Reading Passage 2

TWO WINGS AND A TOOLKIT

A research team at Oxford University discover the remarkable tool making skills of New Caledonian crows.

Betty and her mate Abel are captive crows in the care of Alex Kacelnik, an expert in animal behaviour at Oxford University. They belong to a forest-dwelling species of bird (Corvus moneduloides) confined to two islands in the South Pacific. New Caledonian crows are tenacious predators, and the only birds that habitually use a wide selection of self-made tools to find food.

One of the wild crows’ cleverest tools is the crochet hook, made by detaching a side twig from a larger one, leaving enough of the larger twig to shape into a hook. Equally cunning is a tool crafted from the barbed vine-leaf, which consists of a central rib with paired leaflets each with a rose-like thorn at its base. They strip out a piece of this rib, removing the leaflets and all but one thorn at the top, which remains as a ready-made hook to prise out insects from awkward cracks.

The crows also make an ingenious tool called a padanus probe from padanus tree leaves. The tool has a broad base, sharp tip, a row of tiny hooks along one edge, and a tapered shape created by the crow nipping and tearing to form a progression of three or four steps along the other edge of the leaf. What makes this tool special is that they manufacture it to a standard design, as if following a set of instructions. Although it is rare to catch a crow in the act of clipping out a padanus probe, we do have ample proof of their workmanship: the discarded leaves from which the tools are cut. The remarkable thing that these ‘counterpart’ leaves tell us is that crows consistently produce the same design every time, with no in-between or trial versions. It’s left the researchers wondering whether, like people, they envisage the tool before they start and perform the actions they know are needed to make it. Research has revealed that genetics plays a part in the less sophisticated toolmaking skills of finches in the Galapagos islands. No one knows if that’s also the case for New Caledonian crows, but it’s highly unlikely that their toolmaking skills are hardwired into the brain. ‘The picture so far points to a combination of cultural transmission – from parent birds to their young – and individual resourcefulness,’ says Kacelnik.

In a test at Oxford, Kacelnik’s team offered Betty and Abel an original challenge – food in a bucket at the bottom of a ‘well’. The only way to get the food was to hook the bucket out by its handle. Given a choice of tools – a straight length of wire and one with a hooked end – the birds immediately picked the hook, showing that they did indeed understand the functional properties of the tool.

But do they also have the foresight and creativity to plan the construction of their tools? It appears they do. In one bucket-in-the-well test, Abel carried off the hook, leaving Betty with nothing but the straight wire. ‘What happened next was absolutely amazing,’ says Kacelnik. She wedged the tip of the wire into a crack in a plastic dish and pulled the other end to fashion her own hook. Wild crows don’t have access to pliable, bendable material that retains its shape, and Betty’s only similar experience was a brief encounter with some pipe cleaners a year earlier. In nine out of ten further tests, she again made hooks and retrieved the bucket.

The question of what’s going on in a crow’s mind will take time and a lot more experiments to answer, but there could be a lesson in it for understanding our own evolution. Maybe our ancestors, who suddenly began to create symmetrical tools with carefully worked edges some 1.5 million years ago, didn’t actually have the sophisticated mental abilities with which we credit them. Closer scrutiny of the brains of New Caledonian crows might provide a few pointers to the special attributes they would have needed. ‘If we’re lucky we may find specific developments in the brain that set these animals apart,’ says Kacelnik.

One of these might be a very strong degree of laterality – the specialisation of one side of the brain to perform specific tasks. In people, the left side of the brain controls the processing of complex sequential tasks, and also language and speech. One of the consequences of this is thought to be right-handedness. Interestingly, biologists have noticed that most padanus probes are cut from the left side of the leaf, meaning that the birds clip them with the right side of their beaks – the crow equivalent of right- handedness. The team thinks this reflects the fact that the left side of the crow’s brain is specialised to handle the sequential processing required to make complex tools.

Under what conditions might this extraordinary talent have emerged in these two species? They are both social creatures, and wide-ranging in their feeding habits. These factors were probably important but, ironically, it may have been their shortcomings that triggered the evolution of toolmaking. Maybe the ancestors of crows and humans found themselves in a position where they couldn’t make the physical adaptations required for survival – so they had to change their behaviour instead. The stage was then set for the evolution of those rare cognitive skills that produce sophisticated tools. New Caledonian crows may tell us what those crucial skills are.

