The Growth of Intelligence- IELTS Reading Answers

The growth of intelligence is one of the passages from the IELTS Academic Reading. The passage contains the following question types.

• Multiple Choice Questions (choose the correct option)
• Summary completion
• Yes/No/ Not- Given

Multiple Choice Question

There will be three to four options in the multiple-choice questions from which the test-taker should select the appropriate option. These options will be paraphrased, so the test-taker needs to understand the meaning of each option and choose the correct answer.

Summary Completion 

Summary completion is where there’ll be a summary of information from the passage and some blank spaces will be given. They need to be filled by the test-taker. While filling the blank spaces, test-takers must pay utmost attention to the word limit instructions. Sometimes, there will be a list of words to fill in the blanks, while the other time, the test taker has to find and locate the answer by themselves.

Yes/No/Not-Given 

The Yes/No/Not given question is similar to the True/False/Not Given question. The test-taker must select the claims that match the information mentioned in the passage and use Yes/ No /Not Given to justify their selection.

If the question agrees with the information in the passage, then it’s Yes. If the question contradicts or disagrees with the information, then it’s No, and if the question doesn’t match with the information or is not mentioned anywhere in the passage, then it’s Not-given.

Ideally, you should not spend more than 20 minutes on a passage. Let’s see how easy this passage is for you and if you’re able to make it in 20 minutes. If not, try more IELTS reading practice tests from IELTSMaterial.com.

Answers

27 Answer: A

Question type: Multiple choice question

Answer location: Paragraph 1, line 2 & 3

Answer explanations: The answer for this question can be located in the second line of the first paragraph, where it is mentioned that there are many definitions of intelligence, however, two primary features explain intelligence in a broad manner. That is, intelligence involves the capacity not only to learn from experience but also to adapt to one’s environment. Thus, these lines depict that intelligence will lead an individual to learn from experience and adapt to the environment. As the option A refers to what is mentioned in the passage, the answer is A.

28 Answer: B

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer Location: Paragraph 2, Line 2

Answer Explanations: The answer can be located in paragraph 2, where it is mentioned, “The former group examined the issue by determining how children’s abilities on a wide range of tasks intercorrelate or go together. Statistical techniques which have been used to find whether patterns are best explained by one broad underlying capacity’, general intelligence, or by a set of multiple, relatively separate, special skills in domains such as verbal and visuospatial ability’”.

From the quoted lines, we understand that the former group (psychometricians) used statistical methods to find if patterns were best explained by general intelligence [one ability] or separate skills in domains like verbal and visuospatial ability. Hence the right answer is B, because option B traces the information mentioned in the 2nd paragraph.

29 Answer: D

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph 3

Answer explanation: The third paragraph of the passage talks about Horn and Cattel, who argued for a differentiation between what they termed ‘fluid’ and ‘crystallized’ intelligence. In the passage, it is mentioned that fluid abilities peak in early adult life whereas crystallized abilities rise up during advanced old age.

These lines demonstrate that Horn and Cattel’s work was an instance of research into how people’s cognitive abilities differ with age. Here, Cognitive abilities refer to fluid and crystallized abilities. Therefore, the answer is D. Because all the other options, A, B, and C are irrelevant to what is mentioned about Horn and Cattel in the passage.

30 Answer: B

Question type: Multiple Choice Question

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 2

Answer explanation: If you go through the fifth paragraph, you can get an insight about the revolution brought by Piaget in the approach to cognitive development through his arguments (backed up by observations) that the focus should be on the thinking processes involved rather than on levels of cognitive achievement.

From these lines we understand that Piaget’s revolution focused mainly on what children thought than their performances and achievements. Here, cognitive achievement refers to tests and as the B option reflects Piaget’s research which matches with the information in the passage, the right answer is B.

31 Answer: No

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 1, line 2 & 3

Answer explanation: As mentioned in the first paragraph, “Although, at one level, there seem to be almost as many definitions of intelligence as people who have tried to define it, there is broad agreement on two key features. That is, intelligence involves the capacity not only to learn from experience but also to adapt to one’s environment”.

We can understand from these lines that many people have tried to provide definitions of intelligence at one level. However, there are two features, i.e, intelligence has the capability to learn from experience and to adapt to one’s environment. Here, “people” refers to “academics”, and “a surprising number” refers to “many”. So, even after many definitions for intelligence, there’s only agreement in broader terms which means tha a big group of academicians did not hold the same opinion. Thus, the statement doesn’t agree with the information in the passage. So, the answer is No.

