Visual Symbols and the Blind Reading Answers

Jan 2, 2023

Visual Symbols and the Blind Reading Answers contain three passages and 13 questions. Visual Symbols and the Blind Reading Answers comprise different types of questions in each IELTS reading passage. It is crucial to read the passage carefully and take mental notes of important points in order to answer the questions quickly. This IELTS reading sample - Visual Symbols and the Blind Reading Answers is an IELTS Academic topic. Visual Symbols and the Blind Reading Answers contains the following question types from IELTS Reading Question Types: Choose the correct letter. IELTS Reading section tests the reading proficiency of the candidates through passage and follow-up questions. There are about 40 questions of different types. The section tests the understanding ability through different task types. Candidates can solve more such IELTS reading samples from IELTS reading practice tests.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Visual Symbols and the Blind Reading Answers

Part 1
From a number of recent studies, it has become clear that blind people can appreciate the use of outlines and perspectives to describe the arrangement of objects and other surfaces in space. IELTS reading sample 2But pictures are more than literal representations. This fact was drawn to my attention dramatically when a blind woman in one of my investigations decided on her own initiative to draw a wheel as it was spinning. To show this motion, she traced a curve inside the circle (Fig. 1). I was taken aback, lines of motion, such as the one she used, are a very recent invention in the history of illustration. Indeed, as art scholar David Kunzle notes, Wilhelm Busch, a trend-setting nineteenth-century cartoonist, used virtually no motion lines in his popular figure until about 1877.

When I asked several other blind study subjects to draw a spinning wheel, one particularly clever rendition appeared repeatedly: several subjects showed the wheel's spokes as curves lines. When asked about these curves, they all described them as metaphorical ways of suggesting motion. Majority rule would argue that this device somehow indicated motion very well. But was it a better indicator than, say, broken or wavy lines or any other kind of line, for that matter? The answer was not clear. So I decided to test whether various lines of motion were apt ways of showing movement or if they were merely idiosyncratic marks. Moreover, I wanted to discover whether there were differences in how the blind and the sighted interpreted lines of motion.

To search out these answers, I created raised-line drawings of five different wheels, depicting spokes with lines that curved, bent, waved, dashed and extended beyond the perimeters of the wheel. I then asked eighteen blind volunteers to feel the wheels and assign one of the following motions to each wheel: wobbling, spinning fast, spinning steadily, jerking or braking. My control group consisted of eighteen sighted undergraduates from the University of Toronto.

All but one of the blind subjects assigned distinctive motions to each wheel. Most guessed that the curved spokes indicated that the wheel was spinning steadily; the wavy spokes, they thought; suggested that the wheel was wobbling, and the bent spokes were taken as a sign that the wheel was jerking. Subjects assumed that spokes extending beyond the wheel's perimeter signified that the wheel had its brakes on and that dashed spokes indicated the wheel was spinning quickly.

In addition, the favoured description for the sighted was favoured description for the blind in every instance. What is more, the consensus among the sighted was barely higher than that among the blind. Because motion devices are unfamiliar to the blind, the task I gave them involved some problem solving. Evidently, however, the blind not only figured out the meaning for each of the motion, but as a group they generally came up with the same meaning at least as frequently as did sighted subjects.

Part 2
Visual Symbols and the Blind - table We have found that the blind understand other kinds of visual metaphors as well.One blind woman drew a picture of a child inside a heart-choosing that symbol, she said, to show that love surrounded the child. With Chang Hong Liu, a doctoral student from china, I have begun exploring how well blind people understand the symbolism behind shapes such as hearts that do not directly represent their meaning.

We gave a list of twenty pairs of words to sighted subjects and asked them to pick from each pair the term that best related to a circle and the term that best related to assure. For example, we asked: what goes with soft? A circle or a square? Which shape goes with hard?

All our subjects deemed the circle soft and the square hard. A full 94% ascribed happy to the circle, instead of sad. But other pairs revealed less agreement: 79% matched fast to slow and weak to strong, respectively. And only 51% linked deep to circle and shallow to square. (see Fig. 2) When we tested four totally blind volunteers using the same list, we found that their choices closely resembled those made by the sighted subjects. One man, who had been blind since birth, scored extremely well. He made only one match differing from the consensus, assigning 'far' to square and 'near' to circle. In fact, only a small majority of sighted subjects, 53%, had paired far and near to the opposite partners. Thus we concluded that the blind interprets abstract shapes as sighted people do.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Part 1: Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
Write your answers in boxes 27-29 on your answer sheet.

In the ﬁrst paragraph, the writer makes the point that blind people

may be interested in studying art.
can draw outlines of different objects and surfaces.
can recognise conventions such as perspective.
can draw accurately.

