Mental Gymnastics IELTS Reading Answers
Are you preparing for the IELTS exam, particularly the reading section? If you are, you’ve likely come across the term “Mental Gymnastics IELTS Reading Answers.” In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the intricacies of this topic and provide you with valuable insights to excel in your IELTS reading test.
What is Mental Gymnastics in IELTS Reading?
To understand “Mental Gymnastics” in the context of IELTS Reading, you must first comprehend the IELTS exam structure. The IELTS reading test assesses your ability to read and understand various texts in English. It comprises three passages with a variety of question types, such as multiple-choice, True/False/Not Given, and matching information.
Mental gymnastics in IELTS Reading refers to the cognitive agility and problem-solving skills required to tackle the often complex and complicated questions presented in the test. It’s about thinking critically, making inferences, and finding the correct answers within the limited time frame.
Mental Gymnastics IELTS Reading with Answers
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. Please after reading the article, the answers are provided below.
Lets begin
A. THE working day has just started at the head office of Barclays Bank in London. Seventeen staff are helping themselves to a buffet breakfast as young psychologist Sebastian Bailey enters the room to begin the morning’s framing session. But this is no ordinary training session. He’s not here to sharpen their finance or management skills. He’s here to exercise their brains.
B. Today’s workout, organised by a company called the Mind Gym in London, is entitled “having presence”. What follows is an intense 90-minute session in which this rather abstract concept is gradually broken down into a concrete set of feelings, mental tricks and behaviours. At one point the bankers are instructed to shut then eyes and visualise themselves filling the room and then the building. They finish up by walking around the room acting out various levels of presence, from low-key to over the top.
C. It’s easy to poke fun. Yet similar mental workouts are happening in corporate seminar rooms around the globe. The Mind Gym alone offers some 70 different sessions, including ones on mental stamina, creativity for logical thinkers and “zoom learning”. Other outfits draw more directly on the exercise analogy, offering “neurobics” courses with names like “brain sets” and “cerebral fitness”. Then there are books with titles like Pumping Ions, full of brainteasers that claim to “flex your mind”, and software packages offering memory and spatial- awareness games.
D. But whatever the style, the companies’ sales pitch is invariably the same— follow our routines to shape and sculpt your brain or mind, just as you might tone and train your body. And, of course, they nearly all claim that their mental workouts draw on serious scientific research and thinking into how the brain works.
E. One outfit, Brainergy of Cambridge, Massachusetts (motto: “Because your grey matter matters”) puts it like this: “Studies have shown that mental exercise can cause changes in brain anatomy and brain chemistry which promote increased mental efficiency and clarity. The neuroscience is cutting-edge.” And on its website, Mind Gym trades on a quote from Susan Greenfield, one of Britain’s best known neuroscientists: “It’s a bit like going to the gym, if you exercise your brain it will grow.”
F. Indeed, die Mind Gym originally planned to hold its sessions in a local health club, until its founders realised where the real money was to be made. Modem companies need flexible, bright thinkers and will seize on anything that claims to create them, especially if it looks like a quick fix backed by science. But are neurobic workouts really backed by science? And do we need them?
G. Nor is there anything remotely high-tech about what Lawrence Katz, co- author of Keep Your Brain Alive, recommends. Katz, a neurobiologist at Duke University Medical School in North Carolina, argues that just as many of US fail to get enough physical exercise, so we also lack sufficient mental stimulation to keep our brain in trim. Sine we are busy with jobs, family and housework. But most of this activity is repetitive routine. And any leisure time is spent slumped in front of the TV.
H. So, read a book upside down. Write or brush your teeth with your wrong hand. Feel your way around the room with your eyes shut. Sniff vanilla essence while listening intently to orchestral music. Anything, says Katz, to break your normal mental routine. It will help invigorate your brain, encouraging its cells to make new connections and pump out neuroteophins, substances that feed and sustain brain circuits.
I. Well, up to a point it will. “What I’m really talking about is brain maintenance rather than bulking up your IQ,” Katz adds. Neurobics, in other words, is about letting your brain fulfill its potential. It cannot create super-brains. Can it achieve even that much, though? Certainly the brain is an organ that can adapt to the demands placed on it. Tests on animal brain tissue, for example, have repeatedly shown that electrically stimulating the synapses that connect nerve cells thought to be crucial to learning and reasoning, makes them stronger and more responsive. Brain scans suggest we use a lot more of our grey matter when carrying out new or strange tasks than when we’re doing well-rehearsed ones. Rats raised in bright cages with toys sprout more neural connections than rats raised in bare cages— suggesting perhaps that novelty and variety could be crucial to a developing brain. Katz, And neurologists have proved time and again that people who lose brain cells suddenly during a stroke often sprout new connections to compensate for the loss—especially if they undergo extensive therapy to overcome any paralysis.
J. Guy Claxton, an educational psychologist at the University of Bristol, dismisses most of the neurological approaches as “neuro-babble”. Nevertheless, there are specific mental skills we can learn, he contends. Desirable attributes such as creativity, mental flexibility, and even motivation, are not the fixed faculties that most of US think. They are thought habits that can be learned. The problem, says Claxton, is that most of US never get proper training in these skills. We develop our own private set of mental strategies for tackling tasks and never learn anything explicitly. Worse still, because any learned skill— even driving a car or brushing our teeth-quickly sinks out of consciousness, we can no longer see the very thought habits we’re relying upon. Our mental tools become invisible to US.
