Aphantasia A Life Without Mental Images Reading Answers

Dec 29, 2022

Aphantasia A Life Without Mental Images Reading Answers contains a write up about the techniques of mind imagery and Aphantasia. Aphantasia A Life Without Mental Images Reading Answers 13 different types of questions. Candidates in this IELTS Section will be shown various question types with clear instructions. Aphantasia A Life Without Mental Images Reading Answers comprises three types of questions: Matching heading, sentence completion, and Choose the correct option. For Matching heading in IELTS Reading passage, candidates need to thoroughly go through each passage. To gain proficiency, candidates can practice from IELTS reading practice test.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Aphantasia A Life Without Mental Images Reading Answers

Close your eyes and imagine walking along a sandy beach and then gazing over the horizon as the Sun rises. How clear is the image that springs to mind?

Most people can readily conjure images inside their head – known as their mind’s eye. But this year scientists have described a condition, Aphantasia, in which some people are unable to visualise mental images. Niel Kenmuir, from Lancaster, has always had a blind mind’s eye. He knew he was different even in childhood. “My stepfather, when I couldn’t sleep, told me to count sheep, and he explained what he meant, I tried to do it and I couldn’t,” he says. “I couldn’t see any sheep jumping over fences, there was nothing to count.”

Our memories are often tied up in images, think back to a wedding or first day at school. As a result, Niel admits, some aspects of his memory are “terrible”, but he is very good at remembering facts. And, like others with Aphantasia, he struggles to recognise faces. Yet he does not see Aphantasia as a disability, but simply a different way of experiencing life.

Mind’s eye blind

Ironically, Niel now works in a bookshop, although he largely sticks to the non-fiction aisles. His condition begs the question of what is going on inside his picture-less mind. I asked him what happens when he tries to picture his fiancee. “This is the hardest thing to describe, what happens in my head when I think about things,” he says. “When I think about my fiancee there is no image, but I am definitely thinking about her, I know today she has her hair up at the back, she’s brunette. But I’m not describing an image I am looking at, I’m remembering features about her, that’s the strangest thing and maybe that is a source of some regret.”

The response from his mates is very sympathetic: “You’re weird.” But while Niel is very relaxed about his inability to picture things, it is often a cause of distress for others. One person who took part in a study into Aphantasia said he had started to feel “isolated” and “alone” after discovering that other people could see images in their heads. Being unable to reminisce about his mother years after her death led to him being “extremely distraught”.

The super-visualiser

At the other end of the spectrum is children’s book illustrator, Lauren Beard, whose work on the Fairytale Hairdresser series will be familiar to many six-year-olds. Her career relies on the vivid images that leap into her mind’s eye when she reads text from her author. When I met her in her box-room studio in Manchester, she was working on a dramatic scene in the next book. The text describes a baby perilously climbing onto a chandelier.

“Straightaway I can visualise this grand glass chandelier in some sort of French kind of ballroom, and the little baby just swinging off it and really heavy thick curtains,” she says. “I think I have a strong imagination, so I can create the world and then keep adding to it so it gets sort of bigger and bigger in my mind and the characters too they sort of evolving. I couldn’t really imagine what it’s like to not imagine, I think it must be a bit of a shame really.”

Not many people have mental imagery as vibrant as Lauren or as blank as Niel. They are the two extremes of visualisation. Adam Zeman, a professor of cognitive and behavioural neurology, wants to compare the lives and experiences of people with Aphantasia and its polar-opposite Hyperphantasia. His team, based at the University of Exeter, coined the term Aphantasia this year in a study in the journal Cortex.

Prof Zeman tells the BBC: “People who have contacted us say they are really delighted that this has been recognised and has been given a name because they have been trying to explain to people for years that there is this oddity that they find hard to convey to others.” How we imagine is clearly very subjective – one person’s vivid scene could be another’s a grainy picture. But Prof Zeman is certain that Aphantasia is real. People often report being able to dream in pictures, and there have been reported cases of people losing the ability to think in images after a brain injury.

He is adamant that Aphantasia is “not a disorder” and says it may affect up to one in 50 people. But he adds: “I think it makes quite an important difference to their experience of life because many of us spend our lives with imagery hovering somewhere in the mind’s eye which we inspect from time to time, it’s the variability of human experience.”Top of Form

Section 2

Solution With Explanation
Do the following statements agree with the information in the IELTS reading text?
In boxes 1- 8 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE, if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE, if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN, if there is no information on this

Aphantasia is a condition, which describes people, for whom it is hard to visualise mental images.
Niel Kenmuir was unable to count sheep in his head.
People with aphantasia struggle to remember personal traits and clothes of different people.
Niel regrets that he cannot portray an image of his fiancee in his mind.
Inability to picture things in someone’s head is often a cause of distress for a person.
All people with aphantasia start to feel ‘isolated’ or ‘alone’ at some point in their lives.
Lauren Beard’s career depends on her imagination.
The author met Lauren Beard when she was working on a comedy scene in her next book.

(Guide: Candidates need to study the passage and identify which questions are true or false, and mark the ones Not Given where there is no mention of the fact )

ANSWERS 1- 8

Question 1:

Answer: False
Supporting Statement: But this year scientists have described a condition, aphantasia, in which some people are unable to visualise mental images.
Keyword: Aphantasia, Unable
Keyword Location: Section A, 2nd Line
Explanation: Contrary to the interpretation of the question assertion that Aphantasia represents persons who can visualize mental images yet find it difficult to do so, it is a sickness that describes people who are incapable of or unable to visualize mental images. The claim is untrue as a result.

