Think Happy Reading Answers
Think Happy Reading Answers interprets and helps to understand the ability of the student over the passage and then answer the related questions. The IELTS Reading test helps students in improving their skills which include reading, understanding, accessing, and analyzing. In this IELTS Reading Section - Think Happy IELTS Reading Answers - the candidates will have to answer different questions with specific instructions related to them. This particular IELTS Reading sample - “Think Happy” is an Academic topic that consists of the following types of questions:
- Two-three words answer
- Complete the summary
- Matching information
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Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
Think Happy Reading Answers
It’s no joke: even scientists at the Royal Society are now taking the search for the source of happiness very seriously.
- What would Sir Isaac Newton have made of it? There he was, painted in oils, gazing down at one of the strangest meetings that the Royal Society, Britain’s most august scientific body, has ever held. If Newton had flashed a huge grin, it would have been completely appropriate, for beneath him last week a two- day conference was unfolding on a booming new field of science: investigating what makes people happy. Distinguished professors strode up to the podium, including one eminent neurologist armed with videos of women giggling at comedy films; another was a social scientist brandishing statistics on national cheerfulness. Hundreds of other researchers sat scribbling notes on how to produce more smiles.
- The decision by the Royal Society to pick ‘the science of wellbeing’ from hundreds of applications for conferences on other topics is no laughing matter. It means that the investigation of what makes people happy is being taken very seriously indeed. ‘Many philosophies and religions have studied this subject, but scientifically it has been ignored,’ said Dr. Nick Baylis, a Cambridge University psychologist and one of the conference organisers. For the Royal Society to give us it's countenance is vital because that states that what we are doing deserves to be acknowledged and investigated by the best scientific minds.’
- At first sight, the mission of Baylis – and the growing number of other scientists working on happiness research – appears fanciful. They want to deploy scientifically rigorous methods to determine why some people are lastingly happy while others tend to misery. Then they envisage spreading the secret of happiness across the globe and, in short, increasing the sum of human happiness. ‘If someone is happy, they are more popular and also healthier, they live longer and are more productive at work. So it is very much worth having’ he says.
- Baylis, the only ‘positive psychology’ lecturer in Britain, knows that the aims of happiness research might sound woolly, so he is at pains to distance himself from the brigades of non- academic self-help gurus. He refers to ‘life satisfaction’ and ‘wellbeing’ and emphasises that his work, and that of others at the conference, is grounded in solid research. So what have the scientists discovered – has a theory of happiness been defined yet?
- According to Professor Martin Seligman, probably the world’s leading figure in this field, happiness could be but a train ride – and a couple of questionnaires – away. It was Seligman, a psychologist from Pennsylvania University, who kick-started the happiness science movement with a speech he made as President of the American Psychological Association (APA). Why, asked Seligman, shocking delegates at an APA conference, does science only investigate suffering? Why not look into what steps increase happiness, even for those who are not depressed, rather than simply seek to assuage pain? For a less well- known scientist, the speech could have spelt the end of a career, but instead, Seligman landed funding of almost £18m to follow his hunch. He has been in regular contact with hundreds of other researchers and practicing psychologists around the world, all the while conducting polls and devising strategies for increasing happiness.
- His findings have led him to believe that there are three main types of happiness. First, there is ‘the pleasant life’ – the kind of happiness we usually gain from sensual pleasures such as eating and drinking or watching a good film. Seligman blames Hollywood and the advertising industry for encouraging the rest of us, wrongly as he sees it, to believe that lasting happiness is to be found that way. Secondly, there is ‘the good life’, which comes from enjoying something we are good or talented at. The key to this, Seligman believes, lies in identifying our strengths and then taking part in an activity that uses them. Third, there is ‘meaningful life’. The most lasting happiness, Seligman says, comes from finding something you believe in and then putting your strengths at its service. People who are good at communicating with others might thus find long-lasting happiness through becoming involved in politics or voluntary work, while a rock star wanting to save the world might find it in organising a charity concert.
