Is There More To Video Games Than People Realize? - IELTS Reading Sample With Explanation
IELTS Reading section comprises three passages and forty questions. Candidates are required to understand the passage as well the wide range of questions, then find the correct answer. IELTS Reading tests the candidate’s understanding skills.
Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
This IELTS reading passage - Is There More To Video Games Than People Realize? Is an IELTS Academic topic. This passage contains different question types:
- Identifying Information
- Multiple-choice questions
- Sentence completion
Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
Is There More To Video Games Than People Realize? IELTS Reading Sample
- Many people who spend a lot of time playing video games insist that they have helped them in areas like confidence-building, presentation skills and debating. Yet this way of thinking about video games can be found almost nowhere within the mainstream media, which still tend to treat games as an odd mix of the slightly menacing and the alien. This lack of awareness has become increasingly inappropriate, as video games and the culture that surrounds them have become very big business indeed.
- Recently, the British government released the Byron report into the effects of electronic media on children. Its conclusions set out a clear, rational basis for exploring the regulation of video games. The ensuing debate, however, has descended into the same old squabbling between partisan factions: the preachers of mental and moral decline, and the innovative game designers. In between are the gamers, busily buying and playing while nonsense is talked over their heads.
- Susan Greenfield, a renowned neuroscientist, outlines her concerns in a new book. Every individual’s mind is the product of a brain that has been personalized by the sum total of their experiences; with an increasing quantity of our experiences from very early childhood taking place ‘on-screen’ rather than in the world, there is potentially a profound shift in the way children’s minds work. She suggests that the fast-paced, second-hand experiences created by video games and the Internet may inculcate a worldview that is less empathetic, more risk-taking and less contemplative than what we tend to think of as healthy.
- Greenfield’s prose is full of mixed metaphors and self-contradictions and is perhaps the worst enemy of her attempts to persuade. This is unfortunate, because however many technophiles may snort, she is articulating widely held fears that have a basis in fact. Unlike even their immediate antecedents, the latest electronic media are at once domestic and work-related, their mobility blurring the boundaries between these spaces, and video games are at their forefront. A generational divide has opened that is in many ways more profound than the equivalent shifts associated with radio or television, more alienating for those unfamiliar with new’ technologies, more absorbing for those who are. So how do our lawmakers regulate something that is too fluid to be fully comprehended or controlled?
- Adam Martin, a lead programmer for an online games developer, says: ‘Computer games teach and people don’t even notice they’re being taught.’ But isn’t the kind of learning that goes on in games rather narrow? ‘A large part of the addictiveness of games does come from the fact that as you play you are mastering a set of challenges. But humanity’s larger understanding of the world comes primarily through communication and experimentation, through answering the question “What if?’ Games excel at teaching this too.’
- Steven Johnson’s thesis is not that electronic games constitute a great, popular art, but that the mean level of mass culture has been demanding steadily more intellectual engagement from consumers. Games, he points out, generate satisfaction via the complexity of their virtual worlds, not by their robotic predictability. Testing the nature and limits of the laws of such imaginary worlds has more in common with scientific methods than with a pointless addiction, while the complexity of the problems children encounter within games exceeds that of anything they might find at school.
- Greenfield argues that there are ways of thinking that playing video games simply cannot teach. She has a point. We should never forget, for instance, the unique ability of books to engage and expand the human imagination, and to give us the means of more fully expressing our situations in the world. Intriguingly, the video games industry is now growing in ways that have more in common with an old-fashioned world of companionable pastimes than with a cyber future of lonely, isolated obsessives. Games in which friends and relations gather round a console to compete at activities are growing in popularity. The agenda is increasingly being set by the concerns of mainstream consumers – what they consider acceptable for their children, what they want to play at parties and across generations.
- These trends embody a familiar but important truth: games are human products and lie within our control. This doesn’t mean we yet control or understand them fully, but it should remind us that there is nothing inevitable or incomprehensible about them. No matter how deeply it may be felt, instinctive fear is an inappropriate response to a technology of any kind. So far, the dire predictions many traditionalists have made about the ‘death’ of old-fashioned narratives and imaginative thought at the hands of video games cannot be upheld. Television and cinema may be suffering, economically, at the hands of interactive media. But literacy standards have failed to decline. Young people still enjoy sport, going out and listening to music And most research – including a recent $1.5m study funded by the US government suggests that even pre-teens are not in the habit of blurring game worlds and real worlds.
- The sheer pace and scale of the changes we face, however, leave little room for complacency. Richard Battle, a British writer and game researcher, says Times change: accept it; embrace it.’ Just as, today, we have no living memories of a time before radio, we will soon live in a world in which no one living experienced growing up without computers. It is for this reason that we must try to examine what we stand to lose and gain before it is too late.
Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
Section 2
Solution With Explanation
Questions 27-32
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In the boxes on your answer sheet, write
YES, if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO, if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN, if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
- Much media comment ignores the impact that video games can have on many people’s lives.
