Inside the Mind of a Fan – How Watching Sports Affect the Brain-IELTS Reading Sample with Explanation

The IELTS reading section tests the cognition skills of the candidate over three reading passages and 40 questions. This article consists of an IELTS Reading Passage 3 and the last 14 questions (27-40) of the reading section. The IELTS reading sample article - Inside the Mind of a Fan – How Watching Sports Affect the Brain consists of passages along with the answers and explanations.The questions are divided into three categories:

• Spotting exact paragraphs
• Selecting the right option from a given list
• Yes/No/Not given

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Section1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Inside the Mind of a Fan – How Watching Sports Affect the Brain IELTS Reading Sample

A

At about the same time that the poet Homer invented the epic here, the ancient Greeks started a festival in which men competed in a single race, about 200 metres long. The winner received a branch of wild olives. The Greeks called this celebration the Olympics. Through the ancient sprint remains, today the Olympics are far more than that. Indeed, the Games seem to celebrate the dream of progress as embodied in the human form. That the Games are intoxicating to watch is beyond question. During the Athens Olympics in 2004, 3.4 billion people, half the world, watched them on television. Certainly, being a spectator is a thrilling experience: but why?

B

In 1996, three Italian neuroscientists, Giacomo Rizzolatti, Leonardo Forgassi and Vittorio Gallese, examined the premotor cortex of monkeys. The discovered that inside these primate brains there were groups of cells that ‘store vocabularies of motor actions’. Just as there are grammars of movement. These networks of cells are the bodily ‘sentences’ we use every day, the ones our brain has chosen to retain and refine. Think, for example, about a golf swing. To those who have only watched the Master’s Tournament on TV, golfing seems easy. To the novice, however, the skill of casting a smooth arc with a lop-side metal stick is virtually impossible. This is because most novices swing with their consciousness, using an area of brain next to the premotor cortex. To the expert, on the other hand, a perfectly balanced stroke is second nature. For him, the motor action has become memorized, and the movements are embedded in the neurons of his premotor cortex. He hits the ball with the tranquility of his perfected autopilot.

C

These neurons in the premotor cortex, besides explaining why certain athletes seem to possess almost unbelievable levels of skill, have an even more amazing characteristic, one that caused Rizzolatti, Fogassi and Gallese to give them the lofty title ‘mirror neurons’. They note, The main functional characteristic of mirror neurons is that they become active both when the monkey performs a particular action (for example, grasping an object or holding it) and, astonishingly, when it sees another individual performing a similar action.’ Humans have an even more elaborate mirror neuron system. These peculiar cells mirror, inside the brain, the outside world: they enable us to internalize the actions of another. In order to be activated, though, these cells require what the scientists call ‘goal-orientated movements’. If we are staring at a photograph, a fixed image of a runner mid-stride, our mirror neurons are totally silent. They only fire when the runner is active: running, moving or sprinting.

D

What these electrophysiological studies indicate is that when we watch a golfer or a runner in action, the mirror neurons in our own premotor cortex light up as if we were the ones competing. This phenomenon of neural mirror was first discovered in 1954, when two French physiologists, Gastaut and Berf, found that the brains of humans vibrate with two distinct wavelengths, alpha and mu. The mu system is involved in neural mirroring. It is active when your bodies are still, and disappears whenever we do something active, like playing a sport or changing the TV channel. The surprising fact is that the mu signal is also quiet when we watch someone else being active, as on TV, these results are the effect of mirror neurons.

E

Rizzolatti, Fogassi and Gallese call the idea for mirror neurons the ‘direct matching hypothesis’. They believe that we only understand the movement of sports stars when we ‘map the visual representation of the observed action onto our motor representation of the same action’. According to this theory, watching an Olympic athlete ‘causes the motor system of the observer to resonate. The “motor knowledge” of the observer is used to understand the observed action.’ But mirror neurons are more than just the neural basis for our attitude to sport. It turns out that watching a great golfer makes us better golfers, and watching a great sprinter actually makes us run faster. This ability to learn by watching is a crucial skill. From the acquisition of language as infants to learning facial expressions, mimesis (copying) is an essential part of being conscious. The best athletes are those with a premotor cortex capable of imagining the movements of victory, together with the physical properties to make those movements real.

