What’s so Funny? – IELTS Reading Answers

Updated On Sep 29, 2021

What’s so Funny? – IELTS Reading Answers

Contents

1 What’s so Funny?
2 Answers

The Academic passage ‘What’s so Funny’ is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Read the passage below and answer questions 14-27. Beyond the questions, you will find the answers along with the location of the answers in the passage and the keywords that prove the answers.

What’s so Funny?

Answers

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Question Number	Answers	Explanation
14.	False	Paragraph 1 informs us that the writer ‘Arthur Koestler’ dubbed it (laughter) as the ‘luxury reflex’: ‘unique in that it serves ‘no apparent biological purpose‘’. As the statement contradicts the information, the answer is false.
15.	Not GIven	Paragraph 2 expresses ‘Plato’s idea’ that humour is ‘simply a delighted feeling of superiority’ over others. There is no reference to above-average intelligence. Hence, the answer is not given.
16.	True	Paragraph 2 mentions that ‘Kant’ and Freud felt that ‘joke-telling’ relies on building up a ‘psychic tension’ (nervous energy) which is ‘safely punctured’ (controlled release) by the ‘ludicrousness of the punchline’ (successful). As the statement agrees with the information, the answer is true.

Question Number

Answers

Explanation

14.

False

Paragraph 1 informs us that the writer

‘Arthur Koestler’ dubbed it (laughter) as the ‘luxury reflex’: ‘unique in that it serves ‘no apparent biological purpose‘’. As the statement contradicts the information, the answer is false.

15.

Not GIven

Paragraph 2 expresses ‘Plato’s idea’ that humour is ‘simply a delighted feeling of superiority’ over others. There is no reference to above-average intelligence. Hence, the answer is not given.

16.

True

Paragraph 2 mentions that ‘Kant’ and Freud felt that ‘joke-telling’ relies on building up a ‘psychic tension’ (nervous energy) which is ‘safely punctured’ (controlled release) by the ‘ludicrousness of the punchline’ (successful). As the statement agrees with the information, the answer is true.

17.	`False	Paragraph 2 informs us how ‘most modern humour theorists’ (current thinking on humour) have ‘settled on’ some version of ‘Aristotle’s belief’ (view) that ‘jokes are based on a reaction to or resolution of incongruity when the punchline is either nonsense or, though appearing silly’. As the statement contradicts the information, the answer is false.
18.	True	Paragraph 3 cites ‘Graeme Ritchie’, a computational linguist in Edinburgh, and mentions that he studied the ‘linguistic structure of jokes’ in order to understand not only ‘humour’( jokes) but ‘language understanding’ and ‘reasoning in machines’ (artificial intelligence). As the statement agrees with the information, the answer is true.
19.	Not Given	In paragraph 3, it is given that ‘a comedian’ will ‘present a situation’ followed by ‘an unexpected interpretation that is also apt’. As there is no reference to personal situations as a source of humour, the answer is not given.
20.	True	Paragraph 5 makes a reference to ‘chimpanzees’ have a ‘play-face’ (playing) – a gaping expression accompanied by a ‘panting ‘ah, ah’ noise’ (particular noises).As the statement agrees with the information, the answer is true.
21.	Problem Solving	In Paragraph 8 Goel used a brain scanner and his scans showed that ‘at the beginning of a joke’ the listener’s ‘prefrontal cortex lit up’, particularly ‘the right prefrontal’ believed to be ‘critical for problem-solving’. Hence, the answer is ‘problem solving’.
22.	Temporal lobes	Paragraph 8 points out that there was also ‘activity in the temporal lobes’ at the side of the head and in many other brain areas when there were consistent attempts to rouse stored knowledge. Hence, the answer is ‘temporal lobes’.
23.	Evaluating information	Paragraph 8 states that when the punchline arrived, a ‘new area sprang to life’ -the ‘orbital prefrontal cortex’. ‘This patch of brain’ (orbital prefrontal cortex) is ‘associated with evaluating information’. Hence, the answer is ‘evaluating information’.
24.	C	Paragraph 9 mentions that making a ‘rapid emotional assessment of the events of the moment’ (respond instantly to whatever is happening) is an ‘extremely demanding job’ (one of the most difficult tasks) for ‘the brain’, animal or human. Hence, the answer is C (respond instantly to whatever is happening).
25.	A	In paragraph 10, the writer says that as ‘humans’ have ‘developed’ ‘language’, they ‘respond’ (react) emotionally not only to their surroundings but ‘to their own thoughts’. Hence, the answer is A (react to their own thoughts).
26.	F	Paragraph 10 states that whether ‘a joke’ gives ‘pleasure or pain’ (individual responses) depends on a person’s outlook (subjective views). Hence, the answer is F (relate to a person’s subjective views).
27.	D	In the last paragraph, the writer mentions the belief of ‘Peter Derks’, a psychologist at William and Mary College in Virginia, that ‘humour’ can help to ‘figure out’ (provide) how the ‘mind’ (brain) processes humour. It will help to have a ‘pretty good handle’ (valuable information) on how ‘it’ (brain) ‘works in general’. Hence, the answer is D (may provide valuable information about the operation of the brain).