Questions for this text

My Advice is:

Use the strategies I have discussed to make your reading for information more effective.

It IS a good idea to look at the questions for each passage before you start reading, but don’t spend too long on this. Just notice any key words, terms or names and important dates or numbers.

Then read the passage…..

Don’t read for detail. – Read to gain an overall understanding of the organisation of the text and how it develops and arrangement of ideas.

Next go to the first Question.  Read the question, identify the task and consider the information you are looking for.

Skim read the passage to locate the area you are likely to find the information you need (remember that some questions follow the order of the passage) and then scan, before reading in detail and checking your answer.

Then do the same for the remaining questions

At the end, when you check your answers, think carefully why you got some answers wrong and why some sections were challenging. 

Was it your understanding of the text or the reading strategy you followed?

Jonathan

———-

Answers with key

Reading Passage 3

How did writing begin?

Many theories, few answers

The Sumerians, an ancient people of the Middle East, had a story explaining the invention of writing more than 5,000 years ago. It seems a messenger of the King of Uruk arrived at the court of a distant ruler so exhausted that he was unable to deliver the oral message. So the king set down the words of his next messages on a clay tablet. A charming story, whose retelling at a recent symposium at the University of Pennsylvania amused scholars. They smiled at the absurdity of a letter which the recipient would not have been able to read. They also doubted that the earliest writing was a direct rendering of speech. Writing more likely began as a separate, symbolic system of communication and only later merged with spoken language. 

Yet in the story the Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia, in what is now southern Iraq, seemed to understand writing’s transforming function. As Dr. Holly Pittman, director of the University’s Center for Ancient Studies, observed, writing ‘arose out of the need to store and transmit information …over time and space’.

In exchanging interpretations and information, the scholars acknowledged that they still had no fully satisfying answers to the questions of how and why writing developed. Many favoured an explanation of writing’s origins in the visual arts, pictures becoming increasingly abstract and eventually representing spoken words. Their views clashed with a widely held theory among archaeologists that writing developed from the pieces of clay that Sumerian accountants used as tokens to keep track of goods.

Archaeologists generally concede that they have no definitive answer to the question of whether writing was invented only once, or arose independently in several places, such as Egypt, the Indus Valley, China, Mexico and Central America. The preponderance of archaeological data shows that the urbanizing Sumerians were the first to develop writing, in 3,200 or 3,300 BC. These are the dates for many clay tablets in an early form of cuneiform, a script written by pressing the end of a sharpened stick into wet clay, found at the site of the ancient city of Uruk. The baked clay tablets bore such images as pictorial symbols of the names of people, places and things connected with government and commerce. The Sumerian script gradually evolved from the pictorial to the abstract, but did not at first represent recorded spoken language. 

Dr Peter Damerow, a specialist in Sumerian cuneiform at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, said, ‘It is likely that there were mutual influences of writing systems around the world. However, their great variety now shows that the development of writing, once initiated, attains a considerable degree of independence and flexibility to adapt to specific characteristics of the sounds of the language to be represented. Not that he accepts the conventional view that writing started as a representation of words by pictures. New studies of early Sumerian writing, he said, challenge this interpretation. The structures of this earliest writing did not, for example, match the structure of spoken language, dealing mainly in lists and categories rather than in sentences and narrative.

For at least two decades, Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat, a University of Texas archaeologist, has argued that the first writing grew directly out of a system practised by Sumerian accountants. They used clay tokens, each one shaped to represent a jar of oil, a container of grain or a particular kind of livestock. These tokens were sealed inside clay spheres, and then the number and type of tokens inside was recorded on the outside using impressions resembling the tokens. Eventually, the token impressions were replaced with inscribed signs, and writing had been invented.

Though Dr. Schmandt-Besserat has won much support, some linguists question her thesis, and others, like Dr. Pittman, think it too narrow. They emphasise that pictorial representation and writing evolved together. ‘There’s no question that the token system is a forerunner of writing’, Dr. Pittman said, ‘but I have an argument with her evidence for a link between tokens and signs, and she doesn’t open up the process to include picture making.

Dr Schmandt-Besserat vigorously defended her ideas. ‘My colleagues say that pictures were the beginning of writing’ she said, ‘but show me a single picture that becomes a sign in writing. They say that designs on pottery were the beginning of writing, but show me a single sign of writing you can trace back to a pot – it doesn’t exist’. In its first 500 years, she asserted, cuneiform writing was used almost solely for recording economic information, and after that its uses multiplied and broadened.

