The Creative Spark Reading Answers

Nov 21, 2025

The Creative Spark Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. The Creative Spark Reading Answers has a total of 14 IELTS questions, such as Do the following statements agree with the views/claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3? Write true, false, or not given. And choose the correct letter.

The IELTS Reading section is an essential part of the test that evaluates a candidate's comprehension and analysis of various passage types. You will work through a number of IELTS reading practice problems in this section that resemble actual test situations. These questions are designed to help you improve your ability to recognise essential concepts, extract particular facts, and make inferences. Practising these IELTS reading problems can help you get comfortable with the structure and increase your confidence for the exam, regardless of whether you are studying for the Academic or General Training module.

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Section 1

THE CREATIVE SPARK

Back in the 1970s, Delos 'Toby' Cosgrove, a heart surgeon, was feeling frustrated. At that time, the field of open-heart surgery was still in its infancy, and surgeons used a rigid ring to help restore the shape of a heart valve after surgery. Unfortunately, this ring did not work particularly well because it was too rigid to move with the human tissue. And although specialist medical labs and surgeons in operating theaters had sought to develop a better solution, nobody had found one that worked. Then, some years later, Cosgrove happened to spot a kind of flexible hoop that 19th-century American women used for embroidering pieces of cloth. That's when he had his 'Aha!' moment: why not utilize the sewing device and apply it to human hearts to create a valve that could move with human tissue? Heart surgery and embroidery don't usually appear in the same sentence,' admits Cosgrove, who now runs the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. But the idea worked so well that it quickly became the dominant method in coronary care, and Cosgrove himself has since filed 30 patents for similarly unusual inventions.

So what inspires this type of 'Aha!' moment? And can anybody- or, indeed, any institution set out to replicate moments like it in other areas? This question is becoming increasingly crucial as Europe and the US scramble to find ways of boosting productivity. For although politicians and CEOs love to invoke the virtue of 'innovation'- talking about serendipity is all the rage in the consultancy world- an answer to just what it is that sparks these flashes of creative genius remains unclear. Is it best achieved by training up specialists? Or should companies try to mix people up? Or should they simply refuse to meddle at all— and just hope that serendipity strikes?

Opinions vary. When, for example, Cosgrove looks back at his own career, he attributes his moments of serendipity to at least two things. One is hard to replicate: Cosgrove is severely dyslexic and thinks that this means he has always been forced to improvise in creative ways,

But a second, more general lesson is that specialists- such as heart surgeons- need constantly to create situations where they can collide with new ideas, be that 19th-century embroidery or anything else. Cosgrove is a firm believer, for example, in the value of traveling widely into different worlds, not only via cyberspace but in day-to-day life, be that to conferences, work trips, or simply holidays. 'Many of my ideas were inspired by comparisons and objects outside heart surgery or required the collaboration of professionals in other disciplines,' he says. 'Innovation happens at the margins, where one discipline rubs up against another.'

But collisions with the unexpected need not always involve travel. The MIT Media Lab in Boston, for example, likes to take academics from completely different disciplines and force them to work side by side to spark unusual ideas. The research and development wings of

companies such as 3M, the gigantic industrial conglomerate, do something similar in their own laboratories. However, such collisions do not need to happen outside companies or in dedicated research laboratories. John Seely Brown, for example. is a scientist who previously ran

the Palo Alto Research Center. In decades past, the center did indeed try to spark innovation by urging academics from disparate disciplines to collaborate. These days, though, Brown co-chairs a project known as the Deloitte Center for the Edge. which tries to encourage institutions to become more creative at the edge of organizations or where different departments collide with each other, or with the outside world. After all, that is where boundaries can be turned upside down. 'When we are engaging in a creative activity. We are taking the familiar and making it strange when we behave imaginatively; we do just the opposite: we make the strange familiar,' he argues.