K. Claxton is the academic adviser to the Mind Gym. So not surprisingly, the company espouses his solution-that we must return our thought patterns to a conscious level, becoming aware of the details of how we usually think. Only then can we start to practise better thought patterns, until eventually these become our new habits. Switching metaphors, picture not gym classes, but tennis or football coaching.
L. In practice, the training can seem quite mundane. For example, in one of the eight different creativity workouts offered by the Mind Gym—entitled “creativity for logical thinkers” one of the mental strategies taught is to make a sensible suggestion, then immediately pose its opposite. So, asked to spend five minutes inventing a new pizza, a group soon comes up with no topping, sweet topping, cold topping, price based on time of day, flat-rate prices and so on.
M. Bailey agrees that the trick is simple. But it is surprising how few such tricks people have to call upon when they are suddenly asked to be creative: “They tend to just label themselves as uncreative, not realising that there are techniques that every creative person employs.” Bailey says the aim is to introduce people to half a dozen or so such strategies in a session so that what at first seems like a dauntingly abstract mental task becomes a set of concrete, learnable behaviours. He admits this is not a short cut to genius. Neurologically, some people do start with quicker circuits or greater handling capacity. However, with the right kind of training he thinks we can dramatically increase how efficiently we use it.
N. It is hard to prove that the training itself is effective. How do you measure a change in an employee’s creativity levels, or memory skills? But staff certainly report feeling that such classes have opened their eyes. So, neurological boosting or psychological training? At the moment you can pay your money and take your choice. Claxton for one believes there is no reason why schools and universities shouldn’t spend more time teaching basic thinking skills, rather than trying to stuff heads with facts and hoping that effective thought habits are somehow absorbed by osmosis.
Questions 1-5
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the writer
NO if the statement does not agree with the writer
NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage
1. Mind Gym coach instructed employees to imagine that they are the building
2. Mind Gym uses the similar marketing theory that is used all round
3. Susan Greenfield is the founder of Mind Gym.
4. All businesses and industries are using Mind Gym’s sessions globally.
5. According to Mind Gym, extensive scientific background supports their mental training sessions.
Questions 6-13
Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-D) with opinions or deeds below.
Write the appropriate letters A-D in boxes 6-13 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once
A. Guy Claxton
B. Sebastian Bailey
C. Susan Greenfield
D. Lawrence Katz
6. We do not have enough inspiration to keep our brain fit.
7. The more you exercise your brain like exercise in the gym, the more brain will grow.
8. Exercise can keep your brain healthy instead of improving someone’s IQ.
9. It is valuable for schools to teach students about creative skills besides basic knowledge.
10. We can develop new neuraon connections when we lose old connections via certain treatments.
11. People usually mark themselves as not creative before figuring out there are approaches for each person.
12. An instructor in Mind Gym who guided the employees to exercise.
13. Majority of people don’t have appropriate skills-training for brain.
Mental Gymnastics IELTS Reading Answers
1. NO
2. YES
3. NO
4. NO
5. NOT GIVEN
6. D
7. C
8. D
9. A
10. D
11. B
12. B
13. A
Mental Gymnastics IELTS Reading Answers: Tips for Success
Here are some practical strategies to improve your IELTS reading performance.
1. Skim and Scan
- Quickly skim the passage to get an overview.
- Scan for keywords and phrases to locate answers efficiently.
2. Time Management
- Allocate a specific amount of time for each passage and stick to it.
- Don’t dwell on a single question for too long.
3. Use Context Clues
- Sometimes the answer can be inferred from the context.
- Pay attention to words that provide clues about the answer.
4. Eliminate Wrong Answers
- If you’re unsure, eliminate the options you’re certain are incorrect.
- This increases your chances of choosing the right answer.
Mental Gymnastics IELTS Reading Answers
Now, let’s tackle some frequently asked questions regarding Mental Gymnastics IELTS Reading Answers.
How Can I Improve My Speed Reading?
Improving your speed reading skills requires practice. Consider using online tools and reading materials to help increase your reading speed.
Can I Use Practice Tests?
Absolutely! Practicing with official IELTS reading materials and past papers is an excellent way to prepare for the test. It familiarizes you with the format and types of questions.
Are There Any Recommended Resources?
There are numerous books, online courses, and tutorials available. Some popular choices include “Barron’s IELTS” and “Cambridge IELTS.”
How Do I Deal with Time Pressure?
Time management is crucial. Practice pacing yourself during practice tests and focus on efficiency.
Can I Guess the Answers?
Yes, but make educated guesses. Eliminate unlikely options and select the one that seems most reasonable.
Should I Seek Professional Help?
If you’re struggling, consider hiring a tutor or enrolling in an IELTS preparation course.
Conclusion
Mastering Mental Gymnastics IELTS Reading Answers is a vital step towards achieving a high score on the IELTS exam. With dedication and the right strategies, you can improve your reading skills and boost your confidence. Remember, practice makes perfect, so don’t hesitate to invest time in preparing for this section. We hope this guide has been helpful in your IELTS journey!