Yet other scholars have advanced different ideas. Dr. Piotr Michalowski, Professor of Near East Civilizations at the University of Michigan, said that the proto- writing of Sumerian Uruk was ‘so radically different as to be a complete break with the past’. It no doubt served, he said, to store and communicate information, but also became a new instrument of power. Some scholars noted that the origins of writing may not always have been in economics. In Egypt, most early writing is high on monuments or deep in tombs. In this case, said Dr. Pascal Vernus from a university in Paris, early writing was less administrative than sacred. It seems that the only certainty in this field is that many questions remain to be answered.

Questions for this text

My Advice is:

Use the strategies I have discussed to make your reading for information more effective.

It IS a good idea to look at the questions for each passage before you start reading, but don’t spend too long on this. Just notice any key words, terms or names and important dates or numbers.

Then read the passage…..

Don’t read for detail. – Read to gain an overall understanding of the organisation of the text and how it develops and arrangement of ideas.

Next go to the first Question.  Read the question, identify the task and consider the information you are looking for.

Skim read the passage to locate the area you are likely to find the information you need (remember that some questions follow the order of the passage) and then scan, before reading in detail and checking your answer.

Then do the same for the remaining questions

At the end, when you check your answers, think carefully why you got some answers wrong and why some sections were challenging. 

Was it your understanding of the text or the reading strategy you followed?

Jonathan

———-

Answers with key

Reading Passage 1

Seaweeds of New Zealand

A. Seaweed іѕ а раrtісulаrlу wholesome food, whісh absorbs аnd concentrates traces оf а wide variety оf minerals nесеѕѕаrу tо thе body’s health. Mаnу elements mау occur іn seaweed – aluminum, barium, calcium, chlorine, copper, iodine аnd iron, tо nаmе but а fеw — traces nоrmаllу produced bу erosion аnd carried tо thе seaweed beds bу river аnd sea currents. Seaweeds аrе аlѕо rich іn vitamins; indeed, Inuits obtain а high proportion оf thеіrbodily requirements оf vitamin C frоm thе seaweeds thеу eat. Thе health benefits оf seaweed hаvе long bееn recognised. Fоr instance, thеrе іѕ а remarkably lоw incidence оf goitre аmоng thе Japanese, аnd аlѕо аmоng Nеw Zealand’s indigenous Maori people, whо hаvе аlwауѕ eaten seaweeds, аnd thіѕ mау wеll bе attributed tо thе high iodine content оf thіѕ food. Research іntо historical Maori eating customs shows thаt jellies wеrе mаdе uѕіng seaweeds, nuts, fuchsia аnd tutu berries, cape gooseberries, аnd mаnу оthеr fruits bоth native tо Nеw Zealand аnd sown thеrе frоm seeds brought bу settlers аnd explorers. Aѕ wіth аnу plant life, ѕоmе seaweeds аrе mоrе palatable thаn others, but іn а survival situation, mоѕt seaweeds соuld bе chewed tо provide а сеrtаіn sustenance.

B. Nеw Zealand lays claim tо approximately 700 species оf seaweed, ѕоmе оf whісh hаvе nо representation оutѕіdе thаt country. Of ѕеvеrаl species grown worldwide, Nеw Zealand аlѕо hаѕ а раrtісulаrlу large share. Fоr example, іt іѕ estimated thаt Nеw Zealand hаѕ ѕоmе 30 species оf Gigartina, а close relative оf carrageen оr Irish moss. Thеѕе аrе оftеn referred tо аѕ thе Nеw Zealand carrageens. Thе substance called agar whісh саn bе extracted frоm thеѕе species gіvеѕ thеm great commercial application іn thе production оf seameal, frоm whісh seameal custard (a food product) іѕ made, аnd іn thе canning, paint аnd leather industries. Agar іѕ аlѕо uѕеd іn thе manufacture оf cough mixtures, cosmetics, confectionery аnd toothpastes. In fact, durіng World War Il, Nеw Zealand Gigartina wеrе ѕеnt tо Australia tо bе uѕеd іn toothpaste.

