The Brain And Intelligence – IELTS Reading Answers

Updated On Aug 31, 2021

The Brain And Intelligence – IELTS Reading Answers

Contents

1 The Brain And Intelligence
2 Answers

The Academic passage ‘The Brain And Intelligence’ is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Read the passage below and answer questions 1 – 13. Beyond the questions, you will find the answers along with the location of the answers in the passage and the keywords that help you find out the answers.

The Brain And Intelligence

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Question number	Answer	Explanation
1	C	The initial line of paragraph B states that “for many years researchers have believed that intelligence is a quality which is spread throughout the whole human brain.” Therefore, it was Benjamin Martin who believed intelligence could be located throughout the brain. Hence, the correct answer is “C.”
2	B	Paragraph D provides the information that “this was the quality that allows some people to be very good at a whole variety of things – music, mathematics, practical problem solving and so on – while others are not.” From the term ‘allows some people to be very good at a whole variety of things’, we can deduce that Charles Spearman said intelligence makes you good at many different things. Hence, the correct answer is “B.”
3	D	The last line of paragraph E conveys that, “the skills of verbal and mathematical analysis measured by these tests can tell us very little about the skills of social interaction and people handling which are equally essential for success and are, therefore, equally valid qualities of intelligence.” From the above line, we can deduce that it was Robert Sternberg who pointed out that intelligence tests examine limited (little) skills. Hence, the correct answer is “D.”

4	A	The last line of paragraph B confirms that “by using advanced scanning equipment, however, researchers led by John Duncan of the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge now think that it is much more localised and at the front of the brain in particular.” Thus, it was John Duncan. Hence, the correct answer is “A.”
5	E	The beginning line of paragraph A claims that “human intelligence is an elusive quality. We all think we know it when we see it but try to pin down that quality to a firm, however, the concept disappears.” This line implies that the writer of the article points out that it is difficult to describe what intelligence is. Hence, the correct answer is “E.”
6	D	Paragraph E, through the line “more likely is the idea that so-called intelligence tests can have little to do with many practical manifestations of intelligence.” Puts forward information that it was Robert Sternberg who realised that intelligence tests could be bad at measuring the intellect of professionals because it has little to do with practical manifestations. Hence, the correct answer is “D.”
7	C	The last line of paragraph F states that “Benjamin Martin points out, this may be what happens in reality when following physical damage to one area of the brain, knowledge and ability appear able to relocate.” The term’ knowledge and ability appear able to relocate’ confirms that Benjamin Martin believes abilities can reposition, following injury to the brain. Hence, the correct answer is “C.”
8	D	The second line of paragraph E denotes that “Yale psychologist Robert Sternberg points out that many people who are clearly intelligent, such as leading politicians and lawyers, do very badly in intelligence tests.” From this line, we can deduce that Sternberg claims that intelligence is a characteristic required by those doing well in legal and political professions. Hence, the correct answer is “D.”
9	Variety of things	Paragraph D suggests that “this was the quality that allows some people to be very good at a whole variety of things.” From this line ‘good at a whole variety of things’ we can infer that Spearman is suggesting intelligence as the ability to be good at a variety of things. Hence, the correct answer is “variety of things.”
10	contentious	Paragraph E, through the line “Yale psychologist Robert Sternberg points out that many people who are clearly intelligent, such as leading politicians and lawyers, do very badly in intelligence tests. Conversely, one might argue.” Therefore, from the aforementioned line, we can confirm that politicians and lawyers are unintelligent is contentious (debatable). Hence, the correct answer is “contentious.”
11	conventional	According to paragraph D Spearman, “it was a contentious idea even at the time, but still no-one has come up with a better definition” Therefore, since the term, ‘contentious’ means controversial or unconventional. It signifies that his ideas about intelligence are not conventional. Hence, the correct answer is “conventional.”
12	People handing ability/social interaction	According to the last line of paragraph E, “the skills of verbal and mathematical analysis measured by these tests can tell us very little about the skills of social interaction and people handling which are equally essential for success and are, therefore, equally valid qualities of intelligence.” The term ‘people handling qualities’ which are equally essential signifies that in addition to academic ability, intelligence includes people handling abilities. Hence, the correct answer is “People handing ability/social interaction.”
13	It is located	In paragraph F, there’s a line that mentions, “The fact that we know a computer’s “intelligence” is produced by a computer chip and that we can say where this chip is, does not tell us anything about the computer’s intelligence or ability. We could easily move the location of the chip.” If the movement of the chip does not affect the intelligence of the computer, that means it does not matter where it is located. By this analogy, he explains the human brain. Hence, the correct answer is “it is located.”