Dyslexia Reading Answers

Jan 5, 2023

Dyslexia Reading Answers is a topic about a brief discussion of dyslexia. The given IELTS topic has originated from the book named “IELTS Reading Texts: Essential Practice for High Band Scores”. The topic named Dyslexia Reading Answers comes with 14 sets of questions. The topic includes three different sorts of questions, such as, True/False/Not Given, choose the correct letter, and complete the following sentences. The candidates should thoroughly read the IELTS reading passage to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords and answer the questions below. Similar kinds of topics like Dyslexia 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

Dyslexia Reading Answers

Paragraph 1

People who left school unable to read were often dismissed as being lazy. Some
probably were but many were simply unable to learn because they were dyslexic. Four key
findings now suggest that dyslexia is an organic problem and not a motivational one. Firstly the
brain anatomy of dyslexics differs slightly from those of non-dyslexics. Secondly, their brain
functions as measured by electrical activity are dissimilar. Thirdly they have behavioral differences apart from an inability to read. Finally, there is more and more evidence to suggest that their condition is linked to particular genes.

Paragraph 2

The anatomical differences between the brains of dyslexics and non-dyslexics were first noticed in 1979 by Albert Galaburda of Harvard Medical School. He found two sorts of microscopic flaws in the language centers of dyslexic brains. These are called ectoplasm and
Microgyria.

Paragraph 3

The language centers form part of the cerebral cortex and are situated on the left side of the brain. The cortex consists of six layers of cells. Ectopia is a collection of nerve cells that push up from the lower layers of the cortex into the outer ones, where they are not normally
found. A microgyrus is a small fold in the cortex which results in a reduction in the normal number of layers from six to four.

Paragraph 4

The formation of microgyria causes confusion in the neural connections between the language centers and other parts of the brain. Microgyria have been induced in rat embryos and as adults, these rats are found to have a reduced ability in distinguishing between two sounds played in quick succession. This inability to distinguish between two sounds in quick succession is also a symptom of dyslexia in people.

Paragraph 5

Dyslexia not only affects language centers but also causes brain abnormalities in visual pathways as well. One such abnormality is the reduction in the cell size in the layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus. This is where the nerve tracts which transmit information from the eyes to the visual cortex at the back of the brain are found. This is significant as dyslexia is essentially an inability to deal with linguistic information in visual form.

Paragraph 6

This parallel failure of visual and auditory systems is seen elsewhere in the brain. Guinevere Eden and Thomas Zeffiro, who work at Georgetown University in Washington D. C. have found an example of it using a brain-scanning technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging. (MRI)

Paragraph 7

A fundamental characteristic of dyslexia is difficulty in processing written phenomes. Phenomes are the units of sound that make up a language. By giving dyslexic people tasks such as removing phenomes from the beginning of words, while at the same time monitoring brain activity with their scanner, Dr. Eden and Dr. Zeffiro were able to stimulate both the visual and auditory pathways simultaneously. Their findings demonstrated that dyslexics showed low activity in a part of the brain called Brodmann's area 37, another part of the brain where visual and auditory information are handled in close proximity.

Paragraph 8

Dr. Eden and Dr. Zeffiro have also compared the brain activity of dyslexic and non-dyslexic readers who were given a task not related to reading. Another symptom of dyslexia is difficulty in detecting visual motion. On this basis, Dr. Eden and Dr. Zeffiro devised a task whereby people were asked to look at dots on a screen and identify which of them was moving and in which direction. While monitoring brain activity with the scanner, it was found that dyslexics performing this task showed significantly less brain activity in Brodmann's area 37 than non-dyslexics. As this task did not require reading skills it could be used to test children for incipient dyslexia before they reach the reading age; then they could be given special tuition.

Paragraph 9

To broaden their investigation, Dr. Eden and Dr. Zeffiro teamed up with Frank Wood and his colleagues at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina, an institution specializing in dyslexia. Dr. Eden and Dr. Zeffiro borrowed some of its patients and monitored them in the fMRI machine at Georgetown University. This was done both before and after the individuals had participated in an intensive program designed to improve their reading. Non-dyslexics were also scanned and used as controls in the investigation.

Paragraph 10

The results were significant. After the program, the participants showed enhanced brain activity while reading. However, this activity was not on the left side of the brain but in areas on the right side, corresponding exactly to language centers in the opposite hemisphere. The reading program had stimulated the brains of the participants to recruit batches of nerve cells in a place not normally associated with language processing.

