POP-The Music Culture Reading Answers

Jul 22, 2025

POP-The Music Culture Reading Answers contain 6 questions and belong to the assessment system of the IELTS General Reading test. POP-The Music Culture Reading Answers must be answered within 10 minutes. In this IELTS reading section, question types include: Write the correct letter A-D. Also, POP-The Music Culture Reading Answers offers a comprehensive overview of the evolution of pop music from the 1950s to today. To practice similar reading tests, candidates can refer to the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.

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Topic:

A.Pop is a genre of popular music that instigated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms popular music and pop music are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular and includes many disparate styles. Rock and pop remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which pop became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible. Although much of the music that appears on record charts is seen as pop music, the genre is distinguished from chart music. Identifying factors usually include repeated choruses and hooks, short to medium-length songs written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure), and rhythms or tempos that can be easily danced to. Much pop music also borrows elements from other styles such as rock, urban, dance, Latin, and country.

B.According to Frith, features of pop music include an aim of appealing to a general audience, rather than to a particular sub-culture or ideology, and an emphasis on craftsmanship rather than formal “artistic” qualities. Music scholar Timothy Warner said pop music typically has an emphasis on recording, production, and technology, rather than live performance; a tendency to reflect existing trends rather than progressive developments; and seeks to encourage dancing or uses dance-oriented rhythms. In the 1940s, improved microphone design allowed a more intimate singing style and, ten or twenty years later, inexpensive, and more durable 45 rpm records for singles “revolutionized the manner in which pop has been disseminated”, which helped to move pop music to “a film star system”. Another technological change was the widespread availability of television in the 1950s with televised performances, forcing “pop stars had to have a visual presence”.

C.In the 1960s, the introduction of inexpensive, portable transistor radios meant that teenagers in the developed world could listen to music outside of the home. By the early 1980s, the promotion of pop music had been greatly affected by the rise of music television like MTV, which “favoured those channels artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna who had a strong visual appeal”. Multi-track recording and digital sampling have also been utilized as methods for the creation and elaboration of pop music. During the mid-1960s, pop music made repeated forays into new sounds, styles, and techniques that inspired public discourse among its listeners.

D.The word “progressive” was frequently used, and it was thought that every song and single was to be a “progression” from the last. Music detractor, Simon Reynolds writes that beginning with 1967, a divide would exist between “progressive” pop and “mass” pop, a separation which was “also, broadly, one between boys and girls, middle-class and working-class.” The latter half of the 20th-century included a large-scale trend in American culture in which the boundaries between art and pop music were increasingly blurred. Between 1950 and 1970, there was a debate of pop versus art. Since then, certain music publications have embraced pop music’s legitimacy, a trend referred to as “poptimism”.

Questions 1 - 6

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-D in your answer sheet.

NB you may use any letter more than once.

1. Characteristics that extricate pop music from other kinds of melody.

Answer: A

Supporting statement: "Identifying factors usually include repeated choruses and hooks... and rhythms or tempos that can be easily danced to."

Keywords: characteristics, pop music, repeated choruses, danceable rhythms

Keyword Location: Paragraph A, lines 5–7

Explanation: The paragraph clearly outlines musical traits that differentiate pop from other genres, such as its structure, melody, and rhythm, establishing how it stands apart.

2. Factors prompting the reach of pop music.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: "In the 1960s, the introduction of inexpensive, portable transistor radios... By the early 1980s, the promotion of pop music had been greatly affected by the rise of music television..."

Keywords: transistor radios, music television, promotion

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 1–3

Explanation: The passage highlights how technology like radios and MTV enabled wider accessibility and promotion of pop music, expanding its reach among listeners.

3. An invention compelling pop singers to create a filmic existence.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: "...the widespread availability of television in the 1950s with televised performances, forcing 'pop stars had to have a visual presence’."

Keywords: television, visual presence, pop stars

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 7–8

Explanation: The need for a “visual presence” due to TV appearances indicates how pop stars had to adapt to visual media, creating a filmic or screen-friendly identity.

4. A music critic's vision about a split in two types of pop.

Answer: D

Supporting statement: "...a divide would exist between 'progressive' pop and 'mass' pop, a separation which was 'also, broadly, one between boys and girls, middle-class and working-class.'"

Keywords: divide, progressive pop, mass pop, critic

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, lines 2–4

Explanation: Music critic Simon Reynolds discusses a cultural and stylistic division in pop music, based on class and gender, distinguishing two forms of pop.

5. Origin of pop music.

Answer: A

Supporting statement: "Pop is a genre of popular music that instigated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom."

Keywords: origin, mid-1950s, United States, United Kingdom

Keyword Location: Paragraph A, line 1

Explanation: The paragraph traces the historical emergence of pop music to the mid-20th century in the US and UK, establishing its roots.

6. Enhancements in music gear accountable for the circulation of pop music.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: "...improved microphone design allowed a more intimate singing style...45 rpm records for singles 'revolutionized the manner in which pop has been disseminated'..."

Keywords: microphone design, 45 rpm records, dissemination

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 4–6

Explanation: Technological upgrades like microphones and records enabled new vocal styles and easier distribution, helping circulate pop music more efficiently.

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