- The publication of the Byron Report was followed by a worthwhile discussion between those for and against video games.
- Susan Greenfield’s way of writing has become more complex over the years.
- It is likely that video games will take over the role of certain kinds of books in the future.
- More sociable games are being brought out to satisfy the demands of the buying public.
- Being afraid of technological advances is a justifiable reaction.
(Guide: Candidates need to identify the statements and mark the same as true or false or not given)
Question 27.
Answer: Yes
Supporting Sentence: Recently, the British government released the Byron report into the effects of electronic media on children. Its conclusions set out a clear, rational basis for exploring the regulation of video games. The ensuing debate, however, has descended into the same old squabbling between partisan factions: the preachers of mental and moral decline, and the innovative game designers. In between are the gamers, busily buying and playing while nonsense is talked over their heads.
Keyword: mental and moral decline, electronic media
Keyword location: Para 2
Explanation: People who play video games know how these games leave a positive impact on them; building confidence, presentation skills, and debating. But still, this way of having a look at video games can't be seen anywhere due to the perception of mass media which still believe that video games as an odd mix of slightly menacing and alien. It has become really difficult to change the mindset people have about playing video games like the video game and the concept, a culture that revolves around has become a great business indeed.
Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
Read More IELTS Reading Samples
Question 28.
Answer: No
Supporting Sentence: Recently, the British government released the Byron report into the effects of electronic media on children. Its conclusions set out a clear, rational basis for exploring the regulation of video games. The ensuing debate, however, has descended into the same old squabbling between partisan factions: the preachers of mental and moral decline, and the innovative game designers. In between are the gamers, busily buying and playing while nonsense is talked over their heads.
Keyword: Bryon
Keyword location: Bryon
Explanation: Recently, the Bryon report was released by the British Government setting the effect of electronic media on children. In the report, the conclusion set a rational basis for exploring the regulation of video games. The debate has descended into the same old thing; preachers of mental and moral decline and innovative game designers.
Question: 29
Answer: Not Given
Explanation: There is no reference to the given question. Therefore, the answer selected is ‘Not Given’.
Question 30:
Answer: Not Given
Explanation: There is no reference to the given question. Therefore, the answer selected is ‘Not Given’.
Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
Question 31:
Answer: Yes
Supporting Sentence: Greenfield argues that there are ways of thinking that playing video games simply cannot teach. She has a point. We should never forget, for instance, the unique ability of books to engage and expand the human imagination, and to give us the means of more fully expressing our situations in the world.
Keyword: Greenfield, argues, simply cannot teach
Keyword location: Para 6
Explanation: Greenfield said that one cannot teach someone how to play video games. In that regard, for example, books have a unique ability to expand the human imagination and give the meaning of expressing one situation in the world. Nowadays, the video industry is growing faster and the ways have more in common with the old-fashioned world of compassionate pastimes. Games in which friends and people that know each other compete at activities are growing rapidly. The agenda is being set by the consumers- what they want for their children and what they actually play at parties across generations.
Question: 32
Answer: No
Supporting Sentence: These trends embody a familiar but important truth: games are human products, and lie within our control. This doesn’t mean we yet control or understand them fully, but it should remind us that there is nothing inevitable or incomprehensible about them. No matter how deeply it may be felt, instinctive fear is an inappropriate response to technology of any kind.
Keyword: human products, fear
Keyword location: Para 8
Explanation: Video games are birth-given by humans yet it's difficult to understand them properly. It doesn't matter how familiar one can get with video games, the truth remains the same: video games are human products and lie within our control. It's not possible to understand fully about video games but it should be reminded that there is nothing inevitable about video games. Instinctive fear is an inappropriate response to any kind of technology.
Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
Questions 33-37
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D. Write the correct letter A-D in boxes on your answer sheet.
- According to the writer, what view about video games does Susan Greenfield put forward in tier new book?
- A They are exposing a child to an adult view of the world too soon.
- B Children become easily frightened by some of the situations in them.
- C They are changing the way children’s view of the world develops.
- D Children don’t learn from them because they are too repetitive.
- According to the writer, what problems are faced when regulating video games?
- A The widespread and ever-changing use of games makes it difficult for lawmakers to control them.
- B The appeal of the games to a younger generation isn’t really understood by many lawmakers.
- C The lawmakers try to apply the same rules to the games as they did to radio and television.
- D Many lawmakers feel it is too late for the regulations to have much effect on the use of games.
- What main point does Adam Martin make about video games?
- A People are learning how to avoid becoming addicted to them.
- B They enable people to learn without being aware of it happening.
- C They satisfy a need for people to compete with each other.
- D People learn a narrow range of skills but they are still useful.
- Which of the following does Steven Johnson disagree with?