C. Nеw Zealand hаѕ mаnу оf thе commercially profitable red seaweeds, ѕеvеrаl species оf whісh аrе а source оf agar (Pterocladia, Gelidium, Chondrus, Gigartina). Dеѕріtе this, thеѕе seaweeds wеrе nоt muсh utilised untіl ѕеvеrаl decades ago. Althоugh distribution оf thе Gigartina іѕ confined tо сеrtаіn areas ассоrdіng tо species, іt іѕ оnlу оn thе east coast оf thе North Island thаt іtѕ occurrence іѕ rare. And еvеn then, thе east coast, аnd thе area аrоund Hokianga, hаvе а considerable supply оf thе twо species оf Pterocladia frоm whісh agar іѕ аlѕо made. Nеw Zealand uѕеd tо import thе Northern Hemisphere Irish moss(Chondrus crispus) frоm England аnd ready-made agar frоm Japan.

D. Seaweeds аrе divided іntо thrее classes determined bу colour — red, brown аnd green — аnd еасh tеndѕ tо live іn а specific position. However, еxсерt fоr thе unmistakable sea lettuce (Ulva), fеw аrе totally оnе colour; аnd еѕресіаllу whеn dry, ѕоmе species саn change colour significantly — а brown оnе mау turn quіtе black, оr а red оnе арреаr black, brown, pink оr purple. Identification іѕ nеvеrthеlеѕѕ facilitated bу thе fact thаt thе factors whісh determine whеrе а seaweed wіll grow аrе quіtе precise, аnd thеу tend thеrеfоrе tо occur іn vеrу well-defined zones. Althоugh thеrе аrе exceptions, thе green seaweeds аrе mаіnlу shallow-water algae; thе browns belong tо thе medium depths; аnd thе reds аrе plants оf thе deeper water, furthest frоm thе shore. Thоѕе shallow-water species able to resist long periods оf exposure tо sun аnd air аrе uѕuаllу fоund оn thе upper shore, whіlе thоѕе lеѕѕ able to withstand ѕuсh exposure occur nearer to, оr below, thе low-water mark.Radiation frоm thе sun, thе temperature level, аnd thе length оf time immersed аlѕо play а part іn thе zoning оf seaweeds. Flat rock surfaces nеаr mid-level tides аrе thе mоѕt usual habitat оf sea-bombs, Venus’ necklace, аnd mоѕt brown seaweeds. Thіѕ іѕ аlѕо thе home оf thе purple laver оr Maori karengo, whісh lооkѕ rаthеr lіkе а reddish-purple lettuce. Deep- water rocks оn open coasts, exposed оnlу аt vеrу lоw tide, аrе uѕuаllу thе site оf bull-kelp, strapweeds аnd similar tough specimens. Kelp, оr bladder kelp, hаѕ stems thаt rise tо thе surface frоm massive bases оr ‘holdfasts’, thе leafy branches аnd long ribbons оf leaves surging wіth thе swells bеуоnd thе line оf shallow coastal breakers оr covering vast areas оf calmer coastal water.

E. Propagation оf seaweeds occurs bу seed-like spores, оr bу fertilisation оf egg cells. Nоnе hаvе roots іn thе usual sense; fеw hаvе leaves; аnd nоnе hаvе flowers, fruits оr seeds. Thе plants absorb thеіr nourishment thrоugh thеіr leafy fronds whеn thеу аrе surrounded bу water; thе holdfast оf seaweeds іѕ purely аn attaching organ, nоt аn absorbing one.

F. Sоmе оf thе large seaweeds stay оn thе surface оf thе water bу means оf air-filled floats; others, ѕuсh аѕ bull-kelp, hаvе large cells filled wіth air. Sоmе whісh spend а good part оf thеіr time exposed tо thе air, оftеn reduce dehydration еіthеr bу hаvіng swollen stems thаt соntаіn water, оr thеу mау (like Venus’ necklace) hаvе swollen nodules, оr thеу mау hаvе а distinctive shape lіkе а sea-bomb. Others, lіkе thе sea cactus, аrе filled wіth а slimy fluid оr hаvе а coating оf mucilage оn thе surface. In ѕоmе оf thе larger kelps, thіѕ coating іѕ nоt оnlу tо kеер thе plant moist, but аlѕо tо protect іt frоm thе violent action оf waves.

Questions for this text

My Advice is:

Use the strategies I have discussed to make your reading for information more effective.

It IS a good idea to look at the questions for each passage before you start reading, but don’t spend too long on this. Just notice any key words, terms or names and important dates or numbers.

Then read the passage…..

Don’t read for detail. – Read to gain an overall understanding of the organisation of the text and how it develops and arrangement of ideas.