Paragraph 11

The primary cause for these problems is another of Dr. Wood's interests. The abnormal brain tissue in dyslexia is developed by the fifth month of gestation, which indicates that the cause of the disorder must act before that time. This suggests that it may be genetic. Many people argue about the relative contributions of genes and the environment to human behavior and human disease. Dyslexia is both behavioral and, to a certain degree, it is a disease. It appears to have a biological origin and genetic roots. Yet looking at it from a different angle its cause is almost purely environmental. People living in illiterate societies are hardly troubled by their other symptoms. It was the invention of writing that brought the difficulty to light, not the mutation of genes. Nature or the environment? You will have to decide between the two.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-6

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the reading passage
TRUE if the statement agrees with the writer
FALSE if the statement contradicts the writer
NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this

Dyslexia is probably caused by motivational problems.
Dyslexia affects language as well as visual and audio processes.
In modern society dyslexia is essentially the inability to distinguish between visual forms.
It has been demonstrated that special reading programs can teach dyslexic people to read as well
as non-dyslexic ones.
The cause of dyslexia is partly genetic and partly environmental.
The writer of the article believes that dyslexia can most effectively be cured in illiterate societies.

Question 1:

Answer: False
Supporting sentence: Four key findings now suggest that dyslexia is an organic problem and not a motivational one.
Keyword: findings, dyslexia, motivational
Keyword location: paragraph 1, line 3
Explanation: Paragraph 1 portrays that the few who couldn't read when they graduated from school were frequently viewed as being lazy. Many dyslexic people were just unable to learn, while some certainly were as well. Four significant discoveries now point to dyslexia as an inherent issue rather than a motivated one. First off, dyslexics' brain anatomy differs slightly from that of non-dyslexics. Second, their electrical brain activity patterns reveal different brain activities. So, it is a False sentence.

Question 2:

Answer: True
Supporting sentence: Dyslexia not only affects language centers but also causes brain abnormalities in visual pathways as well.
Keyword: Dyslexia, language, visual
Keyword location: paragraph 5, line 1
Explanation: Line 1 of paragraph 5 clarifies that dyslexia alters not just the language centers of the brain but also the visual pathways of the brain. The shrinkage of cells in the layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus is one such anomaly. Therefore, it is a True statement.

Question 3:

Answer: False
Supporting sentence: This is significant as dyslexia is essentially an inability to deal with linguistic information in visual form.
Keyword: dyslexia, inability, linguistic
Keyword location: paragraph 5, last line
Explanation: Paragraph 5 says that the reduced cell size in the lateral geniculate nucleus layers is one of the disorders. Here are the neural pathways that carry data from the eyes to the visual cortex in the rear of the brain. This is important since dyslexia is basically an inability to process linguistic information that is presented visually. Therefore, the statement is regarded as a False one.

Question 4:

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: No justified information is available in the passage in order to support this statement. So, the above statement can be taken as an invalid one.

Question 5:

Answer: True
Supporting sentence: Yet looking at it from a different angle its cause is almost purely environmental.
Keyword: looking, angle, environmental
Keyword location: paragraph 11, lines 4-5
Explanation: Lines 4-5 of paragraph 11 explain that the relative proportions of heredity and environment to human behavior and disease are hotly debated topics. In some ways, dyslexia is both an illness and a behavioral condition. It seems to have a biological and genetic foundation. However, when viewed from a different perspective, the reason is virtually entirely environmental. Henceforth, we can consider this statement to be a True one.

Question 6:

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: No pertinent information in order to prove the validation of the above sentence has been provided in the passage. Therefore, we can consider this statement to be an invalid one.

Questions 7-11

Match the items from the reading passage to the definitions. Choose the correct letters A B C D

Ectopia

A reduction in the number of layers in part of the cortex of the brain.
A collection of nerve cells in a part of the cortex of the brain where they are not normally found.
A formation of six layers in the cortex of the brain, where normally there are four.
An inability to deal with linguistic information in visual form.

Microgyria

A symptom of dyslexia.
Abnormal pathways of visual information in the brain.
An abnormal formation of layers in the cortex of the brain.
Confusion results in an inability to distinguish sounds in quick succession.

Phenomes

sounds made in quick succession.
part of the language that dyslexics are unable to identify.
brain activity that can be monitored with special scanning techniques.
the units of sound which make up a language.

A scientific equipment for assessing reading skills.
A technique for scanning activity of the brain.
A technique for stimulating visual and auditory pathways in the brain.
A machine to stimulate visual motion.

Brodmann’s area 37

A less active part of the brain.
An abnormal formation in the brain of dyslexics.
Where all visual information is handled in the brain.
Part of the brain where visual and auditory information is handled.

