Mathematics at School Reading Answers

Feb 14, 2024

Mathematics at School Reading Answers is a general reading topic. Mathematics at School Reading Answers have a total of 7 IELTS questions in total. The specified topic generates 1 question type: choose the correct answer. Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS reading practice papers, which feature topics such as Mathematics at School Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice papers and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Questions below:

Mathematics at School Reading Answers

In their first years of studying mathematics at school, children all over the world usually have to learn the times table, also known as the multiplication table, which shows what you get when you multiply numbers together. Children have traditionally learned their times table by going from '1 times 1 is 1' all the way up to '12 times 12 is 144'.
Times tables have been around for a very long time now. The oldest known tables using base 10 numbers, the base that is now used everywhere in the world, are written on bamboo strips dating from 305 BC, found in China. However, in many European cultures the times table is named after the Ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras (570-495 BC). And so it is called the Table of Pythagoras in many languages, including French and Italian.
In 1820, in his book The Philosophy of Arithmetic, the mathematician John Leslie recommended that young pupils memories the times table up to 25 x 25. Nowadays, however, educators generally believe it is important for children to memorize the table up to 9 x 9, 10 x 10 or 12 x12.
The current aim in the UK is for school pupils to know all their times tables up to 12 x 12 by the age of nine. However, many people do not know them, even as adults. Recently, some politicians have been asked arithmetical questions of this kind. For example, in 1998, the schools minister Stephen Byers was asked the answer to 7 x 8. He got the answer wrong, saying 54 rather than 56, and everyone laughed at him.
In 2014, a young boy asked the UK Chancellor George Osborne the exact same question. As he had passed A-level math and was in charge of the UK's economic policies at the time, you would expect him to know the answer. However, he simply said, 'I've made it a rule in life not to answer such questions.'
Why would a politician refuse to answer such a question? It is certainly true that some sums are much harder than others. Research has shown that learning and remembering sums involving 6,7,8 and 9 tends to be harder than remembering sums involving other numbers. And it is even harder when 6,7,8 and 9 are multiplied by each other. Studies often find that the hardest sum is 6x8, with 7x8 not far behind. However, even though 7x8 is a relatively difficult sum, it is unlikely that George Osborne did not know the answer. So there must be some other reason why he refused to answer the question.
The answer is that Osborne was being 'put on the spot' and he didn't like it. It is well known that when there is a lot of pressure to do something right, people often have difficulty doing something that they normally find easy. When you put someone on the spot and ask such a question, it causes stress. The person's heart beats faster and their adrenalin levels go up. As a result, people will often make mistakes that they would not normally make. This is called 'choking'. Choking often happens in sport, such as when a footballer takes a crucial penalty. In the same way, the boy's question put Osborne under great pressure. He knew it would be a disaster for him if he got the answer to such a simple question wrong and feared that he might choke. And that is why he refused to answer the question.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

The text has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A-G.

a 19th-century opinion of what children should learn

Answer: C
Supporting statement: “....... In 1820, in his book The Philosophy of Arithmetic, the mathematician John Leslie recommended that young pupils memories the times table up to 25 x 25. ......”
Keywords: mathematician, memories
Keyword Location: para C, line 1
Explanation: It is given in the passage that in 1820, John Leslie had written a book which recommended the students to learn the tables upto 25 x 25.

the most difficult sums

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “...... For example, in 1998, the schools minister Stephen Byers was asked the answer to 7 x 8. He got the answer wrong, saying 54 rather than 56, and everyone laughed at him........”
Keywords: recommended, table
Keyword Location: para D, line 4
Explanation: It is given that the adults were also not able to answer a question. The question was to answer 7*8.

the effect of pressure on doing something

Answer: G
Supporting statement: “......It is well known that when there is a lot of pressure to do something right, people often have difficulty doing something that they normally find easy........”
Keywords: something, normally
Keyword Location: para G,line 1
Explanation: It is given that the person who could not answer the questions got himself into a lot of pressure. It is obvious that under pressure people are not able to answer simple questions.

how children learn the times table

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “......Times tables have been around for a very long time now. The oldest known tables using base 10 numbers, the base that is now used everywhere in the world, are written on bamboo strips dating from 305 BC, found in China.......”
Keywords: oldest, written
Keyword Location: para B, line 1
Explanation: It is given that the time tables were used to learn the tables. They were present for a very long time.

a politician who got a sum wrong

Answer: E
Supporting statement: “.....As he had passed A-level math and was in charge of the UK's economic policies at the time, you would expect him to know the answer. However, he simply said, 'I've made it a rule in life not to answer such questions.'........”
Keywords: math, expect
Keyword Location: para E, line 2
Explanation: It is given that the UK’s chancellor was asked the same question of 7x8. But the chancellor could not answer the questions and started making tantrums.

a history of the times table

Answer: B
Supporting statement: “......However, in many European cultures the times table is named after the Ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras (570-495 BC). And so it is called the Table of Pythagoras in many languages, including French and Italian........”
Keywords: culture, pythagoras
Keyword Location: para B, line 3
Explanation: It is given that the european cultures had time tables and it was named after pythagoras.

Questions 20-25

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN - If there is no information on this

Pythagoras invented the times table in China.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement: “.....The oldest known tables using base 10 numbers, the base that is now used everywhere in the world, are written on bamboo strips dating from 305 BC, found in China........”
Keywords: used, china
Keyword Location: para B, line 1
Explanation: Pythagoras did not invent the times table in China. The tables with base 10 numbers found in China date back to 305 BC, while Pythagoras lived around 570-495 BC.

Stephen Byers and George Osborne were asked the same question.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: “......Recently, some politicians have been asked arithmetical questions of thiskind. For example, in 1998, the schools minister Stephen Byers was asked the answer to 7 x 8.......”
Keywords: asked, Byers
Keyword Location: para D, line 3
Explanation: It is given that the politician and the student both were asked the same question. None of them could answer that question.

All children in the UK have to learn the multiplication table.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The text does not provide information on whether all children in the UK have to learn the multiplication table.

George Osborne did not know the answer to 7 X 8.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement: “......it is unlikely that George Osborne did not know the answer. So there must be some other reason why he refused to answer the
question........”
Keywords: must, refused
Keyword Location: para F, line 6
Explanation: It is given in the text that George is more likely to know the answer but he didn’t answer the question for some other reasons.

7 X 8 is the hardest sum that children have to learn.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: “......Studies often find that the hardest sum is 6x8, with 7x8 not far behind. However, even though 7x8 is a relatively difficult sum.......”
Keywords: hardest, difficult
Keyword Location: para F, line 5
Explanation: It is given that the studies have found that some sums are hard to solve such as 7x6, 7x8.

Stephen Byers got the sum wrong because he choked.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement: “......the schools minister Stephen Byers was asked the answer to 7 x 8. He got the answer wrong, saying 54 rather than 56, and everyone laughed at him........”
Keywords: wrong, laughed
Keyword Location: para D, line 4
Explanation: It is given that Byers got the answer wrong. But it is not given that he gave wrong answer because he choked.

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