Why Some Shapes Are More Pleasing to the Eye than Others is an IELTS Reading Answer that contains 14 questions and needs to be completed within 20 minutes. This reading answer also helps you to prepare for your IELTS exam. Why some shapes are more Pleasing to the Eye than Others Consists of questions like: Write no more than three words or numbers, Choose the correct letter, and Does the statement agree with the passage? Participants should go through the IELTS Reading passage to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions. Also, Why Some Shapes are More Pleasing to the Eye than Others Reading Answers gives all the information about why this ancient proportion shapes beauty in art, architecture, and human faces. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.
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A. The ancient Egyptian pyramids, the Parthenon of Athens, Mona Lisa's face and the head of George Clooney all have one thing in common. Their attractiveness is said to be based on the "golden ratio"; which is supposed to be the most aesthetically pleasing shape to the human eye. The golden ratio, also known as the divine proportion, produces a shape similar to a widescreen television or a cinema screen and describes a rectangle with a length roughly one and half times its width. The proportion is said to pervade art, architecture and nature.
B. The modernist architect • Le Corbusier used the golden ratio for conferring harmonious proportions on everything from door handles to high-rise buildings, whereas the surrealist painter Salvadore Dali deliberately incorporated the rule into his painting Sacrament of the Last Supper. Now a theoretical mathematician has come up with what he believes is a possible reason why the human eye finds shapes in these proportions so particularly appealing. It comes down to how easy it is for the eye and the brain to scan such an image for important details, based on our evolutionary history.
C. Professor Adrian Bejan of Duke University in North Carolina said that the golden ratio - which was first identified mathematically by Euclid in 3rd Century BC - just happens to be the most efficient shape for visual scanning, which could explain why it is behind so many works of art and architectural wonders. "When you look at what so many people have been drawing and building, you see these proportions everywhere. It is well known that the eyes take in information more efficiently when they scan side-to-side, as opposed to up and down," Professor Bejan said.
D. "Scanning left to right is five times faster than scanning up and down and that is largely due to the left or right eye taking over when the opposite eye gives up. When you scan vertically, it's like having just one eye. The eyes are also an arranged on a horizontal axis, which happens to fit in with the landscape," he said. Professor Bejan has applied a mathematically-based law he devised in 1996 to describe how designs in nature, from the flow of water in river deltas to the branching airways in a set of lungs, are geared towards ever-increasing efficiency of movement, such as the faster flow of water, air, blood or even individuals in a crowd.
E. Vision is also subject to increased efficiency based on the faster flow of information from the eye to the brain. And the visual scene that is easiest to scan is one where the horizontal axis is wider than the vertical, Professor Bejan said. This is true for a gazelle scanning the African horizon for predators, or early human hunter gatherers searching their territory for food. "Animal vision should be configured in a way that seeing and scanning should be the fastest and the easiest. And when the proportions allow this to be done, it should be a source of pleasure because of its past evolutionary associations with finding food or a mate," Professor Bejan said.
F. According to the theoretical study published in the International Journal of Design and Nature and Eco-dynamics, the most efficient proportions for the human eyes to scan is a rectangular shape where the horizontal is about one and a half times the vertical, which Professor Bejan said approximates to the golden ratio. "It is a consequence of the fact that our perceived world is roughly a horizontal tableau. Our supply of images reflects the orientation of the landscape. Danger comes to the animal from the sides and from behind, not from above, and not from below," Professor Bejan said.
G. Perceiving the world through a rectangular box has led to this particular shape becoming aesthetically pleasing and being subconsciously incorporated into works of art. It may also explain why some faces that approximate more closely than other faces are viewed as being the most attractive. A recent study by scientists at the University of Toronto found that female faces were judged the most attractive if the vertical distance between the eyes and the mouth was approximately 36 percent of the face's length, and the horizontal distance between the eyes was approximately 46 percent of the facial width. This was also the proportions of the average face.
Questions 14-21
READING PASSAGE 2 has seven paragraphs A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-G.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
14. the earliest finding of the golden ratio
Answer: C
Supporting statement: "the golden ratio – which was first identified mathematically by Euclid in 3rd Century BC"
Keywords: [golden ratio, Euclid, 3rd Century BC]
Keyword Location: {Paragraph C, line 2}
Explanation: The paragraph discusses the historical origin of the golden ratio and credits Euclid in the 3rd century BC as the first to define it mathematically.
15. the specific comparison between the efficiency of scanning horizontally and vertically
Answer: D
Supporting statement: "Scanning left to right is five times faster than scanning up and down..."
