Begins in the Brain IELTS Reading Answers

Aug 18, 2023

Begins in the Brain IELTS Reading Answers is a topic of the IELTS general reading topic which includes 13 questions. The specified IELTS topic generates: choose the correct option type of questions. Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly in order to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. Candidates can further enhance their reading skills by going through IELTS reading practice papers available on the website. Candidates can use IELTS reading topics like Begins in the Brain IELTS Reading Answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for FreeTrial Class Now

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Begins in the Brain

For almost a century, scientists have presumed, not unreasonably, that fatigue - or exhaustion in athletes originates in the muscles. Precise explanations have varied but all have been based on the limitations theory'. In other words, muscles tire because they hit a physical limit: they either run out of fuel or oxygen or they drown in toxic by-products.
In the past few years, however, Timothy Noakes and Alan St Clair Gibson from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, have examined this standard theory. The deeper they dig, the more convinced they have become that physical fatigue simply isn't the same as a car running out of petrol. Fatigue, they argue, is caused not by distress signals springing from overtaxed muscles, but is an emotional response which begins in the brain.

The essence of their new theory is that the brain, using a mix of physiological, subconscious and conscious cues, paces the muscles to keep them well back from the brink of exhaustion. When the brain decides it's time to quit, it creates the distressing sensations we interpret as unbearable muscle fatigue. This 'central governor’ theory remains controversial, but it does explain many puzzling aspects of athletic performance.
A recent discovery that Noakes calls the 'lactic acid paradox' made him seriously consider this area. Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and accumulation is often cited as a cause of fatigue. But when research subjects exercise in conditions simulating high altitude, they become fatigued even though lactic acid levels remain low. Nor has the oxygen content of their blood fallen too low for them to keep going. Obviously, Noakes deduced, something else was making them tire before they hit either of these physiological limits.
Probing further, Noakes experimented with seven cyclists who had sensors taped to their legs to measure the nerve impulses traveling through their muscles. It has long been known that the body never uses 100% of the available muscle fibers in a single contraction during exercise. The amount used varies, but in endurance tasks such as this cycling test the body calls on about 30%.
Noakes reasoned that if the limitations theory was correct and fatigue was due to muscle fibres hitting some limit, the number of fibres used for each pedal stroke should increase as the fibres tired and the cyclist's body attempted to compensate by recruiting an ever-larger proportion of the total. But his team found exactly the opposite. As fatigue set in, the cyclists' legs' electrical activity declined - even during sprinting, when they were striving to cycle as fast as they could.
To Noakes, this was strong evidence that the old theory was wrong. 'The cyclists may have felt completely exhausted,' he says, 'but their bodies actually had considerable reserves that they could theoretically tap by using a greater proportion of the resting fibers.' This, he believes, is proof that the brain is regulating the pace of the workout to hold the cyclists well back from the point of catastrophic exhaustion.
More evidence comes from the fact that fatigued muscles don't actually run out of anything critical. Levels of glycogen, which is the muscles' primary fuel, and ATP. the chemical they use for temporary energy storage, decline with exercise but never bottom out. Even at the end of a marathon, ATP levels are 80-90% of the resting norm, and glycogen levels never get to zero.
Further support for the central regulator comes from the fact that top athletes usually manage to go their fastest at the end of a race, even though, theoretically, that's when their muscles should be closest to exhaustion. But Noakes believes the end spurt makes no sense if fatigue is caused by muscles poisoning themselves with lactic acid as this would cause racers to slow down rather than enable them to sprint for the finish line. In the new theory, the explanation is obvious. Knowing the end is near, the brain slightly relaxes its vigil, allowing the athlete to tap some of the body's carefully hoarded reserves.
But the central governor theory does not mean that what's happening in the muscles is irrelevant. The governor constantly monitors physiological signals from the muscles, along with other information, to set the level of fatigue. A large number of signals are probably involved but, unlike the limitations theory, the central governor theory suggests that these physiological factors are not the direct determinants of fatigue, but simply information to take into account.
Conscious factors can also intervene. Noakes believes that the central regulator evaluates the planned workout, and sets a pacing strategy accordingly. Experienced runners know that if they set out on a 10-kilometer run. The first kilometer feels easier than the first kilometer of a 5-kilometer run, even though there should be no difference. That, Noakes says, is because the central governor knows you have further to go in the longer run and has programmed itself to dole out fatigue symptoms accordingly.
St Clair Gibson believes there is a good reason why our bodies are designed to keep something back. That way, there's always something left in the tank for an emergency. In ancient times, and still today, life would be too dangerous if our bodies allowed us to become so tired that we couldn't move quickly when faced with an unexpected need.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 28 - 33