- Achieving ‘the good life’ and ‘the meaningful life’ is the secret of lasting happiness, Seligman says. For anybody unsure of how to proceed, he has an intriguing idea. To embark on the road to happiness, he suggests that you need a pen, some paper and, depending on your location, a railway ticket. First, identify a person to whom you feel a deep debt of gratitude but have never thanked properly. Next, write a 300-word essay outlining how important the help was and how much you appreciate it. Then tell them you need to visit, without saying what for, turn up at their house and read them the essay. The result: tears, hugs and deeper, longer-lasting happiness, apparently, than would come from any amount of champagne.
- Sceptics may insist that science will always remain a clumsy way of investigating and propagating happiness and say that such things are better handled by artists, writers and musicians – if they can be handled at all. And not everybody at the conference was positive about the emerging science. Lewis Wolpert, professor of biology as applied to medicine at University College London, who has written a bestseller about his battle with depression, said: ‘If you were happy, I’d be very suspicious. I think you wouldn’t do anything, you’d just sort of sit there in a treacle of happiness. There’s a whole world out there, and unless you have a bit of discomfort, you’ll never actually do anything.’
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Section 2
Solution With Explanation
Question 27-30:
Complete the sentences below with words taken from Reading Passage 3.
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.
Question 27. At the conference, research into happiness was referred to as the science of well-being.
Answer: science of well-being
Supporting sentence: The decision by the Royal Society to pick ‘the science of wellbeing’ from hundreds of applications for conferences on other topics is no laughing matter.
Keywords: research, happiness, conference
Keyword Location: Section B, 1st line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because it is clearly mentioned in the 2nd paragraph that investigation into what makes people happy was termed as “The Science of Well-being”.
Question 28. Baylis and others intend to use scientific rigorous methods to find out what makes people happy or unhappy.
Answer: scientific rigorous methods
Supporting sentence: They want to deploy scientifically rigorous methods to determine why some people are lastingly happy while others tend to misery.
Keywords: Baylis, find out, happy, unhappy, intend
Keyword Location: Section C, 2nd line
Explanation: This is the correct answer for the above blank because what seemed fanciful happiness research initially to many was actually using scientifically rigorous methods to figure out the mystery behind the happiness and sadness experienced by humans. This research was carried out by Baylis and other scientists.
Question 29. Baylis gives classes on the subject of positive psychology.
Answer: positive psychology
Supporting sentence: Baylis, the only ‘positive psychology’ lecturer in Britain, knows that the aims of happiness research might sound woolly, so he is at pains to distance himself from the brigades of nonacademic self-help gurus.
Keywords: Baylis, classes, subject
Keyword Location: Section D, 1st line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because it is mentioned in the passage that Baylis was the only person to take lectures on positive psychology.
Question 30. Baylis says he should not be categorized among the self-help gurus who do not have academic credentials.
Answer: self-help gurus
Supporting sentence: Baylis, the only ‘positive psychology’ lecturer in Britain, knows that the aims of happiness research might sound woolly, so he is at pains to distance himself from the brigades of nonacademic self-help gurus.
Keywords: Baylis, academic credentials, categorization
Keyword Location: Section D, 1st line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because it is explicitly mentioned that he distances himself from those people who do not have academic credentials and call themselves self-help gurus, which means he doesn’t want to be categorized as one.
Question 31-36:
Complete the summary below using words from the box.
Write your answers in boxes 31-36 on your answer sheet.
Seligman’s categories of happiness
Seligman’s first type of happiness involves the enjoyment of pleasures such as 31) ______entertainment. He believes that people should not be under 32) ______ illusion that such things lead to happiness that is not just temporary. His second type is related to 33) ______ ability .Identification of this should lead to 34) ______ participation and the result is ‘the good life’. His third type involves having a strong 35) ______ conviction and doing something about it for the benefit of others. This, according to Seligman, leads to happiness that has some 36) ______ permanence.
| confidence | entertainment | incentive | leadership |
| thrill | perseverance | illusion | effort |
| ability | theory | celebration | participation |
| ego | performance | leadership | encouragement |
| exaggeration | concept | conviction | support |
Question 31.
Answer: entertainment
Supporting sentence: First, there is ‘the pleasant life’ - the kind of happiness we usually gain from sensual pleasures such as eating and drinking or watching a good film.
Keywords: first type, happiness, pleasures, Seligman
Keyword Location: Section F, 2nd line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because of the 3 types of happiness believed by Seligman, the first one is gained from pleasures such as watching a film, which can be categorized as a form of entertainment, which is the closest word that fits the blank.