Question 2:

Answer: True
Supporting Statement: Niel Kenmuir, from Lancaster, has always had a blind mind’s eye. he says. “I couldn’t see any sheep jumping over fences, there was nothing to count.”
Keyword: Niel Kenmuir, Unable, Count Sheep
Keyword Location: Section A, 2nd Paragraph, 4 line
Explanation: The question is expressly stated in the sentences cited in the paragraph. The keywords can be used to locate the question. The assertion is accurate as a result.

Question 3:

Answer: Not given
Explanation: The passage makes no mention of those with aphantasia having problems recalling their appearance or their attire. As a result, the solution is not provided.

Question 4:

Answer: True
Supporting Statement: But I’m not describing an image I am looking at, I’m remembering features about her, that’s the strangest thing and maybe that is a source of some regret.”
Keyword: Fiancee, Regret,
Keyword Location: Section B, 6 line
Explanation: When asked to imagine his fiancée, Neil answers unequivocally that he is unable to do so but does recall some of her distinctive qualities. As a result, he feels regret as stated in the question statement, proving that the statement is accurate.

Question 5:

Answer: True
Supporting Statement: But while Niel is very relaxed about his inability to picture things, it is often a cause of distress for others.
Keyword: Distress
Keyword Location: Section B, 2 Paragraph
Explanation: Although it is made obvious in the passage that Neil was unconcerned about his inability to see events, for others, the inability to recall and treasure memories frequently leaves the person feeling alone. The answer to the query is hence true.

Question 6:

Answer: Not given
Explanation: The passage does suggest that some may find it upsetting when they can't recall past events, but it never says that everyone with aphantasia experiences this. Additionally, "one individual" rather than "all" is mentioned in the passage. The assertion is therefore not supported by the paragraph and is therefore not given.

Question 7:

Answer: True
Supporting Statement: Her career relies on the vivid images that leap into her mind’s eye when she reads text from her author.
Keyword: Relies, Career, Imagination
Keyword Location: Section C, 1st Paragraph, 3 line
Explanation: The word "relies" in the supporting assertion symbolizes how Lauren Beard's career is dependent on her creativity. Although imagination isn't mentioned specifically in the sentence, the phrase "vivid visions that burst into her mind's eye" is just a hyperbolic metaphor for her imagination. The answer to the query is hence true.

Question 8:

Answer: False
Supporting Statement: When I met her in her box-room studio in Manchester, she was working on a dramatic scene in the next book.
Keyword: Comedy, Next Book
Keyword Location: Section C, 5 Line
Explanation: In contrast to the comic situation in the question statement, the passage's lines reveal that the author first met Lauren Beard while they were both working on a tragic scene. The assertion in the question is untrue as a result. The answer has been clearly mentioned in section C.

QUESTION 9 - 13

Complete the sentences below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

Only a small fraction of people have imagination as _________ as Lauren does.
Hyperphantasia is ____________to aphantasia.
There is a lot of subjectivity in comparing people’s imagination - somebody’s vivid scene could be another person’s _____.
Prof Zeman is _____that aphantasia is not an illness.
Many people spend their lives with _______ somewhere in the mind’s eye.

(Guide: Candidates need to fill the blanks with not more than two words)

ANSWERS 9 -13

Question 9:

Answer: Vibrant
Supporting Statement: Not many people have mental imagery as vibrant as Lauren or as blank as Niel.
Keyword: As Vibrant as Lauren
Keyword Location: Section C, 3 Paragraph, 1st Line
Explanation: According to the lines in the passage, the author depicted Lauren's imagination as lively and Neil's as lifeless. Additionally, "not many people" refers to "a small percentage of people". The answer has been clearly mentioned in section C in paragraph 3. Vibrant is the right response, therefore.

Question 10:

Answer: Polar- opposite
Supporting Statement: Adam Zeman, a professor of cognitive and behavioural neurology, wants to compare the lives and experiences of people with aphantasia and its polar-opposite hyperphantasia.
Keyword: Aphantasia, Hyperphantasia
Keyword Location: Section C, 3 Paragraph, 4th Line
Explanation: Adam Zeman compared aphantasia with its polar opposite, hyperphantasia, according to the passage's lines. The answer has been clearly mentioned in section C in paragraph 3.

Question 11:

Answer: Grainy Picture
Supporting Statement: How we imagine is clearly very subjective – one person’s vivid scene could be another’s grainy picture.
Keyword: Imagination, Vivid Scene, Another’s Person, Grainy Picture
Keyword Location: Section C, 4 Paragraph, 4th Line
Explanation: One person's vibrant scene might be another person's grainy picture, as stated in the question statement, is simply being referenced in the text by the line "one person's vivid scene could be another person's grainy picture." The answer has been clearly mentioned in section C in paragraph 4. Therefore, the proper response is Grainy Picture.

Question 12:

Answer: Adamant
Supporting Statement: He is adamant that aphantasia is “not a disorder” and says it may affect up to one in 50 people.
Keyword: Aphantasia, Adamant
Keyword Location: Section C, 5 Paragraph, 1st Line
Explanation: According to the passage, Professor Zeman was adamant that aphantasia was not a condition because it only affected one in every fifty persons. Using the keywords, it is simple to locate the question in the passage. The answer has been clearly mentioned in section C in paragraph 5. Therefore, "adamant" is the appropriate term.

Question 13:

Answer: Imagery Hovering
Supporting Statement: But he adds: “I think it makes quite an important difference to their experience of life because many of us spend our lives with imagery hovering somewhere in the mind’s eye...”
Keyword: Spend tier lives, Mind’s eye
Keyword Location: Section C, 5 Paragraph, 3rd Line
Explanation: The passage's lines are identical to those in the question statement. As a result, we can identify the solution as Imagery Hovering by using the keywords. The answer has been clearly mentioned in section C in paragraph 5.

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