Reading Passage 3 has eleven paragraphs A-K.
Choose the correct heading for Paragraphs AF from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number (i-viii) in boxes 2833 on your answer sheet.
List of headings

Avoiding tiredness in athletes
Puzzling evidence raises a question
Traditional explanations
Interpreting the findings
Developing muscle fibres
A new hypothesis
Description of a new test
Surprising results in an endurance test

Question 28: Paragraph A

Answer: iii
Supporting statement: “...Precise explanations have varied but all have been based on the limitations theory'.…”
Keywords: Precise, explanations, limitations, theory
Keyword Location: para A, line 2
Explanation: According to the writer, for almost a century, scientists have presumed, not unreasonably, that fatigue - or exhaustion in athletes originates in the muscles. Precise explanations have varied but all have been based on the limitations theory'.

Question 29: Paragraph B

Answer: vi
Supporting statement: “...The essence of their new theory is that the brain, using a mix of physiological, subconscious and conscious cues, paces the muscles to keep them well back from the brink of exhaustion…”
Keywords: essence, theory, brain, physiological, subconscious, conscious cues, muscles, brink, exhaustion
Keyword Location: para B, line 5
Explanation: According to the writer, the essence of their new theory is that the brain, using a mix of physiological, subconscious and conscious cues, paces the muscles to keep them well back from the brink of exhaustion. This 'central governor’ theory remains controversial, but it does explain many puzzling aspects of athletic performance.

Question 30: Paragraph C

Answer: ii
Supporting statement: “...But when research subjects exercise in conditions simulating high altitude, they become fatigued even though lactic acid levels remain low…”
Keywords: research, exercise, simulating, high altitude, fatigued, lactic acid, levels, low
Keyword Location: para C, line 3
Explanation: According to the writer, lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and accumulation is often cited as a cause of fatigue. But when research subjects exercise in conditions simulating high altitude, they become fatigued even though lactic acid levels remain low. Nor has the oxygen content of their blood fallen too low for them to keep going.

Question 31: Paragraph D

Answer: vii
Supporting statement: “...The amount used varies, but in endurance tasks such as this cycling test the body calls on about 30%…”
Keywords: amount, endurance, tasks, cycling, test, body, 30%
Keyword Location: para D, line 3
Explanation: According to the writer, it has long been known that the body never uses 100% of the available muscle fibers in a single contraction during exercise. The amount used varies, but in endurance tasks such as this cycling test the body calls on about 30%.

Question 32: Paragraph E

Answer: viii
Supporting statement: “...the number of fibers used for each pedal stroke should increase as the fibers tire and the cyclist's body attempts to compensate by recruiting an ever-larger proportion of the total…”
Keywords: fibers, pedal, stroke, increase, cyclist, body, attempted, compensate, recruiting, proportion
Keyword Location: para E, line 1
Explanation: According to the writer, Noakes reasoned that if the limitations theory was correct and fatigue was due to muscle fibers hitting some limit, the number of fibers used for each pedal stroke should increase as the fibers tired and the cyclist's body attempted to compensate by recruiting an ever-larger proportion of the total.

