Unmasking Skin Reading Answers

Updated On Jul 20, 2021

Contents

1 Unmasking Skin
2 Answers

The Academic passage ‘Unmasking Skin’ is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Read the passage below and answer questions 1-14. 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.

Unmasking Skin

Unmasking Skin 1 Unmasking Skin 2 Unmasking Skin 3

Unmasking Skin 4

Unmasking Skin 5

Unmasking Skin 6

Answers

Question Number	Answer	Explanation
1	B	Paragraph B mentions that the ‘impervious yet permeable barrier’ (human skin) is less than a millimetre thick in places and is composed of three layers. The ‘outermost layer’ (on the surface) is the ‘bloodless epidermis’. The ‘dermis includes collagen, elastin, and nerve endings’. The ‘innermost layer’ (below the surface), ‘subcutaneous fat, contains tissue that acts as an energy source, cushion and insulator for the body’. Hence, the answer is B.
2	H	In paragraph H, the writer explains the experiment where he can see what is happening -something cold and wet is on my forehead – so wet, in fact, that I wait for water to start dripping down my cheeks. “Open your eyes.” Bolanowski says, showing me that the sensation comes from a chilled, but dry, metal cylinder. The combination of pressure and cold, he explains, is what makes my skin perceive wetness. He gives me a surgical glove to put on and has me put a finger in a glass of cold water. My finger feels wet, even though I have visual proof that it’s not touching water. My skin, which seemed so reliable, has been deceiving me my entire life. When I shower or wash my hands, I now realize, my skin feels pressure and temperature. It’s my brain that says I feel wet.’. Hence, the answer is H.
3	J	At the end of paragraph J, it is given that if you ever happen to ‘touch a hot burner’ , just ‘put your finger in cold water’ (advice). The chances are ‘you will have no blister, little pain and no scar’ (avoid damage to skin). Hence, the answer is J.

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4	D	In the first sentence of paragraph D, it is mentioned that laboratory experiments ‘decades ago’ (in the past), now considered ‘unethical and inhumane’ (cruel), ‘kept baby monkeys from being touched by their mothers’ (research method). Hence, the answer is D.
5	B	Paragraph E states that for ‘humans’, ‘insufficient touching in early years’ can have lifelong results. “In touching cultures, adult aggression is low, whereas, in cultures where ‘touch is limited’ (lack of affectionate touching), ‘adult aggression is high’ (violent adults),” writes Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institutes at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Hence, the answer is B (They are more likely to become violent adults).
6	C	Paragraph H explains the wetness experiment and relates that something cold and wet is on the forehead – “so wet, in fact, that I wait for water to start dripping down my cheeks.” “Open your eyes.” Bolanowski says, showing me that the sensation comes from a chilled, but dry, metal cylinder. The combination of pressure and cold, he explains, is what makes my skin perceive wetness. He gives me a surgical glove to put on and has me put a finger in a glass of cold water. My ‘finger feels wet’, even ‘though I have visual proof that it’s not touching water’ (dry). Hence, the answer is C (he knew why it felt wet when it was dry).
7	E	Paragraph C informs that from these familiar characteristics of skin emerge the profound mysteries of ‘touch’, arguably our ‘most essential source of sensory stimulation’. We can ‘live without seeing or hearing’ – in fact, ‘without any of our other senses’. But ‘babies born without effective nerve connections’ between skin and brain can ‘fail to thrive and may even die’. Hence, the answer is E (because we do not need the others to survive).
8	H	Paragraph H points out that the ‘combination of pressure and cold’ is what ‘makes my skin perceive wetness’. Hence, the answer is H (because there is a low temperature and pressure).
9	D	Paragraph I discusses that ‘perceptions of pressure, temperature and pain’ manifest themselves in many different ways. ‘Gentle stimulation’ (light) ‘of pressure receptors’ can ‘result in ticklishness’. Hence, the answer is D (because there is light pressure on the skin).
10	G	Paragraph I reports that perceptions of pressure, temperature and pain manifest themselves in many different ways. ‘Gentle stimulation of pain’ receptors may result in ‘itching’. Hence, the answer is G (because of a small amount of pain).
11	B	In paragraph J, the writer gives an example that he has a crusty scab surrounded by pink tissue about a quarter inch long on his right palm. Under the scab, ‘epidermal cells’ (outer layer) are migrating into the wound’ to ‘close it up’ (mend itself). Hence, the answer is B (because the outer layer of the skin can mend itself).
12	TRUE	Paragraph F mentions that while the ‘effects of touching are easy to understand’, the ‘mechanics of it are less so’ (difficulty in understanding). “Your skin has millions of nerve cells of various shapes at different depths,” explains ‘Stanley Bolanowski, a neuroscientist and associate director of the Institute for Sensory Research at Syracuse University’. “When the nerve cells are stimulated, physical energy is transformed into energy used by the nervous system and passed from the skin to the spinal cord and brain. It’s called transduction, and ‘no one knows exactly how it takes place’.”. As the statement given agrees with the piece of information, the answer is TRUE.
13	NOT GIVEN	In paragraph G, it is pointed out that Bolanowski says: “In simple terms, people perceive three basic things via skin: pressure, temperature, and pain.“. In the passage, there is a mention of what are the three things that skin is sensitive to, but there is no comparison among the three. Hence, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
14	FALSE	Paragraph I mentions that ‘skin is under constant assault’, both from within the body and from forces outside. ‘Repairs occur with varying success’ (repair may not be successful sometimes). Moreover, it is added in paragraph J that if you ever happen to touch a hot burner, just put your finger in cold water. The chances are you will have no blister, little pain and no scar. ‘Severe burns, though, are a different matter’ (small burns and cuts may repair properly but severe burns may not be repaired easily). So, it can be concluded from the two instances from the passage that the human skin is not ‘always’ good at repairing itself. As the statement given contradicts the piece of information, the answer is FALSE.