Another school of thought argues that what is most important is creating some organizational mess. A few years ago, for example, Mark de Rond, a researcher at Cambridge University Judge Business School, examined a series of scientific breakthroughs— such as the discovery

of penicillin, Viagra, or DNA- and concluded that most emerged as a result of controlled sloppiness or unplanned accidents that arose when scientists had the freedom to roam. 'Serendipity may benefit from a degree of sloppiness, inefficiency, dissent, failure, and tenacity,' he observes. pointing out that Alexander Fleming stumbled on penicillin only because his bench was so wildly messy that experiments were cross-infected. Of course, this is not a popular message for most corporate or political leaders to absorb. These days, some trendy tech companies, such as Google or Facebook, have made a virtue out of letting their employees roam at regular intervals. But most do not. After all, sloppiness often looks costly and is hard to justify in a world where the cult of efficiency tends to rule supreme.

Either way, the next time you hear a politician or CEO invoke the word 'innovation,' it is worth pondering Cosgrove's embroidery hoop. And if you are lucky enough to have a holiday this summer, remember that roaming is not just about rest- sometimes it can end up being more productive than anything we ever do at work.

Questions 27-33

Do the following statements agree with the views/claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this

27. Cosgrove was one of the early pioneers of open-heart surgery.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: At that time, the field of open-heart surgery was still in its infancy

Keywords: open-heart surgery

Keyword Location: Para 1, Line 2

Explanation: The text places Cosgrove in a period when open-heart surgery was "in its infancy," implying he was working at the beginning stages of the field.

28. In the 1900s, Cosgrove was frustrated by the attitude of his colleagues.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: Cosgrove, a heart surgeon, was feeling frustrated. At that time, the field of open-heart surgery was still in its infancy, and surgeons used a rigid ring to help restore the shape of a heart valve... Unfortunately, this ring did not work particularly well.

Keywords: Cosgrove, shape of a heart valve

Keyword Location: Para 1, Lines 1-2

Explanation: Cosgrove was frustrated by the rigid ring (the medical device) used in surgery, not by the attitude of his colleagues

29. Cosgrove came across the idea for his flexible loop by accident.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: some years later, Cosgrove happened to spot a kind of flexible hoop that 19th-century American women used for embroidering pieces of cloth. That's when he had his 'Aha!' moment

Keywords: flexible hoop, 'Aha!' moment

Keyword Location: Para 1, Lines 6-8

Explanation: The phrase "happened to spot" suggests the discovery was unplanned or accidental, leading to his "Aha!" moment.

30. At first, people were skeptical about how well Cosgrove's idea would work.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The text only states that the idea worked well and became dominant; it does not give any information about the initial reaction or skepticism of other people.

31. Cosgrove has since made many refinements to his original idea.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: He filed 30 patents for similar, unusual inventions (meaning new ideas), but there is no information about him making refinements (improvements to the original design).

32. Innovation is an important factor in making economic activity more efficient.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: This question is becoming increasingly crucial as Europe and the US scramble to find ways of boosting productivity... The cult of efficiency tends to rule supreme.

Keywords: crucia, Europe and the US

Keyword Location: Para 2, Lines 2-3

Explanation: The context links the search for "innovation" to "boosting productivity" and mentions the "cult of efficiency," suggesting innovation is viewed as key to greater economic efficiency.

33. More specialist training would certainly lead to more innovative ideas.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: Opinions vary... Is it best achieved by training up specialists? Or should companies try to mix people up?

Keywords: training up, specialists

Keyword Location: Para 2, Line 6

Explanation: The text explicitly presents specialist training as only one possible approach, which is debated, not a certainty. Cosgrove himself advocates for colliding specialists with new ideas.

Questions 34-40

Choose the correct letter.

34. How does the writer view Cosgrove's claim that his dyslexia has made him creative?

A. She doubts if it is the main stimulus.

B. She is skeptical about the severity of his condition.

C. She suggests that it may not help others to emulate him.

D. She acknowledges that not everyone will accept this explanation.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: One is hard to replicate: Cosgrove is severely dyslexic and thinks that this means he has always been forced to improvise in creative ways.

Keywords: dyslexic, forced to improvise

Keyword Location: Para 3, Lines 2-3

Explanation: The writer notes that this factor is "hard to replicate," which suggests it's a unique personal trait that others cannot easily imitate or emulate.