Question 33: Paragraph F

Answer: iv
Supporting statement: “...This, he believes, is proof that the brain is regulating the pace of the workout to hold the cyclists well back from the point of catastrophic exhaustion…”
Keywords: proof, brain, regulating, pace, workout, cyclists, catastrophic, exhaustion
Keyword Location: para F, line 3
Explanation: According to the writer, he believes it is proof that the brain is regulating the pace of the workout to hold the cyclists well back from the point of catastrophic exhaustion.

Questions 34-40

Classify the following ideas as relating to

the Limitations Theory
the Central Governor Theory
both the Limitations Theory and the Central Governor Theory

Write the correct letter A, B or C in boxes 3440 on your answer sheet.
NB: You may use any letter more than once.

Question 34: Lactic acid is produced in muscles during exercise.

Answer: C
Supporting statement: “...Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and accumulation is often cited as a cause of fatigue…”
Keywords: Lactic, acid, by-product, exercise, accumulation, cited, fatigue
Keyword Location: para C, line 2
Explanation: According to the writer, a recent discovery that Noakes calls the 'lactic acid paradox' made him seriously consider this area. Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and accumulation is often cited as a cause of fatigue. But when research subjects exercise in conditions simulating high altitude, they become fatigued even though lactic acid levels remain low.

Question 35: Athletes can keep going until they use up all their available resources.

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “... Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and accumulation is often cited as a cause of fatigue…”
Keywords: lactic, acid, by-product, exercise, accumulation, fatigue
Keyword Location: para C, line 1
Explanation: According to the writer, a recent discovery that Noakes calls the 'lactic acid paradox' made him seriously consider this area. Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and accumulation is often cited as a cause of fatigue.

Question 36: Mental processes control the symptoms of tiredness.

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “...Noakes experimented with seven cyclists who had sensors taped to their legs to measure the nerve impulses traveling through their muscles…”
Keywords: Noakes, experimented, seven, cyclists, sensors, legs, nerve, impulses, traveling, muscles
Keyword Location: para D, line 1
Explanation: According to the writer, Noakes experimented with seven cyclists who had sensors taped to their legs to measure the nerve impulses traveling through their muscles. It has long been known that the body never uses 100% of the available muscle fibers in a single contraction during exercise.

Question 37: The physiological signals from an athlete's muscles are linked to fatigue.

Answer: C
Supporting statement: “...The governor constantly monitors physiological signals from the muscles, along with other information, to set the level of fatigue…”
Keywords: governor, physiological, signals, muscles, information, level of fatigue
Keyword Location: para I, line 2
Explanation: According to the writer, the central governor theory does not mean that what's happening in the muscles is irrelevant. The governor constantly monitors physiological signals from the muscles, along with other information, to set the level of fatigue.

Question 38: The brain plans and regulates muscle performance in advance of a run.

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “...the brain is regulating the pace of the workout to hold the cyclists well back from the point of catastrophic exhaustion…”
Keywords: brain, regulating, pace, workout, cyclists, catastrophic, exhaustion
Keyword Location: para F, line 3
Explanation: According to the writer, the brain is regulating the pace of the workout to hold the cyclists well back from the point of catastrophic exhaustion.

Question 39: Athletes' performance during a race may be affected by lactic acid build-up.

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “...Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and accumulation is often cited as a cause of fatigue…”
Keywords: lactic, acid, by-product, exercise, accumulation, fatigue
Keyword Location: para C, line 1
Explanation: According to the writer, a recent discovery that Noakes calls the 'lactic acid paradox' made him seriously consider this area. Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise, and accumulation is often cited as a cause of fatigue.

Question 40: Humans are genetically programmed to keep some energy reserves.

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “...the central governor theory suggests that these physiological factors are not the direct determinants of fatigue, but simply information to take into account…”
Keywords: central, governor, theory, suggests, physiological, factors, direct, determinants, fatigue, information
Keyword Location: para I, line 3
Explanation: According to the writer, the central governor theory does not mean that what's happening in the muscles is irrelevant. The governor constantly monitors physiological signals from the muscles, along with other information, to set the level of fatigue. The central governor theory suggests that these physiological factors are not the direct determinants of fatigue, but simply information to take into account.