- A the opinion that video games offer educational benefits to the user
- B the attitude that video games are often labelled as predictable and undemanding
- C the idea that children’s logic is tested more by video games than at school
- D the suggestion that video games can be compared to scientific procedures
- Which of the following is the most suitable subtitle for Reading Passage 3?
- A A debate about the effects of video games on other forms of technology.
- B An examination of the opinions of young people about video games.
- C A discussion of whether attitudes towards video games are outdated.
- D An analysis of the principles behind the historical development of video games.
(Guide: Candidates need to find the correct answers of the questions from the list of answer choices given)
Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
Question: 33
Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Susan Greenfield, renowned neuroscientist, outlines her concerns in a new book. Every individual’s mind is the product of a brain that has been personalized by the sum total of their experiences; with an increasing quantity of our experiences from very early childhood taking place ‘on screen’ rather than in the world, there is potentially a profound shift in the way children’s minds work. She suggests that the fast-paced, second-hand experiences created by video games and the Internet may inculcate a worldview that is less empathetic, more risk-taking and less contemplative than what we tend to think of as healthy.
Keyword: Susan Greenfield, book, put forward
Keyword location: Para 3
Explanation: Susan Greenfield, in her new book put forward that every individual’s mind is the product of one past experiences from childhood to adulthood, the sum total of experiences makes an individual mindset. But she started, that this is not how children's minds work. She suggested that the internet can create a world that is less empathetic and risk-taking.
Question: 34
Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: Greenfield’s prose is full of mixed metaphors and self-contradictions and is perhaps the worst enemy of her attempts to persuade. This is unfortunate, because however much technophiles may snort, she is articulating widely held fears that have a basis in fact.
Keyword: mixed metaphors, self-contradictions
Keyword location: Para 4
Explanation: Greenfield’s book self-contradicts her thoughts and has become the worst enemy of her attempts to persuade. She is articulating widely held fears that have a basis in fact. It is more alienating for those who are associated with technology and those who are absorbing them.
Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
Question: 35
Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Adam Martin, a lead programmer for an online games developer, says:’ Computer games teach and people don’t even notice they’re being taught.’ But isn’t the kind of learning that goes on in games rather narrow? ‘A large part of the addictiveness of games does come from the fact that as you play you are mastering a set of challenges. But humanity’s larger understanding of the world comes primarily through communication and experimentation, through answering the question “What if?’ Games excel at teaching this too.’
Keyword: Adam Martin
Keyword location: Para 5
Explanation: Adam Martin, an online games developer says that computer games teach and people are unaware of that. Why are games so addictive? One of the major reasons why games are addictive is that when played; people get a sense of superiority when they master the challenges in the video game.
Question: 36
Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Steven Johnson’s thesis is not that electronic games constitute a great, popular art, but that the mean level of mass culture has been demanding steadily more intellectual engagement from consumers. Games, he points out, generate satisfaction via the complexity of their virtual worlds, not by their robotic predictability. Testing the nature and limits of the laws of such imaginary worlds has more in common with scientific methods than with a pointless addiction, while the complexity of the problems children encounter within games exceeds that of anything they might find at school.
Keyword: Steven Johnson
Keyword location: Para 6
Explanation: The attitude that video games are often labeled as predictable and undemanding.
Check: Get 10 Free Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
Question: 37
Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Whole passage
Keyword: Whole passage
Keyword location: whole passage
Explanation: A discussion of whether attitudes towards video games are outdated. Computer and video games teach something, it depends on the one that how you perceive it.
Question: 38
Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: So far, the dire predictions many traditionalists have made about the ‘death’ of old-fashioned narratives and imaginative thought at the hands of video games cannot be upheld. Television and cinema may be suffering, economically, at the hands of interactive media. But literacy standards have failed to decline. Young people still enjoy sport, going out and listening to music And most research – including a recent $1.5m study funded by the US government – suggests that even pre- teens are not in the habit of blurring game worlds and real worlds.
Keyword: death, suffering, dire predictions
Keyword location: Para 8
Explanation: The dire prediction of video games and imaginative thoughts cannot be upheld. This is true that television and media may be suffering due to interactive media but literacy standards have to fail to decline.
Question: 39
Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: And most research – including a recent $1.5m study funded by the US government – suggests that even pre- teens are not in the habit of blurring game worlds and real worlds.
Keyword: funded, US government
Keyword location: Para 8
Explanation: As per research and study funded by the US government, even teens are not likely to blur about the life they have when they are playing and the real world.
Question: 40
Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Richard Battle, a British writer and game researcher, says Times change: accept it; embrace it.’ Just as, today, we have no living memories of a time before radio, we will soon live in a world in which no one living experienced growing up without computers. It is for this reason that we must try to examine what we stand to lose and gain, before it is too late.
Keyword: Richard Battle
Keyword location: Para 9
Explanation: Time changes, situation changes, embrace it, says Richard Battle, a British writer and gamer. It is always better to gain from what we have now rather than stressing over things that won't matter after sometime. time.
Comments