Play is a Serious Business Reading Answers

Bhaskar Das

Mar 1, 2022

Play is a Serious Business Reading Answers checks the candidate’s proficiency in reading through questions relating to a passage. The IELTS Reading test helps students in improving their skills which includes reading, understanding, accessing and analysing. In this IELTS Reading Section, Play is a Serious Business Reading Answers, there are different types of questions each demanding the performance of a different type of task.

This IELTS reading sample – Play is a Serious Business Reading Answers – has one types of tasks:

  • Match the correct paragraph
  • Choose THREE letters A-F.
  • Match the researcher

Candidates can practice more to get a good band score. The IELTS Reading Practise Papers will help the candidates to prepare for the exam.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Play is a Serious Business Reading Answers

Does play help develop bigger, better brains?
Bryant Furlow investigates

  1. Playing is a serious business. Children engrossed in a make-believe world, fox cubs play-fighting or kittens teasing a ball of string aren’t just having fun. Play may look like a carefree and exuberant way to pass the time before the hard work of adulthood comes along, but there’s much more to it than that. For a start, play can even cost animals their lives. Eighty percent of deaths among juvenile fur seals occur because playing pups fail to spot predators approaching. It is also extremely expensive in terms of energy. Playful young animals use around two or three per cent of their energy cavorting, and in children that figure can be closer to fifteen per cent. ‘Even two or three per cent is huge,’ says John Byers of Idaho University. ‘You just don’t find animals wasting energy like that,’ he adds. There must be a reason.
  2. But if play is not simply a developmental hiccup, as biologists once thought, why did it evolve? The latest idea suggests that play has evolved to build big brains. In other words, playing makes you intelligent. Playfulness, it seems, is common only among mammals, although a few of the larger-brained birds also indulge. Animals at play often use unique signs - tail- wagging in dogs, for example - to indicate that activity superficially resembling adult behaviour is not really in earnest. A popular explanation of play has been that it helps juveniles develop the skills they will need to hunt, mate and socialise as adults. Another has been that it allows young animals to get in shape for adult life by improving their respiratory endurance. Both these ideas have been questioned in recent years.
  3. Take the exercise theory. If play evolved to build muscle or as a kind of endurance training, then you would expect to see permanent benefits. But Byers points out that the benefits of increased exercise disappear rapidly after training stops, so any improvement in endurance resulting from juvenile play would be lost by adulthood. ‘If the function of play was to get into shape,’ says Byers, ‘the optimum time for playing would depend on when it was most advantageous for the young of a particular species to do so. But it doesn’t work like that.’ Across species, play tends to peak about halfway through the suckling stage and then decline.
  4. Then there’s the skills-training hypothesis. At first glance, playing animals do appear to be practising the complex manoeuvres they will need in adulthood. But a closer inspection reveals this interpretation as too simplistic. In one study, behavioural ecologist Tim Caro, from the University of California, looked at the predatory play of kittens and their predatory behaviour when they reached adulthood. He found that the way the cats played had no significant effect on their hunting prowess in later life.
  5. Earlier this year, Sergio Pellis of Lethbridge University, Canada, reported that there is a strong positive link between brain size and playfulness among mammals in general. Comparing measurements for fifteen orders of mammals, he and his team found larger brains (for a given body size) are linked to greater playfulness. The converse was also found to be true. Robert Barton of Durham University believes that, because large brains are more sensitive to developmental stimuli than smaller brains, they require more play to help mould them for adulthood. ‘I concluded it’s to do with learning, and with the importance of environmental data to the brain during development,’ he says.
  6. According to Byers, the timing of the playful stage in young animals provides an important clue to what’s going on. If you plot the amount of time a juvenile devotes to play each day over the course of its development, you discover a pattern typically associated with a ‘sensitive period’ - a brief development window during which the brain can actually be modified in ways that are not possible earlier or later in life. Think of the relative ease with which young children - but not infants or adults - absorb language. Other researchers have found that play in cats, rats and mice is at its most intense just as this ‘window of opportunity’ reaches its peak.
  7. ‘People have not paid enough attention to the amount of the brain activated by play,’ says Marc Bekoff from Colorado University. Bekoff studied coyote pups at play and found that the kind of behaviour involved was markedly more variable and unpredictable than that of adults. Such behaviour activates many different parts of the brain, he reasons. Bekoff likens it to a behavioural kaleidoscope, with animals at play jumping rapidly between activities. ‘They use behaviour from a lot of different contexts - predation, aggression, reproduction,’ he says. ‘Their developing brain is getting all sorts of stimulation.’
  8. Not only is more of the brain involved in play than was suspected, but it also seems to activate higher cognitive processes. ‘There’s enormous cognitive involvement in play,’ says Bekoff. He points out that play often involves complex assessments of playmates, ideas of reciprocity and the use of specialised signals and rules. He believes that play creates a brain that has greater behavioural flexibility and improved potential for learning later in life. The idea is backed up by the work of Stephen Siviy of Gettysburg College. Siviy studied how bouts of play affected the brain’s levels of a particular chemical associated with the stimulation and growth of nerve cells. He was surprised by the extent of the activation. ‘Play just lights everything up,’ he says. By allowing link-ups between brain areas that might not normally communicate with each other, play may enhance creativity.
  9. What might further experimentation suggest about the way children are raised in many societies today? We already know that rat pups are denied the chance to grow smaller brain components and fail to develop the ability to apply social rules when they interact with their peers. With schooling beginning earlier and becoming increasingly exam-orientated, play is likely to get even less of a look-in. Who knows what the result of that will be?

