The Science of Color Reading Answers

Oct 1, 2024

The Science of Color Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. The Science of Color Reading Answers has a total of 13 IELTS questions in total. In the questions set, there are questions where you have to choose the correct option from the passage. In the next set of questions, you have to fill in the blanks.

Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers feature topics such as The Science of Color Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

Section 1

THE SCIENCE OF COLOR

The body of scientific research into color is growing, and it all points to one thing: our perception of color really does affect our minds and our bodies. In a series of tests administered in the 1970s, it was established that red pills are more effective as stimulants than blue pills, and that blue pills appeared to be more effective in curing insomnia than orange ones. Meanwhile, green, white or blue pills, aren't as effective as red ones as painkillers. But in the experiments, the pills used were all placebos - in other words fake pills - there was no painkiller, there was no stimulant. Meanwhile, in other experiments it was found that male prison inmates became physically weaker when they were housed in pink-painted cells and that football teams wearing red were statistically more likely to win than teams in other colors.
And yet, while its effects on us may be profound, color 'doesn't really exist in the world', say Dr Beau Lotto, a neuroscientist at University College London. Blue isn't a property of denim, or skies, or oceans, but of how our eyes interpret a particular set of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, which we call visible light. Red isn't a property of blood or football shirts, but how our eyes interpret another, longer set of wavelengths. 'Human vision is trichromatic,' says Prof Andrew Stockman, a UCL colleague of Dr Lotto, 'like a color television.' We have three different color receptors, cones, in our eyes, each designed to pick up different wavelengths of light. These are red, green and blue. Most other mammals have two, meaning they can only detect green and blue wavelengths. If we had only one receptor, we'd see the world in something like black and white.
This is the product of billions of years of evolution. 'The whole point of color vision is not to inspire poets, but to allow contrast detection,' says Russell Foster, professor of circadian neuroscience at the University of Oxford. 'You've got a much better chance of detect an object against a background if you have color vision.' The wavelength of the light around us has affected us since the dawn of life, and it still does. Foster, who researches the effect of light on sleep, says that our biological clock is profoundly affected not just by the brightness of the light we're exposed to, but also its color. He was behind the discovery of a previously unknown cell in the optic nerve which acts as a sort of photon-counter, keeping track of how much light has hit it in the last few minutes. It is especially sensitive to blue light - specifically, the blue of a blue sky. If you're exposed to light of this color, it will make you more alert. 'Blue light keeps us awake far more effectively than red light,' he says. There are apps on the market now that change your lighting before you go to bed, to get you ready for sleep.'
But as Lotto says, context is everything; red can be friendly when it's associated with a ketchup bottle, less so when associated with blood. Lotto spends much of his time creating optical illusions to demonstrate how humans see and perceive color, and the impact of context upon it. 'I can make you see blue or yellow, depending on what surrounds it,' he says. 'When I change your perception of it, what I'm changing is the meaning of the information, I'm not changing the physics of the information itself.'
There's even some indication that the words we use to describe color affect our ability to see it. Benjamin Whorf, a linguistic theorist, claimed that our language limits our perception: if our language lacks a word for something, we find it harder to think about that thing. The Whorfian hypothesis has been largely discredited after all, if we really couldn't think about things we didn't have a word for, we wouldn't need to come up with new words. Nevertheless, experiments have shown that societies such as the Tarahumara tribe in Northern Mexico, which lacks different words for 'blue' and 'green', find it harder to find the odd one out in a group of greenish-blue squares. Meanwhile, the fact that we distinguish indigo and violet as separate colors is largely down to the scientist Sir Isaac Newton, who named and split up the colors of the rainbow completely arbitrarily.
The cultural contexts and meaning of colors has been picked up, of course, by marketers. Purple is status, pink is femininity, and of course, blue suggests competence while red is exciting. Using these colors in your branding or logo, apparently, will subtly instill those messages in potential customers' minds. In her paper on the subject, Zena O'Connor questions the validity of many of these highly specific claims, as the title 'Colour psychology and color therapy: Caveat emptor' makes clear. As O'Connor says: 'The information available is often presented in an authoritative manner, exhorting the reader to believe a range of claims, such as red is physically stimulating and arousing and blue is calming and healing. However, evidence is rarely cited and, when it is, it's often in reference to findings that are outdated'. But even after the dubious claims have been weeded out, color clearly still has a profound impact on our mental life.

Questions 14-20

Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A-F.

Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A-F.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

The view that the ideas of one researcher are no longer taken very seriously.

Answer: E

Supporting statement: “........The Whorfian hypothesis has been largely discredited........”

Keywords: hypothesis, discredited

Keyword Location: para E, Line 4

Explanation: The passage discusses the Whorfian hypothesis, which claims that language limits perception. However, the passage states that this idea has been largely discredited, meaning it is no longer taken seriously.

