Design the Mat and Foot Health Reading Answers

Dec 22, 2022

Design the Mat and Foot Health Reading Answers is a particular topic which discusses about the art of architecture and how it is so impactful. The given IELTS topic has been taken from the book called “Practice Tests for Ielts 2 Volume 2”. There are 13 questions total in the the topic called Design the Mat and Foot Health Reading Answers, which should be answered within the alloted time of 20 minutes by the candidates. This particuar is generally coming with three different sorts of questions, such as, True/False/Not Given, choose the correct letter, and no more than two words. The candidates should read thoroughly the IELTS reading passage in order to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords and for answering the questions below. Similar kinds of topics like Design the Mat and Foot Health Reading Answers are included in the IELTS reading practice papers, which the candidates can take into their consideration for performing a good score in this section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Design the Mat and Foot Health Reading Answers

Indoor types will appreciate the cobblestone walkway, a knobbly textured plastic mat that they can wobble along in the comfort of their own homes. And for the more adventurous, there are shoes designed to throw you off balance.

The technology may be cutting edge, but its origins are deep and exotic. Research into the idea that flat floors could be detrimental to our health was pioneered back in the late 1960s. While others in Long Beach, California, contemplated peace and love, podiatrist Charles Brantingham and physiologist Bruce Beekman were concerned with more pedestrian matters. They reckoned that the growing epidemic of high blood pressure, varicose veins and deep-vein thrombosis might be linked to the uniformity of the surfaces that we tend to stand and walk on.

The trouble, as they saw it, was that walking continuously on flat floors, sidewalks and streets concentrated forces on just a few areas of the foot. As a result, these surfaces are likely to be far more conducive to chronic stress syndromes than natural ones, where the foot meets the ground in a wide variety of orientations. The anatomy of the foot parallels that of the human hand – each having 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. Modern lifestyles waste all this flexibility in your socks. Brantingham and Beekman became convinced that damage was being done simply by people standing on even surfaces and that this could be rectified by introducing a wobble.

“In Beijing and Shanghai city dwellers take daily walks on cobbled paths to improve their health.” To test their ideas, they got 65 clerks and factory workers to try standing on a variable terrain floor – spongy mats with amounts of giving across the surface. This modest irregularity allowed the soles of the volunteers’ feet to deviate slightly from the horizontal each time they shifted position. As the researchers hoped, this simple intervention turned out to make a huge difference over just a few weeks. Just a slight wobble from the floor activated a host of muscles in people’s legs, which in turn helped to pump blood back to their hearts. The muscle action prevented the pooling of blood in their feet and legs, reducing the stress on the entire cardiovascular system. And two-thirds of the volunteers reported feeling much less tired. Yet decades later, the flooring of the world’s workplaces remains relentlessly smooth.

Earlier this year, however, the idea was given a new lease of life when researchers in Oregon announced findings from a similar experiment with people over 60. John Fisher and colleagues at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene designed a mat intended to replicate the effect of walking on cobblestones. In tests funded by the National Institute of Aging, they got some 50 adults to walk on the mats in their stockinged feet for less than an hour three times a week. After 16 weeks, these people showed marked improvements in balance and mobility, and even a significant reduction in blood pressure. People in a control group who walked on ordinary floors also improved but not as dramatically.

The mats are now on sale at $35. “Our first 1000 cobblestone mats sold in three weeks,” Fisher says. Production is now being scaled up. Even so, demand could exceed supply if this foot-stimulating activity really is a “useful non-pharmacological approach for preventing or controlling hypertension of older adults”, as the researchers believe. They are not alone in extolling the revitalizing powers of cobblestones. Reflexologists have long advocated walking on textured surfaces to stimulate so-called “acupoints” on the soles of the feet. Practitioners of this unorthodox therapy believe that pressure applied to particular spots on the foot connects directly to corresponding organs and somehow enhances their function. In China, spas, hotels, apartment blocks and even factories promote their cobblestone paths as healthful amenities. Fisher admits he got the idea from regular visits to the country. In Beijing and Shanghai city dwellers take daily walks along cobbled paths to improve their health. “In the big cities, people take off their shoes and walk on these paths for 5 or 10 minutes, perhaps several times a day,” Fisher says.