Section 2

Solution with Explanation
Questions 1-6:
Reading Passage has nine paragraphs labelled A-I.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-I in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
NB: You may use any letter more than once.

  1. the way play causes unusual connections in the brain which are beneficial

Answer: H
Supporting Sentence
:
Siviy studied how bouts of play affected the brain’s levels of a particular chemical associated with the stimulation and growth of nerve cells. He was surprised by the extent of the activation.
Keyword
:
Insights, Recording, brain, play
Keyword Location
:
Para H, 6th and 7th line
Explanation
:
Siviy study showed that play affects the brains level of chemical association with the growth of nerve cells. Hence, the connections caused by brains are beneficial.

Read More IELTS Reading Reading Articles

  1. insights from recording how much time young animals spend playing

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence
:
Other researchers have found that play in cats, rats and mice is at its most intense just as this ‘window of opportunity’ reaches its peak.
Keyword
:
play, peak, window
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph F, last line
Explanation
:
The paragraph states about how much time young animals spend playing. As per researchers, play in some animals is at its peak.

  1. a description of the physical hazards that can accompany play

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence
:
For a start, play can even cost animals their lives. Eighty percent of deaths among juvenile fur seals occur because playing pups fail to spot predators approaching.
Keyword
:
lives, death
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph A, 4th and 5th line
Explanation
:
Playing can cost lives and 80% deaths are due to the play where young animals fail.

  1. a description of the mental activities which are exercised and developed during play

Answer: H
Supporting Sentence
:
Not only is more of the brain involved in play than was suspected, but it also seems to activate higher cognitive processes.
Keyword
:
brain, active
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph H, 1st line
Explanation
The author states that playing can develop mental developments. The whole paragraph is all about brain activities involved in play.

  1. the possible effects that a reduction in play opportunities will have on humans

Answer: I
Supporting Sentence
:
We already know that rat pups are denied the chance to grow smaller brain components and fail to develop the ability to apply social rules when they interact with their peers. With schooling beginning earlier and becoming increasingly exam-orientated, play is likely to get even less of a look-in.
Keyword
:
peers, schooling
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph I, 2nd and 3rd line
Explanation: Paragraph I speaks about the effects of reducing the playing time that will have on humans. If schooling and exam oriented mindset, the play is automatically designed to decrease. Hence, I is the correct answer.