F

But how many of us regularly watch sports in order to be a better athlete? Rather, we watch sport for the feeling, the human drama. This feeling also derives from mirror neurons. By letting spectators share in the motions of victory, they also allow us to share in its feelings. This is because they are directly connected to the amygdale, one of the main brain regions involved in emotion. During the Olympics, the mirror neurons of whole nations will be electrically identical, their athletes causing spectators to feel, just for a second or two, the same thing. Watching sports brings people together. Most of us will never run a mile in under four minutes, or hit a home run. Our consolation comes in watching, when we gather around the TV, we all feel, just for a moment, what it is to do something perfectly.

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Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 27-32

Reading Passage 3 has six paragraphs, A-F. Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
Instructions: Carefully identify in which passages do the given information lies

Question 27: an explanation of why watching sport may be emotionally satisfying

Answer: F

Supporting Sentence: Rather, we watch sport for the feeling, the human drama.

Keywords: motions of victory, feelings, emotions

Keyword Location: Paragraph F, lines 4-5

Explanation: Most of us do not watch sports to improve our athletic prowess. The chances we can replicate our favorite athletes or sportspersons is trivial. However, we enjoy watching sports because we like to share the excitement and drama with others. It gives us emotional contentment upon seeing things being done perfectly.

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Question 28: an explanation of why beginners find sporting tasks difficult

Answer: B

Supporting Sentence: To the novice, however, the skill of casting a smooth arc with a lop-side metal stick is virtually impossible. This is because most novices swing with their consciousness, using an area of brain next to the premotor cortex.

Keywords: Novice, virtually impossible, consciousness

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 7-8

Explanation: Experienced players are associated with a sport for a long time, hence movements are imprinted in their brains. Nonetheless, it is different for unacquainted players who are new to the game. They find it difficult to carry out tasks because the motions are new and unfamiliar to them. Therefore, they are always conscious about their actions and performance.

Question 29: a factor that needs to combine with mirroring to attain sporting excellence

Answer: E

Supporting Sentence: They believe that we only understand the movement of sports stars when we ‘map the visual representation of the observed action onto our motor representation of the same action’. This ability to learn by watching is a crucial skill.

Keywords: Visual representation, observed action

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 2

Explanation: Mirroring the movements of a great athlete is insufficient to make a competent player. It is the ability to replicate those actions fittingly that matters. In sports, it is imperative to hone observation skills to be able to learn from the prodigies.

Question 30: a comparison of human and animal mirror neurons

Answer: C

Supporting Sentence: They note, the main functional characteristic of mirror neurons is that they become active both when the monkey performs a particular action (for example, grasping an object or holding it) and, astonishingly, when it sees another individual performing a similar action.’ Humans have an even more elaborate mirror neuron system.

Keywords: Monkey, humans, more elaborate mirror neuron system

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 2-3

Explanation: Monkeys too possess a premotor cortex. However, the humans' premotor cortex is much more developed in comparison to that of the primates. Our brains can replicate others' actions.

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Question 31: the first discovery of brain activity related to mirror neurons

Answer: D

Supporting Sentence: This phenomenon of neural mirror was first discovered in 1954, when two French physiologists, Gastaut and Berf, found that the brains of humans vibrate with two distinct wavelengths, alpha and mu.

Keywords: First discovered

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 2

Explanation: French physiologists, Gastaut and Berf were the first ones to detect two wavelengths alpha and mu. It was also revealed how the mu wavelength works in the context of mirroring.

Question 32: a claim linking observation to improvement in performance

Answer: E

Supporting Sentence: The best athletes are those with a premotor cortex capable of imagining the movements of victory, together with the physical properties to make those movements real.

Keywords: Imaging the movements of victory

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 9

Explanation: The premotor cortex of the human brain can mimic actions. For becoming an adept sportsman, these mirror images must be paired with the corresponding movements. When a player has mastered these two, their performance enhances.

Questions 33-35

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write your answers in boxes 33-35 on your answer sheet.
(Instructions: Four options are given for each question. Select the most appropriate option.)