The idea is now taking off in Europe too. People in Germany, Austria and Switzerland can visit “barefoot parks” and walk along “paths of the senses” – with mud, logs, stone and moss underfoot – to receive what’s known there as reflexzone-massage. And it is not difficult to construct your own “health pathway”. American reflexologists Barbara and Kevin Kunz, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, advise that you cobble together a walkway using broom handles, bamboo poles, hosepipes, gravel, pebbles, dried peas, driftwood, fallen logs, sand, door mats and strips of turf.

If your enthusiasm for DIY doesn’t stretch to this, and Fisher’s cobblestone mats are all sold out, there is another option. A new shoe on the market claims to transform flat, hard, artificial surfaces into something like natural uneven ground. “These shoes have an unbelievable effect,” says Benno Nigg, an exercise scientist at the human performance laboratory of Calgary University in Canada, which has done contract research for the shoe’s manufacturers. “They are one of the best things to have happened to humankind for years.” Known as Masai Barefoot Technology, or MBTs, the shoes have rounded soles that cause you to rock slightly when you stand still, exercising the small muscles around the ankle that are responsible for fore-aft stability. Forces in the joint are reduced, putting less strain on the system, Nigg claims.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-5:
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

Q1. Charles Brantingham and Bruce Beekman are the pioneers to research the connection between hyper illness and conditions of the road.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting Sentence: While others in Long Beach, California, contemplated peace and love, podiatrist Charles Brantingham and physiologist Bruce Beekman were concerned with more pedestrian matters.
Keywords: Research, flat floors, pioneered, Long Beach, California, podiatrist, Charles Brantingham, physiologist, Bruce Beekman, pedestrian matters
Keyword Location: Para B, 3^rd statement
Explanation: As per the author, podiatrist Charles Brantingham and physiologist Bruce Beekman were concerned about pedestrian matters. “pedestrian matters” means the conditions of the road. They were concerned and researched the topic being the pioneer in this matter. Hence, the statement is true.

Q2. John Fisher and his colleagues found that those who walked on cobble-stones suffered a worsening physical condition.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting Sentence: John Fisher and colleagues at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene designed a mat intended to replicate the effect of walking on cobblestones.
Keywords: John Fisher, colleagues, Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, mat, replicate, the effect of walking on cobblestones.
Keyword Location: Para E, Lines 2-4
Explanation: The passage states that John Fisher found that those who walked on cobblestones had an effect. They then created a mat to replicate that effect. if the effect was worsening, they would not create a product that would replicate the conditions. Hence, the statement is False.

Q3. Manufacture of Fisher’s cobblestone mats booms due to the high demand for this product.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting Sentence: “Our first 1000 cobblestone mats sold in three weeks,” Fisher says. Production is now being scaled up.
Keywords: on sale, cobblestone mat, sold in three weeks, Fisher, production, scaled up
Keyword Location: Para F, Lines 1-2
Explanation: The word boom means something that has high sales or higher prospect. In the passage, the author says that the first 1000 mats sold in just three weeks and hence production is sclede up. This means there is a huge demand. hence, the statement is true.

Q4. The research works such as the customised pathway from Barbara and Kevin Kunz were inspired by an oversea trip.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: No such statements have been mentioned in the reading passage.

Q5. Benno Nigg suggests that shoes of Masai Barefoot Technology have a specific age limitation.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: No such statements have been mentioned in the reading passage.

Questions 6-8:
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 33-35 on your answer sheet.

Q6. Which of the followings is true according to J Fisher’s experiment cobbled paths in paragraph D

Spongy mats make the volunteer feel unbalanced.
Chinese special culture makes it only applicable in a certain area.
More than half of the participants reported a positive response.
This method could cure cardiovascular disease unexpectedly.

Answer: C- More than half of the participants reported a positive response.
Supporting Sentence: And two-thirds of the volunteers reported feeling much less tired.
Keywords: two-thirds of the volunteer, reported, less tired.
Keyword Location: Para D, Lines 9
Explanation: The passage states that two-thirds of the volunteers were feeling much less tired. Here two third is more than half and not feeling tired is the positive response. The volunteers are the participants. Hence, C is the correct answer.

Q7. John Fisher and colleagues from the Oregon Research Institute have found the followings:

People walking on a specially designed mat only have improvements in blood pressure.
Blood pressure of the control group improves not as much as the other one.
Elder people improve more dramatically than youngsters.
Testing time of 16 weeks is a significant factor in this experiment.