Next go to the first Question.  Read the question, identify the task and consider the information you are looking for.

Skim read the passage to locate the area you are likely to find the information you need (remember that some questions follow the order of the passage) and then scan, before reading in detail and checking your answer.

Then do the same for the remaining questions

At the end, when you check your answers, think carefully why you got some answers wrong and why some sections were challenging. 

Was it your understanding of the text or the reading strategy you followed?

Jonathan

———-

Answers with key

Section 1 – Seaweeds of New Zealand

How to practise Reading Section 1 

You should send about 20 minutes in Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1.

Section 1 Reading Passage

Questions 1-6

Questions 7-10

Questions 11-13

Do the statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

Section 2 Two Wings and a Toolkit 

You should send about 20 minutes in Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2. 

Section 2 Reading Passage

Questions 14-17

Questions 18-23

Questions 24-26

Section 3 How did writing begin?

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3.

Section 3 Reading Passage

Questions 27-30

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D

Write the correct letter in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.

Questions 31-36

Questions 37-40

My Advice is:

Use the strategies I have discussed to make your reading for information more effective.

It IS a good idea to look at the questions for each passage before you start reading, but don’t spend too long on this. Just notice any key words, terms or names and important dates or numbers.

Then read the passage…..

Don’t read for detail. – Read to gain an overall understanding of the organisation of the text and how it develops and arrangement of ideas.

Next go to the first Question.  Read the question, identify the task and consider the information you are looking for.

Skim read the passage to locate the area you are likely to find the information you need (remember that some questions follow the order of the passage) and then scan, before reading in detail and checking your answer.

Then do the same for the remain questions

At the end, when you check your answers, think carefully why you got some answers wrong and why some sections were challenging. 

Was it your understanding of the text or the reading strategy you followed?

Jonathan

Was it your understanding of the text or the reading strategy you followed?

Jonathan

Answers with key

Adapted from takeielts.org

PDF QUESTIONS AND READING PASSAGE

Section 1 – Spider silk cuts weight of bridges

How to practise Reading Section 1 

You should send about 20 minutes in Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1.

Section 1 Reading Passage

Questions 1-5

Questions 6-10

Questions 11-13

Do the statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

Section 2 Revolutions in Mapping

You should send about 20 minutes in Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2. 

Section 2 Reading Passage

Questions 14-18

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D

Write the correct letter in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.

Questions 19-21

Questions 22-26

Section 3 Hypnotism

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3.

Section 3 Reading Passage

Questions 27-31

Questions 32-36

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D

Write the correct letter in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.

Questions 37-40

My Advice is:

Use the strategies I have discussed to make your reading for information more effective.

It IS a good idea to look at the questions for each passage before you start reading, but don’t spend too long on this. Just notice any key words, terms or names and important dates or numbers.

Then read the passage…..

Don’t read for detail. – Read to gain an overall understanding of the organisation of the text and how it develops and arrangement of ideas.

Next go to the first Question.  Read the question, identify the task and consider the information you are looking for.

Skim read the passage to locate the area you are likely to find the information you need (remember that some questions follow the order of the passage) and then scan, before reading in detail and checking your answer.

Then do the same for the remain questions

At the end, when you check your answers, think carefully why you got some answers wrong and why some sections were challenging. 

Was it your understanding of the text or the reading strategy you followed?

Jonathan

Was it your understanding of the text or the reading strategy you followed?

Jonathan

Answers with key

Adapted from takeielts.org

Reading Passage 3

Hypnotism

–  is it real or just a circus trick?

 A   Hypnosis has been shown through a number of rigorously controlled studies to reduce pain, control blood pressure, and even make warts go away. But because very few studies have attempted to define the actual processes involved, most scientists are sceptical of its power and uses. That scepticism has driven David Spiegel, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, USA, and other researchers to take a hard look at what happens in the brain during hypnosis.

 Among researchers there are two schools of thought. One claims that hypnosis fundamentally alters subjects’ state of mind: they enter a trance, which produces changes in brain activity. The other believes that hypnosis is simply a matter of suggestibility and relaxation. Spiegel belongs to the first school and over the years has had a debate with two scientists on the other side, Irving Kirsch, a University of Connecticut psychologist, and Stephen Kosslyn, a Harvard professor.

