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Why Do We Need the Arts? Reading Answers

Bhaskar Das

Jul 7, 2025

Why Do We Need the Arts? An IELTS Reading Answer that contains 13 questions and needs to be completed within 20 minutes. Why Do We Need the Arts? Reading answers, also helps you to prepare for your IELTS exam. Why Do We Need the Arts? Consist of questions like: Which paragraph contains the following information? Choose two letters And Choose one word only. Participants should go through the IELTS Reading passage to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions.

Why Do We Need the Arts? Reading Answers discusses the value and role of the arts, emphasizing that while they may serve many purposes, their core significance lies in being ends in themselves—ways to express and respond to the world and inner experiences. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Topic:

Sometimes people question why we need 'the arts'; what functions do art, music, dance, and literature serve?

A.Imagine a world in which people spend hours working in offices or factories, and then go home in the evening to sit down to dinner, after which they sleep until it's time to get up and work again. In this world, people do not read or watch TV, listen to music, play computer games, or have pictures to decorate their homes. In fact, there are no pictures in this world-not even advertisements are illustrated, but all are words, and very plain ones at that, with no playfulness left in them. The buildings are completely functional, without a single decorative feature anywhere, and there is no music to dance to and enjoy. Such a world is a world without the arts in any form.

B.To ask what the arts are good for is not exactly the same as asking what their purpose is. The arts do not have to have a purpose

-they do not exist in order to teach, to make a moral point, to entertain, to distract, to arouse, to support a revolution, to disgust, to challenge, to stimulate, or to cheer. They exist chiefly for their own sake. It is artists, not the arts as such, that may have an aim in mind, and their aim may be to do any of the things just listed. But equally, artists may just make a work of art because they feel compelled to.

Because the work is its own justification, no aim or goal is necessarily required to explain or, still less, to justify its existence

C.But to say that the arts do not have to serve an aim beyond themselves, even though they may sometimes do so, is not to say that they are good for nothing. On the contrary, as such an important part of human experience, they are good for many things. The distinction here lies between things that are instrumental and things that are ends in themselves. An instrument exists for something beyond itself-namely, for what it can be used to do. We know that pictures are used as instruments in advertising, and the objective is always to persuade us to buy something. Similarly, music can be written chiefly to accompany dancing, or as a soundtrack to a movie. A play can be written to point out to the theatre audience a social injustice or other problems that should be dealt with. But even though the arts can sometimes be instrumental, that fact is not essential to their nature. What the arts are 'good for' arises from their being an end in themselves, or more accurately, representing many different things that are valuable for their own sakes such as, for instance, the creation of beauty.

D.The phrase "the arts" includes painting, sculpture, music, literature, dance, and theatre performance, and whatever else (to quote the famous US artist Andy Warhol) anyone can get away with in calling their creation a contribution to "the arts." But the generalisation that the arts, whatever else they are, are always an end in themselves, applies to them all. The arts are one major form of response to the world. They are often an attempt to capture an aspect of the world, to draw attention to something about it, to comment on it, to present a surprising or fresh angle on it, to represent it for the sake of exploring something about it, or enjoying or celebrating it.

They can help people to focus on, for example, the colour or shape of an object, its eccentricity or typicality, and the interest or perhaps disgust it provokes in them.

E.For a loose comparison, think of laughing at a joke. We do not laugh so that we can achieve a further goal-in order to be healthy or relaxed, say, even if we thereby succeed in being healthier or more relaxed but simply because the joke has elicited that reaction.

But although it is merely a reaction, laughing is, in fact, good for something nevertheless; it does make people feel better. The arts are a reaction in the same way. French artist Cézanne painted Mont Sainte-Victoire repeatedly because he was fascinated by it, not because he thought that painting it would say something about politics or society or human hopes. Being fascinated by something, attracted to it, repelled by it, or keen to reveal an unusual aspect of it are all responses to that thing. The making of the arts is one outstanding way of expressing such responses.

F.But the arts are a response not only to things in the world but also to experiences of the world, which lie inside the artist himself.

And they are also often an expression of what presses from within the artist without being elicited by externals. Music is a prime example.

A symphony, unless it is devised to represent bird song, rain, the sea, and the like, is an abstract expression of a composer's conception.

We may be able to describe what the Russian composer Tchaikovsky is doing in his ballet music, but how can we describe what he is expressing in his piano concertos? Composers may experiment with melody and rhythm in very abstract, sometimes mathematical, ways.

G.When artists get to work responding to and expressing ideas, whether or not they also want to make a point, entertain, distract, support a revolution, and the rest, they are producing something that someone else will react to in some way. They seek to connect with their audience and express an idea or emotion which has the capacity to enrich our experience of life itself.