Question 33: The writer uses the term ‘grammar of movement’ to mean

1. a level of sporting skill.
2. a system of words about movement.
3. a pattern of connected cells.
4. a type of golf swing.

Answer: C

Supporting Sentence: They discovered that inside these primate brains there were groups of cells that ‘store vocabularies of motor actions. Just as there are grammars of movement. These networks of cells are the bodily ‘sentences’ we use every day, the ones our brain has chosen to retain and refine.

Keywords: Group of cells

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 2

Explanation: Three Italian neuroscientists studied the premotor cortex of monkeys in 1996 and saw that the brain reserves a set of motor actions. We use these motions in our daily lives to achieve several tasks. The author skillfully correlates the inventory of motor actions that navigate our day-to-day lives to grammar that guides meaningful sentences.

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Question 34: The writer states that expert players perform their actions

1. without conscious thought.
2. by planning each phase of movement.
3. without regular practice.
4. by thinking about the actions of others.

Answer: A

Supporting Sentence: To the expert, on the other hand, a perfectly balanced stroke is second nature. For him, the motor action has become memorized, and the movements are embedded in the neurons of his premotor cortex.

Keywords: Expert, second nature, memorized, embedded

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 9-10

Explanation: A proficient sportsman has years of practice, and so, the movements of a game are etched in his brain. He too knows the actions that can lead him to a win. Therefore, his motions are not conscious like a novice.

Question 35: The writer states that the most common motive for watching sport is to

1. improve personal performance.
2. feel linked with people of different nationalities.
3. experience strong positive emotions.
4. realize what skill consists of.

Answer: C

Supporting Sentence: Rather, we watch sport for the feeling, the human drama. By letting spectators share in the motions of victory, they also allow us to share in its feelings.

Keywords: Feelings, human drama, emotions

Keyword Location: Paragraph F, lines 2, 4-5

Explanation: As spectators, we do not watch a game to augment our sportsmanship. However, we enjoy being a part of the drama, excitement, and final taste of victory. A nation shares the same pride upon seeing its players and athletes play well in Olympics. Therefore, watching sports gives rise to positive emotions and a sense of belonging.

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Questions 36-40

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement is true
NO if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

(Instruction: Determine the validity of the statements after you are done reading the passage)

Question 36: Inexpert sports players are too aware of what they are doing.

Answer: Yes

Supporting Sentence: To the novice, however, the skill of casting a smooth arc with a lop-side metal stick is virtually impossible. This is because most novices swing with their consciousness, using an area of brain next to the premotor cortex.

Keywords: Novice, consciousness

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 7-8

Explanation: An amateur player who has not grasped the nitty-gritty of the game is heedful of their actions. It is because the reflexes and movements are not embedded in his premotor cortex. Therefore, he is alert of what he is doing and how.

Question 37: Monkeys have a more complex mirror neuron system than humans.

Answer: No

Supporting Sentence: Humans have an even more elaborate mirror neuron system.

Keywords: Elaborate mirror neuron system.

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line 3

Explanation: Humans have a highly developed neural system than monkeys. It is able to do high-level tasks. A group of cells in the brain is competent enough to mirror the outside world into our brains and incorporate others' movements.

Question 38: Looking at a photograph can activate mirror neurons.

Answer: No

Supporting Sentence: Humans have an even more elaborate mirror neuron system.

Keywords: Elaborate mirror neuron system.

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line

Explanation: Some neural cells have the strange ability to embed others' motions into the human brain. However, these cells first have to be set off by result-intended actions, like seeing a runner or a swimmer in action. However, the cells are dormant if it is only a static image of the runner or swimmer.

Question 39: Gastaut and Bert were both researchers and sports players.

Answer: Not given

Question 40: The mu system is at rest when we are engaged in an activity.

Answer: Yes

Supporting Sentence: The mu system is involved in neural mirroring. It is active when your bodies are still, and disappears whenever we do something active, like playing a sport or changing the TV channel.

Keywords: Neural mirroring, still, disappears, active

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, lines 3-4

Explanation: The human brain vibrates with two wavelengths, alpha, and mu. Mu participates in the neural mirroring process, which replicates an image of others' movements. However, the mu becomes inert when we become active.