B   Kirsch often uses hypnosis in his practice and doesn’t deny that it can be effective. ‘With hypnosis you do put people in altered states,’ he says. ‘But you don’t need a trance to do it.’ To illustrate the point, Kirsch demonstrates how a subject holding a small object on a chain can make it swing in any direction by mere suggestion, the chain responding to minute movements in the tiny muscles of the fingers.‘You don’t have to enter a trance for your subconscious and your body to act upon a suggestion,’ Kirsch says. ‘The reaction is the result of your focusing on moving the chain in a particular direction.’

Spiegel disagrees. One of his best known studies found that when subjects were hypnotised and given suggestions their brain wave patterns changed, indicating that they had entered a trance. In one of his studies, people under hypnosis were told their forearms were numb, then given light electrical shocks to the wrists. They didn’t flinch or respond in any way, and their brain waves resembled those of people who experienced a much weaker shock. To Kirsch this still wasn’t enough to prove the power of trance, but Stephen Kosslyn was willing to be convinced. Many external factors could have been responsible for the shift in the subjects’ state of mind, but Kosslyn wondered,‘Is there really something going on in the brain?’

C   To find out, Spiegel and Kosslyn decided to collaborate on a study focusing on a part of the brain that is well understood: the circuit which has been found to process the perception of colour. Spiegel and Kosslyn wanted to see if subjects could set off the circuit by visualising colour while under hypnosis. They selected eight people for the experiment conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital. The subjects were put in a scanner and shown a slide with coloured rectangles while their brain activity was mapped. Then they were shown a black and white slide and told to imagine its having colour. Both tasks were then repeated under hypnosis.

The results were striking. When the subjects truly saw the coloured rectangles, the circuit lit up on both sides of the brain; when they only had to imagine the colour, the circuit lit up only in the right hemisphere. Under hypnosis, however, both sides of the brain became active, just as in regular sight; imagination seemed to take on the quality of a hallucination.

After the experiment, Kosslyn was forced to admit, Tm absolutely convinced now that hypnosis can boost what mental imagery does.’ But Kirsch remained sceptical, saying, The experiments demonstrate that people are experiencing the effects of hypnotic suggestion but don’t prove that they are entering a trance.’ He also argued that subjects were told to see the card in colour when they were hypnotised but only to imagine it in colour when they weren’t.‘Being told to pretend you’re having an experience is different from the suggestion to have the experience.’

D   Spiegel, however, is a clinician first and a scientist second. He believes the most important thing is that doctors recognise the power of hypnosis and start to use it. Working with Elvira Lang, a radiologist at a Harvard Medical Centre, he is testing the use of hypnosis in the operating room just as he and Kossiyn did in the scanner. Spiegel and Lang took 24 patients scheduled for surgery and divided them into three groups. One group received standard care, another standard care with a sympathetic care provider and the third received standard care, a sympathetic care provider and hypnosis. Every 15 minutes the patients were asked to rate their pain and anxiety levels. They were also hooked up to painkilling medication which they could administer to themselves.

On average, Spiegel and Lang found the hypnotised subjects used less medication, experienced less pain and felt far less anxiety than the other two groups. Original results published in The Lancet have been further supported by ongoing studies conducted by Lang.

E   Spiegel’s investigations into the nature of hypnosis and its effects on the brain continue. However, if hypnosis is ever to work its way into mainstream medicine and everyday use, physicians will need to know there is solid science behind what sounds like mysticism. Only then will their reluctance to using such things as mind over matter be overcome.‘I agree that the medical use of hypnotism should be based on data rather than belief,’ says Spiegel‘, but in the end it doesn’t really matter why it works, as long as it helps our patients.’

Questions for this text

My Advice is:

Use the strategies I have discussed to make your reading for information more effective.

It IS a good idea to look at the questions for each passage before you start reading, but don’t spend too long on this. Just notice any key words, terms or names and important dates or numbers.

Then read the passage…..

Don’t read for detail. – Read to gain an overall understanding of the organisation of the text and how it develops and arrangement of ideas.

Next go to the first Question.  Read the question, identify the task and consider the information you are looking for.

Skim read the passage to locate the area you are likely to find the information you need (remember that some questions follow the order of the passage) and then scan, before reading in detail and checking your answer.

Then do the same for the remaining questions

At the end, when you check your answers, think carefully why you got some answers wrong and why some sections were challenging. 

Was it your understanding of the text or the reading strategy you followed?

Jonathan

———-

Answers with key