Questions 14-18

Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-G.

14. A claim that artists may have no clear objective when creating a piece of art

Answer: B

Supporting statement: "Artists may just make a work of art because they feel compelled to."

Keywords: [no aim, justification, compelled]

Keyword Location: Paragraph B

Explanation: This paragraph emphasizes that art may exist without any defined objective, driven simply by the artist’s inner urge.

15. A description of how artists hope to benefit other people

Answer: G

Supporting statement: "They seek to connect with their audience and express an idea or emotion which has the capacity to enrich our experience…"

Keywords: [connect, audience, enrich]

Keyword Location: Paragraph G

Explanation: The passage states that artists aim to evoke reactions in others, enhancing their life experiences.

16. A comparison between the arts and things made to perform a particular function

Answer: C

Supporting statement: "The distinction here lies between things that are instrumental and things that are ends in themselves."

Keywords: [instrumental, function, ends in themselves]

Keyword Location: Paragraph C

Explanation: This paragraph contrasts functional objects with the arts, which are valued for their intrinsic worth.

17. A claim that it's possible to convince the world that anything you have is a work of art

Answer: D

Supporting statement: "…whatever else… anyone can get away with in calling their creation a contribution to 'the arts.'"

Keywords: [get away with, calling, contribution]

Keyword Location: Paragraph D

Explanation: This reflects Andy Warhol’s idea that art can be defined broadly, even controversially.

18. An example of something that has an unintentional benefit

Answer: E

Supporting statement: "…laughing is… good for something… it does make people feel better."

Keywords: [reaction, unintentional, benefit]

Keyword Location: Paragraph E

Explanation: The laughter analogy highlights how an involuntary reaction (like art) can still produce benefits.

Questions 19-20

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

19. Some people argue that the arts serve no useful purpose and lack any _________ benefits.

Answer: practical

Supporting statement: "Some people question why we need 'the arts'…"

Keywords: [useful purpose, benefits]

Keyword Location: Introduction

Explanation: The question implies a doubt about the practical value or utility of the arts.

20. While some art is created with a specific ________ in mind, this is not true of all art.

Answer: purpose

Supporting statement: "To ask what the arts are good for is not exactly the same as asking what their purpose is."

Keywords: [purpose, aim, goal]

Keyword Location: Paragraph B

Explanation: Art can be made with or without a purpose, as per the artist’s intention.

Questions 19-20

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

21. The arts can be considered a ________ to the world or to personal experiences.

Answer: response

Supporting statement: "The arts are one major form of response to the world."

Keywords: [response, experiences]

Keyword Location: Paragraph D and F

Explanation: The arts are shown as a response to both outer and inner experiences.

22. Music, unlike other forms of art, is often described as __________ because it does not necessarily represent anything tangible.

Answer: abstract

Supporting statement: "…is an abstract expression of a composer's conception."

Keywords: [abstract, music, not represent]

Keyword Location: Paragraph F

Explanation: Music is described as abstract when it doesn’t attempt to depict real-world things.

Questions 23-24

Choose TWO letters, A-L.

Which TWO of the following does the writer say the arts can have?

A. The power to address social problems.

B. The ability to convey beauty for its own sake.

C. A deliberate aim to entertain audiences.

D. A way to express an artist's unique vision.

E. A role in encouraging relaxation.

F. The capacity to make everyday life more meaningful.

G. The potential to serve a practical purpose.

H. An opportunity to celebrate political events.

1. The ability to challenge traditional beliefs.

J. A focus on depicting personal emotions.

K. A purpose related to advertising.

L. A means of influencing opinions on current affairs.

Answers: A, B

Supporting statement A: "A play can be written to point out… a social injustice…" (Paragraph C)

Supporting statement B: "…creation of beauty…" (Paragraph C)

Keywords: [social problems, beauty, value]

Keyword Location: Paragraph C

Explanation: The arts may address social problems (A) and also convey beauty for its own sake (B).

Questions 25-26

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

Which TWO of the following statements about composers and music does the writer make?

A. Music is influenced by external elements, such as nature.

B. Composers use mathematical techniques to create their works.

C. Musical works are often a reflection of personal experiences.

D. Music does not always have a clear meaning or message.

E. Composers aim to evoke specific emotions in their audiences.

Answers: B, D

Supporting statement B: "…experiment with melody and rhythm in very abstract, sometimes mathematical, ways."

Supporting statement D: "…how can we describe what he is expressing in his piano concertos?"

Keywords: [mathematical, abstract, unclear message]

Keyword Location: Paragraph F

Explanation: The writer notes that music may be composed using mathematical methods (B), and doesn’t always convey a clear meaning (D).

Check IELTS reading samples:

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.

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