  1. the classes of animals for which play is important

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence
:
Playfulness, it seems, is common only among mammals, although a few of the larger-brained birds also indulge. Animals at play often use unique signs - tail- wagging in dogs, for example - to indicate that activity superficially resembling adult behaviour is not really in earnest.
Keyword
:
Playfulness, among, animals
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph B, 4th and 5th line
Explanation: The second paragraph talks about animals for which play is important like dogs, cats etc. hence, the answer is correct.

Questions 7-9:
Choose THREE letters A-F.
Write your answers in boxes 7-9 on your answer sheet.
The list below gives some ways of regarding play.
Which THREE ways are mentioned by the writer of the text?

  1. a rehearsal for later adult activities
  2. a method animals use to prove themselves to their peer group
  3. an activity intended to build up strength for adulthood
  4. a means of communicating feelings
  5. a defensive strategy
  6. an activity assisting organ growth

Question 7:

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence
:
Animals at play often use unique signs - tail- wagging in dogs, for example - to indicate that activity superficially resembling adult behaviour is not really in earnest.
Keyword
:
adult behaviour
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, 5th line
Explanation
:
Unique signs used by animals resemble adult behaviour which is a rehearsal for later adult activities.

Question 8:

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence
:
Play may look like a carefree and exuberant way to pass the time before the hard work of adulthood comes along, but there’s much more to it than that.
Keyword
:
adulthood, before
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph A, 2nd line
Explanation
:
Play may look different but it is a rehearsal before the hard work of adulthood comes. It is an activity intended to build up strength for adulthood.

Question 9:

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence
:
Siviy studied how bouts of play affected the brain’s levels of a particular chemical associated with the stimulation and growth of nerve cells.
Keyword
:
growth, nerve cells
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph H, 6th line
Explanation
:
Play affects the growth of nerve cells, considered as an organ of the body. Hence, play is an an activity assisting organ growth

Questions 10-14:
Look at the following researchers (Questions 10-14) and the list of findings below.
Match each researcher with the correct finding.
Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 10-14 on your answer sheet.

Option

  1. Robert Barton

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence
:
Robert Barton of Durham University believes that, because large brains are more sensitive to developmental stimuli than smaller brains, they require more play to help mould them for adulthood. ‘I concluded it’s to do with learning, and with the importance of environmental data to the brain during development,’ he says.
Keyword
:
environment
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph E, 5th line
Explanation
:
Robert Barton says that play develops the brain for environmental data or surroundings.

  1. Marc Bekoff

Answer: G
Supporting Sentence
:
Not only is more of the brain involved in play than was suspected, but it also seems to activate higher cognitive processes. ‘There’s enormous cognitive involvement in play,’ says Bekoff. He points out that play often involves complex assessments of playmates, ideas of reciprocity and the use of specialised signals and rules.
Keyword
:
enormous, involvement
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph H, first 3 lines
Explanation
:
Marc Bekoff says that play involves higher cognitive processes, complex assessments of playmates, ideas of reciprocity and the use of specialised signals and rules.

  1. John Byers

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence
:
‘Even two or three per cent is huge,’ says John Byers of Idaho University. ‘You just don’t find animals wasting energy like that,’ he adds.
Keyword
:
training, fitness
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph A, last 3 lines
Explanation
:
Play is not a form of fitness for the future. John Byers says that animals does not seem to waste energy like that.

  1. Sergio Pellis

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence
:
Earlier this year, Sergio Pellis of Lethbridge University, Canada, reported that there is a strong positive link between brain size and playfulness among mammals in general.
Keyword
:
brain size, playfulness
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph E, 1st line
Explanation
:
As per Sergio Pellis, there is a link between brain size and playfulness. Hence, animals with smaller brain size play less.

  1. Stephen Siviy

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence
:
He believes that play creates a brain that has greater behavioural flexibility and improved potential for learning later in life. The idea is backed up by the work of Stephen Siviy of Gettysburg College.
Keyword
:
brain, play
Keyword Location
:
Paragraph H, 4th and 5th line
Explanation
:
The idea that play creates a brain that has greater behavioural flexibility and improved potential for learning later in life is backed by Stephen Siviy of Gettysburg College.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.

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