Question 32.
Answer: illusion
Supporting sentence: Seligman blames Hollywood and the advertising industry for encouraging the rest of us, wrongly as he sees it, to believe that lasting happiness is to be found that way.
Keywords: temporary, happiness
Keyword Location: Section F, 3rd line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because Salinger says that sensual pleasure might seem to give lasting happiness but is false hence creating an illusion of lasting happiness.
Question 33.
Answer: ability
Supporting sentence: Second, there is ‘the good life’, which comes from enjoying something we are good or talented at.
Keywords: second type, talent
Keyword Location: Section F, 4th line
Explanation: This is the correct answer for this blank because the second type of happiness focuses on a person's talent or what they are good at which is basically talking about an individual’s abilities.
Question 34.
Answer: participation
Supporting sentence: The key to this, Seligman believes, lies in identifying our strengths and then taking part in an activity that uses them.
Keywords: identification, result, good life
Keyword Location: Section F, 5th line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because the second type of happiness talks about a person’s talent and if one is able to figure out what he/she is good at and actively take part in it then happiness can be achieved. So it talks about participation in what one is talented at.
Question 35.
Answer: conviction
Supporting sentence: The most lasting happiness, Seligman says, comes from finding something you believe in and then putting your strength at its service.
Keywords: third type, happiness
Keyword Location: Section F, 2nd last line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because the third type focuses on figuring out what one believes in fiercely and then manifesting it in reality by doing tangible services towards it. It’s all about having the conviction to follow something which will give an individual long-lasting happiness.
Question 36.
Answer: permanence
Supporting sentence: People who are good at communicating with others might thus find long-lasting happiness through becoming involved in politics or voluntary work, while a rock star wanting to save the world might find it in organizing a charity concert.
Keywords: Seligman, happiness, third type
Keyword Location: Section F, last line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because the third type focuses on having the conviction to believe in something and helping others to benefit from it through various activities and services, which will lead to long-lasting happiness which is permanent in nature.
Question 37-40:
Reading Passage has eight paragraphs labeled A- H
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A- H in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.
Question 37. a view that complete happiness may not be a desirable goal
Answer: Section H
Supporting sentence: ‘If you were really totally happy, I’d be very suspicious. I think you wouldn’t do anything, you’d just sort of sit there in a treacle of happiness. There’s a whole world out there, and unless you have a bit of discomfort, you’ll never actually do anything.
Keywords: complete, happiness, desirable goal
Keyword Location: Section H, last line
Explanation: This is correct because the only section which discusses complete happiness is section H i.e. the last paragraph where Dr. Lewis Lopert says a completely happy person won’t do anything and that certain discomfort is required to make someone work and trustworthy.
Question 38. a reference to the potential wider outcomes of conducting research into happiness.
Answer: Section C
Supporting sentence: Then they envisage spreading the secret of happiness across the globe and, in short, increasing the sum of human happiness.
Keywords: wider outcome, research, happiness
Keyword Location: Section C, 3rd line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because the information about reaching a wider mass is mentioned in Section C, where it states that Baylis and other scientists are conducting research into happiness in order to spread happiness across the globe which is a wider outcome of the research into happiness.
Question 39. an implication of the fact that the conference was held at all.
Answer: Section B
Supporting sentence: The decision by the Royal Society to pick ‘the science of wellbeing’ from hundreds of applications for conferences on other topics is no laughing matter.
Keywords: implication, conference, held
Keyword Location: Section B, 1st line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because the only section where there is mention of the conference being held by the Royal society on the topic of happiness termed as the “science of well-being” is in Section B.
Question 40. a statement concerning the possible outcome of expressing a certain view in public.
Answer: Section E
Supporting sentence: For a less well-known scientist, the speech could have spelt the end of a career, but instead Seligman landed funding of almost £18m to follow his hunch.
Keywords: outcome, speech, public view
Keyword Location: Section E, 2nd last line
Explanation: This is the correct answer because only in Section E there is mention of a speech which was made publicly by Dr. Seligman and the outcome of that speech was positive as he was well- known and his hunches are taken seriously by people even though they are shocking.
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