32 Answer: No

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 5

Answer explanation: In the fifth line of the second paragraph, it is mentioned that in brief, the evidence in favour of some kind of general intellectual capacity is that people who are superior (or inferior) on one type of task tend also to be superior (or inferior) on others. Moreover, general measures of intelligence tend to have considerable powers to predict a person’s performance on a wide range of tasks requiring special skills.

From these lines, we understand that people who are good at one type of task may be good in other types of tasks also. Also, the general measures of intelligence have the ability to show how an individual will perform in different types of tasks considering their special skills. Thus, the given statement contradicts the author’s view in the passage. So, the answer is No.

33 Answer: No

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 3, line 2

Answer explanation: The third paragraph differentiates fluid and crystallized abilities, i.e, the fluid abilities are best assessed by tests that require mental manipulation of abstract symbols, while the crystallized abilities, reflect knowledge of the environment in which we live and past experience of similar tasks; they may be assessed by tests of comprehension and information. It scents that fluid abilities peak in early adult life, whereas crystallized abilities increase up to advanced old age.

We understand from these lines that fluid abilities arise in early age and are assessed by tests requiring mental manipulation of abstract symbols, while the crystallized intelligence increases during advanced old age and they’re assessed with comprehension tests. Thus, the statement illustrates the opposite of what is mentioned in the passage. So, the answer is No.

34 Answer: Yes

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 1-2

Answer explanation: In the fourth paragraph, “Developmental studies also show that the interconnections between different skills vary with age. Thus, in the first year of life an interest in perceptual patterns is a major contributor to cognitive abilities, whereas verbal abilities are more important later on. These findings seemed to suggest a substantial lack of continuity between infancy and middle childhood”.

These above-mentioned quoted lines support what is mentioned by the author, i.e, the author has mentioned how skills will vary with age. A lack of continuity during childhood will reflect the difference in intelligence levels for similar tasks at different ages. The statement agrees with the passage, so, the answer is Yes.

35 Answer: Not Given

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 3

Answer explanation: In the fifth paragraph, it is mentioned that Piaget’s idea gave rise to an immense body of research and it would be true to say that subsequent thinking has been heavily dependent on his genius in opening up new ways of thinking about cognitive development.

These lines suggest that Piaget’s idea illustrated an immense body of research and subsequent thinking, however it is not mentioned that either one of these things had a greater impact than the other. Thus, it is not given anywhere in the passage that Piaget’s contributions influenced theoretical studies more than practical research. So, the answer is Not Given.

36 Answer: No

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 5, line 6

Answer explanation: In the fifth paragraph, it is mentioned that nevertheless, most of his concepts have had to be so radically revised, or rejected, that his theory’ no longer provides an appropriate basis for thinking about cognitive development.

These quoted lines from the fifth paragraph clearly illustrate that many of Piaget’s findings were either revised or rejected because the theory didn’t provide an appropriate basis. Not all his work on active learning was discredited. Thus, the answer is No. Here, “work” means theories. Hence the answer is No.

37 Answer: C – verbal

Question type: Summary completion

Answer location: Paragraph 4

Answer explanation: We can find references in the fourth paragraph, which illustrates that developmental studies show that interconnection between different skills vary with age. Titus in the first year of life an interest in perceptual patterns is a major contributor to cognitive abilities whereas ‘verbal abilities are more important later on’. Thus, the sentence depicts that verbal skills become more significant with age. So, the answer is Verbal.

38 Answer: A – adult

Question type: Summary completion

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 5

Answer explanation: In the fifth line of paragraph 4, ‘It has been found that tests of coping with novelty do predict later intelligence’. These quoted sentences show that tests of coping with the new things predict later intelligence. Here “later intelligence” refers to adult intelligence and “novelty” means new things.

39 Answer: E – inquisitive

Question type: Summary completion

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 5-6

Answer explanation: In the fifth line of the fourth paragraph, it is quoted that voting children’s intellectual performance needs to be assessed from their interest in and curiosity about the environment and the extent to which this is applied to new situations.

We understand from these lines that the intellectual performance of children are assessed only from their interest in and curiosity about the environment. That is, the children are always curious about their environment. Here, inquisitive refers to curiosity.

40 Answer: I – unfamiliar

Question type: Summary completion

Answer location: Paragraph 4

Answer explanation: the fourth paragraph in the passage states that children’s intellectual performance needs to be assessed from their interest in and curiosity about the environment and the extent to which this is applied to new situations. We understand from these lines that children are curious about their environment and they show interest when in a different/new environment. Here, different means unfamiliar and environment refers to situations.