An assertion that there may be no scientific basis for the distinctions drawn between certain colors.

Answer: E

Supporting statement: “........Newton, who named and split up the colors of the rainbow completely arbitrarily........”

Keywords: Newton, arbitrary

Keyword Location: para E, Line 7

Explanation: The passage explains that Isaac Newton's decision to distinguish between indigo and violet as separate colors was made arbitrarily, implying that there was no scientific basis for making these distinctions.

A suggestion that the color of their clothing may affect how well certain people perform.

Answer: A

Supporting statement: “.........Football teams wearing red were statistically more likely to win than teams in other colors.......”

Keywords: teams, wearing

Keyword Location: para A, Line 6

Explanation: The passage states that football teams wearing red were statistically more likely to win, suggesting that the color of their uniforms may influence their performance.

A description of a recently introduced product that reflects research into the way color affects human behavior.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: “........There are apps on the market now that change your lighting before you go to bed, to get you ready for sleep........”

Keywords: apps, lighting

Keyword Location: para C, Line 10

Explanation: The passage mentions apps that adjust lighting to help users prepare for sleep based on research into how blue light affects alertness, reflecting the connection between color and human behavior.

An explanation of the main reason why human beings developed the ability to

perceive color.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: “.........The whole point of color vision is not to inspire poets, but to allow contrast detection.......”

Keywords: detection, color

Keyword Location: para C, Line 2

Explanation: The passage explains that humans developed the ability to perceive color primarily for contrast detection, which helps them better identify objects against various backgrounds.

A description of how the perception of color can be manipulated without people

realizing it.

Answer: D

Supporting statement: “.......I can make you see blue or yellow, depending on what surrounds it.........”

Keywords: illusions, perception

Keyword Location: para D, Line 4

Explanation: The passage describes how Dr. Lotto can manipulate color perception through context, making people see colors differently based on their surroundings, without changing the actual physical properties of the color.

An explanation of how human perception of color contrasts with that of many other species.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “.......Most other mammals have two, meaning they can only detect green and blue wavelengths.........”

Keywords: trichromatic, most

Keyword Location: para B, Line 6

Explanation: The passage explains that human vision is trichromatic, while most other mammals have only two color receptors. This means humans can perceive a wider range of colors compared to other species.

Questions 21-22

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

Which TWO of the following statements are true of the 1970s research into the color of pills?

White pills worked best for people who needed relief from pain.
Blue pills worked best for people who were having problems sleeping.
Red pills generally failed to help any patients.
Pills in certain colors worked better with male patients.
None of the pills used contained any active ingredients.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “.......Blue pills appeared to be more effective in curing insomnia than orange ones..........”

Keywords: pills, curing

Keyword Location: para A, Line 3

Explanation: The passage clearly states that blue pills were more effective for people with insomnia. Hence B is the right answer.

Answer: E

Supporting statement: “........The pills used were all placebos - in other words fake pills........”

Keywords: placebos, fake

Keyword Location: para A, Line 4

Explanation: The passage explicitly states that the pills used in the experiment were placebos, meaning they contained no active ingredients, which confirms the accuracy of this answer.

Questions 23-26

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

It is apparent from the 23............ of Zena O'Connor's paper on the subject that she has Answer: TITLE

Supporting statement: “........The title 'Colour psychology and color therapy: Caveat emptor' makes clear........”

Keywords: title, Caveat

Keyword Location: para F, Line 3

Explanation: The title of Zena O'Connor's paper clearly shows her skepticism, with the phrase "Caveat emptor" meaning "let the buyer beware," which means she has little faith in the claims.

little faith in the claims made by 24........ regarding the effect of colour on clients'

Answer: MARKETERS

Supporting statement: “........The cultural contexts and meaning of colors has been picked up, of course, by marketers........”

Keywords: marketers, claims

Keyword Location: para F, Line 1

Explanation: The passage discusses how marketers use color psychology to influence customer perceptions, but O'Connor questions the validity of their claims.

perceptions of products. She says that whilst such claims may appear 25...... they are Answer: AUTHORITATIVE

Supporting statement: “........The information available is often presented in an authoritative manner........”

Keywords: authoritative, presented

Keyword Location: para F, Line 4

Explanation: O'Connor notes that claims about the effects of color are often presented in an authoritative manner, even though the research supporting them may be flawed.

put forward, they often cite research which is 26........ or are unsupported by sufficient evidence.

Answer: OUTDATED

Supporting statement: “.........It's often in reference to findings that are outdated.......”

Keywords: outdated, findings

Keyword Location: para F, Line 6

Explanation: The passage states that the research cited by marketers needs to be updated, meaning it may not be reliable or up-to-date, thus supporting this answer.

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