IELTS Academic Reading ‘Optimism and Health’ Answers
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The Academic passage ‘Optimism and Health’ is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Since questions get repeated in the IELTS exam, these passages for ideal for practice. If you want more practice, try taking an IELTS reading practice test.
The question types found in this passage are:
Summary Completion
The summary completion type of questions in the IELTS reading is prevalent in the academic reading test. These types of questions require the test-taker’s to complete the summary by filling in the blanks with words from the reading passage. The total number of words must not exceed the number indicated in the instruction box. The summary will usually be of only one part of the passage rather than the whole reading passage.
Matching Sentence Endings
In the matching sentence ending type of questions in the IELTS reading, the test-taker will be given a list of incomplete sentences with no endings and another list with possible endings. The test-taker is required to match the incomplete sentences with the correct ending based on the reading text. This question examines the ability of the test-taker to understand how the ideas in the sentences relate to the key themes in the reading text.
Yes/No/Not Given
The Yes/No/Not Given type of questions in the IELTS reading test are similar to the True/False/Not Given type of questions. This type of question requires the test-taker to select the claims which match the information in the passage and use the words Yes/No/Not Given to justify their selection. The claims will use differing vocabulary from that used in the passage. Write Yes, if the claims match with the information, write No, if the claims contradict the information, and write Not Given if the claims are not mentioned in the reading passage.
Optimism and Health
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The answers with explanations are given below
14 Answer: 7/seven
Question type: Summary Completion
Answer location: Paragraph D
Answer explanation: Paragraph D reveals that a ‘study of 660 volunteers’ (group study) by the ‘Yale University’ psychologist Dr. Becca Levy found that ‘thinking positively’ (optimism) ‘adds’ (can stretch) an average of ‘seven years to your life’. Hence, the answer is ‘7/seven’.
15 Answer: lung function
Question type: Summary Completion
Answer location: Paragraph D
Answer explanation: Paragraph D points out that ‘a Harvard Medical School study’ of 670 men found that the ‘optimists have significantly better lung function’. Hence, the answer is ‘lung function’.
16 Answer: immune system
Question type: Summary Completion
Answer location: Paragraph D
Answer explanation: Paragraph D states that ‘a Harvard Medical School study’ of 670 men ‘found that the optimists have significantly better lung function’. The lead author, Dr. Rosalind Wright, believes that ‘attitude’ (optimistic outlook) somehow ‘strengthens’ (boosts) the immune system. Hence, the answer is ‘immune system’.
17 Answer: heart patients
Question type: Summary Completion
Answer location: Paragraph D
Answer explanation: Paragraph D informs that Dr. Rosalind Wright, believes that ‘attitude’ (optimistic outlook) somehow ‘strengthens the immune system’. She adds that preliminary ‘studies on heart patients’ ‘suggest’ (support) that, by ‘changing a person’s outlook, you can improve their mortality risks’ (the claim of the study). Hence, the answer is ‘heart patients’.
18 Answer: C
Question type: Matching Sentence Endings
Answer location: Paragraph A
Answer explanation: Paragraph A declares that ‘Brice Pitt’, an emeritus professor of the psychiatry of old age at Imperial College, London, told the author that depressive people see things as they really are, but that is a disadvantage from an evolutionary point of view. ‘Optimism’ is a ‘piece of evolutionary equipment that carried us through millennia of setbacks’ (advantageous for human evolution as it helps to overcome various obstacles). Hence, the answer is C (optimism is advantageous for human evolution).
19 Answer: A
Question type: Matching Sentence Endings
Answer location: Paragraph C
Answer explanation: Paragraph C let out the fact that Chad Wallens, a social forecaster at the ‘Henley Centre’ who surveyed middle-class Britons’ beliefs about income, has found that “the people who feel wealthiest, and those who feel poorest, actually have almost the same amount of money at their disposal. Their attitudes and behaviour patterns, however, are different from one another.” From this statement, we can conclude that money or material wealth may not bring happiness or a positive outlook. Happiness actually depends on the attitude of a person whether he/she wants to be satisfied with whatever he/she has. Hence, the answer is A (material wealth doesn’t necessarily create happiness).
20 Answer: E
Question type: Matching Sentence Endings
Answer location: Paragraph 3
Answer explanation: Paragraph E relates that a 1995 nationwide ‘survey’ (study) ‘conducted by the American magazine Adweek found’ that about half the population counted themselves as optimists, with ‘women slightly more apt than men (53 per cent versus 48 per cent) to see the sunny side’. This means that women are more optimistic than men and thus, levels of optimism vary according to gender. Hence, the answer is E (feelings of optimism vary according to gender).
21 Answer: G
Question type: Matching Sentence Endings
Answer location: Paragraph H
Answer explanation: Paragraph H mentions that ‘optimism’ is one of the ‘central traits required in building resilience’, say Yale University investigators in the ‘Annual Review of Clinical Psychology’. They add that resilient people learn to hold on to their sense of humour and this can help them to keep a ‘flexible attitude when big changes of plan are warranted’, which means that even under stressful situations they are able to maintain their positivity (evenness of mind). Hence, the answer is G (evenness of mind under stress is important to building resilience).
22 Answer: D
Question type: Matching Sentence Endings
Answer location: Paragraph I
Answer explanation: Paragraph I brings out the fact that ‘one of the best ways to acquire resilience’ (way in which resilience can be created or bred) is through experiencing a ‘difficult childhood’ (adversity), the sociologist Steven Stack reports in the Journal of Social Psychology. It is supported through an example that short men are less likely to commit suicide than tall guys, he says, because shorties develop psychological defence skills to handle the bullies and mickey-taking that their lack of stature attracts. Hence, the answer is D (adversity is the breeding ground of resilience).
23 Answer: Not Given
Question type: Yes/No/Not Given
Answer location: Paragraph D
Answer explanation: Paragraph D refers to benefits of optimism on health through a study by the Yale University psychologist Dr. Becca Levy where it is found that thinking positively adds an average of seven years to your life. Moreover, a Harvard Medical School study found that the optimists have significantly better lung function. The lead author, Dr. Rosalind Wright, believes that attitude somehow strengthens the immune system. Other than these mentions, the author of the passage did not mention if the health benefits have been long known. So, the answer is ‘NOT GIVEN’.
24 Answer: Not Given
Question type: Yes/No/Not Given
Answer location: Paragraph B
Answer explanation: In paragraph B, the author refers to the fact that the research by Martin Seligman, the psychology professor and author of Learned Optimism, shows that when times get tough, ‘optimists do better than pessimists’ – they succeed better at work, respond better to stress, suffer fewer depressive episodes, and achieve more personal goals. But there is no mention of any comparison between the two in case of relationships. Hence, the answer is ‘NOT GIVEN’.
25 Answer: No
Question type: Yes/No/Not Given
Answer location: Paragraph J
Answer explanation: Paragraph J comments that if you had a ‘happy childhood’, then ‘practising proactive optimism’ can ‘help you to become more resilient’. So, it means that even if you have a happy childhood, you can become resilient by practising optimism. As the statement contradicts the information, the answer is ‘NO’.
26 Answer: Yes
Question type: Yes/No/Not Given
Answer location: Paragraph K
Answer explanation: In paragraph K, it is conveyed that ‘despite being thick-skinned, resilient types are also more open’ than average to other people. So, the statement agrees with the information and the answer is ‘YES’.
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