35. What is suggested about Cosgrove's notion of 'traveling widely'?

A. It shouldn't be confused with the idea of leisure time.

B. It needs updating to take account of the role of the Internet.

C. It is of no more than peripheral importance to most professions.

D. It underlines the importance of events where different specialists interact.

Answer: D

Supporting statement: Innovation happens at the margins, where one discipline rubs up against another... Many of my ideas... required the collaboration of professionals in other disciplines

Keywords: margins, discipline

Keyword Location: Para 3, Line 10

Explanation: Cosgrove's travel advice is part of a larger point that specialists must create situations where they "collide with new ideas," emphasizing the importance of interaction between different fields/specialists.

36. What policy is common to both the MIT Medla lab and 3M?

A. actively encouraging disagreements between academics

B. Obliging certain individuals to cooperate with each other

C. limiting the extent to which employees travel on business

D. allowing a degree of collaboration with certain rival Institutions

Answer: B

Supporting statement: The MIT Media Lab... likes to take academics from completely different disciplines and force them to work side by side to spark unusual ideas. The research and development wings of companies such as 3M... do something similar

Keywords: academics, spark unusual ideas

Keyword Location: Para 4, Lines 2-3

Explanation: Both organizations follow a strategy of bringing (obliging) people from different fields (disparate disciplines) to collaborate and interact.

37. The writer quotes from John Seeley Brown in order to

A. emphasize how Innovation can be encouraged within organizations.

B. question why organizations need to be divided into departments.

C. show that certain ideas about creativity are now dated.

D. present a contrasting view to Cosgrove's.

Answer: A

Supporting statement: These days, though, Brown co-chairs a project known as the Deloitte Center for the Edge. which tries to encourage institutions to become more creative at the edge of organizations

Keywords: Brown's project, edge of organizations

Keyword Location: Para 4, Lines 8-9

Explanation: The quote serves to illustrate an additional method (at the edge of organizations) for how creativity (innovation) can be encouraged within institutions.

38. What is the writer doing in the fifth paragraph?

A. suggesting that Seedly Brown's ideas may have been superseded

B. reviewing other researchers' responses to Seedly Brown's ideas

C. adding weight to the arguments put forward by Seedly Brown

D. outlining an alternative view of creativity to Seedly Brown's

Answer: D

Supporting statement: Another school of thought argues that what is most important is creating some organizational mess... concluded that most emerged as a result of controlled sloppiness or unplanned accidents

Keywords: organizational mess

Keyword Location: Para 5, Line 1

Explanation: This paragraph introduces Mark de Rond's view that "sloppiness" and "unplanned accidents" lead to breakthroughs, presenting an alternative view of creativity to the structured "collision" methods mentioned earlier.

39. Alexander Fleming is given as an example of somebody whose

A. work wouldn't be taken so seriously in today's world

B. discovery wasn't the result of a systematic approach

C. methods shouldn't be regarded as a model to follow.

D. experiments weren't as uncontrolled as they seemed.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: Alexander Fleming stumbled on penicillin only because his bench was so wildly messy that experiments were cross-infected.

Keywords: Alexander Fleming, penicillin

Keyword Location: Para 5, Line 7

Explanation: Fleming's discovery was the result of a lucky accident caused by a messy bench, not a neat, systematic approach or rigorous planning.

40. According to the writer, Google and Facebook differ from most companies in

A. the level of investment they commit to research projects.

B. the value they place on the efficient use of human resources.

C. their willingness to give staff enough space to develop new ideas.

D. their attitude towards employees who do not follow set procedures,

Answer: C

Supporting statement: some trendy tech companies, such as Google or Facebook, have made a virtue out of letting their employees roam at regular intervals. But most do not.

Keywords: companies, roam at regular

Keyword Location: Para 5, Lines 10-11

Explanation: The ability to "roam at regular intervals" (which is linked to "freedom to roam" and developing new ideas) is the practice where these companies differ from others.

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