Answer: C
Supporting sentence: From a number of recent studies, it has become clear that blind people can appreciate the use of outlines and perspectives to describe the arrangement of objects and other surfaces in space.
Keywords: perspective, conventions
Keyword location: Paragraph 1; line 1
Explanation: Blind persons may "appreciate" (recognise) the "usage of outlines and viewpoints" (convention including such perspective) to explain the organization of objects as well as other surfaces in space, according to the first sentence of Part 1. Therefore, the response is C.

The writer was surprised because the blind woman

drew a circle on her own initiative.
did not understand what a wheel looked like.
included a symbol representing movement.
was the ﬁrst person to use lines of motion.

Answer: C
Supporting sentence: This fact was drawn to my attention dramatically when a blind woman in one of my investigations decided on her own initiative to draw a wheel as it was spinning.
Keywords: symbol, movement
Keyword location: Paragraph 1; line 4
Explanation: In the first paragraph of Part 1, there is a example of a blind woman who, as a result of her own initiative, opted to "draw a wheel as it was spinning" during one of the author's studies (movement). She 'traced a curve within the circle' to represent this motion (a symbol). Lines of motion, like the one she employed, are a relatively new advancement in the history of illustration, and he was "taken aback" (surprised). So, C is the correct answer.

From the experiment described in Part 1, the writer found that the blind subjects

had good understanding of symbols representing movement.
could control the movement of wheels very accurately.
worked together well as a group in solving problems.
got better results than the sighted undergraduates.

Answer: A
Supporting sentence: Evidently, however, the blind not only figured out the meaning for each of the motion, but as a group they generally came up with the same meaning at least as frequently as did sighted subjects.
Keywords: symbol, movement.
Keyword location: Paragraph 5; line 4
Explanation: The writer notes that the consensus among sighted was only marginally greater than that among the blind in the fifth paragraph of Part 1. The assignment presented to them required some problem solving because motion gadgets are foreign to the blind. But in addition to "figuring out meanings for each line of motion" (indicating movement), the "blind" also "came up with the same interpretation at least as often as did sighted participants" as a group (had good understanding of symbols). So, the response is A.

Part 2 : Look at the following diagrams (Questions 30 –32), and the list of types of movement below. Match each diagram to the type of movement A–E generally assigned to it in the experiment. Choose the correct letter A–E and write them in boxes 30–32 on your answer sheet.

A : steady spinning
B: jerky movement
C: rapid spinning
D: wobbling movement
E: use of brakes

30.

Answer: E
Supporting sentence: Subjects assumed that spokes extending beyond the wheel's perimeter signified that the wheel had its brakes on and that dashed spokes indicated the wheel was spinning quickly.
Keywords: spokes, brakes.
Keyword location: Paragraph 4; line 4
Explanation: As stated in the fourth stanza of Part 1, "subjects" (blinded experiment participants) believed that "spokes reaching beyond the circumference of the wheel" (as seen in the figure) meant that the "wheel had its brakes on." So, the response is E.

31.

Answer: C
Supporting sentence: Subjects assumed that spokes extending beyond the wheel's perimeter signified that the wheel had its brakes on and that dashed spokes indicated the wheel was spinning quickly.
Keywords: spokes, dashed spokes
Keyword location: Paragraph 4; line 4
Explanation: It is stated in the fourth stanza of Part 1 that "dashed spokes" (as seen in the figure) meant the wheel was "spinning swiftly" (rapid spinning). So, C is the correct answer.

32.

Answer: A
Supporting sentence: Most guessed that the curved spokes indicated that the wheel was spinning steadily
Keywords: curved spokes.
Keyword location: Paragraph 4; line 1
Explanation: It is stated in the fourth paragraph of Part 1 that the "wheel was spinning steadily" because of the "curved spokes" (as seen in the figure). So, the response is A.

Questions 33 –39

Complete the summary below using words from the box. Write your answers in boxes 33 –39 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any word more than once.

In the experiment described in Part 2, a set of word 33.......…… was used to investigate whether blind and sighted people perceived the symbolism in abstract 34.....…...… in the same way. Subjects were asked which word ﬁtted best with a circle and which with a square. From the 35...…...… volunteers, everyone thought a circle ﬁtted ‘soft ’while a square ﬁtted ‘hard’. However, only 51% of the 36.......…… volunteers assigned a circle to 37.....…… . When the test was later repeated with 38...…...… volunteers, it was found that they made 39...…...… choices.

associations blind deep hard hundred identical pairs shapes sighted similar shallow soft words

33.