Answer: B- Blood pressure of the control group improves not as much as the other one.
Supporting Sentence: After 16 weeks, these people showed marked improvements in balance and mobility and even a significant reduction in blood pressure
Keywords: marked improvements, balance, mobility, significant reduction in blood pressure, control group, ordinary floors, not as dramatically.
Keyword Location: Para E, Lines 6-8
Explanation: The author in the passage states that people who walked on ordinary floors also improved but not as dramatically. This means that they improved but not as the others. As per the supporting sentence, the improvement is related to a significant reduction in blood pressure. Hence, B is the correct answer.

Q8. Shoes from MBT are also beneficial for your health as which for the following reasons:

Specially designed soles on the bottom make your feet stable
Researcher has previous experience in this field.
African style shoes were very successful in-store sales.
They can protect the ankle and muscles around the feet.

Answer: A- Specially designed soles on the bottom make your feet stable
Supporting Sentence: ” Known as Masai Barefoot Technology, or MBTs, the shoes have rounded soles that cause you to rock slightly when you stand still, exercising the small muscles around the ankle that are responsible for fore-aft stability.
Keywords: Masai Barefoot Technology, MBTs, shoes, rounded soles, to rock, stand still, exercising, small muscles around the ankle, fore-aft stability.
Keyword Location: Para H, Lines 6-9
Explanation: As per the passage, the MBT shoes have rounded soles that help to exercise the muscles around the ankle. This helps to feel more stable. Hence, A is the correct answer.

Questions 9-13:
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage
Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

The anatomy of a human’s foot is complex; which 9 —------ human hand. The experiment, conducted on employees, showed that body movement on the surface of the different conditions can lower the 10 —------ on the heart. The similarity was also found in another experiment conducted by a researcher from the Oregon Research Institute. The test also showed there was a substantial 11 —---------- in hypertension. Reflexologists advise people to work on a road with resistance to stimulate certain points of the body via standing on the 12 —-------- In the end, the author of the passage also advocates that people can build their own health 13 —------ except for buying the special mats and shoes.

Question 9:

Answer: Parallel
Supporting Sentence: The anatomy of the foot parallels that of the human hand – each having 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments.
Keywords: anatomy, foot, parallels, human hand, bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments.
Keyword Location: Para C, Lines 4-6
Explanation: The word parallel means similar or matching. Now, as per the passage, the human foot and human hand have similar parts and functions. Hence, they can be considered parallel to each other.

Question 10:

Answer: Stress
Supporting Sentence: The muscle action prevented the pooling of blood in their feet and legs, reducing the stress on the entire cardiovascular system.
Keywords: muscle action, pooling of blood, feet and legs, reducing the stress, cardiovascular system
Keyword Location: Para D, Lines 7-9
Explanation: The author states that the muscle action prevented the pooling of blood which reduces the stress on the cardiovascular system. The cardiovascular system consists of the heart as the pumping organ that maintains blood pressure; muscle action is by body movements. Hence, stress is the correct answer.

Question 11:

Answer: Reduction
Supporting Sentence: After 16 weeks, these people showed marked improvements in balance and mobility and even a significant reduction in blood pressure.
Keywords: marked improvements, balance, mobility, a significant reduction in blood pressure
Keyword Location: Para E, Lines 6-7
Explanation: The summary talks about hypertension. Hypertension is the same as increasing blood pressure. Hence, a significant reduction in blood pressure means a significant reduction in hypertension. Hence, the test showed a reduction in blood pressure or hypertension.

Question 12:

Answer: Soles
Supporting Sentence: Reflexologists have long advocated walking on textured surfaces to stimulate so-called “acupoints” on the soles of the feet.
Keywords: Reflexologists, textured surfaces, acupoints, soles of the feet.
Keyword Location: Para F, Lines 5-6
Explanation: The question asks about reflexologists advising people to work on a road with resistance to stimulate certain points of the body via standing on what? If we read the passage, we can see that the answer will be “soles” which have acupoints. Hence, “soles” is the correct answer.

Question 13:

Answer: pathway
Supporting Sentence: And it is not difficult to construct your own “health pathway”. .
Keywords: health pathway, reflexologists, Barbara, Kevin Kunz, cobble together a walkway, broom handles, bamboo poles, hosepipes, gravel, pebbles, dried peas, driftwood, fallen logs, sand, doormats, strips of turf.
Keyword Location: Para G, Lines 3-7
Explanation: The passage states that it is not difficult to create own healthy pathway using the basic things. There is no need to buy special mats and shoes. Hence, pathway is the correct answer.

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