Britain’s best-known neuroscientists: “It’s a bit like going to the gym, if you exercise your brain it will grow.” This suggests that Susan Greenfield believes the more you exercise your brain like an exercise in the gym, the more your brain will grow. Hence the answer is C.

8 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph I, line 1 – line 2

Answer explanation: The following line from Paragraph I states that “What I’m really talking about is brain maintenance rather than bulking up your IQ,” Katz adds.” This suggests that Katz believes exercise can keep our brain healthy instead of improving one’s IQ. Hence the answer is D.

9 Answer: A

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph N, line 4 – line 7

Answer explanation: The following line from Paragraph N states that “Claxton for one believes there is no reason why schools and universities shouldn’t spend more time teaching basic thinking skills, rather than trying to stuff heads with facts and hoping that effective thought habits are somehow absorbed by osmosis.” This indicates that in Guy Claxton’s opinion it is valuable for schools to teach students about creative skills besides basic knowledge. Hence the answer is A.

10 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph I, line 10 – line 12

Answer explanation: The following lines from Paragraph I state that “Katz, And neurologists have proved time and again that people who lose brain cells suddenly during a stroke often sprout new connections to compensate for the loss—especially if they undergo extensive therapy to overcome any paralysis” This indicates that Katz believed we can develop new neuron connections even after suffering a stroke and losing old connections by certain treatments, like paralysis treatment. Hence the answer is D.

11 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph M, line 1 – line 3

Answer explanation: The following lines from Paragraph M state that “Bailey agrees that the trick is simple. But it is surprising how few such tricks people have to call upon when they are suddenly asked to be creative: “They tend to just label themselves as uncreative, not realising that there are techniques that every creative person employs.” This suggests that Bailey believed people usually mark themselves as not creative before figuring out there are approaches for each person. Hence the answer is B.

12 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph A, line 1 – line 3

Answer explanation: The following line from Paragraph M states that “Seventeen staff are helping themselves to a buffet breakfast as young psychologist Sebastian Bailey enters the room to begin the morning’s training session.” From this, we can infer that Sebastian Bailey is an instructor in Mind Gym who guided the employees to exercise. Hence the answer is A.

13 Answer: A

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph J, line 5 – line 7

Answer explanation: The following line from Paragraph J states that “The problem, says Claxton, is that most of us never get proper training in these skills. We develop our own private set of mental strategies for tackling tasks and never learn anything explicitly.” This indicates that in Claxton’s opinion majority of people don’t have appropriate skills training for the brain. Hence the answer is A.

Tips to Ace Mental Gymnastics - IELTS Reading Answers

Let us check out some quick IELTS Exam Preparation Tips for Band Score of 8+ to answer the types of questions in the Reading Answers. 

Matching Information  

• Read the statements first to understand what information you need to find.
• Scan for keywords and synonyms rather than exact words.
• Focus on facts, not opinions—dates, names, places, or events matter most.
• One paragraph may match multiple statements unless stated otherwise.
• Don’t assume order—the information appears randomly in the passage.

Yes / No / Not Given  

• Yes = agrees, No = contradicts, Not Given = not mentioned—memorise these meanings.
• Locate the exact section related to the statement before deciding.
• Watch for qualifiers like always, usually, some, rarely.
• Avoid using your own knowledge—use only the passage.
• Choose Not Given if the passage gives no clear opinion or comparison.

Mastering passages like Mental Gymnastics - IELTS Reading Answers requires careful attention to keywords, paraphrasing, and logical connections in the text. Using this guide’s answers, explanations, and tips, you can strengthen your reading strategies, boost accuracy, and enhance your overall IELTS Reading performance. Keep practising with more IELTS Reading Recent Actual Tests  and answers on IELTSMaterial.com to improve your speed, accuracy, and overall performance.

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