Answer: pairs
Supporting sentence: We gave a list of twenty pairs of words to sighted subjects and asked them to pick from each pair the term that best related to a circle and the term that best related to assure.
Keywords: circle, twenty pairs.
Keyword location: Paragraph 7; line 1
Explanation: The author states in the opening sentence of Part 2 that he had begun a "experiment with a blind doctorate student" from China named Chang Hong Liu to "examine how well blind individuals grasp the symbolism" behind "shapes such as hearts" that do not exactly correspond to their meaning. In the second paragraph, the author adds that they asked "sighted participants" to choose from "a list of" twenty "pairs of terms" the phrase that best described a circle and the one that best described a square. In order to determine if blind and sighted persons understood symbolism similarly, the author conducted an experiment employing a list of word pairings. The solution is therefore "pairs."

34.

Answer: shapes
Supporting sentence: I have begun exploring how well blind people understand the symbolism behind shapes such as hearts that do not directly represent their meaning.
Keywords: exploring, symbolism
Keyword location: Paragraph 6; line 3
Explanation: The author states in the opening sentence of Part 2 that he has begun a "experiment with a blind doctorate student" from China named Chang Hong Liu to "study how well blind individuals grasp the symbolism" behind "shapes" like "hearts" that do not immediately express their meaning. The author continues in the second paragraph by stating that they asked "sighted subjects" to choose from "a list of" twenty "pairs of words" which phrase best relates to "a circle" (shape) and which term best relates to "a square" (shape). The author therefore sought to determine if blind and sighted persons understood symbolism via forms in the same manner through this experiment utilising a list of word pairings. Hence,

35.

Answer: sighted
Supporting sentence: In addition, the favoured description for the sighted was favoured description for the blind in every instance
Keywords: favoured, blind
Keyword location: Paragraph 5; line 1
Explanation: The writer claims that they asked sighted participants to choose from a list of twenty word pairs in the second paragraph of Part 2 the phrase that best described a circle and the term that best described a square. The phrase "all our subjects" (sighted subjects) "deemed the circle soft and the square hard" is added to the conclusion. The answer is therefore "sighted".

36.

Answer: sighted
Supporting sentence: And only 51% linked deep to circle and shallow to square
Keywords: shallow, circle
Keyword location: Paragraph 8; line 3
Explanation: Only 51% of "all our subjects" (sighted subjects, as specified in the second paragraph of Part 2) were found to relate "deep to circle" and "shallow to square," according to the last paragraph of Part 2. The answer is, therefore "sighted".

37.

Answer: deep
Supporting sentence: DEEP-SHALLOW 51
Keywords: deep
Keyword location: Table last point.
Explanation: Only "51% of all our subjects" (sighted subjects, as specified in the second paragraph of Part 2) were found to relate "deep to circle" and "shallow to square," according to the last paragraph of Part 2. Therefore, the response is "depth."

38.

Answer: blind
Supporting sentence: When I asked several other blind study subjects to draw a spinning wheel, one particularly clever rendition appeared repeatedly: several subjects showed the wheel's spokes as curves lines
Keywords: blind, wheel, spokes.
Keyword location: Paragraph 2; line 1
Explanation: When the author evaluated "four fully blind volunteers" "using the identical list" (later repeated), we discovered that their selections substantially paralleled those made by the sighted individuals, as mentioned in the last paragraph of Part 2. The answer is thus "blind."

39.

Answer: similar
Supporting sentence: When I asked several other blind study subjects to draw a spinning wheel, one particularly clever rendition appeared repeatedly: several subjects showed the wheel's spokes as curves lines
Keywords: blind, wheel, spokes.
Keyword location: Paragraph 2; line 1
Explanation: When the author evaluated four completely blind volunteers using the identical list, we discovered that "their" (the four fully blind volunteers') selections "closely resembled" (similar) those made by the sighted
participants. This is stated in the last paragraph of Part 2. The answer is therefore "similar."

Question 40:

Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D. Write your answer in box 40 on your answer sheet.
Which of the following statements best summarises the writer’s general conclusion?

A - The blind represent some aspects of reality differently from sighted people.
B - The blind comprehend visual metaphors in similar ways to sighted people.
C - The blind may create unusual and effective symbols to represent reality.
D - The blind may be successful artists if given the right training.

40.

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: We have found that the blind understand other kinds of visual metaphors as well. One blind woman drew a picture of a child inside a heart-choosing that symbol
Keywords: metaphors, sighted, child
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6; line 1
Explanation: It is stated in the final sentence of Part 2 that "blind" persons "understand" (comprehend) "abstract forms" (visual metaphors) "like sighted people do" (in similar ways to sighted people). Therefore, the response is B.

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