Keywords: [scanning, horizontally, vertically, faster]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph D, line 1}
Explanation: The paragraph explains the comparative efficiency between horizontal and vertical scanning, stating horizontal scanning is significantly faster.
16. the fact the landscape of surroundings can influence how animals perceive the world
Answer: E
Supporting statement: "This is true for a gazelle scanning the African horizon for predators..."
Keywords: [landscape, animals, scanning, perception]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph E, line 3}
Explanation: This line illustrates how the horizontal layout of the environment influences how animals perceive threats, tying vision to environmental structure.
17. the common features of old aesthetic architectures or artistic works
Answer: A
Supporting statement: "The ancient Egyptian pyramids... Mona Lisa's face... all have one thing in common... the golden ratio"
Keywords: [pyramids, Mona Lisa, golden ratio]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph A, line 1}
Explanation: Paragraph A lists famous historical artworks and architecture that follow the golden ratio, showing its widespread use in classical aesthetics.
18. how the golden ratio is used to identify the most attractive women faces
Answer: G
Supporting statement: "female faces were judged the most attractive if the vertical distance between the eyes and the mouth was approximately 36 percent..."
Keywords: [attractive faces, eyes, mouth, proportions]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph G, line 2}
Explanation: The paragraph describes a study showing specific facial proportions that align with the golden ratio are considered most attractive.
19. the fact that natural designs are identical to mathematic regulations
Answer: D
Supporting statement: "designs in nature... are geared towards ever-increasing efficiency of movement"
Keywords: [natural designs, efficiency, movement]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph D, line 4}
Explanation: The paragraph states that natural structures follow patterns aimed at optimizing movement, showing their alignment with mathematical efficiency.
20. the fact that animals' horizontal vision is associated with reproduction or food searching
Answer: E
Supporting statement: "finding food or a mate... should be a source of pleasure because of its past evolutionary associations"
Keywords: [horizontal vision, food, reproduction]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph E, line 5}
Explanation: It explains how animals’ horizontal visual field is tied to critical survival tasks like hunting and mating, which reinforces its evolutionary appeal.
21. examples of different uses by modern artists
Answer: B
Supporting statement: "Le Corbusier used the golden ratio... Salvador Dali deliberately incorporated the rule..."
Keywords: [artists, golden ratio, Le Corbusier, Dali]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph B, lines 1–2}
Explanation: The paragraph gives examples of modern artists and how they purposefully applied the golden ratio to their designs and paintings.
Questions 22-24
Do the following statements agree with the information given in READING PASSAGE 2? write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
22. The rectangle of divine proportion has a width one and a half times its length.
Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement: "a rectangle with a length roughly one and half times its width"
Keywords: [rectangle, golden ratio, length, width]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph A, line 2}
Explanation: The statement in the passage says length is 1.5 times the width, but the question reverses these, hence it's false.
23. Mathematicians are optimistic about identifying the exact reason why humans find these shapes so appealing.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The passage discusses Bejan’s theory but does not mention whether mathematicians generally are optimistic about discovering the exact reason.
24. Golden ratio is the most efficient shape for eyes to scan drawing and building.
Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: "the golden ratio... just happens to be the most efficient shape for visual scanning"
Keywords: [golden ratio, efficient, scanning, shape]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph C, line 2}
Explanation: The passage clearly states the golden ratio allows the human eye to scan more efficiently, supporting the idea it is best for visuals.
Questions 25-27
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER for each.
25. When was the golden ratio first found in mathematical terms?
Answer: 3rd Century BC
Supporting statement: "first identified mathematically by Euclid in 3rd Century BC"
Keywords: [Euclid, golden ratio, 3rd Century BC]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph C, line 2}
Explanation: The golden ratio was mathematically defined by Euclid during the 3rd century BC, according to the passage.
26. When did Bejan applied his law to other designs in nature?
Answer: 1996
Supporting statement: "applied a mathematically-based law he devised in 1996..."
Keywords: [Bejan, 1996, law, designs in nature]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph D, line 4}
Explanation: Bejan’s law, used to explain natural efficiency patterns, was created in 1996 and later applied to vision.
27. What proportion should the vertical distance between the eyes and the mouth to be the
most attractive?
Answer: 36 percent
Supporting statement: "vertical distance between the eyes and the mouth was approximately 36 percent of the face's length"
Keywords: [vertical distance, eyes, mouth, 36 percent]
Keywords Location: {Paragraph G, line 2}
Explanation: Research in paragraph G identifies 36 percent as the optimal vertical ratio between eyes and mouth for facial attractiveness.
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