Question 7:

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: Ectopia is a collection of nerve cells that push up from the lower layers of the cortex into the outer ones, where they are not normally found.
Keyword: Ectopia, cortex, outer
Keyword location: paragraph 3, lines 1-3
Explanation: Lines 1-3 of paragraph 3 suggests that located on the left side of the brain, the language centers are a component of the cerebral cortex. There are six cell layers in the cortex. Ectopia is a group of nerve cells that protrude from the cortex's deeper layers and into its outer ones, where they are ordinarily absent.

Question 8:

Answer: C
Supporting sentence: A microgyrus is a small fold in the cortex which results in a reduction in the normal number of layers from six to four.
Keyword: microgyrus, cortex, layers
Keyword location: paragraph 3, last line
Explanation: The last line of paragraph 3 states about microgyrus. It says that in the outer layers of the cortex, where they are not typically found, ectopia is a group of nerve cells that push up from the lower layers. A microgyrus is a tiny fold in the cortex that causes the typical six layers to be reduced to four.

Question 9:

Answer: D
Supporting sentence: Phenomes are the units of sound that make up a language.
Keyword: Phenomes, units, language
Keyword location: paragraph 7, line 2
Explanation: Line 2 of paragraph 7 portrays that processing difficulty while reading printed words is a core aspect of dyslexia. Languages are made up of phenomes, which are discrete units of sound. Dr. Eden and Dr. Zeffiro were able to concurrently activate the visual and auditory pathways in dyslexic patients. It is happened by giving them tasks like deleting phenomes from the beginning of words while simultaneously monitoring brain activity using their scanner.

Question 10:

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: Non-dyslexics were also scanned and used as controls in the investigation.
Keyword: Non-dyslexics, scanned, investigation
Keyword location: paragraph 9, lines 2-4
Explanation: Lines 2-4 of paragraph 9 suggests that some of the patients were examined by doctors Eden and Zeffiro and monitored in the Georgetown University fMRI machine. This was carried out both before and after the participants in the rigorous program for reading improvement. In the experiment, non-dyslexics were also scanned and utilized as controls.

Question 11:

Answer: D
Supporting sentence: Their findings demonstrated that dyslexics showed low activity in a part of the brain called Brodmann's area 37, another part of the brain where visual and auditory
information are handled in close proximity.
Keyword: brain, visual and auditory information, close proximity
Keyword location: paragraph 7, last line
Explanation: The last line of paragraph 7 portrays that the visual and auditory channels were simultaneously stimulated by doctors Eden and Zeffiro. They found that dyslexics had reduced activity in Brodmann's area 37. It is another region of the brain where visual and auditory information is processed in close proximity.

Questions 12-14

Complete the sentences below with words taken from the reading passage. Use no more than
three words for each answer

In the language centers of dyslexics brains, Dr. Albert Galaburda discovered two sorts of ———-

One abnormality in the dyslexic’s brains is the reduction in the cell size in the layers of the ——–

Dyslexia is a behavioral problem and also a —————–

Question 12:

Answer: microscopic flaws
Supporting sentence: He found two sorts of microscopic flaws in the language centers of dyslexic brains.
Keyword: found, microscopic flaws, language
Keyword location: paragraph 2, line 1-2
Explanation: Lines 1-2 of paragraph 2 state that in 1979, Albert Galaburda of Harvard Medical School made the first observation of the structural variations. It is between the brains of dyslexics and non-dyslexics. In the language regions of dyslexic brains, he discovered two different types of microscopic defects. Microgyria and ectoplasm are the names of these.

Question 13:

Answer: lateral geniculate nucleus
Supporting sentence: One such abnormality is the reduction in the cell size in the layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus.
Keyword: abnormality, cell size, lateral geniculate nucleus
Keyword location: paragraph 5, line 2
Explanation: The second line of paragraph 5 says that dyslexia creates disruptions in visual pathways in the brain in addition to language centers in the brain. The shrinkage of cells in the layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus is one such anomaly. Here are the neural pathways that carry data from the eyes to the visual cortex in the rear of the brain. This is important since dyslexia is basically an inability to process linguistic information that is presented visually.

Question 14:

Answer: a disease
Supporting sentence: Dyslexia is both behavioral and, to a certain degree, it is a disease.
Keyword: Dyslexia, behavioral, disease
Keyword location: paragraph 11, line 5
Explanation: The fifth line of paragraph 11 explains that Dr. Wood's other area of study is the main contributor to these issues. Dyslexia manifests abnormal brain matter by the fifth month of pregnancy, thus the disorder's underlying cause must act before then. This implies that it might be inherited. The relative contributions of heredity and environment to human behavior and disease are hotly debated topics. In some ways, dyslexia is both an illness and a behavioral condition. It seems to have a biological and genetic foundation.